Isaiah 12:2b The Song of the Redeemed
Isaiah does not stop there. We are not merely to be marked by courage or a lack of worry:
For YHWH God is my strength
and my song, (fortress, joy)
And he has become my salvation.” (deliverance)
(3) Since God has delivered us, we should be strong and joyful in the world.
Here we have one of those Biblical Leitmotifs: God is our strength and our song? This is a strange phrase. Many have tried to find ways to make the text read “fortress” or “stay” rather than song. But part of me thinks that the strangeness of the phrase is what speaks so strongly for its correctness.
This is a quote of Moses’ song in Exodus 15. It was used later in Psalm 118.
The idea here is that God’s deliverance inspires us. We are strong in the knowledge of what God has done in delivering us from the enemies of sin, the world, and any dangers we can face. We respond in song. Not really even an emotional reaction that comes and goes with our untrustworthy emotions. It is a response of knowledge, not feeling. It is a response based on the track record God has. We trust based on what we have seen. God is trustworthy. It is also a response of obedience. A response of defiance against our circumstances.
We think of Paul and Silas in prison.
Or, I think of those Haka chants that Māori teams do to intimidate their opponents or inspire their teammates.
Or, I think of the scene in Casablanca, when the people rise up and sing La Marseillaise to drown out the Nazi officers in Rick’s bar.
Song and singing are a vital part of human culture, and a vital aspect of the way we were created. When we use our voices in the praise of God, we invoke something powerful.
And, it is not about today’s cultural value of singing well. Not an American Idol approach to singing. Not a performance. It is the act of worship that is beautiful not on a purely aesthetic level. It is beautiful in the way it plays into our story. Much in the way that song plays its role in musicals. We tend to scoff at musicals because, “In the real world, people don’t simply break into song!” However, in the real world, the Bride of Christ does!
So, so far we see:
(4) God’s salvation/deliverance is a continual source of compassion and Courage, strength and joy.
The saved are not/should not be characterized by contempt, fear, misplaced trust, or cynicism.
For YHWH God is my strength
and my song, (fortress, joy)
And he has become my salvation.” (deliverance)
(3) Since God has delivered us, we should be strong and joyful in the world.
Here we have one of those Biblical Leitmotifs: God is our strength and our song? This is a strange phrase. Many have tried to find ways to make the text read “fortress” or “stay” rather than song. But part of me thinks that the strangeness of the phrase is what speaks so strongly for its correctness.
This is a quote of Moses’ song in Exodus 15. It was used later in Psalm 118.
The idea here is that God’s deliverance inspires us. We are strong in the knowledge of what God has done in delivering us from the enemies of sin, the world, and any dangers we can face. We respond in song. Not really even an emotional reaction that comes and goes with our untrustworthy emotions. It is a response of knowledge, not feeling. It is a response based on the track record God has. We trust based on what we have seen. God is trustworthy. It is also a response of obedience. A response of defiance against our circumstances.
We think of Paul and Silas in prison.
Or, I think of those Haka chants that Māori teams do to intimidate their opponents or inspire their teammates.
Or, I think of the scene in Casablanca, when the people rise up and sing La Marseillaise to drown out the Nazi officers in Rick’s bar.
Song and singing are a vital part of human culture, and a vital aspect of the way we were created. When we use our voices in the praise of God, we invoke something powerful.
And, it is not about today’s cultural value of singing well. Not an American Idol approach to singing. Not a performance. It is the act of worship that is beautiful not on a purely aesthetic level. It is beautiful in the way it plays into our story. Much in the way that song plays its role in musicals. We tend to scoff at musicals because, “In the real world, people don’t simply break into song!” However, in the real world, the Bride of Christ does!
So, so far we see:
(4) God’s salvation/deliverance is a continual source of compassion and Courage, strength and joy.
The saved are not/should not be characterized by contempt, fear, misplaced trust, or cynicism.
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