III. And now I close with my third head, by asking you to consider THE KIND OF WORDS THAT YOU MAY REST ON. We come to speak now, not of the kind of men who speak restful words, nor of the kind of men who find rest in such words when they are spoken; but of the kind of words in which you and I may rest.
You may safely rest in words which urge you to faith in God. Are you exhorted to-night to lay your burden of sin down at Jesus’ feet? Obey such a word as that without questioning. You may well rest on words which bid you to believe in Christ, and you may, without fear, believe in him who has all grace and wisdom and power to save and to bless you. Through the hearing of such words, may you soon be able to say—
“I rest my soul on Jesus,
This weary soul of mine;
His right hand me embraces,
I on his breast recline.
I love the name of Jesus,
Immanuel, Christ, the Lord;
Like fragrance on the breezes,
His name abroad is poured.”
Are you, who are believers, encouraged to roll your care on your great Father, according to that word, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you”? You will do no wrong in obeying to the full every admonition to believe your God, and to believe his Christ. If our preaching tends to create faith, and foster it, it goes the right way; but, whatever clever things may be said, if the tendency is to undermine faith, and if the words you hear increase that tendency, they are mischievous, eternally mischievous, to the souls of men.
You may always rest, in the next place, on words which are the words of God himself. If God has said it, it is sure. If those men could rest themselves upon the words of Hezekiah the king, how is it that some of you, who are God’s people, cannot rest yourselves upon the words of God our King? You believe his promises, you say, but still you are very restless. You have some of that terrible fever of unbelief on you. Beloved, try to practise the art of resting yourself upon the Word of God. God has promised me such and such a thing. I believe it, therefore I have got it. “No,” you say, “the word is not fulfilled yet.” Ah, but I have got it notwithstanding! If a friend gives me a cheque for five pounds, though I have never seen his money, I have the five pounds. I do not want to see his money, for I have his five-pound cheque in my pocket; I have his guarantee for the amount; and though I have not received the coin, I believe that I have the five pounds, and so I have. And if thou believest that thou hast the blessing for which thou hast asked, go thy way, and rejoice that thou hast it, for it is thine in the promise, and God’s promise is as valuable as God’s fulfillment. Rest yourselves, then beloved, in the words of God. Are you afraid of being too peaceful? Are you afraid of being too happy? Are you afraid of living too blessed a life? Are any of you afraid of having too much heaven here below? Well, do not give way to such idle fears. The more thou can rest, the more will God be pleased with thee. “Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people:” saith your God; “speak ye comfortably to comfortably to Jerusalem;” and if he bids us comfort you, you may be sure that he wants you to be comforted. Be comforted, therefore. Rest yourselves in his word. I have had to praise with ‘bated breath those who rested on Hezekiah’s word; I have thrown in little bits of necessary caution and interjection of doubt; but, if you desire to rest on God’s Word, I need not caution you against trusting the Lord too much. Though you believe God up to the hilt, though you believe God desperately, though you believe God to the utmost, though you believe him infinitely, he will never fail you. Your confidence in him can never exceed that which he deserves. He will warrant it all. “Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed;” and again it is written, “Ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.” You can never be wrong in resting upon the words of God himself. Even in your greatest weakness you may look to him, and say—
“I am trusting thee for power,
Thine can never fail,
Words which thou thyself shalt give me
Must prevail.”
You may always believe, also, in words which are sealed by the Lord Jesus. If the mark of his blood is upon any word, thou needest never doubt it. If he has died, how canst thou perish? If he has bidden thee come, how can he cast thee out? If thou dost rest upon his finished work, how canst thou be condemned? Believe, I pray thee, and rest thee on the blood-sprinkled words of this wondrous Book.
“The clouds may go and come,
And storms may sweep the sky;
The blood-sealed friendship changes not,
Thy cross is ever nigh.
“I change; he changes not,
The Christ can never die;
His word, not mine, the resting-place,
His truth, not mine, the tie.”
Believe also, most firmly, and rest yourself most fully on words which have been blessed to other men. If other have been saved by a word, that word will suit thee. If God’s promise proved true to my father, it will be true to me. There is no private interpretation of God’s “great and precious promises.” They are not hedged about with a ring-fence. They are as much mine as they were Abraham’s or Jacob’s-as much mine as they were Peter’s or Paul’s; and I will have them, too, by faith, and have what those promises include. Beloved, rest yourselves upon the words of God, upon which others have rested, and you shall find them to be as true in your experiences as in the experience of those who have gone before.
“This article originally appeared here at Bible Bulletin Board.”
