your _anxieties_ upon him,' says Peter, 'for He'--not _is
anxious_; that dark cloud does not rise much above the earth--but, 'He
careth for you.' And that loving guardianship and tender care is the one
shield, armed with which we can smile at the poisoned darts of anxiety
which would else fester in our hearts and, perhaps, kill. 'Be careful
for nothing'--an impossibility unless 'in everything' we make 'our
requests known unto God.'

THE WARRIOR PEACE

'The peace of God, which passeth all
understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus.'--PHIL. iv. 7.

The great Mosque of Constantinople was once a Christian church,
dedicated to the Holy Wisdom. Over its western portal may still be read,
graven on a brazen plate, the words, 'Come unto Me, all ye that labour
and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.' For four hundred years
noisy crowds have fought, and sorrowed, and fretted, beneath the dim
inscription in an unknown tongue; and no eye has looked at it, nor any
heart responded. It is but too sad a symbol of the reception which
Christ's offers meet amongst men, and--blessed be His name!--its
prominence there, though unread and unbelieved, is a symbol of the
patient forbearance with which rejected blessings are once and again
pressed upon us, and He stretches out His hand though no man regards,
and calls though none do hear. My text is Christ's offer of peace. The
world offers excitement, Christ promises repose.

I. Mark, then, first, this peace of God.

What is it? What are its elements? Whence does it come? It is of God, as
being its Source, or Origin, or Author, or Giver, but it belongs to Him
in a yet deeper sense, for Himself is Peace. And in some humble but yet
real fashion our restless and anxious hearts may partake in the divine
tranquillity, and with a calm repose, kindred with that rest from which
it is derived, may enter into His rest.

If that be too high a flight, at all events the peace that may be ours
was Christ's, in the perfect and unbroken tranquillity of His perfect
Manhood. What, then, are its elements? The peace of God must, first of
all, be peace with God. Conscious friendship with Him is indispensable
to all true tranquillity. Where that is absent there may be the ignoring
of the disturbed relationship; but there will be no peace of heart. The
indispensable requisite is 'a conscience like a sea at rest.' Unless we
have made sure wor