able state, that thou give not these things the reading only, and so dismiss them with a bare approbation; but that thou set upon this work, and take God in Christ for thy only rest, and fix thy heart upon him above all. May the living God, who is the portion and rest of his saints, make these our carnal minds so spiritual, and our earthly hearts so heavenly, that loving him, and delighting in him, may be the work of our lives; and that neither I that write, nor you that read, this book, may ever be turned from this path of life; lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, we should come short of it, through our own unbelief or negligence!* § 2. The saint's rest is the most happy state of a Christian; or it is, the perfect and endless enjoyment of God by the perfected saints, according to the measure of their capacity, to which their souls arrive at death, and both soul and body most fully after the resurrection and final judgment. According to this definition of the saint's rest, a larger account of its nature will be given in this chapter; of its preparatives, chap. ii.; its excellencies, chap. iii.; and chap. iv. the persons for whom it is designed. Farther to illustrate the subject, some description will be given, chap. v. of their misery who lose this rest; and, chap. vi. who also lose the enjoyments of time, and suffer the torments of hell: Next will be shewed, chap. vii. the necessity of diligently seeking this rest; chap, viii. how our title to it may be discerned; chap. ix. that they who discern their title to it should help those that cannot; and, chap x. that this rest is not to be expected on earth. It will then be * Heb, iv. 1. proper to consider, chap. xi. the importance of a heavenly life upon earth; chap. xii. how to live a heavenly life upon earth; chap. xiii. the nature of heavenly contemplation, with the time, place and temper fittest for it; chap. xiv. what use heavenly contemplation makes of consideration, affections, soliloquy and prayer; and likewise, chap. xv. how heavenly contemplation may be assisted by sensible objects, and guarded against a treacherous heart. Heavenly contemplation will be exemplified, chap. xvi. and the whole work concluded. 3. There are some things necessarily presupposed in the nature of this rest; as, for instance, that mortal men are the persons seeking it. For angels and glorified spirits have it already, and the devils and damned are past hope. That they choose God only for their end and happiness. He that takes any thing else for his happiness, is out of the way the first step.-That they are distant from this end. This is the woeful case of all mankind since the fall. When Christ comes with regenerating grace, he finds no man sitting still, but all posting to eternal ruin, and making haste towards hell; till, by conviction, he first brings them to a stand, and then by conversion, turns their hearts and lives sincerely to himself.-This end, and its excellency, is supposed to be known, and seriously intended. An unknown good moves not to desire or endeavour. And not only a distance from this rest, but the true knowledge of this distance, is also supposed. They that never yet knew they were without God, and in the way to hell, did never yet know the way to heaven. Can a man find he hath lost his God, and his soul, and not cry, I am undone? The reason why so few obtain this rest, is, they will not be convinced, that they are, in point of title, distant from it; and, in point of practice, contrary to it. Who ever sought for that, which he knew not he had lost? They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.*-The influence of a superior moving cause is also supposed; else we shall all stand still, and not move toward our rest. If God move us not, we cannot move. It is a most necessary part of our Christian wisdom, to keep our subordination to God and dependance on him. We are not sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God. Without me, says Christ, ye can do nothing. It is next supposed, that they who seek this rest, have an inward principle of spiritual life. God does not move men like stones, but he endows them with life, not to enable them to move without him, but in subordination to himself the first mover. And farther, this rest supposes such an actual tendency of soul towards it, as is regular and constant, earnest and laborious. He that hides his talent shall receive the wages of a slothful servant. Christ is the door, the only way to this rest. But strait is the gate, and narrow is the way; and we must strive, if we will enter, for many will seek to enter in, and shall not be able ;|| which implies, that the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence. Nor will it bring us to the end of the saints, if we begin in -the spirit and end in the flesh.** He only that endureth to the end shall be saved.tt And never did a soul obtain rest with God, whose desire was not set upon him above all things else in the world. * Matt. ix. 12. + 2 Cor. iii. 5. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The remainder of our old nature will much weaken and interrupt these desires, but never overcome them. And considering the opposition to our derires, from the contrary principles in our nature, and from the weakness of our graces, together with our continued distance from the end, our tendency to that end must be laborious, and with all our might.-All these things are presupposed, in order to a Christian's obtaining an interest in heavenly rest. 4. Now we have ascended these steps into the outward court, may we look within the vail? May we shew what this rest contains, as well as what it presupposes? Alas, how little know I of that glory! The glimpse which Paul had, contained what could not, or must not, be uttered. Had he spoke the things of heaven in the language of heaven, and none understood that language, what the better? The Lord reveal to me what I may reveal to you! The Lord open some light, and shew both you and me our inheritance! Not as to Balaam only, whose eyes were opened to see the goodliness of Jacob's tents, and Israel's tabernacles, where he had no portion, and from whence must come his own destruction! Not as to Moses, who had only a discovery, instead of possession, and saw the land which he never entered! But as the pearl was revealed to the merchant in the gospel, who rested not till he had sold all he had, and bought it! And as heaven was opened to blessed Stephen, which he was shortly to enter, and the glory shewed him which should be his own possession!-The things contained in heavenly rest are such as these; a * Matt. vi. gr. ceasing from means of grace; a perfect freedom from all evils; the highest degree of the saint's personal perfection, both of body and soul; the nearest enjoyment of God the chief good; and a sweet and constant action of all the powers of body and soul in this enjoyment of God. 5. (1) One thing contained in heavenly rest is, the ceasing from means of grace. When we have obtained the haven, we have done sailing. When the workman receives his wages, it is implied he has done his work. When we are at our journey's end, we have done with the way. Whether prophecies, they shall fail; whether tongues, they shall cease; whether knowledge, it also, so far as it had the nature of means, shall vanish away.* There shall be no more prayer, because no more necessity, but the full enjoyment of what we prayed for: Neither shall we need to fast and weep, and watch any more, being out of the reach of sin and temptations. Preaching is done; the ministry of man ceaseth; sacraments become useless; the labourers are called in, because the harvest is gathered, the tares burned, and the work finished; the unregenerate past hope, and the saints past fear, forever. § 6. (2) There is in heavenly rest a perfect freedom from all evils. All the evils that All the evils that accompanied us through our course, and which necessarily follow our absence from the chief good: Besides our freedom from those eternal flames, and restless miseries, which the neglecters of Christ and grace must remedilessly endure; a woeful inheritance, which, both by birth and actual merit, was due to us, as well as to them! In heaven there is nothing that defileth, or is unclean: All that remains without. * : Cor. xiii. 8: Rev. xxi. 27. xii. 15. |