Lectio. In that day you will say: "I will praise you, O LORD. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation." With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. In that day you will say: "Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you." (Isaiah 12: 1-6)

Meditatio. There are some subtleties of language in this passage. The name of the Lord used in the passage is primarily Jehovah or Yah, a name that denotes the presence and nearness of God and suggests compassion [1]. In the second line, however, the name "El" is used to convey power, and can also suggest angels. Praise (Hebrew yadah) also means confession and the shooting of arrows. Salvation (yashuwah): also means victory, prosperity and welfare. "Wells of water" might better be translated "fountains". The word joy (sasown) occurs only in Esther, the Psalms and the Prophets. The first usage of sing (zamar) means to psalmodize. Shout aloud (tsahal) also means to bellow or neigh. The second usage of sing (ranan) means "to give a ringing cry". "The Holy One" (qadosh) is a phrase used 76 times in the Bible and half are in Isaiah. The phrase "among you" has a more intimate sense than the English might suggest. In Hebrew, this is qereb, and means something eaten up or in one's bowels.

Isaiah 12 follows the chapter that begins, "A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him". Therefore, "In that day", which begins chapter 12, refers to the Day of the Messiah. Commentators such as Matthew Henry relate this passage to baptism, since not until the Messiah was born could there be salvation through Him. Baptism quenches the harshness of the Law, which we feel as God's anger, and now we are comforted by the nearness of God. Indeed, the phrase, "With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation" answers the Samaritan woman's question of Jesus: "Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water?" Finally, the phrase, "The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation" is drawn from the Song of Miriam (Ex. 15:2), composed after the Israelites escaped through the Red Sea.

Contemplatio. Adoration. The Lord alone brings us through danger. We are saved through His strength, not our own. His salvation is a well from which we draw joyfully. Confession. Before my baptism, I knew the Lord only through His displeasure, as the God who punishes transgressors against the law. Even now, I lapse into thinking of God as harsh and unforgiving. Thanksgiving. God is the "I am", the one who is not with our past errors, but the one who dwells in our being, eating away what is wrong with us to re-form us into the image of Christ. Supplication. And now, in this season of our life, grant us the desires of our hearts, Lord. Let us feel with joy Your presence in our lives, let Your strength gush forth from our inner being.