Chapter 18

Matthew 5:9: Blessed are the peacemakers, etc.

This is the seventh step of the golden ladder which leads to blessedness. The name of peace is sweet, and the work of peace is a blessed work. Blessed are the peacemakers. Observe the connection: the Scripture links together pureness of heart and peaceableness of spirit. James 3:17: The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable. Hebrews 12:14: Follow peace and holiness. And here Christ joins them: pure in heart and peacemakers. As if there could be no purity where there is not a pursuit of peace; that religion is suspect which is full of faction and discord.

In the words there are three parts.

First, a duty implied — peaceable-mindedness. Second, a duty expressed — to be peacemakers. Third, a title of honor bestowed — they shall be called the children of God.

First, the duty implied: peaceable-mindedness. For before men can make peace among others, they must be of peaceable spirits themselves; before they can be promoters of peace, they must be lovers of peace.

Doctrine 1: Christians must be peaceable-minded. This peaceableness of spirit is the beauty of a saint; it is a jewel of great price. 1 Peter 3:4: The ornament of a quiet spirit, which in the sight of God is of great price. The saints are Christ's sheep (John 10:27); the sheep is a peaceable creature. They are Christ's doves (Song of Solomon 2:14); therefore they must be without gall. It becomes not Christians to be Ishmaels but Solomons. Though they must be lions for courage, yet lambs for peaceableness. God was not in the earthquake nor in the fire, but in the still, small voice (1 Kings 19:12). God is not in the rough, fiery spirit but in the peaceable spirit. There is a fourfold peace that we must study and cherish.

First, household peace — peace in families. It is called the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3). Without this, all falls apart. Peace is a girdle that ties together the members of a family; it is a golden clasp that knits them together that they do not fall in pieces. We should endeavor that our houses should be houses of peace. It is not the fairness of rooms that makes a house pleasant, but the peaceableness of dispositions. There can be no comfort in our dwellings until peace is entertained as a resident in our houses.

Second, there is a parish peace — when there is a sweet harmony, a tuning and chiming together of affections in a parish. When all draw one way and, as the apostle says, are perfectly joined together in the same mind (1 Corinthians 1:10). One jarring string brings all the music out of tune; one bad member in a parish endangers the whole. 1 Thessalonians 5:13: Be at peace among yourselves. It is little comfort to have our houses joined together if our hearts are asunder; a geographical union will do little good without a moral one.

Third, there is a political peace — peace in city and country. This is the fairest flower of a prince's crown; peace is the best blessing of a nation. It is well with bees when there is a noise, but it is best with Christians when, as in the building of the temple, there is no noise of hammer heard. Peace brings plenty along with it; how many miles would some go on pilgrimage to purchase this peace! Therefore the Greeks made peace to be the nurse of Pluto, the god of wealth. Political plants thrive best in the sunshine of peace. Psalm 147:14: he makes peace in your borders and fills you with the finest of the wheat. Omnia pace vigent. The ancients made the harp the emblem of peace; how sweet would the sounding of this harp be after the roaring of the cannon! All should study to promote this political peace; the godly man when he dies enters into peace (Isaiah 57:2), but while he lives, peace must enter into him.

Fourth, there is an ecclesiastical peace — a church-peace. When there is unity and truth in the church of God, never does religion flourish more than when her children spread themselves as olive plants around her table. Unity in faith and discipline is a mercy we cannot prize enough. This is what God has promised (Jeremiah 32:39) and what we should pursue (Zechariah 8:19). Ambrose said of Emperor Theodosius that when he lay sick, he took more care for the church's peace than for his own recovery.

The reasons why we should be peaceable-minded are two. First, we are called to peace (1 Corinthians 7:15). God never called any man to division; that is a reason why we should not be given to strife. But God has called us to peace. Second, it is the nature of grace to change the heart and make it peaceable. By nature we are of a fierce, cruel disposition. When God cursed the ground for man's sake, the curse was that it should bring forth thorns and thistles (Genesis 3:18). The heart of man naturally lies under this curse — it brings forth nothing but the thistles of strife and contention. But when grace comes into the heart, it makes it peaceable; it infuses a sweet, loving disposition; it smooths and polishes the most knotty piece. Grace turns the vulture into a dove, the brier into a myrtle tree, the lion-like fierceness into a lamb-like gentleness. Isaiah 11:7-8: The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid. This is spoken of the power the gospel shall have upon men's hearts — it shall make such a transformation that those who before were full of rage and antipathy shall now be made peaceable and gentle.

Use 1: This shows us the character of a true saint — he is given to peace; he is the keeper of the peace; he is a son of peace.

Caution: not but that a man may be of a peaceable spirit yet seek to recover what is his due. If peace has otherwise been sought and cannot be attained, a man may go to law and yet be a peaceable man. It is with going to law as it is with going to war when the rights of a nation are invaded. When peace can be purchased by no other means than war, it is lawful to beat the plowshare into a sword. So when there is no other way of recovering one's right but by going to law, a man may commence a lawsuit and yet be of a peaceable spirit. Going to law in this case is not so much striving with another as contending for one's own; it is not to do another wrong but to do oneself right; it is a desire for equity rather than victory. As the apostle says (1 Timothy 1:8): the law is good if a man uses it lawfully.

Question: Is all peace to be sought? How far is peace lawful?

Answer: Peace with men must have this twofold limitation.

First, the peace a godly man seeks is not to have a league of friendship with sinners. Though we are to be at peace with their persons, yet we are to have war with their sins. We are to have peace with their persons as they are made in God's image, but to have war with their sins as they have made themselves in the devil's image. David was for peace (Psalm 120:7) but he would not sit upon the ale-bench with sinners (Psalm 26:4-5). Grace teaches good nature; we are to be civil to the worst, but not to be bound together in close friendship — that would be to be brothers in iniquity. Ephesians 5:11: Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. Jehoshaphat, though a good man, was blamed for this (2 Chronicles 19:2): Should you help the ungodly and love those who hate the Lord? The fault was not that he maintained civil peace with Ahab, but that he had a league of friendship and was an assistant to Ahab when he went contrary to God. We must not so far have peace with others as to endanger ourselves. If a man has the plague, we will be helpful to him and send him our best remedies, but we are careful not to have too much of his company or breathe in his infectious breath. So we may be peaceable toward all — nay, helpful; pray for them, counsel them, relieve them — but let us take heed of too much familiarity, lest we breathe in their infection. In short, we must so make peace with men that we do not break our peace with conscience. Hebrews 12:14: Follow peace and holiness. We must not purchase peace with the loss of holiness.

Second, we must not so seek peace with others as to wrong truth. Proverbs 23:23: Buy the truth and sell it not. Peace must not be bought with the sale of truth. Truth is the ground of faith, the rule of manners. Truth is the most precious gem of the church's crown; truth is a deposit that God has entrusted us with. God trusts us with our souls; he trusts us with his truths. We must not let any of God's truths fall to the ground; the least fragment of this gold is precious. We must not so seek the flower of peace as to lose the pearl of truth.

Some say let us unite, but we ought not to unite with error. What communion has light with darkness (2 Corinthians 6:14)? There are many who would have peace with the destroying of truth — peace with Arminianism, Socinianism, those against Scripture. This is a peace of the devil's making. Cursed be that peace which makes war with the Prince of peace. Though we must be peaceable, yet we are bidden to contend earnestly for the faith (Jude 3). We must not be so in love with the golden crown of peace as to pluck off the jewels of truth. Rather let peace go than truth; the martyrs would rather lose their lives than let go the truth.

Containing a reproof of such as are unpeaceable.

If Christians must be peaceable-minded, what shall we say to those who are given to strife and contention — who, like flax or gunpowder, if they be but touched, are all on fire? How far is this from the spirit of the gospel? It is made the mark of the wicked (Isaiah 57:20): they are like a troubled sea; there is no rest or quietness in their spirits, but they are continually casting forth the foam of passion and fury. James 3:14-15: If you have bitter envy and strife, this wisdom does not come down from above but is devilish. The lustful man is brutish; the wrathful man is devilish. Everyone is afraid to dwell in a house which is haunted with evil spirits; yet how little afraid are men of their own hearts, which are haunted with the evil spirit of wrath and implacableness.

And which is much to be laid to heart: the divisions of God's people. God's own tribes go to war. In Tertullian's time it was said, 'See how the Christians love one another!', but now it may be said, 'See how the Christians snarl at one another!' Wicked men agree together, when those who pretend to be led by higher principles are full of animosities and heart-burnings. Was it not sad to see Herod and Pilate uniting, and to see Paul and Barnabas falling out (Acts 15:39)? When the disciples called for fire from heaven, Christ said, 'You do not know what manner of spirit you are of' (Luke 9:56). As if the Lord said: 'This fire you call for is not zeal, but the wildfire of your own passions; this spirit of yours does not suit the Master you serve, the Prince of peace, nor the work I am sending you about, which is an embassy of peace.' It is Satan who kindles the fire of contention in men's hearts and then stands and warms himself at the fire. Discords and animosities among Christians bring their godliness much into question, for the wisdom which is from above is peaceable, gentle, and easy to be persuaded (James 3:17).

Containing an exhortation to peaceable-mindedness.

Use 3: Be of a peaceable disposition. Romans 12:18: If it be possible, as much as lies in you, live peaceably with all men. The curtains of the tabernacle were to be joined together (Exodus 26:3-4); so should the hearts of Christians be looped together in peace and unity. That I may persuade to peaceable-mindedness, let me speak both to reason and conscience.

First, a peaceable spirit seems to be agreeable to the natural frame and constitution of man. Man by nature seems to be a peaceable creature, fitter to handle the plow than the sword. Other creatures are naturally armed with some weapon to defend themselves: the lion has his paw, the boar his tusk, the bee his sting. Only man has none of these weapons — he comes naked and unarmed into the world, as if God would have him a peaceable creature. Man has his reason given him that he should live amicably and peaceably.

Second, a peaceable spirit is honorable. Proverbs 20:3: It is an honor for a man to cease from strife. We think it a brave thing to give way to strife and let loose the reins to our passions. But no — it is an honor to cease from strife. Noble spirits are such lovers of peace that they need not be bound to the peace. It is the bramble that rends and tears whatever is near it; the cedar and fig tree — those more noble plants — grow pleasantly and peaceably. Peaceableness is the badge and ornament of a noble mind.

Third, to be of a peaceable spirit is highly prudent. James 3:17: The wisdom from above is peaceable. A wise man will not meddle with strife; it is like putting one's finger into a hornets' nest. Or to use Solomon's simile (Proverbs 17:14): the beginning of strife is as when one lets out water. To set out the folly of strife, it is like letting out water in two respects.

First, when water begins to be let out, there is no end of it; so there is no end of strife once begun.

Second, the letting out of water is dangerous: if a man should break down a bank and let in an arm of the sea, the water might overflow his fields and drown him in the flood. So is he that meddles with strife; he may mischief himself and open such a sluice as may engulf and swallow him up. True wisdom espouses peace; a prudent man will keep away from the briers as much as he can.

Fourth, to be of a peaceable spirit brings peace along with it. A contentious person vexes himself and eclipses his own comfort. He is like the bird that beats itself against the cage; he troubles his own flesh (Proverbs 11:17). He is like one who pares off the sweetness of the apple and eats nothing but the core. So a quarrelsome man pares off all the comfort of his life and feeds only upon the bitter core of disquiet; he is a self-tormentor. The wicked are compared to a troubled sea (Isaiah 57:20), and it follows, 'There is no peace to the wicked' (verse 21). Froward spirits do not enjoy what they possess. But peaceableness of spirit brings the sweet music of peace along with it; it makes a calm and harmony in the soul. Therefore the psalmist says it is not only good but pleasant to live together in unity (Psalm 133:1).

Fifth, a peaceable disposition is a godlike disposition.

First, God the Father is called the God of peace (Hebrews 13:20). Mercy and peace are about his throne; he signs the articles of peace and sends the ambassadors of peace to publish them (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Second, God the Son is called the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). His name is Emmanuel — God with us — a name of peace. His office is to be a mediator of peace (1 Timothy 2:5). He came into the world with a song of peace; the angels sang it (Luke 2:14): Peace on earth. He went out of the world with a legacy of peace (John 14:27): Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.

Third, God the Holy Spirit is a Spirit of peace; he is the Comforter. He seals up peace (2 Corinthians 1:22). This blessed dove brings the olive branch of peace in his mouth. Now a peaceable disposition evidences something of God in a man; therefore God loves to dwell there. Psalm 76:2: In Salem is God's tabernacle. Salem signifies peace; God dwells in a peaceable spirit.

Sixth, Christ's earnest prayer was for peace. He prayed that his people might be one (John 17:11, 21, 23) — of one mind and heart. And observe the argument Christ uses in prayer: verse 22, 'That they may be one, even as we are one.' There was never any discord between God the Father and Christ. Though God parted with Christ out of his bosom, yet not out of his heart. There was ever dearness and oneness between them. Now Christ prays that as he and his Father were one, so his people might all be one in peace and concord. Did Christ pray so earnestly for peace, and shall not we endeavor what is in us to fulfill Christ's prayer? How do we think Christ will hear our prayer if we cross his?

Seventh, Christ not only prayed for peace but bled for it. Colossians 1:20: Having made peace through the blood of his cross — all manner of peace. He died not only to make peace between God and man, but between man and man. Christ suffered on the cross that he might cement Christians together with his blood. As he prayed for peace, so he paid for peace; Christ was himself bound to bring us into the bond of peace.

Eighth, strife and contention hinder the growth of grace. Can good seed grow in a ground where there is nothing but thorns and briers? Matthew 13: the thorns choked the seed. When the heart is stuck with thorns and is ever tearing and rending, can the seed of grace ever grow there? Historians report of the Isle of Patmos that the natural soil of it is such that nothing will grow upon that earth. A contentious heart is like the Isle of Patmos — nothing of grace will grow there until God changes the soil and makes it peaceable. How can faith grow in an unpeaceable heart? For faith works by love. It is impossible that one should bring forth the sweet fruits of the Spirit who is in the gall of bitterness. If a man has received poison into his body, the most excellent food will not nourish until he takes some antidote to expel that poison. Many come to the ordinances with seeming zeal, but being poisoned with wrath and animosity, they receive no spiritual nourishment. Christ's mystical body edifies itself in love (Ephesians 4:16). There may be praying and hearing, but no spiritual growth, no edifying of the body of Christ without love and peace.

Ninth, peaceableness among Christians is a powerful magnet to draw the world to receive Christ. Not only gifts and miracles and preaching may persuade men to embrace the truth of the gospel, but peace and unity among those who profess it. When as there is one God and one faith, so there is one heart among Christians — this is as cummin seed which makes the doves flock to the windows. The temple was adorned with goodly stones (Luke 21:5). This makes Christ's spiritual temple look beautiful and the stones of it appear goodly when they are cemented together in peace and unity.

Tenth, unpeaceableness of spirit is to make Christians turn heathens. It is the sin of the heathens — implacable (Romans 1:31). They cannot be pacified; their hearts are like adamant — no oil can soften them, no fire can melt them. It is a heathenish thing to be so fierce and violent, as if with Romulus, men had suckled the milk of wolves.

Eleventh, to add yet more weight to the exhortation: it is the mind of Christ that we should live in peace. Mark 9:50: Have peace with one another. Shall we not be at peace for Christ's sake? If we ought to lay down our life for Christ's sake, shall we not lay down our strife for his sake?

To conclude: if we will neither be under counsels nor commands, but still nurse a spirit of dissension and unpeaceableness, Jesus Christ will never come near us. The people of God are said to be his house (Hebrews 3:6). When the hearts of Christians are a spiritual house adorned with the furniture of peace, then they are fit for the Prince of peace to inhabit. But when this pleasant furniture is wanting, and instead of it nothing but strife and debate, Christ will not own it for his house nor grace it with his presence. Who will dwell in a house which is smoky and all on fire?

Showing some helps to peaceableness.

Question: How shall we attain to peaceableness?

First, take heed of those things which will hinder it. There are several impediments of peace which we must beware of — either outward or inward.

Outward impediments: whisperers (Romans 1:29). There are some who will buzz things in our ears on purpose to provoke. Among these we may rank talebearers (Leviticus 19:16). The talebearer carries reports up and down; the devil sends his letters by this messenger. The talebearer is an incendiary — he blows the coals of contention. 'Do you hear what such a one says of you? Will you put up with such a wrong? Will you suffer yourself to be so abused?' Thus by throwing in his fireballs he foments differences and sets men at each other's throats. We are commanded to provoke one another to love (Hebrews 10:24), but nowhere to provoke to anger. We should stop our ears to such persons as are known to come on the devil's errand.

Second, take heed of inward hindrances to peace.

First, self-love (2 Timothy 3:2): Men shall be lovers of themselves — and it follows, they shall be fierce (verse 3). The setting up of this idol of self has caused so many lawsuits, plunderings, and massacres in the world. Philippians 2:21: All seek their own. Self-love sets up monopolies and enclosures; it is a bird of prey, living upon plunder. Self-love cuts asunder the bond of peace. Lay aside self.

Second, pride (Proverbs 28:25): He that is of a proud heart stirs up strife. Pride and contention are born together. A proud man thinks himself better than others and will contend for superiority. 3 John 9: Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence. A proud man would have all strike sail to him. Because Mordecai would not bow to Haman, he got a bloody warrant signed for the death of all the Jews (Esther 3:9). What made all the strife between Pompey and Caesar but pride? Their spirits were too high to yield to each other. When this wind of pride gets into a man's heart, it causes sad earthquakes of division. Let us shake off this viper of pride; humility solders Christians together in peace.

Third, envy stirs up strife. The apostle has linked them together (1 Timothy 6:4): envy, strife. Envy cannot endure a superior. An envious man, seeing another to have a fuller crop or a better trade, is ready to pick a quarrel with him. Proverbs 27:4: Who can stand before envy? Envy is a pest that lives on blood; take heed of it; peace will not dwell with this inmate.

Fourth, credulity (Proverbs 14:15): The simple believes every word. A credulous man is akin to a fool — he believes all that is told him, and this often creates differences. As it is a sin to be a talebearer, so it is a folly to be a tale-believer. A wise man will not take a report at the first hearing, but will sift and examine it before he gives credit to it.

Second, let us labor for those things which will maintain and cherish peace.

First, faith. Faith and peace keep house together. Faith believes the Word of God; the Word says, 'Live in peace' (2 Corinthians 13:11). And as soon as faith sees the King of heaven's warrant, it obeys. Faith persuades the soul that God is at peace, and it is impossible to believe this and live in variance. Nourish faith; faith knits us to God in love, and to our brothers in peace.

Second, Christian fellowship. There should not be too much estrangement among Christians. The primitive saints had their love-feasts. The apostle, exhorting to peace, brings this as an expedient (Ephesians 4:32): Be kind one to another.

Third, look not upon the failings of others but upon their graces. There is no perfection here. We read of the spots of God's children (Deuteronomy 32:5). The most golden Christians are some measure too light. Let us not so quarrel with the infirmities of others as to pass by their virtues. If in some things they fail, in other things they excel. It is the manner of the world to look more upon the sun in an eclipse than when it shines in its full luster.

Fourth, pray to God that he will send down the Spirit of peace into our hearts. We should not, as vultures, prey upon one another, but pray for one another. Pray that God will quench the fire of contention and kindle the fire of compassion in our hearts one toward another. So much for the first thing in the text implied: that Christians should be peaceable-minded. I proceed to the second, expressed: that they should be peacemakers.

Pressing Christians to be peacemakers.

Doctrine 2: All good Christians ought to be peacemakers. They should not only be peaceable themselves but make others to be at peace. As in the body, when a joint is out we set it again; so it should be in the body politic. When a garment is rent, we sew it together again; when others are rent asunder in their affections, we should with a spirit of meekness sew them together again. I confess it is often a thankless office to go about to reconcile differences. Acts 7:27: Handle a brier never so gently, it will go near to scratch. He who goes to interpose between two combatants often receives the blow. But this duty, though it may want success from men, shall not want a blessing from God. Blessed are the peacemakers. O how happy were England if it had more peacemakers! Abraham was a peacemaker (Genesis 13:8); Moses was a peacemaker (Exodus 2:13). And that ever-to-be-honored Emperor Constantine, when he called the bishops together at the first Council of Nicaea to end church controversies, and they instead prepared bitter invectives and accusations against one another, he took their papers and tore them, gravely exhorting them to peace and unanimity.

Use 1: Reproof. It sharply reproves those who are so far from being peacemakers that they are peace-breakers. If blessed are the peacemakers, then cursed are the peace-breakers. If peacemakers are the children of God, then peace-breakers are the children of the devil. Heretics destroy the truth of the church by error; schismatics destroy the peace of it by division. The apostle sets a brand upon such (Romans 16:17): Mark those who cause divisions and avoid them. Have no more to do with them than with witches or murderers. The devil was the first peace-breaker — he divided man from God; he set all on fire. There are too many troublemakers in England whose sweetest music is in discord; who never unite but to divide. Sectaries unite to set the church's peace on fire. These are the persons God's soul hates (Proverbs 6:19): sowers of discord among brothers. These are the children of a curse (Deuteronomy 27:24): Cursed be he that smites his neighbor secretly — that is, who backbites and so sets one friend against another. If there is a devil in man's shape, it is the incendiary.

Use 2: It exhorts to two things.

First, let us take up a bitter lamentation for the divisions of England. The wild beast has broken down the hedge of our peace. We are like a house falling to ruin if the Lord does not mercifully support and shore us up. Will not an ingenuous child grieve to see his mother torn in pieces? It is reported of Cato that from the time the civil wars began in Rome between Caesar and Pompey, he was never seen to laugh, or shave his beard, or cut his hair. That our hearts may be sadly affected with these church and state divisions, let us consider the mischief of divisions.

First, they are a sign of much evil to a nation. When the veil of the temple did rend in pieces, it was a sad omen and forerunner of the destruction of the temple. The rending of the veil of the church's peace betokens the ruin of it. Josephus observes that the city of Jerusalem, when it was besieged by Titus Vespasian, had three great factions in it which destroyed more than the enemy and was the occasion of its taking. How fatal have internal divisions been to this land? Our dissensions and mutinies have been the scaling ladder by which the Romans and Normans formerly got into the nation. How is the bond of peace broken? We have so many schisms in the body and have run into so many particular churches that God may justly unchurch us, as he did Asia.

Second, it may afflict us to see the garment of the church's peace rent, because divisions bring reproach and scandal upon religion. These make the ways of God evil spoken of, as if religion were the fomenter of strife and sedition. Julian in his invectives against the Christians said they lived together as tigers, rending and devouring one another. And shall we make good Julian's words? It is unseemly to see Christ's doves fighting, to see his lily become a bramble. Alexander Severus, seeing two Christians contending, commanded them to no longer take the name of Christians upon them, for 'you dishonor your Master Christ.' Let men either lay down their contentions or lay off the coat of their profession.

Third, divisions obstruct the progress of piety. The gospel seldom thrives where the apple of strife grows. The building of God's spiritual temple is hindered by the confusion of tongues. Division eats as a worm and destroys the peaceable fruits of righteousness (Hebrews 12:11). In the church of Corinth, when they began to divide into parties — one for Paul, another for Apollos — there were but few for Christ. I am confident England's divisions have made many turn atheists.

Second, let us labor to heal differences and be repairers of breaches. Blessed are the peacemakers. First, Jesus Christ was a great peacemaker — he took a long journey from heaven to earth to make peace. Second, peace and unity is a great means for the strengthening and consolidating the church of God. The saints are compared to living stones, built up for a spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5). The stones in an arch or structure help to preserve and support one another. When the Christians in the primitive church were of one heart (Acts 4:32), what support this was! How did they counsel, comfort, and build up one another in their holy faith! We see that while the members of the body are united, they administer help and nourishment one to another; but if they are divided and broken off, they are of no use and the body languishes. Therefore let us endeavor to be peacemakers; the church's unity tends much to her stability.

Third, peace makes the church of God on earth in some measure like the church in heaven. The cherubim, representing the angels, are set out with their faces looking toward one another, to show their peace and unity. There are no jars or discords among the heavenly spirits. One angel is not of a different opinion from another. Though they have different orders, they are not of different spirits. They are seraphim and therefore burn, but not in the heat of contention — in love. The angels serve God not only with pure hearts but with united hearts. By a harmonious peace we might resemble the church triumphant.

Fourth, he who sows peace shall reap peace. Proverbs 12:20: To the counselors of peace is joy. The peacemaker shall have peace with God, peace in his own bosom — and that is the sweetest music which is made in a man's own breast. He shall have peace with others; the hearts of all shall be united to him. All shall honor him; he shall be called the repairer of the breach (Isaiah 58:12). To conclude: the peacemaker shall die in peace; he shall carry a good conscience with him and leave a good name behind him. So I have done with the first part of the text — blessed are the peacemakers. I proceed to the next.

Matthew 5:9: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."

This is the seventh step of the golden ladder that leads to blessedness. The word peace is sweet, and the work of peace is a blessed work. Blessed are the peacemakers. Notice the connection: Scripture links purity of heart with a peaceable spirit. James 3:17: "But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable." Hebrews 12:14: "Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord." And here Christ joins them together: pure in heart and peacemakers. This suggests that there can be no true purity where there is no pursuit of peace — a religion marked by faction and discord is suspect.

These words contain three parts.

First, a duty implied — a peaceable spirit. Second, a duty expressed — to be peacemakers. Third, an honorable title bestowed — they shall be called the children of God.

First, the duty implied: a peaceable spirit. Before people can make peace between others, they must first be at peace themselves. Before they can promote peace, they must love peace.

Doctrine 1: Christians must be peaceable in spirit. This peaceableness of spirit is one of the graces that adorns a believer — it is a jewel of great worth. 1 Peter 3:4: "The hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God." The saints are Christ's sheep (John 10:27), and the sheep is a peaceable creature. They are Christ's doves (Song of Solomon 2:14), and therefore must be without bitterness. It does not suit Christians to be Ishmaels — it suits them to be Solomons. They must be lions in courage, but lambs in peaceableness. God was not in the earthquake or in the fire, but in the still, small voice (1 Kings 19:12). God is found not in the harsh, fiery spirit but in the peaceable spirit. There are four kinds of peace we must seek and cherish.

First, household peace — peace within families. It is called the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3). Without it, everything falls apart. Peace is the belt that holds the members of a family together. It is the golden clasp that keeps them from coming apart. We should work to make our homes houses of peace. It is not the beauty of the rooms that makes a home pleasant, but the peaceableness of the people in it. There can be no real comfort in our homes until peace takes up residence there.

Second, there is community peace — a sweet harmony in a congregation or neighborhood, where people's hearts are in tune with one another. This is when everyone is pulling in the same direction, as the apostle says, "perfectly united in the same mind and in the same judgment" (1 Corinthians 1:10). One out-of-tune string ruins all the music. One troublesome member in a community can endanger the whole. 1 Thessalonians 5:13: "Live in peace with one another." It is little comfort for our houses to stand side by side if our hearts are far apart. Geographic closeness without genuine unity accomplishes little.

Third, there is civil peace — peace in city and nation. This is the finest jewel in a ruler's crown. Peace is the greatest blessing a nation can enjoy. Bees thrive with noise — but Christians thrive best when, like the building of the temple, no sound of hammer is heard. Peace brings abundance with it. How many would travel great distances to obtain this peace! The ancient Greeks called peace the nurse of Pluto, the god of wealth. All civic life flourishes best in the sunshine of peace. Psalm 147:14: "He makes peace in your borders; He satisfies you with the finest of the wheat." All things flourish in peace. The ancients made the harp the symbol of peace. How sweet would the sound of that harp be after the roar of cannon! Everyone should work to promote this civil peace. The godly person enters into peace when he dies (Isaiah 57:2), but while he lives, peace must enter into him.

Fourth, there is church peace — peace within the body of believers. When there is unity and truth in the church of God, religion has never flourished more than when her children grow like olive plants around her table. Unity in faith and practice is a blessing we cannot value enough. This is what God has promised (Jeremiah 32:39) and what we should pursue (Zechariah 8:19). Ambrose wrote of the Emperor Theodosius that when he lay sick, he was more concerned for the peace of the church than for his own recovery.

Two reasons why we should be peaceable in spirit. First, we are called to peace (1 Corinthians 7:15). God never called anyone to division — that alone is reason enough not to be given to strife. God has called us to peace. Second, it is the nature of grace to change the heart and make it peaceable. By nature we are fierce and harsh. When God cursed the ground for humanity's sake, the curse was that it would bring forth thorns and thistles (Genesis 3:18). The natural human heart lies under this same curse — it produces nothing but the thorns and thistles of strife and contention. But when grace enters the heart, it makes it peaceable. Grace pours in a sweet and loving disposition. It smooths and polishes even the most rough and knotty character. Grace turns the vulture into a dove, the briar into a myrtle tree, and fierce lion-like rage into gentle lamb-like meekness. Isaiah 11:7-8: "The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat." This describes the power the gospel has on people's hearts — it produces such a transformation that those who were formerly full of rage and hostility become peaceable and gentle.

Use 1: This shows us the character of a true saint — he is committed to peace. He keeps the peace. He is a son of peace.

A caution: a person may be peaceable in spirit while still pursuing what is rightfully his. If peace has been sought by every other means and cannot be obtained, a person may go to court and still be a peaceable person. Going to law is like going to war when a nation's rights are threatened. When peace can only be secured by fighting, it is lawful to beat the plowshare into a sword. In the same way, when there is no other way to recover one's rights except through legal action, a person may pursue a lawsuit and still be peaceable at heart. Going to law in this case is not so much fighting against another person as contending for what is one's own. It is not a desire to wrong someone else but a desire to do right by oneself — a pursuit of justice rather than victory. As the apostle says (1 Timothy 1:8): "The law is good, if one uses it lawfully."

Question: Is all peace worth pursuing? How far is peace lawful?

Answer: Peace with other people must have two limitations.

First, the peace a godly person seeks does not mean forming close friendships with those who live in sin. Though we are to be at peace with sinners as people, we are to wage war against their sins. We treat them with respect as those made in God's image, while opposing their sins as the mark of the devil's image in them. David was committed to peace (Psalm 120:7), but he would not sit and socialize with the ungodly (Psalm 26:4-5). Grace teaches genuine goodwill — we are to be civil toward everyone, even the worst — but not to enter into close friendship with those who live in sin. That would make us partners in their iniquity. Ephesians 5:11: "Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness." Jehoshaphat, though a good man, was rebuked for this (2 Chronicles 19:2): "Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord?" His fault was not that he maintained civil peace with Ahab, but that he formed a close alliance and assisted Ahab when Ahab was acting against God. We must not pursue peace with others to the point of endangering ourselves. If a person has the plague, we will help him and send him medicine — but we take care not to spend too much time with him or breathe his infected air. In the same way, we may be peaceable toward all — even helpful: praying for them, counseling them, relieving them — but we must beware of too much familiarity, lest we inhale their infection. In short, we must make peace with people in a way that does not break our peace with our conscience. Hebrews 12:14: "Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification." We must not purchase peace at the cost of holiness.

Second, we must not pursue peace with others in a way that compromises truth. Proverbs 23:23: "Buy truth, and do not sell it." Peace must not be purchased by selling truth. Truth is the foundation of faith and the guide for life. Truth is the most precious gem in the church's crown. It is a deposit God has entrusted to us. God entrusts us with our souls, and He entrusts us with His truths. We must not let any of God's truths fall to the ground — even the smallest fragment of this gold is precious. We must not chase the flower of peace and lose the pearl of truth.

Some call for unity — but we must not unite with error. What fellowship does light have with darkness (2 Corinthians 6:14)? Many would have peace through the destruction of truth — peace with Arminianism, Socinianism, and those who deny Scripture. That is a peace of the devil's making. Cursed is any peace that makes war with the Prince of Peace. Though we must be peaceable, we are also commanded to contend earnestly for the faith (Jude 3). We must not love the golden crown of peace so much that we strip the jewels of truth from it. Better to lose peace than truth. The martyrs would rather lose their lives than let go of the truth.

A reproof of those who are quarrelsome.

If Christians must be peaceable in spirit, what shall we say about those who are given to strife and contention — who, like flax or gunpowder, ignite at the slightest touch? How far this is from the spirit of the gospel! Scripture marks this as the character of the wicked (Isaiah 57:20): they are like a troubled sea — there is no rest or quietness in their spirits; they continually hurl out the foam of passion and fury. James 3:14-15: "If you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart... this wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic." The lustful person is brutish; the wrathful person is devilish. Everyone is afraid to live in a house haunted by evil spirits — yet how little people fear their own hearts, which are haunted by the evil spirit of wrath and implacability.

And this must be especially taken to heart: the divisions among God's own people. God's own tribes go to war with each other. In Tertullian's time it was said, "See how the Christians love one another!" — but now it might be said, "See how the Christians snarl at one another!" Wicked people agree among themselves, while those who claim to be guided by higher principles are full of bitterness and resentment. Was it not grievous to see Herod and Pilate unite, and at the same time to see Paul and Barnabas fall out (Acts 15:39)? When the disciples called for fire from heaven, Christ said, "You do not know what kind of spirit you are of" (Luke 9:55). It was as if He were saying: "This fire you are calling for is not holy zeal — it is the wildfire of your own passions. This spirit is out of place for the Master you serve, the Prince of Peace, and for the mission I am sending you on, which is an embassy of peace." It is Satan who kindles the fire of contention in people's hearts and then stands warming himself at the flame. Discord and bitterness among Christians bring their profession of faith seriously into question — for the wisdom that comes from above is peaceable, gentle, and open to reason (James 3:17).

An exhortation to a peaceable spirit.

Use 3: Cultivate a peaceable disposition. Romans 12:18: "If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men." The curtains of the tabernacle were to be joined together (Exodus 26:3-4). In the same way, the hearts of Christians should be looped together in peace and unity. To persuade you toward peaceableness, let me appeal both to reason and conscience.

First, a peaceable spirit fits human nature as God designed it. By nature, people seem suited for peace — better fitted to handle a plow than a sword. Other creatures are naturally equipped with weapons for self-defense: the lion has his claws, the boar his tusks, the bee his sting. Only the human being comes into the world naked and unarmed — as if God intended him to be a peaceable creature. God gave humanity reason so that we would live in harmony and peace.

Second, a peaceable spirit is honorable. Proverbs 20:3: "Keeping away from strife is an honor for a man." We tend to think that giving in to quarreling and letting our passions loose shows strength. But no — it is an honor to step back from strife. Truly noble spirits are such lovers of peace that they need no external constraint to keep the peace. It is the thornbush that tears and scratches everything near it. The cedar and the fig tree — those nobler plants — grow pleasantly and peaceably. Peaceableness is the mark and ornament of a noble mind.

Third, a peaceable spirit is wise. James 3:17: "The wisdom from above is... peaceable." A wise person does not meddle with strife — it is like poking a finger into a hornet's nest. Or as Solomon illustrates (Proverbs 17:14): the beginning of strife is like releasing a flood of water. Strife is like releasing water in two ways.

First, once water begins to flow out, it cannot be stopped. In the same way, once strife begins, there is no end to it.

Second, releasing water is dangerous. If a person breaks through a riverbank and lets in an arm of the sea, the water could flood his fields and drown him. So it is with the person who stirs up strife — he may bring harm on himself and open a floodgate that swallows him whole. True wisdom chooses peace. A prudent person stays away from the thorns as much as possible.

Fourth, a peaceable spirit brings peace with it. A contentious person torments himself and robs himself of comfort. He is like a bird beating itself against the bars of a cage — he is his own enemy (Proverbs 11:17). He is like someone who peels the sweetness from an apple and eats nothing but the bitter core. A quarrelsome person strips all the comfort from his life and feeds only on the bitter core of anxiety — he is his own tormentor. The wicked are compared to a troubled sea (Isaiah 57:20), and the next verse adds: "There is no peace for the wicked." Harsh, contentious spirits cannot enjoy what they possess. But a peaceable spirit brings with it the sweet music of inner peace — it produces calm and harmony in the soul. This is why the psalmist says it is not only good but pleasant to live together in unity (Psalm 133:1).

Fifth, a peaceable disposition resembles God Himself.

First, God the Father is called the God of peace (Hebrews 13:20). Mercy and peace surround His throne. He draws up the terms of peace and sends His ambassadors to proclaim them (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Second, God the Son is called the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). His name is Emmanuel — God with us — a name that speaks of peace. His office is to serve as Mediator of peace (1 Timothy 2:5). He entered the world with a song of peace — the angels sang it (Luke 2:14): "Peace on earth." He left the world with a legacy of peace (John 14:27): "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you."

Third, God the Holy Spirit is a Spirit of peace — He is the Comforter. He seals peace into the heart (2 Corinthians 1:22). This blessed dove carries the olive branch of peace in His mouth. A peaceable disposition is therefore evidence of something of God in a person, and so God loves to dwell there. Psalm 76:2: "His tabernacle is in Salem." Salem means peace — God dwells in a peaceable spirit.

Sixth, Christ prayed earnestly for peace. He prayed that His people might be one — of one mind and heart (John 17:11, 21, 23). Notice the basis of Christ's prayer in verse 22: "That they may be one, even as We are one." There was never any discord between God the Father and Christ. Though the Father sent Christ from His side, He never removed Him from His heart. There was always deep love and oneness between them. Christ prayed that as He and His Father were one, His people would also be one in peace and harmony. If Christ prayed so earnestly for peace, should we not do everything we can to answer that prayer? How can we expect Christ to hear our prayers if we refuse to honor His?

Seventh, Christ not only prayed for peace — He bled for it. Colossians 1:20: "Having made peace through the blood of His cross" — peace of every kind. He died not only to make peace between God and humanity, but between person and person. Christ suffered on the cross to cement Christians together with His own blood. As He prayed for peace, so He paid for peace. Christ bound Himself to bring us into the bond of peace.

Eighth, strife and contention choke the growth of grace. Can good seed grow in ground full of thorns and briars? Matthew 13: the thorns choked the seed. When the heart is full of thorns and is constantly tearing and fighting, can the seed of grace ever take root there? Historians report that the island of Patmos has soil in which nothing will grow. A contentious heart is like Patmos — nothing of grace will flourish there until God transforms the soil and makes it peaceable. How can faith grow in an unpeaceable heart, when faith works through love? It is impossible for a person to produce the sweet fruit of the Spirit while he is steeped in bitterness. If a person has swallowed poison, even the finest food will not nourish him until he takes an antidote to expel the poison. Many come to worship with apparent zeal, but being poisoned by wrath and hostility, they receive no spiritual nourishment. Christ's body builds itself up in love (Ephesians 4:16). There may be praying and hearing, but there will be no spiritual growth and no building up of the body of Christ without love and peace.

Ninth, peaceableness among Christians is a powerful magnet that draws the world to Christ. Not only gifts, miracles, and preaching persuade people to embrace the truth of the gospel — so does the peace and unity of those who profess it. When, alongside one God and one faith, there is one heart among Christians, it is like scattering seed that draws the doves flocking to the windows. The temple was adorned with beautiful stones (Luke 21:5). Christ's spiritual temple looks beautiful and its stones appear glorious when they are cemented together in peace and unity.

Tenth, a quarrelsome spirit turns Christians into pagans. Implacability is listed as a sin of the pagans (Romans 1:31). They cannot be pacified. Their hearts are like iron — no oil can soften them, no fire can melt them. To be so fierce and violent is a pagan thing — as if, like Romulus, people had been nursed on wolf's milk.

Eleventh, to add even more weight to this appeal: it is the desire of Christ that we live in peace. Mark 9:50: "Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another." Will we not pursue peace for Christ's sake? If we ought to lay down our lives for Christ's sake, will we not at least lay down our quarrels for His sake?

To conclude: if we refuse counsel and commands alike, and continue to nurse a spirit of division and conflict, Jesus Christ will not draw near to us. God's people are called His house (Hebrews 3:6). When Christians' hearts are a spiritual house furnished with peace, they are fit for the Prince of Peace to inhabit. But when that pleasant furnishing is absent and nothing is present but strife and debate, Christ will not own it as His house or honor it with His presence. Who would choose to live in a house that is smoky and burning?

Helps toward peaceableness.

Question: How can we attain a peaceable spirit?

First, guard against the things that hinder it. There are several obstacles to peace — both outward and inward — that we must watch for.

Outward obstacles: whisperers (Romans 1:29). Some people deliberately whisper things in our ears to provoke us. Among these we may include talebearers (Leviticus 19:16). The talebearer carries reports from person to person — the devil sends his letters by this messenger. The talebearer is an incendiary — he fans the coals of strife. He says, "Do you know what so-and-so is saying about you? Are you going to let that wrong stand? Will you allow yourself to be treated that way?" By throwing these firebrands, he stirs up conflict and sets people against each other. We are told to provoke one another to love (Hebrews 10:24) — but nowhere to provoke one another to anger. We should close our ears to those who are known to come on the devil's errand.

Second, guard against inward obstacles to peace.

First, self-love (2 Timothy 3:2): "Men will be lovers of self" — and the next verse adds that they will be "brutal." Enthroning the idol of self has caused countless lawsuits, plunderings, and atrocities in the world. Philippians 2:21: "For they all seek after their own interests." Self-love creates monopolies and enclosures — it is a bird of prey, living off what it can seize. Self-love cuts the bond of peace in two. Put self aside.

Second, pride (Proverbs 28:25): "An arrogant man stirs up strife." Pride and contention are born together. A proud person thinks himself better than others and will fight for the top position. 3 John 9: Diotrephes "who loves to be first among them." A proud person wants everyone to bow to him. Because Mordecai would not bow to Haman, Haman secured a decree for the death of all the Jews (Esther 3:9). What caused all the strife between Pompey and Caesar but pride? Their spirits were too high to yield to each other. When this wind of pride gets into a person's heart, it causes terrible earthquakes of division. Let us shake off this viper of pride. Humility holds Christians together in peace.

Third, envy stirs up strife. The apostle links them together (1 Timothy 6:4): envy and strife. Envy cannot bear to see another person flourish. An envious person, seeing a neighbor with a bigger harvest or more successful business, is quick to pick a fight. Proverbs 27:4: "Who can stand before jealousy?" Envy is a disease that feeds on blood. Beware of it — peace will not coexist with this tenant.

Fourth, credulity (Proverbs 14:15): "The naive man believes everything he is told." A gullible person is close to a fool — he accepts whatever is reported to him, and this often creates conflict. As it is a sin to be a talebearer, it is foolishness to be a tale-believer. A wise person will not accept a report at first hearing but will examine and test it before giving it credit.

Second, work at cultivating those things that maintain and promote peace.

First, faith. Faith and peace live together. Faith believes the Word of God — and the Word says, "Live in peace" (2 Corinthians 13:11). As soon as faith sees the command from the King of heaven, it obeys. Faith persuades the soul that God is at peace with us, and it is impossible to truly believe this while living in conflict with others. Nourish faith. Faith binds us to God in love and to our brothers and sisters in peace.

Second, Christian fellowship. Christians should not grow too distant from one another. The early believers had their love feasts. The apostle, in urging peace, names kindness as a practical means (Ephesians 4:32): "Be kind to one another."

Third, focus on the graces of others rather than their failures. No one is perfect in this life. Scripture speaks of the spots of God's children (Deuteronomy 32:5). Even the most golden Christians fall somewhat short. Let us not quarrel so much with others' weaknesses that we overlook their virtues. If they fail in some ways, they also excel in others. The world tends to pay more attention to the sun during an eclipse than when it shines at full brightness.

Fourth, pray that God will send the Spirit of peace into our hearts. Rather than preying on one another like vultures, we should be praying for one another. Pray that God will quench the fire of contention and kindle the fire of compassion in our hearts toward each other. So much for the first point implied in the text: that Christians should be peaceable in spirit. Now I move to the second point, which is expressed directly: that Christians should be peacemakers.

Pressing Christians to be peacemakers.

Doctrine 2: All genuine Christians should be peacemakers. They should not only be peaceable themselves but also work to bring others to peace. When a joint is dislocated in the body, we set it back in place. When a garment is torn, we sew it together again. In the same way, when others have been torn apart from each other, we should, with a spirit of meekness, work to sew them back together. I will admit it is often a thankless task to go about reconciling differences. Handle a thorny branch as gently as you can, and it will still scratch you (see Acts 7:27). The person who steps between two fighters often ends up taking a blow. But this duty, though it may receive no reward from people, will never go without a blessing from God. Blessed are the peacemakers. How blessed England would be if it had more peacemakers! Abraham was a peacemaker (Genesis 13:8). Moses was a peacemaker (Exodus 2:13). And the ever-to-be-honored Emperor Constantine, when he called the bishops together at the Council of Nicaea to resolve church controversies, and they came prepared with bitter accusations against each other, took their written charges and tore them up, solemnly urging them to peace and unity.

Use 1: A reproof. This sharply rebukes those who are so far from being peacemakers that they are peace-breakers. If blessed are the peacemakers, then cursed are the peace-breakers. If peacemakers are the children of God, then peace-breakers are the children of the devil. Heretics destroy the truth of the church through error. Schismatics destroy the peace of it through division. The apostle marks such people clearly (Romans 16:17): "Note those who cause dissensions and avoid them." Have no more to do with them than with witches or murderers. The devil was the first peace-breaker — he divided humanity from God and set everything on fire. There are too many troublemakers whose sweetest music is discord — who only unite in order to divide. Such people come together to set the church's peace ablaze. These are the people God's soul hates (Proverbs 6:19): those who sow discord among brothers. They are under a curse (Deuteronomy 27:24): "Cursed is he who strikes his neighbor in secret" — that is, who slanders behind the back and sets friend against friend. If there is a devil in human form, it is the troublemaker.

Use 2: This exhortation calls for two things.

First, let us grieve deeply over the divisions in England. The wild beast has broken through the hedge of our peace. We are like a house falling into ruin — unless the Lord mercifully props and supports us. Would not a loving child grieve to see his mother torn apart? It is reported that when the civil wars broke out in Rome between Caesar and Pompey, Cato was never seen again to laugh, shave his beard, or cut his hair. Let us consider the damage that divisions cause, so that our hearts may be genuinely grieved by the divisions in church and state.

First, divisions are a sign of great danger for a nation. When the temple veil was torn in two, it was a terrible omen and harbinger of the temple's destruction. The tearing of the veil of the church's peace signals its ruin. Josephus observes that when Jerusalem was besieged by Titus Vespasian, there were three internal factions within the city that did more damage than the enemy itself — and their conflict was what made the city fall. How devastating internal divisions have been to this land! Our internal conflicts and rebellions were the ladders by which the Romans and Normans once climbed into the country. How thoroughly the bond of peace has been broken! We have produced so many splits in the body and broken into so many separate groups that God might justly undo us as a church, as He did the churches of Asia.

Second, the tearing of the church's peace should grieve us because divisions bring reproach and scandal upon religion. They cause people to speak evil of God's ways, as if religion were the source of strife and sedition. Julian, in his attacks on Christians, said they lived together like tigers, tearing and devouring one another. Shall we prove Julian's words true? It is disgraceful to see Christ's doves fighting, to see His lily become a thornbush. The Emperor Alexander Severus, upon seeing two Christians quarreling, told them they should no longer call themselves Christians, "for you dishonor your Master Christ." People should either put down their quarrels or take off the name of Christian.

Third, divisions obstruct the growth of true religion. The gospel rarely flourishes where the fruit of strife is growing. The building of God's spiritual temple is held back by the confusion of voices. Division works like a worm that eats away the fruit of righteousness (Hebrews 12:11). In the church at Corinth, when people began dividing into factions — one for Paul, another for Apollos — very few were truly for Christ. England's divisions have, I am convinced, driven many into atheism.

Second, let us work to heal divisions and be repairers of broken walls. Blessed are the peacemakers. First, Jesus Christ Himself was the great peacemaker — He made a long journey from heaven to earth specifically to make peace. Second, peace and unity is one of the greatest strengthening forces in the church of God. The saints are compared to living stones built together into a spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5). Stones in an arch support and preserve each other. When the early Christians were of one heart (Acts 4:32), what strength that gave them! How they counseled, comforted, and built each other up in the faith! When the members of a body are united, they provide nourishment and support to one another. But when they are broken off, they are useless and the body wastes away. Let us therefore work to be peacemakers. The unity of the church contributes greatly to its stability.

Third, peace makes the church on earth resemble, in some measure, the church in heaven. The cherubim, representing the angels, are depicted facing each other — a picture of their peace and unity. There is no conflict or discord among the heavenly spirits. One angel does not hold a different opinion from another. Though they occupy different orders, they are not of different spirits. They are seraphim and therefore burn — but not with the heat of contention. They burn with love. The angels serve God not only with pure hearts but with united hearts. Through harmonious peace, we may come to resemble the church triumphant.

Fourth, the one who sows peace will reap peace. Proverbs 12:20: "To counselors of peace there is joy." The peacemaker will have peace with God, peace within his own conscience — and that inner music is the sweetest of all. He will have peace with others. People's hearts will be drawn to him. He will be honored, and called the repairer of the breach (Isaiah 58:12). In the end, the peacemaker will die in peace — carrying a good conscience with him and leaving a good name behind. So I have finished the first part of this text — blessed are the peacemakers — and now I move forward.