January 5: The Peaceable Kingdom
♫ Music:
Day 34 - Friday, January 5
Title: THE PEACEABLE KINGDOM
Scripture: Isaiah 11:6–10 (NKJV)
“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious.”
Poetry & Poet:
from “At the Fishhouses”
by Elizabeth Bishop
Down at the water’s edge, at the place
where they haul up the boats, up the long ramp
descending into the water, thin silver
tree trunks are laid horizontally
across the gray stones, down and down
at intervals of four or five feet.
Cold dark deep and absolutely clear,
element bearable to no mortal,
to fish and to seals . . . One seal particularly
I have seen here evening after evening.
He was curious about me. He was interested in music;
like me a believer in total immersion,
so I used to sing him Baptist hymns.
I also sang “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.”
He stood up in the water and regarded me
steadily, moving his head a little.
Then he would disappear, then suddenly emerge
almost in the same spot, with a sort of shrug
as if it were against his better judgment.
Cold dark deep and absolutely clear,
the clear gray icy water . . . Back, behind us,
the dignified tall firs begin.
Bluish, associating with their shadows,
a million Christmas trees stand
waiting for Christmas. The water seems suspended
above the rounded gray and blue-gray stones.
I have seen it over and over, the same sea, the same,
slightly, indifferently swinging above the stones,
icily free above the stones,
above the stones and then the world.
If you should dip your hand in,
your wrist would ache immediately,
your bones would begin to ache and your hand
would burn
as if the water were a transmutation of fire
that feeds on stones and burns with a dark gray flame.
If you tasted it, it would first taste bitter,
then briny, then surely burn your tongue.
It is like what we imagine knowledge to be:
dark, salt, clear, moving, utterly free,
drawn from the cold hard mouth
of the world, derived from the rocky breasts
forever, flowing and drawn, and since
our knowledge is historical, flowing, and flown.
THE PEACEABLE KINGDOM
Who does not long for a peaceable kingdom? In a historic moment torn by wars and rumors of wars, a realm of endless peace and harmony sounds like exactly the right antidote to a world roiling with conflict. Our verses from Isaiah 11:6-9 for today's devotional resonate with the hope of manifold paradox. The apex predator the wolf will dwell alongside the lamb; the leopard will pose no threat to the young goat; the cow and the bear shall graze harmoniously in the same field; the ferocious lion will eat vegetarian with the ox. Children will no longer be in danger from poisonous snakes. All of this is the result of knowledge of the Lord spreading over the whole world.
The contemporary artist Benini, in tribute to Quaker painter Edward Hicks (1780-1849), has rendered this scene described in Isaiah with a brilliant royal blue background superimposed with a striking white marble-colored menagerie, including many of the creatures mentioned in the biblical verses as well as a dove and a hawk. At the top center of the painting sits a rose, which seems to symbolize the essence of this supernatural, overwhelming peace that the animal kingdom along with the entire world is experiencing. By pulling everything out of the context of a visible, earthly background, and placing everything in this block of blue space, Benini's work suggests just how otherworldly, how unnatural, this picture of unity among creatures usually at odds with each other truly is. The contentment in the animal's faces invites viewers to imagine a world where those expected to be most at odds have in fact found a nurturing, dynamic, violence free harmony.
Glenn Rudolph's composition, "The Dream Isaiah Saw," reveals divine harmony in the musical sphere, with lyrics by Thomas Troeger that connect with the profound message of Isaiah's biblical verses.
"All of creation completely restored,
Filled with the knowledge and love of the Lord."
The Elizabeth Bishop poem that accompanies today's devotional, "At the Fishhouses," called "Geographical Mirror" in earlier drafts, in contrast to the abstract royal blue background of Benini's painting, provides readers with a detailed description of a scene that connects the speaker to a Nova Scotian upbringing. In parallel with Isaiah's focus on the animal kingdom, the speaker in the poem has an extraordinary encounter with a seal, who she regales with Baptist hymns, and who regards her with curiosity. Like the verses from Isaiah, this poem is concerned with knowledge, which Bishop describes as "dark, salt, clear, moving, utterly free." Whereas the poem's vision of knowledge is "historical, flowing, and flown," Isaiah's vision is transhistorical and transcendent, portraying a kingdom that can only be considered heavenly. While I admire the beauty of Bishop's wordsmithing, the specific detail that make her one of our greatest 20th century poets, I am even more appreciative of Isaiah's more capacious view, which reveals the possibility for shalom, true peace on earth, a reality only made possible through the knowledge of the Lord encompassing the whole earth.
Prayer
Dear God, our world is torn with war and violence. I pray that you provide this world with a peace that is only found in you. I pray for those who are suffering from the results of war and violence. I pray for an end to all of the division between individuals, groups, and nations. I pray for your healing. I pray for an end to all the trauma and hurting. I pray for your love to reign over all. In Jesus' name,
Amen.
––A Prayer for Peace (Moody Bible Institute)
Dr. Marc Malandra
Professor of English
Biola University
For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab.
About the Art:
The Peaceable Kingdom: A Tribute to Brother Hicks
Benini
1982
96 x 96 in.
Acrylic on canvas
Private Collection
In 1982, artist Benini painted this work entitled The Peaceable Kingdom: A Tribute to Brother Hicks. Inspired by Isaiah's prophecy of a peaceable kingdom, in which benign animals and trusting infants coexist in harmony and peace, Benini also paid tribute to Edward Hicks, an American Quaker artist (1780–1849), who painted sixty-two paintings of the harmonious Peaceable Kingdom in which benign animals and trusting infants coexist in an Eden-type landscape.
About the Artist:
Benini (b. 1941) is an Italian artist. Benini's exhibition career started with a one-man show in Milan, Italy, in 1961. During his late teens and early twenties, Benini painted landscapes and still lifes in a traditional style. By 1965, his paintings evolved into large-scale monochromatic renderings of the human figure. From the mid-1970s, he alternated large-scale representations of the rose and dreamlike paintings with strong symbolist content. During the mid-1980s, Benini's work took a sharp turn toward geometry and the mathematical sciences. In this series, Benini created paintings with a highly disciplined technique, requiring up to twenty layers of acrylic paint applied by brush, giving a glow to pigments and transforming familiar geometric and organic shapes into lyrical canvases that, stretched over flat aluminum, hung inches from the wall, creating the feeling of dimensionality. In 2003 Benini began his Courting Kaos Series, with a different application of paint that combined his hand-blended backgrounds and selectively dropped acrylics in highly controlled patterns. These paintings, related to Italian baroque and rococo art, as well as the simple elegance of Islamic pattern art, have evolved into space-age imagery. To date, Benini has had numerous one-man exhibitions, primarily in universities, public institutions, and museums.
http://www.benini.com/benini-about-the-artist.htm
About the Music:
“The Dream Isaiah Saw” from the album Christmas with the Washington Chorus
Lyrics:
Lions and oxen will sleep in the hay,
Leopards will join with the lambs as they play.
Wolves will be pastured with the cows in the glade.
Blood will not darken the earth that God made.
Little child whose bed is straw,
Take new lodgings in my heart.
Bring the dream Isaiah saw,
Life redeemed from fang and claw.
Peace will pervade more than forest and field,
God will transfigure the violence concealed.
Deep in the heart and in systems of gain,
Ripe for the judgment the Lord will ordain.
Little child whose bed is straw,
Take new lodgings in my heart.
Bring the dream Isaiah saw,
Justice purifying law.
Nature reordered to match God’s intent,
Nations obeying the call to repent.
All of creation completely restored,
Filled with the knowledge and love of the Lord.
Little child whose bed is straw,
Take new lodgings in my heart.
Bring the dream Isaiah saw,
Knowledge, wisdom, worship, awe.
Little child whose bed is straw,
Take new lodgings in my heart.
Bring the dream Isaiah saw,
Knowledge, wisdom, worship, awe.
"The Dream Isaiah Saw'' is a contemporary classical choral Christmas song, commissioned by the Bach Choir of Pittsburgh and composed in 2001 by Glenn L. Rudolph to the lyrics of Thomas H. Troeger's 1994 hymn "Lions and Oxen Will Feed in the Hay." The hymn has become a signature piece of the Washington Chorus. It is regularly performed by symphonic, college, church, and school choirs during the season of Advent.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_Isaiah_Saw
About the Composers:
Glenn L. Rudolph (music) and Thomas H. Troeger (lyrics)
Glenn L. Rudolph (b.1951) has been active in choral music in the Pittsburgh area since 1977. He began his church choir directing career at Freeport United Methodist Church in Freeport, PA; was a member of the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh from 1983 through 1991; and served as conducting assistant to music director Robert Page for the 1990–1991 concert season. He was employed as tenor soloist at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral from 1985 through 1994 and at Temple Rodef Shalom from 1993 through 2003. Rudolph received his B.M. in music composition from the University of Cincinnati (1973). He was awarded a graduate scholarship in composition and a teaching assistantship in music theory at the College Conservatory of Music. He received his M.M. in composition from the Mary Pappert School of Music, Duquesne University, in 2011.
https://www.morningstarmusic.com/composers/r/glenn-l-rudolph.html
Thomas H. Troeger (1945-2022) was a noted author, prolific hymnist, and poet. Following graduation from Colgate Rochester Divinity School, Troeger was ordained as a Presbyterian minister and served as an associate pastor for the New Hartford Presbyterian Church (1970–1977). His ministerial orientation would remain with him for the remainder of his career, which he spent at three academic institutions. He made notable contributions by publishing five books about liturgy and spirituality. His liturgical and musical interests led to his affiliation with the Institute of Sacred Music, where he had standing during his tenure at Yale University. He contributed to the music of Marquand worship services and to the broader Yale Divinty School community in multiple ways. Troeger was also a beloved teacher who taught homiletics at Yale Divnity School.
https://divinity.yale.edu/news/thomas-h-troeger-1945-2022
About the Performers:
The Washington Chorus (TWC), now in its sixty-second season, is one of the foremost symphonic choruses in the nation. Noted for the superb artistry of its performances and recordings of the entire range of the choral repertoire, TWC is widely recognized as a cultural leader in the nation’s capital. A three-time nominated and two-time Grammy Award winner, the 160-voice Washington Chorus presents an annual series at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, regularly performs at the invitation of the National Symphony Orchestra, and appears annually at the Music Center at Strathmore in Maryland and Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Virginia. TWC has appeared at the invitation of leading orchestras including the National Symphony Orchestra and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. TWC is proud to have sung with the National Symphony Orchestra in more than three hundred performances, under the direction of many of the world’s greatest conductors, including Christoph Eschenbach, Leonard Slatkin, Seiji Ozawa, Sir Neville Marriner, Kent Nagano, Marin Alsop, Gustavo Dudamel, Sir Andrew Davis, and many others.
https://thewashingtonchorus.org/
About the Poetry and Poet:
Elizabeth Bishop (1911–1979) was an American poet and short story writer. She was consultant in poetry to the Library of Congress (1949 to 1950), the Pulitzer Prize winner for Poetry in 1956, the National Book Award winner in 1970, and the recipient of the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 1976. Bishop was greatly influenced by the poet Marianne Moore, who helped Bishop publish some of her poetry. The friendship between the two women is memorialized by an extensive correspondence and endured until Moore’s death in 1972. During her lifetime, Bishop was a respected yet somewhat obscure figure in the world of American literature. Since her death in 1979, however, her reputation has grown to the point where many critics, like Larry Rohter in The New York Times, have referred to her as “one of the most important American poets” of the twentieth century. Bishop was a perfectionist who published only 101 poems during her lifetime, preferring instead to spend long periods of time refining her work. Her verse is marked by precise descriptions of the physical world and an air of poetic serenity, but her underlying themes include the struggle to find a sense of belonging and the human experiences of grief and longing.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/elizabeth-bishop
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Bishop
About the Devotion Author:
Dr. Marc Malandra
Professor of English
Biola University
Marc Malandra is a professor of English at Biola University. Malandra teaches courses in American literature, composition, and creative writing. His poetry and scholarship have appeared in over three dozen publications. He attends EV Free Fullerton Church and lives in Brea, California, with his wife, Junko, college-aged children, Noah and Sasha, and their cat, Tora.