Okay, this evening then we're
going to take a look at Isaiah chapter 12. Turn there again.
Isaiah chapter 12. I'm taking the title for the
message from what is said in verse 2. Whenever you see that word in
scripture, behold, just look at it as a stop sign.
Stop, look, and listen. Behold, God is my salvation. That's saying a whole lot right
there. You just stop and you think about
this for a while. Behold, God is my salvation. And because He is, He's all my
salvation. Well, I'll trust Him. I'll trust
Him and no need to be afraid of my sin. No need to be afraid
of death. No need to be afraid of judgment.
Not be afraid, for the Lord Jehovah is my strength. He's my song. He's also become, he's become
my, my salvation. He's become my salvation. So
the title of the message is God is, God is my salvation. God is my salvation. I agree
with Simeon when he looked in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ
and said, Lord, let me die. I've seen, I've seen thy salvation. I trust that all of you can identify
with this message of salvation in Christ and by his grace. And I hope that all of you can
say, with a measure of assurance, not with presumption, but with
a measure of assurance, I hope all of us can say that the Lord
Jesus Christ is God, my Savior. No other hope. We have no other
hope but Christ alone. He's all our hope, all our hope.
I like what Paul, when he writes to Titus, in the book of Titus, at least
four times, He calls, looking the Lord Jesus, our great God
and Savior, looking for that blessed hope and glorious appearing
of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself
for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity. God, our
Savior, our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. That's who the
Lord Jesus Christ is. None greater than Him. He is
our great God, and He is our, all of our salvation. Christ
is all in all. God's purpose in salvation is
the eternal purpose. Everything God does in the way
of saving His people is based upon His eternal covenant of
grace. He never saves salvation to any sinners, not by accident. It's by purpose. Purpose. Everyone whom God saves, He saves
on purpose. And His purpose is an eternal
purpose, given us in Christ before the foundation of the world.
He saves us and calls us, not according to our work, but according
to His own purpose and grace. Purpose and grace, given us in
Christ before the foundation, before the foundation of the
world. We read recently in Isaiah 46 that our God has declared
the end from the beginning. He is the Alpha. He is the Omega
of all of our salvation. Salvation. Have you heard this
before? Salvation of the Lord. I never get tired of saying that.
I never get tired of preaching that. Salvation of the Lord. Let me give you these words.
Salvation of the Lord and His planning. He planned it. Salvation
of the Lord in His purchasing. He purchased us with His own
blood. Salvation of the Lord in His
performance. He's performed all things for
us. Salvation of the Lord in His preservation, or kept by
the power of God. Salvation of the Lord in His
perfection, predestinated to be conformed to the image of
His Son. out of the five or six words
saying the same thing, that old outline that Spurgeon preached
back years and years ago. His covenant, those in the revelation,
John said, I beheld a great multitude which no man could number, of
all nations, kindred, people, tongues, stood before the throne,
before the Lamb, clothed with white robe, palms in their hands,
and cried with a loud voice saying, salvation to our God, which sits
upon the throne and unto the Lamb forever and ever and ever. What do they talk about? Salvation
is of the Lord. Salvation unto him who loved
us and watched us from our sin and his own blood, to him be
glory now and forever. His covenant of grace in Christ
is called an everlasting covenant. The God of peace that brought
again from the dead the Lord Jesus Christ, that great shepherd
of the sheep to the blood of the everlasting covenant. And
I love what David says about it. King David, he said, it's
ordered in all things and sure, this is all my hope, all my salvation. It's ordered of God and it's
sure. The Redeemer, the Savior, is
the surety of the covenant. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
everlasting Redeemer and Savior of his people, who obtained for
us eternal redemption with his own blood. The elect of God were
chosen in Christ, when? Before the foundation of the
world. That's the Bible doctrine of election. God chose, according
as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world.
That which God has purposed in eternity, he will bring to pass
in time. He works all things after the
counsel of his own will. He wrote our name in the Lamb's
Book of Life. How many years ago? I have no
idea. Eternally so. He knows his sheep
by name. And one day, we were born into
this life. And one day the Lord was pleased
to send us the Gospel. He crossed our path with the
Gospel and gave us faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's
what it's talking about, in that day. In that day. In that day. This is that day of salvation
that's come to our house. Do you remember what our Lord
said to Zacchaeus? This day is salvation come to
your house? This day, in that day. Isaiah
12 verse 1, and in that day, that's that day that God has
purposed from all eternity, He chose His people in that covenant
of grace, and one day He sent you a gospel preacher. One day
He crossed your path with the gospel. And God the Holy Spirit
made it rich and real to your heart, and regenerated you through
the preaching of the gospel. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing
by the word of the Lord. And in that day shalt thou say,
O Lord. Now what do you... What do you
say in that day when the Lord saves you by His grace? You don't pat yourself on the
back, do you? You don't give yourself any credit at all, do
you? I was lost, He found me. I was dead, He raised me. And
in that day shalt thou say, O Lord, I'm glad I let you save me. No,
that's not what He says. O Lord, in that day thou shalt
say, O Lord, O Lord, I'll praise thee. I'll praise thee. Who else
would you praise? This salvation is so great, so
great, so great salvation. This phrase in that day is used
over 40 times. And it's not talking about a
24-hour day, but the time when God is pleased to cross our path
with the Gospel and then reveal Himself unto us. And that's what
He does. He's hid these things from the
wise and prudent and revealed them unto us. Sovereignly so
by His grace. Sovereignly so. It is the day
of Holy Spirit conviction. Judgment precedes justification. Emptiness precedes filling. A
sinner will never lay hold of Christ's robe of righteousness
until he's chilled by his nakedness. He'll never be clothed until
he's stripped, never be filled until he's empty. In that day,
that's what happens. Hold your place there, turn back
to Isaiah chapter 2. Look at verse 17. In that day, there's a conviction. There's a judgment before there's
a justification. There's an emptying and a breaking
before there's a healing. Isaiah 2 verse 11, the lofty
looks of men shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall
be bowed down, and the Lord alone in that day shall be exalted,
shall be exalted in that day, in that day. For the day of the
Lord of hosts shall be upon everyone that is proud and lofty, and
upon everyone that is lifted up shall be brought low in that
day. Look at verse 17, Isaiah 2, the
loftiness of man shall be bowed down, The holiness of man shall
be made low, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idol shall be utterly
abolished in that day. Now, hold your place there in
Isaiah 12 and turn to Isaiah 26. Isaiah 26. And here, you can go look these
up in that day. You can look up all different,
all 40 of these. Isaiah 26, verse 1. In that day, that's that day
of salvation, that day that God had decreed and appointed from
all eternity. In that day shall this song be
sung in the land of Judah. We have a strong city. Salvation
will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates. that the righteous nation, which
keepeth truth, may enter in. Thou wilt keep him in perfect
peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in
thee. Trust in the Lord forever, for
the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. In that day, when he
reveals himself unto us, we say, Lord, thou art my salvation. Thou art my salvation. It's a
day of revelation. A day of revelation. In that
day. In that day at that time. In that day. Look what it says. Oh Lord, I
will praise Thee. I will praise Thee. It's a day
of revelation. Thou shalt say, Oh Lord, I will
praise Thee. God forbid we should glory save
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Though thou was angry with me,
thy anger is turned away, and you comfort me. Now how's the
Lord, why is He angry with us? You remember the psalmist said
God's angry with the wicked every day. That's what we deserve. Our sin deserves judgment and
death. But it says here, thy anger is turned away. Now how
can it be turned away? Because it is turned and put
on Christ. as he died as a sinner's substitute. That's how the anger is turned
away. And thou comfortest me with the gospel, knowing that
Christ bare our sin and his own body on the tree. Turn to Isaiah
40. Isaiah 40. We looked at this
about too many weeks ago. Isaiah 40 verse 1. Comfort ye,
comfort ye my people. Isaiah 40 verse 1. Comfort ye,
comfort ye my people, sayeth your God. Speak ye comfortably
to Jerusalem. Cry unto her that her warfare
is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned. For she hath received
of the Lord's hand double for all her sins." That's our comfort.
Christ bear our sin in His own body on the tree and have Him
put it away. That anger is turned away and
we have comfort. Comfort in Christ. The Holy Spirit
is called the Comforter, right? Our Lord said when the Comforter
has come, He'll bring all things to your remembrance and He'll
bring things that are true to your mind. And then our Lord
said when He has come, the Holy Spirit has come, He'll take the
things of mine and show them unto you. So what does God the
Holy Spirit comfort us with? The Lord Jesus Christ. Can't get too much of Him. In
that day, verse 2, in that day, in that day of divine visitation, behold, we say, behold, God is
my salvation. God is my Savior, the Lord Jesus
Christ, and none other than God, our Savior. He's my Savior. He's
my Savior. He's the Lord Jehovah. Lord Jehovah. Now, Jehovah we know means everlasting,
self-existing God. And He's the Lord. And that word
in the original has a meaning of strong. He's the strong, everlasting
Lord. You don't see it too often there
together, Lord Jehovah. But here it is, he's emphasizing
that the Lord Jehovah is my strength. He's the great and mighty God. My song, my joy, and it's become
my salvation. When God grants us faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ, when God reveals himself to us as everything in
salvation, the fruit of that is faith. I will trust. That's
what faith is. Forsaking all, you remember I
told you, forsaking all, I trust Him. When God reveals Himself
to us, that the Lord Jesus Christ of all our salvation, He says,
I will trust Him. You remember that Psalm 62, trust
Him at all times, ye people. Pour out your heart before Him.
God is a refuge for us. Behold, God is my Savior, and
I'll trust Him. I trust Him to put away my sin.
I trust Him to bring in everlasting righteousness. I trust Him to
clothe me with the garments of salvation. And because I trust
Him, I will not be afraid. Not afraid of my sin condemning
me. It already condemned Christ. There is therefore now no condemnation
to those who are in the Lord Jesus Christ. No need to fear
death. He's conquered death. Death to the believer is not
punishment, it's promotion. Promotion. Don't be afraid of
your sin. It's been judged in Christ. Don't
be afraid of the enemies of the gospel. They're under the reign
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the Lord Jehovah. None beside
Him. We studied that in Isaiah 45,
Isaiah 46. He said, I am the Lord, there
is none else. The only just God and Savior. Now, he said, look.
Look to me and be saved. All the ends of the earth. Behold,
God is my salvation. I will trust and I won't be afraid. For the Lord Jehovah is my strength.
He's a strength of our salvation. He's a strength of our redemption. We're redeemed with his precious
blood. And he's my song. He's my song. We sing about him,
don't we? He's also become my salvation. The faith of God's elect is a
fruit of life, given in regeneration. We don't believe to be born again. We believe because we have been
begotten of God. We are taught when God saves
us, we're taught we're weak, sinful creatures, and that Christ
is all of our spiritual strength. All of our spiritual strength.
We are taught the saying of Him, unto Him who loved us and washed
us from our sin in His own blood. And then you remember that song,
they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book,
the open seals thereof, for Thou was slain and has redeemed us
to God by Thy blood of every kindred, tongue, people, and
nation, has made us kings and priests unto our God, and we
shall reign with Him, saying with a loud voice, worthy is
the Lamb. that was slain to receive all
honor, glory, blessings, and power. In that day, oh, He makes
Himself known to us. And we trust Him, don't we? He's
the strength of everything. He's my spiritual strength. He's
my joy, my song. He's my Savior. Look at verse
3. Therefore, with joy shall you draw water out of the wells,
the wells of salvation. This is a deep well, the water
of life that can never be exhausted. How important is water to this
natural body? You cannot live probably a day
or two without having water. There's no existence without
water. And spiritually speaking, the
Lord Jesus Christ is a well of the water of life. We cannot
survive without him. We cannot survive without him.
In the day of divine visitation, We also draw water out of the
wells of salvation. And we do so with joy. With joy. Like the thirsty man in the wilderness
that finds cool, clear water to quench his thirst. Oh, he's
so thankful. In Proverbs 25, 25, as cold waters
to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country. Cool,
clear water. Water. You remember that old
western song? I grew up around rodeos out where
I grew up. I had a rodeo grounds right next
to the house where we lived in northern Utah and all summer
long I'd go to the rodeo almost every day. I'd go down there
and I'd help them old cowboys do one thing or another. But
when they had the rodeo on the weekend, they'd always play them
old western songs, the Pioneer song, you remember? Tumblin'
Tumbleweed. But one song talked about cold,
clear, water, water. You remember that song? Water's
so vital to everything, isn't it? And Christ is the water of
our salvation. He's the water of our salvation.
Ho, everyone, you remember Isaiah 55, ho, everyone that is thirsty,
come ye to the waters. He that hath no money, hath no
price, no money, come and buy without money and without price.
The woman at the well, you remember, our Lord said to her, you drink
of that natural water and you'll thirst again. But you drink of
that water that I give you will be a well of water springing
up into everlasting life. Remember what she said? Lord,
give me that water. I want that water. Lord Jesus
Christ is a water, water of life. Water is often used in scripture
as a symbol of salvation. We know that water is a gift
of God. We cannot create it, can we? I just turn on the spigot and
here it comes out. We can't create water. It's the gift of God. Salvation
is a gift of God. Water is necessary. We can't
live without it. Christ, the water of life, is
absolutely necessary. Water meets our every need, doesn't
it? Drink plenty of water. Don't get dehydrated. Drink plenty
of water. It meets our need, doesn't it?
meets our need. Christ meets all our needs according
to his riches in glory through the Lord Jesus Christ. Water
is abundant. It's everywhere, isn't it? You
ever wonder, you know, we watch these storms come up out of the
Gulf and All that water goes up in them clouds and it will
rain from Texas clear up to Maine. All the way up it just drenched
the whole Appalachian Mountains and everywhere. Yet the ocean is never empty.
All that water falls over the mountains, runs in the streams
and rivers. down to Mississippi, back into
the Gulf, and there it comes again. It's a never-ending cycle. But it never runs out. The ocean,
I've never heard anybody say, well, they talk about those lakes
out west, Lake Powell, Lake Mead, the water level is way down.
They don't ever say that about the ocean, do they? No, they're
worried about it getting The ice cap's melting and it's raising
up. But the Lord maintains that level
of water. We never run out. And the Lord maintains salvation
by His purpose and grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. Water is abundant. God's salvation is abundant in
the Lord Jesus Christ. He's plenteous. Plenteous in. Plenteous in. Redemption, didn't
he? Therefore with joy shall you
draw water, water out of the wells of salvation. I'm not a
very good singer, am I? I love those old songs. I grew
up, when I heard those old songs years ago, I didn't know what
water really was. I know now. I mentioned in that
meeting in Kingsport about the church being located, the building
being located on Rock Springs road, and what a fit name for
a gospel ministry. Christ is that rock of ages,
springing out of him is the water of life. But I said in that meeting
up there, I used to work on a cattle ranch back in my young days,
teenage years, on a cattle ranch near Rock Springs, Wyoming. Back
in those days, I didn't know anything about the Rock of Ages,
the Lord Jesus Christ. The only thing I cared about
was rock and roll music. But now I see the Gospel in those
things. I see the Gospel in Rock Springs,
Wyoming. I mean, that's just the Gospel,
isn't it? He's the rock out of which springs the water of life. Verse 4. And in that day, Again,
in that day of salvation. In that day, shall you say, what
do you say? Praise the Lord. Bless the Lord,
O my soul. And all that is within me, bless
His holy name. Praise the Lord. And it says
here, call upon His name, but the reference there in this marginal
reference on the word call, proclaim His name. God has given him a name above
every name. At that name, every knee will
bow, every tongue will confess. Jesus Christ is Lord. Under what
a child is born, a son is given, and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace. That's Isaiah 9, verse 6. We'll look at that in a few weeks.
And in that day shall you say, Praise the Lord. Declare his
name. No other name under heaven. whereby
we must be saved and declare his doings. Declare his doings,
everything that he has done for us. Salvation, salvation that
we read about in the word of God is his doing, isn't it? It's
his doing. He performed all things for us.
Declare his doing among the people. He finished the work of salvation
for us and make mention Oh, make mention that His name. Declare
His name. Proclaim His name. Declare His
doing, His work, His salvation is finished. And then make mention,
His name is exalted. His name is exalted. Verse 5,
I sing unto the Lord, for He hath done excellent things. This
is known in all the earth. He hath done excellent things.
Everything about him is excellent. His person is excellent, is it
not? His work is excellent. Everything
about him is excellent in every way. Declare his name that it's
exalted. Declare his doing, what he's
accomplished. In that day of visitation, verse
five, give thanks unto the Lord. Sing unto the Lord, for he hath
done excellent things, this is known. This is known in all the
earth. Remember, He has an elect out
of every tribe, kindred, nation, and tongue under heaven. God
has a people all over this world. We know some of them, but the Lord knows all of them.
He knows His sheep by name, and He calls them out. Sing unto
the Lord, for He hath done excellent things. This is known. This thing wasn't done in a corner.
God told us to go into all the world and preach the gospel to
every creature. Verse 6, cry out and shout. Cry out. Don't be silent. Sing
unto the Lord. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant
of Zion. Zion there is a church. The church
is his body. He is the head, we are the body.
Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion, for great is the Holy
One of Israel. Notice that's holy, capital one,
O-N-E. The Holy One, that's a person.
The Holy One of Israel. And think about this. He dwells
among his people. He dwells among His people. That's a miracle of grace, is
it not? Christ in you, the hope of glory. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant
of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel. He is the one
who was God, our Savior. The Holy One of Israel. The Holy
One of Israel is God, our Savior. We can say, We can say with Simeon,
Lord, let me depart in peace, for I've seen thy salvation. That's when a sinner's ready
to die, when he's seen the Lord and can praise the Lord. In that
day, in that day, shall you say, in that day of salvation, in
that day when God calls you home, what will you say? In that day,
he shall praise the Lord forever and ever.