Invitation
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He knows by experience what are the weaknesses of humanity, what
are our wants, and where lies the strength of our temptations; for
He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. He is
watching over you, trembling child of God. Are you tempted? He will
deliver. Are you weak? He will strengthen. Are you ignorant? He
will enlighten. Are you wounded? He will heal. The Lord “telleth
the number of the stars;” and yet “He healeth the broken in heart, and
bindeth up their wounds.”
Psalm 147:4, 3
. “Come unto Me,” is His
invitation. Whatever your anxieties and trials, spread out your case
before the Lord. Your spirit will be braced for endurance. The way
will be opened for you to disentangle yourself from embarrassment
and difficulty. The weaker and more helpless you know yourself to
be, the stronger will you become in His strength. The heavier your
burdens, the more blessed the rest in casting them upon the Burden
Bearer. The rest that Christ offers depends upon conditions, but these
conditions are plainly specified. They are those with which all can
comply. He tells us just how His rest is to be found.
“Take My yoke upon you,” Jesus says. The yoke is an instrument
of service. Cattle are yoked for labor, and the yoke is essential that
they may labor effectually. By this illustration Christ teaches us that
we are called to service as long as life shall last. We are to take upon
us His yoke, that we may be co-workers with Him.
The yoke that binds to service is the law of God. The great law of
love revealed in Eden, proclaimed upon Sinai, and in the new covenant
written in the heart, is that which binds the human worker to the will
of God. If we were left to follow our own inclinations, to go just
where our will would lead us, we should fall into Satan’s ranks and
become possessors of his attributes. Therefore God confines us to His
will, which is high, and noble, and elevating. He desires that we shall
patiently and wisely take up the duties of service. The yoke of service
Christ Himself has borne in humanity. He said, “I delight to do Thy
will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart.”
Psalm 40:8
. “I
came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him
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that sent Me.”
John 6:38
. Love for God, zeal for His glory, and love
for fallen humanity, brought Jesus to earth to suffer and to die. This
was the controlling power of His life. This principle He bids us adopt.
There are many whose hearts are aching under a load of care
because they seek to reach the world’s standard. They have chosen