For Zion’ s sake viz. the church’ s sake; Zion and Jerusalem being both put for the church, Heb 12:22 .

Will I not hold my peace: these seem to be the words of the prophet, strongly resolving, notwithstanding all difficulties, to solicit God for the church’ s happiness, and constantly excite to the belief of it by his preaching, though it were long ere it came, for Isaiah lived near two hundred years before this was accomplished; but his prophecy lived, and the tenor of it was continued by other prophets, whom the Lord stirred up to be still establishing his people till this salvation was wrought: his meaning might be, as long as he lived he would never hold his peace; or he might include himself among those who should be then alive, as Paul doth among the other saints, 1Th 4:17 , we which are alive . Thus may we also include God speaking these words, as some would have it, viz. by the mouth of Isaiah, and other of his holy prophets, that never held their peace, till they saw this blessed state of the church appear.

Until the righteousness: with reference to the Babylonians, understand it of the righteousness of God, who hath promised his people deliverance, and he must be righteous, and so understand salvation before; or rather the vindicating of his people’ s cause in the eyes of the nations by the ruin of the Babylonians; he will show that his people have a righteous cause: or with reference to the church, till Christ, who is her righteousness, shall appear and be manifested in the gospel.

Go forth as brightness clearing up their miserable and dark estate, which the church might be supposed to be in before Christ’ s coming, with much joy and happiness.

As a lamp that burneth and to that purpose is set up where it may be seen continually, to signify how eminently conspicuous this prosperous estate of the church should be among the nations, and as it may particularly relate to revealing of Christ unto the world.

Thy righteousness: see what is said in the foregoing verse: some read, thy Just One , viz. Jesus Christ. Kings , those that were wont to scorn thee, shall now’ be taken with the admiration of thy glory.

Thou shalt be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord shall name; not the seed of Abraham, or the children of Israel , but of God; that whereas they were by nature the children of wrath, now by grace they shall be the children of God. Or, another name, as it is said of tongues. Compare Mar 16:17 , with Act 2:4 . Or, a name, the honour whereof shall make them famous, as Gen 11:4 ; they shall be called Christians. Or, the church shall be more renowned than ever, both in respect of her condition , and so called Hephzi-bah ; and of her relation, and so called Beulah ; and this new name the Lord gives them accordingly, Isa 62:4 .

A crown of glory an expression to set forth the dignity of her state.

In the hand of the Lord i.e. either as placed upon thee by God’ s hand, that he will dispose of or dispense to thee; a usual form of speech in Scripture, as Hag 1:1 , by the hand of Haggai: so Mal 1:1 . Or, in the hand of God ; he shall so manage thine honourable estate, that thou shalt be a crown, a credit, and honour to him; and so the word crown may be used for any kind of ornament, or matter of honour. Or, preserved and defended by God’ s hand; a phrase that expresseth it to be out of all danger, as to put a man’ s life in his hands is to expose it to dangers, Jud 12:3 1Sa 19:5 28:21 .

A royal diadem the same thing with the former for substance. Or, the royal priesthood, whereof the apostle speaks, 1Pe 2:9 .

Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken as a woman forsaken by her husband, contemptible, and of low esteem.

Neither shall thy land i.e. the inhabitants of the land, a metonymy of the subject,

any more be termed Desolate though it be now almost void of inhabitants, it shall be impeopled again.

Thou shalt be called i.e. be, as you have frequently had such instances.

Hephzi-bah My delight is in her ; a new name, agreeing with her new condition.

Beulah

Married agreeing to her new relation; she shall be as one well married, to the great improvement of her state, Jer 3:14 Hos 2:18-20 .

Thy land shall be married thou shalt see the increase of thy children again in thy land, as the fruit of thy married condition, which by reason of thy being forsaken of thy husband were in a manner wasted and decayed; and this refers to the great enlargement of the church in the gospel days. Or rather, shall be possessed, as the word baal properly signifies; and so it answers to desolate, Thou shalt be no more desolate , but possessed ; and this helps to solve a difficulty in the next verse, which otherwise may seem an impropriety, that the sons would marry the mother.

As a young man marrieth a virgin: this is delivered as a demonstration of what was said in the close of the 4th verse; and it is said young and virgin to note their suitableness; not old and young , but such as may delight each in other, signifying that mutual content that would be in all parties; thus it was at the first preaching of the gospel, Act 2:41-47 .

So shall thy sons marry thee Whereas it is improbable that the Spirit of God should carry on so sacred a prophecy by a similitude so abhorrent to nature, the son should marry the mother , the scruple is easily satisfied by taking the word in its right signification, to possess , as in the foregoing verse, reading it thus, As a young man marrieth or possesseth a virgin, so shall thy land be inhabited or possessed by thy sons; they shall dwell with thee as a man dwells with his wife; and thus the LXX. And it is said sons , to distinguish them from strangers, by whom she should not any longer be inhabited, but by her own natives; and expressed by marrying , to signify not only their unity of affection in the evenness of their living, but of faith in their common profession, called the common faith , Tit 1:4 , according to which Paul calls Titus his son.

As the bridegroom rejoiceth taketh delight in her; so shall thy God, viz. Christ, God and man, in thee: see Isa 62:4 . Christ is often called a bridegroom , and his church a bride, 2Co 11:2 Rev 21:2,9 .

Watchmen understand by these, either,

1. Angels , as they are called, Dan 4:13,23 . Or

2. Magistrates : see Isa 56:10 , or rather,

3. Ministers . When once the church shall be restored again, God will undertake for its safety and protection, partly by magistracy, and partly by ministry, whom he here by a metaphorical allegory calls watchmen; but the next words seem principally to intimate spiritual watchmen, thy spiritual safety, Heb 13:17 , and said to be upon the walls, as being thence able to espy dangers at the greater distance, Son 1:7 .

Which shall never hold their peace day nor night there shall be a most vigilant and industrious ministry, their constancy being intimated by day and night, either in praying, or teaching, Or warning, this being their office.

That make mention i.e. are his servants. To make mention of one is, according to the Hebrew phrase, to be servant to him of whom we make mention, Isa 26:13 . And here especially are meant his servants in ordinary, his remembrancers ; either such as put God in mind of his promise, like such officers that great men have about them on purpose to mind them of the public affairs; or such as make the Lord to be remembered, putting his people in mind of him.

Keep not silence: this seems to be the charge that he gives to his watchmen, that they never prove remiss or negligent.

Give him no rest the same with the foregoing verse, and very acceptable to God, Luk 11:8-10 .

Till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth by sending the Messiah and those labourers into his vineyard, whereby the church may be established and settled on sure foundations, and so become matter of praise to God. All the nations may praise him for her, Psa 67:3,4 . Or, that she may be praised, and become renowned and famous in the eyes of the world: see Isa 40:9 61:9,11 .

This and the next verse are much to the same purpose, wherein the prophet, to encourage them to their industrious endeavours, tells them that the Lord had

sworn to see to the prosperity of Jerusalem; and he names the

hand to signify his faithfulness, as the giving of our hand notes our fidelity; and arm, to signify his power,

the arm of his strength i.e. his strong arm: these being eminently to be engaged and put forth for his people, he swears by them.

Surely I will no more give or, If I give ; a usual aposiopesis; an abrupt form of swearing, implying something of an imprecation, as great as can be expressed: q.d. Never account me faithful or almighty, if I accomplish not this.

The sons of the stranger: see Isa 61:5 .

Shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured: the meaning is, That meat, and drink, and all necessaries that thou hast laboured for, the Babylonians took away from thee; but now it shall be so no more, he will not give thee up to the will of thine enemies.

They that have gathered it i.e. the wine mentioned in the former verse, that have brought it from their several vineyards, and laid it in their cellars, every one shall eat the fruit of his own labours; thou shalt not sow, and another reap, as formerly.

And praise the Lord they themselves shall praise him, viz. for his bounty and goodness; and others also that shall be partakers with them; God will be bountiful , and they shall be thankful. In the courts of my holiness; as I have commanded, Deu 14:23 ;

in my courts holiness being put for God himself by a metonymy of the adjunct; alluding to those anniversary feasts and thank-offerings that were to be eaten in those places about the temple, and perhaps in special to that part which was appropriated to the priests, implying herein that they should be all priests; and, for aught I know, here may be an allusion to the great gospel feast, or thank-offering in the Lord’ s supper, these promises being not only applicable to, but do point at, the soul protections and the soul provisions of the church of Christ.

Go through, go through the gates it is doubled by way of emphasis: q.d. Make haste to your own land; as if Cyrus should say, Get you out of captivity as soon as you will, Isa 48:20 . Or it may intimate an invitation issued out from them at Jerusalem to those that were scattered about in the captivity; therein possibly typifying the going of Christ’ s disciples into the various parts of the world, to bring those that were scattered up and down into the church. Or, Go meet the Gentiles, whom God purposeth to bring into the church, that by pure doctrine and your holy lives they may be the sooner won. Prepare ye the way; let them not have any obstructions in their way: he seems to call upon others to prepare the way for them; thus John was sent to prepare the way for Christ, as was prophesied, Isa 40 3 ; accordingly it is ordered to be

cast up: see Isa 57:14 . Gather out the stones , that there be no stumbling-stone or offence in their way; or, q.d. Go to and fro, and remove every scandal that they may boggle at, Rom 14:13 . The former notes the certainty of their deliverance, harbingers sent before; this the speed of it, no impediment.

Lift up a standard an allusion to soldiers, that usually set up their standard, that the army may know whither to repair from all quarters; see Isa 49:22 ; and lifting of it up is, that it may be more visible; see Isa 11:10-12 ; and this is Christ held forth in the preaching of the gospel.

For the people or, over the people.

The Lord hath proclaimed: this may be understood of Cyrus’ s proclamation, being thereunto directed by God: see 2Ch 36:22 , &c.

To the daughter of Zion i.e. to Jerusalem, or the church: the sum of which proclamation is in the, following words.

Thy salvation cometh either,

1. The time of it is come, Isa 56:1 60:1 . Or rather,

2. The person that effects it, thy Saviour, by a metonymy of the efficient, Luk 2:30 .

His work i.e. the reward due to the work, the same thing with the former: See Poole "Isa 40:10" . Or, his work is ready cut out for him which he is to do. Or, he will industriously set himself about the work that is before him, Joh 4:34 ; and he is said to bring it with him , viz. the reward that he will give to his true worshippers; or, he brings eternal salvation with him, or the reward of redemption, which is the subject of the next chapter.

They shall call them The holy people; or, they shall be called, or they shall be, a peculiar, separate people, Isa 4:3 .

Sought out or, one found that was lost: see Eze 34:16 . Or, sought out , or for , or one in great esteem, one that the Gentiles should seek to join themselves withal, so as to be one church with her. That reproach should be wiped off from her, that this is Zion whom no man seeketh after , Jer 30:17 . Or, cared. for, viz. by God, whom he hath out of infinite love gathered to himself.

A city not forsaken: see Isa 62:4 . The meaning is, that thus they shall esteem the gospel church; she shall be accosted With such salutations as these are,

the holy people the

redeemed of the Lord & c.

See Philpot: ZION’S GATES AND THE KING’S HIGHWAY

Work the redemption of mankind. (Haydock) ---

Though Cyrus was a figure of Christ, he was as much beneath him as earth is below heaven, Zacharias ix. 9. (Calmet)

Rest, as long as God grants me life, or till I behold the Saviour; or Cyrus, the figure of Christ. (Calmet) ---

True preachers will not be silent on account of any threats, but will labour for the Church, 2 Timothy ii. (Worthington)

One. No profane historian mentions what Cyrus did for the Jews; but all the world knows how much Christ has favoured his Church. (Calmet) ---

Name. Thou shalt be no longer the rebellious Jerusalem, but the spouse and chosen people, the Church of Christ. (St. Ignatius of Antioch, ad Magnesians) (St. Jerome)

Hand. Chaldean, "before." Hebrew, "by the protection."

Forsaken. Yet the synagogue was again rejected, at the death of Christ. The promises naturally relate to his Church. (Calmet) ---

Inhabited. Protestants retain the Hebrew words Chephtsi-bah, "my delight in her," and Beulah, (marginal note) "married." (Haydock)

Dwell. Hebrew, "marry." They shall be attached to their country. ---

Thee. He shall love thee as a bridegroom does one whom he has lately married. Christ never abandons his virgin spouse. (Calmet) ---

Isaias speaks of some state of the Jews which has not yet taken place. (Houbigant)

Watchmen; priests and prophets, (Matthew ii. 1., and Psalm cxxxiii. 2.; Calmet) or angels. (St. Jerome; St. Bernard) ---

The synagogue has long been destitute of guides, but the Catholic Church has an uninterrupted succession of watchful pastors. ---

Mindful whose duty it is to remind him of his promises, and to recite the Church office. (Calmet) ---

Hebrew mazcirim, monitors, 2 Kings viii. 16. (Haydock) ---

In these faithful watchman the Church is always visible. (Worthington)

Hand; inviolably, Deuteronomy xxxii. 40. The Persians deemed this oath most sacred. (Calmet) ---

Darius just expiring, said to Polycrates, "By thee I give this right hand to Alexander," (Plut.[Plutarch?]) that he may revenge my death. ---

Wine. The Church cannot be deprived of her faith or of her God.

People, that they may return to Judea, and be converted to Christ. (Calmet)

For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest,.... By Zion and Jerusalem, the church in Gospel times is meant, as it often is in this book, and elsewhere; see Heb 12:22, for whose glory, prosperity, and safety, a concern is here expressed. Some take them to be the words of God himself, as the Targum and Kimchi; who seems to be silent and at rest, and even as it were asleep, when he does not arise and exert himself on the behalf of his people; but here he declares he would not be as one silent and at rest, nor let the kingdoms and nations of the world be at rest until the deliverer of his people was come, either Cyrus the type, or Christ the antitype: others take them to be the words of Israel in captivity, as Aben Ezra; though he afterwards observes they are the words of God, or of the church of God, soliciting her own restoration, prosperity, and glory: but they are the words of the prophet, expressing his great love and affection for the church, and his importunate desire of her happiness, intimating that he would never leave off praying for it till it was completed; not that he expected to live till the Messiah came, or to see the glory of the latter day, and of the church in it; but the sense is, that he would continue praying for it without ceasing as long as he lived, and he knew his prayers and his prophecies would live after he was dead; and that there would be persons raised up in the church that would succeed him in this work, till all the glorious things promised and prophesied of should be accomplished:

until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness; meaning either till the church's innocence is made as clear as the brightness of the sun at noonday, and she is vindicated from the calumnies and reproaches cast upon her, and open vengeance is taken on her enemies by the Lord, from whom her righteousness is, and by whom her wrongs will be righted; or until the righteousness of Christ, which is by imputation her righteousness, is wrought out by him and revealed in the Gospel, and she appears to all to be clothed with it, as with the sun, Rev 12:1, which will be the case when to her shall be given to be arrayed openly with that fine linen, clean and white, which is the righteousness of the saints, and will be the time of her open marriage to the Lamb, Rev 19:7,

and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth; which gives light, and is seen afar off; her open deliverance from all her enemies, Pagan, Papal, and Mahometan; and her salvation by Jesus Christ, which will be more clearly published in the Gospel ministry in the latter day, and more openly seen and enjoyed in the effects of it. The Vulgate Latin version of this and the preceding clause is,

"until her righteous one goes forth as brightness, and her Saviour as a lamp that burneth;''

meaning Christ the righteous, and the Saviour of his body the church, who in his first coming was as a burning and shining light, even like the sun, the light of the world; and whose spiritual coming will be in such a glorious manner, that he will destroy antichrist with the brightness of it, and is therefore very desirable, 2Th 2:8. The Targum of the whole is,

"till I work salvation for Zion, I will give no rest to the people; and till consolation comes to Jerusalem, I will not let the kingdoms rest, till her light is revealed as the morning, and her salvation as a lamp that burneth.''

And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness,.... The innocence of her case, and the justness of her cause, and the vengeance took on her enemies, all being so clear as before declared; as well as her justifying righteousness, which being published in the Gospel to the Gentiles, they shall see it, embrace it, and shall be justified by it, Rom 1:17 or "thy righteous One", as the Vulgate Latin version, Christ:

and all kings thy glory; or, "thy glorious One", as the same version; her Lord in whom she glories, and who is a glory to her, whom kings shall fall down before and worship, Psa 72:10 or the glorious state of the church, which shall draw the eyes of kings unto it, and who shall promote it by bringing their glory into it, Isa 60:1. Vitringa thinks all this refers to the times of Constantine, before which kings had not seen the glory of the church, nor had she seen kings subject to her; but now they began to see the glory of the kingdom of Christ: but it is better to interpret it of the latter day, when not only kings begin to see, not a few of them, but all in general shall see it:

and thou shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name; either "Jehovah Shammah", "The Lord is there"; his presence being among his church and people at this time in a remarkable manner, Eze 48:35 or Jehovah our righteousness; this being most clearly revealed, as before observed, Jer 33:16 or Christ, to whom she is so closely united, and so nearly allied, as to have his name on her, 1Co 12:12 or the church, and church of God, and of Christ, names only to be met with in the New Testament, and under the Gospel dispensation; or the name of Christians from Christ, Act 11:26, or, as is more commonly received, the name of the sons of God, which the church of converted Jews shall have in the latter day, when the name of "Loammi" is taken off from them, Hos 1:10, and to this passage there may be an allusion in Rev 2:17. This name is a new name; a renewed one, at the time of regeneration and faith, which was anciently provided in predestination, and bestowed in the covenant of grace; a renowned one, better than that of sons and daughters of the greatest potentates, and attended with various privileges; a wonderful name, an instance of marvellous grace in God, who stood in no need of adopted ones, and to them so unworthy of it; and which is ever new, and will always continue; this blessing of grace is of God, and not of men, and is to be ascribed to the grace of God, Father, Son and Spirit. Kimchi makes this new name to be "Hephzibah", Isa 62:4, not amiss.

Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord,.... The church and her members are glorious in themselves, through the righteousness of Christ put upon them; through the grace of Christ wrought in them; and through the honour they are raised unto, being made kings and priests unto God, all which will be more manifest in the latter day: and they are a glory to the Lord; there is a glory arises to him from their election, redemption, sanctification, and glorification, and from the ascriptions of glory made unto him; and they are regarded by him as a crown is by a prince; as a crown of massy gold, stuck with jewels, is rich and valuable, so are they in the eyes of Christ; they are dear and precious to him; high in his esteem; which he will not suffer to be trampled upon, or to be taken away from him, no more than a prince will suffer his crown to be so used or lost: and these are "in" his "hand" as such, which he holds in his hand, and looks at with pleasure and delight, and which he preserves and keeps safe and secure: or, "by the hand of the Lord" ^f; and then the sense is, that the church and its members should become so glorious, through his hand communicating grace and glory to them, through the operations of his hand, and the wonderful effects of his power on them:

and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God; the same thing expressed in different words, for the further confirmation and illustration of it.

Thou shall no more be termed Forsaken,.... That is, of the Lord her God, as she had seemed to be to others, and thought to be so by herself, Isa 49:14, not having so much of his gracious presence as is desirable; sensible communion with him being withheld; the word and ordinances not owned and blessed, or very little; and few souls converted; and the interest of Christ, labouring under many difficulties and discouragements, under the reproaches and persecutions of men, and so looked as if forsaken of God; but in the latter day all these complaints shall be removed; and the presence of God will be very manifest in his churches, and among his people; and they will appear to be his care and charge; see Isa 60:15,

neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate; as the Gentile world was before the preaching of the Gospel in it; and as the land of Israel now is, and the Jewish people are, having rejected the Messiah, and continuing in impenitence and unbelief; and as the church of Christ is, when the word and ordinances are neglected, or little success attends them; but now more shall be the children of the desolate than of the married wife; many souls shall be born again in Zion, and many sons and daughters brought there, and brought up there, and therefore shall not be called desolate, Isa 49:19,

but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah; the former of these was the name of Hezekiah's mother, 2Ki 21:1 and a fit name for the church of Christ, who is pleasant to him for delights, Son 7:6 and the latter well agrees with her being married to Christ. The meaning of these names is explained in the next clause; or the reason of their being given:

for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land is married; the former explains "Hephzibah", which signifies "my delight is in her"; Christ delighted in his church from everlasting, as they were the objects of his own and his Father's love; as chosen in him, and given to him as his spouse and bride, Pro 8:31 and he delights in them in time, as clothed with his righteousness, washed in his blood, and adorned with the graces of his Spirit; he delights in their company, to hear their voice, and see their countenance; they are the excellent in the earth, in whom is all his delight, Psa 16:2, and he will delight in them hereafter, in the spiritual reign, when he will glorify and beautify them, and make them an eternal excellency, Isa 60:7, and in the personal reign, when they shall be as a bride adorned for her husband, and his tabernacle shall be among them, and he will reign with them, and they with him; during which time he will be presenting them to himself, and delighting in them, as a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, Rev 21:2 and in heaven to all eternity. The latter clause explains "Beulah", which signifies "married", as the church secretly was to Christ from all eternity; in the latter day the espousals of her to him will be more open and manifest; then the marriage of the Lamb will be come, and it will more clearly appear that she is in such a state, by the numerous converts in her, or sons and daughters that will be born in her to Christ, both of Jews and Gentiles, Rev 19:7.

For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee,.... As a young man, having married a virgin, possesses and enjoys her, and lives and dwells with her in great harmony and love, having a delight and complacency in her, there being a suitableness in her person and age; so those that are born in Zion, and brought up there, have communion with the church, and enjoy the ordinances of it; dwell and continue with her, and delight in her fellowship, ways, and worship; and have their hearts knit in love to her, professing the same faith, joining in the same worship, and walking with her in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. So the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions render it ^g, "as a young man dwells with a virgin, so thy sons shall dwell in thee"; as does the Targum in like manner; and so Jarchi interprets it; for it seems exceeding disagreeable for sons to marry their mother; nor can there be an allusion to such an incestuous practice; rather it should be rendered, "as a young man hath a virgin, thy sons shall have thee" ^h; have union to and communion with the church, and share in all the pleasures, privileges, and immunities of it:

and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee; Christ is the Lord God of his church and people; Immanuel, God with us; and he stands in the relation of a bridegroom to them, and they in the relation of a bride to him; and as such he rejoices over them with exceeding great joy, and that to do them good; so he rejoiced over them from all eternity, when first betrothed to him; and so he does in time, in redemption: this was the joy set before him, which animated him to bear the cross, and despise the shame of it; namely, that those would be redeemed, and saved by him, and brought to glory; he rejoices at the conversion of them, and will present them to himself with joy in the spiritual and personal reign, and to his Father at the last day; and particularly, what is meant here, there will be such a profusion of blessings on the church in the latter day, as will abundantly show the joy of Christ in his people.

I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem,.... Not angels, as Jarchi; nor kings, as Kimchi; nor princes and civil magistrates, as others; nor the mourners in Zion, as Aben Ezra; but ministers of the Gospel; as the prophets of the Old Testament are called watch men, Isa 21:11, so ministers of the New, Isa 52:8 who are to watch in all things over themselves, and for the souls of men; for their good, and to guard them against that which is evil, pernicious, and dangerous, both in principle and practice, 2Ti 4:5. The allusion is to watchmen on the walls of cities, whose business is to keep their place and stand, and not move from it; to look out diligently, and descry an enemy, or any approaching danger, and give notice of it; and to defend the outworks of the city, and repel the enemy; all which requires courage, constancy, vigilance, and sobriety. The church is a city, and a walled one; God himself is a wall about her; salvation by Christ is as walls and bulwarks to her; and ministers of the Gospel are set for the defence of her: this is an ordinance and appointment of God; these watchmen are not of men's setting, nor do they take this office to themselves; but are placed in it by the Lord, who makes them able ministers, qualifies them for watchmen, and enables them to perform their work; and which is an instance of the love of God to his church, and of his care of it:

which shall never hold their peace day nor night; as the living creatures in Rev 4:8, which are an emblem of Gospel ministers; who are always to be employed, and to be continually praying or preaching; the two principal branches of their ministry, Act 6:4, they are not to be silent, but either praying in private or in public for direction and assistance in their meditations; for supply of the gifts and graces of the Spirit in their ministration, and for success in their work; and that all blessings of grace might descend on those to whom they minister: or else preaching the Gospel; being constant in season, and out of season; frequently inculcating the doctrines of Christ; constantly affirming these things; ever informing, instructing, and exhorting the people. It was Austin's wish that death might find him either praying or preaching:

ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence; some take this to be an address to the same persons; and they may be described as such that make mention of the Lord in their ministrations; of the grace and love of God the Father; of the person, office, and grace of Christ; and of the operations of the Spirit: or, "as the remembrancers of the Lord" ⁱ, as it may be rendered; that put men in mind of the Lord; of what he has done for them, and is unto them; of the doctrines of the Gospel respecting him, and of their duty to him, and to one another, and to all men; and who put the Lord in mind of his promises to his people, and prophecies concerning them, to fulfil them: but I rather think another set of men are meant, even members of churches, as distinct from ministers; who make mention of the Lord to one another, in private conference with each other; of his gracious dealings with them, and favours bestowed upon them; and who make mention of him in their prayers to him, and praises of him; and who should not keep silence, but pray without ceasing, even always, and not faint, Luk 18:1.

And give him no rest,.... Not let him alone, as he desired that Moses would, but wrestle with him as Jacob did, and not let him go without the blessing; be importunate with him, as the widow with the unjust judge; and be incessant in prayer:

until he establish; his church; which, though founded by him, and built upon the sure foundation of his laying, upon a rock, against which the gates of hell cannot prevail; yet, as to its outward state, is sometimes fluctuating and unstable; it is not always in the same place, nor in the same circumstances; but in the latter day it will be established on the top of the mountains, and will be a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; which is the Lord's work to do, and which he has promised; and therefore may be prayed for in faith, nor should saints cease praying till it is done, Isa 2:2,

and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth; matter of praise; till the church and its members become famous in the world, and shall be praised by men, and God shall be praised for their sakes; for the purity of Gospel doctrines and ordinances; for unity in worship; for cordial love and affection to each other; for holiness of life and conversation; for number, and for figure, converts numerous, and many of these great personages; when what is now to its discredit and dispraise will be removed; all false doctrine, or mixtures of it the many sects and parties which go by the Christian name; the sad divisions and animosities among them; the impure lives of many professors; the small number of real Christians; their meanness and poverty.

The Lord hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength,.... By Christ, say some, who is the arm of the Lord, the power of God, by whom he made the world, and upholds all things; but though he sometimes is said to swear unto him, and concerning him, yet is never said to swear by him; rather the attribute of omnipotence is here designed; as God is sometimes said to swear by his holiness, so here by his almighty power; the consideration of which itself is a great encouragement to faith, to believe the fulfilment of promises, because God is able; but his swearing by it is a further confirmation of it; it is as if he had said, let me not be thought to be the omnipotent God I am, if I do not do so and so; or as sure as I have such a right hand, and arm of strength, what follows shall certainly be accomplished:

surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons of the strangers shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured: this was threatened to the people of Israel, in case of sinning against God, and revolting from him; and was accomplished in the times of their captivity in Babylon, Deu 28:33 but here it is promised, and the strongest assurance given, it should be so no more; which cannot respect the deliverance of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity; for it is certain that after that their enemies did eat their corn, and drink their wine; the Romans came and took away their city and nation, as they feared, and all their good things; wherefore this must refer to future times, to times yet to come, when this people, being converted, shall be restored to their own land, and enjoy great plenty of good things, and never more be disturbed by their enemies: though all this may be understood in a spiritual sense of the "corn" and "wine" of the Gospel, and the ministration of it; which was first provided for them, and they were invited to partake of it; and in preparing which the apostles and first ministers of the word, being Jews, "laboured"; but they rejecting it, it was carried to the Gentiles, who had been their "enemies", and were "aliens" from the commonwealth of Israel, which they gladly received and fed upon; but now it is promised, that the Gospel, being again brought unto them, should no more be taken from them, but ever continue with them; even all the means of grace, and ordinances of the Gospel, for the comfort and refreshment of their souls.

But they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the Lord,.... That is, the corn; they who have manured the land, sowed seed in it, reaped it when ripe, gathered it in its season; these shall eat the fruit of their labours, and praise the Lord for it, acknowledge his bounty and goodness to them; for notwithstanding all the diligence, industry, and labour of men, it is through the blessing of the Lord, and owing to his favour, that they have bread, and a sufficiency of it, to eat; which when they have, they should be thankful for it, Deu 8:10.

and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness: that is, the wine they shall drink; having planted vineyards, and gathered the grapes when ripe, and brought them to the winepress, and there made wine of them; they shall drink it at a proper time and place: the allusion is to the priests and Levites eating and drinking holy things, within the compass and bounds of the temple; and may signify the converted Jews, partaking of the Gospel and Gospel ordinances in the house of God, as well as the Gentiles, being all now made priests unto God. The Arabic version interprets it of persons "gathered", that should eat and drink. The Targum is express, they that gather the corn in, and they that press the wine.

Go through, go through the gates,.... Open them, and keep them open for persons to enter in; meaning not the gates of Jerusalem, which those in it should open for the reception of the Jews returning from Babylon, though there may be an allusion to it; but the gates of the church in the latter day, which shall stand open night and day, that converts, who shall flock unto it, may enter in thereat, whether Jews or Gentiles; see Isa 26:1,

prepare you the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; for the people of the Jews, or the Gentiles, by the destruction of the eastern and western antichrist, and by the preaching of the Gospel; by which means way will be made for the kings of the east, and for the eastern kingdoms being converted, and becoming the kingdoms of our Lord, and his Christ; see Rev 16:12,

gather out the stones; all things that offend, that are a stumblingblock to Jews, Pagans, and Mahometans, and hinder them embracing the Christian religion; as errors, heresies, schisms, false doctrines, false worship, idolatry, and superstition. Jarchi thinks there is a respect to the corruption of nature; and so the Targum interprets it, the thought of the evil imagination, which is as a stone: or, "pitch" or "strow it with stones" ^k; that is, the highway; pave it with them, because of the clay, that so it may be a good way for passengers:

lift up a standard for the people; that they may know where to come or go; this is to be understood of the preaching of the Gospel, and of lifting up Christ as a standard or ensign in it, to whom the people might be directed, invited, and encouraged to come; see Isa 11:10. The Targum is,

"the prophet said, pass by, and return through the gates; turn the heart of the people to the right way; publish good things and comforts to the righteous, who remove the thought of the evil imagination, which was as a stone of stumbling; lift up a sign to the people.''

Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world,.... This is not to be interpreted of the proclamation by Cyrus, giving liberty to the people of the Jews to return to their own land, for that did not reach to the end of the world; but of the proclamation of the Gospel, which, as when first published, the sound of it went into all the earth, and the words of it to the ends of the world, Rom 10:18. So it will be in the latter day, when it shall be preached to all nations, from one end of the world to the other, Rev 14:6,

Say ye to the daughter of Zion, behold, thy salvation cometh; or "thy Saviour" ^l, or "thy Redeemer", as the Targum, Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions; and which is to be understood not of his first coming, or of his incarnation, though that is sometimes foretold in much such language, Zec 9:9 and the same things are said of him with respect to that, as follows: "behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him"; See Gill on Isa 40:10, but of his spiritual coming, of which notice is given to the church, the congregation of Zion, as the Targum renders it: who will come in a spiritual manner, and do a great work in the world; destroy antichrist; convert Jews and Gentiles; take to himself his great power and reign; and give a reward to his servants the prophets, his saints, and them that fear his name, 2Th 2:8. The Targum is,

"behold, a reward to them that do his word is with him, and all their works are manifest before him.''

The word behold is three times used in this verse, to raise attention to what is said, and as pointing out something wonderful, and to express the certainty of it.

And they shall call them the holy people,.... For whom the way is prepared, to whom the standard is lifted up, and the proclamation made, and who upon it are gathered in to Christ the Saviour, and to the church: these shall be called, by men that know them, have a spirit of discerning, and are capable of judging, "the holy people"; a people separated and set apart for God, for his service and glory; chosen to be a special people, above all the people of the earth; chosen through sanctification of the Spirit, and to holiness here and hereafter, and so sanctified by God the Father, as in Jud 1:1, and in consequence of it are made holy by the Spirit of God, in the effectual calling; they are not holy by nature, nor by their own power, but by the grace of God, who calls them with a holy calling, and to holiness, and implants principles of grace and holiness in them, so that they are truly and really so. This character respects the church and its members in the latter day, when everyone that remains in Jerusalem, and every pot and vessel there, shall be holiness to the Lord; yea, that shall be upon the bells of the horses, Isa 4:3,

the redeemed of the Lord; which character includes the blessing of redemption, from whence the denomination is, which is a blessing of a spiritual nature; the redemption of the soul from sin, Satan, the law, its curse, and condemnation, and from all enemies; a blessing early in the heart of God; contrived by his infinite wisdom; secured in the covenant of grace; wrought out by Christ; is a plenteous one, containing various blessings of grace in it, and, in its effects and consequences, of an eternal duration: this character is also expressive of Christ, as the author of the above blessing: these are not redeemed by themselves, nor by their friends, nor by men, nor by angels, but by the Lord; who, as man, is the near kinsman of his people, and has the right to redeem; as God, he is mighty and able to redeem them; and who by his precious blood has obtained redemption for them; so that he has a property in them, which is asserted in this character; they are not their own, nor any other's but his, a peculiar people, redeemed from among men, the special favourites of heaven; and who, in consequence of it, are called, and kept, and saved with an everlasting salvation:

and thou shalt be called, Sought out; thou, daughter of Zion; or the church of God, consisting of elect, redeemed, and called ones; such as are sought out of the ruins of the fall, among the men of the world, and dust of the earth; found in a very miserable condition, usually by means of the Gospel, and by Christ, who knows them well, where are, and what the time of finding them, and can by name, and does; all which is the fruit and effect of his love unto them; though this character may chiefly respect the notice that will be taken of the church in the latter day; whereas she has been Zion, whom no man seeks after, Jer 30:17, now she shall be sought and flocked unto by all nations, and by great personages, even by the kings and princes of the earth, Isa 2:2.

A city not forsaken; the city of the living God, of which saints are fellow citizens, consisting of many persons, in good and flourishing circumstances, and which shall not be forsaken of men, as it has been, Isa 60:15, but shall be filled with converts, both Jews and Gentiles; nor forsaken of God, but shall enjoy his gracious presence, and sensible communion with him in his ordinances; nor shall any of its true members be forsaken, or the work of grace in them; they shall none of them perish, but have everlasting life; so that here is a cluster of glorious doctrines, in their order and connection one with another: election in the first character; redemption in the second; effectual calling in the third; and final perseverance in the last.

¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

² tn Heb “goes forth like brightness.”

¹ tn Heb “which the mouth of the Lord will designate.”

¹ tn Or “for”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “but.”

² tn Hebrew חֶפְצִי־בָהּ (kheftsi-vah), traditionally transliterated “Hephzibah” (so KJV, ASV, NIV).

³ tn Hebrew בְּעוּלָה (bÿ’ulah), traditionally transliterated “Beulah” (so KJV, ASV, NIV).

⁴ tn That is, the land will be restored to the Lord’s favor and once again enjoy his blessing and protection. To indicate the land’s relationship to the Lord, the words “to him” have been supplied at the end of the clause.

¹ tc The Hebrew text has “your sons,” but this produces an odd metaphor and is somewhat incongruous with the parallelism. In the context (v. 4b, see also 54:5-7) the Lord is the one who “marries” Zion. Therefore several prefer to emend “your sons” to בֹּנָיִךְ (bonayikh, “your builder”; e.g., NRSV). In Ps 147:2 the Lord is called the “builder of Jerusalem.” However, this emendation is not the best option for at least four reasons. First, although the Lord is never called the “builder” of Jerusalem in Isaiah, the idea of Zion’s children possessing the land does occur (Isa 49:20; 54:3; cf. also 14:1; 60:21). Secondly, all the ancient versions support the MT reading. Thirdly, although the verb בָּעַל (ba’al) can mean “to marry,” its basic idea is “to possess.” Consequently, the verb stresses a relationship more than a state. All the ancient versions render this verb “to dwell in” or “to dwell with.” The point is not just that the land will be reinhabited, but that it will be in a relationship of “belonging” to the Israelites. Hence a relational verb like בָּעַל is used (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:581). Finally, “sons” is a well-known metaphor for “inhabitants” (J. de Waard, Isaiah, 208).

¹ sn The speaker here is probably the prophet.

² tn Heb “all day and all night continually they do not keep silent.” The following lines suggest that they pray for the Lord’s intervention and restoration of the city.

³ tn Or “invoke”; NIV “call on”; NASB, NRSV “remind.”

¹ tn “Jerusalem” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons; note the following line.

² tn Heb “[the object of] praise.”

¹ tn The Lord’s right hand and strong arm here symbolize his power and remind the audience that his might guarantees the fulfillment of the following promise.

¹ tn Heb “it,” the grain mentioned in v. 8a.

² tn Heb “and those who gather it will drink it.” The masculine singular pronominal suffixes attached to “gather” and “drink” refer back to the masculine noun תִּירוֹשׁ (tirosh, “wine”) in v. 8b.

¹ tn Heb “to the end of the earth” (so NASB, NRSV).

² sn As v. 12 indicates, the returning exiles are the Lord’s reward/prize. See also 40:10 and the note there.

¹ tn Or “the redeemed of the Lord” (KJV, NAB).

For Zion's sake I will not ^{( a )} hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until its righteousness shall go forth as ^{( b )} brightness, and its salvation as a lamp [that] burneth.

^{( a )} The prophet says that he will never cease to declare to the people the good tidings of their deliverance.

^{( b )} Till they have full deliverance: and this the prophet speaks to encourage all other ministers to the setting forth of God's mercies toward his Church.

And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by ^{( c )} a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.

^{( c )} You will have a more excellent fame than you have had till now.

Thou shalt also be a ^{( d )} crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.

^{( d )} He will value you as dear and precious as a king does his crown.

Thou shalt no more be termed ^{( e )} Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be ^{( f )} married.

^{( e )} You will no longer be contemned as a woman forsaken by her husband.

^{( f )} That it may be replenished with children.

For [as] a young man marrieth a virgin, [so] shall thy sons ^{( g )} marry thee: and [as] the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, [so] shall thy God rejoice over thee.

^{( g )} As they confess one faith and religion with you, they are in the same bond of marriage with you, and they are called the children of the Church, as Christ makes her plentiful to bring forth children to him.

I have set ^{( h )} watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, [which] shall never hold their peace day nor night: ^{( i )} ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence,

^{( h )} Prophets, pastors and ministers.

^{( i )} He exhorts the ministers never to cease to call on God by prayer for the deliverance of his Church and to teach others to do the same.

And give him no rest, till he shall establish, and till he shall make Jerusalem a ^{( k )} praise in the earth.

^{( k )} For the restoration of which all the world will praise him.

^{( l )} Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people.

^{( l )} Signifying the great number that would come to the Church, and what means he would prepare for the restitution of the same, as in (Isa 57:14).

Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed to the end of the world, ^{( m )} Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward [is] with him, and ^{( n )} his work before him.

^{( m )} You prophets and ministers show the people of this their deliverance: which was chiefly meant of our salvation by Christ, (Zec 9:9; Mat 21:5).

^{( n )} He will have all power to bring his purpose to pass, as in (Isa 40:10).

And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A ^{( o )} city not forsaken.

^{( o )} That is, one over whom God has had a singular care to recover her when she was lost.

The Heavenly Workers And The Earthly Watchers

For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give Him no rest. --Isaiah 62:1, 6, 7.

Two remarks of an expository nature will prepare the way for the consideration of these words. The first is that the speaker is the personal Messiah. The second half of Isaiah's prophecies forms one great whole, which might be called The Book of the Servant of the Lord. One majestic figure stands forth on its pages with ever-growing clearness of outline and form. The language in which He is described fluctuates at first between the collective Israel and the one Person who is to be all that the nation had failed to attain. But even near the beginning of the prophecy we read of My servant whom I uphold,' whose voice is to be low and soft, and whose meek persistence is not to fail till He have set judgment in the earth.' And as we advance the reference to the nation becomes less and less possible, and the recognition of the person more and more imperative. At first the music of the prophetic song seems to move uncertainly amid sweet sounds, from which the true theme by degrees emerges, and thenceforward recurs over and over again with deeper, louder harmonies clustering about it, till it swells into the grandeur of the choral close.

In the chapter before our text we read, The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek.' Throughout the remainder of the prophecy, with the exception of one section which contains the prayer of the desolate Israel, this same person continues to speak; and who he is was taught in the synagogue of Nazareth. Whilst the preceding chapter, then, brings in Christ as proclaiming the great work of deliverance for which He is anointed of God, the following chapter presents Him as treading the wine-press alone,' which is a symbol of the future judgment by the glorified Saviour. Between these two prophecies of the earthly life and of the still future judicial energy, this chapter of our text lies, referring, as I take it, to the period between these two--that is, to all the ages of the Church's development on earth. For these Christ here promises His continual activity, and His continual bestowment of grace to His servants who watch the walls of His Jerusalem.

The second point to be noticed is the remarkable parallelism in the expressions selected as the text: I will not hold My peace'; the watchmen' shall never hold their peace.' And His command to them is literally, Ye that remind Jehovah--no rest (or silence)to you, and give not rest to Him.'

So we have here Christ, the Church, and God all represented as unceasingly occupied in the one great work of establishing Zion as the centre of light, salvation, and righteousness for the whole world. The consideration of these three perpetual activities may open for us some great truths and stimulating lessons.

I. First, then, The glorified Christ is constantly working for His Church.

We are too apt to regard our Lord's real work as all lying in the past, and, from the very greatness of our estimate of what He has done, to forget the true importance of what He evermore does. Christ that died' is the central object of trust and contemplation for devout souls--and that often to the partial hiding of Christ that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.' But Scripture sets forth the present glorious life of our ascended Lord under two contrasted and harmonious aspects--as being rest, and as being continuous activity in the midst of rest. He was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.' In that session on the throne manifold and mighty truths are expressed. It proclaims the full accomplishment of all the purposes of His earthly ministry; it emphasises the triumphant completion of His redeeming work by His death; it proclaims the majesty of His nature, which returns to the glory which He had with the Father before the world was'; it shows to the world, as on some coronation day, its King on His throne, girded with power and holding the far-reaching sceptre of the universe; it prophesies for men, in spite of all present sin and degradation, a share in the dominion which manhood has in Christ attained, for though we see not yet all things put under Him, we see Jesus crowned with glory and honour. It prophesies, too, His final victory over all that sets itself in unavailing antagonism to His love. It points us backward to an historical fact as the basis of all our hopes for ourselves and for our fellows, giving us the assurance that the world's deliverance will come from the slow operation of the forces already lodged in its history by Christ's finished work. It points us forwards to a future as the goal of all these hopes, giving us that confidence of victory which He has who, having kindled the fire on earth, henceforward sits at God's right hand, waiting in the calm and sublime patience of conscious omnipotence and clear foreknowledge until His enemies become His footstool.'

But whilst on the one side Christ rests as from a perfected work which needs no addition nor repetition, on the other He rests not day nor night.' And this aspect of His present state is as distinctly set forth in Scripture as that is. Indeed the words already quoted as embodying the former phase contain the latter also. For is not the right hand of God' the operative energy of the divine nature? And is not sitting at the right hand of God' equivalent to possessing and wielding that unwearied, measureless power? Are there not blended together in this pregnant phrase the ideas of profoundest calm and of intensest action, that being expressed by the attitude, and this by the locality? Therefore does the evangelist who uses the expression expand it into words which wonderfully close his gospel, with the same representation of Christ's swift and constant activity as he had been all along pointing out as characterising His life on earth. They went forth,' says he, and preached everywhere '--so far the contrast between the Lord seated in the heavens and His wandering servants fighting on earth is sharp and almost harsh. But the next words tone it down, and weave the two apparently discordant halves of the picture into a whole: the Lord working with them.' Yes! in all His rest He is full of work, in all their toils He shares, in all their journeys His presence goes beside them. Whatever they do is His deed, and the help that is done upon the earth He doeth it all Himself.

Is not this blessed conviction of Christ's continuous operation in and for His Church that which underlies, as has often been pointed out, the language of the introduction to the Acts of the Apostles, where mention is made of the former treatise that told' all which Jesus began both to do and teach ? The gospel records the beginning, the Book of the Acts the continuance; it is one biography in two volumes. Being yet present with them He spoke and acted. Being exalted He speaketh from heaven,' and from the throne carries on the endless series of His works of power and healing. The whole history is shaped by the same conviction. Everywhere the Lord is the true actor, the source of all the life which is in the Church, the arranger of all the providences which affect its progress. The Lord adds to the Church daily. His name works miracles. To the Lord believers are added. His angel, His Spirit, bring messages to His servants. He appears to Paul, and speaks to Ananias. The Gentiles turn to the Lord because the hand of the Lord is with the preachers. The Lord calls Paul to carry the gospel to Macedonia. The Lord opens the heart of Lydia, and so throughout. Not the Acts of the Apostles,' but' the Acts of the Lord in and by His servants,' is the accurate title of this book. The vision which flashed angel radiance on the face, and beamed with divine comfort into the heart, of Stephen, was a momentary revelation of an abiding reality, and completes the representation of the Saviour throned beside Almighty power. He beheld his Lord, not seated, as if careless or resting, while His servant's need was so sore, but as if risen with intent to help, and ready to defend--standing on the right hand of God.'

And when once again the heavens opened to the rapt eyes of John in Patmos, the Lord whom he beheld was not only revealed as glorified in the lustre of the inaccessible light, but as actively sustaining and guiding the human reflectors of it. He holdeth the seven stars in His right hand,' and walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks.'

Not otherwise does my text represent the present relation of Christ to His Church. It speaks of a continuous forth-putting of power, which it is, perhaps, not over-fanciful to regard as dimly set forth here in a twofold form--namely, work and word. At all events, that division stands out clearly on the pages of the New Testament, which ever holds forth the double truth of our Lord's constant action on, in, through, and for His Zion, and of our High Priest's constant intercession.

I will not rest.' Through all the ages His power is in exercise. He inspires in good men all their wisdom, and every grace of life and character. He uses them as His weapons in the contest of His love with the world's hatred; but the hand that forged, and tempered, and sharpened the blade is that which smites with it; and the axe must not boast itself against him that heweth. He, the Lord of lords, orders providences, and shapes the course of the world for that Church which is His witness: Yea, He reproved kings for their sake, saying, Touch not Mine anointed, and do My prophets no harm.' The ancient legend which told how, on many a well-fought field, the ranks of Rome discerned through the battle-dust the gleaming weapons and white steeds of the Great Twin Brethren far in front of the solid legions, is true in loftier sense in our Holy War. We may still see the vision which the leader of Israel saw of old, the man with the drawn sword in his hand, and hear the majestic word, As Captain of the Lord's host am I now come.' The Word of God, with vesture dipped in blood, with eyes alit with His flaming love, with the many crowns of unlimited sovereignty upon His head, rides at the head of the armies of heaven; and in righteousness doth He judge and make war.' For the single soul struggling with daily tasks and petty cares, His help is near and real, as for the widest work of the collective whole. He sends none of us tasks in which He has no share. The word of this Master is never Go,' but Come. He unites Himself with all our sorrows, with all our efforts. The Lord also working with them' is a description of all the labours of Christian men, be they great or small.

Nor is this all. There still remains the wonderful truth of His continuous intercession for us. In its widest meaning that word expresses the whole of the manifold ways by which Christ undertakes and maintains our cause. But the narrower signification of prayer on our behalf is applicable, and is in Scripture applied, to our Lord. As on earth, the climax of all His intercourse with His disciples was that deep yet simple prayer which forms the Holy of Holies of John's Gospel, so in heaven His loftiest office for us is set forth under the figure of His intercession. Before the Throne stands the slain Lamb, and therefore do the elders in the outer circle bring acceptable praises. Within the veil stands the Priest, with the names of the tribes blazing on the breastplate and on the shoulders of His robes, near the seat of love, near the arm of power. And whatever difficulty may surround that idea of Christ's priestly intercession, this at all events is implied in it, that the mighty work which He accomplished on earth is ever present to the divine mind as the ground of our acceptance and the channel of our blessings; and this further, that the utterance of Christ's will is ever in harmony with the divine purpose. Therefore His prayer has in it a strange tone of majesty, and, if we may so say, of command, as of one who knows that He is ever heard: I will that they whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am.'

The instinct of the Church has, from of old, laid hold of an event in His earthly life to shadow forth this great truth, and has bid us see a pledge and a symbol of it in that scene on the Lake of Galilee: the disciples toiling in the sudden storm, the poor little barque tossing on the waters tinged by the wan moon, the spray dashing over the wearied rowers. They seem alone, but up yonder, in some hidden cleft of the hills, their Master looks down on all the weltering storm, and lifts His voice in prayer. Then when the need is sorest, and the hope least, He comes across the waves, making their surges His pavement, and using all opposition as the means of His approach, and His presence brings calmness, and immediately they are at the land.

So we have not only to look back to the Cross, but up to the Throne. From the Cross we hear a voice, It is finished.' From the Throne a voice, For Zion's sake I will not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest.

II. Christ's servants derive from Him the same object.

Secondly, Christ's servants on earth derive from Him a like perpetual activity for the same object.

The Lord, who in the former portion of these verses declares His own purpose of unwearied action for Zion, associates with Himself in the latter portion the watchmen, whom He appoints and endows for functions in some measure resembling His own, and exercised with constancy derived from Him. I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night.' On the promise follows, as ever, a command (for all divine gifts involve the responsibility of their use, and it is not His wont either to bestow without requiring, or to require before bestowing), Ye that remind Jehovah, keep not silence.'

There is distinctly traceable here a reference to a twofold form of occupation devolving on these Christ-sent servants. They are watchmen, and they are also God's remembrancers. In the one capacity as in the other, their voices are to be always heard. The former metaphor is common in the Old Testament, as a designation of the prophetic office, but, in accordance with the genius of the New Testament, as expressed on Pentecost, when the Spirit was poured out on the lowly as well as on the high, on the young as on the old, and all prophesied, it may be fairly extended to designate not some select few, but the whole mass of Christian people. The watchman's office falls to be done by all who see the coming peril, and have a tongue to echo it forth. The remembrancer's priestly office belongs to every member of Christ's priestly kingdom, the lowest and least of whom has the privilege of unrestrained entry into God's presence-chamber, and the power of blessing the world by faithful prayer. What should we think of a citizen in a beleaguered city, who saw the enemy mounting the very ramparts, and gave no alarm because that was the sentry's business? In such extremity every man is a soldier, and women and children can at least keep watch and raise shrill cries of warning. The gifts, then, here promised, and the duties that flow from them, are not the prerogatives or the tasks of any class or order, but the heritage and the burden of the Lord to every member of His Church.

Our voices should ever be heard on earth. A solemn message is committed to us, by the very fact of our belief in Jesus Christ and His work. With that faith come responsibilities of which no Christian can denude himself. To warn the wicked man to turn from His wickedness; to blow the trumpet when we see the sword coming; to catch ever gleaming on the horizon, like the spears of an army through the dust of the march, the outriders and advance-guard of the coming of Him whose coming is life or death to all, and to lift up our voices with strength and say, Behold your God'; to peal into the ears of men, sunken in earthliness and dreaming of safety, the cry which may startle and save; to ring out in glad tones to all who wearily ask, Watchman, what of the night? will the night soon pass? the answer which the slow dawning east has breathed into our else stony lips, The morning cometh ; to proclaim Christ, who came once to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself, who comes ever, through the ages, to bless and uphold the righteousness which He loves and to destroy the iniquity which He hates, who will come at the last to judge the world--this is the never-ending task of the watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem. The knew Testament calls it preaching,' proclaiming as a herald does. And both metaphors carry one common lesson of the manner in which the work should be done. With clear loud voice, with earnestness and decision, with faithfulness and self-oblivion, forgetting himself in his message, must the herald sound out the will of his King, the largess of his Lord. And the watchman who stands on his watch-tower whole nights, and sees foemen creeping through the gloom, or fire bursting out among the straw-roofed cottages within the walls, shouts with all his might the short, sharp alarm, that wakes the sleepers to whom slumber were death. Let us ponder the pattern.

Our voices should ever be heard in heaven. They who trust God remind Him of His promises by their very faith; it is a mute appeal to His faithful love, which He cannot but answer. And, beyond that, their prayers come up for a memorial before God, and have as real an effect in furthering Christ's kingdom on earth as is exercised by their entreaties and proclamations to men.

How distinctly these words of our text define the region within which our prayers should ever move, and the limits which bound their efficacy! They remind God. Then the truest prayer is that which bases itself on God's uttered will, and the desires which are born of our own fancies or heated enthusiasms have no power with Him. The prayer that prevails is a reflected promise. Our office in prayer is but to receive on our hearts the bright rays of His word, and to flash them back from the polished surface to the heaven from whence they came.

These two forms of action ought to be inseparable. Each, if genuine, will drive us to the other, for who could fling himself into the watchman's work, with all its solemn consequences, knowing how weak his voice was, and how deaf the ears that should hear, unless he could bring God's might to his help? and who could honestly remind God of His promises and forget his own responsibilities? Prayerless work will soon slacken, and never bear fruit; idle prayer is worse than idle. You cannot part them if you would. How much of the busy occupation which is called Christian work' is detected to be spurious by this simple test! How much so-called prayer is reduced by it to mere noise, no better than the blaring trumpet or the hollow drum!

The power for both is derived from Christ. He sets the watchmen; He commands the remembrancers. From Him flows the power, from His good Spirit comes the desire, to proclaim the message. That message is the story of His life and death. But for what He does and is we should have nothing to say; but for His gift we should have no power to say it; but for His influence we should have no will to say it. He commands and fits us to be intercessors, for His mighty work brings us near to God; He opens for us access with confidence to God. He inspires our prayers. He hath made us priests to God.'

And, as the Christian power of discharging these twofold duties is drawn from Christ, so our pattern is His manner of discharging them, and the condition of receiving the power is to abide in Him. He proposes Himself as our Example. He calls us to no labours which He has not Himself shared, nor to any earnestness or continuance in prayer which He has not Himself shown forth. This Master works in front of His men. The farmer that goes first among all the sowers, and heads the line of reapers in the yellowing harvest-field, may well have diligent servants. Our Master went forth, weeping, bearing precious seed,' and has left it in our hands to sow in all furrows. Our Master is the Lord of the harvest, and has borne the heat of the day before His servants. Look at the amount of work, actual hard work, compressed into these three short years of His ministry. Take the records of the words He spake on that last day of His public teaching, and see what unwearied toil they represent. Ponder upon that life till you catch the spirit which breathed through it all, and, like Him, embrace gladly the welcome necessity of labour for God, under the sense of a vocation conferred upon you, and of the short space within which your service must be condensed. I must work the work of Him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.'

Christ asks no romantic impossibilities from us, but He does ask a continuous, systematic discharge of the duties which depend on our relation to the world, and on our relation to Him. Let it be our life's work to show forth His praise; let the very atmosphere in which we move and have our being be prayer. Let two great currents set ever through our days, which two, like the great movements in the ocean of the air, are but the upper and under halves of the one movement--that beneath with constant energy of desire rushing in from the cold poles to be warmed and expanded at the tropics, where the all-moving sun pours his directest rays; that above charged with rich gifts from the Lord of light, glowing with heat drawn from Him, and made diffusive by His touch, spreading itself out beneficent and life-bringing into all colder lands, swathing the world in soft, warm folds, and turning the polar ice into sweet waters.

In the tabernacle of Israel stood two great emblems of the functions of God's people, which embodied these two sides of the Christian life. Day by day, there ascended from the altar of incense the sweet odour, which symbolised the fragrance of prayer as it wreathes itself upwards to the heavens. Night by night, as darkness fell on the desert and the camp, there shone through the gloom the hospitable light of the great golden candlestick with its seven lamps, whose steady rays out burned the stars that paled with the morning. Side by side they proclaimed to Israel its destiny to be the light of the world, to be a kingdom of priests.

The offices and the honour have passed over to us, and we shall fall beneath our obligations unless we let our light shine constantly before men, and let our voice rise like a fountain night and day before God--even as He did who, when every man went to his own house, went alone to the Mount of Olives, and in the morning, when every man returned to his daily task, went into the Temple and taught. By His example, by His gifts, by the motive of His love, our resting, working Lord says to each of us, Ye that remind God, keep not silence.' Let us answer, For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest.'

III. Christ will secure the constant operation of God's power.

Finally, The constant activity of the servants of Christ will secure the constant operation of God's power.

Give Him no rest : let there be no cessation to Him. These are bold words, which many people would not have been slow to rebuke if they had been anywhere else than in the Bible. Those who remind God are not to suffer Him to be still. The prophet believes that they can regulate the flow of divine energy, can stir up the strength of the Lord.

It is easy to puzzle ourselves with insoluble questions about the co-operation of God's power and man's; but practically, is it not true that God reaches His end, of the establishment of Zion, through the Church? He has not barely willed that the world should be saved, nor barely that it should be saved through Christ, nor barely that it should be saved through the knowledge of Christ; but His will is that the world shall be saved, by faith in the person and work of Christ, proclaimed as a gospel by men who believe it. And, as a matter of fact, is it not true that the energy with which God's power in the gospel manifests itself depends on the zeal and activity and prayerfulness of the Church? The great reservoir is always full--full to the brim; however much may be drawn from it, the water sinks not a hairsbreadth; but the bore of the pipe and the power of the pumping-engine determine the rate at which the stream flows from it. He could there do no mighty works because of their unbelief.' The obstruction of indifference dammed back the water of life. The city perishes for thirst if the long line of aqueduct that strides across the plain towards the home of the mountain torrents be ruinous, broken down, choked with rubbish.

God is always the same, equally near, equally strong, equally gracious. But our possession of His grace, and the impartation of His grace through us to others, vary, because our faith, our earnestness, our desires, vary. True, these no doubt are also His gifts and His working, and nothing that we say now touches in the least on the great truth that God is the sole originator of all good in man; but while believing that, as no less sure in itself than blessed in its message of confidence and consolation to us, we also have to remember, If any man open the door, I will come in to him.' We may have as much of God as we want, as much as we can hold, far more than we deserve. And if ever the victorious power of His Church seems to be almost paling to defeat, and His servants to be working no deliverance upon the earth, the cause is not to be found in Him who is without variableness,' nor in His gifts, which are without repentance,' but solely in us, who let go our hold of the Eternal Might. No ebb withdraws the waters of that great ocean; and if sometimes there be sand and ooze where once the flashing flood brought life and motion, it is because careless warders have shut the sea-gates.

An awful responsibility lies on us. We can resist and refuse, or we can open our hearts and draw into ourselves His strength. We can bring into operation those energies which act through faithful men faithfully proclaiming the faithful saying; or we can limit the Holy One of Israel. Why could not we cast him out?' Because of your unbelief.'

With what grand confidence, then, may the weakest of us go to his task. We have a right to feel that in all our labour God works with us; that, in all our words for Him, it is not we that speak, but the Spirit of our Father that speaks in us; that if humbly and prayerfully, with self-distrust and resolute effort to crucify our own intrusive individuality, we wait for Him to enshrine Himself within us, strength will come to us, drawn from the deep fountains of God, and we too shall be able to say, Not I, but the grace of God in me.'

How this sublime confidence should tell on our characters, destroying all self-confidence, repressing all pride, calming all impatience, brightening all despondency, and ever stirring us anew to deeds worthy of the exceeding greatness of the power which worketh in us '--I can only suggest.

On all sides motives for strenuous toil press in upon us, chiefly those great examples which we have now been contemplating. But, besides these, there are other forms of activity which may point the same lesson. Look at the energy around us. We live in a busy time. Life goes swiftly in all regions. Men seem to be burning away faster than ever before, in an atmosphere of pure oxygen. Do we work as hard for God as the world does for itself? Look at the energy beneath us: how evil in every form is active; how lies and half-truths propagate themselves quick as the blight on a rose-tree; how profligacy, and crime, and all the devil's angels are busy on his errands. If we are sitting drowsy by our campfires, the enemy is on the alert. You can hear the tramp of their legions and the rumble of their artillery through the night as they march to their posts on the field. It is no time for God's sentinels to nod. If they sleep, the adversary does not, but glides in the congenial darkness, sowing his baleful tares. Do we work as hard for God as the emissaries of evil do for their master? Look at the energy above us. On the throne of the universe is the immortal Power who slumbereth not nor sleepeth. Before the altar of the heavens is the Priest of the world, the Lord of His Church, who ever liveth to make intercession for us.' Round Him stand perfected spirits, the watchmen on the walls of the New Jerusalem, who rest not day and night, saying, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty.' From His presence come, filling the air with the rustle of their swift wings and the light of their flame-faces, the ministering spirits who evermore' do His commandments, hearkening to the voice of His word.' And we, Christian brethren, where are we in all this magnificent concurrence of activity, for purposes which ought to be dear to our hearts as they are to the heart of God? Do we work for Him as He and all that are with Him do? Is His will done by us on earth, as it is heaven?

Alas! alas! have we not all been like those three apostles whose eyes were heavy with sleep even while the Lord was wrestling with the tempter under the gnarled olives in the pale moonlight of Gethsemane? Let us arouse ourselves from our sloth. Let us lift up our cry to God: Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord, as in the ancient days in the generations of old'; and the answer shall sound from the heavens to us as it did to the prophet, an echo of his prayer turned into a command, Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion.

The Son of God here assures his church of his unfailing love, and his pleading for her under all trails and difficulties. She shall be called by a new name, a pleasant name, such as she was never called by before. The state of true religion in the world, before the preaching of the gospel, no man seemed to have any real concern for. God, by his grace, has wrought that in his church, which makes her his delight. Let us thence learn motives to holiness. If the Lord rejoices over us, we should rejoice in his service.

God's professing people must be a praying people. He is not displeased with us for being earnest, as men commonly are; he bids us to cry after him, and give him no rest, Luk 11:5, Luk 11:6. It is a sign that God is coming to a people in mercy, when he pours out a spirit of prayer upon them. See how uncertain our creature-comforts are. See also God's mercy in giving plenty, and peace to enjoy it. Let us delight in attending the courts of the Lord, that we may enjoy the consolations of his Spirit.

Way shall be made for Christ's salvation; all difficulties shall be removed. He brings a reward of comfort and peace with him; but a work of humiliation and reformation before him; and they shall be called, The holy people, and, The redeemed of the Lord. Holiness puts honour and beauty upon any place or person, makes them admired, beloved, and sought after. Many events may have been part fulfilments of this, as earnests of more glorious times yet to come. The close connexion between the blessedness of the Jews and of the Gentiles, runs through the Scriptures. The Lord Jesus will complete his work, and he never will forsake one whom he has redeemed and sanctified.

The prophet here tells us,

I. What he will do for the church. A prophet, as he is a seer, so he is a spokesman. This prophet resolves to perform that office faithfully, Isa 62:1. He will not hold his peace; he will not rest; he will mind his business, will take pains, and never desire to take his ease; and herein he was a type of Christ, who was indefatigable in executing the office of a prophet and made it his meat and drink till he had finished his work. Observe here, 1. What the prophet's resolution is: He will not hold his peace. He will continue instant in preaching, will not only faithfully deliver, but frequently repeat, the messages he has received from the Lord. If people receive not the precepts and promises at first, he will inculcate them and give them line upon line. And he will continue instant in prayer; he will never hold his peace at the throne of grace till he has prevailed with God for the mercies promised; he will give himself to prayer and to the ministry of the word, as Christ's ministers must (Act 6:4), who must labour frequently in both and never be weary of this well-doing. The business of ministers is to speak from God to his people and to God for his people; and in neither of these must they be silent. 2. What is the principle of this resolution - for Zion's sake, and for Jerusalem's, not for the sake of any private interest of his own, but for the church's sake, because he has an affection and concern for Zion, and it lies near his heart. Whatever becomes of his own house and family, he desires to see the good of Jerusalem and resolves to seek it all the days of his life, Psa 122:8, Psa 122:9; Psa 118:5. It is God's Zion and his Jerusalem, and it is therefore dear to him, because it is so to God and because God's glory is interested in its prosperity. 3. How long he resolves to continue this importunity - till the promise of the church's righteousness and salvation, given in the foregoing chapter, be accomplished. Isaiah will not himself live to see the release of the captives out of Babylon, much less the bringing in of the gospel, in which grace reigns through righteousness unto life and salvation; yet he will not hold his peace till these be accomplished, even the utmost of them, because his prophecies will continue speaking of these things, and there shall in every age be a remnant that shall continue to pray for them, as successors to him, till the promises be performed, and so the prayers answered that were grounded upon them. Then the church's righteousness and salvation will go forth as brightness, and as a lamp that burns, so plainly that it will carry its own evidence along with it. It will bring honour and comfort to the church, which will hereupon both look pleasant and appear illustrious; and it will bring instruction and direction to the world, a light not only to the eyes but to the feet, and to the paths of those who before sat in darkness and in the shadow of death.

II. What God will do for the church. The prophet can but pray and preach, but God will confirm the word and answer the prayers. 1. The church shall be greatly admired. When that righteousness which is her salvation, her praise, and her glory, shall be brought forth, the Gentiles shall see it. The tidings of it shall be carried to the Gentiles, and a tender of it made to them; they may so see this righteousness as to share in it if it be not their own fault. "Even kings shall see and be in love with the glory of thy righteousness "(Isa 62:2), shall overlook the glory of their own courts and kingdoms, and look at, and look after, the spiritual glory of the church as that which excels. 2. She shall be truly admirable. Great names make men considerable in the world, and great respect is paid them thereupon; now it is agreed that honor est in honorante - honour derives its value from the dignity of him who confers it. God is the fountain of honour and from him the church's honour comes: " Thou shalt be called by a new name, a pleasant name, such as thou wast never called by before, no, not in the day of thy greatest prosperity, and the reverse of that which thou wast called by in the day of thy affliction; thou shalt have a new character, be advanced to a new dignity, and those about thee shall have new thoughts of thee."This seems to be alluded to in that promise (Rev 2:17) of the white stone and in the stone a new name, and that (Rev 3:12) of the name of the city of my God and my new name. It is a name which the mouth of the Lord shall name, who, we are sure, miscalls nothing, and who will oblige others to call her by the name he has given her; for his judgment is according to truth and all shall concur with it sooner or later. Two names God shall give her: - (1.) He shall call her his crown (Isa 62:3): Thou shalt be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, not on his head (as adding any real honour or power to him, as crowns do to those that are crowned with them), but in his hand. He is pleased to account them, and show them forth, as a glory and beauty to him. When he took them to be his people it was that they might be unto him for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory (Jer 13:11): "Thou shalt be a crown of glory and a royal diadem, through the hand, the good hand, of thy God upon thee; he shall make thee so, for he shall be to thee a crown of glory, Isa 28:5. Thou shalt be so in his hand, that is, under his protection; he that shall put glory upon thee shall create a defence upon all that glory, so that the flowers of thy crown shall never wither nor shall its jewels be lost."(2.) He shall call her his spouse, Isa 62:4, Isa 62:5. This is a yet greater honour, especially considering what a forlorn condition she had been in. [1.] Her case had been very melancholy. She was called forsaken and her land desolate during the captivity, like a woman reproachfully divorced or left a disconsolate widow. Such as the state of religion in the world before the preaching of the gospel - it was in a manner forsaken and desolate, a thing that no man looked after nor had any real concern for. [2.] It should now be very pleasant, for God would return in mercy to her. Instead of those two names of reproach, she shall be called by two honourable names. First, She shall be called Hephzi-bah, which signifies, My delight is in her; it was the name of Hezekiah's queen, Manasseh's mother (2Ki 21:1), a proper name for a wife, who ought to be her husband's delight, Pro 5:19. And here it is the church's Maker that is her husband: The Lord delights in thee. God by his grace has wrought that in his church which makes her his delight, she being refined, and reformed, and brought home to him; and then by his providence he does that for her which makes it appear that she is his delight and that he delights to do her good. Secondly, She shall be called Beulah, which signifies married, whereas she had been desolate, a condition opposed to that of the married wife, Isa 54:1. " Thy land shall be married, that is, it shall become fruitful again, and be replenished."Though she has long been barren, she shall again be peopled, shall again be made to keep house and to be a joyful mother of children, Psa 113:9. She shall be married, for, 1. Her sons shall heartily espouse the land of their nativity and its interests, which they had for a long time neglected, as despairing ever to have any comfortable enjoyment of it: Thy sons shall marry thee, that is, they shall live with thee and take delight in thee. When they were in Babylon, they seemed to have espoused that land, for they were appointed to settle, and to seek the peace of it, Jer 29:5-7. But now they shall again marry their own land, as a young man marries a virgin that he takes great delight in, is extremely fond of, and is likely to have many children by. It bodes well to a land when its own natives and inhabitants are pleased with it, prefer it before other lands, when its princes marry their country and resolve to take their lot with it. 2. Her God (which is much better) shall betroth her to himself in righteousness, Hos 2:19, Hos 2:20. He will take pleasure in his church: As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, is pleased with his relation to her and her affection to him, so shall thy God rejoice over thee: he shall rest in his love to thee (Zep 3:17); he shall take pleasure in thee (Psa 147:11), and shall delight to do thee good with his whole heart and his whole soul, Jer 32:41. This is very applicable to the love Christ has for his church and the complacency he takes in it, which appears so brightly in Solomon's Song, and which will be complete in heaven.

Two things are here promised to Jerusalem: -

I. Plenty of the means of grace - abundance of good preaching and good praying (Isa 62:6, Isa 62:7), and this shows the method God takes when he designs mercy for a people; he first brings them to their duty and pours out a spirit of prayer upon them, and then brings salvation to them. Provision is made,

1. That ministers may do their duty as watchmen. It is here spoken of as a token for good, as a step towards further mercy and an earnest of it, that, in order to what he designed for them, he would set watchmen on their walls who should never hold their peace. Note, (1.) Ministers are watchmen on the church's walls, for it is as a city besieged, whose concern it is to have sentinels on the walls, to take notice and give notice of the motions of the enemy. It is necessary that, as watchmen, they be wakeful, and faithful, and willing to endure hardness. (2.) They are concerned to stand upon their guard day and night; they must never be off their watch as long as those for whose souls they watch are not out of danger. (3.) They must never hold their peace; they must take all opportunities to give warning to sinners, in season, out of season, and must never betray the cause of Christ by a treacherous or cowardly silence. They must never hold their peace at the throne of grace; they must pray, and not faint, as Moses lifted up his hands and kept them steady, till Israel had obtained the victory over Amalek, Exo 17:10, Exo 17:12.

2. That people may do their duty. As those that make mention of the Lord, let not them keep silence neither, let not them think it enough that their watchmen pray for them, but let them pray for themselves; all will be little enough to meet the approaching mercy with due solemnity. Note, (1.) It is the character of God's professing people that they make mention of the Lord, and continue to do so even in bad times, when the land is termed forsaken and desolate. They are the Lord's remembrancers (so the margin reads it); they remember the Lord themselves and put one another in mind of him. (2.) God's professing people must be a praying people, must be public-spirited in prayer, must wrestle with God in prayer, and continue to do so: " Keep not silence; never grow remiss in the duty nor weary of it." Give him no rest - alluding to an importunate beggar, to the widow that with her continual coming wearied the judge into a compliance. God said to Moses, Let me alone (Exo 32:10), and Jacob to Christ, I will not let thee go except thou bless me, Gen 32:26. (3.) God is so far from being displeased with our pressing importunity, as men commonly are, that he invites and encourages it; he bids us to cry after him; he is not like those disciples who discouraged a petitioner, Mat 15:23. He bids us make pressing applications at the throne of grace, and give him no rest, Luk 11:5, Luk 11:8. He suffers himself not only to be reasoned with, but to be wrestled with. (4.) The public welfare or prosperity of God's Jerusalem is that which we should be most importunate for at the throne of grace; we should pray for the good of the church. [1.] That it may be safe, that he would establish it, that the interests of the church may be firm, may be settled for the present and secured to posterity. [2.] That it may be great, may be a praise in the earth, that it may be praised, and God may be praised for it. When gospel truths are cleared and vindicated, when gospel ordinances are duly administered in their purity and power, when the church becomes eminent for holiness and love, then Jerusalem is a praise in the earth, then it is in reputation. (5.) We must persevere in our prayers for mercy to the church till the mercy come; we must do as the prophet's servant did, go yet seven times, till the promising cloud appear, 1Ki 18:44. (6.) It is a good sign that God is coming towards a people in ways of mercy when he pours out a spirit of prayer upon them and stirs them up to be fervent and constant in their intercessions.

II. Plenty of all other good things, Isa 62:8. This follows upon the former; when the people praise God, when all the people praise him, then shall the earth yield her increase (Psa 67:5, Psa 67:6), and outward prosperity, crowning its piety, shall help to make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. Observe,

1. The great distress they had been in, and the losses they had sustained. Their corn had been meat for their enemies, which they hoped would be meat for themselves and their families. Here was a double grievance, that they themselves wanted that which was necessary to the support of life and were in danger of perishing for want of it, and that their enemies were strengthened by it, had their camp victualled with it, and so were the better able to do them a mischief. God is said to give their corn to their enemies, because he not only permitted it, but ordered it, to be the just punishment both of their abuse of plenty and of their symbolizing with strangers, Isa 1:7. The wine which they had laboured for, and which in their affliction they needed for the relief of those among them that were of a heavy heart, strangers drank it, to gratify their lusts with; this sore judgment was threatened for their sins, Lev 26:16; Deu 28:33. See how uncertain our creature-comforts are, and how much it is our wisdom to labour for that meat which we can never be robbed of.

2. The great fulness and satisfaction they should now be restored to (Isa 62:9): Those that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the Lord. See here, (1.) God's mercy in giving plenty, and peace to enjoy it, - that the earth yields her increase, that there are hands to be employed in gathering it in, and that they are not taken off by plague and sickness, or otherwise employed in war, - that strangers and enemies do not come and gather it for themselves, or take it from us when we have gathered it, - that we eat the labour of our hands and the bread is not eaten out of our mouths, - and especially that we have opportunity and a heart to honour God with it, and that his courts are open to us and we are not restrained from attending on him in them. (2.) Our duty in the enjoyment of this mercy. We must gather what God gives, with care and industry; we must eat it freely and cheerfully, not bury the gifts of God's bounty, but make use of them. We must, when we have eaten and are full, bless the Lord, and give him thanks for his bounty to us; and we must serve him with our abundance, use it in works of piety and charity, eat it and drink it in the courts of his holiness, where the altar, the priest, and the poor must all have their share. The greatest comfort that a good man has in his meat and drink is that it furnishes him with a meat-offering and a drink-offering for the Lord his God (Joe 2:14); the greatest comfort that he has in an estate is that it gives him an opportunity of honouring God and doing good. This wine is to be drunk in the courts of God's holiness, and therefore moderately and with sobriety, as before the Lord.

3. The solemn ratification of this promise: The Lord has sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, that he will do this for his people. God confirms it by an oath, that his people, who trust in him and his word, may have strong consolation, Heb 6:17, Heb 6:18. And, since he can swear by no greater, he swears by himself, sometimes by his being ( As I live, Eze 33:11), sometimes by his holiness (Psa 89:35), here by his power, his right hand (which was lifted up in swearing, Deu 32:40), and his arm of power; for it is a great satisfaction to those who build their hopes on God's promise to be sure that what he has promised he is able to perform, Rom 4:21. To assure us of this he has sworn by his strength, pawning the reputation of his omnipotence upon it; if he do not do it, let it be said, It was because he could not, which the Egyptians shall never say (Num 14:16) nor any other. It is the comfort of God's people that his power is engaged for them, his right hand, where the Mediator sits.

This, as many like passages before, refers to the deliverance of the Jews out of Babylon, and, under the type and figure of that, to the great redemption wrought out by Jesus Christ, and the proclaiming of gospel grace and liberty through him. 1. Way shall be made for this salvation; all difficulties shall be removed, and whatever might obstruct it shall be taken out of the way, Isa 62:10. The gates of Babylon shall be thrown open, that they may with freedom go through them; the way from Babylon to the land of Israel shall be prepared; causeways shall be made and cast up through wet and miry places, and the stones gathered out from places rough and rocky; in the convenient places appointed for their rendezvous standards shall be set up for their direction and encouragement, that they may embody for their greater safety. Thus John Baptist was sent to prepare the way of the Lord, Mat 3:3. And, before Christ by his graces and comforts comes to any for salvation, preparation is made for him by repentance, which is called the preparation of the gospel of peace, Eph 6:15. Here the way is levelled by it, there the feet are shod with it, which comes all to one, for both are in order to a journey. 2. Notice shall be given of this salvation, Isa 62:11, Isa 62:12. It shall be proclaimed to the captives that they are set at liberty and may go if they please; it shall be proclaimed to their neighbours, to all about them, to the end of the world, that God has pleaded Zion's just, injured, and despised cause. Let is be said to Zion, for her comfort, Behold, thy salvation comes (that is, thy Saviour, who brings salvation); he will bring such a work, such a reward, in this salvation, as shall be admired by all, a reward of comfort and peace with him; but a work of humiliation and reformation before him, to prepare his people for that recompence of their sufferings; and then, with reference to each, it follows, they shall be called, The holy people, and the redeemed of the Lord. The work before him, which shall be wrought in them and upon them, shall denominate them a holy people, cured of their inclination to idolatry and consecrated to God only; and the reward with him, the deliverance wrought for them, shall denominate them the redeemed of the Lord, so redeemed as none but God could redeem them, and redeemed to be his, their bonds loosed, that they might be his servants. Jerusalem shall then be called, Sought out, a city not forsaken. She had been forsaken for many years; there were neither traders nor worshippers that enquired the way to Jerusalem as formerly, when it was frequented by both. But now God will again make her considerable. She shall be sought out, visited, resorted to, and court made to her, as much as ever. When Jerusalem is called a holy city, then it is called sought out; for holiness puts an honour and beauty upon any place or person, which draws respect, and makes them to be admired, beloved, and enquired after. But this being proclaimed to the end of the world must have a reference to the gospel of Christ, which was to be preached to every creature; and it intimates, (1.) The glory of Christ. It is published immediately to the church, but is thence echoed to every nation: Behold, thy salvation cometh. Christ is not only the Saviour, but the salvation itself; for the happiness of believers is not only from him, but in him, Isa 12:2. His salvation consists both in the work and in the reward which he brings with him; for those that are his shall neither be idle nor lose their labour. (2.) The beauty of the church. Christians shall be called saints (1Co 1:2), the holy people, for they are chosen and called to salvation through sanctification. They shall be called the redeemed of the Lord; to him they owe their liberty, and therefore to him they owe their service, and they shall not be ashamed to own both. None are to be called the redeemed of the Lord but those that are the holy people; the people of God's purchase are a holy nation. And they shall be called, Sought out. God shall seek them out, and find them, wherever they are dispersed, eclipsed, or lost in a crowd; men shall seek them out, that they may join themselves to them, and not forsake them. It is good to associate with the holy people, that we may learn their ways, and with the redeemed of the Lord, that we may share in the blessings of the redemption.

Nearly all the more recent commentators regard the prophet himself as speaking here. Having given himself up to praying to Jehovah and preaching to the people, he will not rest or hold his peace till the salvation, which has begun to be realized, has been brought fully out to the light of day. It is, however, really Jehovah who commences thus: "For Zion's sake I shall not be silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I shall not rest, till her righteousness breaks forth like morning brightness, and her salvation like a blazing torch. And nations will see they righteousness, and all kings thy glory; and men will call thee by a new name, which the mouth of Jehovah will determine. And thou wilt be an adorning coronet in the hand of Jehovah, and a royal diadem in the lap of thy God." It is evident that Jehovah is the speaker here, both from Isa 62:6 and also from the expression used; for c hâshâh is the word commonly employed in such utterances of Jehovah concerning Himself, to denote His leaving things in their existing state without interposing (Isa 65:6; Isa 57:11; Isa 64:11). Moreover, the arguments which may be adduced to prove that the author of chapters 40-66 is not the speaker in Isa 61:1-11, also prove that it is not he who is continuing to speak of himself in Isa 62:1-12 Jehovah, having now begun to speak and move on behalf of Zion, will "for Zion's sake,"i.e., just because it is Zion, His own church, neither be silent nor give Himself rest, till He has gloriously executed His work of grace. Zion is now in the shade, but the time will come when her righteousness will go forth as nōgah , the light which bursts through the night (Isa 60:19; Isa 59:9; here the morning sunlight, Pro 4:18; compare shachar , the morning red, Isa 58:8); or till her salvation is like a torch which blazes. יבער belongs to כלפּיד ( m ercha ) in the form of an attributive clause = בּער , although it might also be assumed that יבער stands by attraction for תבער (cf., Isa 2:11; Ewald, §317, c ). The verb בּער , which is generally applied to wrath (e.g., Isa 30:27), is here used in connection with salvation, which has wrath towards the enemies of Zion as its obverse side: Zion's tsedeq (righteousness) shall become like the morning sunlight, before which even the last twilight has vanished; and Zion's y^e shū‛âh is like a nightly torch, which sets fire to its own material, and everything that comes near it. The force of the conjunction עד (until) does not extend beyond Isa 62:1. From Isa 62:2 onwards, the condition of things in the object indicated by עד is more fully described. The eyes of the nations will be directed to the righteousness of Zion, the impress of which is now their common property; the eyes of all kings to her glory, with which the glory of none of them, nor even of all together, can possibly compare. And because this state of Zion is a new one, which has never existed before, her old name is not sufficient to indicate her nature. She is called by a new name; and who could determine this new name? He who makes the church righteous and glorious, He, and He alone, is able to utter a name answering to her new nature, just as it was He who called Abram Abraham , and Jacob Israel . The mouth of Jehovah will determine it ( נקב , to pierce, to mark, to designate in a signal and distinguishing manner, nuncupare ; cf., Amo 6:1; Num 1:17). It is only in imagery that prophecy here sees what Zion will be in the future: she will be "a crown of glory,""a diadem,"or rather a tiara ( ts^e nı̄ph ; Chethib ts^e nūph = m itsnepheth , the head-dress of the high priest, Exo 28:4; Zec 3:5; and that of the king, Eze 21:31) "of regal dignity,"in the hand of her God (for want of a synonym of "hand,"we have adopted the rendering "in the lap"the second time that it occurs). Meier renders יהוה בּיד ( בּכף ) Jovae sub praesidio , as though it did not form part of the figure. But it is a main feature in the figure, that Jehovah holds the crown in His hand. Zion is not the ancient crown which the Eternal wears upon His head, but the crown wrought out in time, which He holds in His hand, because He is seen in Zion by all creation. The whole history of salvation is the history of the taking of the kingdom, and the perfecting of the kingdom by Jehovah; in other words, the history of the working out of this crown.

Zion will be once more the beloved of God, and her home the bride of her children. "Men will no more call thee 'Forsaken one;' and thy land they will no more call 'Desert:' but men will name thee 'My delight in her,' and thy home 'Married one:' for Jehovah hath delight in thee, and thy land is married. For the young man marrieth the maiden, thy children will marry thee; and as the bridegroom rejoiceth in the bride, thy God will rejoice in thee." The prophecy mentions new names, which will now take the place of the old ones; but these names indicate what Zion appears to be, not her true nature which is brought to the light. In the explanatory clause ל ך stands at the head, because the name of Zion is given first in distinction from the name of her land. Zion has hitherto been called ‛ ăzūbhâh , forsaken by Jehovah, who formerly loved her; but she now receives instead the name of c hephtsı̄ - bhâh (really the name of a woman, viz., the wife of Hezekiah, and mother of Manasseh, 2Ki 21:1), for she is now the object of true affection on the part of Jehovah. With the rejoicing of a bridegroom in his bride (the accusative is used here in the same sense as in גדלה שׂמחה שׂמח ; Ges. §138, 1) will her God rejoice in her, turning to her again with a love as strong and deep as the first love of a bridal pair. And the land of Zion's abode, the fatherland of her children, was hitherto called sh^e mâmâh ; it was turned into a desert by the heathen, and the connection that existed between it and the children of the land was severed; but now it shall be called b^e ‛ūlâh , for it will be newly married. A young man marries a virgin, thy children will marry thee : the figure and the fact are placed side by side in the form of an emblematical proverb, the particle of comparison being omitted (see Herzog's Cyclopaedia , xiv 696, and Ges. §155, 2, h ). The church in its relation to Jehovah is a weak but beloved woman, which has Him for its Lord and Husband (Isa 54:5); but in relation to her home she is the totality of those who are lords or possessors (ba‛alē , 2Sa 6:2) of the land, and who call the land their own as it were by right of marriage. Out of the loving relation in which the church stands to its God, there flows its relation of authority over every earthly thing of which it stands in need. In some MSS there is a break here.

Watchmen stationed upon the walls of Zion (says the third strophe) do not forsake Jehovah till He has fulfilled all His promise. "Upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, have I stationed watchmen; all the day and all the night continually they are not silent. O ye who remember Jehovah, leave yourselves no rest! And give Him no rest, till He raise up, and till He set Jerusalem for a praise in the earth." As the phrase hiphqı̄d ‛al signifies to make a person an overseer (president) over anything, it seems as though we ought to render the sentence before us, "I have set watchmen over thy walls."But hiphqı̄d by itself may also mean "to appoint"(2Ki 25:23), and therefore עלח־ומתי ך may indicate the place of appointment (lxx ἐπὶ τῶν τειχέων σου , upon thy walls: ̔Ιερουσαλήμ κατέστησα φύλακας ). Those who are stationed upon the walls are no doubt keepers of the walls; not, however, as persons whose exclusive duty it is to keep the walls, but as those who have committed to them the guarding of the city both within and without (Son 5:7). The appointment of such watchmen presupposes the existence of the city, which is thus to be watched from the walls. It is therefore inadmissible to think of the walls of Jerusalem as still lying in ruins, as the majority of commentators have done, and to understand by the watchmen pious Israelites, who pray for their restoration, or (according to b. Menachoth 87 a ; cf., Zec 1:12) angelic intercessors. The walls intended are those of the city, which, though once destroyed, is actually imperishable (Isa 49:16) and has now been raised up again. And who else could the watchmen stationed upon the walls really be, but prophets who are called tsōphı̄m (e.g., Isa 52:8), and whose calling, according to Ezek 33, is that of watchmen? And if prophets are meant, who else can the person appointing them be but Jehovah Himself? The idea that the author of these prophecies is speaking of himself, as having appointed the shōm^e rı̄m , must therefore be rejected. Jehovah gives to the restored Jerusalem faithful prophets, whom He stations upon the walls of the city, that they may see far and wide, and be heard afar off. And from those walls does their warning cry on behalf of the holy city committed to their care ascent day and night to Jehovah, and their testimony go round about to the world. For after Jerusalem has been restored and re-peopled, the further end to be attained is this, that Jehovah should build up the newly founded city within ( c ōnēn the consequence of bânâh , Num 21:27, and ‛ âsâh , Isa 45:18; Deu 32:6; cf., Isa 54:14 and Psa 87:5), and help it to attain the central post of honour in relation to those without, which He has destined for it. Such prophets of the times succeeding the captivity ( n^e bhı̄'ı̄m 'achărōnı̄m ; cf., Zec 1:4) were Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Haggai stands upon the walls of Jerusalem, and proclaims the glory of the second temple as surpassing that of the first. Zechariah points from Joshua and Zerubbabel onwards to the sprout of Jehovah, who is priest and prince in one person, and builds the true temple of God. Malachi predicts the coming of the Lord to His temple, and the rising of the Sun of righteousness. Under the eyes of these prophets the city of God rose up again, and they stand upon its pinnacles, and look thence into the glorious future that awaits it, and hasten its approach through the word of their testimony. Such prophets, who carry the good of their people day and night upon their anxious praying hearts, does Jehovah give to the Jerusalem after the captivity, which is one in the prophet's view with the Jerusalem of the last days; and in so lively a manner does the prophet here call them up before his own mind, that he exclaims to them, "Ye who remind Jehovah, to finish gloriously the gracious work which He has begun,"give yourselves to rest (dŏmi from dâmâh = dâmam , to grow dumb, i.e., to cease speaking or working, in distinction from c hâshâh , to be silent, i.e., not to speak or work), and allow Him no rest till He puts Jerusalem in the right state, and so glorifies it, that it shall be recognised and extolled as glorious over all the earth. Prophecy here sees the final glory of the church as one that gradually unfolds itself, and that not without human instrumentality. The prophets of the last times, with their zeal in prayer, and in the exercise of their calling as witnesses, form a striking contrast to the blind, dumb, indolent, sleepy hirelings of the prophet's own time (Isa 56:10).

The following strophe expresses one side of the divine promise, on which the hope of that lofty and universally acknowledged glory of Jerusalem, for whose completion the watchers upon its walls so ceaselessly exert themselves, is founded. "Jehovah hath sworn by His right hand, and by His powerful arm, Surely I no more give thy corn for food to thine enemies; and foreigners will to drink thy must, for which thou hast laboured hard. No, they that gather it in shall eat it, and praise Jehovah; and they that store it, shall drink it in the courts of my sanctuary." The church will no more succumb to the tyranny of a worldly power. Peace undisturbed, and unrestricted freedom, reign there. With praise to Jehovah are the fruits of the land enjoyed by those who raised and reaped them. יגעתּ (with an auxiliary pathach , as in Isa 47:12, Isa 47:15) is applied to the cultivation of the soil, and includes the service of the heathen who are incorporated in Israel (Isa 61:5); whilst אסּף (whence מאספיו with ס raphatum ) or אסף ( poel , whence the reading מאספיו , cf., Psa 101:5, m ^e loshnı̄ ; Psa 109:10, v^e - dorshū , for which in some codd. and editions we find מאספיו , an intermediate form between piel and poel ; see at Psa 62:4) and קבּ ץ stand in the same relation to one another as condere ( horreo ) and colligere (cf., Isa 11:12). The expression b^e chatsrōth qodshı̄ , in the courts of my sanctuary, cannot imply that the produce of the harvest will never be consumed anywhere else than there (which is inconceivable), but only that their enjoyment of the harvest-produce will be consecrated by festal meals of worship, with an allusion to the legal regulation that two-tenths ( m a‛ăsēr shēnı̄ ) should be eaten in a holy place ( liphnē Jehovah ) by the original possessor and his family, with the addition of the Levites and the poor (Deu 14:22-27 : see Saalschütz, Mosaisches Recht , cap. 42). Such thoughts, as that all Israel will then be a priestly nation, or that all Jerusalem will be holy, are not implied in this promise. All that it affirms is, that the enjoyment of the harvest-blessing will continue henceforth undisturbed, and be accompanied with the grateful worship of the giver, and therefore, because sanctified by thanksgiving, will become an act of worship in itself. This is what Jehovah has sworn "by His right hand,"which He only lifts up with truth, and "by His powerful arm,"which carries out what it promises without the possibility of resistance. The Talmud ( b. Nazir 3 b ) understand by עזו זרוע the left arm, after Dan 12:7; but the ו of ובזרוע is epexegetical.

The concluding strophe goes back to the standpoint of the captivity. "Go forth, go forth through the gates, clear the way of the people. Cast up, cast up the road, clear it of stones; lift up a banner above the nations! Behold, Jehovah hath caused tidings to sound to the end of the earth. Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him. And men will call them the holy people, the redeemed of Jehovah; and men will call thee, Striven after, A city that will not be forsaken." We cannot adopt the rendering proposed by Gesenius, "Go ye into the gates,"whether of Jerusalem or of the temple, since the reading would then be שׁערים בּאוּ (Gen 23:10) or בשּׁערים (Jer 7:2). For although בּ עבר may under certain circumstances be applied to entrance into a city (Jdg 9:26), yet it generally denotes either passing through a land (Isa 8:21; Isa 34:10; Gen 41:46; Lev 26:6, etc.), or through a nation (2Sa 20:14), or through a certain place (Isa 10:28); so that the phrase בּשּׁער עבר , which does not occur anywhere else (for in Mic 2:13, which refers, however, to the exodus of the people out of the gates of the cities of the captivity, שׁער ויּעברוּ do not belong together), must refer to passing through the gate; and the cry בשׁערים עברוּ means just the same as מבּבל צאוּ ("Go ye forth from Babylon") in Isa 48:20; Isa 52:11.

The call to go out of Babylon forms the conclusion of the prophecy here, just as it does in Isa 48:20-21; Isa 52:11-12. It is addressed to the exiles; but who are they to whom the command is given, "Throw up a way,"- a summons repeatedly found in all the three books of these prophecies (Isa 40:3; Isa 57:14)? They cannot be the heathen, for this is contradicted by the conclusion of the charge, "Lift ye up a banner above the nations;"nor can we adopt what seems to us a useless fancy on the part of Stier, viz., that Isa 62:10 is addressed to the watchmen on the walls of Zion. We have no hesitation, therefore, in concluding that they are the very same persons who are to march through the gates of Babylon. The vanguard (or pioneers) of those who are coming out are here summoned to open the way by which the people are to march, to throw up the road (viz., by casting up an embankment, hamsillâh , as in Isa 11:16; Isa 49:11; m aslūl , Isa 35:8), to clear it of stones (siqqēl , as in Isa 5:2; cf., Hos 9:12, shikkēl m ē'âdâm ), and lift up a banner above the nations (one rising so high as to be visible far and wide), that the diaspora of all places may join those who are returning home with the friendly help of the nations (Isa 11:12; Isa 49:22). For Jehovah hath caused tidings to be heard to the end of the earth, i.e., as we may see from what follows, the tidings of their liberation; in other words, looking at the historical fulfilment, the proclamation of Cyrus, which he caused to be issued throughout his empire at the instigation of Jehovah (Ezr 1:1). Hitzig regards השׁמיע as expressing what had actually occurred at the time when the prophet uttered his predictions; and in reality the standpoint of the prophets was so far a variable one, that the fulfilment of what was predicted did draw nearer and nearer to it ἐν πνεύματι . But as hinnēh throughout the book of Isaiah, even when followed by a perfect, invariably points to something future, all that can be said is, that the divine announcement of the time of redemption, as having now arrived, stands out before the soul of the prophet with all the certainty of a historical fact. The conclusion which Knobel draws from the expression "to the end of the earth,"as to the Babylonian standpoint of the prophet, is a false one. In his opinion, "the end of the earth"in such passages as Psa 72:8; Zec 9:10 ('aphsē - 'ârets ), and Isa 24:16 ( k^e naph hâ'ârets ), signifies the western extremity of the orbis orientalis , that is to say, the region of the Mediterranean, more especially Palestine; whereas it was rather a term applied to the remotest lands which bounded the geographical horizon (compare Isa 42:10; Isa 48:20, with Psa 2:8; Psa 22:28, and other passages). The words that follow ("Say ye,"etc.) might be taken as a command issued on the ground of the divine hishimiă‛ ("the Lord hath proclaimed"); but hishimiă‛ itself is a word that needs to be supplemented, so that what follows is the divine proclamation: Men everywhere, i.e., as far as the earth or the dispersion of Israel extends, are to say to the daughter of Zion - that is to say, to the church which has its home in Zion, but is now in foreign lands - that "its salvation cometh,"i.e., that Jehovah, its Saviour, is coming to bestow a rich reward upon His church, which has passed through sever punishment, but has been so salutarily refined. Those to whom the words "Say ye,"etc., are addressed, are not only the prophets of Israel, but all the mourners of Zion, who become m ^e bhass^e rı̄m , just because they respond to this appeal (compare the meaning of this "Say ye to the daughter of Zion"with Zec 9:9 in Mat 21:5). The whole of the next clause, "Behold, His reward,"etc., is a repetition of the prophet's own words in Isa 40:10. It is a question whether the words "and they shall call thee,"etc., contain the gospel which is to be proclaimed according to the will of Jehovah to the end of the earth (see Isa 48:20), or whether they are a continuation of the prophecy which commences with "Behold, Jehovah hath proclaimed."The latter is the more probable, as the address here passes again into an objective promise. The realization of the gospel, which Jehovah causes to be preached, leads men to call those who are now still in exile "the holy people,""the redeemed"(lit. ransomed, Isa 51:10; like p^e dūyē in Isa 35:10). " And thee "- thus does the prophecy close by returning to a direct address to Zion-Jerusalem - "thee will men call d^e rūshâh ,"sought assiduously, i.e., one whose welfare men, and still more Jehovah, are zealously concerned to promote (compare the opposite in Jer 30:17) - "a city that will not be forsaken,"i.e., in which men gladly settle, and which will never be without inhabitants again (the antithesis to ‛ ăzūbhâh in Isa 60:15), possibly also in the sense that the gracious presence of God will never be withdrawn from it again (the antithesis to ‛ ăzūbhâh in Isa 62:4). נעזבה is the third pers. pr., like nuchâmâh in Isa 54:11 : the perfect as expressing the abstract present (Ges. §126, 3).

The following prophecy anticipates the question, how Israel can possibly rejoice in the recovered possession of its inheritance, if it is still to be surrounded by such malicious neighbours as the Edomites.

V. Israel's future transformation chs. 56--66

The last major section of Isaiah deals with the necessity of living out the righteousness of God (cf. Rom. 12-16). These chapters emphasize what the characteristics of the servants of the Lord should be. Again, the focus is on Israel primarily but not exclusively. All God's people are in view, though God's will for Israel and His promises to Israel were Isaiah's chief concerns.⁶³³

"These chapters are about the internalization of the law by means of an intimate relationship with the God who alone can enable people to live holy lives."⁶³⁴

This section also clarifies the relationship between works and grace, both of which Isaiah spoke of as essential in his earlier chapters.

The structure of this section is as follows.⁶³⁵

A Foreign worshipers 56:1-8

B Ethical righteousness 56:9-59:15a

C The divine warrior 59:15b-21

D Eschatological hope chs. 60-62

C' The divine warrior 63:1-6

B' Ethical righteousness 63:7-66:17

A' Foreign worshipers 66:18-24

B. Revelation of future glory chs. 60-62

These chapters present Israel as the restored people of God displaying God's salvation to the earth. Isaiah's focus was beyond the return from Babylonian exile to the messianic kingdom. Numerous promises of blessing and salvation mark this section of the book.

"If it is true that Israel's God is the only Holy One, that it is his glory alone that fills the earth, and that he is King of the universe, then what does that mean for Israel both in relation to God and in relation to world? In many ways, the rest of the book is an exploration of those issues, and in chs. 60-62 they come to their broadest expression and resolution."⁶⁸¹

Eight themes run through these chapters.⁶⁸² Isaiah introduced these truths earlier, but he emphasized them strongly in this section.

1. God will save Israel.

2. God will give Israel light.

3. God will share His glory with Israel.

4. Israel will draw the nations to God.

5. The nations will bring the Israelites back to Zion.

6. The nations will bring their wealth to Zion.

7. God will exalt Israel over the nations.

8. Israel will experience and exemplify God's righteousness.

As Cyrus was the Lord's anointed to set the Israelites free from Babylonian captivity, so the Servant Messiah is His Anointed to set them free from their captivity to sin. He is the great Warrior behind this section who will achieve for Israel all that the Lord promised.

2. Israel under the Lord chs. 61-62

These chapters explain the character of the Israelites following the Lord's provision of salvation for them. The salvation in view is the redemption that the Servant would provide in His first and second advents.⁶⁹³ It includes deliverance from the power of sin as well as deliverance from the penalty of sin. Chapter 60 presented the blessings that Israel would enjoy in the future, as a city lit by the rising sun. Chapter 61 begins by introducing the One who would bring those blessings, the sun that lights that city.

The certainty of these benefits 62:1-9

It seemed to Isaiah's audience that the promises in chapter 60 could hardly come to pass since the Babylonian exile was still ahead of them. The Lord assured them that He would surely fulfill these promises.

"Much of this chapter speaks of preparation being made for the coming of the Lord and for the restoration of His people, thus expanding the thoughts in 40:3-5, 9."⁶⁹⁷

62:1 Evidently God is the speaker (cf. v. 6). He assured His people that even though they thought He had been silent to their prayers for deliverance (cf. 42:14; 45:15-19; 57:11; 64:12; 65:6), He would indeed provide righteousness and salvation for them. He would do it for the love of His people, for Zion's sake.

62:2 All the Gentiles would see Israel's righteousness and her reflected glory. Her new name, that sovereign Yahweh would give her, would identify the change in her character (cf. Gen. 32:28).

"So often in the OT a new name (v. 2) is the pledge of divine action to change the status or character of a person (cf., e.g., Gen 17:5, 15[; John 1:42])."⁶⁹⁸

62:3 The Lord would make Jerusalem as a beautiful crown fit for a king that He would hold carefully in His hand.

62:4 The new name promised in verse 2 would be Hephzibah (My delight is in her; cf. 2 Kings 21:1) and Beulah (Married). These names would replace former designations of Israel's condition: Azubah (Forsaken; cf. 1 Kings 22:42) and Shemamah (Desolate). These new names would reflect God's delight in His people and His uniting them with their land.

62:5 Future generations of Israelites would be married to the Promised Land in the sense that they would not leave it. From a different perspective, the Lord Himself would be Israel's bridegroom and would rejoice over her as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.

"In all that Israel was to endure, what a source of comfort God's pet name for them: My-Delight-Is-in-Her' (v. 4) must have been. It is still true today. When circumstances and failure and blighted hopes combine to convince us that our name is Forsaken,' that is the hour to hear the whisper of the Bridegroom to his Bride (cf. 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:27; Rev. 21:2, 9), with the name that it is his alone to give and hers alone to hear."⁶⁹⁹

62:6 The Lord revealed that He had appointed watchmen whose job it was to remind Him of His promises to Israel so He would not forget them (cf. 36:3; 2 Sam. 18:6; 1 Kings 4:3; Luke 2:36-38). Obviously the Lord does not forget His promises, but this assurance, in the language of the common practice of the day, underscored the fact that He would not forget. The watchmen in view may be angels and or human intercessors (cf. Dan. 4:13; Luke 11:5-10; 18:1-8).

62:7 These watchmen were to give the Lord no rest, to keep reminding Him, until He fulfilled what He had promised, namely, making Jerusalem an object of praise in the earth (in the Millennium; cf. Matt. 6:10).

62:8 Not only did the Lord promise that enemies would never again invade the Promised Land and rob His people of their hard-earned food and drink, but He confirmed His promise with an oath. He swore by Himself, the highest authority, specifically by His right hand that would personally execute His will and by His strong arm that would powerfully accomplish His plan.

62:9 Unlike the days of Gideon (Judg. 6), when the Israelites grew their grain only to have it stolen at harvest time, they would harvest and eat what they had sown. They would drink the wine that they harvested in the security of the Lord's sanctuary as an act of worship.

The need for faith 62:10-12

Having learned of the mission of the Anointed One to bring salvation to Israel, and having received promises of benefits that would accompany His salvation, the Israelites needed to believe these promises in spite of impending exile in Babylon. This pericope concludes the section of Isaiah dealing with the revelation of future glory (chs. 60-62; cf. 40:1-11; 52:1-12).

62:10 With now familiar figures for preparing a highway (cf. 7:3; 11:16; 19:23; 33:8; 35:8; 36:2; 49:11; 59:7), Isaiah called on God's people to plan for the fulfillment of the promised redemption, return to the land, and Gentile worship. They should not just wait passively but should take steps to express and to bolster their faith in these promises.

62:11 By proclaiming to the end of the earth that Yahweh would save the Israelites, the Lord was guaranteeing that He would do it. This was not just a private promise to Israel but one that the world could anticipate. Here the prophet personified salvation as the Anointed One. When the Anointed One came, salvation would come. He would receive a reward from Yahweh for saving His people as well as retribution, His people themselves. Consequently everyone needed to get ready.

62:12 Then the nations would call the Israelites the holy people (in standing and state; cf. Exod. 19:6; Deut. 7:6), those whom Yahweh had redeemed (physically and spiritually) and sought out. They would refer to Jerusalem as the city that the Lord had not forsaken. In short, Yahweh would restore His people's relationship with Himself.

Isaiah 62 - A Glorious Future for Zion

A. Jerusalem is loved and protected.

1. (1-3) The coming righteousness and glory of Zion.

For Zion's sake I will not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burns. The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD will name. You shall also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem In the hand of your God.

a. I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness: Isaiah prophesied in a time when Jerusalem was still a functioning city, but was spiritually corrupt. Here, he looks forward to the time when Jerusalem is desolate because she has been conquered by the Babylonians, and prophetically speaks comfort and assurance to her discouraged and downcast citizens. The LORD assures them that He will not rest until Jerusalem is restored in a shining righteousness.

i. This prophecy is directed towards Zion and Jerusalem. Although God is concerned with that area as an actual material place, it also stands as a representation of Israel, and in an even more general sense, as a representation of all God's people.

b. The Gentiles shall see your righteousness: When God lifts up Zion, then the nations see it and brought to trust in the LORD themselves. The work God would do for Jerusalem was intended to have an effect for more than just Jerusalem, but would extend to the Gentiles and unto all kings.

c. You shall be called by a new name: Jerusalem will be so transformed that she will be called by a new name. Since the LORD is the author of the transformation, He is also the author of the new name (which the mouth of the LORD will name).

i. The thought is extended in Isaiah 62:4, where the LORD "exchanges" the old names of Jerusalem for her new names of glory and security.

ii. The idea of a new name also extends to Christians, in passages like Revelation 2:17 and 3:12. In heaven, when our transformation is complete, we will receive a new name that matches our completely transformed nature.

d. You shall also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD: Jerusalem will be so special to God that He will regard it as a crown of glory. We may be familiar with the idea that we will receive a crown; it is deeper and more wonderful to consider that we will be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD.

i. Paul uses a similar twist on a familiar idea in Ephesians 1:8, where he says that the believer should understand what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. The idea is not of our inheritance in the LORD, but in His inheritance in us. We often have only a superficial understanding of how precious we are to God.

2. (4-5) The LORD loves Zion as a bridegroom loves a bride.

You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you; and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.

a. You shall no longer be termed Forsaken: Jerusalem knew the experience of war and defeat and desolation. God's people knew what it was like to feel Forsaken and Desolate, so it is as if they could take those names.

b. But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah: The days of Forsaken and Desolate will one day pass. There will come a day when Zion and God's people will know that God delights in them (Hephzibah means "My delight is in her"). There will come a day when Zion and God's people will know the unbroken presence and love of God, as a wife should know the presence and love of her husband (Beulah means "Married").

i. "With such economy of words and beauty of imagery Isaiah depicts the loving unanimity that characterizes Zion and her intimate union with the Lord - which Revelation 19:7 foresees as the marriage of the Lamb." (Motyer)

c. And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you: Zion and God's people will know how much the LORD loves them. His feeling towards them is more than an obligation-type love; instead, He will rejoice over you!

i. The same idea is beautifully communicated in Zephaniah 3:17: The LORD your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing. No wonder Paul made a special prayer that we could somehow begin to comprehend such love, that we may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height; to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge. (Ephesians 3:18-19)

3. (6-9) The LORD promises to protect Zion.

I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent, and give Him no rest till He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth. The LORD has sworn by His right hand and by the arm of His strength: "Surely I will no longer give your grain as food for your enemies; and the sons of the foreigner shall not drink your new wine, for which you have labored. But those who have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the LORD; those who have brought it together shall drink it in My holy courts."

a. I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem: Because God loves and rejoices over Zion, He will protect them. Though they were conquered before by the Babylonians, the day will come when He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

b. The watchmen have a constant duty. They shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent, and give Him no rest until He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth. The watchmen are not critics; they are prayer warriors, who constantly pray, giving God "no rest" until God's people and His city are restored.

i. Bultema on I have set watchmen . . . who shall never hold their peace day or night: "There is a threefold rich thought: (1) The Lord Himself does not rest with regard to Zion; (2) He does not want His petitioners to keep silence in their prayers for Israel; (3) and He does not want His people to leave Him alone concerning Israel's deliverance."

ii. "A restless Savior calls upon his people to be restless, and to make the Lord himself restless - to give him no rest till his chosen city is in full splendor, his chosen church complete and glorious." (Spurgeon)

iii. "'Give him no rest' is our Lord's own command to us concerning the great God. I do not suppose any of you ever advised a beggar to be importunate with you. Did you ever say, 'Whenever you see me go over this crossing ask me for a penny. If I do not give you one, run after me, or call after me all the way down the street. If that does not succeed, lay hold upon me, and do not let me go until I help you. Beg without ceasing.' Did any one of you ever invite applicants to call often, and make large requests of you? . . . He does in effect say, 'Press me! Urge me! Lay hold on my strength. Wrestle with me, as when a man seeks to give another a fall that he may prevail with him.' All this, and much more, is included in the expression, 'Give him no rest.'" (Spurgeon)

c. The LORD has sworn by His right hand and by the arm of His strength: No more will Jerusalem be plundered by those who would steal here grain or new wine. Instead, those who have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the LORD.

B. The LORD will visit Jerusalem.

1. (10) A way prepared for the coming of the LORD.

Go through, go through the gates! Prepare the way for the people; build up, build up the highway! Take out the stones, lift up a banner for the peoples!

a. Prepare the way for the people: Isaiah prophetically looks forward to the time for the LORD to fulfill these promises. Since His salvation is coming, they must prepare the way for the people. They need to build up the highway, so a smooth road without obstacles is ready to usher people to the LORD's salvation.

i. Previously through Isaiah great promises were made of a massive pilgrimage to Jerusalem, so roads must be built and the way must be prepared.

b. Lift up a banner for the peoples! Not only must the way be prepared, but it must also be marked by a banner for the peoples. Then not only will they be able to come, but they will also be attracted to come.

2. (11-12) The Messiah comes to Zion.

Indeed the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the world: "Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Surely your salvation is coming; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him.'" And they shall call them The Holy People, the Redeemed of the LORD; and you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.

a. Say to the daughter of Zion, "Surely your salvation is coming": The way has been prepared and marked; now is the time for the LORD's salvation and Savior to emerge, and to come to Zion.

i. The Saviour came to Zion, but not only to Zion. Isaiah makes it clear: Indeed the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the world this great news of the coming Savior.

b. Behold, His reward is with Him: When the Messiah comes to Zion, His reward is with Him. Revelation 22:12 is a quotation from this verse: And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.

i. Paul continues this idea in 1 Corinthians 3:8-14, saying how when we appear before the Lord, we will be judged according to our work for and with Him. On that day, each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. (1 Corinthians 3:8)

c. And you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken: Through her history, Jerusalem knew what it was like to be Forsaken. But in that day, she will be called Sought Out; everyone will know she was valued and chosen by God.

© 2001 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission