Thoughts for the Day

On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

We have a strong city;
he sets up victory
like walls and bulwarks.
Open the gates,
so that the righteous nation that keeps faith
may enter in.
Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace—
in peace because they trust in you.
Trust in the Lord for ever,
for in the Lord God
you have an everlasting rock.
For he has brought low
the inhabitants of the height;
the lofty city he lays low.
He lays it low to the ground,
casts it to the dust.
The foot tramples it,
the feet of the poor,
the steps of the needy.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

I have sung this S.S. Wesley Anthem many times, with its wonderful words:

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on Thee'.

I can remember singing it with my huge choir of teenagers in RAF Marham as a two-part anthem, then later on the Isle of Man on a singing holiday with the same choir, and years later in Biggin Hill village church choir as part of a 100 anthem marathon to raise money for the church. Two things I didn't know - first that the words came from Isaiah Chapter 26, and secondly the importance of the words 'perfect peace'.

We have looked at Isaiah's picture of a Heavenly Banquet when God's Kingdom is complete, and now he brings in another image, that of a strong city with high walls and bulwarks. God's city opens its gates for the righteous to enter and to live in peace. For the two remaining tribes of Judah this was not be, for Jerusalem would be destroyed by the Babylonians and hundreds of years later by the Romans. We, though, as inheritors of the prophecy and also as inheritors of the promises of Jesus still look for the completion of God's Kingdom.

We are promised perfect peace to those who trust in Him. The Hebrew word for 'peace' is shalom, and for 'perfect peace' it's shalom shalom. So 'perfect peace' is double-strength peace. When we love the Lord with all our mind and trust in Him, no matter how hard or difficult life is, then He brings us peace now - for don't forget that God's Kingdom is partly here already.

Father-God,
we thank You for the faithfulness of Prophets like Isaiah
who sought to nurture the people of his time,
and for the work of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ
who taught about Your Kingdom of love and peace.
Give us the faith to trust in Your promises
that our minds may always be in peace
when we put all our faith in You.
Amen.