Rest a while

Front matter

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Contents

Prelude,

I. — Rest a While, II. — Children of Light, III. — The Seeing Eye, .

IV. — The Problem of Prayer, v.— The ** I Am" Titles of Christ, VI. — Thoughts on Prayer, .

I. Rest A While

HAVE you ever thought, dear H , how Christ meets the individual wants of all who seek Him on their own ground or level ? Thus the wise men were led to Him by the guidance of a star ; the penitent by the story of the returning prodigal ; the woman at the well by a parable of living water ; the seeker after salvation by the goodly pearl. But I will not enumerate these examples, though they are to be found in well-nigh every one of our Lord's parables and recorded words. For so tender is His recognition of the needs of His followers, He multiplies offers of grace to satisfy their varied demands ; and that these proffered blessings may be evident to all, we find them illustrated by metaphors drawn from the most familiar objects and traits of character. Among them, the universal de- US)

sire for Rest is more than once referred to, and to my mind, the tenderest of the Gospel invitations bidding us seek it, is the one contained in the words : " Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while/' Into a desert ! A strange place, you say ; to call the weary. Yes — I know, but I also know, God our Father is sometimes closest in the wilderness — and somehow, in hours of darkness, we feel as we do not in the light, the pressure of His Hand. I know, too, it is Christ Himself who thus bids us ^' Come.'* Hence there must be Rest there. That we might be sure of this, our Saviour's words in their wide-reaching compassion, were not limited by either the place or time of their utterance. And as though He anticipated, a doubt of their power to remain thus applicable * for always,' might naturally arise as the years following His life on earth came to be counted by hundreds. He told His Father, and thus our Father, of you, and of me, for when He prayed for His early disciples. He added : ^' Neither pray I for these alone, but /or those who shall believe " (John xvii. 20).

ThuS; whether Christ's words belong to

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you, dear H , depends upon the answer

your heart can give to the question, Do you believe ? If you do, blessed indeed is your portion ; for He has promised : " My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee Rest/' and *^ He satisfieth the longing soul," and *^ fiUeth the hungry with goodness/* " He stayeth his rough wind," for " He knoweth our frame," and " His tender mercies are over all His works." Surely, the mere thought of all this is Rest, for thought feeds and soothes the heart, just as dew feeds the lilies, and sunshine the corn ; and you tell me you are tired, so this invitation to Rest is an especial word for you. And as I said, Christ comes by it down to the level of your want, and when He thus draws near, comfort and calm come too. But remember, it is a very different thing for Him to reach out a Hand of Love that touches your infirmities with the encompassing of His sympathy, than it is for you to try to bring that sympathy down to your own level, rather than to lift yourself by it up nearer to Him. If you ponder the word which prefaces this blessed invitation to ** Rest a while," you will understand this l6 REST A WHILE.

for it is a word which leads away from self to Christ. It points also to the very starting place of Christian life, which expands with every onward and upward step. A minute's thought of the Adoration of the Shepherds, followed by that of the Magi, will help you to comprehend this spiritual progressiveness : for you will observe they both run parallel to your own experience. The Shepherds, coming just as they were, revealing the first step, and the Magi bringing gifts the second, which suggests a service in advance of simply coming. It also shows that they recognized Christ as the Lord, and thus offered Him their richest treasures, just as we no sooner come to Him, than we find He is in very truth our King, as well as our Saviour. And while His salvation is free, — as King, He claims our allegiance, — and, like the Magi, we long to give Him our very best, even the gold of service ; the frankincense of love ; and the myrrh of humble submission of our will to His will.

This last gift, I know, requires on your part much of self-abnegation, but the only way to attain true rest and peace is through

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Struggle ; for to know rest, we must know weariness ; to know the blessedness of peace, we must know conflict. Nevertheless, there are degrees in struggle, and its keenness is measured to you by the difficulties and perplexed questions which attack your active mind with a persistency a more passive intellect can hardly understand. But do not lose heart if you make slow progress, for your "sufficiency is of God/* Rest in Him, then, and wait patiently for Him, despite the present uprooting of your soul :

** And whatever trial He may lay Upon thee, trust Him through it, and give thanks. And when thy heart is heavy, think on Him ; And when thy need is greatest, call on Him ; Hold fast God's promise, and remember this."

And then, however hard a struggle it costs, when thus you yield your will to God's, and render to Him the best of your love, service, praise, duty, and faith, you will know how it is that "He ordains rest for those who walk in His ways and keep His commandments.'' When once you have a clear and abiding consciousness of this, it will be l8 REST A WHILE.

something so dear and precious, you will cease to regret that its attainment required the ^^ trial of your faith, even as gold tried bv fire."

But meanwhile, you tell me, you are in the midst of conflict, and what you want is comfort, help, and rest for this present time, while your faith is being tested by the clashing world, the worry and wear of daily life, and the doubts and perplexities environing this age of mental activity and highly-wrought culture, which induces a spirit of unrest, that leads you to question if it be possible so sweet, so calm, so peaceful a thing as Rest can ever upspring from all this turmoil. Yes, dear, it can. Remember the storm-tossed waves of the Galilean lake, and Christ's command : " Peace be still, and there was a great calm." Remember also, though God's children of old found the waters of Marah bitter, only a little farther on they came to " Elim's wells and palm-trees, three score and more." And there they rested, and in their experience you may find your own prefigured ; the present bitterness being the pathway to rest. For as

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the elements of a new life gradually collect from the destruction of the old, and new ideas, new points of view, new perceptions of God and His world blossom out of them, you will find the enlarged view serves to make life nobler, fuller, and richer, and God and Heaven more near and more real. You will find also, that nothing, even a seemingly trifling event, or passing shade of feeling, is too small, to be of value to Him, who ^' considered the lilies of the field, and the birds of the air." Thus you will be kept from spiritual narrowness, or rather your out-look will be widened by this appreciation of little things ; as well as by the high indwelling motive, which consecrates your every thought and deed, affixing to them the blessed signature, ^' Unto Him." Such a consecration encompasses daily life, with the " sunshine of the morning," even though it may be beset with many trials, for in response to the soul's effort to thus follow Christ, comes the sweet assurance, "the Lord hath need of you"; and that can fill the most toilsome service with joy. And yet He never permits a need, which leads Him to forget that in these mortal lives of ours, the spiritual, and the physical, go hand in hand. Perhaps nowhere in the Gospel is this truth portrayed with a brighter radiance, than in the verse I have chosen as a centre of calm, for our thoughts to cluster around as we meditate on Rest. — Rest ! which we can only find where Christ found it, in humble trust in our Father's Will. The chapter in which this invitation shines like a sunbeam, opens, as you will remember, by our Lord's sending forth His disciples to preach that men should repent, and then follows one of the saddest histories contained in the Bible, and one full of solemn warning. For history is magnified biography, and in a certain way, we have received into ourselves the essence of the past, which is unfolded in our lives again. That we may realize this, the Bible shows us characters composed of the same contradictory traits, we find in our own hearts, though, God grant, we find no reflection of our own self-hood in this history of a wicked, weak king, a jealous woman, and her heartless daughter, whose cruel request was follow^ed by the beheading of the wilderness prophet, John the Baptist, an event the disciples returning from their mission, ^'gathered about Jesus to tell/*

And now begin the lessons for our consolation, and the examples for us to follow, which this chapter is full of, and which all lead to Rest. And yet, as I attempt to point you to their deep inner heart of meaning, I realize, it is hidden in the folds of unrest, like a precious pearl encased in the rough shell that is tossed landward by adverse winds, and breaking waves. I remember also, we are at best but sealed books to one another ; hence though these be heart-to-heart pages, they can no more secure rest for you, than they can make rules to govern your life ; the most they can do, is to pass on suggestions of what I have found helpful, which may perhaps guide you to the Rest that upsprings from thinking of blessings, apart from trials. For while you may at this very hour, be encompassed by a present full of temptation, sorrow, darkness, and uncertainty, it is a present full of comforts, mercies, and duties, and I venture to add, joys. For that we can be "sorrowful yet rejoicing,'' St. Paul tells us, and though now you " see not the bright side, that there is in the clouds, yet the wind passeth over and cleanseth them," and then you will see it, for "it will be the clear shining after rain." — And what if the rain came first ?

To return to the comfort and guidance we are to find in Christ's reception of the disciples when they sought Him in all the poignancy of their grief, agitation, and indignation over John's death : notice the example it contains for us, when we are sorely tried by injustice, or the evil doing of others. We read no word of Christ's anger ; we are simply told, " He went over the sea (compare verse 23 and Luke ix. 18) with His disciples," that they might " rest a while," and in a quiet place apart acquire the self-control, and calmness of spirit, needful, if they were to live up to the high standard He set before them when He taught, " Forgive men their trespasses " ; " Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you" (Matt. v. 11). Another lesson which I think we may find in Christ's thus calling His disciples apart, will teach us humility, for does not their need of seclusion suggest that they were over-elated with all they had done ? And is it not often thus, that we, too, are led apart to "^ rest a while,'* and to learn the humbling lesson, that the world goes on without us, important as our work has seemed ? It is well, even though painful to learn this, for there is always danger in the midst of active service, of becoming absorbed in self, and what self accomplishes ; danger even, of becoming so engrossed with our Christian character and attainments, that we forget our privileges and possessions as Christians, combine the rest of meditation, and communion, with active service.

But when our eyes are opened to this danger, if we tell our Heavenly Father w^e are afraid of becoming one-sided Christians, afraid of being like a tree that puts forth leaves on one side only. He will call us to come apart, that the other side may find time to grow and blossom. Yes, we can trust Him to polish both sides of the "white stone," on which He writes the "new name," knowing, He will find a place on it for the graces developed by activity, as well as for the passive graces of patience and meekness. But polishing is no easy procesf- - and thus the grace that needs to be perfected by our being led apart, is sometimes an experience of temptation, trial, and loneliness, that is truly well emblemed by a desert. Yet these are the experiences that show us, while it is easy to trust when all goes well; to trust when all seems to go against us, is the real trust, in which the soul finds rest, for it is then it learns however rough the waters of life's ocean, underneath are the "everlasting arms,'* and they are a safe resting-place for a weary heart. But the submission that seeks their enfolding must be an actual and full surrender of body and soul, mind and will, for it demands the giving up of self; hence it is a very slow growth, and the stronger the will, the slower. At first it may be all conflict, and an increasing sense of your will opposed to God's Will. Nevertheless, as surely as morning follows night, when you yield, rest of soul will come j for " He will accept the whole burnt-offering, and give you the desire of thy heart." " He will give you rest, so that you dwell in safety"; submit yourself therefore unto God, in all the ways by which He teaches submission. Seemingly very insignificant ways sometimes, and yet, such ways are often the hardest to meet with a bright, cheerful acceptance of all God sends, — and, — can anything which has power to tempt, or to stir an evil disposition within us, be called insignificant ? Certainly if the very " hairs of our head are numbered,'' nothing is too small for the Heavenly Father to notice. Think of this the next time you are tried by " little things." Remember also, the moulding that comes through the discipline of life's every-dayness, helps perhaps, more than great trials, to conform you to the likeness of Christ, and so I repeat, be satisfied with all the ways, little and great, by which God is educating you. As you seek to know wherein consists the spirit of true submission, ponder Peter's question, "Why cannot I follow Thee now ? " and Christ's reply ; they will teach you a lesson worth more than folios of man's wisdom, for you will learn, that submission means to give yourself to Christ in childlike obedience, content to be guided by Him, when from following your own way and wishes,

He calls you, saying : " Come unto Me, take My yoke upon you, learn of Me, .... and find Rest unto your soul/'

This thought of submission as the pathway to rest, suggests patience, which leads to rest by much the same way ; and yet, I often wonder, why as we strive to define patience, we so merge it into submission, for while it almost always prefaces it, and while in learning the one, we also learn the other^ there is a difference between them, just as there is a difference in the rest they lead to. For the rest that blossoms out of patience, is found in waiting before God ; refraining from all eagerness, and the spirit of haste, which sometimes tempts the soul to try to outrun God's leading. That this patience is a difficult state of mind to acquire we know, from the words that tell us : "Tribulation worketh patience." "Possess your soul in patience." "Ye have need of patience." What a picture-like verse this last is. Does it not show you yourself at some hour of temptation, when as suddenly as the waters of a mountain lake are ruffled by an unlooked-for storm, your heart is betrayed into quick, impatient ut-

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terance, that all in a moment seems to destroy the self-control you have been seeking for months, and which for the timCj makes you feel as though resting in patience, is a lesson you can never learn, and you never can except as you turn to the God of Patience, our Refuge and Help in time of trouble ; for there is no other cure for impatience, save that found in abiding so close to Him, that you will neither speak nor act without Him. But while this is the only cure, there are helps to the cure, and chief among them is silence, or when speech is necessary, a careful restraint, which tries not to speak until first you have asked God to help you. Try to discover, also, the things that are most wont to make you impatient, and avoid them as much as you can, for that is your part toward the accomplishment of the daily petition you offer, when you pray, "lead me not into temptation." If it is God's Will that you must meet the temptation, then just look to Him, and He will help you, and after the trial has done its appointed work, He W\\\ lead vou to Rest. And Rest will aid vou to attain the cheerfulness of spirit, which is as truly a part of Christian duty, as subiiJssion, and whicli is impossible during hours of struggle ; for only as the heart is at rest and forgetful of self, can real cheerfulness exist, which it can do amid much outside turmoil. If by temperament you are not naturally cheerful, it will be a hard task to master self sufficiently, to become so ; but take courage from the fact, that cultivated virtues may be like those grafts, which the gardener tells us, become the branches that bear the strongest fruit and sweetest flowers. But as I said, natural or cultivated cheerfulness is a condition of mind that can only be found beyond the narrow boundary of self^ and circumstances, for it consists in resting satisfied with God's Will, desiring no change in it ; and in following Him who went about doing good. When thus employed you will straightway become free from the bondage of thought centred on self, and it is wonderful how a life "hid in Christ," and thus in His people, — for He said, " Inasmuch as ye do it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye do it unto Me," — can gladden even a lonely, sad present, with fore-gleams, not only of the bless-

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ed hereafter, but with the joy that rejoices with others, till their pleasure becomes one's own. You tell me you shrink from thus finding happiness by proxy. You say it is like bidding you walk a path, across which long shadows fall, in which you are to stay, while others pass into the sunshine. All I can reply is, if you strive to cultivate this power of enjoyment through the joys of others, you will find it is capable of a sweet and pleasant growth. Think, also, of the influence of cheerfulness, and since every day we leave some impression, either for good or evil, on those about us, the thought, that it may be one v/hich will stimulate others to seek a bright, healthful spirit, will surely prove a high motive urging the cultivation of a brave, cheerful hopefulness, ready to lay aside every weight that depresses, and every burden that hinders. It is a duty, also, that faithfully followed leads on to thankfulness, and we are bidden to ^^give thanks for all things.'* Not an easy command to obey, since it includes giving thanks even for contradictions, and the crossing of our own will, and sometimes too, for loneliness and sorrow. But

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think of the rest and calm that must enfold the soul that so loves God, it not only feels all He appoints is best for now, but catches also a glint of light that reaches so far up, it flashes down again like a sunbeam of Hope. Thanksgiving is, too, an especially sacred duty, for while " contentment, sympathy, patience, and cheerfulness may be said to be our duty toward our neighbors? submission and thanksgiving are duties toward God alone." And though to give thanks for everything is indeed a hard thing to do, it is nevertheless a " blessed and holy exercise," and one that lifts the soul so near to God, it is called in the Bible ^' a sacrifice well pleasing unto Him." It is, too, a step beyond prayer, for all it wants is to express how good the soul has found the Lord, hence it is just the utterance of love, it asks nothing. If our hearts were in full harmony with it, how many now unnumbered causes for thankfulness we would find ; truly, they strew our ** life- path" like daisies that star

a meadow in June. Let us then, dear H ,

offer to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and call upon Him with praise, for " thanking and thanksgiving is a good way, and

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if we follow it we will find rest for our souls."

The contentment which follows every effort after the virtues we have been pondering, is another name for Rest, and what a dear and blessed thing a contented spirit is ! Contrast it with discontent if you want to realize its full blessedness. Observe, also, there are certain ingredients in contentment which need to be carefully noted, for only as you incorporate them into your heart will you really possess it. The most important is, that you regard discontent as sin^ and thus something you are not to pardon by the natural excuse, " I have so much to try me," for while it may be true that you have, still, if you believe God orders your lot in life, you must also believe it is the best lot for you, and the one that will most surely help you to become like Christ. Remember, also, contentment is not restless to know why God does this or that, neither does it ask why what look like blessings are withheld ; it just trusts Him.

I have dwelt in detail on these different graces, because they all lead toward the blessed condition of that Rest which /^//(^^e/j*, never precedes the experiences which develope them, and also because they teach that

*' Rest is not quitting The busy career.

Rest is the fitting Of self to one's sphere."

And now let us resume our meditation on the " Rest a While " chapter.

Rest a while ! — the significance of these words is plain, for by them we see that Christ allowed no idle-, unnecessary resting on the part of His disciples, neither will He on our part ; the time of rest from labor is brief, whether the labor be active or passive service. This we know from the record we are contemplating, for hardly had the echo of our Lord's words, " Rest a while," floated over the quiet waters of the Galilean sea to be caught up, and mingled in the ceaseless "echoes that roll from soul to soul,'' before, as the very next verse tells us, the *' people hastened on foot around the sea, and Jesus and His disciples went forth to heal their sick, and to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of Heaven."

As they thus went, we fiod the twofold recognition of spirit and body, which marked Christ's call to His disciples, again brought into a prominent place. For His care for the merely physical, was never more tenderly manifested than during that hour, when "He was moved with compassion," because the people hungered for material as well as spiritual nourishment. But — how supply them with bread in the desert ? — This is much the same question you asked about Rest, — and how often in seasons of darkness and trial do we repeat it, for we are so slow to believe His promises. And yet, — Did you ever in your need ask Him for spiritual food and come away hungry ?

And in the matter of temporal blessings He also gives according to our needsy for sometimes, the refusal and disappointment of our requests, are the very answers to our prayers which most nourish our souls, — and — who can venture to decide "whether is greater, the disappointments of God's interdicts, or the disappointments of His permissions " ? Certainly neither you nor I.

You are familiar with the continuation of this story, which tells that the Lord bade

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the people sit down in companies on the green grass, while He looked up to Heaven and "blessed the five loaves, and the two little fishes, and break, and divided, and gave them to the disciples to distribute among the people, who received as much as they every one wished.'* " For when God opens His Hand, He satisfies.*'

The after part of this feeding of the five thousand is very rich in meaning. It consisted in the gathering up of the fragments that remained, that nothing be lost. And those multiplying fragments are as full of divine nourishment now, as they were* then. They are replete, also, with lessons for our daily life, containing as they- do a rebuke for unnecessary forethought, and fainthearted anxiety, regarding the future, for they tell us, " God's Hand is not shortened." He will provide the sustenance we need, with as full and rich a bounty now, as that with which He fed His children of old.

You must not doubt this, dear H , even

if His Love be manifested to you by a scant measure of this world's plenty. And yet you want a full measure, — so do I, for that matter, for we are like

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** Children who, impatient of the school, Despise the letters, longing for the scngs And stories that they catch the echo of."

Well ! this is natural, and God never asks us to be anything but natural in feeling disappointment. At the same time He bids us submit to His Will, that we may grow in grace and patience, and thus become fitted for the Rest that remaineth. Meanwhile,

*'The songs are written, but first we must learn to

spell.

The books will keep, but if we will not learn, We shall not read them when the right time comes, Or read them wrongly, and confusedly, And each hour has its lesson, and each life, And if we miss one life, we shall not find Its lesson in another ; rather go So much the less complete forever more, Still missing something that we cannot have.'*

The truth held in these lines is emphasized by Christ's providing care for the faint and weary multitude. And we, like them, must do our part toward receiving His gifts, that nothing be lost, even if that part be only gathering up the fragments which are to be found in every life, however hidden

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and shut away from the busy world it may be. For, thank God, no life, and no day, is so commonplace, but that it holds for the heart of faith fragments of His dear and precious gifts, which are better than all the treasures of this world. Sometimes, too, the quiet lives we call secluded, are the fullest and richest in their wide out-reach toward eternity ; for narrowness is within ourselves, not in our circumstances and surroundings. Be on the watch, then, lest you miss the blessings and pleasures to be found by the way, for they are like hedgerow blossoms, and grow often by dusty roadsides. Those that upspring from this meditation are flowers of Rest, which never seem so sweet as during the dark days and hours, on which seem laid the burden and the mystery of the whole of life. It is at such times, when the weight, and the burden of living and doing are hard to bear, that Christ calls, " Come to Me, weary and heavy-laden one, I will give you Rest." — • And that Rest ! How tell it ? Truly, it is soothing as a mother's kiss. To realize it, we need to ask Him to make us like Himself, for, refreshed by communion with Him,