Rest on the Word of the King

‘The word of my lord the king shall now be for rest’ {margin). —2 Sam. xiv. 17.
HERE is the whole secret of rest from the very beginning to the very end. The word of our King is all we have and all we need for deep, utter heart-rest, which no surface waves of this troublesome world can disturb.  What gave ‘rest from thy sorrow and from thy fear ‘  at the very first, when we wanted salvation and peace ? It was not some vague, pleasing impression, some indefinable hush that came to us (or if it was, the unreality of the rest was soon proved), but some word of our King which we saw to be worthy of all acceptation f we believed it,* and by it Jesus gave* us rest.

1 I Kings X. 5. 2 Ps. xxiii. 5. 3 Ps. xlv. 7,
* Caat. iii. 11. 5 i Chron. xxix. 5. 6 Zeph. iii. 17.

There is no other means of rest for all the wav but the very same. The moment we simply believe any word of the King, we find that it is truly ‘for rest,’ about the point to which it refers. And if we would but go on taking the King’s word about every single thing, we should always find it, then and there, ‘ for rest.’ Every flutter of unrest may, if we look honestly into it, be traced to not entirely and absolutely taking the King’s word. His words are enough for rest at all times, and in all circumstances; therefore we are sinning the great sin of unbelief whenever we allow ourselves in any phase of unrest. It is not infirmity, but sin, to neglect to make use of the promises which He meant for our strong consolation and continual help. And we ought not to acquiesce in the shadows which are only around us, because we do not hear, or hearing do not heed, God’s call into the sunshine.
Take the slightest and commonest instances. If we have an entire and present belief in ‘My grace is sufficient for thee,’  or, ‘Lo, I am with you alway,’ should we feel nervous at anything He calls us to do for Him ? Would not that word be indeed ‘for rest’ in the moment of need,—’rest from the hard bondage’ of service to which we feel unequal? Have we not sometimes found it so, and if so, why not always? I see nothing about ‘sometimes’ in any of His promises. If we have an entire and present belief that ‘all things work together for good,’  or that He leads us ‘forth by the right way,’   should we feel worried when some one thing seems to work wrong, and some one yard of the way is not what we think straightest?

1 Job. xxxiv. 29. 2 Isa. xiv. 3. 3 i Tim. i. 15.
4 2 Thess. ii. 13. ‘^ Heb. iv. 2, 3, 6 Mark. ix. 23.
7 Heb. vi. 18. 8 2 Cor. xii. 9.

We lean upon the word of the King for everlasting life,  why not for daily life also? For it shall ‘now be for rest;’ only try it to-day, ‘now,’ and see if it shall not be so! When he says ‘perfect peace,  He cannot mean imperfect peace. ‘The people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.’  Just so simply let us rest upon the words of our King, Jesus !

1 Matt, xxviii. 20. 2 Phil. iv. 19. 3 Isa. xiv. 3.
?* Rom. viii. 28. 6 Ps.cvii. 7. ^ i John ii. 23.
‘ Isa. xxvi. 3. 82 Chron. xxxii. 8.