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God's professing people must be a praying people. He is not displeased with us for being earnest, as men commonly are; he bids us to cry after him, and give him no rest, (Luk 11:5 KJV) And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; (Luk 11:6 KJV) For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? It is a sign that God is coming to a people in mercy, when he pours out a spirit of prayer upon them. See how uncertain our creature-comforts are. See also God's mercy in giving plenty, and peace to enjoy it. Let us delight in attending the courts of the Lord, that we may enjoy the consolations of his Spirit. Two things are here promised to Jerusalem: - (Isa 62:6 KJV) I 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, (Isa 62:7 KJV) And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. Plenty of the means of grace - abundance of good preaching and good praying, and this shows the method God takes when he designs mercy for a people; he first brings them to their duty and pours out a spirit of prayer upon them, and then brings salvation to them. Provision is made, that ministers may do their duty as watchmen. It is here spoken of as a token for good, as a step towards further mercy and an earnest of it, that, in order to what he designed for them, he would set watchmen on their walls who should never hold their peace. (Isa 62:6 KJV) I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem,.... Not angels, as Jarchi; nor kings, as Kimchi; nor princes and civil magistrates, as others; nor the mourners in Zion, as Aben Ezra; but ministers of the Gospel; as the prophets of the Old Testament are called watch men, (Isa 21:11 KJV) The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? so ministers of the New, (Isa 52:8 KJV) Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion. who are to watch in all things over themselves, and for the souls of men; for their good, and to guard them against that which is evil, pernicious, and dangerous, both in principle and practice, (2Ti 4:5 KJV) But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. The allusion is to watchmen on the walls of cities, whose business is to keep their place and stand, and not move from it; to look out diligently, and descry an enemy, or any approaching danger, and give notice of it; and to defend the outworks of the city, and repel the enemy; all which requires courage, constancy, vigilance, and sobriety. The church is a city, and a walled one; God himself is a wall about her; salvation by Christ is as walls and bulwarks to her; and ministers of the Gospel are set for the defense of her: this is an ordinance and appointment of God; these watchmen are not of men's setting, nor do they take this office to themselves; but are placed in it by the Lord, who makes them able ministers, qualifies them for watchmen, and enables them to perform their work; and which is an instance of the love of God to his church, and of his care of it: (Isa 62:6 KJV) which shall never hold their peace day nor night; as the living creatures in, (Rev 4:8 KJV) And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. which are an emblem of Gospel ministers; who are always to be employed, and to be continually praying or preaching; the two principal branches of their ministry, (Act 6:4 KJV) But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. they are not to be silent, but either praying in private or in public for direction and assistance in their meditations; for supply of the gifts and graces of the Spirit in their ministration, and for success in their work; and that all blessings of grace might descend on those to whom they minister: or else preaching the Gospel; being constant in season, and out of season; frequently inculcating the doctrines of Christ; constantly affirming these things; ever informing, instructing, and exhorting the people. It was Austin's wish that death might find him either praying or preaching: Note, ministers are watchmen on the church's walls, for it is as a city besieged, whose concern it is to have sentinels on the walls, to take notice and give notice of the motions of the enemy. It is necessary that, as watchmen, they be wakeful, and faithful, and willing to endure hardness. They are concerned to stand upon their guard day and night; they must never be off their watch as long as those for whose souls they watch are not out of danger. They must never hold their peace; they must take all opportunities to give warning to sinners, in season, out of season, and must never betray the cause of Christ by a treacherous or cowardly silence. (Isa 62:6 KJV) ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence; Some take this to be an address to the same persons; and they may be described as such that make mention of the Lord in their ministrations; of the grace and love of God the Father; of the person, office, and grace of Christ; and of the operations of the Spirit: or, "as the remembrancers of the Lord", as it may be rendered; that put men in mind of the Lord; of what he has done for them, and is unto them; of the doctrines of the Gospel respecting him, and of their duty to him, and to one another, and to all men; and who put the Lord in mind of his promises to his people, and prophecies concerning them, to fulfill them: but I rather think another set of men are meant, even members of churches, as distinct from ministers; who make mention of the Lord to one another, in private conference with each other; of his gracious dealings with them, and favors bestowed upon them; and who make mention of him in their prayers to him, and praises of him; and who should not keep silence, but pray without ceasing, even always, and not faint, (Luk 18:1 KJV) And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; They must never hold their peace at the throne of grace; they must pray, and not faint, as Moses lifted up his hands and kept them steady, till Israel had obtained the victory over Amalek, (Exo 17:10 KJV) So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. (Exo 17:12 KJV) But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. That people may do their duty. As those that make mention of the Lord, let not them keep silence neither, let not them think it enough that their watchmen pray for them, but let them pray for themselves; all will be little enough to meet the approaching mercy with due solemnity. Note, it is the character of God's professing people that they make mention of the Lord, and continue to do so even in bad times, when the land is termed forsaken and desolate. They are the Lord's remembrancers (so the margin reads it); they remember the Lord themselves and put one another in mind of him. God's professing people must be a praying people, must be public-spirited in prayer, must wrestle with God in prayer, and continue to do so: “Keep not silence; never grow remiss in the duty nor weary of it.” Give him no rest - alluding to an importunate beggar, to the widow that with her continual coming wearied the judge into a compliance. (Isa 62:7 KJV) And give him no rest,.... Not let him alone, as he desired that Moses would, but wrestle with him as Jacob did, and not let him go without the blessing; be importunate with him, as the widow with the unjust judge; and be incessant in prayer: God said to Moses, Let me alone, (Exo 32:10 KJV) Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. and Jacob to Christ, I will not let thee go except thou bless me, (Gen 32:26 KJV) And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. God is so far from being displeased with our pressing importunity, as men commonly are, that he invites and encourages it; he bids us to cry after him; he is not like those disciples who discouraged a petitioner, Mat_15:23. (Mat 15:23 KJV) But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. He bids us make pressing applications at the throne of grace, and give him no rest, (Luk 11:5 KJV) And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; (Luk 11:8 KJV) I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. He suffers himself not only to be reasoned with, but to be wrestled with. The public welfare or prosperity of God's Jerusalem is that which we should be most importunate for at the throne of grace; we should pray for the good of the church. That it may be safe, that he would establish it, that the interests of the church may be firm, may be settled for the present and secured to posterity. (Isa 62:7 KJV) until he establish; his church; which, though founded by him, and built upon the sure foundation of his laying, upon a rock, against which the gates of hell cannot prevail; yet, as to its outward state, is sometimes fluctuating and unstable; it is not always in the same place, nor in the same circumstances; but in the latter day it will be established on the top of the mountains, and will be a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; which is the Lord's work to do, and which he has promised; and therefore may be prayed for in faith, nor should saints cease praying till it is done, (Isa 2:2 KJV) And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. That it may be great, may be a praise in the earth, that it may be praised, and God may be praised for it. (Isa 62:7 KJV) and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth; matter of praise; till the church and its members become famous in the world, and shall be praised by men, and God shall be praised for their sakes; for the purity of Gospel doctrines and ordinances; for unity in worship; for cordial love and affection to each other; for holiness of life and conversation; for number, and for figure, converts numerous, and many of these great personages; when what is now to its discredit and dispraise will be removed; all false doctrine, or mixtures of it the many sects and parties which go by the Christian name; the sad divisions and animosities among them; the impure lives of many professors; the small number of real Christians; their meanness and poverty. When gospel truths are cleared and vindicated, when gospel ordinances are duly administered in their purity and power, when the church becomes eminent for holiness and love, then Jerusalem is a praise in the earth, then it is in reputation. We must persevere in our prayers for mercy to the church till the mercy come; we must do as the prophet's servant did, go yet seven times, till the promising cloud appear, (1Ki 18:44 KJV) And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. It is a good sign that God is coming towards a people in ways of mercy when he pours out a spirit of prayer upon them and stirs them up to be fervent and constant in their intercessions.
Article Source: http://www.christianarticledirectory.org
Ray Zink has been intensely researching the Holy Word of God for the past 28 years. As a published author through article writings and blog posts, he now shares with others the deeper wisdom of the Scriptures that he has had the blessings to discover. More of his work can be seen at bible-mysteries.com/
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