BEHOLD THE STRENGTH OF GOD
Isaiah 12:1-6
You will say in that day:
“I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
that you might comfort me.
“Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”
3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4 And you will say in that day:
“Give thanks to the LORD, call upon his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted.
“Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth.
Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.” 1
In this short chapter from the prophet Isaiah, God gives a glimpse of the future for his children. It is a final word prior to a shift in the narrative coming in chapter 13. These verses I read earlier brings Isaiah’s vision of God’s grace for his people to a climax.
God is the author of this grand story we are invited to live within. He is the author. He is the hero. What do we contribute to make this story holy, worthy, and worthwhile? Well...nothing. What does God contribute? Everything.
Grace.
God’s love for his children is unearned, undeserved, and not something that can be attained by just “doing better.” God’s grace offers hope. God, the sovereign of all, the Creator of all, continually provides a way of redemption, of hope, of life. His plans are not changing. He is never surprised. He is so very amazing.
And it is this grace given to us. This undeserved grace.
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within; Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin!
As the prophet stated, it was grace that kept him from dying in the presence of the holiness of God and cleansed him for the work to be done.
Isaiah 6:6-7
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” 2
Grace for the people of the southern kingdom, Judah, whose king had refused God’s help.
Isaiah 8:11-12
11 For the LORD spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 12 “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread.3
Grace for the people of Israel who had been labeled a godless nation due to their rebellion.
Isaiah 10:20-21
20 In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on him who struck them, but will lean on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21 A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.4
Grace for all of us through the promised Son who would come, the Son of God, God the Son, the Redeemer, the Savior, the Messiah.
Isaiah 11:10
10 In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious. 5
And then the word from chapter 12.
“You will say in that day:”
What is this? It is a prophetic word from God’s anointed. It is insight in what is to come. It is a message from the one who sees timelines not as just a moment here, but sees beginning, now, and future all at once.
It is a word that reminds God’s people that as tragic and terrible things may be...often due to the sin of those who claim to be actually following God that God is not shaken. He is not taken by chance. He never, ever says “Well...I didn’t see that coming.”
This passage gives us words. Words that matter. Words yet to be uttered by those to come. These are words of the remnant, of the faithful, of the true Christians in a world gone mad. And these are our words today.
Let me read this passage again and notice the word “you”
You will say in that day:
“I will give thanks to you, O LORD,
for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
that you might comfort me.
The God who was our enemy – let that sink in. We don’t speak of that nearly enough. Our enemy is now our Father.
for though you were angry with me,
But now, because of the grace of Almighty, we are his. We are forgiven, cleaned, made right. No longer enemies, but now family.
The people in Isaiah’s day, the remnant of God-followers needed this word. They needed reminding that the strong God of judgment who was their enemy due to their own sin is the same God who through grace redeems, forgives, and makes new.
“Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”
3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
Jesus said...
John 7:37-38
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”6
When a person comes to Christ...when we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives, we not only have access to this deep well of salvation but we are transformed by God’s strong grace.
We, based on Christ’s words here, will have rivers of living water flowing from our heart. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are not containers of grace, but now dispensers of grace. We are not deep buckets designed to hold water, but we are distributers of such living water.
The Christian who receives and does not give, the believer who has the living water, but does not share with others is a stagnant pond, a Dead Sea and that person by virtue of not being who God says we must, is not of God. For God’s salvation flows in endless freshness.
3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4 And you will say in that day:
“Give thanks to the LORD, call upon his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted.
Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
“Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously;
let this be made known in all the earth.
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”
Ray Ortlund points out that while in English the word “you” appears here, in the Hebrew these are different words with specific meanings.
Isaiah does this intentionally. God does this through Isaiah intentionally.
The “you” in verse one is singular, so the prophet is saying “In that day (the day to come) you will each individually say...” the words to follow.
That’s why there are all the “I” and “my” words in verses 1 and 2. This is a personal God. This is a personal relationship.
When Isaiah gets to verses 3 and 4, the “you” is plural, corporate, not individual.
RESPONSE
Many of you here have in the past already surrendered to Christ. You have recognized that your life, as all our lives, was defined by the sin within your heart. No one is good on their own, not good enough. Only good by comparison to someone else. Yet, with God as our enemy, since we were saturated in sin by default, he made a way. A way of hope of rescue. A way of salvation. That way is Jesus Christ. Isaiah prepared the message through his prophecy as did others. We have the great benefit of knowing Christ has already come. Salvation is an individual relationship. Groups do not come to Christ. People do. The Spirit draws people. Individually. You.
Some have said yes.
Others have not. You’re waiting. You’re wondering if it could be that simple. Repentance? You want to. Religion? You’re not too sure.
The strong gracious God has made a way. Christ is that way and God has removed all barriers that could possibly keep you from salvation. He’s that strong.
But...he waits for your response.
For others – Christians here and online today, you may have bought the message of individuality so deeply in our culture that you see church as a club, a gathering, a place to go every so often, but not really necessary. I mean, you can worship at home right? On the lake? At the beach? In the stands of the baseball game? Right? Sure...I guess, but you likely won’t. And if you do, you will miss an element of fellowship that God declares to be a pretty big deal.
4 And you will say in that day:
“Give thanks to the LORD, call upon his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted.
“Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth.
Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.” 8
This is the corporate “you” not the individual “you” and worship as family, as a church, as the redeemed is not to be avoided, ignored, or minimized. “Sing praises to the Lord (the Lord God, the Yah Yahweh) for he has done gloriously.”
Footnotes
1 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Is 12:1–6). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
2 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Is 6:6–7). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
3 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Is 8:11–12). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
4 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Is 10:20–21). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
5 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Is 11:10). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
6 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Jn 7:37–38). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
7 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Is 12:1–6). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
8 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Is 12:1–6). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
