And you will say in that day:
“Give thanks to the LORD,
call upon his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples,
proclaim that his name is exalted.
Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously;
let this be made known in all the earth.” (Isa. 12:4, 5)

In Isaiah’s day, Ahaz, the king of Judah, was faced with two larger and stronger enemies, Aram and Israel, who formed an alliance to crush Judah and make their man its king. God knew what was in Ahaz’s heart, and he sent Isaiah to urge Ahaz to trust in the Lord rather than turn for help to the empire-building king of Assyria.

That is the context of the prophecies in Isaiah 7–11 that we associate with the birth and coming of Jesus. Those prophesies include the sign of the virgin having a child, the promise of light coming to the northernmost tribes of Israel (future Galilee), and the promise of one who would reign, not as an enemy-appointed king, but as David’s heir. This promised ruler would be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. Upon him the spirit of the Lord would rest. He would have the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, and he would judge in righteousness. He would bring peace to the creatures of the earth, and the earth would be full of the knowledge of the Lord. And he would be the one whom God would use to gather his people out of the nations.

God’s message was that Ahaz’s trust should not be in an Assyrian king but in the God who forgives, the God who would send a true heir for Judah’s throne, the God whose wrath would be turned aside from Judah, the God who would regather his people out of the nations, the God who would comfort his people and be their righteous, faithful ruler.

Sadly, Ahaz chose unbelief rather than faith, worshiping the gods of Assyria rather than the true God who sent Isaiah. However, God’s plan and promises did not depend on Ahaz, but on God himself. God would send the true heir, who would take on himself the wrath God’s people deserved, so that they could be forgiven, gathered, and comforted.

A Hymn to Christ

Isaiah 12 contains the hymn-like verses that God says his people will exuberantly sing when they are restored. While at first we might think that this is only about God’s people giving praise for their return to the land from Assyrian-Babylonian captivity in the days of the Persian empires, we must not miss the context of the Messianic prophesies. Certainly, the return to the land, starting with the decree of Cyrus, brought worship and praise. There would be worship at the laying of the temple’s foundation, at its completion, and at the restoration of Jerusalem’s walls. However, considering the Messianic prophesies, we should see that Isaiah 12 is also speaking of the worship that God’s people will give for his saving work through Jesus Christ.

We praise our Lord over and over again for all that he has done through the virgin birth and through the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, the righteous King Jesus whose delight is in the fear of the Lord. Corporately and individually, we not only acknowledge what our sin deserves; we also thank Jesus for taking our place to turn God’s just wrath away from us. We not only thankfully worship him, we want others to worship him as we “make known his deeds among the peoples” and let all the earth know that he has done gloriously until we worship him on that day when God gathers us into a new heaven and a new earth and the dwelling of God is with us forever.

Work Together, Plan Together, Worship Together

Until that day, the Thank Offering is part of our worship and celebration for what he has done. It is one way that we express our thanksgiving to God for gathering us from the nations and saving us in Jesus Christ. It’s an expression of our desire for others to worship him. Together, OPC churches and presbyteries are working to plant more churches, prepare more men to be ministers, and send out more missionaries. We work together, plan together, and worship together.

The Committee on Home Missions and Church Extension (CHMCE) general secretary Jeremiah Montgomery writes:

One of the most encouraging things in OPC Home Missions is when we see new mission works being initiated by congregations that were themselves mission works within the last ten years. As a number of recent mother-daughter church plants have reached particularization in a strong position, CHMCE looks forward to rejoicing when the news arrives that these former daughter churches have themselves become mothers of new mission works. As new congregations spread within the presbyteries of the OPC, CHMCE looks forward to seeing the Lord Jesus call some of the young people who grew up in church plants to give themselves to missionary service, either at home or overseas.

Likewise, the Committee on Christian Education (CCE) general secretary Danny Olinger writes:

The CCE is praying for the Lord’s blessing in raising up the next generation of gospel ministers in the OPC. Fully funded and co-sponsored yearlong internships are of the greatest assistance in helping graduating seminarians prepare for pastoral ministry in 2026 and beyond. Being able to continue the Ministerial Training Institute (MTIOPC) allows the CCE to provide supplemental training for both aspiring pastors and those who are already ordained. Conducting the Timothy Conference enables the CCE to help plant the seed of the gospel ministry with teenagers and college-aged young men.

As for the Committee on Foreign Missions, we praise God for providing an additional missionary for Uruguay: Jim Jordan. We praise God that we are working with churches that have called men in order to prepare them for missionary service through the Presbytery Cooperative Program. We praise God for these things because it means that, in the years to come, more people will hear about the great deeds of our great God. Therefore, we deeply desire to send out at least three ordained evangelists in 2026—a missionary for Uganda and two regional foreign missionaries. And we would love to work with three more sessions who will call pastors in order to help prepare them to be foreign missionaries.

Thank Offering

Like our regular giving to Worldwide Outreach, the Thank Offering is part of our praising God together and working together to tell the peoples about our God’s great deeds through Jesus Christ. It is a way that helps us, together, to tell all the earth of all that he has done gloriously in Christ to save us.

The author is general secretary for the Committee on Foreign Missions. New Horizons, November 2025.