Paul declares in Colossians 3:15 that God’s people are to be one body with His peace ruling in their hearts, and to be thankful: “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.” We have so many things to be thankful for! David declares some of the key things in Psalm 62, namely that God is our salvation and our glory, the rock of our strength, and our refuge:
Psalm 62 (NKJV)
5 My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation is from Him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be moved.
7 In God is my salvation and my glory;
The rock of my strength,
And my refuge, is in God.
8 Trust in Him at all times, you people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah
David was drawing in part from the song of Moses in Exodus 15:2, which includes similar words of praise:
“The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
He is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.”
The prophet Isaiah later picked up on this theme of God’s salvation which is both a corporate and individual redemption. For example in Isaiah 12:2-3, he writes:
2 “Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
‘For YAH, the Lord, is my strength and song;
He also has become my salvation.’”
3 Therefore with joy you will draw water
From the wells of salvation.
To better understand the writings of King David and the Prophet Isaiah, it is helpful to know the time periods in which they lived. Born in 907 BC, David reigned as king of Israel for 40 years, dying at age 70 in 837 BC. The Prophet Isaiah was born about a century later, in 740 BC, and died at age 59 in 681 BC.
In the Isaiah 12 passage above, the prophet is rejoicing at the promised victory the Messiah was going to bring, described in the previous chapter, for God’s righteous people both in Israel and scattered throughout the nations. Isaiah 11 begins with a description of the coming Messiah:
1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 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 of the fear of the Lord.
This passage is referring to the lineage of the coming Messiah, namely that he would be in the line of Jesse (King David’s father). It also describes aspects of the Spirit of the Lord that would rest upon him. The chapter goes on to describe the victories that the Messiah will bring about, ending in a world restored, where the earth will be “full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (v. 9). The last part of the chapter describes his gathering of God’s scattered people to be united in Israel: “He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the Earth” (v. 12).
These latter events are still in the future, to be fulfilled when Jesus (Yeshua), the Messiah of Israel and Savior of the world, comes again. In his first coming Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of taking the sins of God’s people upon himself, as pictured in the slaying of the Passover lamb. Isaiah describes this primary work of the Messiah in Isaiah 53:
Isaiah 53
4 Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
This passage in Isaiah 53 is describing events that actually occurred when Jesus laid down his life as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. Jesus spoke about his atoning work in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Paul sums up this Good News in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
All who believe and follow Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus Christ, can confidently claim the promises that David declares in Psalm 16:8-11:
8 I have set the Lord always before me;
Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will rest in hope.
10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
11 You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
The statement in verse 11, “Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption” is a prediction of the Resurrection; of all the people who have lived and died, only the body of Jesus did not see corruption. Jesus is the Lamb of God, who died for the sins of His people, rose from the dead and is alive forevermore. He is coming again to bring restoration to his people, and to all the earth.
There is also a promise of healing in Isaiah 53:5 above, “And by his stripes we are healed”. 1 Peter 2:24 sums it up this way: “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness – by whose stripes you were healed.”
David Krause, dhkrause@neteze.com, https://compellinglove.net/
Compelling Love 
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