Chapter 1: Christ's Invitation to the Weary: The Promise of Rest for Troubled Souls
Chapter 44: Conclusion of the Last Doctrine in the Two Former Chapters Chapter 45: On Believers' Inward Afflictions and Spiritual Desertions
Chapter 46: Containing Seven Directions on how a Believer may find Rest in Christ during Spiritual Desertions
Chapter 47: Shows that believers have not only rest in afflictions, but also rest from afflictions Chapter 48: Five Marks of True Rest in Christ
Chapter 49: Eight means to find and keep rest in Christ
"Come unto me all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." - MATTHEW 11:28
Chapter 1 Christ's Invitation to the Weary: The Promise of Rest for Troubled Souls
Wherein there is:
1. The dependence of this verse upon the former, with the scope of the Holy Spirit herein.
2. The meaning of the words.
3. The division thereof into three parts.
Having opened unto you that great doctrine of reconciliation with God in Christ, and of the willingness of God and Christ to be reconciled to sinners—sending His messengers to invite, entreat, and beseech in His name—though there was something else following in the chapter that I could willingly have handled, yet because I would press on what has been delivered about our reconciliation with God in Christ, and urge it further with a suitable argument, I have chosen this text. Herein we have set forth the willingness of Christ to be reconciled to sinners and a most gracious invitation of Jesus Christ to poor sinners to come unto Him, that they might have rest for their souls.
This text breathes forth nothing but mercy and goodness to sinners— a heart-melting invitation. In Jeremiah 31:12 we have a prophecy that sinners shall come and flow together to the goodness, or to the bountifulness, of the Lord (as some of your books have it). Surely, if there is any Scripture that holds forth the goodness and bountifulness of the Lord to sinners, so as to melt their hearts that they may flow unto it, it is this in the text.
This invitation of Christ, "Come unto me, ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest," is that which has been the comfort of many a wounded conscience, of many a troubled sinner.
Having fastened upon it, their souls have been stayed, and they have been kept from sinking into the bottomless gulf of despair. This text has been of as great use unto afflicted consciences as any in all the
Book of God. If ever there were a heart-breaking Scripture, certainly here it is: "Come unto me, ye that are weary and heavy laden," etc.
It is, in itself, an entire sentence if we take the 28th verse and no more. It is full of abundance of sweetness, filled to the brim with the grace and goodness of the Lord.
But now, if you observe the dependence of these words on the former (the words that go before), then you will see that there is indeed a soul-satisfying fullness of mercy and goodness in the Lord, held forth from this text. And though many of you (I do not question) have often heard this text quoted: "Come unto me, ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest," yet perhaps few of you have observed how these words come in and have a sweet dependence upon the former. If you compare these words with those that go before, you shall see that they are very heart-breaking expressions.
What did Christ say in the very verse before? (I will go no further.) "All things," saith He, "are delivered unto me of my Father; and no man knoweth the Son but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." And then follows, "Come to me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." The text seems so full of sweetness on its own that it is seldom observed how this comes in after it. But now, we should look upon them thus and consider that they are the words of Christ, who, after He had said, "All things are delivered to me of my Father; and no man knoweth the Son but the Father," etc., immediately says, "Oh! Come to me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
We may observe in this dependence of the words on the former, these two things:
1. Christ says that all things are delivered to Him of the Father, and therefore, "Come to me"; this depends upon the beginning of the 27th verse. "All things are delivered to me of my Father."
As if Christ should say: "Be it known unto you, poor troubled, afflicted sinners, that mourn under the weight and burden of your sins, I have all things delivered by the Father to me; that is, all the mercy, all the riches of grace, all the treasures, all the goodness and grace that is in the Father is given to me to dispense to you. And all power is given to me by the Father to do good to poor troubled sinners. And therefore, come to me. Oh!
Come to me, ye poor troubled and afflicted sinners."
2. "No man knows the Son but the Father, neither knows any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal
Him." That is the second thing observable in the dependence of these words on the former. Says Christ: "There is a most infinite communion between me and my Father, and I know fully whatsoever is in the mind of God the Father, what His heart is towards sinners. I know what His thoughts have been from all eternity about doing good unto poor sinners; there is a most near conjunction between me and my Father, and I alone can reveal the Father to poor sinners that are in darkness. They can have God the Father made known to them by no means but by me. There is no way for them to know what is in the heart of God the Father towards them but by me, and therefore, Oh! Sinners, come to me." Here is the dependence of the words upon the former.
Likewise, consider what follows. If the poor should say, "Oh! Blessed Saviour, we are vile, unworthy creatures; we lie under the weight and burden of the guilt of our sins. And shall such as we come to Thee?"
Yes, says Christ, notwithstanding that, yet come to me. The word in
the Greek here has an emphasis beyond that which you have in your books; it is not Venite, that is usually translated come, but adeste; it is a word of exhortation, not a mere command, but a word of exhortation, as one friend calls to another in a familiar, sweet way and says, "Come hither." "I come to Thee, Oh! Blessed Saviour,"
(says the poor sinner), "Thou art the Holy One of the Father; Thou art God, blessed forever, and how should I be able to come to Thee?"
Now says Christ, "I am meek, and I am lowly; come to me, and I will lay no further burden upon you, no other yoke upon you. I am meek and lowly, and I will show myself to be meek and gentle, and loving to you; I will not upbraid you. If you come, I will not say to you, as Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, 'You did hate me and cast me out, and why are you come to me in your distress?' But if you come to me, you shall find rest for your souls, and be sure that whatsoever yoke shall be laid upon you, it shall be but an easy yoke, and whatsoever burden shall be laid upon you, it shall be but a light burden."
And thus you have the dependence of the words and the scope of them.
Now further, for the meaning of them: "Come to me, ye that labour."
The word translated here [labour] is (I think) in some of your books [weary], all ye that are weary. And it signifies a cutting labour. It comes from a word that signifies to cut—any kind of trouble or vexation that is upon one's spirit that is cutting—a cutting trouble.
Sometimes it is used for any kind of trouble in the world, as in Revelation 14:13, "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, for they rest from their labours", from all their trouble and affliction. All you that labour and are heavy laden—the word comes from a word that signifies the lading of a ship, such a load that would burden a ship: heavy laden, this is the meaning of the words. You that are
under such afflictions of spirit, as if you are even cut again; you that labour under the trouble, anguish, and sorrow of your hearts. And then you that are under such a burden that would even load a ship; that is ready to sink your souls down into the bottom of despair. You that are in such a condition, come to me. You that can find no rest anywhere else, come to me, and I will give you rest.
So that here in verse 28, you have these three things for the division of it:
1. The description of those whom Christ would invite to Himself; what kind of people they are, or the condition of such as are invited and required to come to Christ—the subject: such as labour, and are heavy laden.
2. The sweet and gracious invitation of Christ to such: "Come to me", come to me you that thus labour, and are thus heavy laden.
3. A gracious promise unto such as come unto Christ: that Christ will give rest unto their souls.
These are the three things in verse 28.
For the first, I shall only speak of that at this time, though the other two are the chief that I do intend. And I speak of the first only, as making way unto the other two that follow. For the reason why I chose this Scripture was to draw the soul unto Christ, and to open the riches of this promise of rest, to show what rest the soul shall have in Christ that does come unto Him.