Beautiful Feet That Publish Salvation

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings,
that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation;
that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Isa 52:7

Not of the messenger that brought the news of Cyrus's proclamation of liberty to the Jews; rather of John the Baptist, the forerunner of our Lord; best of Christ himself, the messenger of the covenant, who was anointed to preach glad tidings to the meek, and by whom grace, peace, life, and salvation came; and also of the apostles of Christ, for to Gospel times are these words applied, and to more persons than one, Rom_10:15, who were not only seen "upon the mountains" of the land of Israel, as the Targum paraphrases it, where both Christ and his apostles preached, but upon the mountains of the Gentile world; and may denote the pains they took, the circuit they made, and the difficulties they had to encounter with; and the publicness of their ministrations, which lay in bringing "good tidings" of the incarnate Saviour, of God manifest in the flesh, for the word (k) here used has the signification of flesh in it; of good things in the heart of God for his people, in the covenant of grace, in the hands of Christ, and as come by him, and to be had from him; as pardon by his blood; justification by his righteousness; eternal life and happiness through him; and of all good things to be enjoyed now and hereafter. It may be applied to all other ministers of the Gospel in later ages, who are bringers of the same good tidings to the children of men, to whom their very feet are beautiful, and even at a distance, upon the high mountains; not to carnal men, but sensible sinners, to whom the good news of salvation by Christ is welcome. Feet are mentioned instead of their whole persons, because the instruments of motion, and so of bringing the tidings, and of running to and fro with them from place to place, and even though they are dirty and defiled with sin; for Gospel ministers are not free from it, and are men of like passions with others; yet are beautiful when their walk and ministry, conversation and doctrine, agree together; and their feet are particularly so, being shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace. The words may with the greatest propriety, and in agreement with the context, be understood of that angel, or set of Gospel ministers in the latter day, represented as flying in the midst of the heavens, having the everlasting Gospel to preach to all nations, which will precede the fall of Babylon, Rev_14:6.
(Excerpt of John Gill)

Good News of Jesus' Victory

The news of the Gospel is news of a victory over sin—news of a victory over death—news of a reconciliation with our God and Father, against whom we had been lured by our enemy, Sin, to be guilty of treachery and rebellion. Jesus has not put an end to the war as yet; but He has put it on quite a new footing. Sin is still abiding in the world, notwithstanding the victories of Jesus, just as a remnant of the Canaanites was left on the borders of the promised land, notwithstanding the victories of Joshua. Those Canaanites, the Bible tells us, were left to try the children of Israel, and to teach them war (Jdg_3:1-2); and it is perhaps for a like reason that sin is still left on earth, in order that we may be put to the test to prove whether we choose to obey God or no, and that we may be trained to our duties as Christ’s soldiers by a course of hard service against God’s enemies.

​Before Christ’s coming, for the great bulk of mankind, both Jews and Gentiles, the battle against sin was quite hopeless. Sin was waxing every day stronger and spreading wider; goodness, on the other hand, was growing rarer and rarer. Man felt himself to be overmatched by sin; indeed, he could scarcely lift up his hand against it. But all this is now changed, and most blessedly, for the better. We are no longer the weaker side. Christ has provided armour of proof for us, has sent His Spirit to strengthen us while we are standing, and has given us His cross to catch hold of when we are falling. He has proclaimed that we are at peace with God, that we may fight with a better heart. He has promised and assured us of a glorious triumph for every one who will fight his best. Such is the news which Jesus has brought us. Whereas before men could not cope with sin, we may now be sure of overcoming it. Whereas men before shuddered at the thought of death as the dark and dismal end of all things, we have now been taught to look upon it as the gate of a more glorious life. Whereas men before felt that they were at enmity with God, and therefore could not love Him or take pleasure in Him, they now know that He is ready to receive them into favour, and will treat them as sons, if they will only behave to Him as such.    (A. W. Hare, The Alton Sermons, p. 135)

The Missionary Theme

Dr. Judson when at home on a visit, addressed a large meeting, his theme being “The Preciousness of Christ,” and sat down, deeply affected. On his way home a friend said to him, “The people are much disappointed; they wonder you did not talk of something else.” “Why, what did they want?” said the missionary. “I presented to the best of my ability the most interesting subject in the world.” “But,” said the man, “they have heard that before; they wanted something new from a man who has just come from the antipodes.” “Then,” said the great man, kindling, “I am glad to have it to say that a man from the antipodes had nothing better to tell them than the wondrous story of the dying love of Christ.”
(The Wellspring)