3/18/07 - Lent 4 - Isaiah 12:1-6

ON THIS DAY YOU WILL SAY:
- "The Lord is my strength!"
- "The Lord is my song!"

It was the middle of the night. Men, women, children, cattle, sheep, goats - all slowly and steadily trudging along in a compact column. Their leader was standing on the bank watching and waiting and encouraging them to keep on moving. Because in the distance not far behind them the enemy was coming. Their captors were in pursuit, angry and intent on getting their slaves back. And their enemies were getting closer and closer as the minutes wore on until the situation seemed hopeless. But as the sun started to peek over the horizon, the last of the people made it across. Moses then lifted up his staff and the water came rushing down on the Egyptians. Not one of them escaped. The entire Egyptian army was drowned in the Red Sea. And Moses and the Israelites, safely on the other side and witnesses to the power and glory of their Lord, shouted in unison: “The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation” (Exodus 15:2).
This is the first time these words are recorded for us in Scripture. But it is not the last. 500 years later a psalmist wrote down the words of Psalm 118. And in a moment of joy and praise he penned these inspired words: “The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation” (Psalm 118:14). The exact same words. The second time they are recorded for us in Scripture. But again, not the last. 250 years after Psalm 118 was written, the prophet Isaiah, speaking about New Testament times to come, said, “On that day you will say… ‘The LORD, the LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.” Again the words! Again the praise! Again the proclamation! And although this may be the last time these words are recorded for us in Scripture, this is certainly not the last time these words have been proclaimed by Christians. Because remember Isaiah, in our text for today, was speaking about times to come. New Testament times. Times like today. And so on this day you will echo the same words that Moses, the psalmist, and Isaiah proclaimed centuries ago. On this day you will say: “The LORD, the LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.”
“The LORD is my strength!” You will say this with confidence. You will say this with joy. Because you know that if left to yourself you are in reality weak. In fact, you were once not only weak, you were dead. Because weak implies that although you have been sapped of strength you are still able to do something. But no, you couldn’t do anything, “You were dead to sin,” Paul says in both Ephesians and Colossians. You were spiritually dead. Now, tell me, what kind of strength do the dead possess? No strength at all. A dead person cannot sit up and talk. A dead person cannot stand up and walk. A dead person cannot do a single thing - because a dead person is… dead. Void of all strength in any way. That was what we all once were. We were dead to sin. So that means you have to swallow that pride - no matter how big of a lump it may be. Don’t think for a second that there was anything good in you before you were brought to faith. There was only a whole lot of bad - and that’s all there was. You needed more than help. You need more than a boost or a jump start. Because you were spiritually dead. You did not have any strength at all and there was no way you could get it by yourself.
And so that’s why you can say with joy: “The LORD is my strength!” The Lord is your strength because you have been “made alive in Christ” (Col. 2:13). The strength of Christ, our Lord, made us alive. It was he who brought us up from spiritual death. It was he who conquered sin, death, and the devil by his almighty power. Look at what Jesus did in the desert, tempted by Satan for 40 days and 40 nights - but the Lord remained strong and did not give in to the prince of this world. Look at what Jesus did on the cross: beaten, battered, and abused. Mocked by his own people and made fun of by those he came to save - but the Lord remained strong and did not fall into temptation. Look at what Jesus did in the grave. Because as we look into that burial chamber - we see that the Lord is not there, we see those burial clothes laid aside, we see the tomb that once held the Creator of the Universe is now empty once again. Because the Lord’s strength trumps even death. And with that strength he has made us alive, as well. He has broken through our stubbornness and rejection and refusal, and has worked faith into our hearts anyway. He has made us alive through faith in Christ. That is the power of the Lord’s strength. That is the strength on which we rely. And that is the strength with which he protects us every day.
Lean on him. Fully trust that the Lord will protect you from all danger, that he will always get you through every trouble, that he will forever keep you in his hands. The almighty hands of the Lord: there is no place better to be. Because that is where you are safe and secure. That is where he keeps you from harm. That is where you are today. And so on this day please repeat with me these magnificent words of comfort that Christians have said together for years: “The LORD is my strength.” Are you ready to say this confession of faith with me? “The LORD is my strength.”
He is also your song. “The LORD, the LORD is my strength and my song,” Isaiah prophesies. What does it mean that the LORD is my song? It means that he is the source of the song of my life. He is the content of my song. And so “The LORD is my song” is really a response to “The LORD is my strength.” And Isaiah points out for us here three ways we sing this song of the Lord. First of all, we sing this song of the Lord to others. “On that day you will say: ‘Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.” We gladly and joyfully tell others what he has done for us. What he has created and what he has promised to do! And so if on this day we are to proclaim: “The LORD is my song,” - shouldn’t we sing about him? Let’s do just that. Open your hymnals to hymn 256. A well-known hymn. A song of the Lord: “How Great Thou Art.” And although we aren’t singing this song to the outside world at the moment, we can still sing it to those around us here. We will make known among the nations what he has done by singing stanza one of hymn 256:
O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works thy hand hath made,
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
REFRAIN: Then sings my soul, my Savior-God, to thee,
“How great thou art! How great thou art!”
Then sings my soul, my Savior-God, to thee,
“How great thou art! How great thou art!”
But we are not only to sing this song of the LORD to others, we are to sing it to the Lord himself. Isaiah says in our text, “Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things.” That is exactly what God wants to hear: what he has done. It is not vain on his part, it is not arrogant, it is music to his ears. He loves hearing about the things he has done coming from the lips of his children because that means you know what he has done. That means you remember what he has done. And most importantly, that means you believe what he has done. And what has he done? He has become your strength. He has become your song. He has become your salvation. Do you need anything else to sing about? Do you need anything else at all? Let us sing this song of the Lord to the Lord, by using the words of hymn 256 stanza three - and sing it loud! Don’t hesitate to let loose! This is a proclamation of the gospel! This is you praising your God for all that he has done for you! Hymn 256, stanza three:
And when I think that god, his Son not sparing,
Sent him to die, I scarce can take it in,
That on the cross my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin.
REFRAIN: Then sings my soul, my Savior-God, to thee,
“How great thou art! How great thou art!”
Then sings my soul, my Savior-God, to thee,
“How great thou art! How great thou art!”
We are to sing this song of the Lord to others, we are to sing this song of the Lord to the Lord himself, and we are to sing this song of the Lord for joy. Again the words of Isaiah: “Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.” We are the people of Zion. We are citizens of a place we have yet to visit. Not of the earthly city of Jerusalem, but of the Jerusalem above. The heavenly, the spiritual Zion in which we will one day rejoice and sing with all the saints of all time. And so Isaiah encourages us to rejoice now - to sing for joy today. Not to anyone in particular, but in the sure hope and the firm assurance that we have heaven to look forward to. That God will keep his promises and we will live forever with him. And so let us sing this song of the Lord one more time for joy. We will sing stanza four of hymn 256 and we will stand to do so. Sing as softly or as loudly as you want! Remember: the Lord doesn’t care if you are on or off key! He doesn’t care what your voice sounds like! He gave you that voice so he already knows! He doesn’t care about that, he cares what’s in your heart. Let us show what is in our hearts as we raise our voices in joy. Stanza four of hymn 256:
When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration
And there proclaim: “My God, how great thou art!”
REFRAIN: Then sings my soul, my Savior-God, to thee,
“How great thou art! How great thou art!”
Then sings my soul, my Savior-God, to thee,
“How great thou art! How great thou art!”
I love to sing songs of the Lord with you, my fellow sinners - my fellow saints. And I love to confess my faith with you to our ever-loving Lord. So please do so with me one more time before we end. Confidently and proudly say the words Moses and the psalmist and the prophet Isaiah have spoken themselves. Those Christian brothers from whom we are separated by centuries, but with whom we are forever bonded by a common Christian faith. Please confess the words highlighted on the back of your bulletin with me. On this day we will say together, boldly and confidently: “The LORD, the LORD is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation.” Amen.

“You turned our wailing into dancing; you removed our sackcloth and clothed us with joy, that our hearts may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord our God, we will give you thanks forever.” Amen. - Psalm 30:11-12