Charles Spurgeon Commentary Isaiah 55:12

"For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing; and all the trees of the fields shall clap their hands." — Isaiah 55:12 (ASV)

For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

There will seem to be joy everywhere when there is joy in your heart. When you receive Christ, you have put everything around you into its true position. The whole creation is a vast organ, and humanity puts its tiny fingers on the keys and evokes thunders of harmony to the praise of God. When the heart is filled with joy and peace, mountains and hills break forth before us into singing, and all the trees of the field clap their hands.

For ye shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

There will seem to be joy everywhere when there is joy in your heart. When you receive Christ, you have put everything around you into its true position. The whole creation is a vast organ, and man puts his tiny fingers on the keys, and evokes thunders of harmony to the praise of God. When the heart is filled with joy and peace, mountains and hills break forth before us into singing, and all the trees of the field clap their hands.

For ye shall go out with joy,

You poor people who are invited to come to the waters, you who have nothing of your own, Ye shall go out with joy.

For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

"For," if you do this – if you forsake your sins – if you turn to God – God can make such joy in the heart that all the world will be full of joy. When a person feels that their sins are forgiven, then nature seems full of song, and the hills, and rocks, and trees all proclaim the presence of a gracious God. Until then, when the heart is heavy, nature seems dull and dreary; but, oh! may the grace of God so light up our hearts that all the world may be lit up for us.

And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Trees seem to have little sympathy with weary hearts; but when weary heads find peace with God in Christ, as I trust some will tonight, then even the trees of the field seem to be in harmony with humanity, and they clap their hands in jubilant exultation.

For you shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

There shall be demonstrative delight. All nature is in sympathy with the man who is in harmony with God; the world itself echoes to the joy of the little world within man's heart.

And be led forth with peace:

To some places you can go by yourselves; to others you must be led; but in either case you shall have joy and peace.

For you shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace:

That shall be your happy condition once you have fed upon Christ. When you have entered into covenant with God, you shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace.

The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing,

They do not look like singing, do they? They look as if their only music would be the howling of the wild winds about their brow, or the roaring of the wild beasts along their sides; but for you, for you, you thirsty ones, they shall break forth into singing.

The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

And many of us can testify that it is so. Once reconciled to God, all nature seems to wear another aspect. Whatever the weather is, it pleases us because it pleases him who sends it to us; and when we look upon the beauties of nature beneath the sunlight, there is a peculiar glory upon them; for the light of God, that shines more brightly than the sun, is, to the believing eye, upon everything.