ghest, noblest,
perfect, and, as I believe, final form in which all God's glory, all
God's energy, are gathered together, and make their appeal to you and
me, was when a Galilean peasant stood up in a little knot of forgotten
Jews and said to them, and through them to you and me, 'Come unto Me all
ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' He calls
by His glory and by His virtue.

Now still further. Confining myself as before to the words as they lie
here in this text, let me ask you to think, and that for a moment or two
only, on the great and wondrous purpose which this Divine energy and
light had in view in summoning us to itself. His Divine power hath given
unto us all things that pertain to life and all things that pertain to
godliness. Look at that! One of the old Psalms says: 'Gather my saints
together unto me, those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice;
assemble them all before my throne, and I will judge my people.' Is that
the last and final revelation of God's purpose of drawing men to Him? Is
that why He sends out His heralds and summons through the whole
intelligent creation? Nay, something better. Not to judge, not to
scourge, not to chastise, not to avenge. To give. This is the meaning of
that summons that comes out through the whole earth, 'Come up hither,'
that when we get there we may be flooded with the richness of His mercy,
and that He may pour His whole soul out over us in the greatness of His
gifts. This is God, and the perpetual activity summoning men to Himself
that there He may bless them. He makes our hearts empty that He may fill
them. He shapes us as we are that we may need Him and may recreate
ourselves in Him. He says, 'Bring all your vessels and I will fill them
full.' Now look in this part of my subject at what I may venture to call
the magnificent confidence that this Peter has in the--what shall I
say?--the encyclopaedical--if I may use a long word--and universal
character of God. All things that pertain to life, all things that
pertain to godliness. And somebody says, 'Yes, that is tautology, that
is saying the same thing twice over in different language.' Never mind,
says Peter, so much the better, it will help to express the exuberant
abundance and fulness. He takes a leaf out of his brother Paul's book.
He is often guilty when he speaks of God's gifts of that same sin of
tautology, as for instance, 'Now unto Him who is able to do exceeding,
abundantly,