“And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.”
My Notes
What Does Isaiah 12:1 Mean?
Isaiah prophesies a future day when God's people will praise him with a remarkable acknowledgment: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away. The praise comes after the anger, not instead of it. God's anger was real. Its turning was also real.
"Thou comfortedst me" — the God who was angry now comforts. The same person. The anger and the comfort are not contradictory. They are sequential — the anger served its purpose, and comfort followed.
This is one of the few places in Scripture where a future worshipper acknowledges God's anger as part of the praise. Most worship songs skip this part. Isaiah includes it because the anger is part of the story — and the story is not complete without it.
The verse models a mature relationship with God: honest about the hard parts, grateful for the restoration, and willing to praise a God whose anger was real and whose comfort is equally real.
Reflection Questions
- 1.How does including God's anger in your praise make worship more honest?
- 2.What is the difference between God's anger turning and God simply forgetting?
- 3.Where are you on the arc — in the anger, in the turning, or in the comfort?
- 4.How does acknowledging the hard parts of your history with God deepen your praise?
Devotional
Though thou wast angry with me. The praise includes the anger. Isaiah does not pretend the hard part did not happen. He names it: you were angry. It was real. I felt it.
Thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. But the anger turned. And what replaced it was comfort. Not just the absence of anger — active comfort. The same God who disciplined now consoles.
O LORD, I will praise thee. The praise comes from someone who has been through the anger and out the other side. It is not naive praise from someone who has never been tested. It is informed praise — the kind that knows what God's discipline feels like and still says: I will praise thee.
Most of us prefer to skip from blessing to praise without acknowledging the hard middle. Isaiah includes the whole story: anger, turning, comfort, praise. The full arc.
Have you been through God's anger? Has his discipline felt real and heavy? This verse says: it turns. The anger was temporary. The comfort arrives. And the praise that follows is deeper than any praise that has not been through the fire.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And in that day thou shalt say,.... The following song of praise; just as Israel did, when they were brought through the…
And in that day - The day referred to in the previous chapter, the time of the Messiah, when the effects of his reign…
This is the former part of the hymn of praise which is prepared for the use of the church, of the Jewish church when God…
The first song, the singer being the individualised community, as frequently in the Pss.
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture