- Overcomer Literature Trust
- Swindon
- Wiltshire
COME !
By C.H.Spurgeon.
Here is the gracious invitation of the gospel. “Come”, He drives none away, He calls them to Himself. His favourite word is ‘‘Come’’. Not, go to Moses and the Law, but “Come to Me”. We must come to Jesus Himself, in personal trust. We are not to come to a doctrine but to the personal Saviour. All those who labour and are heavy laden may come, every working and wearied one is called. Jesus calls us. Jesus promises rest as His gift, His immediate, personal rest which He freely gives to all who come to Him by faith.
To come to Him is the first step and He entreats us to take it. In Himself, as the great sacrifice for sin, the conscience, heart and understanding obtain complete rest. When we have received the rest He gives, we shall be ready to hear of a further rest which we may find.
“Take my yoke and learn” is the second instruction and it brings with it a further rest which we may find. The first rest He gives through His death, the second we find in copying His life. First we rest by faith in Jesus and next we rest through obedience to Him. Rest from fear is followed by rest from the turbulence of inward passion and the drudgery of self.
We are not only to bear a yoke, but His yoke, and we are not only to submit to it when it is laid upon us but we are to take it up. We are to be workers and take His yoke, and at the same time we are to be scholars and learn from Him as our Teacher. We are to learn of Christ and also to learn Christ. He is both teacher and lesson. His gentleness of heart fits Him to teach, to be the illustration of His own teaching, and to work in us His great design. If we can become as He is, we shall rest as He does. We shall not only rest from the guilt of sin, this He gives us, but we shall rest in the peace of holiness which we find through obedience to Him. It is the heart which makes or mars our rest. Lord, make us lowly in heart and we shall be restful of heart.
“Take my yoke”. The yoke in which we walk with Christ must be a happy one, and the burden which we share with Him a blessed one. We rest in the fullest sense when we serve, if Jesus is the Master. We are freed by bearing his burden and we are rested by running on His errands. ‘‘Come to me”, is thus a divine prescription, curing our ills by the pardon of sin through our Lord’s sacrifice and causing us the greatest peace by sanctifying us to His service.
Oh for grace to be always coming to Jesus, and to be constantly inviting others to do the same. Always free, yet always bearing His yoke, always having the rest once given, yet always finding more rest is the experience of those who come to Jesus, always and for everything. Blessed heritage, and it is ours.
From: “A popular exposition of Matthew’s Gospel”.
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THE EDITOR’S LETTER.
My dear Friends,
In these days of uncertainty and doubt, when there is so much social and political unrest, when there are so many natural disasters, so many wars and rumours of wars, it is good news indeed when we know that we can have hope and peace with God.
The Lord Jesus never promised us that there would be peace in this world and that things would get better and better. In fact the very opposite. “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first” (John 15 v18). “A time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God” (John 16 v2). But Jesus went on to say ”I have told you these things, so that in Me you will have peace. In the world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16 v33).
May we, His children, all know the reality of peace with God, whatever our outward circumstances.
The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you all.
Michael Metcalfe.
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