PSALMS OF ASCENT!

PSALM 120:7

Shalom
I AM A MAN OF PEACE; BUT WHEN I SPEAK, THEY ARE FOR WAR. (PSALMS 120:7 NIV)
NO COMPROMISE
We all like to get along with people. Rufing feathers and making waves is no fun if you want a quiet life. However, sometimes the quiet life is simply unattainable. Our Psalmist nds this. When he speaks of peace those around him want war. This is a reminder to us that we live in a world that will never fully share our values. The New Testament warns us,
Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? (2 Corinthians 6:1415 NIV) Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the worldthe cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and doescomes not from the Father but from the world. (1 John 2:1516 NIV)

with God, especially in the sense of being in right covenant with God.

FINAL PEACE
The Old Testament idea of Shalom also looks forward to the ultimately nal fulllment of this peace to be found in the Messiah. Paul recognises this in what he says about Jesus Christ.
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, (Ephesians 2:14 NIV)

TRUE PEACE
It seems to me that the Psalmist has reached a point where he is ready to move on and move away from such inuences. He is no longer content to simply complain, he is ready to make a change. The place where he is has no concept of real peace so it is time to seek the real peace-giver. As he writes the words of this Psalm I am sure he is reecting on the very rich meaning of the Hebrew word Shalom which includes the concepts of peace, prosperity, well-being, health, completeness and safety. This important word occurs 250 times in the Old Testament. It can mean an absence of strife, the presence of God, having an unimpaired relationship with people and

Safety is not to be found in compromise, or capitulation to the pressure of being like the world around us, but safety is found in full devotion to God. The standards of the world may seem attractive but they are diametrically opposed to God,

For Christians it is the cross that gives us the motivation and strength to move on and to leave the world behind. We can acknowledge our distress, but not be imprisoned by it. We can recognise the need for justice, but leave such matters in the hands of God. We can realise the world is never going to accept our values, but not compromise. Instead we can nd true peace by xing our eyes on Jesus as we make our pilgrim way through life.

Malcolm Cox, email: malcolm.cox@iccmissions.org | ICC Missions on facebook | www.nwlcc.org