Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest. - Micah 2:10
There is no permanent rest for the believer on earth; here briars and thorns will be with him; and a voice is daily sounding in his ears, "ARISE YE, AND DEPART." Here you are not to loll at ease, or to idle on your journey; here you are not to expect to find satisfaction, for it is an enemy’s land; and you are only passing through it to your heavenly home.
If your march is quick and your conduct scriptural, be not surprised if the dogs bark at you; they know you not, nor did they know your Master. He was pursued, annoyed, and at last put to death by them; and in agony of soul He cried out, "Dogs have compassed Me; the assembly of the wicked have inclosed Me; they have pierced My hands and My feet."
Lay not up treasures for yourselves upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; but set your affections on things above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. Use the world, but do not abuse it; pass through it, but never seek a home in it; remember it is peopled by the enemies of your God.
When snares and dangers line my way,
Jesus is all my strength and stay;
Cheerful I’ll walk the desert through,
Nor fear what earth or hell can do:
Jesus will ease my troubled breast,
And shortly bring my soul to rest.