Today let’s look at Isaiah 12. Verse 2 which are words of praise by those who are saved says, “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. “ God is my salvation.
Today I would like to talk about three things from these words of praise.
1. God is our salvation.
2. The joy of those who are saved.
3. Those who are saved will proclaim that salvation to the whole world.

I. God is our salvation (vs. 1,2)
First please look at verses 1 and 2.
Here too it says, “In that day” (1). “In that day” is one of the key words of Isaiah. I have talked about this several times, but this is a prophecy both about an event that will occur in Isaiah’s age and at the same time is about what will happen in the last days. “In that day you will say; ‘I will praise you, LORD. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me.’” (1)
These are words of praise to God. Although the Lord was angry with them, God’s anger has turned away and God has comforted them. This is the prophecy of the Babylonian captivity in the age of Isaiah. Israel turned their back on God and walked their own selfish road so God sent the country of Babylon and destroyed them. Then they were captured and deported to Babylon where they stayed for 70 years. That was in 586 B.C. Isaiah prophesized this around 730 B.C. so this happened about 150 years after Isaiah gave this prophecy. Northern Israel had already been destroyed by Assyria. That was in 722 B.C. In the age of Isaiah Northern Israel was destroyed. In the Southern Kingdom of Judah there were comparatively good kings so it lasted a little longer. However, the Southern Kingdom also became prideful and turned their back on God so at last they were destroyed. However, that was the judgment of God to chastise Israel. God chastised them so they would repent and return to God.
Hebrews 12:7, 8
They were chastised because God loved Israel. God chastised them so that in their agony they would repent and turn to God. 70 years later under the Persian King Cyrus who was also ruling Babylon, the Israelites were able to return to Jerusalem. God’s anger had turned away and God comforted them.

While talking about the far future and while talking about the end times, this is prophesying about the events of the Tribulation. Israel didn’t repent and accept the salvation of God readily so God by the power of the anti-Christ gives them pain. In other words, this is about the age of Tribulation. That was pain like they had never experienced. It was so painful that they desired their own death. In the midst of it many people died, but a remnant remained. They are the “remnant”. In the midst of the pain they receive Jesus as the Messiah, the Savior. Like this the Words of the Bible that all of Israel will be saved will be fulfilled. A time will come when Israel will be encouraged. God’s anger is not to ruin them, but so that they will be saved. God loves them so much that He is jealous for them so he has anger. As a result of that anger they will be saved. Then God’s anger will be turned away and He will comfort them. Please open your Bibles to II Cor. 7:9 to 10.
II Cor. 7:9, 10
Paul so that people in Corinth would repent wrote a letter “with great frankness.” (II Cor. 7:4) The Corinthians that read the letter were very sorrowful, but their sorrow led them to repentance. Therefore, Paul says, “now I am happy…because your sorrow led you to repentance.” (II Cor. 7:9) “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” (II Cor. 7:10) There are two kinds of sorrow, Godly sorrow and worldly sorrow. “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation… but worldly sorrow brings death.” (II Cor. 7:10) The comfort that is spoken about in Isaiah is this Godly sorrow. From that sorrow comfort is born. God gives the Israelites who turned their backs upon God, pain. To chastise them God sent chastisement. However, God’s anger will turn away and God will comfort Israel.
God will comfort you too. By not following the will of God and trying to get your own way and your own thinking, you will have painful experiences, and be sorrowful, but this will bring repentance, and you will receive real comfort.
Then “you will say…’Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.’” (1, 2)
“Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid.” (2) In Hebrew this, “God is my salvation” (2) is Joshua which means “Yahweh is salvation”. This is Jesus in Greek. Jesus means “Yahweh is salvation.” Jesus is salvation. Jesus is Lord, the Messiah, the Christ. It is the creator God who expresses Himself as “I am who am I am”. Salvation is brought about by depending on this Jesus. We depend on the Lord so we have no fear. We don’t have to worry. We don’t have uncertainties. Also we don’t have complaints or dissatisfactions. This is because Jesus is our salvation. Jesus is salvation. He was put on the cross and atoned for us who should have just been destroyed in the depths of hell. Therefore, by trusting in him, we don’t have to be afraid of anything.
To”trust” (2) means to “lay on the ground with our arms spread wide open“. It means to leave everything in the hands of God. It is to say to God that He can do anything he wants to with us. To trust means to give our whole self to God. It is to trust God with all our temporal concerns, not doubting but believing that He will make all work for our good. If we have such a trust, then we have nothing to fear. Those who have God for their salvation can enjoy holy security and serenity of mind.
F.B. Meyer said, “Faith is a bucket.” Faith as a bucket is drawn up from the wells of Jesus. From the wells of salvation we draw up the buckets of faith so we have nothing to fear.
“The LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.” (2) The word used here for “LORD” (2) is “Yah”. “Yah” is the contraction of Yahweh, and both signify his eternity and unchangeableness, which are a great comfort to those that depend upon him as their strength. Here “The LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.” (2) expresses　great joy. “The LORD, the LORD himself…has become my salvation.” (2)
Jesus has become our salvation. He died on the cross in our place for our sin of which we could do nothing about except be destroyed by it. By his death on the cross those who believe in Him have their sin forgiven. Jesus is salvation. The source of our salvation is in Jesus who died on the cross. Those who accept the salvation of Jesus have nothing to fear. They are overflowing with praise and joy. If you give everything to God, and trust in him, the Lord will give you salvation.

II. The wells of salvation (vs. 3)
The second point is about the joy of salvation. Please look at verse 3. If you experience the salvation of the Lord, you will be overflowing in joy.
In this verse we can feel the joy of the Israelites as they draw the water. You probably know the song, “Ｍayim Mayim“ which means “water, water” in Hebrew. It is a folk dance. The dance was created in 1937 for a festival to celebrate the discovery of water in the desert after a seven-year search. In 1948 the country of Israel was established and whenever wells were built, while remembering the events of the Exodus, the people made a circle around wells and danced. After the war the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers introduced this song to Japan to help rebuild their fields of burnt down cities and towns.　In time in 1963 the Jew, Mrs. Gurit Kadman taught the Jewish dance when she was in Japan and the Ministry of Education put it into the school curriculum so it began to be danced throughout Japan. However, originally it was a song of joy for drawing “water from the wells of salvation.” (3) The words of the song come from this verse, Isaiah 12:3. How great a joy it was to drill a well in the desert where there is nothing and hit water and draw the water up!
Here it says, “draw water from the wells of salvation.” (3) Before I said this, but “salvation” is “Joshua”. In other words, it is Jesus. Jesus is the well of salvation. From Jesus we can “draw water from the wells of salvation.” (3)
Let’s open our Bibles to John 7:37 to 39.
John 7:37-39
“On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.’” (John 7:37, 38) “The festival” (John 7:37) is the Festival of Tabernacles. This was to remember that before when Israel left Egypt during the 40 years going towards the promise land they lived in tents and to be thankful to the Lord that during that time He provided all they needed.
According to Lev. 23:33-36, the Festival of Tabernacles was to last for 7 days. Up until the last day every day the priests drew water from the pool of Siloam. In a procession they returned to the temple, where the water was taken in procession once around the altar and then the water was poured out as a libation at the morning sacrifice. This was a time of great joy. This joy was associated with Isaiah 12:3. On the seventh day when the priest returned to the temple the procession continued seven times around the altar. Then trumpets sounded 21 times and the water was poured out as a libation. There was great rejoicing.
The Festival of Tabernacles started on the Sabbath. Then on the eighth day the following Sabbath, they were to “hold a sacred assembly…It is the closing assembly.” (Lev. 23:36) Jesus “on the last and greatest day of the festival” (John 7:37) “said in a loud voice, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.’” (John 7:37, 38) The question is whether the last and greatest day of the festival refers to the seventh day of the festival when there was the greatest amount of rejoicing as the water was carried around the seven times or if this was the closing assembly which was held on the eighth day which was the Sabbath. Some people think that because it was the Sabbath it was called the greatest day of the festival.
The eighth day was the closing ceremony marking the close of the Festival of Tabernacles which celebrated the Lord’s provision during the 40 years in the desert. Therefore, on the eighth day the priest did not draw water, but brought the water container to the temple empty. He did this because this expressed that their life in the desert was over and they were entering the Promised Land. In the Promised Land there was plenty of water so they would not need to be given water supernaturally. The Promised Land is rest.
If the eighth day, the Sabbath, was day that Jesus stood up and said, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” (John 7:37, 38) then Jesus is saying that He is the source of living water, the real (Sabbath) rest. By drawing water up from the well of Jesus, we can receive a filling of real rest. This is not just a thirsty throat or physical thirst, but we will be healed of spiritual thirst too. Only the Messiah can do this. This Messiah came and healed everything including our thirsty hearts. This Messiah is Jesus.
Jesus heals our thirst. Before Jesus testified to the Samarian woman that he was the well of salvation.
John 4:13-14
The physical world always gives us thirst. Various advertisements inspire us to buy and make us buy goods. However, even if we buy it for the moment we are satisfied, but again soon we are thirsty. No matter how much we buy we can’t be satisfied. It is like a lake with no depth. With things of the physical world we are still thirsty. Some time ago I heard the testimony of Arthur Holland. He said that he had experienced all various kinds of pleasures of this world, but they were never able to give him fulfillment. Even if he gained temporary fulfillment, he still became thirsty again. When he was fulfilled by the things that you see with your eyes he became thirsty again. However, Jesus gave him living water so that he was never thirsty again. Anyone who is thirsty, who doesn’t want to be thirsty again always is talking about their discontentment and complaints. If we want to be set free from such a life we are told by Jesus to come to him and drink. “The wells of salvation” (3) is Jesus. Let’s remember that Jesus is the real “wells of salvation” (3)

III. Proclaim what he has done (Vs. 4-6)
The third point is that the people who have drawn water from the well of Jesus, will not just keep it within themselves, but will proclaim it “among the nations.” (4) Please look at verses 4 to 6.
“In that day” (4) is used here again. In verse 1 it says, “In that day you will say”. This “you” is in the singular form. It is a personal praise. In verse 14 it says again, “In that day you will say”. However, this “you” is in the plural form. It develops into praises by a group. The personal praise is “I will praise you, LORD” (1), but the group hymn is “Give praise to the LORD” (4) It becomes “Give praise” (4) “proclaim” (4) and “make known” (4)
Those who praise the Lord with out fail will feel like they have to tell other people about Him. They will “make known among the nations what he has done”. (4) Just going to church and singing hymns and saying “hallelujah” and “Praise the Lord!” is not just praise. Singing is only just one way of praising the Lord. Even when we don’t sing songs, we can praise the Lord. Even when it doesn’t become words, we can praise the Lord. It is wonderful to praise the Lord by songs, but you can also praise the Lord by your behavior. There are times when without words, by your behavior that you can praise the Lord. By payer you can praise the Lord. By testimonies, by evangelism you can praise the Lord. Praising isn’t only just coming to church and being a part of the worship service. Praising, proclaiming his name, making “known among the nations what he has done” (4) are all ways of praising the Lord.
The other day at the annual meeting of the Missionary Training Center a pastor said quietly, “We can’t go to the mission field and evangelize ourselves, but I’m so happy that we can take part in the grace of world missions by praying for the Missionary Training Center and by giving. I thought that this is really true. There are many ways that we can praise. We can show thankfulness. Here we are recommended to “give praise to the LORD” (4) by making ““known among the nations what he has done”. (4)
Those who praise the Lord can’t be quiet. They think that they want to tell as many people as possible about how great God is. They want to say “Hallelujah” “Give praise to the Lord.” (4) The Lord is wonderful so “make known among the nations what he has done.” (4) If you do that then you too will become someone who praises the Lord. That is what this is saying here.
That day is coming. Even people who today don’t feel like praising God will when that day comes want to praise the Lord. A day will come when all mouths will confess the Lord and bow in worship. I said that it is prophesized that that day will come at the end of the world. However, personally I don’t think that is in the distant future. I feel that that day is just around the corner. It is not unbelievable that Jesus Christ could come any time. We are living in such an age. It may be tonight. It may be tomorrow. It may be within the year. It is not so far away. Are you prepared for it? Can you say, ”Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.” (4-6) Hallelujah!
The Lord has become your salvation. With joy you have drawn “water from the wells of salvation.” (3) Let’s praise this wonderful God and “let this be known to all the world.” (5)

Applying it to our lives
* Are you depending on the Lord? Are you giving thanks to the Lord and are you overflowing in praise like the Israelites? What are you afraid of and what are you worrying about?

* Are you thirsty? How are you healing that thirst? Are you drawing water from Jesus, the well of salvation?

* Are you making known the joy of salvation to other people? What wonderful things has the Lord done for you?