God of Peace
“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)
For generations, most of the world’s people have longed for peace, but the world continues to be at war. Evolutionists attribute this to ages of violent evolutionary struggle; the Bible attributes it to sin!
But it is wonderfully possible to have real personal peace even in a world at war. This is what the Bible calls “the peace of God,” and it surpasses all human understanding because it is provided by the God of peace, for the writer continues, “The God of peace shall be with you” (v. 9).
The God of peace! There are some wonderful promises associated with this beautiful name of our Lord. For example, “the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly” (Romans 16:20). Also, “the very God of peace sanctify you wholly” (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
The provision of God’s perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3) is specifically invoked in 2 Thessalonians 3:16: “Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means.” Perhaps the greatest promise of all is implied in the concluding prayer of the book of Hebrews: “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ” (Hebrews 13:20-21).
There is only one other reference to the peace of God: “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful” (Colossians 3:15). The peace of God, from the God of peace, can rule in our hearts if we let it rule in our hearts. Then, as promised in our text, it will also keep our hearts!
PEACE THAT PASSETH ALL UNDERSTANDING - James Montgomery
Peace, that passeth understanding,
Peace to calm the bosom's strife,
Peace the winds and waves commanding,
On this stormy sea of life;
Peace the wounded spirit healing,
Peace the love of Christ revealing;
Peace, O God! Thy peace impart;
Thou of peace the author art.
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Peace to keep our minds for ever
In Thy faith, Thy fear, Thy way;
Peace to keep our hearts, that never
Thought, desire, nor feeling stray!
Peace to soothe in every trial,
Peace to soften self-denial,
Peace our daily cross to take,
Grant us, for our Saviour's sake.
War with all the powers of evil,
We may every moment wage,
Yet of world, and flesh, and devil,
Scorn the friendship, falsehood, rage;
Though by foes and perils haunted,
We shall pass unharm'd, undaunted,
Thy whole armour, while we wear,
Sword, shield, breast-plate, helm,--all prayer.
Author: James Montgomery
James Montgomery (b. Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland, 1771; d. Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, 1854), the son of Moravian parents who died on a West Indies mission field while he was in boarding school.
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