Isaiah 12:1

12:10-16 When the gospel should be publicly preached, the Gentiles would seek Christ Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, and find rest of soul. When God's time is come for the deliverance of his people, mountains of opposition shall become plains before him. God can soon turn gloomy days into glorious ones. And while we expect the Lord to gather his ancient people, and bring them home to his church, also to bring in the fulness of the Gentiles, when all will be united in holy love, let us tread the highway of holiness he has made for his redeemed. Let us wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life, looking to him to prepare our way through death, that river which separates this world from the eternal world.

Isaiah 12:1-2 . And, &c. — “Isaiah concludes this most noble prophecy with a doxology from the mouth of those who should share in the blessings of the great redemption before specified. This doxology is two-fold: in the first part, the redeemed, in their own names and persons, praise God for the benefits of salvation and consolation through Christ, conferred upon them. In the second part they mutually exhort and encourage themselves and others, to praise and celebrate their God and Redeemer.” Dodd. In that day — When this great work of the reduction of Israel, and the conversion of the Gentiles, promised in the foregoing chapter, is fulfilled: when the kingdom of the Messiah is set up in the world, in despite of all opposition from earth and hell; thou shalt say — Thou church of God, composed of Jews and Gentiles, united in one body, shalt say, as one man, with one mind and one mouth; and every particular member of the community shall say; that is, shall have cause to say, and a heart to say, O Lord, I will praise thee — “I will give thanks unto thee, O Jehovah;” so Bishop Lowth.

For though thou hast been angry with me — Namely, while I was in my unenlightened and unconverted state of heathenish ignorance, or of Jewish unbelief; my state of sin and guilt, of depravity and alienation from thee; thine anger is turned away — In consequence of my conversion to thee by true repentance, unfeigned faith, and new obedience; and thou comfortedst me — By evident tokens of thy presence, communications of thy grace, and prospects of thy glory. Behold, God is my salvation — The author, giver, and source of my salvation; which, in all its branches and degrees, hath been effected, not by the power of man, but by the mercy and grace of God. He, therefore, shall have the glory of the salvation that has already been wrought for me, and from him only will I expect the salvation which I further need. And for this, I will trust — In his power, love, and faithfulness; and not be afraid — Lest he should deceive my confidence or disappoint my expectations; lest he should be either unable or unwilling to save me in time to come, as he has saved me in time past.

CHAPTER 12 Isa 12:1-6. Thanksgiving Hymn of the Restored and Converted Jews. Just as Miriam, after the deliverance of the Red Sea (Isa 11:16), celebrated it with an ode of praise (Ex 15:1-19).A thanksgiving of the faithful for their redemption. In that day; when this great work of the reduction of God’s Israel, and of the conversion of the Gentiles, promised in the foregoing chapter, shall be fulfilled.

1 . The introductory formula (here and in Isaiah 12:4 ) resembles those in Isaiah 25:9 , Isaiah 26:1 , Isaiah 27:2 thou wast angry ] a word never used by any prophet, but found in Psalm 2:12 ; Psalm 60:1 ; Psalm 79:5 ; Psalm 85:5 . is turned away ] The form is that of the jussive; but it is probably the contracted form of the consec. impf. which sometimes occurs in the Pss. 1, 2 . The first song, the singer being the individualised community, as frequently in the Pss.

Verses 1-6. - THE SONG OF THANKSGIVING OF THE UNITED CHURCH. On each of her deliverances the Church is hound to praise God. In some parts of the Church it is customary on every such occasion to sing a "Te Deum." The ordinary Israelite hymn of praise appears to have been the hundred and thirty-sixth psalm ( 1 Chronicles 16:34, 41 ; 2 Chronicles 5:13 ; 2 Chronicles 7:3 ; Ezra 3:11 ; Jeremiah 33:11 ; 1 Macc. 4:24); but on extraordinary occasions special thanksgivings were sung ( Exodus 15:1-21 ; 1 Samuel 7:18-29, etc.). Isaiah is now inspired to give a pattern song, suitable for the Church to sing when she is reunited, enlarged, and restored to favor. Verse 1. - In that day . In the day of deliverance and restoration. Though thou wast angry ; literally, because thou wast angry . Kay understands an actual hank-fullness for the severe discipline, which had checked them, and not allowed them to glide on smoothly to ruin. But perhaps the idiom is rather that of the passage, "Father, I thank thee that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes" ( Matthew 11:25 ), where it is only the last clause that expresses the true object of the thanksgiving. Comfortedst ; rather, hast comforted , since the effect continued. Isaiah 12:1

XII. (1) In that day thou shalt say . . .—The prophet becomes the psalmist of that new Exodus, and the hymn that follows is based upon the type of that in Exodus 15, though with less of local and historical colouring. He has been taught that confession must be blended with thanksgiving—that those only can rightly estimate the comfort which God gives who have first felt His wrath. The fact that the prophet appears as a psalmist was a natural result of the training of the schools of the prophets, as described in 1Samuel 19:20, possibly also of his familiarity with the Temple service as a priest or Levite. The group of psalms ascribed to the sons of Korah presents so many parallelisms to the writings of Isaiah, and so obviously belongs to the same period, that we may reasonably think of him as having been associated with that goodly company. (See Introduction.)

And in that day - The day referred to in the previous chapter, the time of the Messiah, when the effects of his reign shall be seen everywhere. The duty of praise, however, is couched in such language as to make it applicable to the event predicted in the former part of the prophecy Isaiah 10 - the delivering of the nation from the invasion of Sennacherib, as well as the more glorious event on which the prophet fixed his eye Isaiah 11 - the coming and reign of the Messiah. The language of this song of praise would be appropriate to both these events. Thou shalt say - The address to an individual here, in the term 'thou,' is equivalent to "everyone," meaning that "all" who were thus interested in the divine interposition should say it. O Lord - O Yahweh - the great author of this interposition. I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me - If this language is applied to the Jews, and supposed to be used by them in regard to the invasion of Sennacherib, it means, that God suffered their land to be invaded, and to be subjected to calamities, in consequence of their sins (Isaiah 10:6 ff.) If it is supposed to be applied to the time of the Messiah, then it is language which every redeemed sinner may use, that God was angry with him, but that his anger is turned away.