Isaiah 62:4,5

The two names ‘Alone’ and ‘Empty’ express what the inhabitants of Judah thought about themselves. In Isaiah 49:14-23 and 54:6-7, the inhabitants of Judah complained that the *Lord had left them ‘alone’. And that enemies had ruined the land. They had left it ‘empty’ of crops and fruit trees.

• But the *Lord has completely changed that situation. The *Lord uses new names in picture language to describe a new relationship between him and his people. ‘Hephzibah’ and ‘Beulah’ are words in the people’s *Hebrew language.

Pray for *Jerusalem

v6-7 I have appointed *look-outs to stand on your walls, *Jerusalem. They will never be silent in the daytime or in the night. They will cry continuously to God to do what he has promised to do. God promised to make *Jerusalem a city that the whole world will admire again.