'faithful soldiers and servants unto their life's end;' and their anxious effort and prayer is, that they may not dishonour His name, but so fulfil the trust He has reposed in them, that they may render up their account with joy. With them it is a very small thing to be judged of man's judgment; their main desire is to secure God's approval; and they will be abundantly satisfied when they receive at last His welcome commendation.

4. "The people of GOD" are a holy people.

Holiness is the distinguished attribute of Jehovah, and consequently must be found, in a measure, in all that are admitted into fellowship with Him: hence such are said to be "elect, according to the foreknowledge of GOD the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience."* They are quickened from the death of sin to the life of righteousness. They evidence their calling by their conduct. The test by which they try themselves is not the secret mystery of God's decrees, but the manifest actings of an obedient life. They are living epistles of Christ, known and read of all men. They talk not about good works, but do them; and in doing them thankfully confess that it is "GOD that worketh in them both to will and to do of His good pleasure." And though, while on earth, their conformity to His mind and will is always very imperfect,

they long for a better world chiefly on this account, that they will be better there; for they know that "they shall be like Him, when they see Him as He is.”

Such is the condition and character of the people of GOD, for whom the heavenly rest is provided. There are indeed different degrees of maturity amongst them, but the features now delineated may be traced with more or less distinctness in them all. They are in the world, but not of it: their citizenship is in heaven, while they are strangers and pilgrims in this sinful and sorrowful world. Were I to tell you that they are a happy people, a favoured people, a protected people, a comforted people, I should say infinitely less than when I repeat, in the words of Inspiration, that they are "the people of GOD."

Let us now inquire

II. In what their heavenly rest consists.

Could any of the spirits of the just revisit the earth they have left, they would describe to us, from their own blessed experience, the peace passing all understanding which reigns in Paradise. Indeed, as the rich man in hell desired that Lazarus might be sent to his ungodly brethren to testify to them of that place of torment, that they might be persuaded to seek deliverance from it; so we can imagine that some of our own dear relatives or friends, now in the abodes of bliss,

may indulge a wish that we could be informed how happy they are, in order that we might be stirred up to enlarge our desires after the same blessed portion. But this is not necessary; for the word of GOD tells us sufficient concerning the miseries of the lost, and the joys of the saved; and the same Divine record which makes known to us the character of the people of God, affords us also many particulars respecting their heritage of "rest."

1. It is a cessation from all care and labour.

The sabbath and the promised land were both emblems of the heavenly rest. The former was an interval of repose from daily toil, appointed by GoD Himself for all the children of men; the latter was a pleasing contrast to the fatigues and trials which His own people in particular had endured in the wilderness. The people of GOD encounter now all the cares and labours which fall to the lot of mankind in general. Man is doomed to live on earth by the sweat of his brow, and no earthly good can be obtained without much exertion. But cares and anxieties spring up of themselves, like the weeds which grow without, or in spite of, the culture of the husbandman. Some persons are subject to care on account of their destitution, while others encounter no less anxiety from the very abundance of their possessions. Troubles arise from

B

our worldly circumstances, from our earthly connections, from the disorders of our bodies, and the

griefs of our minds.

Now, all these will have va

nished for ever when of the eternal world. neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and GoD shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."

we have crossed the threshold "They shall hunger no more,

But besides the cares and troubles which Christians now share in common with mankind in general, they have others peculiar to their own condition as the people of GOD. They are to labour diligently for the LORD, and, in so doing, are often required to withstand the ridicule and opposition of the ungodly. Their principles are misunderstood, and therefore their motives are frequently misinterpreted. Moreover, they have fears within, as well as fightings without; they have anxieties for others as well as for themselves; and the spiritual state of their relatives and friends is sometimes a subject of great grief to their minds, and calls forth many an importunate prayer to GoD on their behalf. But when they have passed the Jordan of death, none of these occasions of trouble will exist: "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, for

they rest from their labours, and their works do follow them."

2. It is a freedom from sin and temptation.

The life of a Christian on the earth is well described as an incessant and arduous conflict. He has a constant warfare to maintain against a spiritual foe, who is powerful and experienced, as well as watchful and malignant. He possesses an evil nature, always ready to concur with the suggestions of Satan. Though delivered from the dominion of sin, he is not freed from its assaults. "The flesh" is indeed crucified, but not yet dead, and, in expiring, often makes desperate struggles for existence. The temptations to which he is exposed on every side, combined with the depravity of his own heart, so harass and distress him in the exercises of prayer and meditation, and the discharge of his various duties, that he is often constrained to long ardently for rest. Now, to have this warfare accomplished; to enjoy the same freedom from conflicting passions and assaulting enemies which GOD enjoys; to love Him without any inconstancy, and serve Him without any interruption; to be perfectly restored to His image, and not to have a disposition which does not accord with His holy mind;-this is a state of happiness which surpasses our conceptions: it is "the rest of GOD" himself.