Seven quick thoughts –
- Archibald Alexander was the founding professor at Princeton.
- What’s not to love about the name Archibald?
- He lived from 1772-1851.
- Can you imagine a Professor at Princeton saying this today?
- I love the clarity with which he speaks of the saved and the unsaved.
- The image he paints of the ark and the fluttering dove finding rest is so compelling.
- Archie preaches the grace of the gospel. We get rest, not only from fear of Hell, but from the struggles of self-righteousness.
What Will Be Gained By Coming To Christ?
One thing is promised. “Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you Rest.” But in this one thing, every thing good is included.
They only can be said to be at rest, who are in a state of happiness; and true happiness can only be found in the favour and love of God.
Can that man be said to be at rest, whose sins are unpardoned, whose passions are unsubdued, and on whom the wrath of God abides? “There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.” “The wicked are like the troubled sea, which cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.” Wicked men are like the evil spirit which went through dry places, seeking rest and finding none. They are in constant pursuit of a phantom, which forever eludes their grasp. There is in this world no foundation of solid rest.
To be preserved from perpetual agitation, our anchor must be cast within the veil. Noah’s dove which found no rest even for the sole of its foot, is an emblem of the restless condition of men. But the same dove, returning to the ark, is an emblem of the distressed soul flying to Christ from the deluge of deserved and coming wrath.. And, O how kind is that hand which is stretched out of the ark to take in the fluttering weary soul!
I Will Give You Rest, says the gracious Redeemer. And when he gives this precious blessing, it is found in experience to be, a solid, undisturbed, sweet, and permanent rest. It is no how different from that peace which Christ so often and so emphatically promised. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” It is the declared will of the blessed Jesus, that the joy of his people should be full.
Delightful, indeed, is that peace which Jesus not only speaks, but breathes into the soul, and sweet is that rest which the weary soul experiences, when it takes refuge under the outstretched wings of his mercy, from the gathering storms of wrath. In that auspicious moment, the troubled spirit not only rests from fear and remorse, but also from its own fruitless struggles of self-exertion. It rests from the unprofitable works of self-righteousness, and finds complete repose in the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ.