Music and the Rest
Rest is not the end of the tune, but a pause in the melody, and it is an opportunity for God to make music in our lives.
Charles E. Cowman preaches about the significance of being called aside by God into a desert place apart, where we experience forced leisure, disappointments, and pauses in the melody of our lives. He emphasizes that these 'rests' are not to be overlooked but are moments where God is teaching us valuable lessons and deepening our relationship with Him. By focusing on God during these times, we can learn to trust His timing and guidance, allowing Him to lead us through the slow and sometimes painful process of making music out of our lives.
Text
"Into a desert place apart" (Matt. 14:13).
"There is no music in a rest, but there is the making of music in it." In our whole life-melody the music is broken off here and there by "rests," and we foolishly think we have come to the end of the tune. God sends a time of forced leisure, sickness, disappointed plans, frustrated efforts, and makes a sudden pause in the choral hymn of our lives; and we lament that our voices must be silent, and our part missing in the music which ever goes up to the ear of the Creator. How does the musician read the "rest"? See him beat the time with unvarying count, and catch up the next note true and steady, as if no breaking place had come between.
Not without design does God write the music of our lives. Be it ours to learn the tune, and not be dismayed at the "rests." They are not to be slurred over, not to be omitted, not to destroy the melody, not to change the keynote. If we look up, God Himself will beat the time for us. With the eye on Him, we shall strike the next note full and clear. If we sadly say to ourselves, "There is no music in a 'rest,'" let us not forget "there is the making of music in it." The making of music is often a slow and painful process in this life. How patiently God works to teach us! How long He waits for us to learn the lesson! --Ruskin
"Called aside--
From the glad working of thy busy life,
From the world's ceaseless stir of care and strife,
Into the shade and stillness by thy Heavenly Guide
For a brief space thou hast been called aside.
"Called aside--
Perhaps into a desert garden dim;
And yet not alone, when thou hast been with Him,
And heard His voice in sweetest accents say:
'Child, wilt thou not with Me this still hour stay?'
"Called aside--
In hidden paths with Christ thy Lord to tread,
Deeper to drink at the sweet Fountainhead,
Closer in fellowship with Him to roam,
Nearer, perchance, to feel thy Heavenly Home.
"Called aside--
Oh, knowledge deeper grows with Him alone;
In secret of His deeper love is shown,
And learnt in many an hour of dark distress
Some rare, sweet lesson of His tenderness.
"Called aside--
We thank thee for the stillness and the shade;
We thank Thee for the hidden paths Thy love hath made,
And, so that we have wept and watched with Thee,
We thank Thee for our dark Gethsemane.
"Called aside--
Oh, restful thought--He doeth all things well;
Oh, blessed sense, with Christ alone to dwell;
So in the shadow of Thy cross to hide,
We thank Thee, Lord, to have been called aside."
Sermon Outline
- The Purpose of Rest
- How to Read the Rest
- The Making of Music in Rest
- Rest is a slow and painful process, but God works patiently to teach us
- We can learn a lesson of God's tenderness in times of darkness
Key Quotes
“There is no music in a rest, but there is the making of music in it.” — Charles E. Cowman
“If we look up, God Himself will beat the time for us.” — Charles E. Cowman
“We thank Thee for the stillness and the shade; We thank Thee for the hidden paths Thy love hath made,” — Charles E. Cowman
Application Points
- We can learn to trust in God's guidance and timing, even in times of rest and darkness.
- We can grow in knowledge and fellowship with God through times of rest and stillness.
- We can make music in our lives by looking up to God and trusting in His love and tenderness.