Come now! By an act of instantaneous faith which will bring instantaneous peace, come and rely upon Jesus, and he will now give you rest. Rest shall at once follow the exercise of faith. Perform the act of faith now. It is a present rest, rest now; not rest after death; not rest after a time of probation and growth and advancement; but it is rest given when we come to Jesus, given there and then. And it is perfect rest too; for it is not said, nor is it implied, that the rest is incomplete. We do not read, “I will give you partial rest,” but “rest,” as much as if there were no other form of it. It is perfect and complete in itself. In the blood and righteousness of Jesus our peace is perfect.
You speak of a burning on your flesh. Wherever there is a wound of sin, it is wonderful how this arrow will work, and what a burning it will give to our blood till every vein becomes a road for the hot feet of pain to travel on, and all our flesh is made to tingle with this evil thought, “I have sinned.” But this dark thought makes the ocean boil to its very bottom; it stirs the soul up until there is not one place in which there is rest; neither a cavern of the heart, nor a corner of the conscience in which the spirit has peace. Look it in the face, and see if it has not got the horns of the Evil One stamped on its brow? Does not the cloven foot peep out? Look at it; why, it is the devil’s own child. Yet God has given commandment to save you and you shall be saved, saved from yourself and from all the attacks of your old sins! Saved from the devil! Saved from evil company, for God has said it, "Deliver him from going down to the Pit." The clock of mercy struck in Heaven the hour and moment of my deliverance, for the time had come! Thus had the eternal purpose of Jehovah decreed it! Sinner, do not doubt your deliverance, for God has said it, "I have found a ransom." It is a gift of Divine Love.
You cry for forgiveness and healing from unforgiveness. We cannot enjoy true peace as long as sin remains upon the conscience. As well might the ocean be quiet while a tempest is raging, or the sea bird rest on the wave when the storm is mixing earth and sky! But our Lord Jesus Christ put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. He taketh away the sin of the world, and so the veil is rent. Our hearts are sprinkled from an evil conscience. The blood of Jesus whispers peace within. Perfect peace! What a Heaven lies within! Peace gleaming with a heavenly light even in the midnight of this world of care. "You will keep him in perfect peace (peace, peace), whose mind is stayed on You: because he trusts in You." This peace comes only to His own people, "The Lord will bless His people with peace." He will never bless those with peace who remain in rebellion against Him. "The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt." Say, are you one of His people? Come to the Lord and Giver of peace. Come to Jesus who is our peace! Oh, may the Divine Spirit lead you to come to Jesus now, at this moment, for in coming to Him you shall receive rest! Plead now this promise, "The Lord will bless His people with peace."
To be perfectly at peace amid the hurry-burly of invading cares is a very blessed condition of soul, and the only way to reach it is described: "To do the will of Jesus, this is rest." To be sure that what you are doing is what Jesus would have you do is peace! It is the rest of a learner, “Learn of me, and ye shall find rest.” Trust and you shall rest! We who have believed do enter into rest. Faith tones us down into little children. It casts our heart in a fresh mold. Rest in the LORD. Oh, what sweet precepts these are!, easier to read and to hear than they are to practice, yet, if Grace is given to us, we shall find them blessedly easy to practice. Surely, if it is easy to rest anywhere, it must be easy to rest in the Lord.
The LORD knows the days of the upright and their inheritance shall be forever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. Even though you walk through the darkest valley, fear no evil, for He is with you. He makes their deliverance effectual. We find no rest among the archers, but our soul is among lions. They seem as though they would devour us, or else frighten us from following the road to Heaven. Yet one thing you have for which you cannot be too thankful: if Christ has delivered us from the noise of archers, and we are at perfect peace with heaven, do not let us fold our arms and say, “The work is done, let us sleep in peace.” But instead become a channel of blessing: out of your belly shall flow rivers of living water. You will be, practically, saying to each one who knows you, "The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: the Lord make his face shine upon thee, and give thee peace."
Weary ones, recline on the promise now, and take your rest! This is not our rest; it is polluted. We are passing through the desert of earth to the Promised Land of heaven, but we praise God that we have wells to drink of on the road. For you are accepted in the Beloved, justified by faith, and have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Surely goodness and love will follow you all the days of your life, and you will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
