John Newton: Rest for the Weary

About the Author

John Newton (1725-1807) received godly instruction from his mother as a young child, but she died when he was seven, and after the unwholesome influences of a stepmother and boarding school, he followed his father's influence and became a sailor. Onboard ship, he became an infidel of the most ungodly sort. Of his condition in those days, he writes, "My breast was filled with the most excruciating passions; eager desire, bitter rage, and black despair"; "I was capable of any thing; I had not the least fear of God before my eyes" and "I was tempted to throw myself into the sea ... But the secret hand of God restrained me." According to one biographer, "It is reported that at times he was so wretched that even his crew regarded him as little more than an animal." He fell into the hands of a slave-trader in Africa, and suffered all manner of hardships there, being continually insulted and almost starved. He survived to make several voyages to Africa in that shameful occupation of slave-trader, but after being influenced by the reading of a devotional book, followed by a "great deliverance" from a violent storm, he experienced a life-changing conversion to Christ in 1748, at the age of 23. He was ordained to the Anglican ministry about fifteen years later, but the intervening period brought intense biblical study and influential friendships with men of God such as George Whitefield and John Wesley. His 16 years as pastor at Olney brought about his longtime friendship with poet and hymnwriter William Cowper, during which Newton himself wrote the hymns for which he is most famous: "Amazing Grace," "Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken," "How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds," and nearly 300 others. When asked to give up preaching because of the infirmities of old age, he replied, "What! shall the old African blasphemer stop while he call speak?" He remained throughout his life a convinced Calvinist in his theology, and a loving shepherd of souls. Shortly before his death he said, "My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things, that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Saviour."

Rest for the Weary

A Sermon by John Newton (1725-1807)
(Author of the hymn, "Amazing Grace")

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."
(Mathew 11:28)

The riches of Christ are unsearchable and inexhaustible! If millions of millions of distressed sinners seek to him for relief, he is sufficient for them all. His mercy is infinite to pardon all their sins; his grace is infinite to answer and exceed their utmost desires; his power is infinite to help them in all their difficulties. Number without number have been thus waiting upon him, from age to age; not one of them has been sent away disappointed and empty. And the streams of his bounty are still flowing, and still full. Can any creature discharge the debts, soothe the distresses, and satisfy the desires of every person who looks to him? Who but the Lord God (Psalm 146:8; Isaiah 61:2) can raise up all who are bowed down, and comfort all who mourn?

Again, as is his majesty, so is his mercy. The Savior passes over only those who willfully exclude themselves. As no case is too hard for his power, so no person who applies to him is shut out from his compassion: "he who comes to him," whatever his former character or conduct may have been, "he will by no means cast out" (John 6:37). This glorious exercise of sovereign mercy is no less a divine attribute than the power by which he created the heavens and the earth. It is the consideration of his mercy in pardoning sin, and in saving sinners, which causes the prophet to exclaim, "Who is a God like you?" (Micah 7:18). As we consider this text, we see:

First, there is an invitation, expressed in very general terms: "Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden." There is nothing here to discourage anyone who is willing to accept it. Whoever has an ear to hear, let him hear. "Let him who thirsts come, and whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely" (Revelation 22:17).

I speak first to you who are "spending your money for that which does not satisfy" (Isaiah 55:2), who are wearied in seeking happiness where it is not to be found, and "in digging pits, and hewing out cisterns for yourselves, which will hold no water" (Jeremiah 2:13), and have not regarded "the fountain of living waters," which is always near at hand. Do you find the road you are traveling to be "paths of pleasantness and peace" (Proverbs 3:17)? How could you accuse a Christian of being a hypocrite merely for seeking what you seek, if you yourself pretend to be satisfied in these ways? Those of us who were once where you are, and are now Christians, have followed your path far enough ourselves to know there are feelings in your heart which contradict your claims. You know that you are not happy, and we know it also!

Are you not "heavy laden," burdened with guilt, and fears, and harassed with trials and disappointments? Are you not often like children in the dark, afraid of being alone with the thoughts that are forced upon you in a lonely hour when you have nothing to amuse you? How often do your amusements fail you, especially in a time of trouble, or on a sick bed? What comfort does the world afford you then? What relief do you derive then from the companions of your empty, lighthearted hours? When you are suffering, they may not prefer the pain of being reminded how soon your situation may be their own. Even if they visit you at such times, you find them miserable comforters.

But I would like to tell you of one who is able to comfort you, in all seasons, and under all circumstances, whose favor is better than life! Will you still refuse to hear his voice? What hard thing does the Lord require of you? Only to come to him for that peace and rest to which you have, until now, been strangers! But, though you are invited, I know that of yourselves you will not come; you do not want to, and therefore, you cannot. Be assured, however, the invitation to "Come" does not mock you; and if you finally refuse it, the fault will lie at your own doors. But I hope you will refuse no longer. The preaching of the Gospel is his appointment for you, and has a great effect, when accompanied with the energy of his Holy Spirit, to make you "willing in the day of his power" (Psalm 110:3).

There are others, however, to whom this invitation speaks more directly. The convicted sinner is "heavy laden" with the guilt of sin, and "wearied" with ineffective strivings against it. He is weary of the yoke and burden of God's law, when he can neither answer its commands with cheerful and acceptable obedience, nor see any way of escaping the terrible penalty which is due to those who disobey. Even if he has moments of comparative peace and hope, he sighs earnestly and anxiously for pardon and liberty from his sins. For we know that only the knowledge of the Savior and the supplies of his Spirit, can give stable peace to the mind, or victory over sin. In Jesus' words of our text, here is help exactly suitable for you: "Come to him, and he will surely give you rest." And what is it "to come to Christ?" It is to believe in him, to apply to him, to put our complete trust in him and find that "He who comes to me shall never hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst" (John 6:35)!

On the other hand, when he was upon this earth, many who came to him and even followed him for a time received no saving benefit from him. Some came to him from motives of malice and ill-will, to trap or insult him. Some followed him for the physical pleasure of loaves and fishes; and others, who were frequently near him, he complained, "You do not desire to come to me, so that you may have life" (John 5:40) But they who were distressed, and came to him for relief, were not disappointed. "To come to him," therefore, implies a knowledge of his power, and an plea for his help. To us he is not visible, but he is always near us; and just as, after his resurrection, he appointed his disciples to meet him in Galilee (Matthew 28:16) just before he returned to heaven, so he has promised to be found by those who seek him, and who wait for him in the ways he has established. He is seated upon a throne of grace; he is to be sought in his Word, and in places where his people assemble in his name, for, he has said, "There will I be in the midst of them" (Matthew18:20). Those, therefore who read his Word, attend his services, and pray unto him, with a desire that they may know him, and "be remembered with the favor which he gives to his own people" (Psalm 106:4), are those to whom Jesus' words in our text were given. They come to him, and he assures them that whoever they are, he will in no way cast them out. And if they come to him in that way, they will of course follow his command, which is to "come out from the world, and be separate" (2 Corinthians 6:17).

Second, there is not only an invitation, but a promise: "I will give you rest." (Compare 1 Corinthians 6:18; 2 Corinthians 7:13) The word indicates a freedom from the fears and distressing accusations of a guilty conscience; from the long and fruitless struggle between the will and the judgment; from the condemning power of God's moral law; from the tyranny of irregular and inconsistent lusts; and from the dominion of pride and self, which makes us unhappy in ourselves, and hated and despised by others. "Rest" also includes a freedom from the cares and anxieties, which, in such an uncertain world as this, unsettle the minds of those who have no solid Scriptural dependence upon God. And most of all, "rest" is a freedom from the dread of death, and of the things which are beyond it. In these and other respects, the believer in Jesus enters into a present rest, not merely a future one.

The prophet Jeremiah, in Jeremiah 17:5-8, has given a beautiful description and illustration of this rest of a believer, which is rendered more striking by being contrasted with the miserable state of those who live without God in the world. "Thus says the LORD: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited." But, "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit."

Furthermore, besides rest, there is refreshment. We are invited by the Gospel to pleasures and comforts in communion with God which are superior to anything the world can give! Nor can the world deprive us of them, for they do not depend on outward circumstances. They remain even in poverty, sickness, and sufferings – indeed, they are often most sweet and lively when creature-comforts are at their lowest. Many have been able to say with the apostle, "As the sufferings of Christ," those we endure for his sake, or submit to as being from him, "are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ" (2 Corinthians 1:5)

One of our martyrs, as he was burned at the stake during the bloody reign of queen Mary, said to his tormentors, "I feel no more pain from these flames than if I was laid upon a bed of roses." That was an extraordinary case, but even in ordinary cases, how the Lord cheers those who seek him with the light of his countenance, so that they gladly part with the poor perishing pleasures of sin, and encounter all the difficulties they meet with in the path of duty! Whatever their profession of his name, and their attachment to his cause may cost them, they will acknowledge that it has given them more than enough in return.

Come therefore to him, take him at his gracious word, and you shall find rest for your souls! Can the world outbid this gracious offer? Can the world promise to give you rest, when you are burdened with trouble? when your cisterns fail, and your vines wither? or when you are terrified with the approach of death, when you are about to say a final farewell to all that you ever saw with your eyes, and an awful, unknown, unchangeable eternity is opening upon your view? Such a moment most certainly awaits you, and when it arrives, you will certainly tremble, if you never trembled before. Oh! be persuaded! May the Lord himself persuade you to be wise while there is time; to seek him now while he may be found, to call upon him while he is yet near! – lest that dreadful threatening should come upon you: "Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded; I also will laugh at your troubles, I will mock when your fear comes" (Proverbs 1:24-26).



	About the Author John Newton (1725-1807) received godly instruction from his mother as a young child, but she died when he was seven, and after the unwholesome influences of a stepmother and boarding school, he followed his father's influence and became a sailor. Onboard ship, he became an infidel of the most ungodly sort. Of his condition in those days, he writes, "My breast was filled with the most excruciating passions; eager desire, bitter rage, and black despair"; "I was capable of any thing; I had not the least fear of God before my eyes" and "I was tempted to throw myself into the sea ... But the secret hand of God restrained me." According to one biographer, "It is reported that at times he was so wretched that even his crew regarded him as little more than an animal." He fell into the hands of a slave-trader in Africa, and suffered all manner of hardships there, being continually insulted and almost starved. He survived to make several voyages to Africa in that shameful occupation of slave-trader, but after being influenced by the reading of a devotional book, followed by a "great deliverance" from a violent storm, he experienced a life-changing conversion to Christ in 1748, at the age of 23. He was ordained to the Anglican ministry about fifteen years later, but the intervening period brought intense biblical study and influential friendships with men of God such as George Whitefield and John Wesley. His 16 years as pastor at Olney brought about his longtime friendship with poet and hymnwriter William Cowper, during which Newton himself wrote the hymns for which he is most famous: "Amazing Grace," "Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken," "How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds," and nearly 300 others. When asked to give up preaching because of the infirmities of old age, he replied, "What! shall the old African blasphemer stop while he call speak?" He remained throughout his life a convinced Calvinist in his theology, and a loving shepherd of souls. Shortly before his death he said, "My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things, that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Saviour." Rest for the Weary A Sermon by John Newton (1725-1807) (Author of the hymn, "Amazing Grace") "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." (Mathew 11:28) The riches of Christ are unsearchable and inexhaustible! If millions of millions of distressed sinners seek to him for relief, he is sufficient for them all. His mercy is infinite to pardon all their sins; his grace is infinite to answer and exceed their utmost desires; his power is infinite to help them in all their difficulties. Number without number have been thus waiting upon him, from age to age; not one of them has been sent away disappointed and empty. And the streams of his bounty are still flowing, and still full. Can any creature discharge the debts, soothe the distresses, and satisfy the desires of every person who looks to him? Who but the Lord God (Psalm 146:8; Isaiah 61:2) can raise up all who are bowed down, and comfort all who mourn? Again, *as is his majesty, so is his mercy. The Savior passes over only those who willfully exclude themselves.* As no case is too hard for his power, so no person who applies to him is shut out from his compassion: "he who comes to him," whatever his former character or conduct may have been, "he will by no means cast out" (John 6:37). This glorious exercise of sovereign mercy is no less a divine attribute than the power by which he created the heavens and the earth. It is the consideration of his mercy in pardoning sin, and in saving sinners, which causes the prophet to exclaim, "Who is a God like you?" (Micah 7:18). As we consider this text, we see: *First, there is an invitation, expressed in very general terms: "Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden."* There is nothing here to discourage anyone who is willing to accept it. Whoever has an ear to hear, let him hear. "Let him who thirsts come, and whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely" (Revelation 22:17). I speak first to you who are "spending your money for that which does not satisfy" (Isaiah 55:2), who are wearied in seeking happiness where it is not to be found, and "in digging pits, and hewing out cisterns for yourselves, which will hold no water" (Jeremiah 2:13), and have not regarded "the fountain of living waters," which is always near at hand. Do you find the road you are traveling to be "paths of pleasantness and peace" (Proverbs 3:17)? How could you accuse a Christian of being a hypocrite merely for seeking what you seek, if you yourself pretend to be satisfied in these ways? Those of us who were once where you are, and are now Christians, have followed your path far enough ourselves to know there are feelings in your heart which contradict your claims. You know that you are not happy, and we know it also! Are you not "heavy laden," burdened with guilt, and fears, and harassed with trials and disappointments? Are you not often like children in the dark, afraid of being alone with the thoughts that are forced upon you in a lonely hour when you have nothing to amuse you? How often do your amusements fail you, especially in a time of trouble, or on a sick bed? What comfort does the world afford you then? What relief do you derive then from the companions of your empty, lighthearted hours? When you are suffering, they may not prefer the pain of being reminded how soon your situation may be their own. Even if they visit you at such times, you find them miserable comforters. But I would like to tell you of one who is able to comfort you, in all seasons, and under all circumstances, whose favor is better than life! Will you still refuse to hear his voice? What hard thing does the Lord require of you? Only to come to him for that peace and rest to which you have, until now, been strangers! But, though you are invited, I know that of yourselves you will not come; you do not want to, and therefore, you cannot. Be assured, however, the invitation to "Come" does not mock you; and if you finally refuse it, the fault will lie at your own doors. But I hope you will refuse no longer. *The preaching of the Gospel is his appointment for you, and has a great effect, when accompanied with the energy of his Holy Spirit, to make you "willing in the day of his power"* (Psalm 110:3).** There are others, however, to whom this invitation speaks more directly. The convicted sinner is "heavy laden" with the guilt of sin, and "wearied" with ineffective strivings against it. He is weary of the yoke and burden of God's law, when he can neither answer its commands with cheerful and acceptable obedience, nor see any way of escaping the terrible penalty which is due to those who disobey. Even if he has moments of comparative peace and hope, he sighs earnestly and anxiously for pardon and liberty from his sins. For we know that only the knowledge of the Savior and the supplies of his Spirit, can give stable peace to the mind, or victory over sin. In Jesus' words of our text, here is help exactly suitable for you: "Come to him, and he will surely give you rest." And what is it "to come to Christ?" It is to believe in him, to apply to him, to put our complete trust in him and find that "He who comes to me shall never hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst" (John 6:35)! On the other hand, when he was upon this earth, many who came to him and even followed him for a time received no saving benefit from him. Some came to him from motives of malice and ill-will, to trap or insult him. Some followed him for the physical pleasure of loaves and fishes; and others, who were frequently near him, he complained, "You do not desire to come to me, so that you may have life" (John 5:40) But they who were distressed, and came to him for relief, were not disappointed. "To come to him," therefore, implies a knowledge of his power, and an plea for his help. To us he is not visible, but he is always near us; and just as, after his resurrection, he appointed his disciples to meet him in Galilee (Matthew 28:16) just before he returned to heaven, so he has promised to be found by those who seek him, and who wait for him in the ways he has established. He is seated upon a throne of grace; he is to be sought in his Word, and in places where his people assemble in his name, for, he has said, "There will I be in the midst of them" (Matthew18:20). Those, therefore who read his Word, attend his services, and pray unto him, with a desire that they may know him, and "be remembered with the favor which he gives to his own people" (Psalm 106:4), are those to whom Jesus' words in our text were given. They come to him, and he assures them that whoever they are, he will in no way cast them out. And if they come to him in that way, they will of course follow his command, which is to "come out from the world, and be separate" (2 Corinthians 6:17). *Second, there is not only an invitation, but a promise: "I will give you rest."* (Compare 1 Corinthians 6:18; 2 Corinthians 7:13) The word indicates a freedom from the fears and distressing accusations of a guilty conscience; from the long and fruitless struggle between the will and the judgment; from the condemning power of God's moral law; from the tyranny of irregular and inconsistent lusts; and from the dominion of pride and self, which makes us unhappy in ourselves, and hated and despised by others. "Rest" also includes a freedom from the cares and anxieties, which, in such an uncertain world as this, unsettle the minds of those who have no solid Scriptural dependence upon God. And most of all, "rest" is a freedom from the dread of death, and of the things which are beyond it. In these and other respects, the believer in Jesus enters into a present rest, not merely a future one. The prophet Jeremiah, in Jeremiah 17:5-8, has given a beautiful description and illustration of this rest of a believer, which is rendered more striking by being contrasted with the miserable state of those who live without God in the world. "Thus says the LORD: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited." But, "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit." Furthermore, besides rest, there is refreshment. We are invited by the Gospel to pleasures and comforts in communion with God which are superior to anything the world can give! Nor can the world deprive us of them, for they do not depend on outward circumstances. They remain even in poverty, sickness, and sufferings – indeed, they are often most sweet and lively when creature-comforts are at their lowest. Many have been able to say with the apostle, "As the sufferings of Christ," those we endure for his sake, or submit to as being from him, "are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ" (2 Corinthians 1:5) One of our martyrs, as he was burned at the stake during the bloody reign of queen Mary, said to his tormentors, "I feel no more pain from these flames than if I was laid upon a bed of roses." That was an extraordinary case, but even in ordinary cases, how the Lord cheers those who seek him with the light of his countenance, so that they gladly part with the poor perishing pleasures of sin, and encounter all the difficulties they meet with in the path of duty! Whatever their profession of his name, and their attachment to his cause may cost them, they will acknowledge that it has given them more than enough in return. Come therefore to him, take him at his gracious word, and you shall find rest for your souls! Can the world outbid this gracious offer? Can the world promise to give you rest, when you are burdened with trouble? when your cisterns fail, and your vines wither? or when you are terrified with the approach of death, when you are about to say a final farewell to all that you ever saw with your eyes, and an awful, unknown, unchangeable eternity is opening upon your view? Such a moment most certainly awaits you, and when it arrives, you will certainly tremble, if you never trembled before. Oh! be persuaded! May the Lord himself persuade you to be wise while there is time; to seek him now while he may be found, to call upon him while he is yet near! – lest that dreadful threatening should come upon you: "Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded; I also will laugh at your troubles, I will mock when your fear comes" (Proverbs 1:24-26).