Different Rests
are spoken of in Scripture which should not be confounded. We might call them (1) The present rest of faith, (2) the rest of submission to God, and (3) the eternal rest The Christian is now in the position of Abraham- called out of his country-justified by faith, and in favor before God-then a pilgrim in the land to which God had given him title, but not possession as yet.
The Present Rest of Faith
To every sin-weary, sin-burdened soul, our Lord Jesus opens wide His arms and says, "Come unto Me . . . and I will give you rest" (Matt, n:28). It is the present rest, enjoyed by every soul that believes the record, or testimony, which God has given of His Son:"And this is the testimony, that God hath given us eternal life"-the life which is in His Son, so that "he that hath the Son hath the life; and he that hath not the Son hath not the life" (i Jno. 5:11, 12). To them who have received Him-received Jesus the Word, the Life-" to them gave He power (the right, or title) to become the children of God, even to them that believe on His name" (Jno. i:12). All sin; forgiven! Justified by God Himself, with title to take our place, even now, as children of God-what joy ! This is faith's present rest, which our Saviour gives to those that receive Him.
" Thou Holy One of God,
The Father rests in Thee;
And in the savor of that blood
Which speaks to Him for me,
The curse is gone-through Thee I'm blest!
God rests in Thee-in Thee I rest."
The Best of Sub-But this rest of faith in Jesus needs mission to God the accompaniment of submission to Him through the varied circumstances of life's journey. So our Lord adds, " Take my yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest to your souls"(Matt. 11 :29).His "yoke" means submission to His will, in whatever circumstance He may lead or permit us to be, as He Himself submitted to the Father's will, even to the taking of that terrible cup, as to which He said in Gethsemane, " O my Father, if this cup may not pass from Me, except I drink it, thy will be done" (Matt. 26:42).In submitting ourselves to the Lord's will, the Holy Spirit delights to pour into the heart those deep realizations of the love of God which bring forth"songs in the night." "We glory in tribulations also," triumphantly exclaimed the apostle in Rom. 5:3-5,"because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."In this realization of God's love toward us, what comfort, what rest is found!
"The slave of sin and fear,
Thy truth my bondage broke;
My willing spirit loves to bear
Thy light and easy yoke;
The love that fills my grateful breast
Makes duty joy, and labor rest."
The Rest Eternal
"There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God," wrote the apostle in Heb. 4:9-11, and he exhorts the Hebrew Christians, and us, saying, "Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief"-as Israel did when in their hearts they turned back into Egypt, and as some who call themselves Christians turn back to the world. This rest of God, the eternal rest, is typified (as Heb. 4:4 indicates) by the 7th day of Gen. 2:1-3. All the six days' work being finished, we read, "God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good," and God "rested from all His work." He "blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it." Note that no mention is made of "an evening and a morning," as on each of the previous six days (Gen. i:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31), as the 7th day points to that rest of God in eternity, when time shall be no longer reckoned. It is of this the apostle says, "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." It is in view of this we are to "run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of faith," for
"Soon the bright, glorious day,
The rest of God shall come;
Sorrow and sin shall pass away,
And We shall reach our home!
Then, of the promised land possessed,
Our souls shall know eternal rest."