35. Exhortation to peaceable and brotherly union, showing the excellence of it.
Chapter Thirty-Five Exhortation to peaceable and brotherly union, showing the excellence of it.
A nd now, my brethren, as the Eunuch said to Philip concerning his baptism, "Here is water; what prevents me from being baptized?" I shall say concerning our uniting in peace and love with one another: Here are Joining Principles, Joining Considerations, Joining Graces, Joining
Practices; what now prevents us from joining in love and peace with one another? Surely nothing can prevent this but extremely corrupt and perverse hearts of our own.
The Apostle Paul is mighty earnest in his desires and exhortations for this:
1 Corinthians 1:10 states, "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." The word translated "perfectly joined" signifies such a joining as when a bone out of joint is perfectly set right again.
So Philippians 2:1 states, "If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and
mercies, fulfill ye my joy that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind; let nothing be done through strife," etc.
The Apostle pours forth his soul in this exhortation; it is a heart-breaking exhortation.
Luther, though a man of a stirring, hot spirit, yet writing to the Pastors of the Church of Strasburg, has these words: "I pray you be persuaded that I shall always be as desirous to embrace concord as I am desirous to have the Lord Jesus be propitious to me."
I find also in a letter that Martin Bucer writes to a godly minister a very high expression of his high esteem and earnest desires after curing divisions: "Who would not," says he, "purchase with his life the removal of that infinite scandal that comes by dissension?" Oh that there were such hearts in us! Christ expects it from us all but especially from His ministers, for they are His ambassadors for peace to beseech men in His stead to be reconciled to God. Reconciliation with God will reconcile us one to another.
If God so loved us, we ought also to love one another (1 John 4:11).
The faces of the Cherubim in the Temple looked towards one another, which some think signified the agreement that should be among ministers of the Gospel. So the six branches in the candlestick joined all in one; those who hold the light of truth before others should be united in peace among themselves. The first thing Christ's ministers were to do when they came to any place was to say "Peace be to that place"; if any sons of peace were there, they were to abide; otherwise not. Surely then it is expected that they themselves should be sons of peace.
The contentions of private Christians are offensive, but the contentions of ministers are a scandal with a witness. Yet in all ages of the Church, corrupt clergy have been the greatest causes of divisions; they have been among the
most cruel spirits against any who differed from them. But let not such a spirit be in us; we have enough to do contending with the wicked of the world and with Satan's malice; let us not contend with one another.
Luther, writing to the Ministers of Nuremberg, quotes Christ saying to them, "Satis est vobis ob nomen meum malorum," meaning, "You are likely to suffer enough evil for my name; you need not afflict one another." It was barbaric for the priests of Baal to cut and slash themselves, but it is worse for the Ministers of Jesus Christ to cut and slash one another.
In 1 Kings 6:23, the Cherubim were made of olive wood. If you are typified by them, as we hinted before, let it appear that you are olives, not brambles. In verse 31, for the entrance of the Oracle, the doors were made of olive wood. Who will believe that you bring the Oracles of God with you when they see by your rebellious, contentious behavior that you never entered through these doors? People cannot help but think it a miserable thing to have a scratching, tearing bramble over them.
Oh, that God would set the beauty and glory of peace, friendship, and love before us! That this precious pearl, Union, might be highly valued by us! All men are taken in some degree or another with the excellence and sweetness of love and friendship. Cicero says that some men despise riches, others honors; those things that some delight in are vilified by others. But all men of all sorts have a high esteem for friendship; they think there can be no life without it.
In Genesis 34:21, the great commendation that Hamor and Shechem give of Jacob and his sons as an argument to persuade the men of Shechem to join with them in giving their daughters to them for wives and in taking theirs is, "These men are peaceable with us." A peaceable disposition is very convincing.
In Song of Solomon 6:6, "My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother; she is the choice one of her that bore her." What then follows? The daughters saw her and blessed her; yes, the queens and the concubines praised her: "Who is she that looks forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, terrible as an army with banners?" Let the Saints be but one, and then they will appear beautiful and glorious indeed; yes, they will be terrible as an army with banners.
Euagrius, in his Ecclesiastical History, records an epistle from Cyril of Alexandria written to John of Antioch. Upon receiving a pacificatory epistle from John, Cyril's spirit was so moved that he exclaimed: "Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; the middle wall of rancor is battered down; the boiling choler which deprived minds of quietness is purged from among us, and all occasions of discord and dissension are banished away.
For our Savior Jesus Christ has granted peace unto the Churches under heaven."
The Thebans made Harmonia a goddess; they considered her the defender and patroness of their city. Harmonious, peaceable, uniting dispositions have much of God in them; if not from sanctifying grace, yet it is from a common work of the Spirit of God. There is a nobleness in such a heart. By the laws of England, noblemen have this privilege: none of them can be bound to keep the peace because it is assumed that a noble disposition will never engage in brawls and contentions. It is assumed that peace is always bound to him and that he will be careful to preserve it on his own accord. It is the base bramble that rends and tears.
Nazianzen reports of Alexander who, having taken a city and consulting what to do next, was advised by one Parmenius to raze the city to the ground if he were king. Alexander replied, "So would I too if I were what
you are; rigor may become you, but gentleness becomes me." Gentleness, mercy, goodness, love, and tenderness toward others' sufferings are the greatest ornaments to a noble spirit. If this is sanctified, the glory of God shines brightly indeed in such a heart. For God glories in being the God of peace and love.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 refers to "The very God of peace." 2 Thessalonians 3:16 mentions "The Lord of peace himself." Jesus Christ is known as the Prince of Peace; the Holy Ghost is likened to a dove that has no gall. The Gospel is the Gospel of peace; the Kingdom of God is peace as well as righteousness. The legacy Christ left is a legacy of peace; the apostolic benediction is grace, mercy, and peace. The glory of the Church lies in being a city compacted in unity within itself. This will be the glory of that glorious Church that God is raising—a new Jerusalem where there shall be no more crying (Revelation 21:4). Ezekiel 14:9 states: "The Lord shall be
King over all the earth; in that day there shall be one Lord, and his name shall be one." There is but one Lord now, but he is called by different names; in that day his name shall be but one.
Zephaniah 3:9 says: "Then will I turn to a people of pure language, that they may call upon the name of the Lord and serve him with one consent."
The Hebrew word implies serving with one shoulder; now we shoulder one another, but then all shall serve the Lord with one shoulder.
This love and peace are compared to the most delightful and profitable things: "Behold how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity; it is like precious ointment upon the head that ran down upon Aaron's beard and went down to the skirts of his garment; as the dew of Hermon that descended upon the mountains of Zion" (Psalm 133).
There are many promises made to this. Matthew 5 states: "Blessed are the peacemakers." 2 Corinthians 13:11 advises: "Be of one mind, live in peace, and the God of peace shall be with you." John 15:12 says: "This is my commandment, that you love one another." In verse 14, Christ says: "You are my friends if you do whatsoever I command you." By loving others, we not only gain them as friends but also Christ. It seems as if Christ pleads for love as one who deals with two men at variance, persuading them to peace and love: "Come, you shall pass by all former things; you shall be made friends. By this, you shall gain me also as a friend to you as long as I live."
Genes. 13. ver. 8 to the end, is a remarkable Scripture to show how God is with a loving, gentle, peaceable disposition. Verses 8 and 9 present
Abraham's kind, gentle yielding to Lot, his inferior, for peace's sake. But note what follows, and you shall find he lost nothing by this yielding: for as soon as Lot was gone from him, the Lord came to him, verse 14, and said to him, "Lift up now thine eyes and look from the place where thou art northward, southward, eastward, and westward, for all the land that thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever: arise, walk through the land in the length of it, and in the breadth of it, for I will give it unto thee."
The difference in what Jacob says of Reuben when he was to die, Gen.
49:4, from that of Moses, Deut. 33:6, is observable: Jacob says, "He is the firstborn, the beginning of his strength; but he shall not excel because he went to his father's bed." But Moses says, "Let Reuben live and not die, and let not his men be few." The reason for this difference is given by some because it was fitting that Jacob, to deter his other children, should exercise the authority of a father; but Moses frees him from the curse because he was always loving to his brother Joseph.
Brotherly love has a blessing accompanying it: God loves it exceedingly, for it greatly glorifies God. And to what purpose do we live if God does not receive glory from us? Romans 15:5-7: The Apostle first prays that the God of patience and consolation would grant them to be like-minded towards one another according to Christ Jesus so that they may with one mind and one mouth glorify God. Then he exhorts: "Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God." Much of God's glory depends upon our union. Indeed, God values this so much that He is willing to wait for His service until we are at peace with one another.
Matthew 5:23-24: "Leave thy gift before the altar, and first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." My worship shall wait until you are reconciled. I love my worship and desire it much, but I must have peace and love among yourselves first; I will wait for that.
But I beseech you, let us not make God wait too long. Remember, while you are wrangling and quarreling, God waits on you all this while. If children should be quarreling and one comes to them and says, "Your father waits for you," it is time for them to break off. Be not unmannerly with God by making Him wait so long upon you: some of you have made Him wait upon you for an acceptable duty of worship for several weeks, perhaps even many months, and yet your spirits are not in a state to offer any sacrifice to God. What a fearful evil it is then to stand out in a stubborn, sullen manner refusing to be reconciled.
Learned Drusius cites Hebrew writers saying that he who offends his brother ought to seek to pacify him; if he refuses to be pacified, then he must bring three of his friends with him to intercede twice or thrice, and if he shall after this refuse, then he is to leave him, and such a man quia
implacabilis est,* vocatur peccator, is called a sinner with a special note upon him.
Lastly, the saints' enjoyment of the sweetness of love, peace, and unity among themselves—what is it but heaven upon earth? Heaven is above all storms, tempests, troubles; its happiness is perfect rest. We pray that the will of God might be done on earth as it is done in heaven; why may we not have a heaven upon earth? This would sweeten all our comforts and even all our afflictions. But the Devil envies us this happiness. Come Lord Jesus, come quickly.
If you would have the excellency of love set before you more fully, read over and over again the Epistles of John. Ecclesiastical history reports of this blessed Apostle whose heart was so full of love that when he grew very old and was not able to preach, yet he would be brought into the congregation in a chair and there say only these words: "Little children flee idolatry; love one another." But the more excellent union and peace are, the more is the pity that they should be abused to serve men's lusts; our misery would be greater if we were abused in our treaties about it; if we should have a mock-peace; if we should be deceived in either offers of or conclusions about peace; if peace should lead to our ruin but prepare us for slaughter.
It has been observed by many that what the English gained from the French in battle by valor, the French regained from the English by cunning in treaties. The Lord deliver us from such French tricks. Let us all be for peace yet not be fooled into bondage by the name of peace. Now God has helped us by His mighty arm; let us not be put off with a bauble and made to believe it is this pearl. We know with whom we have to deal.
And now as the Apostle says in 2 Thessalonians 3:5: "The Lord direct your hearts into the love of God." Let me add: And into the love of one another. Let us all study peace, seek peace, follow peace, pursue peace, and may the God of peace be with us.