Isaiah 12: A Hymn of Praise

At the tail end of the prophecy concerning the House of Israel is this gorgeous song, a psalm. The Book of Isaiah began with a prophecy concerning the House of Judah, the southern tribes of the split kingdom. Following that prophecy came one concerning the northern tribes. This is the last chapter of that prophecy, before we go on to prophecies concerning the other nations. Though Chapter 12 only has 6 verses, it demonstrates much of the mindset of those singing to the Lord in that day. We will be there, as well, though in glorified bodies. Without further ado, let’s read the chapter in its entirety:

1 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.
2 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.' "
3 Therefore with joy you will draw water
From the wells of salvation.
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!"
Isaiah 12:1-6 (NKJV)

Let’s begin with a discussion of the first verse:

1 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.

“In that day” refers to the Millennium, the 1,000-year reign of Jesus Christ on the throne of David. People will be praising the Lord, and they will have more than ample reason to do so. Remember what will lead up to this time…the tribulation. I have posted this verse already in this book, but we need a reminder now:

"And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.
Matthew 24:22 (NKJV)

A study of Revelation reveals a time like we have never seen before. After the Holocaust, the Jews were saying, “never again,” but sadly, the Great Tribulation makes the Holocaust look like a trip to Disneyland. As we have already seen in this study, two-thirds of the Jews in the Great Tribulation will die, but that surviving remnant of one-third will be in the crowd singing this psalm to the Lord. As I have mentioned before, and most of you know already, there are real blessings in tribulation. It is a sad statement of the human condition of sin nature, yet the true testament is that we tend to find the Lord when we have reached the ends of ourselves. I can certainly testify to that fact in my life, as I found Him in my brokenness. The Jews will have no where to look but up with the supernatural attack from Satan they will be subject to. Having felt the Lord’s wrath, they will know that anger has been turned away when He comforts them. The punishment of the Jews began with their sins of idolatry, as the Lord sent them into captivity. That sin worsened when they failed to acknowledge Jesus as their Messiah. God sent them to the four corners of the earth. Don’t forget God’s remedy for sin…it must be covered by the spilling of blood. The Old Testament sacrificial system accomplished that task, but the temple has not been around since A.D. 70. Those who have not asked Jesus to cover their sins will have to cover those sins with their own blood, and they will die in the process. This verse points to the cross! God could not have turned away His anger without the cross, for it was there that Jesus received the punishment these Jews should have received; He received the punishment I should have received; He received the punishment you should have received. A sinless God cannot just ignore sin. Each one of us who have come to Him has an inkling of what the Jews are feeling here. When the burden of my sin was removed from my shoulders, I walked with a joy I had never experienced before. That joy remains today. I have always pointed out the story Jesus tells Peter in reference to my own life:

40 And Jesus answered and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." So he said, "Teacher, say it." 41 "There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 "And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?" 43 Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more." And He said to him, "You have rightly judged."
Luke 7:40-43 (NKJV)

Many of us feel that we are the chief sinners, as I do. I know what Jesus had to forgive in my life. I know what burden He had to bear on the cross for me. I am still so ashamed of the sins that I committed, though I am filled with joy for the burden that is gone from me. I know how the Jews will feel on this day! Having ignored the fact for centuries that Jesus came to save them, they finally reach a breaking point and turn to Him. He is their comfort, and leads them through the valley of the shadow of death. In the Great Tribulation, death is all around them, but they are sealed by the protection of the Holy Spirit. His rod and His staff shall comfort them. If you are not living that joy now, remember the day you set all of your sins at the foot of the cross for Him to bear, the day you asked Him to be Lord of your life. That joy is always there for each of us, if we only remember! Now, verse two:

2 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 did not give us salvation. He is salvation. This reminds me of a favorite verse:

21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV)

Jesus didn’t just bear our sins. He became sin for us, and received the punishment for all of that sin. Though we should continue to ask for forgiveness of our sin, He forgave us for all of the sins we would ever commit the moment we came to Him. He already has carried the burden! Sometimes, I remind myself that if I can walk away from sin it will ease the burden He already carried. It’s difficult to get your mind around that one, but it is true. He became sin for us and He is salvation. After enduring the Great Tribulation and seeing the Lord guide them through history’s most difficult hour, there is nothing to fear. At this time, Jesus will be ruling on the throne of David at Mt. Zion. The antichrist and the false prophet will be in the lake of fire and brimstone. Satan will no longer have dominion over the earth and will be chained. The curse of sin will have been removed from the earth and all of creation will rejoice in the splendor of our King. YAHWEH, or Jehovah, Jesus, the Lord of my life, will be my strength and my song. He is the joy in our hearts. He is the strength that empowers us through every battle! Okay, verse three:

3 Therefore with joy you will draw water
From the wells of salvation.

This verse is a deep one! The wells of salvation are as deep as deep can be. His love is limitless, as He has enough for each of us to be loved completely. We are not speaking of just any water, but the Living Water discussed with the Samaritan woman at the well. Let’s look at that phrase in the Old and New Testaments:

13 "For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,
And hewn themselves cisterns--broken cisterns that can hold no water
Jeremiah 2:13 (NKJV)

And:

10 Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." 11 The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? 12 "Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?" 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."
John 4:10-14 (NKJV)

The wells of salvation speak of an abundance that we cannot imagine. Living Water gives us abundant life and we will never thirst again. We don’t have to wait until the Millennium to experience this abundant life. We are blessed to be in the Church Age, as we do not have to endure the hardship of the Great Tribulation. To me, it is a blessing that comes from our Lord’s words to Thomas, “Blessed are those who believe without seeing.” We did not walk with Jesus on this earth, but we still believe. It is nothing to brag about for even that faith is a gift that He has given us. Yet, another gift is that invitation as the Gentile brides of Christ to be at the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:4-10 (NKJV)

Even now, as we struggle on this earth, we are seated in the heavenlies with Him. That is pure joy! Here is verse four:

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.

I love the phrase here that says, “Declare His deeds among the peoples.” I think we will spend many years telling each other of the wondrous things that He did in our lives. God’s great deeds were not just in creation, though He created a beautiful world. We have no idea how beautiful it was, as all we have seen is the earth under the curse. During this time, we will see its true magnificence. Yet the Lord has redeemed each one of us through magnificent deeds. I look forward to trading stories with Saul of Tarsus, as I know what it feels like to have the Hound of Heaven place a man in a spot where he must choose the Lord. I am so thankful for all of His deeds in my life. His name is exalted, yet as one teacher pointed out, His Word is exalted even higher. That is because the Word became flesh and dwelled among us, was tabernacled among us. The only way God could demonstrate His love for us was to die, to lay down His life for each of us!

13 "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. 14 "You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.
John 15:13-14 (NKJV)

Everyone on the earth at this time will be praising the Lord! Have you ever heard a chorus, with voices melding together beautifully? Can you imagine a chorus with millions and millions of glorified voices singing praises to the Lord? I am really looking forward to this! Here is verse five:

5 Sing to the LORD,
For He has done excellent things;
This is known in all the earth.

It is so hard to imagine a world like this! We don’t know unity. Even as Christians, we find ourselves in situations where we get our feelings hurt by other Christians. At this time in history, we will all have a different perspective. All we will see is our Savior reigning on the throne, and filled with our love, thankfulness and joy, we will sing to Him. God created the world, looked back and said that it was good. Here, he says that it is excellent, and He certainly knows the meaning of that word. We have no idea right now how excellent it will be! Though detractors will come again, in the form of offspring of the people who enter the Millennium, Jesus will be ruling with a rod of iron, the ability to see each person’s motive and will have a host of kings and priests ruling with Him. That’s us! I don’t know how expansive the world will be, but as I have discussed with others, my guess is that the land may be all together again (as it appears it once fit that way if you look at a globe). I think we will be speaking one language, as they were in the days before the Tower of Babel. I hope that language is Hebrew, as I think it is beautiful! Okay, let’s finish this chapter:

6 Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion,
For great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!"

The Lord will be ruling on the earth! Have you ever felt like you were the only one with a belief in the Lord? Outside of the Bible belt, it is easy to feel that way. Yet politically speaking, especially in these days of political correctness, we seldom can find a candidate willing to stand up for God and God’s ways. Politics will be much easier in the Millennium. We voted for Jesus when we asked Him to be our Savior, and He will be elected as the ruler of this world by a unanimous vote, without the need for an election! My heart goes out to the Jews, who have lived in Israel all of these years without a temple. If you go to Jerusalem, you see them at the Wailing Wall. There will be no more wailing, but cries and shouts of joy, as their Messiah will be ruling from their midst…on Mt. Zion, with the Millennial Temple right there. I am so glad that God blessed me with the opportunity to see that city before this time, as it will be such a blessing to see the change! Though God is everywhere, that piece of land is very important to Him. When you arrive there, even now, it feels like a part of you has gone home. That’s because the One who lives inside of you is from there! Don’t wait until then to feel this joy. All of your sins have been forgiven! You have eternal life with Jesus and there is nothing that can ever harm you. If you don’t know Him as your Savior, you can receive that joy right now!
This concludes not only the chapter, but the section in Isaiah concerning the northern tribes. As we continue in Chapter 13, and for the remainder of this book, we will be dealing with Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the nations.