The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1918-01-18

commotion in which the Lord declares
He has had no pleasure (Psa. 5:4);
but nevertheless, the peace of God
consciousness of His own moral per-
lection, His unerring Wisdom, His
Mighty Power, and with the fullest
appreciation of Justice and the keen
est and most ardent love of the beau
ty of holiness, patiently and peace
fully in the midst of tribulation, He
has endured the contradiction of sin
ners against Himself for six thousand
years.
But during the seventh millennium,
according to the Divine purpose, it
will be the joyful privilege of our
Lord Jesus to fully manifest to all
creatures in Heaven and in earth the
Fathers glorious character. Then
will the Father rejoice in the grand
eur of His finished work and in the
everlasting peace and happiness Of
His family in Heaven and on earth,
reunited under one Head" -Eph. L:
10-Diaglott.
This blessed contamination will not
be realized, however, until the incor-
rigible fallen sons of God, disowned
and disinherited because they loved
unrighteousness and would not be re-
claimed, shall have been cut off. This
will be the last unpleasant duty of
the Creator and Father of all, who
positively declares that it is a sad
duty, yet nevertheless one which He
will have the fortitude to perform in
the interests of universal righteous
ness and peace. Hear Him: "As |
live, saith the Lord God, ! have no
pleasure in the death of the wicked;
but that the wicked turn from his way
and live; turn we, turn We from your
evil ways; for why will We die ~
Eek. 33:11.
Thus we see that the Peace of God
is compatible with great emotion and
with sorrow and pain of any kind;
for it is not dependent upon outward
circumstances, but upon the proper
balancing of the mind and the condi-
ton Of perfect heart. Such peace
the Peace Of God--was enjoyed also
by our Lord Jesus in the midst of all
the turmoil and confusion of His
eventful earthly life. And this brings
us to the consideration of our Lords
legacy to His disciples, when He was
about to leave the world, as expressed
in His own words:
peace | leave with you, MY peace
| give unto you: not as the world CIV
eth Tin stinted measure or in perish
able quality give / unto you. Let
not your heart be troubled. neither
let it be afraid" John 14:27.
Our Lords Last Will and
Testament.
Thus with Astounding compassion
and tenderness did our Lord, on the
last night of His earthly life, bestow
upon His beloved disciples His parting
blessing, His legacy of peace. 1t was
the richest legacy He had to bequeath,
and was one of priceless value. 1t was
the promise of that tranquility of
soul, that rest and ease of mind,
which He himself possessed-the
Peace of God. 1t was the same peace
which the Father has Himself always
enjoyed, even in the midst of all the
connection which the permission of
evil has brought about; but it was
not derived from the same source. In
Jehovah this peace was self-centered;
He realized in Himself the omnipo-
tence of Power and Wisdom; while
the peace of Christ was conferred, not
in Himself, but in God, by faith in
His wisdom, power and grace. So
also if we would have the peace of
God, the peace of Christ-"My
| peace"-it must, like His, be conferred
in God by faith. g.
Yes, the peace of Christ, was a
priceless legacy. Yet how quickly
the storm-cloud of trouble, which
was even then growing very dark,
burst in its fury upon the heads of
those very disciples to whom the
words were directly addressed. If
followed almost Immediately the gra-
cious bequest, and struck consterna-
! ton. bewilderment, confusion, to
their hearts ard shook their faith
from center to circumference. Then,
where was the peace? While the
Lord was speaking the words, the
foul betrayer, Judas, was out on his
murderous errand. Then followed
the agony in Gethsemane, and the
terror and CONSERVATION among the
| disciples as they began to realize the
fate of their beloved Lord. Soon
their almost breathless suspense
deepened into more fearful forebod-
ings as He stood alone before His
merciless accusers and prosecutors in
the hall of PLATE and the court of
Herod, while they we're powerless to
shield Him. Then came the tragic
end-the horrors of the crucifxion.
What Had Become of the Peace?
Where was the promised peace I'M
der such circumstances-when, over
come with fear and dread, they all
forsook Him and fed; and when st.
Peter, although anxious to defend
Him, was so filled with fear that three
times he denied his Lord and with
cursing declared that he never knew
Him? The explanation is, that the
peace had not yet come; for as the
Apostle Paul tells us, "Where test
ament it, there must also of neces-
sity be the death of the testator. For
testament "a bequeath) is of force
after men arc dead; otherwise it is
of no strength at all while the testator
liyeth." Heb. 9:16, IN. But as soon