Isaiah 63:9

He was afflicted. Literally, “He was not an adversary,” or, “He did not afflict.” The reading, “He was afflicted,” is based on a number of Hebrew manuscripts and on the Masoretic tradition. As a kind, loving parent suffers when suffering comes upon his children, so does God. The Lord saw the affliction of His people in Egypt (Ex. 3:16) and saved them when they cried to Him in their oppression. Today He is our great high priest, who is “touched with the feeling of our infirmities” (Heb. 4:15).

The angel of his presence. This was the angel in whom God’s presence dwelt (Ex. 14:19, 24; 23:20-23; 32:34; 33:14, 15; Deut. 1:32, 33), and was none other than Christ Himself (see PP 366). It was Christ who was ever with His people, guiding them by day, protecting them by night, and leading them on to the Promised Land against all enemy opposition. When the tabernacle was set up, Christ manifested His presence in the holy Shekinah, above the mercy seat and between the cherubim (Num. 7:89).

Bare. Heb. natal, “to lift,” “to pickup.” Christ is here pictured as a father, tenderly caring for His beloved children (see Ex. 19:4; Deut. 1:31; 32:11, 12; 33:27; Isa. 46:4).