WHO SHALL ENJOY THIS REST. 61 resting on him, he doth in and through him receive all this. More particularly, the persons for whom this rest is designed, are a holy people ; given to Christ as their Redeemer ; born again ; deeply con- vinced of the evil and misery of a sinful state, the vanity of the creature, and the all - sufficiency of Christ ; their will is renewed ; they engage themselves to Christ in covenant ; and they persevere in their engagements to the end. § 2. (1) The persons for whom this rest is designed, whorn the text calls the people of God, are chosen of God befbre the foundation of the world, that they should be holy and without blame be före him in love.(k) That they are but a small part of mankind, is too apparent in scripture and experience. They are the "little flock" to whom, "it is their Father's good pleasure to give the kingdom. "(l) Fewer they are than the world imagines; yet not so few as some drooping spirits think, who are suspicious that God is unwilling to be their God, when they know themselves willing to be his people. O' 3. (2) These persons are given of God to his Son, to be by him redeemed from their lost state, and ad- vanced to this glory. God hath `given all things to his Son. " God hath given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as the Fa- ther bath given him. "(m) The Father hath given him all who repent and believe. The difference is clearly expressed by the apostle ; " He bath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church. "(n) And though Christ is, in some sense, "a ransom for all, "(o) yet not in that spe- cial manner as for his people. 4. (3) One great qualification of these persons is, that they are "born again. "(p) To be the people of God without regeneration, is as impossible as to be the children of men without generation. Seeing we are born God's enemies, we must be new-born his sous, or else remain enemies still. The greatest re. (k) Ephes. i. 4, 5. (m) John xvii. 2. (o) I Tim. ii. 6. (l) Luke xii. 32. (n) Ephes. i. 22. (p) John ill: 3.
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