composed : yea, an inexpressible sweetness pervades the whole man, and turns his sorrows into an occasion of joyh. " The peace of God," thus infused into the soul, " keeps," as in a garrison1, both "the heart and mind;" so that if trouble seek to invade us, it can make no impression : not all the good that can be desired, nor all the evil that can be dreaded, nor all the trouble that can be felt, will be able to turn us from our God, or to retard our progress towards heaven.
This blessing comes to us " through Christ Jesus." It is for his sake that our prayers are accepted : it is through him that peace is communicated to us in answer to them: and it is through his agency upon our souls, that this peace becomes a defence against the incursions of care. In short, from Christ Jesus this antidote derives its efficacy; and through him it shall be effectual for the ends for which it is recommended in the text.]
We cannot conclude without observing,
1. How does religion contribute to men's present happiness !
[Perhaps " carefulness" is a source of more trouble than all other things together. Yet this is taken away, in propor- tion as we devote ourselves to God. It is true, religion brings with it, if we may so speak, its peculiar sorrows : (not that they spring from religion, but from sin : yet in our fallen state, they certainly are attendant on the exercise of religion.) But godly sorrow is salutary, while " the sorrow of the world worketh death V And, if we live nigh to God in prayer and praise, we shall be freed from the disquietudes which harass and distress the whole world beside ; and shall dwell as in a haven of peace, while others are tossed to and fro, and are " at their wit's end," upon tempestuous billows. " Commit thy works unto the Lord," says Solomon, " and thy thoughts (not thy ways only, but thy thoughts, the most fluctuating and ungovernable of all things) shall be established1."]
2. What enemies to themselves are they, who live in the neglect of prayer !
[If men desired no more than present happiness, they ought to be constant at a throne of grace ; since it is there alone that they can get rid of their burthens, or obtain peace unto their souls. But the joys and sorrows of men are not confined to this life: they follow usinto the eternal world, and abide with us for ever : and that which is the appointed mean
h 2 Cor. xii. 7 — 10. i <ppovprivii.
k 2 Cor. vii. 10. i Prov. xvi. 3.