_For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace_ THE CHURCH BLESSED AND MADE A BLESSING (Isaiah 62:1):--The words of the great Deliverer are continued from the foregoing chapter. 1. He will not rest until the glorious change in the condition of His people is accomplished (Isaiah 62:1). 2. They shall b... [ Continue Reading ]
_And thou shalt be called by a now name_ THE NEW NAME (with Isaiah 62:12):--According to the Hebrew idiom, the name which expresses the nature and character of a person is used as equivalent to that nature and character. The promises of these verses involve, accordingly, far more than appears upo... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou shalt also be a crown of glory_ ZION A CROWN OF GLORY GOD’S HAND It is only through figurative representations that prophecy here sees what Zion will be in the future; she becomes a crown of adornment, a tiara (the head-dress of the high priest, Exodus 33:4; Zechariah 3:5; and of the King, E... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken_ A JOYFUL CHANGE OF CONDITION “No more shall it be called to thee (shalt thou be called) Azubah (Forsaken), and thy land shall no more be called Shemamah (Desolate); but thou shalt be called Hephzibah (My delight is in her), and thy land Beulah (Married), for... [ Continue Reading ]
_For as a young man marrieth a virgin_ FERVID DEVOTION TO A CAUSE It is difficult to see how any real parallel can exist between an intellectual interest or reasoned sense of duty to a public cause or institution, although prescribing exertion and even sacrifice, and the spontaneous, glowing, ferv... [ Continue Reading ]
_I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem_ THE WATCHMAN’S CALL The prosperity of the kingdom of Jesus Christ, which teaches the Gentile world through Hebrew channels, depends on two conditions--watchfulness and prayer. To the latter of these subjects this discourse will be devoted. Let us... [ Continue Reading ]
_Go through, go through the gates_ THE CONVERSION OF THE JEWS I. THE GLORIOUS EVENT TO BE PROCLAIMED (Isaiah 62:11). When the Divine Spirit would attract special attention to any subject, He prefixes “Behold” to the truth revealed. We have here “Behold thrice repeated. 1. The nature of the event.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world_ WHO IS THIS? (with Isaiah 63:1):--As in God’s immediate dealingswith men we usually see the Son of God most manifest, this passage may fitly represent the glorious appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ whenever He has come forth to vindicat... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou shalt be called, Sought out_ “SOUGHT OUT” 1. The first meaning of our text is very clear. Here is a prophecy, that as Jerusalem, having been despoiled her beauty by her enemies, was for a long time forsaken and worthy to be called, “A city which no man seeketh after,” so, in a brighter day,... [ Continue Reading ]