he afferts, that in fome particulars their circumftances and ours were alike, and in others not.

And firft, we have a promise left us of entering into God's reft; this was their cafe alfo. There is, fays he, fuch a thing left. The old creation is gone, and the fabbath which belonged to it more; but after that is gone, there is a

is no

day of reft left for us, and a exhortation to enter into it.

promise, rather an

They had a rest

of God propofed to them, and fo have we; they had a promise and exhortation to enter into it, and fo have we; theirs is gone, ours is left behind: herein we are alike.

In the next place, he fhows that the method of entering into it, recommended to us, is the fame that was recommended to them; and indeed must be the fame, because there can be but one. And to their cafe and Ours is parallel in this particular, as in the foregoing. This he declares in the next verse. For unto us the gospel was

preached, as well as unto them, but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith, in them that heard. That is, Unto

us

us, is the gofpel preached, as unto them. By

the gospel or good news, ftand the promise of reft,

we are here to under

which is very properly

fo called. And it is delivered or preached unto

us,

as it was unto them, with regard to the way of entering into it, and that is, by faith. This he proves in the following words, thus, But the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard; (for we enter into reft believing) as he faid, as I have worn in my wrath, if they fhall enter into my reft. If, is here a negative, and is the fame as not. That is, the reft promifed and preached to them did not profit them, for they never believed it, and fo could never enter in. And that they neither did nor could is evident, as God fwore in wrath that they never fhould. Unbelievers, according to these words, and the laft verfe of the foregoing chapter, neither could nor fhould enter in. The nature of unbelief, and the oath of exclufion flood eternally against it.

For, fays he, we believers do enter into that reft. They neither could nor fhould, for we believers are alone capable of entering.

Unbelief

then

then barred and fhut up the way to their reft, and does the fame with regard to ours; by faith fome of them, as above, entered, and all might; and by faith fome now do, and all may enter that rest proposed unto us: and herein our cafes are alike.

founda

Another particular in which our circumstances tally is, that by reft is meant a weekly fabbathday. That the rest presented and opened to the fathers, was a fabbath-day, is apparent in the third, fourth and fifth verfes. As I have fworn in my wrath, if they fhall enter into my rest from the works yet finished from the tion of the world. For he fpake in a certain place of the feventh day on this wife, And God did reft the feventh day from all his works. And in this again, If they fhall enter into my reft. In the words we see what reft the fathers flighted when the oath of exclufion went forth against them; it was God's own reft; My reft, fays he. It was his reft from works finifhed and compleated; it was from works finished long before this oath took place; yet it was God's reft then, when he made the affidavit against unbelievers

Ꮓ

unbelievers, as truly as when he had juft compleated the works to which it belonged, and in as full force. This reft was a day, the seventh and last day of the week, pointed out by name and number. The way that this day became God's reft was, that therein he rested and ceafed from all creation works, because he beheld and faw the whole in a

very good and finished ftate, and nothing better could be done. This was the reft of God, of which the apostle difcourfes in all this paffage. He spake, says he, on this wife concerning it in a certain place, to wit, in Genefis; and in this again, that is, in the wilderness where the fathers provoked him to make an affidavit against them. There were feveral oaths that went out against them during the forty years' provocation. This does not seem to have been recorded by Mofes at all, but delivered by infpiration to David, as were many other matters paffed by before his time.

Here then the apoftle afferts, that by entering into God's reft, he did not mean entering into the land of Canan, but keeping the fabbath upon the feventh day of the week, as God himself

had

There was a provocation about

had done before. entering the land of Canan, and a fimilar oath went out against them; but this which the apoftle applies to the present case, appears to be another, which is to be found only in the pfalm above. Now there was no poffibility of entering into the reft of the fabbath-day but by faith; because no man faw God creating the world; it was a thing to be believed upon his declaring it. And it is the fame with regard to the fabbath of redemption. We did not fee him do the work; and what the apostles saw was next to nothing. We must there. fore all enter into this reft, believing what he fays of it himself. The fabbath-day is the refult of works done by God out of our fight, and declared urto us as an object of faith, which faith is to be expressed and exercised by a bold and confident keeping of the day of the week upon which the works were finifhed; that is, the day which commenced at the finishing of the whole. It is upon this fundamental principle of a fabbath-day, he here difcourfes of both the days. There is, fays he, a day of reft, a fabbath, for it is faid the works were finifhed and ended, and then upon the feventh day God ceafed from