^ No harm can come to the least of the little ones who believe in Christ, and are faithful and true to Him. At the centre of the wild cyclone, which bears devastation and ruin in its awful sweep, there is a spot which is so quiet that a leaf is scarcely stirred, where a little child might sleep undisturbed. So in the heart of this world's most terrific storms and convulsions there is a place of perfect security. It is the place of duty and trust. " Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee." *
When winds are raging o'er the upper ocean, And billows wild contend with angry roar,
'Tis said, far down beneath the wild commotion, That perfect stillness reigneth evermore.
Far, far beneath, the noise of tempest dieth. And silver waves chime ever peacefully ;
And no rude storm, how fierce soe'er it fiieth, Disturbs the Sabbath of that deeper sea.
So, in the heart that knows Thy love, 0 Saviour,
There is a temple, sacred evermore. And all the tumult of life's angry voices
Dies in hushed silence at its peaceful door.
* Thomas k Kempis, Of (he Imitation of Christ, bk. iii, ch. xxv. ' J. E. Miller, Glimpses through Lifi's Windows, 132. ST JOHN (2) — 12
178 CHRIST'S GIFT OF PEACE
Far, far away, the roar of passion dieth,
And loving thoughts rise calm and peacefully;
And no rude storm, how fierce soe'er it flieth. Disturbs the soul that dwells, 0 Lord, in Thee.
0 rest of rests ! 0 peace serene, eternal !
Thou ever livest, and Thou changest never; And in the secret of Thy presence dwelleth
Fulness of joy, for ever and for ever ! ^
3. It is a peace that keeps the heart pure and fresh.
^ A tourist writes of a spring as sweet as any that ever gushed from sunny hillside, which one day he found by the sea, when the tides had ebbed away. Taking the cup, he tasted the water, and it was sweet. Soon the sea came again, and poured its bitter surf over the little spring, hiding it out of 5ight.
Like a fair star, thick buried in a cloud,
Or life in the grave's gloom, The well, enwrapped in a deep watery shroud.
Sank to its tomb.
When the tide ebbed away, the tourist stood once more by the spring to see if the brackish waves had left their bitterness in its waters ; but they were sweet as ever.
While waves of bitterness rolled o'er its head,
Its heart had folded deep Within itself, and quiet fancies led,
As in a sleep;
Till, when the ocean loosed his heavy chain
And gave it back to-day. Calmly it turned to its own life again,
And gentle way.
So does Christ's peace refresh the poisoned heart and jaded spirit.
If sJB be in the heart, The fairest sky is foul, and sad the summer weather. The eye no longer sees the lambs at play together, The dull ear cannot hear the birds that sing so sweetly, And all the joy of God's good earth is gone completely,
If sin be in the heart.
* Harriet Beecher Stowe.
ST. JOHN XIV. 27 179
If peace be in the heart, The wildest winter storm is full of solemn beauty, The midnight lightning flash but shows the path of duty, Each living creature tells some new and joyous story, The very trees and stones all catch a ray of glory.
If peace be in the heart.^
^ Charles Francis Richardson.
The True Vine.
iSx
Literature.
Abbey (C. J.), The Divine Love, 246. Benson (R. M.), Tlie Final Passover, ii. (pt. ii.) 1. Bernard (T. D.), The Central Teaching of Jesus Christ, 209. Blackwood (A.), Christian Service and Responsibility, 46. Bourdillon (F.), TTie Parables of our Lord Explained and Applied, 289. Davies (D.), Talks with Men, Women and Children, 3rd Ser., 522. Hamilton (J.), Works, ii. 169. Hoare (E.), Fruitful or Fruitless, 1. Holdsworth (W. W.), The Life of Faith, 41. Jerdan (C), Gospel Milk and Honey, 120. J>McClelland (T. C), The Mind of Christ, 51.
Mackennal (A.), The Life of Christian Consecration, 32. Maclaren (A.), Expositions : Jokn xv.-xxi., 1. Matheson (G.), Times of Retirement, 134. Murray (A.), The Mystery of the True Vine, 15. Pike (J. K.), Unfailing Goodness and Mercy, 89. Ross (J. M. E.), The Self-Portraiture of Jesus, 195. Smith (J.), Short Studies, 173. Telford (J.), The Story of the Upper Room, 155. Vaughan (J.), Sermons (Brighton Pulpit), ii. No. 330. Westcott (B. F.), Peterborough Sermons, 50.
„ „ The Revelation of the Father, 119.
"Williams (T. LI.), Thy Kingdom Come, 17. Christian World Pulpit, xiii. 235 (Mackennal) ; x. 196 (Roberts) ; Iv. 171
(Body). Church of England Pulpit, xxxviii. 292 (Reid) ; Ivi. 211 (Hitchcock). Churchman's Pulpit.: Holy Week, vi. 401 (Farquhar) ; Mission "Work,
ii. 245 (Copleston) ; Harvest Thanksgiving, ii. 241 (Bevan). Ilomiletic Review, xlvii. 357 (Hughes).
The True Vine.
I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh it away : and every branch that beareth fruit, he deanseth it, that it may bear more fruit. — John xv. i, 2.
1. Our Lord here opens the book of nature for the last time to complete the training of the Twelve. It had furnished many illustrations for the parables and discourses of the past three years, but none is more rich in suggestion than this of the vine and its branches.