THE CHRISTIAN LEGACY.

DISCOURSE I.

THE REDEEMER'S BEQUEST.

PEACE I LEAVE WITH YOU; MY PEACE I GIVE UNTO YOU.-John xiv. 27.

THE object of the Lord Jesus' advent was to make our peace with God. When He came into the world, mankind were in a state of rebellion against the King of Kings,-paying homage to the works of creation, instead of serving the being that made and preserved them; defying His power to enforce obedience to His commands, and scorning His threats to punish them for their revolt.

To reclaim them from this resistance to the government of His Father, the Son of God came down from heaven, nor did He return thither until He had completed the work that He was sent to perform. (John xvii. 4.) Having made the

B

atonement that was required to reconcile the Creator to His rebellious creatures, He returned to the glory of heaven triumphant over all the enemies of man. There He received, as the immediate purchase of His blood and the fruit of His victory, all power in heaven and on earth. By His Spirit He was henceforth to restrain the unruly passions of the soul, to tame the rebellious will, to teach and dispose mankind to yield a voluntary subjection to the King of Kings. While sojourning in the world He was progressively carrying on this gracious work, though His disciples but imperfectly understood the end He had in view. They expected Him immediately to establish a temporal kingdom, and to promote them to the chief places of honour and authority under His government. When, therefore, He spake of leaving them and returning to His Father, they were unable, because unwilling, to understand His words. They forsook all at His command, in expectation of an ample recompense, but hitherto they had found nothing to repay them for what they had left behind. They abandoned earthly friends and occupations, gains and prospects, to become the companions of one who had not where to lay his head. For they were convinced that He spake with more than human authority. They saw that He was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people; and they trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel. (Luke xxiv. 19, 21.) But now that they heard Him talk

of leaving them in a state worse than that in which He found them, what could they imagine was to follow? Their first thoughts are those of disappointment and alarm. If their Master, and such a Master, had so few on earth to befriend Him, and so many to treat Him with neglect, cruelty and scorn; what could they expect when He was gone, but to incur all the odium and malignity which He had encountered? If, with His meek spirit of endurance, He found the cup so bitter that He would, if possible, have put it from Him, how could they hope to drink it? Under such circumstances, the most alarming apprehensions were natural, and they could not but feel disheartened at the prospect before them. Jesus knew their fears, and, with His wonted sympathy, endeavoured to remove them with the promise of blessings from above, which would bring them happiness far surpassing all their expectations of earthly power and dignity. The utmost which the most ambitious imagination could calculate upon reaping from the world, would fall infinitely short of the gifts which He was about to shower upon them. The whole of these blessings, whether for time or eternity, were comprehended in one word, Peace. When, therefore, in contemplation of His departure, He pronounced this benediction upon His disciples : Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you, (John xiv. 27:) He left them the richest legacy that it was possible for Him to bequeath.

The NATURE OF THIS BEQUEST deserves our special consideration.

"The Prince of Peace" was a title given to Jesus Christ, long before His incarnation, in reference to the reconciliation that He was to effect between God and man. His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. (Isaiah ix. 6.) And many ages before Isaiah's days, this character of the world's Redeemer was represented in the person of Melchisedec, who, as king of Salem, which is, king of peace, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him. (Gen. xiv. 18-20.) This extraordinary person is described as a type of Him whose universal priesthood and dominion were to bless mankind with peace. (Heb. vii.) Though He subjected Himself to all the disquietude with which a sinful world could molest Him, yet when He promised to give peace to His disciples, He was on the eve of departing from the tumults of ungodliness, and returning to His Father's bosom. This blessing was not to be limited to the privileged number to whom it was immediately promised, but to be extended to all that should believe on Him to the end of time. He hath insured to the humblest of His subjects on earth all the benefits of His reign; and when He informed His disciples that He was about to leave them, He meant them by this last promise, to understand that He would not desert them. Had they rightly com

prehended His words, they would have known that He could not bequeath to them a richer blessing than its terms described. But they were not in a state of mind fully to appreciate it, for sorrow had filled their hearts: and, for the purpose, probably, of directing their attention more closely to its value and importance, the Lord repeated it with increased emphasis, My peace I give unto you. His parting words, then, were not a mere valediction: they were much more than the expression of His desire that they would be comforted for His loss, and live in harmony together when He was gone. Such an injunction Joseph gave to his brethren when he sent them back to their father-See that ye fall not out by the way. (Gen. xlv. 24.) This was an expression of brotherly kindness, but he could not follow them and secure his wish for them to return home in peace and love. But the peace that Jesus Christ bequeathed to His. disciples He was able and faithful to bestow upon them.

In order, however, to feel confidence in this promise it is necessary distinctly to understand by what means it may be fulfilled. How are guilty creatures to be assured that the Son of God can give them peace? They may not doubt that in Himself He would have enjoyed it for ever without disturbance had He not left the realms of glory. But He would have been invested with no right, no power to give peace to any that might be found at enmity against their Maker. To this right He must