Be Still And Know

Luke 2:28-31 [Simeon] took the child in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people.” Simeon was clearly an old man and had spent years waiting for this moment. When he saw baby Jesus, he recognised that this was the one who had been the focus of his prayers for all that time. The Messiah had finally come. Simeon had lived a good life. Luke described him as “righteous and devout” (v25), and that tells us that he had lived in the right way towards the people around him and had been committed to God. Now, as his life ebbed away, he found fulfilment in holding Jesus in his arms and bringing his praises to God. Simeon’s prayer is known by its Latin name as the [itals]Nunc Dimittis[end itals] and is used by many churches as part of evening worship. It is also often used in funeral services, and that’s easy to understand – here was a man who came to the end of his days at peace beca