A Psalm of Joy

Our text this morning is a Psalm. It’s not in the book of Psalms but it is a Psalm nonetheless. The Psalm comes at the end of the first section of Isaiah, and that’s significant. Much of this first section is about rebellion, discipline and punishment. God prepares to clean house. All of which will leave just a few people, a small remnant. This Psalm is for that group. It is for them to sing after the waves of punishment and discipline have passed. It’s a Psalm of joy. It’s an appropriate Psalm for advent.

Please listen as I read Isaiah 12.

Let’s start with the first thought that this Psalm presents: God’s anger.This whole topic is difficult for many folk today, both in and out of the Church. But understanding God’s anger is indispensable if someone is going to be able to sing this Psalm. So, let me ask this question or two. Why would God get angry? Should He? Think of the different times that you’ve read a news report about some horrible thing. Think back to when you heard about someone kidnapping, using and ultimately killing some child who was just walking home from school. Wasn’t there a part of you that said, ‘That’s just wrong!’? Wasn’t there with even just a little emotion? That’s what God’s anger is about. God’s anger is His response to so much of what He sees. It’s Him saying, ‘That’s just wrong!’ His anger is about justice. We see all sorts of wrong happen every day. But, for the most part, there is nothing that we can do about it. But there is much that God can do about it. And He needs
to do something about it. He needs to establish and maintain justice. And He does. He gets angry and acts. And that’s some of what Isaiah has been talking about in this first section of his book. God saw evil and He was getting angry. He needed to act for the sake of justice. God’s anger is about justice.

Now, let’s look at another aspect of this. There are lots of folk who think that God has a quick temper. He gets angry too easily. But that’s not true. In fact, as the Scriptures say, He is slow to anger. Consider Isaiah’s situation. God’s anger against His Old Testament Church reached its climax when He sent them all away into exile. Living in the Promised Land had been one of His blessings to His Church. He revoked that. He sent foreign armies to conquer the land and carry to some distant place the few left alive. Over the past several weeks we’ve been reading the different ways in which Isaiah has been shouting God’s warning. He’s telling the people that they need to stop their rebellious ways. Now, if God were as quick tempered as people think, the end would have occurred during Isaiah’s lifetime. But it didn’t. After Isaiah, God sent more prophets with the same basic warning. But the axe didn’t fall until 150 years after Isaiah. God is patient, slow to anger. He waited all that time, giving people plenty of time to come to their senses. He waited before getting really angry. So, what is surprising is not that God got angry but that He waited so long.

Let’s move on. How did God show His anger? The prophets often talked about famine, plague and war as expressions of God’s anger, His punishment of injustice. I could go into the details of what each of those would be like. But I won’t. The point should be clear enough. God’s anger hurts. It hurts physically, emotionally, psychologically. It hurts – a lot. We have all faced people who have been angry at us. And yet, we have survived them all. We’re still here. We may have been damaged by their outbursts, but we have been able to endure their anger. Not so with God’s anger. Who can survive God’s anger? And this is right. The punishment should fit the crime. Let me explain that. People who think the injustice they commit is no big deal do not understand the situation. Imagine this. A husband and wife have promised to love each other as long as they both shall live. But the husband is unfaithful. He has given his affections to another. However, when confronted by his wife, what does he say? ‘Why are you so upset? It was just a little thing. It only happened once or twice.’ Telling God that you’re only a little rebellious makes as much sense as this guy telling his wife that he was only a little unfaithful. God’s terrible anger at rebellion is justified.

So, this is what we’ve seen. God’s anger is about justice. He is patient, slow to anger. But when He does get angry it hurts and it should. But now Isaiah points to a change. Listen again. ‘…for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away that you might comfort me.’

Remember that this Psalm is for the remnant, that small group that God spares and leads back to the Promised Land. Isaiah tells them to sing this Psalm in that future day when they return. They are to sing that God’s anger has turned away. It has ended. There are two things that I would like you to see here: the why and the what. Let’s consider the what first. What happens after the anger ends, after it is turned away? What does Isaiah say? Comfort. This makes sense when you realize what God has done with this small group. When our kids were young there was a certain procedure that I would follow when they misbehaved and needed to be disciplined. I would take the errant child up to my bedroom. I would review what had happened. ‘What did I tell you to do?’ ‘Did you obey me?’ With that clearly in view, I would place my child across my lap and spank him or her with a wooden spoon. But that was not the end of it. I would then hold the child in my lap. We would then pray together. I then made sure that the child knew that I was not angry, that things were now right with God and right with me. I disciplined them, and then I comforted them. Isaiah told the remnant that once the anger stops there will be comfort. God will comfort His children. He was angry with them. He disciplined them. But then the anger is done. The comfort begins. ‘…for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away that you might comfort me.’

This gets us to the why question. Why does anger stop so that the comforting can begin? This gets back to a distinction that I’ve made before. God punishes His enemies, but He disciplines His children. Remember His anger is all about justice. So, the anger will end once justice is satisfied. The punishment fits the crime. So what is a just sentence for rebellion? How angry should God be? Consider that rebellion is declaring war on the ruling authority. It’s declaring yourself to be an enemy. God’s justice should be applied, at the very least, until the rebel stops his rebelling and submits. But – and this is very significant – those who rebel against God never choose to cease their warfare. Our rebellion is not some passing phase. Rebellion has become a part of our nature. It is who we are. That’s how the Bible describes us. We rebels will never choose to quit our rebelling and submit to the God who rules. So, if God’s anger lasts as long as the rebellion, then it will last forever. That’s what I mean when I say that God punishes His enemies. But His children are in a different category. For them God’s anger is but for a moment. Why is this? Is it that His children never rebel? Or are their acts of rebellion somehow less serious? Oh no. God’s children do rebelled and they have acted in ways that are far worse than many of God’s enemies. God’s children are not in that category because they are better than the others. But doesn’t God’s sense of justice – the key motivation behind His anger – requite that these acts of rebellion by His children be dealt with? Shouldn’t He be as angry because of the rebellion of His children as He is because of the rebellion of His enemies? Oh, yes. And that gets us to Advent.

Jesus has come to deal with God’s just anger at the rebellion of His children. It is Jesus who will endure that anger. Jesus never rebelled. He always submitted to God. So there was no cause for God to be angry at Him. There was no justice to satisfy. But Jesus was sent by God to face the anger that God’s children deserve for their rebellion. That’s what Jesus’ death on the cross is all about, Jesus, God’s unique Child, suffering the anger that God’s adopted children deserve.

All of this also changes the nature of God’s anger with His children. God’s anger at His enemies is intended to punish. But His anger at His children is intended to correct. He intends to discipline them for their good. And most of the time just a word will bring about that correction. But there may be times when anger is necessary, but only for correction; never for punishment. So, for the children of God, His anger is actually an expression of love. Jesus faced God’s punishing anger so that all that the children would ever need to face is His disciplining anger. Jesus’ coming makes it possible for God to treat His children differently.

Now for an important question. How is someone included into this category of being God’s child instead of being an enemy? It’s certainly not that those who become children are somehow better people. That’s just dumb. No, rather those who are now children have heard Jesus’ offer and accepted it. Jesus says to all rebels, ‘Trust Me with your life. If you do, I will make your life work. And that starts with My changing you from being an enemy into being a child.’ Jesus has offered to satisfy God’s just anger for all who entrust their lives to Him. That’s why Jesus has come. That’s Christmas, giving enemies the opportunity to become children.

Now, we come to the point of the sermon. One big reason I went through all of that is to be able to ask this question. How well are you doing at getting this? Now, let me be clear. I’m not asking you if you are an enemy or a child. My question is actually aimed at children and not enemies. How well are you doing at getting this? Listen again to the end of our text. ‘Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth. Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.’ There’s a lot going on here but this is all I want you to see right now. Isaiah calls for singing and shouting. That is, he is expecting an emotional response to what God has done. He is expecting an emotional response to the Gospel. Jesus has come. He has changed us from enemies into children. The punishing anger we so obviously deserve is gone. Jesus has satisfied God’s justice. Everything is different. How well are you doing at getting this? If you really are getting it, then there will be an emotional response. How can there not be?

Your friend is a sports fanatic. He’s watching his team play in the finals. And much to everyone’s surprise they’ve just won the championship. What does your friend do? He jumps; he shouts; he might even do a jig. After all, his team has won. Can the children of God be less passionate when they consider what Jesus has done for them? So, back to my question. How well are you doing at getting this? One way to get an answer to that is to look at is your passions. How emotional do you get when it comes to Jesus? Do you feel your passions stirred? If there isn’t much passion, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you aren’t a child of God. But it does mean that something is wrong. Don’t misunderstand me. The solution is not to try to make yourself more emotional. The solution is to look more closely at the Gospel, at things like rebellion, anger, punishment – and then to consider Jesus. And, as the Spirit works, the emotions will follow. This isn’t about how emotionally expressive you can become. But it is about the passions of your soul. You are already passionate about some things. You who are parents are passionate about your children. Good. But Jesus needs to be your greatest passion.

One last question. Why is this important? ‘As long as I’m destined for heaven who cares about my emotions?’ Well, here’s one reason why this is important. Life is hard. There’s no getting around that fact. Life is hard. And those of you who need a verse here it is. Jesus said, ‘In the world you will have tribulation.’ To translate that into everyday language, Jesus said, ‘Life is hard.’ Everybody knows this, and they try to cope. And, for so many, that’s what Christmas is about. ‘Let’s have a good time so that we can keep the difficulties of life at bay. At least for now, we can forget.’ There are other ways to try to hide from reality. But the truth always wins out. Life is hard. Becoming a child of God does not change that. In some ways it makes life more difficult. So, what do you do? Isaiah tells us in his Psalm. ‘With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.’ Life is hard and it will stay hard. Our defense is the joy that comes from what Jesus has done. Remember that joy is not another word for happiness. Happiness is rooted in what others around us are doing. Joy is rooted in what Jesus is doing. But your experience of joy is tied to how well you’re getting it. So, for the sake of your being able to deal with life, you need to get it.

And that brings us back to where we often end up. We need to pray. There are no tricks or secrets to success. Getting it is something the Spirit does. Some of you know this. You have prayed, you are getting it and you do experience joy when faced with the difficulties of life. This is to encourage you to keep at it. There is more joy to experience. And while life won’t get easier, you will be able to handle it better. That’s a gift of the Spirit as He points you to Jesus who has come to make you God’s children.