For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,My Understanding: I am going to share what I got from this passage of scripture in practical application for my life and for the church today that I believe the Lord gave to me this morning. I believe this is God speaking and that he is speaking very similar words as what he spoke to Jerusalem to his church today, as well as to those he has called to be his “watchmen” (and women) in his church.
for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet,
till her righteousness shines out like the dawn,
her salvation like a blazing torch.
2 The nations will see your righteousness,
and all kings your glory;
you will be called by a new name
that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.
3 You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD’s hand,
a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
4 No longer will they call you Deserted,
or name your land Desolate.
But you will be called Hephzibah,
and your land Beulah;
for the LORD will take delight in you,
and your land will be married.
5 As a young man marries a maiden,
so will your sons marry you;
as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride,
so will your God rejoice over you.
6 I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
they will never be silent day or night.
You who call on the LORD,
give yourselves no rest,
7 and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem
and makes her the praise of the earth.
8 The LORD has sworn by his right hand
and by his mighty arm:
“Never again will I give your grain
as food for your enemies,
and never again will foreigners drink the new wine
for which you have toiled;
9 but those who harvest it will eat it
and praise the LORD,
and those who gather the grapes will drink it
in the courts of my sanctuary.”
10 Pass through, pass through the gates!
Prepare the way for the people.
Build up, build up the highway!
Remove the stones.
Raise a banner for the nations.
11 The LORD has made proclamation
to the ends of the earth:
“Say to the Daughter of Zion,
‘See, your Savior comes!
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.’”
12 They will be called the Holy People,
the Redeemed of the LORD;
and you will be called Sought After,
the City No Longer Deserted.
God is saying that he will not keep silent, for the sake of his church, until her righteousness shines out like the dawn and her salvation like a blazing torch. In other words, God will continue to speak through his written word, through his Holy Spirit, and through his servants (his watchmen and watchwomen) concerning the spiritual condition of his church and of her need to repent, as well as he and his servants will continue to speak to the church’s need to return to her first love, until she has been revived and she is the light (like a blazing torch) to this world for the gospel of Jesus Christ that she has been called out to be. God and his watchmen (and women) feel deeply the pain of seeing the church in a state of spiritual decline, lukewarmness and apathy, and so God and his watchmen are persistent in speaking and not remaining silent until God intervenes on behalf of his church and he brings us to that place of repentance and revival that we so desperately need.
I believe with all my heart that God is promising revival of his church in the near future and at that time the church will indeed shine and the nations will see her righteousness. She will be called by a new name and she will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand. In other words, God is promising divine action to change the status and character of his church. A name represents the person’s character, word, reputation, etc., so a “new name” is symbolic for that change of character and reputation to where she will no longer be known as the sleeping giant, the unfaithful, the lukewarm, and the complacent, etc., but she will be called the faithful, the passionate for God, the motivated by the Spirit and the obedient to Jesus Christ and to his word. This change that will take place will be the working of God’s grace in the lives of his children and will be a working of power by the Holy Spirit to transform lives. Then, the church will be a delight to our Lord God and Savior and she will once again enjoy a close, intimate relationship with her Lord, Savior and Master, Jesus Christ. She will be a bride made ready for her wedding day to her husband, Jesus Christ.
To the Lord’s watchmen (and women), he is calling us to not be silent day or night. A watchman is a guard, custodian and caretaker, so, in a sense, we are all called to be watchmen and women for the Lord and for his people. A watchman (or sentry) is “somebody who is assigned to keep watch and to warn of danger” (Encarta). We are all called to keep watch and to warn other believers of approaching danger, yet some within the body of Christ have been called to do this full-time and to always be on the watch and to warn day and night of approaching danger of our enemy, Satan, of his schemes to trap the called of God into sin, and to call the people of God to repentance, to heart change, to revival, to restoration, and to being watchful for the enemy themselves. Watchmen and women are also called to intercede in prayer for the saints of God that they not be led into sin and/or for them to repent of sin and to return to their Lord, and to pray for revival of the church. God is calling his watchmen and women to persist and to not give up until God answers that prayer for revival and we see the church change and become that “blazing torch” for the gospel of Jesus Christ that she was meant to be.
God is also calling out to his watchmen and women to prepare the way for the people of God to return to their Lord. John the Baptist was called to be a voice calling “Prepare the way for the Lord. Make straight paths for him.” I believe this call in Isaiah is very similar in that this is about getting the way ready for the people to meet their God, Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. John the Baptist called the people to repentance and in that way he was making the road ready for Jesus Christ and for people to receive him as Lord and Savior. The “stones” that were removed were obstacles that were in the way on the road. We, too, in repentance and obedience to our Lord are to remove obstacles of sin from our lives that stand in the way of our pure relationship with Jesus Christ and our fellowship with him.
Jesus will return one day for his bride. Are you ready to meet him? What are you doing with Jesus now? Where is he in all the activities and busyness of your lives? - Our lives? Is he in first place and considered above and before all else? Do we inquire of him before we make decisions? Do we ask for his counsel? - His guidance? - His direction in our lives? Do we consider first what he desires of us? Do we make him first priority in all that we do? Does he order up our days or do we plan out our own days and then just hope he will put his stamp of approval on them? Do we seek him concerning his will for our lives and what he would have us to be and do and say? Or do we choose how we want to serve him according to what is comfortable to us? – And what fits with our schedules?
If we want to go to heaven one day to be our Lord forever, then shouldn’t we want to be with him now while we are on the earth? This song asks these three questions concerning all the things and activities in our lives: “Where is Jesus found?” “Where is Jesus now?” And, “Where does Jesus fit?” I pray we would all go before God today and inquire of him and be willing for him to show us where he presently fits in our lives and activities, and then ask him where he would like to fit and how he would like to fit, and then I pray that we would all give him Lordship of our lives today, making him Master and us his slaves.
Where is Jesus? / An Original Work / May 22, 2011
Fishing, swimming, boating, sailing,
Driving, hiking, camping, trailing,
Bowling, golfing, TV watching,
Videos, movies and talking –
Where is Jesus found?
Friends and Facebook, chat and email,
Internet, blogs, news sites, retail,
Sports and music, books, magazines,
Laptops, I-Pads, smart phones, texting –
Where is Jesus now?
Jobs and careers, data bases,
Business, money, many faces,
Get ahead of everyone who’s
Competition; always running –
Where does Jesus fit?
Song Lyrics @ Public Domain
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