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Monday, December 12, 2016

Christmas morn brings the Prince of all Peace

Because of the tender mercy of our God,
Whereby the Sunrise from on high shall dawn upon us,
To shine on those wholive indarkness
And the shadow ofdeath,
To guide our feet intotheway ofpeace.”
Luke 1:78-9

This One will be our peace.
Micah 5:5a

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
​“Glory to God in the highest,
​​And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
Luke 2:13-14

He has come! The Christ of God;
  Left for us His glad abode,
Stooping from His throne of bliss,
  To this darksome wilderness.

 He has come! The Prince of Peace;
  Come to bid our sorrows cease;
Come to scatter with His light
  All the shadows of our night.

 Unto us a Child is born!
  Ne'er has earth beheld a morn
Among all the morns of time,
  Half so glorious in its prime!

Unto us a Son is given!
He has come from God's own heaven,
Bringing with Him from above,
  Holy peace and holy love.

HORATIUS BONAR
Hymns of Faith and Hope -1878



Peace, perfect peace!” What music there is in these words! The very mention of them fills the heart with longings, which cry out for satisfaction, and will not be comforted. Sometimes, indeed, we may succeed in hushing them for a little, as a mother does a fretful child; but soon they will break out again with bitter and insatiable desire. Our natures sigh for rest, as the ocean shell, when placed to the ear, seems to sigh for the untroubled depths of its native home.
         There is peace in those silent depths of space, —blue for very distance, —bend with such gentle tenderness, over the fevered, troubled lives. There is peace in the repose of the unruffled waters of the mountain lake, sheltered from the winds by the giant cliffs around. There is peace at the heart of the whirlwind, which sweeps across the desert waste in whirling fury. The peace of the woodland dell, of a highland glen, of a summer landscape, —all touch us. And is there none for us, whose nature is so vast, so composite, so wonderful?
         There is! Weary generations passed by until at length there stood among men One, whose outward life was full of sorrow and toil; but whose calm face mirrored unbroken peace that reigned within His breast. He was the promised Peace-giver. He had peace in Himself; for He said, “My peace.” He had the power of passing on that peace to others; for He said, “My peace I give unto you.” Why should not each reader of these lines receive the peace which Jesus had Himself, and which He waits to give to every longing and recipient heart?
         His peace is perfect, unbroken by storms, unreached by the highest surges of sorrow. Unstained by the contaminating touch of sin. The very same peace that reigns in Heaven, where all is perfect and complete.
His peace is as a river: The dweller on its banks, in time of drought, is well supplied with water. It is flowing at early dawn, as one goes to their daily toil. It is there in the scorching noon. It is there when the stars shine, hushing one to sleep with the melody of its waves. Think, too, how it broadens and deepens and fills up, in its onward journey, and from its source to the boundless, infinite sea. So may our peace be, abiding and growing with our years.
His peace is great: its music is louder than the tumult of the storm. Learn the lesson of the Lake of Galilee, —that the peace which is in the heart of Jesus, and which He gives to His own can quell the greatest hurricane that ever swept down the mountain ravine and spent itself on the writhing waters beneath. For when the Master arose and rebuked the wind and said unto the sea, “Peace, be still,” the winds ceased and there was a great calm.
There is a remarkable text in Isaiah, which teaches us that the Government should be upon the shoulders of Jesus Christ; and that when it is so, there is no end to the increase of Peace. Surely these glorious words refer, not only to the government of a nation, but of each individual life also, and they are very searching.
“In Me you shall have peace.” ‘Twas our Savior who said those words. Let us abide in Him. Let us live in Him. Let us walk in Him. Let us make of Him the secret place unto which we may continually resort. And as we are joined to Him, in the intimacy of deepest union, the peace that fills His heart, like a Pacific ocean, shall begin to flow into ours, until they are filled with the very fullness of God; and the peace of God, like a dove, with fluttering wings, shall settle down upon our hearts, and make them its home forevermore.

F.B. MEYER
Steps into the Blessed Life


         

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