402 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF THE [^793 



gression, that " the* very ground was cursed for his sake; that in sor- 

 row he and his posterity should eat of it all the days of their lives; that 

 it should bring forth thorns and thistles; that in sorrow and in the 

 sweat of the face they should eat bread all the days of their lives until 

 their return to the groimd, from whence they were taken ; for dust we 

 are and unto dust we must return." "All things here," says Solomon, f 

 "are full of labor; man cannot utter it." "Man is born unto trou- 

 ble," saith Job,;}; "as the sparks fly upward." But in Christ's kingdom, 

 where sin cannot enter and divine righteousness must forever prevail, 

 there shall be a glorious and eternal rest from labor, both of body and 

 soul. There shall be no more anxieties nor cares concerning the future, 

 nor strifes, nor frauds, nor violence concerning the present ; but, instead 

 thereof, there shall be perpetual tranquillity of enjoyment ; attentive to 

 the voice of God, the harmony of the spirits of just men made perfect 

 and of the church triumphant in heaven. 



And now, first, with respect to those who labor and are heavy-laden 

 in this world, and who may be ready to sink under their burden, heaven 

 is described as a rest from their labor. St. John, in the Revelation, 

 saith, " Blessed are the dead, who die in the Lord, for they rest from 

 their labors ;"§ "and there remaineth (saith St. Paul) a rest for the 

 people of God. Let us therefore strive to enter into that rest ; for it is 

 a glorious rest, saith the prophet Isaiah." 



2. The happiness of heaven is also figured to us by the metaphor of 

 peace. 



" Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that 

 man is peace. "j| " The righteous are taken from the evil to come, that 

 they may enter into peace." 



This peace, to men who are born at enmity with God and all good- 

 ness, must be unspeakably desirous. To have our consciences quieted 

 against future apprehensions of sin, disobedience and punishment ; to 

 have our souls purified from all the fell passions and inclinations of de- 

 generate nature, from malice, anger, wrath, clamor, evil speaking ; to 

 have our hearts opened to the divine impressions and inexpressible 

 sweets of love and friendship, which unite the spirits of the just and 

 call them, with the accordant voice of joy and happiness, to pour forth 

 before the throne of God their unwearied anthems of adoration and 

 praise. This is happiness, indeed, to all who love peace and seek for 

 relief from discord, strife and care. 



3. Again, the Scriptures, addressing the devotees of worldly riches 

 and wealth, represent the joys of heaven as a treasure — a treasure which 

 cannot Idb consumed, but shall ever abound and flourish — "a treasure 

 wliich neither moth nor rust can corrupt ; which thieves cannot break 

 through, nor steal.; which cannot take wings and fly away in our need, 



* Gen. iii. 17, iS, 19. f Eccles. i. 8. JJobv. 7. ^ Rev. xiv. 13. || Ps. xxxvii. 37. 



