Matthew 11:28-29

CHRIST’S INVITATION

‘Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’

Matthew 11:28

This invitation addressed to a certain class. To the self-sufficient it has no attraction, but to every one with an unsatisfied want down in his heart, the words bring peace and hope.

I. Invitation from the living Christ.—When He says ‘come’ He means ‘Believe in My Love and trust Me as your Guide.’ We can never know peace of believing while we keep in touch with the world. Go to Him in the troubles of life.

(a) In poverty: worldly friends will forsake, but he says ‘Come; I will show you how I could live My Divine Life although I was poor.’

(b) In loneliness: the loneliness of Christ was of the worst sort, the solitude of spirit; and if we go to Him He will impart His secret—‘Yet I am not alone, the Father is with Me.’

(c) In discontent: when we weary and vex our souls Jesus comes and offers ‘rest.’ He shows us what His life was, and our grumbles die out. The cure for discontent is to have one aim to finish the work ‘which Thou gavest Me to do.’

II. Its permanence.—The invitation holds good to the last, and when our need is blackest Christ’s help will be brightest.

Dean Ovenden.

Illustration

‘In the days of the Commonwealth, Princess Elizabeth, daughter of Charles I, was taken prisoner and placed in Carisbrook Castle. She languished there alone, separated from all the companions of her youth, till death set her free. One day she was found dead with her head leaning on the Bible, which was open at the words “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” ’

(SECOND OUTLINE)

THE PROMISED REST

The busy world not a happy or restful world. Why?

I. Outward trials and reverses.—Unexpected disappointments have crushed their hopes. They have been stung by unkindness of friends. Men are not always so cheerful as they appear. Many carry secretly the burden of a wearied and withered heart. Men often seek artificial relief, but they get no rest because they do not come to Christ for His rest. Whatever the trouble, there is no rest but in Him.

II. Minding earthly things.—We need not take any extreme case of inordinate indulgence. Enough that we take the common example of a worldly person. Whatever touches his earthly prospects touches the apple of his eye. Yet it never occurs to him that the whole pressure of his burden comes from a misplaced trust, of a seeking after happiness where God never intended he should find it. Christ calls men off from vain pursuits. Only in Christ and from Christ can the deep yearnings of the human heart be satisfied.

III. The burden of sin.—To those weary with a sense of deserved condemnation and casting about continually for a rest, the voice of Christ comes in the text. Christ honours an undivided trust, unshared with anything, looking unto Jesus away from all other reliefs.

IV. We need rest from the assaults of sin, temptations of the world, cares of life, fear of falling away from our hope; and these rests are all comprehended in text.

—Prebendary Daniel Moore.

Illustration

‘In olden times, before printing was invented, the copyists laboured long and carefully at their manuscripts. Some texts, those I suppose they thought most important, were written in silver or gold or red or blue, and thus marked out from the rest. We have not Bibles now printed in divers colours, yet I am sure if our hearts have been illuminated by the Holy Spirit the sacred Book is all aglow with texts that have cheered or helped us. No verse I think is more worthy of being printed in gold or vermilion than this.’