Let's open our Bibles again to the book of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 26. Isaiah chapter 26. It's one of Tricia's favorite verses that she committed to memory many, many, many years ago. And I've heard her quote it many times.

I've titled this message. peace of mind, peace of mind, how fleeting peace of mind can be. The Lord's made us a precious promise here in this passage. I thought of introducing this message by telling you that I was gonna preach to myself and you can listen in and hopefully you might be able to identify with my experience. I pray that will always be the way in which we preach.

But how often, like Peter, out of the safety of the boat, having been bid to leave the boat by the Lord Jesus himself, and yet with all the raging storms and all the confusion of the wind and everything else we are so quick to look away from Christ and to lose sight of him and to begin sinking in the in the waters of doubt and fear and unbelief and anxiety and worries how quickly the mind can become distracted and disquieted.

And I pray right now the Lord will enable us to trust him as we just read and to look to him and to be reminded after we leave here of this precious promise so that when we lose peace of mind that we'll remember what the Lord told us here in this passage.

Isaiah chapter 26, in that day, we just read that phrase in Isaiah chapter 12, and out of the 80-something times this phrase is found in the Bible, Isaiah says it over 40 times in that day. in the day of grace, in the day of God's visitation, in the day of His incarnation and all that He accomplished from the cradle to the grave, in the day of our regeneration, when the Spirit of God comes and reveals Christ to us and gives us faith to believe on Him, and in the days of our sanctification, as we live in this world and in this sinful body and with all the things that would distract us from Christ.

What a blessing it is when the Lord renews again in that day, in that day, a fresh measure of manna, a fresh reminder of His grace, and his presence. And ultimately, in that day, is the day that we see him as he is, the day of our glorification, the day when all the shadows and types and all the images that we have of him, though through a dark glass will be in full view in that day, in that day.

And I'm reminded of what Paul said in Colossians chapter three, when he said, set your affections on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. And I looked up that word affection. And it's the word thoughts. It's the word actually translated in our text, mind. Mind. It's not just the emotions of our hearts, it's our thoughts.

In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah. We have a strong city. Salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. And here's our verse. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusteth in thee. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee.

Trust ye in the Lord forever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting. And that word is often translated ages, ages. Everlasting strength. And that word is the word rock. We opened this service just a few minutes ago with Rock of Ages. And that's what everlasting strength is. It's the Lord Jesus himself who is the Rock of Ages.

How easily our thoughts can be placed on everything else but the Lord. May the Lord enable us to set our affections on things above, not on the things of the earth, not on the things of the earth. In addition to being distracted by all the temporal matters of this world, as we grow older, we bear more of a burden concerning our loved ones.

David said in Psalms 90, he said that a man's life is three score and 10, that's 70 years. And if by manner of strength, they'd be four score. If he happens to be strong enough to live to be 80, then those years between 70, 80 are full of trouble. I can relate a little bit to that. The older I get, yes, the more heightened sense of my own sin I have. I see more and more of my unbelief. But I also see more and more of the eternal consequences of things.

As we grow closer to heaven, we come to realize how important the choices are that are made in this life and the eternal ramifications of decisions that men make, particularly our children and our grandchildren and our family members, our loved ones. And that's one thing that causes these latter years to be full of trouble and sorrow.

We say oftentimes that ignorance is bliss, and it is. The more the Lord gives us a knowledge of Christ and a knowledge of ourselves and the eternal matters at stake, We're no longer at bliss with things that we might have ignored before. We now are burdened by these things in a different way. We see better what is at stake and how frail and how vulnerable we are, how truly evil the world is in which we live. The invisible struggles that we may have not noticed before of spiritual powers at work begin to burden our hearts and our minds with sorrow and troubles.

What I'm trying to say to you is that I've never had more of a need for peace of mind than I have right now. And I've never seen my hope in this passage of scripture more than I have tonight. I need a safe place that I can lie down, a place where I can rest my weary soul. The things that used to be able to distract are no longer adequate as a distraction. The amusements and the recreations of this world won't do.

when we are in need of peace of mind, real peace, not just a feigned, you know, put it out of your mind kind of thing, but a true peace of mind. Years ago, I was sitting by the bedside of a man who was in the last hours of life. I think he died the next day. He was conscious, and we were talking and praying and reading scripture and singing hymns. He had, not long before that, professed faith in Christ. And the hospice nurse came into the room. It was just me and him in the room. The hospice nurse came into the room. And you would have thought that she was a cheerleader at a high school pep rally. I mean, she came bursting through the door and was all cheery and excited and, you know, as if his troubles were that he was having a bad day and he just needed to be cheered up. And yet, that's the way the world deals with the troubles of this life. You know, let's just find a distraction. Let's just find a way to cheer one another up and, you know, have a positive outlook on things. Like in that last hour of life, some of us are drawing near to the last years of life. And we're becoming more and more aware of how inadequate the cheering up of this world is when it comes to the settling of our minds and of our souls.

I will keep them in perfect peace. All those other ways of trying to find peace and happiness in life is not perfect peace. Actually, in our text, you might have it in the margin of your Bible, I do in mine, in verse three, that will keep him in peace, peace. The word perfect is the same word as peace. And it reminds me of what the false prophets say, when they say, peace, peace, when in fact there is no peace. And that's what the world says. Oh, it's going to be better. You're going to have a better life. Tomorrow's going to be a better day, and prosperity is going to come, and you're going to be feeling better. And let's just cheer everybody up. Peace, peace. And that might work for the temporal issues of life. But for the soul, for the soul that needs peace of mind, true peace, rest, hope, joy, those things don't work anymore, do they? They just don't work.

There's a hymn that we used to sing. It's got some bad lines in it, but the first stanza is good. The title of the hymn is Love Lifted Me. It goes like this. In the first stanza, I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore, very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more. But the master of the sea heard my despairing cry, and from the waters he lifted me. Now safe am I. Love lifted me. Love lifted me." That's what our Lord's telling us, brethren. In all the worries and fears and all the distractions and disquietedness and all the troubles of this world, the Lord's saying, I will keep him in peace, peace, true peace, perfect peace, whose mind, thoughts, affections are stayed on thee.

Now when the Lord said we're to love him with all of our minds and all of our soul and all of our hearts, I don't believe that we're to make, we're to try to categorize things about us as far as, there is a distinction in the Bible And yet, that distinction is sometimes changed. The mind generally speaks of the intellect, the reasoning, the understanding. The heart usually speaks of the affections and the desires, the feelings, the emotions, the will. And the soul, the soul is that Well, when God made Adam from the dust of the earth and the scripture says he breathed the breath of life into his nostrils and Adam became a living soul. That's the life of God. That's the immortal part of us that will continue on forever after the The mind as we know it and the heart as we know it ceases to be, the soul will continue on.

I believe what the Lord is telling us is that this matter of thinking on me, this matter of believing on me, this matter of trusting me involves every part of your life. Involves every part of your life. It involves your intellect. It involves your understanding. It involves your affections, your desires, your emotions. And how distracting our intellect can be. How distracting the things of this world can become. And we begin to think on those things. how distracting the draw of this world can be on our affections and our desires. Oh, how we need the whole person, not just our intellect. This thinking on him is not just giving some intellectual assent and giving some reasoning logic to the things that we know to be true about God. And it's not just an emotional, sentimental aspect of it either. It's all of those things.

Sometimes the heart is defined as our mind. Listen to Proverbs, as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. That's what I'm trying to say, that there's not a clear distinction between the heart and the mind. As a matter of fact, Jeremiah, The Lord says, I'm going to make a new covenant with my people. It will not be like the covenant of old that their fathers broke in the wilderness. I'm going to write my laws upon their heart and I'm going to impress them upon their mind. That passage, that prophecy is quoted twice in Hebrews and both times that it's quoted, the mind and the heart are reversed. In other words, in one place in Hebrews it says, I'm going to impress it upon their mind and write it on their heart. In other places, I'm going to write it on their mind and press it upon their heart. Here's my point. This having our minds at peace and having our thoughts set on Christ is the whole man.

Romans chapter eight, the Lord tells us, they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, and they that are after the spirit, the things of the spirit. And we read of having the mind of Christ, let this mind be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus, who thought it not robbery to be with God. made of himself no reputation.

Lord, my mind and my thoughts can become so, they can become so burdensome. They can become so distracted. They can become so confused. And my affections, my feelings, they can become so distorted and so drawn away. Lord, if my mind's gonna be stayed on you, Lord, you're gonna have to, well, look, here's the promise, that will keep him in perfect peace. Lord, you're gonna have to keep me in thee.

You remember when Peter rebuked the Lord because the Lord said, told him he's gonna go to the cross. And the Lord said to Peter, he said, get thee behind me, Satan, for thou savorist. Now look, that word is mind, it's think. Thou savorest not the things of God, but the things of man." How easy it is for us to savor the things of man, to have those thoughts and those affections.

Let's go back to our text. How can this be? in that day. I've already said that in that day, when Isaiah uses in that day, sometimes it's the day of grace and sometimes it's the day of judgment and wrath. When Isaiah uses this term, not only Isaiah, but other places in the Bible, but it always refers to a visitation from God, a visitation from God.

Lord, if I'm going to have my mind stayed on thee, I'm going to need a visitation from God. I'm going to need you to come to me. Shall this song be sung in the land of Judah? Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints, give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. If the Lord visits me, then my mourning will be turned to joy. My fears will be turned to rejoicing. I'll be able to sing a new song. That song will be made fresh to me.

How stale and worm-filled the manna can become. if we are not fed every day. That's what it means to stay on him. Lord, I can't live off of yesterday's manna. And the songs of Zion, the songs of Judah, as they're described here, can just become just words and tunes without any affection, without any real thought. how many times we've sung even in public worship and not really had our hearts in it, just saying the words and trying to follow the tune.

Lord, visit me. In that day, Lord, come. Make my worship joyful. David said this in Psalm 30, his anger endureth but for a moment. Weeping may endure for the night, but joy cometh in the morning. These times of trials and troubles, these worries, these burdens that we carry that only get heavier. They only become heavier as you grow in grace and the knowledge of Christ. Never have I spent more time in prayer and preparation to preach because the gravity of what we're doing has become more real to me now. I lose more sleep at night now worrying about things and worrying about people and situations and wake up in the middle of the night Lord, I've got to, you're gonna have to put my mind back on thee. Singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs and making melody in your heart, I know, rejoice in the Lord, yes. And again I say rejoice, yes, that's what I want.

But Lord, my mind and my heart is so Well, the heart is desperately wicked, it's deceitful. Who can know it? And the mind is like Peter, there walking on the water, coming to Christ. And yet, looking at those waves, fearing the wind, and beginning to drown.

Here we have the first, look at verse one, we have the first stanza of this hymn. In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah. We've seen this in the book of Amos, how Israel in the Northern Kingdom, the lost 10 tribes of Israel, that was the apostate tribes, Judah is where the, The lineage of the king continued from David all the way to Christ in Judah. Judah means rejoicing. It's the same word we get Jew from. And this is the church. This is God's elect people. And this is his word to us, brethren.

We have a strong city. We have a strong city. Salvation will God appoint for walls and bullocks. We're protected from the enemy. We're safe here. This is the city of God. This is the city of refuge. This is the city. This is the city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

If we're to have our mind set on him, how we need to come together and encourage one another in the gospel and preach the gospel and know that these sufferings and these trials and troubles are common to all of us. They're common to all of us. One of the things that makes it a strong city I can identify with you and you can identify with me and you get out there in the world with the unbelievers and they don't understand and you and they don't can't relate it's a strong city we've got the gospel we've got the Word of God we've got we've got the presence of God he promised to be here we've got one another walls and bullocks he has set up as salvation for us We've got Christ. We've got Christ. The world doesn't have him.

Every other city is weak and vulnerable. Every other city of this world is like Jericho. When the trumpet of the gospel sounds, the walls of those cities fall. And here, when the trumpet of the gospel is sounded, the walls become stronger. The walls become stronger and we become safer. And we're reminded again and again of who the Lord Jesus is and what he did in order to save us and to keep us. And we're brought to that place of peace, peace. And our minds once again are stayed on him. because we're brought by his grace and by his Holy Spirit to trust him, to trust him. And he becomes our rock of ages. Trust ye in the Lord forever, forever.

Look at verse two, open ye the gates. When we preach the gospel, When we pray, when we talk to our friends and family members, what do we say? The gate's open. The gate's open. Noah told his generation, come, get on the ark. A flood's coming. The judgment of God's coming. Until one day, God shut the door of the ark. The spirit and the bride say, come. Come. The veil has been rent. The Lord Jesus died and shed his blood and paid the price that we might be able to enter into the very presence of God so that in that day, we can come before the throne of grace with boldness to find help and grace in our time of need. We can come confident. That's why we sing. We sing a new song in the land of Judah. We have a strong city. Salvation will God appoint for walls and bullocks. See, nothing less than Christ is gonna satisfy, is it? Nothing less than his person and the declaration of his glorious work is gonna help. Just some knowledge, some Bible knowledge, or just an emotional appeal is not sufficient. Lord, you've got to set my mind and my heart on thee, on thee.

Open ye the gates. I understand that the gates to the city of refuge were never closed. Most of the cities, they would close the gate to protect them, but the gate to the city of refuge was always open so that anyone running from the binger of blood could have access into that city, even if a binger of blood was right on their heels, they could come into the city. Always open. The gates of heaven are open. They're open. We're able to come into the presence of our God. This is what enables us to keep our minds, to set our minds on Him.

Christ Jesus the Lord is the gate to the sheepfold, and the sheep come through that one gate. The thief and the robber come in another way. Those who would rob Christ of His glory and salvation, those that would steal from Him His righteousness to themselves, Those that would seek to come into the presence of God on their own, providing something for their own salvation, they come another way. We come in that one gate, that one narrow gate. This is how we have our minds set on Him. Open ye the gates, don't close the gates. Don't give me something that I have to do in order to have my mind stayed on him.

That the righteous nation, the righteous nation, God made him who knew no sin, sin. that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. All our righteousness, those filthy rags, but all in Christ, in Christ, we have a perfect righteousness before God, the righteous nation, which keepeth the truth. What is it to keep the truth? It's to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. It's to confess Him for who He is and what He's done. It's to look to Christ. It's to trust Him. It's to rest in Him. It's to believe what He has done and what He's said. They're the ones that may enter in.

Thou will keep Him. in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee. Turn with me to Philippians chapter two. Philippians chapter two. Our Lord is admonishing us to set our minds on Christ. Philippians chapter two, we'll begin reading in verse five. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation. There's the mind of Christ. To make yourself of no reputation, to humble yourself before God and before men. And he took upon him the form of a servant, not to demand others to serve us, but that we might serve God in the sincerity of heart and serve one another. And he was made in the likeness of men, just a man. And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

"Being made humble before God. Dying to self. Dying to self. Want to be my disciple? You take up your cross. Deny yourself. Follow me. Deny that you had anything to do with your salvation. There's going to be some trials and troubles along the way. Wherefore, God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, and things of heaven and things in earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. That is our confession. Jesus, Jehovah saves, the Christ, the anointed one, the one who came in the full power of the spirit of God to actually save his people. Our surety, our substitute, our sin bearer. God has made him both Christ and Lord. He reigns. He reigns.

Here's how we come. When we lose peace of mind, it's because we've lost sight of Him. It's because we've become proud. It's because we've become entitled. It's because we've become worldly. It's because we've set our affections on the things of the world rather than the things above. That's when we lose peace of mind, isn't it?

Look at chapter three at verse 15. Let us therefore as many as be perfect be thus minded. That will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusteth in thee. Be thus minded. Well, be how minded? Be how minded? We begin in verse nine, and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness, which is of God by faith, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering being made conformable unto his death. If by any means I may attain unto the resurrection of the dead. not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect, but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind." Forgetting the failures, forgetting the successes, forgetting the troubles, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth. Here's what it is to have our mind stayed on him. Reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press towards the mark. It's having our mind stayed on him as a pressing. It's a spiritual labor. It's a work of grace that we got to, the flesh is just prone to worry. The flesh is prone to trouble. The flesh is prone to fear. As many as would be perfect, let them be like-minded.

Now, look at chapter 4. Paul spends a lot of time on how to get our minds set, our hearts set. On Christ, Philippians chapter four, look at verse four, rejoice in the Lord always. In the Lord, we have reason to always rejoice. Now, in the midst of all of the troubles of this world and this life, all the things that would cause us to be disquieted and fearful and lose sleep We're reminded that in the Lord, in Him, we have reason to rejoice regardless of what else may be happening.

Let your moderation. We're not taken to extremes. We're going to feel sadness. We're going to feel happiness. But let us not be driven by our emotions to one extreme or the other. Let your moderation be known unto all men. Why? Because the Lord's at hand. He's doing this. God's in control of this. He is near.

Be careful for nothing. Well, that's a hard one. But in everything, Here's the, the Lord's not saying, don't worry, be happy. That's the world's philosophy. They can get by with that. They can just push things aside and, and like the hospice nurse, you know, call in a cheerleader, make them feel better. That's not what the Lord says for us. Don't worry, pray, pray. Be careful for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be known unto God. And the peace of God will keep your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. Here's where the heart and mind is. You see, it's not one or the other. It's not just, well, I gotta think about this thing. No, it's the whole man. Will keep your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. Jesus. I'm sorry, I missed a phrase there, didn't I? The peace of God.

And you know what that word passeth means. It means, he's not saying that the peace of God cannot be understood. That's not what's being said here. The word passeth here means to excel or better than. We become so We lose peace of mind because we don't understand what's happening and we're losing control and we want to be, we want to have a better grasp of things. And that causes so much consternation of heart and mind, does it not? And what's the Lord saying here? The peace of God, which is better than understanding, will keep your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.

And then he concludes with this, finally, brethren, whatsoever things, whatsoever things are true and honest and just and pure and lovely and of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise. Now, who's true? Who's virtuous? Virtue has gone out of me. Isn't that what the Lord said to that woman that touched the hem of his garment? All these people were touching him. Who touched me? Lord, what do you mean who touched you? Everybody's touching you. No, virtue has gone out from me. Someone came to me with a need. Someone needed peace of mind. Someone stayed on me. Virtue has gone out from me.

You see, all these things, brethren, if they'd be true, honest, every man's a liar, God alone tells the truth, so much untruth in so many things, pure, lovely, of good report, that's the good news, that's the gospel. think on these things. And I will keep thee in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on me, for they trusteth in me.

Our Heavenly Father, thank you for the forgiveness of sin. For Lord, we are so filled with unbelief. We're so prone to losing the mind of Christ and the peace of God. We're so, or that old man still wants to be in control. Lord, might we stay our mind and our thoughts. Might we sing our songs of rejoicing in this strong city that you've provided, the city of walls and bullocks where we can rest in Christ. Lord, thank you for the rest that you've given us this hour. And Lord, by your Holy Spirit, remind us of the things that we've seen here. and bring us again and again and again to thy dear son, our life, and our peace. We ask it in Christ's name. Amen.

Number 12 in the spiral hymnal. Let's stand together.