tenure on which the land was held, feel a repugnance to the transfer, and to the mode in which the transfer of the land was effected.
In relation, however, to the land which we are called to possess, no such feeling can exist. Heaven is the free gift of God to Abraham's spiritual seed, as Canaan was to his natural descendants. It is given to them in Christ Jesus : yea, it was given to them even before the worlds were madec. And, as a person receiving a grant of land from an earthly monarch would go up without hesitation to take possession of it, so should every person who believes in Christ regard the hea- venly land, and go up, not to make it his own, but to take possession of it as his own. No thought of purchasing it must for one moment enter into his mind. If he is united unto Christ by faith, that is a sufficient title ; and from that moment he may claim it as his own.
This command then do we give, in the name of Almighty God, to every one of you who believes in Christ; " Go up and possess the land," which the Sovereign of the universe, of his own love and mercy, has given to you.]
2. By conflict, as the fruit of victory —
[Though the land was given them, yet were they to gain it by the sword. And we also have enemies without number to encounter. The world, the flesh, and the devil, all obstruct our way ; and must be vanquished, before we can sit down in
the full enjoyment of the promised inheritance Nor
let it be thought that heaven is the less a gift on this account : for though we fight, it is not our own sword that gets us the victory. It was " God himself who drove out the inhabitants" of the earthly Canaan : and it is through God alone that our weapons produce any effect in subduing our enemies before usd. How compatible the two are, will appear from what our blessed Lord has said: "Labour not for the meat that perisheth, but for that which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give unto youe." You must fight; and you must conquer : but, after all, you must say, " Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name be the praise f."]
Together with this command, we are taught, II. The way in which we should address ourselves to the performance of it — The command of God to us is positive, as that to them also was: and,
1. Our obedience to him should be prompt — [I am persuaded they would have done well, if they had
c Tit. i. 2. and 2 Tim. i. 9. d 2 Cor. x. 4, 5.
e John vi. 27. f Ps. cxv. 1.