Resting in the Promises of God

Spurgeon on Resting in the Promises of God, edited by Jason Allen, is a set of 8 sermons on that theme. This is part of a larger series of books put out by Moody Press which aim to publish bite size samples from the overwhelming large number of sermons preached by Charles Spurgeon in the 19^th century.

The first thing to know about this book is that it is not a theological treatise on rest; it is sermons on the topic. The book thus reads more like a daily devotional than something written by Augustine or Calvin.

The form fits the message; as Spurgeon explains:

“Then, when you are willing to learn, please note what is to be learned. In order to get perfect rest of mind, you have to learn of Jesus not only the doctrines He teaches but a great deal more than that. To go to school to be orthodox is a good enough thing, but the orthodoxy that brings rest is an orthodoxy of the spirit.…To catch the spirit of Jesus is the road to rest. To believe what He teaches me is something, to acknowledge him as my religious leader and as my Lord is much, but to strive to be conformed to His character, not merely in its external developments but in its interior spirit, this is the grammar of rest.”

That concluding phrase, “the grammar of rest,” is a perfect summary of the content of the sermons in this volume. We tend to think of rest as something passive, but the rest Spurgeon describes is quite active. Consider the passage from Matthew 11 at the outset of this review. How does one find rest? By taking up the yoke of Christ. Spurgeon:

“It looks rather strange that after having received rest, the next verse should begin: ‘Take my yoke upon you.’ ‘Ah! I had been set free from laboring, am I to be a laborer again?’ Yes, yes, take my yoke and begin. ‘And my burden is light.’ ‘Burden? Why, I was heavy laden just now, am I to carry another burden?’ Yes. A yoke—actively and a burden—passively, I am to bear both of these. ‘But I found rest by getting rid of my yoke in my burden!’ And you are to find a further rest by wearing a new yoke and bearing a new burden. Your yoke galled, but Christ’s yoke is easy; your burden was heavy, but Christ’s burden is light.”

Similarly, in his sermon on 1 Peter 5:7 (“casting all your care upon Him, for he cares for you,” NKJV), Spurgeon doggedly explains that to be relieved of your cares, you must actively work to cast them away from you. “The care mentioned in the text, even though it be exercised upon legitimate objects, has in itself the nature of sin.”

It is in arguments like this that we can see both the strength and the weakness of the sermon format. So much depends on the implied audience. Spurgeon: “It is an ill thing for Christians to be sad.” If you imagine that being said to someone who is perpetually sad because their every whim is not satisfied, then that is a sound statement. It is indeed an ill thing to forget the blessings of God and focus only on life’s disappointments. But that same message delivered to someone grieving about a death? Even Jesus wept when his friend Lazarus died. Was it an ill thing for Jesus to be sad?

Who then is the audience for a book like this? This is not the book for the scholar wanting to think through a theology of rest. It is the book for someone who cannot seem to cast off the anxieties of life, who is constantly worried about the future. If that person has been in a church for a while, there will be no theological innovations here. But, Spurgeon preaches his message with such earnestness and passion, the book may just crack through those anxieties and remind the reader that if you really believe that God has made promises, then it is probably a good idea to rest in the assurance that God will follow through.

Related Posts:
Sproul, R.C. Growing In Holiness “Binging on Daily Devotionals”
White, James Emery Christianity for People Who Aren’t Christians “Explaining Christianity to Christians”

(Moody Press sent me a copy of the book in exchange for this review.)