Isaiah 12:2 Explained

"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation." — Isaiah 12:2 (KJV)

A short song placed deliberately after eleven chapters of judgment, in which trust is stated as a decision rather than reported as a feeling.

Read it in context: The Book of Isaiah. Also gathered under verses about fear.

Isaiah 12:2 in context

What does Isaiah 12:2 mean?

'I will trust, and not be afraid' is future tense and first person — a commitment, not a description of how the singer currently feels. That distinction is the verse's whole usefulness: it can be prayed honestly by someone who is afraid. 'My strength and my song' pairs two things rarely paired; the second is how the first becomes bearable.

What is the context of Isaiah 12:2?

Isaiah 12 is two verses of hymn dropped into a book otherwise occupied with Assyria, exile and ruin. The prophet has just finished describing a nation about to lose everything. The song is what he gives them to sing on the other side of it.

How do I pray Isaiah 12:2?

Say the middle clause aloud even if it is not true yet — 'I will trust, and not be afraid.' It is a vow, and vows are made precisely when the feeling is absent. Then name what you are afraid of, specifically, and leave it named. Vague fear cannot be handed over; a named one can.

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