“Like cold water to a weary soul
Is good news from a distant land…” (Proverbs 25:25)
A weary soul. I guess we know what that’s like - inside out and front to back. Drained and needing something to raise us once more. Another day to get through, another hill to climb, another valley to exit. Tired to the bone at the core of our being.
This proverb paints the scene of the impact of good news arriving from a distant country - perhaps a report from the front-line, that says a loved one is safe. Or news that help and relief is on its way - that food will arrive, that vaccines will be delivered. That kind of news is so welcome and lifts the spirits.
The pages of the New Testament and its record of the life of Jesus certainly qualify as being ‘a distant land’ - far from us in time and geography and culture. But the events of those days - the life and work, the death and resurrection of our Saviour - are the ultimate good news that can refresh the weary and restore the depleted.
We are wearied by life in a world that is under sin, that is shrouded in death, whose every line seems to speak chaos and despair. The good news that is Christ crucified and risen has the capacity to refresh our hearts in hope and to breathe fresh impetus into our lives as we taste and see the goodness of God and are enveloped in his love.
This good news can give clarity to our faded vision, bringing into focus the grounds for our comfort, uncovering the solid ground on which all our hopes are founded. The cold, clear streams of the gospel are the truest refreshment for weary souls. The battle has been fought and won. The darkness will pass. The day is at hand.
But it’s also true that heaven itself, “where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God,” is also a distant country. It’s hard for us to picture it, to hold its reality in our minds. Even if LP Hartley is correct in saying that “the past is a foreign country; they do things differently there”, it is nevertheless a place we have been. We cannot say the same for our heavenly home, “a place that has to be believed to be seen”.
Yet from its distant shores we again hear ‘good news’ - that we have ultimate security in the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing can separate us from it, from him. With him we shall one day rise and, seeing him as he is, the lamb in all his glory, we shall be made like him. Our welcome into his presence will be permanent and final. No more parting, no more sorrow. Only fullness of joy.
These days may take their toll on us - in fact, there can be no doubt that they have done. The defences in our souls have been constantly breached. Previously hard-won gains have perhaps begun to crumble away in the heat of trial. But good news reaches us still from a distant land - from the settled past and from the secure future. Good news that can quieten our hearts and renew our souls.
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As water to the thirsty,
as beauty to the eyes,
as strength that follows weakness,
as truth instead of lies,
as songtime and springtime
and summertime to be,
so is my Lord,
my living Lord,
so is my Lord to me.
Like calm in place of clamour,
like peace that follows pain,
like meeting after parting,
like sunshine after rain,
like moonlight and starlight
and sunlight on the sea,
so is my Lord,
my living Lord,
so is my Lord to me.
As sleep that follows fever,
as gold instead of grey,
as freedom after bondage,
as sunrise to the day,
as home to the traveller
and all we long to see,
so is my Lord,
my living Lord,
so is my Lord to me.
(© Timothy Dudley-Smith, 1926-)
