_PEACE IN TRIBULATION_
JOHN xvi. 25-33.
Here is a strange medley of experiences! I am to enjoy the gift of peace,
and yet I am to be smarting under tribulation!
When the Holy Spirit is my guest I am to enjoy the gift of peace. "_These
things I said unto you that ye might have peace._" The life of the soul is
to move without jar or discord. It shall be like a quiet engine-house, in
which every wheel co-operates with every other wheel, and there is no
waste or friction in the holy place. "All that is within me" blesses God's
holy name.
And yet, while peace reigns within, there may be tribulation without! "_In
the world ye shall have tribulation._" Here is a peace which is not broken
by the noise and assault of brutal circumstance. The most tempestuous wind
cannot disturb the quiet serenity of the stars. When the world stones me,
not one grain of its gritty dust need enter the delicate workings of my
soul. That was the peace of my Lord, and it is my Lord who says to me: "My
peace I give unto you!" So "_be of good cheer_," my soul! Thy Lord has
"_overcome the world_," and thou shalt share His victory.