Mensa Otabil - Break Forth Into Singing
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We’ve talked about singing and worshiping the Lord with our song, with our praise. That we must sing a new song. That what we sing must be in the word of God. And we must declare God’s works in our singing.
Look at Isaiah chapter 44:23. Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it! Shout, you lower parts of the earth! Break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest and every tree in it! For the Lord has redeemed Jacob and glorified himself in Israel. Sometimes, singing to the Lord involves shouting, and there is a place for shouting in our singing or making a loud noise. Raising our voice in a song is an establishment of intensity. It shows the intensity of our heart and how serious we are about what we are singing about; it demonstrates a deeper and higher response for what God has done. And I like this particular statement or oracle from Isaiah. It says, «Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it.»
And I just feel like announcing that to somebody this morning: that the Lord has done it! And because the Lord has done it, he says, «Shout to him!» And so, one of the ways in which we shout to the Lord, or one of the reasons why we shout to the Lord, is because he’s done it. Something unexpected has happened. And the passage says that what God has done is so great and so enormous that all of nature joins in celebrating his mighty works. All creation rejoices in what God is doing. And he says that the mountains shout and the depths—the valleys are also shouting.
Now, that does not necessarily mean that mountains by themselves praise God. It’s a figure of speech to say that everything God has created expresses the joy of the Lord, especially when the Lord does marvelous things in our sight. So, there are times when a solemn song is not enough to express what God has done. It’s similar to what happens when we are in a football match or watching a football match and our team scores the winning goal. You don’t just say, «Look at that fabulous goal,» and just say, «Go, go!» You don’t say that. You just raise your voice and shout for the goal, and you make a loud noise and start to dance.
Why do you do that? Because something extraordinary has happened to you. If you would do that for a goal that has been scored, what if God turns our captivity and God redeems us and God does something great for you? You can’t just say, «I praise you, Lord!» No, you have to shout to the Lord. You have to declare; you have to make a loud noise. And some of you need to go to church on Sunday and make a loud noise because God has done mighty things for you. And when he does mighty things for us, we shout to his name.
So, the people were told to shout because God had redeemed them from captivity. This shout commemorates when God brought Israel out of captivity from the nations that they had been dispersed to—Babylon, and some to Assyria, and some later to Persia. And God brought them back to their land, and so God tells Isaiah, «Tell them, shout because the Lord has done it! He has redeemed his people. He has turned their captivity around. He has changed the situation.» And when he does, you shout.
The second reason he says shout is because the Lord has glorified himself. What does that mean? God said he would do it, and he has done it. He promised, and he has fulfilled. He told you, and he has done it. Anytime God honors his word in your life, that’s what you do. You don’t just sing, but you shout to the Lord. You make a loud noise at home and in church, celebrating the goodness of the Lord for what he has done. So today I say to somebody, the Lord has done it! So shout to him and give him praise. He has done marvelous things in your sight.
Let us pray together. Say with me: Heavenly Father, you have done it today. My heart is joyful. My lips break forth with shouts of praise, in Jesus' name. Amen. And amen.