Be The Watchmen on the Walls
A Call to Unyielding Vigilance
Watchmen on the Walls
This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Let us worship God.
Give attention to the inerrant and infallible Word of the living God.
“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” (Isa. 62:6 KJV).
“Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence, As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!” (Isa. 64:1–2 KJV).
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever (Isa. 40:8). Let us pray.
Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be always acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, our strength, and our redeemer (Ps. 19:14). And let me preach as never sure to preach again, as a dying man to dying men. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Role of Watchmen
“God has never left the Church without watchmen.”
—R. A. Bertram and Alfred Tucker, Isaiah 40–66
Someone once told me, “I’ve never gotten into trouble for anything I didn't say.” It was, of course, an admonition to a pastor to be careful about what he says. That is good advice for anyone. Yet there are times when silence becomes a failure rather than a virtue. We know this instinctively. If a child is wandering into the street, one must cry out. If a fellow worker is faltering, he may need the friendly word, “I know you can do it.” If love fills the heart, it ought not always remain unspoken to one’s wife, one’s child, one’s friend. There is indeed a time to keep silence (Eccles. 3:7). But there is also a time when a fitting word may avert catastrophe or provide needed encouragement (Prov. 15:23; 25:11).
In Isaiah 62, God appoints watchmen upon the walls—a metaphor for those entrusted with vigilance over Jerusalem, the gathering place of God’s people and the visible center of covenant life. Throughout the history of God’s assembly, those in a prophetic calling are expected to discern the times and speak the word of the Lord to the people (Ezek. 3:17; 33:7).
The Course of Nations
I look around, and it does not require either genius or novelty to recognize that we have moved from gradually to suddenly, from “one day” to “now.” There is trouble in the air. This is not a claim to prophecy, but a sober recognition of the obvious. In that sense, I am reminded of The Course of Empire, the remarkable series of paintings by Anglo-American artist Thomas Cole (1801–1848). Cole became a monumental figure in the Hudson River School. While he painted biblical themes, he is chiefly remembered for the American landscape. Yet he wove a biblical theology of history into those massive skies and valleys to produce a warning.
The five paintings in the series are The Savage State, The Arcadian or Pastoral State, The Consummation of Empire, Destruction, and Desolation. That Cole should issue such a warning amid westward expansion stirred controversy. Some read the series as political critique. Whatever the controversy of its time, the paintings endure as a vivid parable of the rise and fall of nations—a pattern repeatedly displayed in Scripture and confirmed in history (Dan. 2:21; 4:17).
Our Place in History
It is not my place to point to the exact spot where we find ourselves today on any schematic of empires. Yet if one grants Cole’s theological instinct, it is difficult to deny that we have long passed the savage state and the pastoral state. America entered World War II still bearing many marks of an agrarian civilization, despite the Industrial Revolution and the advances of modernity. By the close of that epic event, America and the West began to enjoy the fruits of victory, prosperity, and institutional consolidation.
But modernity gave way to postmodernity. The world grew increasingly complex and hostile even as it became more interdependent. And the West—including the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, the English-speaking peoples—began to experience internal conflict over the meaning of our history, our values, and our institutions.
For many years, the Judeo-Christian faith and the Christian worldview carried westward by the preaching of the Gospel gave coherence to public life and moral imagination. Yet given the changes that have come with startling speed in recent years, one must conclude that the conservation of what has been gained is itself under grave threat. Many would wish to say more. But I am not interested in my personal opinion. My responsibility is to interpret and apply the Word of God (2 Tim. 2:15; 4:2).
The Call to Speak
So let it be said plainly: a watchman—whether Old Testament prophet, New Testament disciple, pastor of a flock, father of a household, or believer charged with the keeping of his own soul—must not remain silent. God calls His people to watch and speak, even as we await the coming of the Anointed One whose voice sounds throughout the Word of God (Isa. 62:6–7).
Why the Church Must Not Remain Silent
Our faith is a faith to be proclaimed. Jesus began His ministry by preaching. And, so, by breaking the silence, we fulfill our calling as watchmen. When silence is broken by the reverent mention of the name of God, new life begins.
I. We Are Called to Praise
(Isa. 62:1–5)
“For 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. 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. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. 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. 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” (Isa. 62:1–5 KJV).
We must first see that watchmen are not set upon the walls merely to warn. They are first appointed to praise. They are leaders in the public worship of the living God. I have often told my students that a minister must never farm out the conduct of divine service as though the central act of shepherding could be delegated without loss. If God has called a man to the care of souls, then the means of grace are entrusted to him for that singular mission. Others may assist. Faithful helpers may carry out many pastoral tasks in both public worship and private ministration. But a minister of the Gospel, appointed to shepherd a congregation, must not outsource the sacred work of Gospel ministry for the edification and building up of the saints (Eph. 4:11–12; 1 Pet. 5:2–4). That charge belongs to him by divine calling, confirmed through the lawful approbation of Christ’s Church.
As we move through the course of empires, as we watch nations rise and wane, as we follow Israel through her many vicissitudes, we must not be distracted by either internal tumults or gathering threats. God is sovereign. God reigneth. Our first duty is to extol the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, and to offer Him to those who are without Him. We are commanded to teach “all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:20) to those who would be baptized and follow Him. We are to establish congregations that endure through generations and extend across peoples, so that a multitude of souls may be safe in the arms of Christ. Paul’s words remain a pastoral banner: “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and joy” (1 Thess. 2:19–20 KJV).
This is our first and great task as watchmen upon the wall. “For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace” (Isa. 62:1) is not only the cry of the prophet; it is the necessary affirmation of pastoral ministry. Indeed, it must also become the creed of the Christian father over his household, and of the faithful mother who teaches her children where safety, bread, and water are to be found when predators lurk in the shadows.
Nor is this charge confined to ministers or heads of households. Let every believer conduct a regular inventory of his own soul and say, in a humble and holy soliloquy, I will not keep silent. I will speak, and sing, and pray the Gospel of God, for “the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ” (Rev. 11:15 KJV).
II. We Are Called to Protect
(Isa. 62:6–7)
The role of the watchmen was not only to praise God without ceasing and to stand as prayerful sentinels through the night, but also to remain alert for every sign of danger to the citadel of the true faith of Christ (Isa. 62:6–7; Ezek. 3:17; 33:7). To say, “Guard the Gospel,” to say, “Protect the inheritance of faith,” does not mean that we are the source of power to do so (2 Tim. 1:12; Jude 24–25). No. We are charged by God to be watchmen for the flock of Jesus Christ (Acts 20:28–31; 1 Pet. 5:2–4). All glory, honour, and power belong unto God, and unto God alone (1 Chron. 29:11; Rev. 5:12–13). And yet—yet—He calls us to stand fast, to keep watch, to guard, to protect (1 Cor. 16:13; Phil. 1:27; 2 Tim. 1:14).
Much of the New Testament is written under the shadow of this concern: the concern that threats from without and corruptions from within might endanger the growth, stability, and spiritual strength of the communities of Christ and of the souls within them. The devil, the flesh, and the world conspire against the advancing kingdom of God. Thus, the call to vigilance is not only corporate, but personal: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8 KJV).
It is evident to this Christian shepherd that the flock of Christ now faces difficult days requiring unusual watchfulness. The trials and tribulations that may come upon us are not new. They have been chronicled throughout the history of the Church. The defeated serpent has ever employed much the same strategy: to draw the people of God into a desert-like weariness, to tempt them to wander, to distrust the Lord, and to yield to the lusts of the flesh (Gen. 3:1–6; 1 Cor. 10:1–12).
Such was the situation addressed in the Book of Revelation. The Apocalypse speaks not only to persecution from without, but to the subtler and often more dangerous temptation of accommodation from within. There are times when the Church is battered by open hostility. There are also times when a lull in the storm invites complacency, softness, and silent surrender. The latter may be no less perilous than the former.
That is why the great charge before us today is to continue steadfastly in the praise and worship of God, while cultivating a deep and disciplined private devotional life, so that we may be strengthened for whatever chapter lies ahead (Acts 2:42; Col. 3:16–17). Empires rise and fall. Cultures flourish and decay. To speak more biblically, seasons of blessing are often followed by decline when vigilance gives way to presumption (Judg. 2:10–12; Amos 6:1). Therefore, we must take heed to our churches, to our fellowships, and to our own souls (Acts 20:28; Prov. 4:23). The watchman who praises must also pray. The watchman who prays must also watch.
So let us keep watch over our churches, our communion, and our own hearts, lest in an hour of ease we surrender what saints before us preserved through tears, prayers, and blood.
While Scripture identifies many dangers against which the watchman must keep guard, our most immediate concern must be for the Home and the Church, where the battle is often quiet, ordinary, and therefore most easily overlooked.
(a) Heads of Households: Guard Against Assimilation
Fathers and heads of households must be especially watchful against assimilation into the world’s system of unbelief: “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:2 KJV). A man may be earnest in leading his household to say, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15 KJV). Yet the media of a godless and corrupt age continually pumps moral sewage toward the sanctified and hallowed spaces of the home. This is no easy matter, given the reach and persistence of a culture marked by sensuality, confusion, and rebellion against God (Rom. 1:24–32).
There is nothing novel in this exhortation. The faithfulness required in Isaiah’s day and in John’s day is the same faithfulness required in ours. Therefore, cultivate in your home a spirit of wholesomeness: speech seasoned by grace, habits disciplined by the Word of God, and affections trained upon whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report (Eph. 4:29; Phil. 4:8). “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Eph. 6:11 KJV).
History teaches that some grow complacent and fall into unbelief during seasons of trial, while others pass through the same fires with remarkable resilience of soul (Heb. 10:32–39). It is my prayer that such resilience will be the legacy of those who read these words. Turn to the Lord Jesus Christ. Remain broken and supple at the foot of the cross. Gather those entrusted to your care—whether family, flock, employees, neighbors, friends, or any circle of providential responsibility—and encourage one another, for encouragement bears the fruit of holy boldness (Heb. 3:13; 10:24–25).
There is no doubt that the Lord Jesus Christ will build His Church despite the fiercest opposition: “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18 KJV). The question is not whether He shall triumph, but whether I shall be found faithful within His triumph (1 Cor. 4:2). It will not be by your strength or mine. Yet “the Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth” (Ps. 145:18 KJV). As David “encouraged himself in the Lord his God” (1 Sam. 30:6 KJV), so must we seek strength in the appointed means of grace—in Word, Sacrament, and Prayer—if we are to endure, stand, and lead.
Bow. Then stand.
(b) Pastors and Church Leaders: Fill Your Services with Scripture
As a seminary professor, I would offer this word to pastors and church leaders: fill your services with Scripture (1 Tim. 4:13; Col. 3:16). One of the great blights upon evangelical churches in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries has been the triumph of an entertainment motif over the pattern of Acts 2:42—and even over the older synagogue pattern that helped shape the worship of the early Church (Luke 4:16–21; Acts 13:14–15). As the pastor became a celebrity emcee for platform-driven performances, the people were left in a kind of spiritual immaturity, gazing upward at a screen, mouths open, voices stilled, rather than lifting their own voices in psalms, prayers, confessions, and praise (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16).
The world—that axis of corrupted powers set against God and His Anointed—still rages against the Lord and against His truth (Ps. 2:1–3; John 8:44). It traffics in lies, occupies the institutions of common life, celebrates disordered passions, and approves what God condemns (Rom. 1:24–32; Isa. 5:20). When the theater-entertainment motif governs worship, shepherds become celebrities, sacred assemblies become rallies, and believers become biblically underfed—vulnerable to every wind of doctrine and to those who prey upon the weak (Eph. 4:11–14; 2 Tim. 4:3–4). So then, pastors: take back worship. You must lead the service. “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together” (Heb. 10:25 KJV) means more than opening the doors of the church. It means shepherding the flock through the holy gathering of the people of God (1 Pet. 5:2–4).
“And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42 KJV). The early Church ordered its common life around this pattern: apostolic doctrine, holy fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer (Acts 2:42, 46; 20:7). The faithful planning and reverent conduct of these sacred assemblies were—and remain—a primary means of Christian formation (Rom. 10:14–17; 1 Cor. 14:26). Such services are evangelistic, proclaiming the Gospel in every part and culminating in the divinely appointed sign and seal of Christ’s saving work (1 Cor. 11:23–26). They are didactic, for the truth of God is taught there (2 Tim. 3:16–17). They are doxological, for in them the Church offers worship “with reverence and godly fear” (Heb. 12:28 KJV). Others may assist under pastoral oversight, but the minister must not abandon the leadership of this central witness of the Church in the world (1 Cor. 4:1; Titus 1:7–9).
John Stott described the preacher as standing with “God’s word in our hands” and “God’s people before our eyes.” That is a faithful picture of the pastoral office: the shepherd stands, as it were, between heaven and earth—not as a performer, but as a steward of the mysteries of God, an ambassador of Christ, and a servant of the King (1 Cor. 4:1–2; 2 Cor. 5:20). Abraham Joshua Heschel, writing of the prophet, called prophecy “a crossing point of God and man.” Applied analogically to Christian shepherds, the point is plain enough: the minister bears a burden not of his own making, speaks a word not of his own invention, and often appears before the age as strange, severe, or out of joint with the spirit of the times. Indeed, such a man may stand condemned before the world and made a spectacle before men (1 Cor. 4:9–13). Yet “he that judgeth me is the Lord” (1 Cor. 4:4 KJV). His approval is not from men, but from God, “which trieth our hearts” (1 Thess. 2:4 KJV). His burden drives his vision, and his vision shapes his mission—expressed in Word, Sacrament, and Prayer (Acts 6:4; 2 Tim. 4:1–2).
In the liturgy—in the holy ordering of worship—you are calling in the lost, feeding the saints, and consoling the broken (Isa. 61:1–3; 1 Cor. 14:24–25). In the movement of the service, in each appointed act, Christ ministers to His people by His Spirit through His ordained means of grace (Matt. 28:18–20; Eph. 4:11–16). You cannot outsource the living center of Christian faith and practice. Let our worship, therefore, return to reverence and awe (Heb. 12:28). Let it become again a sanctuary of holy difference, so that the world may know that we worship the invisible God, the Triune Lord, who came to us through His Son, our Savior Jesus Christ (John 1:14, 18; Matt. 28:19). He rose again from the dead (1 Cor. 15:4). He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father Almighty (Mark 16:19; Acts 2:33). Even now “he ever liveth to make intercession” for us (Heb. 7:25 KJV; cf. Rom. 8:34).
Gather the people, then, in sacred assembly for the apostles’ doctrine, for the fellowship that strengthens and edifies, for the regular administration of that mystical means of grace—the Lord’s Supper—and for prayers (Acts 2:42; 1 Cor. 10:16–17). The phrase in Acts suggests not a random collection of utterances, but an ordered life of common intercession, shaped by Scripture itself—by Psalms, lessons, petitions, and thanksgivings—so that the people’s voices become one and the Word of God is pressed into their souls (Ps. 95; Ps. 100; Eph. 5:19–20; 1 Tim. 2:1–3). This stands in continuity with the synagogue pattern in which our Lord Himself participated during His earthly ministry (Luke 4:16–21). And when such worship is restored—ordered by the Word, centered on Christ, lifted in prayer, and sealed at the Table—the Church ceases to mimic the world and becomes once more a lampstand in the darkness, a city set on a hill, and a people gathered before the face of God (Matt. 5:14–16; Rev. 1:20).
I shall never forget the testimony of one of America’s great war heroes, a dear friend and parishioner, Colonel Roger Ingvalson, USAF (Ret.) (1928–2011). Roger, awarded the Silver Star and Legion of Merit among other decorations, was shot down by the North Vietnamese on May 28, 1968, and imprisoned in what became known as the Hanoi Hilton. There he was beaten severely and tortured in body and mind. During that time, Roger later told me, he began to recall the Scriptures, the creeds, and the words of biblical encouragement that he had heard week by week in the Lutheran church of his Minnesota boyhood. In that cell, on his knees, he came to Christ while reciting the Apostles’ Creed, the Twenty-Third Psalm, the Lord’s Prayer, and other portions of the prayers offered in the sacred assemblies of his youth.
The lesson is plain. Pastors and church leaders must restore the prayers to the life of the Church. Our people will need to be strengthened for the days ahead. Do not be silent. Keep watch. Pray. Warn. Prepare the saints for trial.
III. We Are Called to Proclaim
The Church must not keep silent, because a new heaven and a new earth are on their way. At this point Isaiah makes a decisive turn. The course of nations does not end in desolation, but in the flowering of the desert: “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose” (Isa. 35:1 KJV). Thus we must never believe that history concludes in final and irreparable ruin. For the Christian, desolation is never the last word. There is yet one more canvas to be added to the gallery of history: “a new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1 KJV).
The watchmen on the wall are not only to pray and to warn, but also to announce the coming of another Kingdom. As surely as he sees the signs of destruction and decay, he also knows that “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Rom. 5:20 KJV). The Apostle Paul tells us to “comfort one another with these words” concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess. 4:18 KJV). He wrote as one already walking a road that would end in martyrdom beneath the evil machinery of Rome. Yet even tribulation unto death cannot stop the larger movement of history toward consummation. Paradise lost is already becoming paradise regained. As this work of grace has begun in your own soul, so it shall be completed in the world. The Kingdom grows from the inside out (Mark 4:26–29).
The workers of wickedness may seem for a season to gain ascendancy. They may seize tactical hills and breach outer walls. But their victories are temporary. The larger strategy is not theirs. It belongs to Almighty God. He sees. He ordains. And the will of man shall not hinder His providence in the least (Ps. 115:3; Dan. 4:35; Eph. 1:11). Even the sins of men and the works of the devil shall, in the mysterious government of God, be overruled for the accomplishment of His righteous purpose. The Cross remains the supreme demonstration of this truth: “Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken… and slain” (Acts 2:23 KJV); and yet those very powers were gathered “for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done” (Acts 4:27–28 KJV).
God has a perfect and unwavering purpose, established “before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4 KJV), to gather all things in Christ. His design is nothing less than the confession of the nations that Jesus Christ is Lord and the spread of the knowledge of God across the earth “as the waters cover the sea” (Hab. 2:14 KJV; cf. Phil. 2:9–11).
So then:
Watch. Pray. Warn. Prepare.
And then, look forward with absolute confidence. Jesus Christ is risen from the dead, and therefore all lost causes are forever banished (1 Cor. 15:20). There may be difficult days ahead. There may also be seasons of refreshment in the midst of the wilderness (Acts 3:19). There can be no other end to this message than for this poor and unprofitable watchman nevertheless to adjure you, in the name of God and with love for your souls: watch, and be silent no more. Pray without ceasing. Warn without caveat. Wait without despair (1 Thess. 5:17; Ezek. 33:7; Heb. 10:23).
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Sources
Bauckham, Richard. The Theology of the Book of Revelation. New Testament Theology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
Beale, G. K. The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text. New International Greek Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1998.
Chapell, Bryan. Christ-Centered Worship: Letting the Gospel Shape Our Practice. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2009.
Heschel, Abraham Joshua. The Prophets. New York: Harper & Row, 1962.
Koester, Craig R. Revelation and the End of All Things. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2001.
Old, Hughes Oliphant. Leading in Prayer: A Workbook for Worship. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995.
Peterson, David. Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2002.
Stott, John R. W. Between Two Worlds: The Challenge of Preaching Today. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982.
Suggested Further Reading
(Peer-Reviewed Articles & Scholarly Journals)
DeRoo, Neal. “The Everyday Power of Liturgy: On the Significance of the Transcendental for a Phenomenology of Liturgy.” Religions 12, no. 8 (2021): 633. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12080633.
Maddix, Mark A. “Rediscovering the Formative Power of Scripture Reading for the Church.” Christian Education Journal 15, no. 1 (2018): 34–42.
Partlow, Claire L. “What Isaiah Means for Christian Worship: Reading Scripture after Robert Wilken’s The Church’s Bible Series.” Journal of Scriptural Reasoning 16, no. 1 (2017): Article 5. https://doi.org/10.61335/1551-3432.1042.
Stefanovic, Ranko. “‘The Lord’s Day’ of Revelation 1:10 in the Current Debate.” Andrews University Seminary Studies49, no. 2 (2011): 261–284.
Whitlock, Michelle L. “Liturgical Narrative and the Imagination.” Religions 15, no. 8 (2024): 993. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15080993.
Thank you for sharing the powerful and necessary message!