Give Thanks
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Key Verse: “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.” Selected Scripture: |
THE TWELFTH CHAPTER of the Book of Isaiah, containing only six verses, is in reality a continuation of the prophecy of the previous chapter. There the Prophet Isaiah provides a beautiful description of Christ’s coming kingdom, in which nothing shall “hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”—Isa. 11:9
In Isaiah 12:1, the prophet continues to describe the conditions of the kingdom, stating that “in that day,” mankind will praise God. “Thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.” This praise will come as a result of the fact that God’s anger will be turned away from man, based on the salvation that he has provided through the gift of his only begotten Son, Christ Jesus, as man’s redeemer. Mankind will then realize that God is the author of this arrangement, and will say, “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.”—vs. 2
Verse 3 states, “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.” This is the water of truth. Mankind, in Christ’s kingdom, will be given ample supply of this “living water” with which to quench his thirst for the knowledge of the Lord. In the New Testament, the Apostle John also speaks of this water as the “water of life.” In his vision, John saw “a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.” He also heard the invitation, “Let him that is athirst come. … let him take the water of life freely.”—Rev. 22:1,17
In our Key Verse, the prophet Isaiah speaks again of mankind offering praise to God “in that day.” Not only will they do this, but man will also “declare” and “make mention” to one another all the goodness and marvelous doings of the Heavenly Father. As mankind speaks of these things to one another, it will serve to reinforce to them all the principles of righteousness which they will be learning during that kingdom day, as they are filled with the “knowledge of the Lord.”
In Isaiah 12:5, the prophet states, “Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.” As this verse states, it is God’s intent that his wonderful plans and purposes for man be known and understood “in all the earth.” Everyone, with no exception, will have an equal and ample opportunity to attain perfect, human life upon the earth and to live forever in peace and happiness.
With such a plan having been laid out by our loving Heavenly Father, it should be no surprise that man’s response, once enlightened with the knowledge of the Lord, will be as the words of the last verse of our lesson, which reads, “Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.” (vs. 6) Although this verse speaks of the restoration of natural Israel to God’s favor, this opportunity will also be extended to all mankind. As God promised long ago to Abraham, “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.”—Gen. 22:18