In this message we want to see the springs of salvation in Isaiah 12. We need to know the difference between the words fountain and springs. Deuteronomy 8:7 speaks of the good land as "a land of waterbrooks, of springs and of fountains, flowing forth in valleys and in mountains." The fountain is the source, the spring is the issue of the source, and the waterbrook, or the river, is the flow. The source of the Jordan River is in Mount Hermon. Some of us visited there and saw the spring of water gushing out from the fountain to become a river. In its verbal form spring means to gush out or gush up. Exodus 15 speaks of the children of Israel arriving at Elim on their journey in the wilderness. At Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees (v. 27—ASV). The source of these springs may have been one fountain.
Isaiah 12 does not use the word spring in the singular but the word springs in plural. Verse 3 says, "Therefore you will draw water with rejoicing / From the springs of salvation." The term the springs of salvation implies that salvation is the source. The source of the springs of salvation is a fountain, and that fountain is salvation. The source, the fountain, and salvation are synonyms. Who is the source, the fountain, the salvation, in Isaiah 12? Verse 2 says, "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." Jah is a short form of Jehovah. This is similar to a person's full name also having a short form, such as Benjamin and Ben.
The main word stressed in Isaiah 12 is salvation. God is our salvation, and Jah Jehovah is our strength and song. Strength and song both indicate experience. When God's salvation is experienced by us, this salvation becomes our strength, and eventually it will be our song, our praising. The strength and the song are experiences of salvation. In our experiences our God is Jah and Jehovah. In the New Testament, our God is called Jesus and Christ. He is the Lord Jesus Christ. When we are calling upon Him, we can say in a very intimate way, "My Lord Jesus Christ." Sometimes we can express this in a more dear way by saying, "My dear Lord Jesus Christ." Jah Jehovah in the New Testament is our Lord Jesus Christ.