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of every innocent desire; but it is not given to us to ensure the
gratification of every desire; therefore, happiness is not a duty, and
it is nowhere written in the Scripture, "You must be happy." But we
find it written by the apostle Paul, "Be ye thankful," implying
therefore, that peace is a duty. The apostle says, "Let the peace of
God rule in your hearts;" from which we infer that peace is
attainable, and within the reach of our own wills; that if there be
not repose there is blame; if there be not peace but discord in the
heart, there is something wrong.

This is the more surprising when we remember the circumstances under
which these words were written. They were written from Rome, where the
apostle lay in prison, daily and hourly expecting a violent death.
They were written in days of persecution, when false doctrines were
rife, and religious animosities fierce; they were written in an
epistle abounding with the most earnest and eager controversy, whereby
it is therefore implied, that according to the conception of the
Apostle Paul, it is possible for a Christian to live at the very point
of death, and in the very midst of danger--that it is possible for him
to be breathing the atmosphere of religious controversy--it is
possible for him to be surrounded by bitterness, and even take up the
pen of controversy himself--and yet his soul shall not lose its own
deep peace, nor the power of the infinite repose and rest of God.
Joined with the apostle's command to be at peace, we find another
doctrine, the doctrine of the unity of the Church of Christ. "To the
which ye are called in one body," in order that ye may be at peace; in
other words, the unity of the Church of Christ is the basis on which,
and on which alone, can be built the possibility of the inward peace
of individuals.

And thus, my Christian brethren, our subject divides itself into these
two simple branches: in the first place, the unity of the Church of
Christ; in the second place, the inward peace of the members of that
Church.

The first subject then, which we have to consider, is the Unity of the
Church of Christ.

And the first thing we have to do is both clearly to define and
understand the meaning of that word "unity." I distinguish the unity
of comprehensiveness from the unity of mere singularity. The word one,
as oneness, is an ambiguous word. There is a oneness belonging to the
army as well as t