fathers were able to beare and that it is not only meant Ceremonial but moral it appeares at the 11. verse We beleeve that through the grace of our lord Jesus Christ we shal be saved even as they Now the grace of our lord Jesus christ is not only opposite to the ceremonal law but to the moral Law when it is taught in way of Justification to life So that this law that is such a yoke is that that is opposite to the grace of Christ that brings salvation it is that law that reveales Sin it is that law which is the minister of death by which the mouths of al come to be stopped so that it is a heavy yoke those that are under this Law that is such as are under the first covenant the Covenant of works that seek for Justification by that they are under a greivous burden they are the children of the bond woman for the law requires that that is impossible for them to do Now when a soul comes to see and understand it self to bee under the law such a Law as requires things impossible to be done this burdens the soul so by this means it comes to see the need it hath of Christ and Christ cals to such to come to him as if he should Say So long as you continue unbeleivers in your natural condition you are under Such a covenant for life as requires that of you which you cannot possibly do and therefore there is no resting in that condition Come therefore to me take my yoke my easie yoke the other is a heavy yoke But I wil shew you a way for ease and rest to your soules That is the first But though the law may require hard things impossible things yet it may remit in some other things Wherefore 2. In the second place this is the yoke and bondage of the Law that in every thing that it doth command it doth require absolute perfection accepts of nothing but absolute perfection in every thing that it doth Comand it doth not onely comand hard things but whatsoever the law requires it doth require an absolute perfection in it or otherwise casts the Soul if there be but a failing on any particular in any degree of that which the Law requires the Law casts the Soul by it It requires not only that the thing should be done but that it should be done in a right manner that it should be done out of a right principle that it should be done in the perfection of degrees to the uttermost that is required that there should not onely be a direction of our lives according to the rule but that we come up fully to the Rule this the law requires Now what a miserable yoke and burden is this for a poor soul to look upon the Law as requiring first things that I cannot do And secondly absolute perfection admitting of no imperfection at al this is a heavy yoke this neither we nor our fathers could beare and those that come to be sensible of this must needs be under a greivous burden and so se a need of Jesus Christ Christ cals those that do understand this It is true if it were thus and people were left without any help and remedy it were a sad condition truly if christ had not come into the world to put himself under the law we had been left thus and al those that do not understand the Gospel that have not had Christ preached unto them they are al thus they are al in this Condition they are under a law that they cannot performe that law which doth require absolute and perfect obedience in every thing or else casts them Thirdly The Burden of the Law is this you may say though it doth require perfect obedience but wil it accept of no endeavours at al suppose we do endeauor to obey to the uttermost that we can There are many men wil require things that are hard and beyond strength I but when there are endeavours to do that that is required that wil be accepted wherefore we are to know this that the Law accepts of no endeavours though a man or woman should strive their hearts out to obey to come to the height of the perfection of the Law the Law doth not accept of those endeavors It is true when the Soul comes unto Christ in the Gospel when the Soul comes under the covenant of Grace endeavors are accepted therefore do not say that God wil not accept of our endeavors and why should we endeavor Yes if you come unto Christ your endeavors wil be accepted as we shal shew you when we come to discourse the rest that the Soul hath in Christ But now here is an argument to drive poor souls to Christ to consider that while you are out of Christ your endeavors are not accepted you are not in away of life for life and Salvation it is not to be had in the condition you are now in for the Law requires obedience it must have the work done you can be but either under the covenant of works or the covenant of grace so long as you are under the covenant of works there the work is called for and not meerly endeavors that wil not do therefore the Apostle saith in the Rom. 10.5 For Moses describeth the righteousness of the Law that he which doth those things shal live by them You must either be Righteous by the Righteousness of the Law or by the Righteousness of Christ now if you would be Righteous by the Righteousness of the Law hear what it is he that doth these things shal live by them If you do them Moses doth not say he that endeavors to do these things he that strives to do these things No but Moses saith he that doth them he that doth these things shal live by them it must be doing and not endeavoring that the Law accepteth and that is the third thing wherein the bondage of the Law consists Saith Christ come to me and you shal have rest it is by beleeving in Christ that you must have rest There can be no rest but a grievous burden upon the soul til it doth come to Christ if it doth understand things and if it doth not understand these things it is in so much the worse condition though perhaps it be not sensible of such a burden through ignorance as most people spend off al their daies and through ignorance do not come to be sensible of it but when the Soul comes to understand what tearms there are between God and it and how it must stand before God that it must either stand by vertue of a Covenant of Works or a Covenant of Grace and that al naturally are under a Covenant of Works and so long as I am in my natural Condition I am under such a Law that accepts of no endeavors this must needs be a great burden unto the Soul and make it to see an absolute necessity of going to
for the principle of life out of my self This is the second thing that is here noted Come to me that is first behold me see and beleeve that I am the great mediator that is come into the world to save your souls and then secondly let there be an unsetling of your hearts a taking your hearts off from whatsoever you were setled upon heretofore that so you may be removed from thence and that you may take another course for your life in Christ and happiness in him Thirdly Come unto me that is let there be a working and a stirring of your hearts after me Christ calls for the heart of sinners after he comes to be revealled to them they should be in a working stiring disposition making after the Lord Jesus Christ for union with him to the utmost that possibly they can the thoughts should be working and the conscience working and the wil opening it self to receive in the grace of God and the affection should he stirring and the whole soul should be in a working disposition after him Incline your eare and come as if Christ should say though you are under great burdens yet do not you sink under them in a discouraging way and lie down in a dul and a heavy way No but let your hearts be stirring working and acting after me continually have a care of this to keep your hearts in a stirring and working way after Christ and the grace that is offered to you in Christ this is that which young beginners should observe in a special manner if God be beginning to work upon your hearts you should have a great care to keep your hearts in a stir-working acting frame and disposition after Christ and above al things in the world take heed of a dul heavy dead spirit at this time when God cals you to come to Christ as the Apostle saith of himself in Phil. 3.14 I press hard after the mark so it should be with every poor soul that God is drawing after Christ it should be alwaies in a comming disposition and they should press hard toward the mark of the high prize of the calling that is set before them Christ is set before thee God sets his son before thee with the treasure of grace and thou shouldest press and follow hard after God as it is the expression of David in one of the Psalmes 63 8. a hard following stirring and working of the soul after the Lord as David said to his son Solomon in 1. Chron. 22.16 Vp and be doing and the Lord wil be with thee so I say to al unto whom the grace of God is offered they must not be dul and sullen but up and be doing As the Apostle speakes in 1. Phil. 20. According to the earnest expectation the word that is translated earnest expectation in the original signifies to stretch out the neck to look after some good that I would fain have come that is the propriety of the word in the original text so this should be comming to Christ that is when Christ is propouned in the gospel there should be the stretching out of the soul in looking after the Lord Jesus and a working of the soul after Jesus Christ keeping the soul working and stirring after Christ Many poor souls whom God is beginning to work his grace upon loose abundance of time and comfort for want of this of keeping their hearts in a working and stirring frame after Christ they spend their time in the afflicting of their soules but they do not keep their hearts working towards Jesus Christ As Jacob said to his sons when they wanted bread in Cannaan saith he We have heard that there is corn in Egipt and why do we stand looking one upon an other saith Jacob to his sons had you gon saith he you might have been come back again and brought us bread by this time so I say to many burdened souls hast thou not heard that there is grace and mercy in Jesus Christ had thy soul bin working stirring and kept in an acting frame after Jesus Christ thou mightest have bin returnig and have gotten rest to thy soul by this time thou standest looking unto this thing and the other thing and poring upon thy corruptions hadst thou kept thy heart continually stirring in a working frame after Christ the work might have been done by this time Fourthly Come to me that is saith Christ come and lay al your burdens upon mee come and role your hearts upon mee whatever burden it is either of your soules or afflictions outwardly what ever your feares and troubles are yet come and do you cast al your burdens upon me I am content to beare them al. That is a special work of faith for the soul to role it self upon Jesus Christ to cast it self with al its burdens upon the infinite rich free grace of God in Jesus Christ as if Christ should say is it the burden of sin I have borne the burden of sin already Is it the wrath of God that is a burden to you come and cast this burden upon me I have born the wrath of God Or is it the burden of the Law I have borne that burden for you I was made an offering for you I was made under the law to deliver you from under the law Is it the burden of any affliction That was upon me It is true the burden of corruption was not upon him but Christ wil deliver us from that too Come to me and whatever burden is upon your souls cast it upon me role your souls al your burdens upon me saith Christ and I wil give you rest Fifthly and lastly Come to me that is come and leave your soules with me and commit them to me for life for salvation for peace for whatsoever good you would have be willing to betrust me with your souls be willing to betrust me with al your comforts be willing to betrust me both with your present and with your eternal estate in al your transanctions with God and dealing with God trust me withal that is comming to Christ When Christ bids us come to him it is as much as if he should say come to me and leave your souls leave al your care and commit to me al that you have and whatsoever you are commit your selves wholly to me to be disposed of by me for al good whatsoever and I wil take charge of you I wil ingage my self and al my faithfulness to have a care of you and suply you in al your wants and strengthen you under al your burdens and carry you through al difficulties and bring you at length to life and salvation and perfect rest together with my Father and my self that is the meaning of Christ when he saith Come to me So the Apostle in 1. Tim. 2.12 I know in whom I have beleeved and that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him That which I have committed to him what is that
Now this I might shew you in abundance of Scriptures in the very first commission that Jesus Christ gave unto his Apostles after his Resurrection to go and Preach throughout the world he saith unto them in Mark 16.15 verse Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature he that beleeveth and is Baptized shal be saved This is cleer that Christ would have us in our first beleeving to have an aime at our own good And so we find such a kind of promise as this is in the Text In Jer. 6.16 verse Thus saith the Lord stand in the waies and see and ask for the old paths where the good way is and walk therein and ye shall find Rest for your Souls Inquire after the good waies and you shall find Rest for your Souls So that you see God propounds duties together with promises the Lord knows what is best for us and what wil work most upon us and therefore for us to think that we must have no aime at all of any good to our selves in coming to Christ and that it is no grace but self-love to come to Christ for our own good this is a temptation I speak the rather this point because I know how useful it is unto many poor Souls whom the Lord is drawing unto Jesus Christ the Lord hath taken off their Hearts from sinful self they would not enjoy themselves in the lusts of the flesh as formerly the Lord hath made them willing to deny their own opinion their own wills their own affections their former waies to deny themselves in the comforts of the things of this world so as to prize him and Christ and his waies the way of Christ more than they prize their very lives here in this world and yet for all this there comes a temptation upon them I but you seek Christ only to free you from Hell and to save you and therefore it is but self-Love it is no true Grace because that you ayme at your selves rather than Christ the Devil cannot prevaile with a Heart that is drawing to Christ thus telling of it Oh! but you prize your lusts more than Christ or you prize your ease more than Christ or you prize your estate and your liberty more than Christ or your life more than Christ if so be that the Devil shal come thus and tempt such a soul could in some measure be able to answer and to appeal unto God and say Lord thou that knowest all things knowest it is otherwise that howsoever my Heart heretofore went after my lusts after the world after my ease and liberty and I followed the common course of the world and made those things to be my greatest good and comfort yet Lord thou knowest it is otherwise with me now my Heart is set for Christ and I can say from the bottom of my Soul with that blessed martyr Lambert None but Christ none but Christ Now when the Heart is got thus farr one would think thou mightest be above the Devil and come to get assurance I saith the Devil though you be taken off thus far that you dare not commit any known sin and you seek after Christ more than your estate and your liberty yet there is one thing more that your hearts is not taken off from you do not prize Christ most of all you seek Christ to save you from Hell and bring you to Heaven that is it that you seek Christ for and therefore I know your Heart is not right all this while this is a temptation that seizeth upon many men Now I confess it is a temptation that is beyond many men they do not know what this temptation is that I prize Christ only to deliver me from Hell and bring me to Heaven this temptation is above the highest form of the course of the world then ordinary professors Now the Spirit in the Text thus answers this temptation the Soul thus answers It is true I do seek Christ to save me from Hell and bring me to Heaven the fear of the wrath of the great God under which I saw my self to be and the displeasure of God was mighty upon my Spirit the Lord hath made my Soul to be sensible of the dreadful breach that sin hath made between him and my Soul and the Lord hath caused the fear of eternity to fall upon my soul and I come to be convinced of this that such is the breach between God and my soul that there is none but Jesus Christ the Mediator of the second Covenant that is able to make up the breach and my soul makes after him as the Mediator as he is propounded in the word in the Gospel to be a Mediator between God and mankind so my soul makes after him and closeth with him and what can the Devil say to this For my heart doth close with Christ in the way that Christ is tendred unto me in the Gospel for so he is tendered God himself saith thus God so loved the world that he sent forth his only begotten Son that whosoever beleeveth in him should not perish but have everlasting Life Thus God sets forth his Son as if God should say thus Be it known unto you O poor wretched sinful creatures that are in danger of eternal perishing that I have sent forth my only begotten son into the world and tender him unto your souls to the end that your souls may not perish but have everlasting Life Thus God tenders his Son Now then when a soul shal be made sensible of the danger of eternal perishing and the Lord shall make it apeare to the soul what the excellency and the glory of eternal life is and the soul shal come to see that the being delivered from perishing and the obtaining of eternal Life is only to be had in Christ and upon this doth close with Jesus Christ and cast it self upon him and adventure it self to lay the weight of its eternal estate upon Christ the soul that doth thus receive Christ according as he is tendred in the word whatever objection may be to the contrary this is to receive Christ according as he is tendred in the word Yet further for the helping against this temptation it fals ful in this Text Come unto me and I wil give you rest Now many poor souls do come to Christ that they might have rest but then the devil puts this in Oh! but you come to Christ for your owne good Now for the helping against this temptation know 1. That the Lord at the first conversion doth ordinarily make use of the creatures self-love but it is of self-love for eternity and that is a higher degree of self-love than the most people in the world do attaine unto Some people in the world they love themselves only for this present life but when God makes a man or woman to love himself for eternity it is a good signe that the hand of God is upon the heart and
eternal life it self and therefore there is rest in it it is so far from getting eternal life by it as it is rather eternal life it self then so much as any way to eternal life for this may be said though I performe duty it is true God hath taught me so much that now under the Gospel we must not think to get eternal life by our duty by our works this is popery yet it is the way to eternal life the way that tends to it it is via ad Regnum the way to the kingdom though not the cause of Raigning Nay I wil shew you a further thing then so the wayes of obedience and holiness in a Christians course they are rather eternal life it self then the way to it they have more excellency in them then being the way to life It is true it were a great deal of ease and rest to ones spirit to consider of holy duties but as the way to heaven if a man were going a journy and knew the ende of his journy should be very glorious to him if it were to receive a crown a kingdom though it were a boysterous day and stormy weather and the way were very foul he would not be troubled at it but he would account it very comfortable to know that he is in the right way for he thinks this wil lead me to my journeys end and when I come there that wil make amends for al. And the truth is there were ease and rest enough in the waies of God if God did reveale no more unto a soul then this these are the wayes that lead thee to life and salvation that lead thee to a kingdom to glory especially considering that before we were out of the way we were wandering in the wayes of death and destruction and God by his Almighty hand hath brought us into the right way When a man is going a Journy of great consequence and he is gone out of the way and God by his providence hath brought him into his right way O! what ease is in his spirit Before when he was out of the way what distraction and disquietness of heart but now when he comes into the way Oh! what ease and quiet is in his spirit so I say this were ease and rest enough of spirit to know that whereas before the soul was wandering in the path of death now it is in the path of life But I tel you further then so that when thou art performing of holy duties and exercising of the grace of God in the performance of those duties thou art not only in the way of eternal life but thou art in eternal life it self not only in the way to the kingdom but in the kingdom not only in the way to heaven but in heaven it is eternal life This is eternal life to know thee the true God and thy son whom thou hast sent into the world And that place in the Epistle of St. John he speakes of a murderer one that did hate his brother in the first of John 3.15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer and you know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him Then it appeares that one that loves his brother and is Godly and gracious hath eternal life abiding in him for that must needs follow if this be the evil condition of a wicked man that hates his brother that he hath not eternal life abiding in him then by the rule of contraries it must needs be a truth that he that hath holiness and loves his brother he hath eternal life abiding in him and therefore such a one he hath eternal life already to come downe to him he is in heaven already So the scripture makes grace but the beginning of glory it is no other but the very beginning of heaven in the soul And therefore in that golden chain in Rom. 8.30 Whom God hath predestinated them he also hath called whom he hath called them he hath justified whom he hath justified them he hath also glorified Marke but where is the link of sanctification It is not whom he hath predestinated he hath called and whom he hath called he hath sanctified and whom he hath sanctified he hath glorified One would have thought the chain should have gon along in that linke but there is no mention of sanctification Why 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 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 fruite unto holiness which is the gift of God and holiness it is nothing else but the gift of God and the beginning of eternal life the fulness of eternal life that indeed is the end of it but the fruit that you have for the present it is holiness and that holyness that is the gift of God it is the beginning of eternal life here in this world Then indeed is a christian wel improved in Evangelical obedience when he doth account duties to be mercies and when mercies are turned into duties as when we turne Gods mercies into duties that is an argument we receive Gods mercies from a Covenant of grace and there wil be linkes of Gods mercies towards
Soul comes to be acquainted with the mistery of the Gospel that it hears the voice behind him as it were saying come to me And the Soul being inabled to answer to the cal and to come to Christ it doth now perform duties as much as it did before and makes conscience of them as much as it did before but now they come to do them in another manner than they did before and they come to be easie to them over that they were before and they come to have rest to their Souls notwithstanding their imperfections in duties When you went to prayer indeed somtimes when your Hearts were much inlarged in Prayer and your thoughts were taken up wholly with the duties that you were performing then you thought you had some comfort but when you had any wandring thoughts and distractions in Prayer then you rose up with a mighty troubled Spirit and could have no rest al the day long Now when you come to be acquainted with the mistery of God in Christ though there be many imperfections in your duties yet then you shal find rest unto your Souls notwithstanding all your imperfections But that wil come to be more clearly opened when we come to that and I wil give you rest Those that have labored under the righteousness of the Law and find it toylsome and exceeding burdensom to them Christ calls them to come to him that they may have rest The Burden under Sin Secondly Those that labor and are heavy laden under the weight and burden of their Sins The trouble of Conscience that is upon them for their Sins this is another thing besides the righteousness of the Law The other labor was from under duties but this labor is from the sense of the weight and burden of Sin and we are to know that this is a great labor and burden Oh! when the Soul comes to be under the burden of sin it works to purpose it labors then indeed The thoughts they gather together and conscience being awakened makes a great disturbance and causeth fears and tremblings in the Soul the heart of a man or woman that was before slugish dull heavy and dead when God comes to make it to be sensible of the evil of Sin then it is quickned enlivened and working You that Labor and are heavy laden you that feel the weight of Sin upon your Souls and know not what in the world to do Come you to me saith Christ and I will give you Rest The Burden of Corruption Thirdly You that labor under the power of any Corruption Not only under the Guilt of your Sins but under the power of Corruption that feel your Sins strong in you and you would fain get the mastery of them You that carry about with you such a weight as makes you to cry out with St. Paul Oh! Wretched man or Woman that I am who shal deliver me from this Body of Death You that would fain overcome those strong Corruptions that are in you and it is the great burden of your Souls that you cannot overcome them Come to me saith Christ and I wil give you rest from them also First you that labor under the burden of duties and find them toylesome Secondly you that labor under the guilt of Sin and find your Souls perplexed by it Thirdly You that labor under the power of any corruption and cannot overcome it Come to me and I wil give you Rest And then The Burden of Affliction Fourthly You that labor under any outward trouble or Affliction in this world All you that are in any sad condition that have any burdens upon you outwardly if you come to Christ he wil ease you of them though perhaps he will not take them from you though you may be under the affliction as before yet you shal have rest and ease in them Have you any burden of poverty Have you any Burden in your Children Have you any burden in your Yoke fellows Or burden by reason of weakness in Body if you will have rest you must go for it to Chirst Many when they are under any outward affliction they go no futher then the creature for rest Oh! if I had but good friends I should be happy or if I had but an Estate I should be wel But if thy poverty did work upon thy heart kindly it would drive thee to Chist and make thee to say true I am poor in this world but there is enough in Christ to make me Rich there is mercy enough in Christ to make my life comfortable to make me who am for the present in a miserable Condition happy for ever Those that are poor outwardly they should go to Christ if their poverty did drive them to Christ it were a good signe that the Lord did Sanctifie their poverty unto them Now because al these Burdens if they were handled distinctly The Burden of the righteousness of the Law The burden of the sense of the guilt of sin the burden of the power of sin And the Burden of outward afflictions in this world To open these fully and to shew how Christ cals those that are under these to himself would take up much time therefore I wil pitch upon the Second at present and handle that more throughly and that is the laboring under the burden of the guilt of Sin You that Labor under the burden of the Guilt of Sin Come to me and I wil give you Rest I wil not here stand to open unto you what the burden of the Guilt of Sin is then I should soon slip into an argument that I have at large heretofore opened to you out of the Evil of sin only thus much let us know that of al burdens in the world the burden of Sin it is the greatest it is that that is a burden to the very spirit of God God complaines that he is pressed under it as a Cart is pressed that is ful of sheaves it was that which pressed down the Angels to Hel to be reserved in Chains of darkness it was that which pressed down Christ and made him sweat drops of Blood And it is that that hath been a great weight and burden upon many thousands of Gods Saints it is that that the damned in Hel lies under now and must do so eternally Cursing Blaspheming of God It is that that makes the whole creation to groan and travel in pain However many people think â—lightly and meanly of it yet when the Lord doth lay it upon any Soul such a Soul doth find it to be a burden indeed CHAP. III. The Burden under Sin laid open in nine Particulars 1. When the Soul not only apprehendeth but is sensible of the Evil of Sin in the reality of it 2. Finds all the comfort that did attend Sin before to vanish and come to nothing 3. Looks upon it self as loathsome and is in Some measure bowed to God 4. Trembles at the least thoughts and Temptations to Sin 5. Feel Sin heaviest
Burden to any man or Woman that heretofore had assurance of Gods love and was able to look in Gods Face with joy to have this assurance shaken Yea Many times it makes God withdraw his countenance which made David Cry out Restore to me the Joy of thy Salvation As if he should say Lord I was wont to have joy in thy company in communion with thee but thou hast estranged thy self from my Soul O Lord restore unto me the joy of thy Salvation Now is not this a burden for thee to loose the sweetness of thy Soul in communion with God That now though it may be it is through thy weakness or what it wil be yet thou canst not look upon God with that comfort as thou would'st but the thought of God comes to be a terror upon thy spirit is not this a burden Now then is there any poor Soul that understands what these things mean What a Burden the remaining Corruption of the Heart is either in regard of the sinfulness of Nature or in regard of the stirring of Corruption or in regard of the prevailing of Corruption that now they have no Rest in their souls but are Laden with such a Burden and cry out with the Apostle Oh! Wretched Man and Woman that I am who shal deliver me let such a soul know that this text belongs to them Come unto me saith Christ and I wil give you Rest from this Burden as wel as the other Burdens and our Rest is only in Christ from this as wel as the Burden of the guilt of sin the Burden of the Law and the other burdens that have been spoken unto CHAP. XVI Why the Saints feel these things so burdensome Namely 1. Because the Life of Grace is a tender and delicate thing 2. Because Grace keeps the Soul in continual acting And why God suffers Corruption notwithstanding the burdensomness thereof to remain in the Saints Namely 1. That hereby he may shew forth his own power 2. Hereby their Faith be exercised 3. Hereby they are driven unto Prayer 4. Hereby Stirred up unto Repentance 5. Hereby make known his Wisdome 6. Hereby manifest his justice in laying a stumbling block before the wicked 7. Hereby the Saints may be induced to long more after Heaven With two Consequences issuing from hence 1. The differences between the Sins of the godly and the wicked 2. Why the Saints go on so sadly in their waies NOw it must needs be that a gracious heart must feel these things to be very burdensome First Because the life of Grace wheresoever it is is a very tender and delicate thing nothing is so delicate and tender as the life of Grace and therefore it must needs be sensible of this burden of Corruption according to what degree it doth remain in the Soul As thus you know a man or Woman the more delicate and tender they are in their flesh having had very curious bringing up or it may be their natural Spirits are very delicate more then other men some men their natural spirits are more gross and can bear burdens with less sense but now those that are more finer and delicate if you lay a burden upon them Oh! How burdensome is it unto them now Grace makes the constitution to be delicate fine and pure a pure constitution it puts the Hearts into a most pure constitution and therefore it must needs be sensible of the evil of sin according to the remainers of it Secondly Where Grace is Corruption must needs be very burdensome in this regard also because that Grace keeps the Soul in continual action and stirring now look as a man that hath a Leg that is broken if he could lie stil and never stir it would not be so grievous and burdensome to him the pain and breaking of his Leg would not be so burdensome if he could lie stil but if this man whose Leg is broken must be stirring walking and going up and down Oh! how burdensome is it that his Leg is broke So it is with the Soul it is true if the Soul might be stil a sleep and doing nothing then though there be Corruption in them it would not be so grievous I but Grace whereever it is puts the Soul unto action and therefore it is called the divine Nature because it is active it puts the Soul on to be acting for God and in the waies of life now Grace putting the Soul to be acting and Corruption that being as the breaking of the bones it must needs be very burdensome that which most hinders their activity of Grace must needs be very burdensome You had need therefore take heed what you do when temptation to sin comes take heed you do not break your bones and your Leggs Why Because when you have broken them you must be stil stirring and acting for God A poor man it is a great deal worse for him if he break his Leg then a Rich man a Rich man may sit by the fire or lie in his bed a month together but a poor man if he break his Legg he doth not know what to do he must to work perhaps he cannot have that harbor that a Rich man may have so I say those that are of sluggish spirits though Corruption prevaile it is not so grievous unto them but those that are of active spirits and have Grace and the more Grace that any man or Woman hath the more burdensome their Corruptions are because the more Grace there is in the Soul the more active it wil be for God Quest But you wil say Seeing the remaining of Corruption in the Heurts of the Saints is so burdensom why doth God so order things in his providence as his own dear Saints should be so troubled with their Corruptions while they live in this world God could deliver them from their Corruptions why wil God make them cry out O Wreched man that I am who shal deliver me from this Body of Death God could as wel perfect our Sanctification as our Justification why doth God thus order things in his providence that his own dear Saints should groan under such a burden of Corruption al their daies Answ For that breifly thus Though it is true that God could presently take all our Corruptions as soon as ever we come to Jesus Christ God could deliver us from our Corruptions but the Lord wil not he hath many holy ends why he doth suffer his own people to be under this burden while they live here in the flesh As. First That hereby he may shew forth his own power the power of Jesus Christ is exceeding magnified in this that it can uphold little sparks of Grace in the midst of an Ocean of Corruption that it can uphold poor weak Creatures under such burdens and carry them on notwithstanding and bring them to eternal Life the power and Grace of Jesus Christ and the power of God is as much manifested in this thing as it is in keeping Heaven
outward afflictions men are so sensible of that there needs not much for the opening of them but only to tel all that feel these burdens that they may come unto this promise Yea and they are under this invitation Christ invites them to come to him for Rest for these Burdens First Outward afflictions are burdens because they are in themselves part of the curse of the Law and if they be sanctified to any it is by virtue of this promise in the Text if any affliction upon you be Sanctified it is thence Before you come to Christ al outward afflictions poverty sickness or any disturbance you have in your estate it is in it self the fruit of the curse and is so to you til you come to Christ now to bear that that is in it self a fruit of the curse must needs be a burden because it is so contrary to Nature most afflictive to Nature therefore burdensome Secondly Outward afflictions are burdensom because they do hinder us much in doing Service that Service that we were born for that we were born to do in this world they do hinder us of many opportunities of doing Service for God outward Afflictions do As now sickness of body what a Burden is it Because it doth hinder those that are continually sickly from doing the Service that God requires of them to do and indeed that makes it to be most burdensom to one that is gracious it is not such a Burden to one that hath a sickly body because of the pain that he feels but because by this means my Soul is hindred in those operations that I would be glad to be exercised in for God and doing good in the place I am set in And so poverty is therefore a burden not because I cannot live so bravely as others do and have as fine Houses Clothes and Diet as others have No but because I must spend all my time meerly in getting provision for my family that I have little time for Gods Service others can spend time in Gods Service hear pray and meditate but the chief time that I have to spend is spent to get bread now this is a burden And besides because of poverty I have little opportunity to do Service for God those that have Large estates they have opportunity to do God Service they are called forth to publick Services but I am not so as others are now this is that that to one that hath any beginnings of Grace in his Heart is a great Burden And by the way it were a good argument of true Grace if you that are under the Burden of affliction if you felt the burden where it lies I appeal to you that complain of the Burden of affliction poverty and the like that you feel I put this Question to you in the name of God what is it that makes your affliction most burdensom It is true it is painful to Nature Oh! But the Lord knows this is that that makes it grievous and burdensom to me that by means of this affliction I am fain to spend so much time about mean works that I have little time to do good in my generation others that have greater estates I count them happier in this that the Lord hath given unto them Larger opportunities to do him Service then I have I do not count them happy because of their wealth but because they have larger opportunities to do God Service but it is God that orders things thus and I must be content to bear this Burden I say if thou hast a heart thus complaining of thy Burden it is a good sign and know that in Christ there is abundance of Grace to Sanctifie these burdens to thee divers other things might be spoken about the Burden of Affliction I will add but one more Thirdly Outward afflictions is a great burden in this respect because it many times occasions and helps forward many strong temptations outward afflictions do strengthen and do occasion strong temptations which are very grievous to the Soul As thus when one is under affliction more then others then comes this temptation surely God loves me not because of this Affliction then comes temptation to envy others because I am afflicted more then others then comes temptation of distrust I shall perish one day or other then comes temptation of murmuring under the hand of God temptation to take shifting Courses to shift for ones self by unlawful means Oh! what temptations have many that are under strong afflictions in poverty imprisonment disgrace dishonor in the world what strong temptations have they to stretch their Consciences And this makes outward afflictions a grievous burden because they occasion great temptations to poor Souls to stretch out their hands to folly to unlawful courses many times to help themselves Yea The apprehension many times before it comes is so grievous as it occasions temptation to much Evil to prevent those burdens and yet for all that the Lord is so pleased to order and dispose of things in this world that even such as he intends everlasting good to in Christ go under such burdens as these most part of their Lives they go under the burdens of Poverty Sickness and outward troubles here in this world Many Reasons might be given why the Lord so orders things in this world that his â—ear Servants for whom Christ hath shed his precious blood shall go under these burdens though others that are wicked and ungodly shal scarse know what they are 1. The Lord doth hereby shew that he wil have his Servants to serve and honor him meerly out of Love and not in a mercenary way to get outward things in this world he will have us serve him out of Love and out of Faith if we should prosper in outward things alwaies our Service would be more Carnal but now though his Servants meet with never such Afflictions in this world yet they love the Lord and love his waies and love his service and go on in faithful obedience to him this shews the excellency of Grace more then if they prospered in this world 2. And the Lord sees this the best means to mortifie our Corruptions many times thou complainest of thy afflictions but who knows if thou had'st not such afflictions what sins thou would'st have 3. And God doth this to be a Stumbling block to the wicked that they should stumble at the afflictions of the Saints and so perish that way Divers other Reasons might be given but all is to make way to that which is to come after that the Lord cals all these not only those that Labor under the Burden of sin under the burden of the Law c. But poor Creatures that Labor under the burden of affliction poverty and the like to come to him for ease and Rest CHAP. XVIII Christs Invitation of Sinners laid down in these words Come unto me Opened in five Particulars 1 It is to look to Christ as an All-sufficient Savior 2
It implieth an unsetledness upon the Creature 3 A stirring of the heart after Christ 4 A laying of all our burdens upon Christ 5 A leaving of the Soul with Christ for life NOW then we come to the Invitation it self Come to me saith Christ Come to me that is Beleeve in me For among many other expressions of beleeving in Christ or of accepting of the Condition of the Covenant of Grace the Holy Ghost doth express this beleeving and acceptation of the Covenant of Grace by coming to Christ Beleeving in Christ is exprest very often by coming to Christ In John 5.40 You will not come to me that ye might have life They did come to Christ in his outward presence Christ conferred with them and they with him but yet saith Christ ye will not come to me that ye might have life And so in John 6.37 Those that the Father hath given to me come to me and I will in no wise cast them out All that the Father hath from Eternity given me to redeem they come to me that is they beleeve in me And in verse 44. None can come to me except God the Father draw him That is none beleeves in me except my Father draw them and so He that hath heard and learned of the Father comes to me That is beleeves in me And that is the meaning of the 55. of Isai Ho every one that thirsteth come to the waters buy wine and milk without money and without price that is beleeve in me that is the meaning All you that labor under al these several Burdens come to me beleeve in me and I wil give you rest But this must be opened more largely And in this Invitation there are these Five things that I desire to open unto you and to work them upon you First What Christ would have us do more particularly when he bids us Come to him Secondly What kind of Invitation it is that Christ doth make to those that the Father gives to him that shal indeed come to be saved by him what kind of invitation they have from Christ how Christ calls them to him for this is a calling and an inviting Thirdly That all that Christ requires as a Condition of the Covenant of Grace for rest unto our souls is to come to him nothing else is the Condition of the Gospel by which we come to have Christ to be ours but this to come to him Come to me saith Christ that is the great Condition of the Gospel only to come to Christ Fourthly There are some Rules to be propounded and observed for our Coming unto Christ Fiftly The Laboring to draw your Souls unto Christ For the first Come to me what is that what would Christ have you to do For the opening of that in particular it is this When Christ calls you to come to him you are to know this notes a motion from Christ to come to him First It implies a beholding a looking unto Jesus Christ as being the All-sufficient Savior to save our souls from al the evils that are upon us and to supply unto us al good we stand in need of As if Christ should say when he saith Come to me That is O! poor troubled sinners that are under these burdens Do you behold me to be the great Mediator that is come into the world to stand between all the wrath of my Father and your souls and to bring life and salvation to you that is imployed when I would go I must know whither I must go to whom I must go so saith Christ I am the greaâ— redeemer sent into the world by my father to that very end that I may ease poor soules of their burdens and such soules as you are look unto Christ therefore as the great reconciler of God and man the great mediator between God and man having the fulness of al mercy and goodness in him the great meanes of conveyance of al the grace and riches of God the father to sinful souls that is the first work of beleeving in Christ for to look unto him to be such a one as God the Father hath tendred unto us that is imployed but yet the soul comes not Secondly But then the second is this which goes further To come to Christ implies an unsetledness when we come to a thing there is the Terminus a quo and the terminus ad quem we come from something so saith Christ you have setled your hearts upon creature comforts and you have looked upon them heretofore as those things wherein your good and happiness doth consist but now your hearts must be taken off from those you must come to me that is there must be a removing from that station you were in from that kind of settlement you were before in I cannot go to another place and stay in the place where I was too and so the heart cannot come to Christ and stay in the state it was in before therefore that implies that whereas you poor creatures have settled your hearts upon creature comforts and setled your hearts upon sinful things heretofore O! now let your hearts be taken off from al those things know that your good your happiness your peace is not here if you abide here and settle here you are lost and undone creatures for ever Let it not grieve your souls to part with the comforts that are here below in the creatures for certainly you mistake here doth not lie your good and happiness so that when the soul is beginning to stir after Christ it is taken off from the creature taken off from al creature comforts looks upon every thing as vanity O! Saith the soul I am cleerly convinced that my happiness lies higher then the things here below these are the reasonings of the heart that is in motion to go to Christ And not onely to be unsetled from the creature but I must be taken off from my self too from al my righteousness and duties I must not think to satisfie God by any thing that I can do no but I must be convinced that there is a greater thing required to make up my satisfaction with God then any thing that I can do and therefore my heart must be taken off from these things Heretofore I rested in duties that I was not so bad as others but now I see there is another manner of righteousness that I must have in a mediator these though they be good in themselves yet they are not the things that can ever save my soul but if ever I have peace with God and stand before him at the great day it must be through another meanes then ever yet I have had if I had gon on and had thought to make up my satisfaction with God by what I have done I had been an undone creature yea my heart must be taken off from mine one bottome not to rest in any thing that is in my self but I must go out and deny my self and so look
and that certainly is the state of man by nature the scripture is as cleere in this as in any one point of divinity that we are al by nature enemies to God and canst thou be at quiet when thou art an enemy to God think with thy self it may be thou hast slept quietly lived merrily and eat and drank with a great deale of peace as you think but this is your condition that you are naturally an enemy to the infinit eternal first-being of al things Object You wil say If we do not know it we may have rest Answ Just such a rest as a man that were asleep upon the top of a mast true he doth not know his danger when he is a sleep but yet wil you say that the man can have true rest when he is there so though men do not know what their natural condition is and though their security have a kind of false rest but wil you cal that rest wil you say such a man is gone to his rest that is gone to sleep upon the top of a mast such a rest hast thou had al the dayes of thy life before conversion Thirdly Every man by nature is guilty is bound over to the infinite justice of God to answer for al that the Lord hath to charge him with to answer it before the Lord and to satisfie the strict Law of Gods divine justice for al that the Lord hath to charge him with and is this man in a condition to rest can this man have rest if he do but understand this If a man be found guilty and be bound over to the Sessions or Assises truly that man wil have little rest til he have got himself free for a soul to be bound over by the infinite eternal God to be bound over to eternal justice for whatever the Lord hath to charge him withal is this a condition to rest in this is the condition of al out of Christ of a soul before it comes to Christ Fourthly Not only is a man guilty before the Lord but whatsoever there is in one to disquiet him in the world it is the condition of such a one that is out of Christ What wil disquiet one to be in debt will not that disquiet one to be in danger of debt to be arrested as soone as he comes out of his doores can such a man sleep quietly or eate his meat quietly and drink quietly Let me tel you that al the while you are out of Christ you are in debt unto the infinite and eternal God and bound to give satisfaction fot what the Lord hath to charge you withal yea and for ought you know the next creature that you have to deal withal may be as a Sergeant sent from the eternal God to lay hold upon you to arrest you and to cast you into prison until you have paid the uttermost farthing I remember I have read of Augustus Caesar Plutarch reports of him that he knowing of a Chief man in Rome that was much in debt he sent to buy the pillow that that man lay upon certainly there is much in that pillow thought he that a man in so much debt could rest upon only noting thus much that it is a mighty trouble and a restless condition that such a one is in that is in debt if that be so then certainly every man and woman out of Christ is in a restless condition for they owe to God the debt of punishment because they have not paid to God the debt of obedience and God must have his debt paid either in themselves or in their surety and thy surety is only in Christ and Christ undertakes to pay for only those that come to him whom he hath invited to come to him and if Christ do not undertake to pay the debt for you you must pay it your selves or be cast into prison and that is the reason of the damned lying in hel for ever because they lye to pay the debt of obedience that they owe to God and therefore the scripture cals our sins our debts if you examine the several expressions of the evangelists one saith trespasses the other debts whereby it is apparent that Christ did never intend to bind his people to use those very words but only shew a platforme and a patern of prayer that we are to pray to that effect this is an argument that no man can possibly answer for one Evangelist hath the Lords prayer in one kind of words and the other Evangelist hath the Lords prayer in other kind of words one saith forgive us our trespasses and the other saith forgive us our debts now it is true they come to al one in effect I but then say I from this that it is not Christs intention to tye us punctually to the words that he spake but to make the prayer of Christ a patterne of prayer to us so much for that point Fifthly for this condition the restless condition that al men are in that are out of Christ it is this they are not only debtors and guilty but every one out of Christ is condemned not only bound over a prisoner may be bound over I but he may hope to escape when he comes to tryal but this is certain every man and woman out of Christ is a condemned creature the sentence is past already upon them I wil give you a cleare scripture for it in John 3.18 He that beleeveth not in Christ is condemned already not onely he shal be condemned at the great day of judgment but he is now condemned he is condemned already I might give you divers other Scriptures that in Rom. 8.1 There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit this doth plainly imply that then there is condemnation to them that are not in Christ that do not walk after the spirit but after the flesh Now can any man be at peace when he is a condemned creature would you think that a man that were condemned at your Assises the Judg having past the sentence of death upon him if you should come to such a man and find him asleep would you not say alas can you rest now Do you think the night is a night of Rest that is before the execution of a condemned man Now let me say to you that those that are come to Christ they know that their condition was so before they did come to him this is a certain truth that til you come in unto Jesus Christ and be a beleever in him you are under the sentence of condemnation he that beleeves not is condemned you that walk after the flesh are under Condemnation You will say God forbid we hope we are not condemned Now the 8. of the Rom. the first verse will shew you to your faces in what condition you are in There is no Condemnation to them that are in Christ Who are they that are in Christ and
Law a bondage unto those that are Godly being the law of God Ans It is a bondage not in it self but in regard of our inabilâ—ty for it requires of us now considering what estate we are in such things as we cannot do and that is a bondage to be put upon more than we are able to do as the Israelites were by their taskmasters but yet stil God is righteous in this because it is not more than God did at first inable us unto in our first Creation but in regard of that estate that now we are in it is a bondage in that it puts upon us what we cannot do and that upon pain of eternal death too Thirdly we are delivered from the binding over power as I may so say the power of binding over the soul to the justice of God upon every breach of the Law Now the binding-over power the power of binding them over to answer to Gods justice upon the breach of it that beleevers are delivered from in Christ as a man that is bound over to the assize and sessions to answer afterwards when he comes to take out his bond he thinks himself at much ease and at quiet when the bond is taken out by which he was bound to answer so Christ comes and takes out the bond by which beleevers were bound to answer to Gods justice for al their sins Fourthly They are delivered from the condemning power of the law that the law hath not now power to bring a beleever that sins through frailty unto condemnation this is cleere from scripture as I might shew several texts as we go along You are not under the law saith the Apostle And there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Lastly we are delivered from the Law as the covenant for life the law at first was given as the covenant that God made with mankind for life for God deales with the rational creature according to the nature of it because it is capable of a covenant with God therefore God deals with it in the way of a covenant and as soon as man was made the Lord entered into a covenant with mankind now the covenant was no other than the law Do and live that was the covenant that God did enter into with mankind and made our first parents Adam the head of that Covenant Do and live upon thy doing shal thy life depend saith God thy present and thy eternal life Now we are delivered from the law by Christ that is that now it doth remain no more unto beleevers to be the covenant of life unto them they being once in Christ but they are brought under another Covenant a better Covenant So that in these five respects we may be said to be delivered from the Law by Christ from the rigor of it from the bondage of it from the binding-over power that is in it from the condemning power and from it as the Covenant of life Now here is enough one would think if so be that the spirits of Men were not very wild and wanton for the quieting of the soul in the deliverance of it from the law CHAP. XXX The Rest that beleevers have from the Burden of the Law by coming to Christ laid out in Ten particulars 1. They do not stand or fall for life by the Law 2. The Law-giver is the Redeemer 3. The least spark of Grace is accepted 4. Their wil shal be accepted as the deed 5. Obedience is required in a sweet and gentle way 6. The Grace of God in Christ doth melt the heart 7. Their sins make them an object of Gods pity 8. They have Christ to undertake for them as a surety 9. They are delivered and yet satisfaction is made to the law 10. They have assurance that they shal never forfeit the covenant of Grace they are under by Christ NOW then from al these we shal lay downe several propositions wherein you may see what is the ease and rest that beleevers have in Christ in being delivered thus from the law Take the ease that comes by Christ from hence in these several particulars O! thou beleever that art under the load of the law and come to Christ First Know That thou dost not stand and fal for thy eternal estate by the law that is the first Ease and Rest the law indeed may threaten thee and dreadful things may be revealed by it against thee but be of good comfort in this thy eternal estate shal not be cast by it it is ful of severity but thou art so far free that whereas before thou didst depend and rely upon that for thy eternal condition now thou art out of the power out of the reach of it so far that it hath not to do with thee to cast thy soul for thy eternal estate we would not be at the dispose of any man that we look upon as ful of severity and rigor in matters of great consequence but we do desire rather to be in such cases at the dispose of men who are ful of pitty and compassion know O! thou beleever who art in Christ that thou art not at the dispose of the Law that is ful of severity for thy everlasting condition but thou art at the dispose of the Gospel of the covenant of grace that is fild as ful with mercy and compassion as an infinite wisdom could devise it hath that fulness of compassion more then possibly al the wisdom of the angels in heaven and men upon earth could ever have devised or thought on beyond their imagination Now for one to be at the dispose of a man in matters of the greatest concernment that hath as much mercy in him as ever man had in this world yea as much mercy in him as were in al the men in the world If al the mercy that were in al the men in the world were put into one the heart of one man and you were to be at his dispose in a matter of the greatest concernment you would think your selves wel whereas before you lay at the mercy of a man that is very rigorous and ful of severity now you come to ly at the mercy of a man that hath al the bowels and tender compassions of al the men in the world would you not think this a good change this is the change and the rest that thou hast when thou comest to Christ wheras thy soul thy eternal estate lay at the dispose of the Law that is ful of rigor and severity now thy eternal estate doth depend upon a Covenant that is as ful of grace and mercy as thy soul could desire thy soul cannot desire a covenant to be fuller of grace and mercy then that covenant that thy everlasting estate depends upon and must be cast by and is not here rest now for a beleever if he doth understand this aright that is the first thing wherein the rest of a beleever consists by Christ as being freed from the Law 2
poor troubled souls whose consciences pul them on to duty but why do they performe them because conscience accuseth them for their sins and they know what need they have of Gods mercy they stand guilty before God and therefore they perform duties that they might get a pardon and they know that they were made for eternity and therefore they make conscience of duties that they might get eternal life by them as I when I opened shewed the burden that there was in legal performances But now when the soul comes to Christ it hath rest in this for the very first thing that is done in Christ is that al thy sins are discharged the pardon is granted and thou art put into an estate safe for thy eternal life and al the hazard of eternal life is now over Now then that that is required of thee is only as the fruit of the pardon of thy sin and as a fruit of thy safe condition that thou art put into for thine eternal life and here is a great deal of difference between performing of duties that I might have pardon that I might get eternal life by it and performing of duties as a fruit of my pardon and as a fruit of the assurance of my wel being to al eternity As for instance a man that is in danger of his life stands before the judg and there is no way for pardon for him but he hath his book given to him as you know the way is to have the benefit of the Clergy as we use to cal it now when he knows if he reads he shal have his life but life lies upon it and the judg is strict and sets one by him that the ordinary shal not prompt him and he wil have him read out and his life lyes upon it I suppose you have heard of some that were able schollers and able to reade wel enough at other times yet at such a time were not able to read one word for a world But suppose this man now have his pardon and you then put him to read then he can read with delight he hath freedom enough now to read his eyes that were bound before are loosned Now suppose he were to read a Psalm of mercy before he had his pardon and when he had his pardon there is a Psalm of thankfulness for his life given him to read he could read it then with delight just thus it is with those that performe duties in a legal way they stand before God as their judg and look upon what they performe as that which their souls depends upon that if I do not do such and such things that is commanded me my soul lyes upon it alas this straitens the heart and it is put into a condition of feare But now when the soul is come to Christ and the Lord hath granted pardon to it and hath quieted it by the blood of his son now sayes God read performe duties and let al the duties you performe be in way of blessing my name and praising of me for giving of you your lives And indeed this is the principal ground of al that God requires of such as are come to Christ meerly that thou shouldest go out before the Lord in way of thankfulness for pardoning thy sins and accepting of thee in his Son And so likewise if so be a man were amongst his enemies and should be set to do some work and business and is set so to it that if he do not do it he is a dead man they wil have his life if he doe not do it alas he goes about it with a great deal of dread and fear But now if this man should come home to his fathers house and his father sets him about a work and he doth it so that though he would not do the work yet he should not loose his life he should go about it with a great deal more freedom of spirit Thus it is with beleevers when they come to Christ they come to their fathers house and their father sets them about workes but so as he wil not lay their lives upon it their soul doth not ly upon their duties thy eternal estate doth not lie upon duties as heretofore you have heard in being freed from the Law so now make use of it in deliverance from legal performances That the Lord though he wil be strict to mark what is done in every duty he wil not be strict to take advantage of thee It is true it is said that the Lord spared not his owne son but he wil spare thee In Malachy 3.17 The Lord wil spare them as a man spareth his own son hat serveth him And so in the Romans it is said God did not spare his own son and yet in Malachy that he wil spare thee as a man spareth his only son that serveth him What should be the meaning of this That God should not spare his only begotten son the Lord Jesus Christ he wil not spare him but thee This is the reason he did not spare him that he might Spare thee here is the reason why God wil so spare thee in the performance of thy duties because he would not spare his son he was so exact to him that he might not be so exact to thee Indeed when Christ came to performe duties the life of al the world lay upon that that if Christ had failed in one thing the life of al the world lay upon it yet so they lay upon him that they were not grievous to him because he was most able to perform it But thou must make use of Christs performances in way of obedience so as to give thee rest ease in performance of thy duties think thus I come now to performe duties and thankes be to God my life my eternal estate lyes not upon it but Christ what he performed my soul and al the world lay uyon what he did and the weight that Christ was willing to take upon him in his obedience is that which makes any obedience so easie and comfortable to me I remember we read in the Law that in peace offerings a female was accepted in other cases ordinarily God required the male but in peace offerings the female now peace offerings was for thanksgiving and indeed the whole life of a Christian is nothing else but a peace-offering his whol conversation al the duties that God requires of any christian it is nothing else but a peace offering to offer an offering of thanks-giving for the mercy he hath received from Christ in this peace offering the Lord accepts of a female though it be but weake And this is the sixth thing wherein the rest of the soul in the performance of holy duties when it is once come to Christ doth consist Seventhly As the soul doth not performe duties that it might get life thereby it is not in that way now so the performance of duties when the soul is come to Christ is a part of
of the Father and throughly pleads their cause Fourthly In thy spiritual desertion thou must look up to Christ to seek the fulfilling of that promise of his that he makes to his disciples to send to them the comforter When Christ was to leave his disciples he saith Be of good cheer I will send the comforter to you and therefore be of good cheer Christ doth comfort his disciples against his absence he was to go from them and leave them in regard of his bodily presence Now Christ was so careful of his poor Servants that when he was to leave them in regard of his bodily presence he tels them he wil send the comforter to them that is the Holy Ghost shal come so much the more fully and he shal manifest me unto you Now plead this promise of the Lord Christ in the times of spiritual desertion and say Oh blessed Redeemer wert thou careful of thy disciples that when thou wert to leave them in regard of bodily presence that thou wouldst send the Holy Ghost that should come to testifie of thee and reveal thee to them and bring things to remembrance Oh much more wilt thou have compassion of a poor Soul from whom thou art absent in a spiritual way it is a greater affliction to want thee O blessed Redeemer in a spiritual way then to want thy bodily presence and therefore there is a great deal more need that the comforter should come in now to supply the want of spiritual presence then bodily presence Fifthly In the time of spiritual desertion if thou canst find no evidence at all nothing at all to satisfie thy Soul then go to Christ in the very same way that thou wentest to him at first better to do so then to lie groveling and sinking under thy Burden If thou thinkest that yet thou hast nothing that all is nothing all is lost and the like go again in the same way that thou wentest at first unto Christ thou art not in a worse condition then thou wast then when thou wert an enemy and thou foundest ease and rest in him at first now renew that work that there was in thy Soul at the very first There are many people in the time of spiritual afflictions and desertions they spend so much time in looking after old evidences whereas the truth is they might get new ones sooner then the old ones As somtimes a man may spend a great deal more time in looking after an old Key of a Box then in making a new one he might make a new Key with a great deal less trouble and it would not be so much prejudice to him to have a new Key made as to look the old one He may look up and down and spend a great deal of time that may be more worth then to make a new one So it is with the Soul in time of trouble and under spiritual desertion it is looking about for its old evidence and to such and such works of Grace and cannot find them and is poring and cannot be at quiet til it can find those former signs and marks that he had before I say such and such may sooner get new ones then find the old ones If a man have writings perhaps he cannot find such a writing he may be at less charge to have new ones writ over again then to look the old ones so thou wantest the evidences of thy Grace and canst not find them I say renew thy Grace upon Christ again and thou maist get thy evidence new writ over again and have it with less cost then to look after the old ones Sixtly Be sure in time of thy desertion to keep good thoughts of God though thou hast no comfort in them for the present yet beleeve it there is comfort in Christ and whatever becomes of thee acknowledg Christ to be faithful Christ is to be thy Lord and thy king and let thy Heart Love him and strive at the least â—o do so It is true the sence of his Love wil inflame Love again yet at that time when thou canst not have the sence of his Love yet resolve to Love him and Love his waies You know Christ when God seemed to forsake him yet at that time when he was upon the Cross when human Nature could not but see he had need of Gods presence but then he cryed out My God My God And so in Psalme 88. The example of Heman O God of my Salvation He speaks yet stil wel of God and cals God the God of his Salvation· O God of my Salvation he speaks yet stil wel of God and cals God the God of his Salvation O God of my Salvation stil keeps good thoughts of God And so the Church in the Canticles when Christ had withdrawn himself from her yet she would cal him her beloved and go up and down asking for her beloved and where her beloved was so let the soul in time of desertion Keep good thoughts of God Seventhly And Lastly If thou canst not have Rest in Christ resolve thou wilt never find rest in nothing else that thy Heart shal be restless til thou hast rest in Christ Perhaps in the time of desertion there comes one to thee and saith Christ hath forsaken thee go and have comfort elswhere look for it other where or may be the tempter wil come to a poor deserted Soul as he did to Christ in Matth. 4. When Christ was a hungry then comes the tempter to him and saies Command that these stones be made Bread As if the tempter should say thus do do not you see how your Father hath forsaken you that he will not afford you bread take a course for your self So here just thus it is for all the world with a troubled Soul the Soul is troubled the Lord is withdrawn from the Soul and now comes the tempter and saith you see you cannot have comfort you have praied all this while and you cannot get comfort Peace and Rest now therefore seek for Rest elswhere Oh take heed of this a deserted Soul should abandon such temptations and resolve that it wil be content to be in a restless condition to al eternity if it cannot have Rest here As it is with those that do ill offices if there be any breaches between Father and Child or one freind and another they take the advantage of that and say do not you see your Father regards you not though you be in such need he wil not regard you nor help you come therefore and take my counsel I will shew you how you shal live a better life and so when they would withdraw one friend from another those that would do ill offices they go and take advantage of the breach so doth the Devil when the Lord is withdrawn from the soul and the soul is in a deserted condition then comes the Devil to draw the soul to unlawful waies he wil be sure to take the advantage to do al ill
and Earth upon the Frame or keeping it in being the Lord doth not appear more to be an almighty God in keeping Heaven and Earth in being then he doth appeare to be an Almighty God in keeping grace alive in the heart notwithstanding al the remainder of Corruption so that in this God hath Glory in another way then he hath from the Angels in heaven the power of God appeares in upholding of the Angels for if he did not uphold them they would fal into evil as Adam and the other Angels did but therein appeares Gods glorious power to uphold the Angels but the glorious power in upholding the Angels doth not so much appeare as the glorious power of God in upholding the hearts of the Saints in the midst of their corruptions this shal be a special argument that the Saints shal praise God for to al eternity when they shal look back and see what a condition they were in before their conversion yea in their conversion that though God granted them some grace yet what abundance of Corruption was in their hearts al that time and what a deal of stir they had to maintain that little grace they wil stand and admire to consider that it should be kept alive in the midst of sin that a little sparke should be kept alive in the midst of the Sea not only in the midst of the Sea but when the sea is tempestuous you yil say it is no great wonder that the fire be kept burning when the sea is calme but when al is in a storme and yet a spark of fire shal be kept alive in the midst of al the tossings of the waves you wil grant here is a mighty power now the keeping alive of grace in thy heart in the midst of so much corruption doth argue as mighty a power in God 2. The Lord doth so order it that stil his own people shal be under the burden of much coruption in this regard because that hereby the Lord draweth forth the exercise of faith in his son in which his soul takes infinite delight the soule of God takes infinite delight in beholding the working of the glorious grace of faith in Jesus Christ But you wil say wherein doth it appeare to be so glorious in regard of our corruption Thus for the Angels in heaven to believe in God that he wil be eternally good to them it is not so much as for a poor soul in the midst of al his corruptions yet to be able to Triumph in the free grace of God in Jesus Christ notwithstanding I am so vild filthy loathsome and abominable to myself and justly God and his Saints may count me a burden to them and cast me off for ever yet for al this my soul shal cling to him I wil cast my self upon him and look upon him as a gracious father a merciful God a God that loves me a God that rejoyceth in doing Good to me for the soul to exercise faith in the Grace of God in Christ it is a glorious thing only take heed you do not mistake it for presumption Object You wil say For men notwithstanding al their sin to beleeve in Gods mercy this is rather presumption then faith Answ True it is presumpion in many they mistake themselves but in others it is true faith and God delights in it and you shal know it by this it doth draw the heart to God and the soul never finds such a prevalent way to overcome those corruptions that are in it as to exercise their faith in the grace of God in Christ I beseech you mark the difference between presumption and faith in Christ presumption wil trust in Gods mercy notwithstanding their sin but that doth indeed foment their sin and makes them secure in their sin makes them the more secure in their sin but now when the soul shal by the true geminine act of faith rest in the free grace of God notwithstanding corruption if it be right such a soul feels no means in the world of greater efficacy to cure and prevail against corruption then this to trust in the free grace of God notwithstanding corruption and if thou findest it thus thou hast no cause to feare trust in Gods grace with confidence for it is that which is wel pleasing unto God and that which the Lord delights in and that which gives as much content to Gods heart as the exercise of any grace whatsoever and in that regard because the Saints shal never exercise such an act of Faith in Heaven â—s this God wil have this in this world 3. This is that that God sees doth drive his own people to him in prayer nothing drives the Saints to God with more earnestness in prayer then the feeling of the weight of Corruption upon them then they goe to God above al God never heares such strong cryes come up to heaven in regard of any affliction as this and by the way you may find by this how your hearts are when the hand of God is upon you in afflictions then you wil cry to God but I put this to you hath there not come as strong cryes to heaven upon the sence of your Corruptions as upon the sence of any Affliction whatsoever 4. The Lord hath glory in this in the exercise of the work of repentance and humility the keeping the Souls of his people in humility and the contrition of their Spirits that is exceeding pleasing to God the Lord is neer to a broken contrite heart a melting mourning spirit the Lord doth delight in the evangelical workings of repentance this pleaseth the Lord the work of humiliation mourning and sorrow for sin in an evangelical way is a grace that is acceptable to God God shal have none of that in heaven and he hath it therefore here 5. God hereby exerciseth his wisdome exceedingly in bringing light out of darkeness God doth many times turne not only the afflictions of his people to their good but he workes good many times out of sin not that hereby we should be bold and presumptuous in our sins we must take head of tempting God yet know this that God doth many times work exceeding much good unto the Saints even out of their sins by occasion of sin though their sin hath no efficacy in this but God takes occasion in this in otherwaies of his providences and workings of his grace to work good unto them 6. There is Gods justice in it also to lay a stumbling block before wicked and ungodly men for when they shal see that the godly that have the most grace they have much corruption in them stil they rejoyce perhaps in it and they little think that God aimes at the execution of his just judgment upon them that it should harden their hearts many wicked men they think their condition to be very good because they see so much corruption in the hearts of the godly and they are hardened therby but they little think
that is his very soul his life his peace his comfort al his happiness he had committed to him and so left al with him Now then take al these together and when Christ cals the sinner to come to him that is O! Sinner first beleeve this that I am the great redeemer that is come into the world to stand between Gods wrath and your soules and to make up peace between God and you and let there be an unsettling of your hearts from whatsoever heretofore your Souls did Rest in Creature comforts your own Righteousness Duties self respects and ends whatsoever they are let your hearts be taken off from them all and let your hearts now be in a stirring working disposition towards me let all your whole Souls be stretching forth to me and come and cast all your burdens upon me and leave your Souls with me and I will take care of them thus come to me Now then when any soul that is thus Laden shall answer to this cal of Christ and shal say Lord I come here is the very voice and answer of Faith when the Soul can say Oh! Lord I come I see thee to be the blessed Mediator between God and my Soul and for whatsoever my heart hath setled in heretofore Oh! Lord it shal be no more and my heart begins to stir after thee and I stretch forth my Soul to thee O Blessed redeemer and here I cast my burdens upon thee none can ease me but thy self and I leave my self with thee I commit all to thee and betrust all that I have or can do my eternal estate with thee Lord I come here is the soul that comes to Christ Then may the Soul be said to come to Christ when there is an answer in these five Particulars All this is contained in this word COME though you cannot apprehend it til it be unfoulded as a piece of needle work when it is foulded up there is all the work indeed within but we cannot see it til it be laid open and spread before us then we can see all that is in it So though there be many expressions in the Scripture that we understand not yet there they be but this is the work of the Ministry to spread them and to lay them before you and lay them open to you that you may see the Grace of God in another manner when they be unfolded now thus doth Christ call those that are Laden to come to him CHAP. XIX How Christ calls Sinners unto him set forth in two Particulars Namely 1. By an outward and general call 2. By a Particular call to Particular Sinners And how to know the voice of Christ YOu will say how and in what manner doth Christ call to me Christ is in Heaven I cannot hear Christ call to me Now for the call of Christ First There is a general cal in the word there Christ calls under the sound of the Gospel to come to him but this call is rather a command of Christ then an invitaion to shew unto al what is their Duty to do rather then to invite them But now there is a more special call unto those whom the Father hath given to Christ and though they make use of the general call in the word yet there is a special call to them that is Christ by his Spirit doth open the Riches of the Gospel of the Grace in him to their Souls by his Spirit inwardly he doth shew them to their Souls Others come and hear the outward cal that is when a Minister of God shal come and open the Gospel and there shew how God hath given his Son to us he hath taken our Nature upon him and died for sin and tel them that God requires all here in the Gospel to beleeve in his Son they hear his outward cal I but they whom the father gives to Christ have the Spirit of God sent together with the word to open the Riches of Christ that though they have heard it a hundred times before Yet when the spirit comes there is a shewing of the beauty and Riches of the Gospel more then ever that allures their Souls to come to Christ Secondly Not only this but the Lord when he cals such as shall indeed have mercy by Christ and have his invitation to be effectual he doth give a Particular cal unto that Soul besides the general cal God doth not only in the word cal sinners and saith Christ came to save Sinners and those that were lost but Christ comes in Particular to such and such Souls and cals them in a Particular special manner For the Ministers of God they are bound in the Preaching of the Gospel to give a general invitation to come to him but God beside the general hath a Particular cal there is a voice of God in Particular to the Soul that he intends to bring to his Son such a one hears a voice behind him as the Scripture speaks saying this is the way to Salvation the way you have gone all this while is not the way to life you will perish in that way Christ is the right way As thus I will open it in the general and Particular call by this similitude A Prince that hath had many of his subjects Traitors yet he is pleased to send forth a general Proclamation makes a Proclamation to those subjects and makes it in general tearms that though you have been thus and thus Traiterous against me yet I am content every one that will come to such a place at such a day and submit himself he shall have a pardon here is the general Proclamation and this is incouragement to come But now suppose there were some poor Traitor that because sensible of his wickedness and how unreasonably he hath dealt with his Prince and may be sits alone bemoaning his condition and troubled in his spirit and thinks with himself how shall I be able to see the Face of my Prince Oh! woe to me for the wickedness of my waies Suppose the Prince should come by and behold such a one take notice of him that is got into some corner or other and is there smiting of his Breast and lamenting his condition that he should so provoke his Prince as he hath done And should call this poor creature and say to him Oh thou poor Creature that art in such a place come thou to me For so is the work of faith God comes in particular to the soul doth not only come in general but after his general Call when he doth see the soul troubled the Lord doth give a particular Call to him and saith O! thou poor Creature thou art under this burden and thus sensible of it and lamentest that thou hast lived thus and thus and made such a breach between me and thy soul do thou come to me And the truth is till God speak in particular to the soul the proclamation of God in general will not bring in sinners so Christ doth
that the Lord doth intend good unto that soul when the Lord begins to make thee to love thy self truly for eternity to love that that is true and of eternal good it is a good signe that the Lord doth intend good unto thy soul 2. When the Lord proceeds not only to make thee to begin to love thy self for eternity that is to love that immortal soul that the Lord hath put into thee but when the Lord comes to shew thee wherein thy true good for eternity lies that it doth lye in this that thou shalt be delivered from the wrath of God and shalt not be cast out of his presence but shalt come to have union with God and live in his presence to the praise of his Grace to all eternity this is thy good this thou dost account thy happiness that thou maist be delivered from being cast out of Gods presence and that the Lord would bring thee unto himself to live with him and to joyn with the Angels and Saints to the praise of his infinite Grace in Christ eternally Thou accountest this to be the good that thou wouldest have in thy salvation I say the revealing of this to thee and the carrying of thy Heart unto Christ upon this ground this is faith it is true Grace for here God hath so twisted as I may so speak the glory of his own Name and the good of his creature together as they both are joyned in one and so the Heart may be carryed to both of them at one time to joyn in one 3. Yea further Let me tell you when thy Heart looks at this as thine own good and this is the Rest that thou wouldest have whereas I see that by my sins I am cut off from God and so I can have no peace nor Rest and I see my happiness and the Rest of my soul is to have union with that God that my sins hath cut me off from and that I might live for ever to the praise of the infinite and glorious first being of all things I say herein though thou aimest at thy own good before thou art aware of it and thou dost it may be explicitly Reason with thy own Heart but I do regard God above any good in my self yet in that thy Heart is upon it to that end that thou mayest have union with the Father and live eternally with him to the praise of his Grace in his Son I say in this act though thou art not able explicitly to conceive how thou lookest at God above thy self Yet God sees it there is that work of God in thy Heart to raise God there above thy self and therefore those poor sinners that are much afflicted under the Burden of their sins let them but Labor and Eye God so as to look at Christ as one that is a Mediator between God and them to bring God and their souls together to ayme at this and they need not trouble themselves with answering any further that temptation O! I come to Christ but it is only that I might be saved I do not know that in all the Book of God to give you this one note about it and then we pass from this point that we find this as a note of an Hipocrite that he doth love his own salvation too much we never find it as a note of an Hipocrite that he doth come to Christ that he might be saved and seeing the word of God doth not set it out as the note of an Hipocrite let not us nourish this temptation in our own Hearts so as to hinder us from coming to Christ thy Heart would have Rest in coming to Christ therefore come to him that thou mayest have Rest And thus much for this note from the Connexion of the promise Come to Christ for Rest CHAP. XXIV Of the Rest promised by Christ in general And that there is no Rest for a Soul out of Jesus Christ BUt now for the promise it self We read in the 16. of Isai the first verse that Christ saies The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord hath anoynted me to Preach good tydings unto the meek he hath sent me to bind up the broken Hearted to proclaim liberty to the Captives and the opening of the prison to those that are bound to proclaime the acceptable Year of the Lord and the day of Vengeance of our God to comfort all that Mourne c. Here we have a prophecy of Christ and in this my Text this prophecy of Christ is fulfilled Christ is come here in the Text to Preach good tidings to the meek to bind up the broken Hearted to proclaime liberty to the Captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound all this is contained in this promise I wil give you Rest Rest is that that all creatures in the world desire the end of all motion is Rest so the Philosophers say the end of motion is quietness it is the end of all motion whatsoever if the creature were where it would be and had what it would have then it had Rest But now in motion what is the Reason that the fire ascends upwards but because the proper place of the fire is above and that the Earth and all heavy things fal downward But because their proper place is below but let them be where they would be and have what they would have and then they are at Rest So it is with the rational creature when the rational creature is in its proper place that that is the proper place for an immortal Soul and when an immortal soul comes to have the Capacity of it to be filled when it comes to have what an immortal Soul is capable of then it comes to have Rest and this is a Rest that Christ doth promise here in the Text and I will give you Rest that is thus If you come to me you shall first be delivered from all your burdens from all misery whatsoever And Secondly you shal be where you would be and injoy what you would have so that indeed this promise containes the freedome from all evil and the enjoyment of all good there cannot be Rest until there be a freedome from evil and an injoyment of all good that is the general here in this promise I will give you Rest There is a great deal of difference between the Rest that Christ here promiseth to give and that that men seek after in the world We read of the Rich Glutton in Luke 12. saith he Soul take thine ease Soul be at Rest for the word there in the Greek it is of the same that here this word is in my Text of Rest Soul take thine ease or Soul be at Rest Why For thou hast goods laid up for many Years Now mark the difference of the Rest of the Soul of a worldling and the rest of the Soul of a Christian A worlding saies Soul take thy Rest for thou hast meat and drink and