God, to be against a Man; the other en- on ? Now when this Peace, which is made up in Heaven, is intimated unto the Confcier ce, then all the Tempests and Clouds of it evanish; and this is the Peace of believing, which is the Souls refting and quieting it felf upon the believed Favour of God. There may be a great Calm above, Good-will in God towards Men, and yet great Tempefts in this lower Region, no Peace on Earth. There is a Peace of Confcience, which is a Difeafe of Conscience, a Benumedness of Confcience, or a Sleep of Confcience, when Men walk in the Imagination of their own Hearts, and Aatter themselves in their own Eyes, will not trouble themselves with the Apprehenfion of the Wrath of God, when Souls will not fuffer their Sin, or the Curfe to enter in : This is, that no Peace, which the Lord fpeaks often of, when when that Voice of the Spirit is uttered, presently at its Command the Wind and Waves obey; the Soul is calmed, as the Sea after a Storm; it is not only untroubled, but it is peaceable upon folid Grounds, because of the Word which fpeaks Peace in Chrift. The Peace of the most of you, is fuch as ye were born and educated withal; it is not a created Peace, a spoken Peace, the Fruit of the Lips, and fo no true Peace: Ye had not your Peace from the Word, but ye brought it to the Word: ye have no Peace after Trouble, and fo it is not the Lord's Peace. The Chriftian may have Peace, in Regard of his own Salvation and eternal Things, and in Regard of all Things that befalleth in Time; the first is, when the Confcience is fprinkled with the Blood of Jefus Chrift, and geneth a good Anfwer to all the Challenges and Accufations of Confcience, and of the Law and Juf tice, Pet. iii. 21. when the Spirit of God fhines into the Soul, with a new Light to discover thefe Things that are freely given, Cor. ii. 12. And this is the Sealing of the Spirit after believing, Epb. i. 13. When a Soul hath put to its Seal by believing God's Word, and hath acknowledged God's Truth and Faithfulnefs in his Word, the Spirit fealeth mutually the Believer's Faith, by more Holinefs and the Knowledge of it: And how great Peace is this, when a Soul can look upon all its Iniquities, when they compafs about a Man, and outward Trouble fharpeneth and fetteth on Edge inward Chal lenges, and yet the Soul will not fear, it -hath Anfwers to them all in Chrift's Blood, Pfal. xlix. 5. This is a greater Word than all the World can fay; many Mens Fearlessness proceeded from Ignorance of Sin, their Iniquities were never fet in Order before them; but if once they compaffed them about, and Wrath, like a fiery Wall compals them about also, fo that there were no escaping; Oh it would be more terrible than all the Armies of the World, ye would account little of a Kingdom, ye would exchange it for fuch a Word as David hath upon good Grounds. Now I fay again, the Soul that hath thus committed it felf to him as a faithful Keeper, may have Peace in all Estates and Conditions; and this Peace Howeth from that other Peace. There is a Peace which guards the Heart and Mind, Phil. iv. 6, 7. oppofed to Carefulness and Anxiety; and this Paul is exempluy for, I bave learned in every Eftate, therewith to be content, to want and abound, &c. Ver. 11. The Soul of a Believer may be in an equal even Tenor and Difpofition in all Conditions; it may poffefs it felf in Patience; Impatience and Anxiety makes a Man not his own Man; he is not him felf; he enjoys not himself; he is a Burden to himself, and is his own Tormenter; but if Souls were ftayed upon God, certainly they would poffefs themselves, dwell fecurely within their own Breafts. We may find that the most Part of Men are expofed to all the Floods and Waves of the Times; they move inwardly, as Things are troubled outwardly; every Thing addeth Moment to their Grief or Joy; any Difpenfation cafteth the Ballance, and either weights them down with Difcouragement, or lifteth them up with Vanity and Lightness of Mind; but the Believers Privilege is to be unmoved in the Midst of all the Toffings and Confufions of the Times, Pfal. cxxviii. 1, 2. Ye would be ds Mount Zion, if ye trufted in God; no Difpenfation fhould enter into the Soul to caft the Ballance upon you; ye might ftand upon your Rock Jefus Christ, Chrift, and look about the Estates, Perfons, Affairs and Minds of Men, as a troubled Sea, fleeting, toffed up and down, and ye ftand and not be moved, or not greatly moved, Pfal. Ixii. 2. And this is to be wife indeed. IfI would describe a wife Man, I would fay, he is one Man, beside him no Man is one with himself, but various, inconftant, changeable: He is unwife who is unlike himself, who changerh Perions according to Difpenfations; Wifdom is the Stability of thy Times, and Faith is Wifdom; it establisheth as Mount Zion as a Man cometh out still one, in Profperity not exalted, in Adverfity not caft down, in every Eftate content; and this is the Man who is blessed indeed. This were Wisdom, to will the fame Thing and nill the fame Thing, Semper idem velle, atque idem nolle. I need not (faith Seneca) add that Exception, that it be right which you defire, for no one Thing can univerfally and always pleafe, if it be not good and right; so I say, he were both wife and happy, who had but one Grief and one Joy. Should not a Believer's Mind be calm and ferene, feeing the true Light hath fhined; it should be as the upper World, where no Blafts, no Storms or Clouds are to ecclipfe the Sun, or cloud it; while our Peace and Tranquillity is borrowed from outward Things, certainly it muft change: But a Believer's Peace and Tranquillity of Mind having its Rife from above, from the unchangeable Word of the Lord, it needeth not to change according to the Viciffitudes of Providence. He needeth not to care before hand, because there is one who careth for him: And what needeth both to care? He needeth not be difquieted or troubled after, because it shall turn about to his Good; All Things shall do so, Rom. viii. 28. He needeth not be anxious about future Events, because he hath all his Burden caft upon another by Prayer and Supplication. What needeth he then take a needlefs Burden? Prayer will do that, which Care pretends and cannot do, and that without Trouble. He needeth not be troubled when Things are prefent, for he cannot by his Thought either add or diminish, take away or prevent. There is one good and neceffary Thing that his Heart is upon, and that cannot be taken from him; and therefore all Things elfe are indifferent, and of fmall Concernment to him. Now what wanteth fuch a Man of perfect Peace,who is reconciled to God, and at Peace within himself? when Peace guardeth the Heart and Mind within, compaffeth it as a Castle or Garrison, to hold out all the vain Alarms of external Things. May not all the World be troubled about him? What though the Floods lift up their Voice, if they come not into the Soul? If he be one and the fame in Peace and Trouble, Profperity and Adverfity, do not lament him in the one more than the other. It is the Mind that maketh your Condition good or bad: But yet, I fay, the Believer hath likewife Peace with all the Creatures, which the World hath not, and even in this he is a privileged Man. He is in League with the Stones of the Field, and in Peace in his Tabernacle, Job. v. 23. All Things are bis, because be is Christ's, and all are Chrift's, who is the Poffeffor of Heaven and Earth, at least the righteous Heir of both, 1 Cor. iii. 21. The Unbeliever hath no Right to the Creature; though there be a Ceffation, for a Time between them and him, yet that is no Peace, for they will at Length be armed against him, they are Witneffes already against him, Dddd and and groan to God for the Corruption that Man's Sin hath fubjected them unto. His Table is, it may be, full, yet it is a Snare unto him; he getteth Eafe and Quietness outwardly: Nay, but it flayeth the Fool and destroyeth him. But the godly Man is at Peace thro' Chrift's Blood with all Croffes and Comforts; the Sting and Enmity of all Evils is taken away by Chrift. Poverty is made a Friend, because Chrift was poor; Hunger and Thirst is become a Friend, becaufe Chrift was hungry and thirsty Reproach and Contempt is at Peace with him, becaufe Chrift was defpifed; Afflictions and Sorrows are reconciled to him, becaufe Chrift was a Man of Sorrows, and acquainted with Griefs: In a Word, Death itself is become a Friend, fince Chrift fubdued it, by tafting of it. I may fay, the worst Things to a natural Man, are become beft Friends to the Believer; the Grave keepeth his Body and Duft in Hope: Death is a better Friend than Life, for it minifters an Entry into Glory; it is the Door of eternal Life; it taketh down the Tabernacle of Mortali ty, that we may be cloathed upon with Im mortality: In Sum, whatever it be, Chrift hath ftamped a new Quality on it; it cometh through his Hand, and fo, if it be not good in it felf, yet it is good in the Ufe, and in his Appointment, Ron. viii. 21. If it be not good, yet it worketh together for our Good; it contributeth to our Good, because it is in his skilful Hand; who can bring Good out of Evil, Peace out of Trouble. Oh that ye were perfuaded to be Chriftians indeed, to love his Law, and truft in him, great Peace have all fuch; this were more to you nor Peace in the World; your Peace fhould be as a River, for Abundance and Perpetuity; no Drought could dry it up; it fhould run in Time as a large River, and when Time is done, it would embofom itself in Eternity, in that Ocean of eternal Peace and Joy which the Saints are drowned in above; other Mens Peace is but like a Brook that dries up in Summer. Ifa. xxvi. 3. Thou shalt keep him in perfect Peace, whofe Mind is ftayed on thee, because he trufteth in thee. CHRIST hath left us his Peace, as the great and comprehenfive Legacy, My Peace I leave you, John xiv. 27. And this was not Peace in the World that he enjoyed, you know what his Life was, a continual Warfare; but a Peace above the World, that paffeth Un derftanding. In the World you fball bave Trouble, but in me you fball have Peace, faith Chrift, a Peace that fhall make Trouble no Trouble: You must lay your Accounts to have fuch a Life, as as the Forerunner had; but withal, as he hath left us his Trouble, fo hath he left us his Peace; the Trouble will have an End, but the Joy can no Man take from you: We have this fure Promise to rest upon, in Behalf of the Church, Peace fhall be on Ifrael; a Peace that the World knoweth not, and so cannot affault it, or take it away.. Oh that you would hearken to this Word, That you would truft in the Lord, and ftay upon your God, then should your Peace be as a River, Ifa. xlviii. 18. There is nothing more defired in Time of Trouble, than Peace; but all Peace is not better than War: Some neceffary War is better than evil grounded Peace. The Kingdoms have been long in Pain, labouring to bring forth a fafe and well-grounded Peace. But alas, we have been in Pain and brought forth Wind, when we look ed for Peace, no Good came, and for Healing, behold Trouble. But how fhall we arrive at our defired Haven? Certainly, if Peace be well grounded, it must have Truth for its Foundation, and Righteousness for its Companion; Truth muft Spring out of the Earth, and Righteousness look down from Heaven. This were the compendious Way for publick Peace, if every Man would make his own Peace with God: There are Controverfies with God, between King, Nobles and People; and therefore, God fomenteth the Wars in the Kingdoms: If you would have these ended, make Peace with God in Chrift, by flying in unto him, and refting on him; more trufting in God would dispatch our Wars; trufting in the Arm of Flefh continueth them. Always whatever be, Peace or War, here is the Business that more con cerns you, your eternal Peace and Safety; and, if ye were more careful of this, to fave your own Souls, you would help the Publick more. If you could be once perfwaded to be Chriftians indeed, we needed not prefs many Duties in Reference to the Publick; and until you be once perfwaded to fave yourselves, by dying from the Wrath to come, it is in vain to speak of publick Duties to you. We do therefore declare unto you the Way of obtaining perfect Peace, Peace as a River; if you will quite all Self-confidences, fly from yourselves as your greateft Enemies, and truft your Souls unto the Promife in Jefus Chrift, and lean all your Weight on him, we affure you, your Peace fhall run abundantly and perpetual ly. Whoever trufteth in Creatures, in uncertain Riches, in worldly Peace, in whatfoever Thing, befide the only living and glorious Lord, we perfwade him, that his Peace fhall fail as a Brook: All Things in this World fhall deal deceit fully with you, as a Brook which is black-. ifh, by Reason of Ice; what Time it waxeth warm, it shall evanish; you that looked and waited for Water in it, fhall be confounded, because you hoped and are afhamed, because of your Expectation, Fob vi. 15. &c. The Summer fhall dry up your Peace, and what will you do? But if you pour out your Souls on him, and truft in the Fountain of li ving Waters, you fhall not be ashamed, for your Peace fhall be as a River. The Elephant is faid to truft, that he can drink out a River; but he is deceived, for he may drink again, it runs, and fhall run for ever. If any Thing would effay to take your Peace from you, it is a vain Atteinpt, for it runs like a River; it may be fhallower and deeper, but it cannot run dry, because of the living Fountain it proceedeth from. There is no other Thing can be made fure, all Dddd 2 be |