Praise and Call upon the Name of the Lord (Isaiah 12:1-6)

(Temple 02/03/2019) I have on my to-do list a series about the use of songs and singing in spirituality. King David was not the only prophet to suddenly break out in song as the Lord was upon him. Moses was a songwriter. Miriam led the women’s chorus in song. Jesus sang. Paul and Silas were a singing duo who almost brought the house down. Heavenly hosts sing to the Lord. It seems singing draws us nearer to heaven’s throne.

Tonight, we look at a song of Isaiah. In our study of Isaiah, we have noted the different ways that Isaiah saw the Lord. He saw the Lord literally, high and lifted up, in chapter six. He saw the Lord as Messiah in chapters seven through nine. Like David, Isaiah uttered this psalm as the Holy Spirit was upon him in prophecy. This psalm prophesies. It preaches salvation in the Lord.

And in that day thou shalt say,

O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me,

Thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.

2Behold, God is my salvation;

I will trust, and not be afraid:

For the Lord Yahweh is my strength and my song;

He also is become my salvation.

3Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

4And in that day shall ye say,

Praise the Lord, call upon his name,

Declare his doings among the people,

Make mention that his name is exalted.

5Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things:

This is known in all the earth.

6Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion:

For great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

Many newer translations and even some version of the KJV emphasize the poetic style of Isaiah. Verses are broken up as lines of poetry. In some versions, the alignment of the lines is centered like a poem instead of left aligned like prose. Isaiah wrote other songs that I trust we will enjoy together in the future.

The song begins, “And in that day thou shalt say…” When is that day? Today! Today is the day to sing this song.

One reason we will praise the Lord forever is for His grace. When we were under wrath, He gave His Son to die in our place.

By His grace through faith in Christ, His anger is turned to care.

The Lord is my comfort.

The Lord is my salvation.

The Lord is my strength.

The Lord is my song.

After Isaiah’s testimony, he exhorts others to share their testimony.

Eugene Peterson has a paraphrase of scripture call The Message. Here is how he paraphrases :

My Strength and Song

1 12 And you will say in that day,

“I thank you, God.

You were angry

but your anger wasn’t forever.

You withdrew your anger

and moved in and comforted me.

2 “Yes, indeed—God is my salvation.

I trust, I won’t be afraid.

God—yes God!—is my strength and song,

best of all, my salvation!”

3–4 Joyfully you’ll pull up buckets of water

from the wells of salvation.

And as you do it, you’ll say,

“Give thanks to God.

Call out his name.

Ask him anything!

Shout to the nations, tell them what he’s done,

spread the news of his great reputation!

5–6 “Sing praise-songs to God. He’s done it all!

Let the whole earth know what he’s done!

Raise the roof! Sing your hearts out, O Zion!

The Greatest lives among you: The Holy of Israel.”[1]

I found a hymn, not in a Baptist hymnal, but in a Hymnal (1982) whose verses were written by Carl P. Daw, Jr.

Surely it is God who saves me; trusting him, I shall not fear. For the Lord defends and shields me and his saving help is near. So rejoice as you draw water from salvation's living spring; in the day of your deliverance thank the Lord, his mercies sing.

Make his deeds known to the peoples: tell out his exalted Name.

Praise the Lord, who has done great things; all his works God's might proclaim.

Zion, lift your voice in singing; for with you has come to dwell,

In your very midst, the great and Holy One of Israel.

Praise the Lord – sing songs and hymns of praise. Call upon His Name – pray. Make mention that His Name is exalted – preach Jesus! Sounds like our worship services!

Here is my attempt at lyricism of Isaiah’s song.

(verse 1)

On this day I will say,

O Lord, I lift up adoration:

I deserved condemnation,

Your anger is turned away,

Comfort is here to stay.

Behold, God is my salvation.

(chorus)

I will trust Him without qualm

For the Lord is my strength, my psalm;

He also is become my salvation.

I draw water from His well with jubilation.

(verse 2)

Yes, on this day I will say,

Praise the Lord, upon His Name I call!

Declare his doings unto all!

Unto the Lord in exaltation sing!

For He has done excellent things!

(bridge)

This is known in all the earth.

Cry out and shout, Zion’s resident!

For great is the Holy One of Israel

And with us He is present!

What a song! Isaiah’s song in chapter 12 is far better than any song sung at the Super Bowl half-time! Isaiah’s song resonates with the glory of God to the glory of God!

Notice how this psalm points to Jesus! And notice how Jesus fulfills this psalm! The Lord has comfort instead of anger toward the believer in Christ. Compare verse 1 to But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

Verse 2 practically calls Jesus by name! The Hebrew meaning of yehoshua (Jesus) is “salvation.” The angel told the NT dreamer Joseph in And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. 22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. God is my Jesus! is not a disservice to the text.

And how can you read verse three without thinking about the woman at the well in John four? Especially when Jesus tells her, Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. 10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. 11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? 12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? 13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. 15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

Verse four foreshadows the exaltation of Jesus’ name in Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

We see a fulfilling of this prophecy of verse five in And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him. And And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.

Verse six reminds us of Jesus’ entry in Jerusalem when He was praised by the multitude. And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; 38 Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.

Isaiah saw the Lord. He saw Him in the present in this song. But this song also shows that Isaiah saw the Lord in the future, when God would be with us, Immanuel. Praise His Name! Call upon His Name!

[1] Eugene H. Peterson, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2005), .

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