Yes, sing to the Lord!

Sermon for Midweek of Easter 4 – Cantate

Isaiah 12:1-6  +  2 Corinthians 5:14-21

This last Sunday, the 4^th Sunday after Easter, was called Cantate Sunday. Cantate—sing!, from the Introit, Oh, sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things. In line with that, in the reading you heard this evening from Isaiah 12, the prophet also calls upon Israel, including Christians, to “sing to the Lord.” And he spends the six short verses of this chapter giving us the inspiration behind the song.

He begins, In that day you will say. In what day? In the day he just described in chapter 11. In the day when there comes forth a Rod from the stump of Jesse, when a Branch grows from his roots, upon whom the Spirit of the Lord would rest in fullest measure. This Rod, this Branch, this “Root of Jesse” would grow, and would judge in favor of the poor and the meek. He would slay the wicked with the breath of His mouth, and rule over God’s people in righteousness and in peace. Not only that. He would also stand as a banner, as a tall flag, summoning people, gathering people to Himself from all the nations, Jews and Gentiles, all coming together and rallying around Him, resting in Him, and conquering all their enemies through Him.

“The day” Isaiah is talking about is this entire New Testament era, the era that began with the birth of the Rod, the Root, the Branch of Jesse, the Lord Jesus, who was born of Mary, descended from and a legal heir of David, the son of Jesse. He’s talking about how the Spirit would rest on Jesus. He’s talking about what St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians about in tonight’s second lesson, how God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their sins against them. That’s a reference both to the suffering and death of Christ, which were the reconciling price required to reconcile sinners with God (in other words, the atonement that Christ made for sin), and it’s a reference to the ministry that Jesus carried out, calling sinners to repent and to come to Him for rest. He is the Reconciler of God and man. He is the One who brings us God, the offended party, and man, the offending party, back into harmony, back into fellowship. His sacrifice as our Substitute was the price of reconciliation. His ministry of inviting sinners to be reconciled to God through Him is the manner of reconciliation.

And that’s a ministry that goes on and on until Christ comes again. The “day” of Isaiah is still happening as the ministry of reconciliation continues, as Christ continues to serve as a banner for the nations, as He continues to gather people from every nation into His Holy Christian Church. The “day” is still happening, when Christ reigns over His Church in righteousness. And the “day” will be complete when Jesus comes back to destroy all the enemies of His people, and to bring us into the perfect rest of the new heavens and the new earth.

That’s “the day.” And in that day, Isaiah says, you will say: O LORD, I will praise You; Though You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; ‘For YAH, the LORD, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.’ ” Therefore with joy you will draw water From the wells of salvation.

Who is the “you”? It’s those with whom the Lord was angry. That applies to the impenitent sinners in Israel, but also to the rest of the world. As Paul writes to the Ephesians, we were all dead in sins and trespasses. We were all “children of wrath” by nature. But because of Christ’s sacrifice and because of Christ’s ministry of reconciliation, God is no longer angry with those who take refuge in His Son. Instead, He comforts them. He has saved them, by grace, through faith in the Lord Jesus. These are the ones who will praise the LORD in that “day” of salvation. These are the ones who will sing to the LORD, because they know Him, we know Him, to be our strength and our song. We know Him to be our Savior from sin, death, and the devil, who willingly suffered and died for our sins, who reigns in righteousness now and who will soon return to redeem us from every evil. This is the reason why Christians sing to the Lord.

Isaiah not only tells us why we will sing. He also gives us some of the lyrics of the song. In that day you will say: “Praise the LORD, call upon His name; Declare His deeds among the peoples, Make mention that His name is exalted. Sing to the LORD, For He has done excellent things; This is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion, For great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!”

What do we sing? What message do Christians proclaim? “His deeds.” God’s deeds. That includes His great deeds of creation, providence, and preservation. It also includes His deeds of salvation, Christ’s deeds of suffering and dying for all men, God’s desire that all men should be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. And, yes, it also includes His deeds of judgment against the enemies of His blood-bought people.

And where do we proclaim His deeds? “Among the peoples.” Among the nations. Wherever you live. Declare the excellent things that God has done, and declare it, not as a chore, not as a heartless lesson for the lecture halls, but with joy. The joy of the Gospel must accompany our song. If we stop and think about the destruction toward which we were headed, and the lengths to which our God has gone to make sure we were saved from it, if we stop and think about the love of Christ for sinners like us who deserve nothing from Him but wrath and condemnation, then we won’t be able to help but sing for joy for the marvelous deeds of the Lord. Amen.