“You Comforted Me” (Isa. 12:1–6)
Isaiah 12 is a short psalm (song) of praise to God for His merciful
and powerful comfort. The psalm, put in the mouth of a member of
the restored remnant, compares the promised deliverance to that of the
Hebrews in the Exodus from Egypt (see Isa. 11:16); it is like the song
of Moses and the Israelites when they were saved from Pharaoh’s army
at the Red Sea (see Exodus 15).
Compare this song in Isaiah 12 to Revelation 15:2–4, the song of
Moses and of the Lamb. What are they both praising God for?
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Isaiah 12:2 comes close to identifying the coming Deliverer as Jesus. It
says that “God is my salvation” and “he has become my salvation” (NRSV).
The name Jesus means “The Lord is Salvation” (compare Matt. 1:21).
What is the significance of the idea, contained in the name of Jesus, that the Lord is salvation?
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Not only does the Lord bestow salvation (Isa. 12:2) but He Himself
also is salvation. The Presence of the Holy One of Israel in our midst
(Isa. 12:6) is everything to us. God is with us! Not only did Jesus do
miracles but He also “became flesh and lived among us” (John 1:14,
NRSV, emphasis supplied). Not only did He bear our sins on the cross,
but He also became sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21). Not only does He make
peace, but He also is our peace (Eph. 2:14).
No wonder “the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples”
(Isa. 11:10, NRSV). When He is lifted up on the cross, He draws all
people to Himself (John 12:32, 33)! A remnant shall return to the
“mighty God” (Isa. 10:21, NRSV), who is the Child born for us, the
“Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6)!
Dwell more on this idea that Jesus is our salvation. Read Romans
3:24. It says that redemption is in Jesus; redemption is something
that happened in Him, and it is through God’s grace and mercy
that we can have an eternal share in that redemption, as well. In
other words, that redemption that was in Him can become ours
by faith, and not by works, because no works we do are good
enough to redeem us. Only the works that Christ did, which He
credits to us by faith, can bring redemption. How does this truth
give you hope and assurance of salvation, especially when you feel overwhelmed by your own sense of unworthiness?