He came as Prince of Peace to the Eemnant, to His own; not to those who cry " Peace, peace," when there is no peace, but to those only who find peace through the blood of His Cross. In three ways He makes peace : — (1) By making God and man one in His Person — by becoming flesh and dwelling among us ; (2) by making man and God one in His death ; and (3) by recon- ciling man to man in His life. " Walk in newness of life," says the Apostle ; and among the signs of it : " As far as in you lies live peaceably with all men."
IF Peace, then, means something. It means something more than fine sentiment or sonorous generalities. It means the readi- ness to abide by the decisions of reason and common sense, instead of brute force. It means a disposition to avoid unnecessary causes of hostility. It means mutual courtesy. It means firm insistence upon one's own rights, but the recognition at the same time of others' rights, and straightforward readiness to respect them. Ten times more effective in the cause of peace than all the courts of arbitration which we can ever call together would be the spectacle of a great nation refusing, in its consciousness of strength, to be irritated by petty grievances, turning a deaf ear to the bowlings of popular prejudice, and asking at the hand of sister nations, not sharp advantages, but only justice and right. Without this disposi- tion, arbitration is neutralised and made ridiculous and unopera- tive at the start. With it, it becomes the virtual rooting out of war.^
* E. H. HaJt
The Child as Leader.
Literature.
Aitchison (J.), The Children's Own, 207.
Arnold (T.), Sermons, i. 47.
Austin (G. B.), The Beauty of Goodness, 166.
Barton (G. A.), Boots of Christiom Teaching, 149.
Bradley (G. G.), Innocents' Day Addresses, 13.
Brooks (P.), Seeking Life, 19.
Buckland (A. R.), Text Studies for a Year, 23.
Cox (S.), Genesis of Evil, 122, 135.
Davies (D.), Talks with Men, Women, and Children, 5th Ser., 481
Davies (J. P.), The Same Things, 19.
Gray (W. H.), Our Divine Shepherd, 201.
Hodgson (A. R.), Thoughts for the King's Children, 190.
Houchin (J. W.), The Vision of God, 11.
Inge (W. R.), All Saints' Sermons, 11.
Jerdan (C), Messages to the Children, 1.
Knowles (A. C), The Holy Christ-Child, 145.
Kuegele (F.), Country Sermons, N.S. i. 100.
Macleod (A.), The Child Jesus, 251.
M'Kim (R. H.), The Gospel in the Christian Year, 43.
Pierson (A. T.), The Making of a Sermon, 23.
Wilmot Buxton (H. J.), Led by a Little Child, 1.
Bulletin of the Crozer Theological Seminary, January 1910, 39.
Christian World Pulpit, xv. 181 (Cameron) ; xxv. 9 (Hitchens) ; xxxiii.
394 (Hubbard); xxxviii. 116 (Medley); li. 28 (Bradley); Ivii. 90
(Wilberforce). Church of England Pulpit, xliii. 145 (Bradley) ; xlix. 97 (Wilberforce). Churchman's Pulpit, Sermons to the Young, i. 35 (Bolton).
The Child as Leader.
And a little child shall lead them. — xi. 6.
You will remember the context of this verse. Isaiah is drawing a picture of redeemed nature. Under the rule of the promised Prince of David's line, " the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together ; and " — as a charming finishing touch to the idyllic scene — " a little child shall lead them." I do not think that when Isaiah talks of bears and lions and reptiles, he means fierce and cruel and cunning men. When he talks of the beasts he means the beasts. The passage is a parallel to St. Paul's vision of a ransomed nature in the 8th chapter of Eomans. And Isaiah does not wish to exterminate the wild animals, but to tame them. This is the more remarkable, because in countries where wild beasts abound they are not looked upon as " big game," but as dangerous enemies. After all, man is largely to blame for the wildness of the beasts. Darwin gives us pathetic instances of the trustful- ness of wild animals towards man, until they come to know him. If ever man becomes sufficiently civilised to cease from the wanton destruction of animal life, the wild creatures will soon become his friends.
I.
1. How should a little child lead the savage wolf, the fierce leopard, the powerful and majestic lion ? Even a man can hardly do that. Before he can tame them to his will, he must show himself strong as the lion, fierce as the leopard, cunning as the wolf. The beast- tamer is distinguished by a quick eye, a prompt punishing hand, a courage and self-possession that never
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I40 THE GREAT TEXTS OF THE BIBLE
falter ; and how should we look for these features and qualities in a child ? We cannot expect them ; we should be sorry to see them in any child we loved. But may not a child have other qualities quite as potent, and even more potent ? Is brute force the only force by which even brutes are ruled ? Surely not. Baby lies on the rug with dog and cat. He is not so strong or lithe or quick as they are, or even as you are. Yet he takes liberties with them which you cannot take, — and remember, the cat is of one blood with the leopard and the dog with the wolf. He lies upon them, rolls over them, treads on their sensitive feet, pulls them about by fur or hair ; and yet by some wonderful instinct they recognise his innocence of ill- intention and respect it. Were you to inflict half the pain on them which he inflicts, they would soon let you know that they had teeth and claws ; but they hardly ever turn on him. The little child leads them where he will, and pretty much as he will.