Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1918-11-08

Two Types of WEAKNESS.
The words of Jesus suggest weari-
ness of two types, which may be de-
scribed as active and passive. Some
are weary because they 'slabor." The
toll of life exhausts them or the en-
Geavor to live righteously throws them
into despair. They cry, ''For that
which I do allow not; for what
would, that do not but what hate.
that do t. Pastor, Hsi, notable Chi
nese Christian. tells us that as heath
en- he struggled to fulfill Confucius'
ideal of "the princely man." but final
" gave up his efforts and solaced him
self with the opium pipe. Others are
weary because "heavy laden" with sor-
row or guilt. Many sing with Tenny-
son:
And the stately ships go on
To their haven under the hill;
But, o, for the touch Of vanished hand
And the sound of q voice that Is still.
George Whitefield was so oppressed
by a sense of guilt that he lay for
hours at time on the floor Of the
public house where he worked; and
John Bunyan has pictured himself In
the ''Pilgrim" with the great bundle on
bis back.
But, no matter what form of weari-
ness may trouble us, Jesus offers rest
to "all'' who labor and are heavy
laden.
First he says, "Come unto me
end I will give you rest" This we
take to refer to that rest of con-
science which he bestows as a gift
on all who come to him. This settles
their position eternally and they are
'safe in the arms of Jesus" What a
great boon this is! John Wesley
found it, only after he had been an or
| dained minister for years. He was on
his way to Georgia as a missionary to
the Indians when dreadful storm
arose. He was frightened. but found
some simple Moravinn Christians sing
! ing through the storm. Even the wom-
| en- and children were not afraid to die.
| Wesley discovered they had learned
the secret Of peace by trusting in
Christ alone for salvation. and he be-
came a seeker for the same rest Of
soul. He found 1t at last, and as the
result the Evangelical Revival was
born. To come to Christ is to believe
on him, to trust him (Jonn $3.50. To
! all who thus come he gives rest of con.
science.
But many who have this gift are
still oppressed from day to day by the
cares Of life. To them Jesus speaks
again, saying, "Take my yoke upon
| you and We shall find rest unto your
souls" This deeper rest, which Is
found by taking his yoke, is well
worth our attention.
It may be well to ask the question:
what Is yoke for? The answer Is
found in the reference of the text to
burden" The yoke is to enable
IN animal to draw its burden. More
| over, the burden will be ''light' only
when the yoke is "easy." It is just
as when, amongst us, the horses col
lar is rightly adjusted and well
padded: the animal then finds it easy
to draw its burden, but otherwise It's
shoulder is CALLED and it refuses to pull
! the load.
| Here now we are coming to the prac.
etical point. Jesus tells US the very
things we need in our yokes to make
them easy so that the burden Of life
will be light. 'Take my yoke upor
you," he says, "and learn Of me, for
am meek and lowly In heart" It il
because we lack meakness and low
liness that the yoke gals and tbs
burden is heavy.
As we understand it, "meekness'' Ii
our attitude to men, especially, while
flowIiness" describes our attitude tt
God. Jesus had both graces in per
fection. In the very chapter where
our text is found, men call him giut
ton and winebibber, but he is unruf
fed, saying, "Wisdom is justified Of
her children" Again, God hides hi:
secrets from the wise and prudent but
Jesus in his lowliness says: "Even 81
Father, for so it seemed good in THY
sight" When we are thus meek and
lowly, it is evident the yoke will bt
easy and the burden light.
Yokes are made for two and thos,
who wear Christ's yoke may assure
themselves that he himself will jour
ney beside them, contributing his grea
strength to drawing the burdens tina
oppress them.
SIN the world We shall have tribula
ton, but in me ye shall have peace