Baxter - The Saints' Everlasting Rest - MEDIA SABDA

The Saints’ Rest is deservedly esteemed one of the most valuable parts of his practical works. Baxter, “He was most worthy of your highest esteem and love; for the first impressions of heaven upon your soul were in reading his invaluable book of the Saints’ Everlasting Rest.”.

THE INTRODUCTION TO THE WORK, WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF THE NATURE OF THE

SAINTS’ REST

A ceasing from means of grace;
A perfect freedom from all evils;
The highest degree of the saints’ personal perfection, both in body and soul;
The nearest enjoyment of God, the chief good;
A sweet and constant action of all the powers of soul and body in this enjoyment of God
There is in heavenly rest a perfect freedom from all evils: from all the evils that accompanied us through our course, and which necessarily follow
Another ingredient of this rest is, the highest degree of the saints’
We must add, that this rest contains a sweet and constant action of all the powers of the soul and body in this enjoyment of God. It is not the rest

We must add, that this rest contains a sweet and constant action of allthe powers of the soul and body in this enjoyment of God. It is not the rest the powers of the soul and body in this enjoyment of God.

THE GREAT PREPARATIVES FOR THE SAINTS’ REST

The glorious appearing of Christ;

The general resurrection;

If a star must lead men from remote parts, to come to worship the child in the manger; how will the glory of his next appearing constrain all the world to. Yea, let us be “steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as we know our labor is not in vain in the Lord.”.

Part of this prologue to the saints’ rest is the public and solemn process at their judgment, where they shall first themselves be acquitted and

Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Every word is full of life and joy. From the foundation of the world” — not only from the promise after Adam’s fall, but from eternity.

EXCELLENCIES OF THE SAINTS’ REST

It is a most singular honor of the saints’ rest, to be called the purchased possession; that is, the fruit of the blood of the Son of God; yea, the chief

Here is all free; if the Father freely give the Son, and the Son freely pay the debt;. If the rest of the world had not been drowned, and the rest of Sodom and Gomorrah not burned, the saving of Noah had been no wonder, nor Lot’s deliverance so much talked of.

But though this rest be peculiar to the saints, yet it is common to all the saints; for it is an association of blessed spirits, both saints and angels: a

To have necessity supplied immediately from God, is the state of the saints in heaven. As we rest from the temptations, so shall we rest from the abuses and persecutions of the world.

THE CHARACTER OF THE PERSONS FOR WHOM THIS REST IS DESIGNED

The persons for whom this rest is designed, whom the text calls “the people of God,” are “ chosen of God before the foundation of the world,
One great qualification of these persons is that they are born again. To be the people of God without regeneration, is as impossible as to be the
This new life in the people of God discovers itself by conviction, or a deep sense of divine things
I add, that the people of God persevere in this covenant to the end

Thou art the man.” The wrath of God seemed to him before but a storm to a man in a dry house, or as the pains of the sick to the healthful. As an essential part of the character of God’s people, they now enterinto a cordial covenant with Christ.

THE GREAT MISERY OF THOSE WHO LOSE THE SAINTS’ REST

God himself;
All delightful affections towards God;
The blessed society of angels and glorified spirits
THE AGGRAVATIONS OF THE LOSS OF HEAVEN;

The understanding of the ungodly will then be cleared;
Also enlarged
Their consciences will make a true and close application
Their affections will be more lively
Their memories will be large and strong
They also lose all delightful affections toward God: that transporting knowledge; those delightful views of his glorious face; the inconceivable
They shall be deprived of the blessed society of angels and glorified saints. Instead of being companions of those happy spirits, and numbered
The understanding of the ungodly will then be cleared to know the worth of that which they have lost. Now they lament not their loss of God,
As their understanding will be cleared, so it will be more enlarged, and made more capacious to conceive the worth of that glory which they have
Their consciences also will make a truer and closer application of this doctrine to themselves, which will exceedingly tend to increase their
Their memories will moreover be as large and strong as their

The glorious personal perfection which the saints enjoy in heaven, is thegreat loss of the ungodly. The understanding of the ungodly will then be cleared to know theworth of that which they have lost. Though the understandings of the damned will not be sanctified, yet they will be cleared from a multitude of errors.

It will torment them to think of the greatness of the glory they have lost. It will also torment them to think of the possibility they once had of obtaining it. I was set upon the stage of the world; if I had believed in Christ I might now have had possession of the inheritance.

It will wound them to think, “I had once the gales of the Spirit ready to have assisted me.

THE MISERY OF THOSE WHO, BESIDES LOSING THE SAINTS’ REST, LOSE THE ENJOYMENTS OF

THE ENJOYMENTS OF TIME WHICH THE DAMNED LOSE

Their presumptuous belief of their interest in God and Christ
All their hopes;
All their peace of conscience;
All their carnal mirth;
All their sensual delights

THE TORMENTS OF THE DAMNED ARE EXCEEDINGLY GREAT

They shall lose their presumptuous belief of their interest in the favor of God and the merits of Christ. This false belief now supports their spirits,
They will lose all that false peace of conscience which makes their present life so easy. Who would think, observing how quietly the multitude
They shall lose all their carnal mirth. They will themselves say of their
Consider also, that though God had rather men would accept of Christ and mercy, yet, when they persist in rebellion, he will take pleasure in their
But the greatest aggravation of these torments will be their eternity

As the soul departeth not from the body without the greatest pain, so doth the hope of the wicked depart. The soul will never more return to live with the body in this world; and the hope of the wicked takes an everlasting farewell of his soul. What a number of the great, noble, and learned will be shut out from the presence of Christ.

What a standing witness of the wrath of God is the present deplorable state of the Jews. Woe to the soul that is thus the object of the wrath of the Almighty, as a bush that must burn in the flames of his jealousy and never be consumed. The torments of the damned must be extreme, because they are the effect of divine vengeance.

If thou art one of the people of God, this doctrine will be a comfort to thee, and not a terror.

THE NECESSITY OF DILIGENTLY SEEKING THE SAINTS’ REST

Consider how reasonable it is that our diligence should be answerable to the ends we aim at, to the work we have to do, to the shortness and
It should excite us to diligence, when we consider our talents and our mercies, our relation to God, and the afflictions he lays upon us
To quicken our diligence in our work, we should also consider what assistance we have, what principles we profess, and our certainty that we
Let us further consider that it is the nature of every grace to promote diligence, that trifling in the way to heaven is lost labor, that much precious
Nor does it less deserve to be considered, that striving is the divinely appointed way of salvation; that all men either do, or will approve it; that

O foolish sinners, “who hath bewitched you?” The world bewitches men into brute beasts, and draws them even to madness. They know the Scripture is the law of God, by which they must be acquitted or condemned in the judgment; and that “the man is blessed who delights in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth meditate day and night;” yet will they not be at the pains to read a chapter once a day. Do we, as Paul, “tell them, weeping,” of their fleshly and earthly disposition; “and teach them publicly, and from house to house, at all seasons, and with many tears?” And do we entreat them, as for their soul’s salvation.

Can your family witness that you taught them the fear of the Lord, and warned them not to “go to that place of torment?” Can your minister witness that he has heard you cry out, “What shall I do to be saved?” and that you have followed him with complaints against your corruptions, and with earnest. We may all say, as Paul, “I reckon that the sufferings” and labors “of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” We labor but for a moment; we shall rest for ever. And shall we expect real mercies when we are slight and superficial in the work of God.

Since these things are so, I charge thee, Christian, in thy Master’s name, to consider and resolve the question, “What manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness?” And let thy life answer the question as well as thy tongue.

HOW TO DISCERN OUR TITLE TO THE SAINTS’ REST

From the hindrances which will be thrown in our way by Satan, sinners, our own hearts, and many other causes;
From considering how easy, common and dangerous it is to be mistaken; that trying will not be so painful as the neglect; that God will
Directions how to try ourselves
Marks for trial, particularly, Do we make God our chief good? Do we heartily accept of Christ for our Lord and Savior?
Scripture shows that the certainty of salvation may be attained, and ought to be labored for, when it tells us so frequently that the saints before
As motives to the duty of self-examination, I entreat you to consider the following
The directions how to examine thyself are such as these: Empty thy mind of all other cares and thoughts, that they may not distract or divide thy

If they be dangerously sick they will inquire of the physician, “What think you, sir;. If you ask of most men “a reason of the hope that is in them,” they will say,. Without the physician in this case, the labors of the divine are usually in vain.

It is a case of the greatest moment, where everlasting salvation or damnation is to be determined. How lively will it make thee in the work of the Lord, and how profitable to all around thee. Only use it as one of the last remedies, when thy own endeavors will not serve.

Observe, it is the consent of the heart, or will, which I especially lay down to be inquired after.

THE DUTY OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD TO EXCITE OTHERS TO SEEK THIS REST

In taking all opportunities to instruct them in the way of salvation;
In promoting their profit by public ordinances
ASSIGNS VARIOUS REASONS WHY THIS DUTY IS SO MUCH NEGLECTED, AND ANSWERS SOME OBJECTIONS
URGES TO THE DISCHARGE OF IT, BY SEVERAL CONSIDERATIONS

Addressed to such as have knowledge, learning, and utterance;
Those that are acquainted with sinners;
Physicians that attend dying men;
Persons of wealth and power;
Ministers;
And those that are entrusted with the care of children or servants
We must take every opportunity that we possibly can to instruct them how to attain salvation. If the person be ignorant, labor to make him
God especially expects this duty at your hands, to whom he has given more learning and knowledge, and endued with better utterance, than your
All those who are particularly acquainted with some ungodly men, and who have peculiar interest in them, God looks for this duty at your hands
As for the ministers of the Gospel, it is the very work of their calling to help others to heaven. Be sure to make it the main end of your studies and
All you whom God has entrusted with the care of children and servants, I would also persuade to this great work of helping others to the heavenly

This duty is of another nature, and consists of the following things: in having our hearts affected with the misery of our brethren’s souls, in taking all opportunities to instruct them in the way of salvation, and in promoting their profit by public ordinances. They are guilty of the sins they should reprove, and this makes them ashamed to reprove. Let men see that you excel others in piety, compassion, and diligence in God’s work, as you do in the riches and honors of the world.

As for the ministers of the Gospel, it is the very work of their calling tohelp others to heaven. Yet labor to be skillful and discreet, that the manner may answer to the excellency of the matter. Consider how much the welfare of the church and the state depends on this duty.

I beseech you, for the sake of the children of your own flesh, teach them, admonish them, watch over them, and give them no rest till you have brought them to Christ.

THE SAINTS’ REST IS NOT TO BE EXPECTED ON EARTH

That they are the way to rest;
Keep us from mistaking our rest;
From losing our way to it;
Quicken our pace toward it;
Chiefly incommode our flesh;
Under them the sweetest foretastes of rest are often enjoyed
HOW UNREASONABLE TO REST IN PRESENT ENJOYMENTS;

That it is idolatry;
That it contradicts God’s end in giving them;
Is the way to have them refused, withdrawn, or embittered;
That to be suffered to take up our rest here is the greatest curse;
That it is seeking rest where it is not;
That the creatures, without God, would aggravate our misery;
And all this is confirmed by experience
Afflictions are also God’s most effectual means to keep us from losing our way to our rest. Without this hedge of thorns on the right hand and
Afflictions likewise serve to quicken our pace in the way to our rest. It were well if mere love would prevail with us, and that we were rather
Should God suffer you to take up your rest here, it is one of the greatest curses that could befall you. It were better never to have a day of ease in
To confirm all this, let us consult our own and others’ experience

It is an established decree, “that we must, through much tribulation, enter into the kingdom of God;” and that, “if we suffer, we shall also reign with Christ.”. When it is rotting in the grave thou shalt be a companion of the perfected spirits of the just. As it is evident idolatry to place rest of the soul is God’s own prerogative.

To “have their portion in this life,” is the lot of the most miserable, perishing sinners. I believe we may all say of our earthly rest, as Paul of our hope, “If it were in this life only, we are of all men the most miserable.”. It shows that we are insensible of the vanity of earth, when we are so loth to hear or think of a removal.

Hereby we wrong the Lord and his promises, and disgrace his ways in the eyes of the world; as if we would persuade them to.

THE IMPORTANCE OF LEADING A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH

Consider that a heart set upon heaven will be one of the most
A heart in heaven is the highest excellence of Christian temper. As there is a common excellence by which Christians differ from the world, so there
A heavenly mind is the nearest and truest way to a life of comfort. The countries far north are cold and frozen, because they are distant from the
A heart in heaven will be a most excellent preservative against
The diligent keeping your hearts in heaven will maintain the vigor of all your graces, and put life into all your duties. The heavenly Christian is the
No man so highly honoreth God, as he whose conversation is in heaven
A soul that does not set its affections an things above, disobeys the commands, and loses the most gracious and delightful discoveries of the
It is but equal that our hearts should be on God, when the heart of God is so much on us. If the Lord of glory can stoop so low as to set his heart

If God say, “Love not the world, nor the things of the world,” we dote upon it. When a man is in a strange country, how glad is he of the company of one of his own nation. This is the Christian of the right stamp, and all about him are better for him.

For every saint shall go to heaven in person, and is frequently there in spirit, and hath often viewed it in the glass of the Gospel. Surely we live below the children of the King, not according to the height of our hopes, nor the provision of our. As heaven is the perfection of all our mercies, so the promises of it in the Gospel are the very soul of the Gospel.

Since “the heavens must receive him until the times of the restitution of all things,” let them also receive our hearts with him.

DIRECTIONS HOW TO LEAD A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH

THE HINDERANCES TO A HEAVENLY LIFE;

THE DUTIES WHICH WILL PROMOTE A HEAVENLY LIFE

An earthly mind is another hinderance carefully to be avoided. God and mammon, earth and heaven cannot both have the delight of thy heart
A slothful spirit is another impediment to this heavenly life. And I verily think there is nothing hinders it more than this in men of a good
Contentment with the mere preparatives to the heavenly life, while we are utter strangers to the life itself, is also a dangerous and secret
Be convinced that heaven is the only treasure and happiness, and labor to know what a treasure and happiness it is. If thou do not believe it to be
Let thy eternal rest be the subject of thy frequent serious discourse, especially with those that can speak from their hearts, and are seasoned
Improve every object and every event to remind thy soul of its
Be much in the angelic work of praise. The more heavenly the

Watch, therefore especially resolve to keep from the occasions of sin, and out of the way of temptations. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” This is plain dealing, and happy he that faithfully receives it. Nay, if thou hadst been newly warming thy heart in the contemplation of the blessed joys above, would not this discourse benumb thy affections and quickly freeze thy heart.

Studying and preaching of heaven more resembles a heavenly life than thinking and talking of the world does; and the resemblance is apt to deceive us. If your judgment once prefer the delights of the flesh before the delights of the presence of God, it is impossible your heart should be in heaven. Dost thou hear the raging noise of the wicked and the confusions of the world.

These delights, like the testimony of the Spirit, witness themselves to be of God, and bring the evidences of their heavenly parentage along with them.

THE NATURE OF HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION; WITH THE TIME, PLACE, AND TEMPER FITTEST FOR IT

Frequent;

Seasonable every day, particularly every Lord’s day, but more especially when our hearts are warmed with a sense of divine things; or

THE FITTEST PLACE FOR IT

And most solemn and serious

So what good could all the glory of heaven have done us, or what pleasure should we have had in the perfection of God himself, if we had been without the affections of love and joy. See David’s description of the blessed man: “His delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”. Other meditations are as numerous as there are lines in the scripture, or creatures in the universe, or particular providences in the government of the world.

It may seem far off; but spirits are quick: whether in the body or out of the body, their motion is swift. Unseasonableness may lose the fruit of thy labor, may raise difficulties in the work, and may turn a duty to a sin. It is seasonable to go to the promised land, when our burdens are increased in Egypt and our straits in the wilderness.

Our spirits need every help, and to be freed from every hinderance in the work.

WHAT USE HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION MAKES OF CONSIDERATION, THE AFFECTIONS

SOLILOQUY, AND PRAYER

THE USE OF CONSIDERATION, AND ITS GREAT INFLUENCE OVER THE HEART

CONTEMPLATION IS PROMOTED BY THE AFFECTIONS; PARTICULARLY,

Desire;
Hope;
Courage, or boldness;

THE USEFULNESS OF SOLILOQUY AND PRAYER IN HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION