ruffled by no passions, corroded by no cares, disturbed by no guilt, satisfied with its lot on earth, and reposing with cheerful confidence on the care of a Father, who is in heaven. Such was the frame of mind which our holy Master enjoyed; such is the disposition which he intends his faithful disciples to enjoy habitually.

Now, of such a peace,the great enemy is guilt. For how can peace be an inmate in the breast which is continually wounded by the goads of an accusing conscience? How can it dwell with trouble and perplexity, with shame and remorse, with painful recollections, and forebodings fears? Guilt corrodes the mind; stings it with the bitterest reflections; alarms it with the most dreadful apprehensions of punishment; represents God as an offended Deity, and a severe, inexorable Judge. In the ears of the wicked, it is said, there is a dreadful sound. "He knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand, and trouble and anguish make him afraid." What peace, then, can the mind enjoy in such a state? How certainly and strongly does the awakened conscience reject every intimation of it! "What hast thou to do with peace?" is the taunting reply with which Conscience forbids the guilty soul to listen to the voice of consolation.

But Jesus removes our guilt. His Gospel sets before us a Fountain opened for sin and uncleanness, in which the most polluted may wash and be cleansed. It points to the atoning sacrifice-the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world-and declares the ability and the willingness of Christ to cancel our guilt, and to restore us to the Divine favour. From the contrite, therefore, and the broken in heart, who rely on this great Redeemer, the curse is removed; for their reconciliation with God is effected, the disturbing power of guilt is destroyed, and a sure foundation laid on which the superstructure of peace may rest.

Another certain obstacle to peace is an impure and unholy disposition.-Consider how extravagant, and often how inconsistent, are the objects which sin pre

VOL. II.

41

sents to the mind; how inordinate and lawless the desires which it excites: how unjust and violent the means by which it prompts us to seek the indulgence of them; and how many and turbulent passions are thus continually inflaming and agitating the bosom! Under such a controul, how easily is the soul inflated by success, irritated by disappointment, or stung by provocation! How frequently is it elevated by wild, unreasonable hopes, to be depressed as deeply when the expectation fails! What painful anxiety attends the pursuit, even where it is successful! What can be the peace of that mind which is swayed by ambition or avarice which is full of envy, murder, deceit, malignity; proud, boastful, an inventor of evil things, implacable, unmerciful! These we know, and such as these, are the works and dispositions of the flesh; and they exist in one degree or other, and cause more or less disturbance in every carnal mind. Can peace, then, be the result of such a state? The nature of man, and the immutable laws of God forbid it. "There is no peace," saith God, "to the wicked." They are "like the troubled sea when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt." But suppose that the sinful propensity is not of this strong and turbulent character; and that it is no more than a cold selfishness of heart, or a love of this present world, which, though neither ardent nor active, has yet excluded from the soul every other affection: can such a temper consist with peace? No: there is a vexation in the very vanity of all human wishes which are not regulated and directed by the word of God. And as in the body, there can be neither ease nor health unless its functions are duly performed, according to the laws of the animal economy; so the acts and motions of the soul can never promote its well-being and happiness, unless they all proceed agreeably to its original constitution. The affections must be placed on fit objects; the faculties employed for right ends; the various powers kept in due subordination to each other; and the tendency of all must

be to preserve that pure and holy character which God originally impressed upon the soul of our first parent, and which it is the office of the Holy Spirit to renew. As the heart deviates more from the word of God, it departs farther from a state of rest and ease. And though there are corrupt and unholy dispositions, which are comparatively passive and calm, yet they are too poor and sordid, too much beneath the dignity and destination of the soul, to afford it that serene and full satisfaction which can justly be called peace. For peace is of a pure and dignified character. The mind which is prepared for it has no bye ends to answer; nothing base, which it wishes to conceal; nothing dishonourable, which can tinge the cheek with shame. It endeavours to approve itself to God, pursues the objects which he proposes, refers its actions to him as their source and their end. Such a mind is disinterested, and seeks only the praise which cometh from God: it is kind and generous, and desires the good of all mankind: it is pure, and always aspiring to what is excellent: it is humble, without ambitious or lofty views; and meek and unpresuming, so that it suffers but little from disappointments. Pride which inflates, jealousy which corrodes, anger which enrages, grief which consumes, despair which destroys the mind, have no place in the Christian character; for "they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh, with its affections and lusts." The religion of Christ is a dispensation of holiness, and the grand instrument to promote it. It is the preparation of the soul for the enjoyment of a state of peace here which is similar in its origin, nature, and means, to that eternal peace which shall be enjoyed above.

Anxiety about the future forms another obstacle to the enjoyment of true peace.-How many are there who cannot enjoy the present, because their minds are filled with painful apprehensions of what is to come! The want of sufficient provision for a family, the fear of some approaching loss or pain, the dread of some threatened danger, the recurring care about some ex

pected event, will often haunt the mind, and render it a prey to the severest disquiet. But the Gospel of Christ is calculated to remove such cares, and to induce tranquillity and calm; for it cuts off the sources of anx iety by diminishing the supposed importance of those objects which otherwise exercise an undue influence on the mind-which fill it with groundless fears. or elate it with unreasonable hopes. The Gospel lessens the value of all human things, and substitutes for them objects of a higher and a nobler class;-the favour of the blessed God, the salvation of the immortal soul, an interest in the death and intercession of our Saviour, the sanctifying influence of the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry Abba, Father, the hope which is full of immortality. These appear, to him who is properly trained in the school of Christ, objects of inestimable value, so that, in comparison of them, all anxieties of a worldly kind are of little moment. And further, our blessed Lord has taught his disciples to repose upon the parental care, the tender love which their Father, who is in heaven, has manifested for them. "Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them: are ye not much better than they? Wherefore, take no" anxious "thought, saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or wherewithal shall we be clothed? for after all these things do the Gentiles seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of these things: but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you."

Thus faith teaches us to place a perpetual reliance on the care of our heavenly Father; it sooths the anxious mind, and disperses unreasonable fears. "Thou shalt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed upon thee."

The three grand sources of inquietude, guilt, and unholy dispositions, and care, being thus removed, there remains no obstacle to the enjoyment of peace; a peace

pure and holy, a peace solid and stable, the peace of God which passeth all understanding; all the joyful prospects, the cheering hopes of the Gospel, all the love of a Saviour, and the various blessings of his salvation, may then be received into the mind, and fill it with a joy unspeakable and full of glory. I do not, however, affirm, that this blessed peace will be necessarily and universally enjoyed by the faithful disciples of Christ; for, alas! their faith is often imperfect, weak, and unstable; their knowledge, low and confused; their religion languid, and their sanctification incomplete. Bodily indisposition will sometimes enfeeble the mind, and render it the prey of groundless apprehensions: we speak, therefore, only of the proper and direct tendency of the Christian system; of the manifest intention and design of its great Founder. And we say, that wherever its principles have full scope; wherever the heart embraces it without reserve; wherever its precepts are cheerfully received and followed; wherever prayer is constantly and devoutly addressed to God, and the holy Scriptures valued as the sources of consolation and the guides of life, there a holy tranquillity and peace of mind will be obtained, and the invaluable bequest of our Saviour really enjoyed-"My peace," says he, “I give unto you!" Every doctrine of the Gospel is intended to make way for this peace: every promise points to this design: every action of our honoured Redeemer, every gracious word which he uttered, every sacrifice of love which he performed, all refer manifestly to this object, and have a strong and direct tendency to pro

mote it.

Let them tell, for they only are the just and legitimate witnesses, who have passed from darkness into light, and from the power of Satan unto God;-let them describe the folly and vanity, the low ends, the vain expectations, the turbulent desires and corrupt motives, which once occupied their minds; let them say how impossible it was for them, in that state, to enjoy true serenity and solid peace. But hear them