In Perfect Peace'.

"You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You." Isaiah 26:3

"Perfect Peace!" That is what we all want. That, too, is what Christ offers us in his gospel. Among his farewell words we find this bequest: "Peace I leave with you—my peace I give unto you." After his return from the grave, he said to his disciples, three times repeating the same benediction, "Peace be unto you." Peace is thus part of the blessed evangel, and an essential element of the true and full Christian life. Christ desires us to have peace. If we do not have it—we have missed part of the blessing of being a Christian, part of our inheritance as children of God. It is not a peculiar privilege which is only for a favored few; it is for everyone who believes in Christ and will accept it.

Yet do all Christians possess peace? Have all taken into their heart and life, this blessing bequeathed to them by the Master? How many of us really have Christ's peace today? How many of us lived in the peace of Christ the past week? How many of us are kept in perfect peace through all the circumstances and experiences of our changeful lives?

What is wrong? Is the gospel really not what it clams to be? Are the blessings it promises, only lovely dreams which never are fulfilled, which cannot be fulfilled? Is saving grace not able to help us to the attainment of peace? The Bible is full of great words like rest, joy, peace, love, hope. Are these words only illusions? Or can these beautiful things be attained? Do Christians as a rule expect to get these divine qualities into their lives in this present world?

We may say with perfect confidence, that these words paint no impossible attainments. For example, peace—it is not a mocking vision which ever flees away from him who tries to clasp it and take it into his heart. It is not like the sunbeam which the child tries to gather up off the floor in its chubby hand, but which only pours through its fingers and slips from its clasp. Nor is it merely a heavenly attainment which we must wait until we die to obtain. It is a state into which every believer in Christ may enter here on the earth, and in which he may dwell in all life's troubles and changes.

It is well worth our while to think what is meant by peace, as the word is used in the Scriptures, and then ask how we may obtain this blessing. The word runs through all the bible. We find it far back in the Old Testament, in the benediction used by the priests, "May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you—and give you peace." Here peace is offered as the gift of God, a blessing dropped from heaven into trusting hearts. In Job, in the words of Eliphaz the Temanite, we have the exhortation, "Acquaint yourself with Him—and be at peace."According to this word, the way to find peace is by getting acquainted with God. It is because we do not know him—that we are not at rest. In the Psalms are many words about peace. For example, this: "The mountains shall bring peace to the people." The mountains take the storms which beat in fury about their tall peaks. Down at the mountain's base, however, the sweet valleys lie in quietness, meanwhile, sheltered and in peace. So it is that Christ met the storms, which exhausted their fury upon him, while those who trust in him nestle in security in the shelter of his love.

We have a beautiful illustration of this in two of the Psalms which stand side by side. The Twenty Second is called the Psalm of the Cross. It tells the story of the crucifixion. Its first words, certainly, were used by the Redeemer when he was passing through his dying agony. The psalm is full of the experiences of Calvary. The storms are sweeping fiercely about the mountain's brow.

Then how quietly and beautifully the Twenty Third Psalm nestles in the shadow of the Twenty Second, like a quiet valley at the mountain's foot! It shows us a picture of perfect peace. We see the shepherd leading his flock beside the still waters, and making them lie down in the green pastures. Even in the deep valley there is no gloom, for the shepherd walks with his sheep and quiets all their fears. This sweet shepherd psalm could come nowhere, but after the Psalm of the Cross.

The prophets also tell us much about peace. In Isaiah, especially, the word occurs again and again. The Messiah is foretold as the Prince of Peace. Farther on, we come again under the shadow of the cross, and read that "the chastisement of our peace was upon him." The security and eternity of our peace are pledged in a wonderful promise which runs "Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the Lord, who has compassion on you." A hundred and seventy five times, does the word "peace" occur in the Old Testament.

But it is in the New Testament that the wonderful fullness of the meaning of peace is disclosed. On every page the word shines. The angels sang at the Redeemer's birth, "On earth peace." At the close of his ministry, Jesus said to his friends, "In me you shall have peace." Eighty times the word appears in the New Testament. Paul, alone, the great homeless, persecuted apostle—uses the word more than forty times!

An artist sought to portray peace. He put on his canvas a sea, swept by storms, filled with wrecks, a scene of terror and danger. In the midst of the sea he painted a great rock and high up in the rock a cleft, with herbage and flowers, in the midst of which he showed a dove sitting quietly on her nest. "These things have I spoken unto you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation—but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." We have the same picture of peace in the hymn—the rock, the cleft, the soul's hiding place–

"Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee."

The Christian's peace is not found in a place where there is no trouble—it is something which enters the heart and makes it independent of all outside conditions. In the ruins of many old English castles, a well is found down deep among the foundations. Thus water was provided for use in the castle in time of siege. The enemy might cut off the streams which ordinarily supplied the people in the castle with water. They might shut the gates, so that no one could go outside. But the defenders within the walls cared not for any siege while the well in the foundation gave its copious supply of pure, fresh water. So it is with the Christian, in whose heart the peace of God dwells. He is not dependent upon outside conditions and circumstances, for he carries in himself the secret of his joy, hope, peace, and strength.

It is very evident that we cannot hope to live in this world without troubles and cares. No such life is possible. The larger and more important the place we are called to fill, the more troubles and cares must we have. Nor can we hope for a life without sorrow. To love is to weep some time in the journey. One of every two friends must hold the other's hand and stand by the other's coffin. True religion does not shelter us from grief. But the peace promised is an experience which neither care nor sorrow can disturb—it is something that changes sorrow into joy.

A summer tourist writes of finding a fresh water spring beside the sea, as sweet as any that ever gushed from amid the rocks on the mountainside. He took his cup and drank of the water that bubbled up in the sand. Soon the tide rolled in again; pouring its brackish flood over the little spring, and burying it out of sight for hours. But when again the bitter surf flowed out, the spring was found sweet as ever. So it is with the peace of God in the believer's heart. It dwells deep. In the day of joy it sings and is glad. Then sorrow comes and the salt floods pour over the life, covering it. But when the sorrow is past, the heart's peace remains sweet and joyous as ever.

A party of tourists were driving one day, along the road to Killarney. As they approached a cottage near the road, they heard singing. The voice that sang was sweet and rich, and of wondrous power. The members of the party were entranced. They stopped to listen as the notes of the song rose higher and clearer. Presently a young girl came out of the cottage with a basket on her arm.

"Please tell us who is singing so sweetly in your cottage," one of the party asked of her.

"It is only my Uncle Tim, sir," answered the girl.

"He has just had a bad turn with his leg, and he is singing away the pain."

"Is he young? Can he ever get over the trouble?"

"Oh, he is getting a bit old, now, sir," replied the girl.

"The doctors say he'll never be any better—but he's so godly, it would make you cry to see him suffering this terrible pain—and then hear him singing the more sweetly, the more he is suffering."

That is what the peace of God will help us to do. It gives us songs in the night. It puts joy into our hearts when we are in the midst of sorest trouble. It turns our thorns into roses.

The life of Christian faith is not freed from pain—but out of the pain comes rich blessing. The crown of thorns must be worn by the Master's friends who follow him faithfully—but the thorns burst into sweet flowers as the light of heaven's morning touches them.

"God has not promised
Skies ever blue,
Flower strewn pathways,
Always for you.

God has not promised
Sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow,
Peace without pain.

But God has promised
Strength from above,
Unfailing sympathy,
And undying love."

"You will keep him in perfect peace—whose mind is stayed on you." There is music in these words of the old Hebrew prophet. Why can we not get the music into our lives? Why do we not all have this perfect peace in our hearts? Why do we lose the quiet and the calm of our spirits so easily in the world's distractions and troubles? Let us see if we cannot learn the secret of peace which lies in the prophet's words. The secret is in two parts.

One is that the keeping in peace is God's work, not ours. We cannot keep ourselves in peace. There is a majestic power in self-control, and we should seek to have that power. Not to be master of our own life—is to be pitiably weak. We should learn to control our feelings, our emotions, our appetites, our passions, our desires, our temper, our speech. He who rules his own spirit, is the greatest of conquerors, greater than he who captures a city. No doubt perfect self-mastery has much to do with keeping the heart quiet in danger, calm and undisturbed in sudden trial. But this is not the real secret of peace. Our self-control reaches but a little way. One may have it and remain unmoved in the face of the most disturbing experiences, and yet not have the peace of God.

That is the secret of peace which the old prophet's words reveal. God keeps us! "You will keep him in perfect peace." The Bible everywhere teaches this truth of the divine keeping as the source of all true security and confidence. There is no other keeping which really avails. It is only when God is our refuge and strength that we can say, "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth gives way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging!"

There is a story of an old and saintly man who desired that the only epitaph on his grave should be the word "Kept." This word contained the whole history of his life. In one of the psalms the lesson is written out for us in full. "My help comes from the Lord, who made the heavens and the earth! He will not let you stumble and fall; the one who watches over you will not sleep. Indeed, he who watches over Israel never tires and never sleeps. The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade. The sun will not hurt you by day, nor the moon at night. The Lord keeps you from all evil and preserves your life. The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever!" Psalm 121:2-8. It is God who keeps us—it is God alone who can keep us—in perfect peace.

Our peace never can be more secure—than that on which it depends. Our trust never can be more sure—than that on which it leans. God alone is eternal, the same yesterday and today and forever—and only when we rest in God and trust in him can we have a peace which cannot be disturbed. "Trust you in the Lord forever; for in the Lord Jehovah is an everlasting rock, a rock of ages." When we are held in the clasp of his love, we are safe from any disturbance, for he is omnipotent; and our refuge is secure forever, for he is from everlasting to everlasting.

We have the same teaching concerning the divine keeping in a passage in one of the epistles of Paul, in which he also give us the secret of peace. "The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." The figure is military. Men sleep in quiet confidence in their tents, in the darkest night, in time of war, in the presence of the enemy, because sentinels wake and watch through all the darkness. God's own peace keeps guard over our hearts and minds, so that nothing shall ever disturb us or alarm us. Nothing ever can disturb God. He looks without fear upon the wildest storms. He is never dismayed by things which seem calamitous to us. His infinite and eternal peace will guard us and keep us in the shelter of its own blessed quiet and calm.

This part of the great secret of peace which we are trying to learn: "You will keep him in perfect peace." It is God's omnipotence which keeps us. It is God's Spirit who broods over the turbulent floods of life, and brings order out of chaos. It is God's Son who stands on the vessel, amid the wild storms, and compels them to become quiet and still at his feet. It is God's grace that enters into the believer's heart and abides there as a well of living water within, springing up into everlasting life. We cannot command our own spirit and compel it to be at rest, when sorrow or peril is on every side. God alone can keep us in peace. Nothing that is not infinite and eternal—can be a safe and secure hiding place for an immortal life.

But there is another part of the secret of peace which it is also important for us to learn. "You will keep him in perfect peace—whose mind is stayed on you." There is something for usto do. There is no doubt that God has power to keep us in perfect peace. He is omnipotent, and his strength is a defense and a shelter to all who hide in him. But even God will never compel us into submission—we must yield ourselves to him. Even omnipotence will not gather us into its invincible shelter by force—we must be willing in the day of God's power.

All we need to do, is to stay our minds upon God. That means to trust him, to rest in him, to nestle in his love. We remember where John was found the night of the Lord's last supper with his disciples, the darkest night the world ever saw, the deepest sorrow men ever knew—he was leaning on Jesus' breast. He crept into that holy shelter to find quiet. He reposed all his weight upon the infinite love which beat in that bosom. John was kept in perfect peace during all those terrible hours. Everything appeared to have slipped away, and there was nothing that seemed abiding. But John crept into the shelter of love and simply trusted—and was kept in holy peace.

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