Peace In The Valley

For my ‘Sunday Song this week I’ve chosen ‘Peace in the Valley’. I guess the version I first heard was Elvis or Jim Reeves…

It was written by blues and gospel writer Thomas A. Dorsey in 1939. Dorsey was on a train travelling through southern Indiana; War was about to break out across the world. Seeing horses, cows, and sheep grazing together in a small valley he wrote about peace.

Well, I’m tired and so weary, but I must go along
‘Til the Lord comes and calls me away
Where the morning’s so bright and the Lamb is the light
And the night, night is as fair as the day

There will be peace in the valley for me some day
There will be peace in the valley for me, oh, Lord, I pray
There’ll be no sadness, no sorrow, no trouble I see
There will be peace in the valley for me.

Dorsey’s message is just as powerful today. We hear about peace achieved by a ‘temporary cease fire’, but trouble and aggression continue; we see peace achieved when the more powerful bully the weaker into submission.

The alternative is this picture of complete peace when war is ended, conflicts are resolved, life’s struggles are over; it’s the Biblical picture of a ‘new heaven and a new earth’ where God ‘will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain…’

Well, the flowers will be blooming and the grass will be green
And the skies will be clear and serene
Where the sun ever beams in this valley of dreams
And no clouds there will ever will be seen

There will be peace in the valley….

This full and complete peace is enjoyed by nations, communities and individuals. Dorsey uses Isaiah’s imagery of wolves, lambs, leopards, goats, calves and lions all resting together, no tensions, no worries… and led by a little child… It’s a picture of wholeness and hope that my faith points me to, and I need to hold on to…

Well, the bear will be gentle and the wolf will be tame
And the lion shall lay down by the lamb
And the beast from the wild shall be led by a child
And I’ll be changed, changed from this creature that I am

There will be peace in the valley for me some day
There will be peace in the valley for me, oh, Lord, I pray
There’ll be no sadness, no sorrow, no trouble I see
There will be peace in the valley for me

This Christian hope points to peace that I can enjoy now. It’s Jesus’ picture of the Good Shepherd, with his sheep in the valley… green pastures, still waters. Jesus said, ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.’  Even in the dark, lonely valley of death, the presence of the Shepherd takes away trouble and fear brings his peace…

I can enjoy peace in a small way now; I also look forward to ‘no sadness, no sorrow, no trouble’ – when ‘peace in the valley’ is complete and all is finally resolved.