Monday, February 06, 2017

Peace Portrayed


"Mordecai [מׇרְדְּכַי, Bitterness; Crushed; *see note below]… great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, [was] seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed" (Esther 10:3).  "How excellent is Thy lovingkindness, O God!  Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings" (Psalm 36:7).  "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5).  "Come, ye blessed of My Father" (Matthew 25:34).

*The Persian meaning of Mordecai is literally, "belonging to Marduk".  The name Marduk is obviously not Hebrew, but can be constructed from Hebrew elements to represent a profound meaning, deriving the first part from the verb מרר (marar), meaning to be strong or bitter.  The second part could then be drawn from the adjective דך (dak), meaning crushing.

As Mordecai portrayed the fame
That typified our Lord and Savior,
We see embedded in his name
The bitterness that brought us favor. 

How excellent is heaven's love
In Christ our Lord, the King of kings,
Who brought salvation from above
To shelter us beneath His wings! 

How bitter was salvation's price
Procured by Jesus Christ our Lord,
Which came by His own sacrifice
For peace that we could not afford! 

Our peace portrayed is marvelous,
O Lord, as prophets have revealed,
Foretelling what You did for us
By dying so we might be healed!  


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