57:19
“Creating praise on the lips of the mourners in Israel”. God’s salvation brings about a complete transformation. Without the salvation there is mourning. It can be mourning of the sort that wonders why all this stuff has happened to me (even though much of it may well be our own fault), or genuine sorrow at our own failings. But when God’s salvation comes sorrow flees away.
“Peace, peace to those far and near”, says the Lord, “And I will heal them”. In Jer 6:14 God complains of those who proclaim peace when there is no peace. The gospel brings true peace, for it deals with the root of the problem, our sinfulness, and it heals our sinfulness.
57:20,21
We then get a stark contrast. If we repent and believe we receive life and peace, we receive healing. But if we don’t then there is no peace at all. We need to remember that the Bible is always utterly realistic and balanced. There is great salvation on offer, and available to all who will believe. But there are those who will refuse, who will stubbornly continue in their rebellion. For such people there is no peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment