Isaiah 62:7

And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

62:6-9 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, Lu 11:5,6. 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.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And give him no rest - Margin, 'Silence.' In Hebrew the same word (דמי dŏmiy) as in Isaiah 62:6. The idea is, 'Keep not silence yourselves, nor let him rest in silence. Pray without ceasing; and do not intermit your efforts until the desires of your hearts shall be granted, and Zion shall be established, and the world saved.'

Till he establish - Until he shall establish Jerusalem, and restore it to its former rank and privileges.

Till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth - That it may be the subject of universal commendation and rejoicing, instead of being an object of reproach and scorn. The truth taught here is, that it is the privilege and duty of the ministers of God to pray unceasingly for the extension of his kingdom. Day and night the voice of prayer is to be urged, and urged as if they would give Yahweh no rest until the desires of their hearts should be granted (compare Luke 18:1 ff).

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

7. no rest—Hebrew, "silence"; keep not silence yourselves, nor let Him rest in silence. Compare as to Messiah Himself, "I will not hold … peace … not rest" (Isa 62:1); Messiah's watchmen (Isa 62:6, 7) imitate Him (Isa 62:1) in intercessory "prayer without ceasing" for Jerusalem (Ps 122:6; 51:18); also for the spiritual Jerusalem, the Church (Lu 18:1, 7; Ro 1:9).

a praise—(See on [866]Isa 61:11; Zep 3:20).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Give him no rest; the same with the foregoing verse, and very acceptable to God, Luke 11:8-10.

Till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth, by sending the Messiah and those labourers into his vineyard, whereby the church may be established and settled on sure foundations, and so become matter of praise to God. All the nations may praise him for her, Psalm 67:3,4. Or, that she may be praised, and become renowned and famous in the eyes of the world: see Isaiah 40:9 61:9,11.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

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:

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, Isaiah 2:2,

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.

Geneva Study Bible

And give him no rest, till he shall establish, and till he shall make Jerusalem a {k} praise in the earth.

(k) For the restoration of which all the world will praise him.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

7. Keep not silence] Lit. “No silence to you!” The word rest in the next clause is the same as “silence.”

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 7. - Give him no rest. Compare the teaching of our Lord with respect to the efficacy of importunity (Luke 11:5-8; Luke 18:1-8). Isaiah 62:7

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Watchmen stationed upon the walls of Zion (says the third strophe) do not forsake Jehovah till He has fulfilled all His promise. "Upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, have I stationed watchmen; all the day and all the night continually they are not silent. O ye who remember Jehovah, leave yourselves no rest! And give Him no rest, till He raise up, and till He set Jerusalem for a praise in the earth." As the phrase hiphqı̄d ‛al signifies to make a person an overseer (president) over anything, it seems as though we ought to render the sentence before us, "I have set watchmen over thy walls." But hiphqı̄d by itself may also mean "to appoint" (2 Kings 25:23), and therefore עלח־ומתיך may indicate the place of appointment (lxx ἐπὶ τῶν τειχέων σου, upon thy walls: ̔Ιερουσαλήμ κατέστησα φύλακας). Those who are stationed upon the walls are no doubt keepers of the walls; not, however, as persons whose exclusive duty it is to keep the walls, but as those who have committed to them the guarding of the city both within and without (Sol 5:7). The appointment of such watchmen presupposes the existence of the city, which is thus to be watched from the walls. It is therefore inadmissible to think of the walls of Jerusalem as still lying in ruins, as the majority of commentators have done, and to understand by the watchmen pious Israelites, who pray for their restoration, or (according to b. Menachoth 87a; cf., Zechariah 1:12) angelic intercessors. The walls intended are those of the city, which, though once destroyed, is actually imperishable (Isaiah 49:16) and has now been raised up again. And who else could the watchmen stationed upon the walls really be, but prophets who are called tsōphı̄m (e.g., Isaiah 52:8), and whose calling, according to Ezekiel 33, is that of watchmen? And if prophets are meant, who else can the person appointing them be but Jehovah Himself? The idea that the author of these prophecies is speaking of himself, as having appointed the shōmerı̄m, must therefore be rejected. Jehovah gives to the restored Jerusalem faithful prophets, whom He stations upon the walls of the city, that they may see far and wide, and be heard afar off. And from those walls does their warning cry on behalf of the holy city committed to their care ascent day and night to Jehovah, and their testimony go round about to the world. For after Jerusalem has been restored and re-peopled, the further end to be attained is this, that Jehovah should build up the newly founded city within (cōnēn the consequence of bânâh, Numbers 21:27, and ‛âsâh, Isaiah 45:18; Deuteronomy 32:6; cf., Isaiah 54:14 and Psalm 87:5), and help it to attain the central post of honour in relation to those without, which He has destined for it. Such prophets of the times succeeding the captivity (nebhı̄'ı̄m 'achărōnı̄m; cf., Zechariah 1:4) were Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Haggai stands upon the walls of Jerusalem, and proclaims the glory of the second temple as surpassing that of the first. Zechariah points from Joshua and Zerubbabel onwards to the sprout of Jehovah, who is priest and prince in one person, and builds the true temple of God. Malachi predicts the coming of the Lord to His temple, and the rising of the Sun of righteousness. Under the eyes of these prophets the city of God rose up again, and they stand upon its pinnacles, and look thence into the glorious future that awaits it, and hasten its approach through the word of their testimony. Such prophets, who carry the good of their people day and night upon their anxious praying hearts, does Jehovah give to the Jerusalem after the captivity, which is one in the prophet's view with the Jerusalem of the last days; and in so lively a manner does the prophet here call them up before his own mind, that he exclaims to them, "Ye who remind Jehovah, to finish gloriously the gracious work which He has begun," give yourselves to rest (dŏmi from dâmâh equals dâmam, to grow dumb, i.e., to cease speaking or working, in distinction from châshâh, to be silent, i.e., not to speak or work), and allow Him no rest till He puts Jerusalem in the right state, and so glorifies it, that it shall be recognised and extolled as glorious over all the earth. Prophecy here sees the final glory of the church as one that gradually unfolds itself, and that not without human instrumentality. The prophets of the last times, with their zeal in prayer, and in the exercise of their calling as witnesses, form a striking contrast to the blind, dumb, indolent, sleepy hirelings of the prophet's own time (Isaiah 56:10).