W K Tweedie
Isaiah 54:10. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.
The very word which commanded the world to be is the foundation of a sinner’s hope. He who hung the earth upon nothing, who weighs the hills in scales and the mountains in a balance, who can measure the ocean in the hollow of His hand, or take up the isles as a very little thing – has spoken the word, and on that word the believer reposes. That is his munition of rocks: he dwells in safety there beyond the reach of woe. Jehovah must change before the believer can be cast off.
And hear how the Almighty Promiser gives assurance upon assurance that the believer is thus safe. What is so stable as the mountains? What so abiding as the hills? Yet these are transient and shadowy things, compared with the foundation of a sinner’s hope; they may pass away, but the Word of the Lord endures for ever.
The kindness of God is thus guaranteed by line upon line. It is a covenant of peace which He has made; and when we take hold of that, joy is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. “The Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory;” yes, “the Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, the horn of my salvation, and my high tower”.
What then need disturb that soul’s serenity, or what can endanger its safety? Is it not more than a conqueror, through Him that loved us? If we could learn the lesson of resting simply on the truth of God, unshaken by trials, unmoved by providences, and confiding exclusively in grace, the very God of peace would see His image reflected from our souls again. He would dwell in us and walk in us and rank us among His sons and daughters. He might lead us through trial after trial, and the dark valley at the last must be assuredly trod. But if He is there – and we have the assurance that He is with the believing soul – what evil need we fear, or what enemy need trouble us?
1Taken, with editing, from Tweedie’s volume, Glad Tidings of the Gospel of Peace.