Not Slothful, but Followers of the Saints by Faith

That ye be not slothful, but followers of them, who through faith and patience, inherit the promises. — Heb. vi. 12.

The Hebrew Christians, to whom this epistle was addressed, appear to have made slow progress in religion, and to have been greatly in danger of apostasy. The apostle, therefore, addresses to them many exhortations and warnings, adapted to their character; and endeavours to arouse them to greater watchfulness, diligence, and exertion, in their spiritual pilgrimage. He tells them, that “when for the time they ought to be teachers, they needed that one teach them again, which be the first principles of the oracles of God, and are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat; for every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use, have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” And in the beginning of the sixth chapter, whence our text is taken, he exhorts them to advance beyond the first principles of Christianity, and to go on to a more perfect knowledge of the truth. And to stimulate their sluggish souls, he sets before them the awful consequences of apostasy, as well as the unpardonable guilt which, by this conduct, they would bring upon themselves. If after the reception of so many spiritual gifts, and after making such a profession as they had done, they should apostatize, he seems to represent their case as hopeless. It is not necessary hence to conclude, that true believers ever do, in fact, totally and finally fall away; but they are in constant danger of such a fall, and are only kept from it by the word and Spirit of Christ. These warnings, therefore, are not needless to the real children of God: they may be the very means which a faithful Redeemer makes use of to preserve them from apostasy.

We learn from this passage, how far false professors may go in religion. They may not only give their assent to the gospel, but may hear it with joy, as we learn from the case of the seed on stony ground, in the parable of the sower. And they may possess miraculous gifts, as Judas, or even the spirit of prophecy, as Balaam, and yet be destitute of charity, and” love the wages of un righteousness.”

The apostle could not know the hearts of the people to whom he wrote, and, therefore, he addresses them as professors, who, notwithstanding their many gifts and high profession, might possibly be deceived; but he did not wish to be censorious, and says, that although he thus spake, he hoped better things of them and things that accompany salvation. And he gives them credit for the good works which they had performed, which he assures them God would not forget. “For God,” says he, “is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have showed to his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints and do minister.” But he would not have them rest satisfied with attainments already made, but to press forward to the highest exercises of piety. “And we desire,” says he, “that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end.” And as sloth is one of the most common hinderances to growth in grace, he proceeds to warn the Hebrew Christians, particularly, against this insidious vice, and exhorts them to imitate the conduct of those ancient worthies who .had successfully run this race, and had won the prize. “Not slothful, but followers of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

Brethren, we have the same race to run, and are beset with the sam*y temptations and dangers from without, and are impeded by the same tendency to forgetfulness and indolence as those to whom those exhortations were originally addressed. They are, therefore, as well suited to us as to them; and they were written for our learning and admonition Let us, then, endeavour to profit by them, by not only hearing them, but by making a practical application of them to our own souls.

That the truths contained in the text may be brought -distinctly before you, I will endeavour to set before you, 1. The vice against which you are warned. 2. What things in the ancient saints we should imitate. 3. The blessing which we shall by so doing inherit.

1. The evil which we are exhorted to shun is sloth. The bad consequences of this vice, as it relates to worldly concerns, are well understood; and youth are often admonished by parents and teachers, not to indulge a propensity which is inherent in every son and daughter of Adam. But “the children of this world are wiser in their generation, than the children of light.” Christians are not commonly so apprehensive of the evils of sloth, in retarding their spiritual progress, as the men of the world are, in relation to earthly pursuits. Great loss is sustained by most who are running the Christian’s race, through an undue indulgence of indolence. There is in human nature a natural aversion to exertion. It requires the action of strong motives to arouse the mind from its natural apathy; this is especially true, when mental exertion is requisite. But besides this natural love of ease, there is a sinful aversion to the exercise of holy activity. “The carnal mind is enmity against God; it is not subject to his law, neither indeed can be.” Just so far as this depravity of nature prevails, just so far will there be a reluctance to turn the thoughts to spiritual objects. And as conscience condemns according to the light of truth which is in the mind, impenitent men instinctively turn away from the contemplation of their own sins, on account of the pam and remorse which such views occasion. And, as the pious are renewed but in part, the remains of corruption in their hearts, paralyse their souls, and render them dull and inactive in spiritual concerns. When we feel a secret aversion to any set of objects, we are reluctant to think of them; the soul naturally turns away to such things as are congenial with its present temper. When pious affections are lively, then there is no disposition to indulge in indolence. Love creates alacrity, and sweetens the most toilsome labours. But when love grows cold, in the same proportion the soul moves heavily in the ways of God. Drowsiness benumbs its sensibilities. “I have put of] my clothes,” said the spouse, “and how shall I put them on?” Prayer, which is so delightful to the lively Christian, becomes a task, and meditation a burden. Closet duties are neglected, or hurried over without any engagedness of spirit. Sloth cuts the nerves of effort. Under its withering influence the most precious means and opportunities of spiritual progress are suffered to pass without improvement. The soul indulges in sleep, when it should be wide awake — sleeps too, on enchanted ground, where many have slept the sleep of death. 0 Christian, awake to consider your real situation. You are surrounded by enemies, which are ever watchful, ever on the alert. Awake to consider the work which you have to do. The time is far spent. The day in which work can be done for God, and for the soul, will soon be over. “Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.” It does not become us “to sleep as do others, but to watch and be sober.” Eternity, with all its awful realities is coming on, and will soon be here. Gird up the loins of your mind. “Work while it is called ‘to-day,’ before the night cometh, when no man can work.”

II. But the duty of the Christian is not merely negative: he has positive duties to perform, as well as to shun the evils to which human nature is prone. And the duty enjoined in the text is the imitation of the men distinguished for piety, whose history has been left on record, for this very purpose. “Be ye followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” The apostle evidently refers to those ancient saints, to whom God had made exceeding great and precious promises. And, especially, he seems to have Abraham in his eye; for he goes on, immediately, to speak of the oath and promise of God made to this patriarch, as furnishing a solid ground of consolation to all true believers. The exhortation is, first, to be imitators of the faith of the ancient saints, and no one among them is so conspicuous for constant and extraordinary faith as Abraham. He is, therefore, in many places of the sacred Scriptures, exhibited as a model to believers who should come after him. On account of the strength of his faith, he obtained the honourable title of “the father of the faithful.” And when the apostles treat of the nature and efficacy of faith, Abraham is the example commonly selected for illustration. In the eleventh chapter of this epistle, Paul speaks of the faith of this patriarch, in the following strong language. “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out to a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise as in a’ strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose maker and builder is God.” The faith of these ancient worthies of whom the apostle speaks, was strong in death as well as in life; and had respect not merely to temporal blessings, but more especially, to the heavenly inheritance. For, “these all died in faith, not having received the promises,” that is, not having seen their fulfilment; “bat having seen them afar off,” about certainly to be accomplished at a future day. “They were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things, declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly if they had been mindful of that country from which they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly; wherefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God; for he hath prepared for them a city.”

In the history of Abraham, there is one transaction which exhibits the strength of his faith, in the clearest manner conceivable. It was his prompt obedience to the command of Jehovah, when directed to sacrifice his son Isaac. The apostle speaks of this extraordinary exercise of unshaken confidence in God, in the following terms. “By faith, Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac; and he that had received the promises, offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, In Isaac shall thy seed be called; accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead.” This is the kind of faith which we are called upon to imitate; though we may not be able to come up to an equality with it. If we examine more particularly into the nature of Abraham’s faith, we shall find in it the following properties.

1. It was prompt. No sooner did he hear the voice of God speaking to him than he obeyed, however repugnant the command might be to human feelings. When God first revealed to him his will, commanding him leave his own country and kindred, he hesitated not, but went out, not knowing as yet, whither God would have him to go. So our faith should be prompt; at once yielding undoubting assent to the truth of what God has in his word declared; and without consulting with flesh and blood, we should be ready, without delay, to obey his commands.

2. Abraham’s faith was implicit. He believed the revelations of God, without waiting for an explanation of the difficulties or mysteries involved in the subject. Some of the declarations of the Almighty had the appearance of being, in the nature of things, impossible; as that Sarah when past the age of child-bearing should have a son; and some seemed to be not only unnatural, but contrary to the truth of God’s promises, as the command to sacrifice his son Isaac, in whom, it had been promised, all nations should be blessed. But Abraham did not hesitate. Human reason, as well as the fond affections of our nature, often raise up obstacles in the way of faith in God’s revelations; but over all these the faith of Abraham triumphed. He seems to have resorted to no sentiments or reasonings of his own, when God had spoken. His confidence in the divine veracity was such, that what God declared, he implicitly received as true, and acted accordingly. This is the noblest triumph of faith. Reason is no competent judge of divine mysteries. They are not contrary to, bat above reason. But how, it may be asked, could Abraham believe in a revelation which seemed to contradict promises already made? Paul explains this. He believed that if he slew his son, God would raise him up again; for he was sure that his promises could not fail. In this respect, we should imitate the faith of Abraham, by implicitly receiving whatever we find clearly revealed in his word, although many of the truths therein contained be in their nature incomprehensible. We should leave it to God to clear up, in due season, mysteries which now baffle human reason; and not trust to our own feeble intellect. Many things we may be unable to reconcile, owing entirely to the imperfection of our knowledge; but there are mysteries which must ever remain such, to all created intelligences; for how can finite ever comprehend that which is infinite? The pride of human reason, which disdains to submit to receive what it cannot understand, has been the fruitful source of innumerable heresies.

3. The third characteristic of Abraham’s faith was its strength. Faith may be of very different degrees of strength. We hear our Saviour saying,.

M I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” Again, “O woman, great is thy faith.” On the other hand, he often upbraids his disciples for the weakness of their faith, “O ye of little faith, wherefore did ye doubt?” Now, Abraham received this testimony, that “he believed God, and his faith was counted for righteousness.” Paul says, “who, against hope believed in hope, that he might be the father of many nations.” That is, when every human appearance, and even the laws of nature stood in the way of the fulfilment of the promise; yet he continued to rely on the faithfulness of him that promised. “For being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about a hundred years old, nor yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; being fully persuaded, that what he had promised, he was able to perform.” The strength of his faith was also remarkably manifest in the transaction already referred to. when he promptly obeyed the command to sacrifice his son, his well beloved son, although the fulfilment of the promises of God was dependent on his life — “accounting that God was able to raise him from the dead.” There is no human act more pleasing to God than a strong confidence in his word. Many things which he reveals may be mysterious, and far above our comprehension; but we need no other evidence of their truth than the word of God. So, also, we may be required to perform duties which involve much self-denial; .but we should not confer with flesh and blood, but should imitate Abraham, who, without delay or hesitation, obeyed the commandment of the Lord. When he was directed to leave his native country, he immediately went out, not knowing whither he went. And when God commanded him to offer up his well beloved son, Isaac, he demurred not, but saddled his ass, and took his son and went to the place appointed. The path of duty is always the way of safety; and it is the road to happiness. We may hesitate about what is duty, in certain dubious circumstances, but when that point is ascertained, there should be no hesitation about performing what conscience dictates to be right.

4. Another characteristic of Abraham’s faith wras, that it directed his attention and affections to heaven, as his resting place. The promise of Canaan was of no value to him, individually; for, he owned not a foot of land in the country, while he lived, except a burying ground, which he had purchased, on the death of Sarah. His immediate descendants, Isaac and Jacob, were like himself, strangers and sojourners in the land of promise: and their descendants, for centuries, were in a foreign country, where they suffered great affliction and oppression. All this was made known to Abraham, and yet he lived by faith. He had something in view far better than this earthly possession. “He looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Faith was to him the evidence of things not seen, the substance of things hoped for. This, my brethren, is the faith of those who inherited the promises, which the apostle exhorts us to follow.

But those ancient worthies whom we should imitate, are characterised by patience, as well as faith. These two virtues are very fitly joined together, because the good things promised were not immediately received, but were “viewed afar off.” “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off.” Therefore, while they were sojourners and strangers, and exposed to many evils, they had great need of patience, both to wait for the fulfilment of the promises, and to endure the trials, through which they had to pass. All the pious patriarchs possessed both faith and patience; though not all in the same degree. We have selected Abraham, in particular, as a model of faith, which we ought to imitate, and in making this selection we are warranted by the authority of Scripture, where he is called, “the father of the faithful,” but whom shall we fix upon to be an example to us in patience? Our thoughts would at first naturally turn to Job, whom, from our infancy, we have been taught to consider the most patient of men. The apostle James says, u Be ye also patient; establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy.” Among the prophets we might fix upon Jeremiah, as a man of almost unexampled afflictions, from his youth to his death. But though both these ancient saints, Job and Jeremiah were among the greatest sufferers, of whom we have any record; yet they were both, at times, pettish and querulous. The spirits of both of them were so exasperated, on certain occasions, that they cursed the day on which they were born. This ‘certainly is no example for us to follow. They both uttered many things not indicative of a patient, submissive temper. I have, therefore, selected Moses, as the person whose constancy and perfect submission to the will of God, under circumstances of the severest trial, may be held up as a pattern for our imitation, above any other. Though the Scriptures speak of the patience of Job, they no where assert, that he was the most patient of men: and a comparison between him and Moses, will lead to the conclusion, that the latter, in regard to this virtue, is a more perfect model for our imitation than the former.

Moses is declared to have been the meekest man upon earth; and there is a near affinity between meekness and patience Never did mere man endure a more constant pressure on his mind than this servant of God, while he had committed to him the charge and guidance of the people of Israel, in their long journey of forty years, in the wilderness. This people were stiff-necked and rebellious, and left nothing undone which could have a tendency to intimidate, provoke, and render impatient their divinely appointed leader. But, under all these repeated trials and provocations, he remained firm; and never suffered his spirit to be exasperated, except on two occasions. The one was, when he came down from the mount with the two tables of the law, written by the finger of God himself, and beheld the people dancing and shouting around the golden calf, which they had caused Aaron to make, he threw down the tables with violence to the ground, and broke them to pieces. This, however, is no where, in Scripture, represented as a sin; but seems to have been a holy indignation, on account of the sad defection of the people, at the very foot of the mountain, on which God had recently manifested his awful glory, and terrible majesty.

The other instance, in which Moses departed from his characteristic calmness and patience, was at the waters of Meribah. Here he behaved in an improper manner, and “spake unadvisedly with his lips;” on which account, he was debarred from entering the land of Canaan. In all other cases, he seems to have possessed his soul in patience. “He endured,’’ says the Scripture, “as seeing him that is invisible.” “He, as a servant, was faithful in all his house.” Let us, then, set before us as an example of firmness, meekness, and patience, this eminent servant of the most High, with whom God conversed face to face, as he never did with any other person. His life was made up of vicissitudes. Born under a cruel edict which condemned him to death as soon as born, but concealed by his parents for a while, he was at length exposed in a little ark on the edge of the Nile. Being found by the daughter of the king, and adopted as her own son, he was nursed by his own mother, and when weaned given up to his foster-mother, to be educated in all the learning of the Egyptians. When grown to man’s age, he began to visit his brethren in bondage, for he had received an intimation that he was appointed to be their deliverer, and supposed that they would have received him as such; but their minds were blinded. The appointed period of their deliverance had not yet come. The four hundred years predicted to Abraham had not expired, and he had to undergo a long preparatory discipline in a foreign land. Having slain an Egyptian, in defending an Israelite, he was under the necessity of leaving Egypt; and he went into the land of Midian, where he connected himself in marriage with a daughter of Jethro, a wise and good man, and a priest of God. Here he remained, pursuing the occupation of a shepherd, for forty years; at the end of which period, he received a commission from God, to go to the king of Egypt, and demand the release of the cnildren of Israel, and was endowed with the power of working miracles of the most astonishing kind. As the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, he refused to let the people go, until ten heavy judgments were inflicted on the nation; the last of which was one that came home to the bosom of the monarch as keenly as to the meanest of his subjects: all the first-born in every house of the Egyptians wrere slain by the angel of death. This afflictive dispensation induced him and his people, not only to permit the Israelites to depart, but to drive them out, giving them whatever they demanded, for the people were filled with terror, and apprehended that they were all in danger of perishing. But no sooner had Pharaoh and his people time to recover from the shock of this calamity, than they repented of having let the Israelites go; and they hastily pursued after them, and overtook them at the Red Sea, at a place, where, to all human appearance, escape was impossible. Before them was the sea; behind them the Egyptian army ready to fall upon them; and on the right and left they were completely hemmed in. Great, indeed, was the terror and agitation of the immense multitude, and they charged Moses with the ruin which threatened them. But in these perilous circumstances, how did Moses behave? He was calm and unmoved, trusting in Jehovah. He reposed with unshaken confidence on the power and faithfulness of God. “Stand still,” said he to the people, “and see the salvation of God.” And upon his stretching forth his miracle-working rod, the sea divided, and left a dry path before them, so that they all went safely over; which the Egyptians essaying to do, were all overwhelmed by the returning waters. We might follow Moses, through his whole journey, and should always find him calm, composed, and exercising the most extraordinary forbearance and

patience, toward this murmuring and rebellious nation. And yet, when the Almighty proposed to destroy them, and make a greater nation of him, such was his disinterestedness, that he fell on his face, and most earnestly deprecated this judgment, which would have raised him to such an eminence, and made his family illustrious above all the families of the earth. Yea, he prayed, that rather than this should be done, his name might be blotted out of the book of the living. Behold in Moses a model for your imitation! As no man ever lived who was favoured with such near and intimate intercourse with his Maker; so it is probable, that no man ever equalled him in fidelity to his Lord, in every trust committed to him. “Moses was faithful in all his house.”

The word rendered patience in our text, is more commonly translated long-suffering; and is sometimes distinguished from patience. But as these two graces are so nearly the same, it is not necessary to be very critical in distinguishing between them. * It may be remarked, however, that no word can better express the prominent trait in the character of Moses, than long-suffering. And it is worthy of remark, that this temper is the genuine fruit of faith. If Moses had not had a faith of uncommon strength in the word and promise of God, he never could have possessed his soul in patience, as he did. Be ye then followers of such men as Abraham and Moses, and the other saints of God, whose exemplary lives are recorded for this very purpose, that we might have suitable models for our imitation. These biographical sketches “were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.”

III. In the last place, I am to speak of the inheritance of the saints, which is here mentioned. The saints referred to in the text, are said “to inherit the promises.” From the time of the fall, God has been graciously pleased to bind himself by promise and by covenant, to his chosen people. He made promises to Adam, to Noah, to Abraham,

Isaac, and Jacob, and other distinguished saints. And what he promised to them, equally belongs to all who possess the same character. To inherit the promises, is, to have a title to the blessings promised; and these blessings come to us freely as ar inheritance, from a father to his children. These blessings, it is true, were dearly purchased, by our elder brother, through whom we have our title; but to us, they are free gifts. We possess them without paying any thing — and such an inheritance suits us, for we had nothing wherewith to buy an of these rich blessings.

“O to grace how great a debtor!”

Most of the early promises to the fathers had relation to the Messiah, that precious “seed of the woman” — that seed in whom all nations should be blessed — that “desire of all nations:” because through him all blessings come to redeemed saints. Indeed, they are all in a sense made to him; or they are made to them in him. The promised Messiah was to believers under the Old Testament the object of faith, and faith then justified, or gave a title to the promises, just as it does now. They, therefore, became heirs of the promises by faith. The apostle Paul demonstrates, that the rich promises made to Abraham are not abrogated, but remain in full force. For the covenant made with Abraham was “confirmed of God in Christ;” and, therefore, he concludes, “if ye be Christ’s, ye are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” And Peter says to the converted Jews, on the day of Pentecost, “the promise is unto you and your children.” This apostle, in his second epistle, declares, that “the promises of God are exceeding great and precious.” And the apostle John informs us, in a sentence, what is the sum and substance of all the promises, “and this is the promise, that he hath promised us, even eternal life.” And this inheritance is not only rich, but sure. The promise of God, according to Paul, is of the nature of an “immutable counsel.” “Wherein God willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise, the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge, to lay hold on the hope set before us.” And in another place he assures us, that the “promises of God are not yea, and nay,” that is, not vacillating and uncertain, “but are all yea and amen in Christ Jesus, to the glory of God.”

To inherit the promises is to inherit all things. They comprehend all the good which a man is capable of enjoying, and much more than he is capable of imagining. God will do for his people abundantly above what they can think or ask. The promised inheritance is declared to be “incorruptible, undefiled, and which fadeth not away,” reserved in the heavens for them. “For all things are yours, whether Paul, or A polios, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come, all are yours, and ye are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.”

1. Since, then, so rich a prize is held up before us, and is promised to him that overcometh, let us lay aside sloth. Let us gird up our loins and strive, and wait, and hope to the end. Let us not be weary in well-doing, but let us press toward the mark.

2. Let us meditate frequently and profoundly on the characters of the saints, which are left on record, for our imitation. Let it not be supposed, because many of them were inspired, and had supernatural gifts, that they are not proper objects of imitation. They were men of like passions with ourselves, and were supported by supplies of grace from the same fountain from which we are permitted to draw. The same Spirit which wrought powerfully in them still exists in all the plenitude of his power, and is still with the church, and indwelling in- every true believer. We are not straitened in God, but we are straitened in our own bowels. But if we cannot attain to the high eminence on which Abraham and Moses stood, can we not make some greater approximation to their character, than we have yet done? Certainly we may derive benefit from imitating them, though at an humble distance. The child who writes after a copper-plate, may not hope to equal its perfection; and yet it is a great advantage to him to have such a copy to follow.

3. Remember that faith is the secret spring which keeps the spiritual life in motion. If you inquire what enabled Abraham to rise so high in the performance of difficult acts of obedience, the answer is, that he was strong in faith. He believed whatever God told him, and therefore he was able to do all that he commanded. And what rendered Moses so firm and faithful in all God’s house? The apostle teaches that it was all by faith. And this has been the secret of the patient and cheerful sufferings of the martyrs. They trusted in God, and his strength was made perfect in their weakness. But if faith becomes weak, all external observances, and all internal strivings will be ineffectual. Let your constant prayer then be, “Lord, increase our faith.” It is by faith that we inherit the promises.

4. To faith join patience; for often the fulfilment of the promise is long deferred. Though it tarry, wait for it. The duty of Christians is often, in Scripture, expressed by “waiting” — waiting on the Lord. This implies, that patience is requisite. God may noffcee fit to appear when we first call. He may wisely intend to put our faith and patience to the test. A hasty, perturbed spirit, however warm the zeal, is not the proper temper of dependent beggars. We must learn to feel that we deserve no favour, and yet earnestly wait upon God, if peradventure he may have compassion on us.

Again, God’s people are in this world, an afflicted people. “Many are the afflictions of the righteous.” In the world they shall suffer persecution; and through various tribulations must enter the kingdom. Under these various afflictions, the only peace which they can enjoy, is connected* with a patient, submissive temper; a willingness to bear whatever their heavenly Father may think proper to lay upon them.

5. Cast anchor on the solid ground of God’s promises. Take fast hold, and resolve never to let go, and you will safely outride every storm. No one has ever been disappointed who relied on the faithfulness of God. “A covenant-keeping God” is one of the titles by which he has made himself Tcnown, “His faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.” And he has promised to every one who trusteth in him, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” Heaven and earth shall pass away, sooner than one jot or tittle shall fail of all that he has promised. “Hath he said it, and shall he not doit?”

6. Meditate much on the promised inheritance. Think how near it is; only a few days, or at most a few years distant. These will roll round as fast as those which have already gone by, Think how sure it is, resting on the promise of one who cannot lie. Think how rich it is — thought cannot reach it, much less can words describe it.

But it is enough for believers to know that they shall be with Christ, shall behold his glory, and shall be like him, both in soul and body.