Isaiah 12
In that day you will say:
“I will praise you, Lord. Although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away and you have comforted me.
2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defence;
he has become my salvation.”
3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.4 In that day you will say:
“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
make known among the nations what he has done,
and proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things;
let this be known to all the world.
6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,
for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”
This is a great encouragement for our Sunday gatherings. It deals with the “day”, now nearly two thousand years long, when the people of God would know the victory of the Messiah. Notice that the first half deals with the blessings, the joy that we experience by believing in Jesus. Then, the second half deals with the encouragement we give and receive to be overjoyed by these blessings achieved for us. It really summarises what we do as we gather as the people of God. The terms translated “shout aloud” and “sing for joy” in verse 6 describe very exuberant behaviour. Think about how excited you are about the gospel and express it to your fellow believers today – according to the framework of your personality!
David Johnston
