ISAIAH - CHAPTER 62 - 'IN THE HAND OF THE LORD"
ISAIAH – CHAPTER 62- “IN THE HAND OF THE LORD”
Tuesday Morning Bible Study – 4/14/15, the Year of Our Lord
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
In Isaiah 62, we have a new pledge and guarantee given by Jehovah, that He will fulfill His work of grace to His Church on earth, until grace is merged in the glory of the Church triumphant.
This chapter is in itself is a miniature gospel of comfort. The Word brings before us our privileges as believers under a three-fold emblem of Kingly honor; Inviolable Security; and Tender Love. Most blessed threefold emblem! That gemmed crown in the right hand of Him who is the Church’s Bridegroom and King.
It is a true everlasting---an unfading wreath left by angels on His tomb, which He carried with Him, on the day of His ascension to His throne, to hold in pledge until the bridal hour, when the Queen---the Church triumphant and glorified---will stand at His right hand “in gold of Ophir” (Ps. 45:9).
In this chapter we see Jesus Christ, as the new Husband –“As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride” (Vs. 5); as the Servant of the Lord and His persistence in accomplishing Jehovah’s gracious purpose toward Zion to a place of preeminence among the nations to the delight of the Lord, who works all things after the counsel of His own will.
Isaiah 60-66 prophetically reveals this New Day and the progression from the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry to the fullness of time of the New Heavens and the New Earth.
Here we see intercession the complete salvation of Zion, (the nation of Israel as well as Spiritual Israel) and further predictions of Zion’s Glory.
Isa. 62: 1-3: “For Zion’s sake I will 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 burns. The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; and you shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall 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.”
In chapter 61, we found Jesus, the Messiah-King issuing a manifesto which He unfolds of His own character and the nature and design of His Kingdom. At the close of chapter 61, the Church responds in a song of joy, to Him who has clothed us with “the garments of salvation” and covered us “with a robe of righteousness.”
Here, God Himself, the Great Jehovah of His people answers their ascription of praise with a renewed promise of blessing; that for Zion’s sake He will not be silent. For Jerusalem’s sake, He will not rest, “until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness” (or like the ruddy hues of a brilliant morning), “and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burns”.
Jesus Christ is the bright burning lamp that has come forth as the glory and the righteousness of the Father. He came to inaugurate a new name, which is a new nature and authority, even His own!
At the time this was written by Isaiah, Zion was in ruins; the Queenly Matron was uncrowned, sitting, a mourning- forlorn widow, shrouded in darkness. Her twin name is “Forsaken” and “Desolate”.
62:4: “You shall no more be termed Forsaken, neither 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.”
This is the promise God makes to His Church of tender love and favor. In the figure of a Bride, which is so often used both in Old and New Testaments, the Church is here further represented as the Bride of Christ.
Once her name was that of the mother of Jehoshaphat---“Azubah” (1 Ki. 22:42) (i.e., “Forsaken”) or “Shemamah” (Strong’s H8076) (i.e. “Desolate”).
But as the case with Abraham, Jacob, and other illustrious saints, at some great crisis-hour of history, their names were changed. So it is so with the Church of the Redeemed. “The Forsaken one” and “the Desolate one” is henceforth to be called by the name of the Queen to whom Hezekiah was married on his recovery from sickness and impending death---“Hephzibah”. (2 Ki. 21:1) “She in whom He delights”---a beautiful emblem of that spiritual and regal bride to whom the Heavenly King and Bridegroom (the true Hezekiah) was united after His death and resurrection to endless life.
The land, too, which is represented as desert and its name “Desolate”, is to be called “Beulah” i.e. possessed, or married. For it is added:
62:5: “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.”
It is the strongest emblems of love that can be employed, to denote the depth and tenderness of Jehovah’s love to His people. “Husbands love your wives, even as Christ also loved the Church.”
“Glorious things are spoken of thee, O City of God” (Ps. 87:3).
Luke 13:17: “When Jesus said these things, all His adversaries were ashamed; and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him
The darkness vanishes; and not only is the silent, deserted city flooded with light, but a new and rapid change of figure. It becomes a stronghold with sentinels on its towers, sounding their watch-cries or watch songs.
62:6-7: “I have set watchmen upon your walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night; you that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give Him no rest, till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.”
The Lord here calls the watchmen as they pace the battlements-“ye that make mention of the Lord – do not keep silent. “Give Him no rest until He establish and make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.” Watchmen in the 21st Century – do not keep silent. Use every means to declare the triumph of Jesus Christ.
The Lord makes a reply in 62:8: “The Lord has sworn by His right hand, and by the arm of His strength, surely I will no more give your corn to be meat for your enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink your wine, for which you have labored.”
Because he could swear by no greater, He swears by Himself. He makes a solemn declaration “by his right hand, by the arm of His strength,” that every word He had spoken would be fulfilled, ---that the day was coming in a better and brighter future, when the Church will reap her own harvest, gather her own corn, and drink, as of old, the vintage-cup of thanks within the courts of His holiness.
62: 9: But 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
We are standing at a time in history of great persecution and rejection of the nation of Israel as well as the Christians throughout the world. Israel is surrounded by armies who want to destroy the Zionist. Even in the United States which was founded by Christians for the purpose of freedom of worship, we are being persecuted and demeaned for our faith.
The circumstances of the earth are such that war is raging around Jerusalem as we hear and see the Psalm 83 confederacy of nations rage against Israel as well as the forming coalition of the Gog-Magog Nations around the Black Sea.
Psalm 83: 1-4: “Keep not Your silence, O God; hold not Your peace, and be not still, O God. For, lo, Your enemies make a tumult; and they that hate You have lifted up the head. They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, and consulted against Your hidden ones. They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; and the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.”
In Verse 10, a new chorus of voices are heard, calling upon the gates to be flung open, the obstructing stones to be gathered out, and the highways to be repaired for the return of the ransomed.
62: 10-12: Go through, go through the gates; prepare you the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people. Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the world. Say you to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your salvation comes; behold His reward is with him, and His work before Him’. They shall call them, the holy people. The redeemed of the Lord; and you shall be called, Sought out, a city not forsaken.”
We see this scripture fulfilled today in the beauty and restoration of the nation of Israel and Jerusalem. The Lord has always used Israel as the stage where He plays out His redemptive work in the Church and the world.
By universal acclaim, the once despised people are called “Holy, the redeemed of the Lord;” and the once despised city, “sought out, a city not forsaken.”
This is a pledge and guarantee that the Lord will fulfill His work of grace to His Church on earth and His divine plan for Israel.
Let us consider the three-fold pledge to the believer:
1. Kingly honor:
God promises to His people Kingly or royal honor---“You shall also be a crown of glory and a royal diadem.” We are “kings” as well as “priests unto God.” The Church is spoken of alike as the Queen consort and as the King’s daughter (Psa. 45:13). The conquering Christian is at last to be throned and crowned. We are to sit with Christ upon His throne, even as He also overcame, and is set down with His Father on His throne (Rev. 3:21).
We are to receive a crown of glory that does not fade away. (1 Pet. 5:4) Isaiah’s expression, “crown of glory,” means rather a “tiara”---a circlet studded with precious stones of varying beauty and luster; while the “royal diadem” is literally “a diadem of a kingdom.”
While the emblem unfolds the dignity of the believer ---associated with kingly honors, it presents us also with a beautiful picture of the varying gifts and graces which are found in the Church.
Some are designed and fitted for active, some for passive work. Some have the grace of speech and word; others “the grace of faith and deed.” Some are called, like these sentinel watchmen to guard the walls and utter the watch-cry; others to shape the stones and prepare the mortar. Some are called to glorify God like the Elijahs, Pauls and Luthers. There is nothing more beautiful than this diversity in unity in the gemmed crown which here symbolizes the Church.
“An army with banners”, a garden with flowers of varying sizes, hues and fragrances are combined in a wreath of harmonious beauty. Diversified sheep-folds, some on the heights, some in the valleys; some made of stone, some of inter-twisted branches, but forming the one flock of the one Chief shepherd.
How do I occupy in this tiara of kingly beauty? Guard me O Lord that I do nothing to blemish or tarnish the luster of that crown, or soil the beauty of that kingly garland. No gift is too lowly to contribute to the embellishment of that kingly diadem. “Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ”. (Eph. 4:7)
The next privilege the Lord promises here is inviolable security.
That crown is in the hand of the Lord. That royal diadem is in the hand of the Lord.
The hand of God and the arm of God are symbols of strength. To be “in His hand” is the absolute pledge and assurance of His protection. In the palm of His hand is the tenderest, safest, and most secure place.
“Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands” (Isa. 49:16). “They shall never perish; neither shall any pluck them out of my hand.” (Jn. 10:28).
Out of that hand of power, manifold adversaries try to wrench the Church. But He who is said to take up the waters “in the hollow of His hand”, holds in that palm His covenant-people.
Jehovah further strengthens and guarantees divine protection by representing Himself as securing the safety of His church by manning its walls with faithful watchmen, keeping vigil night and day.
He swears by that very Hand that He will never relax His hold, or alter His purposes of faithfulness; so that His people may have “strong consolation” (Heb. 6:18).
“All His saints,” said Moses, “are in your hand” (Deut. 33:3). “You save”, said the Psalmist, “by your right hand, them who trust in you.” “The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.” “Awake, awake, O arm of the Lord!” Is “the Lord’s hand shortened that it cannot save?” What is His answer? “I am the Lord your God, who divided the sea, whose waves roared; the Lord of Hosts is His name…I have covered you in the shadow of my hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, You are my people.”
His royal garland is now being weaved. It is not His crown of deity---the eternal crown He wore from everlasting ages, as “God over all.” That cannot be added to. It is complete in itself. No gem in it is wanting. It is a crown of pure gold, the same today as it was before eternity burst into creation by the manifestation of His power.
This regal diadem consists of immortal souls redeemed from mankind. These are ever fresh gems to increase its luster. This royal garland plucked from His garden on earth, is every day, every year, adding fresh flowers, ---some in bud, and some in blossom. He is holding it now in His hand. The day is coming that will usher in the coronation of the Church triumphant.
All prophecy and teaching tell us, it will be at earth’s deepest midnight that the cry will be heard, “behold the Bridegroom comes!” It is when the world and the Church are slumbering and sleeping, and the shadows of evil are falling all around, that “the righteousness thereof shall go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof” as these “blazing torches.”
Go through, go through the gates! May it be ours to do what we can for the clearing away of all stones---all moral obstructions and hear the joyous shout – Daughter of Zion, behold your Savior comes.
“A little while for patient vigil keeping
To face the storm, to wrestle with the strong;
A little while to sow the seed with weeping,
Then bid the sheaves and sing the harvest-song.
A little while mid shadow and illusion,
To strive by faith Love’s mysteries to spell,
Then read each dark enigma’s clear solution,
And hail Light’s verdict, “He does all things well.”
A little while the earthen pitcher taking
To wayside brooks from far-off fountains fed,
Then the parched lip its thirst forever slaking
Beside the fullness of the Fountain-Head.
A little while to keep the oil from failing,
A little while Faith’s flickering lamp to trim;
And then the Bridegroom’s coming footstep hailing,
To haste to meet Him with the bridal hymn!”
Isaiah 63 reveals New Mercies for this New Day. It is His vengeance tempered by His Mercy.
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
Eastgate Ministries, Inc.
Scripture from K.J.V. – I entered into the labors of John Ross MacDuff, “Comfort Ye, Comfort Ye. Comments and conclusions are my own and not meant to reflect the views of those Rev. MacDuff.