The Peace that Passeth All Understanding

Before our Lord went to his agony on the cross, he made his will. He had not silver or gold or houses to leave his disciples. He was a poor man, as far as earthly possessions were concerned. Few in Jerusalem were so poor as he. But he left his disciples a richer gift than any earthly monarch could bestow on his subjects. «Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you,» he said; «not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.»

He left them the peace which had been his during his life on the earth, which had been with him amidst poverty, buffeting, and persecution, and which was to be with him during his agony in Gethsemane and on the cruel cross.

The Saviour’s life on this earth, though lived in the midst of conflict, was a life of peace. While angry enemies were constantly pursuing him, he said, «He that sent me is with me; the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.» No storm of Satanic wrath could disturb the calm of that perfect communion with God. And he says to us, «My peace I give unto you.»

Those who take Christ at his word, and surrender their souls to his keeping, their lives to his ordering, will find peace and quietude. Nothing of the world can make them sad when Jesus makes them glad by his presence. In perfect acquiescence there is perfect rest. The Lord says, «Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee.»

It is the love of self that destroys our peace. While self is alive, we stand ready continually to guard it from mortification and insult; but when self is dead, and our life hid with Christ in God, we shall not take neglects or slights to heart. We shall be deaf to reproach, and blind to scorn and insult. «Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil; rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Love never faileth.

Every man’s experience testifies to the truth of the words of Scripture: «The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest . . . There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.» Sin has destroyed our peace. While self is unsubdued we find no rest. The masterful passions of the heart on human power can control. We are as helpless here as were the disciples to quiet the raging storm. But he who spoke peace to the billows of Galilee, has spoken the word of peace for every soul. However fierce the tempest, those who turn to Jesus with the cry, «Lord, save us,» will find deliverance. His grace, which reconciles the soul to God, quiets the strife of human passion, and in his love the heart is at rest. «He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.» «Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.» «The work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness, and assurance forever.»

«The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.» When we receive Christ into the soul as an abiding guest, the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, will keep our hearts and minds. There is no other ground of peace than this. The grace of Christ, received into the heart, subdues enmity; it allays strife, and fills the soul with love. He who is at peace with God and his fellow men, cannot be made miserable. Envy will not be in his heart, evil surmisings will find no room there; hatred cannot exist. The heart that is in harmony with God is a partaker of the peace of heaven, and will diffuse its blessed influence all around. The spirit of peace will rest like dew upon hearts weary and troubled with worldly strife.

God is love. He has a care for the creatures he has formed. «Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.» «Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.» What a precious privilege is this, that we should be sons and daughters of the Most High, heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. How can we refuse to lift heart and voice in grateful praise, when we remember the love to us expressed by the cross of Calvary?

Our God, the Creator of the heaven and the earth, declares, «Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me.» All Heaven unite is praising God. Then let us learn the song of the angels now, that we may sing it when we join their shining ranks. Let us say with the psalmist, «While I live, I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.» «Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.»