{"id":805,"date":"2011-07-15T04:25:06","date_gmt":"2011-07-15T04:25:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=805"},"modified":"2011-07-15T04:25:06","modified_gmt":"2011-07-15T04:25:06","slug":"the-gracious-invitation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=805","title":{"rendered":"THE GRACIOUS INVITATION"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cCome unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.\u201d \u2014Matthew 11:28<\/a>.
\nGracious \u201cword\u201d of a gracious Savior, on which the soul may confidingly repose, and be at peace forever! It is a present rest\u2014the rest of grace as well as the rest of glory. Not only are there signals of peace hung out from the walls of heaven\u2014the lights of Home glimmering in the distance to cheer our footsteps; but we have the \u201cshadow\u201d of this \u201cgreat Rock!\u201d in a present \u201cweary land.\u201d Before the Throne alone is there \u201cthe sea of glass,\u201d without one rippling wave; but there is a haven even on earth for the tempest-tossed\u2014\u201dWe who have believed DO enter into rest.\u201d
\nReader, have you found this blessed repose in the blood and work of Immanuel? Long going about \u201cseeking rest and finding none,\u201d does this \u201cword\u201d sound like music in your ears\u2014\u201dCome unto Me\u201d? All other peace is counterfeit, shadowy, unreal. The eagle spurns the gilded cage as a poor equivalent for his free-born soarings. The soul\u2019s immortal aspirations can be satisfied with nothing short of the possession of God\u2019s favor and love in Jesus.
\nHow unqualified is the invitation! If there had been one condition in entering this covenant Ark, we must have been through eternity at the mercy of the storm. But all are alike warranted and welcome, and none more warranted than welcome. For the weak, the weary, the sin-burdened and sorrow-burdened, there is an open door of grace.
\nReturn, then, unto your rest, O my soul! Let the sweet cadence of this \u201cword of Jesus\u201d steal on you amid the disquietudes of earth. Sheltered in Him, you are safe for time, safe for eternity! There may be, and will be, temporary tossings, fears, and misgivings\u2014manifestations of inward corruption; but these will only be like the surface-heavings of the ocean, while underneath there is a deep, settled calm. \u201cYou will keep him in perfect peace\u201d (lit. peace, peace) \u201cwhose mind is stayed on You.\u201d In the world it is care on care, trouble on trouble, sin on sin, but every wave that breaks on the believer\u2019s soul seems sweetly to murmur, \u201cPeace, peace!\u201d
\nAnd if the foretaste of this rest be precious, what must be the glorious consummation? Awaking in the morning of immortality, with the unquiet dream of earth over\u2014faith lost in sight, and hope in fruition\u2014no more any bias to sin\u2014no more latent principles of evil\u2014nothing to disturb the spirit\u2019s deep, everlasting tranquility\u2014the trembling magnet of the heart reposing, where alone it can confidingly and permanently rest, in the enjoyment of the Infinite God. \u201cThese things have I spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace.\u201d
\nJohn MacDuff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cCome unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.\u201d \u2014Matthew 11:28. Gracious \u201cword\u201d of a gracious Savior, on which the soul may confidingly repose, and be at peace forever! It is a present rest\u2014the rest of grace as well as the rest of glory. Not only are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54,44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-author-john-macduff","category-gospel-preaching"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=805"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":806,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805\/revisions\/806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}