From Forsaken to Sought Out: The Wonder of Divine Grace

Isaiah 62:12 announces a stunning reversal: "Thou shalt be called, Sought out." This prophecy operates on two levels.

First, Jerusalem—despoiled by enemies, forsaken for generations, a city "which no man seeketh after"—shall be restored to glory. Multitudes of willing pilgrims shall seek her out to behold her beauty and the hallowed spots where Jehovah's mighty deeds were wrought and His arm made bare.

Second, this applies to the Church of Christ. For centuries, the Church remained hidden, obscure, despised, unknown. Her followers—the poorest and most illiterate—hid in catacombs, hunted by ferocious foes. Though the royal bride of Christ and destined to rule nations, she made no figure in the world's eye. Yet now multitudes seek the Church of Christ.

Most profoundly, this title applies to every individual believer. Consider what "sought out" [ekzeteō] implies: we were originally lost. We did not seek the Lord; we had no thought of returning to God. We did not even desire Him to seek us. Our being sought out, given our condition, represents one of the greatest wonders ever known. Spurgeon noted converts who declared, "If anyone had told me six months ago I would profess Christ, I would have knocked him down." Yet it occurred—surpassing grace that God should seek us at all.