PEACE WITH GOD

A SERMON

Preached on Sunday Morning February 6th, 1870 by MISTER JAMES WELLS

VOLUME 12 Number 587

“Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1

THE justification here spoken of means chiefly two things; first, exemption by the substitutional work of Christ from all that stands against us as sinners. Therefore, said the apostle, “Be it known unto you, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins, and that by him all that believe are justified from,” exempted from, “all things from which they could not be justified by the law of Moses.” This item is one of infinite and everlasting importance. That, after all, must be a blessed man that has such a knowledge of himself, such life in the soul, such light in the mind, as to see his need of this way of being exempted from all that he is as a sinner; and that therefore it is, who can lay anything to the charge of such, seeing it is God himself, exempts them? And if he introduces the paschal lamb, and exempt the Israelite, then all the powers of Egypt shall not be able to destroy the life of one Israelite. The paschal lamb was introduced as the way in which the Lord exempted them; and so they, believing that it was God’s way, practically fell in with the same; for by faith, that is, believing God, and being persuaded that was his way, they fell in with the way; by faith they kept the Passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that killed the firstborn in Egypt should also slay them. All being by nature the children of wrath, we all need this substitutional interposition of the blest Redeemer. There is something, then, beautiful in the words I have just now quoted, namely, “all things;” that by him we are justified from all things; so that not a single fault can be laid to our charge. I should wonder if the apostle did not say that by such an exemption as this, we have peace with God. This is one thing, I think, fairly meant by being justified by faith; that is, knowing our need of the same, and being enlightened to see the adaptability and infinite and eternal importance of the same, and to fall in solemnly and earnestly with it, and to see that our welfare in this life, bur safety in death, and our resurrection to eternal glory, are all by this great matter of justification. But justification means not only exemption from all that stands against us; it also means bringing us into a state of equity with the justice and law of God. David said upon this subject, “My foot stands in an even place.” So that not only are the people exempted, their sins forgiven, and they exempted from every curse and from all wrath; but they are constituted as righteous as the righteousness of Jesus Christ can make them; and he has seen of the travail of his soul, and is satisfied, because he has placed the people upon an equal footing with himself; for they are righteous by his righteousness, perfect by his perfection; and therefore he requests on this ground that they may be with him where he is to behold his glory, And so, as this righteousness is imputed to the church, and the church thus constituted righteous even as he is righteous, he even gives his great name, throws his great name into the matter, in order to teach us the dignity thereof. “This is the name wherewith she shall be called. The Lord,” or Jehovah; “our righteousness;”

If I intended to follow our text out as it lies before us, we should have, in the first place, justification; secondly, pacification; thirdly, mediation. But, then, instead of wanting about three-quarters of an hour, I should want three hours, for each, clause would demand a full hour to do common justice to it, Therefore I shall not follow the text as it lies before us, but shall dwell chiefly upon one part, that is, pacification, or the peace we have with God.

Now the word “pacify” is used only five times, I believe, in the Bible; but it is so associated with the circumstances of justification that that little word took hold of me the other day, and I feel disposed to follow it this morning, and to describe, what, this peace with God is. That is what I shall aim at this morning; for while our text shows that the peace is by the substitutional work of Christ, what we want is to enter experimentally into that peace, and to know something of what that peace is. Let us therefore avail ourselves of the circumstances the Lord has put upon record, intended to instruct us into the several mysteries of this great matter of justification before God, seeing the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God; and there is no way of being righteous or inheriting the land forever but by the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. In tracing out, then, this little word, “pacify,” it will appear that notification will in the first place be by the good deeds and exaltation of the Savior, secondly, by his wisdom, thirdly, by his independence; fourthly, by bringing the people into submission to the same, and lastly, by carrying out the new and everlasting covenant This beautiful little word, “pacify,” therefore appears connected with circumstances that beautifully lustrate this matter.

The first time we have the word is in the book of Esther. So, they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king’s, wrath pacified.” Here you will observe that the Jews obtained peace by the good deeds and the exaltation of Mordecai; and Haman was hanged on the gallows prepared for Mordecai. But let us look first at the good deeds. Mordecai had done good deeds to the king some time before. So, the good deeds which the dear Savior did in his life; the infinitely good deed, the wondrous deed, that great deed which you, who are the members of this Christian Church, will meet together this afternoon to commemorate, that great deed of putting away sin by the sacrifice of himself, that great deed of obtaining by his death eternal redemption; that great deed of perfecting forever by his one offering every poor sinner that is brought to see and feel there is refuge nowhere else. Haman was hanged, the great dragon, for a dragon he was to God’s people, and sought their destruction, as you know Satan has sought the destruction of us all. There Haman was hanged, and the king’s wrath was pacified. Let us come to the cross of Christ. That cross was prepared for Jesus Christ; and the enemy hoped by that cross and by crucifying Jesus Christ that he should thereby put an end to Jesus Christ. But instead of this, it was Satan in reality that was fixed to the cross, and that was there slain; there it was that Satan was defeated, there it was his reign virtually ended, there it was that Jesus destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the devil. He has no power now; that act of the Savior on the cross bound Satan throughout the whole mystical thousand years of the gospel dispensation; he is bound by that power of the angel of the everlasting covenant, that sinners unnumbered may be unbound, and brought into the glorious liberty of the gospel of Christ. Now, that very means which they thus adopted to put an end to the life of Mordecai, and to destroy the Jews, was the very means by which salvation was wrought. I would that we could understand some our troubles in a very similar way. Ah, we have affections, losses, and troubles, and they look as though they meant our ruin, as though they meant our destruction; whereas, these very troubles shall tell ultimately, not against us, but against Satan, against that that would injure us; and we shall have, when we come to the end, to see all things have indeed worked for good unto them that are thus brought to love God. So, then, that very cross of Christ, that very death of Christ, which the adversary hoped would put an end to him, put an end to the adversary; so that they did there subserviently only what the counsel of God determined should be done. That was the means, then, by which Satan was defeated. Thus, then, if we would have peace with God, we must seek it where Satan was defeated, and that was at the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now comes the exaltation of Mordecai; and what is said of his exaltation? While the Jews, by this movement of the Lord’s hand, had light and gladness, Mordecai was next to the king, Ahasuerus. We shall not be irreverent in applying this spiritually; that the Lord Jesus Christ is at the right hand of God, and God is greater than Christ as man considered; for Christ said, “My Father is greater than I,” not greater than Christ as God considered, because Christ thought it not robbery to be equal with God, because he is God. But still it is right we should not lose sight of the delightful truth that he is also man as well as God. “Next unto Ahasuerus.” And all power was given into the hands of Mordecai, and all power is given into the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ. And Mordecai was great among the Jews; and so, the Savior is great with us. How great is his love in our estimation, how great is his salvation, how great is his name, how great is his goodness; and accepted of the multitude of his brethren; and so we can truly say that Jesus Christ, who has reached this exaltation by his good deeds, who has thus defeated the enemy, we can truly say that he is acceptable unto us. What a mysterious thing it is that the enemy should get such dominion over us in this department. Here is the Lord Jesus Christ, and many of you can set your seal to that scripture in the sight of a heart-searching God, and yet, for the life of you, you cannot believe it is for you; I mean that beautiful scripture where the apostle said, “This is a faithful saying,” and you believe that it is a faithful saying; that is, that it is a true saying; it is no fable, no sham, no make believe; it is an all prevailing, eternal, and saving truth; “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation.” Now, what is your soul’s feeling As Mordecai was accepted of the multitude of his brethren, can you accept this saying that is worthy of all acceptation? What is it? Why, that “Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.” He does not wish you to be anything but a sinner in your own estimation. If you come as the Pharisee did, and thank God you are not as other men, then you come in delusion; but if you come as the publican did, confessing that you are nothing; but a sinner, then this is acceptable to you; you can truly say there is not anything in the whole range of existence so acceptable to you as Jesus Christ, who has reached his exaltation by his good deeds, and who is on the right hand of God. He is great in your estimation, and truly acceptable to you; and yet you think he will not receive you. I must have a word here for the little ones. Not receive you? Now take this blessed book, the Bible, and search from Genesis to Revelation, and see if you can find one instance of a poor sinner receiving the truth in the understanding thereof, understanding its value, and in the love thereof, and yet being lost at last. Balaam did not receive the truth in the love of it, Cain never received this, Ishmael never received this, Esau never received this, the main body of the Jews that left Egypt never received this, the Pharisees of old in the Savior’s day did not receive this, and thousands upon thousands now do not receive this. So, if we are justified by faith, there must be this being brought to Christ, who, by his wondrous death, has destroyed the enemy, abolished death, brought life and immortality to light, and is thus accepted of the multitude of his brethren. Why, in that day “as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believed on his name.” And if you so believe on his name as thus to receive him, it is because you are born of God. Well, say you, I can go thus far, but he has not yet given me the power to cry, “Abba, Father.” But he will do; tarry in Jerusalem; there is a set time to favor Zion; and by and by, ere you are aware, the Almighty Spirit of God will descend upon your soul, and make your peace like a river, and your righteousness, by which you are justified, namely, the righteousness of Christ, like the waves of the sea. So, Mordecai was great among the Jews, accepted of the multitude of his brethren, and seeking the wealth of his people. And is not this what the Lord is doing now. And then, mark, comes in the very essence of our text; it sums the whole up, speaking peace to all his seed. That is the last thing that is said of Mordecai. The last thing the Lord will say to you will be that of peace. When you come to die, the peace that he shall speak shall bring you into the peace of eternal glory; and when you shall rise at the last great day his words will be, “Peace be unto you.” Thus then, “the king’s wrath was pacified.” Here, by what the blessed Redeemer has done, and by his exaltation, there is no more wrath, there is nothing left but love, there is nothing left but grace; so that where sin has abounded, grace shall much more abound.

Secondly, Jesus Christ has made peace by his wisdom, Solomon said, “The wrath of a king is as messengers of death; but a wise man will pacify it.” Who can read that proverb without seeing Christ there? “The wrath of a king is as messengers of death.” Look at the threatening’s in the 28th of Deuteronomy, look at the dreadful threatening’s in the Psalms, the imprecations against sinners; look at the dreadful threatening’s in Jeremiah and Ezekiel, and some of the minor prophets; and look at the threatening’s of the New Testament; look at the dreadful things there said against sinners. All these threatening’s are the messengers of death. Let me tell every one of you there is not one threatening you could stand before. All these threatening’s are messengers of death to every man that is not found in Christ and are expressive of that wrath that is due to us as sinners. “But a wise man will pacify it.” Now, look at these threatening’s as messengers of death, cutting us off from all hope and all help; then go to the 2nd of Colossians, and read there these beautiful words, written in letters of gold, letters of gold would be nothing to express the value of such words, that he has blotted out these threatening’s, blotted out the handwriting that stood against us, and there it must in burning letters have stood against us to eternity; but Christ’s precious blood, his bitter sufferings, the bitter waters, have blotted out these curses, “he has blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.” Ah, never was there such a wise man upon the earth as the God-man Mediator. It may well be said that he grew in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and men. So wise was he, he knew how to do everything; there was not a single thing that he was at a loss about; he was never at a loss. His disciples then, like his disciples now, were very often at a loss. “Give you them to eat.” “This he said to prove them; he himself knew what, he would do.” He predicted in detail a great many of his sufferings he came forth in the infinity of his wisdom; he knew what would magnify the law. You and I would never have known that if God had not taught us. The world does not know what magnifies the law; they think their doings can do it. He knew what would meet the demands of justice; the world does not know this; you and I are favored to know something of it. He knew what would carry out the purposes of God’s everlasting love; he knew what would be pleasing to God. “Therefore, does my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man takes it from me I lay it down of myself;” not apart from the Father, for I have Divine authority for so doing; for I glorified not myself to be made a high priest, but him who has said unto me, you are my Son, this day have I begotten you. “This commandment have I received of my Father.” “A wise man will pacify it.” I am sure if you are attentive to what I am saying in this part, and the Lord is pleased to enable you at all to realize it, you must say, We shall never sufficiently love such a Savior as this we shall never sufficiently exalt and glorify such a God as this. He has pacified the wrath; hushed it into eternal silence; it is gone and gone forever. Therefore, being, justified by the good deeds and exaltation of the Savior, being justified by his wisdom, we have peace with God. How should it be otherwise?

“Here our God smiles, and smiles forever;

May each soul such grace record.”

Thirdly, by his independence. Proverbs 21:14, “A gift in secret pacifies anger; and a reward in the bosom strong wrath.” Here is God’s anger, and here is strong wrath; but here is a gift in secret to pacify it. I should like you to see the beauty of this if I can. First, he was unknown to angels and men; given to the church before the foundation of the world. In that sense, it was a secret. Secondly, though that gift was declared through all the Old Testament, and the Old Testament prophets and saints all saw him as a gift that is as a precious stone, whithersoever it turns it prospers, yet the world knew him not. And when he came into the world, why, it is perfectly wonderful that he should live such a life, perform such miracles, die such a death, and such circumstances be connected with his death, and yet in the face of it all and through it all he was still in secret; the world knew him not; and his disciples, they knew him just enough to cleave to him, and that is all. Well, James, do you mean to give up this religion now he is gone, crucified? No, I won’t give it up. Well, says Thomas, I will not believe it unless I see him. They seemed dreadfully shaken, but still they knew him enough to cleave to him; like some of you, not brought clearly into the truth, but still you know enough of him to cleave to him. But the world knew him not; he was a gift in secret. “A gift in secret pacifies anger; and a reward in the bosom strong wrath.” Here it is, you see, in secret; to denote his independence. Ah, Jesus sought not political aid, ecclesiastical aid, military aid, nor any human aid. As man he looked around and saw there was none to help; and as I sometimes say, he fell back upon his own omnipotence, and by his own omnipotent arm he brought salvation. Even his disciples did not know at the time the greatness of his work, and the world knew it not. Here is the secret, then. Now come down to experience. There was a time when I said, and a time when I thought to myself,

“Whither shall I flee,

To hide myself from wrath and you.”

What shall be done? By and by was given to me a white stone. Ah, that white stone is Jesus Christ; and a new name, which is nothing else but his own name, for all the family in heaven and in earth are named after him. And this white stone denotes eternal purity and perfection. In secret, I received this. Jesus Christ is the white stone; a new name written therein that no one knows but he that receives it. No one knows what pardoning mercy is but he that receives it into his soul; no man knows what this peace is but he that receives it into his soul by the power of the eternal Spirit. That white stone I have kept ever since, and that has kept me ever since; it is a pearl of great price; I look to no man on earth to give me the worth of that pearl, for that pearl is of such great value that God alone could give the worth of it; and in giving the worth of this pearl he will give us eternal life and eternal glory. Ah, what a secret is this, what a mystery is this, to enter into this pardoning mercy, this forgiving love, and to see God on our side, in all the eternal perfections of his nature. No wonder that David in the sweet experience of this should say, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall, I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.” “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” Here is the gift in secret; the natural man sees it not, not in its true character. You and I did not once know it; but we know it now. I hope before I die I shall more and more spoil every one of you for anything and everything but Christ Jesus. Hence you know it said in the 11th of Isaiah, “they shall spoil them of the east together.” Ah, it must be “them of the east,” them of the sun rising, them upon whom the Sun of Righteousness is beginning to rise, them into whose hearts God has commanded the light to shine, and so to set forth the glories of Christ as to make everything else appear in contrast thereto like it did to Daniel. What are all these kingdoms, Daniel? Why, chaff of the summer threshing floor; the wind shall carry them away. But this white stone, this stone cut out of the mountain without hands, shall last forever and forever; his kingdom shall not be left to other people; and Daniel says the kingdom cannot be destroyed, and Paul says it cannot be moved. Oh, what a Calvinist you are, Paul. Daniel said it could not be destroyed; Ah, said the devil, it might be dreadfully shaken, though dreadfully torn about. Ah, says Paul, it cannot be moved. Oh, then, you may do as you like. Yes, he says, I will tell you what we do; as we have received this immoveable kingdom, our delight is to have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear; for if this revelation of God s mercy does not create in us the deepest filial reverence, what else can? if it does not bind our souls to God, what else can? Ah, this is that bond of peace that can never be broken till you have invalidated the substitutional work of Christ by which the peace is established.

Again, we have peace with God also by the Savior’s bringing the people into submission. Ecclesiastes 10:4 “If the spirit of the ruler rise up against you, leave not your place; for yielding pacifies great offences;” God is the ruler, and his spirit rose up against me a great many years ago, and I tried to leave my place, did not understand my place at first; but by and by I got into my place, and there I stopped. I thought my place was to run a round of legal duties; I thought my place was to try and fulfil the law, and please God; I thought my place was to be as good, and holy, and righteous as possible, and thereby get rid of my sins; I thought the Lord would, on the ground of my present goodness, forgive my past sins, and I did not mean to have any more sin. But God showed me what a fool I was when I was thus reasoning, and I tried to leave may place; but the Lord came and pushed me down again. What do you say, Job? Why, “If I wash myself with snowwater, and make my hands never so clean, yet shall you plunge me in the ditch, and my own clothes shall abhor me.” What, you have offended your own Pharisaism, have you? Yes. And your selfrighteousness says, There, Job, you have got into this ditch, and you have spoilt me; I was a respectable garment before; it is said the righteousness of some people are as filthy rags, and that is just what you have made me; you have torn me all to pieces by going into that ditch; you ought to have kept out of that place. But Job learnt at last that his place was in the dust of humiliation, his place was to abhor himself, and repent in dust and ashes, confess that he could do nothing, that the Lord must do everything. “Yielding pacifies great offences.” How so? I will just quote a scripture to show the people that are not brought into submission, in contrast to those that are. “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God,” so far so good, “but not according to knowledge. For they, being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes.” Therefore, leave not your place; continue in the dust. But then, say you, how can I, by thus yielding, pacify great offences? By pleading the Savior’s name, righteousness, and atonement. “Who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle? I would go through them; I would burn them together. Or let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me.” Oh, thanks to God for the sweet privilege of humbling ourselves under his mighty hand; thanks to God that he lifts up the poor out of the dust, and the beggar from the dunghill; and God forbid we should leave this place to take the place of the Pharisee, but remain in the dust until he shall come and lift us up, until he shall come and say, “Go up higher;” then we shall be able to say, “you are my glory, and the lifter up of my head.” Ah, is it possible, then, that a sinner yielding himself thus to Christ, and pleading the Savior’s name, receives that righteousness and that atonement that pacify great offences? We all like the words of David, “I will go in the strength of the Lord God; I will make mention of your righteousness, even of your only.” Do you not see the necessity of faith in this? that if you have found out what a poor, lost piece of stubble, what a poor autumnal leaf you are, you can be raised up out of your sinner-ship and out of your despair, only by the coming in of the mercy of God by Jesus Christ.

But, lastly, we have peace with God by Jesus Christ, carrying out the everlasting covenant. And in this department, is comprehended the gathering in of the Jews and of the Gentiles. I feel a great desire you should enter very deeply, if the Lord’s will, into the spirit of this part; that we have this peace with God by Jesus Christ, this forgiveness, this reconciliation, this friendship, this justification, this blessed truth that God is on our side, that we have this by the Savior carrying out the new, the everlasting covenant. It comprehends the ingathering of the Gentiles, and what they shall be when they are ingathered; and it would be hardly any harm for you all to say; “Amen” aloud, I was going to say, when we come to the part where the Lord declares what his people shall be. Now in the 16th of Ezekiel, the Lord all through that chapter describes the apostacy of the, Jewish nation; and the prophet, when he gets to the 60th verse, is taken completely away from the Jewish nation as a nation; he is taken, away from that covenant altogether, and carried forward into the New Testament dispensation. The Lord, to carry the prophet away from an apostate nation, from a fallible covenant, and away from that scene of things, speaks in this way: “Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth.” Where was the youth of the Jewish church, in the days of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? And what was the covenant then? “In your seed”, meaning Christ, “shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” “And I will establish unto you an everlasting covenant.” Has he not so dealt with us? He has, bless his holy name. “Then you shall remember your ways, and be ashamed, when you shall receive your sisters, your elder, and your younger; and I will give them unto you for daughters, but not by your covenant. And I will establish my covenant with you; and you shall know that I am the Lord.” “My covenant;” the new covenant is God’s covenant in a higher sense than any other covenant that was ever revealed. Why does he so emphatically call the new covenant “my covenant?” Because he has taken every item of it into his own hands. This made David say it was ordered in all things and sure.” The ingathering of the people, the safety of the people, the welfare of the people, are entirely in his hands. But let us look at these sisters. There is a church that shall know this new and everlasting covenant. “When you shall receive your sisters, your elder and your younger.” Just come to the apostolic age: there is a little church, and the Lord had made known to them his everlasting covenant, “This is my blood in the New Testament;” and they received their elder sister first; “Go and preach the gospel to all the world, beginning at Jerusalem;” and so a church was gathered in from the Jews; that was their elder sister. Then in came the younger sister, the Gentile church. “And I will give them unto you for daughters;” so the Jewish and the Gentile churches, as thus formed, were the offspring of the power with which God attended the ministry of the apostles. Here are the sisters; and the persons who should be the means of gathering them in should thus remember their own ways, and be ashamed; their mouths should be stopped from all fleshly boasting, and they should rejoice in the Lord alone. Looking forward to this new dispensation, the church of old said, “We have a little sister, and she has no breasts,” consolation, I suppose the meaning there is, “What shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for?” the Gentile church. “If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver;” that is Jesus Christ; he is the palace; and we will set forth Jesus Christ as the great meeting-place; the palace of silver denoting purity; “and if she be a door, we will enclose her with boards of cedar;” alluding to the house of the Lord; and she will be a door; for every church is a door; not a door of salvation, but a door of entrance, the way by which the Lord gathers others in. I trust the Surrey Tabernacle will continue to be a door, that many poor sinners may yet, in the providence of God, be brought to this place, and may learn savingly his blessed name. Now this little sister seems hardly to feel complimented enough in this matter, and spiritedly spurs up and says, “I am a wall.” Sennacherib came against a little church in olden time, and that little church stood like an iron pillar, a defended city, a brazen wall. So here the church says, “I am a wall;” as the daughter of Zion then laughed the enemy to scorn, shook her head at him, and despised him, we will do the same, and in the strength of the Lord will go on from victory to victory, until the last enemy is destroyed, and our souls saved. “I am a wall, and my breasts like towers;” the means of my consolation stand firm. “Then was I in his eyes as one that found favor.” “You are they that have continued with me you have not been moved “If you continue steadfast in the faith and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel.” But let not the man that wavers think he shall find favor; the mere empty professor shall never find favor; but the man that is brought to know his sinner-ship, and made decided for God s truth, he shall be in God’s eyes as one that finds favor. And then it is added in that 16th of Ezekiel “That you mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open your mouth anymore because of your shame, when I am pacified toward you for all that you have done, said the Lord God.” If it were Christian, and in accordance with the New Testament, to make a vow, I could almost say, O you blessed God, you have stopped our mouths from fleshly boasting; you have made us feel the force of the reasoning of your servant, when he said, “Where is boasting? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith;” and, Lord, you have said that we shall never open our mouths any more when you are pacified toward us; that is, in a way of human or fleshly boasting. Amen, Lord; we solemnly vow this day never to do so again; we solemnly vow this; it is of your mercies that we are not consumed; and now,

“If ever we lisp a song of praise,

Each note shall echo, Grace, free grace.”

Thus, then, to sum up the whole, we have peace with God by the substitutional work of Christ, by his good deeds and exaltation, by his wisdom in meeting for us the messengers of death, arresting the judgment that stood against us, and by being that gift in secret (that is unknown to the world) that pacified all anger. He is that reward in the bosom that has pacified strong wrath; he is in the bosom of the Father, he ever retained a place there, and by giving himself without spot to God has, confirmed to himself and to all his brethren a place for ever in the bosom of eternal love, and in the best affections of his willing people. He brings us into submission to his righteousness; he has confirmed the everlasting covenant; and those who love him become as brazen halls, as iron pillars, as defended cities, and as Mount Zion, never to be moved.

Thus, we have peace with God; self-renounced, Christ received, God revealed, his name exalted and glorified for ever and ever.

Amen, and Amen.