Isaiah 12:2 - Homilies By W. Clarkson

The greatness of God's goodness.

We have in these words the very exuberance of holy feeling. They refer us to—

I. THE SUPREME ACT OF GOD 'S GOODNESS . "God is my Salvation." He has been wonderfully gracious to us in bestowal—in the gifts of our being, of our spiritual nature with its varied capacities, of our physical nature with all its organs of activity and enjoyment, of our human relationships, of a rich and beautiful dwelling-place, etc. But his greatest kindness is felt by us to be in deliverance , in that which is called "salvation." Here, again, there is an ascent in the scale of Divine goodness; for higher than salvation from trouble, from sickness, from death, from personal captivity or political servitude, stands salvation from sin ; and in the Messianic era this spiritual deliverance reaches its highest point; for it includes not only the negative side of rescue from present evil, but also the positive side of enrichment with corresponding good. It embraces:

1. Redemption from sin—its penalty and its power (its thraldom and its defilement).

2. Restoration to God—to his favor and to his likeness .

3. The hope of a higher and endless life in another world.

II. THE CONTINUANCE OF HIS GREATEST GIFT IN IMPARTING SPIRITUAL STRENGTH .

He "forsakes not the work of his own hands." Having redeemed us from the power and condemnation of sin, and lifted us up into the state of sonship and heirship, he sustains us in our new and blessed life. "The Lord Jehovah is our Strength." He imparts the needful strength for maintenance in our course by

III. THE RESPONSE OF OUR HEARTS TO THE DIVINE LOVE .

1. The gratitude which finds utterance in sacred song . "The Lord … is my Song" (see Psalms 119:54 ). The Christian man should carry in his heart such a sense of God's redeeming love that he should be always ready to break forth into praise; his life should be a song of gratitude for the salvation of the Lord.

2. The confidence which excludes anxiety . "I will trust, and not be afraid."