Isaiah 12:4,5 The Song of the Redeemed
And, in this community of the saved, we see another song that we are to sing “in that day”:
“Give thanks to YHWH,
Call upon his name,
Make known his deeds among the peoples,
Proclaim that his name is exalted.”
“Sing praises to YHWH,
for he has done gloriously;
Let this be made known
in all the earth.”
Two things jump out at me here. (Well, six things, but in three pairs):
Firstly:
(5) As a community, we should be thankful for his deliverance. (v4a)
As a community we should make known his deeds. (v4b)
As a community we should praise him in song for what He has done. (v5a)
We are to tell the story, the stories.
We thank God for what He has done for us. Not just our salvation from sin, but the daily blessings and miracles that we experience. We don’t always see or recognize them, but when we do we thank God for them. In a way, that is the act of telling God the story of what He has done.
We make known these things to the world around us. We testify to what we have seen God do. We tell the world the story of what He has done.
And, we sing praise to God for his excellent, majestic deeds. This verb here is related back to the noun used in verse 2 (and Exodus 15:2 and Psalm 118:14) for song. Again, we don’t just tell the stories. We tell them in dramatic, joyful, extraordinary ways.
This Leitmotif is picked up in the first song following the Servant song we read earlier. (Isaiah 54:1-3)
1 “Sing, O barren one, who did not bear;
break forth into singing and cry aloud,
you who have not been in labor!
For the children of the desolate one will be more
than the children of her who is married,” says the Lord.
2 “Enlarge the place of your tent,
and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;
do not hold back; lengthen your cords
and strengthen your stakes.
3 For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left,
and your offspring will possess the nations
and will people the desolate cities.
Here, the word is not the word for sing that we see in 12:2 and 12:5, but one that means to sing for joy or shout for joy. These are not just stories! They are the good news of the life-changing, miraculous, work of God in our lives! They deserve the full break-out-in-song-and-dance dramatics of a musical. Not necessarily literally, but maybe so? At the very least we should proclaim it eloquently, beautifully, and powerfully!
Secondly:
(6) As a community we should invoke his name. (v4a)
As a community we should remind people of his name. (v4b)
As a community we should proclaim this to all the earth. (v5b)
The name of God identifies him personally. We do not serve or trust a generic God. We serve and trust the God of the universe who has revealed himself to us. We know who He is and what He is like because He has told us. And we call on this specific, real personal God.
The idea of names and names communicating truths and messages is an oft repeated Leitmotif in Isaiah. In this very section of Isaiah 6-12, we see Isaiah use the names of his sons (“A Remnant Shall Return” and “Swift is the Booty, Speedy is the Prey”) as prophetic messages. Some scholars like to say that Isaiah’s name itself (“YHWH Saves”) forms a key element of this very song here in Isaiah 12.
However, Isaiah also ascribes several names to the Messiah. In 7:14 he prophecies the birth of a child who will be named Immanuel (“God with us”) and we know that Matthew later applies this name to Jesus. However, in chapter 9, Isaiah gives the Messiah 4 more names or titles:
Supernatural Counselor and Mighty God indicate that He is divine. The name Mighty God is applied to God himself in 10:21. Clearly, the Messiah is to be understood as seriously being God Himself. Eternal Father and Prince of Peace are names that indicate the results that the rule of the Messiah, the day of the Messiah (“in that day”) will bring.
After the cross, now that the Messiah has come, we know God by the name Jesus. Jesus is the name that we call on for the salvation that God offers. We also proclaim the name of Jesus to the world. His is the name above all names because of what He has done for us. We share His story and proclaim it to the lost world in need of the good news.
“Give thanks to YHWH,
Call upon his name,
Make known his deeds among the peoples,
Proclaim that his name is exalted.”
“Sing praises to YHWH,
for he has done gloriously;
Let this be made known
in all the earth.”
Two things jump out at me here. (Well, six things, but in three pairs):
Firstly:
(5) As a community, we should be thankful for his deliverance. (v4a)
As a community we should make known his deeds. (v4b)
As a community we should praise him in song for what He has done. (v5a)
We are to tell the story, the stories.
We thank God for what He has done for us. Not just our salvation from sin, but the daily blessings and miracles that we experience. We don’t always see or recognize them, but when we do we thank God for them. In a way, that is the act of telling God the story of what He has done.
We make known these things to the world around us. We testify to what we have seen God do. We tell the world the story of what He has done.
And, we sing praise to God for his excellent, majestic deeds. This verb here is related back to the noun used in verse 2 (and Exodus 15:2 and Psalm 118:14) for song. Again, we don’t just tell the stories. We tell them in dramatic, joyful, extraordinary ways.
This Leitmotif is picked up in the first song following the Servant song we read earlier. (Isaiah 54:1-3)
1 “Sing, O barren one, who did not bear;
break forth into singing and cry aloud,
you who have not been in labor!
For the children of the desolate one will be more
than the children of her who is married,” says the Lord.
2 “Enlarge the place of your tent,
and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;
do not hold back; lengthen your cords
and strengthen your stakes.
3 For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left,
and your offspring will possess the nations
and will people the desolate cities.
Here, the word is not the word for sing that we see in 12:2 and 12:5, but one that means to sing for joy or shout for joy. These are not just stories! They are the good news of the life-changing, miraculous, work of God in our lives! They deserve the full break-out-in-song-and-dance dramatics of a musical. Not necessarily literally, but maybe so? At the very least we should proclaim it eloquently, beautifully, and powerfully!
Secondly:
(6) As a community we should invoke his name. (v4a)
As a community we should remind people of his name. (v4b)
As a community we should proclaim this to all the earth. (v5b)
The name of God identifies him personally. We do not serve or trust a generic God. We serve and trust the God of the universe who has revealed himself to us. We know who He is and what He is like because He has told us. And we call on this specific, real personal God.
The idea of names and names communicating truths and messages is an oft repeated Leitmotif in Isaiah. In this very section of Isaiah 6-12, we see Isaiah use the names of his sons (“A Remnant Shall Return” and “Swift is the Booty, Speedy is the Prey”) as prophetic messages. Some scholars like to say that Isaiah’s name itself (“YHWH Saves”) forms a key element of this very song here in Isaiah 12.
However, Isaiah also ascribes several names to the Messiah. In 7:14 he prophecies the birth of a child who will be named Immanuel (“God with us”) and we know that Matthew later applies this name to Jesus. However, in chapter 9, Isaiah gives the Messiah 4 more names or titles:
Supernatural Counselor and Mighty God indicate that He is divine. The name Mighty God is applied to God himself in 10:21. Clearly, the Messiah is to be understood as seriously being God Himself. Eternal Father and Prince of Peace are names that indicate the results that the rule of the Messiah, the day of the Messiah (“in that day”) will bring.
After the cross, now that the Messiah has come, we know God by the name Jesus. Jesus is the name that we call on for the salvation that God offers. We also proclaim the name of Jesus to the world. His is the name above all names because of what He has done for us. We share His story and proclaim it to the lost world in need of the good news.
Comments
Post a Comment