word here is peace, and peace is far more counterfeit than grace, and hath different acceptations. 1st, There is the world's peace; that all natural men are under. The world is never angry with an unrenewed man for his unrenewedness. If ye were of the world, saith our Lord, John xv. 19. the world would love his own; "the world and you would never quar"rel, if you were not distinguished from it by grace" 2dly, There is the devil's peace; and every natural man hath that too. The devil and such are at peace, there is no quarrel, no odds between them. When the strong man armed keeps his palace, his goods are at peace, saith our Lord, Luke xi. 21. And all sinners are the devil's goods till Christ rescues them. Oh what a great house hath the devil! a great house and plentifully furnished! All sinners are the devil's goods; he possesses them, he rules them, he guides them as people do their own goods in their own houses, and use them to one end or another, even as they please. 3dly, There is the sinner's peace in himself, and that is the worst of all; people are quiet within. How many poor sinners are there who never knew what it was to be in trouble for any thing within! Crosses without, and disappointments in worldly things, they understand what it is to be in trouble about these; but what it is to have inward trouble they never felt. This is a sad and an amazing thing; a great many poor sinners are perpetually quiet within: there is no reason for it, but there are causes of it. There is no reason for it at all; Is there any reason for a man to be at peace with himself that is at war with God? Is there any reason for a man's being at peace with himself, when God proclaims war in his law against `him? The causes of this indeed are, many people are blind, and they see nothing; they are stupid, and they feel nothing; and they are dead, and can do nothing: all these three names are given to a man in his natural state, How then can it be expected that he should feel trouble? They are blind, hardened, stupid, and seared, so that they feel nothing. They are dead in trespasses and sins, Eph. ii. 1.; and therefore it is that they have peace and quietness within; but this is none of God's peace: the apostle does not pray that any of these may be multiplied: no; it is a great blessing to have all

these false peaces broken. The apostle here means Christ's peace and it stands principally in two things; peace with God, as to safety from all hurt from him; and peace of conscience, as to quiet within. 1st, There is peace with God; and this every elect child of God, that is a believer, hath; I do not say, that he always feels it, but he hath it. Being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Rom. y. 1. Whosoever they be, man or woman, young or old, though they are cursed and condemned by the Jaw of God, as much as ever it can, how great soever their transgressions are, how great soever the threatenings of God against them are, yet from the day that they lay their hands on this altar of God, Christ Jesus, everlasting peace between God and them is proclaimed. It may be they do not presently hear it; but whosoever have laid their hand upon this altar of God, they shall never perish by the weapons of his indignation. Poor Joab laid his hands on the typical altar of God, and see how it fared with him; when he was found to be one in the conspiracy of Adonijah, he fled unto the tabernacle of the Lord, and caught hold of the horns of the altar; and when it was told king Solomon, he sent Benaiah unto him, and commanded him to come forth; Nay, but, saith the man, I will die here. "Well," saith Solomon, " do as he hath said; he is a traitor and a wicked man, and if he will not come out, slay him there :" and Benaiah went up, and fell upon him, and slew him, 1 Kings ii. 28-35. Blessed be God, his justice will never say so concerning a poor sinner, that saith,

I will die cleaving to the horns of God's altar; if that can"not shelter me, and be my sanctuary, here I will die." No man shall be slain that makes this adventure: peace is proclaimed, and the weapons of indignation are put up immedi ately. 2dly, There is peace of conscience, and that is peace within; peace with God is peace above; and these two are sometimes separated: however, peace of conscience is every believer's just right, and if he hath not the sense of it, it is his own fault. And this peace of conscience respects two things, a man's state, and his way. The peace which a man's state, is that peace which the reflecting on his believing gives him, called by the apostle, The answer of a good con

respects

science towards God, 1 Pet. iii. 21. What can a man's conscience speak for him before God? Nothing at all of good can it speak, from any thing it can do, from any thing it can feel, or from any thing it can act; only here is good news, it hath heard of the resurrection of Christ from the dead, who died for our sins, and rose again for our justification; and this is all that a believer's conscience hath to answer before God. Again, peace of conscience respects a man's way, the way wherein he walks. A man that is at peace with God, may yet walk in a crooked way, but God will find him out; and though it does not make a breach in a man's state of peace with God, yet it may bring on a testimony of God's fatherly anger. Peace of conscience not only respects a man's state, but also his walk; the apostle seems to have a respect to this, 2 Cor. i. 12. Our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly avisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world. As if the apostle would have said, "Every "time that I think of the way wherein I walk, I find a testimony in my conscience that I desire to please God." So much for this first, grace and peace in themselves,

II. The second thing to be spoken to is, their connection, Grace and peace; this is greatly to be noted, this phrase being used above twenty times in the New Testament. Grace and peace. Grace is the foundation, and peace is the building upon this foundation. There are two great faults about this matter; bad people's fault and good people's fault. 1st, There is the sinners fault; they would fain have peace without grace; they have no concern about the special love and favour of God, yet they would fain be saved from hurt by him. 2dly, There is the believer's fault; they have grace, and do not build peace upon it. Every one that is a partaker of the grace of God, hath a solid foundation for peace laid in him, and he should build upon it. Grace is misimproved, or peace is mistaken, which is the cause why so many partake of grace, that do so little possess peace; either people do not improve the grace of God for all those ends for which it is given, or they mistake the peace that God gives. People generally

think, that the peace here wished for to them is inconsistent with tribulation and affliction in this world; but the matter is quite otherwise.

Lastly, We are here to consider the multiplying of it. Grace and peace be multiplied. 1. Grace and peace is multiplied when the soul is filled with it. I will read one scripture to you concerning it, and there is not its fellow in all the Bible with respect to this point; and it is an apostolic prayer also, Eph. iii. 16, 17, 18, 19. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that he would grant you, ascording to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might, by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Will you not think him to be a happy person indeed who hath this prayer fulfilled on him?. He who hath Christ dwelling in his heart by faith, and his heart rooted in love, and the love of Christ shed abroad in his heart in all the dimensions of it, wondered at and felt by the soul; and at last to be filled with all the fulness of God. Then is grace multiplied indeed; then is a soul filled with grace, especially when these two things concur; when every power of the soul is filled with its suitable grace, and every grace in the soul filled with its suitable object. 1st, When every power of the soul is filled with its suitable grace: spiritual knowledge and understanding is the suitable grace for our minds; the grace of divine love is a suitable grace for the affection of love in our souls; Oh! what a blessed thing is it to have every power of the soul filled with its suitable grace! and then also, 2dly, To have every grace filled with its proper object. The object of all grace is our Lord Jesus Christ, but there are various representations of Jesus Christ, by which grace acts distinctly on him. Faith acts on Jesus Christ as an all-sufficient, able, trusty Saviour; love acts on him as altogether lovely; repentance acts upon him as one smitten for our sins, and as bearing the burden of our iniquities. Grace is multiplied when Christians have it suited to all their occasions;

when the grace that is called for is in exercise, and they have it not to seek, but it is ready, lying by them, as it were. The apostle calls us to come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help us in the time of need, Heb. iv. 16. It is a great word the apostle uses concerning this; 2 Cor. ix. 8. God is ablé to make all grace to abound towards you, that ye always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work. But I shall insist on these things no longer; only a word or two of Application.

1st, You may perceive that this is a prayer which you stand in great need of. Do not you need to have grace and peace multiplied to you? They never knew what the grace and peace of God was, who do not desire the multiplication of them. They are strangers to grace, who do not desire the increase of it; and they do not know the peace of God, who do not desire more of it. Grace and peace are never perfect in this life; and the greatest desires after them are raised by the greatest tastes of them. Have you not then need of this prayer?

2dly, You have good ground to pray over this prayer in the text: "So say thy servants in thy word, Lord, Grace and peace be multiplied; Lord, fulfil this word!" The Lord help you to cry, and answer you when you cry! for these blessings you extremely need. Notwithstanding all the pains that we should take with ourselves about salvation, all is nothing to the pains which God takes with those whom he hath a mind to save. Where sovereign grace hath engaged itself, what mighty things are performed for the saving of the sinner! How many strong bolts and bars doth electing grace break through, that it may save the elected? Many are suffered to run on in their own ways to the pit, and have none to stop them; but when any of Christ's sheep are running on to ruin, the great Shepherd will stop and catch them, and bring them home upon his own shoulders: Oh what a bless'ed way is that we come to heaven in! upon the shoulders of our great Shepherd! We had been lost long ere now had it not been for his care. We have nothing in us which can further our salvation, and nothing in us that can hinder it, blessed be God! if Christ hath a mind to save us: for grace