My Strength and Song

June 9, 2013

Lesson: Isaiah 12:1–6

Key Verse: Isaiah 12:2

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Introduction

Deliverance by the gracious hand of the Lord brings about an unplanned response of the heart of the child of God; the soul of the people of God being so filled with the objective truth of His providential care that a response of praise and thanksgiving must burst forth. The ‘exodus’ from Egypt is an example: “And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses” (Ex. 14:31). Faith accompanies the explosion of praise as the Moses and the people sang: “I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him” (Ex. 15:1–2). When the Lord delivers His people from their transgressions and, therefore, from their enemies, He is preparing a people for His habitation. Referring to the song of Exodus 15, and of Isaiah 12, Matthew Henry sees the glorious application of this deliverance in Christ, that the “Redeemed people of God, in view of his great mercy in interposing to save them. It should be read in view of the great and glorious deliverance which God has performed for us in the redemption of his Son; and with feelings of lofty gratitude that he has brought us from worse than Egyptian bondage – the bondage of sin. The song is far better applied to the times of the Messiah.”

Let these words of Psalm 118:14–17 be the song of our deliverance as we study God’s Word: “The Lord is my strength and song, and is become my salvation. The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly. I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.”

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God Is My Salvation—Isaiah 12:1–3

Isaiah, the prophet of God, begins this section with the words, “And in that day”: “The day referred to in the previous chapter, the time of the Messiah, when the effects of his reign shall be seen everywhere. The duty of praise, however, is couched in such language as to make it applicable to the event predicted in the former part of the prophecy Isa. 10 – the delivering of the nation from the invasion of Sennacherib, as well as the more glorious event on which the prophet fixed his eye Isa. 11 – the coming and reign of the Messiah. The language of this song of praise would be appropriate to both these events” (M. Henry).

Whether it be the outward deliverance of the God’s people from their enemies, and with that deliverance the deliverance from their transgressions against their Lord; they are but shadows of the great promise of deliverance in Christ Jesus. Our praise is the same as those who have witnessed the salvation of their Lord: “And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation” (Isa. 25:9). [For further study read Isa. 26:1–6 and compare it to Psalm 24.]

In the day of deliverance, the people of the Lord shall say, “O Lord (Jehovah, the self-existent God), I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turn away, and thou comforted me.” The Lord was displeased with His people over their transgression; however the depth of the action of His anger is seen as being His wrath, of His being longsuffering. This anger is illustrated in God’s use of Sennacherib: “O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets” (Isa. 10:5–6).

The wrath of God brings eternal death/punishment against those who transgress His law: those who deny His glory by seeking glory in their own lies. “What profits the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols” (Hab. 2:18). The repentant child of God, by the Spirit calls upon his Lord: “O Lord, I have heard thy speech and was afraid: O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy” (Hab. 3:2). We hear the Word of the Lord and in the Spirit’s gift of faith we have seen His tender mercy: “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him” (1 Thess. 5:9–10).

On what foundation have we received so great a salvation? In these words of faith, given to us by the Spirit: “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song.” John Calvin wrote that “The reason why he is called The song of the godly is, that he bestows on them so much kindness for the purpose of exciting them to perform the duty of thankfulness. Hence we conclude that the beginning of joy springs from the favor of God, and that the end of it is the sacrifice of praise.” The Psalmist continues: The Lord JEHOVAH “also is become my salvation.” The Lord (Yah, the sacred name of God); Jehovah (the eternal, I AM God); revealed in the Son, the only Mediator between God and man, in whom is the fullness of the Godhead; who was given the name ‘Joshua’-‘Jehoshua’—which means Jehovah is salvation!): “for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). So Peter preached Christ: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation;” teaching us that Christ, speaking of the Holy Spirit, testified, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37–39).

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Discussion: What do we mean when we declare that God is our salvation?

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Sing Unto the Lord—Isaiah 12:4–6

Not only are we to sing unto the Lord, but we are to enliven others to praise Him: “Praise the Lord, call upon his name.” To “call upon his name” is to declare the glorious person of our Lord in our worship and praise. We are not to glory in our wisdom or our might or our riches, for we have no glory in and of ourselves, not a smidgen. “But let him that glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord” (Jer. 9:23–24). Our confidence and faith in the Lord is more and more manifested in our understanding and knowledge of Him through His Word, “declaring his doings among the people, making mention that his name is exalted” (i.e., his person as revealed in his scriptures). These words of the Larger Catechism A. 7 so lift up “his name”—“God is a Spirit, in of himself infinite in being, glory, blessedness, and perfection; all sufficient, eternal, unchangeable, incomprehensible, every where present, almighty, knowing all things, most wise, most holy, most just, most merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.” Let us continue to search the Scriptures, that by the Spirit, we may see more of the glory of God in Christ Jesus.

The Psalmist continues: “Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.” There is no part of the earth, of His marvelous creation, in which His glory is not shown: the glory of His saving grace. Every nation is to hear the singing of the people of God, proclaiming the glorious Gospel, making disciples through the Word. Calvin wrote “that there is abundant ground for singing. The Lord does not wish that his praises should be proclaimed without any reason, but holds out a very rich and very abundant subject of praise, when he frees his people from very hard bondage. We have said that this song is not limited to a short period, but, on the contrary, extends to the whole of Christ’s reign. This work therefore is truly glorious, that God sent his Son to reconcile us to himself, (John 3:16, 17,) and to destroy the dominion of death and the devil. (Hebrews 2:14.) If, therefore, we consider the work of our deliverance as we ought to do, we shall have very abundant ground for praising God.”

Therefore, “Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.” What a glorious picture of the congregation of which Christ is King and Head. He is in the midst of His people, of His Zion. Christ is the Holy One of Israel, our Savior. Our Lord has given us the words to sing, words that speak truth, words whereby we declare and confess our faith in Christ as our Savior. Let the Psalms reveal our faith in song and prayer. For example: “Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted. For the Lord is our defense; and the Holy One of Israel is our king” (Psa. 89:15-18). Note that our ‘glory’ is nothing more or less than the glory of our King and Lord; Christ alone is our glory!

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Discussion: What does it mean to call upon the name of our Lord in praise?

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Lessons are based on the International Sunday School Lessons for Christian Teaching, copyright © 2013 by the Committee on the Uniform Series.