,,pax ,,vobiscum  ,,by ,,henry          
,,drummond1 ,f4,r4,s4,e41 ,f4,g4,s41    
,,ll4,d4  #ahij   ,,pax ,,vobiscum1     
prepared for publication by the ,author1
 is now published for the first time1   
being the second of a series of which   
,the ,greatest ,thing in the ,world was 
the first4   ,nov4 #a1 #ahij4 ,come unto
 me1 all ye that labour and are heavy   
laden1 and ,i will give you rest4 ,take 
my yoke upon you1 and learn of me2 for  
,i am meek and lowly in heart and ye    
shall find rest unto your souls4 ,for my
 yoke is easy1 and my burden is light4  
,,contents   ,,preface  ,,pax ,,vobiscum
  ,,effects ,,require ,,causes  ,,what  
,,yokes ,,are ,,for  ,,how ,,fruits     
,,grow     ,,pax ,,vobiscum   ,i heard  
the other morning a sermon by a         
distinguished preacher upon ,rest4 ,it  
was full of beautiful thoughts2 but when
 ,i came to ask myself1 ,how does he say
 ,i can get ,rest8 there was no answer4 
,the sermon was sincerely meant to be   
practical1 yet it contained no          

experience that seemed to me to be      
tangible1 nor any advice which could    
help me to find the thing itself as ,i  
went about the world that afternoon4    
,yet this omission of the only important
 problem was not the fault of the       
preacher4 ,the whole popular religion is
 in the twilight here4 ,and when pressed
 for really working specifics for the   
experiences with which it deals1 it     
falters1 and seems to lose itself in    
mist4  ,the want of connection between  
the great words of religion and         
every-day life has bewildered and       
discouraged all of us4 ,christianity    
possesses the noblest words in the      
language2 its literature overflows with 
terms expressive of the greatest and    
happiest moods which can fill the soul  
of man4 ,rest1 ,joy1 ,peace1 ,faith1    
,love1 ,light--these words occur with   
such persistency in hymns and prayers   
that an observer might think they formed
 the staple of ,christian experience4   
,but on coming to close quarters with   

the actual life of most of us1 how      
surely would he be disenchanted4 ,i do  
not think we ourselves are aware how    
much our religious life is made up of   
phrases2 how much of what we call       
,christian experience is only a dialect 
of the ,churches1 a mere religious      
phraseology with almost nothing behind  
it in what we really feel and know4  ,to
 some of us1 indeed1 the ,christian     
experiences seem further away than when 
we took the first steps in the          
,christian life4 ,that life has not     
opened out as we had hoped2 we do not   
regret our religion1 but we are         
disappointed with it4 ,there are times1 
perhaps1 when wandering notes from a    
diviner music stray into our spirits2   
but these experiences come at few and   
fitful moments4 ,we have no sense of    
possession in them4 ,when they visit us1
 it is a surprise4 ,when they leave us1 
it is without explanation4 ,when we wish
 their return1 we do not know how to    
secure it4 ,all which points to a       

religion without solid base1 and a poor 
and flickering life4 ,it means a great  
bankruptcy in those experiences which   
give ,christianity its personal solace  
and make it attractive to the world1 and
 a great uncertainty as to any remedy4  
,it is as if we knew everything about   
health--except the way to get it4  ,i am
 quite sure that the difficulty does not
 lie in the fact that men are not in    
earnest4 ,this is simply not the fact4  
,all around us ,christians are wearing  
themselves out in trying to be better4  
,the amount of spiritual longing in the 
world--in the hearts of unnumbered      
thousands of men and women in whom we   
should never suspect it2 among the wise 
and thoughtful2 among the young and gay1
 who seldom assuage and never betray    
their thirst--this is one of the most   
wonderful and touching facts of life4   
,it is not more heat that is needed1 but
 more light2 not more force1 but a wiser
 direction to be given to very real     
energies already there4  ,the ,address  

which follows is offered as a humble    
contribution to this problem1 and in the
 hope that it may help some who are     
seeking ,rest and finding none to a     
firmer footing on one great1 solid1     
simple principle which underlies not the
 ,christian experiences alone1 but all  
experiences1 and all life4  ,what       
,christian experience wants is thread1 a
 vertebral column1 method4 ,it is       
impossible to believe that there is no  
remedy for its unevenness and           
dishevelment1 or that the remedy is a   
secret4 ,the idea1 also1 that some few  
men1 by happy chance or happier         
temperament1 have been given the        
secret--as if there were some sort of   
knack or trick of it--is wholly         
incredible4 ,religion must ripen its    
fruit for every temperament2 and the way
 even into its highest heights must be  
by a gateway through which the peoples  
of the world may pass4  ,i shall try to 
lead up to this gateway by a very       
familiar path4 ,but as that path is     

strangely unfrequented1 and even        
unknown1 where it passes into the       
religious sphere1 ,i must dwell for a   
moment on the commonest of commonplaces4
     ,,effects ,,require ,,causes       
,nothing that happens in the world      
happens by chance4 ,god is a ,god of    
order4 ,everything is arranged upon     
definite principles1 and never at       
random4 ,the world1 even the religious  
world1 is governed by law4 ,character is
 governed by law4 ,happiness is governed
 by law4 ,the ,christian experiences are
 governed by law4 ,men1 forgetting this1
 expect ,rest1 ,joy1 ,peace1 ,faith to  
drop into their souls from the air like 
snow or rain4 ,but in point of fact they
 do not do so2 and if they did they     
would no less have their origin in      
previous activities and be controlled by
 natural laws4 ,rain and snow do drop   
from the air1 but not without a long    
previous history4 ,they are the mature  
effects of former causes4 ,equally so   
are ,rest1 and ,peace1 and ,joy4 ,they1 

too1 have each a previous history4      
,storms and winds and calms are not     
accidents1 but are brought about by     
antecedent circumstances4 ,rest and     
,peace are but calms in man's inward    
nature1 and arise through causes as     
definite and as inevitable4  ,realize it
 thoroughly3 it is a methodical not an  
accidental world4 ,if a housewife turns 
out a good cake1 it is the result of a  
sound receipt1 carefully applied4 ,she  
cannot mix the assigned ingredients and 
fire them for the appropriate time      
without producing the result4 ,it is not
 she who has made the cake2 it is       
nature4 ,she brings related things      
together2 sets causes at work2 these    
causes bring about the result4 ,she is  
not a creator1 but an intermediary4 ,she
 does not expect random causes to       
produce specific effects--random        
ingredients would only produce random   
cakes4 ,so it is in the making of       
,christian experiences4 ,certain lines  
are followed2 certain effects are the   

result4 ,these effects cannot but be the
 result4 ,but the result can never take 
place without the previous cause4 ,to   
expect results without antecedents is to
 expect cakes without ingredients4 ,that
 impossibility is precisely the almost  
universal expectation4  ,now what ,i    
mainly wish to do is to help you firmly 
to grasp this simple principle of ,cause
 and ,effect in the spiritual world4    
,and instead of applying the principle  
generally to each of the ,christian     
experiences in turn1 ,i shall examine   
its application to one in some little   
detail4 ,the one ,i shall select is     
,rest4 ,and ,i think any one who follows
 the application in this single instance
 will be able to apply it for himself to
 all the others4  ,take such a sentence 
as this3 ,african explorers are subject 
to fevers which cause restlessness and  
delirium4 ,note the expression1 cause   
restlessness4 ,restlessness has a cause4
 ,clearly1 then1 any one who wished to  
get rid of restlessness would proceed at

 once to deal with the cause4 ,if that  
were not removed1 a doctor might        
prescribe a hundred things1 and all     
might be taken in turn1 without         
producing the least effect4 ,things are 
so arranged in the original planning of 
the world that certain effects must     
follow certain causes1 and certain      
causes must be abolished before certain 
effects can be removed4 ,certain parts  
of ,africa are inseparably linked with  
the physical experience called fever2   
this fever is in turn infallibly linked 
with a mental experience called         
restlessness and delirium4 ,to abolish  
the mental experience the radical method
 would be to abolish the physical       
experience1 and the way of abolishing   
the physical experience would be to     
abolish ,africa1 or to cease to go      
there4 ,now this holds good for all     
other forms of ,restlessness4 ,every    
other form and kind of ,restlessness in 
the world has a definite cause1 and the 
particular kind of ,restlessness can    

only be removed by removing the allotted
 cause4  ,all this is also true of      
,rest4 ,restlessness has a cause3 must  
not ,rest have a cause8 ,necessarily4   
,if it were a chance world we would not 
expect this2 but1 being a methodical    
world1 it cannot be otherwise4 ,rest1   
physical rest1 moral rest1 spiritual    
rest1 every kind of rest has a cause1 as
 certainly as restlessness4 ,now causes 
are discriminating4 ,there is one kind  
of cause for every particular effect1   
and no other2 and if one particular     
effect is desired1 the corresponding    
cause must be set in motion4 ,it is no  
use proposing finely devised schemes1 or
 going through general pious exercises  
in the hope that somehow ,rest will     
come4 ,the ,christian life is not casual
 but causal4 ,all nature is a standing  
protest against the absurdity of        
expecting to secure spiritual effects1  
or any effects1 without the employment  
of appropriate causes4 ,the ,great      
,teacher dealt what ought to have been  

the final blow to this infinite         
irrelevancy by a single question1 ,do   
men gather grapes of thorns or figs of  
thistles8 ,why1 then1 did the ,great    
,teacher not educate ,his followers     
fully8 ,why did ,he not tell us1 for    
example1 how such a thing as ,rest might
 be obtained8 ,the answer is1 that ,he  
did4 ,but plainly1 explicitly1 in so    
many words8 ,yes1 plainly1 explicitly1  
in so many words4 ,he assigned ,rest to 
its cause1 in words with which each of  
us has been familiar from his earliest  
childhood4  ,he begins1 you             
remember--for you at once know the      
passage ,i refer to--almost as if ,rest 
could be had without any cause3 ,come   
unto me1 ,he says1 and ,i will give you 
,rest4  ,rest1 apparently1 was a favour 
to be bestowed2 men had but to come to  
,him2 ,he would give it to every        
applicant4 ,but the next sentence takes 
that all back4 ,the qualification1      
indeed1 is added instantaneously4 ,for  
what the first sentence seemed to give  

was next thing to an impossibility4 ,for
 how1 in a literal sense1 can ,rest be  
given8 ,one could no more give away     
,rest than he could give away ,laughter4
 ,we speak of causing laughter1 which we
 can do2 but we cannot give it away4    
,when we speak of giving pain1 we know  
perfectly well we cannot give pain away4
 ,and when we aim at giving pleasure1   
all that we do is to arrange a set of   
circumstances in such a way as that     
these shall cause pleasure4 ,of course  
there is a sense1 and a very wonderful  
sense1 in which a ,great ,personality   
breathes upon all who come within its   
influence an abiding peace and trust4   
,men can be to other men as the shadow  
of a great rock in a thirsty land4 ,much
 more ,christ2 much more ,christ as     
,perfect ,man2 much more still as       
,saviour of the world4 ,but it is not   
this of which ,i speak4 ,when ,christ   
said ,he would give men ,rest1 ,he meant
 simply that ,he would put them in the  
way of it4 ,by no act of conveyance     

would1 or could1 ,he make over ,his own 
,rest to them4 ,he could give them ,his 
receipt for it4 ,that was all4 ,but ,he 
would not make it for them2 for one     
thing1 it was not in ,his plan to make  
it for them2 for another thing1 men were
 not so planned that it could be made   
for them2 and for yet another thing1 it 
was a thousand times better that they   
should make it for themselves4  ,that   
this is the meaning becomes obvious from
 the wording of the second sentence3    
,learn of ,me and ye shall find ,rest4  
,rest1 that is to say1 is not a thing   
that can be given1 but a thing to be    
acquired4 ,it comes not by an act1 but  
by a process4 ,it is not to be found in 
a happy hour1 as one finds a treasure2  
but slowly1 as one finds knowledge4 ,it 
could indeed be no more found in a      
moment than could knowledge4 ,a soil has
 to be prepared for it4 ,like a fine    
fruit1 it will grow in one climate and  
not in another2 at one altitude and not 
at another4 ,like all growths it will   

have an orderly development and mature  
by slow degrees4  ,the nature of this   
slow process ,christ clearly defines    
when ,he says we are to achieve ,rest by
 learning4 ,learn of ,me1 ,he says1 and 
ye shall find rest to your souls4 ,now  
consider the extraordinary originality  
of this utterance4 ,how novel the       
connection between these two words1     
,learn and ,rest8 ,how few of us have   
ever associated them--ever thought that 
,rest was a thing to be learned2 ever   
laid ourselves out for it as we would to
 learn a language2 ever practised it as 
we would practise the violin8 ,does it  
not show how entirely new ,christ's     
teaching still is to the world1 that so 
old and threadbare an aphorism should   
still be so little applied8 ,the last   
thing most of us would have thought of  
would have been to associate ,rest with 
,work4  ,what must one work at8 ,what is
 that which if duly learned will find   
the soul of man in ,rest8 ,christ       
answers without the least hesitation4   

,he specifies two things--,meekness and 
,lowliness4 ,learn of ,me1 ,he says1 for
 ,i am meek and lowly in heart4 ,now    
these two things are not chosen at      
random4 ,to these accomplishments1 in a 
special way1 ,rest is attached4 ,learn  
these1 in short1 and you have already   
found ,rest4 ,these as they stand are   
direct causes of ,rest2 will produce it 
at once2 cannot but produce it at once4 
,and if you think for a single moment1  
you will see how this is necessarily so1
 for causes are never arbitrary1 and the
 connection between antecedent and      
consequent here and everywhere lies deep
 in the nature of things4  ,what is the 
connection1 then8 ,i answer by a further
 question4 ,what are the chief causes of
 ,unrest8 ,if you know yourself1 you    
will answer ,pride1 ,selfishness1       
,ambition4 ,as you look back upon the   
past years of your life1 is it not true 
that its unhappiness has chiefly come   
from the succession of personal         
mortifications and almost trivial       

disappointments which the intercourse of
 life has brought you8 ,great trials    
come at lengthened intervals1 and we    
rise to breast them2 but it is the petty
 friction of our every-day life with one
 another1 the jar of business or of     
work1 the discord of the domestic       
circle1 the collapse of our ambition1   
the crossing of our will or the taking  
down of our conceit1 which make inward  
peace impossible4 ,wounded vanity1 then1
 disappointed hopes1 unsatisfied        
selfishness--these are the old1 vulgar1 
universal sources of man's unrest4  ,now
 it is obvious why ,christ pointed out  
as the two chief objects for attainment 
the exact opposites of these4 ,to       
,meekness and ,lowliness these things   
simply do not exist4 ,they cure unrest  
by making it impossible4 ,these remedies
 do not trifle with surface symptoms2   
they strike at once at removing causes4 
,the ceaseless chagrin of a self-centred
 life can be removed at once by learning
 ,meekness and ,lowliness of heart4 ,he 

who learns them is forever proof against
 it4 ,he lives henceforth a charmed     
life4 ,christianity is a fine           
inoculation1 a transfusion of healthy   
blood into an anmic or poisoned soul4   
,no fever can attack a perfectly sound  
body2 no fever of unrest can disturb a  
soul which has breathed the air or      
learned the ways of ,christ4 ,men sigh  
for the wings of a dove that they may   
fly away and be at ,rest4 ,but flying   
away will not help us4 ,the ,kingdom of 
,god is within you4 ,we aspire to the   
top to look for ,rest2 it lies at the   
bottom4 ,water rests only when it gets  
to the lowest place4 ,so do men4 ,hence1
 be lowly4 ,the man who has no opinion  
of himself at all can never be hurt if  
others do not acknowledge him4 ,hence1  
be meek4 ,he who is without expectation 
cannot fret if nothing comes to him4 ,it
 is self-evident that these things are  
so4 ,the lowly man and the meek man are 
really above all other men1 above all   
other things4 ,they dominate the world  

because they do not care for it4 ,the   
miser does not possess gold1 gold       
possesses him4 ,but the meek possess it4
 ,the meek1 said ,christ1 inherit the   
earth4 ,they do not buy it2 they do not 
conquer it1 but they inherit it4  ,there
 are people who go about the world      
looking out for slights1 and they are   
necessarily miserable1 for they find    
them at every turn--especially the      
imaginary ones4 ,one has the same pity  
for such men as for the very poor4 ,they
 are the morally illiterate4 ,they have 
had no real education1 for they have    
never learned how to live4 ,few men know
 how to live4 ,we grow up at random1    
carrying into mature life the merely    
animal methods and motives which we had 
as little children4 ,and it does not    
occur to us that all this must be       
changed2 that much of it must be        
reversed1 that life is the finest of the
 ,fine ,arts1 that it has to be learned 
with lifelong patience1 and that the    
years of our pilgrimage are all too     

short to master it triumphantly4  ,yet  
this is what ,christianity is for--to   
teach men the ,art of ,life4 ,and its   
whole curriculum lies in one            
word--,learn of me4 ,unlike most        
education1 this is almost purely        
personal2 it is not to be had from books
 or lectures or creeds or doctrines4 ,it
 is a study from the life4 ,christ never
 said much in mere words about the      
,christian graces4 ,he lived them1 ,he  
was them4 ,yet we do not merely copy    
,him4 ,we learn ,his art by living with 
,him1 like the old apprentices with     
their masters4  ,now we understand it   
all8 ,christ's invitation to the weary  
and heavy-laden is a call to begin life 
over again upon a new principle--upon   
,his own principle4 ,watch ,my way of   
doing things1 ,he says4 ,follow ,me4    
,take life as ,i take it4 ,be meek and  
lowly and you will find ,rest4  ,i do   
not say1 remember1 that the ,christian  
life to every man1 or to any man1 can be
 a bed of roses4 ,no educational process

 can be this4 ,and perhaps if some men  
knew how much was involved in the simple
 learn of ,christ1 they would not enter 
,his school with so irresponsible a     
heart4 ,for there is not only much to   
learn1 but much to unlearn4 ,many men   
never go to this school at all till     
their disposition is already half ruined
 and character has taken on its fatal   
set4 ,to learn arithmetic is difficult  
at fifty--much more to learn            
,christianity4 ,to learn simply what it 
is to be meek and lowly1 in the case of 
one who has had no lessons in that in   
childhood1 may cost him half of what he 
values most on earth4 ,do we realize1   
for instance1 that the way of teaching  
humility is generally by humiliation8   
,there is probably no other school for  
it4 ,when a man enters himself as a     
pupil in such a school it means a very  
great thing4 ,there is much ,rest there1
 but there is also much ,work4  ,i      
should be wrong1 even though my theme is
 the brighter side1 to ignore the cross 

and minimise the cost4 ,only it gives to
 the cross a more definite meaning1 and 
a rarer value1 to connect it thus       
directly and causally with the growth of
 the inner life4 ,our platitudes on the 
benefits of affliction are usually about
 as vague as our theories of ,christian 
,experience4 ,somehow1 we believe       
affliction does us good4 ,but it is not 
a question of ,somehow4 ,the result is  
definite1 calculable1 necessary4 ,it is 
under the strictest law of cause and    
effect4 ,the first effect of losing     
one's fortune1 for instance1 is         
humiliation2 and the effect of          
humiliation1 as we have just seen1 is to
 make one humble2 and the effect of     
being humble is to produce ,rest4 ,it is
 a roundabout way1 apparently1 of       
producing ,rest2 but ,nature generally  
works by circular processes2 and it is  
not certain that there is any other way 
of becoming humble1 or of finding ,rest4
 ,if a man could make himself humble to 
order1 it might simplify matters1 but we

 do not find that this happens4 ,hence  
we must all go through the mill4 ,hence 
death1 death to the lower self1 is the  
nearest gate and the quickest road to   
life4  ,yet this is only half the truth4
 ,christ's life outwardly was one of the
 most troubled lives that was ever      
lived3 ,tempest and tumult1 tumult and  
tempest1 the waves breaking over it all 
the time till the worn body was laid in 
the grave4 ,but the inner life was a sea
 of glass4 ,the great calm was always   
there4 ,at any moment you might have    
gone to ,him and found ,rest4 ,and even 
when the bloodhounds were dogging him in
 the streets of ,jerusalem1 ,he turned  
to ,his disciples and offered them1 as a
 last legacy1 ,my peace4 ,nothing ever  
for a moment broke the serenity of      
,christ's life on earth4 ,misfortune    
could not reach ,him2 ,he had no        
fortune4 ,food1 raiment1                
money--fountain-heads of half the       
world's weariness--,he simply did not   
care for2 they played no part in ,his   

life2 ,he took no thought for them4 ,it 
was impossible to affect ,him by        
lowering ,his reputation2 ,he had       
already made ,himself of no reputation4 
,he was dumb before insult4 ,when ,he   
was reviled ,he reviled not-again4 ,in  
fact1 there was nothing that the world  
could do to ,him that could ruffle the  
surface of ,his spirit4  ,such living1  
as mere living1 is altogether unique4   
,it is only when we see what it was in  
,him that we can know what the word     
,rest means4 ,it lies not in emotions1  
nor in the absence of emotions4 ,it is  
not a hallowed feeling that comes over  
us in church4 ,it is not something that 
the preacher has in his voice4 ,it is   
not in nature1 or in poetry1 or in      
music--though in all these there is     
soothing4 ,it is the mind at leisure    
from itself4 ,it is the perfect poise of
 the soul2 the absolute adjustment of   
the inward man to the stress of all     
outward things2 the preparedness against
 every emergency2 the stability of      

assured convictions2 the eternal calm of
 an invulnerable faith2 the repose of a 
heart set deep in ,god4 ,it is the mood 
of the man who says1 with ,browning1    
,god's in ,his ,heaven1 all's well with 
the world4  ,two painters each painted a
 picture to illustrate his conception of
 rest4 ,the first chose for his scene a 
still1 lone lake among the far-off      
mountains4 ,the second threw on his     
canvas a thundering waterfall1 with a   
fragile birch-tree bending over the     
foam2 at the fork of a branch1 almost   
wet with the cataract's spray1 a robin  
sat on its nest4 ,the first was only    
,stagnation2 the last was ,rest4 ,for in
 ,rest there are always two             
elements--tranquillity and energy2      
silence and turbulence2 creation and    
destruction2 fearlessness and           
fearfulness4 ,this it was in ,christ4   
,it is quite plain from all this that   
whatever else ,he claimed to be or to   
do1 ,he at least knew how to live4 ,all 
this is the perfection of living1 of    

living in the mere sense of passing     
through the world in the best way4      
,hence ,his anxiety to communicate ,his 
idea of life to others4 ,he came1 ,he   
said1 to give men life1 true life1 a    
more abundant life than they were       
living2 the life1 as the fine phrase in 
the ,revised ,version has it1 that is   
life indeed4 ,this is what ,he himself  
possessed1 and it was this which ,he    
offers to all mankind4 ,and hence ,his  
direct appeal for all to come to ,him   
who had not made much of life1 who were 
weary and heavy-laden4 ,these ,he would 
teach ,his secret4 ,they1 also1 should  
know the life that is life indeed4      
,,what ,,yokes ,,are ,,for   ,there is  
still one doubt to clear up4 ,after the 
statement1 ,learn of ,me1 ,christ throws
 in the disconcerting qualification1    
,take ,my yoke upon you and learn of    
,me4 ,why1 if all this be true1 does ,he
 call it a yoke8 ,why1 while professing 
to give ,rest1 does ,he with the next   
breath whisper burden8 ,is the          

,christian life1 after all1 what its    
enemies take it for--an additional      
weight to the already great woe of life1
 some extra punctiliousness about duty1 
some painful devotion to observances1   
some heavy restriction and trammelling  
of all that is joyous and free in the   
world8 ,is life not hard and sorrowful  
enough without being fettered with yet  
another yoke8  ,it is astounding how so 
glaring a misunderstanding of this plain
 sentence should ever have passed into  
currency4 ,did you ever stop to ask what
 a yoke is really for8 ,is it to be a   
burden to the animal which wears it8 ,it
 is just the opposite4 ,it is to make   
its burden light4 ,attached to the oxen 
in any other way than by a yoke1 the    
plough would be intolerable4 ,worked by 
means of a yoke1 it is light4 ,a yoke is
 not an instrument of torture2 it is an 
instrument of mercy4 ,it is not a       
malicious contrivance for making work   
hard2 it is a gentle device to make hard
 labour light4 ,it is not meant to give 

pain1 but to save pain4 ,and yet men    
speak of the yoke of ,christ as if it   
were a slavery1 and look upon those who 
wear it as objects of compassion4 ,for  
generations we have had homilies on ,the
 ,yoke of ,christ1 some delighting in   
portraying its narrow exactions2 some   
seeking in these exactions the marks of 
its divinity2 others apologising for it1
 and toning it down2 still others       
assuring us that1 although it be very   
bad1 it is not to be compared with the  
positive blessings of ,christianity4    
,how many1 especially among the young1  
has this one mistaken phrase driven     
forever away from the kingdom of ,god8  
,instead of making ,christ attractive1  
it makes ,him out a taskmaster1         
narrowing life by petty restrictions1   
calling for self-denial where none is   
necessary1 making misery a virtue under 
the plea that it is the yoke of ,christ1
 and happiness criminal because it now  
and then evades it4 ,according to this  
conception1 ,christians are at best the 

victims of a depressing fate2 their life
 is a penance2 and their hope for the   
next world purchased by a slow martyrdom
 in this4  ,the mistake has arisen from 
taking the word yoke here in the same   
sense as in the expressions under the   
yoke1 or wear the yoke in his youth4    
,but in ,christ's illustration it is not
 jugum of the ,roman soldier1 but the   
simple harness or ox-collar of the      
,eastern peasant4 ,it is the literal    
wooden yoke which ,he1 with ,his own    
hands in the carpenter shop1 had        
probably often made4 ,he knew the       
difference between a smooth yoke and a  
rough one1 a bad fit and a good fit2 the
 difference also it made to the patient 
animal which had to wear it4 ,the rough 
yoke galled1 and the burden was heavy2  
the smooth yoke caused no pain1 and the 
load was lightly drawn4 ,the badly      
fitted harness was a misery2 the        
well-fitted collar was easy4 ,and what  
was the burden8 ,it was not some special
 burden laid upon the ,christian1 some  

unique infliction that they alone must  
bear4 ,it was what all men bear4 ,it was
 simply life1 human life itself1 the    
general burden of life which all must   
carry with them from the cradle to the  
grave4 ,christ saw that men took life   
painfully4 ,to some it was a weariness1 
to others a failure1 to many a tragedy1 
to all a struggle and a pain4 ,how to   
carry this burden of life had been the  
whole world's problem4 ,it is still the 
whole world's problem4 ,and here is     
,christ's solution3 ,carry it as ,i do4 
,take life as ,i take it4 ,look at it   
from ,my point of view4 ,interpret it   
upon ,my principles4 ,take ,my yoke and 
learn of ,me1 and you will find it easy4
 ,for ,my yoke is easy1 works easily1   
sits right upon the shoulders1 and      
therefore ,my burden is light4 ,there is
 no suggestion here that religion will  
absolve any man from bearing burdens4   
,that would be to absolve him from      
living1 since it is life itself that is 
the burden4 ,what ,christianity does    

propose is to make it tolerable4        
,christ's yoke is simply ,his secret for
 the alleviation of human life1 ,his    
prescription for the best and happiest  
method of living4 ,men harness          
themselves to the work and stress of the
 world in clumsy and unnatural ways4    
,the harness they put on is antiquated4 
,a rough1 ill-fitted collar at the best1
 they make its strain and friction past 
enduring1 by placing it where the neck  
is most sensitive2 and by mere          
continuous irritation this sensitiveness
 increases until the whole nature is    
quick and sore4  ,this is the origin1   
among other things1 of a disease called 
touchiness --a disease which1 in spite  
of its innocent name1 is one of the     
gravest sources of restlessness in the  
world4 ,touchiness1 when it becomes     
chronic1 is a morbid condition of the   
inward disposition4 ,it is self-love    
inflamed to the acute point2 conceit1   
with a hair-trigger4 ,the cure is to    
shift the yoke to some other place2 to  

let men and things touch us through some
 new and perhaps as yet unused part of  
our nature2 to become meek and lowly in 
heart while the old nature is becoming  
numb from want of use4 ,it is the       
beautiful work of ,christianity         
everywhere to adjust the burden of life 
to those who bear it1 and them to it4   
,it has a perfectly miraculous gift of  
healing4 ,without doing any violence to 
human nature it sets it right with life1
 harmonizing it with all surrounding    
things1 and restoring those who are     
jaded with the fatigue and dust of the  
world to a new grace of living4 ,in the 
mere matter of altering the perspective 
of life and changing the proportions of 
things1 its function in lightening the  
care of man is altogether its own4 ,the 
weight of a load depends upon the       
attraction of the earth4 ,but suppose   
the attraction of the earth were        
removed8 ,a ton on some other planet1   
where the attraction of gravity is less1
 does not weigh half a ton4 ,now        

,christianity removes the attraction of 
the earth2 and this is one way in which 
it diminishes men's burden4 ,it makes   
them citizens of another world4 ,what   
was a ton yesterday is not half a ton   
to-day4 ,so without changing one's      
circumstances1 merely by offering a     
wider horizon and a different standard1 
it alters the whole aspect of the world4
  ,christianity as ,christ taught is the
 truest philosophy of life ever spoken4 
,but let us be quite sure when we speak 
of ,christianity that we mean ,christ's 
,christianity4 ,other versions are      
either caricatures1 or exaggerations1 or
 misunderstandings1 or shortsighted and 
surface readings4 ,for the most part    
their attainment is hopeless and the    
results wretched4 ,but ,i care not who  
the person is1 or through what vale of  
tears he has passed1 or is about to     
pass1 there is a new life for him along 
this path4     ,,how ,,fruits ,,grow    
,were rest my subject1 there are other  
things ,i should wish to say about it1  

and other kinds of ,rest of which ,i    
should like to speak4 ,but that is not  
my subject4 ,my theme is that the       
,christian experiences are not the work 
of magic1 but come under the law of     
,cause and ,effect4 ,and ,i have chosen 
,rest only as a single illustration of  
the working of that principle4 ,if there
 were time ,i might next run over all   
the ,christian experiences in turn1 and 
show how the same wide law applies to   
each4 ,but ,i think it may serve the    
better purpose if ,i leave this further 
exercise to yourselves4 ,i know no      
,bible study that you will find more    
full of fruit1 or which will take you   
nearer to the ways of ,god1 or make the 
,christian life itself more solid or    
more sure4 ,i shall add only a single   
other illustration of what ,i mean1     
before ,i close4  ,where does ,joy come 
from8 ,i knew a ,sunday scholar whose   
conception of ,joy was that it was a    
thing made in lumps and kept somewhere  
in ,heaven1 and that when people prayed 

for it1 pieces were somehow let down and
 fitted into their souls4 ,i am not sure
 that views as gross and material are   
not often held by people who ought to be
 wiser4 ,in reality1 ,joy is as much a  
matter of ,cause and ,effect as pain4   
,no one can get ,joy by merely asking   
for it4 ,it is one of the ripest fruits 
of the ,christian life1 and1 like all   
fruits1 must be grown4 ,there is a very 
clever trick in ,india called the       
mango-trick4 ,a seed is put in the      
ground and covered up1 and after divers 
incantations a full-blown mango-bush    
appears within five minutes4 ,i never   
met any one who knew how the thing was  
done1 but ,i never met any one who      
believed it to be anything else than a  
conjuring-trick4 ,the world is pretty   
unanimous now in its belief in the      
orderliness of ,nature4 ,men may not    
know how fruits grow1 but they do know  
that they cannot grow in five minutes4  
,some lives have not even a stalk on    
which fruits could hang1 even if they   

did grow in five minutes4 ,some have    
never planted one sound seed of ,joy in 
all their lives2 and others who may have
 planted a germ or two have lived so    
little in sunshine that they never could
 come to maturity4  ,whence1 then1 is   
joy8 ,christ put ,his teaching upon this
 subject into one of the most exquisite 
of ,his parables4 ,i should in any      
instance have appealed to ,his teaching 
here1 as in the case of ,rest1 for ,i do
 not wish you to think ,i am speaking   
words of my own4 ,but it so happens that
 ,he has dealt with it in words of      
unusual fulness4  ,i need not recall the
 whole illustration4 ,it is the parable 
of the ,vine4 ,did you ever think why   
,christ spoke that parable8 ,he did not 
merely throw it into space as a fine    
illustration of general truths4 ,it was 
not simply a statement of the mystical  
union1 and the doctrine of an indwelling
 ,christ4 ,it was that2 but it was more4
 ,after ,he had said it1 ,he did what   
was not an unusual thing when ,he was   

teaching ,his greatest lessons4 ,he     
turned to the disciples and said ,he    
would tell them why ,he had spoken it4  
,it was to tell them how to get ,joy4   
,these things have ,i spoken unto you1  
,he said1 that ,my ,joy might remain in 
you and that your ,joy might be full4   
,it was a purposed and deliberate       
communication of ,his secret of         
,happiness4  ,go back over these verses1
 then1 and you will find the ,causes of 
this ,effect1 the spring1 and the only  
spring1 out of which true ,happiness    
comes4 ,i am not going to analyse them  
in detail4 ,i ask you to enter into the 
words for yourselves4 ,remember1 in the 
first place1 that the ,vine was the     
,eastern symbol of ,joy4 ,it was its    
fruit that made glad the heart of man4  
,yet1 however innocent that             
gladness--for the expressed juice of the
 grape was the common drink at every    
peasant's board--the gladness was only a
 gross and passing thing4 ,this was not 
true happiness1 and the vine of the     

,palestine vineyards was not the true   
vine4 ,christ was the true ,vine4 ,here1
 then1 is the ultimate source of ,joy4  
,through whatever media it reaches us1  
all true ,joy and ,gladness find their  
source in ,christ4 ,by this1 of course1 
is not meant that the actual ,joy       
experienced is transferred from         
,christ's nature1 or is something passed
 on from ,him to us4 ,what is passed on 
is ,his method of getting it4 ,there is1
 indeed1 a sense in which we can share  
another's joy or another's sorrow4 ,but 
that is another matter4 ,christ is the  
source of ,joy to men in the sense in   
which ,he is the source of ,rest4 ,his  
people share ,his life1 and therefore   
share its consequences1 and one of these
 is ,joy4 ,his method of living is one  
that in the nature of things produces   
,joy4 ,when ,he spoke of ,his ,joy      
remaining with us ,he meant in part that
 the causes which produced it should    
continue to act4 ,his followers1 that is
 to say1 by repeating ,his life would   

experience its accompaniments4 ,his     
,joy1 ,his kind of ,joy1 would remain   
with them4  ,the medium through which   
this ,joy comes is next explained3 ,he  
that abideth in ,me1 the same bringeth  
forth much fruit4 ,fruit first1 ,joy    
next2 the one the cause or medium of the
 other4 ,fruit-bearing is the necessary 
antecedent2 ,joy both the necessary     
consequent and the necessary            
accompaniment4 ,it lay partly in the    
bearing fruit1 partly in the fellowship 
which made that possible4 ,partly1 that 
is to say1 ,joy lay in mere constant    
living in ,christ's presence1 with all  
that that implied of peace1 of shelter1 
and of love2 partly in the influence of 
that ,life upon mind and character and  
will2 and partly in the inspiration to  
live and work for others1 with all that 
that brings of self-riddance and ,joy in
 others' gain4 ,all these1 in different 
ways and at different times1 are sources
 of pure ,happiness4 ,even the simplest 
of them--to do good to other people--is 

an instant and infallible specific4     
,there is no mystery about ,happiness   
whatever4 ,put in the right ingredients 
and it must come out4 ,he that abideth  
in ,him will bring forth much fruit2 and
 bringing forth much fruit is           
,happiness4 ,the infallible receipt for 
,happiness1 then1 is to do good2 and the
 infallible receipt for doing good is to
 abide in ,christ4 ,the surest proof    
that all this is a plain matter of      
,cause and ,effect is that men may try  
every other conceivable way of finding  
,happiness1 and they will fail4 ,only   
the right cause in each case can produce
 the right effect4  ,then the ,christian
 experiences are our own making8 ,in the
 same sense in which grapes are our own 
making1 and no more4 ,all fruits        
grow--whether they grow in the soil or  
in the soul2 whether they are the fruits
 of the wild grape or of the ,true      
,vine4 ,no man can make things grow4 ,he
 can get them to grow by arranging all  
the circumstances and fulfilling all the

 conditions4 ,but the growing is done by
 ,god4 ,causes and effects are eternal  
arrangements1 set in the constitution of
 the world2 fixed beyond man's ordering4
 ,what man can do is to place himself in
 the midst of a chain of sequences4     
,thus he can get things to grow3 thus he
 himself can grow4 ,but the grower is   
the ,spirit of ,god4  ,what more need ,i
 add but this--test the method by       
experiment4 ,do not imagine that you    
have got these things because you know  
how to get them4 ,as well try to feed   
upon a cookery book4 ,but ,i think ,i   
can promise that if you try in this     
simple and natural way1 you will not    
fail4 ,spend the time you have spent in 
sighing for fruits in fulfilling the    
conditions of their growth4 ,the fruits 
will come1 must come4 ,we have hitherto 
paid immense attention to effects1 to   
the mere experiences themselves2 we have
 described them1 extolled them1 advised 
them1 prayed for them--done everything  
but find out what caused them4          

,henceforth let us deal with causes4 ,to
 be1 says ,lotze1 is to be in relations4
 ,about every other method of living the
 ,christian life there is an            
uncertainty4 ,about every other method  
of acquiring the ,christian experiences 
there is a perhaps4 ,but in so far as   
this method is the way of nature1 it    
cannot fail4 ,its guarantee is the laws 
of the universe1 and these are the      
,hands of the ,living ,god4     ,,the   
,,true ,,vine   ,i am the true vine1 and
 my ,father is the husbandman4 ,every   
branch in me that beareth not fruit he  
taketh away3 and every branch that      
beareth fruit1 he purgeth it1 that it   
may bring forth more fruit4 ,now ye are 
clean through the word which ,i have    
spoken unto you4 ,abide in me1 and ,i in
 you4 ,as the branch cannot bear fruit  
of itself1 except it abide in the vine2 
no more can ye1 except ye abide in me4  
,i am the vine1 ye are the branches3 ,he
 that abideth in me1 and ,i in him1 the 
same bringeth forth much fruit3 for     

without me ye can do nothing4 ,if a man 
abide not in me1 he is cast forth as a  
branch1 and is withered2 and men gather 
them1 and cast them into the fire1 and  
they are burned4 ,if ye abide in me1 and
 my word abide in you1 ye shall ask what
 ye will1 and it shall be done unto you4
 ,herein is my ,father glorified1 that  
ye bear much fruit2 so ye shall be my   
disciples4 ,as the ,father hath loved   
me1 so have ,i loved you3 continue ye in
 my love4 ,if ye keep my commandments1  
ye shall abide in my love2 even as ,i   
have kept my ,father's commandments1 and
 abide in his love4 ,these things have  
,i spoken unto you1 that my joy might   
remain in you1 and that your joy might  
be full4   ,,the ,,end4