The Beautiful Gospel of Peace
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!” Isaiah 52:7
We always like to hear good news. Depending upon personalities and circumstances, “good news” means different things to different individuals. As Christians, the best good news is to hear about someone we have been praying for to accept, rather receive, Jesus Christ as his or her Lord and Savior. The terms “accept” and “receive” are used interchangeably when referring to a person’s born again experience. It is difficult to delineate a difference in the definition of these two words. I think that accepting something requires our approval somewhat while receiving something means to reach out and take it into our possession when offered. Maybe a better way to say it is that God accepts us, and we receive Him. God accepts us though what Christ did for us on the cross, and we receive Him also through what Christ did for us on the cross. So, no matter how you phrase it, it’s still all about God and His sacrifice, the “good news”, which brings the way of reconciliation to our Creator in the forgiveness of our sins.
Back in ancient Israel’s day, God sent His messengers, the prophets, to bring good news or bring warnings to God’s people. The messengers’ feet were described as beautiful for they walked to bring God’s message to those who were in captivity. Paul said in Romans 10:15: “How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” He was quoting Isaiah. Those who dedicate their lives to spreading the gospel do have beautiful feet and should be honored for their service to the Lord. There is no better news to hear than that God reigns, and that He has provided salvation to whosoever will believe on Him. For the Jews in captivity, there was no better news than that they could go home, (“there’s no place like home”, as Dorothy said), and that God was still on His throne and that He loved them.
There were watchmen (lookouts) placed on the walls around Jerusalem whose job it was to continually make mention of God’s name and pray to Him without ceasing. They were watching and waiting for God to answer their prayers concerning the rebuilding and the flourishing of Jerusalem as the people of God would eventually return and make it their home again. Those who were watching and waiting for the “good news” would be the first to see it. They would see the homecoming of God’s people face to face. Those who were looking for the promised Messiah rejoiced because they trusted and believed God for their deliverance, even though they were not living when the promise was fulfilled. God’s promise to “bring again Zion” was evident in the release of the captives to go back to Jerusalem, but its ultimate fulfillment is yet to be realized. It will be complete when Christ returns for His church. It will be good to get home.
I was reading an article on line about how the National Football League has decided to play the Black National Anthem at the beginning of their games. What they probably don’t realize is that, according to this article, the song, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” was written by an African American Christian, and its lyrics glorify God’s creation and the gospel of Jesus Christ. The author was James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938), a poet who wrote the song in 1900, and it became the Black National Anthem in the 1940’s. Just wait until the “cancel culture” folks find out about this. I don’t think that it was a coincidence that this song was selected, for there are no coincidences with God. He said that His word will not return to Him void, that is, empty and useless, but will serve the purposes for which it was intended (Isaiah 55:11). No matter how hard unbelievers try to eliminate God and His word, the beautiful gospel will never be defeated.