PEACE WITH GOD, AND THE PEACE OF GOD WITH ME
PEACE WITH GOD, AND THE PEACE OF GOD WITH ME
There are two states which must exist at one and the same time in order to ensure happy and steady walk. The one is peace with God; the other, the peace of God with me. In the first, my heart so rests in God’s satisfaction in the work of His Son on the cross, that it is His satisfaction which I share.
I cannot reach up to or measure the satisfaction of God, or know fully how He was glorified in the way Christ answered to all the holiness of God; but as I taste of His satisfaction, I know why He can kiss me in my rags, and receive me into His house and home; so that my conscience is not only satisfied about my sins, but I am lost in the satisfaction of God, who can and does receive me according to His love in righteousness. It is then that I have peace with God; there is not an element to disturb; God has freed me through Christ from every atom of the offending thing; He [p. 215] has done it according to His own nature, that He might receive me to Himself according to His love.
His satisfaction is proved in the resurrection of Christ, and I trust in it, and not in the satisfaction of my own conscience about my sins; and then and there I have peace with God. This is one state; and if this state be not preserved, there will be no surmounting the pressure of nature, or the general atmosphere around. In this state you are like the cedar tree, with nature and purpose to rise in height above everything: its course is always upward, for in that direction is its growth. The heart at peace with God always finds that its course is upward, and its retreat and home above, and to this end all its strength and energy tend; and unless you are strong and matured in peace with God, you will not be able to seek His peace in your circumstances, which is the other state.
Now this additional state - God’s peace keeping my heart and mind through Christ Jesus - is not enjoyed unless I have learnt confidence in God, and can open all my heart to Him, and let Him see in detail the good and the sorrowful in my heart. It requires much confidence to do this; to empty out all the furniture of the heart to God, praising Him for the good parts (there is nothing good except what is of Himself), and calling His attention to the broken ones. It is then that the peace of God keeps the heart and mind through Christ Jesus. The greatest wonder is, that one like you or me should be kept, in the midst of the most vexing elements, in the same state as the blessed God is on His throne, and it is the greatest favour that God could confer on any one on earth. Surely it passeth all understanding; and then it is you are not only a cedar tree, but everything you do or touch, every bit of furniture in your heart, is made of cedar wood and bears its fragrance.
In peace with God, you soar to the heavens, and then having made known all your requests to God,
[p. 216] you have His peace imparting its wondrous value to you in everything here. In the power of life the cedar tree rises to its true place; but it is through death that its wood is available for furniture; for use it must be cut down and seasoned. Thus it must be with you, as to these two states. In the power of the Spirit of life you rise to your appointed home; you are always reaching upward; the door is thrown open; you have boldness to enter into the holiest of all; nothing lower is your place. But as to your circumstances here, the more dead you are, the better will be the wood for use, and the more will you be a vessel fit for the Master’s use. It is death in this scene, and life in Christ outside of it.
The Lord grant that each of us may know more of these two states; and if the Lord detains you here for another year in the wilderness, may you be deeply and largely acquainted with this double blessing.