of the world to his secret chamber; he draws his curtains close around him, and earnestly invokes the influence of sweet sleep; yet care pursues him to his innermost retirements, and there renews its tormenting irritations.

Such, in general, is the perturbed state of man: but we hear St. Paul speaking, in my text, concerning a certain class of men, among whom he numbers himself, as enjoying a secure and solid rest amid all the fluctuations of time and sense. The bare report of such a state carries encouragement with it and it shall be my employment this morning, to lay before you a few observations on the nature of that rest to which the

Apostle alludes, together with the only effectual means of securing it. We who have believed, do enter into rest.

This rest then, my brethren, is, in the strictest sense, a religious rest, and altogether independent of our condition in the world. It grows not out of the smiles of friends, it flows not from temporal prosperity, but is entirely dependent upon His good pleasure, from whom every good and perfect gift proceeds. It consists in a pecu

liar turn and temper of soul, which is above all the operations of nature, and which can be wrought in us only by the mighty power of God. Concerning this state of mind, we hear our Lord, in a certain place, speaking thus-Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. And in another passage, he expresses himself on the same subject still more fully in the following terms-Peace I leave with you, my peace give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. This temper of mind can be enjoyed only in connexion with a sense of the divine presence, and in a state of holy fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. God is the fountain whence it flows and Christ is the channel through which it is conveyed to the believing soul; a sacred process which is thus significantly marked by the great Apostle--The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

The great Father of spirits is our grand centre. While therefore, we wander hither and thither, through the wide circumference

of created things, we must necessarily subject ourselves to vanity and vexation, in a thousand different forms. But when we can once be persuaded to submit so far to the attractive influence of the incomprehensible Jehovah, as to cast ourselves fully upon Him; we then obtain a quiet and unassailable refuge from every annoyance. He covers us with the shadow of his wings, and our defence is more impregnable than the munitions of rocks; He hides us in his own presence from the provoking of all things, and we are kept securely there from the strife of tongues. In such a state, we hold happy communion with the great Shepherd and Bishop of souls-we dwell in his peaceful fold; we feed in his green pastures; he leads us forth through ever fresh and flourishing appearances of his grace; yea, he maketh us to lie down upon the banks of that river which maketh glad the City of our God.

Of this divine rest, the Sabbath stands as an instituted representation. The very term Sabbath signifies rest. It is a day separated and set apart from the common course of time, in order to relieve us from

all the wasting fatigues of life. It was mercifully instituted for the purpose of raising our minds above the perplexities of the present world, and of withdrawing our attention from its ever shifting scenes, that we might be enabled calmly to converse with God, and silently to sit with Christ Jesus in heavenly places. He who enjoys the rest of which we speak, keeps one perpetual Sabbath. Every place, every occupation, every event, and every appearance, is sanctified to such a man. He sits calm and undisturbed upon the busy wheel of tumult. He passes silently and unobserved through thronging multitudes. He every where discerns the overruling hand of God, and humbly waits till all his sovereign will be done.

The land of Canaan was a type of this sacred rest. While the sons of Jacob were engaged in journeying through the wilderness, they were subject to innumerable difficulties, and exposed to unknown dangers ; they were harassed by hostile tribes, they were disquieted with daily alarms, and surrounded with pressing wants. But from all these incommodities, the goodly land they had in view was to afford them a secure

asylum. There they were to enjoy rest from all their enemies round about; to live under the visible government of an all-powerful God; and to be enclosed on every side with walls of salvation. Moreover, this land of promise was held out to them as a lively emblem of that solid peace, which the Church was to possess under the gospel dispensation, when all its members should be in covenant with the beasts of the field, and in league with the very stones of the earth: so that no possible event might disturb the tranquillity of Jehovah's dwellingplace among men.

Such is the nature of that rest, concerning which the Apostle is here speaking, and with which the best and greatest things of the visible world are not worthy to come into competition.

But here a very important inquiry presents itself-If such a state is really attainable, how may a man hope to secure to himself so invaluable a possession? For this purpose, indeed, many devices, as insignificant as they are unscriptural, have been inconsiderately adopted: and among these, not a few which appear calculated to an