Tuesday, April 7th 2009

Tuesday, April 7th 2009

Isaiah 12

You will say in that day:"I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me. "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid;for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation." With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the LORD, all upon his name, ake 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. Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel."

Today I take pleasure in meditating on Isaiah chapter 12. The days today are full of evil, full of men and women who are lovers of self lovers of pleasure and lovers of money. Today we spend most of our time either seeking after our own personal pursuits, or seeking to gain wealth. Our trust is in our own strength and our wisdom is fleshly and carnal. The only desire that we have not either fulfilled or seek to fulfilled are those things that take a long time to attain. So here am I, standing in my own self-love and self-seeking behaviors pleading with the Lord to open my mind and heart to see the wonder of Christ, and the reliance that I should have upon Him, and the thankfulness and gratefulness I should have towards Him.

In this passage, the first verse is speaking from Israel's perspective, since they were backslidden and had grown to trust in themselves and their own power, the prophecy in the earlier chapters was showing them the punishment they would receive for it. This first verse is praising and thanking God for the fact that though He was angry with Israel, His anger has now subsided, and now God is comforting Israel.

How many times have I relied on my own strength, my own power, and my own wisdom, gone after other things, and have had the loving chastisement from God. The question is, how did I handle it when I was going through the chastisement, and how did I view it after the fact. I must ask my soul, "soul, am I going through any chastisements now?" If I am, how am I viewing these?

So, I must have a thankful heart as the Lord gentle and lovingly corrects me. I must be open to the leadings of the Lord, and I must know His great power and love.

verse 2
Now, on to the verse that lifted my soul this morning, and raised me to see Christ in His beauty and splendor. Essentially, if I were to paraphrase this and appropriate this, I would say, "Look! Christ is my salvation. I have no reason to be afraid of the trials and judgments of the world. If God says He is going to save me, the great Jehovah, YHWH, the covenantely faithful and never changing God, then I will trust it. If God says it, I will do it. The faithful Lord YHWH is where my power comes from. He is my strength. Not only that, but He is my joy, He is my song. Now that I know these things, and believe these things, He is who I count on for my salvation."

The beauty doesn't stop in verse 2.

verse 3
Now, Isaiah brings Christ to the forefront of my mind. Christ is my salvation. I am reminded of John chapter 5, with the Samaritan woman at the well, she is loooking for water in the well, and Christ tells her that He is the living water, of whom if she drinks, she will never thirst again. So, Isaiah says, I will drink from Christ, the well of my salvation. This drinking of the living water, Christ, from the well of salvation, the grace and mercy of God, will bring such joy to his heart, that he says, I will drink with joy.

Here it is, I picture myself, thirsty, parched lips, tired, miserable and without hope of surviving. Yet, God, in His mercy comes to me as I am lying helplessly, without strength on the desert floor, knowing that death is but a few moments away. I look up, and there is Christ, He has in Him, water, the thing necessary for my salvation. My eyes light up, tears, if there is any hydration left in me, stream down my face, my parched lips crack the biggest smile possible, and with joy and happiness, I drink from the living water of Christ.

This is the imagery that comes to me when I see the word joy and water of salvation.

verses 4-6
So now, in verses four to six, we see the response of Isaiah, after He has been rescued and saved by Jesus Christ. He now praises Christ before the nations, exalting Him as the one who is the Savior, and the one who has hope for the lost.

He says, give thanks to Him, rely on Him (call on Him), tell people about Him today, because He must be exalted for that which He has done. He has given such a great salvation to Isaiah, to me, why wouldn't I praise Him? Why wouldn't I tell others about Him?

Tell it to the earth today, James, shout and sing, proclaim to the earth that God is your Savior. Give Him the honor and glory that is due for the great work of salvation. He alone has given me the water of salvation. He alone has let me drink great draughts from the living water of Jesus Christ.

May the Lord empower me today by His Spirit to be grateful and thankful. To remember His salvation, and to proclaim it to the world. May I be a faithful witness to the wonders of salvation worked in me by my great God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. In whose name I pray, amen.