Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 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.
4. The first part exactly as Psa 105:1; the last clause resembles Psa 148:13, &c.
call upon his name ] lit. “call by (means of) His name,” i.e. use His name (Jehovah) in solemn invocation. See 1Ki 18:24. That the expression means merely “utter” or “make known” the name, is hardly probable. The word for “ exalted ” occurs in ch. Isa 2:11; Isa 2:17.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
4 6. The members of the redeemed community exhort each other to publish the praises of Jehovah to the world.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And in that day – (see Isa 12:1).
Call upon his name – Margin, Proclaim. It denotes to call upon him in the way of celebrating his praise. The whole hymn is one of praise, and not of prayer.
Declare among the people – Among all people, that they may be brought to see his glory, and join in the celebration of his praise.
His doings – Particularly in regard to the great events which are the subject of the previous predictions – his interposition in saving people by the Messiah from eternal death.
Make mention – Hebrew, Cause it to be remembered (see the note at Isa 62:6).
That his name is exalted – That it is worthy of adoration and praise. It is worthy to be exalted, or lifted up in view of the nations of the earth 2Sa 22:47; Psa 21:13; Psa 46:10.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 12:4-6
And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord
Congregational praise
I.
WHO ARE HERE CALLED UPON TO PRAISE GOD. The inhabitants of Zion and Jerusalem, whom God had in a peculiar manner protected from Sennacheribs violence (Isa 12:6). 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 Zions King; those that have a place and name in that should lay out themselves to diffuse the knowledge of Christ, and to bring many to Him.
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.
2. By preaching and writing we must 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 hath done, we must take notice of His thoughts which are to usward. 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 hath done should be known in all the earth.
3. By a holy exultation and transport of joy. Cry out and shout.
III. FOR WHAT THEY MUST PRAISE THE LORD.
1. Because He hath glorified Himself. His name is exalted, is become more illustrious and conspicuous, and every good man rejoiceth in that.
2. Because He hath magnified His people. He hath done excellent things for them, which makes them look great and considerable.
3. Because He is, and will be, great among them. (M. Henry.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 4. Call upon his name] kiru bishmo, invoke his name. Make him your Mediator, or call the people in his name. Preach him who is the Root of Jesse, and who stands as an ensign for the nations. Call on the people to believe in him; as in him alone salvation is to be found.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Among the people; in all the earth, as it follows, Isa 12:5; unto the Gentile world, who shall partake in the blessing, and will join with you in the praising of God for it. The knowledge of this glorious work of our redemption
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. make mentionHebrew,“cause it to be remembered.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
In that day shall ye say, praise the Lord,…. On account of his being and perfections, for blessings received from him, especially spiritual ones; and particularly such as are before mentioned, fulness of grace in him, strength and salvation by him, a view of interest in him as a Saviour, and divine comforts communicated from him; which is done by giving him the glory of them, and thanks for them. This is a work very proper for Gospel times; it always was a duty, and there was ever reason for it under the former dispensation, and much more under the present one; and there will be still more reason for it in the latter day here referred to, when antichrist will be destroyed, the kingdom of Christ will be enlarged, and his church will be in a very glorious state and condition, her walls will be salvation, and her gates praise; when the saints will be stirring up one another to this service, and engaging in it with all readiness and cheerfulness; see Re 11:15:
call upon his name: which takes in the whole of religions worship, of which Christ is the object, being the true Jehovah; and particularly prayer, in which his name is invoked together with faith in him, and expressions of affection to his name; which is precious to believers, and is as ointment poured out:
declare his doings among the people; not merely his works of creation, in which he was equally concerned with his divine Father; nor so much his miracles which he wrought when on earth, in proof of his deity and Messiahship, and in confirmation of his doctrine; but his acts of obedience and righteousness, which were perfect; and his bearing the sins of his people, and the punishment due to them; and so fulfilled the whole law, and hereby accomplished the great work of redemption and salvation; which, according to his orders, have been published among the Gentiles, for their good, and his glory:
make mention that his name is exalted; that is, he himself, who has a name given him above every name; for having obeyed, suffered, and died in the room of his people, he is by his Father, according to promise, exalted, by raising him from the dead, receiving him into heaven, placing him at his right hand, giving him all power in heaven and in earth, and causing angels, authorities, principalities, and powers, to be subject to him; all which is to be made mention of, to the honour of his name: or else the sense is, to speak of him, to make mention of his name, of his person, of his offices, of his grace and salvation, that he may be exalted in each of them by his people; for he is, and ought to be, exalted in their hearts, and with their lips, since he is above all in the excellency of his person, and is their only Saviour and Redeemer, Head and Husband; and so he will be exalted more abundantly in the latter day. [See comments on Isa 2:11].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| A Song of Praise. | B. C. 740. |
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 (Exod. xxxii. 18) or for the coronation of a king,” Num. xxiii. 21.
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.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
4. And in that day shall ye say. He now exhorts them not only to sing praise and give thanks to God individually, but to excite others to do the same. As he had formerly said, Many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up into the mountain of the Lord, (Isa 2:3,) that is, exciting each other by mutual exhortation to embrace the pure worship of God; so after having enjoined them individually to be thankful to God, he now also commands them mutually to excite each other to thanksgiving. He means that they ought to speak not to one, but to all, and not at one time only, but during their whole life.
Call upon his name. (196) He now gives a short description of the manner in which praise is properly rendered to God, when he enjoins us to
call upon him, that we may not glory in any other. (Jer 9:23.)
Hence also, by taking a part for the whole, ( συνεκδοχικῶς,) Scripture frequently describes the whole of worship under the designation of calling upon God. In this way we show that our confidence is placed in God; and this is also what he chiefly demands from us. In like manner, I think that here the Prophet connects calling upon God with praises, in order to include the whole of the worship of God.
Make known his works among the peoples. (197) He means that the work of this deliverance will be so excellent, that it ought to be proclaimed, not in one corner only, but throughout the whole world. He wished, indeed, that it should be first made known to the Jews, but that it should afterwards spread abroad to all men. This exhortation, by which the Jews testified their gratitude, might be regarded as a forerunner of the preaching of the gospel, which afterwards followed in the proper order. As the Jews proclaimed among the Medes and Persians, and other neighboring nations, the favor which had been showed to them, so, when Christ was manifested, they ought to have been heralds to sound aloud the name of God through every country in the world. Hence it is evident what is the desire which ought to be cherished among all the godly. It is, that the goodness of God may be made known to all, that all may join in the same worship of God. We ought especially to be inflamed with this desire, after having been delivered from some alarming danger, and most of all after having been delivered from the tyranny of the devil and from everlasting death.
(196) Bogus footnote
(197) Bogus footnote
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(4) Declare his doings among the people.Literally, among the peoples. The prophet quotes from the hymn which had been sung when the Ark was placed in Zion (1Ch. 16:8), and in part from Psa. 105:1.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. In that day The wonderful day is the day of the glorious Gospel and its wholesome truths; its peace and the heaven it brings.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And in that day you will say,
Give thanks to Yahweh,
Call on his name,
Declare his doings among the peoples,
Make mention that his name is exalted.’
Sing to Yahweh, for he has done excellent things,
Let this be known in all the earth.
Cry aloud, and shout, you inhabitant of Zion,
For great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of you.’
The first part of the song looked at themselves, now they look out so that the world might praise Him. They point to His activity, and all that He has done, and cry out that it should be publicised among the nations, so that His name might be exalted by all men.
‘Give thanks to Yahweh, call on His name.’ This parallels ‘sing to Yahweh’. Thus it is a calling of gratitude, worship and praise, to be followed by a declaration of all that God has done so that the whole world might know of His doings.
And lastly he calls on Israel/Judah, the inhabitant of Zion, to fulfil their function, and like a town crier, shout out about their God, because of the greatness of the One Who is among them, ‘the Holy One of Israel.’
So Isaiah ends this section with ‘the Holy One of Israel’ resident among His made-holy people. All that chapters 6-11 have led up to is summarised in this. God’s triumph and purpose is complete.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Here the whole Church is supposed as engaged in this hymn of praise. In the former part, it was the song of one: I will praise thee. In this, it is, Praise ye the Lord. And they are not only praising Jehovah in songs of redemption themselves, but stirring up all others to the same devout and becoming exercises. Everything forms motives to praise Jehovah’s glory in himself; Jehovah’s glory in giving grace to his people; all, and every view of him, in the excellent things he hath done, demands the tribute of thanksgiving: and this is known in all the earth! Reader! think how wretched must that soul be, and how much the harp of melody in his own heart must be out of tune, that can find no cause in himself and his own experience to join the chorus!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 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.
Ver. 4. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, ] viz., With us and for us. Every true Confitebor tibi hath its confitemini Domino annexed unto it. The saints are unsatiable in praising God for the great work of their redemption, and do therefore call in help, all that may be.
Call upon his name.
Declare his doings.
Make mention that his name is exalted.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
people = peoples.
exalted. Compare Isa 2:11, Isa 2:17, “in that day”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
in that day: Isa 12:1, Psa 106:47, Psa 106:48, Psa 113:1-3, Psa 117:1, Psa 117:2
call upon his name: or, proclaim his name, Exo 33:19, Exo 34:5-7, 1Ch 16:8, Psa 105:1
declare: Isa 66:19, Psa 9:11, Psa 22:31, Psa 40:5, Psa 71:16-18, Psa 73:28, Psa 96:3, Psa 107:22, Psa 145:4-6, Jer 50:2, Jer 51:9, Jer 51:10, Joh 17:26
his name: Isa 2:11, Isa 2:17, Isa 25:1, Isa 33:5, Exo 15:2, 1Ch 29:11, Neh 9:5, Psa 18:46, Psa 21:13, Psa 34:3, Psa 46:10, Psa 57:5, Psa 97:9, Psa 113:5, Phi 2:9-11
Reciprocal: Exo 34:6 – proclaimed Psa 47:6 – to God Psa 66:2 – General Psa 68:4 – Sing unto God Psa 84:4 – they will Psa 95:1 – let us make Psa 99:5 – Exalt Psa 107:32 – exalt Psa 116:13 – call Psa 126:3 – General Psa 145:5 – will speak Psa 148:13 – excellent Isa 5:16 – the Lord Isa 6:1 – high Isa 26:13 – by thee Isa 52:8 – with Isa 65:18 – General Jer 31:7 – Sing
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 12:4-6. In that day ye shall say, &c. Here we have the second part of the evangelical song, the subject of which, as of the former, is the praise of God. In the former part, believers stir up themselves to praise God; here they invite and encourage one another to do it, and are represented as contriving to spread his praise, and to draw in others to join with them in it. Praise the Lord, call upon his name As giving thanks for former mercies is a modest way of begging for further mercies, so requesting further and fresh mercies is graciously accepted as a thankful acknowledgment of the mercies we have received. Declare, &c. By speaking 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 hath made himself known. His doings Or, mighty deeds; as Bishop Lowth renders . The works of redemption and salvation are especially intended; these and his other wonderful works we should declare; 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. Make mention Hebrew, , Record, or cause it to be remembered, that his name is exalted Is become more illustrious and conspicuous than ever, in and by the incarnation and life, doctrine and miracles, death, and resurrection, and ascension of his Son, and the effusion of his Spirit, in gifts and graces, on the Messiahs disciples and servants. Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things For his people, to whom he hath given a wonderful proof of his love, and whom he hath magnified and made honourable. Bishop Lowth renders the original expression, , he hath wrought a stupendous work. In making his Son a sacrifice for our sins. This is known Or, shall be made known; in all the earth The knowledge of this glorious work shall no longer be confined to the land of Israel and Judah, as hitherto it hath been, but shall be published to all nations. Cry out and shout In a holy exultation and transport of joy; thou inhabitant of Zion Hebrew, , inhabitress, thou daughter of Jerusalem, thou church of the living God, represented under the emblem of a woman. Welcome the gospel to thyself, and publish it to others with loud acclamations; for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee Manifesting himself to thee, appearing and doing wonders for thee, and enriching thee with his gifts and graces in great abundance.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
In the eschatological day, the remnant will give thanks to Yahweh, pray to Him because of His character revealed in His behavior, and tell the Gentiles about His deeds. They will remind others from all over the world that He is an exalted Person, and will praise Him in song for His excellent actions.