Rest Only in God
True comfort and fulfillment can only be found in God, who offers complete and unconditional comfort.
W.R. Inge emphasizes that true comfort and fulfillment can only be found in God, as all earthly comforts are temporary and lacking. He highlights that God's comfort is complete and without any deficiencies, unlike the comforts offered by the world. Inge points out that all the perfections found in creation are united in God, who surpasses all understanding and comparison. He illustrates that the fullness of God cannot be expressed by the abundance of creatures, just as a drop of water cannot encapsulate the vastness of the sea.
Text
IF I had everything that I could desire, and my finger ached, I should not have everything, for I should have a pain in my finger, and so long as that remained, I should not enjoy full comfort. Bread is comfortable for men, when they are hungry; but when they are thirsty, they find no more comfort in bread than in a stone. So it is with clothes, they are welcome to men, when they are cold; but when they are too hot, clothes give them no comfort. And so it is with all the creatures. The comfort which they promise is only on the surface, like froth, and it always carries with it a want. But God's comfort is clear and has nothing wanting: it is full and complete, and God is constrained to give it thee, for He cannot cease till He have given thee Himself. (300)
It is only in God that are collected and united all the perfections, which in the creatures are sundered and divided. (324)
Yet all the fulness of the creatures can as little express God, as a drop of water can express the sea. (173)
Sermon Outline
- The Nature of Human Comfort
- God's Comfort
- The Perfections of God
- Collected and United
- Unexpressible by Creatures
Key Quotes
“But God's comfort is clear and has nothing wanting: it is full and complete, and God is constrained to give it thee, for He cannot cease till He have given thee Himself.” — W.R. Inge
“Yet all the fulness of the creatures can as little express God, as a drop of water can express the sea.” — W.R. Inge
“It is only in God that are collected and united all the perfections, which in the creatures are sundered and divided.” — W.R. Inge
Application Points
- Recognize that human comfort is fleeting and dependent on external factors.
- Seek comfort and fulfillment in God, who offers complete and unconditional comfort.
- Acknowledge the limitations of human expression in describing God's perfections.