Yet you, Lord, are our Father.
    We are the clay, you are the potter;
    we are all the work of your hand.
9 Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord;
    do not remember our sins forever.
Oh, look on us, we pray,
    for we are all your people.

As this great prayer moves towards its conclusion, Isaiah appeals to the Lord on the basis that:

  • He is their Father: even a sinful earthly father, though angry with his child, will still love them and want the best for them. ‘Foolish and careless as we are, poor and despised and trampled upon as we are by our enemies, yet still thou art our Father; to thee therefore we return in our repentance, as the prodigal arose and came to his father; to thee we address ourselves by prayer; from whom should we expect relief and succour but from our Father? It is the wrath of a Father that we are under, who will be reconciled and not keep his anger for ever.” ‘ Matthew Henry;
  • He is their Sovereign Creator and Lord. He is ”the potter”. They are ”clay” in His Hands. He who made them has the right to shape them and re-shape them according to His good will. ”Then the word of the Lord came to me.  He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.” (Jer.18:5,6);
  • They are in a covenant relationship with Him: They are His ”people”. Like many other great intercessory pray-ers in the Bible, Isaiah ‘wrestles’ with God, appealing to great truths about who He is, and His special relationship with His own.