Isaiah 12:2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song… We have in these words the very exuberance of holy feeling. They refer us to - I. THE SUPREME ACT OF GOD'S GOODNESS. "God is my Salvation." He has been wonderfully gracious to us in bestowal - in the gifts of our being, of our spiritual nature with its varied capacities, of our physical nature with all its organs of activity and enjoyment, of our human relationships, of a rich and beautiful dwelling-place, etc. But his greatest kindness is felt by us to be in deliverance, in that which is called "salvation." Here, again, there is an ascent in the scale of Divine goodness; for higher than salvation from trouble, from sickness, from death, from personal captivity or political servitude, stands salvation from sin; and in the Messianic era this spiritual deliverance reaches its highest point; for it includes not only the negative side of rescue from present evil, but also the positive side of enrichment with corresponding good. It embraces: 1. Redemption from sin - its penalty and its power (its thraldom and its defilement). 2. Restoration to God - to his favor and to his likeness. 3. The hope of a higher and endless life in another world. II. THE CONTINUANCE OF HIS GREATEST GIFT IN IMPARTING SPIRITUAL STRENGTH. He "forsakes not the work of his own hands." Having redeemed us from the power and condemnation of sin, and lifted us up into the state of sonship and heirship, he sustains us in our new and blessed life. "The Lord Jehovah is our Strength." He imparts the needful strength for maintenance in our course by (1) the privileges of the gospel; (2) the discipline of his holy providence; (3) the direct influences of his own Spirit. III. THE RESPONSE OF OUR HEARTS TO THE DIVINE LOVE. 1. The gratitude which finds utterance in sacred song. "The Lord... is my Song" (see Psalm 119:54). The Christian man should carry in his heart such a sense of God's redeeming love that he should be always ready to break forth into praise; his life should be a song of gratitude for the salvation of the Lord. 2. The confidence which excludes anxiety. "I will trust, and not be afraid." (1) Many are the occasions of human fear and anxiety - the honorable maintenance of the family; the preservation of our personal integrity, both moral and spiritual; the faithful discharge of duty in the post we have undertaken to fill; the adorning of our Christian profession; our passage through the gateway of death, etc. (2) We are wholly insufficient of ourselves to meet these, and to triumph over them (2 Corinthians 3:5). (3) But, confiding in God, we may go forth without anxiety, assured of his Divine help (Psalm 27:1; Psalm 56:11-13; Psalm 118:6-8; Hebrews 13:5, 6). - C. Parallel Verses KJV: 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. |
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