Isaiah 46:4Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

I will remain constant through your old age, and I will support you even as you grow grey. This assurance extends beyond merely old age; it echoes the truth that, just as He existed before Abraham, His existence transcends that time. I am your Creator, and I will uphold, sustain, and protect you. The prophet illustrates, as an expression of God's compassion, what the people specifically sought. “You Yourself are the cause of our suffering; You afflict us without compassion.” This contradicts His declaration, "I hear you," yet "you do not listen to Me." Although I am eternal, I observe you exchanging your deities. Why then would I not show you mercy? You weigh heavily upon Me, and your inclination to sin would have led to your destruction long ago if My care had not been upon you.

Although a considerable amount of time has been unproductively dedicated to your care, and I observe that you remain quite obstinate, I will not forsake my own goodwill. I present myself to you and declare clearly: I am who I am, meaning I live and endure eternally, not as one who has a beginning and knows that existence may come to an end. I remain constant and unchanging; as you grow old, I will still be the same, for aging does not affect me as it does you; I am life itself and all-powerful. I have allowed the trials of conflict to come upon you as a result of righteous judgment, inflicting them as a consequence for those who have disregarded My glory. However, I will sustain you, that is, I will not abandon you, and I will restore those who are weary through my grace.

God will uphold you. O Lord our God, within the shelter of your wings (Psalm 62:8) we will discover hope, and you shall safeguard us, carry us. You will carry us, You will carry us, You will carry us, little ones, even into our old age, for our strength is derived from You. When we rely solely on our own, we find ourselves powerless. Our good is eternally rooted in You, and when we turn away, we plunge into corruption. Let us return to You at this moment, O Lord, lest we be brought low, for in You is the fullness of our good, and it is You Yourself. We need not fear that we will not return, even if we have stumbled deeply. Our home will remain steadfast in our absence, bound to Your eternity.

Listen, O house of Jacob, and all remaining descendants of the house of Israel, whom I have nurtured since your inception. I have sustained you from your earliest days, and until your old age, I remain unchanged; even as you grow grey, I will uphold you. I have fashioned you, and I will carry you; I will provide for you and deliver you. To whom do you compare me, and with whom do you equate my likeness, fashioning idols from silver and gold, employing an artisan to create a god, to whom they bow and worship? They lift these idols onto their shoulders, placing them in position, yet they cannot move, nor can they respond when called upon in distress.