world around us: and if the mind and heart are not at peace, no worldly circumstances, no wealth or prosperity, no pleasures or honours, can make a man satisfied or happy. There is nothing, of earthly origin, which deserves the name of peace: we may be living quietly in the midst of our enjoyments and possessions; we may be thoughtless and careless, and drive away fear: but this cannot be called peace: peace is an actual positive good, a joy to the conscience, a comfort to the soul, a satisfactory view of its state and condition. The condition of a worldly man, however easy or gay, however seemingly secure, has none of this blessing really belonging to it; his gaiety is but the fluttering of an insect in the sun; his unconcern, but the sleep of a mariner in the storm: and when the evil day does overtake him, as overtake all it must, then where is he? then what can the world do for him? where are its deceitful smiles, and its beguiling promises? They are all come to nought, and the bosom is left to trouble and terror. But the peace, which Jesus bestows, is not only full of present consolation and lively joy, but it abideth continually; and is then most precious, when every thing in this world is frowning and fading. The pardoned sinner rests in God, who ruleth all things both in heaven and earth: the child of faith and hope and love, knows and feels that all things are working together for good: his treasure is in heaven, and there is his heart; and of all earthly experiences he "these things move me not." Such a spirit can say, of composure has he from his blessed Lord, "the Prince of Peace." God is called "the God of peace;" the Spirit is called "the Spirit of love, joy, peace;" and Jesus is called "the Lord of peace." And may "the Lord of peace give you peace always :" look to Him ; rest in Him; live in Him; and "the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Phil. iv. 7.) LECTURE LIV. Our Lord now proceeds to instruct the disciples in the principles of their holy faith, and the fruit which must of necessity be produced. He declares Himself to be the only source of spiritual life and nourishment; that there can be no spiritual existence in any man without Him. This He shews by the very apt comparison of a tree, the branches of which live entirely and only upon the trunk and root: the moment they are separated, they die. And since the Vine was the most common tree in Palestine, Jesus takes His comparison from that; perhaps also because the Church of old was frequently represented under the figure of a vine. (Psal. lxxx. 8-11. Isaiah v. 1-7. Jer. ii. 12. CHAP. XV. 1. 1. I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman, the owner of this vine, and the keeper and dresser of it. 2. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. He dresses and prunes it, that it may be capable of more abundant bearing. This He does for true and fruitful believers, by various means of instruction continually afforded them, by the riches of His word and of His grace; and by seasonable corrections and trials; teaching them to deny themselves and follow the Lord more closely; and bringing them, by all the dispensations of His providence, into a more intimate and fruitful union with Him. 3. Now ye are clean, ye are made holy; not free from sin, but without guile, sincere and faithful; through the word which I have 1 Pet. 1. 22. spoken unto you. 4. Abide in me, and I in Col. 1. 23. you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. and so Abide in Me, that I may abide in you, the union between us may be constantly and unfailingly preserved. By this we are plainly taught, that it will be of no avail for us to have been engrafted into this vine, unless we continue in it; and that great watchfulness and care are necessary, on our part, in order that we may so continue. 5. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me and, I in him, the same Phil. 1. 11. bringeth forth much fruit: for without me, separated from Me, apart from Me, ye can Acts 4. 12. do nothing. This shews, that every true disciple lives entirely in Christ; that, without Him, we can have no more life, in a religious or spiritual sense, than a branch can have natural life, can be alive, without the tree, without growing in and upon it. We are to live in Him by the spirit of faith and the spirit of holiness; and our bringing forth fruit, in righteousness and obedience, will be the sure consequence, and the only evidence that we do so live. 6. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, he is cut off as a barren, sapless branch, and is withered; and men gather Matt. 3. 10. them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. Such a failing and faithless disciple is cast forth again, after various temptations and trials, into the world, out of which he was taken; and there he lies as a dead branch, "dead in trespasses and sins," until the day of gathering; and then he will be taken to the burning, to the place appointed for him, to consume and perish. 7. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. It appears, that "the words of Christ abiding in them" meant much the same as His abiding in them. And the promise," ask what ye will ver. 4. 8. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye Matt. 5. 16. bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. Thus only can ye prove yourselves to be my disciples. Here we stop. There is no passage, in the word of God, which instructs us more clearly and fully in the relation we bear to Christ, the Lord of life, than the passage before us; none, in which the signs and fruits of our holy faith more manifestly appear. Every body, even a child, can understand the dependence that a branch has upon the tree on which it grows cut it off, and it is dead; for all its nourishment is derived from the root: so it is with us and our Lord; we have no spiritual life without Him. He, as our root, is unseen; the manner, in which He nourishes and supports us, is unseen; but in Him we live and move and have our spiritual being; "our life is hid with Christ in God." (Col. iii. 3.) If once we are severed from Him, if His word abide not in us, we are condemned, we fall |