peace like a river

Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!
Then your peace would have been like a river,
and your righteousness like the waves of the sea; (Isaiah 48:18)

This verse sounds, at first, like an indictment against God’s people, against every sinner who has failed to keep the perfect law of God. If only God’s people had kept the commandments, they would have enjoyed the blessings and promises of the covenant. But they did not, and instead they broke the covenant and experienced its curse.

Yet there is a glorious, precious truth contained in these words. There is one who did attend the commandments, perfectly. He fulfilled the law and kept the covenant with faithfulness. The blessings and promises of the covenant are his in abundance. His peace passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7). He is the Prince of peace (Isaiah 9:6). His righteousness is beyond measure.

His name is Jesus. Today we celebrate his birth. The beginning of the life he lived as a man, perfectly attending the commandments, keeping the law where we could not. We are united in Christ by faith. His righteousness becomes our righteousness, and we become co-heirs of the inheritance of the promise (Ephesians 3:6). We are able to experience peace like a river, because the Prince of peace made an “end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” (Romans 10.4)

That is indeed a glorious thought. “Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, O my soul!”