Isaiah 63:7

My Notes

What Does Isaiah 63:7 Mean?

Isaiah opens a section of remembrance: I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, and the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.

I will mention (zakar — to remember, to bring to mind, to call attention to) the lovingkindnesses (chesed — covenant loyalty, steadfast love, unfailing mercy) of the LORD — the decision to remember is deliberate. Mention is not casual reference. It is intentional recollection — the purposeful calling to mind of what God has done. The plural lovingkindnesses (chasdei) indicates multiple acts — not one mercy but many. The covenant loyalty is not a single event. It is a pattern — repeated, accumulated, multiplied over the history of God's relationship with his people.

And the praises (tehillot — the praiseworthy deeds, the things worthy of celebration) of the LORD — the praises are not what the people give God. They are what God deserves — the praiseworthy acts that generate the praise. The praises of the LORD are the acts that make worship inevitable: the deliverances, the provisions, the faithfulnesses that demand recognition.

According to all that the LORD hath bestowed (gamal — to deal bountifully with, to treat with generosity) on us — the mentioning is comprehensive: all that the LORD hath bestowed. Not selected highlights. All — every act of generosity, every kindness, every provision across the entire history of God's dealings with his people.

The great goodness (tuv — goodness, the beneficial, pleasant character of God expressed in action) toward the house of Israel — the goodness is great (rav — abundant, much). Directed specifically toward the house of Israel — the covenant people. The goodness is not generic. It is aimed at the people God chose.

According to his mercies (rachamim — compassion, the tenderness of a parent for a child, womb-love) and according to the multitude (rob — great number, abundance) of his lovingkindnesses — the verse ends where it began: with lovingkindnesses. The accumulation is the point: mercies upon mercies, lovingkindnesses upon lovingkindnesses. The plural and the multitude together communicate that God's covenant loyalty is not single or simple. It is abundant — layered, repeated, stacked, overflowing.

The verse functions as a prelude to a history of Israel's unfaithfulness (v.10: they rebelled and vexed his holy Spirit) — making the contrast between God's accumulated mercies and Israel's persistent rebellion even more devastating. The lovingkindnesses are recalled to show how much God invested in a people who responded with rebellion.

Reflection Questions

• 1.Why is the mentioning of God's lovingkindnesses a deliberate decision rather than an automatic response?
• 2.What does the plural 'lovingkindnesses' and 'multitude' communicate about the accumulated nature of God's covenant loyalty?
• 3.How does recounting the past (God's mercies) function as fuel for faith in the present?
• 4.What specific lovingkindnesses of God in your own life have you stopped mentioning — and what would deliberate remembering look like?

Devotional

I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD. I will. The decision is deliberate: I will remember. I will recall. I will intentionally bring to mind what God has done — not because I have forgotten but because remembering is the fuel of faith. The lovingkindnesses are not a single act. They are plural — stacked, layered, accumulated across a lifetime and a nation's history.

According to all that the LORD hath bestowed on us. All. Everything God has given. Every mercy. Every provision. Every deliverance. Every moment of goodness that you received from the hand of the one who owed you nothing. The all is comprehensive because the bestowing was comprehensive. God's generosity covers more ground than you have memory to recall — which is why the mentioning must be deliberate.

The great goodness toward the house of Israel. Great. Not small. Not moderate. Great goodness — abundant, overflowing, disproportionate to anything the recipients did to deserve it. The goodness is directed: toward the house of Israel. Specific. Personal. Aimed at the people God chose. The goodness is not scattered into the universe generically. It is directed toward a people with a name.

According to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses. Mercies — the tender compassion of a parent. The womb-love that cannot help caring for the child. And lovingkindnesses — the covenant loyalty that persists through rejection, rebellion, and failure. The multitude says: they are too many to count. You could spend a lifetime recounting God's mercies and not reach the bottom of the pile.

The mentioning is the worship. The remembering is the faith. The act of deliberately recalling what God has done — all of it, the great goodness, the mercies, the multitude of lovingkindnesses — is the response that keeps the soul anchored when the present is difficult. You remember because the future depends on what you know about the past. And the past — when examined honestly — is a multitude of lovingkindnesses.

What lovingkindnesses have you stopped mentioning? What mercies have you forgotten to recall? The deliberate mentioning is not nostalgia. It is survival — the fuel that sustains faith when the present feels empty. Remember. Mention. Recount. The multitude is there. You just need to look.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture