Isaiah 62:1-12: a reflection

1For Zion’s sake I will not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a burning lamp. 2The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You will be called by a new name, which the LORD’s mouth will name. 3You will also be a crown of beauty in the LORD’s hand, and a royal diadem in your God’s hand. 4You will not be called Forsaken any more, nor will your land be called Desolate any more; but you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD delights in you, and your land will be married. 5For as a young man marries a virgin, so your sons will marry you. As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so your God will rejoice over you. 6I have set watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem. They will never be silent day nor night. You who call on the LORD, take no rest, 7and give him no rest until he establishes, and until he makes Jerusalem a praise on the earth. 8The LORD has sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, “Surely I will no more give your grain to be food for your enemies, and foreigners will not drink your new wine, for which you have labored, 9but those who have harvested it will eat it, and praise the LORD. Those who have gathered it will drink it in the courts of my sanctuary.” 10Go through, go through the gates! Prepare the way of the people! Build up, build up the highway! Gather out the stones! Lift up a banner for the peoples. 11Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the earth: “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your salvation comes! Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him!’” 12They will call them “The Holy People, The LORD’s Redeemed”. You will be called “Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken”.

God promises that his people, once called Forsaken and Desolate, will be given new names of delight, for God himself rejoices over them as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride. You will not be called Forsaken any more, God says, nor your land Desolate; but you will be called Hephzibah, my delight is in her, and your land Beulah, married; for the LORD delights in you. As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so your God will rejoice over you. The old names of abandonment and desolation are taken away, and God gives names of delight and belonging; for God does not merely tolerate his people, but delights in them, rejoicing over them with the joy of a bridegroom over his bride. This shows that God delights in and rejoices over his people, renaming the forsaken as his delight. God delights in and rejoices over his people, as a bridegroom over his bride. He renames the forsaken as his delight, the desolate as his own. God does not merely tolerate you; he delights in you. Let God's delight in you replace your sense of being forsaken.

Notice the change of names and what it reveals. The people had known themselves as Forsaken, Desolate: names of abandonment, emptiness, being unwanted. But God promises to take these names away and to give new ones: Hephzibah, which means my delight is in her; and Beulah, married. These new names reveal how God regards his people: not with mere tolerance, not as a burden endured, but with delight; not as forsaken, but as beloved. And the image God uses is the tenderest: as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so your God will rejoice over you. God rejoices over his people with the joy of a bridegroom on his wedding day. This is a truth that can reshape how we see ourselves before God. We may feel forsaken, desolate, unwanted; may imagine that God, at best, tolerates us, endures us, puts up with us. But God's word is otherwise: he delights in his people, rejoices over them as a bridegroom over his bride, renaming the forsaken as his delight. This is not something we earn, but something God gives, out of his love. We can let this delight of God replace our sense of being forsaken: to know that God does not merely tolerate us but delights in us, rejoicing over us. We do well to receive this: that God delights in his people and rejoices over them, and to let his delight replace our sense of being forsaken or merely tolerated. Let God's delight in you replace your sense of being forsaken. God does not merely tolerate his people; he rejoices over them as a bridegroom. You are not forsaken but beloved, God's delight. Receive the new name God gives: his delight is in you.

That is worth resting in, for God delights in and rejoices over his people as a bridegroom over his bride, renaming the forsaken as his delight, and we can let this replace our sense of being forsaken, as God promised new names to his people. We may feel forsaken and desolate, imagining God merely tolerates us; but God promised to rename his people Hephzibah, my delight is in her, and to rejoice over them as a bridegroom over his bride. God delights in you. When you feel forsaken or merely tolerated by God, remember that he delights in his people, rejoices over them, and renames the forsaken as his own delight. Rest in the truth that God delights in and rejoices over his people as a bridegroom over his bride, renaming the forsaken as his delight, so that you can let his delight replace your sense of being forsaken, as God promised his people, once called Forsaken and Desolate, new names of delight, saying they would no longer be called Forsaken nor their land Desolate but Hephzibah, my delight is in her, and Beulah, married, for the LORD delights in them and rejoices over them as a bridegroom over his bride; for the old names of abandonment and desolation are taken away and God gives names of delight and belonging, since God does not merely tolerate his people but delights in them, rejoicing over them with the joy of a bridegroom over his bride, which is a truth that can reshape how we see ourselves before God, since we may feel forsaken, desolate, and unwanted, and imagine that God at best tolerates us and puts up with us, but God's word is otherwise, that he delights in his people and rejoices over them as a bridegroom over his bride, renaming the forsaken as his delight, which is not something we earn but something God gives out of his love, so that we can let this delight of God replace our sense of being forsaken and know that God does not merely tolerate us but delights in us, and we do well to receive this.

Lord, you promise that your people, once called Forsaken and Desolate, will be given new names of delight, for you yourself rejoice over them as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride. You will not be called Forsaken any more, you say, nor your land Desolate; but you will be called Hephzibah, my delight is in her, and your land Beulah, married; for the LORD delights in you. As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so your God will rejoice over you. The old names of abandonment and desolation are taken away, and you give names of delight and belonging; for you do not merely tolerate your people, but delight in them, rejoicing over them with the joy of a bridegroom over his bride. Show me the change of names and what it reveals. The people had known themselves as Forsaken, Desolate: names of abandonment, emptiness, being unwanted. But you promise to take these names away and to give new ones: Hephzibah, my delight is in her; and Beulah, married. These new names reveal how you regard your people: not with mere tolerance, not as a burden endured, but with delight; not as forsaken, but as beloved. And the image you use is the tenderest: as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so you will rejoice over me. This is a truth that can reshape how I see myself before you. I may feel forsaken, desolate, unwanted; may imagine that you, at best, tolerate me, endure me, put up with me. But your word is otherwise: you delight in your people, rejoice over them as a bridegroom over his bride, renaming the forsaken as your delight. This I do not earn, but you give, out of your love. Take that to my heart. When I feel forsaken or merely tolerated by you, help me remember, Lord, that you delight in your people and rejoice over them, and let your delight in me replace my sense of being forsaken, that I may know myself not forsaken but beloved, your delight.