"AWAKE, AWAKE, O ZION"
1
¶ Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek
the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of
the pit whence ye are digged.
4
¶ Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation:
for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest
for a light of the people.
7
Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose
heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye
afraid of their revilings.
Thus Isaiah sets
out the call to hear the Word of the Lord.
-First we have the
call to hear addressed to those that follow Righteousness,
pointing them to the picture of Abraham and Sarah, and revealing
that The Lord brings Comfort and Joy.
-Secondly, we have
the call to hear addressed to the Lord's People, illustrated by the
picture of Heavens and Earth, and revealing that The Lord is
Salvation and Righteousness.
-Finally, we have
the call to hear addressed to those that know righteousness,
showing that the corruption of moth and worm shall not touch them and
that The Lord's Righteousness and Salvation are everlasting.
Thus Isaiah is
speaking to all of the Lord's people, whatever their
revelation of Him, whether it be – using our present day
terminology – Born again, Charismatic or Third Feast. The detail
does not matter, The Lord speaks to all where they are.
Next we see that
three times there is the trumpet call to awaken:
9
¶
Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the
ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath
cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?
17
¶
Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem,
which hast drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of his fury; thou
hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out.
1
¶
Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion;
put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for
henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and
the unclean.
-The first is a call
to those who have been strong in The Lord, (put on strength, you have been called, you are the planting of The Lord and must now seek your election to a higher place ).
-The second is a
call to Jerusalem, his Church on the earth; His holy people, (stand up, rise up; come up higher to the fullness, and make your calling and election sure).
-The third is a call
to Zion, his Church in the heavenly realms; His perfected church, (put on thy strength; show the strength of The Lord that fills you and makes you pure and holy).
This call to awaken
is addressed to the same three groups (as mentioned in verses 1, 4 and 7) of The Lord's people and each
in its turn is shown comfort by Jehovah. Again we see that The Lord
excludes no part of His people from the comfort and salvation that He
brings. His word is all-inclusive, and it is beholden to each saint
to hear His word and answer the call to come up higher, indeed to the
highest calling in our walk with Him.
11
Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with
singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they
shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee
away.
12
I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou
shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man
which shall be made as grass;
16
And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the
shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the
foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.
We are to
understand from this that we are His people; the righteous; the
planting of the Lord, and we shall obtain gladness and joy; and
sorrow and mourning shall flee away because of His presence, if
we choose to live there.
22
Thus saith thy Lord the LORD, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of
his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of
trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more
drink it again:
This we are to see
that He has removed all cause for fear from us. We must fear only
him, by which is meant the reverence and respect due to almighty God.
ISAIAH
35:4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear
not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a
recompence; he will come and save you.
GENESIS
26:24 And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am
the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee,
and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s
sake.
All the indicators
are set in place – the call to hear; the call to awaken, be alert –
the call sent out to all the people of God. What is that call for?
What is the purpose?
ISAIAH
52:2 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem:
loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
Shake off the old life, the ties that bind you to the
earth. You are captive to a life that causes a divide between you and
Almighty God.
3
For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye
shall be redeemed without money.
4
For thus saith the Lord GOD, My people went down aforetime into
Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without
cause.
5
Now therefore, what have I here, saith the LORD, that my people is
taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl,
saith the LORD; and my name continually every day is blasphemed.
6
Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in
that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I.
What a wonderful awe-inspiring
statement of salvation and redemption. The Lord of All will make sure
that His people know His name! His name. We all know His name,
surely?
In the Bible there
is something which is revealed again and again. I discovered this
when studying the rebuilding of the gates of Jerusalem in Ezra and
Nehemiah. An understanding of the meaning of the names of those
employed in that great work is crucial to an understanding of what The Lord has intended in His plan for His people.
It is there
throughout the whole Bible, and of course, those who could read it in
its original language – the priests and kings, who also we now are
as so created by our Lord, Jesus Christ – would know without
thinking about it – that the name reveals a nature, a type, a
truth.
When we see and
understand the Lord's nature, we can then appreciate in its
fullness...7
¶ How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that brings
good tidings, that publishes peace; that brings good tidings of good,
that publishes salvation; that says unto Zion, Thy God reigns!
Hallelujah!
Then comes an
extolling of praise unto our God; a beautiful song of praise, in the
manner in which Isaiah seems to excel:
8
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.
9
Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem:
for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.
10
The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations;
and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
11
Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing;
go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of
the LORD.
12
For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the LORD
will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward.
{be…: Heb. gather you up }
The Lord will cover
us before and behind. We need not fear because He is there, we need only to throw in our all with Him and walk in His ways to be lifted to the heavenlies and
made perfect, made pure, made holy in that very instant, in the
twinkling of an eye, for He is The Lord that heals, that protects,
that saves, that comforts and brings peace and rest. He is the name
above all names...
He is the
everlasting saviour, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. He is the
son that sits on the right hand of God and is our all in all.
He is the Seed of
the Woman; Born of a Virgin; of the Family of Shem; of the race of
the Hebrews; of the line of Isaac; of Jacob and Israel; of the tribe
of Judah; of the House of David.
He is also The Son
of God; The Son of Man; The Holy One of Israel; The Saint of Saints;
The Just One; the Righteous One; The Wisdom of God; The Oracle of
God; The Word; Our Redeemer and Saviour; The root and offspring of
David and the bright and Morning star; The Lamb of God; The Mediator,
Intercessor and Advocate; Shiloh, the apostle; The Rose of Sharon and
the Lily of the Valley; The High Priest; The Prophet; Our Captain,
Chief and Leader; Teacher; The Lord of Hosts; The God of Israel; The
Messiah; The Christ.
… to name but a
few. And he is each of these, all of these to us all.
So let us now pause
and consider and remember. We praise and worship our Lord, and we
must never forget that He is also our inspiration.
It is the
inspiration of the call to hearken and awake. To be overcomers in the
service of our God. So here are three exhortations from the book of
Revelation to us as overcomers:
REVELATION
2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the
churches; To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the tree of
life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
REVELATION 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the churches; To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knows saving he that receives it.
REVELATION 3:21 To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
These are amazing
promises. But to be in that place we must …
7
Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose
heart is my law; fear ye not the reproachof men, neither be ye
afraid of their revilings.…and then …
1 ¶
Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put
on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city:
… which city we
are if we are found in Christ.
Amen.
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