Christ inviting sinners to come to him for rest

because sanctification is nothing else but glorification begun, and glorification is nothing else but the perfecting of sanctification. Now I beseech you observe this as a most special thing that belongs to a Christian, the best duties that we perform are nothing else but the life of heaven to us, nay the truth is, it is the life of God. And therefore it is said of ungodly men before they come to Christ, they are strangers to the life of God, therefore when thou art come to Christ, thou hast the life of God in thee, and the life of heaven in thee, and the beginning of Glory, Glory and eternal life thou doest live whilst thou art in performance of holy duties. What is the happiness of heaven, but for the Saints and Angels to be exercised in magnifying the riches of God, and of Christ? now thou beginnest it here, and therefore if thou knowest what this is, thou art not, I say, to look upon any duty that thou performest merely as a duty but thou art to look upon it as a privilege, yea as part of thy wages. That is a certain truth, that Gods work, it is wages, and the improving of that principle would help us very much in our Christian course, if thou didst live and account every duty that thou performest to God to be wages, Oh! with what sweetness wouldest thou go on in the performance of those duties that God requires of thee, thou art receiving thy wages when thou art performing of duties. In Rom. 6. and the last. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. At the 22. verse it is thus. But now being freed from sin and become servants unto God, you have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. You have your fruit unto holiness, it is the fruit unto holiness ⟨p. 282⟩which is the gift of God, and holiness it is nothing else but the gift of God, and the beginning of eternal life, the fullness of eternal life, that indeed is the end of it, but the fruit that you have for the present it is holiness, and that holiness that is the gift of God, it is the beginning of eternal life here in this world.

because sanctification is nothing else but glorification begun, and glorification is nothing else but the perfecting of sanctification. Now I beseech you observe this as a most special thing that belongs to a Christian, the best duties that we performe are nothing else but the life of heaven to us, nay the truth is, it is the life of God. And therefore it is said of ungodly men before they come to Christ, they are strangers to the life of God, therefore when thou art come to Christ, thou hast the life of God in thee, and the life of heaven in thee, and the beginning of Glory, Glory and eternal life thou doest live whilst thou art in performance of holy duties. What is the happiness of heaven, but for the Saints and Angels to be exercised in magnifying the riches of God, and of Christ? now thou beginnest it here, and therefore if thou knowest what this is, thou art not, I say, to look upon any duty that thou performest meerly as a duty but thou art to look upon it as a priviledg, yea as part of thy wages. That is a certain truth, that Gods work, it is wages, and the improving of that principle would help us very much in our Christian course, if thou didst live and account every duty that thou performest to God to be wages, Oh! with what sweetness wouldest thou go on in the performance of those duties that God requires of thee, thou art receiving thy wages when thou art performing of duties. In