The Promised Rest
Texr — For we which have believed do enter into vest, as Fle said, As have sworn in my wrath, sp they
shall enter into My rest.” Flebrews 4:3.
gor PROMISE EMBEDDED IN A THREATENING. — GOD’S RESTS. — TO BE SHARED BY HIS PEOPLE. — I. TO WHOM THE REST IS CONFINED. — THOSE WHO HAVE BELIEVED. — HAVE FAITH IN REVELATION. — HAVE TRUSTED THEMSELVES TO CHRIST. — ARE CONSIS-TENT IN LIFE. — TYPICAL CASES OF RESTLESSNESS. — II. THE REST ITSELF. — RESTING IN CHRIST’S PERSON. — IN HIS WORK. — IN HIS PERPETUAL LIFE. — ITS LIMITS. — III. THE PERSONAL TESTIMONY. — A POSITIVE ASSERTION OF EXPERIENCE. — A MIN-
-ISTER’S TEARFUL CONFESSION. — REST NOT RUST. — SILLY
BOASTERS OF PERFECTION. — OBSTACLES IN’ THE WAY. — A PARABLE.
In the text we have a declaration of experience,
“We which have believed do enter into rest,” to which is very singularly added, “As He said, As I have
sworn in My wrath, if they shall enter into My rest.” The happy declaration is supported by the tremendous oath of judgment, which shut out the unbelieving race. ‘There is a promise embedded in a threatening, LIKE GOLD IN QUARTZ:
just as there is generally a threatening as the reverse of the golden coin of promise. When we read, in the opening chapters of the Bible, “In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die,” it was implied, was it not, that if they did not eat they should live? Though that promise was not stated in words, it was implied in the threatening. So here, when we read,
“I have sworn in My wrath, if they shall enter into passed away, it is still true of those who believe, that they enter into rest. Some of us are now resting where the Lord rests, and our rest is daily deepening,
so that it will only need a moment’s change, and we
shall rest with God in glory. I. Follow me in meditation while we consider the people to whom this experience ts confined. They rest,
and no one else; they rest, because they have
believed. As surely as unbelief shuts out, so surely does faith shut in. WHAT IS IT TO BELIEVE?
To believe is, first of all, to accept as true the reve- — -
lation of God; to give unfeigned assent and consent to all that God has made known in His Word, and especially to believe that He was, “in Christ Jesus, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them.” We cannot take the
further step of trust unless, first, we give credence to.
the testimony of God. In reference to the work of our Lord Jesus, we must, first, accept the facts concerning Him, and the witness of God about Him, or
we cannot go further. We bow our judgments, our questionings, our consciences, our faith, before the
eee in ee of mee it is fabled in it ne ed t “believers would enter in. Those who have faith in — the divine promise shall enter in. If unbelief shuts. men out, then faith is the door of entrance to those: who have it. Beloved, this morning I earnestly pray that you may be able to join in the declaration before us. Though nearly nineteen hundred years have ee of the fara God of. re This j is an ceed tial ground-work for saving faith,
The operative point of faith is the next one; oe oa trust ourselves with Him who is revealed; thus we
carry our belief of truth to its practical conclusion. We come, just as we are, to the Saviour who bids us come; we rely for our salvation and acceptance with God upon the Lord Jesus Christ as the Father reveals Him. Chiefly do we receive Him as our substitute, and in consequence, our sacrifice. We believe in Him as bearing our sins in His own body on the tree; ‘as made sin for us, though He knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. He hath not the faith which will bring him to heaven who doth not wholly trust himself with God in Christ.
Out of this trust must come action agreeable thereunto. He that trusts Christ appropriates to himself.
the blessings contained in Him, and henceforth they become his heart’s treasure, and this changes the whole tone of his life. He that trusts in Christ becomes obedient to his Saviour’s word; just as the’ sailor who trusts his pilot yields to him the steering of the ship. This leads the believer to flee from sin: he sees that no good can come thereby, but only deadly evil. This leads to a daily rejoicing in Christ; for in proportion as we trust the Lord, and are governed by that trust, we become happy in the Lord. When we can say, “He is all my salvation and all my desire,” we shall not be afraid even ona dying bed. So far as I am trusting, I-am resting.
According to the statement of the writer of this
Pee: faith, wherever it exists, brings with it rest.
rt me sketch three or four
CASES IN PROOF,
such as I have seen myself. Yonder is a man who
has come to a right idea of his guilt before God. He went on merrily oie for years, till the Holy Spirit shone into his soul, a caused him to see the evil of his life. He began to think. Looking back upon his
past conduct, he became uneasy; for he felt that he
had lived without God, and therefore he had lived an unprofitable life towards his best Friend. He became greatly disturbed in spirit, not only by day, but even by night: his dreams were tinctured with fear. He felt that he was all wrong, and he feared he could never be set right. In such a condition rest is out of the question. What is to be done? In eager desire he goes from one place of worship to another, and he reads the Scriptures and godly books; but he finds no rest, and he will find none until he begins to see Jesus. How often have I seen the enlightenment which comes of faith! When the man sees that God is full of love towards him, that He is willing to receive him, guilty as he is, and to blot out all his sin for Jesus’ sake; that Christ on the tree bore the penalty of his transgressions — then, I say, an enlightenment comes over his soul. I have seen the countenance transfigured as the divine witness has shone
into the mind.
Observe another case. This person was once a Christian professor, leading the way in public service; but he declined gradually, and at last he fell into
ie ne OS - grievous ‘open sin. He has been cut off from visible church; and necessarily so, for he has wana dered into sinful habits, and mixed with evil associates, —
bs He is ill at ease. Like an unquiet spirit, he is seek- — es.
ing rest, and finding none. If there had been nothing
of grace in his heart, he might have been satisfied with the husks of the world; but he has enough grace
remaining in him to make him miserable. His foot finds no resting place. He is not willing, as yet, to -go back to the church; and yet he cannot be content
away from the fold. He is as a bird which has wandered from its nest, or a dog which has lost its
master. It is only as that man beholds again the vision of the Crucified Lover of his soul that he will see a hope of rest.
I have seen the like result of faith in another case, which is very different from the last. A Christian man endowed with large power of thought, in an evil hour quitted his moorings and drifted out into the
; deep. He saw others sailing on the great and wide
sea, and he thought it a brave thing to imitate them. He has
LOST HIS COMPASS, and does not believe in his chart. My distracted brother, your only hope of intellectual rest lies in believing your God. Oh that you would subject your
intellect to the Holy Spirit! Come, cast away your
pride, and sit at the feet of Jesus. Become a little
child, that you may enter the kingdom. Have you
“not had enough of this plague of the period — the thing which betrays his character by calling itself
a v “honest doubt”? While you are your own guide, you — will go astray; but when you will place your hand in that hand which bears the nail-prints, you shall be
safe and:happy. ‘ We which have believed do enter
into rest,’ and the rest is not that of ignorance and
agnosticism, but of clear knowledge, for we know and have believed the love which God hath towards us. Let me give you one more picture. Tread softly,
for the shadow of death is over yonder bed! Weakness will scarce bear the sound of your footfall. His
pulse is faint and few, the man is dying! See how
his tender wife wipes the death-sweat from his brow! Come hither, ye philosophers, and cheer his last hours with the joys of evolution! Come, ye advocates of a new theology, and cheer him with your criticism! Poor heart, he sees no consolation in all that you can set before him. He turns himself to the Lord Jesus, and cries: “Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies;
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
in life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.”
If he can but see “the sacred head once wounded,” he will have rest. How sweet! how deep! how perfect. that rest will be! Men die not when they breathe their last with the living Saviour near ,them.
In unruffled calm the spirit takes its flight from earth,
and that word is fulfilled, ‘‘Blessed are the dead which
die in the Lord from henceforth; Yea, saith the Spirit,
that they may rest from their labors.”
Thus have I set before you who these people are; 16
”
a are not those siii6 ee talk’ ee relig’ they have true faith in God. They do not hesitat
now walking by faith. They are not questioners, but they believe God with a simple, child-like confidence. These are they that enter into rest, and nobody else
decisive step, and end this wretched pretence of iy
and delay, but they have once for all believed, cag are
will ever do so. I wish some of you would take this mi?
wisdom, this self-conceited trust in “culture:” for it 7 will be your greatest gain in life to trust your God, — 4 and enter into rest. ig
II. Our second point is the experience itself: “we which have believed do enter into rest.” I shall now speak of what I know of a surety, and of what many
of you know also. We will propound no theory,
and indulge no imagination, but keep to matters of
fact.
WHEREIN DO WE REST?
Brethren, we rest where God rests: that is, in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. To the Father and to us He is the place of our common rest. How happy are we to find rest ina person! This is warm and substantial comfort. You cannot rest in the words of a doctrine as you can in the bosom of a person. Take a poor child who is lost in the street. Talk to it upon cheering themes. These ought to comfort it: but the little one goes on crying. Sing. teas it, and reason with it. It is Chi in vain. Run, fetch its mother! See how it smiles! It nestles in her bosom, and is at rest. A person yields the heartcomfort. So it is with our Lord Jesus Christ. In ‘a Rat, we rest in His work. roughly outline to you. It was a life of perfect obedience, completed by a death of shame and agony.
os The life and the death were all for us: in our room and place He obeyed and suffered. <“It’pleased the Father to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief;” te and because of that bruising and grief, it is written, “The Lord is well pleased for His righteousness’ sake; He will magnify the law, and make it honorable.” Sinners are reconciled to God, and all offence is removed out of the way. Beloved, when you get a faith’s view of the work of the Redeemer, do you not feel that all your fears and forebodings are sweetly
laid to rest? The full Atonement, the perfect Right- - eousness, the glorious Victory, are not all these resting-places?
I scarcely need to mention, as a separate item, the perpetual life of Christ. We have not a dead Sav-
- iour. Lift up your eyes, and see your Lord upon the -
throne! Behold Him risen from the dead, and know
that
ae HE IS COMING SOON,
in all His glory, to receive you unto Himself. I ask you if you cannot find perfect rest in the thought that He ever liveth, and is therefore able to save to the uttermost? Yes, preach Christ to the soul; He is true balm for its wounds. The love of Jesus is a pillow
That work I can anges for: every aching Tea ‘Tee our [ones be near, ¢: like John, we find rest upon His bosom. a. Do you ask me what is comprehended in this rest? ag I answer — all things. Here we lay every burden. — ee ‘down. Personally, I do at this moment rest in jecuaaal as to all the gas¢. Whatever there has been of sin to grieve over, whatever of mistakes, folly, or wrong — all this is no more my load, for it was laid on a JESUS AS MY SCAPEGOAT, and He carried it away into the wilderness of forget fulness. He has finished transgression, and made an ag 4
end of sin. I also rest in Him in reference to the present. Nhatever there may be of evil occurrent, or of need ‘pressing, or of danger secret, or off slander foul, I leave all with Him in whom my soul reposes, who says to me, “Let not your heart be oe. troubled.” They say there is a skeleton in every — — -ihouse;I know of none in mine; yea, though I walk 3 through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no -¢ evil. Concerning to-day we enter into rest. But there is the future! We can leave the future where we leave the past. He that believeth thus enters intorest as to the past, the present, and the future. We cast all our cares on our Lord, for He careth for us.. What are the excellencies of this rest which comes: by believing? I answer, they are very many. It is ».. a wonderful source of strength. When the tree: strikes deep root it gets vigor for fruitage. No man has any great power to work successfully while he is worried. The fulcrum must rest, or the lever will not; work. Fret creates a great leakage in a man, and
Marre and energy of His being turns to holy service for God and man. This rest also brightens life. When you enter into rest life is not a dull and dreary round, such - as the blind horse finds at the mill. Life is nota chain, which we must drag behind us, but wings on an which we soar into the joyous blue, and hold converse. n with the choristers of heaven.
.. What are the limits of this rest? We may place them where we will. ‘According to your faith, so be it unto you.” ‘We which have believed, do enter into rest.” It is an entrance, and no more, as yet.: - But when an Israelite had an entrance into Canaan, it — -was his own fault if he did not penetrate the interior, cand traverse the land from Dan to Beersheba. ‘Ask, and ye shall receive.” ‘All things are possible to him that believeth.” If you are not perfectly restful, g ‘it is not the fault of the rest.
‘II. I must draw your attention to
- THE PERSONAL ASSERTION
of this experience: ‘‘ We which have believed, do center into rest.” I like the plain and positive speech cof the apostle for himself and his friends. My opponent cries, ‘‘You are too dogmatical, and too positive.” To which I reply, “I cannot help being dogmatic when I say that I see what I know I have seen, and a declare that I feel what I know Iam feeling.” Would q you have me doubt my own consciousness?
I do not invite any of you to say that faith gives you peace unless it does so. It must be a matter of
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he enters into rest swith cee hen all the ae ies i ee of a pious minister bette was asked one day upon the subject of joy in God.
- walking in the light, but Iam crying, ‘Restore me a
down and sobbed: and so did all his brethren. This honest confession did far more good than if he had
up and said, “I am sorry that I have been ‘request to speak upon this topic; for the fact is, ] am n
me the joy of Thy salvation.’ I have grievor heavenly Father, and I am in the dark.” He sat
patched up a tale, and told of some stale experience years before. If you have not entered into rest, do i not say that you have.
“Well,” cries one, ‘‘ we do not rest, we are hae a work for our Lord.” And so am I; but this is rest to me, now that I am at peace with ean The labor of — love for Christ is only another word for rest. He says, ‘Take My yoke upon you: and ye shall find — rest unto your souls.” Carry Christ’s burden, and your shoulders shall have rest. We do not mean — sleep or idleness when we speak of rest: that is a
NOT REST, BUT RUST.
Our rest is. found in thé service of God! ~“Ohy aes says one, “I find a conflict going on within me.” Do you? SodolI. Who does not feel a struggle while pressing forward towards perfection? Can there be rest where there is conflict? I answer, assuredly. He that is at rest in his heart is the man to fight. While he cries, “Oh wretched man that 1am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” he is able at once to add, “I thank God through Jesus — ken, me all peahdonee in ourselves is gone. ‘ The more we see of our wretchedness and vileness by
mature, the more we rest in Jesus. This declaration,
that we have rest, should always be made with a holy
purpose. We must not go about boasting of our
peace. That is what little children do who know no
better; they say, “Look at my new shoes.” There
are many silly children nowadays who cry,
“LOOK, HOW PERFECT I AM!”
Dear child, it will be better for you to be seen and - not heard: When you bear witness to your own enjoyment of the rest of faith, let it be your purpose, first to glorify God, who has given you this rest, and next, that you may convince others that such a rest is. possible. How can we hope to convince others that
there is the rest of faith, unless we enjoy it ourselves? Brethren, if you can say as much as this — ‘ By
believing, I have entered into rest,” be thankful; for
this privilege is a gift of love. It is a wonderful instance of sovereign grace that such unworthy ones
as we are should enter into God’s rest. But if you
cannot say it, do not despair. Make it a point to question with yourself, “Why cannot I thus speak? Why have I not entered into rest? Is it because I have not believed?” Perhaps some fault of character may prevent you from enjoying perfect rest. See where that flaw is. Are you living in any sin? If so
. the sun may have risen, but if there is a bandage over
your eyes, you will still be in the dark. Get rid of your Le SN Then ie not Opiate 7 von mi Pete rest of faith. Get rid of all that spoils the simplicity of your faith. Come to.the Lord anew this morning. Possibly you are sickly in body, and this may cause you discomfort, for which you cannot otherwise account. Never mind, you may come just as you are, with all your sickness, weakness, or family Er trouble, and you may now rest in the Lord. Tell out — your grief to Jesus, and He will breathe on you, and 2, say, “Peace be unto you.”. We ought to be at rest: swe err when we are not.. ce te “Alas!” cries one, “I wish I had the rest you speak =~ of, but I cannot find it, though I study much and work hard.” Hearken to a
‘ % A PARABLE: ae A little bird of the air found itself in a church. It was -. anxious to find its way into the open air, and so it
flew aloft among the great timbers of the roof, where it was half buried, and almost blinded, by the. dust which lay thick upon the beams. There were noseeds, no fruits, nor waters in that dry and thirsty height. It then made a dash at a window, glorious with many colors; but it found no way of escape. It tried again and again, and at last dropped, stunned, upon the pavement of the aisle. When it recovered
itself a little, it did not again fly aloft; but seeing the a door open upon the level of the floor, it joyfully flew a through it into the open country. You are that bird.
Your pride makes you deal with high things up there u ae open door, Christ one As soon as you es, ‘ lim, use the wings of a simple faith, and you are at May
time, for Christ’s sake! Amen.