If, therefore, there be nothing in the nature of the soul incon- sistent with its separate existence ; if the body be not a necessary condition of its consciousness or activity ; if its probation termi- nates at death ; if the perfection of Christ's work precludes all necessity of future satisfaction for sin; and if the immediate change from imperfect to perfect holiness be consistent with the analogy of faith, then there is no a priori objection to the doc- trine that the souls of believers at death do immediately pass into glory.
5. That such is the doctrine of Scripture may be argued from the general drift of the sacred volume, so far as this subject is concerned. The Bible constantly speaks of the present life as a state of conflict, of labour, and of suffering ; and of death as the entrance into rest. There remains a rest for the people of God. That rest follows the state of labour and trial. Believers then cease from their works. The rest on which they enter is not merely a rest from conflict and sin, but a rest which arises from the attainment of the end of their being, from their restoration to their proper relation to God, and all their capacities being satisfied and filled.
6. Besides these general considerations the doctrine in question is taught in many passages of Scripture with more or less distinct- ness. Thus, in Revelation xiv. 13, the Apostle says, " I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth : Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours ; and their works do follow them." The simple meaning of this passage is that those who die in the Lord are, from that moment onward, in a state of bless- ednesss ; because they cease from their labours, and enter on the reward of the righteous. Death is for them emancipation from evil, and the introduction into a state of happiness.