HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY SHELDON FIND Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1847, by ALEXANDER W. MITCHELL, M. D., in the office of the Clerk of Printed by Stereotyped by CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Of the Nature of the Heavenly Rest, II. The Preparatives to the Heavenly Rest, III. The Excellencies of the Heavenly Rest, IV. The Certainty of the Heavenly Rest, V. The Persons for whom the Heavenly Rest VI. The reasons why the Heavenly Rest re- CHAPTER I. The Misery of those who Lose the Heavenly Section I. The Nature of their Loss, II. The Aggravations of the Sinner's Loss, III. They shall lose all things that are comfortable on Earth, as well as in Heaven, IV. The Greatness of the Torments of the Damned CHAPTER II. Reprehending the General Neglect of the Heavenly Rest, and exciting to Diligence SECTION I. Reproof of Different Classes for their Neglect II. Exhortation to Diligence in Seeking the Hea- CHAPTER III. Persuading all Men to try their Title to the PAGE Part 1. Impediments to Self-Examination, 143 III. Causes of Doubting among Christians, 148 SECTION III. Motives to Self-Examination, IV. Directions for Self-Examination, V. Marks by which to Examine Ourselves, · 166 CHAPTER IV. The Reasons of the Saint's Afflictions on V. Reproving our Expectations of Rest on Earth, 179 VI. Reproving our Unwillingness to Die, SECTION I. The Aggravations of this Sin, II. Reasons why we should be Willing to Die, 190 CHAPTER VII. An Exhortation to those that have got As- surance of Heavenly Rest, to do all they SECTION I. The Nature of this Duty, - CHAPTER I. Motives to Heavenly Mindedness, II. Hinderances to Heavenly Mindedness, III. Helps to Heavenly Mindedness, IV. The Nature of Heavenly Contemplation, V. Of the Time and Place for Heavenly Con- templation, and the Preparation of the VI. Of the Faculties which are exercised in Hea- VII. Helps for exciting the Affections in Heavenly VIII. Of the Management of the Heart in Hea- IX. An Example of Heavenly Contemplation, PREFACE. “The Saints' Everlasting Rest” was written by the author during a season of protracted bodily illness, and in its original form was a quarto volume of considerable size. After it had gone through a number of editions in this form, it was abridged in 1759, by the Rev. Benjamin Fawcett, and since that period, the abridgment has entirely superseded the original work. A literal reprint of the work, as left by its distinguished author, would not, on many accounts, be desirable; and particularly for the reason that it would find few readers. It is verbose, repetitious and loosely written, faults of which the author himself became aware: and hence the abridgment by Fawcett, of which numerous editions have been published, was a real blessing to the world. When the Presbyterian Board of Publication had resolved to place this work on their catalogue, it was determined to present an abridgment which should materially differ from that in common use. Fawcett often took too great liberties with his author in altering his language, in transposing his matter, and in expunging the arrangement which he had adopted. Besides, in some parts he retained, as it was thought, too much of the merely hortatory remarks of the author. An improvement, in this new abridgment, has been attempted; and it is thought that the strongest parts of the book have been retained, and the arrangement of the author so preserved, as to render it much more probable that the “ Saints' Everlasting Rest" will be read with intelligence and profit. |