| ISAIAH ("Jehovah is Salvation") |
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| JEHOVAH'S Judgment & Character (Isaiah 1-39) |
JEHOVAH'S Comfort & Redemption (Isaiah 40-66) |
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| Uzziah Jotham Ahaz 1-12 |
13-27 |
28-35 |
Hezekiah's Salvation & Blessing 36-39 |
True God 40-48 |
Suffering Messiah 49-57 |
Reigning Lord 58-66 |
| Prophecies Regarding Judah & Jerusalem Is 1:1-12:6 |
Prophecies Against the Nations |
Warnings & Promises |
Historical Section |
Redemption Promised: Israel's Deliverance |
Redemption Provided: Israel's Deliverer |
Redemption Realized: Israel's Glorious Future |
| Prophetic | Historic | Messianic | ||||
| Holiness, Righteousness & Justice of Jehovah | Grace, Compassion & Glory of Jehovah | |||||
| God's Government "A throne" Is 6:1 |
God's Grace "A Lamb" Is 53:7 |
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| Time 740-680BC |
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See Introduction to Isaiah by Dr John MacArthur: Title, Author, Date, Background, Setting, Historical, Theological Themes, Interpretive Challenges, Outline by Chapter/Verse. Excellent overview. From Grace To You ministries - same intro as in MacArthur Study Bible (print) |
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Isaiah 12:1 Then you will say on that day, "I will give thanks to You, O LORD for although You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me.:
- that day: Isa 2:11 11:10,11,16 14:3 26:1 27:1-3,12,13 35:10 Zec 14:9,20
- LORD: Isa 25:1,9 49:13 60:18,19 Ps 34:1-22 67:1-4 69:34-36 72:15-19 Ps 149:6-9 Ro 11:15 Rev 15:3,4 19:1-7
- Although: Isa 10:4,25 40:1,2 51:3 54:8 57:15-18 66:13 De 30:1-3 Ps 30:5 Ps 85:1-3 Jer 31:18-20 Eze 39:24-29 Ho 6:1 11:8 14:4-9
A PSALM (SONG) OF THANKSGIVING
FOR JEHOVAH'S SALVATION
As you read and study the great prophetic book of Isaiah, keep the context in mind, remembering that chapter 12 marks the end of the first major section of Isaiah (refer to the preceding Table). Isaiah takes an abrupt turn to the oracle concerning Babylon beginning in Isaiah 13:1 and taking up additional oracles to the nations through Isaiah 27.. Isaiah 1-12 precedes from worst (Isa 1:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) to best, from divine judgment to divine comfort, chapter 12 (Isa 12:1-6) which culminates in the promise of salvation (Isa 12) and the presence of their Savior (Isa 12:6)
I love Joseph Parker's comment "It is time we had a hymn in this prophecy of Isaiah, for the reading has been like a succession of thunderstorms and earthquakes."
Alexander summarizes this chapter as follows - Taking occasion from the reference to Egypt and the exodus in the close of the preceding chapter, the Prophet now puts into the mouth of Israel a song analogous to that of Moses, from which some of the expressions are directly borrowed. The structure of this psalm is very regular, consisting of two parts, in each of which the Prophet first tells the people what they will say, or have a right to say, when the foregoing promises are verified, and then addresses them again in his own person and in the usual language of prediction. In the first stanza, they are made to acknowledge the divine compassion and to express their confidence in God as the source of all their strength, and therefore the rightful object of their praise, Isa 12:1-3. In the second stanza, they exhort one another to make known what God has done for them, not only at home but among all nations, and are exhorted by the Prophet to rejoice in the manifested presence of Jehovah, Isa 12:4-6. (The Prophecies of Isaiah)
The New Unger's Bible Dictionary has the following outline of this first section of Isaiah…
Prophecies from the standpoint of the prophet’s own time (Isaiah1:1–35:10)
A. Prophecies concerning Judah and Jerusalem (Isa 1:1–12:6)
1. General introduction (Isa 1:1–31)
2. Millennial blessing through cleansing (Isa 2:1–4:6)
3. Israel’s reproof for her sins (Isa 5:1–30)
4. The prophet’s call and commission (Isa 6:1–13)
5. Immanuel’s prophecy (Isa 7:1–25)
6. Prophecy of Assyrian invasion (Isa 8:1–22)
7. Messianic prediction (Isa 9:1–21)
8. Assyrian punishment (Isa 10:1–34)
9. Millennial restoration (Isa 11:1–16)
10. Millennial worship (Isa 12:1–6)
Fruchtenbaum has commented that "CHAPTERS 7–12 of Isaiah constitute a single unit, sometimes referred to as “The Book of Immanuel” because the name “Immanuel” appears three times in the Hebrew text (Isaiah 7:14; 8:8,10) (Ed: Isa 8:10 = "God with us" transliterated "immanu'el"). (Messianic Christology: A study of Old Testament prophecy concerning the first coming of the Messiah. Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries)
The KJV Bible Commentary - Viewing the entire context of the Immanuel passage (Isaiah 7-12), we are taken from a time when the nation of Israel is trembling in fear for the future of the throne of David to a time of unparallel exaltation of the One who shall sit upon that throne during His great millennial reign upon the earth. In between, we are introduced to Immanuel, the virgin’s son, who is indeed “God with us.” Next, we are told that He is to identify with the land; for it is His land. Further, He is described as the Gift-Child who will assume the government of His kingdom. We are further told that He is Himself the mighty God (Isa 10:21), whose rule will bring peace through His wonderful counsel. Finally, we are told that before He comes, the tree of David will be reduced to a stump. Yet, Judah need not fear; for the time will yet come when God’s King will sit on that throne as a Branch that sprouts from the root-stock of Jesse into an everlasting kingdom. To the Christian there can be no doubt that this entire passage speaks of only One Person: Jesus Christ the King! (Dobson, E G, Charles Feinberg, E Hindson, Woodrow Kroll, H L. Wilmington: KJV Bible Commentary: Nelson)
ON THAT
DAY
One day the trumpet will sound for His coming.
One day the skies with His glories will shine
Wonderful day, my Beloved One, bringing!
My Savior, Jesus, is mine!
One day He's coming, Oh Glorious Day!
Glorious Day by Casting Crowns
Then - Always be alert for this "time sensitive" word (expressions of time) for by definition it is a marker of what is next in order of time or next in a series and can be especially helpful in interpretation of prophetic passages. When you see a then at the beginning of a verse, stop and interrogate with the 5W/H'S especially asking when is then and what will happen then? From the context, the answer to "When?" is on that day and the answer to "What?" will happen on that day is elaborated on in the remainder of chapter 12. Play the great song by Robin Mark entitled One Day…
On that day - This specific time phrase begs the question "What day?" When interpreting Isaiah 12, one must be careful not to divorce this chapter from the immediately preceding context, which has the same time phrases (in that day, on that day) in Isa 11:10,11-note. Remembering that the chapter breaks are arbitrary divisions of men, if one reads chapters 11 and 12 together, it becomes clear that they present a seamless description of the future (eschatological) day when Messiah returns (cp Second Coming) to establish His Millennial Kingdom (see chronicling of the events that lead to the Return of the King of kings) to rule and reign in righteousness over the whole earth (cp Isa 11:9) for 1000 glorious years (Compare Rev 20:4-note, Re 20:5-note, Re 20:6-note). This day then is one aspect of that eschatological time which is referred to as the Day of the Lord (see discussion of what defines the Day of the Lord).
Constable - This paean (joyous song) of praise concludes the section dealing with Israel’s choice between trusting God or Assyria (Isa 7:1-12:6). It expresses the trust in God that Isaiah’s revelations in this section encouraged. This is a song of redemption that the remnant will sing “in that day” of Messiah’s triumph but which the prophet anticipated in his own. Isaiah prophesied that on the day Messiah reigned the remnant who survived the harvesting of Israel would praise Yahweh for ending His discipline of them and for comforting them. Previously in Isaiah’s prophecy “that day” was one to be dreaded (cf. Isaiah 2:20; 3:18; 4:1; 7:18, 20–21, 23), but now it is one to be hoped for. (Isaiah - Expository Notes)
Ryrie - So certain were God's promises of future blessing for Israel in or on that future day that Isaiah composed this song of praise in anticipation of the Millennium
J Vernon McGee introduces Isaiah 12 with this comment - Once again we have the expression “in that day,” which marks the beginning of the Great Tribulation Period and goes through the coming of the kingdom that Christ is going to establish upon the earth. This verse expresses the thought that the night of sin is over and the day of salvation is come. Israel has gone through the terrible night of the Tribulation, and now the light has come. The Tribulation is over, and they enter the peace and joy of the kingdom. This is an occasion for praise! The thing that will characterize the kingdom age is pure joy. . (Isaiah 12:1-3.mp3; Isaiah 12:4-6.mp3)
Tyndale Concise Bible Commentary - The “second” (Isa. 11:11) time refers to a regathering of the Jewish people following the tribulation (Matt. 24:15–20, 31). This song of praise (Isa. 12:1) will be sung on that day when the Jews are regathered from among the nations as a believing people. “Isaiah” (meaning “God is salvation”) as a sign (Isa 8:18) is fulfilled when these events occur.
Arnold Fruchtenbaum links Isaiah 11 and Isaiah 12 commenting that…
The regathering of Israel, following the regeneration, is another high point of prophetic revelation to be found in many of the prophets. In Isaiah 11:11-12:6, the final regathering is described as the second of the world-wide regatherings of Israel. The first regathering is the one in unbelief prior to the Great Tribulation in preparation for judgment. The regathering described in this passage is the second one (Isa 11:11a), in faith and in preparation for the millennial blessings. This regathering is not merely local from the nations of the Middle East (Isa 11:11b), but from all over the world (Isa 11:12). Isaiah then goes on to develop certain characteristics of Israel’s final regathering. the unity between Israel and Judah will be restored (Isa 11:13, 14). Second, the final regathering will be accompanied by miracles (Isa 11:15, 16). The tongue of the Egyptian Sea, the Gulf of Suez, will dry up while the Euphrates will be smitten and split up into seven smaller streams so as to make the regathering that much easier. As a highway was made for Israel at the Exodus, there will likewise be one again in the final regathering. This will result in songs of praise (Isaiah 12:1–6). (Israelology: The Missing Link in Systematic Theology. Tustin, Calif.: Ariel Ministries)
In keeping with the Exodus motif introduced by Isaiah 11:15, 16, there is a song of praise. (The Messianic Bible Study Collection 59:12. Tustin, Calif.: Ariel Ministries)
Moellerhaus - The day has not changed. It is still the day, or period, of the Nazarene Branch of the family of David. The messianic day of the David prophecies are the completion of the promised comfort and the cause of praise to YHWH for His provision for the final glorious outcome for His people Israel.
You… I… me - Each of these pronouns is singular in the original Hebrew. The question is "Who is 'you… I… me'?" This is an important question, because how one answers this question directly impacts how one interprets the entire chapter! The question is does one interpret these pronouns literally and in their proper context or non-literally and out of context?
Some sources like the Pulpit Commentary refer to this chapter as "The song of thanksgiving of the united church" and identify these pronouns with the church, an entity which has not been mentioned once in the context of Isaiah 1-12! (And remember context is the key and the king to facilitate accurate interpretation. To interpret a Biblical text outside the bounds set by the surrounding context opens that text to the danger of becoming a pre-text, a proof-text or text that is otherwise misinterpreted)!
Raymond Ortlund (who I enjoy reading because of his eloquent writing style) makes the statement that in Isaiah 12 "we are listening here to our own voice from the future. Isaiah is describing the revival of the church in the latter days. He is not giving us details about the end times."
Beloved, I beg to differ (strongly) as such spiritualizing of the text completely extirpates the literal nation of Israel from this chapter. Ortlund seems to overlook the fact that Isaiah 12 is a continuation of Isaiah 11, which as discussed more fully below clearly demonstrates that Israel is the intended audience and not the church. While I agree completely with Ortlund that all believers will sing the glorious song of Isaiah 12 - this is a reasonable application and is compatible with the fact that a given Biblical text can have more than one valid application. On the other hand, every passage has only one true interpretation and the only accurate interpretation that fits the "church-less" context is that the audience being addressed is the nation of Israel and specifically the believing remnant who alone (of all Israel) can sing the song of salvation (Isaiah 12:3,4). If the Jews were not the intended audience, how could a Jew in Babylonian exile read Isaiah 12 and see in it the promise of a future and a hope if the intended audience were the church? Paul states clearly that the church was a mystery not revealed in the Old Testament (Eph 3:4, 5, 6-note).
Beloved, God is not finished with Israel, as substantiated by His bringing her into existence as a nation in one day in May, 1948, something that has never before transpired in the history of the world! God has promises which are yet to be fulfilled to Israel and He will indeed fulfill them to the very last word. As an aside, I should say that I am not a dispensationalist (I'm not sure I even know what that term means) but I am a literalist who accepts the literal normative reading of the Scripture as the only accurate way to interpret the Scripture (of course leaving room for the interpretation of clearly figurative passages although believing that they too have only one literal meaning). See Related Resource: Interpretation of Prophetic Passages
Another respected modern resource (and one which I frequently consult), The ESV Study Bible, suggests the pronouns "You… I… me" refer to "the people of God as a whole." As just alluded to, while I think the song of Isaiah 12 is certainly applicable (Application) to all of God's children (Jn 1:12, 1Jn 3:1) who have been saved throughout all the ages, one must still be very careful not to ignore the context of the text. The question one must ask is
"Who has Isaiah just been addressing in Isaiah 11?"
A normative, literal reading of Isaiah 11 leaves no doubt that Isaiah has been addressing Israel and not the church. For example, notice that "In that day" (synonymous with the phrase "on that day" in Isaiah 12:1 and "in that day" in Isaiah 12:4), God will recover the remnant (Isa 11:11-note), will reunite them (Israel and Judah) into one nation composed of believing Jews (Isaiah 11:12, 13-note), will grant them sovereignty over the Gentile nations (Isaiah 11:14, 15a-note) and will make a way for the believing Jews to return to their homeland of Israel (Isaiah 11:15b, Is 11:16-note). In summary, if one carefully observes the immediate context, the "you… I… me" clearly refers to Israel and to interpret this chapter as referring primarily to the church misses God's intended meaning.
The literal interpretation of Charles Simeon is amazing given the fact that it was written in the 1830's, over 100 years before the rebirth of the nation of Israel in May, 1948…
GLORIOUS prospects are open to our poor benighted world. The time is coming, and we trust it is not far distant, when “all the kingdoms of the world, whether of Jews or Gentiles, shall become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ.” “The Root of Jesse,” the Lord Jesus Christ, does already “stand as an ensign to the Gentiles;” and though but few, comparatively, have flocked to his standard yet, he shall “gather to him all nations” ere long, and “his rest shall be glorious.”
His ancient people (Jews), too, shall return to Him, and experience at His hands mercies similar to those with which they were favored in the day that they came forth put of the land of Egypt. For them all, and especially for the latter (the Jews), is this song prepared; and it shall be sung by them with most exalted joy.
But we need not wait till that day: for every redeemed soul is authorized to adopt it, as expressing his own feelings in the contemplation of the blessings vouchsafed unto him (in the Messiah). (Isaiah 12:3-6 The Believer's Song)
A C Gaebelein comments that Isaiah 12 "is Israel’s future song of Praise for salvation. Read in this light what a wonderful meaning this little chapter has. The song will be sung by the delivered and blessed remnant“ in that day.” In what day? When the Lord arises to judge; when He is manifested in His Glory; when He brings back the captivity of His people.
Comment: Gaebelein's outline of "Israel's Salvation Hymn"…
When Israel Will Sing. Isaiah 12:1.
What Israel Will Sing. Isaiah 12:2–3.
To Whom Israel Will Sing. Isaiah 12:4–5.
The Holy One in the Midst. Isaiah 12:6.
David Guzik - Isaiah 11 spoke powerfully of the reign of the Messiah as king over all the earth. This brief chapter (Isaiah 12) of praise comes from the heart of the one that has surrendered to the Messiah as King, and enjoys the benefits of His reign. (Isaiah 12 Commentary)
The KJV Bible Commentary favors a literal interpretation of Isaiah 12 commenting that "In the twelfth chapter the prophet Isaiah, speaking for the blessed millennial believers, bursts into a song of triumphant praise. Thus, the chapter serves as a dramatic climax to the Immanuel prophecy. (Dobson, E G, Charles Feinberg, E Hindson, Woodrow Kroll, H L. Wilmington: KJV Bible Commentary: Nelson)
Wycliffe Bible Commentary - This song of the Millennial believers furnishes assurance that despite the hindrances presented by the disobedient and backsliding ones of the chosen race, God's perfect plan for that race will be completely realized at the end of human history.
John Walvoord notes that "Because of their great victory, Israel will praise the Lord (Isa. 12:1-6). The glorious restoration of Israel and their joy in the future kingdom was anticipated in the Abrahamic Covenant (Ge. 12:1, 2, 3; 15:18, 19, 20, 21; 17:7,8; 22:17,18), the Davidic Covenant (2Sa 7:16), and the New Covenant (Jer 31:33, 34). The glorious future Millennial Kingdom of Israel will be in contrast to the predicted fall of Babylon and Assyria (Isa. 10:5-19; 13:1-22). (Every Prophecy of the Bible)
It is notable that in modern Rabbinic (Jewish) celebrations of the Feast of Unleavened Bread Fruchtenbaum writes that…
The main song during the Feast of Unleavened Bread is known as the Hallel, the Jewish name given to Psalms 113–118. The full Hallel is sung on the first day, but a shorter Hallel is sung from the second to the seventh day. Every day of the feast there is a synagogue service in which certain Scriptures are read. These Scriptures all center around either the Feast of Passover or the Feast of Unleavened Bread or are in some way related to them… Because the seventh day is considered a holy day, Isaiah 10:32-12:6 is the Scripture that is read, describing the Messianic Age. (Ibid)
William MacDonald sums up Isaiah 12 - In the glad millennial day, Israel will sing songs of thanksgiving and of trust. With joy the saved remnant will quench its thirst by drawing water from the wells of salvation. Israel will also sing as God’s missionaries to the nations (the Gentiles), inviting them to come to Christ for satisfaction (Ed: At the outset of the Millennium, all the Gentiles will be saved but as they give birth to children, these children will need to come to a personal faith in the Messiah in order to receive the gift of salvation and the Jewish believers will be instrumental in being God's "light to the nations", something they have largely failed to be for most of their existence as a nation!). (Believer's Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson)
Warren Wiersbe comments that on that day "refers to the day of Israel’s regathering and reunion and the righteous reign of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Jewish remnant will have come through the time of (Great) tribulation on earth (“the time of Jacob’s trouble,” Jer 30:7), seen their Messiah, repented, and received Him by faith (Zech 12:10-13:1; 14:4-11). Cleansed and established in their promised kingdom, the nation will praise the Lord and extol Him among the Gentiles." (Be comforted. An Old Testament study)
Grogan - In chapter 1, the expression “in that day” introduces two verses (Isa 1:10, 11-note) that focus on the Messiah and the remnant—and thus on the great final purposes of God for His people. This psalm of praise (Isa 12:1) anticipates the feelings of his people when that great day comes. The eschatological nature of this expression (Isa 2:11), as well as the relationship of chapter 12 to the verses that precede it, further affirm our position that its application cannot be restricted to the return from Babylon but must embrace the final acts in the drama of God’s dealings with His people. (Gaebelein, F, Editor: Expositor's Bible Commentary OT 7 Volume Set: Books: Zondervan Publishing)
Like many of the older commentaries Matthew Henry invokes the concept of the NT Church but in an interesting way writing "This is the former part of the hymn of praise which is prepared for the use of the church, of the Jewish church (Ed: Is Henry referring to the believing Jewish remnant?) when God would work great deliverances for them, and of the Christian church (Ed: We know this church is composed of believing Jews and Gentiles) when the kingdom of the Messiah should be set up in the world in despite of the opposition of the powers of darkness:
I will give thanks to You (NIV, KJV = "I will praise You") - The prophecies in Isaiah 11 which promise that God will do good to Israel in the future are so certain to come to pass that Isaiah composes a "song of thanksgiving" to Jehovah. In this passage the verb give thanks is in the imperfect and expresses continual action.
GIVE THANKS
(Click to play)
Give thanks (praise) (03034)(yadah) means to express praise especially to God for Who He is and what He has done or will do, and usually it is an audible expression and often publicly or in the company of others (2Sa 22:50, 2Chr 30:22). Yadah also conveys the sense of to confess or make admission of some sin (Ps 32:5, Pr 28:13, Lev 5:5, 16:21, Da 9:4, Ezra 10:1, Neh 1:6). Yadah is the root from which the name Judah (Yehudah = praise Judah) derives.
TWOT - The primary meaning of this root (yadah) is “to acknowledge or confess sin, God’s character and works, or man’s character.” The basic difference between this verb and its synonym, hālal, is that the latter term tends to stress “acclaim of,” “boasting of,” or “glorying in” an object, while yadah emphasizes “recognition” and “declaration” of a fact, whether good or bad. The LXX normally renders yadah with exomologeō. (Ed: to confess, express agreement with - confession to God is agreeing with Him regarding His verdict)… the OT does not have our independent concept of thanks. The expression of thanks to God is included in praise, it is a way of praising. Thanksgiving follows praise, for when one declares God’s attributes and works, he cannot help but be thankful for these. Praise leads regularly to thanksgiving. (Harris, R L, Archer, G L & Waltke, B K Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Moody Press)
Yadah - 111v in NAS - confess(10), confessed(3), confesses(1), confessing(2), gave(1), gave praise(1), give you thanks(5), give thanks(59), giving praise(1), giving thanks(3), glorify(1), hymns of thanksgiving(1), making confession(1), placed(1), praise(17), shoot(1), thank(5), thanksgiving(1), throw down(1).
Ge 29:35; 49:8; Lev 5:5; 16:21; 26:40; Nu 5:7; 2Sa 22:50; 1Kgs 8:33, 35; 1Chr 16:4, 7f, 34f, 41; 23:30; 25:3; 29:13; 2Chr 5:13; 6:24, 26; 7:3, 6; 20:21; 30:22; 31:2; Ezra 3:11; 10:1; Neh 1:6; 9:2f; 11:17; 12:24, 46; Job 40:14; Ps 6:5; 7:17; 9:1; 18:49; 28:7; 30:4, 9, 12; 32:5; 33:2; 35:18; 42:5, 11; 43:4f; 44:8; 45:17; 49:18; 52:9; 54:6; 57:9; 67:3, 5; 71:22; 75:1; 76:10; 79:13; 86:12; 88:10; 89:5; 92:1; 97:12; 99:3; 100:4; 105:1; 106:1, 47; 107:1, 8, 15, 21, 31; 108:3; 109:30; 111:1; 118:1, 19, 21, 28f; 119:7, 62; 122:4; 136:1ff, 26; 138:1f, 4; 139:14; 140:13; 142:7; 145:10; Pr 28:13; Isa 12:1, 4; 25:1; 38:18f; Jer 33:11; 50:14; Lam 3:53; Dan 9:4, 20; Zech 1:21.
You have been angry with me (cp Isa 9:12, 17, 21) - As noted above the "me" represents a personification of Israel. We must be careful not to interpret God's anger as in any way analogous to the anger of fallen mankind. God's anger is perfect anger - perfectly balanced between justice and mercy. God's anger is always righteous, just and holy. God's anger is NEVER out of control. God's anger is never sinful or explosive as is often the case with the anger of fallen men, even believers! So don't "judge" or misinterpret this statement and accuse God of being unfair or unrighteous.
The Psalmist speaks of the reason from Jehovah's anger against His Chosen People…
Therefore the Lord heard and was full of wrath; and a fire was kindled against Jacob (This fire will reach its peak in the Great Tribulation, the time of Jacob's distress) and anger also mounted against Israel , because they did not believe in God and did not trust in His salvation (yeshuah). (Ps 78:21-22-note)
Anger (0639) ('ap) literally means nose or nostril and then (in this context) figuratively anger, both meanings being used in Pr 30:33 (where 'ap = "nose" and "anger"). This Hebrew word picture gives emphasis to the emotional aspect of anger/wrath as one sees in the rapid breathing in and widening and the motion of the nostrils when one is filled with anger
The psalmist David mercifully declares that…
His anger ('ap) is but for a moment. His favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning. (Psalm 30:5-note)
Your anger is turned away - God's anger against sin was poured out on His Son at Calvary and all who have placed their faith in Christ are safe from God's coming wrath (1Thes 1:10-note). It follows that "me" in this passage refers not just to Israel in general but to the remnant of Israel which places personal faith in the Messiah. The final manifestation of God's anger against Israel will be the Great Tribulation (Mt 24:21), synonymous with the time of Jacob's distress (read Jer 30:7, 8, 10, 11, 17, 18), "a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time." (Da 12:1-note). But out of the refining fire of this final great affliction against the nation of Israel (cp Zech 13:9, cp Da 12:7, 10-note, Isaiah 48:10, Mal 3:2, 3), one third of the nation of Israel (alive at that time) will place their faith in Messiah (Zech 13:8, 9, along with Zech 12:10 = the righteous remnant). Paul adds that when the Deliverer (the Messiah) returns to put an end to the "time of Jacob's distress", "all Israel will be saved." (Ro 11:25, 26, 27-note). Comparing Scripture with Scripture the "all Israel" of Romans 11 is "the third" of Zechariah 13. So "all" of Israel that personally place their faith in the Messiah will be saved. This "all" does not refer to all of Israel of all time.
MacArthur - For the future remnant who will recognize the substitutionary death of Christ for their sins, Christ bore God’s anger in their place. Otherwise, that anger against them would remain. God will deliver the faithful of Israel from both their political opponents and the spiritual consequences of their sins. (MacArthur Study Bible)
David Guzik adds that…
The worshipper (Ed: Guzik's term to designate the speaker) decides to praise the Lord, even though he has felt the Lord’s anger against him… How glorious when the anger of God is turned away! In the larger sense, His anger is turned away because of what Jesus did on the cross. Jesus put Himself in between us and the anger of the Lord, and receiving that anger in Himself, He turned away God’s anger! (Isaiah 12 Commentary)
The prophets repeatedly record that God will turn aside His anger when His people Israel return to Him (the righteous remnant) (e.g., Isaiah 12:1; Isaiah 48:9; Jer 3:12, 13; Hos 14:4; Joel 2:13; Jon 4:2; Mic 7:18).
(God speaking to Israel) For the sake of My name I delay My wrath, and for My praise I restrain it for you, in order not to cut you off. (Is 48:9).
(God instructing [imperatives in the Lxx] His prophet Jeremiah) Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say, ‘Return (imperative) faithless Israel,’ declares Jehovah; ‘I will not look upon you in anger (Literally = "I will not cause my face to fall on you." Why not?) for I am gracious,’ declares Jehovah; ‘I will not be angry forever. Only acknowledge your iniquity, that you have transgressed against Jehovah your God and have scattered your favors to the strangers under every green tree, and you have not obeyed My voice,’ declares Jehovah. (Jer 3:12-13).
I will heal (Lxx = sozo = save, deliver, make whole, spiritually heal!) their apostasy (turning away, backsliding), I will love them freely, for My anger has turned away from them. (This prophecy will be fulfilled when the Deliverer Himself returns - Ro 11:25, 26, 27-note) (Hosea 14:4)
And rend (command) your heart and not your garments.” (God sees the heart and is not impressed with external "mourning" unless accompanied by genuine brokenness of one's heart - cp Ps 51:17-note) Now return (command) to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of evil. (Joel 2:13)
Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant (Micah 2:12, 4:7, 5:7,8; cp remnant) of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in unchanging love (hesed/chesed/heced). (Mic 7:18).
And You comfort me - This verse is the only mention of comfort in Isaiah 1-39, and in a sense foreshadows the comfort which is more fully expounded in Isaiah 40-66. So just as this verse begins with divine anger as in Isaiah 1-39, it mercifully ends with the promise of divine comfort as in Isaiah 40-66.
This comfort is also described in Jeremiah following the time of Jacob's distress in which God speaks of His comfort to the believing remnant and the resultant thanksgiving (as described here in Isaiah 12)…
For I will restore you to health and I will heal you of your wounds,' declares Jehovah, 'Because they have called you an outcast, saying: "It is Zion (Jerusalem); no one cares for her." "Thus says the LORD, 'Behold, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob And have compassion on his dwelling places; And the city shall be rebuilt on its ruin, and the palace shall stand on its rightful place.
And from them shall proceed thanksgiving
and the voice of those who make merry;
and I will multiply them, and they shall not be diminished; I will also honor them, and they shall not be insignificant. Their children also shall be as formerly, and their congregation shall be established before Me; and I will punish all their oppressors. And their leader shall be one of them (Although some might disagree, I feel this refers to King David who will be resurrected and will rule over the reunited, restored, regenerate remnant of Israel that enters into the Millennium), And their ruler shall come forth from their midst; And I will bring him near, and he shall approach Me; For who would dare to risk his life to approach Me?' declares the LORD.
And you shall be My people,
and I will be your God.
(This is the fulfillment of the New Covenant promised to Israel and Judah in Jer 31:31, 32, 33, 34 - note especially Jer 31:33b) Behold, the tempest of the LORD! Wrath has gone forth, A sweeping tempest; It will burst on the head of the wicked. The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back, until He has performed, and until He has accomplished the intent of His heart; In the latter days you will understand this. (cp Jer 23:20, Dt 4:30, 31, 30:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Hos 3:5 Micah 4:1. Israel will understand when the Messiah returns to end the greatest "holocaust" the nation of Israel will ever experience, then they will know and understand God's plans for them even as He had prophetically promised in Jer 29:11, 12, 13, 14 - partially fulfilled at the return from Babylonian exile but fully fulfilled when the Messiah returns) (Jeremiah 30:17-24)
Comfort (05162) (nacham) refers to a change of heart or disposition and in the KJV is translated as "repent" (about 40 times and most refer to God not man (Eg, Ge 6:6, 7 = "was sorry"). About 65 times the KJV translates nacham as comfort. In a number of passages the idea is that God relents or ceases "a particular course of action, usually with a focus that a gracious act. has occurred, with a possible implication that one grieves or has sorrow over an object or event, see also (Ex 32:12, 14; Ps 106:45; Isa 57:6; Jer 4:28; 18:8; 26:3, 13, 19; Ezek 24:14; Joel 2:13; Am 7:3, 6; Jn 4:2),
TWOT says that…
The origin of the root seems to reflect the idea of “breathing deeply,” hence the physical display of one’s feelings, usually sorrow, compassion, or comfort.
THE DIVINE DICHOTOMY
CHASTISEMENT & COMFORT
From the chart above, you will notice that the juxtaposition of Divine judgment in the first section (Isaiah 1-39) followed by Divine comfort in the second major section (Isaiah 40-66). W E Vine writes that…
The Lord’s righteous anger in His retributive dealings with His people, culminating in their great tribulation, will be followed by the mercy by which He becomes their strength, their song and their salvation
We see this same pattern of God's anger (discipline of His Chosen People) followed by God's comfort (of His Chosen People) predicted in passages such as Deuteronomy…
So it shall be when all of these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse (God's "anger"/discipline - The first "installment" of the curse was the exile of the Northern Kingdom of Ephraim/Israel into Assyria in 722BC and the Southern Kingdom of Judah into Babylon in 586BC, the last will be at the termination of the "time of Jacob's distress", the Great Tribulation) which I have set before you, and you call them to mind in all nations (~Gentiles) where the LORD your God has banished you (Speaks of the Dispersion - see note or scattering; see also the Captivity), 2 and you return to the LORD your God and obey Him with all your heart and soul according to all that I command you today, you and your sons (This return with all one's heart has always been seen in a small remnant of Jews in every century, but will culminate with the return of the Deliverer at the end of this present age, Ro 11:25,26-note), 3 then (When? Corresponds to their return to God with their whole, circumcised heart at the end of this age) the LORD your God will restore you from captivity (cp Isa 1:26-note), and have compassion (compare to "comfort" in this passage) on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered (dispersed) you (We saw this gathering described in by Isaiah in Is 11:12ff-note). 4 "If your outcasts are at the ends of the earth (See Dispersion), from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you back (Note the repetition and thus the comforting emphatic promise of God to re-gather His disciplined, dispersed Chosen People). 5 "And the LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed (This is the land of Israel), and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers (This is the fulfillment of the promise of the land in the Abrahamic Covenant [see Abrahamic versus Mosaic Covenants] - Ge 15:18). 6 "Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants (Col 2:11-note, Ro 2:28, 29-note. See discussion of the spiritual circumcision which God promises to the remnant of Israel - Excursus on circumcision and Scriptures on Circumcision), to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live (This is in essence a promise of the New Covenant [See the New Covenant in the Old Testament] - Jer 31:31, 32, 33, 34) (Dt 30:1-6)
Jeremiah also describes the divine dichotomy of God's chastisement and comfort…
Now these are the words which the LORD spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah (Note even though Jeremiah is dealing primarily with the exiled nation of Judah, the Southern Kingdom, this promises expands to include the Northern Kingdom of Israel), 5 "For thus says the LORD, 'I have heard a sound of terror, Of dread, and there is no peace. 6 'Ask now, and see, If a male can give birth. Why do I see every man With his hands on his loins, as a woman in childbirth? And why have all faces turned pale?
7 'Alas! for that day is great,
There is none like it;
And it is the time of Jacob's distress,
But he will be saved from it.
8 'And it shall come about on that day,' (the Great Tribulation) declares the Jehovah Sabaoth (the LORD of hosts, of armies), 'that I will break his yoke from off their neck, and will tear off their bonds; and strangers shall no longer make them their slaves. 9 'But they shall serve the LORD their God (Messiah, the Son of David-see comments below which are included because this issue is often a point of disagreement), and David their king, whom I will raise up for them (Beloved this verse if interpreted literally says that King David will be resurrected and will reign over Israel [in the Millennium], but will of course be subject to Messiah, the King of all kings). 10 'And fear not, O Jacob My servant,' declares the LORD, 'And do not be dismayed, O Israel; For behold, I will save you from afar, And your offspring from the land of their captivity. And Jacob shall return, and shall be quiet and at ease, And no one shall make him afraid. 11 'For I am with you,' declares the LORD, 'to save you; For I will destroy completely all the nations where I have scattered you, Only I will not destroy you completely. But I will chasten you justly, And will by no means leave you unpunished.' (Jeremiah 30:5-11+)
John Walvoord comments on the question of who is the David who will reign in the Millennium: A legitimate problem has arisen in the interpretation of the reign of Christ concerning how this relates to various prophecies which speak of David as King in the millennial kingdom. References to this concept are found in Jeremiah 30:9; 33:15-17 ; Ezekiel 34:23-24; 37:24-25 ; Hosea 3:5, with more indirect references in Isaiah 55:3-4 and Amos 9:11. Several solutions have been offered to resolve this problem.
One of the most common is to take references to David as indicating Christ Himself as the greater David. Keil and Peters, as well as Ironside, support this view (cf. Karl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets, I, 72; Peters, The Theocratic Kingdom, III, 572; and Ironside, Ezekiel the Prophet, p. 262). There are obvious difficulties, however, in this point of view in that Christ is never referred to as David elsewhere in the Bible though He is frequently called the Son of David, Seed of David, etc.
A second view held by some interpreters is that the reference in some passages is to a future literal son of David who will sit on the Davidic throne, but who is not to be identified as Christ. Passages such as Jeremiah 33:15-21 are cited in support of this view. From many standpoints, however, this is less desirable than the first view. As many have indicated, no one today aside from Christ could prove His kingly lineage among the people of Israel. It is most unlikely that there should be another person closely related to Christ who is a descendent of David other than David himself.
A third solution of the problem is more simple and seemingly in keeping with the prophetic references throughout Scripture, namely, that by David is meant the resurrected David who shares with Christ as prince some of the governmental duties of the millennial kingdom. (Bold for emphasis)
It should be clear from many Scriptures that the reign of Christ is shared with others. As Newell has written: "David is not the son of David. Christ, as Son of David, will be King; and David, His father after the flesh, will be prince, during the Millennium (William R. Newell, The Revelation, p. 323 - See Revelation chapter-by-chapter - go to the last note on page 323 to read Newell's comments).
In the light of many prophecies which promise saints the privilege of reigning with Christ, it would seem most logical that David the king raised from the dead should be given a place of prominence in the Davidic kingdom of the millennial reign of Christ. As indicated in Revelation 19:16-note, Christ is “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” This would certainly imply other rulers (cf. Isa 32:1; Ezek 45:8-9; Matt 19:28; Luke 19:12-27). (The Doctrine of the Millennium — Part I The Righteous Government of the Millennium)
Isaiah 12:2 "Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the LORD GOD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation."
- God: Isa 7:14 9:6,7 45:17,22-25 Ps 27:1 Jer 3:23 23:6 Jon 2:9 Mt 1:21-23 Lk 2:30-32 Ro 1:16 1Ti 3:16 Rev 7:10
- LORD: Isa 26:4 Ex 15:2 Ps 83:18 118:14 Ho 1:7
BEHOLD!
GOD IS MY SALVATION
Behold God is my salvation… He has become my salvation - Behold (the Septuagint translates with the interjection "Idou" which is the second-person singular middle imperative of eidon = to perceive, look at) functions to draw our attention to the wonder of salvation provided by God, Who Himself is "my salvation" or stated another way "My salvation is God Himself!" Salvation is not some "dry doctrine" but the "Divine Deity!"
Mighty To Save
(Click to play)
Behold (02009)(hinneh) is an interjection (= a word in speaking or writing, thrown in between words connected in construction, to express some emotion or passion) often seeks to grab the reader's attention and says something like - Look! Pay attention! Don't miss this next point! Hinneh draws attention to an important fact or action that follows and in a sense demands our attention. The worshiper is excited about what God has done in his life and wants others to know about this salvation.
Spurgeon on "behold" (in English) - “Behold” is a word of wonder; it is intended to excite admiration. Wherever you see it hung out in Scripture, it is like an ancient sign-board, signifying that there are rich wares within, or like the hands which solid readers have observed in the margin of the older Puritanical books, drawing attention to something particularly worthy of observation.
Uses of hinneh in Isaiah -
Isa 3:1; 5:7, 26, 30; 6:7f; 7:14; 8:7, 18, 22; 10:33; 12:2; 13:9, 17; 17:1, 14; 19:1; 20:6; 21:9; 22:17; 24:1; 25:9; 26:21; 28:2, 16; 29:8, 14; 30:27; 34:5; 35:4; 36:6; 37:7, 11, 36; 38:5, 8, 17; 39:6; 40:9f; 41:15, 27; 42:9; 43:19; 47:14; 48:7, 10; 49:12, 22; 51:22; 52:6, 13; 54:11; 58:9; 59:9; 60:2; 62:11; 65:1, 6, 13f, 17f; 66:12, 15
W E Vine adds that Behold is notable that when behold (hinneh) is used in Isaiah, it always introduces something relating to future circumstances,
God is my salvation - Literally this reads "God my salvation." Jerome translates it "God is my Jesus" (see yeshuah and Yeshua below) In other words God's salvation is not some abstract philosophical, theological teaching but describes a relational, personal reality. This is also another way of saying "I am not my salvation, by virtue of my good thoughts, words or deeds!" Only God is my salvation.
J Vernon McGee…
Note that they will not say that God provided salvation but that He is salvation. Salvation is a Person, not a program, or a system, or a ritual, or a liturgy. Salvation is a Person, and that Person is the Lord Jehovah, the Lord Jesus Christ. They are praising Him for His salvation. (Isaiah 12:1-3.mp3; Isaiah 12:4-6.mp3)
Alexander Maclaren - If there is a man or a woman that thinks of salvation as if it were merely a shutting up of some material hell, or the dodging round a corner, so as to escape some external consequence of transgression, let him or her learn this: the possession of God is salvation; that and nothing else! (The Biblical illustrator; or, Anecdotes, simile… )
Arnold Fruchtenbaum comments that "God is their (referring to Jews) salvation because they have trusted in Immanuel, the Messianic Person of Isaiah 11:1–5. Because they accept Yeshua as the Messianic Person, they therefore have received their salvation from Jehovah. (Fruchtenbaum, A. G. The Messianic Bible Study Collection 59:12. Tustin, Calif.: Ariel Ministries)
Recall that Isaiah’s name means “Jehovah is salvation” and salvation (along with praise and singing and joy) is a key theme in this song in Isaiah 12:1-6. And it thus fitting that the focus of the song is on the saving God. As Jonah rightly reminds us "Salvation is from Jehovah." (Jonah 2:9)
It is worth noting that the homiletical/exegetical Jewish writing, the Midrash Rabba, Exodus XXIII, 6, has the following "commentary" note on Isaiah 12:2…
‘I will sing of Thy strength,’ refers to the Messianic era, for it says, Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid (Isa. XII, 2).
My salvation (NAB version translates as "My Savior") - This is the first use of the Hebrew word for salvation (yeshuah - see below) in the book of Isaiah. The specific phrase "My salvation" occurs 32x in 31v in the NAS and virtually all refer to God. You might want to take a moment to meditate on these wonderful uplifting passages, many of which are the expression of David, a man after God's own heart. - Ex 15:2; 2Sa 22:3, 47; 23:5; Job 13:16 (cp Job 13:15); Ps 18:2, 46; 25:5; 27:1, 9; 38:22; 51:14; 62:1, 2, 6f; 88:1; 89:26; 91:16; 118:14, 21; 140:7; Isa 12:2; 46:13; 49:6; 51:5, 6, 8; 56:1; Mic 7:7; Hab 3:18
(A Psalm of David.) The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread? (Psalm 27:1)
Clendenen writes that…
The salvation for which people here thank God is most naturally related to the salvation promised in Isaiah 11:1-16. As Israel experienced God’s salvation in the past and thanked him for his deliverance at the time of the exodus (Ex 14:13, 14,29, 30, 31; 15:1-18), so future generations will praise God when they experience his salvation…
While the first part of the hymn looks back at a time when God was angry with the sinful people (Isaiah 12:1), the second half (Isaiah 12:4, 5) points forward in anticipation of Isaiah 13:1ff-23:1ff to proclaim what God will do among the nations. A dramatic theological change triggers this shift in perspective. Between the two extremes stands the person who trusts God and experiences his salvation. (Isaiah 12:1-6). (New American Commentary: Isaiah 1-39. B & H Publishing Group)
I will trust and not be afraid - Note that this is a volitional choice this one makes. It reflects a decision of one's will. Beloved, have you ever made this statement or are you still trusting self and fearing the unknown? If you have never made this statement Spurgeon exhorts you…
Hearken, O unbeliever, you have said, ‘I cannot believe,’ but it would be more honest if you had said, ‘I will not believe.’ The mischief lies there. Your unbelief is your fault, not your misfortune. It is a disease, but it is also a crime: it is a terrible source of misery to you, but it is justly so, for it is an atrocious offense against the God of truth.
The talk about trying to believe is a mere pretence. But whether pretence or no, let me remind you that there is no text in the Bible which says, ‘Try and believe,’ but it says ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.’ (Acts 16:31) He is the Son of God, He has proved it by His miracles, He died to save sinners, therefore trust Him; He deserves implicit trust and child-like confidence. Will you refuse Him these? Then you have maligned His character and given Him the lie.
This verse also teaches that faith is the antidote of fear. And remember that God moves in the sphere of faith, while your adversary the Devil traffics in the realm of fear! See Fear, How to Handle It.
Ironside - As we learn to look to God in confidence all anxiety disappears, for we know that He who saved us will stand between us and every foe. He does not leave His people to fight their battles in their own power, but He is the Strength of all who rest upon His Word.
Salvation (03444) (yeshuah from [03467] yasa/yasha [see word study]' = to save - see discussion below) primarily means to rescue from distress or danger. Synonyms include salvation, deliverance, safety, rescue, state of freedom from danger (Ex 14:13). In the OT salvation refers to both physical and spiritual deliverance from danger.
Yeshuah can sometimes refer to human “deliverance” (1Sa 14:45 = "deliverance" by Jonathan, 2Sa 10:11 = "shall help") but most often is used of God as the one Who provides salvation or deliverance or rescue (Ge 49:18, Ex 14:13, 15:2 Dt. 32:15, 1Sa 2:1, etc). King Jehoshaphat when faced with imminent invasion by a great multitude from the sons of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir (2Chr 20:10) was told by the prophet Jahaziel to "stand and see the salvation (yeshuah - deliverance) of Jehovah." (2Chr 20:17)
The root verb of the noun Yeshuah is Yasa/yasha' (03467) and the basic idea of this verb is to be wide or roomy in contrast to narrow or restricted. Yasha refers to delivering a person or group of people from distress or danger, from a "restricted" condition in which they are unable to help themselves (see first OT use Ex 14:30). The Hebrew word for "Savior" is from yasha' (NAS translates yasha' as "Savior" in 13/198 uses). The nuances of yasa/yasha' = (niphal) rescued, delivered, saved, to be in a situation safe and free from danger (Nu 10:9; Dt 33:29; 2Sa 22:4; Ps 18:4; 33:16); (hiphil) to save, rescue, deliver (Jdg 13:5); (niphal) saved, be delivered in a religious sense, with a focus on a proper relationship to God (Ps 80:4, 8, 20; 119:117; Isa 30:15; 45:17, 22; 64:4; Jer 4:14; 17:14; Zec 9:9); (hiphil) to save, rescue, deliver (Ps 98:1) (Nuances of meaning adapted from Dictionary of Semantic Domains: Hebrew). John Hartley adds this helpful note on the root word yasa/yasha'…
That which is wide connotes freedom from distress and the ability to pursue one’s own objectives. To move from distress to safety requires deliverance. Generally the deliverance must come from somewhere outside the party oppressed. In the OT the kinds of distress, both national and individual, include enemies, natural catastrophies, such as plague or famine, and sickness. The one who brings deliverance is known as the “savior.” The word may be used, however, in everyday life free of theological overtones; e.g., at a well Moses saved the daughters of Reuel from being driven off by the shepherds (Ex 2:17). But generally in the OT the word has strong religious meaning, for it was Yahweh Who wrought the deliverance. Thus He is known as the “God of our salvation” (Ps 68:19,20). Although salvation could come through a human agent, it was only because God empowered the agent. In the NT the idea of salvation primarily means forgiveness of sin, deliverance from its power and defeat of Satan. Although the OT begins to point in this direction, the majority of references to salvation speak of Yahweh granting deliverance from real enemies and out of real catastrophies. (Harris, R L, Archer, G L & Waltke, B K Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Moody Press)
Yeshuah occurs often in the context of rejoicing (Ps 9:14) or in the context of a prayer for deliverance (Ps 69:29).
It should also be noted that the Hebrew word yeshuah is related to the name Yeshua (Wikipedia) ("Yahweh saves", cp Mt 1:21 = Greek = Iesous which is the same word used to translate "Joshua" in the OT) which is commonly used today (especially in Messianic Judaism) to refer to Jesus. The word Yeshua is derived from the Hebrew word for salvation, yeshuah, and both are pronounced the same. It follows that every time a Jewish person reads the word "salvation" in the Hebrew Old Testament, he is essentially saying the name "Jesus!" May the Spirit open the hearts of many Jewish readers of the original Hebrew texts to come to see and understand and receive by faith their Messiah, the risen and soon returning King of kings, Masiyah Yeshua (Christ Jesus). Amen.
A member of the believing Jewish remnant, Simeon, who had studied the Old Testament (the only version available) recognized the Messiah testifying…
For my eyes have seen Thy salvation, Which Thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, And the glory of Thy people Israel." (Luke 2:30, 31, 32)
Comment: Luke's record is a fulfillment of a precious and magnificent promise in Psalm 50:23! There the Hebrew for "salvation" is yesha from root yasha = Savior, Deliverer! In the Lxx of Psalm 50:23, the Greek word for salvation is soterion, which is the same word used by Luke in Lk 2:30. The aged Simeon saw via the illumination provided by the Holy Spirit that the infant in his arms would bring salvation both to Jews and Gentiles (Lk 2:32). In the Bible's first mention of the word "salvation," (Hebrew = yeshuah), father Jacob said he had been waiting for the salvation (Ge 49:18). And centuries later, we Luke records that Simeon, the namesake of Jacob's second son, had actually seen the yeshuah in the Spirit in the person of little Jesus (Yeshua)!
The Septuagint (Lxx) translates yeshuah most often with the Greek words soteria (salvation, deliverance) and soterios/soterion (salvation). In addition, Dt 32:15 uses the Greek noun soter which means Savior or Deliverer.
Yeshuah - 77x in OT - Notice tha of the 19 uses in Isaiah, this is the first use and Isa 12:3 the second use and both are in the prophetic context of Messiah's provision of salvation when He returns! Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus! (Consider taking a moment to meditate on all the OT uses of yeshuah below which are rich in truths regarding the springs of salvation from the Lord) NAS = deeds of deliverance(1), deliverance(6), help(4), prosperity(1), salvation(61), save(1), saving(1), security(1), victories(1), victory(1).
ALL THE OT USES
OF YESHUAH
Genesis 49:18 "For Your salvation (Lxx = soteria) I wait (Waiting on Jehovah in the OT often was usually synonymous with trusting in Jehovah. The Lxx has perimeno used of waiting in Acts 1:4), O LORD. (Jacob’s closing cry expressed hope for Dan in the day when salvation would indeed come to Israel.)
Exodus 14:13 But Moses said to the people, "Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation (Lxx = soteria) of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. (A good pattern to pursue - when the "Pharaoh's come against us, we need to set our sights on Jehovah, our Deliverer!)
Exodus 15:2 "The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation (Lxx = soteria); (Gratitude for God's deliverance should always be our priority - am I grateful when I experience His deliverances or have I come to take them for granted?) This is my God, and I will praise Him; My father's God, and I will extol Him.
Deuteronomy 32:15 "But Jeshurun ("The Upright One" = a name for Israel here used sarcastically because they did not live righteously after entering Canaan! This rebuke is also a call upward - a challenge to Israel to be what God had created her to be) grew fat and kicked-- You are grown fat, thick, and sleek (Cp to affluent because of the blessings of the Lord - sounds like America!) -- Then he forsook God who made him, and scorned the Rock of his salvation (Lxx = noun soter which means Savior). (Beware of the old flesh nature which continually tries to deaden our memory of the goodness of God which should make us obedient and thankful to Him.)
1 Samuel 2:1 Then Hannah prayed and said, "My heart exults in the LORD; My horn (Metaphor which depicts strength) is exalted in the LORD, My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation (Lxx = soteria) .
1 Samuel 14:45 But the people said to Saul, "Must Jonathan die, who has brought about this great deliverance (Lxx = soteria) in Israel? (Jonathan in contrast to his father Saul understood God's sufficiency to bring "salvation" and thus trusted in Him for the victory. Am I more like Saul or Jonathan in the battles I wage daily?) Far from it! As the LORD lives, not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day." So the people rescued Jonathan and he did not die.
2 Samuel 10:11 He (Joab) said, "If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you (Joab's brother Abishai who was fighting the Ammonites) shall help (Lxx = soteria) me, but if the sons of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come to help you.
2 Samuel 22:51 "He is a tower of deliverance (Lxx = soteria) to His king, and shows lovingkindness to His anointed (masiyah = "Messiah"; Lxx = Christos - cp masiyah in Da 9:25-note, Da 9:26-note), To David and his descendants forever."
Comment by John MacArthur: These terms are singular and thus do not seem to refer to David and his descendants. Rather they refer to the promised “seed,” the Messiah of 2Sa 7:12 (cp "seed" singular in Gal 3:16). The deliverance and ultimate triumph of David foreshadow that of the coming Messiah. At the end of his life, David looked back in faith at God’s promises and forward in hope to their fulfillment in the coming of a future “king,” the “anointed one.”
ESV Study Bible agrees: God’s salvation for David prefigures his salvation through Christ the king.
1 Chronicles 16:23 Sing to the LORD, all the earth; Proclaim good tidings of His salvation (Lxx = soteria) from day to day.
2 Chronicles 20:17 'You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation (Lxx = soteria) of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.' Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the LORD is with you."
Job 13:16 (Context = Job 13:15) "This also will be my salvation (Lxx = soteria), For a godless man may not come before His presence.
Job 30:15 "Terrors are turned against me; They pursue my honor as the wind, And my prosperity (Lxx = soteria) has passed away like a cloud.
Psalm 3:2 Many are saying of my soul, "There is no deliverance (Lxx = soteria) for him in God." Selah (But see David's assurance in Ps 3:3 which is a Pauline like assurance - Ro 8:31).
Psalm 3:8 Salvation (Lxx = soteria) belongs to the LORD (We see similar declarations in Jonah 2:9; Rev. 7:10; Rev 19:1); Your blessing be upon Your people! Selah.
Psalm 9:14 That I may tell of all Your praises, That in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in Your salvation (Lxx = soterion).
Psalm 13:5 But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness (unfailing covenant love - hesed/chesed/heced); My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation (Lxx = soterion).
Psalm 14:7 Oh, that the salvation (Lxx = soterion) of Israel would come out of Zion! (A prayer for the Kingdom of Messiah to come - cp Mt 6:10-note) When the LORD restores His captive people (Second Coming = When the Deliverer returns - Ro 11:26, 27-note), Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad (We see Isaiah referring to this joy in Isaiah 12:3, 6).
Spurgeon: Natural enough is this closing prayer, for what would so effectually convince atheists, overthrow persecutors, stay sin, and secure the godly, as the manifest appearance of Israel’s great Salvation? The coming of Messiah was the desire of the godly in all ages, and though he has already come with a sin-offering to purge away iniquity, we look for him to come a second time, to come without a sin-offering unto salvation. O that these weary years would have an end! Why tarries He so long? He knows that sin abounds and that His people are down-trodden; why comes He not to the rescue? His glorious advent will restore His ancient people from literal captivity, and His spiritual seed from spiritual sorrow.
Wrestling Jacob and prevailing Israel shall alike rejoice before Him when He is revealed as their salvation.
O that He were come! What happy, holy, halcyon, heavenly days should we then see! But let us not count him slack, for behold, he comes, he comes quickly! Blessed are all they that wait for him.
Psalm 18:50 He gives great deliverance (Lxx = soteria) to His king, And shows lovingkindness to His anointed, To David and his descendants forever.
Spurgeon: “Great deliverance.” The word “deliverance” is plural, to show the variety and completeness of the salvation; the adjective “great” is well placed if we consider from what, to what, and how we are saved. All this mercy is given to us in our King, the Lord’s Anointed, and those are blessed indeed who as his seed may expect mercy to be built up for evermore. The Lord was faithful to the literal David, and he will not break his covenant with the spiritual David, for that would far more involve the honour of his crown and character.
Psalm 20:5 We will sing for joy over your victory (Lxx = soterion), And in the name of our God we will set up our banners. May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.
Spurgeon: In Jesus there is salvation (NAS = victory); it is his own, and hence it is called thy salvation; but it is ours to receive and ours to rejoice in. We should fixedly resolve that come what may, we will rejoice in the saving arm of the Lord Jesus. The people in this Psalm, before their king went to battle, felt sure of victory, and therefore began to rejoice beforehand; how much more ought we to do this who have seen the victory completely won!
Unbelief begins weeping for the funeral before the man is dead; why should not faith commence piping before the dance of victory begins? Buds are beautiful, and promises not yet fulfilled are worthy to be admired. If joy were more general among the Lord’s people, God would be more glorified among men; the happiness of the subjects is the honour of the sovereign,
Psalm 21:1 For the choir director. A Psalm of David. O LORD, in Your strength the king will be glad, And in Your salvation (Lxx = soterion) how greatly he will rejoice!
Spurgeon: Everything is ascribed to God; the source is thy strength and the stream is thy salvation. Jehovah planned and ordained it, works it and crowns it, and therefore it is his salvation. The joy here spoken of is described by a note of exclamation and a word of wonder: “how greatly!” The rejoicing of our risen Lord must, like his agony, be unutterable. If the mountains of his joy rise in proportion to the depth of the valleys of his grief, then his sacred bliss is high as the seventh heaven. For the joy which was set before him he endured the cross, despising the shame, and now that joy daily grows, for he rests in his love and rejoices over his redeemed with singing, as in due order they are brought to find their salvation in his blood. Let us with our Lord rejoice in salvation, as coming from God, as coming to us, as extending itself to others, and as soon to encompass all lands. We need not be afraid of too much rejoicing in this respect; this solid foundation will well sustain the loftiest edifice of joy. The shoutings of the early Methodists in the excitement of the joy were far more pardonable than our own lukewarmness. Out joy should have some sort of inexpressibleness in it.
Psalm 21:5 His glory is great through Your salvation (Lxx = soterion), Splendor and majesty You place upon him.
Psalm 22:1 For the choir director; upon Aijeleth Hashshahar. A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance (Lxx = soteria) are the words of my groaning.
Comment: “Forsaken” is a strong expression for personal abandonment which is intensely felt by David and prefigures the suffering experienced by Christ on the Cross (Mt 27:46, Mk 15:34).
Psalm 28:8 The LORD is their strength, and He is a saving (Lxx = soterion) defense (Lxx has an interesting word picture for the Hebrew "defense" = hyperaspistes = one who holds a shield over - a champion or protector - 2Sa 22:3, 31) to His anointed (Hebrew = masiyah; Lxx = Christos).
ESV Study Bible: Salvation to God’s people and salvation to the anointed king go together. Both are fulfilled in Christ the anointed One (Luke 4:18)
Spurgeon: Here behold king David as the type of our Lord Jesus, our covenant Head, our anointed Prince, through whom all blessings come to us. He has achieved full salvation for us, and we desire saving strength from Him, and as we share in the unction which is so largely shed upon Him, we expect to partake in His salvation. Glory be unto the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has magnified the power of His grace in His only begotten Son, Whom He has anointed to be a Prince and a Saviour unto His people.
Psalm 35:3 Draw also the spear and the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me; Say to my soul, "I am your salvation (Lxx = soteria)."
Spurgeon: Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.” Besides holding off the enemy the Lord can also calm the mind of his servant by express assurance from his own mouth, that he is, and shall be, safe under the Almighty wing. An inward persuasion of security in God is of all things the most precious in the furnace of persecution. One word from the Lord quiets all our fears.
Psalm 35:9 And my soul shall rejoice in the LORD; It shall exult in His salvation (Lxx = soterion) .
Spurgeon: “It shall rejoice in his salvation.” We do not triumph in the destruction of others, but in the salvation given to us of God. Prayer heard should always suggest praise. It were well if we were more demonstrative in our holy rejoicings. We rob God by suppressing grateful emotions.
Psalm 42:5 Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope (Lxx = elpizo = command to do this now!) in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help (yeshuah; Lxx = soterion) of His presence.
Comment: Notice what happens when one obeys the command to hope. In essence the psalmist is preaching a sermon to his soul! The next time your soul is disturbed, consider invoking the truth in this verse and "preaching" a sermon to your own soul! See John Piper's sermon on Psalm 42 = Spiritual Depression.
Spurgeon: “For I shall yet praise Him for the help (salvation) of His countenance.” Salvations come from the propitious face of God, and He will yet lift up His countenance upon us. Note well that the main hope and chief desire of David rest in the smile of God. His face is what he seeks and hopes to see, and this will recover his low spirits, this will put to scorn his laughing enemies, this will restore to him all the joys of those holy and happy days around which memory lingers. This is grand cheer. This verse, like the singing of Paul and Silas, looses chains and shakes prison walls. He who can use such heroic language in his gloomy hours will surely conquer. In the garden of hope grow the laurels for future victories, the roses of coming joy, the lilies of approaching peace.
Psalm 42:11 Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, The help (yeshuah; Lxx = soterion) of my countenance and my God.
Psalm 43:5 Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, The help (yeshuah; Lxx = soterion) of my countenance and my God.
Spurgeon: My God will clear the furrows from my brow, and the tear marks from my cheek; therefore will I lift up my head and smile in the face of the storm. The Psalm has a blessed ending, such as we would fain imitate when death puts an end to our mortal existence.
Psalm 44:4 You are my King, O God; Command victories (Lxx = soteria) for Jacob.
Psalm 53:6 Oh, that the salvation (Lxx = soterion) of Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores His captive people. Let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.
Comment: David expresses a yearning for and prayer for that glorious future day of deliverance (salvation) which God promises to the believing Jewish remnant in Isaiah 12… God will restore His Chosen People (the believing remnant) at the end of the Great Tribulation (Mt 24:21, cp Isaiah 11:11ff). Notice the association of rejoicing and gladness with the realization of salvation, just as is highlighted in the "song" in Isaiah 12:1-6.
Spurgeon: Would God the final battle were well over. When will the Lord avenge his own elect? When will the long oppression of the saints come to its close, and glory crown their heads? The word “salvation” is in the plural, to show its greatness. “When God brings back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.” Inasmuch as the yoke has been heavy, and the bondage cruel, the liberty will be gladsome, and the triumph joyous. The second advent and the restoration of Israel are our hope and expectation (Ed: Note that this is the very event regarding which Isaiah 12 is singing!).
Psalm 62:1 For the choir director; according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.) My soul waits in silence for God only (Notice that silence here is more than remaining passively mute but is indicative of a personal trust that is both patient and uncomplaining - How do I respond to the adversities of life - with confident silence or continual complaining?); From Him is my salvation (yeshuah; Lxx = soterion). Ps 62:2 He only is my rock and my salvation (yeshuah, Lxx = noun soter which means Savior so David is saying God is his Savior or Deliverer, which he repeats in Ps 62:6), My stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken.
Spurgeon: From Him is my salvation - The good man will, therefore, in patience possess his soul till deliverance comes; faith can hear the footsteps of coming salvation because it has learned to be silent. Our salvation in no measure or degree comes to us from any inferior source; let us, therefore, look alone to the true fountain, and avoid the detestable crime of ascribing to the creature what belongs alone to the Creator. If to wait on God be worship, to wait on the creature is idolatry; if to wait on God alone be true faith, to associate an arm of flesh with him is audacious unbelief.
“He only is my rock and my salvation.” Sometimes a metaphor may be more full of meaning and more suggestive than literal speech; hence the use of the figure of a rock, the very mention of which would awaken grateful memories in the Psalmist’s mind. David had often lain concealed in rocky caverns, and here he compares his God to such a secure refuge; and, indeed, declares him to be his only real protection, all-sufficient in himself and never failing. At the same time, as if to show us that what he wrote was not mere poetic sentiment, but blessed reality, the literal word “salvation” follows the figurative expression: that our God is our refuge is no fiction, nothing in the world is more a matter of fact.
Psalm 62:6 He only (alone) is my rock and my salvation (Lxx = noun soter), My stronghold; I shall not be shaken.
Spurgeon: Alone (only), and without other help, God is the foundation and completion of my safety. We cannot too often hear the toll of that great bell only; let it ring the death-knell of all carnal reliances, and lead us to cast ourselves on the bare arm of God.
Psalm 67:2 That Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation (Lxx = soterion) among all nations.
Spurgeon: “Thy saving health among all nations,” or, thy salvation. One likes the old words, “saving health,” yet as they are not the words of the Spirit but only of our translators, they must be given up: the word is salvation, and nothing else. This all nations need, but many of them do not know it, desire it, or seek it; our prayer and labour should be, that the knowledge of salvation may become as universal as the light of the sun. Despite the gloomy notions of some, we cling to the belief that the kingdom of Christ will embrace the whole habitable globe, and that all flesh shall see the salvation of God: for this glorious consummation we agonize in prayer.
Psalm 68:19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, The God who is our salvation (Lxx = soterion). Selah.
Spurgeon: “Even the God of our salvation.” A name most full of glory to him, and consolation to us. No matter how strong the enemy, we shall be delivered out of his hands; for God himself, as King, undertakes to save his people from all harm. What a glorious stanza this is! It is dark only because of its excessive light. A world of meaning is condensed into a few words. His yoke is easy, and his burden is light, therefore blessed be the Saviour’s name for evermore. All hail! thou thrice blessed Prince of Peace! All thy saved ones adore thee, and call thee blessed.
Psalm 69:29 But I am afflicted and in pain; May Your salvation (Lxx = soteria), O God, set me securely on high.
Spurgeon: “Let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high.” How fully has this been answered in our great Master’s case, for he not only escaped his foes personally, but he has become the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him, and this continues to glorify him more and more. O ye poor and sorrowful ones, lift up your heads, for as with your Lord so shall it be with you. You are trodden down to-day as the mire of the streets, but you shall ride upon the high places of the earth ere long; and even now ye are raised up together, and made to sit together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.
Psalm 70:4 Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; And let those who love Your salvation (Lxx = soterion) say continually, "Let God be magnified."
Spurgeon: Those who have tasted divine grace, and are, therefore, wedded to it, are a somewhat more advanced race, and these shall not only feel joy, but shall with holy constancy and perseverance tell abroad their joy, and call upon men to glorify God. The doxology, “Let the Lord’s name be magnified,” is infinitely more manly and ennobling than the dog’s bark of “Aha, aha.”
Psalm 74:12 Yet God is my king from of old, Who works deeds of deliverance (Lxx = soteria) in the midst of the earth.
Spurgeon: From the most remote period of Israel’s history the Lord had worked out for her many salvations; especially at the Red Sea, the very heart of the world was astonished by his wonders of deliverance. Now, every believer may plead at this day the ancient deeds of the Lord, the work of Calvary, the overthrow of sin, death, and hell. He who wrought out our salvation of old will not, cannot desert us now. Each past miracle of grace assures us that he who has begun to deliver will continue to redeem us from all evil. His deeds of old were public and wrought in the teeth of his foes, they were no delusions or make-believes; and, therefore, in all our perils we look for true and manifest assistance, and we shall surely receive it.
Psalm 78:22 Because they did not believe in God and did not trust in His salvation.
Spurgeon: This is the master sin, the crying sin. Like Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, it sins and makes Israel to sin; it is in itself evil and the parent of evils. It was this sin which shut Israel out of Canaan, and it shuts myriads out of heaven. God is ready to save, combining power with willingness, but rebellious man will not trust his Saviour, and therefore is condemned already. In the text it appears as if all Israel’s other sins were as nothing compared with this; this is the peculiar spot which the Lord points at, the special provocation which angered him. From this let every unbeliever learn to tremble more at his unbelief than at anything else. If he be no fornicator, or thief, or liar, let him reflect that it is quite enough to condemn him that he trusts not in God’s salvation.
Psalm 80:2 Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up Your power And come to save (Lxx = sozo) us!
Psalm 88:1 A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the choir director; according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite. O LORD, the God of my salvation, I have cried out by day and in the night before You.
Spurgeon: This is a hopeful title by which to address the Lord, and it has about it the only ray of comfortable light which shines throughout the Psalm. The writer has salvation, he is sure of that, and God is the sole author of it. While a man can see God as his Saviour, it is not altogether midnight with him. While the living God can be spoken of as the life of our salvation, our hope will not quite expire. It is one of the characteristics of true faith that she turns to Jehovah, the saving God, when all other confidences have proved liars unto her.
Psalm 89:26 "He will cry to Me, 'You are my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation (Lxx = soteria).'
Spurgeon: It was to his Father that he turned for help when in sore anguish in Gethsemane, and to him he committed his spirit in the article of death. In this fillal crying the true sons should imitate him. This is the common language of the elect family: adoption, reverence, trust, must all speak in their turns, and will do if we are heirs according to promise. To say to God “Thou art my father” is more than learning and talent can teach us; the new birth is essential to this. Reader, hast thou the nature of a child and the spirit of one who can cry, “Abba, Father”?
Psalm 91:16 "With a long life I will satisfy him And let him see My salvation (Lxx = soterion)."
Psalm 96:2 Sing to the Lord, bless His name. Proclaim good tidings (Lxx = euaggelizo = proclaim the gospel!) of His salvation (yeshuah; Lxx = soterion) from day to day. Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.
Comment: Observe the association of singing with salvation and the charge to tell the good news of salvation to the Gentiles (nations, peoples). In passages such as these we see the Father's persistent "missionary" passion for nations.
Spurgeon: The gospel is the clearest revelation of himself, salvation outshines creation and providence; therefore let our praises overflow in that direction. Let us proclaim the glad tidings, and do so continually, never ceasing the blissful testimony. It is ever new, ever suitable, ever sure, ever perfect; therefore let us show it forth continually until he come, both by words and deeds, by songs and sermons, by sacred Baptism and by the Holy Supper, by books and by speech, by Sabbath services and week-day worship. Each day brings us deeper experience of our saving God, each day shows us anew how deeply men need his salvation, each day reveals the power of the gospel, each day the Spirit strives with the sons of men; therefore, never pausing, be it ours to tell out the glorious message of free grace. Let those do this who know for themselves what his salvation means; they can bear witness that there is salvation in none other, and that in him salvation to the uttermost is to be found. Let them show it forth till the echo flies around the spacious earth, and all the armies of the sky unite to magnify the God who hath displayed his saving health among all people.
Psalm 98:2 The LORD has made known His salvation (Lxx = soterion); He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations. 3 He has remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation (Lxx = soterion) of our God.
Spurgeon: The Lord hath made known his salvation,”—by the coming of Jesus and by the outpouring of the Holy Ghost, by whose power the gospel was preached among the Gentiles. The Lord is to be praised not only for effecting human salvation, but also for making it known, for man would never have discovered it for himself; nay, not so much as one single soul would ever have found out for himself the way of mercy through a Mediator; in every case it is a divine revelation to the mind and heart. In God’s own light his light is seen. He must reveal his Son in us, or we shall be unable to discern him.
(Verse 3) “All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.” Not to Abraham’s seed alone after the flesh (The believing remnant of physical Israel), but to the elect among all nations (Gentiles), has grace been given; therefore, let the whole church of God sing unto him a new song. It was no small blessing, or little miracle, that throughout all lands the gospel should be published in so short a time, with such singular success and such abiding results. Pentecost deserves a new song as well as the Passion and the Resurrection; let our hearts exult as we remember it. Our God, our own for ever blessed God, has been honored by those who once bowed down before dumb idols; His salvation has not only been heard of but seen among all people, it has been experienced as well as explained; His Son is the actual Redeemer of a multitude out of all nations.
Psalm 106:4 Remember me, O LORD, in Your favor toward Your people; Visit me with Your salvation (Lxx = soterion),
Wiersbe: the psalmist turned from praise to prayer and asked God to include him in the blessings of the promised restoration of the nation (Ps 106:4, 5). The prophets had promised that the captivity would end and the people would return and rebuild, and he believed those promises. But his prayer was not selfish, for he wanted the whole nation to prosper, to rejoice in the Lord, and to give praise to His name.
Spurgeon: Bring it home to me. Come to my house and to my heart, and give me the salvation which thou hast prepared, and art alone able to bestow. We sometimes hear of a man’s dying by the visitation of God, but here is one who knows that he can only live by the visitation of God. Jesus said of Zaccheus, “This day is salvation come to this house,” and that was the case, because he himself had come there. There is no salvation apart from the Lord, and he must visit us with it or we shall never obtain it. We are too sick to visit our Great Physician, and therefore he visits us. O that our great Bishop would hold a visitation of all the churches, and bestow his benediction upon all his flock. Sometimes the second prayer of this verse seems to be too great for us, for we feel that we are not worthy that the Lord should come under our roof. Visit me, Lord! Can it be? Dare I ask for it? And yet I must, for thou alone canst bring me salvation: therefore, Lord, I entreat thee come unto me, and abide with me for ever.
Psalm 116:13 I shall lift up the cup of salvation (Lxx = soterion) And call upon the name of the LORD.
Psalm 118:14 The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation (Lxx = soteria). 15 The sound of joyful shouting and salvation (Lxx = soteria) is in the tents of the righteous; The right hand of the LORD does valiantly.
Note - Ps 113-118 are the Hallel, which was sung at various times including the Feasts of Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles (the three required pilgrim feasts - Dt 16:16).
Spurgeon: “And is become my salvation.” The poet warrior knew that he was saved, and he not only ascribed that salvation unto God, but he declared God himself to be his salvation. It is an all-comprehending expression, signifying that from beginning to end, in the whole and in the details of it, he owed his deliverance entirely to the Lord. Thus can all the Lord’s redeemed say, “Salvation is of the Lord.” We cannot endure any doctrine which puts the crown upon the wrong head and defrauds the glorious King of his revenue of praise. Jehovah has done it all; yea, in Christ Jesus he is all, and therefore in our praises let him alone be extolled. It is a happy circumstance for us when we can praise God as alike our strength, song, and salvation; for God sometimes gives a secret strength to his people, and yet they question their own salvation, and cannot, therefore, sing of it. Many are, no doubt, truly saved, but at times they have so little strength, that they are ready to faint, and therefore they cannot sing: when strength is imparted and salvation is realised then the song is clear and full.
Psalm 118:21 I shall give thanks to You, for You have answered me, And You have become my salvation (Lxx = soteria).
Spurgeon: “For thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation.” He praises God by mentioning his favours, weaving his song out of the divine goodness which he had experienced. In these words he gives the reason for his praise,—his answered prayer, and the deliverance which he had received in consequence. How fondly he dwells upon the personal interposition of God! “Thou hast heard me.” How heartily be ascribes the whole of his victory over his enemies to God; nay, he sees God himself to be the whole of it: “Thou art become my salvation.” It is well to go directly to God himself, and not to stay even in his mercy, or in the acts of his grace. Answered prayers bring God very near to us; realised salvation enables us to realise the immediate presence of God. Considering the extreme distress through which the worshipper had passed, it is not at all wonderful that he should feel his heart full of gratitude at the great salvation which God had wrought for him, and should at his first entrance into the temple lift up his voice in thankful praise for personal favours so great, so needful, so perfect.
Psalm 119:123 My eyes fail with longing for Your salvation (Lxx = soterion) And for Your righteous word.
Spurgeon: He wept, waited, and watched for God’s saving hand, and these exercises tried the eyes of his faith till they were almost ready to give out. He looked to God alone, he looked eagerly, he looked long, he looked till his eyes ached. The mercy is, that if our eyes fail, God does not fail, nor do his eyes fail. Eyes are tender things, and so are our faith, hope and expectancy: the Lord will not try them above what they are able to bear.
Psalm 119:155 Salvation (Lxx = soteria) is far from the wicked, For they do not seek Your statutes.
Spurgeon: By their perseverance in evil they have almost put themselves out of the pale of hope. They talk about being saved, but they cannot have known anything of it or they would not remain wicked. Every step they have taken in the path of evil has removed them further from the kingdom of grace: they go from one degree of hardness to another till their hearts become as stone. When they fall into trouble it will be irremediable. Yet they talk big, as if they either needed no salvation or could save themselves whenever their fancy turned that way.
Psalm 119:166 I hope for Your salvation (Lxx = soterion), O LORD, And do Your commandments.
Spurgeon: Here we have salvation by grace, and the fruits thereof. All David’s hope was fixed upon God, he looked to him alone for salvation; and then he endeavoured most earnestly to fulfil the commands of his law. Those who place least reliance upon good works are very frequently those who have the most of them; that same divine teaching which delivers us from confidence in our own doings leads us to abound in every good work to the glory of God. In times of trouble there are two things to be done, the first is to hope in God, and the second is to do that which is right. The first without the second would be mere presumption: the second without the first mere formalism. It is well if in looking back we can claim to have acted in the way which is commanded of the Lord. If we have acted rightly towards God we are sure that he will act kindly with us.
Psalm 119:174 I long for Your salvation (Lxx = soterion), O LORD, And Your law is my delight.
Spurgeon: He speaks like old Jacob on his deathbed (Ge 49:18); indeed, all saints, both in prayer and in death, appear as one, in word, and deed, and mind. He knew God’s salvation, and yet he longed for it; that is to say, he had experienced a share of it, and he was therefore led to expect something yet higher and more complete. There is a salvation yet to come, when we shall be clean delivered from the body of this death, set free from all the turmoil and trouble of this mortal life, raised above the temptations and assaults of Satan, and brought near unto our God, to be like him and with him for ever and ever.
Psalm 140:7 "O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation (Lxx = soteria) , You have covered my head in the day of battle.
Spurgeon: When he looked back upon past dangers and deliverances, the good man felt that he should have perished had not the Lord held a shield over his head. In the day of the clash of arms, or of putting on of armour (as some read it), the glorious Lord had been his constant protector. Goliath had his armour-bearer, and so had Saul, and these each one guarded his master; yet the giant and the king both perished, while David, without armour or shield, slew the giant and baffled the tyrant. The shield of the Eternal is better protection than a helmet of brass. When arrows fly thick and the battle-axe crashes right and left, there is no covering for the head like the power of the Almighty. See how the child of providence glorifies his Preserver! He calls him not only his salvation, but the strength of it, by whose unrivalled force he had been enabled to outlive the cunning and cruelty of his adversaries. He had obtained a deliverance in which the strength of the Omnipotent was clearly to be seen. This is a grand utterance of praise, a gracious ground of comfort, a prevalent argument in prayer. He that has covered our head aforetime will not now desert us. Wherefore let us fight a good fight, and fear no deadly wound: the Lord God is our shield, and our exceeding great reward.
Psalm 149:4 For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation.
Spurgeon: They are humble, and feel their need of salvation; he is gracious, and bestows it upon them. They lament their deformity and he puts a beauty upon them of the choicest sort. He saves them by sanctifying them, and thus they wear the beauty of holiness, and the beauty of a joy which springs out of full salvation. He makes his people meek, and then makes the meek beautiful. Herein is grand argument for worshipping the Lord with the utmost exultation: he who takes such a pleasure in us must be approached with every token of exceeding joy. God takes pleasure in all his children as Jacob loved all his sons; but the meek are his Josephs, and upon these he puts the coat of many colors, beautifying them with peace, content, joy, holiness, and influence. A meek and quiet spirit is called “an ornament,” and certainly it is “the beauty of holiness.” When God himself beautifies a man, he becomes beautiful indeed and beautiful for ever. The verse may be read, “He shall beautify the meek with salvation,” or “He shall beautify the afflicted with deliverance,” or, “He shall beautify the meek with victory”; and each of these readings gives a new shade of meaning, well worthy of quiet consideration. Each reading also suggests new cause for joyful adoration. “O come, let us sing unto the Lord.”
Isaiah 12:2 "Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the LORD GOD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation." 3 Therefore you will joyously draw water from the springs of salvation.
Comment: Most commentators note that Isaiah 12:3 was shouted by joyous Jews at the Feast of Booths when the pitcher of water (? depicting salvation) was poured by the priest upon the altar. If that is true, how intertwined are the Scriptures, for the Hebrew word for salvation is intimately related to Yeshua, the Jewish Name for Jesus! Without knowing or fully comprehending what they were shouting, they were saying in essence "you will joyously draw water from the springs of Yeshua!" O blessed Word of Truth, the Bible! See commentary notes on John 7:37-39 (John 7-37-39 Commentary) I
Isaiah 25:9 And it will be said in that day (Day of Messiah's return to defeat His enemies and set up His kingdom in Jerusalem and deliver the believing remnant), “Behold, this is our God (an expression of wholehearted identification with God) for Whom we have waited (Hebrew = qawah = ; Lxx = elpizo = hoping for with assurance and expectance. Thus waiting means more than our English word - in context it signifies trusting in God's promises, not becoming impatient when His "timetable" is different than ours. Waiting is characteristic of God's people of all ages - cp Titus 2:13-note); see related study of The Blessed Hope) that He might save (Hebrew = [03467] yasha' = verb meaning to deliver = see Ro 11:25, 26, 27-note) us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation (yeshuah; Lxx = soteria. Note that salvation is "His" - His plan, His desire, His doing. Salvation is entirely God's from first to last!).”
Isaiah 26:1 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: "We have a strong city (Jerusalem - contrast "the city in chaos" Isa 24:10); He sets up walls and ramparts for security (ESV = "He sets up salvation as walls and bulwarks" - Because the Savior is in that city salvation is depicted in metaphorical speech as walls and ramparts) (Lxx = soterion).
Wiersbe: The phrase “in that day” (Isa 26:1; 27:1,2, 12,13) refers to “the Day of the Lord” and the blessings that will follow when the Lord defeats His enemies. In these two chapters (Isaiah 26-27), the prophet encourages God’s suffering people by describing in seven pictures the kingdom blessings that await them in the future… During “the Day of the Lord,” God will level the lofty cities of the earth; but Mt. Zion will be exalted to the glory of the Lord (Isa 2:1–5). Jerusalem will no longer be the sinful city described in chapter 1; it will be a righteous city for a holy nation whose sins have been washed away (Zech. 13:1). Compare Isaiah 26:2 with Psalm 15:1ff and Ps 24:1ff. (Be comforted. An Old Testament study. Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books)
Isaiah 26:18 We (speaking of Israel) were pregnant, we writhed in labor, we gave birth, as it seems, only to wind. We could not accomplish deliverance (salvation) for the earth, nor were inhabitants of the world born. (NLT = We have not given salvation to the earth,
nor brought life into the world.)
NET Bible Note: Israel's distress and suffering, likened here to the pains of childbirth, seemed to be for no purpose. A woman in labor endures pain with the hope that a child will be born; in Israel's case no such positive outcome was apparent. The nation was like a woman who strains to bring forth a child, but can't push the baby through to daylight. All her effort produces nothing.
Comment: This is a fascinating passage - while we might expect that it might say Israel could not save themselves from the persecution by the world, Isaiah instead seems to say that they have been unable to bring salvation to the world! ESV Study Bible agrees writing that "Although Israel was to be God’s agent of deliverance in the world (Ge 12:1, 2, 3; Ex. 19:5, 6), they failed, and the world went on as before."
Isaiah 33:2 O LORD, be gracious to us (Ed: This is the prayer of the believing remnant when Jerusalem was surrounded by the Assyrian army - these Jews apparently believed God's promise in Isaiah 30:18, 19); we have waited (waiting equating with patiently trusting in God's timing of their deliverance. They are no longer trusting in themselves but are looking to His "arm" of strength.) for You. Be their strength (literally "their arm" ~ symbolizing strength) every morning, Our salvation (deliverance) also in the time of distress.
Wiersbe writes that: God spared Jerusalem for David’s sake (Isa 37:35) and because a believing remnant trusted God and prayed. Never underestimate the power of a praying minority.
Isaiah 33:6 And He will be the stability of your times, a wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge. The fear of the LORD is his treasure (cp Pr 15:16).
Comment: Although not all commentators agree, many conservative writers see chapter 33 as having both a near and future fulfillment and see the stability as a reference to the security and peace that pervades the Millennial Kingdom.
Isaiah 49:6 He (God) says, “It is too small a thing that You (Messiah) should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel. I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
Comment by MacArthur: The Servant’s goal is the salvation and restoration of Israel for the fulfillment of the covenant promise. But not limited to Israel, He is to function as a light bringing salvation to the Gentiles. Israel’s mission had always been to bring the nations to God (Isa 19:24; 42:6). This she will finally do very effectively in the tribulation after the conversion of the 144,000 witnesses (Rev 7:1–10; 14:1–5) and when she is restored to her Land [in the Millennium] at the Servant’s return to earth. Cf. Isa 9:2; 11:10; 42:6; 45:22; Lk 2:32. Paul applied this verse to his ministry to the Gentiles on his first missionary journey (Acts 13:47).
Isaiah 49:8 Thus says the LORD, "In a favorable time I have answered You, And in a day of salvation I have helped You; And I will keep You and give You for a covenant of the people, To restore the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages
MacArthur: Messiah is represented as asking for the grace of God to be given to sinners. God gives His favorable answer in a time of grace (cf. Isa 61:1) when salvation’s day comes to the world (cf. Gal 4:4, 5; Heb 4:7). At His appointed time in the future, the Lord will, by His Servant, accomplish the final deliverance of Israel. Paul applied these words to his ministry of proclaiming the gospel of God’s grace to all people (2Co 6:2)
Isaiah 51:6 "Lift up your eyes to the sky, Then look to the earth beneath; For the sky will vanish like smoke, And the earth will wear out like a garment And its inhabitants will die in like manner; But My salvation will be forever, And My righteousness will not wane.
Isaiah 51:8 "For the moth will eat them like a garment, And the grub will eat them like wool. But My righteousness will be forever, And My salvation to all generations."
Isaiah 52:7 How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace And brings good news of happiness, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, "Your God reigns!"
Isaiah 52:10 The LORD has bared His holy arm In the sight of all the nations, That all the ends of the earth may see The salvation of our God.
ESV Study Bible comment: The inclusion of the nations fulfills the promise to Abraham concerning blessing to all nations (Gen. 12:3; Luke 2:30, 31)
Isaiah 56:1 Thus says the LORD, "Preserve justice and do righteousness, For My salvation is about to come and My righteousness to be revealed.
Comment: Notice how the imminency of the coming of God's salvation and His righteousness are motivations to right behavior (justice… righteousness).
Isaiah 59:11 All of us (Isaiah identifies with the people) growl like bears, and moan sadly like doves; We hope for justice, but there is none, for salvation, but it is far from us.
MacArthur: Here is a picture of men seeking unsuccessfully to escape their depraved condition through their own strength. They wind up growling and lamenting their inability to gain salvation (Dt 28:29).
Isaiah 59:17 He put on righteousness like a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.
Isaiah 60:18 Violence will not be heard again in your land (Referring to the land of Israel - Why no more violence? The Prince of peace will reign from Zion), nor devastation or destruction within your borders; but you will call your walls salvation, and your gates praise. (The walls and gates presumably refer to the city of Jerusalem during the Millennium).
Comment: This passage describes the future glorious Millennial Kingdom and the city of Jerusalem in which Messiah reigns.
Isaiah 62:1 For Zion's sake I (The speaker is the Lord - see Isa 62:6) will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not keep quiet, Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, and her salvation like a torch that is burning.
Wiersbe Comments: God promises to keep speaking and working till His purposes for Jerusalem are fulfilled. This is not only for the sake of Zion but also for the sake of the nations of the world (Isa 62:2). There will be no righteousness and peace on this earth till Jerusalem gets her new name and becomes a crown of glory to the Lord.
Jonah 2:9 (Context = contrast with "vain idols" Jonah 2:8) But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is from the LORD (Jonah quotes from Ps 3:8 and Ps 37:39)."
Habakkuk 3:8 Did the LORD rage against the rivers, Or was Your anger against the rivers, Or was Your wrath against the sea, That You rode on Your horses, On Your chariots of salvation?
Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid - From an application standpoint what does an understanding and appropriation of the truth that God is "my salvation" bring about? In this context trust and removal of fear. The antithesis of fear is trust (faith). God traffics in the latter, Satan in the former.
See related resource: Fear, How to Handle It
LORD GOD - This is literally Jah Jehovah (Yah Yahweh) and is found only in one other passage in Isaiah (Isa 26:4). Thus both uses are in the context of an encouragement to perfect confidence and trust and emphasize that He is the covenant keeping God.
Strength (05797) ('oz) means power, or might and describes the ability to either exert or withstand great force. The idea is that the one (usually referring to God) having the strength has the ability to accomplish what he intends. 'Oz in some contexts means a stronghold or fortress which provides a safe place from attacks (Pr 10:15, 18:11, 19, 21:22)
When He is our strength, He is our Source of strength, yea, even our very Resource. As we learn to look to His sufficient strength, we are never disappointed or unsatisfied (cp 2Cor 12:9-note, 2Cor 12:10-note, Php 4:11, 12-note Php 4:13-note). John Calvin adds that…
Nor is He here called a part or an aid of our strength, but our complete strength; for we are strong, so far as He supplies us with strength.
My strength and my song - Isaiah is quoting from the Song of Moses in the book of Exodus after Israel's liberation from Egyptian bondage…
The LORD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise Him. My father’s God, and I will extol Him. (Ex 15:2)
Comment: After the Exodus under Moses, the Jewish people sang a song, the Song of Moses (Exodus 15:1-18) and so it is fitting that after this second and final "Exodus" so to speak (summarized in Isa 11:11 "the second time"), they will also sing a hymn, a song of praise (Isaiah 12:1-6).
This same "song" was echoed at the rededication of the temple in Ezra’s day in Psalm 118…
The LORD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation. (Ps 118:14)
Wiersbe comments on this "song": It was sung by the Red Sea after the Jews had been delivered from Egypt by Moses, a prophet. It was sung in Jerusalem when the Second Temple was dedicated under the leadership of Ezra, a priest. It will be sung again when the Jewish nation accepts Jesus Christ as its King. They will recognize Him as “the Holy One of Israel” and willingly obey His holy law.
This joyful song closes this section of Isaiah in which the prophet has used four significant names to tell the people what God had planned for them. Because of Immanuel, there is a message of hope. Maher-shalal-hash-baz gives a warning of judgment, but his brother Shear-jashub speaks of a promise of mercy. The father’s name, Isaiah (Jehovah is salvation), brings a song of rejoicing as the people discover that Jehovah is indeed their salvation. The Lord will never forsake His people. No matter how difficult the days may be, or how long the nights, for the people of God, the best is yet to come. (Ibid)
Isaiah 12:3 Therefore you will joyously draw water from the springs of salvation.:
- joyously: Isa 49:10 55:1-3 Ps 36:9 Song 2:3 Jer 2:13 Jn 1:16 4:10-14 Jn 7:37-39 Rev 7:17 22:1,17)
Therefore - This term of conclusion begs the question of why? or what is it therefore? IN context why would they be joyful and draw from the springs of salvation? Clearly because God is their salvation.
You - Note that You in Isaiah 12:3-5 is plural, which calls on the community to carry out the specific instructions (you will joyously draw… you will say, Isa 12:4).
Grogan explains the change from singular in Isa 12:1-3 to plural in Isa 12:3-5 noting that "The opening words of Isaiah 12:1 and Isaiah 12:4 are identical in English; but, in fact, “you” in Isaiah 12:1 is singular while in Isaiah 12:4 it is plural. Isaiah pictured the nation like a man suffering under God’s wrath because of rebellion against God (Isa 1:5, 6). Once united in sin and its divinely imposed consequences, the (redeemed) nation here engages as a body in one great act of thanksgiving in which—as the change to the plural implies—its every member will joyfully participate. (Gaebelein, F, Editor: Expositor's Bible Commentary OT 7 Volume Set: Books: Zondervan Publishing)
You will joyously draw water (cp "shout for joy" Isa 12:6) - This is vivid figurative language, picturing salvation as if it were water which could be joyously drawn. Keep in mind that the middle east is a semi-arid land, so that a reliable physical source of pure water has always been highly prized. Where water is rare, a spring is life! Isaiah's point is that in that (new) day when the Messiah returns and restores, the salvation found in Him will be as an inexhaustible spring, from which the believing remnant may draw continually spiritual refreshing. Clearly although this promise is addressed to restored Israel and the Messianic Age to come, the truth of this promise is fully applicable to all believers. Our Lord offered the promise of the waters of salvation to a Gentile, a Samaritan woman, in John 4…
Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life. (Jn 4:13, 14)
Comment: Everyone can freely come to Jesus and drink water from the wells of salvation! Have you drunk the Living Waters from Christ?
MacArthur comments: In Jer 2:13, Yahweh decries the disobedient Jews for rejecting Him, the “fountain of living waters.” The OT prophets looked forward to a time when “living waters will flow out of Jerusalem” (Eze 47:9; Zec 14:8). The OT metaphor spoke of the knowledge of God and His grace which provides cleansing, spiritual life, and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit (cf. Isa 1:16, 17, 18; 12:3; 44:3; Eze 36:25, 26, 27). John applies these themes to Jesus Christ as the living water which is symbolic of eternal life mediated by the Holy Spirit from Him (cf. Jn 4:14; 6:35; 7:37, 38, 39). Jesus used the woman’s need for physical water to sustain life in this arid region in order to serve as an object lesson for her need for spiritual transformation. (MacArthur, J.: The MacArthur Study Bible Nashville: Word)
Guzik applies this passage to us today noting that "This means there is something for us to do: You will draw water. God’s doesn’t meet our needs as we sit in passive inactivity. We must reach out and draw forth what He has provided. At the same time, it is His water, His well, His rope, and His bucket that we draw with! Because it is all of the Lord, we draw from the wells of salvation with joy. There should be no somber faces at the Lord’s well of salvation. We draw water with joy!
As the Puritan writer John Trapp said "Joy is the just man’s portion, and Christ is the never-failing fountain whence by a lively faith he may infallibly fetch it.
Spurgeon applies this passage by urging us on to the joy Isaiah describes "Be of good courage, you very, very timid ones, and alter your tone. Try to put a ‘Selah’ into your life, as David often did in his Psalms. Frequently, he put in a ‘Selah,’ and then he changed the key directly. In like manner, change the key of your singing; you are a great deal too low. Let the harp-strings be screwed up a bit, and let us have no more of these fiat, mournful notes. Give us some other key, please, and begin to say, with the prophet Isaiah, ‘O Lord, I will praise thee: though Thou wast angry with me, Thine anger is turned away, and Thou comfortedst me. Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust, and not be afraid.’
C. S. Lewis wrote that joy an “unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction.” Lewis went on to add that joy “must be sharply distinguished both from happiness and from pleasure. Joy is the fruit of a life lived in the presence of God (Ps 16:11-note) and in His power (Neh 8:10). Joy is not obtained by self effort as if it were an end in itself, but must be given by God (Job 8:21; Ps 4:7; 36:8, Gal 5:22-note). As John Trapp (commenting on Ps 16:11) beautifully phrased it "Heaven's joys are without measure, mixture, or end." What a perfect picture of springs of salvation which ever give forth the waters of joy in the presence of Jehovah!
Springs (04599) (ma'yan) means springs. The Lxx translates this Hebrew word with the noun pege which means a source of something that gushes out or flows out as a spring (Lev 11:36, Nu 33:9) or sometimes a well (Jn 4:6). It describes an underground source of water coming to the surface, a below-ground water source that has or bubbles up water, distinguished from a water storage or collection site such as a well or cistern (Ge 7:11; 8:2; Lev. 11:36; 1Kgs 18:5). Figuratively pege referred to the place of origin of a full abundance of something (and thus a fountainhead, eg, Ps 36:9). It is also used figuratively as a symbol of sexual pleasure (Pr. 5:16). In Joel 3:18, ma'yan describes a spring that will flow from the House (Temple) of God in a restored Israel or world (Joel 3:18).
James Swanson - Ma'yan can describe a source of life, source of blessing, formally, fountain, i.e., a state of kindness or benefit to a recipient, as a figurative extension of a spring of water as a life-sustaining body of water (Ps 87:7; Isa 12:3)
Ma'yan - 23v in NAS - Gen 7:11; 8:2; Lev 11:36; Josh 15:9; 18:15; 1Kgs 18:5; 2Kgs 3:19, 25; 2Chr 32:4; Ps 74:15; 84:6; 87:7; 104:10; 114:8; Pr 5:16; 8:24; 25:26; Song 4:12, 15; Isa 12:3; 41:18; Hos 13:15; Joel 3:18. NAS = fountain(2), fountains(2), spring(8), springs(11).
Springs of salvation - What a beautiful metaphor depicting the unending nature of salvation (eternal life) which of course is unending because the Savior Himself is present in His renewed Millennial Kingdom which causes the re-gathered believing Jewish remnant to rejoice.
Water of Life — Michael W Smith
(Click to play song)
Calvin comments…
By figure of speech, in which a part is taken for the whole, he declares that everything necessary for a supporting life flows to us from the undeserved goodness of God.
NETBible Note…
Water is here a metaphor for renewed life; the springs symbolize the restoration of God’s favor.
Earlier Isaiah recorded…
Inasmuch as these people have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah And rejoice in Rezin and the son of Remaliah (Is 8:6)
Later in the "comfort" section of Isaiah (chapters 40-66), God promises His Chosen People Israel that the day will come (for the righteous, believing remnant) when
They will not hunger or thirst. Neither will the scorching heat or sun strike them down (Why not?), for He who has compassion on them will lead them (Isa 40:11, Jn 10:14, Heb 13:20-note, 1Pe 2:25-note, Ps 23:1,2, 80:1), and will guide them to springs of water. (Isa 49:10) (Who is He? The Messiah)
The afflicted and needy are seeking water, but there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst; I, the LORD, will answer them Myself, as the God of Israel I will not forsake them (Note: God is referring specifically to Israel and not the church!). “I will open rivers on the bare heights and springs in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water and the dry land fountains of water. (Is 41:17-18)
See other related references to water - Isaiah 30:25; 35:6, 7; 43:19; Ps 107:35
The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery notes that…
The symbolic uses of the spring of water reach their climax in pictures of salvation. According to OT apocalyptic visions, in the coming Messianic Age (Ed: millennial age) spiritual springs of water will appear in the wilderness (Is 43:19, cp Isa 12:3) and will guide the redeemed there (Is 49:10), and as noted above, the redeemed themselves will be “like a spring of water, whose waters never fail” (Is 58:11 NRSV). These prophecies find fulfillment in NT references to the water of salvation that becomes in people “a spring of water gushing up to eternal life” (Jn 4:14NRSV), the “springs of the water of life” that satisfy glorified saints in heaven (Rev 7:17NRSV) and the salvation that Christ offers to thirsty people “as a gift from the spring of the water of life” (Rev 21:6NRSV).
Constable observes that…
Water is a rich symbol of salvation, especially to a people who lived in a land as dry as Palestine. God had provided salvation in the form of water for the Israelites during their wilderness march (Ex 15:27; 17:1-7). Now the future Israelites anticipate securing His salvation and sharing it with others, specifically the Gentiles (cf. Ps 116:13). This verse became a common saying among the Jews and led to a water-drawing ceremony (cf. John 4:15; 7:37, 38). Water represents everything necessary for supporting life. (Isaiah - Expository Notes)
John refers to springs of the water of life in the Revelation 7:17 on which Tony Garland comments that the Lamb…
leads them to the still waters which restore the soul (Ps 23:1-2). This is the living water which the same Shepherd promised the Samaritan woman (John 4:10-11) and which believers in the church age experience through the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 7:38, 39). This water is available freely to all who thirst (Rev 21:6). It is the river of life which will ultimately be found flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb, watering the tree of life (Rev. 22:1-2). In the Millennial Kingdom, a fountain of living water will flow from Jerusalem and revive all that it touches (Eze 47:12; Zec 14:8). (A Testimony of Jesus Christ)
Graham Scroggie comments on the paradox of Christ as the Source of the water of life: He Who is the Living Water thirsted in dying (John 19:28). He who began His ministry by hungering (Mt. 4:3), ended it by thirsting (John 19:28). He who was the Rock whence Israel in the desert was refreshed (1Co 10:4), and He who turned the water into wine (Jn 2:1-25), now thirsts (John 19:28). (A Guide to the Gospels. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1995, 1948), 587)
Ironside sums up this verse writing that…
From the wells of salvation, so long spurned by the self-righteous Jew, seeking to save himself by his own efforts, the returned remnant draw the water of life as they call upon His name and bear witness before all the world to the salvation He has wrought. (Isaiah 11 & 12 - When God's Anointed Takes Over)
Isaiah 12:4 And in that day you will say, "Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name. Make known His deeds among the peoples; Make them remember that His name is exalted.":
- that day: Isa 12:1 Ps 106:47,48 113:1-3 117:1,2
- His name: or, proclaim his name, Ex 33:19 34:5-7 1Ch 16:8 Ps 105:1
- Make known: Isa 66:19 Ps 9:11 22:31 40:5 71:16-18 73:28 96:3 107:22 145:4-6 Jer 50:2 51:9,10 Jn 17:26
- name: Isa 2:11,17 25:1 33:5 Ex 15:2 1Ch 29:11 Ne 9:5 Ps 18:46 21:13 Ps 34:3 46:10 57:5 97:9 113:5 Php 2:9-11
In that day - The day Messiah restores Israel (cp Day of the Lord).
Handel's Messiah — Hallelujah Chorus
(Click to play song)
The phrase in that day is found 93x in 89v in the OT, most often in Isaiah (40x) and with one exception is confined to the "Judgment" section of Isaiah (Isaiah 1-39 - see table at top of page)…
Lev 7:35; Nu 32:10; Deut 31:17f; 1Sa 3:12; 8:18; Isa 2:11, 17, 20; 3:18; 4:1f; 5:30; 7:18, 20f, 23; 10:20, 27; 11:10; 12:4; 17:4, 7, 9; 19:16, 18f, 21, 23f; 20:6; 22:8, 12, 20, 25; 23:15; 24:21; 25:9; 26:1; 27:1f, 12f; 28:5; 31:7; 52:6; Jer 4:9; 48:41; 49:22, 26; 50:30; Hos 2:16, 18, 21; Joel 3:18; Amos 2:16; 8:3, 9, 13; 9:11; Mic 4:6; 5:10 (See comments); Zeph 3:11, 16 (See comments); Zech 2:11; 3:10; 9:16; 12:3f, 6, 8f, 11; 13:1f, 4; 14:4, 6, 8f, 13, 20f; Mark 2:20; Luke 6:23; 10:12; John 14:20; 16:23, 26
J Vernon McGee - In that day refers to the Day of the Lord. This phrase will occur again and again in Isaiah (and in all the prophets), and it will be mentioned in the New Testament. Joel particularly will have something to say about it. It begins as every Hebrew day always begins -- at sundown. It begins with darkness and moves to the dawn. It begins with the Great Tribulation and goes on into the millennial reign of Christ (cp the "rising" of the "Sun of righteousness" in Malachi 4:2) . (Isaiah 12:1-3.mp3; Isaiah 12:4-6.mp3)
Give thanks… call on… make known… make (to)… remember - (See almost identical words in Ps 105:1, 1Chr 16:8) All the verbs in red are imperatives or commands.
Make known His deeds among the peoples - The irony is that in this future time believing Israel will finally fulfill the purpose God had ordained for His Chosen People from the beginning of their creation as a nation, a purpose that they largely failed to fill as Ezekiel says…
When they came to the nations (the Gentiles, the peoples) where they went, they profaned (polluted, desecrated, treated with irreverence and contempt) My holy name, because it was said of them, 'These are the people of the LORD; yet they have come out of His land (Referring to their removal by God from Judah and into exile in Babylon).' (Ezekiel 36:20)
Peoples is a synonym for the "nations" or the "Gentiles." The believing Jews are to be ambassadors for the Messiah, continually seeking to point the peoples to Him and His supremacy. This is applicable to all believers today - we should be ready to make known His great and awesome deeds in a way that exalts His Name above every name that has ever been named. The Psalms repeatedly echo the charge to us to declare God's greatness and glory and works among the nations…
Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion. Declare among the peoples His deeds. (Ps 9:11)
Therefore I will give thanks to You among the nations, O Lord, and I will sing praises to Your name. (Ps 18:49)
Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. (Ps 96:3)
Let them also offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of His works with joyful singing. (Ps 107:22)
I will not die, but live, and tell of the works of the LORD. (Ps 118:17)
The Psalmist prays for God ways and salvation (yeshuah) to be made known among the peoples…
God be gracious to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us—Selah. That Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation (yeshuah; Lxx = soterion) among all nations (Gentiles - once again we see God's heart is for the salvation of the nations!). (Ps 67:1-2).
It is notable that Isaiah repeatedly emphasizes the importance of the peoples and the nations knowing God and worshipping Him - Isa 2:2, 3, 4; Isa 11:10, 11, 12; Isa 19:19-25; Isa 45:22, 23, 24 25; Isa 60:1–9; Isa 66:19, 20, 21).
Make them remember - The implication is that, as incredible as it might seem, even during the golden age to come when He is actually ruling and reigning in Jerusalem, the Gentiles will be prone to forget His name. At the inception of the Millennium, everyone who survives the Great Tribulation and enters this age is a believer. However, as time goes on and second generation offspring are born in the Millennium, these individuals do not necessarily become believers, which help us understand John's description at the end of the 1000 years of Messiah actually being present on earth…
And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive (Never forget that this one of the primary weapons of your mortal enemy - the best defense against such a weapon is the truth of God's Word) the nations (Gentiles) which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore (Clearly not everyone places their faith in Messiah, even though faith is now "seeing"! What does this say about the rebellious nature of the sinful heart we inherited from Adam!?) (Rev 20:7-note, Rev 20:8-note); Scroll down for Dr Walvoord's comments on these verses - The Reign Of Christ - The Loosing of Satan and the Final Revolt)
His name - In the OT, someone's name stood for the character of that person (Jacob = "heel catcher" ~ a supplanter, one who trips up). God's Name speaks of His character and His attributes or as Motyer says "His name is shorthand for all that He has revealed about Himself." Thus Jehovah is the self existent One, the great "I Am", the covenant keeping God. See studies of the Names of God which are like a Strong Tower…
- Name of the LORD is a Strong Tower: Summary
- Name of the LORD is a Strong Tower: Why Should You Study It?
His name will be exalted - In this coming "new age" when Messiah reigns supreme in Jerusalem, the Name of the Lord will no longer be profaned and blasphemed as it so often is today. Far too often the wonderful name of Jesus is used by the lost world as a curse word! But His name will be exalted and will be vindicated. Even God's Chosen People had profaned His holy name (Ezekiel 36:20), but that will be reversed and rectified in the coming age, for Jehovah promises…
I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations (Gentiles, the peoples) where they went. Therefore, say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went. And I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD," declares the Lord GOD, "when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight. (Ezekiel 36:21, 22, 23)
Exalted (07682)(sagab) means to be raised, to be exalted; to be high; to make lofty. It refers to physical size indicating great height such as found in city walls. In the present context clearly the connotation is that of exaltation to a position of honor. Thus the Lord (Isa 2:11, 17), his name (Ps 148:13), and his needy saints (Ps 107:41) are "set on high" i.e. "exalted."
Lxx uses hupsoo which literally means lifted up, raised high (e.g., used as a euphemism for crucifixion Jn 3:14), and figuratively (as in Isaiah 12:4) speaks of enhanced honor, power, fame and position.
Sagab - 20v in the NAS - Dt 2:36 Job5:11 36:22 Ps 20:1 59:1 69:29 91:14 107:41 139:6 148:13 Pr 18:10 18:11 29:25 Isa 2:11 2:17 9:11 12:4 26:5 30:13 33:5. NAS = exalted(7), high(4), lifted(1), raises(1), safe(1), securely on high(1), set him securely on high(1), set me securely on high(2), set you securely on high(1), sets the securely(1), unassailable(1).
Play Chris Tomlin's Famous One…
You are the Lord, the Famous One, the Famous One
Great is your Name in all the earth
Heaven's declare you're glorious, you're glorious
Great is your Name in all the earth
McKenna writes that…
Having foreseen the return to total trust in God on the part of the children of Israel (Ed: The remnant), Isaiah now envisions the recovery of their divine destiny as God’s Chosen People. It is thanksgiving as the people sing the fourfold theme:
1. Give thanks to the Lord
2. Call on His name
3. Make known among the nations what He has done
4. Proclaim that His name is exalted.
People who are fulfilling God’s purpose for their lives have good reason to sing. God chose Israel to be the instrument to proclaim His name and show His way among the nations. Sin temporarily aborted that grand purpose, but Isaiah foresees the day when through the joy of song, they will “sing to the Lord, for He has done excellent things; this is known in all the earth” (Isa 12:5)… Israel had a large repertoire of songs growing out of the Exodus and extolling the Lord for His deliverance. Now, Isaiah says that Israel will sing again new songs of deliverance that proclaim His glorious deeds to the whole world. The song of God’s greatness and His glory is still the song of the people of God that the world will hear. At the risk of criticism, our song of joy might even warrant the loud shout that Isaiah heard when Israel began to sing again. (The Preacher's Commentary Series, Volume 17: Isaiah 1-39)
Isaiah 12:5 Praise the LORD in song, for He has done excellent things. Let this be known throughout the earth.:
- Song: Ex 15:1,21 Ps 68:32-35 98:1 105:2 Rev 15:3 19:1-3
- known: Isa 40:9 Ps 72:19 Hab 2:14 Rev 11:15-17)
One my favorite Twila Paris songs, He is Exalted (click to play), reminds me of this section of Isaiah in which Jehovah's Holy Name will be exalted as the Name above every name (Php 2:9, 10-note) and He will be praised in song. Play this beautiful song as you ponder that glorious future day when you and I will together worship the exalted King of kings in His Holy City, Jerusalem… Praise Jehovah.
Praise… in song (Sing) (a command) the LORD in song - The Millennium will be a time of great worship of the Messiah, the Only One worthy to receive our praise. In fact, the principal Audience of all praise songs is God Himself (Ps. 33:1).
Praise… in song (02167) (zamar) is a verb which primarily means sing praises, i.e., praise as an act. of worship to God in a chanting or melody, with the voice as the instrument. Praise is an act of worship which gives honor and glory to God or His Name (which is His character, His attributes). Zamar as to be expected is most often found in the psalms (songs) and is only used this one time in Isaiah. The Lxx translates zamar in Isa 12:5 with the verb humneo (hymneo) means to sing praise or sing a hymn (or psalm).
Baker - A verb meaning to play an instrument, to sing with musical accompaniment. Stringed instruments are commonly specified in connection with this word, and the tambourine is also mentioned once (Ps. 33:2; 71:22, 23; 149:3). The term occurs frequently in a call to praise—usually a summons to oneself (2 Sam. 22:50; 1Chr. 16:9; Ps. 66:4; Isa. 12:5). In the Bible, the object of this praise is always the Lord, who is lauded for both His attributes and His actions (Jdg. 5:3; Ps. 101:1; 105:2). Besides the above references, this verb appears exclusively in the Book of Psalms, contributing to a note of praise in psalms of various types: hymns (Ps. 104:33); psalms of thanksgiving (Ps. 138:1); and even psalms of lament (Ps. 144:9). (Complete Word Study Dictionary- Old Testament)
When God delivers His people from the final "holocaust" (Great Tribulation), even as He delivered His people from Pharaoh in their Exodus, the songs of Israel’s youth (Exodus 15, Moses Song) will be renewed and the people will sing as in the old days (cf. Hos 2:15).
Zamar - 41v in NAS - Jdg 5:3; 2Sa 22:50; 1Chr 16:9; Ps 7:17; 9:2, 11; 18:49; 21:13; 27:6; 30:4, 12; 33:2; 47:6, 7; 57:7, 9; 59:17; 61:8; 66:2, 4; 68:4, 32; 71:22, 23; 75:9; 92:1; 98:4, 5; 101:1; 104:33; 105:2; 108:1, 3; 135:3; 138:1; 144:9; 146:2; 147:1, 7; 149:3; Isa 12:5. NAS Usage = praise(1), praise the in song(1), sing(3), sing praise(7), sing praises(35).
Spurgeon - To be rapt in praise to God is the highest state of the soul. To receive the mercy for which we praise God for is something; but to be wholly clothed with praise to God for the mercy received is far more. Why, praise is heaven, and heaven is praise! To pray is heaven below, but praise is the essence of heaven above. When you bow in adoration, you are at your very highest.
Motyer comments that "song is called for not as an expression of inner elation but as a response to the works of the Lord. It arises not from a stirring up of emotion but from bending the mind to recall, ponder and understand his majestic deeds (Luke 24:32)." (Isaiah: An Introduction and Commentary. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries)
In Exodus we read Miriam (repeating Ex 15:1 from the Song of Moses when God defeated Pharaoh's forces) answered with a timbrel in her hand and with dancing…
Sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted. The horse and his rider He has hurled into the sea. (Ex 15:21)
Comment: In the context of the events that bring about the Kingdom of Isaiah 11 (the return of Messiah to defeat the Antichrist and the kings of the earth who are arrayed against Him), Isaiah 12 is a parallel to Moses' song of Jehovah's victory over the Pharaoh.
For - A term of explanation. In this case for introduces the explanation of why we are to praise the LORD in song. Why? Because He has done excellent (majestic, magnificent, glorious - the Hebrew noun ge'ut refers to someone or something lifted up or exalted) things. In the context of major theme of this song, salvation in and through the Messiah is surely one of the most excellent things He has accomplished and the one most worthy to be trumpeted throughout the earth.
Jesus Messiah — by Chris Tomlin
(Click to play)
Let this be known throughout the earth (cp Is 12:4 "make known His deed", Ps 9:11) - What is "this"? In context the "excellent things" He has done. This is a similar charge to that of Isaiah 12:4. The excellent Messiah is the One, the Only One, Who should be exalted and to Whom should be ascribed supremacy in coming Millennial Age. These passages help us understand Isaiah's earlier statement that the "the earth will be full of the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters cover the sea." (Isa 11:9b)
Guzik…
The worshipper can’t stop talking about God’s greatness and the great things He has done. First, the Lord was the song of the worshipper (Isaiah 12:2). Now, he sings this song of the Lord to whoever will listen! If the Lord has become your song, then sing it!
Isaiah 12:6 Cry aloud and shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.:
- Cry loud: Isa 40:9 52:7-10 54:1 Zep 3:14 Lk 19:37-40
- O inhabitant: Isa 10:24 30:19 33:24 Zec 8:3-8
- great: Isa 8:18 24:23 41:14,16 Ps 9:11 68:16 71:22 89:18 132:14 Eze 43:7 Eze 48:35 Zep 2:5 3:15-17 Zec 2:5,10,11
Isaiah uses the same two verbs (cry aloud… shout for joy) in a passage in another comforting passage…
Shout for joy, O barren one (Israel had been disgraced by her past unfaithfulness to Jehovah), you who have borne no child; Break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not travailed; for the sons of the desolate one (The restored, redeemed nation of Israel in the Messianic Age) will be more numerous than the sons of the married woman,” says the LORD. (Is 54:1)
Cry aloud (command) (06670) (sahal/tsahal) means to shout out, to make a loud noise and as determined by the context either a cry in pain (cp Isa 10:30 in context of coming destruction) or joy (Isa 12:6, 24:14, Jer 31:7) and with or without actual words. This Hebrew verb is also used to describe the neighing of a horse (Jer 58, 50:11). Sahal expresses express joy, pleasure, exultation, by a clear and loud sound of the voice.
Lxx translates sahal with agalliao (present imperative = command to make this your lifestyle) = to be exceedingly joyful, to "jump for joy!" When was the last time you were so filled with the Spirit and the joy of the LORD that you literally jumped for joy? I fear for many of us, myself included, it has been far too long!
Sahal/tsahal - 8v in the NAS - Esther 8:15; Isa 10:30; 12:6; 24:14; 54:1; Jer 5:8; 31:7; 50:11. NAS = cry(1), cry aloud(3), neigh(1), neighing(1), shout(1), shouted(1).
SHOUT TO — THE LORD
(Click to play song)
Shout (command) for joy (07442) (ranan) is a verb which means to yell, to sing or shout joyfully by crying out loud and enthusiastically. To proclaim with shouts of joy (Isa 16:10). In two context ranah actually means to moan (Lam 2:19) or expresses a yearning (Ps 84:3). Most of the 52 uses of ranah express a sense of happiness, joy and/or relief. It is interesting that ranah often occurs with other verbs that express a similar joyful emotion (ׂs 5:11; 92:4, Ps 96:12; 149:5, Ps 71:23) among others.
The Septuagint (Lxx) translates ranan with the verb agalliao which means to "jump for joy!"
Vine - ranan (רָנַן, 7442), “to sing, shout, cry out.” Found in both ancient and modern Hebrew, this word is used in modern Hebrew in the sense of “to chant, sing.” It occurs approximately 50 times in the Hebrew Old Testament, with about half of these uses being in the Book of Psalms, where there is special emphasis on “singing” and “shouting” praises to God. Ranan is found for the first time in Lev. 9:24 at the conclusion of the consecration of Aaron and his sons to the priesthood. When the fire fell and consumed the sacrifice, the people “shouted, and fell on their faces.” Ranan is often used to express joy, exultation, which seems to demand loud singing, especially when it is praise to God: “Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee” (Isa. 12:6). When Wisdom calls, she cries aloud to all who will hear (Prov. 8:3). To shout for joy (Ps. 32:11) is to let joy ring out! (Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words)
William White - Ranan - A number of different shades of meaning and a variety of senses are developed for the root in various OT passages. The primary meaning is “to raise a noise” by shouting or with an instrument, especially a horn (Nu 10:7) or the traditional ram’s horn, the “shofar” (Josh 6:5). It is used in this sense in rituals of the Israelite tabernacle (1Sa 4:5) to describe the exaltation of the people of Israel when the ark of the covenant was brought to the camp. Later in Israel’s history in the First Commonwealth, the same root is used to describe the exaltation of the people when David brings the ark to Jerusalem. The poetic description of this in the Psalms (45:7) and the later glorification of the king at his enthronement by acclamation (1Sa 10:24) has been selected by some scholars as evidence of an enthronement ritual similar to that found in contemporary societies. However, there is no evidence to suggest such an interpretation for the root, rûa. In fact, the usage in passages encouraging the praise of God by the whole earth (Isa 44:23) and the shout of victory over an enemy (Jer 50:15; Zeph 3:14) are more closely related. The poetic song of praise in Job 38:7 uses this root to describe the shout of joy given by the “sons of God,” a controversial phrase referring to the faithful followers of the covenant. The root rūa is also used for cries of complaint and distress (Isa 15:4). However, the most common usage of all is in signals for war (Num 10:7) and war cries (Josh 6:10). As an extension of this last usage, it is also employed for shouts of alarm (1Sa 17:20) and encouragement, as in Psalm 95 and 98 in which it appears twice in each related context. This unusual word appears only three times in widely scattered locations (Ex 32:17; Job 36:33; Mic 4:9, “Now why do you shout aloud”). Harris, R L, Archer, G L & Waltke, B K Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Moody Press)
Ranah - 52v in the OT - Lev 9:24; Deut 32:43; 1Chr 16:33; Job 29:13; 38:7; Ps 5:11; 20:5; 32:11; 33:1; 35:27; 51:14; 59:16; 63:7; 65:8; 67:4; 71:23; 81:1; 84:2; 89:12; 90:14; 92:4; 95:1; 96:12; 98:4, 8; 132:9, 16; 145:7; 149:5; Pr 1:20; 8:3; 29:6; Isa 12:6; 16:10; 24:14; 26:19; 35:2, 6; 42:11; 44:23; 49:13; 52:8f; 54:1; 61:7; 65:14; Jer 31:7, 12; 51:48; Lam 2:19; Zeph 3:14; Zech 2:10. NAS Usage - cries(1), cries of joy(1), cry aloud(1), joyfully sing(2), rejoice(1), sang(1), shout for joy(16), shout of joy(1), shout joyfully(4), shouted(1), shouts(1), sing for joy(18), sing aloud(3), sing aloud for joy(1), sings(1).
McGee - This is one great throbbing and pulsating outburst of a redeemed soul who is giving to God all that a poor creature can -- his hallelujah! We talk of our dedication to God, but we don't even know what dedication means. In that glorious day (Glorious Day - Living He loved me ~ Casting Crowns) Israel will know its meaning, and we will too.
Crying aloud, shouting for joy type praise - does that describe the way you praise Him? If not, why not? What hinders you dear believer, for He is even in our midst today?
Listen to the exhortation from C H Spurgeon…
We ought not to worship God in a half-hearted sort of way; as if it were now our duty to bless God, but we felt it to be a weary business, and we would get it through as quickly as we could, and have done with it; and the sooner the better. No, no; ‘All that is within me, bless his holy name.’ Come, my heart, wake up, and summon all the powers which wait upon thee! Mechanical worship is easy, but worthless. Come rouse yourself, my brother! Rouse thyself, O my own soul!
O inhabitant of Zion- Those who are in Jerusalem. Zion, of course, is the place of the temple, the place where the name of the Holy One of Israel dwells. Again while Isaiah in chapter 12 is addressing primarily the believing Jewish remnant, this charge to cry aloud and shout for joy is clearly applicable to Gentile believers who will be in Zion at that time.
Motyer reminds us that…
Isaiah once saw a different Zion with different ‘daughters’ (Isa 3:16-4:1), but now the promised cleansing (Isa 4:4) has happened and the Holy One, once estranged (Isa 6:3,4), has come home (cf. Isa 4:5, 6) to live among his people. (Ibid)
For - This is a term of explanation which should always prompt a question of what is being explained, etc. Isaiah is giving the reason they are to cry aloud and shout for joy. It is not for any created thing (material goods, good harvest, etc) but it because of Messiah's presence and because of His person, the Holy One of Israel. Since we will praise Him in that future day in His Kingdom, this blessed assurance should prompt us to praise Him now for so great a promise…
Praise Him, Praise Him
by Fanny Crosby
(Or listen this full choral version of this great hymn)
Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessèd Redeemer!
Sing, O Earth, His wonderful love proclaim!
Hail Him! hail Him! highest archangels in glory;
Strength and honor give to His holy Name!
Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard His children,
In His arms He carries them all day long:
Refrain
Praise Him! Praise Him!
Tell of His excellent greatness.
Praise Him! Praise Him!
Ever in joyful song!
Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessèd Redeemer!
For our sins He suffered, and bled, and died.
He our Rock, our hope of eternal salvation,
Hail Him! hail Him! Jesus the Crucified.
Sound His praises! Jesus who bore our sorrows,
Love unbounded, wonderful, deep and strong.
Refrain
Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessèd Redeemer!
Heav’nly portals loud with hosannas ring!
Jesus, Savior, reigneth forever and ever.
Crown Him! Crown Him! Prophet, and Priest, and King!
Christ is coming! over the world victorious,
Pow’r and glory unto the Lord belong.
Refrain
Great in your midst - This praise looks forward to that future day when Messiah returns to reign and rule in the midst of Jerusalem. Great is used almost as a name of Messiah in this context, for what He is (He is great) equates with Who He is.
W E Vine applies this passage to our daily live noting that…
It is the presence of the Lord in the midst that here and now satisfies the desires of His people, produces their worship, provides the power of their testimony. His realized presence is the gladsome dominating factor in their assembling. Where this is lost sight of all is mere routine, though there may be enthusiasm for a cause, and resounding jubilation.
Given the fact that Jehovah will be in the midst of Jerusalem it is not surprising that joy is mentioned twice in this chapter (Isa 12:3, 6). The psalmist explains that…
You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever. (Ps 16:11)
Spurgeon comments on in Thy presence is fullness of joy: Christ being raised from the dead ascended into glory, to dwell in constant nearness to God, where joy is at its full for ever: the foresight of this urged Him onward in His glorious but grievous toil. To bring His chosen to eternal happiness was the high ambition which inspired Him, and made Him wade through a sea of blood. O God, when a worldling's mirth has all expired, for ever with Jesus may we dwell at Thy right hand, where there are pleasures for evermore; and meanwhile, may we have an earnest by tasting Thy love below. Trapp's note on the heavenly verse which closes the Psalm is a sweet morsel, which may serve for a contemplation, and yield a foretaste of our inheritance. He writes,
"Here is as much said as can be, but words are too weak to utter it. For quality there is in heaven joy and pleasures; for quantity, a fulness, a torrent whereat they drink without let or loathing; for constancy, it is at God's right hand, who is stronger than all, neither can any take us out of his hand; it is a constant happiness without intermission: and for perpetuity it is for evermore. Heaven's joys are without measure, mixture, or end."
Great (01419) (gadol is from gadal = to become strong, grow up, be great) is a common OT adjective (497 verses) with a range of meanings -- Many in number and other intensified concepts like "loudness," in sound, being old in years, great in importance. Great… of extended dimension Ge 1:21… of number Ge12:2… of power Dt 4:37… of punishment Ge 4:13 … of value or importance Ge 39:9 … great conflict Da 10:1.
The Holy One of Israel - Isaiah's special title for God and in this context refers to the Messiah reigning in His Millennial Kingdom. Ponder this thought - the Holy One in the midst of sinners saved by grace.
Holy One of Israel - 31v in the OT - 2Ki 19:22; Ps 71:22; 78:41; 89:18; Isa 1:4; 5:19, 24; 10:20; 12:6; 17:7; 29:19; 30:11f, 15; 31:1; 37:23; 41:14, 16, 20; 43:3, 14; 45:11; 47:4; 48:17; 49:7; 54:5; 55:5; 60:9, 14; Jer 50:29; 51:5 Isaiah also uses “Holy One” as a title 4 times (Isa 10:17; 40:25; 43:15; 49:7) and “Holy One of Jacob” once (Isa 29:23).
In light of this glorious song of salvation in Isaiah 12, may all God's people cry aloud and shout for joy…
HOLY HOLY HOLY
(Click to play )
Jesus Messiah is the Holy One of Israel,
the "Agnus Dei", the Lamb of God,
so let us worship Him in Spirit and in Truth as we sing…