October 6

Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord. - Isaiah 57:19.

TWO things are here to be regarded. First, The mercy of the Proclamation. “Peace, peace.” Now from this word the gospel derives its name and its quality, as it is written, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace.” It is well known that among the Hebrews and the Easterns the word peace was frequently used to express wealth or happiness at large, or what we commonly mean by prosperity. Thus Joseph said to Pharaoh, “God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.” Thus Artaxerxes superscribed his letter, “And at such a time, peace.” Thus David says, “Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces.” But the term is here taken in its more appropriate significancy, as intended to convey to us the idea of reconciliation.

The case is this: By our sins and transgressions we had provoked the anger of Jehovah, and he could have justly destroyed us. For we deserved his wrath, and had no claims upon his pity; and there was nothing before us but a “certain fearful looking for of judgment and of fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries.” But “God, who was rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us,” provided for our deliverance from the wrath to come, by sending his only begotten Son into the world “not to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.” “He made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” And “that he might reconcile us unto God by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby, and came and preached peace to them which were afar off, and to them which are nigh.” This proclamation makes known to us the fact that we are reconciled to God by the death of his Son, and that now he is waiting to be gracious; and that he will be merciful to our unrighteousness; and our sins and iniquities he will remember no more.

Observe, secondly, The persons to whom this proclamation is addressed. It is not to a few, but to many; not to one class, but to all persons of every condition. “Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near.” This regards the Jews and the Gentiles.

The Israelites were, as it is said in the Psalms, “a people near unto him, “because his residence was among them. There were his oracles, his ministers, his temple; on the other hand, the Gentiles were far off, because they were destitute of all this, living “without Christ, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world.” This distinction between Jews and Gentiles continued till the death of our Saviour, for when he was upon earth he was the minister of the circumcision only, but after his death, when he had “made peace by the blood of his cross,” and when he was risen from the dead, then his language accorded with the nature of the evangelical dispensation which had now commenced.

He therefore gave a command to his disciples to go and make this proclamation unto the world: “Preach,” said he, “repentance and remission of sins among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” “And they went forth preaching everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word with signs following.”