Important
Read first
- Don’t worry about facial expressions
- Don’t be scared to pause to look at notes
- Keep a slow pace
- Signpost between sections
- Camp on definitions
- Slow down and repeat important one liners
Intro
Opening (lead into scripture)
- Mention that we will be in Isaiah 12
- Talk about how one of my desires lately is that God would show me more of His character
- Give story about spending time and prayer and just being still and listening
- Ask everyone to think of 3 attributes of God’s character in the Old Testament (creator, judge, holy)
Outline
We are going to be reading Isaiah 12 through 3 times today. Each time we look at it, I want us to be able to read it with a deeper understanding. Here are the 3 lenses we will look through, each building on the last, to understand this hymn of praise.
- The first time through we are just going to take in the Word
- Then we are going to dive into a couple of areas of context before we go through it a second time (What, Who, When)
1] Where does this fall in book of Isaiah
2] Who is the singer in this hymn? Are we inhabitants of Zion?
3] How is this prophecy being fulfilled today?- Finally we’ll dive deeper into the text dividing it into 3 sections and then read it through one last time.
1] vv. 1-2: We see God becomes our comforter and salvation
2] v. 3: We draw water from the wells of salvation
3] vv. 4-6: We are called to glorify God
Read scripture
If you are able, please stand with me for our first read through.
- And in that day you will say: “O LORD, I will praise You; Though You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me.
- Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; ‘For YAH, the LORD, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.’ ”
- Therefore with joy you will draw water From the wells of salvation.
- And in that day you will say: “Praise the LORD, call upon His name; Declare His deeds among the peoples, Make mention that His name is exalted.
- Sing to the LORD, For He has done excellent things; This is known in all the earth.
- Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion, For great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!”
Prayer
- Pray for wisdom and discernment in teaching
- Pray that God would help me to set myself aside so that He can use me
Context (what do we need to keep in mind?)
Signpost
Having done our 1st look at the text, we are going to camp in some context for a bit. Let’s look at where this is in the book of Isaiah, who is the singer that is mentioned, and how we can view this hymn today.
Where does this fall in the book of Isaiah?
Isaiah is a book talking about God’s judgement coming upon Jerusalem and the nations, but also the hope in store for them in the form of a savior. In the first 12 chapters of this book we learn about God’s plan for judgement and then the hope that is coming for Jerusalem. Jerusalem, that is God’s people, are hard hearted and as a result will be cut down until only a stump remains as mentioned in Isaiah 6.
11. Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered: “Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, The houses are without a man, The land is utterly desolate,
12. The LORD has removed men far away, And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
13. But yet a tenth will be in it, And will return and be for consuming, As a terebinth tree or as an oak, Whose stump remains when it is cut down. So the holy seed shall be its stump.”
But we see in Isaiah 7 out of that stump will come Immanuel, Israel’s savior. After this prophecy Isaiah gives us chapter 12, a hymn of praise showing how God’s anger will be turned away and the savior will be glorified.
Fun
Interestingly this section of Isaiah, that is 7-12, is sometimes referred to as the Book of Immanuel due to it’s focus on Jesus
Fun
The name Immanuel means “God with us”
The next section 13-27 God’s judgement of the nations, but also the hope that they have to look towards.
Then 28-39 looks back to Jerusalem and covers it’s fall to the Assyrians and Babylonians.
The final section of Isaiah in chapters 40-66 further develop God’s promise of redemption for Israel following the Babylonian exile.
Who is the singer in this hymn? Are we inhabitants of Zion?
Let’s break down who the singers are in this hymn (i.e. the inhabitants of Zion)
Zion is a complex name in scripture due to it’s variety of uses. I want to talk about a couple of those even if we will just scratch the surface of the meaning of Zion.
1. Location
Firstly, we see that Zion is used to refer to a number of locations centered around Jerusalem.
- Jebusite Fortress (city of David)
- Temple Mount
- Jerusalem
- Southwestern Hill
2. God’s dwelling place
Zion as God’s dwelling place:
13. For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place:
21. Blessed be the LORD out of Zion, Who dwells in Jerusalem! Praise the LORD!
3. God’s people
It is also used to refer to groups of people. At first the Israelites:
16. And I have put My words in your mouth; I have covered you with the shadow of My hand, That I may plant the heavens, Lay the foundations of the earth, And say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’ ”
Then we see Zion in the new testament extended to the Church:
22. But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels,
23. to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect,
This is also talked about in Isaiah when God promises that the messiah will not just be for Israel but the whole earth
6. Indeed He says, ‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”
How is this prophecy being fulfilled today?
We see this song begin with the phrase “And in that day”. The day being mentioned spans a position of time where we see God set in place the last times. Beginning with the coming of the Root of Jesse, that is the messiah, then stretching through God’s judgements on this world, and ending with His new and perfect creation. Let’s look at a couple select verses from Isaiah 11 to highlight what takes place in this day.
The first “and in that day” takes place in verse 10.
10. “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious.”
Let’s hear what day is being described in verse 10 by reading the previous 9 verses.
1. The coming of the messiah
- There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
- The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.
2. God’s judgement
God does not judge like an earthly judge. But with true righteousness.
3. His delight is in the fear of the LORD, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
4. But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
5. Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist.
3. The new creation
6. “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them.
7. The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8. The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den.
9. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea.
At our current point in time God has completed the act of salvation. However, we are still potentially waiting on things like His excellent deeds being known through all the earth or in the previous chapter, Isaiah 11, the nursing child playing in the cobra’s hole.
Recap
So now we have the context of:
- Where this takes place in the book of Isaiah
- That we are now part of the inhabitants of Zion and thus singers of this Hymn,
- How this hymn is in the act of being fulfilled
Read scripture
Having this context in mind let’s read through the chapter a second time.
- And in that day you will say: “O LORD, I will praise You; Though You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me.
- Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; ‘For YAH, the LORD, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.’ ”
- Therefore with joy you will draw water From the wells of salvation.
- And in that day you will say: “Praise the LORD, call upon His name; Declare His deeds among the peoples, Make mention that His name is exalted.
- Sing to the LORD, For He has done excellent things; This is known in all the earth.
- Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion, For great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!”
vv. 1-2: We see God becomes our comforter and salvation
Signpost
Let’s jump into the first section of this hymn (verses 1 and 2). Remember that we are going to take the perspective of the singer as we read through this.
Scripture
- And in that day you will say: “O LORD, I will praise You; Though You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me.
- Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; ‘For YAH, the LORD, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.’ ”
God in the unbeliever’s vs the believer’s life
We see initially that God was angry with the singer, then God becomes the singer’s comforter and savior. This isn’t due to change in God’s character, but rather change in the singer’s character.
- God’s constant nature
- We change, not Him
6. “For I am the LORD, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
8. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
It is not our work but His
36. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
16. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
The phrase about the Lord being strength, song, and savior is found in Ex. and Ps.
We first hear this phrase in the book of Exodus following Israel escaping the Egyptians by passing through the Red Sea
- Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying: “I will sing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!
- The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
We see the phrase again in Psalm 118.
10. All nations surrounded me, But in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
11. They surrounded me, Yes, they surrounded me; But in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
12. They surrounded me like bees; They were quenched like a fire of thorns; For in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
13. You pushed me violently, that I might fall, But the LORD helped me.
14. The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation.
This is an incredibly potent phrase often sung to highlight how God has saved us from the wickedness of this world.
v. 3: We draw water from the wells of salvation
Signpost
With verse 2 ending in “He also has become my salvation”, that brings us to our next section (verse 3).
Scripture
3. Therefore with joy you will draw water From the wells of salvation.
This verse is evidence of God’s unchanging nature
God’s plans for mankind remain the same no matter if you are in the Old Testament or the New. God makes it clear throughout scripture that He is our savior in past, present, and future.
In Isaiah God promises He will help His people and their descendants
2. Thus says the LORD who made you And formed you from the womb, who will help you: ‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant; And you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
3. For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, And floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, And My blessing on your offspring;
In John God promises this living water to those who believe in Him. Another sign that those who believe in Him will receive this water.
37. On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.
38. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
39. But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
We see that even in Revelation. God highlights His eternal nature alongside the water of life
6. And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
What exactly happens when we draw this water out of the wells of salvation
13. Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again,
14. but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
This is the Water of Life
- Then he brought me back to the door of the temple; and there was water, flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple faced east; the water was flowing from under the right side of the temple, south of the altar.
- He brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gateway that faces east; and there was water, running out on the right side.
- And when the man went out to the east with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the water came up to my ankles.
- Again he measured one thousand and brought me through the waters; the water came up to my knees. Again he measured one thousand and brought me through; the water came up to my waist.
- Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross; for the water was too deep, water in which one must swim, a river that could not be crossed.
- He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?” Then he brought me and returned me to the bank of the river.
- When I returned, there, along the bank of the river, were very many trees on one side and the other.
- Then he said to me: “This water flows toward the eastern region, goes down into the valley, and enters the sea. When it reaches the sea, its waters are healed.
- And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes.
vv. 4-6: We are called to glorify God
Signpost
We reach this final section in Isaiah 12 where the song builds up into this great exclamation of crying out to the Holy One of Israel in our midst
Scripture
4. And in that day you will say: “Praise the LORD, call upon His name; Declare His deeds among the peoples, Make mention that His name is exalted.
5. Sing to the LORD, For He has done excellent things; This is known in all the earth.
6. Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion, For great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!”
Praise the LORD!
The verbs used here are praise, call upon, declare, make mention.
Examples
- Call upon His name. In times of need call upon the Lord “Lord help me minister to Your people”
- Declare His deeds. Last week we declared that “He is risen!”
- Make mention His name is exalted. That word “exalted” means to be raised up. Tell your friends and family “God is the most high, there are none like Him”
Sing to the LORD!!
The verb here, sing, is adds the element of music to our praise.
Definition
(zāmar). vb. to sing praise. Indicates the act of singing praise and praising the Lord.
Pronounced: zee-mirrior
Used primarily in the book of Psalms
We not called just to declare His deeds here. We are called to rejoice for He has done excellent things!
16. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Cry and shout out to the LORD!!!
The words here “cry and shout out” tell us we not just to sing. But sing for joy! When we engage in worship, don’t just declare what is doing (monotone), don’t just sing quietly, sing with fervor!
Closing
Before we read through this chapter for the final time, let’s review the 3 sections we broke the text down into:
Recap
- vv. 1-2: We see God becomes our comforter and salvation
- v. 3: We draw water from the wells of salvation
- vv. 4-6: We are called to glorify God
Read scripture
And our final pass through the text:
- And in that day you will say: “O LORD, I will praise You; Though You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me.
- Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; ‘For YAH, the LORD, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.’ ”
- Therefore with joy you will draw water From the wells of salvation.
- And in that day you will say: “Praise the LORD, call upon His name; Declare His deeds among the peoples, Make mention that His name is exalted.
- Sing to the LORD, For He has done excellent things; This is known in all the earth.
- Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion, For great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!”
Prayer
References:
- BibleProject. (n.d.). The Book of Isaiah. BibleProject. https://bibleproject.com/guides/book-of-isaiah/