Let us turn to the chapter we've read, Isaiah 62, and the words that I want to direct you to are found here at verses 6 and 7. Isaiah 62 verses 6 and 7. God says, through his servant Isaiah, I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which I never hold there peace day nor night. Ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence and give him no rest till he establish, until he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

I was thinking of these words directed to them. I felt yesterday afternoon and then in the evening. My wife suggested that we might go on YouTube and listen to the sermon that Mr Paul Tyler had been preaching at Hedge End in the morning of the Lord's Day. I'd heard him very well in the afternoon. I wasn't aware really of the text or the subject matter he had taken earlier in the day, but when I listened to that sermon it so fell in really with the things that I'd been thinking of in the afternoon looking at these verses here in this 62nd chapter of Isaiah.

He had in fact preached from the New Testament and he'd taken, I suppose what in some ways might look to be a long text, but it wasn't really because he preached on one word only. He preached on the word watch, which is the very last verse there in Mark chapter 13. He read the passage from verse 34. through to thirty-seven, for the son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.

Watch ye therefore, for ye know not when the master of the house cometh at even, or at midnight, or at the cock crowing, or in the morning, lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you, I say unto all, watch and I suppose in many ways the way in which he dealt with the passage would be said to be topical. He was thinking of events of course in the world, events in the Persian Gulf and in the Middle East in general. And what are we to do in these circumstances?

We are to watch and we are to pray. And that was the way in which he handled that passage, but emphasizing always the importance of watching. The Lord, of course, later in the Garden, the next chapter, We see him there in the Garden of Gethsemane praying himself and commanding his disciples who were so sleepy that they should watch and pray. To the Thessalonians, Paul speaks of the necessity of watching and being sober. And I did find it confirming as we sat there and listened to that particular sermon.

And so this is the passage I want to turn to in Isaiah 62 for a short while this evening and to say something with regards to God's watchmen. Many ways the The chapter clearly speaks to us primarily of the day of the gospel. There's certainly a gospel application, the way in which the chapter opens, For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest.

God speaking through his servant, and saying he will not rest until he accomplishes all his goodwill and pleasure. Or is it the Prophet, speaking by the inspiration of the Spirit, but speaking of his own determination that he will persevere in prayers to God that he will come and accomplish these gracious promises. Now he goes on there, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory.

And thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. And then now he continues throughout the chapter really. declaring these gracious words, verse 4, Thou shalt no more be termed forsaken, neither shall thy land any more be termed desolate, but thou shalt be called Ephzibar, and thy land Beulah. For the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married after terrible desolations that would come upon them because of their sins in the period of the Babylonian captivity, and yet God will restore them of course.

But it looks to better things and brighter things. And right at the end there at verse 11, Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh. Behold, his reward is with him, and his worth before him. and they shall call them the holy people, the redeemed of the Lord, and they shall be called sought out, a city not forsaken." The grace of God would be demonstrated ultimately not so much in their restoration from exile but with the coming of Him who is spoken of here as salvation. there in verse 11. Behold thy salvation cometh. Behold his reward. Salvation is a man. His work is before him. And the Lord Jesus will accomplish, of course, that great work of redemption.

But coming to the words that I've read for our text, I want to mention two particular things, really. First of all, what is being spoken of here? Well, it's the prophetic ministry really, words to be spoken, words of warning, words of trouble that will yet come, but then also at the same time we have the man as one, the watchman one, waiting and waiting upon the Lord. These are the two things. First of all, the work of the watchman, the duties of the watchman, what is the task that he is to undertake. He is to give warning to the people. The imagery, of course, the figure used is that of those old walled cities or fenced cities.

And we know that Isaiah was ministering in the days of Hezekiah, And it was at that time that the Assyrians did come and went through all of Judah. and destroyed many cities. We read of it there in 2 Kings 18, how in the 14th year of Hezekiah, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came up against all the fenced cities of Judah and took them. And he came even to the walls of Jerusalem. Although there he was stopped, there the Lord heard the cry of the king and Jerusalem didn't fall to the Assyrians but then subsequently Jerusalem was destroyed not by the Assyrians but by the Babylonians and they were taken away into exile but although Isaiah does speak of these things he also makes mention of the fact that there would be a restoration, a return, a deliverance from the captivity in chapter 60, for example.

We see him speaking of the walls being rebuilt. Verse 10, the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee. For in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee. Therefore thy gates shall be opened continually. There shall not be shut day nor night, that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought.

So whilst there again, in those words, we have promise of the rebuilding of Jerusalem, it looks further than that. It looks also to the coming of Christ and the gospel die. We know how that it was, of course, Nehemiah. who was engaged in the rebuilding of the walls. It's covered in some detail there in Chapter 3 of that book, the actual rebuilding.

But now, God had determined all of these things. He knows the end from the beginning, and it's interesting to observe the language that is being used here in our text. God says, 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. And what we have there at the beginning of that sixth verse is really the perfect tense, what's called the prophetic perfect. God speaks of a thing that is yet to come to pass, but he speaks of it as if it has already been done. I have said he's already done it, because that's his determination.

And what are these watchmen on the walls? They're there really as those who must be looking out. They're there as watchers. They're there also as those who will give warning. And we certainly see that in the language of Ezekiel. Ezekiel speaks of the watchmen and the work and the duties of the watchmen. there in chapter 33 of Ezekiel.

Verse 2, Son of man, speak to the children of thy people and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon the land, if the people of the land take a man of their coast and set him for their watchman, If, when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people, then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning, if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning, his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. But then it goes on to point out that if the watchman fails to do his duty, then God will hold that man accountable. Verse 6, if the watchman see the sword come and blown up the trumpet, and the people be not warned, if the sword come and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity, but his blight.

His blood will I require at the watchman's hand." And here He is to be a watchman. As we see in verse 7, "...so thou, O Son of Man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel. Therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me." That's the figure that's being used. The Prophet is as a watchman, he is to give warning, he is to tell the people. This is their duty, you see.

And the words, the very word that's used here in the text, watchmen, as the idea not only of watching but also keeping, preserving, if they perform their duty properly, if they do the work that the Lord has called them to, there will be preservation of the people. If they are faithful prophets, there were many false prophets, of course, who were speaking a false word of peace when there was no peace, because God was about to judge His people.

But as I say, there's a gospel application here. Although it speaks of Jerusalem, the spiritual Jerusalem, the true Zion, is the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ. In captivity, as we see, Ezekiel was a watchman. But we see in the New Testament that those who minister the Word of God, gospel ministry, is also spoken of in terms of declaring the work of the Lord, or the word of the Lord. In Hebrews 13 7, those who have spoken unto you, it says the word of the Lord, just as we read concerning the work of the prophet as a watchman. There in verse 7 of that 33rd chapter of Ezekiel, where God addresses him, a son of man, and says, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel, thou shalt hear the words of my mouth, and warn them. And it's the same sort of expression that we have there in Hebrews. Hebrews 13, at verse 7, the gospel ministers have spoken unto you, says Paul, the word of the Lord.

Remember them. They have spoken unto you the word of the Lord. And Paul can remind those Ephesian elders that he is free from the blood of all men when he gives charge to them. I am pure from the blood of all men for I have not shunned to declare unto you, he says, all the counsel of God.

This is what the watchman must do then. He must speak God's words. Paul to Timothy gives him that charge, preach the word, be instant in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine, he says. The charge that's given. What is the scripture? It's given by inspiration of God and it's profitable. It's profitable for reproof, for correction, as well as for instruction in righteousness. how solemn it is in the Word of God.

This is what these men are to do then, they are to be those who would proclaim the message of warning when God's judgments are about to come upon any people. But then also they are to be those who are waiting upon the Lord God's And we see that here in the language of these two verses, 6 and 7.

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, and give him no rest till he establish, until he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. We can observe two things. It is the Lord God who appoints the watchmen, who sets the watchmen. And what are they to do? They are to wait upon the Lord.

You can think of the language of another of the prophets, Habakkuk. There in the second chapter of Habakkuk, I will stand upon my watch, says the prophet. and set me upon the tower and will watch to see what he will say unto me and what I shall answer when I am reproved or when I'm argued with." Here is the prophet and he stands upon the watch. He sets himself upon the tower waiting for the Lord that the Lord might give him the word and he will speak that word that the Lord gives him.

God appoints them. They wait upon the Lord. What is this waiting upon the Lord? Well, there are, in a sense, two aspects to it. They wait in the sense of pleading. pleading with the people, as they give the message of God to the people, but also pleading with God Himself. The end of verse 6, it says, Ye that make mention of the Lord. This is what they are to do. They receive the word from the Lord, and they make mention of the Lord. They are not to keep silence. that to deliver themselves of that message that the Lord has given them.

And we see that that was very much the case with Ezekiel. He was truly the Lord's prophet. He was the Lord's messenger with the Lord's message to the people. How he speaks there in the third chapter of that prophecy is Ezekiel 3 at verse 10 and verse 11.

The prophet says, Moreover he, speaking of the Lord God, he said unto me, Son of man, All my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears, and go set thee and go get thee to them of the captivity unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them. Thus saith the Lord God, whether they will hear or whether they will forbear." He must go, he must be that man who will speak to them the word of the Lord.

That word will be a separating word. We can see it in another prophet, Jeremiah. And Jeremiah's word was very much a word that made a separation, made a difference. So different to the ministry of those false prophets who were speaking of peace when there was no peace. And God tells him plainly there in those familiar words of 15 and verse 19 in Jeremiah, if they take forth the precious from the vile, says God, thou shalt be as my mouth. But how hard it was. How hard it was for that man to minister. We see him later in chapter 20 and verse 9. He will give over. He'll stop Speaking the word of the Lord, he says, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing. and I could not stay, I could not stop.

So, God so lays a burden upon him, he must speak, he must be faithful, declaring the word of the Lord, being that one who is fulfilling the office of the watchman. And as I say, the same truth is applied to the gospel ministry in the New Testament. that message that the Apostles must preach and they must go forth and and declare the Word of God whatever might be said by the Jewish authorities who would silence them. We see their determination in those early chapters of the Acts after they were emboldened by the outpouring of the Spirit of God on the day of Pentecost and Paul's determination What does Paul say? I determine not to know anything among you. Say Jesus Christ and Him crucified. We preach Christ crucified, he says.

And so here, at the end of verse 6, Ye that make mention of the Lord keep not silence. ye that make mention of the Lord keep not silence." There to be those then who would proclaim the Word of God, preach the Word of God in season, out of season. It matters not what the people say, that I declare that message faithfully, or the counsel of God. That was Paul's message to those elders at Ephesus he had not shunned to declare all the counsel of God he was clear then from the blood of any man but it's interesting looking at these verses because the margin gives us in a sense another aspect of what's being said look at the margin there in verse 6, ye that are the Lord's remembrances ye that are the Lord's remembrances rather than ye that make mention of the Lord but they are the Lord's remembrances, keep not silence give him no rest till he establish, till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth and so we see another aspect of the responsibilities of these people they are not only to preach they had to pray wasn't that the determination of the apostles in Acts chapter 6 where they were the lone functionaries initially in the church they were doing everything it seems and then they appoint the seven men to attend to the matter of ministering to the widows. And what do the apostles say? We will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the words. Oh, it's watch and pray. It's watch and pray, and we see that in that apostolic ministry.

And now, when Paul writes to these various churches time and again, we've observed it in the past in those epistles, he turns from addressing the churches and he begins to pray for the churches. Often in the opening verses, of the epistles will make mention of the fact that he's praying for them, and then he will go on in the course of his epistles, oftentimes to pray for them. In the opening chapter of Romans, for example, verse 9, he says, God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers. But not just to the church at Rome, we see the same when he writes to the Ephesians, in Ephesians 1, 16. We see it again to the Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians 1 and verse 2, how Paul prays for them. And writing to those Ephesians, he will have the Ephesians also to pray for him. He prays for them, they must pray for him and for the other apostles.

Remember, at the end of Ephesians, in Ephesians 6, where we have mention, of course, of the Christian's armour. the various parts of that that the Lord God has so graciously supplied for his people. As we come to the end then of Ephesians 6, having spoken of those different parts, verse 18, Paul says, Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints, and for me, and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel. He needs them to pray for him that he might make known that great mystery of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. And it's interesting because at the beginning of Colossians 4, he makes a similar request, but he speaks there of the mystery of Christ, making known the mystery of Christ.

But he desires their prayers. How important. How important to pray. The words of the Lord Jesus in the course of his gospel ministry, the harvest truly is plenteous. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest to send labourers forth into his harvest field. And that verb, to send, has the idea of thrusting them forth. compelling them to go forth to preach this message. There is to be a praying then, as well as the preaching and the warnings given by the watchmen upon the walls of Jerusalem.

Watch ye, and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The Spirit He's ready, but the flesh is weak. The words of the Lord Jesus, of course, to his disciples there in the Garden of Gethsemane. Watch, ye, he says, and pray. And that word that we have at the end of Mark 13, watch. Watch and be sober.

Events, events in the world should move us to pray, surely. This is what we were being reminded of, or those who were there last Lord's Day morning at Hedgen, the importance of us praying when we see these things occurring, to look up. The end is not yet, but we know not when the Lord will come. It ought to be those who are watching, and waiting, and praying, It's an interesting verse, part of a verse, in one of the hymns, I don't know if I've ever, well I don't know that I've ever sung it, 795, in the book, Mighty Enemies Without, much mightier within it begins, but there in verse 3, of that hymn, if today we be sincere and can both watch and pray, watchfulness, perhaps, and prayer tomorrow may decay." When the Lord favours us with the spirit of prayer, how we should seize that and lay hold of the Lord. We know how changeable, how fickle we are. And the next moment, the next day, that burden that we're feeling might have gone away, how we're to redeem the time, to buy up the seasonable opportunity, as it were, and to pray.

And this is what God calls us to. I have said, watch me. Upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which I never hold there, peace day nor night. ye that make mention of the Lord's keep not silence or we could read it ye that are the Lord's remembrances keep not silence and give him no rest till he establish until he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth how important is prayer as well as preaching and there in Acts 6 it's always interesting isn't it the word order When we look at the word of God, the syntax is not unimportant. And what do they say?

We will give ourselves continually to prayer. Prayer first. to prayer and the ministry of the world. What is all the ministry of the world without the prayers, the prayers of the Lord's people? And surely we're living in a world in which we see so much that might fill us with many forebodings, but what are we to do? We're to watch, we're to be sober, we're to watch, and we're to pray.

Will the Lord help us as we come to prayer tonight? There are many matters to pray for, but the Lord be pleased to grant to us that gracious ministry of the Holy Spirit as we come before Him in prayer we're going to sing as our second praise the hymn 645 the tune is St. Luke 833 sorry 644 not 645, 644 watch Watch and be sober, ye children of God.

Your wonderful lover has bought you with blood, your husband and Savior, for you gave his life. Then be your behavior becoming his wife. Oh, watch against trusting to your native strength. Behold, Peter boasting, but all come at length. Your strength will forsake you. and leave you to fall unless the Lord make you to trust Him for all." 644-833.