Chapter 64
Starts with a request for God to come down, now, and to show His power to His enemies and to make the mountains shake, as he did of old. It goes on to acknowledge the sinfulness and rebellion of the then current Judah and Jerusalem. 5b is representative:
5 ...Behold, you were angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved? [Isa 64:5b ESV]
This verse:
7 There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities. [Isa 64:7 ESV]
Judah and Jerusalem lack much, if any, people committed still to God and His ways. They are in a virtually complete international rebellion against Him. And here is the theme again for how God deals with nations that rebel. He hides His face, He turns away, and lets the natural consequences of our actions run their course. Human behavior, human beings, corrupt since the fall of Adam, will ALWAYS destroy themselves when left strictly to themselves. We have neither the knowledge nor the inclination to continue in God's ways in the absence of devotion to Him. He does not help us unless we acknowledge that our help comes from Him.
2024 - This section, vs 7 in particular, and the phrase "...You have hidden your face from us..." ties back to the vss 16 and 17 in 63 that describes Israel during the period of double punishment. He had hidden his face from Israel, and it remains hidden as of this day. And the horrors that happen to them are the result of their sin, their apostasy, their crucifixion of their Messiah. And then that last plea, in vs 12..."Will you keep silent and afflict us beyond measure?" No, not beyond measure, but DOUBLE.
The end of the "prayer" is in vs 12:
12 Will you restrain yourself at these things, O LORD? Will you keep silent, and afflict us so terribly? [Isa 64:12 ESV]
This is also like the prayers that David prayed after he had sinned so terribly. It does not say "I should not be punished like this", it says "How long will this punishment I deserve go on? When will it be enough?"