February 3, 2021
Pray that the saints would practice calling on the name of the Lord to drink of Him as the springs of salvation (Isa. 12:2-4 and notes 31, 32, and 41; Psa. 116:13; 1 Cor. 12:3b, 13; Hymns, #1340).
Isa. 12:2-4—God is now my salvation; / I will trust and not dread; / For Jah Jehovah is my strength and song, / And He has become my salvation. / Therefore you will draw water with rejoicing / From the springs of salvation, / And you will say in that day, / Give thanks to Jehovah; call upon His name! / Make His deeds known among the peoples; / Remind them that His name is exalted.
Isa 12:31, water—The way to receive God as our salvation is to draw water from the springs of salvation, i.e., to drink Him (Psa. 36:8; John 4:14; 7:37; 1 Cor. 12:13; Rev. 22:17). To be our salvation, the Triune God was processed to become the life-giving Spirit as the living water, the water of life (1 Cor. 15:45; John 7:37-39; Rev. 21:6; 22:1, 17). When the living water enters into us, it permeates our entire being, causing us to be nourished, transformed, conformed, and glorified (Rom. 12:2; 8:29-30). Both the Old Testament and the New Testament show that God’s practical salvation is the processed Triune God Himself as the living water.
Isa. 12:32, springs—The fountain is the source, the spring is the gushing up, the issue, of the source, and the river is the flow. The term the springs of salvation implies that salvation is the source, i.e., the fountain. God as our salvation is the fountain (v. 2); Christ is the springs of salvation for our enjoyment and experience (John 4:14); and the Spirit is the flow of this salvation within us (John 7:38-39).
Christ as the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45) is the many springs of salvation gushing up from the fountain of the Triune God’s salvation, from whom the believers may draw the water of life for their enjoyment (v. 3a; John 4:14; Rev. 21:6). As God incarnated, Christ is the very embodiment of the Triune God (John 1:14a; Col. 2:9). Jesus, Jehovah our Savior and our salvation (Matt. 1:21), has become the source of our eternal salvation through the process of His vicarious death for the accomplishing of God’s eternal redemption (Heb. 5:9; 9:12). Based on His redemption, He as our Redeemer becomes our Savior and our salvation.
Isa. 12:41, call—By calling on the name of the Lord with rejoicing and praising, we draw water out of the springs of salvation. See Acts 2:21 and notes.
Psa. 116:13—I will take up the cup of salvation / And call upon the name of Jehovah.
1 Cor. 12:3b, 13—No one can say, Jesus is Lord! except in the Holy Spirit…For also in one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body…and were all given to drink one Spirit.
Hymns, #1340:
Isaiah 12:3-4, 6
Therefore with joy shall ye draw water
Out of the wells of salvation,
And in that day shall ye say,
Praise the Lord.
Therefore with joy shall ye draw water
Out of the wells of salvation,
And in that day shall ye say,
Praise the Lord.
Call upon His name, declare His doings among the peoples,
Make mention that His name is exalted.
Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion,
For great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.
Isaiah also tells us that our calling on the Lord is our crying to Him. 「God is now my salvation; / I will trust and not dread; / For Jah Jehovah is my strength and song, / And He has become my salvation. / Therefore you will draw water with rejoicing / From the springs of salvation, / And you will say in that day, / Give thanks to Jehovah; call upon His name!… / Sing psalms to Jehovah,… / Cry out and give a ringing shout, O inhabitant of Zion, / For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel」 (Isa. 12:2-6). In these verses Isaiah tells us to praise, sing, cry out, and shout. All of these match the calling mentioned in verse 4. In verse 2 he says that God is our salvation and our strength. God is everything to us. We simply need to draw water out of the wells of God’s salvation. How can we with joy draw water out of the wells of salvation? The way is to call on His name, to praise the Lord, to sing a hymn, and to cry out and shout. In verse 4 we find that praising and calling are put together, and in verse 6 we find that crying and shouting are put together. This proves that to call on the Lord is to cry and shout to Him. Many Christians have never shouted. If you have never shouted before the Lord, I doubt that you could have enjoyed the Lord in a rich way. Try shouting before Him. If you have never shouted about what the Lord is to you, I encourage you to try it. The more you shout, 「O Lord Jesus, You are so good to me,」 the more you will be released from your self and be filled with the Lord. You will be in the third heaven. Thus, Isaiah, even in Old Testament times, told people to praise the Lord, call upon His name, cry out and shout. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 25, pp. 335-336)