Great Falls daily tribune., 1920-06-28
THE CALL TODUTY
AND CALL TO REST
By Rev. B. r. MacHattOn, Pas
to Or the First Congrega.
tiOnal Church.

Text: Isaiah 32:2. "And man shall
be as an hiding place from the wind
and as the shadow of great rock In
weary land"
There are two very distinct methods
in the Bible. A very large portion is in
the form Of appeals to duty, to service
1t presents life to us under the aspect
OF encounter, or struggle or warfare
We are represented as soldiers, always
on duty-or we are workmen to whom
the Lord of the vineyard has entrusted
great responsibilities. From first to
last We find the call of duty and of OBJ
legation, of work to be done, souls to be
saved, character to be built up; and
there is q constant sense of RESPONSE
blity.
But there is another part of the Bible
by no means so many chapters or
verses in number. but still a very large
portion-that appeals to exactly the
opposite sentiment, and is a call to rest,
to quiet, to meditation, to silence-to
be still and know that | am God" And
it is only too true that there are times
in our experience when we need the
call to rest as absolutely as at others
we need the call to duty.
The season of the year-the day, per-
haps- suggests just this passage of
scripture. 1t is toilsome journey
that is here represented crossing of
the desert; and the eastern desert, of
all places in the world is sad and lonely
and desolate. The traveller day by day
makes his way under burning sun and
heat, the like of which we have not the
faintest notion. In that desert there is
no shelter. no tree, no grateful shade.
His eyes are blinded by the glaring
light. his mouth is parched by heat. If
there is any motion in the atmosphere,
it is only to stir up the dry and suffo-
eating sand. He grows weary almost
to fainting. He longs for a drop of wa
ter-for quiet hour under the shadow
Of some friendly rock. Just as he is
about to give up in despair, he sees
away off in the distance q cliff, and he
knows that under it there is at least
some partial shadow. and perhaps near
burning thirst He pushes on with re-
doubled energy, and with a great sigh
Of relief throws himself under its CRATE
full shade, there to find rest and re-
freshment
In our country we can hardly hope to
feel all the force and beauty of this il
lustration. To do that we must have
visited tropical regions, where often
"the shadow of great rock means
not merely refreshmcnt. but salvation
from An awful death But lifting our
thoughts from the illustration to the
thing itself which is pictured hereto
life as pilgrimage, often across lonely
deserts of temptation, affliction and
bodily weakness-we need not stay long
to prove how very expressive the fig
ure becomes. And just as the traveller
over those eastern deserts remembers
with Joy those resting places under the
shadow wof great rock. so also the
traveller over the deserts of life remem
bers with JOY the resting places from
toll and responsibility, from temptation
end afflietien.
| desire then. to call your attention
to the rest side of religion and life.
How much we need rest and quiet in
our religious life We need rest for
the body. 1t has been one of the dis
coveries Of latter day science that the
man who would keep his physical nature
strnog and ready for work, the man who
would have clear brain and a strong
nerve for daily duty. is the man who
must give both brain and body rest. God
is our very constitution, has shown US
that this wear and waste of life must
somehow have its recuperation. The
night is given to us that we may sleep.
and thus gain new strength and vigor
for the duties of the ensuing day. And
God gave us the Sabbath Day. not mere
Iy and only for worship. but also for
bodily rest one day in seven.
1t is also with regard to our mental
nature; and we are finding by study
Of our minds. that the mind must have
rest as absolutely as the body. We are
continually warned By the example of
men of great intellect. great business
ability, great political sagacity. that it
al 20 haolfh opI
peace of mind to ambition for leader
ship and fame. These men drop early
in the struggle. At the same time God
puts no premium on laZiness. for IF a
man will not work neither shall he eat"
God has provided In similar way for
our moral and spiritual nature The
obligation to have q day of rest one day
n seven. is not only for the body and
mind. but also for our moral and srir
tual nature. God has provided Sab
bath rest for the heart ard soul when
re should lay aside our ordinary cares
md pursuits and when We should give
,ur thoughts to religion, TO prayer and
o worship
We have given us in the text very
illustration Of Christ as the
shadow of great rock: and let me now
'efer to Christ and the teachings of the
Bible as the shadow of a great rock in
| weary land
l. Christ is pictured by the prophet
Is hiding place from the wind, as rest
or those who are weary. st. Augustine
aid, "Our souls cannot find rest until
hey find it in Thee" The most of us
ave experienced at some time in our i
ives the need of a great and true friend /.
friend to whom We can go when the |
Winds of adversity and of affliction are /
owlipg about us. Sometimes these +
riends great and true as they We're,
onld not help us. They bad the desire, ,
nut lacked the power. II is good to /
now that in Christ we have a friend |
Who is all ll-powerful. In the time Of nat
ral grief and trouble. he let's us find /