The work of a woman

The new heaven and the new earth of which Isaiah speaks in chapter 65 are here, brought about by a millennium of labour in the Lord's vineyard.

It is not a question of perfection. It is a question of substance.

There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed. And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.

This is no outline of a king's task, but the description of Christ's legacy.

The saints of which Revelation 6:9-11 speaks were burned on the stake for the formula justification by grace through faith: the grace to live a holy life. They reached for something beyond Isaiah's description, before even having attained that.

There is very little doubt about the value of these things in heaven, as much obstinacy as there may be on earth.

Yet, that truth has not yet been proclaimed. It speaks in the dark to those who hear equally near. When the cost of neglect is clear, it shall stand revealed, the fountain of confirmation.

Until then it remains a woman's work, carrying water to hidden places. At last, when all else fear, the servant sees the door open.