The Lord's purpose in laying burdens upon us is to weary us out. We cannot learn our religion in any
other way. We cannot learn it from the Bible, nor from the experience of
others. It must be a personal work, wrought in the heart of each; and we
must be brought, all of us, if ever we are to find rest in Christ, to be
absolutely wearied out of sin and self, and to have no righteousness,
goodness, or holiness of our own.
The effect, then, of all spiritual labor is to bring us to this point: to be weary of the world, for we feel it, for the most part, to be a valley of tears; to be weary of self, for it is our greatest plague; weary of professors, for we cannot see in them the grace of God, which alone we prize and value; weary of the profane, for their ungodly conversation only hurts our minds; weary of our bodies, for they are often full of sickness and pain, and always clogs to our soul; and weary of life, for we see the emptiness of those things which to most people make life so agreeable.
By this painful experience we come to
this point: to be worn out and wearied; and there we must come,
before we can rest entirely on Christ.
As long as we can rest in the world, we shall rest in it. As long as
the things of time and sense can gratify us, we shall be gratified in
them. As long as we can find anything pleasing in self, we shall
be pleased with it. As long as anything visible and tangible can satisfy us,
we shall be satisfied with them.
But when we get weary of all things visible, tangible, and sensible, weary of ourselves, and of all things here below, then we want to rest upon Christ, and Christ alone.
But when we get weary of all things visible, tangible, and sensible, weary of ourselves, and of all things here below, then we want to rest upon Christ, and Christ alone.
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Matthew 11:28-29 ... 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.
Isaiah 32:18 ... And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places;
Hebrews 4:10 ... For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. ❤
