It is a common mistake to divide these verses and to quote the first of them - the invitation to the weary - without the others, which are really essential to the practical comprehension of Christ's method of giving rest; because it is in the conclusion of the whole passage that we discover how we may obtain rest from Christ. We must, therefore, look both at the blessing offered and at the means by which this blessing may be obtained.

I. THE BLESSING IS REST.

1. In what it consists. The soul of man in weariness and unrest craves for peace and repose. This is more than the outward calm of quiet circumstances. Many have that who are victims to a storm of unrest within - ship-wrecked sailors tossing on the waves of their own passions. The true rest is not idleness. While the heart is at rest the hand may be at work. We can never work so well as with a restful mind. Neither is this rest a state of mental torpor. The mind may be wide awake, but calm and at peace - like the sea when its waves are still, and yet its deep waters teem with life, and great fleets sweep over its surface.

2. For whom it is designed. Those who labour and are heavy laden. Some people are naturally restful, constitutionally placid. But Christ desires to bring rest to troubled souls. He has sympathy for the toiling multitude; he brings peace to those whose lives are burdened. This may apply especially to those whose toil is inward - in the effort to overcome temptation, and who are heavily laden with the weight of sin.

II. THE BLESSING OF REST IS TO BE OBTAINED BY WEARING THE YOKE OF CHRIST. Let us see what this involves.

1. A personal approach to Christ. Jesus begins his words to the weary with the gracious invitation, "Come unto me." Let not any heartbroken, despondent person hold back in fear, for the invitation is just for him. "Arise; the Master calleth thee!" But he cannot receive the blessing until he goes to Christ. Rest begins in personal contact with Christ.

2. Submitting to the rule of Christ. Some have thought that by his reference to the yoke our Lord meant to indicate that the weary might yoke themselves to him, and that he and his tired disciple might walk under the same yoke - the greater part of the weight of which he would bear. Certainly there is some yoke to be borne by Christ's disciple. We do not escape from restlessness by plunging into lawlessness and self-will. On the contrary, our self-will is the source of our deepest unrest. When this is conquered we shall be at peace. Therefore the service of Christ, which involves the suppression of self, is the way of inward restfulness. To bear his yoke, nay, even to carry his cross, is to find rest. While we look for personal comfort and escape from duty, we are miserable and restless; when we cease to think of our own ease and give ourselves up to Christ's service, to bear his yoke, we find peace.

3. Following in the way of Christ. They who would have rest must learn of Christ. Then the rest does not come in a moment. It will be obtained just in the degree in which the great lesson is learnt. Further, this is a lesson in meekness and lowliness. Then rest will come in proportion as we become meek and lowly like Christ. - W.F.A.

I. THE PERSON'S WHOM OUR LORD HERE ADDRESSES.

1. As burdened with convictions of sin and the keen remorse of a wounded conscience.

2. That sinners under these circumstances labour to be released from their burden.

(1)They resolve in their own strength to forsake their sins.

(2)There are others who are ignorant of the righteousness of God, and go about to establish their own righteousness.

(3)In looking to the mercy of God irrespective of Christ's propitiatory sacrifice.

II. OUR LORD'S TENDER SOLICITUDE FOR THE HAPPINESS OF SUCH.

1. The invitation is condescending.

2. It is extensive and unconditional..

III. THE PROMISE ANNEXED.

1. Rest in your conscience from the dread of Divine wrath.

2. Rest in the will from its former corrupt propensities.

3. Heavenly rest for the people of God.

(R May.)

I. WHAT IT IS. "Rest," not rest in sin, not rest from trouble. It is rest from sin — its guilt, misery, power. It is rest in trouble.

II. OF WHOM IS THIS BLESSING TO BE OBTAINED. The conscious greatness these few simple words indicate. Have you ever tried to comfort a troubled heart? Beyond your power. It is the prerogative of Him who made the soul to give it rest. There is more power in Him to comfort than in the world to disquiet.

III. WHO MAY OBTAIN THIS REST FROM HIM — "All that labour." These words express the inward condition of man. We do indeed toil. Some weary themselves to work iniquity. The world has worn some of you out. The burden of affliction; guilt — our corruptions.

IV. HOW THEY WHO DESIRE MAY OBTAIN IT — "Come."

1. Literally, when lie was on earth.

2. Faith in operation. Hagar went to the well and drank, and was saved. Those who have found rest in Christ, remember where you found it. See on what easy terms we may find rest. Some know they are sinners, but are not weary of sin.

(C. Bradley.)

1. The promise is faithful.

2. It is a precious promise.

3. It is an appropriate promise.

4. It is one of present accomplishment.

(D. Rees.)

1. The most obvious is Christ historically taught.

2. Men seek to come to Him speculatively. Who can find out a being by a pure process of thought?

3. There are those who seek Christ by a sentimental and humanitarian method. This will not fire zeal. How then are men to come to Christ? Through a series of moral, practical endeavours to live the life which He has prescribed for us.

(H. W. Beecher.)

There are three sorts of trouble.

1. There is head-trouble — to do what is right.

2. There is heart-trouble. The interior grief.

3. There is soul-trouble. Christ gives rest from these.

(W. G. Barrett.)

1. It is personal — "Come unto me." God directs to Christ, not to His members.

2. It is present — "Come " now, do not wait.

3. So sweet an invitation demands a spontaneous acceptance.

4. He puts the matter very exclusively. Do nothing else but come to Him.Arguments which the Saviour used: —

1. Because He is the appointed mediator — "All things are delivered unto me of My Father."

2. Moreover the Father has given all things into His hands in the sense of government.

3. Christ is a well-furnished mediator — "All things are delivered unto Me." He has all the sinner wants.

4. Come to Christ because He is an inconceivably great mediator. No man knows His fulness but the Father.

5. Because He is an infinitely wise Saviour. He understands both persons on whose behalf He mediates.

6. He is an indispensable mediator — "Neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son."

(C. H. Spurgeon.)

In a previous verse our Lord had said, "All things are delivered unto me by My Father: meaning that all power is given unto Him for the instructing, ruling, and saving of mankind; from whence He infers those comfortable words in the text.

I. A gracious invitation made by our Saviour.

II. The persons invited.

III. A promise of ease and benefit.

IV. The way and manner of coming to Christ.

V. A farther encouragement hereunto, from an inward sense and feeling of the promised rest.

VI. A good reason to back and enforce it — "My yoke is easy."

(Matthew Hole.)

Coming to Christ and believing, are in Scripture used to signify one and the same thing.

I. The first step in coming to Christ is by baptism.

II. The next step is by prayer.

III. A farther step is by repentance and confession of sin.

IV. We are said to come to God by hearing His Word, and receiving instruction from Him.

V. Also by receiving His Holy Supper: and —

VI. By putting our whole trust and affiance in Him, relying upon Him for salvation, and placing all our hopes and confidence in His merits and satisfaction.

(Matthew Hole.)

This implies three things.

I. ABSENCE: for what need is there of oar coming to Christ unless we are previously at a distance from Him? Such is the condition of every man. Naturally, all are without Christ as to saving influence; as to a proper knowledge of Him, love to Him, confidence in Him, and union and communion with Him.

II. ACCESSIBLENESS. We come to Him; we can find and approach Him. Not to His bodily presence. As man He is absent; as God He is still present. He said to His apostles, "Lo, I am with you always; even unto the end of the, world."

III. APPLICATION. For this coming to Him is to deal with Him concerning the affairs of the soul of eternity.

(W. Jay.)

I. A NEGATIVE DESCRIPTION.(1) Rest, not lethargy. A condition in which the powers of the soul are quickened, rendered alive to its capacities, duties, and privileges.(2) Rest, not inactivity. Release from weariness rather than from labour.(3) Rest, not confinement. Not isolation or routine.(4) Rest, not leisure. Not a brief season of relaxation, but a lasting state of peace and strength.

II. A POSITIVE DESCRIPTION.(1) Rest, that is, peace. Conscience is at ease. The mind is satisfied. The heart is filled with love.(2) Rest, that is, fearlessness. Not only is there present satisfaction, but assured confidence in the future.(3) Rest, that is, fortitude. The burden may not be removed, but Christ gives us such a temper that we are as happy with our burden as though we were without it.(4) Rest, that is, security. He shields us from every adverse power. He gives us ground for our confidence.

(Stems and Twigs.)

1. Spiritual burdens.

2. Mental burdens.

3. Providential burdens.

4. Physical burdens.

(Bishop Simpson.)

Go to-day into heathen countries, into Mohammedan lands, and what do you find'? The village on the hill top, the old wails, the spring down near the roost of the hill, the water carried by hand, the pitcher, the goat skin — just as it was in ancient times. The burden is borne by men upon their backs. Go to China, and travel from place to place. It is difficult, and oftentimes the traveller must be carried by men, and, if not by men, by a rude cart. When I was in Palestine, a year ago, there was only one wheeled vehicle in the whole territory, and that had been brought there by the Russian Embassy. Burdens were borne on the back, and in the simplest way-. Turn to Christian lands, and what are they? See what you call civilization — that is, Christianity affecting the minds and occupations of men — how it works! How is this city of a million and a quarter supplied with water? A great engine pumps it up from the river; iron pipes carry it to every house. You turn the tap and have it in almost every room. There is no broken back or burdened frame carrying from some spring this water. Go into countries partly civilized, and you find a few public pumps or wells, and the multitudes go there. It is a mere physical thing, you say. Yes; but it is God working in the subjugation of nature to man's comfort. Moreover, you turn these taps in your room without thinking of it; and yet you have here a proof that God is taking care of the labour-burdened, and ought to remember how Christ has said, "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Go out into the fields. What was the old way? Men, bowed down in the heat of an August sun, took the sickle in hand, and tried to reap the harvest. Now the reaping-machine, drawn by horses, moves into the field, throws out its bound-up sheaves without human toil: and the harvest is gathered without man being bowed down to the earth. What is it? "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Go into the house: long ago, needlewomen, from early morn until night, and late into the night, stitched carefully, slowly, regularly, on their endless task. Now look at the sewing-machine, and see the amount of work that can be done without, comparatively speaking, human toil. Turn your eyes over to this light, and whence comes it, and how? Look at the little lamp of old, with its lard and wick, then the tallow candle; and now, wandering through all these pipes, comes this air or gas to be lighted, and what a change in human labour i From the darkness, from the atmosphere around us, men are gathering this electric fluid, and throwing light over the darkest of streets and alleys of your city, and thus enabling thousands of men to work as by daylight in your manufactories. What a change in human labour! There must still be labour, but it is not to be of that toilsome character that it once was.

(Bishop Simpson.)It is not a local coming to Christ, which is now impossible, but a movement of heart and mind to Him.

I. THE CLASS OF PERSONS that our Saviour wan supposed to have in view.

1. Such as were laden with the burden of ceremonial obedience. The observances of Christianity were few and simple, neither occupying much time, nor incurring much expense. They recommended themselves by their significance and force.

2. Such as are oppressed and burdened with a sense of guilt.

3. Such as are endeavouring to erect an edifice of righteousness out of their own performances.

4. Those who are overwhelmed with worldly calamities — the victims of worldly sorrow.

5. Those who are engaged in a restless, uncertain pursuit after felicity in the present state.

6. Those who are heavy laden by speculative pursuits in matters of.religion.

(Robert Hall, M. A.)

Causes of weariness.

1. Wounded affections.

2. The disappointment of our desires.

3. Vacancy of mind and the sense of monotony.

4. The load of a guilty conscience is fatiguing.

5. The burden of earnest thought and noble endeavour.

(E. Johnson, M. A.)

The result would be something monstrous if their energies and abilities grew as fast as their aspirations or their ambitions. As the eye carries the mind in the flash of a moment over a space of country which it would require hours to traverse in the body, so the hot speed of human Desire outruns our slow and pausing faculties. And this a great cause of fatigue; we cannot keep up with ourselves; one part of our nature lags behind another. Or, no sooner is the goal which we had thought a fixed one reached, than another starts up in the new distance, and Desire is still goading us on. refusing us rest.

(E. Johnson, M. A.)

Both the Wesleys, and Whitefield also, fell for a time into the same mistake. In their endeavours to obtain peace of conscience, in addition to attending every ordinary service of the church, they received the sacrament every Sunday, fasted every Wednesday and Friday, retired regularly every morning and evening for meditation and prayer; they wore the coarsest garments, partook of the coarsest fare, visited the sick, taught the ignorant, ministered to the wants of the needy; and, that he might have more to give away, John Wesley even for a time went barefoot. And yet, with all this, they did not obtain the peace for which their souls craved.

(R. A. Bertram.)

"Come," saith Christ, "and I will give you rest." I will not show you rest, nor barely tell you of rest, but I will give you rest. I am faithfulness itself, and cannot lie, I will give you rest. I that have the greatest power to give it, the greatest will to give it, the greatest right to give it, come, laden sinners, and I will give you rest. Rest is the most desirable good, the most suitable good, and to you the greatest good. Come, saith Christ — that is, believe in Me, and I will give you rest; I will give you peace with God, and peace with conscience: I will turn your storm into an everlasting calm; I will give you such rest, that the world can neither give to you nor take from you.

(Thomas Brooks.)

Lord, Thou madest us for Thyself, and we can find no rest till we find rest in Thee!

( Augustine.)

A poor English girl, in Miss Leigh's home in Paris, ill in body and hopeless in spirit, was greatly affected by hearing some children singing, "I heard the voice of Jesus say." When they came to the words, "weary, and worn, and sad," she moaned, "That's me 1 That's me i What did He do? Fill it up, fill it up!" She never rested until she had heard the whole of the hymn which tells how Jesus gives rest to such. By-and-by she asked, "Is that true?" On being answered, "Yes," she asked, "Have you come to Jesus? Has He given you rest?" "He has." Raising herself, she asked, "Do you mind my coming very close to you? May be it would be easier to go to Jesus with one who has been before than to go to Him alone." So saying, she nestled her head on the shoulder of her who watched, and clutching her as one in the agony of death, she murmured, "Now, try and take me with you to Jesus."

(The Sunday at Home.)

There are many heads resting on Christ's bosom, but there's room for yours there.

(Samuel Rutherford.)

It is not the lake locked in ice that suggests repose, but the river moving on calmly and rapidly, in silent majesty and strength. It is not the cattle lying in the sun, but the eagle cleaving the air with fixed pinions, that gives you the idea of repose with strength and motion. In creation, the rest of God is exhibited as a sense of power which nothing wearies. When chaos burst into harmony, so to speak, God had rest.

(F. W. Robertson.)

I say that men want rest from their troubles, and that the only worthy rest is rest in our trouble. We have our first real impression of what toil is, when we begin, as an apprentice, to learn some trade. Our first real impression of toil brings the first real desire for rest. But all the rest the young man thinks of is the rest of laying down his tools, and leaving the workshop or the warehouse to spend the evening in manly sports. He has no thought yet of that higher rest, which will come, by-and-by, out of skill and facility in the use of tools.

(R. Tuck, B. A.)

In Newport church, in the Isle of Wight, lies buried the Princess Elizabeth (daughter of Charles the First). A marble monument, erected by our Queen Victoria, records in a touching way the manner of her death. She languished in Carisbrook Castle during the wars of the Commonwealth — a prisoner, alone, and separated from all the companions of her youth, tilt death set her free. She was found dead one day, with her head leaning on her Bible, and the Bible open at the words, "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." The menu. meat in Newport church records this fact. It consists of a female figure reclining her head on a marble book, with our text engraven on the book. Think, my brethren, what a sermon in stone that monument preaches. Think what a stunning memorial it affords of the utter inability of rank and high birth to confer certain happiness. Think what a testimony it bears to the lesson before you this day — the mighty lesson that there is no true rest for any one excepting in Christ. -Happy will it be for your soul if that lesson is never forgotten.

Elias, Elijah, Jesus, JohnBethsaida, Capernaum, Chorazin, Galilee, Sidon, Sodom, TyreBurdened, Care, Heavily, Heavy, Heavy-laden, Labor, Labour, Labouring, Laden, Ones, Rest, Toiling, Troubled, Weary, Weighted1. John sends his disciples to Jesus.
7. Jesus' testimony concerning John.
16. The perverse judgment of the people concerning the Son.
20. Jesus upbraids Korazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum;
25. and praising his Father's wisdom in revealing the Gospel to the simple,
28. he calls to him those who are weary and burdened.

Matthew 11:28

     2426   gospel, responses
     4937   fate, fatalism
     5386   leisure, nature of
     5405   medicine
     5559   stress
     5699   guests
     5901   loneliness
     6705   peace, experience
     7968   spiritual gifts, nature of

Matthew 11:28-29

     2015   Christ, compassion
     5013   heart, divine
     5802   care
     6650   finding
     7622   disciples, characteristics
     8117   discipleship, benefits

Matthew 11:28-30

     2363   Christ, preaching and teaching
     2425   gospel, requirements
     5057   rest, physical
     5058   rest, spiritual
     5127   back
     5355   invitations
     5567   suffering, emotional
     5582   tiredness
     5805   comfort
     5933   restlessness
     6620   calling

The Friend of Publicans and Sinners
'The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children,'--MATT. xi. 19. Jesus very seldom took notice of His enemies' slanders. 'When He was reviled He reviled not again.' If ever He did, it was for the sake of those whom it harmed to distort His beauty. Thus, here He speaks, without the slightest trace of irritation, of the capricious inconsistency of condemning Himself and John …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Sodom, Capernaum, Manchester
'Then began He to upbraid the cities wherein most of His mighty works were done, because they repented not.' --MATT. xi. 20. These words, and the woes which they introduce, are found in another connection in Luke's Gospel. He attaches them to his report of the mission of the seventy disciples. Matthew here introduces them in an order which seems not to depend upon time, but upon identity of subject. It is his method in his Gospel to group together similar events, as we have it exemplified, for instance, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Christ's Strange Thanksgiving
'I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.' --MATT. xi. 25. When Jesus was about to cure one dumb man, He lifted up His eyes to heaven and sighed. Sorrow filled His soul in the act of working deliverance. The thought of the depth of the miseries He had come to heal, and of the ocean of them which He was then diminishing but by one poor drop, saddened Him. When Jesus thought of the woes that had …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

John's Doubts of Jesus, and Jesus' Praise of John
'Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, 3. And said unto Him, Art Thou He that should come, or do we look for another? 4. Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: 5. The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in Me. 7. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Rest Giver
'Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29. 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.'--MATT. xi. 28, 29. One does not know whether tenderness or majesty is predominant in these wonderful words. A divine penetration into man's true condition, and a divine pity, are expressed in them. Jesus looks with clearsighted compassion into the inmost history of all hearts, and sees the toil and the …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Rest for the Weary
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. W hich shall we admire most -- the majesty, or the grace, conspicuous in this invitation? How soon would the greatest earthly monarch be impoverished, and his treasures utterly exhausted, if all, that are poor and miserable, had encouragement to apply freely to him, with a promise of relief, fully answerable to their wants and wishes! But the riches of Christ are unsearchable and inexhaustible. If millions and millions …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

Messiah's Easy Yoke
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. T hough the influence of education and example, may dispose us to acknowledge the Gospel to be a revelation from God; it can only be rightly understood, or duly prized, by those persons who feel themselves in the circumstances of distress, which it is designed to relieve. No Israelite would think of fleeing to a city of refuge (Joshua 20:2. …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

The Yoke of Christ.
"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."--Matt. xi. 29, 30. These words, which are brought before us in the Gospel of to-day's festival[1], are also found in the address made to us upon Ash Wednesday, in which we are told that if we "return unto Him who is the merciful Receiver of all true penitent sinners, if we will take His easy yoke and light burden upon us, to follow Him …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII

On the Words of the Gospel, Matt. xi. 2, "Now when John Heard in the Prison the Works of the Christ, He Sent by his Disciples,
1. The lesson of the Holy Gospel has set before us a question touching John the Baptist. May the Lord assist me to resolve it to you, as He hath resolved it to us. John was commended, as ye have heard, by the testimony of Christ, and in such terms commended, as that there had not risen a greater among those who were born of women. But a greater than he had been born of a Virgin. How much greater? Let the herald himself declare, how great the difference is between himself and his Judge, whose herald …
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

On the Words of the Gospel, Matt. xi. 25, "I Thank Thee, O Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth, that Thou Didst Hide These Things From
1. When the Holy Gospel was being read, we heard that the Lord Jesus exulted in Spirit, and said, "I confess to Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for that Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes." [2252] Thus much to begin [2253] with, we find before we pass on further, if we consider the words of the Lord with due attention, with diligence, and above all with piety, that we ought not invariably to understand when we read of "confession" in …
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

Again on the Words of the Gospel, Matt. xi. 25, "I Thank Thee, O Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth," Etc.
1. We have heard the Son of God saying, "I confess to Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth." What doth he confess to Him? Wherein doth he praise Him? "Because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes." [2288] Who are the "wise and prudent"? Who the "babes"? What hath He hid from the wise and prudent, and revealed unto babes? By the "wise and prudent," He signifieth those of whom St. Paul speaks; "Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the …
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

Again on the Words of the Gospel, Matt. xi. 28, "Come unto Me, all Ye that Labour and are Heavy Laden, and I Will Give You
1. It seems strange to some, Brethren, when they hear the Lord say, "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you. 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." [2323] And they consider that they who have fearlessly bowed their necks to this yoke, and have with much submission taken this burden upon their shoulders, are tossed about and exercised by so great …
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

The Sinner's Friend
"Savior of sinners they proclaim, Sinners of whom the chief I am." What the invidious Jews said in bitter spleen, has been turned by the Holy Spirit to the most gracious account. Where they poured out vials of hate, odours of sacred incense arise. Troubled consciences have found a sweet balm in the very sound. Jesus, "the friend of publicans and sinners," has proved himself friendly to them, and they have become friends with him; so completely has he justified the very name which his enemies gave …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 10: 1864

Rest, Rest
We will, this morning, if we can, conduct you into the inner chambers of out text, place its words under the microscope, and peer into the recesses of each sentence. We only wish our microscope were of a greater magnifying power, and our ability to expound the text more complete; for there are mines of instruction here. Superficially read, this royal promise has cheered and encouraged tens of thousands, but there is a wealth in it which the diligent digger and miner shall alone discover. Its shallows …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871

Holy violence
"But," says one, "do you wish us to understand, that if a man is to be saved he must use violence and vehement earnestness in order to obtain salvation?" I do, most assuredly; that is the doctrine of the text. "But," says one, "I thought it was all the work of God." So it is, from first to last. But when God has begun the work in the soul, the constant effect of God's work in us is to set us working; and where God's Spirit is really striving with us, we shall begin to strive too. This is just a test …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 5: 1859

The Meek and Lowly One
I. First, then, I am to consider THE FIRST QUALITY WHICH JESUS CHRIST CLAIMS. He declares that he is "MEEK." Christ is no egotist; he takes no praise to himself. If ever he utters a word in self-commendation, it is not with that object; it is with another design, namely that he may entice souls to come to him. Here, in order to exhibit this meekness, I shall have to speak of him in several ways. 1. First, Christ is meek, as opposed to the ferocity of spirit manifested by zealots and bigots. Take, …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 5: 1859

Powerful Persuasives
I HAVE preached to you, dear friends, several times from the words, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." There is such sweetness in the precept, such solace in the promise, that I could fain hope to preach from it many times more. But I have no intention just now to repeat what I have said in any former discourse, or to follow the same vein of thought that we have previously explored. This kindly and gracious invitation needs only to be held up in different …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 62: 1916

Sermon for the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany
(From the Gospel for St. Matthias'-day, 24th February) Of the proper marks of true humility. Matt. xi. 29.--"Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart." CHRIST, our blessed Lord, the true master and teacher of all art and virtue, and a pattern of all perfection, when He came down from Heaven to instruct us poor ignorant men, did not see fit to make use of great subtleties, or mysterious and ingenious statements of truth; but in short, plain, simple words He delivered to us a maxim, and gave us …
Susannah Winkworth—The History and Life of the Reverend Doctor John Tauler

Sermon for the Third Sunday in Advent
(From the Gospel for the day) How that we must wholly come out from ourselves, that we may go into the wilderness and behold God. Matt. xi. 7.--"What went ye out into the wilderness for to see?" OUR Lord Jesus Christ said unto the Jews, "What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind?" In these words let us consider three things: First, the going out; secondly, the wilderness; thirdly, what we are to see there. First, let us consider the going out. This blessed going …
Susannah Winkworth—The History and Life of the Reverend Doctor John Tauler

Sixth Day. Thankfulness.
"I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth."--Matt. xi. 25. A thankful spirit pervaded the entire life of Jesus, and surrounded with a heavenly halo His otherwise darkened path. In moments we least expect to find it, this beauteous ray breaks through the gloom. In instituting the memorial of His death, He "gave thanks!" Even in crossing the Kedron to Gethsemane, "He sang an hymn!" We know in seasons of deep sorrow and trial that every thing wears a gloomy aspect. Dumb Nature herself to …
John R. Macduff—The Mind of Jesus

Fifth Day. Meekness.
"I am meek and lowly in heart."--Matt. xi. 29. There is often a beautiful blending of majesty and humility, magnanimity and lowliness, in great minds. The mightiest and holiest of all Beings that ever trod our world was the meekest of all. The Ancient of Days was as the "infant of days." He who had listened to nothing but angel-melodies from all eternity, found, while on earth, melody in the lispings of an infant's voice, or in an outcast's tears! No wonder an innocent lamb was His emblem, or …
John R. Macduff—The Mind of Jesus

"I Will Give You Rest. "
A COMMUNION ADDRESS AT MENTONE. "I will give you rest."--Matthew xi. 28. "I WILL GIVE YOU REST." WE have a thousand times considered these words as an encouragement to the labouring and the laden; and we may, therefore, have failed to read them as a promise to ourselves. But, beloved friends, we have come to Jesus, and therefore He stands engaged to fufil this priceless pledge to us. We may now enjoy the promise; for we have obeyed the precept. The faithful and true Witness, whose word is truth, …
Charles Hadden Spurgeon—Till He Come

A Devout Exhortation to the Holy Communion the Voice of Christ
Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you,(1) saith the Lord. The bread that I will give is My flesh which I give for the life of the world.(2) Take, eat: this is My Body, which is given for you; this do in remembrance of Me.(3) He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood dwelleth in Me and I in him. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.(4) (1) Matthew xi. 28 (2) John vi. 51. (3) Matthew xxi. 26; Luke xxii. 19. (4) John vi. …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

The Baptist's Inquiry and Jesus' Discourse Suggested Thereby.
(Galilee.) ^A Matt. XI. 2-30; ^C Luke VII. 18-35. ^c 18 And the disciples of John told him of all these things. ^a 2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent by his disciples ^c 19 And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them unto the Lord [John had been cast into prison about December, a.d. 27, and it was now after the Passover, possibly in May or June, a.d. 28. Herod Antipas had cast John into prison because John had reproved him for taking his brother's wife. …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

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