January 18

“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” Hebrews iv. 9.

PW different will be the state of the believer in heaven from what it is here! Here he is born to toil and suffer weariness; but in the land of the immortal, fatigue is never known. Anxious to serve his Master, he finds his strength unequal to his zeal: his constant cry is, “Help me to serve Thee, 0 my God.” If he be thoroughly active, he will have much labor; not too much for his will, but more than enough for his power, so that he will cry out, “I am not wearied of the labor, but I am wearied in it.” Ah! Christian, the hot day of weariness lasts not forever the sun is nearing the horizon; it shall rise aain with a brighter day than thou hast ever seen, upon a land where they serve God day and night, and yet rest from their labors. Here, rest is but partial; there, it is perfect. Here, the Christian is always unsettled; he feels that he has not yet attained. There, all are at rest; they have attained the summit of the mountain; they have ascended to th.e bosom of their God. Higher they cannot go. Ah, toil-worn laborer, only think when thou shalt rest forever! Canst thou conceive it? It is a rest eternal; a rest that “remaineth.” Here, my best joys bear “mortal” on their brow; my fair flowers fade; my dainty cups are drained to dregs; my sweetest birda fal before death’s arrows; my most pleasant days are shadowed into nights; and the flood-tides of my bliss subside into ebbs of sorrow; but there, everything is immortal; the harp abides uurusted, the crown unwithered, the eye uudimmed, the voice unfaltering, the heart unwavering, and the immortal being is wholly absorbed in infinite delight. Happy day! happy day! when mortality shall be swallowed up of life, and the Eternal SabbaU? Pball begin.