53. The Wells of Salvation (2)

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Hymn: RHC 324 Trusting Jesus 116 Higher Ground 339 When I Fear My Faith Will Fail

Isaiah 12:1-6

1 And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. 2 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. 3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. 4 And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. 5 Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. 6 Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

The Wells of Salvation (2)

OUTLINE

  • Praise (v4)
  • Sing (v5)
  • Shout (v6)

INTRODUCTION

The salvation of God hath been set before you as if it were a constant running fountain, from which you can draw waters in abundance.

And since we are empty and destitute of everything good, Isaiah compares the mercy of God to a fountain, which satisfies those who are thirsty and dry, refreshes those who are parched with heat, and revives those who are worn out with fatigue (Calvin). Isaiah terms it “the wells of salvation” in verse 3.

Isaiah 12:2-3 (KJV) Behold (Look with amazement and gratefulness), 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. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

The goodness of God is held out to us, that we may be satisfied with it; for we ought to be like a dry and thirsty land, as the Psalmist says, that we may desire the waters of the Lord. (Calvin)

Psalm 143:6 (KJV) I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.

This goodness of God is wonderful and beyond what could have been believed, that He does not suffer us to burn with unsatisfied desire, but presents a fountain from which we may draw abundantly.

That fountain is Christ, in whom all God’s benefits are imparted to us; for out of his fullness, as John says, we all draw. (John 1:16.) It remains, therefore, that whenever we feel our want, we go directly to Him.

John 1:16 (KJV) And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

Redemption results in praise. To praise God is to acknowledge Him as worthy and to bless Him for what He is and what He has done. Here is one voice that acknowledges the worth and greatness of the redeeming God. [Edward J. Young]

  • Comfort (v1)

1 And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.

God is wrathful or angry against sin, and that wrath must be visited upon sin. “The soul that sinneth it shall die.” Although God had indeed been angry and rightly so, His anger has turned, but turned from me to Christ. And I who deserved the anger of God to be poured out upon me have received His comfort instead. [Edward J. Young]

The remedy for sin is in Christ and the prophet is pointing the people to Christ, the triumphant Saviour who suffered for sin on our behalf and who reigns to judge righteously the world that turns not from their sin nor turn to the Saviour.

Our Lord has to be sent by the Father to personally bring comfort and rest to sinners as He lovingly persuades them to forsake their sin and come to Him for true freedom and riches when He saidin Matthew 11:28-30 (KJV) Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

From wrath to comfort is the experience of Adam and Eve who received the coats of skin that the LORD made to cover their guilt and shame after they disobeyed Him by partaking the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 3:22-24 (KJV) And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Nonetheless, they had to be banished from Eden lest they would live forever in their sinful state, proliferating perpetual evil!

The earth was never the same again after the fall of man. It was cursed.

Romans 8:22 (KJV) For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

But restoration came to the redeemed in Christ. For the redeemed, the curse is turned to comfort as we await the day of restoration, the day of resurrection!

Romans 8:18-21 (KJV) For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God (for the redemption of the body when Christ returns). For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

There is great joy in the believer’s heart yet he mourned for the corruption without and within that they may be mortified.

  • Faith (v2)

2 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.

As the remnant in Israel saw the impending war arising in their land, the looming Assyrian invasion and then the Babylonian invasion, the people of God were jolted to see the salvation that is in Christ, Israel’s Messiah. The exhortation is to have faith to follow Him though there was a great falling away in Israel.

It is the same picture in the church, plagued with apostasy, the falling away of the church, the ecumenical movement taking shape, uniting the religions of the world under Rome, the church is exhorted to trust God and remain true to His Word. Be not afraid, the LORD is still on the throne. He is working out His redemption plan and everything is on schedule.

There is cause for joy and rejoicing and singing, the songs of victory, of triumph in Christ, the only hope for the world. The people of God are exhorted to keep faith let faith prevail and press on with the gospel work.

We rejoice as the angels in heaven rejoice with us at every blessing of being a part of the gospel work on earth.

We are told to “Behold, God is our salvation.” Trust in the LORD is the exhortation from Isaiah. The word “trust” us the action of fully giving ourselves to the LORD acknowledging our utter helplessness.

Hebrews 13:6 (KJV) So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

  • Joy (v3)

3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

The wells of salvation run deep, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, in which we have access by this grace to stand, withstand evil, be delivered finally to heaven. There is joy that the LORD imparts to the heart as we look forward to our redemption bodily speaking though in the soul in the resurrection of the body at Christ Second Coming, we have been fully redeemed.

Romans 5:1 (KJV) Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

Romans 5:2 (KJV) By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Romans 5:11 (KJV) And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus

Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

The joy of knowing that the LORD is with us in all our trials. The LORD works out His goodwill in our lives moulding us to conform to the image of Christ.

Romans 5:3-5 (KJV) And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

  • Praise (v4)

4 And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.

Through our trials, we see the power of God’s hand delivering us and we give thanks to Him. Israel experienced the deliverance of God from their bondage in Egypt, so do we when God saved us from darkness to His marvellous light.

1 Peter 2:9 (KJV) But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

The people of God are to testify of His grace in our lives, of how He acted on our behalf in our time of need, praising His Holy Name.

In that day speaks of a day when we can boldly in victory come before Him to praise His Name.

Chosen not for good in me

Wakened up from wrath to flee

Hidden in the Saviour’s side

By my Spirit sanctified

Teach me, Lord, on earth to show

By my love, how much I owe.

  • Sing (v5)

5 Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.

Praise through song is the light heart of the saints in grateful acknowledgement to the LORD for His deliverance.

Psalm 149:1 (KJV) Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.

The people of Israel broke out in song after their deliverance from the Egyptians at the Red Sea, Deborah and Barak sang to the praise of God when they were delivered from the Canaanites, and Mary sang at the birth of the Lord in her womb.

  • Shout (v6)

6 Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

The next level of jubilation is shouting for joy.

Luke 19:37-40 (KJV) And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

Isaiah 52:7-10 (KJV) How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion. Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

CONCLUSION

Let His people rejoice in the depth and blessing of His salvation. Amen.