Peace

If Dan hadn't been so lively, I was going to tell you, you just slept through the hymn. You didn't know we didn't sing a hymn, but Philippians 4, if you didn't close your Bible, you'll be right there. Philippians 4, verse 4, rejoice in the Lord all way.

And again, I say, keep on rejoicing. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.

Be careful for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Isaiah chapter 25, please.

Verse 9, and it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God, we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord, we have waited for Him. We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.

Verse 1 of chapter 26. In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah. We have a strong city.

Salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. Thou wilt keep Him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, because He trusteth in Thee.

Trust ye in the Lord forever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. For He bringeth down them that dwell on high, the lofty city He layeth it low. He layeth it low even to the ground, He bringeth it even to the dust.

The foot shall tread it down, even the foot of the poor and the steps of the needy. The way of the just is uprightness. Thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.

Yea, in the way of Thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for Thee. The desire of our soul is to Thy name and to the remembrance of Thee. Well, when I get in the car and I want to praise the Lord, I sing.

And sometimes I sing, and when I think that God, His Son, not sparing sin to die, I scarce can take it in. On the cross, my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin. The reason I don't sing at the top of my voice is I can hardly sing.

Lord Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine. And our hearts melt to think of good hymns. I'm putting a little plug in here, good hymns.

The closer we can get to biblical truth in the songs that we sing, the better. And here is a song, Isaiah chapter 26, here's a song that God Himself wrote. And He says, this is a song that's going to be sung.

And I think there must be some reason that He tells us before it's going to be sung, He's telling us now. He tells the people of God a way back down through the centuries. And this is a song that they're going to sing then.

And I want you to know the secret of the song that they will sing. Our brother, at the beginning of the ministry this afternoon, drew the connection between an Old Testament statement and a New Testament quotation. And my mind went to this at that point because this is not so much what I... I don't want to draw attention to an Old Testament quotation, but this is, I'm quite sure, an Old Testament allusion.

There is something in the passage that we read in Philippians chapter 4, verses 6 and 7 that I think must have been written because Paul had his mind on what we have read in Isaiah chapter 26. If I'm wrong, Paul tells me that someday it'll be all right because the truth that's in the one is parallel at least to the truth in the other. So just for a moment, think with me of the setting of the song that is given to us in chapter 26.

That's why I read back in chapter 25. In that day, and you know that in that day, the people of God are going to be rejoicing. Lo, this is our God, we have waited for Him.

This is the day when He comes in power and great glory. These are the people who have been going through a time of terrible tribulation. These are the people that have endured what nobody here has or will ever endure in their lifetime.

It is a time of terrible tribulation such as has not been since the beginning of the world. And these are the people that have come through that. And they say, we have waited for Him.

We have waited for Him. We will be glad we have waited for Him. And when did they wait? Well, they were waiting through three and a half years of Jacob's trouble.

They were waiting through that time of terrible testing. They were waiting when the lofty one was sitting on the throne in Jerusalem in the temple of God and claiming that He was God. And they have run for their lives, and if it were not for an intervention of God and the earth swallowing up the flood that was following after them.

Preserved in the midst of the deepest, darkest difficulties. And when the difficulties are over, the Lord says, this is a song I want you to sing. And the song that they will sing is a song that is the result of their supplications, waiting for the Lord.

In fact, if I might just bring this in very quickly. You remember what the Lord Jesus said, I'll need this a little later on too. You remember what the Lord Jesus said, men ought always to pray and not to faint? And I'll give you an illustration of it, of a woman who would not cease to cry for being avenged of her enemies.

And shall not God deliver His own elect? Shall not God hear them, though He bear along with them? I say unto you that the day will come. I say unto you that He will judge them speedily. And when the Son of Man cometh, shall He find this kind of faith on the earth? That's these people, when the Son of Man comes in power and great glory.

Will there be those that have waited for their God? Will there be those that have prayed and not fainted? Will there be those that have just waited on God and cried out to God in the midst of their circumstances? Will there be those that have committed the entire matter to God Himself? The substance of this song, let me just give it to you very simply. It is, first of all, a song of salvation. Did you pick that up? Salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.

There's something stronger than the walls and the bulwarks that men can build. There's something stronger than the military power of the strongest of nations. It is when God Himself provides the salvation.

And, of course, the salvation they were looking for is what the prophet Joel says, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. It was a deliverance for the nation. And if God did not intervene, the nation would have been lost.

The salvation that they were waiting for, a salvation against all odds. The armies of the world militantly mobilized. That's the word I want.

Militarily mobilized over on the way to this land and the nations all to meet together. And as far as they are concerned, they will extinguish this pesky nation in the midst of the nations. And this is a song of salvation.

When you realize the tremendous power of God and salvation, I want you to sing. I want you to rejoice greatly. I want you to rejoice in this, that there's something greater than the best that this world can offer.

There's a security stronger than the greatest security that men can provide. God Himself, a strong city. Salvation will God appoint for walls and for bulwarks.

Open the gates that the righteous nation. Here is all Israel, all those that have truly learned to trust in God Himself. All Israel shall be saved.

And that righteous nation, which keepeth the truth, they're going to enter in through the gates into that city. And there will be this praise that will be ignited and glory for God. In a world that just lately had been following a man of apparently unlimited power and godlessness, lawlessness, and blasphemy.

They're singing the song because God has provided salvation. But it is a song as well. When you think of, let me just stop because I'll make my connection now and come back to it later.

And the peace of God shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Better to have your heart and your mind garrisoned by God than to have everything right in the circumstances of life. Here it is for these Old Testament people.

And now the truth being brought home for New Testament people. There is something stronger, something more secure than all the best as far as this world is concerned. All the guarantees as far as this world is concerned.

All the hedges that can be built around you as far as this world is concerned. The very best is to have your hearts and minds garrisoned by Christ Jesus. But not only is it a song of salvation, it's a song of serenity, peace, peace.

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace. Whose mind lays hold of God and stops. Does not seek to find something to add to God himself.

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace. Whose mind is stayed on thee. You can't figure this out.

You can't explain why it's happening. You can't explain how it's all going to turn out. You cannot see exactly when God is going to do what God is going to do.

But I know he's God. This is the song they will sing because that was their experience through which they passed. And here is a peace that is better than understanding.

Here is something better than figuring out. Listen, could I just simply say this? When you think you know what God is doing in your life and you understand all the implications and all the reasons why. I will give you a guarantee you're wrong.

Sorry. You may be right in about five percent. But God is far bigger than your mind.

And what God has in mind is far bigger than you'll ever be able to figure it out. It's just a matter of being willing to let God be God. And stop.

At God. That will keep him in perfect peace, reliance, reasonings, and simply trusting in God. What is the result? That will keep him in peace.

Peace. And I suppose. No, I'm sure there's a lot more than I'm going to just suggest to you.

But. When it came to the sons in a family. Who got the best? The firstborn.

What did he get? He got a double portion. The favored son. The one so greatly loved of his father.

The one who upon whom all the future of the family really to greater the greatest degree depends on him. Give him a double portion. And in the midst of the fiery furnace of their day of tribulation.

Here are people. Who are now going to sing of this. We were not somehow abandoned by God.

We were not somehow the orphans that God forgot about. In the midst of all of that, he was able to give us the double portion. Of those.

Who lived with the assurance. Of the love, the care. And the faithfulness of God.

That will keep him. In peace. Peace.

Do you know how much you mean to God? You know how much you mean to the father? I wouldn't dare to say it. Except that the Lord Jesus said it. You are loved.

By the father. With the same love. That he has.

For his beloved. You could not be loved more. God himself in all his infinite capacity couldn't love you more than he loves you.

What do you mean to Christ? As the father of love me. Even so. Have I loved you? And the devil would like you to believe when you're passing through your time of difficulty and trial.

The devil would like you to believe. God has forgotten you. He's passed over your judgment.

He doesn't see where you are. And he doesn't care. Thou will keep him in perfect peace.

Whose mind is stayed on thee. I must hasten to. The secret of this song.

Because the secret of the song is not in the trust. Of these believers. The secret of the song.

The song. Is in the titles. Of the Lord himself.

In other words. What is it that keeps. People in peace.

In the midst of sorrow. You say trusting. Why do they trust? I love what it says in the book of Proverbs.

The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous runneth into it. And is safe.

There is a place of safety. When you get to know God. As he has revealed himself.

We've been reminded of this. But here's the truth now. For these.

They are first of all being brought to understand. That trust ye in. Jah.

Say it in Spanish. Ah. Jehovah.

Trust ye in the Lord. Jehovah. For in the Lord.

Jehovah is. Rock of ages. Three titles.

He is. Jah. Let me just start with.

He is Jehovah. He is the Jehovah introduced in Genesis chapter 2. The mighty creator of chapter 1. Is the one. Who has a personal interest in an atom.

As he forms them. He is a God of relationship with men. He is a God who never changes.

Which was. Which is. Which was.

Which is. And which is. To come.

He is the God who gives his word. And he is the same. Yesterday.

And today. And forever. He's the God who never changes.

What he promises. And whatever else may happen in the meantime. God is true to his word.

He is the God of vital relationship with an Abraham and Isaac and a Jacob. He is the God who has promised eternal. Blessings for the nation of Israel.

Trust ye in Jehovah. When everything is going the wrong way. When the whole world is running after the wicked one.

When the power of evil is rampant as has never been rampant before. Trust ye in the Jehovah. Who will never change his mind.

Who will never fail to keep his word. But when you read about Jah. It's introduced in Exodus chapter 15.

When they were singing. David. You're singing.

This afternoon was beautiful. By the way. That just came out of nowhere.

But it was beautiful. Out of the ivory palaces. That was good.

But here is a song that starts in Exodus chapter 15. Then sang Moses. And the people of God.

And they speak about the horse and his rider being cast into the sea. And then they say. That Jehovah is the one of mighty power that did that.

And Jah is my strength. The one who is able to impart his strength to his people. A Jehovah who will never fail.

And that abbreviated form of it seems to have the impact now. Of a God who is able to sustain, to strengthen, to meet the needs of his people. Do you understand that the more I know of God as he has been revealed.

The more I will have the ability to run into a place of safety. A tower. A strong tower.

Because the name of the Lord. How does God reveal himself? We come to know God through the names by which he is revealed. When you come to the New Testament.

Can I maybe take my quick detour here. And just remind you of the secret to. Yeah, I think so.

The secret to what you have in Philippians is Christ Jesus. There are saints in Christ Jesus. The mind that is in Christ Jesus.

The excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. Why I have been apprehended of Christ Jesus. And Paul is speaking of this one who is Christ Jesus.

My God shall supply all your need according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus. And he says. He will garrison your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Lay hold of the tremendous exaltation of this Christ Jesus. Lay hold of the glory that's associated with him. Bring all that we've been hearing in the meeting this evening together.

In this great matter of facing the difficulties of life. Bring it all together. To find a place of safety and refuge and security.

Because the third title is the rock. The rock that never changes. The rock of ages.

The rock that is everlasting. Here is the one who is stability. Oh, to just live with the consistency of life.

A stability of life. What produces that? Laying hold of a God who never changes. Laying hold of the security, the safety, the stability of God.

You know, a lot of Christians think that Christianity runs on emotions. And so it's an up and down and in and out kind of a Christianity. No, Christianity rests upon a God who is unchanging.

And when everything out there is wrong, God hasn't changed. When the sunshine is beaming upon you and it's a beautiful day in your life. God's still the same.

And when the clouds are threatening and the tornadoes are spinning in life. God's still the same. He is a faithful God who keeps his word.

He is the God who imparts the strength that is needed. And he is the God who is stable. You can rest assured on him.

He will never, never, never move or let you down. So I think that's the secret involved. So here are the people of God and they're singing this song.

So why does God tell us the song they're going to sing? Because I hear a woman who has cried to God in her barrenness and God has, through the prophet, given her a son. And then one day, he's dead. And she says, when the prophet told me that I would bear the son, I told him not to deceive me.

We've got to get to the prophet. And Elijah sees her coming, sends a servant to ask, is everything okay? Is it peace? Remember her answer? Well, now we have it in this great song, isn't it? It is well, it is well with my soul. It is peace, she said.

It's peace. It's ultimate well-being. No, it's not ultimate well-being.

Your boy is dead. The boy that you long for, the boy that is the center of your life, he's gone. Do you not understand? Are you living in denial? It is peace.

It is peace because her mind stopped at God. Before the song was disclosed, she was singing the song in her circumstances. Thou wilt keep him in peace, peace, whose mind is stayed on thee.

There's a great, she's a great woman. There's a great nation. But I just want to make my connection and leave it with you.

There is great peace that's available to every child of God. Can you now make the connection between the Philippian statement and the song in Isaiah? The connection is there are problems, problems at Philippi, very difficult problems. There is persecution.

There's infiltration by wrong teaching. There is, there are murmurings and disputings. There are two that had been so involved in the work of the Lord and they're creating such a friction in the assembly that it's very visible.

And I don't know if this is true or not, but I think there are people that would tell you tonight that the worst kind of problems are problems in the assembly. Be anxious for nothing, no matter what the problem. The greatest of problem is the problems of the people in Isaiah that are to sing.

The problem, the prayer waiting upon God in everything, whatever the circumstance may be, by prayer and supplication, communion with God and beseeching, lowly bowing in the presence of God. By prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving. You don't have to stretch your imagination to find something to be thankful for.

If you have nothing else to be thankful for, be thankful for God. Be thankful that he's unchanging. Be thankful that he's listening.

Be thankful that he's able. But you see, beyond that, there is the person. Keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

If I've got the connection of an illusion between Isaiah 26 and 3 and Philippians 4, 7 and 8, if there's some connection, can I just tell you this? That the same Jah Jehovah Rock is Christ Jesus. All that God is, he is. And he is the one who suffered and died for us at Calvary.

In all the greatness and vastness of his unchangeableness, of his supply to meet our need in every circumstance, my God shall supply all your need. And in all his unchangeable stability through Christ Jesus. And finally, the peace of God shall guard your hearts and minds.

Safety in the midst of the storm. Security when everything in the world is topsy-turvy. Thou will keep him in peace, peace.

And be anxious for nothing. But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds through Christ Jesus.

Behind all of this is this one great truth. Let me go backward, borrow this and finish. Rejoice in the Lord.

And again, I say rejoice. Keep your eye on this, that the Jesus or the Christ Jesus who is yours is Lord. He is in absolute control.

The winds and the waves obey him. There is absolutely nothing out of control, no matter how it looks to you. Thou will keep him in perfect peace.

Whose mind grasps God, trusts God, and stops at God. Thou will keep him in perfect peace. Whose mind is stayed on thee.