It's a privilege to be here tonight and be able to hear God's word. I appreciate my dad giving over his spot to me. This has been a blessing to me to study this passage. We're gonna be looking at Isaiah 12. Isaiah chapter 12, if you will turn there. It's been a blessing to my soul this week and I hope it is for you tonight as well. Isaiah chapter 12. As a Christian, isn't life hard at times? Isn't life sometimes depressing? You feel like you're drowning in the sea of trials of this world, and the depression just does not seem to lift. You're struggling with doubts. You know that Christ died, but you just are battling with doubts and fears about can this really be true? Can this really be the case? What do you think would help? What do you think would bring you encouragement in this time? Do you think it would help if we could get a glimpse at glory and see what our minds will be fixed upon in that day? If we could eavesdrop on the conversations taking place in the courtyards of glory and see what is occupying their minds. If we could, in a sense, be a fly on the wall in heaven, in its consummation, and hear the joys and the cries of the saints. Do you think that would help you? Do you think it would be helpful to once again drink deeply from the waters of salvation and be reminded of these things? So come take a journey with me and let us peel back the time that remains between us and glory and let us get a glimpse of what awaits us who are in Christ. Let us see the glories of heaven and hear the conversation of heaven and realize that just as sure as those glories are then, they are to us now because they're based on the promises of God. Let's pray. Lord, thank you so much for your word, wherein we find precious, exceeding precious promises of a glorious salvation that truly sounds too good to be true. Especially in the midst of our trials and depression, it sounds too good to be true. It really couldn't be mine. But Lord, help us to see the assurance that we can have and the joy that we can have in this eternal salvation that is as sure to us now as it will be in glory. Amen. We are in Isaiah chapter 12, this glorious little chapter of the book of Isaiah. And let's read our text. It says, You will say in that day, I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and will not be afraid, for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day, give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name, make known His deeds among the peoples, proclaim that His name is exalted. Sing praises to the Lord, for He has done gloriously. Let this be made known in all the earth. Shout and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. In this precious psalm that we find in the midst of the prophecies of Isaiah, we find a glimpse at glory. He's talking about the coming day of the consummation of the work of the root of Jesse, the Messiah, Christ Jesus. And he's saying, in that day, you will confess. In that day, he's showing, he's giving a glimpse at the psalms of joy and glory that these saints will be singing whenever they enjoy their salvation completed. And he gives us an individual response to this salvation in verses 2 and 1 and 2, and then the corporate response to this salvation in verses 3 through 6. So first let us look at the individual response to this glorious salvation. Whenever we look into glory and let's see what the individuals are talking about. What are they saying? What are they singing about? The first thing is they are being thankful. They are showing their gratitude to the Lord. They are expressing their dependence upon the Lord and their thankfulness that the Lord followed through on His promises. That everything that He promised, these such glorious promises that He made to them, He perfectly delivered on all of His promises. They're showing their thanks, their appreciation to the Lord. But why? What are they so thankful about? Are they just thankful about everything in general? Yes, but the text highlights one reason for their gratitude. So first of all, they are glorifying God in gratitude because of his grace. Look at this glorious passage here at the end of verse one. He says, I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me. What a glorious thing that the God, the just judge of all the earth, has turned His anger away. He has turned His anger away from us, though we perfectly merited all of His wrath, all of His anger, but He has turned it away. Someone has come in and stood in the gap and satisfied the anger of God so that He might turn to us and comfort us. What a glorious thing to give God thanks for. That He has turned away His anger, we who were wicked sinners, dead in our trespasses and sins, but God has shown rich and abundant mercy to us instead of pouring out His wrath. This interesting word there at the end, that you might comfort me, this is the same word used in Genesis chapter 50. Whenever, just imagine the scene, you have the brothers who sold Joseph into slavery, wanted to kill him, but because of Reuben, they just sold him into slavery. And he had every right to be angry. He even had the power and the position to put them in the dungeon, to put them in the prison that he suffered in, to make them go through everything that he suffered. He had every right and he had the authority to do it. And they come before him and say, now that our dad is dead, what's holding him back from pouring out his anger on us? But it says in that famous verse in Genesis 50 verse 20, what you intended for evil, God intended for good. And He turns their fears away. He says, I will take care of you and your children. Instead of pouring out His anger, which was merited, which they deserved, He says, I'm going to take care of you. I have the power to cast you in prison, but I also have the power to make sure you nor your children ever lack anything. So imagine now us walking into the courtroom of God, the God whom we have offended, the God whom we have sinned against every moment of our lives. and we go in sure that we're going to receive his condemnation, guaranteed that he's going to send us to the darkest place in hell. But then he says, he turns away his anger so that he might comfort us. Whenever we are sure that we will receive condemnation, he says, no, I'm going to make sure, I'm going to bring you in as my children and bring you to enjoy the joys, the glories of heaven for all of eternity with me. He turns away his anger that he might comfort us. That will definitely be on the minds and the lips of believers in glory, thinking, I deserved his anger, but now he has comforted me instead of pouring out his wrath. The second thing in verse two is, They're going to be confessing their faith. They're going to be showing their trust in the promises of God. They're going to be giving God thanks. And they're going to be expressing their complete dependence upon the promises of God. God had proved to be their fortress. Whenever we get to glory, and now as we're looking into glory, what are the believers saying? I trusted my whole soul on the Lord. I cast the whole weight of my immortal soul on the promise of God. And He delivered. And He delivered. He has become my salvation. He is my song and my Savior. The Lord delivered on His promises. I trusted Him and He delivered. What is this glorious salvation specifically that this verse is talking about? Now, Isaiah 12 is a very interesting passage. It comes right after, of course, Isaiah chapter 11. What is the content of Isaiah chapter 11? Let's turn there, just either the page before in your Bibles. It's divided into two sections. The first nine verses describe the glories of the Messiah. It says, there shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, or from the line of David, and a branch from his root shall bear fruit, and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And then later he says, The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fatted calf together, and a little child shall lead them." So we see the glories of the Savior and the glories of His kingdom. This is what, this is describing glory. This is what we have to look forward to, this glorious salvation. But, in the second part of the chapter, it describes an important theme in the book of Isaiah and also in the whole Old Testament. It's this theme of a new Exodus. A new Exodus. The Savior, this root out of the The lump of Jesse is going to come and lead a new Exodus. He's going to be a new Moses to deliver the people from bondage and bring them back to the kingdom of God. He says in verse 10, in that day, the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples, of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious. In that day, the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea. He will raise a signal for the nations, and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. And then later it says, And the Lord will utterly destroy the tongue of the sea of Egypt, and will wave his hand over the river with his scorching breath, and strike it into seven channels. And He will lead His people across in sandals. He will lead His people across on dry ground. And there will be a highway from Assyria for the remnant that remains of His people as there was for Israel when they came up out of the land of Egypt. So this messiah, this root out of the tribe of Jesse, out of the family of Jesse, the son of David, is going to come and lead a new exodus wherein he delivers all of the remnant of God's people from all nations and brings them back to the promised land. He's going to come and deliver all of His people, and it's not just Israelites here, note that. He's calling all of His people, His remnant that He has among all of the nations. He's going to call and bring and deliver. There's gonna be a highway, a straight path He's gonna make for them in order to bring them all back to Himself. So in Exodus chapter 14, We have the narrative of the Exodus led by Moses. Where the people are being chased by Pharaoh. And they are standing at the edge of the Red Sea. And they are fearful. They don't know what they're going to do. They don't know if they're going to survive. They're actually pretty sure and confident that they're going to die. They have death on one side of them and death on the other. They run in and they drown, or they wait until Pharaoh catches up and he kills them, or takes them back to be slaves. And now think, you are standing now in the midst, in between your sin and the wrath of God, and you have imminent death on either side. But then Christ comes in and delivers you and brings you back out of your bondage to your sin and delivers you to the promised land, to Zion's land, to Emmanuel's land. Even so, we can express our confidence in the Lord. As Moses told the people of Israel, he said, for them to trust in the Lord. Fear not, stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent. And so in Exodus 14, we have the narrative of the exodus from Moses. In Isaiah chapter 11, we have the narrative of the new exodus led by Christ. In Exodus chapter 15, we have the song of Moses praising God for his salvation. And in Isaiah 12, we have the parallel to that song of Moses praising God for this new Exodus, for this deliverance from bondage to sin. And now note, in verse 2 he says, Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust, and I will not be afraid. For the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. Now listen to these words from Exodus 15. Then Moses said, and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying, I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously. The horse and His rider He has thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise Him, my Father's God, and I will exalt Him. The Lord is a man of war. The Lord is his name. Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? You stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them. You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed. You have guided them by your strength to your holy abode. The peoples have heard, they tremble. Pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia. Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed. Trembling seizes the leaders of Moab. All the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. Terror and dread fall upon them because of the greatness of your arm. They are still as a stone till your people, O Lord, pass by, till the people pass by whom you have purchased. You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain, the place, O Lord, which you have made for your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established. The Lord will reign forever and ever. Note the parallel here between Exodus 14 and Isaiah 11 and Exodus 15 and Isaiah 12. Isaiah 12 even borrows some of the same language as you heard there in Exodus 15. So, looking into glory, what do you think the believers will be talking about? What do you think they'll be talking about? they will be praising God for having delivered his people, for having fulfilled his promises, for having delivered his people from imminent death and destruction, from turning away his anger and bringing them safe, without harm, to his holy abode, where he, the Lord God, reigns forever and ever. And then in verse 3 there is a change in the text. In verse 1 it says, you will say in that day, you individually, you singular. But now in verse 3 he says, with joy you, plural, will draw water from the wells of salvation and you, plural, will say in that day. And so we're looking at this glorious salvation, this promise of a Messiah who's going to lead a glorious kingdom, reign in an eternal, glorious, righteous kingdom, deliver all of His people from all of the earth, and bring them to dwell with Him in a kingdom that can't contain the people. And so it just keeps on expanding until it fills the whole earth. This salvation that sounds too good to be true, Isaiah is telling us to be confident in these promises. Be confident in this prophecy. Be confident in this God of this salvation. And he does so in this amazing way. By showing us the songs of praise of those who benefit by it. Looking into the future of those who perfectly enjoy this salvation and showing us what they are going to be saying. And so he's looking now We have this glorious expectation. Look at this metaphor here that he uses in verse three. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. What an incredible idea. Just think of somebody who lives in a desert land. Every day they go out to find their well. They go and they look in and there's water there. And what joy that is to go and be able to draw water and take it back in order for you to have the water that you need. But imagine someone living in a land where the wells typically dry out. They go one day, there's nothing there. They go the next day, hoping that maybe something will be there. And again, nothing. But this well of salvation is one to which we can come continuously, constantly, with joy, knowing that it will constantly and forever be full. We will be able to draw from this well without depleting its source. We will be able to continually come to this well and enjoy the waters of salvation. Now we peer into heaven and we look at the saints gathered around the well, rejoicing in the salvation, drawing each of them enough for their souls and more. And even so, believers, this well has been opened, this fountain has been opened for sin and uncleanness. And now I invite you to come and drink deeply of these waters, to come and be satisfied in this salvation, in the truth of this glorious salvation from sin accomplished by the rod of Jesse. We may trust and not fear, knowing that the well of deliverance, the spring of salvation, will never run dry. Even all the oceans cannot contain the water that we could draw from these deep wells. The aquifer will never deplenish. Jeremiah 2.13, God charges His people with two crimes. They sought out, they forsook the Lord. They forsook the Lord first of all, but then they sought out for themselves broken cisterns that could hold no water. Seeking the salvation that the people typically seek, seeking a salvation by works, seeking a salvation even by baptism, seeking a salvation by any other means than Christ, is seeking water from a broken cistern that holds no water. but we have the perfect salvation of Christ, the perfect salvation of this rod of Jesse, who has perfectly accomplished, who has won the victory, and now we are awaiting the glorious consummation of that salvation. We can take joy in that, that it will never run dry. Also, In the third place, we have, so first we have the individual response in gratitude and faith, and now we have the corporate response in, first of all, dependence. In verse four, he says, and you will say in that day, give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples. Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name. The first way in which we as a body respond to this salvation is by full dependence on the Lord. We can be confident in this salvation. It will not fail. Those who are in glory now, or the glory that is to come, and as we are looking in, getting a glimpse of glory, The people are talking about how they called upon the Lord. They called upon the Lord and He delivered. He promised, they trusted in that promise and He was found faithful. We will also be able to say that the Lord is my salvation. He is my strength and my song. Whenever we stand in that day, we stand in glory. we will be able to think back of how we banked our souls on the promises of God. We banked our souls on the witness that he gave of his son, and he was found faithful. The second corporate response is a declaration of this salvation to the nations. He says in the second part of verse four, make known his deeds among the peoples. Proclaim that his name is exalted. This second response to this glorious salvation gives us a glimpse at a theme that is very important in the Old Testament. It's this idea of the inclusion of the Gentiles in this glorious salvation. This salvation is promised to be opened up for the nations. And the people of God are here seen as the ones calling all to come. Whenever we look at those who have partaken of this salvation, They're calling all the nations, they're calling all the people, they're calling all the Gentiles even to come and partake of this salvation. They look at the precious work of the Messiah and they see that it is perfect and there is water enough in this well for all to come and drink from all the nations. We see this same theme in many passages in the book of Isaiah. In chapter two, verse two, it says, it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains and shall be lifted up above the hills and all the nations shall flow to it. This precious kingdom of the Messiah that is higher than all the others All the nations will flow into it. Chapter 11, verse 10, which I've already read. In that day, the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples, of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious. This word, peoples, is the word Gentiles. It's the nations, it's the people who are outside of the covenant community of Israel. And they're calling them to enjoy this salvation. In Isaiah 65 verse 1 it says, I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me. I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, here I am, here I am, to a nation that was not called by my name. Isaiah 66, the last few words, the last few verses of the book of Isaiah. For I know their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming to gather all nations and all tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory. And I will set a sign among them, and from them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Poole, and Ludd. who draw the bow to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands far away that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations. And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the Lord on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries to my holy mountain, Jerusalem, says the Lord. just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. And some of them also I will take for priests and Levites, says the Lord." Wow! This passage looking at the inclusion of the Gentiles in this glorious salvation, in this kingdom of the Messiah. And it says that he's going to send out his messengers to the uttermost parts of the world where they've never heard of the glory of the Lord. and is going to bring them all in as a special offering for the Lord. He's going to make the nations an offering to the Lord. Think about Psalm chapter 2 where God promises to the Son, ask of me and I will make the nations your inheritance. Again in Zephaniah 3, 9-12 For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of the Lord, and serve Him with one accord. 10 From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshippers, the daughter of my first ones, shall bring my offering. On that day you shall not be put to shame because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me. For then I will remove from your midst your proudly exultant ones, and you shall no longer be haughty in my holy mountain. But I will leave in your midst a people humble and lowly. They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord. And last of all, look at Romans chapter 15, verses 8 through 13. Paul summarizes some of this very same language here in this passage. For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, or the peoples, the nations, and sing to your name. And again, it is said, rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people. And again, praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him. And again, Isaiah says, which is Isaiah 11.10, the root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles, and him will May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. So looking at glory, looking at those who have participated in this salvation, what are they busy doing? Now this brings us back a little bit in time from glory to us now. We are looking into glory. We are looking forward to glory. But because of the nature of this salvation, because of the perfection of the work of Christ, we can already participate in these glories. We can already participate in the glories of heaven. We are now marching on to Zion. Beautiful, beautiful Zion. the beautiful mountain of God. We are marching to Zion and we have the fruit, the celestial fruits growing all around us. And we can take them and we can enjoy these fruits now. We can enjoy the fruits of glory now. And what does that look like? So far we've seen that it looks like thankfulness for this glorious salvation. Knowing that this salvation will be as sure then or is as sure now as it will be then. It also looks like faith and dependence upon the promises of God. And now it looks like declaring this salvation to the nations. It looks like being a part of this declaration to the nations, inviting them to come in, inviting them to partake of this glorious salvation. This last line of this verse says, in verse 5, it says, Sing praises to the Lord, for He has done gloriously. Let this be made known in all the earth. Let this be made known in all the earth. We have the same idea of this declaration to the nations, inviting them. make known his deeds among the peoples, calling the saints to declare this glorious salvation to all peoples. In the ESV, it translates this line, let this be made known in all the earth, as a type of command, saying, let this be done. May all praise him. But I think maybe more properly, the New King James Version translates it this way. This is known in all the earth. It says, sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously. This is known in all the earth. Now, remembering that Isaiah is using this future song that will be sung by the redeemed to give us hope in the salvation promises that we are hearing now. He's using this song, and so looking now into glory, And the people in the courtyards of heaven looking around at the other people who made it there. The other people who Christ redeemed. And he sings, sing praises to the Lord. Surely this salvation was made known in all the earth. He's looking around, the saint in glory is looking around and seeing people of all different tribes, nations, and tongues. And he's saying, wow, this salvation made it to the most, the uttermost parts of the world. It made it to the little tiny corners of Africa, the little tiny islands in Indonesia. God got his gospel into every part of the world. And now there is trophies of the work of Christ walking all around me from all nations, tongues, and tribes. This will be the song of the saints in glory, but it will be so by us now participating in those glories. By us now declaring this salvation to the nations. By spreading this good news of this glorious salvation. this glorious salvation that we are looking forward to. We can look in and we can find hope for tomorrow and strength for today because we know that this is sure being that it is based on the promises of God. This idea of the already but not yet. This idea that theologians often talk about. We already are enjoying this salvation. This salvation is already a present reality. We already can say that God has turned away his anger from us. That we are justified by faith in Christ. We can already say the Lord is faithful to his promises. He has come through on all of his promises to me. And how much more will we say so in glory? These are already present promises, but there of course is that future aspect that we are looking forward to the final culmination of the salvation, this salvation consummated. Listen to these words of Isaac Watts in his famous hymn, We're Marching to Zion. The men of grace have found glory begun below. Celestial fruits on earthly ground from faith and hope may grow. The hill of Zion yields a thousand sacred sweets before we reach the heavenly fields or walk the golden streets. We are now marching up the hill, going to the top of the mountain where Zion is. We are seeking higher ground, but as we go, there are a thousand sacred sweets all around us. There are celestial fruits growing from earthly ground. There are heavenly joys that we can enjoy now in our earthly pilgrimage. And that's what this psalm is inviting us to do. That's what this chapter is inviting us to do. Enjoy, participate now in the appropriate response to this glorious salvation. We get the perfect example of how to respond to this salvation by a glimpse at glory, but then Isaiah is inviting us to respond in this way now. To respond now. The last thing, of course, is, so we have dependence, declaration, and we have doxology. We see it says, shout and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. Looking into glory, the people of God in the presence of God, enjoying the glory of God. where Christ prayed, Lord, I pray that my people would be with me and that they might behold my glory. The people there beholding the glory of God, beholding, living in the presence of God. And you can't help but sing and shout for joy. Sing and shout for joy knowing that you deserved his anger. But now you enjoy His face. You deserved His wrath. And for Him to turn away from you, but now He shines the fullness of His glory upon you and preserves your life that you might enjoy it. So I invite you believers, as we battle through this life, as we're marching uphill to Zion, it's difficult, it's hard. We find discouragement and depression. We find doubt and fears. But I invite you to look, think upon glory. To think about what your mind is gonna be pondering in glory. Think about what your lips are gonna be saying in glory. Think about what you're gonna be doing in glory and realize your salvation is as sure to you now as it will be then. Not because of you, not because of your strength, but because this salvation is based on the promises of God and the perfect work of the rod of Jesse. The perfect work of Christ. You can bank on this salvation. You can bank on these promises. And you can find heavenly joy even in the midst of earthly sorrows. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for