PEACE AND CONFIDENCE
Jim T Brown
Isaiah 26: 3, 4
Our brother referred in prayer to the desire for peace in our hearts and minds in these troubled days. He also referred to the anxiety and consternation among men, and that is evidently so. People speak about it as the crisis of a generation and compare it, perhaps, to what was extant in the last world war, but that is not quite the case, of course, because in the last war one of the great comforts was in socialisation, people and families coming together, but in this public health crisis it is quite the opposite: it is social isolation, minimising social contact or social intercourse.
I have mentioned before that the current issue perhaps has an Old Testament counterpart in the various references it contains to pestilence. If you look at a dictionary meaning of pestilence, one of them describes the idea as an ‘infectious or contagious deadly disease’, and God has used pestilences in the past to effect His ways. It is a great comfort that God is in control of all these things. He can extend them as far as is necessary to reach His end, but He can also limit things. Almost the first reference to pestilence is, of course, in relation to the plagues in Pharaoh’s time, Exod 9: 15. God says through Moses to Pharaoh, “And for this very cause have I raised thee up, to shew thee my power; and that my name may be declared in all the earth”, v 16. It was not for Pharaoh’s glorification that he had that position. It was actually to bring to attention the superiority of God. It is always a great consolation to realise that. In Ezekiel, there are references to the “four sore judgments … the sword, and the famine, and the evil beast, and the pestilence”, chap 14: 21. By and by, their equivalent - or the actuality of them - will be visited on Jerusalem, but out of it God brings men and women as “sons and daughters”, v 22. What a very blessed thing. God had His own end in allowing these awful things, including pestilence, but it had the end in view that those who would be saved out of Jerusalem should be regarded as “sons and daughters”. How very wonderful that they would be brought in, as it were, to the divine family as a consequence of so great tribulation. Thus God always has an end in mind in what He does and what He allows, and He can limit it.
But for the believer there is this great assurance that, as confiding in God, “Thou wilt keep in perfect peace the mind stayed on thee”. What a comfort that is! “Perfect peace”! If you look at note ‘d’ it is very remarkable, saying ‘in peace, peace’. It is of double emphasis, as if the Spirit of God is concerned to underline that the peace which comes from reliance and trust in God and the blessed Saviour, is of that character. Paul says to the Colossians, “have your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth; for ye have died, and your life is hid with the Christ in God”, Col 3: 2, 3. No virus, however potent, can penetrate that wonderful reality to which the believer has access: our lives are “hid with the Christ in God”. It is an inviolable position; it can never be undermined; it can never be impinged upon: “Thou wilt keep in perfect peace the mind stayed on thee”. It is very wonderful that our minds can be fixed on that heavenly, divine realm where Jesus is. What comfort and consolation that brings!
We tend to apply human reasoning to these things, to let our thoughts descend to human calculation, but, as we do that, we can lose the sense of confidence and security of simply staying our minds on the Lord Jesus and that realm where He abides. It says in Philippians “the peace of God, which surpasses every understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts by Christ Jesus”, chap 4: 7. That peace is capable of guarding our hearts and our thoughts and preserving us from these anxieties and concerns which can so readily afflict us. Let us draw therefore from the confidence we can secure as our minds are stayed upon Him.
Peace has been made, of course - and at what price - “by the blood of his cross”, Col 1: 20. Think of that! What cost to the Lord Jesus to make peace available to us, so that we should have access to the peace which He enjoyed down here. The Lord Jesus said to His own, “I leave peace with you; I give my peace to you”, John 14: 27. That is the peace which the Lord Jesus enjoyed in His relationship with the Father. That peace is available to us.
The Lord Jesus is King of Peace, “King of Salem, which is King of peace”, Heb 7: 2. He is more than that! He is actually peace as we know from Micah: “And this man shall be Peace”, Mic 5: 5. Think of that, a Man not only called Peace but that very thing in Himself; He is available to us in that way. He is also, according to Thessalonians, “the Lord of peace” (2 Thess 3: 16), and He would “guide our feet into the way of peace”, Luke 1: 79. It is very wonderful to be linked with such a One as He.
One often ponders that scripture, “and the counsel of peace shall be between them both”, Zech 6: 13. What unity exists between the Father and the Son. Think of the Father’s counsels, the glory of divine purpose, all brought to pass by the Lord Jesus. Who but a divine Person come in to manhood could bring these great divine plans to fruition. What unalloyed peace ever characterises the holy relationships between the Father and the Son.
Then this wonderful comment, “Confide ye in Jehovah for ever for in Jah, Jehovah, is the rock of ages”. How fine to have our hopes pinned on such a Person, “the rock of ages”! We often sing about it,
Rock of Ages! cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee; (Hymn 396)
Jesus, my heart’s dear Refuge,
Jesus has died for me;
Firm on the Rock of Ages
Ever my trust shall be.
(Fanny J Crosby (1868))
How very blessed to be in relationship with such a One. How sure the foundation, how firm the rock on which we build as building on Christ Himself! “For other foundation can no man lay besides that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ”, 1 Cor 3: 11. Wonderful foundation for our blessing, indeed for everything that is for God!
A scripture comes to mind in chapter 32 of Isaiah, “And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance for ever”, v 17. Think of that, “the work of righteousness shall be peace”! That applies to each of us, of course, in some sense, in that we have to be righteous in all our ways but “the work of righteousness” was peculiarly effected by the Lord Jesus in His sufferings and death so that “the righteousness of God” is “towards all, and upon all those who believe”, Rom 3: 22. How very reassuring! “Him who knew not sin he has made sin for us, that we might become God’s righteousness in him”, 2 Cor 5: 21. Can you think of a more blessed position than that we should “become God’s righteousness” in that blessed One?
Our brother has been speaking about the Son. That is the One who secured all these blessings for us. Little wonder that the Father said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight”, Matt 17: 5. This glorious Person has accomplished all for the divine pleasure on the basis of perfect righteousness. It is described in a footnote to Romans 5: 18 (note m) as ‘accomplished subsisting righteousness’. It can never be undermined, never diminished. So it says, as I quoted, “And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance for ever”. Thus we have this affecting blessing - “assurance for ever”. It is eternally secure.
Again, Hebrews speaks about “assurance of faith” (chap 10: 22), and “assurance of hope”, chap 6: 11. All these things are blessedly and immutably secured for us on the basis of the work of Christ. “Assurance of hope”: “hope”, as Romans tells us, “does not make ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us”, chap 5: 5. Then the “assurance of faith”, that great principle on which the righteousness and salvation of God are made available to us: “having been justified on the principle of faith, we have peace towards God through our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom we have also access by faith into this favour in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God”, Rom 5: 1, 2.
How very wonderful these things are! Our hearts expand in the knowledge that we are linked to such a Person, Jehovah, the Rock of ages. The storms and the wind may rage against that rock but it is the Rock of ages and can never be weakened. May our hearts be encouraged by these things. These are troublous times, as we have been reminded, but as we confide in the Lord Jesus, let us enjoy that quietness and assurance of trust and faith that can be found in Him and prove the resource of His holy presence, for His Name’s sake.
Word in a ministry meeting in Edinburgh
17th March 2020