Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

Old Testament Lesson | Isaiah 62:1-5

For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest,
until her vindication shines out like the dawn,
and her salvation like a burning torch.
The nations shall see your vindication,
and all the kings your glory;
and you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will give.
You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate;
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
and your land Married;
for the Lord delights in you,
and your land shall be married.
For as a young man marries a young woman,
so shall your builder marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you.

The Lord speaks through Isaiah during a very anxious time. Isaiah preached in the southern kingdom of Judah during the closing decades of the eighth century B.C. As one commentator writes, “It was the best of times, and it was the worst of times.” When Isaiah began his work about 740 B.C., Judah was on the brink of disaster. The Assyrian empire was on the rise in the east threating Israel and Judah to the point of that these leaders and the people were on the fence about whether they would trust God to save them, or develop their own strategies of self salvation. It seemed to them and to the surrounding nations, that Yahweh had abandoned Zion and her inhabitants, subjecting them to mockery and ridicule.

While that seemed true to the natural eye, God promised different. His vindication was coming so strongly that the nations would witness it and they would have to be called by a new name.

You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate;
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
and your land Married;

So when you feel as if you have been thrown under the bus, or feel like Satan has won…or if people have counted you out, remember, for those in covenant with the Almighty- this is not so. You are no longer defined by your past-praise God! You don’t have to vindicate yourself. God will do it for you. He won’t do it begrudgingly but with delight, because he delights in you. So Beloved Saints, trust God, because He is worthy to be trusted.