of sin. Thus, as regards the guilt and bondage and punishment of sin, they who believe in the Saviour "do enter into rest.n !I. REST FROM THE PRESSURE OF TEMPORAL ANXIETIES IS ATTAINED BY FAITH IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. There is much of mental disquietude and distress amongst men as to the possibilities of their physical life anrl their temporal circumstances. What if their health should fail I if heavy losses should befall them I if gaunt poverty or dreary destitution should overtake them! Now, our Lord's teaching as to the paternal providence of God, when it is truly believed, delivers the soul from these distressing apprehensions and corroding cares (see Matt. vi. 25-34; x. 29-31; Luke xii. 6, 7, 22-31). Ill. REST FROM THE DISTURDANOE AND DISTRESS OF SELF-WILL IS ATTAINED BY FAITH IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. Much of life's unrest and sorrow springs from the absence of acquiescence in the will of God ; much of positive distress arises from the opposition of our will to his holy will. Faith in our Lord delivers from this. His revelation of the Divine fatherhood, when it is heartily accepted, leads to acquiescence in the Father's will, and that is rest, as he himself teaches (Matt. xi. 25-30}. We are led into the truth that " Our wills a.re ours, we know not how; Our wills are ours, to make them thine." (Tennyson.' And then into the higher experience of '' The heart at rest When all without tumultuous seems- The.t trusts a higher will, and deems Tho.t higher will, not mine, the best. " 0 blessed life-heart, mind, and soul, From self-born aims and wishes free, In all at one with Deity, And loyal to the Lord's control." (Matson.) IV. REST l!'BOH UNSATISFIED AFFECTIONS IS ATTAINED DY FAITH IN THE LOBD JESUS CHRIST. One of the deepest needs of the human heart is to love and to be loved in return. Unreciprocated and misdirected affections cause some of the bitterest griefs of human life. Our Lord summons us to set our supreme affections upon God (Mark xii. 29, 30). As the Object of our highest and holiest love, God satisfies, inspires, and delights the soul; for he is supremely good and beautiful. He reciprocates our affections; he is unchangeable, and he ever liveth. " Oh for that choicest blessing Of living in thy love, And thus on eo.rtb possessing Tho peace of heo.ven above I Oh for the bliss that by it The soul securely knows, The holy calm and quiet Of faith's serene repose I" (Monsell.) V, REST l'BOH TBE SOBEBT BORROWS OF BEREAVEMENT AND FROM THE DREAD OF DEATH IS ATTAINED DY FAITH IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. Concerning our beloved departed "Jesus se.ith, Thy brother shall rise again . . . . I am the Resurrection and the Life:' etc. He has taken the sting from death and the victory from the_ gravo (1 Cor. xv. 64-57). "Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished deat~, am! b_ro1;1ght hfe and incorruptio11 to light through the gospel." And now to the genurne Chnst1a11 cc There is no death I What seems so is transition. This life of mortal breo.th le hut a suburb of the life elysian, Wlioeo portal we call death," (Longfellow,) 120 THE EPISTLE ·.CO THE HEBREWS. [dn. lV, 1-16,
To enter into and enjoy this spiritual rest is a privilege available to us here and now. "For we which have believed do enter into that rest."-W. J.