Isaiah 12:1-6--The LORD Is My Strength and My Song

Isaiah 12
English Standard Version

The LORD Is My Strength and My Song
12 You will say in that day:
“I will give thanks to you, O LORD,
    for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
    that you might comfort me.

2 “Behold, God is my salvation;
    I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the LORD God is my strength and my song,
    and he has become my salvation.”

3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4 And you will say in that day:

“Give thanks to the LORD,
    call upon his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples,
    proclaim that his name is exalted.

​5 “Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously;
    let this be made known in all the earth.
6 Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
    for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

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Isaiah breaks out in praise at the news that one day the LORD's anger would be turned away from His remnant--that day came at the expense of His anger and wrath that we deserved being turned towards His own Son--His one and only Son, Jesus.  Now we who were enemies with God can be brought near as sons and daughters by Adoption and receive the peace, comfort and blessings that only Jesus deserved.

​God doesn't just provide our salvation; He is our salvation.  "The LORD God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation."  This is a personal statement for Isaiah but hopefully is a statement all of the redeemed of the LORD can say right along with Him.  The image of salvation being a deep well that will never run dry would mean so much to these people that lived in an arid environment where they were always trying to make sure that they had enough water for themselves, their flocks, and their herds.  A well that will not run dry is good, and maybe that is the best that Isaiah can imagine in the moment, but Jesus describes Himself as a spring or a fountain of living water (water that is always moving and not stagnant) that brings eternal life and will never be depleted.  Someone who found such a water source in that area was a very rich person indeed, and we are rich in Christ just by Him being our Living Water and Bread of Life.

We proclaim the greatness of the LORD and give thanks to Him holy Name along with Isaiah the prophet.  We do this individually and corporately.  We give our testimony and bear witness to the nations of who He is and what He has done.  We are Him ambassadors that proclaim the King and His Kingdom and help others to become His Kingdom citizens.

We extend a call to worship to all people in all places, but especially to the people of God, and especially those living in the Land of His covenant blessing.  Isaiah commands the people who have seen and tasted of the goodness of the LORD to join him in both song and testimony.  They are to be a light to all the Gentile nations and proclaim the name of the LORD among all the nations.  That is a monumental task for such a small people, but it was never God's plan for them to do it along as He always planned to redeem a remnant from among the nations who would also be His witnesses and ambassadors to the nations.  So, we too who have been redeemed join in the chorus and sing praise to the LORD for He is good and His steadfast love endures forever.  We sing because the Name of the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised in Mount Zion and in all the earth (and eventually all the earth will be His holy mountain--see Daniel 2).  We like Isaiah look forward to the day when the LORD will gather all of His covenant people home again and we will experience the covenant blessings that we did not earn or deserve, but that Christ obtained on our behalf.