Louis Armstrong - "Down By the Riverside"
In days to come
the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be raised above the hills;
all the nations shall stream to it.
Many peoples shall come and say,
‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.’
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
and their spears into pruning-hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.
(Isaiah 2:1-5)
We sang "Down By the Riverside" as our closing hymn today for the First Sunday of Advent, a very good choice, I thought, with the words from Isaiah on beating swords into ploughshares. As I said in the comments at Margaret's "G'wan. Go to church" post:
If you think of the swords into plowshares in not so literal a sense, the command could be about making peace with those with whom we are not at ease or at peace - at least doing our side of the peace-making.
Am I really ready for the day of the Lord? Probably not, although I do love the season of Advent.
In case you're wondering, I went to church today. I always do what margaret says, because she talks to God.
