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,
Isaiah 62 opens with God promising not to keep quiet until Jerusalem's righteousness shines out, and by verse 6 He gives that same refusal to be silent to others — watchmen on her walls who must never stop speaking. The surprise is what they do with their voices: they warn the city less than they remind God Himself.
A watchman's normal job is to spot danger and shout. Here the job changes.
It is of great interest to see the place the watchmen have here. Blessed is the day when their work will be not so much warning people against evil, against treachery or violence. It will be far more the work of loudly reminding Jehovah of the mercy that lasts. They will remind Him, too, that all past sin and shame will be reversed when Jerusalem is established and made a praise in the earth.
Jerusalem is still forsaken, and the watch runs right through her long night.
Yet the forsaken Jerusalem is not forgotten by the Lord. He shows this by setting watchmen on the walls, who are never to keep quiet until deliverance comes. It is worth noting that Ezekiel was the prophet set as "a watchman for the house of Israel" (Ezekiel 3:17). He was also the one who saw, in a vision, the glory of the Lord leave the temple and the city. During Israel's night the watchmen are not to keep quiet. They are, so to speak, to keep reminding the Lord that His glory is bound up with Israel being established in their land, and with Jerusalem becoming a praise to His name in the earth.
Commentators differ on who the watchmen are. One writer reads the watchman on the wall as Christ Himself.
The watchman, the Lord Jesus, will sit on her walls to cry for it, and will give Jehovah no rest till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
Others hear Christ's own prayer at the start of the chapter put into the watchmen He appoints.
In this chapter we have Christ's intercession. He puts the spirit of intercession into the watchmen on her walls. May the Lord grant it to the Church — His Church! And the effect is declared: He will not stop till all is accomplished, and He sets the watchmen in the same position.
Older translations call these people the LORD's remembrancers. Their work is not to change God's mind. It is to press Him for what He has already set His heart on.
While He plans to bless Zion, He wants His remembrancers on the earth to plead with Him for the very thing He has set His heart on. So praying with understanding needs a real knowledge of His word.
What do such people actually say? They hand God back His own promises.
The best basis for prayer is the solid promises of God. Remind God of what He has said! "The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable" (Romans 11:29)… God is always faithful to His promises!
The next command is startling. God tells people to keep at Him, and one writer takes that as a call to be relentless.
That is what the Spirit of God wrote down. He wants to encourage us to come, and come, and come again in persistent prayer, and never give in to evil thoughts of discouragement. We ought always to pray and not lose heart. And you remember that in Isaiah 62:6-7 the Lord's remembrancers are told to "give Him no rest" until He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth. Think of the Lord Himself telling us to "give Him no rest"!
This prayer has a future. It will be prayed in a coming time of great trouble. And God's people can join it now.
Everything points to the glorious completion of the kingdom. Other watchmen intercede and give Him no rest till He establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth. Faithful Jews, men of prayer, will call on God during the great tribulation to make good His Word and keep His promises. May God's people even now plead and intercede that all His purposes come quickly.
- Appointed. God posts the watchmen Himself. The cry on the wall starts with Him, not with human zeal.
- Redirected. Their voice turns inward. They warn the city less than they remind the Lord of His lasting mercy and of the shame He will reverse.
- Supplied. Remembrancers plead God's own promises back to Him. That is why real prayer needs a knowledge of His word.
- Invited. "Give Him no rest" is God's own wording. He commands persistence, and He asks us to refuse discouragement.
- Aimed. The goal is not private relief but public glory. Jerusalem will be established and made a praise in the earth, and God's own glory is bound up with it.
and give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
God tells the watchmen on Jerusalem's walls. Their task is to keep reminding Him of His own promise. They are to give Him no rest until He has done it. The words raise two questions. Why would God need reminding? And who are these people, bold enough to press Him?
A watchman on a wall usually scans the horizon for danger. Here the job is different, and one writer calls that change the sign of a better day.
It is of great interest to observe the place of the watchmen here. Blessed is the day when their work will not be mainly to warn people against evil, whether treachery or violence. Instead, they will loudly remind Jehovah of the mercy that endures. They will remind Him of the reversal of all past sin and shame, when Jerusalem is established and made a praise in the earth.
Where does such praying come from? It is not a human idea. One writer traces it back to Christ Himself.
In this chapter we have Christ's intercession. He puts the spirit of intercession into the watchmen on her walls. May the Lord grant it to the Church — His Church! And the effect is declared: He will not cease till all is accomplished, and He sets the watchmen in the same position.
Prayer this bold needs a reason bigger than the wishes of the one praying. One writer finds that reason in God's own glory.
It is worth noting that Ezekiel was the prophet set as a watchman for the house of Israel (Ezekiel 3:17). He was the one who saw in a vision the glory of the Lord leave the temple and the city. During Israel's night the watchmen are not to hold their peace. They are, so to speak, to keep reminding the Lord of one thing. His glory is involved in the establishing of Israel in their land. It is involved in Jerusalem becoming a praise to His name in the earth.
God announces the outcome, then appoints people to ask Him for it.
He plans to bless Zion. Even so, He wants people on earth who will remind Him and plead with Him to carry out what He has set His heart on. So praying with understanding needs a knowledge of His word.
The phrase sounds almost rude. One writer set it beside the widow who kept going back to an unjust judge. He heard an invitation, not a liberty.
You remember the widow who kept going to the judge who did not fear God or respect people. At first he would not help her, but her constant coming wore him down. That is what the Spirit of God wrote down. He wrote it to encourage us to come, and come, and come again in persevering prayer, and never to give in to discouraging thoughts. We ought always to pray and not to faint... Think of the Lord Himself telling us to "give Him no rest"!
Commentators differ on who these watchmen are. Some read them as a faithful remnant of Israel, praying through dark days still to come. Others apply the same spirit of intercession to Christians today. Both readings agree that the praying is God-given, not self-generated.
The goal is more than a restored city. It is a city others want to join — and a city with nothing to boast about.
Jerusalem will become a praise in the earth. The Jews, so long despised and badly treated, will be the nation that others want to join (Isaiah 62:7; Zechariah 8:23). All this will be a blessing, yet it gives them no ground for boasting. It gives them full ground to give all praise and glory to Jehovah.
- No rest, first: God has set His heart on blessing Zion. The sleepless watchmen echo His own purpose. They are not trying to change His mind.
- No rest, given: Christ puts the spirit of intercession into the watchmen. He will not stop until He has done all He promised.
- No rest, grounded: They may press Him for one reason. His own glory is involved in settling Israel in their land, and in Jerusalem becoming a praise to His name.
- No rest, informed: God wants people who plead for what He has set His heart on. So prayer with understanding starts with knowing His word.
- No rest, until praise: The end is a city other nations want to join. All the glory goes back to God, and none to her.