Isaiah Chapter 12
Isaiah 12, Words from a Worshipper
Isaiah 12:1, “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.”
Isaiah 12:2, “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.”
Isaiah 12:3, “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.”
Isaiah 12:4, “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.”
Isaiah 12:5, “Sing unto the LORD, for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.”
Isaiah 12:6, “Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.”
A. The Worshipper Speaks to the LORD
Isaiah 12:1, Praise to the LORD After His Anger Has Passed
Isaiah 12:1, “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.”
Isaiah 12 flows directly out of Isaiah 11. Isaiah 11 looked forward to the reign of the Messiah, the Branch from Jesse, the Spirit filled King, the righteous Judge, the Restorer of creation, the hope of the Gentiles, and the regatherer of Israel. Isaiah 12 gives the proper response of the redeemed heart to that kingdom hope. The phrase “in that day” connects this song of praise to the future day of Messiah’s rule, restoration, and salvation.
This chapter is brief, but it is spiritually rich. It is the song of one who has experienced divine judgment, divine mercy, divine salvation, and divine comfort. The worshipper does not deny that God was angry. He does not excuse sin. He does not blame circumstances. He acknowledges that the Lord’s anger was real, but he also rejoices that the Lord’s anger has been turned away.
The words, “O LORD, I will praise thee,” show a deliberate act of worship. Praise is not merely a feeling that comes when life is easy. Praise is the rightful response of faith to the revealed character and saving work of God. The worshipper determines to praise the Lord because God has dealt with him in mercy.
The statement, “though thou wast angry with me,” reminds us that God’s anger is not like sinful human irritation. God’s anger is holy, just, righteous, and morally perfect. God is angry with sin because sin is rebellion against His nature, His law, His holiness, and His rule.
Psalm 7:11, “God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.”
Romans 1:18, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;”
God’s wrath is not emotional instability. It is His settled opposition to evil. The sinner’s greatest problem is not merely guilt, shame, fear, broken relationships, or earthly consequences. The sinner’s greatest problem is that he stands guilty before a holy God. Therefore, salvation must deal with the wrath of God.
The worshipper then says, “thine anger is turned away.” This is the language of propitiation, though Isaiah does not use that theological term here. Propitiation means that God’s righteous wrath has been satisfied. For the believer, this is ultimately accomplished through the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ. God’s anger is not ignored. It is not brushed aside. It is not cancelled by sentiment. It is satisfied in the sacrifice of Christ.
Romans 3:24, “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:”
Romans 3:25, “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare righteousness for the remission sins that are past, through the forbearance God;”
Romans 3:26, “To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and justifier him which believeth in Jesus.”
The cross shows that God is both just and the justifier. He does not save sinners by pretending sin is unimportant. He saves sinners because Christ bore the judgment they deserved.
Isaiah 53:5, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:6, “All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way, and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity us all.”
This is why the believer can say, “thine anger is turned away.” The wrath that should have fallen upon the guilty sinner fell upon the sinless Substitute. Christ stood in the place of His people. He bore the judgment. He satisfied the justice of God. He secured peace.
Under the New Covenant, the believer is no longer under God’s condemning wrath. That wrath has been exhausted at the cross for those who are in Christ. Yet the believer may still experience the chastening hand of the Father. This is not judicial wrath that condemns. It is fatherly discipline that corrects.
Hebrews 12:5, “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked him:”
Hebrews 12:6, “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.”
Hebrews 12:7, “If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons, for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?”
Hebrews 12:11, “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth peaceable fruit righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”
God’s chastening may feel painful, and in that moment it may feel like anger. Yet Scripture teaches that it is love, not hatred. God disciplines His children because they belong to Him. He corrects them because He intends to conform them to righteousness.
The verse ends, “and thou comfortedst me.” God not only corrects His people, He comforts them. He wounds in order to heal. He rebukes in order to restore. He disciplines in order to bring peaceable fruit. The Lord does not abandon His children after chastening them. He draws them back to Himself.
2 Corinthians 1:3, “Blessed be God, even the Father our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father mercies, and the God all comfort;”
2 Corinthians 1:4, “Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted God.”
This gives the worshipper stability. Satan tempts sinners to presume before discipline and despair after discipline. Before discipline, he whispers that sin is not serious. After discipline, he whispers that God will never receive the sinner back. Both are lies. The Lord’s anger against sin is real, but His mercy toward the repentant is also real. His chastening is not meant to destroy His people, but to restore them.
Psalm 30:5, “For his anger endureth but a moment, in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”
Isaiah 12:1 is therefore a song of restored fellowship. The worshipper has passed through the grief of conviction and correction, and he now stands in the comfort of divine mercy.
Isaiah 12:2, A Declaration of Thanks and Confidence in the LORD
Isaiah 12:2, “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.”
The word “Behold” calls attention to the truth being declared. The worshipper is not mumbling private religion. He wants others to see and understand what God has done. Salvation produces testimony. When a man has truly seen the mercy of God, he cannot treat it as a small thing.
The heart of the verse is this statement, “God is my salvation.” This is one of the clearest declarations of grace in the Old Testament. The worshipper does not say, my works are my salvation. He does not say, my sincerity is my salvation. He does not say, my religious effort is my salvation. He says, “God is my salvation.”
This destroys every man centered view of salvation. The sinner is not partly his own savior. Salvation is not God doing His part and man contributing the decisive merit. Salvation is of the Lord.
Jonah 2:9, “But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice thanksgiving, I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is the LORD.”
Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not yourselves: it is the gift God:”
Ephesians 2:9, “Not works, lest any man should boast.”
Titus 3:5, “Not by works righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, the washing regeneration, and renewing the Holy Ghost;”
The sinner must understand his need for salvation before this verse becomes precious. Many men want God as helper, advisor, comforter, or problem solver, but they do not want Him as Savior because they do not believe they are lost. They think they need improvement, not rescue. Scripture says otherwise. Man outside of Christ is not spiritually sick in a mild sense. He is dead in trespasses and sins.
Ephesians 2:1, “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;”
Ephesians 2:2, “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course this world, according to the prince the power the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children disobedience:”
Ephesians 2:3, “Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts our flesh, fulfilling the desires the flesh and the mind, and were by nature the children wrath, even as others.”
Because man is dead in sin, God must be his salvation. Because man is guilty, God must justify. Because man is enslaved, God must redeem. Because man is spiritually blind, God must give light. Because man is under wrath, God must provide propitiation.
The worshipper continues, “I will trust, and not be afraid.” This is both a declaration of faith and an act of the will. Trust is not mere emotion. Feelings may rise and fall, but faith rests upon the character and promise of God. The believer can speak to his own soul and say, I will trust, and not be afraid.
Psalm 56:3, “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.”
Psalm 56:4, “In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust, I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.”
Fear loses its ruling power when God Himself is known as salvation. If salvation depended upon man, fear would be reasonable. Man is weak, unstable, sinful, forgetful, and limited. But if God is salvation, trust is reasonable and fear is conquered.
Romans 5:1, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”
Peace with God is the foundation of all other peace. A man may have trouble in the world and still have peace with God. A man may have enemies on earth and still be reconciled to heaven. A man may face discipline, hardship, loss, opposition, and death, yet if God is his salvation, he has a security the world cannot touch.
The verse then says, “for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song.” This is a rare and strong divine name in English translation. The Lord is not merely the source of occasional assistance. He is the worshipper’s strength. He is not a small supplement to human ability. He is the strength of His people.
Psalm 18:1, “I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.”
Psalm 18:2, “The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my strength, in whom I will trust, my buckler, and the horn my salvation, and my high tower.”
When the Lord is our strength, we do not pretend to be sufficient in ourselves. Biblical faith is not self confidence dressed up in religious language. It is God confidence. The believer’s strength is derived, dependent, and sustained by the Lord.
The Lord is also “my song.” This means God is not only the believer’s help in danger, He is the believer’s joy in worship. He is not merely useful. He is glorious. He is not merely the One who gives blessings. He Himself is the song.
Exodus 15:2, “The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation, my father's God, and I will exalt him.”
Isaiah 12:2 deliberately echoes the song of Moses after the Exodus. Israel sang after deliverance from Egypt. Isaiah’s worshipper sings after the greater salvation of God. The same Lord who delivered Israel from Pharaoh delivers sinners from judgment, sin, death, and bondage.
The verse ends by repeating, “he also is become my salvation.” Repetition here is not wasted language. It is emphasis. The worshipper is overwhelmed by the truth that God Himself has become his salvation. This is where confidence, praise, and courage are born.
Isaiah 12:3, The Result of the Salvation of the LORD
Isaiah 12:3, “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.”
The word “Therefore” connects this verse to the declaration of verse 2. Because God is salvation, because the believer trusts and is not afraid, because the Lord Jehovah is strength and song, the redeemed draw water with joy.
Water is one of the strongest biblical pictures of life, cleansing, satisfaction, refreshment, and divine provision. In a dry land, a well is not decoration. A well is survival. A reliable well means life for a household, a family, a flock, and a community. Isaiah uses this image to show the abundance and reliability of God’s salvation.
The verse says “wells,” plural. This does not mean there are many ways of salvation. Scripture is clear that salvation is only through the Lord. Rather, it speaks of the abundance of provision found in God’s saving grace. Every well draws from the same divine source. The believer returns again and again to the riches of salvation and finds fresh mercy, fresh strength, fresh comfort, fresh cleansing, fresh joy, and fresh assurance.
John 4:13, “Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh this water shall thirst again:”
John 4:14, “But whosoever drinketh the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well water springing up into everlasting life.”
Jesus fulfills the imagery of Isaiah 12. The water He gives does not merely provide temporary religious emotion. It becomes in the believer “a well water springing up into everlasting life.” Salvation in Christ is living, internal, enduring, and eternal.
John 7:37, “In the last day, that great day the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.”
John 7:38, “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out his belly shall flow rivers living water.”
John 7:39, “But this spake he the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified.”
The wells of salvation are ultimately found in Christ and applied by the Holy Spirit. Man’s deepest thirst is not physical, emotional, political, financial, or psychological. Man’s deepest thirst is spiritual. He needs forgiveness, reconciliation, righteousness, life, and communion with God. Christ alone gives this water.
The verse also says, “shall ye draw water.” God provides the well, the water, the rope, and the bucket, yet the believer must draw. This is not works salvation. This is faith receiving what God has provided. Salvation is entirely of grace, but grace is not passive in the life of the redeemed. Faith comes to the well. Faith receives. Faith drinks. Faith returns again and again.
Isaiah 55:1, “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy, and eat, yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”
Isaiah 55:2, “Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.”
The Lord invites the thirsty to come without money and without price. That is grace. Yet they must come. That is faith. The tragedy of man is that he often spends his strength pursuing things that cannot satisfy, while the wells of salvation stand open in Christ.
Isaiah says this drawing is done “with joy.” Salvation should produce joy. This does not mean the believer never grieves, never repents, never mourns sin, or never suffers. It means the foundation of his life is no longer condemnation, fear, and alienation from God. He has been reconciled. He has access to the wells of salvation. Joy is the proper tone of redeemed life.
Psalm 51:12, “Restore unto me the joy thy salvation, and uphold me with thy free spirit.”
David did not ask for salvation to be restored as though God had lost him. He asked for the joy of salvation to be restored because sin had robbed him of fellowship and gladness. The believer should never treat salvation as a small doctrine. Salvation is the fountain from which joy flows.
B. The Worshipper Declares the Greatness of God to Everyone
Isaiah 12:4, Exalting God Among the Peoples
Isaiah 12:4, “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.”
The worship of Isaiah 12 now moves outward. In verse 1, the worshipper speaks to the Lord. In verse 4, the worshipper speaks to others. True worship never remains sealed up in private sentiment. When a man has drawn water from the wells of salvation, living testimony begins to flow from him.
The command is, “Praise the LORD.” Praise is not optional decoration in the Christian life. It is the fitting response to who God is and what God has done. The redeemed are commanded to bless, thank, honor, and exalt the Lord.
Psalm 103:1, “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.”
Psalm 103:2, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:”
The worshipper also says, “call upon his name.” Calling upon the name of the Lord includes prayer, dependence, worship, trust, and public allegiance. To call upon His name is to recognize His authority and seek Him as the living God.
Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name the Lord shall be saved.”
Calling upon the Lord is not empty religious language. It is the cry of faith toward the God who saves. The same God who is praised must also be trusted.
The verse continues, “declare his doings among the people.” The works of God are not to be hidden. The people of God are called to testify to what He has done in creation, providence, judgment, covenant faithfulness, redemption, and salvation. A silent church is a disobedient church. A redeemed man should be able to speak of the Redeemer.
Psalm 96:2, “Sing unto the LORD, bless his name, shew forth his salvation from day to day.”
Psalm 96:3, “Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.”
This also has missionary force. God’s glory is not a tribal possession. Israel was called to make the Lord known among the nations. The church is commanded to preach the gospel to every creature. God’s saving name is to be proclaimed publicly.
Matthew 28:18, “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”
Matthew 28:19, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost:”
Matthew 28:20, “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, unto the end the world. Amen.”
The phrase, “make mention that his name is exalted,” means the worshipper deliberately lifts up the reputation, character, and glory of God. The Lord’s name represents who He is. To exalt His name is to make much of His holiness, mercy, righteousness, power, truth, and salvation.
This is important in a world that constantly exalts man. Human pride wants man’s name exalted, man’s feelings centered, man’s achievements celebrated, and man’s autonomy protected. Biblical worship reverses this. God’s name is exalted. Man is humbled. Grace is magnified.
Isaiah 12:5 to 6, Singing Praise to the LORD
Isaiah 12:5, “Sing unto the LORD, for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.”
Isaiah 12:6, “Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.”
The command continues, “Sing unto the LORD.” Earlier, the worshipper said the Lord was his song. Now he sings unto the Lord. This is the natural movement of worship. When God becomes the believer’s strength and song, the believer cannot remain silent.
Singing is not entertainment first. It is worship. It is doctrine carried by melody. It is truth confessed with the heart, mind, and voice. The church must never reduce singing to performance, emotional manipulation, or personal preference. Singing belongs to the Lord.
Colossians 3:16, “Let the word Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
Ephesians 5:18, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit;”
Ephesians 5:19, “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;”
Biblical singing is word saturated, Spirit produced, and Lord directed. It teaches, admonishes, strengthens, and exalts Christ. The content matters. The object matters. The heart matters.
Isaiah gives the reason for singing, “for he hath done excellent things.” God’s works are excellent because they reveal His excellent nature. He creates with wisdom. He judges with righteousness. He saves with mercy. He keeps covenant with faithfulness. He rules with sovereign power. He comforts with fatherly compassion.
The phrase, “this is known in all the earth,” again widens the scope of praise. The works of God are not meant to be hidden in one corner. His glory is to be known globally. This anticipates the kingdom promise already stated in Isaiah 11.
Isaiah 11:9, “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full the knowledge the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.”
The knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth. Isaiah 12 sings in anticipation of that day.
Verse 6 says, “Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion.” This is not cold, mechanical religion. The praise is strong, open, and joyful. Scripture does not endorse fleshly chaos or emotional manipulation in worship, but neither does it commend dead, lifeless formalism. There is a proper, reverent, sincere excitement that belongs to redeemed people.
Psalm 98:4, “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.”
Psalm 98:5, “Sing unto the LORD with the harp, with the harp, and the voice a psalm.”
Psalm 98:6, “With trumpets and sound cornet make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King.”
The people of God should worship with reverence and joy. Mechanical worship is easy, but it is spiritually poor. God deserves more than formal words from a cold heart. He deserves the awakened praise of the whole man.
The final reason for praise is this, “for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.” This statement gives both the greatness of God and the nearness of God. He is “the Holy One of Israel.” He is separate from sin, morally perfect, covenant faithful, majestic, and glorious. Yet He is also “in the midst of thee.” The transcendent God dwells among His people.
This is one of the great hopes of Scripture. God’s purpose is not merely to save people from judgment, but to dwell among His redeemed people.
Exodus 29:45, “And I will dwell among the children Israel, and will be their God.”
Exodus 29:46, “And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, that brought them forth out the land Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the LORD their God.”
John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as the only begotten the Father, full grace and truth.”
In Christ, God came to dwell among men in the incarnation. In the future kingdom, the Messiah will reign in the midst of Israel. In the eternal state, God will dwell forever with His people in perfect glory.
Revelation 21:3, “And I heard a great voice out heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself be with them, and be their God.”
Isaiah 12 therefore ends where all true worship ends, with the greatness of God among His people. Salvation is not ultimately about man being comfortable. It is about God being glorified, sin being judged, mercy being displayed, the redeemed being comforted, and the Holy One dwelling in the midst of His people.
Doctrinal Summary
Isaiah 12 is the proper song of the redeemed after the promises of Isaiah 11. The Messiah will reign, Israel will be restored, the nations will seek the Lord, creation will be transformed, and the knowledge of the Lord will fill the earth. In response, the worshipper praises the Lord because His anger is turned away and His comfort has come.
The chapter teaches that salvation is of God, not man. The worshipper confesses, “God is my salvation.” This is the foundation of trust, courage, strength, song, and joy. Because God Himself saves, the believer can say, “I will trust, and not be afraid.”
Isaiah 12 also teaches that salvation produces worship and witness. The redeemed draw water with joy from the wells of salvation, then declare God’s deeds among the peoples. True salvation cannot remain silent. It praises, sings, testifies, calls others to worship, and exalts the name of the Lord.
The chapter closes with the central reason for praise, “great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.” The God who is holy has drawn near in mercy. The God who judges sin comforts the forgiven. The God who saves will dwell with His people. This is the hope of Israel, the joy of the redeemed, and the glory of the coming kingdom.
