"Tell me, 0 Thou whom my soul loveth, where Thou feedest, where Thou makest Thy flock to rest at noon; for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of Thy companions?" ' Song of Solomon 1:7.
"Rest at noon"! How inviting it sounds! To understand this song, we must picture ourselves in Eastern lands. It is noon, and the rays of the scorching sun are beating upon the parched and wearied earth. There is no escape from its pitiless glare. But there is One who is skillful in finding rest even at noon for His flock; He is addressed as the One "whom my soul loveth."
Dear troubled, anxious Christian, has it been noon with you? Have the scorching rays of tribulation, trial, weakness of body, or of shattered hopes and a broken spirit reached you, till you have felt you could bear no more? What you need is REST.
There is One whom thy soul loveth, who can give the rest you need. He loves you well, and it is He who has permitted the tribulation, the weakness of body, the broken spirit in order that, parched and weary, you might at length turn to Him and find "rest at noon." Even at noon there is a place of perfect peace. What a rest it is! To lie perfectly passive in His hands, knowing that the love, the perfect divine love which has planned out your pathway, has measured, in its omniscience, the weight of your sorrow. He is engaged in working out the purposes of His love in you for His own glory first, and then for your exceeding gain. In the knowledge of that love your heart may rest-"Rest at noon."
I knew a Christian who was dying. One would have thought that he could not stand any greater pressure and further weakening, but the fiercer the trial the more beautiful was the rest that he enjoyed. There is no possible combination of circumstances in which this rest may not be known.
"A MAN shall be... as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." Isa. 32:2.
"Come unto ME, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matt. 11:28.
The same truth is put in different ways. In all our weariness we know Him who knew weariness and thirst-A Man who was "God over all, blessed forever," yet truly Man, now glorified, the succorer of His people and their Great High Priest, "touched with the feeling of our infirmities." Surely we can find rest in Him, as under "the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." He gives the invitation: "Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Every weary sinner who comes to Him will find rest, yet it is not confined to that, but is an invitation to you that labor and are heavy laden to rest.
Blessed Jesus! The One whom our souls love is the same who can give rest to His flock at noon. "Rest at Noon"! Do you know anything of it?