Isaiah Chapter 62 — Stephen Kaung

Isaiah's Prophecy of Zion's Restoration

Isaiah chapter 62, we'll read from verse 1 through verse 9,. Isaiah 62, verse 1,. For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be still, until her righteousness go forth as brightness, and her salvation as a torch that burneth.

And the nation shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory, and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of Jehovah will name. And thou shalt be a crown of beauty in the hand of Jehovah, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.

Thou shalt no more be termed forsaken, neither shalt thy land any more be termed desolate. But thou shalt be called, My delight is in her, and thy land married. For Jehovah delighted in thee, and thy land shall be married.

For as a young man married a virgin, shall thy sons marry thee, and with the joy of the bridegroom over the bride shall thy God rejoice over thee. I have set watchmen upon thy walls, Jerusalem, all the day and all the night.

They shall never hold their peace. Ye that put Jehovah in remembrance, keep not silence and give him no rest till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. Jehovah hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, I will indeed no more give thy corn to be food for thine enemies.

And the sons of the alien shall not drink thy new wine, for which thou hast labored. For they that have garnered it, shall eat it, and praise Jehovah. And they that have gathered it, shall drink it in the courts of my holiness.

This is a very wonderful passage. It tells us of what God will do for his people, and what does he expect his people to do. Here you'll find the prophet Isaiah. Of course he foresaw the captivity of Zion, and he also foresaw the return of that captivity.

But as a prophet, he saw even further than that. He saw the days of the Messiah. When the Messiah shall come, then everything shall be restored, or shall be recovered to the full purpose of God. So what concerns the prophet is not just the immediate, that is the return of the captivity of Zion under the Jewish remnant.

What really concerns the prophet is the ultimate. What will happen when the Messiah shall come? Then what will happen to Zion and to Jerusalem? Now of course, the people of Israel, they were God's earthly people.

And today we who are the Lord, the redeemed of the Lord, we are God's heavenly people. God was interested at one time with this earthly people. And God is now interested with us, his heavenly people. So this morning we are not going through the history or the prophecy that concerns the nation of Israel, which will be fully fulfilled.

But we are interested and concerned this morning with what God determines to do for his people today. And what does he expect us, his people, to do in his word? Zion and Jerusalem. Zion is very dear to God.

Jerusalem is very near to God's heart. Of course, Zion and Jerusalem in the scripture, spiritually apply to the church today. I don't think we need to be too specific. If you want to be very specific in typology or in representation, you will say that Jerusalem represents the church of God.

And Zion represents the overcomers of the church. You will find that throughout the Bible. Jerusalem represents all the people of God. And Zion represents the overcomers of God's people. But I don't think we need to be that specific this morning.

So we will just put them together, Zion and Jerusalem as one. Now you know that God is very jealous over Zion. He is very zealous for Jerusalem. This is his controversy with the nation. It seems as if in God's heart there is a softness, there is a tenderness in his heart towards Zion and towards Jerusalem.

God's Choice of Zion and Jerusalem

Now why? Why of all the cities, of all the mountains, that God should have such a zealousness, such a jealousy over Zion and over Jerusalem? Why? The only reason is God has chosen Zion. This is my rest forever, where I will dwell, because I have chosen Zion to be my dwelling place.

In other words, out of all the mountains and all the cities on this earth, God has chosen Zion and Jerusalem to be his dwelling place. Not because Zion is higher than every other mountain. Not because Jerusalem is a greater city than any other city.

Not at all. It just pleases God. It is the good pleasure of God that he should choose Zion and he should choose Jerusalem. And because he has chosen Zion and Jerusalem, therefore he is jealous and zealous over that city and over that mountain.

That is the only reason. Not because the children of Israel are better than any other people. As a matter of fact, we find the children of Israel are very difficult people. They give God lots of headaches and heartaches.

And yet God says, I have chosen Zion. This is my will, my good pleasure. I have chosen it and because I have chosen it for Jerusalem's sake and for Zion's sake, I will not be quiet. For Zion's sake, will I not hold my peace?

And for Jerusalem's sake, I will not be still. God will not hold his peace until Zion is at peace. God will not be still until Jerusalem is in stillness. In other words, it does not depend upon the situation and the condition of Zion and Jerusalem.

As a matter of fact, Jerusalem, the city of peace, does not know peace. Jerusalem will be destroyed. Jerusalem will be taken into captivity. The people will be scattered. The city will be in ruin. Zion, the place where David dwelled, where the royal scepter ruled, you find Zion is, there is no sign of royal scepter among Zion.

There is no peace in Jerusalem. So far as the people were concerned, it was totally forsaken and desolate. Is there hope for Zion? Is there any hope for Jerusalem? Is there any hope for these people? Thank God, there is.

Why? Because God said, for Zion's sake, I will not hold my peace. For Jerusalem's sake, I will not be still. Because I have chosen Zion. I have a purpose for Jerusalem. And until that purpose is fully realized, I will not hold my peace.

I will not be at rest. Until her brightness shall shine, her righteousness shall go forth as brightness, and her salvation as a torch that burneth. This is the purpose of God concerning Zion and Jerusalem.

God's Unchanging Purpose for His People

Now, brothers and sisters, oftentimes we are confused by our conditions. Oftentimes we are disappointed by our situation. But, if we have the eyes of God, if we can see God's purpose, you'll find that God's purpose never changes.

In spite of the conditions and the situation, you'll find God said, I will. I will work until her righteousness shall go forth as brightness, and so salvation, and her salvation as a torch that burneth.

Why? Because this is God's purpose. God's purpose for Zion is that there shall be righteousness. There shall be salvation. And as you read on, you'll find, and a nation shall see thy righteousness, and by all kings thy glory.

God's purpose for Zion is righteousness, salvation, glory, and thou shalt be called by a new name, a new name, which the mouth of Jehovah will name. They shall be marked with a new name, and thou shalt be a crown of beauty in the hand of Jehovah, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.

This is God's purpose. Even a crown of beauty, a royal diadem in God's hand. In other words, God has made, God has made Zion to be a crown of beauty. It is the hand of God that makes Jerusalem a royal diadem.

God has made her such that she may be the crown and the diadem upon God's head. Thou shalt no longer be termed forsaken. You know, in the different versions. I don't know what version you are using. You know, actually, here you'll find two Hebrew, four Hebrew, different Hebrew words.

And yet, in some version, you'll find two Hebrew words are translated, and two remain untranslated. In my version, they are all translated. So if they should be translated, they should all be translated.

If they are not, then they should all remain in Hebrew. Thou shalt no more be termed forsaken. Azubah. Azubah. Forsaken. And you know, if you read 1st Kings chapter 22, verse 42, you'll find Azubah is the name of a woman who is mother of Jehoshaphat.

Jehoshaphat's mother is called Azubah. And that is forsaken. Neither shalt thou land any more be termed desolate. Shimana. Desolate. But thou shalt be called Hepzibah. Hepzibah. Hepzibah again is a woman's name.

That name is the name of the mother of Manasseh. In 2nd Kings chapter 21, you'll find it. And thy land, Beulah. Beulah. Married. So here you'll find God said, you shall no longer be called forsaken and desolate.

But you shall be called, my delight is in you. And you are married. Not only thy people will marry you, but I will marry you too. In other words, they will be filled with people. And God will take the city as his bride.

God himself will be a bridegroom to that city. Now dear brothers and sisters, you'll find these are the various descriptions of God's purpose concerning Zion and Jerusalem. And this purpose is glorious.

The Church in God's Eternal Purpose

Now what is God's purpose with his church today? When we look at the situation, at the conditions of the church today, probably we will almost give up. Why? Because instead of Jerusalem, the city of peace, we find the church today is full of turmoil.

The church is divided. The city is divided. God's people are not together. God's people fight against each other. God's people are in captivity. The testimony of God is weak. There is not a royal scepter among Zion.

Brothers and sisters, if we look at situation, if we look at conditions of God's people today, we will be disappointed because we are not what we should be. We are not what God has purposed us to be. Now is there any hope?

If it is left to us, there is no hope. If we think of ourselves, probably it will be worse rather than better. There is no hope so far as we ourselves are concerned. But thank God, brothers and sisters, God has not given up.

Why? Because God has chosen us. Ephesians chapter 1, we are told, even before the foundation of the world, God has chosen us in Christ Jesus. Not because we are better than other people, than the rest of the world, but because it pleases God.

It is the good pleasure of God that He should choose us in Christ Jesus. Now, what is the purpose of His choosing us? His purpose of choosing us is that we may be blameless and holy before Him in love.

What is God's purpose concerning His church? God's purpose concerning His church is that her righteousness shall shine as brightness. You read the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, because in the book of Revelation we are told that God's ultimate purpose concerning His church are all realized.

And here you'll find in chapter 19 of the book of Revelation, it is said that it has been given to her a dress, fine linen, pure linen, and shiny linen. The church is to be clothed with a pure linen, white and shiny, which is the righteousness of the saints.

Then you go on to Revelation chapter 21, and you'll find the holy city, the New Jerusalem, descending down from heaven, having the glory of God, and her shining is as of precious stone. Brothers and sisters, this is God's purpose concerning His church, that her righteousness shall go forth as brightness.

In other words, the church shall be clothed with righteousness, because she is clothed with Christ, because she is in union with Christ, because the Holy Spirit is working Christ into her. So the result is, she shall be filled with righteousness of the saints.

The beauty of Christ shall be manifested in brightness in the church. Christ shall be glorified in the church, and her salvation as a torch that burns. In other words, the church shall know the salvation of the Lord in such a way that she shall be a testimony to all the world of the salvation of the Lord, as a torch that burns.

And the Bible says, the nation shall walk by its light, by the light of that city, and the king shall bring glory to it. So you'll find everything that is spoken of concerning Zion and Jerusalem shall be spiritually fulfilled in the church.

And indeed, the church shall have a new name, the new Jerusalem, not the old one, because God has made everything new, and everything is of God. There is nothing earthly, there is nothing of man, but everything is of God, and everything is new.

No longer Azubah forsaken, but Hathabah, my delight is in her. No longer Shemana desolate, but Beulah married, a Beulah land flowing with milk and honey. Oh, brothers and sisters, sometimes, you know, we need to forget our circumstances.

We need to close our eyes to our conditions, and not that we try to deceive ourselves. We know only too well our conditions and our situations. But sometimes, you know, we need to be delivered out of ourselves, and see the church from God, when we see the church according to the eternal purpose of God in Christ Jesus.

Oh, brothers and sisters, how we thank God that in spite of our conditions, in spite of the situation that we are in today, we know that God is working towards His purpose. The Lord Jesus said, I will build my church upon this rock, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

The Lord Himself said, I will build. And can He fail? He said, I will not hold peace. I will give myself no rest. I'm working and working until Jerusalem shall be a crown of beauty and a royal diadem.

Man may fail, but God cannot. He who calls us is faithful, and He will perform it. So, brothers and sisters, it does give us great encouragement. Think among the children of Israel, among those who are in captivity, or even with the remnant who have returned, but they were in great distress.

And when they heard these words of God spoken long ago, or at least about 200 years ago, before the remnant returned and built the city, what a comfort, what an uplifting, what a substance for their faith.

Brothers and sisters, this is what we need. We need to see God's purpose concerning His church, and God is determined to realize His purpose in spite of it. He takes upon Himself to fulfill His purpose concerning His church.

As a matter of fact, it does not depend on you. It does not depend on me. God takes upon Himself the full responsibility of working towards the realization of His eternal purpose. Thank God for that. That takes all our worries away, and biases away.

God's Work Through His People

And yet, when God works, He has a way of working, especially in the new creation. You know, when He created the old creation, He worked alone. He did not ask you to come and join in that work, because you were not there yet.

None of us were there. He worked all alone. He created heaven and earth, He created all the things on earth, and He created us. In other words, in the new old creation, God worked alone by Himself, and He did it all.

But when He is working with the new creation, He changes. He refuses to work alone. He will work. It is He who works. And yet, He works with a different principle. And that is, He wants us to join Him in His work.

And therefore, you'll find in the second portion of this passage, in verse 6, He says, I have set watchmen upon thy walls, Jerusalem, all the day and all the night. They shall never hold their peace. Ye that put Jehovah in remembrance, keep not peace, silence, and give him no rest till he has published, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

The first portion, God said, I will not hold my peace, I will not be still. God said, He will work, and He will work until His purpose is fully realized. And then in the second section, you see, how does He work?

He said, I have set watchmen upon thy walls, Jerusalem. When God begins to work, He works in man and with man. He sets watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem. Now, in the old days, you'll find every city has a wall.

They are walled in for protection. And then you'll find that they will set watchmen on the walls. Why? Because the wall is higher. And the watchmen on the wall will look out. And they will look over the horizon.

And whenever they see any movement in the horizon, immediately they will cry out and warn the inhabitants within the city. This is thy work, their work. So here you'll find the watchmen are placed on the walls on all sides.

And they are watching all the time. If there is a slight movement in the horizon, they notice it. And immediately they will give out the warning. And God said, I have set watchmen in thy walls, O Jerusalem.

Brothers and sisters, when God begins to work, He will set watchmen upon the walls of Jerusalem. That is to say, He will call some among God's people to serve as watchmen. God has His watchmen. Those watchmen are people who are on higher ground.

They are on the wall. They are people who are watching. When other people are sleeping, they are watching. When other people are relaxing, they are invigilant. Here they are on the walls watching. Brothers and sisters, when God's people are sleeping, resting, God will apprehend some of His people and set them as watchmen of the church.

God will lead you to higher ground, in the heavenlies. When God's people, most of God's people are living, on a lower ground, as it were, in such close touch with the world, in such close mixture with the earth, God is calling some of them to rise up.

We were dead with Christ. We are raised together with Christ. And we are now seated with Him together in the heavenlies. God will call His people to come out, come to a higher ground, into the heavenlies with Him on the wall.

And as you stand on a higher ground, then you are able to see not only the horizon, but even beyond the horizon. You are able to see what is coming. You are able to see the things that are gathering. And more than that, you are able to see beyond what is coming into the eternal purpose of God.

Oh, brothers and sisters, God needs watchmen. God is well able to do the work, and yet He needs watchmen in the church. Are we willing to pay the cost to be watchmen? Are we willing to be watching while others are resting?

Are we willing to climb to the higher ground, to stay in the heavenlies with Christ, that we may be able to see further than other people? We may be able not only to see what will, what are coming, but we may be able to see what's way beyond the horizon.

The eternal purpose of God is calling for watchmen. And you'll find the watchman here has more duties than an ordinary watchman. Why? Because number one, He is a watchman. He is to watch. But number two, He is to pray.

He is to intercede. So here you'll find all the day and all the night, they shall never hold their peace. They shall never hold their peace. They are not only there watching, but watching unto prayer.

Watchmen as Intercessors

Brothers and sisters, if we do not watch, we cannot pray. We do not know what to pray for. But if we do watch, then we ought to pray. Why? Because what we have seen will drive us to our knees. If we see and do not give ourselves to prayer, then what we see is as if we haven't seen.

You know, we can see things. And yet some people really see. And other people see as if they haven't seen. When the Lord saw the multitude, His heart was full of compassion. He said, they are like sheep without shepherds.

But the disciples didn't see that. They saw the multitude, but that's it. They didn't see. They had no burden. They did not pray. And the Lord said, you shall pray that God will send out His people to harvest the field.

Oh, how we need to watch. We are living in a very thrilling time. We are living at the end times. Things are gathering, are moving. Very interesting times. And if we watch what is coming to this world, in what relation it is to the Church and to God's purpose, then we should give ourselves to prayer night and day.

Do not hold peace. Oh, how we need to pray. We are not only watchmen, we are intercessors. And not only intercessors, but it's a ye that put Jehovah in remembrance, keep not silence and give Him no rest.

Reminding God of His Promises

We are remembrance, reminders. You know, in the old days, in the court, in the royal court, they have people who are called recorders. They will record all the important events that happened to the kingdom.

And they are people who are reminders, remembrances. That is to say, they will remind the king from time to time of the promises he made. You know, the king sometimes make many promises. Oh, he say he will reward a certain person, or he will do a certain thing, but he has so many affairs that he forgot.

So in the royal court, there are people who are reminders. They will remind the king. They will record everything and remind the king. Now you forget to reward a certain person as you have promised. So here you'll find in the royal court of God, we are called to be remembrances, reminders.

Think of it. We are not only watchmen, we are intercessors, and we are also reminders of God. Does God need to be reminded? Certainly not. We often forget, but God never. He never forgets His promise, and yet it pleases Him to set us as His reminders.

Who is our reminder? The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit who dwells in us is our reminder. Oh, how He often reminds us of Christ. He reminds us of the truth. He reminds us of God's Word. And because He so reminds us, therefore He strengthens us as the Holy Spirit reminds us.

We remind God. As He brings God's promises to us, we bring these promises to God and say, now, Lord, You have said it. Don't forget it. Have it done, not silent, and give Him no rest. God said, I will not rest.

And God said, give Him no rest. God is determined not to rest until He has established Jerusalem and make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. And God said, don't give me any rest. You just remind me day and night.

Do not keep silent, but remind me day and night until I establish, until I make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. Oh, brothers and sisters, what a privilege. To remind God. You read the Bible and you find from time to time those who know God, how they reminded God.

Abraham and Moses as Models of Intercession

How Abraham reminded God when God determined to destroy the city of Sodom and Gomorrah. You remember God sharing His burden with Abraham? And Abraham drew near and said, can a just God do unjustly? If there are 50 righteous men in the city, will you destroy the righteous together with the unrighteous?

Will you not spare the city? Here you'll find Abraham remind God of God's character. You are a just God. Now don't do anything unjust. That will reflect on your name. He was a good reminder, good reminder.

And Moses remind God too. When God told Moses, I will wipe out this people and I will raise your seed up to be a great nation. Moses drew near and said, now God, don't you remember your name? Your name is I'm merciful and gracious, ready to forgive.

And God said, I forgive. I forgive. Brothers and sisters, we need to remind God how many of God's people today are really, how many of God's people today are really intercessive? How many of God's people today are really reminders of God?

Are we just sitting back and go to sleep and just wait passively for God to work? That is not God's way of working. It is true. It is God who works. You cannot work. I cannot work. None of us can do anything.

No matter what we do, how we do it, it is totally of no use. God said, I will do it. But God said, I need watchmen. I need intercessions. I need reminders. Is it because there are not watchmen? There are not intercessions and there are not reminders.

Therefore, God's hands are bound. He cannot work. He does not work because He cannot deny Himself. If this is His will, then He cannot deny Himself. Oh, how important it is to see this, brothers and sisters.

Answering the Call to Watch, Intercede, and Remember

On the one hand, we need to see God's purpose. It never changes. Nothing can change God's purpose. His purpose shall be fulfilled. On the other hand, in connection with that purpose, God needs, may we give ourselves to Him, set ourselves apart for Him, willing to stay in the heavenlies, on the higher ground, watch, intercede, remind God of His word, of His promise.

And God said, I will indeed. Jehovah has sworn by His right hand and by the arm of His strength, I will indeed no more give thy corn to be food for thine enemies, and so on and so forth. You know, when there are watchmen and intercessors and reminders, God said, all right, I have sworn.

I'll do it. So, dear brothers and sisters, this morning, may we see God's purpose. And may we join ourselves to that purpose in answering the call of God to be watchmen, intercessors, and reminders. Our Heavenly Father, we do praise and thank Thee that Thou dost lift us out of this world, that we may see Thy purpose concerning Thy church.

Closing Prayer for the Church

Oh, how glorious it is. Thou dost say, it shall be a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle or any offset, that it may be presented to Thyself as Thy bride. Oh, our Heavenly Father, how we praise and thank Thee that this is Thy purpose.

And Thou art working towards Thy purpose. Thou dost say, I will build my church upon this rock. And the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. In spite of all that we are, our conditions, in spite of all that we see around us.

Oh, Lord, how we praise and thank Thee Thou dost give us hope. Thou art working. Thou art working quietly and silently, but persistently and continuously. Thou art working towards the realization of Thy purpose.

Oh, we do praise and thank Thee. Good Lord, Thou dost show us Thou has a way. Thou art calling out of Thy people watchmen, interceptors, reminders of God. Oh, Lord, have mercy upon us, that we may hear Thy call, that we may be played as watchmen on the water.

We may watch and pray, pray and watch, that we may lay hold of Thy promise. And intercede on behalf of Thy church. Oh, Lord, make us that, we pray, that Thy work may be quickly realized. And Thy may be, Thou may be glorified in the church.

We pray that Thou will use these words to stir our hearts. We pray that by the quickening of Thy spirit, we may be brought to that place where we can be useful in Thy hand. We ask in the name of our Lord Jesus.