In Isaiah, chapter thirty-two, verses two through nine, this is the prayer of the righteous remnant for deliverance from the hand of the enemy. “Faith transforms itself into prayer. The prophet will still “wait” upon God. In the change of person, “their arm,” “our salvation,” we hear the very words of the prayer as it was spoken, the first referring to the soldiers who were to fight the battles of their country, the second to the non-combatants who were assembled with Isaiah in supplication.
“At the noise of the tumult,” the “people” are the mingled nations of the Assyrian armies; the “tumult” is that of the rush and crash, as of a mighty tempest, when Jehovah should at last uplift Himself for the deliverance of His chosen ones.
“And your spoil” are the words addressed to the invader. He who came to spoil should find himself spoiled. As caterpillars and locusts devour the green herbage, so should he (or they, the indefinite pronoun standing for the people of Jerusalem) strip his camp of all its treasures.
“The Lord is exalted” is the vision of the seer taken in the ideal city of God, Jehovah, dwelling on high in His holy Temple, the city at last filled with “judgment and righteousness.”
“And wisdom and knowledge” are the words used in the higher sense, as in Proverbs one, one to four, in contrast with the craft and devices of men, just as the “fear of the Lord” is the true treasure, in contrast with the silver and gold in which Hezekiah had been led to place his trust.
“The highways lie waste” is another feature in the picture of terror. No traveller dared to show himself on the main road.
Why do people pray, say prayers, or bother praying? To receive deliverance.