"And in the day you shall say; I will give thanks unto You, O Jehovah; For though You have been angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You have comforted me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid: For my strength, and my song, is Jehovah; And He is become my salvation. And when you shall draw waters With joy from the fountains of salvation, In that day you shall say: Give thanks to Jehovah; call upon His name; Make known among the peoples His mighty deeds; Record how highly His name is exalted. Sing unto Jehovah, for He has wrought a stupendous work; This is made manifest in all the earth. Cry aloud, and shout for joy, O inhabiters of Sion; For great in the midst of you is the Holy One of Israel." (Isaiah 12:1-6,Lowth)
This is a most wonderful chapter, and everybody ought to study it so thoroughly that the words will be forever impressed on the mind. Such passages as this, full of comfort and encouragement, should be perfectly familiar to every person.
They should not be studied mechanically as a school-boy studies his spelling lesson, so that they can be repeated parrot-like, but intelligently and thoughtfully. It will not take long to fix the chapter so thoroughly in the mind that the words will come naturally in their proper order. When this has been done, we can study the Bible at any odd moment, and can feed on the living Word, which is always fresh.
A Present Salvation
It will be noticed that this chapter is a continuation of chapter 11. "In that day." (Isaiah 12:1)
In what day? Why, in the day when the root of Jesse stands for an ensign to the peoples; when the Lord sets His hand the second time together the remnant of His people--the outcasts of Israel. In short, now; for: "Now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2)
It is not in the future, immortal state that this song is to be taken up and learned. Now is the time for men to say, "Jehovah is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation ... I will trust, and not be afraid." (Isaiah 12:2)
Take notice that this song is identical with that sung by Moses after the crossing of the Red Sea. Compare with: "The Lord is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation: He is my God, and I will prepare Him a habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt Him." (Exodus 15:2)
When the redeemed stand on Mount Zion, they will sing "the song of Moses the servant of God, the song of the Lamb," (Revelation 15:3) and it will be this very song; but they will have learned it before they get there. Moses was yet in the wilderness when he sang his song of triumph. There was no water in the desert where the children of Israel were when they joined in the chorus. But it was right for them to sing it. The trouble was that they stopped singing, and that stopped their progress; for: "The redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be on their head." (Isaiah 51:11)
The "new song" of the redeemed is that which they have learned on earth, inspired by the love of God, which, though everlasting, is always new. The "new commandment" is the old commandment that was from the beginning. When God brings a man up out of the horrible pit, and the miry clay, He puts a new song in his mouth. "I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And He has put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord." (Psalm 40:1-3)
So,
When in scenes of glory,
I sing the new, new song,
'Twill be the old, old story
That I have loved so long.
--Kate Hankey, Hymn: I Love to Tell the Story, 1866.
Saved From Fear
"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid." (Isaiah 12:2)
Why not? How could one fear, knowing God himself to be his salvation? It is not merely that God saves, but He himself is salvation. Having Him, we have salvation, and are not merely looking forward to it, and hoping for it. He is our salvation,--from what? From everything that we need to be saved from. "I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears." (Psalm 34:4)
That is the best of all. God not only saves us from death, but from the fear of death. "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." (Hebrews 2:14-15)
Many things that we fear, exist only in our imagination; but the trouble is just as great to us as though the danger were real; our fears are as oppressive. Now God saves us from all these fears. God says: "Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it comes. For the Lord shall be your confidence, and shall keep your foot from being taken." (Proverbs 3:25-26) "Whoso hearkens unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil." (Proverbs 1:33) "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear; because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love. Remember that God is near at hand" (1 John 4:18) "in all things that we call upon Him for." (Deuteronomy 4:7) "He gives to all life, and breath, and all things. In Him we live, and move, and have our being." (Acts 17:25,28)
And He is Almighty; there is none able to withstand Him. "O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven? and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in your hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand You?" (2 Chronicles 20:6) "Our God is in the heavens; He has done whatsoever He has pleased." (Psalm 115:3)
And His thoughts towards us are "thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give us an expected end." (Jeremiah 29:11)
Is it not clear, therefore, that every fear, no matter what kind of a fear it is, nor what it is that we are afraid of, is evidence of distrust? We either distrust His care or His power. If we are afraid, that shows that we do not believe that God is at hand, or else we do not believe that He cares for us, or else we do not believe that He is able to save us. Give this some sober thought: think how often you have been afraid, and how often you are seized and controlled by fear; and then decide whether you do really love and trust the Lord. "God is our refuge and strength; a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof." (Psalm 46:1-3)
Someone will say, "No; I don't expect to be afraid in the last great day; I shall then be confident in the Lord."
Why will you be more confident in the Lord? Why will you be more confident in the Lord then, than now? Will He at that time be more trustworthy than now? Do you not know that if you do not get acquainted with the Lord, and learn to trust Him now, you will not trust Him then? Jesus is coming to take vengeance on them that know not God. "And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Thessalonians 1:7-8)
Now all those who know the name of the Lord put their trust in Him: "And they that know your name will put their trust in You: for You, Lord, have not forsaken them that seek You." (Psalm 9:10)
Therefore those who are saved when the Lord comes will be found trusting. "But there are so many little things that startle me, and make me nervous; I am not afraid of great things; I know the Lord will protect me then; but I can't expect Him to keep me from nervousness at sudden noises, or from being timid and afraid to speak a word in meeting, or from being anxious at sea, or for those who are on it."
Why not? Do you not see that this is a virtual shutting out of God from all the ordinary affairs of life? He is a God nigh at hand as well as afar off. "Am I a God at hand, says the Lord, and not a God afar off?" (Jeremiah 23:23)
He who does that which is greatest, is abundantly able to do that which is least. Fear in little things is evidence of distrust in God, just as much as fear in great things. It shows that we do not believe that God is very near, or that He is great enough to look after details. The true child of God, who is living a life of constant trust in Him, need not, cannot, be afraid of anything in the world. He who is not afraid of God, cannot be afraid of anything; for nothing is so great as He. "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1) "[He is] the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea." (Psalm 65:5) "The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." (Deuteronomy 33:27) "He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God; in Him will I trust. Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings shall you trust; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid for the terror by night; nor the arrow that flies by day; nor for the pestilence that walks in darkness; nor for the destruction that wastes at noonday." (Psalm 91:1-5)
This perfect confidence is the result of acquaintance with the Lord. Because one has learned to trust the Lord in all things, proving that nothing is too small for His attention, he can trust Him in the great trial. "In returning and rest shall you be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength." (Isaiah 30:15)
When the perfect love casts out all fear, (1 John 4:18) then perfect rest must remain. This is the rest that remains to the people of God. (Hebrews 4:9) It is the perfect keeping of the Sabbath. It is this blessed rest that the Sabbath of the Lord makes known. "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God;" (Exodus 20:10) but the keeping of the Sabbath is not by any means met by resting from manual labor on the last day of the week. The ceasing from our work on that day is but the sign of our perfect rest in God--of the committing of our souls to God "in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator." (1 Peter 4:19)
But perfect rest must be constant; to trust one day and be anxious and fearful the next, is not to rest in God. So in the message of the Sabbath of the Lord, which is the message that prepares for His coming, we find that revelation of God as Creator and Lord, that will keep us from ever being afraid again. What a glorious message!
God in Us is Our Strength
"My strength and my song is Jehovah; and He is become my salvation." (Isaiah 12:2)
Just see what one gets in return for acknowledging that he has no strength: he gets the Lord for his strength. All the strength of the Lord is his. Thus he is "strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power." (Colossians 1:11)
This is far better than the utmost that anyone could hope for, even at the highest estimate of his own strength. "With joy shall you draw waters from the wells of salvation." (Isaiah 12:3)
When? Now; whenever you are thirsty for salvation. Jesus cried: "If any man thirst, let him come to me, and drink." (John 7:37) "Let him that is athirst, come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely." (Revelation 22:17) "[God is] the fountain of living waters." (Jeremiah 2:13) "In Him we live;" (Acts 17:28) therefore we are continually drawing water from the wells of salvation, whether we know it or not. Recognize the fact, and the drinking of the water of life will be a joy. "Make known among the peoples His mighty deeds." (Isaiah 12:4)
This is the proper occupation of all men. Nobody has any right to talk to another soul about his own weakness. Our sole business is to speak of the glory of God's kingdom, and to talk of His power; "To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of His kingdom." (Psalm 145:12) "Say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!" (Isaiah 40:9)
We don't, as a general thing, need to tell people very much about our own weakness and insignificance; they usually have a fair knowledge of that without our taking special pains to point it out. It does them no good, and it increases our own discouragement, when we talk of our own weakness. But when we speak of the power of Jehovah, we have an endless theme, and one which strengthens and encourages both speaker and bearer. "Cry out and shout, you inhabitant of Zion; for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of you." (Isaiah 12:6) "There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High; 5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved." (Psalm 46:4)
The presence of God in Zion renders it immovable; so the presence of God in the midst of His people assures their safety. God's presence recognized in a man makes him "steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord." (1 Corinthians 15:58)
Why shout? because you are so great? No; because God is so great, and He dwells in us. "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world." (1 John 4:4) "What shall we say then to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? ... I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:31,38-39)--Present Truth, March 9, 1899--Isaiah 12:1-6.