“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.”
(Isaiah 12:2)
Isaiah’s testimony in this passage is deeply personal; he says, “God is my salvation.” And when the LORD JEHOVAH is our strength, our song, and our salvation, every fear gives way to faith for we possess the God from whom every saving blessing comes.
Scripture repeatedly connects the ways of God with joy. His statutes are right and rejoice the heart. His rod and staff comfort. In His presence there is a river of pleasures, and in Him is the fountain of life. The righteous are not called to simply endure, but to be glad in the Lord and even to rejoice exceedingly[1] because salvation is not only deliverance; it carries consolation with it. God saves, and He causes the saved soul to rejoice in what He has done.
God intends His people to understand that joy belongs properly to the life of grace. Though the Christian life is not free from grief, opposition, or loss, the joy rooted in Christ provides a foundation that circumstances cannot shake. Christian joy is not based on temperament, enthusiasm, or temporary excitement but is a work of grace grounded in salvation.
The many promises of joy are necessary because joy is essential to perseverance. Without spiritual joy, the Christian life can easily become mechanistic and tiresome. God therefore gives repeated encouragements to rejoice in Him, to remember His salvation, and to draw consolation from His promises. The abundance of these assurances answers the abundance of trials through which His people must pass.
Our Heavenly Father does not just leave His people with commands to rejoice. He gives reasons for joy, promises joy, works joy by His Spirit, and anchors joy in Himself as our salvation. The believer may therefore say with Isaiah, “I will trust, and not be afraid,” because fear has no power where God Himself has become the strength, song, and salvation of His people.
Contemplations:
- You Are More Than the Giver of Salvation. I praise You because You are my salvation. You are my strength and my song. Let these realities deepen my thanksgiving because every saving benefit leads me back to You as its fountain. Let joy rise from knowing that the One who saves also gives Himself as the portion of His people.
- Your Word Gives My Heart Reasons to Rejoice. Your statutes are right and rejoice the heart. Your promises comfort. Your countenance gives light. Your righteousness gives reason for gladness. Teach me to receive Your Word as one of the chief means by which You sustain joy. When discouragement settles heavily upon me, draw me again to the truths You have given for consolation.
- Your Joy Can Survive What Circumstances Cannot. This life contains enough sorrow to make joy difficult to obtain and harder still to preserve. Yet You promise a joy that no man can take away. I bless You that the believer’s joy is not based in circumstances; it is rooted in salvation, wrought by the Holy Ghost, and nourished by Your presence. Make that joy deeper than present grief and steadier than outward change.
- Let Me Draw Again from the Wells of Salvation. I sometimes live as though salvation were a truth learned once and then placed behind me. Do not let me become so familiar with grace that I stop drawing consolation from it. Bring me repeatedly to the wells of salvation. Let justification, reconciliation, adoption, Your promises, and the hope of glory continue to refresh my heart. Make old truths living fountains of new thanksgiving.
Prayer (Thanksgiving):
O Lord JEHOVAH, I give thanks that You are my strength, my song, and my salvation.
You have just commanded Your people to rejoice; You have given them abundant reasons for joy. Your statutes are right and rejoice the heart. Your promises sustain the fearful. Your presence gives light, and Your salvation supplies wells from which Your people may continually draw consolation.
I praise You that true joy is rooted in You rather than in changing circumstances. The evils of this life are many, and joy can be difficult to sustain, but You have not left Your people without support. You promise gladness, comfort, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Thank You for the work of Your Spirit, who produces joy as the fruit of grace rather than as a passing emotion. Let that joy strengthen perseverance, steady the heart in affliction, and keep obedience from becoming cold and mechanical.
I bless You for Christ’s promise of a joy that no man can take away. Let that assurance strengthen my faith.
When discouragement comes, bring me back to Your Word. When sorrow presses hard, make me draw again from the wells of salvation. When my heart becomes dull, remind me that You remain the fountain of life and the source of every true consolation.
Make me a thankful and rejoicing believer, not because this life is free from trouble but because You are faithful in the midst of it.
Be my strength when I am weak, my song when I am cast down, and my salvation in every fear.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Further Scripture References:
Exod. 15:2; Psalm 118:14; Psalm 27:1; Jer. 3:23
[1] Edward Leigh, A Treatise of the Divine Promises in Five Books, (London: George Miller, and are to be sold by Thomas Underhill .., 1641), 316-319.
