In Isaiah, chapter forty-two, verses ten through seventeen, some highlights of the theme, “Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. “Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice…..Let them give glory unto the LORD, and declare his praise in the islands.” “The LORD shall go forth as a mighty man,….He shall prevail against his enemies.” “And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them. They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.”
Isaiah foresees a time when the Gentiles and the faithful nation of God will sing praise of their Lord from the ends of the earth because of the glorious redemption and victory they have experienced through Him. The theme is subtitled “Song of praise to the Lord,” where believers sing to the Lord songs to celebrate the goodness of God in hymns of praise on the manifestation of any special act of mercy. Here, the prophet calls upon all people to celebrate the divine mercy in a song of praise in view of his goodness in providing a Redeemer. The sentiment is that God’s goodness in providing a Saviour demands the thanksgiving of the world.
A new song that expresses the goodness of God in this new manifestation of His mercy. The mercy was so great that it demanded a song for the occasion.