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XII.

THE SOUL'S REST.

(Delivered on Thursday Evening, November 7th, 1844.)

"Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thec."-PSALM CXVI. 7.

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VERILY, brethren, our obligations to the Scriptures of Truth are immense. This blessed Book, "given by inspiration of God, is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." One of the peculiar advantages we enjoy is this: we have so much of the history and experience of good men of old, enabling us to compare ourselves with them. If we consider them as travellers, here we find the way-marks which they cast up, showing us where they once were, and where we now are. If we consider them as sheep, we can go forth by the footsteps of the flock," and are told where they fed, and where they rested at noon. Blessed be God for the relation we have of David's experience. How often have we taken sweet counsel with him! How often have we known his heart's bitterness, and have "intermeddled with his joy"! How often have we prayed with him, "Show me a token for good"! and, "Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation"! And with him reproved our despondency, saying, "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance." And how often, also, have we endeavoured to check our wandering thoughts and our roving affections in the words we have now read: "Return unto thy rest, O my soul, for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee!" Now these words contain the character of God, as the rest of the soul. They imply a possibility of our departing from Him. They contain a resolution to return, and also a motive to influence it. Here are the four articles upon which we intend to enlarge.

"What

I. These words contain THE CHARACTER AS GOD AS THE RE: T OF THE SOUL. "Return unto Thy rest, O my soul." That which concerns the soul is the main thing. shall I eat, and what shall I drink, and wherewithal shall I be clothed?" This regards the animal. Where is the man? Where is reason? Where is conscience? Where is immortality? Where is the soul? The soul is the man. The soul is spiritual

in its nature, and eternal in its duration. The soul has its appropriate good, as well as the body, and this is God Himself. Man's body has its supplies and indulgences, suited to its nature, and so has the soul. It would be absurd to think of satisfying the body with books and thoughts; and it would be equally absurd to think of the soul's living on things derived from silver and gold. All these are unsuited to the nature of the soul: and, therefore, they cannot meet its wants and desires, they cannot satisfy it. Man has a soul which is made for eternity, and capable of knowing, of resembling, and enjoying God, and of union and communion with Him; and whatever he seeks after to supply His place will issue in disappointment. Whatever else the man acquires, some void will still urge him to cry, "Who will show me any good?" But this is not the case with the Lord's people. God is their portion, and He is their rest. Some may think that this is enthusiasm; but he that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself. He has made the trial, and knows that all an immortal being can want is to be found in God. Yes, he has made the trial, and knows the truth of the declaration of our Lord, "He that cometh unto me shall never hunger; he that believeth on me shall never thirst." He has found satisfaction, which is only to be derived from union with the Saviour. Now, take him in any condition; take him in prosperity, or in adversity, and you will find that "God is the strength of his heart, and his portion for ever." Has he been called to sustain losses? has he been reduced in circumstances? has he been exercised with various afflictions? he is not miserable; he is not in despair. He had been had he made these things his rest; and in the loss of them would have exclaimed, "They have taken away my gods, and what have I more !" But now he encourages 66 himself in the Lord his God." Now he can say, "" Although the fig-tree shall not blossom; neither shall fruit be in the vines, the labour of the olives shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls." Why, it seems all gone! "Yet I will rejoice in the

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Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." While he uses and enjoys these things, he passes by them as his portion, and says with David, "The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: Thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage." And while he has connections here, he can say with Doctor Watts :

"To Thee we owe our life and health,

And friends and safe abode ;

Thanks to Thy name for meaner things,
But these are not my God."

"Give what Thou wilt, without Thee we are poor;
And with Thee rich, take what Thou wilt away."

And this is the case with them all. They differ in their experience, and in the degree of their graces, but not as to their choice. They all choose God as the rest of their souls.

II. IT IS POSSIBLE FOR US TO DEPART FROM HIM. Otherwise there would be no need of returning to Him. Solomon tells us, "There is not a just man upon earth that liveth and sinneth not ;" and James says, "In many things we offend all.” If we look into the Scriptures, we shall find a record of some bad falls in God's most distinguished servants. Thus we find that Abraham's faith failed him; that Moses spake unadvisedly with his lips; and that Job cursed the day in which he was born. And to which of the saints will you turn, in order to find one free of infirmities? Where there is no backsliding in life, there is backsliding in heart. Who, on examination of himself, but discovers a thousand infirmities? David, after his grievous fall, implored Divine preservation; and need we not say with him, "Quicken Thou me, according to Thy word"? We are liable to fall, and, if God's people were not even prone to backslide, God would never have said, as he did concerning the Jews, "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God." Is not all sin a departure from God? Do we not depart from Him when we forget His benefits? or when, having succeeded in any concern, we "sacrifice to our own net, and burn incense to our own drag," as if by these "our portion had been made fat, and our meat plenteous"? Have we not departed from God when we have yielded to earthly attachments, giving that to the creature which is due only to

the Creator; who is God over all blessed for evermore "? Do we not depart from Him when we lean upon a broken reed; or on an arm of flesh? To whom did John say, "Little children, keep yourselves from idols"? Oh, how many idols have we all! Persons may make idols of their children, of their friends, of their relations, of their ministers, or even of the ordinances of God; they may repair to these ordinances regardless of God, and use them as if there was merit in anything they could do, and without having recourse by prayer to Him, who, while Paul plants and Apollos waters, can alone give the increase.

Then we have—

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III. AN EXHORTATION TO RETURN. "Return unto thy rest, O my soul." Let us learn, dear brethren, that the departure of a child of God from Him is never total or final. His soul is like the compass, where, indeed, the needle may turn from its direction, but it cannot continue; it will tremble back again, and turn to the north. So it is with the true Christian. This is therefore in unison with the declarations of Scripture, where it is said, "The righteous shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall wax stronger and stronger." good man's steps are ordered by the Lord: though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholdeth him by His hand." And you will find this is secured by various engagements. "I will not," says God by Jeremiah, "turn away from doing them good." But may they not turn away from Him? No, says God, "I will put my fear in their hearts, and they shall not depart from me," that is, totally and finally. The Apostle says, "Being born not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible, which liveth and abideth for ever." "Whoever," says John, "is born of God, cannot commit sin," that is, he cannot sin as others do, he cannot sin habitually, and with the full bias of his mind, "for His seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God." Now you see how this is exemplified in Peter. Peter trusted in his own strength, and denied his Lord after all the admonitions given to him. But the Saviour said, "I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not." Was His prayer accomplished? It was. His faith did not fail, that is, it did not fail as to its fixed principles, though it did fail as to its momentary exercise; accordingly, "the Saviour turned and looked upon Peter" and the look broke his poor heart, and hiding his face in his mantle he hurried out "and wept bitterly." There is always something

in the experience of a regenerate man to check every evil propensity. Jonah said, "I am cast out of Thy sight, yet I will look again towards Thy holy temple.". Asaph said, "This is my infirmity, but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High." How finely does David express this: "My soul is gone astray like a lost sheep: seek Thy servant, for I do not forget Thy law."

IV. Consider THE MOTIVE BY WHICH THE EXHORTATION IS ENFORCED.

"Return unto thy rest, O my soul, for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee."

Now it is not with the fact itself that we have here to do, but with the use David makes of it. "The Lord," says he, "preserveth the simple; I was brought low, and He helped me." Yes, David, you may say so; He gave you many a favour, and enriched you with many a gift, and raised you from being a shepherd to the throne; these are blessings which David acknowledges, but these were not all the blessings which he received at the hand of God. He had still higher favours, but these so far from being peculiar to him, are common to all believers in all ages of the world. Ah, Christians, sensible of your unworthiness, you will readily acknowledge that you are "less than the least of all God's mercies." The air you breathe in, is a mercy; the food you eat, is a mercy; the sleep you enjoy, is a mercy; your ease from pain, is a mercy. But hear what the Apostle says: "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." O what infinite bounty is here! that He would not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, and with Him also freely gave us all things. Ah, Christian, through Him He has forgiven you all trespasses, and not only changed your relative condition, but also your very nature, and He has put His laws in your mind and written them in your heart. O what Sabbaths has He given you! how often have you heard with pleasure His holy word, and often at His table too you have found the fruit of the tree of life sweet to your taste. But notice, with the use that David makes of this resolution, his desire is, that his soul should be brought back to God his rest, and nothing conduces so much to this as the Christian's experience. When a mere professor of religion is thrown off from his forms and exercises, he has nothing of this to restrain him when going astray, and nothing of it to excite him to return after he has gone astray.