IN THAT DAY
Opening Prayer
I praise you Father; indeed you love me with a love beyond measure, you bless me infinitely more than I deserve, and your plans for me are far greater than I can imagine.
Read ISAIAH 12
Songs of Praise
12 In that day you will say:
“I will praise you, Lord.
Although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away
and you have comforted me.
2 Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense[a];
he has become my salvation.”
3 With joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation.
4 In that day you will say:
“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
make known among the nations what he has done,
and proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things;
let this be known to all the world.
6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,
for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 12:2 Or song
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Bring to mind a song or tune that brings a sense of hope. Depending on where you are, why not hum, whistle, or even sing it to the Lord, who is our salvation (v. 2)?There’s a song we sing regularly in our church, and it appeals to all ages. It’s about God being a great big God. It says that ‘he’s higher than a skyscraper … deeper than a submarine’ and beyond our imagination.* There are actions, and whenever the band strikes the opening chords, we’re on our feet.
It works because the words are simple, yet utterly profound—and it’s got a toe-tapping tune. Isaiah surely had a song in mind here. It’s a personal song, a burst of hope from a grateful heart (vv. 1, 2), but in the second part (vv. 4–6) it transcended individuals and swept up the people of Israel, indeed the whole earth.
In his book Isaiah for Everyone,** John Goldingay sees this chapter as marking the end of the first great section in Isaiah. After a series of confrontations, warnings and judgment, the Lord was giving his people a song of hope. It’s a song of the future, but it’s to be sung now.
Apply
Imagine ‘the wells of salvation’ (v 3). The flowing, cool, refreshing depths of this living water. In your imagination, lay hold of a jug and fill it to the brim with this water of God’s saving presence—and quench your thirst.
Closing prayer
God of my salvation, thank you for the ever-present reminders of your power, your love and faithfulness that give me assurance and hope for today, tomorrow, and eternity.
*’He’s higher than a skyscraper,’ Nigel and Jo Hemming © 2011 Vineyard Songs
**John Goldingay, Isaiah for Everyone (Westminster John Knox Press, 2015)
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