Isaiah 12:4 (NIV)
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.
Our verse today connects well with our previous look at Psalm 33. So let’s look at the full context:
Isaiah 12:1-6 (NIV)
1 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 song; 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.”
What beautiful words the prophet has declared for us! And these words are from the breath and lips of God … foretelling our faith in His salvation and proclaiming the praise His people will have in their hearts “in that day.” So I asked myself, “What day?” “When will these things be or come to pass?” So I decided to read what preceded this song of praise and turned back to Isaiah 11. And then my spirit began to tremble within my heart as I read the prophetic word concerning Jesus … the root of Jesse:
Isaiah 11:1-5; 10-12 (NIV)
1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord— 3 and He will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what He sees with His eyes, or decide by what He hears with His ears; 4 but with righteousness He will judge the needy, with justice He will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth; with the breath of his lips He will slay the wicked. (Cf. Revelation 1:16; 19:15) 5 Righteousness will be His belt and faithfulness the sash around His waist.
10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to Him, and His resting place will be glorious. 11 In that day the Lord will reach out His hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of His people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean. 12 He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; He will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.
Oh, how I find great encouragement in the Word of God! The light and truth of His Word instills peace within me. It inspires praise from the depths of my inner being. So, yes, I want to sing to the Lord, for He has done glorious things. I want to join with His people and let this be known to all the world. Yes, I will shout and sing for joy because Jesus is the Holy One of Israel and He is with us! Let His Name be exalted in all the earth! And “that day”? I believe “that day” is here … that day is now. Today is the day of salvation….
Isaiah 49:7-9 (NIV)
7 This is what the Lord says— the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel—to Him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: “Kings will see you and stand up, princes will see and bow down, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.” 8 This is what the Lord says: “In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances, 9 to say to the captives, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’
So Now You Know 