"The Lord Has Become My Salvation"

  

"Surely God is my salvation;

            I will trust and not be afraid.

The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song;

            He has become my salvation.

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation."

 

            Jesus came with joy.

            "Jesus comes in joy and sorrow, shares alike our hopes and fears;

            Jesus comes, whate'er befalls us, glads our hearts and dries our tears –

            cheering e'en our failing years."

            The key to understanding the joy that Jesus brings, and to receiving this joy, is not to begin with joy, and not to try to produce joy with our own efforts. Trying to produce joy tends to wear us out. Joy begins in trust, in faith. "Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid." Trust is where we begin.

            The Old Testament is very practical. It does not throw around words like "salvation" and "joy" and "trust" as abstract terms. They are always part of a story, they have a historical setting. So Isaiah lived during a time of fear and faith. Assyria was growing larger and expanding westward, destroying nations in its path, and Judah was definitely in its path. A few of the smaller nations, Syria and the Northern Kingdom of Israel, banded together to fight Assyria. They made it clear to King Ahaz that if Judah did not join their alliance, they would attack him.

            So Ahaz was in a place of fear and faith. He had a choice. He could have trusted God. Instead, he acted out of fear, and called for help from his enemy, Assyria. That disastrous decision led to destruction, and eventually to the loss of the Promised Land and exile for the people. Ahaz certainly did not begin the pattern of disobedience and lack of trust in his land. He is more a product of their long rebellion against God. But his decision led them to experience the anger of God. It had severe consequences.

            Then the prophet spoke. After the disaster, after the anger of God, will come a time of comfort, will come forgiveness, restoration and salvation. Judah will once again trust God and follow him and that will lead them to experience his salvation, a salvation that produces joy. The key for them was not to try to be joyful. It was to trust God.

            John Oswalt writes that "God would deliver them from the chains their own hands had formed. Judgment is not Gods' last word, for promise lies beyond judgment." Isaiah chapter 12 then is a song of joy that has its foundation in trusting God and doing his will.

            This song is part of a larger unit, chapters 7 through 39 in Isaiah. The first chapters tell the story, and Isaiah lifts up images of salvation. He begins with a series of children. In chapter 7, a child is named "A remnant shall return." This is a sign of hope. There will be a restoration of the land to those who are faithful. Then in chapter 8 is Immanuel, a child named "God is with us." That means God's word will be kept. The promise will come true because of God's presence, not by human effort or scheming. In chapter 9 the birth of a royal child is described: "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders." No longer will foolish Ahaz make decisions in fear and disobedience. There will be a new ruler.

            In chapter 11 Isaiah writes of a shoot that will come up from the stump of Jesse. Assyria cut down the forest that was Israel. Now the great land was nothing but a field of stumps. But from one stump a shoot will grow, and "The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him, the Sprit of wisdom and of understanding." Chapter 11 ends with the statement of what God will do with restored Judah, "He will raise a banner of the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth." These are the scriptures we read in Advent and on Christmas Eve. But sometimes we do not read them together; we do not read them in the context of the story of fear and faith.

            Then comes the song in chapter12. "I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength, my song, my salvation."

            In 539 BC the people were allowed to return home from exile. The restoration was cause for rejoicing, but their salvation was not complete, nor long-lasting. They felt the exile really had not ended. The song expresses a hope that goes far beyond the restoration of the land. The song looks forward to Christ. For it is Christ alone who will be their strength, their joy, their salvation. But what is salvation, if its meaning cannot be contained by the deliverance from exile and the return to the land? In the Old Testament, "salvation" means "to deliver" or "to escape." It is Israel's story in relation to their enemies. God saves them from destruction and defeat. In the Psalms, salvation can mean victory over enemies, or vindication, or practical help from the Lord, or freedom from troubles. Salvation in the Old Testament has been described as "material deliverance with spiritual blessing." It is the prophets who see it more deeply and completely. In the last days the Lord will bring a complete salvation, and the whole world will share in it.

            In Christ, salvation is seen clearly. Salvation means to be healed by Christ, and saved from our sins, and welcomed into the kingdom of God. To the one who trusts in Christ there is forgiveness for sin and a new relationship with God. Salvation is an escape from the wrath of God, and an entry into life that is described as water drawn from a well.

           That brings us to joy. Faith leads us to salvation which is received with joy. "Joy" translates three biblical words. First, joy means well-being, health and happiness. Second, joy can be a feeling, an emotion. Third, joy is an outward demonstration, the exultation of God's people as they praise God in public worship. The joy in worship is a thankful attitude that remembers God's provision in the past and looks forward to God's future kingdom. Joy is the knowledge of assurance in Christ.

"Why should I be anxious, I have such a friend who bears in his heart all my woe?

This friend is the Savior, on him I depend, his love is eternal I know."

So the praise of God that is built on the foundation of trust and faith creates joy in the congregation. You can see this especially in the gospel music of the black church. Services begin with expressive and happy praise, and the expression of joy creates joy in the worshippers.

            We do not come to worship because we feel joyful due to some good fortune in our lives. We come bearing a whole variety of joys and sorrows, burdens and victories; and we enter into praise no matter what we are feeling. We express joy, and that develops a joyful and grateful spirit in us.

            The early church gathered in worship and focused on the cross, resurrection and return of Christ, and that was the basis of their joy. Their joy was Christ centered. They were not joyful because they got a raise in pay at work, or because their child made the honor roll at school. They were joyful because of their faith in Christ.

            I have noticed that when we get together at Thanksgiving and people share out of their lives, their experiences of grace, even through times of sorrow; that a joy comes into the congregation. We sing with joy and gladness on those occasions. I notice that when we go to a lake for a baptism and hear the testimonies of people who have come to faith in Christ, that a joy comes into the congregation gathered in a public place. On Christmas Eve there is a special joy when we light the candles and sing "Silent Night." When we express joy, we become joyful and grateful people.

            We are now the singers of the song the prophet wrote so many years ago. We sing with joy. We wait for the joy of the Lord to fall upon us. And it will.

            Ame .