5 You meet him who rejoices in doing righteousness, Who remembers You in Your ways. Behold, You were angry, for we sinned, We continued in them a long time; And shall we be saved?
6 For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
7 There is no one who calls on Your name, Who arouses himself to take hold of You; For You have hidden Your face from us And have delivered us into the power of our iniquities.
8 But now, O LORD, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand.
Over and over in these verses the sovereignty of God working in the lives of those He has chosen is repeated. All of our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment. I know there are many who say to be saved you have to accept Jesus. Would that not be considered a righteous act? In God’s eyes, that righteous act of accepting Christ is but a filthy garment. (And as a side note, filthy garment is much worse than what most would normally think. Click on the Hyperlink.) It is worthless because an unsaved man would be doing it in the flesh and Romans 8:8 says they that are in the flesh can NOT please God. God isn’t pleased when a lost man “accepts Christ.”
Jesus also said the flesh counts for nothing (John 6:63).
...all of us are the work of Your hand.
Jesus also said the flesh counts for nothing (John 6:63).
But let’s continue, verse 7. There is no one who calls on Your name.
Would it be safe to assume that God is speaking of lost people here? I mean, I know a lot of people who call on His Name but they are Christians. But since God says there are NONE that call on His Name, He must be referring to someone. So it is my conclusion that He is speaking of the lost. There is no man “who arouses himself to take hold” of God. You may disagree but I look at the word arouse in the spiritual context of being made alive. The Hebrew word `uwr means to rouse oneself, awake, awaken, incite. No man can make himself alive, God has to do it.
Would it be safe to assume that God is speaking of lost people here? I mean, I know a lot of people who call on His Name but they are Christians. But since God says there are NONE that call on His Name, He must be referring to someone. So it is my conclusion that He is speaking of the lost. There is no man “who arouses himself to take hold” of God. You may disagree but I look at the word arouse in the spiritual context of being made alive. The Hebrew word `uwr means to rouse oneself, awake, awaken, incite. No man can make himself alive, God has to do it.
So if there are no lost men who call on His Name, and no lost men who rouse themselves, how can they be saved? Easy, God quickens (arouses) the dead spirit in a lost man, a man He has chosen in Christ (Ephesians 1:4) and THEN this man, now saved, calls on His Name.
Let’s continue, verse 8. ...we are the clay, He is the Potter; all of us are the work of His hand.
We had nothing to do with it. This fits in perfectly to what Jesus said in John 6:29 - the work of God is this (NOT the work of man), to believe in the one He has sent. Jesus said this AFTER the people asked Him what THEY must do to do the works God requires. In effect, Jesus said they can’t do anything. It is God working in man to make him believe. Philippians 1:29 confirms it, belief was GIVEN to us.
...all of us are the work of Your hand.
Believe it.
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