shall then repose in the bosom of God himself. What though the way be long and tedious to the flesh: yet, you are travelling to your father's house, where you are sure to be welcome; and where you shall enjoy an eternity of rest and repose; and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the whole ring of glorious saints, discoursing to them of the dangers and difficulties that you have passed through in getting to them. Doth it not sweeten the toil and pains that you take in your youth, to think that thereby you are laying up that, whereupon you may live at ease hereafter, and spare the weakness of old age? and is it not much more rational, that, while you are in this world, which may be called the Youth of Eternity, you should lay up a good foundation; and treasure up a large, rich stock, upon which you might live at ease for ever? Why should you not be as wise and politic for heaven, as for a little of the perishing things of this world? Will you labour that you may rest here, where your rest shall certainly be disquieted and you shook out of it? and will you not labour that you may rest in heaven, where alone you can enjoy an everlasting rest?

I know it is that inveterate prejudice, which men have taken up against the ways of God, that they are painful and laborious, that invalidates all reasons and arguments which we bring to persuade them to work. Rest! that is it, which they would have: and, though God tells them they shall have an Eternal Rest, if they will but work a while; and tells them, on the other hand, that they shall never enter into rest if they do not work, that they shall never enjoy more ease than what they can find in hell itself where their groans and bellowings together with the smoke of that bottomless pit shall ascend up for ever: yet, such is the madness of men's folly, that neither the Rest of Heaven nor the Restlessness of Hell can stir or move them; but they roll themselves up in their own sloth, and will hear nothing, nor lay any thing to heart, that may rouze or awaken them. Hath not God often called upon them by his ministers; "Sinners, Sinners, awake: bestir yourselves: hell-fire is kindling about you: God is ready to open his mouth, to pronounce sentence against you: Satan is ready to lay hold of you, and to drag you to be tormented?" One would think such execrations should awaken the carcasses as these are, that you sit over, were they not in their final state: and yet, with you, whose souls are yet in their bodies, but know not how soon they may be in hell, who among you are moved with all that hath or can be said of

this matter? Nay, are you not like sleepy men when jogged, ready to grow pettish and to quarrel with us? "Why do you molest us? Why do you envy us our rest? Why do you disturb our peace, and will not let us alone?" Shall I say to you now, as once our Saviour said to his Disciples: Mat. xxvi. 45. Sleep on, and take your rest: sleep on, and nod yourselves into destruction sleep on, and never wake more till the flames of hell awaken you? Truly, we come not to disturb your rest: but we come to inform and guide you to a better rest, than what you can find here, even an eternal rest; a rest with him, that is immortal; a rest with him, who alone is unchangeable. And is not this rest worth a little pains and struggling to obtain? Do you think you are always to believe and to repent, always to obey and mortify your corruptions? you cannot think so, unless you think you are always to live in this world. No: a rest remains for the people of God, after a few short days be gone. It is not, therefore, your ease, that you seek, when you will not work: no: it is rather your pain and eternal torment, which shall certainly then be given unto all slothful persons, when the industrious and painful Christian, that labours and works for salvation, shall be admitted into the eternal rest that he is aspiring after, and hath already embraced in his hope and faith.

(4) As, in heaven, there is an eternal rest; so also, in heaven, there is an Eternal Work to be done.

And therefore you should inure yourselves to that work, while you are here upon earth. If happiness, according to the philosopher's notion, consists in operation; then in heaven, where there is the most perfect happiness, there must needs be the most perfect operation. And, therefore, whatever hath been spoken of rest that remains, yet you are not so to conceive of it, as possibly some gross enough are apt to wish and fancy to themselves, as if in heaven the blessed were unactive and enjoyed there only a long vacation, and only stretched themselves on that flowery bank, and so void of cares and fears lulled away an eternity: no; these are too low and brutish apprehensions for the glory of that place. That rest, that is there to be expected and enjoyed, is operative, working rest: it is both rest and exercise, at once; and, therefore, it is a true paradox, Though the saints in heaven rest from their labours, yet they never rest from their working: continually are they blessing and praising God; ascribing glory, and honour, and power to him that sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb for evermore:

always are they beholding, admiring, and adoring God, and burning in love to each other, and mutually rejoicing in God and in one another. And this is the work of that eternal rest; a work never to be intermitted, nor to cease.

And, therefore, it is worth our observing, that both those places, that do chiefly speak of the future rest of the people of God, do also intimate a work in that rest.

So the Apostle to the Hebrews tells us, There remaineth a rest for the people of God: Heb. iv. 9. The word is, There remaineth a Sabbath for the people of God. Look how you are to be employed on a Sabbath: such shall be your employment in your eternal rest. Is it not your work upon a Sabbath-Day, to raise your thoughts and affections to heaven, to fix and terminate them upon God, to maintain communion with him, to admire him in all his works both of grace and providence, to stir up your own hearts, and to quicken the hearts of others to praise and adore him? why this shall be the work of your Eternal Sabbath. And, when you are at any time lifted up to a more than ordinary spiritualness in these things, then may you give some guess what your work shall be in heaven, and what the frame of your hearts shall be in your eternal rest.

And so that other place, in the Revelations: Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord.....for they rest from their labours ; and their works do follow them: which may be meant, not only of the reward of their works, that they shall then receive; but of the works themselves, that here they performed on earth : these shall follow them, and enter into heaven with them; and, as they were done by them weakly and imperfectly here, so there the very same works shall be done by them with absolute and consummate perfection: all those works, I mean, that, for the matter and substance of them, do not connote a sinful state and condition.

Now, then, since you must be employed in such a work as this is to eternity, why do you not accustom yourselves to it while you are here? The Apostle to the Colossians, blesseth God, who had made them meet to be made partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Col. i. 12. Were it a meet thing, that those, who spend their whole time in sin, should be abruptly snatched up into heaven, to spend an eternity there in holiness? And therefore God accustoms those, whom he saves in an ordinary way and manner, to work those works here on earth, that they are to be employed in hereafter in heaven.

Here they are apprentices, as it were; that they may learn the trade of holiness: that, when that time comes, they may become fit citizens of the New Jerusalem. Here, God is trying their eyes with more qualified and allayed discoveries of himself: that, when they come to view him face to face, they may be able to bear the exceeding brightness of his glory. And, therefore, though you profess heaven to be your country, and that you are strangers and pilgrims here on earth; yet, say not with the captive Jews, How shall we sing the song of Sion in a strange land? Psal. cxxxvii. 4. Yes: you must acccustom yourselves to that song: you must mould and warble it here on earth that you may be perfect in it,' when you come to join with saints and angels in their eternal hallelujahs. You must try your eyes, by seeing of God; and your voices, by singing that song, that you must continually sing in heaven. And, were it only for this disposing and fitting of yourselves for the work of heaven, this were motive enough to persuade to begin it now.

(5) Another encouraging consideration, to persuade you to work out your own salvation, is this: as your work is great, so the Helps and Assistances, that God gives for the performance of this work, are many.

So that your work is not greater than your aids: nor is it more difficult, than they are potent. And, therefore, though you are weak in yourselves; and so weak, that, were you left to your own strength, you would faint in the most easy service: yea, the weight but of one holy thought would sink you, for we are not sufficient, says the Apostle, as of ourselves to think any good thing: yet, when we consider those mighty auxiliaries, that are afforded and promised; as comfort when we droop, support when we are weak, that we shall rise when we fall, recruits when we are worsted, omnipotency to supply our impotency, all-sufficiency to make up our defects: when we consider these things, then may we triumphantly say, with the Apostle, When we are weak, then are we strong: and though of ourselves we are nothing, and therefore can do nothing; yet, through these mighty assistances, we are able to do all things.

I shall rank these Auxiliary Forces into Two Bands. Some are External: others are Internal.

[1] External Helps are various. I shall only instance in Three.

1st. You have the exciting Examples of others, who have already happily gone through this work.

You are not commanded that, which never yet was imposed upon any of the sons of men; nor that, which whoever undertook, he failed in the performance, and sunk under the burden of it. No: there are hundreds and thousands gone before you, from whom God required as much as he doth from you; and these have demonstrated, that the work is possible, and the reward certain. And, therefore, as Israel followed the cloud for their conduct into the Land of Canaan: so may you be led into a Land of better Promise, by a cloud of witnesses, of those, who have already passed through the same faith, patience, and obedience, wherein you are to follow them.

It is superstition heightened to idolatry, to make use of the departed saints, as substituted mediators and under-advocates unto Christ, that Christ may be our advocate unto God the Father. What their present prayers for us are we know not: but this we are certain of, their past example ought to be propounded and improved by us for our encouragement in the ways of holiness and obedience. Hence the Apostle exhorts us, that we should be diligent; not slothful: and he grounds it upon this, because in so doing, we should be followers of them, who, through faith and patience, inherit the promises. In difficult and hazardous enterprizes, every man is apt to stand still and see who will lead the way; and, according to the success of the first attempters, so either to be encouraged or dismayed. Now what says our Saviour, Matt. xi. 12? The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. You are not the forlorn hope: you are not the first assailors: no; whole armies of saints have, in former ages, stormed heaven: they have heretofore planted strong batteries against it, and made wide breaches in it they have heretofore entered and taken possession; and still the passage is as open for you, and the conquest as easy as for them; and you may see them beckoning out of heaven to you, and hear them calling to you, "Fellow-Soldiers, bend your force hither. There is your labour: here is your rest. There are your enemies: here is your crown and victory. Believe it, there are no more dangers for you to pass through, no more difficulties for you to meet with, than what we have passed through; yea, and passed with so much safety, as that not so much as one soul of us miscarried, not a soul left dead on the place: we struggled against the same corruptions, that you do, and overcame them; against the same temptations, and baffled them; against the same devils, and routed them; against the