Isaiah 62
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1For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.
CHAPTER 62
Is 62:1-12. Intercessory Prayers for Zion's Restoration, Accompanying God's Promises of It, as the Appointed Means of Accomplishing It.
1. I--the prophet, as representative of all the praying people of God who love and intercede for Zion (compare Is 62:6, 7; Psa 102:13-17), or else Messiah (compare Is 62:6). So Messiah is represented as unfainting in His efforts for His people (Is 42:4; 50:7).
righteousness thereof--not its own inherently, but imputed to it, for its restoration to God's favor: hence "salvation" answers to it in the parallelism. "Judah" is to be "saved" through "the Lord our (Judah's and the Church's) righteousness" (Jr 23:6).
as brightness--properly the bright shining of the rising sun (Is 60:19; 4:5; 2Sa 23:4; Pr 4:18).
lamp--blazing torch.
2And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.
2. (Is 11:10; 42:1-6; 49:7, 22, 23; 60:3, 5, 16).
new name--expression of thy new and improved condition (Is 62:4), the more valuable and lasting as being conferred by Jehovah Himself (Is 62:12; Is 65:15; Re 2:17; 3:12).
3Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.
3. (Zec 9:16)
in ... hand of ... Lord--As a crown is worn on the head, not "in the hand," hand must here be figurative for "under the Lord's protection" (compare De 33:3). "All His saints are in thy hand." His people are in His hand at the same time that they are "a crown of glory" to Him (Re 6:2; 19:12); reciprocally, He is "a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty" to them (Is 28:5; compare Mal 3:17).
4Thou shalt no more be termed 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 married.
4. be termed--be "forsaken," so as that that term could be applicable to thee.
Hephzi-bah--(2Ki 21:1), the name of Hezekiah's wife, a type of Jerusalem, as Hezekiah was of Messiah (Is 32:1): "my delight is in her."
Beulah--"Thou art married." See the same contrast of Zion's past and future state under the same figure (Is 54:4-6; Re 21:2, 4).
land ... married--to Jehovah as its Lord and Husband: implying not only ownership, but protection on the part of the Owner [Horsley].
5For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.
5. thy sons--rather, changing the points, which are of no authority in Hebrew, "thy builder" or "restorer," that is, God; for in the parallel clause, and in Is 62:4, God is implied as being "married" to her; whereas her "sons" could hardly be said to marry their mother; and in Is 49:18, they are said to be her bridal ornaments, not her husband. The plural form, builders, is used of God in reverence as "husbands" (see on Is 54:5).
over the bride--in the possession of the bride (Is 65:19; Jr 32:41; Zep 3:17).
6I 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,
6. I--Isaiah speaking in the person of the Messiah.
watchmen upon ... walls--image from the watches set upon a city's wall to look out for the approach of a messenger with good tidings (Is 52:7, 8); the good tidings of the return of the Jewish exiles from Babylon, prefiguring the return from the present dispersion (compare Is 21:6-11; 56:10; Eze 3:17; 33:7). The watches in the East are announced by a loud cry to mark the vigilance of the watchmen.
ye that ... mention ... Lord--Hebrew, "ye that are the Lord's remembrancers"; God's servants who by their prayers "put God in remembrance" of His promises (Is 43:26); we are required to remind God, as if God could, which He cannot, forget His promises (Psa 119:49; Jr 14:21).
7And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
7. no rest--Hebrew, "silence"; keep not silence yourselves, nor let Him rest in silence. Compare as to Messiah Himself, "I will not hold ... peace ... not rest" (Is 62:1); Messiah's watchmen (Is 62:6, 7) imitate Him (Is 62:1) in intercessory "prayer without ceasing" for Jerusalem (Psa 122:6; 51:18); also for the spiritual Jerusalem, the Church (Lu 18:1, 7; Ro 1:9).
a praise--(See on Is 61:11; Zep 3:20).
8The LORD hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured:
8. sworn by ... right hand--His mighty instrument of accomplishing His will (compare Is 45:23; He 6:13).
sons of ... stranger--Foreigners shall no more rob thee of the fruit of thy labors (compare Is 65:21, 22).
9But they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the LORD; and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness.
9. eat ... and praise--not consume it on their own lusts, and without thanksgiving.
drink it in ... courts--They who have gathered the vintage shall drink it at the feasts held in the courts surrounding the temple (De 12:17, 18; 14:23, &c.).
10Go 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.
10. What Isaiah in the person of Messiah had engaged in (Is 62:1) unrestingly to seek, and what the watchmen were unrestingly to pray for (Is 62:7), and what Jehovah solemnly promised (Is 62:8, 9), is now to be fulfilled; the Gentile nations are commanded to "go through the gates" (either of their own cities [Rosenmuller] or of Jerusalem [Maurer]), in order to remove all obstacles out of "the way of the people (Israel)" (see on Is 7:14; Is 40:3; 52:10-12).
standard--for the dispersed Jews to rally round, with a view to their return (Is 49:22; 11:12).
★11Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.
11. salvation--embodied in the Saviour (see Zec 9:9).
his work--rather, recompense (Is 40:10).
12And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.
12. Sought out--Sought after and highly prized by Jehovah; answering to "not forsaken" in the parallel clause; no longer abandoned, but loved; image from a wife (Is 62:4; Jr 30:14).