Gleanings in the Godhead - Part 2 Excellencies Which Pertain to God the Son as Christ - Section Five

Gleanings in the Godhead – Part 2: Excellencies Which Pertain to God the Son as Christ
Section Five – The Rest and the Yoke of Christ.
A. W. Pink

The Rest of Christ

“Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). In a message on these words John Newton pointed out: “The dispensation of the Gospel may be compared to the cities of refuge in Israel. It was a privilege and honour to the nation in general that they had such sanctuaries of Divine appointment, but the real value of them was known and felt by only a few. Those alone who found themselves in that case for which they were provided could rightly prize them. Thus it is with the Gospel of Christ: it is the highest privilege and honour of which a professing nation can boast, but it can be truly understood and esteemed by none except weary and heavy laden souls, who have felt their misery by nature, are tired of the drudgery of sin, and have seen the broken Law pursuing them like the avenger of blood of old. This is the only consideration which keeps them from sinking into abject despair, in that God has graciously provided a remedy by the Gospel and that Christ bids them ‘Come unto Me, and I will give you rest’.”

If awakened, convicted, and distressed souls would but appropriate the full comfort of that blessed invitation and obey its terms, their complaints would end; but remaining ignorance, the workings of unbelief, and the opposition of Satan combine to keep them back. Some will say, “I am not qualified to come to Christ: my heart is so hard, my conscience so insensible, that I do not feel the burden of my sins as I ought, nor my need of Christ’s rest as I …