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Matthew Henry |
I S A I A H.
CHAP. XII.
The salvation promised in the foregoing chapter was compared to that of
Israel “in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt;” so that
chapter ends. Now as Moses and the children of Israel then sang a song
of praise to the glory of God
so shall the people of God do in that day when the root of Jesse shall
stand for an ensign of the people and shall be the desire and joy of
all nations. In that day,
I. Every particular believer shall sing a song of praise for his own
interest in that salvation,
“Thou shalt say, Lord, I will praise thee.” Thanksgiving-work shall be
closet-work.
II. Many in concert shall join in praising God for the common benefit
arising from this salvation
(ver. 4-6):
“You shall say, Praise you the Lord.” Thanksgiving-work shall be
congregation-work; and the praises of God shall be publicly sung in the
congregations of the upright.
| A Song of Praise. | B. C. 740. |
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1 And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee:
though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and
thou comfortedst me.
2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be
afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he
also is become my salvation.
3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of
salvation.
This is the former part of the hymn of praise which is prepared for the
use of the church, of the Jewish church when God would work great
deliverances for them, and of the Christian church when the kingdom of
the Messiah should be set up in the world in despite of the opposition
of the powers of darkness: In that day thou shalt say, O Lord! I
will praise thee. The scattered church, being united into one body,
shall, as one man, with one mind and one mouth, thus praise God, who is
one and his name one. In that day, when the Lord shall do these
great things for thee, thou shalt say, O Lord! I will praise
thee. That is,
I. “Thou shalt have cause to say so.” The promise is sure, and the
blessings contained in it are very rich, and, when they are bestowed,
will furnish the church with abundant matter for rejoicing and
therefore with abundant matter for thanksgiving. The Old-Testament
prophecies of gospel times are often expressed by the joy and praise
that shall then be excited; for the inestimable benefits we enjoy by
Jesus Christ require the most elevated and enlarged thanksgivings.
II. “Thou shalt have a heart to say so.” All God’s other gifts to his
people shall be crowned with this. He will give them grace to ascribe
all the glory of them to him, and to speak of them upon all occasions
with thankfulness to his praise. Thou shalt say, that is, thou
oughtest to say so. In that day, when many are brought home to
Jesus Christ and flock to him as doves to their windows, instead of
envying the kind reception they find with Christ, as the Jews grudged
the favour shown to the Gentiles, thou shalt say, O Lord! I will
praise thee. Note, we ought to rejoice in, and give thanks for, the
grace of God to others as well as to ourselves.
1. Believers are here taught to give thanks to God for the turning away
of his displeasure from them and the return of his favour to them
(v. 1):
O Lord! I will praise thee, though thou wast angry with me.
Note, Even God’s frowns must not put us out of tune for praising him;
though he be angry with us, though he slay us, yet we must put our
trust in him and give him thanks. God has often just cause to be angry
with us, but we have never any reason to be angry with him, nor to
speak otherwise than well of him; even when he blames us we must praise
him. Thou was angry with us, but thy anger is turned
away. Note,
(1.) God is sometimes angry with his own people and the fruits of his
anger do appear, and they ought to take notice of this, that they may
humble themselves under his mighty hand.
(2.) Though God may for a time be angry with his people, yet his anger
shall at length be turned away; it endures but for a moment, nor will
he contend for ever. By Jesus Christ, the root of Jesse, God’s anger
against mankind was turned away; for he is our peace.
(3.) Those whom God is reconciled to he comforts; even the turning away
of his anger is a comfort to them; yet that is not all: those that are
at peace with God may rejoice in hope of the glory of
God,
Rom. v. 1, 2.
Nay, God sometimes brings his people into a wilderness that there he
may speak comfortably to them,
Hosea ii. 14.
(4.) The turning away of God’s anger, and the return of his comforts to
us, ought to be the matter of our joyful thankful praises.
2. They are taught to triumph in God and their interest in him
(v. 2):
“Behold, and wonder; God is my salvation; not only my
Saviour, by whom I am saved, but my salvation, in whom I am safe. I
depend upon him as my salvation, for I have found him to be so. He
shall have the glory of all the salvations that have been wrought for
me, and from him only will I expect the salvations I further need, and
not from hills and mountains: and if God be my salvation, if he
undertake my eternal salvation, I will trust in him to prepare
me for it and preserve me to it. I will trust him with all my temporal
concerns, not doubting but he will make all to work for my good. I will
be confident, that is, I will be always easy in my own mind.” Note,
Those that have God for their salvation may enjoy themselves with a
holy security and serenity of mind. Let faith in God as our salvation
be effectual,
(1.) To silence our fears. We must trust, and not be afraid, not
be afraid that the God we trust in will fail us; no, there is no danger
of that; not be afraid of any creature, though ever so formidable and
threatening. Note, Faith in God is a sovereign remedy against
disquieting tormenting fears.
(2.) To support our hopes. Is the Lord Jehovah our salvation? Then he
will be our strength and song. We have work to do and
temptations to resist, and we may depend upon him to enable us for
both, to strengthen us with all might by his Spirit in the inner
man, for he is our strength; his grace is so, and that grace shall
be sufficient for us. We have many troubles to undergo, and must expect
griefs in a vale of tears; and we may depend upon him to comfort us in
all our tribulations, for he is our song; he giveth songs in the
night. If we make God our strength, and put our confidence in him,
he will be our strength; if we make him our song, and place our comfort
in him, he will be our song. Many good Christians have God for their
strength who have him not for their song; they walk in darkness: but
light is sown for them. And those that have God for their strength
ought to make him their song, that is, to give him the glory of it (see
and to take to themselves the comfort of it, for he will become their
salvation. Observe the title here given to God: Jah, Jehovah.
Jah is the contraction of Jehovah, and both signify his eternity and
unchangeableness, which are a great comfort to those that depend upon
him as their strength and their song. Some make Jah to signify the Son
of God made man; he is Jehovah, and in him we may glory as our
strength, and song, and salvation.
3. They are aught to derive comfort to themselves from the love of God
and all the tokens of that love
(v. 3):
“Therefore, because the Lord Jehovah is your strength and song
and will be your salvation, you shall draw water with joy.”
Note, The assurances God has given us of his love, and the experiences
we have had of the benefit and comfort of his grace, should greatly
encourage our faith in him and our expectations from him: “Out of
the wells of salvation in God, who is the fountain of all good to
his people, you shall draw water with joy. God’s favour shall
flow forth to you, and you shall have the comfort of it and make use of
the blessed fruits of it.” Note,
(1.) God’s promises revealed, ratified, and given out to us, in his
ordinances, are wells of salvation; wells of the Saviour (so
some read it), for in them the Saviour and salvation are made known to
us and made over to us.
(2.) It is our duty by faith to draw water out of these wells, to take
to ourselves the benefit and comfort that are treasured up for us in
them, as those that acknowledge all our fresh springs to be there and
all our fresh streams to be thence,
(3.) Water is to be drawn out of the wells of salvation with a great
deal of pleasure and satisfaction. It is the will of God that we should
rejoice before him and rejoice in him
be joyful in his house of prayer
(Isa. lvi. 7),
and keep his feasts with gladness,
| A Song of Praise. | B. C. 740. |
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4 And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his
name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his
name is exalted.
5 Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this
is known in all the earth.
6 Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is
the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.
This is the second part of this evangelical song, and to the same
purport with the former; there believers stir up themselves to praise
God, here they invite and encourage one another to do it, and are
contriving to spread his praise and draw in others to join with them in
it. Observe,
I. Who are here called upon to praise God–the inhabitants of
Zion and Jerusalem, whom God had in a particular manner protected
from Sennacherib’s violence,
v. 6.
Those that have received distinguishing favours from God ought to be
most forward and zealous in praising him. The gospel church is Zion.
Christ is Zion’s King. Those that have a place and a name in the church
should lay out themselves to diffuse the knowledge of Christ and to
bring many to him. Thou inhabitress of Zion; the word is
feminine. Let the weaker sex be strong in the Lord, and out of their
mouth praise shall be perfected.
II. How they must praise the Lord.
1. By prayer: Call upon his name. As giving thanks for former
mercy is a decent way of begging further mercy, so begging further
mercy is graciously accepted as a thankful acknowledgment of the
mercies we have received. In calling upon God’s name we give unto him
some of the glory that is due to his name as our powerful and bountiful
benefactor.
2. By preaching and writing. We must not only speak to God, but speak
to others concerning him, not only call upon his name, but (as the
margin reads it) proclaim his name; let others know something
more from us than they did before concerning God, and those things
whereby he has made himself known. Declare his doings, his
counsels (so some read it); the work of redemption is according
to the counsel of his will, and in that and other wonderful works that
he has done we must take notice of his thoughts which are to
us-ward,
Ps. xl. 5.
Declare these among the people, among the heathen, that they may
be brought into communion with Israel and the God of Israel. When the
apostles preached the gospel to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem,
then this scripture was fulfilled, that his doings should be declared
among the people and that what he has done should be known in all the
earth.
3. By a holy exultation and transport of joy: “Cry out and
shout; welcome the gospel to yourselves and publish it to others
with huzzas and loud acclamations, as those that shout for
victory
or for the coronation of a king,”
III. For what they must praise the Lord.
1. Because he has glorified himself. Remember it yourselves, and
make mention of it to others, that his name is exalted,
has become more illustrious and more conspicuous; in this every good
man rejoices.
2. Because he has magnified his people: He has done excellent
things for them, which make them look great and considerable.
3. Because he is, and will be, great among them: Great is the Holy
One, for he is glorious in holiness; therefore great,
because holy. True goodness is true greatness. He is great as the
Holy One of Israel, and in the midst of them, praised by
them
(Ps. lxxvi. 1),
manifesting himself among them, and appearing gloriously in their
behalf. It is the honour and happiness of Israel that the God who is in
covenant with them, and in the midst of them, is infinitely great.
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