Twelve for Twelve on 12-4-12 (the final entry)

Isaiah 62 with its 12 verses comprises the theme for the New Year: “Twelve for Twelve in 2012.”

At the beginning of the New Year, I posted a blog in Dr. J’s Apothecary Shoppe based on my theme and scriptural focal point for 2012. In this case, I had selected Isaiah 62, a passage that most providentially contains twelve verses. In studying the chapter, I decided to write a series of twelve-line poems, as I personalized each of the twelve verses, calling the collection “Twelve for Twelve for 2012.” Here is the link to the first installment, published in two parts, inspired by Isaiah 62:1: “One for Twelve”:

And so the series now culminates with the twelfth installment “Twelve for Twelve,” a personalized poetic rendering of Isaiah 62:12, posted on December 4, 2012 (12-4-12).  Here is the verse from the New Living Testament:

  They will be called “The Holy People”

and “The People Redeemed by the Lord.”

And Jerusalem will be known as “The Desirable Place”

and “The City No Longer Forsaken.”

Twelve for Twelve

Isaiah 62:12

When I get through with you, life will not be the same,

For My People will be called “The Holy People,”

Those whom I called and set apart for My glory.

You will be called “The People Redeemed by the Lord.”

People talked about you, using such shameful words,

But then I reached down to rescue you and give you

Beauty for ashes to remove all guilt and shame.

There was a time when people ran from your borders,

Leaving the Holy City in shame and disgrace.

Now Jerusalem will be called “The Desirable Place”

And you will be “The City No Longer Forsaken.”

Transformed by my power, you will have a new name.

The last phrase of the last line, “New Name,” brought to mind the song “I Told Jesus be All Right  If He Changed My Name” from the Hustle and Flow Soundtrack which is also included in a previous  blog entry—“My New Identity Kit.”

I conclude this blog entry by displaying Isaiah 62 in its entirety and playing a YouTube video entitled “Isaiah 62 Song: Surely Your Salvation is Coming” from Scripturesongsforworship.com. It provides a musical rendition of the entire chapter based on the King James Version of the text.

Isaiah 62  

¹For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.

² 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.

³ Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.

⁴ Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.

⁵ For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.

⁶ 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,

⁷ And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

⁸ The Lord hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured:

⁹ But they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the Lord; and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness.

¹⁰ Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people.

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 work before him.

¹² And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.

As we complete 2012, a year of divine, governmental order, God has continued to set matters in order in our lives, individually and corporately, as members of the Body of Christ.  We now stand on the brink of a New Year that holds promise of continued demonstration of God’s faithfulness, His grace and mercy that abound toward us as we transition into the fullness of all that God has in store for us, even as He prepares to fulfill His will for Jerusalem, whom He shall transform into a “desirable place” and a “city not forsaken.” Likewise, we also anticipate that we shall experience a glorious transformation in the coming New Year.