PM Isaiah 12

[0:00] I'm going to bring you to the reading this evening. I know it's written as Isaiah 12 in page 696, but if you can just turn briefly to Isaiah 11.

[0:29] I'll just touch on a few verses in chapter 11. Chapter 11 of the book of Isaiah, the prophet Isaiah chapter 11. I'll read the first two verses.

[0:44] The word of God declares that there shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

[0:56] 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.

[1:11] Now this is evidently about the Lord Jesus Christ, and if you need any confirmation on that, the apostle Paul himself declares that this is about Jesus in the book of Romans chapter 15.

[1:25] That's for the first verse. And the second verse that I've just read, the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. That is fulfilled in the three gospel accounts, Matthew, Mark and Luke, in Jesus' baptism.

[1:39] So you can read that in all three accounts. Maybe perhaps start with Matthew chapter 3. So this is about the Lord Jesus Christ. Chapter 11 is about the Lord Jesus Christ.

[1:50] Some of the character of the Lord Jesus Christ in verse 3 to 5, which goes, And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see or decide disputes by what his ears hear.

[2:05] But with righteousness he shall judge the poor and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. And he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

[2:17] Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. That is the character or some of the attributes of the coming Messiah.

[2:30] Obviously this is Isaiah, so it is 700 years before Christ. But he is foreseeing or foretelling the coming Messiah and some of his attributes.

[2:42] And of course this is about the Lord Jesus Christ. And the next few verses is about the people of God. From chapter 6 to the end is about the Lord's people, God's people, and some of their characteristics.

[2:59] And we will go to the verse 16 in chapter 11. Now this is a prophecy of the people of God, specifically the returning people of God from exile, from Assyria we see here.

[3:30] But it is a picture of a greater return of the people of God to the Lord. So it is not just about the Jewish people returning from exile, but it is more than that.

[3:46] It is more than that. And we see this is partially fulfilled in Pentecost, when everybody gathered around and were brought into the kingdom of God from all corners of the world.

[3:59] But also more importantly is for us. The reason why we have the Church of Jesus Christ in, not just in the Middle East, but even as far flung if you want to call it in Scotland, is because this part of this verse is being fulfilled in us today.

[4:18] And then we come to the response, if you want to put it this way, the response in Isaiah chapter 12. You will say in that day, I will give thanks to you, O Lord.

[4:30] 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.

[4:42] 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.

[4:53] 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.

[5:07] Let this be made known in all the earth. Shout and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion. For great is your midst, is the Holy One of Israel.

[5:20] Amen. May the Lord add his blessing to the public reading of his holy and inspired word. And we will be considering verse 3 in a few minutes' time of this wonderful. Please turn with me once again, back to that passage in Isaiah chapter 12.

[5:36] The prophet Isaiah chapter 12. And the Lord helping us this evening, we will be looking at verse 3 in this particular chapter. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

[5:53] We will think about this verse and our meditation will be on this wonderful verse. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

[6:03] Now, earlier I read a bit about, in Isaiah chapter 11, some verses from there. We know that in chapter 11 is about the Lord Jesus Christ.

[6:15] The first few verses are about the Lord Jesus Christ up to verse 5. That is already made clear as the account of the baptism of Jesus.

[6:33] And then later on in Paul's epistle to the Romans, that confirms that this is about the Lord Jesus Christ. And one of the consequence or one of the fruits of his first coming is the establishment of the New Testament church.

[6:52] And the New Testament church is not going to be like the Old Testament people of God. His New Testament church is going to be one that is characterized by safety, by peace, and so on.

[7:05] And so you get that in chapter 11 and verse 6 onwards. There is peace, there is security, there is safety, and so on.

[7:15] We will touch on all that. It is prophecy, it is in that prophetic language. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb. You know, you wonder what is that about. All day is all a picture of the security of the church of Jesus Christ.

[7:30] The New Testament church of Jesus Christ. And then we come to chapter 12. And I say towards the end we read that there is going to be this ingathering of not just the Jewish people, to the Messiah, to the Messiah and his kingdom, but it is broader than that.

[7:52] It is going to be the ingathering of the New Testament people of God into the church of Jesus Christ. So it is for us today. And so the response, and the only appropriate response that Isaiah or the person who is reading it ought to have, the only response that we should have is, I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away that you might comfort me.

[8:21] That is the only response that you can think of, that one can think of. Once we know that this is all about Christ and what he means to us and what he is bringing to the people of God, for us today, our response must be to give thanks.

[8:39] That even though the Lord was angry with us because of our sin, that his anger would be turned away because of grace and mercy and the finished work of Christ upon the cross.

[8:52] So, it is, in one sense, it is almost like a psalm. I know Isaiah is writing this, but it is almost like a psalm.

[9:02] It is a response. It is a song. In fact, one writer puts it this way, that this is actually a psalm of redemption. One writer puts it that this is a psalm of redemption.

[9:13] You know, what must happen to individuals when we see, when we behold Christ and all that is in chapter 11, when we see Christ, our response should be, this is who we need.

[9:32] We need Christ. It grips our conscience and, as it were, we break into a song, a song of joy. This is, in one sense, it is like a psalm.

[9:47] I know it is not, but it is like a psalm. And a psalm that is full of charm. When you read it, it thrills our heart. Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and will not be afraid.

[9:59] For the Lord God is my strength and my song. And he has become my salvation. It thrills our heart and it gives us a sense of security there.

[10:09] A sense of protection that despite we may be standing in a hurricane or in an earthquake of devastation around us, we may be standing and facing that, but yet, when you read this, we realize that God is there with us.

[10:33] And this God is whom we should trust and will not be afraid. For God is my strength and my song. So there's some words of comfort, some words of encouragement, some words of, it is a psalm of redemption after all.

[10:50] We who are once sinners, cut off from God, far away from God, now we've been brought into a relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.

[11:01] And as part of that wonderful bringing together through the Lord Jesus Christ, we get all these wonderful benefits. And then we come to verse 3.

[11:12] We come to verse 3. With joy, you will draw water from the wells of salvation. The tone changes. And in fact, the ESV helpfully is trying to point out to us that in verse 1 is a, we read in, you might see it in, I'm not sure, but I have it in my, as a footnote.

[11:38] In verse 1, it's a singular, the U is singular. But then in verse 3, it's plural. So the focus is not just on, you were saying that there, I would give thanks to you, O Lord.

[11:52] We, as individuals, we respond to that. But now the instructions there for us, with joy, you, or if you are, for the Americans, with you all, or I think in Glasgow, it would be yous, you know, in plural.

[12:10] You would draw water from the wells of salvation. There's instruction there for us now. Yes, wonderful to break forth into song and rejoice.

[12:22] But now there's something for us to do. Something for us to do. It's the, in fact, that verse in the second verse, if you look at the second verse itself, those words, Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and will not be afraid.

[12:42] For the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. Now those words appears in the book of Exodus. In fact, one writer puts it this way, that this verse in verse 2, in the run of the verse 3, it's almost as a, it almost looks in two directions.

[13:05] It looks back 700 years behind, and then it looks 700 years ahead. Okay, it looks, this verse in verse 2, it's like a pivot, but it looks backwards to Exodus, and it looks forward to the coming of Christ.

[13:25] Now, I say already, it looks backwards in Exodus chapter 15, verse 2, we see the exact same words. The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.

[13:38] Those words appear there. And in Exodus 15, Moses, with the Israelites, they were singing. after the, after the Red Sea incident, after crossing the Red Sea, they were singing and rejoicing, that they've been delivered, they've been saved, from the Egyptians.

[14:02] He has become my salvation. And they've arrived at, at a place called Elim, when there were, there were 12 wells of water. And they were, they camped there by the waters.

[14:13] We read that again in Exodus 15, verse 27. Then they came to Elim, where there were 12 springs of water, and 70 palm trees. Note, 70 palm trees. And they encamped there by the water.

[14:25] The 70 palm trees, gives an allusion, to, or points out, the Feast of Tabernacles, where they stayed in booths, or in tents.

[14:39] And if you know about the Feast of Tabernacles, it's there for a few reasons. It was established for a few reasons, for the people of God, in those times, in, in the times of Moses, and so on.

[14:54] First of all, the Feast of Tabernacles, is for them to, to remember the past, and recall God's provision, for his people. Another reason for the Feast of Tabernacles, is, for them to keep an hour in the present, by giving, thanks, for the, in gathering of crops.

[15:15] We do have that sometimes, in some churches, perhaps you may have it here, Harvest Thanksgiving Service. They had their version of that. And then they look to the future, in the Feast of Tabernacles, they look to the future, with a plea, for upcoming rains.

[15:31] Yeah, if you, if you live in the Middle East, where drought is more common, than the amount of rain, that we have here, you'll be praying, for wet weather.

[15:41] You'll be praying for rain. And so, during that Feast of, of, of Tabernacles, the last day of the dry season, is, also signifies, and, and, and, and, and, and, and signifies the, the beginning of the joyful, and wet season.

[15:59] And so, they pray for, for rain. And this is where, they start to collect water. It's almost like a, everyone says, it's almost symbolic, because they're praying for rain, but they're collecting water.

[16:14] But, this is the time, where they start collecting water. And so, it's quite, amazing, that from Exodus, we come to, Isaiah, with joy, you will draw water, from the, wells of salvation.

[16:30] From the wells of salvation. So, what are these wells of salvation, you may ask? Well, it's more than just the 12 wells of Elim. That's for sure.

[16:43] If, when Isaiah is reading this, writing it, and proclaiming it, they wouldn't be thinking, oh, it's just the 12 wells it's referring to, because these are the wells of salvation.

[16:54] And after all that has been said in chapter 11, I'm sure they'll be thinking beyond, and they ought to be thinking beyond, the 12 wells of Elim. Because don't forget, if you read Exodus 15, after the 12 wells of Elim, after the deliverance from the Red Sea, there's the bitter waters of Mara.

[17:18] If you remember, after, after the, in Exodus 15, verse 22 to 24, they reached the place of Mara, where the waters, it was bitter, and Moses threw in the log, and the waters became sweet again.

[17:37] So, it's, it's more than just, the waters of Elim. And in fact, we know later on, in Exodus 17, there's going to be, a lack of water, and so, Moses in Exodus 17, had to pray, and, and the Lord told him to strike a rock, and water shall flow out from, the rock, in Exodus 17.

[17:59] So, all these references to, to water, and, and, and the wells, is, it goes beyond, the wells of Elim. And the, the Israelites should know that.

[18:11] They should know that. And in fact, we read in Paul's epistle to the Corinthians, we read that, they all drank from the same spiritual drink, for they drank of the spiritual rock, which followed them, and the rock was Christ.

[18:25] The wells of Elim, the, bitter waters of Mara, and then the rock, where, the water flow out from the rock.

[18:35] All that is just, a picture of, the Lord Jesus Christ, because the rock, followed them, and not just the rock, followed them, but, God had followed them, all the way, through.

[18:49] So, this wells of salvation, is more than just, Elim. More than just, the twelve wells of Elim. The wells, picture, is a picture of salvation, it produces joy, and refreshment.

[19:07] This wells of salvation, is more than just, the physical water, the physical well, but it's a picture of salvation, and it produces joy, and refreshment.

[19:17] It sustains, it sustains, the thirsty soul, and it cheers the heart. It sustains, it supports us, from sinking low.

[19:32] It refreshes the weary, and the tired pilgrim. This is, and this is, kind of pictured, for us, in John's gospel, we read in John's gospel, the, you know, the event, the incident of Jesus, and the woman of Samaria.

[19:50] Remember, Jesus said to this, the woman of Samaria, in verse 14, in John chapter 4, but whoever drinks of the water, that I will give, Jesus said to her, everyone who drinks of this water, will be thirsty again.

[20:05] But whoever drinks of the water, that I will give him, will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him, will become in him, a spring of water, welling up, to eternal life.

[20:20] This, water, this well of salvation, is there, to sustain us, to refresh us, to rejuvenate us, to give us, to quench our thirst.

[20:37] And we see that, this is going to be fulfilled in Christ, in a few minutes time, you see this, I'll point out again, in a few minutes time. And like I said, it's very important in the Middle East, where, where water is, very, very much, a commodity.

[20:55] It refreshes, it's necessary for life, not just for, for human life, but even for their cattle, and so on, and for their crops, and it's required daily.

[21:07] And so much so, that whoever controls, the wells, in that region, controls the water supplies. And that could mean, controlling the whole country.

[21:20] Don't think I need to elaborate on that, because that's the same over here, is it not? Even our reservoirs, it comes under, the control of, of our, of our own governments.

[21:33] Whatever we may think of it, but that's the, that's the, the nature of, of what it is. The wells of salvation, specifically, is God himself.

[21:47] It's God himself. In fact, we know that it's God himself, because we read, with joy, you will draw water, from the wells of salvation. Just before that, in verse 2, we read the verse 2, and read verse 2, right through into verse 3.

[22:00] We read that, 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. So this, means that the wells of salvation, is God himself.

[22:15] And in fact, in Psalm 87, we read, that the Lord records, as he registers the people, this was born here. Singers and dancers alike, say, all my springs, or all my fountains, or all my wells, are in you.

[22:32] That's God. So the wells of salvation, is God himself. The Lord Jesus Christ, as I read in John chapter 4, points out that only he, can fulfill, and he can quench, the thirst, of the, of the, of the struggling, person, he's the only one, who can, quench the thirst, of the thirsty soul.

[23:00] In the case, in John chapter 4, is the woman of Samaria. And for us as well, only God, only Christ, can quench our thirst.

[23:12] The wells of salvation, is Jesus Christ himself. In fact, remember I said earlier on, that this verse, verse 2 is, is pivot, in the middle of, before and after, 700 years before, it was Exodus chapter 15.

[23:28] 700 years later, Jesus Christ came. And in fact, at the Feast of Tabernacles, in John chapter 7, you can read that for yourself, in John chapter 7, they were celebrating, the Feast of Tabernacles, at that time.

[23:42] And remember I said, that the Feast of Tabernacles, one of the, events, that was going to, take place is, because in the last day, of the dry season, the beginning of the, joyful and hopefully, wet season, the priest started, to collect water.

[24:01] And so you can imagine, when they were, when they were collecting water, we read, in John chapter 7, and here this is wonderful, on the last day of the Feast, on the last day of the Feast, when they were collecting water, the great day, that great day of the, the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus stood up and cried, what did he say?

[24:21] If anyone thirsts, let him come to me, and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart, will flow rivers of living water.

[24:34] Imagine that, here the priests, were all collecting water, and everyone was watching, observing this, this, this event, and then out of the blue, Jesus cries out, if anyone thirsts, you know, you're looking at, at collecting this water, for your crops, for yourself, and in this Feast of Tabernacles, it's all great and wonderful, but, if anyone thirsts, let him come to me, and drink.

[24:59] That truly is, pointing out to us, that this, wells of salvation, is the Lord Jesus Christ, only he can satisfy, the thirst of every soul, if we're here this evening, and we are, struggling, if we are, struggling in the faith, and we feel dry, and we feel, down, and we do face that, we all face that, from time to time, and we think, what can I do, how can I get out, of this rut, I'm stuck in this, position, in this place, how can I get out, of this, situation, that I'm in, perhaps a difficulty, that we're facing, some problem at home, some problem at work, whatever, what can we do, what can I do, well, we have to go, to the wells of salvation, we have to go, to God, we have to go, to Christ, go to him, and seek, his blessing, because only he, can quench our thirst, only he can, give us that water, that will really, satisfy us, when our souls, are parched dry, perhaps we may be, in a position of, hope not, backsliding, well, only the Lord, can refresh us, and bring us back, but we see here, it says, the wells of salvation, now, we must be careful, it's not just salvation, as in like, conversion, because we say, we were told, we're instructed, with joy, you will draw water, from the wells of salvation, let's not go away, with this idea, that once you're converted, means that's it, you don't need to worry, about anything else, no, this verse itself, is more than just, being converted, but it's about, salvation, in the broader terms, yes, in one sense, yes, when we are converted, we, negatively speaking, we escape, from the curse, of the law, we, we escape, from the power, of sin itself, we are delivered, from that, which is wonderful, but also, positively, when we are converted, we, we, we, we not only escape, from sin, and escape, from the curse, of the law, but we escape, to Christ, and we know, that to be the case, if we call ourselves,

[27:39] Christians, this evening, we know, that we have, at some point, turned away, from the things, of this world, from our sinful, old self, and turned, to Jesus Christ, for life, and life eternal, and for blessing, and for guidance, and for help, and we receive, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and we are given, that new life, and, and, and we, we start to bear fruit, the fruit of the Spirit, and we start to live, different lives, and, and, and it's an ongoing process, it's an ongoing process, you know, that's why, it's, sometimes, reflected in our hymns, in, in Horatius Bonner hymn, we read, I heard the voice of Jesus say, behold, I freely give, the living water, thirsty one, what?

[28:30] Stoop down, and drink, and live, we, we, we, we, we, we, we have to, we drink, of this water, from the wells, of salvation, yes, we are saved, yes, we've been converted, wonderful, but, we are still a work in progress, yeah, we are still a work in progress, we still need, the waters, from, the wells, of salvation, we still, need, the waters, from the wells, of salvation, so then, finally, we can think about, how do we draw, water, from the wells, of salvation, well, it's good, the instruction is there, with joy, you will draw, water, from the wells, of salvation, well then, how do we draw, this water, how do we draw, this water, how can we, get our, our, thirsty palate, to be quenched, how to be, to be wet, again, how can we, drink, of this living water, how can we, not just draw it, but drink it as well, how can we be, how can we, truly, truly enjoy, a healthy walk, with the Lord, to put it in a, in a different way, well, the, if we look at the example, of the woman, that Jesus met, the woman of Samaria, we read that Jesus said, whoever, everyone who drinks, of this water, will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks, of this water,

[30:10] I will give, will never be thirsty again, the, the woman said to him, sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty, and have to come here, to draw water, she heard, that proclamation, from Jesus, a gospel proclamation, of Jesus, she heard it, and her response, is sir, give me this water, in other words, she prayed, she prayed, she asked, she put a request, before the Lord, how do we draw water, from the wells, of salvation, well we ask, in one sense, it's almost as, straightforward as that, we ask, we ask in prayer, we pray, that the Lord, will give us this water, we pray, that the Lord, will give us this water, but it's not just prayer, but also of course, there's the word, and there's the sacrament, that's the reason, why we come to church, in the first place, how do we draw, the water, from the wells, of salvation, well we come, under the sound, of the gospel, we submit ourselves, to the word of God, we partake, of the Lord's Supper, that is the, the sacrament, that the Lord, has instituted for us, we partake, of the Lord's Supper, if we are believers, in Christ, we were, we've seen your, note earlier,

[31:45] I read at the, for the Lord's Supper, the Lord's table, is for all, who trust in the Lord, Jesus Christ, as their Savior, well if you trust, in the Lord, Jesus Christ, as your Savior, then come to the table, partake of the, the Lord's Supper, that's the whole point, of coming to, the Lord's house, to church, yes, we come, to hear the gospel, being proclaimed, to hear the word of God, being expounded, yes, but also, there's the sacrament, and there's prayer, that's the public worship, of God, but also at home as well, there's the private, reading, and the private prayer, we do, we engage in all these, activities, so that we can draw water, from the wells of salvation, we just sang earlier, in Psalm 122, I was glad, when they said to me, let us go to the house, of the Lord, why do you think, the pilgrims did that, why do you think, they, well, we may say, that some of them, were doing it, out of tradition, out of habit, but I trust, that why the psalmist, wrote those words, is because, for the true believer, we want, to be in the Lord's house, we want, to go to the house, of the Lord, we want to be engaged, in the word of God, we want to, engage in prayer, we want to engage, in the Lord's supper, we want to be engaged, in these things, so that we can, draw water, from the wells, of salvation, the word of God, when it's preached, we read, it makes us, wise unto salvation, let's say, salvation, in the context, here, is broadened, it has been converted, we want, the preached word, we want, the preached word, we want, the visible word, the visible word, as in the sacrament, the Lord's, supper, we need, all of that, that's what the Lord,

[33:43] Jesus Christ himself, said, concerning the Lord's, supper, drink of it, all of you, for this is my, my blood, of the covenant, which is poured out, for many, for the forgiveness, of sins, you know, this is why, we, we, we, we always insist, lovingly insist, that people come, to the Lord's house, sometimes people, we have, some of, some of us, has faced this, when you invite people, to come to church, the first thing, they are so concerned about, is, how much do you need, do you need money, from us, what do you want, from me, well, for the believer, in Christ, this, it's not about, the money, it's not about, the, what we wear, it's about, being in the Lord's house, and the desire, to be in the Lord's house, to draw, water from the wells, of salvation, and notice this, something else, we can say, notice this, that this, this action, of drawing water, from the wells, of salvation, is to be accompanied, with joy, with joy, you would draw water, from the wells, of salvation, interesting, that,

[35:03] Isaiah, put this, two words down, with joy, so much as if, there will be some people, who come, to the wells, of salvation, in a very grudging, very, grumpy, manner, if you look, in the New Testament, whenever, people come, and face Christ, when they've been, when they've come, to faith, in Jesus Christ, one of the, common, actions, from these people, is just, this sense of joy, the Philippian, jailer, in Acts chapter 16, after he was converted, he brought, the disciples, into his house, and set foot, before them, and then what, and he rejoiced, along with his, entire household, that he had believed, in God, see that, he rejoiced, and that's just, one example, that's just, one example, when a person, is converted, to Christ, when a person, is on that, right path, and that person, is drawing, daily, water, from the wells, of salvation, drinking,

[36:22] Christ, every day, that person, will have, a sense of joy, should our salvation, be accompanied by joy, yes, it should be, accompanied by joy, it must be, accompanied by joy, now, there may be, some, amongst us, who can be, not so joyful, and I say, when, when, when, when, the Bible describes joy, the Bible is not saying about, you know, us going around, looking like, you know, Wallace and Gromit, you know, grinning all, everywhere we go, that's not what the scriptures, have to say about joy, we don't go around, grinning away, and, and looking really, fake, like what you see, in some, cult groups, in their magazines, where everybody's all, smiling away, looking up, no, we don't do that, we don't need to do that, our joy comes from within, our joy comes from within, in fact, there are some Christians, we know from the history of Christian, of the church history, that there are some Christians, who are naturally predisposed, to being melancholy, serious, severe, sometimes even grumpy, you may know about the hymn writer,

[37:44] William Cooper, or William Cowper, 1731 to 1800, great hymn writer, amazing hymn writer, some of the greatest hymns, that he's written, it's amazing, the amount of things, that he can write, things that, what goes through his, thought process, as he meditated on God's word, and yet he's known, to be, plagued, plagued by depression, to the point of being suicidal, let's know two ways about it, we don't need to sugarcoat that, it's been known, that he was, severely depressed, to the point of being suicidal, he wrote one of these, amazing hymns, Oh for a closer walk with God, which you may know, the second stanza, kind of gives you a hint, of what he's thinking, where is the blessedness I knew, when first I sought the Lord, where is the soul refreshing view, of Jesus, and his word, you can't say, you know, you want to shout and scream, at William,

[38:55] Cowper and Cooper, and say, what are you doing, do you not know, do you not know the Lord, if you know the Lord, why are you even, asking that question, but at the same time, we know from experience, that this is, us sometimes, amazingly, this same William, Cooper, wrote this amazing hymn, which we don't really sing, well certainly, not in, free church circles, but there's a hymn that is, quite amazing, this same person, who wrote, who was depressed, all his, most of his adult life, wrote this hymn, sometimes, a light surprises, the Christian, while he sings, it is the Lord, who rises, with healing, on his wings, when comforts, are declining, he grants the soul, again, a season, of clear shining, to cheer it, after rain, in holy contemplation, we sweetly, then pursue, the theme, of God's salvation, and find it, ever new, set free, from present sorrow, we cheerfully, can say, even let, the unknown tomorrow, bring with it, what it may, well, you can say, he's a bit of a contradiction, a walking contradiction, but, that is, the Christian life, we do face, ups and downs, we may, even face, severe depression, in our lives, but, what we ought to have, is that, sense of joy, that inner sense, not something, that we just, painted on our faces, but something, that we should, be in our own hearts, in our own souls, and we don't have that, we should turn to the Lord, we should, we should, with joy, you will draw water, from the wells, of salvation, salvation,

[41:00] I don't see, any other way, of, of, helping ourselves, in our own situation, if we are facing, difficult times, the more we draw water, from the wells, of salvation, the more we seek, and find, and, and cling to the cross, and cling to the Lord, Jesus Christ, the Lord's, help, and enabling, will give us, the joy that we need, that's the joy, that we need, we need this joy, we need, the joy that comes, alongside, drawing the waters, of, from the wells, of salvation, we need that, we need that, more than we know, more than we'll ever know, but the Lord is there, the Lord is there, with us, after all, verse 2, comes before verse 3, 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, and so the instruction, for us, after that declaration, in verse 2, the instruction, for us is, with joy, you will draw, water, from the wells, of salvation, that is for us, to do, we do so, cheerfully, we do so, faithfully, in obedience, to his word, and the more, we do it, the more, the Lord will lift us up, and the Lord, will help us, and we see, that that's going, to be the case, because in verse 4, and you will say, in that day, give thanks, to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds, amongst the people, proclaim that his name, is exalted, give thanks, to the Lord,

[42:54] I didn't touch, on verse 2, and I didn't touch, on verse 4, because the focus, is on verse 3, but you can see, verse 2 to 4, verse 2 to 4, is one nice, continuous flow, we declare, that God, is our salvation, the instructions, there to draw, waters from the wells, of salvation, and that we give, thanks to the Lord, and call on, on his name, well, may the Lord, help us, in our own journey, in our pilgrimage, that the Lord, will give us, the waters, that we need, to help us, in our own journey, let's pray, together.