The Rest of Faith
Rest signifies quietness, tranquilness, happiness! Not to be agitated by fear; not to be anxious; but to be full of peace and repose. There is a rest for God’s people. There is a freedom from all fear, from all anxiety, from every care: there is a tranquilness, a quietness, a fullness of rest, for the follower of Jesus. Man knew no fear in the days of his primitive purity. Anxiety, fear, care, trouble, discontent, disquietude, unrest, etc., found no place in his nature. These words and all synonymous ones were coined since man fell from his primeval purity. After he fell into sin, then unrest, discontent, uneasiness, trouble, etc., took possession of his being, and he was most wretched. He was said to be “full of trouble” (Job 14:1) and to be like the troubled sea that casts up mire and dirt. He sought rest, but found none.
After man’s disgraceful fall a prophecy was spoken—“The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of that people be.” (Genesis 49:10) Shiloh signifies Peacemaker, the Procurer of our happiness, the Rest-Giver. It has reference to Jesus. On the night when this Rest-Giver was born a multitude of the angelic host shouted, “On earth peace, good will to men.” (Luke 2:14) Jesus speaks to the troubled, sin-laden heart of man, saying, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29) Thus speaks the Rest-Giver of prophecy. No one ever before offered rest to the heavy-hearted soul of man; but Christ came to give him rest. “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” (Hebrews 4:9) Christ is this rest. As He is the way, the truth, and the life; so He is the rest. But how shall we enter into His rest? “We which have believed do enter into rest.” (Hebrews 4:3) It is not that they shall in some future day or age enter into rest, but they do enter into rest. Praise God! This rest is the rest of faith. In Jesus we enjoy the holy Sabbath of which the Jewish Sabbath was a type. Oh, glorious rest of the soul! The blood-washed throng take up the angels’ glad refrain and shout over land and sea, “Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14)
There is full and perfect rest in Jesus for every soul. This rest is a holy quietness in him. It is freedom from all petulance, murmuring, or agitation. Christ erases sin (the seat of unrest) from the soul and establishes there His own righteousness, the work of which shall be peace, and the effect, “quietness and assurance for ever.” (Isaiah 32:17)
Water may be disturbed by something working in its depths, or it may be agitated by some exterior force. The water will not reflect your image if it is troubled, neither does an agitated soul reflect the image of Jesus. Doubts are destructive of rest. Faith in the promises of God brings rest. The world may frown upon you; may speak ill of you; riches may flee away and poverty stare you in the face like an angry wolf; friends may forsake you; saints may misunderstand you; but faith in the promise, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee,” (Hebrews 13:5) will keep the soul sweetly at rest. If it were man that gave rest, then man could destroy rest. If it were riches that gave rest, then poverty would bring unrest. If it were circumstances that gave rest, then circumstances could destroy rest. If it were this world that gave rest in any sense, it could in some sense disturb rest. But it is Jesus who gives rest to the Christian heart; and there is naught on earth that can destroy that rest. How sweet to trust fully in God and be at rest! Oh, the completeness of perfect rest in God!
Blessed is the man who has entered into rest. Truly the Christian life is the most tranquil, peaceful, and restful that mortal can find. The human family is traveling across a sea which is called the Sea of Life. Some are sailing one way and some another. The only successful and happy way is the Christian way. The way is full of rest; it is quietness in every storm; amid every turmoil it is sweet, calm repose.