Rest of Soul /
THREE Rest of Soul Foundation Text. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. —Mt 11:28
There is in every human heart a cry for vest. Life at its best in this stage of existence is full of weariness. Both soul and body are "weary and burdened" with their struggles; and humanity makes one long moan for rest.
My heart is in anguish within me; / the terrors of death assail me.
/ Fear and trembling have beset me; / horror has overwhelmed me. / I said, "Oh, that I had the wings ofa dove! / I would fly away and be at rest— / I would flee far away / and stay in the desert; /1 would hurry to my place of shelter, / far from the tempest and storm."—Ps 55:4-8 We would gladly "fly away" if we could, but we may not; and therefore the rest our Lord proposes is not a rest from the trial and struggle, but a rest 2m it.
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; / fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, / because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.—Ps 37:7 (KJV)
It is a rest "in the Lord," not in circumstances, or things, or people, and therefore it takes the "fret" out of life. This divine rest is to the soul what resting in a bed is to the body. We all oo
26 / The Open Secret know the delightful relaxing of every strain that comes to usin bed; the delicious letting go of the whole body in a perfect abandonment of ease and comfort. And just such is the ease of soul that comes from resting "in the Lord."
But this rest implies perfect confidence in him. If one should lie down in a bed that was in any way insecure, and was therefore liable to fall, it would be impossible to let one's self go in an abandonment of rest. We would be compelled to hold on to something else, to keep ourselves safe in such a bed as that. And it must be because Christians do not really believe the Lord alone to be a perfectly secure resting-place, that they seek so eagerly for something else to hold on by; some good feelings, or good works, some church ordinances, or some special and remarkable experiences. What would we think of the folly of a man who should feel afraid his bed could not support him, and should try to hold himself up by ropes attached to the ceiling? And yet this would be nothing compared to the folly of those Christians who say they are resting in Christ, and who yet are holding on to other supports.
The fruit of righteousness will be peace; / the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever. / My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, / in undisturbed places of rest.
—Is 32:17-18 Christ is a resting-place that cannot fail; and to those who have come to him, there ought to be no fear of falling, and no strain to hold one's self safe.
"My people have been lost sheep; / their shepherds have led them astray / and caused them to roam on the mountains. / They wandered over mountain and hill / and forgot their own resting place."—Jer 50:6
How truly God's people have forgotten their "restingplace." Let the almost universal restlessness of "believers"
Rest of Soul / 27 testify. And the result is as grievous to us now, as it was to Israel of old.
This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: / "In repentance and rest in your salvation, / in quietness and trust is your strength, / but you would have none of it. / You said, 'No, we will ride offon swift horses.' / Therefore your pursuers will be swift!—Is 30:15-16 (Is 28:12) This blessed rest however always awaits God's people, wherever or whoever they may be, and no past unrest can hinder us from entering in.
There remains, then, a sabbath-rest for the people of God.
—Heb 4:9 (Jer 30:10) But this rest can only be entered into by faith. Unbelief effectually, and in the very nature of things, shuts us out.
And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.
Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.
For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.— Heb 3:18-19; 4:1-2
Notice the expressions "enter" and "entering." We cannot work for this rest, nor purchase it, nor provide it; we simply
"enter into" the rest provided for us by one, who offers himself to us as our resting-place. Just as we rest ina strong and loving earthly friend, who undertakes our case and promises to carry it through, so, only infinitely more, must we rest in the Lord, and it requires faith on our part in both cases alike. If we doubt our friend, we cannot rest, no matter how much we may try; and if we doubt our Lord, we cannot rest either, no matter how much we may try. For rest comes always by trusting, not by trying. bed Aa
28 / The Open Secret There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.—Heb 4:9-11 (Heb 4:3-8) Making "every effort" to enter into rest is not the effort of work, but the effort of ceasing from our own working. The natural thought of the human heart is, that salvation in everything is to be gained by our own self efforts, and it is indeed an "effort" often to get rid of this.
Refer to the marginal reading on Hebrews 4:9, where rest is rendered "keeping of a Sabbath." This teaches us in type what true soul-rest is.
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.—Gn 2:1-3
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.
""Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people. For six days work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord.
Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death.
The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come asa lasting covenant. It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.'"
—Ex 31:12-17 What this outward sabbath was to the children of Israel, the inward keeping of a sabbath is to be to us now. We are to cease from our own works inwardly, as they were to cease outwardly.
Rest of Soul / 29 Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. Then the Lord said to Moses,
"How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? Bear in mind that the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where he is on the seventh day; no one is to go out." So the people rested on the seventh day.
—Ex 16:27-30 The Sabbath was a gift, not a demand. The Lord had provided the supply for that day, therefore they did not need to seek for any more, but were commanded to rest instead.
While the Israelites were in the desert, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. Then the Lord said to Moses, "The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp." So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord commanded Moses.—Nm 15:32-36.
This is a type of the spiritual death which comes upon the soul that breaks God's inward Sabbath of rest, by the spirit of. legal dependence upon its own self efforts for salvation.
For anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.—Heb 4:10
God rested because he had finished his work. We are to rest because the Lord works for us. Everything is provided for usin
Christ, and we are to "enter into" the results of his labor, and be at rest.
This is what the Lord says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem. Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your forefathers.—Jer 17:21-22
30 / The Open Secret In this inward "keeping of a Sabbath" we are not to bear burdens, because the Lord bears them for us.
Cast your cares on the Lord / and he will sustain you; / he will never let the righteous fall. —Ps 55:22 (Jer 17:27)
There may arise the natural fear that nothing will be accomplished for the soul that thus keeps a continual inward
Sabbath, and bears no burdens. But the answer is full and glorious:
But if you are careful to obey me, declares the Lord, and bring no load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy by not doing any work on it, then kings who sit on David's throne will come through the gates of this city with their officials. They and their officials will come riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by the men of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever. People will come from the towns of Judah and the villages around Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin and the western foothills, from the hill country and the Negev, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings, incense and thank offerings to the house of the Lord.—Jer 17:24-26 (Is 58:13-14)
Plentiful blessings, full of richness, come to the soul that thus ceases from its own works, and lets God work for it. When we bear our own burdens and do our own work, deadness and loss are the result; when we rest in the Lord, riches and victory follow.
This is further illustrated in the sabbath of the seventh year which was enjoined upon the Israelites; and the sabbath of the year of jubilee, which occurred every fiftieth year.
The Lord said to Moses on Mount Sinai, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a sabbath to the Lord. For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. But in the seventh year the land is to have a sabbath of rest, a sabbath to the Lord. Do not sow your fields or
Rest of Soul / 31 prune your vineyards. Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of your untended vines. The land is to have a year of rest.—Lv 25:1-5 "'Count off seven sabbaths of years—seven times seven years—so that the seven sabbaths of years amount to a period of forty-nine years.
. Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each one of you is to return to his family property and each to his own clan. The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the untended vines. —Lv 25:8, 10-11 This typifies the quietude of faith, when the full rest is reached for everything, and when the soul has no need to carry burdens or do work.
You may ask, "What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops?" I will sent you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years. While you plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in."—Lv 25:20-22 Notice the question of unbelief in verse 20, "What will we eat?" and the answer in verse 22, "You will eat from the old crop." This is a type of the store that is laid up for us in Christ, who is made for us "wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption." Whatever the land yields during the sabbath year will be food for you." (Lv 25:6)
In divine things our "keeping of sabbaths" brings to us our richest blessings. Our very rest is "food" for us, and for all who belong to us. Moreover our resting is a "feast" to the Lord.
"Speak to the Israelites and say to them: "These are my appointed feasts, the appointed feasts of the Lord, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.
"<There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day isa Sabbath of rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the Lord?" —Lv 23:2-3
32 / The Open Secret On the days of the Lord's feasts, no work was to be done.
Notice the expression so frequently used in this twenty-third chapter of Leviticus, "You are not to do any work" (see verses
7, 8, 21, 25, 35, 36). There are many Christians who try to keep the feasts of the Lord by doing "work"; work which is done from duty only, and not from love; work which is a "great cross" and a "heavy burden," and which would not be done at all, if the soul could hope to get to heaven by any other pathway.
I will destroy from among his people anyone who does any work on that day. You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. It is a sabbath of rest for you.—Lv 23:30-32 We cannot feast while those we love are toiling; and neither can our God.
David said to Solomon: "My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the Lord my God. But this word of the Lord came to me: 'You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever."
—1 Chr 22:8-10 The Lord cannot make his abode in the midst of conflict and unrest; and we cannot know his abiding presence in the inward temple of our hearts, while our experience is only one of conflict. An interior rest must be realized before this inward divine union can be known (see 1 Chr 22:17-19; Dt 12:9-11).
The Lord rests when we rest.
For the Lord has chosen Zion, / he has desired it for his dwelling:
/ "This is my resting place for ever and ever; / here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it."—Ps 132:13-14 (2 Chr 6:41)
Rest of Soul / 33 A mother cannot rest while her little ones are toiling or bearing burdens. She must see them all at rest before she herself can be comfortable. And just so it is with our God.
There are two conditions to soul-rest expressed in the two following verses:
"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for Iam gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." —Mt 11:29
Now we who have believed enter that rest.—Heb 4:3a Surrender, faith, and obedience are necessary at every step of the divine progress, and nowhere more necessary than here.
Without them rest is simply impossible, in the very nature of things. The little child rests in its mother, only when it yields unquestioning submission to her control, and trusts implicitly in her love. The ox that yields to the yoke without chafing, rests under it; while the young bullock, "unaccustomed to the yoke," finds it a galling burden. Truly many Christians have less sense than the dumb animals; for the animals, when they find the yoke inevitable, yield to it and it becomes easy, while we are tempted to chafe and worry under it as long as life lasts.
Learn to "take" the yoke upon you. Do not wait for it to be forced on you; but bow your neck to it willingly, and "take" it.
Say "Yes, Lord" to each expression of his will in all the circumstances of your lives. Say it with full consent to everything; to the loss of your money, or the loss of your health, or to the malice of enemies or the cruelty of friends.
Take each yoke as it comes, and in the taking you will find rest.
Notice the expressions in Matthew 11:28-29, "I will give you rest," and "you will find rest." This rest cannot be earned, nor bought, nor attained. It is simply given by God, and found by us. And all who thus come to Christ in the way of surrender and trust, "find" it without any effort. They "enter into rest."
For in his presence there is never any unrest.
The Lord replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."—Ex 33:14
34 / The Open Secret The mere presence of the mother is perfect rest to the infant, no matter what tumult or danger may surround it. And, if we only knew him, God's presence would be perfect rest to us.
When He giveth quietness, who then can make trouble?
—Jb 34:29 (KJV) Among the peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountains, not far from the busy whirl of San Francisco, the great metropolis of the Pacific coast, lies Lake Tahoe. It is twenty-three miles long, ten miles wide, and so deep that the line at 1,900 feet does not touch bottom; and it lies 5,000 thousand feet above the neighbouring ocean. Storms come and go in lower waters, but this lake the while is so still and its water so clear that the eye can penetrate, it is said, a hundred feet into its depths. A bell can be heard for ten or twenty miles. Around its mild verdant sides are the mountains, ever crowned with snow. The sky above is as calm as the motionless water. Nature loses scarcely anything of its clear outline as it is reflected there. Here the soul may learn something of what vest is, as day after day one opens one's heart to let the sweet influences of nature's sabbath enter and reign. And this is but a faint type of what we may find in Christ.
In the pressure of the greatest responsibilities, in the worry of the smallest cares, in the perplexity of life's moments of crisis, we may have the Lake Tahoe rest in the fastnesses of God's will. Learn to live in this rest; and in the calm of spirit which it will give, your soul will reflect as in a mirror the "beauty of the Lord," and the tumult of men's lives will be calmed in your presence as your tumults have been calmed in the presence of God.
The fruit of righteousness will be peace; / the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever. / My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, / in secure homes, / in undisturbed places of rest.—Is 32:17-18