Expositions of Holy Scripture : St. Matthew Chaps. IX to XXVIIIMaclaren, Alexander
Religion
Expositions of Holy Scripture : St. Matthew Chaps. IX to XXVIII
Maclaren, Alexander
Bible -- Commentaries; Bible. Matthew IX-XXVIII -- Commentaries
I do not know if there is any importance to be attached to the
slight diversity of language in the two verses, so as that in the
one case the promise runs, 'I will _give_ you rest,' and in the
other, 'Ye shall _find_ rest.' That sounds as if the rest that
was contingent upon the first of the invitations was in a certain
and more direct and exclusive fashion Christ's gift than the rest
which was contingent upon the second. It may be so, but I attach no
importance to that criticism; only I would have you observe that our
Lord distinctly separates here between the rest of 'coming,' and the
rest of wearing His 'yoke.' These two, howsoever they may be like
each other, are still not the same. The one is the perfecting and
the prolongation, no doubt, of the other, but has likewise in it
some other, I say not more blessed, elements. Dear brethren, here
are two precious things held out and offered to us all. There is
rest in coming to Christ; the rest of a quiet conscience which gnaws
no more; the rest of a conscious friendship and union with God, in
whom alone are our soul's home, harbour, and repose; the rest of
fears dispelled; the rest of forgiveness received into the heart. Do
you want that? Go to Christ, and as soon as you go to Him you will
get that rest.
There is rest in faith. The very act of confidence is repose. Look
how that little child goes to sleep in its mother's lap, secure from
harm because it trusts. And, oh! if there steal over our hearts such
a sweet relaxation of the tension of anxiety when there is some dear
one on whom we can cast all responsibility, how much more may we be
delivered from all disquieting fears by the exercise of quiet
confidence in the infinite love and power of our Brother Redeemer,
Christ! He will be 'a covert from the storm, and a refuge from the
tempest'; as 'rivers of water in a dry place, and the shadow of a
great rock in a weary land.' If we come to Him, the very act of
coming brings repose.
But, brethren, that is not enough, and, blessed be God! that is not
all. There is a further, deeper rest in obedience, and emphatically
and most blessedly there is a rest in Christ-likeness. 'Take My yoke
upon you.' There is repose in saying 'Thou art my Master, and to
Thee I bow.' You are delivered from the unrest of self-will, from
the unrest of contending desires, you get rid of the weight of too
much liberty. There is peace in submission; peace in abdicating the
control of my own being; peace in saying, 'Take Thou the reins, and
do Thou rule and guide me.' There is peace in surrender and in
taking His yoke upon us.
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