Isaiah in Christian Liturgy:
Recovering Textual Contrasts and Correcting Theological Astigmatism
by John D. Witvliet
First published in Calvin Theological Journal 39 (2004): 135-156, and reprinted with permission.

Summary: A deeper understanding of the book of Isaiah can correct and enrich our worship.

Key Points
• The 'Pretty Texts of Isaiah' must be understood in the context of the book of Isaiah as a whole. The praise of God and the promise of the Messiah come as a response to—and rebuke of—idolatry.
• There are practical ways to convey the rhetorical strategy and subtler themes of Isaiah in worship, in order to make worship more biblically faithful and enriching to worshipers.

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Introduction
Isaiah is a workhorse of Christian liturgy, ranking with the Psalms as the most frequently cited Old Testament book in worship. The great Sanctus of Isaiah 6:3 is both the heartbeat of traditional Eucharistic prayers and the inspiration of countless worship songs for churches that never use a traditional Eucharistic prayer. The canticles of Isaiah 12 have been a staple of traditional daily and Sunday liturgies for centuries and the basis of several recently written scripture songs. In times of tragedy, Isaiah 43:1-7 and 44:6-8 are among the first texts to which pastors turn. Holy Week worship nearly always draws on Isaiah 50:4-9, 52:7-10, and 52:13-53:12. And it is almost inconceivable to imagine planning Advent worship without Isaiah 7:14, 9:2-7, 11:1-9, 35:1-10; 40:1-11, 60:1-3, and 61:1-3...

But now notice the common disposition of these texts. All of them, even the ones that acknowledge pain and suffering, are the texts in Isaiah that feature the most rhapsodic poetry and boundless hope. With the exception of the Servant Song of Isaiah 52:12-53:12, they are the happy texts, the oasis points for anyone attempting to read Isaiah in a single sitting. Purely for the limited purposes of this article, I would like to group these texts into a very non-technical category called, “The Pretty Texts of Isaiah.”  Outside of conferences on Isaiah, it could well be that over 85% of all sermons and other liturgical texts based on Isaiah are from these texts. But for anyone studying the book with attention to literary form and rhetorical technique (or for anyone simply reading through the book), they are not the whole story. Continued..

Key Statements
• "Liturgists are highly practiced at mining Isaiah's textual diamonds without attention to context.... The pretty texts of Isaiah can end up functioning like mere truisms ... rather than as the soaring God-breathed poetry they are."

• "We miss out on hearing, along with the pretty texts of Isaiah, the stinging indictments of superstition, idolatry, and disobedience that their contexts often present with such force. ... At stake is our ability to hear the most important spiritual remedies for the most persistent spiritual diseases we face."

• "Isaiah 40-55 works the contrast between idolatry (aiming at the wrong target) and true worship (aiming at the right one), often with rhetoric that features biting sarcasm and mocking irony that is so derisive it almost feels irreligious."

• "Isaiah ... not only portrays the shadows, but also depicts the shaft of light that reveals nothing less than the true God, the maker of the universe. We need to see the same contrast in worship and preaching today."

• "When we sing our pretty songs of praise, it is as if we are singing 'Take that, you false gods!' "

• "The ultimate antidote to idolatry in the Christian faith is Jesus Christ: the exact representation of God's being, the true icon of divine glory." 

• "There are very few sessions at most worship conferences entitled, 'How to Avoid Idolatry in Your Church.' " 

• "There is another form of idolatry that needs our attention, one that Isaiah is very well suited to address: the idolatry of false or distorted conceptions about God."

• "In Isaiah the image of God as divine warrior is strikingly juxtaposed with the image of God's suffering servant—challenging our interpretation of each. Isaiah gives us a beautiful and compelling vision of God as a being of power-expressed-in-redemptive-love."

• "Seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day, we live in a culture (and sometimes even a churchly culture) that tempts us to think of divine life as sentimental love or raw-fisted power, and a thousand other subtle heresies."  

• "Before hearing the life-giving words of Isaiah 40, a reader might say, “The word of the Lord from Isaiah 40: In contrast to false gods, the true Creator God gives strength and hope. Hear now the word of the Lord.” ... The practice helps people hear the text accomplish what it does in its literary context."

• "Part of what we need is simply to recover the idea that the reading of scripture is itself a powerful act of worship. Rather than thinking of scripture reading in worship as a short preface to the sermon, try thinking of the sermon as an extended footnote to the reading of scripture (a robust one, to be sure)."

• "Among its many prevailing themes, Isaiah's trenchant anti-idolatry campaign is among the most pastorally significant for contemporary ministry. Worship is a key arena for rehabilitating practices that correct idolatries of all kinds."  

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