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SERMON IX.

THE INVITATION OF CHRIST.

MATT. xi. 28-30.

"COME UNTO ME ALL YE THAT LABOUR AND ARE HEAVY LADEN AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST. TAKE MY YOKE UPON YOU AND LEARN OF ME, FOR I AM MEEK AND LOWLY IN HEART, AND YE SHALL FIND REST UNTO YOUR SOULS, FOR MY YOKE IS EASY AND MY BURDEN IS LIGHT."

In a world of sorrow and decay, it may seem hazardous thus to promise rest, but HE who uttered these words confessedly spake "as never man spake." "All power was given to him in heaven and in earth." He came the herald of good news to mankind. In him was realized the prophet's language; "how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!" "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives," "to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for

mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness." He came as a direct messenger from God, and thus his doctrine possessed a higher efficacy than philosophy had ever reached. It has been well remarked by St. Austin, "I have read many lucid and fine sayings in Seneca, and in the writings of the other philosophers, but I have found no one amongst them who could say to my soul, Come unto me and I will give you rest.' To elucidate the words of the text let us consider,

I. THE PERSONS WHO ARE HERE ADDRESSED. II. THE INVITATION WHICH THEY RECEIVE. III. THE MOTIVES BY WHICH THEY ARE URGED TO COMPLY WITH IT.

I. In the first place let us consider, THE PERSONS WHO ARE HERE ADDRESSED. They are those "who labour and are heavy laden." The nature of their toil and the peculiarity of their burden, is not stated. The terms are quite general-those "who labour and are heavy laden." Many have limited the words to denote the fatigue and burden of a soul dissatisfied with the world and oppressed by sin; and in this state longing after the peace and love of Christ. Unquestionably this is the heaviest burden which a man can bear, and he who bears it, is here invited to come for rest to Christ. But I know not why we should limit the words to this specific case. The language appears to

me rather to partake of that generality which embraces many varied cases of difficulty and distress. It is similar to the language of the prophet Isaiah, "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money come buy wine and milk without money and without price." The nature of this thirst is described by the succeeding question, "Wherefore do you spend money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness." The thirsty are here described as seeking for that "which satisfieth not," and the hungry would be equally charged with labouring for that "which is not bread," expressions which forbid us to limit the sensation of want to spiritual distress, and thence to interpret "the thirsty," to mean those alone who are eager to find Christ. This term appears rather to take in all who are sensible of their own insufficiency, yet know not where to find felicity; who are flying to inadequate asylums; who are mistaking the pathways to real happiness, and who are carrying a burden of anxiety, disappointment and sorrow, however varied its kind, or however heavy its weight.

And truly, these persons are more numerous than might at first appear. It will be allowed that man is born to trouble as the sparks fly

upward." Sin has entailed a fearful curse upon the world, and no man by his own might can escape from its ultimate pressure. Thousands and tens of thousands are even now its visible victims: they are fed upon "the bread of tears," and upon "the waters of affliction." They concede their griefs and utter their complaints. They find the world to be a wilderness, and their own resources to be utterly insufficient.

But even the more prosperous have their uneasiness. The very dread of calamity is often a part of its pressure; and where is the individual who can find any effectual shelter from the storm which is undoubtedly gathering over his head? How few even of the most fortunate are removed from either the perturbation of passion or the pangs of rivalry, or the bitterness of remorse, or the apprehensions of the future, or from the voice of conscience and the anxiety of eternity? Even their very prosperity may afford scope for the display of the most tormenting passions, and for the irritation of the basest stimulants to selfishness and sin. In truth, are not the externally prosperous often the most wearied and the most susceptible of the insufficiency of earthly things? Strange, indeed, are the delusions which lie scattered over the face of society; and how humiliating would be the mental exposure of the wealthy, the sensual, and the proud, if those de

lusions, like the mists of the morning, could be suddenly driven away! The words of the text may therefore in very truth, be considered as addressed to a very large class of mankind; to all at least who are vainly seeking felicity in wrong or questionable paths; to all who are wasting their strength in the vain effort to perpetuate enjoyment which death must soon destroy; to all who are sensible of the frail tenure under which they hold their possessions; to all who are conscious of the blank which the best earthly joy leaves in the heart; and finally to all who either mourn under the weight of actual calamity, or under the pressure of present alarm; to all these persons the text utters its voice of kind and generous invitation.

II. THE NATURE OF THIS INVITATION, let us in the next place contemplate. "Come unto me, "learn of me," "take my yoke upon you." Those who at first heard these accents of compassion from the lips of Christ, were enabled to seek the actual presence of him who spoke them; but each successive generation of the sad, may find the invitation available for their own consolation. To confide in Christ is now to come to him. To believe the record of his truth and to rely upon his mediation; to lean the soul upon his promises of grace; to take his estimate of good and evil; to seek happiness in his love and service; this is still to