"So I will betroth you to Me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness
and justice, in loving devotion and compassion."
Hosea (2:19)
"The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom stands
and listens for him, and is overjoyed to hear the bridegroom's voice.
That joy is mine, and it is now complete.
(John 3:29)
Sunrise over The Tzok (Mona) Beach
(2015)
Tel Aviv, Israel
Image courtesy/Harvey Sapir
Wikimedia Commons
PSALM 62
For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem's sake I will not keep still,
until her righteousness shines like a bright light,
and her salvation like a blazing torch.
Nations will see your righteousness
and all kings your glory.
You will be called by a new name
that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.
You will be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD,
a royal diadem in the palm of your God.
No longer will you be called Forsaken
Nor your land named Desolate;
but you will be called Hephzibah
and your land Beulah;
for the LORD will take delight in you,
and your land will be His bride.
For as a young man marries a young woman,
so your sons will marry you;
as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride,
so God will rejoice over you.
On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen;
they will never be silent day or night.
You who call on the LORD
shall take no rest for yourselves,
nor give Him any rest
until He establishes Jerusalem
and makes her the praise of the earth.
The LORD has sworn by His right hand
and by His mighty arm:
"Never again will I give your grain
to your enemies for food
nor will foreigners drink the new wine
for which you have toiled.
For those who harvest grain
will eat it and praise the LORD,
and those who gather grapes
will drink the wine in My holy courts."
Go out, go out through the gates;
prepare the way for the people!
Build it up, build up the highway;
clear away the stones;
raise a banner for the nations!
Behold, the LORD has proclaimed
to the ends of the earth,
"Say to Daughter Zion:
See, your Savior comes!
Look, His reward is with Him,
and His recompense goes before Him."
And they will be called the Holy People,
the Redeemed of The LORD;
and you will be called Sought Out,
A City Not Forsaken.
-Berean Standard Bible
"FORSAKEN" is a dreary word. It sounds like a knell. It is
recorded of the sharpest sorrows, and the prophecy of direst ills.
An abyss of misery yawns in that word, "Forsaken".
Forsaken by one who pledges his honor! Forsaken by a friend so
long tried and trusted! Forsaken by a dear relative! Forsaken by
father and mother! Forsaken by all! This is woe indeed, and yet
it may be patiently borne if the Lord will take us up.
But what must it be to feel forsaken of God?
Think of that bitterest of cries,
"My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?"
Have we ever in any degree tasted the wormwood and gall of
"Forsaken" in that sense?
If so, let us beseech our Lord to save us from any repetition of
so unspeakable a sorrow. Oh, that such darkness may never return!
Men in malice said of a saint, "God hath forsaken him; persecute and take him."
But it was always false.
The Lord's loving favor shall compel our cruel foes to eat their own words,
or, at least to hold their tongues.
The reverse of all this is that superlative word, "Hephzibah":
"The Lord delighteth in thee".
This turns weeping into dancing.
Let those who dreamed they were forsaken hear the Lord say,
"I will never leave thee nor forsake thee."
-Charles Haddan Spurgeon