of ease As now it is a great deale of toyl for one that neglects his accounts he is not ready but his accounts are intangled if he be called to give a perfect account it is a great deal of toyl to him but now let a man get over the difficulty and make all his accounts cleer now for him every day to keep his Books streight and cleer this wil not be so great a trouble This is the difference between one Christian and another for all the world one that shall take his pleasure all the week long and ride this way and the other way and neglects his Books and but one day in the week will look them over he wil have a great deal of trouble and it wil break his head somtimes when he hath multitude of business But now the other Merchant looks into his Books every day spends half an hour or a quarter of an hour every day and he goes on with a great deal of cheerfulness So it is with many Christians they think on the Lords day they must have their hearts in a good frame and temper but all the week they have no thoughts of God and of the word and now when the Sabbath comes or Sacrament and holy duties come they are burdensome to them whereas another that keeps his heart in a holy frame he rejoyceth in the Sabbath for he hath had a Sabbath day frame of heart all the week long Luther saith a Christians life should be a perpetuall Sabbath And that is the second means to facilitate every good work 3. Another is this Labor to inflame your hearts with love unto the Duty Do not do duties because you must do them but use all the means that you can for to kindle in you a love unto the duty never satisfie your selves with this I see I must do duty Conscience puts me upon duty therefore I must do it so it may be burdensom but labor to use all arguments you can to make you in love with the duty A Schollar that is in love with his Book will not cry when he goes to the School and especially if he delight in it and be in love with his Master there is many that are put to go to School that dare not go Oh their Father will be angry and their Master wil be severe if they should not learn and so they learn but with much ado they had rather do any thing in the world than go to School neither love their Books nor love their Master and so seldom come to any eminence of learning Love takes away all difficulty love is ashamed to complain of difficulty at any time as now take a man that loves recreation that loves that kind of sport of hunting or hawking if he love it he wil be running in the dirt all the day long though it be a hot day run over hedg and ditch whereas now if such a man had not a love to such a thing but were injoyned to such a thing that you must all the day from morning to night eate not a bit of bread but all the day long run after doggs over hedg and ditch and through waters it would take away the love that such a one should have in his sports and what a miserable bondage would this be so it is in the waies of God let there be love to the waies of God then whatever difficulty there may seem to be in them it is taken away presently love to the person of Jesus Christ will take away the difficulty of the waies of Christ you know when Jacob loved Rachel he cared not how long he served for her the hard nights were not hard to him Love God and love Christ and then his waies will not be difficult 4. Another rule is this do not loose your incouragements that that you have had from what good God doth bestow upon you and inable you to do take heed of loosing that incouragement many Christians are altogether looking upon what they ought to do what God requires of them to do and because they have had not yet attained unto what they ought to do and what is required of them to do therefore they find no incouragement from what the Lord hath already bestowed upon them what the Lord hath already inabled them to do they wholly neglect that and never think of it they think of what they want and what they should have and what they should do and so they are labouring to get what they should have and to do what they should do but for what God hath inabled them to do already or what God hath given them already that they do not think of and for want of those incouragements they make their endeavours for the getting of more to be burdensome to them but now when we are endeavouring to do more we should go on in the strength of this incouragement Oh blessed be God for any little You shal have Christians thinking of what they should do and therefore they think all the grace they have is nothing Oh! say they that which I have done what is it It is true if we were looked upon in the way of the Covenant of works it is nothing but in the way of the Covenant of Grace it is a great deal now that wil be a great ease to your souls labour to get more and do more for God but stil carry along with you the incouragement of what God hath done for you when you pray for any grace bless God for any grace you have Take notice of al the incouragement that God doth give you and that will help you to go on in any further work that God calls you unto and the want of this makes the lives of many Christians to be very greivous and burdensome unto them because they neglect those incouragements they might have from what God hath inabled them to do and from what God hath done already for them 5. Take heed of lying in the guilt of any sin I meane though in respect of God the guilt is taken away from beleevers but of lying so in any sin as not to cleer up all between God and your soul for the discharge of it of having any thing not cleered up in your own consciences take heed of lying in any sin unrepented of that is my meaning every sin that a man commits excepting those daily incursions and infirmities of the Saints which they cannot while they are here in the flesh be altogether without but every other sin it is as a thorne at least a thorn â—n the foot every sin that a man hath committed by strength of temptation it is a thorn in the foot and if it be a greater sin it is a gash in his flesh Now a man that hath a thorn in his foot he cannot go very fast but especially if he have a gash in his flesh when thou hast been overcome with a great sin thou hast given a great gash unto
of himself as we may speak after the manner of men Secondly If he would undertake to be Mediator then God â—els him he must become a man and take Human Nature upon him and that in a personal union that Christ the infinite glorious Son of God should be content to be made a Man that it should be said of him this person is a man this is a mighty lowening of himself In Hebrews 2. 16. He did not take the Nature of Angels But the Nature of Man The Seed of Abraham It had not been so much Lowening of himself if he had taken upon him the Nature of Angels No saith God if you wil be Mediator for man you must take the Nature of Man This Poor Wretched Creature saith Christ I will do it rather then man should Perish Thirdly When he takes the Nature of Man one would think he would be Born of the greatest Queen upon the Earth if Christ must come and take the Nature of man and be Born in the Womb it would be of the greatest Empress No of a poor Woman a Poor Virgin a Poor Maid and therefore she saith in Luke 1. 48. For he hath regarded the Low Estate of his Hand-Maiden It is not there Lowliness as noting Humility but the Low condition of his Hand-Maid The Lord regarded the Lew condition of his Hand-Maid Of purpose to that end to incourage those that are in a Low condition that Christ should pass by al the Princesses and Emperesses in the World and be willing to be born of a poor Maid for she was not a Rich Maid nor had great things that appears by the offering that she made for Her Purification in Luke 2. 22. and the 24. verses When the daies of her Purification according to the Law of Moses were accomplished they brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord and to offer a Sacrifice according to that which is said in the Law of the Lord a pair of Turtle Doves or two young Pidgeons Her Sacrifice was a pair of Turtle Doves or two young Pidgeons but mark it is said according to the Law of the Lord do but compare this Text with the Law of God that required an Offering of every Male that openeth the Womb in Levit. 12. 6. When the daies of Her purifying are fulfilled for a Son or for a Daughter she shall bring a Lamb of the first year for a Burnt offering and a young Pidgeon or a Turtle Dove for a sin offering unto the Door of the Tabernacle of the congregation she shall bring a Lamb here is no Lamb brought for so indeed the Law did so far indulge that if they were poor the Lamb might be spared as in another Law so that in this her offering that she did not bring the Lamb the Lamb that the Law did appoint it was meerly from the indulgence of her Poverty because she was a poor Maid Noting that if there be a poverty and we do what we can the Lord will not stand so much for great offerings when we do what we are able so the Virgin Mary she had not Money to buy a Lamb but she brings a pair of Turtle Doves or two Pidgeons And this is that which is accepted And then his Low condition was not only in being born of her but in being born in one of the meanest Villages and places not in the Metropolis Jerusalem but in BETHELEM And then it was in an Inn you know he had no stately House or Country House or brave place for to be in but it was in an Inn and it was in her Journy Great Women when they are with Child will not be travelling in Journies but will take state â—pon them and will not go forth a long while but she was in her Journey I and when she was in an Inn she could have never a Room Surely she must be in a Low condition If a begger Woman should be ready to cry out if there were a poor Room that had but a Chimney in it they would grant it to her but she was in a stable to be brought to Bed in a stable your Vagrants and Rogues that go up and down cannot be worse then this and she had no provision it seems but was fain to lay her Child in the Manger this infinite God and Lord of Heaven and Earth behold him lie in a Stable and a Manger And besides he was willing to be in this condition he chose this condition surely he had a Lowly Heart Fourthly And further Observe It may be said but if he doth come as a man and come into the world in a Low condition yet he may be some body in time Nay but he must be a Servant in the world he might have had possession of the world and might have had the honor to have been a King but he must live as a Servant So the Scripture saith in Philip. 2. In the Form of a Servant Nay he was not only in the Form of a Servant but in the Form of an evil Servant a Servant to be beaten that is a Low condition to be in the state of a Servant but to be in the state of an Evil Servant to be beaten that is a Low condition indeed so was Christ Fifthly Yea not only to be a Servant that was beaten but to be made a curse so in Galath 3. 13. not only Cursed but a Curse in the abstract Yea more then this not only to be a Servant and to be beaten and made a curse but to be made Sin that that is lower So in 2 Corinth 5. 2. He that knew no Sin was made Sin for us we wil not stand to open these Particulars only so far is expressed the Low condition that Christ was in how Lowly in Heart Christ was And all the way as we go you cannot but see that there will be a great many Arguments to work Lowliness of Heart in al that profess Christ After he came into the World and was put into such a condition he was fain to flie for his Life to flie into Egypt to save his Life and being delivered then he lives Thirty years in a Low Poor Mean condition He is reputed Low in his parentage his Father a Poor Carpenter and his Mother a poor Woman not able to live in the world and yet he lives Thirty years together in subjection to this poor Father and Mother to live in obedâ—ence to them and seeks to live upon his Trade to live as a Carpenter Hewing of Timber for this is the Reason they cal him the Carpenters Son he lived not Idly And when he came to be manifested the Redeemer of the World even then the Devil himself had some power over him he was in some kind under him as you may Read in Matth. 4. He was carried by the Devil and Set upon the Pinacle of the Temple It is a great matter for the Devil to carry any of our Bodies up and down for Christ
the other two The waies of God indeed and Religion and walking in the waies of God we must needs acknowledg to be easie but there is two other things as the Discipline of Jesus Christ and the sufferings that Jesus cals us unto How will that be made out to be easie to us Now I verily beleeve that Jesus Christ had an aim at these two as well as to any other to let them know what Discipline and Goverment he would have his people come under in the times of the Gospel and indeed we cannot be the Disciples of Jesus Christ as we ought except we be willing to put our necks under the yoke of the Discipline of Jesus Christ the Goverment of Christ as it is in his Church we must not think it sufficient meerly that we profess Religion and profess Godâ—â—ness that we keep from the sins of the world that we walk close with God in our Families but Christ requires likewise that we should come and subâ—it our selves to what Goverment he appoints in his Church and that is a part of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ as wel as his ruling in our hearts indeed that is the principall work of Christ in ruling in our hearts but Christ hath a Kingly power in ruling in his Church the main yoke is inward but there is an outward yoke too for Christ would not have men live as they list in a disorderly way but it is the mind of Jesus Christ that all his Saints though some in one place and some in another should joyn together in exercising such Ordinances as he hath appointed in the externall governing of his Church and yet so that all these are very easie to a spiritual heart though it may seem very difficult to a carnal heart for I should wrong the Text and not be faithfull if I should not give you what I verily beleeve is the scope of the Text I say this yoke is the order of Christ in his Church if it be neglected by people it is a great dishonor unto Jesus Christ and hinders them exceedingly in the waies of Religion and though it be very hard to carnal hearts it is very easie to spiritual hearts I am verily perswaded that one of the greatest things that causeth so much malignity in this Kingdome at this day it is the fearing of the yoke of Christ men are afraid of the goverment of Christ in his Church they are afraid they shall not have that liberty for their lusts and wickedness as formerly but that there shall be yokes to restrain and keep them from those loose waies that formerly they lived in and you may see plainly it is so who are they that joyn with the malignant party that have such spirits but such as have loose spirits they are those that live very loosly others that have meer civility and know little of the power of Godliness they are afraid of this and Oh how is it said by most we will not have this man reign over us they even said they will break his bonds asunder and cast away his cords that is the controversie that it is come to at this very day and that Prophecy in Psalm 2. seems to be fulfilled at this day at verse 2. The Kings of the earth set themselves and the Rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed saying Let us break their bonds asunder and cast away their cords from us he that sitteth in the Heavens shall laugh the Lord shall have them in derision Then shall he speak to them in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion for al this I wil set my King upon my holy hil Certainly Christ is not set up as King as he ought to be whatever profession we make except we be willing to come in put our necks under the yoke of Christ and Oh what a heavy burden and yoke it is For instance That Men and Women should not make a meer verbal profession and say I beleeve and I hope to be saved by Christ but should give an account of their Faith and give an account of some work of God upon their hearts that God hath called them out of the world certainly that is one thing that Christ doth require in his peoples joyning together to set up the Ordinances as they ought to be that they should have some knowledg one of another knowledg of some work of the Holy Ghost upon their hearts You will say that is secret I but though the Holy Ghost worketh in secret yet certainly this may some way or other appear we cannot know it certainly for there may be many Hypocrites no question in the Church of God and it is a very vain cavil for men to say can the Church of God be without Hypocrites that is taken indeed for granted and no body in the world denies it I but there must be that in the judgment of Charity so as by the judgment of Charity we may see so far as we are able to see that the Holy Ghost hath been working upon the Soul of this Man and Woman and hath called them out of the world this is the first thing in coming under the yoke of Christ in his Church Now how hard is this to carnal hearts the very mentioning of it is enough to make a mutiny in many places What! have we lived al this while and must we now come to give account of our faith But now it is an easy thing to a gracious heart what is more easy to a Gracious Heart then to speak of the work of God upon his Heart to give Glory to Jesus Christ in manifesting the work of God in calling him out of the world and bringing him out of the Kingdom of darkness and translating him into the Kingdom of his dear Son the manifestation of this is exceeding delightful to a gracious Heart And whereas many think that some wil lay a greater yoke upon them by coming in and submitting to the gouerment of Christ in his Church they say they wil make them to enter into a solemn Covenant before they wil admit them I confess were it so that this were urged as a thing necessary that they should not come in and joyn in the ordinances of Christ without an explicit solemn Covenant then I cannot but acknowledg it were a yoke that I think Christ never laid upon his Church not an explicit solemn Covenant to urge it as necessary that they cannot come and joyn in the ordinances without it and as for my part I know not any that urge it as necessary though it is used it is true because it is the way of manifesting themselves one way or another and some way they would have for the manifestation of the grace of God and of their willingness to joyn with them in all the Ordinances of Christ so far as is revealed to them and I
before the Lord Mark how these two are put together a melting heart and an humble heart whereas if Josiah had had a proud heart he would have contemned the reading of those papers that was brought unto him as his Son afterwards did he took a Pen-knife cut them threw them into the fire the Son of this Josiah but Josiah being a man of a very lowly heart though a King upon reading of the Law of God that was found in a corner of the Temple his heart did tremble presently And hence in Matth. 5. those two are put together Blessed are the poor in spirit and blessed are those that mourn so that one that is of a poor and low spirit I mean low in a gracious manner not in a base way is one that mourns is not of a hard heart It is said of Belshazzar that he did harden his heart in pride Pride had hardened his heart in Dan. 5. 20. But when his heart was lifted up and his mind hardened in pride c. Certainly a hard heart is a proud heart So far as a heart is hard it is proud and it is proud against God and that is the worst pride in the world for a Creature to be proud in its behavior before God When you come to hear the Word now you come near to him and â—he Lord reveals his displeasure against you and expects your heart should melt before him and you harden your heart you gather those thoughts together that may harden your hearts Oh! this is the pride of thy Heart the Lord looks upon thee as a desperate proud heart that shal thus harden thy Heart but now if upon the least manifestation of Gods displeasure to thee thy heart melts here is an humble heart now that according to the esteem of its own meanness and sence of its vileness behaves it self thus 4. It makes the will of God to be the rule of its will it is emptied of its own wil and makes Godâ— wil the rule of his Will Not my will be done but thy will be done saith Christ and in this the lowliness of the Heart of Christ is discovered as much as in any one thing Not my will but thy will shall Jesus Christ say thus that had no evil in his wil Is there not infinite more cause that thou shouldest say so not my will but thy will be done For thy will is a crooked will a perverse ungodly wicked will and there is abundance of wickedness in thy will for indeed the wil is the seat of all kind of abominable wickedness and therefore there is infinite cause when thou comest once to know thine own vileness and to be sensible of thy own wretched and mean condition when thou comest before the Lord that thou shouldest say Lord Not my will but thy will be done A wilful man and Woman is ever a proud man and Woman especially when it comes to God â—hen you are set to have your wills I will have this and I will have that if one come and give you but a place of Scripture you will presently yeild if you be humble but now if men be wilful against God himself these are the desperate proud hearts You think there is pride in fine Cloaths and vanity of spirit it is true there may be vanity in outward things but here lies the desperateness of the proud heart of man that thou art proud against God and when any thing of Gods wil is revealed to order thy conversation yet thou wilt follow thine own wil the language of thy actions is but thus much Lord here is thy wil and my wil but Lord my wil must be regarded before thine my wil must be lifted up before thy will I will give you a Scripture for this in Jeremiah 44. 10. They are not humbled unto this day neither have they feared nor walked in my Law nor in my statutes that I set befoâ—e you and before your Fathers Here is a proofe of their not fearing God and setting up the wil of God they are not Humbled to this day How doth that appear Neither walked in my Laws nâ—r in my statutes For so it appears that it was their own wills that they set up In Jeremiah 43. 2. All proud men came to Jeremiah saying thou speakest falsly the Lord our God hath not sent thee to say go not into Egypt to sojourn there The proud men they came and opposed what Jeremiah had spoken and they did confess afterwards that what was spoken of Jeremiah for their own parts they were convinced of the word that was spoken to him as at the 16. verse As for the word which thou hast spoken to us in the Name of the Lord we will not hearken unto thee First That pride of Heart got them to an acknowledging of the word of the Lord but afterwards they came to this pass As for the word of the Lord that thou hast spoken we will not hearken to it And so the Lord chargeth them with this that they did not humble themselves to walk in his Statutes and Commandements A Stoutness and stubborness of Heart against God that is the great pride of heart And another text you have in John 5. 30. Christs Lowliness of heart in submitting to the wil of his Father saith he I can of my own self do nothing as I hear I judg and my Judgment is just because I seek not mine own will but the will of the Father which sent me Oh That we were but able to say so that we were but Lowly in heart as Christ manifests himself to be lowly in heart that we could say Lord thou that knowest all things thou knowest that it is not mine own will that I seek but thine own wil and what is our wills that they should be regarded more then the wil of Christ He could deny his own will what art thou that thou shouldest not deny thine own will 5. An humble heart it is willing that God should choose his condition let it be what it wil be to be put into what condition God himself will put him into he wil not be his own carver to carve out his own condition but let God do with me what he will as I am willing to do what God will his wil shall be the rule of my actions so I am willing to be done withal as God pleaseth it is fit that I should be at Gods disposing who am Gods Creature and have all from God and whaâ—ever I have besides Hell is a mercy and therefore 〈◊〉 I should be at Gods dispose An humble Spirit if God change and alter the condition of such a one upon the apprehension of its own meaness and vileness and what it deserves it is willing to â—e at Gods dispose and to accept of what he shal chuse for us God shal chuse the inheritance of an humble heart Lord we will not chuse our inheritance our own portion what it shal be but O Lord
time he is overcome with any corruption with any sin he is like one in the Gally Oh this soul considers I am in a different way from what I was wont to be I was wont to be in the service of Jesus Christ and my heart had soul satisfying contentments while I was there but O what a difference is there in this work here is a base drudgery in comparison of what I was wont to have Oh the sweet communion I had with Jesus Christ while my heart kept close to him but now now I am raking in kennells and rowing in Gallies Oh! wretched man that I am who shal deliver me from this burden now this is a wide a broad difference between the easiness of the yoke of Christ to one and to the other one finds a great deal of ease in the yoke but the other finds all one if he goes amongst company that are vaine and sleight and prophane and when he comes to hear the word to read or receive the Sacrament almost all one and indeed if there be any difference his greatest ease is in that of sin he hath ease in the duties of religion in performing duties but his greatest ease is in the other way I but now the ease of a Saint is such as cannot stand with the ease of sin a child of God can beare the yoke of Christ with ease but he cannot beare the yoke of sin it is death to him to beare the yoke of sin that is the First Secondly Another difference is this a carnall heart may have some ease in duties of religion in the yoke of Christ but it is because he mistakes the yoke of Christ it is because he doth not know the yoke of Christ he thinks that the yoke of Christ is only some external duties that Christ requires or to keep from some grosse sins and now and then to say his prayers and now and then to read a chapter and come to Church and to receive Sacraments he thinks this is all that Christ requires of him what needs any more to do then this May not I go to Heaven as well with this as with keeping so much a do as others do and he thinks here is the yoke of Christ and this is fine and easy indeed If this were the way that would bring to Heaven it were a very easy matter to go to Heaven that is for a man to keep from a gross foul sin that would make him odious in the place where he lives and for him only to come from his house and sit an hour or two and heare a Sermon and come at Easter and other times and receive the Sacrament this is the easiest thing in the world who would not go to Heaven if this were all But now if thou wert acquainted with the spiritualness of holy duties that Jesus Christ requires with the power of Godliness that there is in holy duties that Christ requires in the word mortification of thy Lust and the keeping of thy thoughts and of thy heart holy and spiritual he requires that thou shouldest serve the Lord thy God withal thy heart and all thy might if thou knewest I say the spiritualness of holy duties and the power of Godliness that is in holy duties then it would be an intolerable burden to thee it would be very grievous to a carnall heart to put it self under the spirituall acts of Religion to put it self under the outward acts of Religion that is easie but to put it self upon the inward acts of Religion they would find that to be somwhat indeed For one that hath learned a Prayer to go and say it over and read it in a Book What an easie matter is that part of Religion for a man in the morning and evening to go and turn over two or three Leaves and shake himself and go away and then there is Religion for all that day But now if you would set your selves to the power of Godliness in Prayer that is when you come to Prayer to meditate what an Infinite and Glorious and eternall God you have to deal withall in Prayer I am now coming to tender up that high respect that I owe to the infinite God that which the Creature ows to an infinite Creator now I am coming to open my Soul to God to search out all the corruptions of my heart and I am now coming to bewail them in the presence of the infinite God and to set my self before the Lord as in my self a condemned Creature before an infinite Judg I am coming now to plead with God for my life for my Soul for my eternall estate I am now coming to engage my Soul to God that as ever I expect mercy in the day of Christ so I am willing to give up my self to God here is some power of Godliness in this now I would have you put your selves to this divine ease the more a Gracious heart doth this the more ease he hath in Prayer as I will appeal to you Take a carnall heart such a one thinks he must pray and so he comes in the morning and speaks a few words such words as he was wont to do and such words as may be he hath heard other men speak when he joyns with others in prayer and he hears some expressions in prayer from them and he gets them and comes in the morning and speaks them and perhaps gets into his Closet and barely speaks them over now if it be one that hath true Grace alas he is in a troublesome condition all the day after if he find not the power of Godliness in it such a one hath no quiet in his Spirit al the day after Why because there hath not been the power of Godliness in his Duty and therefore he is troubled all the day long But now let such a one come to Prayer to purpose in the morning and stir up the life and power of Godliness in Prayer worshipping God as a God Oh! the ease and quiet that such a one hath all the day he can go on in his work and can sing at his work So that the ease of a Gracious heart comes from the power of Godliness in a Duty and from the spiritualness that is in a Duty but the ease of a carnall heart comes from the formality of a Duty as because the Duty is formall and he thinks that it is the Yoke of Christ and this is pretty wel it is easie indeed to have no other Yoke than this to worship God in a few words and not to have the power of Godliness in the Duty And so we might instance in the hearing of the word you come to the word barely you rise out of your bed and come and sit here an hour that is easie enough but now if you come to the word with preparation and think now I am going into the presence of God to hear what God hath to say to my Soul this morning Oh my Soul
deal of ease in respect of the Jews that were under the burden of the Ceremonial Law because that their service it self was very chargeable to their outward estates their Sacrifices that they did offer up to God How chargeable was it What a great part of the estates of men did go forth partly in the maintenance of their Levites There is a great deal of murmuring now for a little Money for maintenance of Ministers but there if the account be summed up the maintenance of the Levites was a great part of their estates not barely the tenth of their Sacrifices They had their Cities divers forty or more Cities that were theirs for their possession And many things might be shewed that way the mighty charge that they were at for the service of God several waies not Tithes only but Cities and the like now God hath in a great part eased us of those things that he required of the People of the Jews there is nothing now required but what is in moral equity what is in common reason due to the Laborer for his work only somwhat is due by that Scripture Thou shalt not muzle the mouth of the Ox that treadeth out the Corn so that all the maintenance now for the work of God is due in a way of common reason but there was other things required in the service of God in the times of the Jews and that is an ease that is very suitable to many men to have ease that way from their outward service yet certainly the Lord as we shal hear more by and by requires of us more service other waies And then Thirdly In the ceremoniall Law there the very service of God had a kind of burden in it for there were so many external performances that the Holy Ghost cals them beggarly Rudiments so many outward ceremonies outward things that were a burden to the outward man and they were mean things and childish things in comparison of the Gospel they are called by the Apostle Beggarly Rudiments And truly one would think that when we shall read such a Scripture as that that shall call the ceremonies of the Law beggarly rudiments that were the ceremonies appointed by God himself and yet when they came to be abrogated they were called but beggarly rudiments one would admire how it is possible that any one that professeth Christianity should come and conform themselves to so many ceremonies as they have done to such beggarly rudiments certainly these must needs be beggarly rudiments much more and what a strange pass were we brought into that we should count such things the great Ornaments of Gods service whenas God did not require them but at that time and that they are so vilified by God now But inventions are never required by God and therefore they are to be accounted more vile and it is a great mercy to be delivered from the bondage of the outward ceremonies of the Law though such things as were once appointed by God to spend so many daies as they did from their outward business this is somwhat Surely if it were in mans power to appoint ceremonies and make daies holy as many did undertake heretofore we had been brought into a greater bondage than ever the Jews were under the Law but Christ would have ease in the outward administration of his worship And then likewise though God hath appointed some outward things yet very few for the outward part of his vvorship What a few things are appointed by Jesus Christ vvhereas in the times of the Law there vvere multitudes of external things yea and how easie are they that Christ hath appointed for the outvvard part of his vvorship whereas in the times of the Lavv it vvas hard as circumcision vvhat a hard thing vvas it to have to foreskin of the flesh cut off and you knovv it made them sore vvhen the men of Sichem vvere circumcised they vvere so sore that two or three men vvere able to destroy a vvhol City novv Christ hath required no such hardness of us And truly that may be one thing that may make us much doubt of the waies of many that put people upon such vvaies as in the Winter time to go into Rivers and venture their healths lives as they do certainly Christ requires no such thing if Christ did require such a thing I dare appeal to any to give me any one place in the old Testament vvhere there is a harder commandment than that if that vvere a commandment then Christs yoke in that one thing is harder than any one thing that Christ required of the Jews no one Duty so difficult to the outward man as that thing iâ— now certainly the yoke of Christ as he himself saith it is but easie it is not hard to the outward man in such external services Christ did not change one Ordinance from another to make it harder there is no Ordinance that Christ did change from the Law to the Gospel to make it harder and there is no mercy that is allowed in the times of the Law but is allowed in the times of the Gospel And further That is another Argument that is very perswaâ—ive to the Beleever and his children for if God should deny this condition to the children in the times of the Gospel that was in the times of the Law it would make the Gospel to be harder than the Law and the truth is the denying such a mercy to Beleevers children would be a harder yoke to Beleevers a greater burden to them than all the ceremonies were to the Jevvs in the times of the Lavv. As suppose this if a Beleever should plead thus Lord there vvas a time vvhen thou didst not only receive me into Covenant but receive my child too and give my child the seal of the Covenant likevvise and there vvas a time that I had such a priviledg that not only I but my child vvas in a different condition from the Heathen the Heathen round about me vvas not in such a condition as I vvas in in regard of my posterity and I counted this a great mercy but Lord since the time I vvas converted and imbraced Christian Religion and since the time that Jesus Christ is come as suppose a Jevv should speak thus one that vvas a Jevv before Christs time and should live til Christ came and should plead thus Lord hast thou brought a greater burden on me since Christ came than I had before Christ came for before Christ came I had such a liberty that vvas as dear to me as my life that I vvould not be vvithout for all the vvorld that I should not only have my self but my child separated from the world and be in covenant with thee and under the Seal of thy Grace but Lord since Christs coming into the world and since I imbraced religion though I may come and take the seales though I may be in covenant with thee yet now my child may not there is no
what you do now and if they see that since you began to go to Sermons and to make more profession of Religion that your lives are more filled with discomfort and vexing and fretting and discouragement than before What will they say What waies are these Who would come into these waies they make theâ— mad and make them fools and unfit them for any business Oh this is a shame to he waies of Christ though it is true now thou seest more cause of humiliation than before but for all this know that this is not legal humiliation but evangelical humiliation and there is sweetness in that bitter of sin if thou understandest it in an evangelical way and though thou shouldest mourn for thy sin yet thou shouldest carry thy self with that gentleness and humility and meekness in thy spirit thou shouldst discover that sweetness of heart and cheerfulness and activeness in your callings going about your business better than ever before that they may say surely the way of Christ is easie and so others may be in love with them but if others shal see you to be more high and lofty in your spirits more proud more disdaining more neglective in your callings and more cross in your carriage than before then they will be kept off from those waies Consequence 5. Again if the waies of Christ be so easie certainly Jesus Christ will expect a great deal of service from you because he gives you much ease a man that walkes at liberty he may walk apace a Porter that hath a great burden upon him whilst that that burden is upon him he cannot go so fast if one should come and say to him Why do not you go faster he would answer if you had such a burden upon you as â— have you would go as softly as I do A cart that hath a great load upon it cannot go apace so here hath Jesus Christ laid no weight upon you in his waies then let us run the waies of Gods commandments Beleevers in the time of the Law they had Shackles they had a weight a burden upon them and therefore no marvel we do not read of so much holiness and spiritualness in the waies of the Godly in the times of the Law generally because I say their yoke was heavy and therefore they did drive very slowly on but now when Jesus Christ is come into the world and hath taken our yoke from us certainly Christ expects that we should now go on freely in his waies and abound in the work of the Lord and do more than they did in the times of the Law Read the Book of the Psalmes and see the sweetness of Davids spirit had David had the Epistles of Paul and had known all of Christ and heard so much of the Gospel opened to him How would he have said O! how sweet is thy Law and if his heart was enlarged he could run the waies of Gods commandments I but David he was under the burden of the ceremoniall Law for it is not that which is revealed in the Gospel certainly he had not the knowledg of the Gospel the things revealed there though he had a more then ordinary measure of knowledg and if he walked so freely and cheerfully in the waies of Christ certainly we should do much more Service for the Lord now the yoke is taken from us as the ceremonial Law in respect of charge we are freed from a great deal of charge that they were at therefore we should be more free when God requires it of us And they spent so much time in outward things in meer outward things then shall we grudge god our time in spiritual communion or grudg God time in our Families a quarter of an hour to Worship God in our Families morning and evening In the Lavv they spent abundance of time in the Service of God it may be you think it much to rise and come to hear the Word they vvere fain to go long journies to Worship at Jerusalem vvherever they lived in the country to go to Jerusalem to worship and yet their worship was but an external thing and in the greater part but bodily labor when they went thus to worship they had not the Mysteries of the Gospel opened to them as you have to recompence your labor therefore I say be more abundant in the service of God We have a notable Scripture for this in Acts 9. 31. of the state of the Church when once they had ease and rest marke what came of it Then had the Churches rest throughout all Judea and Galâ—lee and Samaria and were edified and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost weâ—e multiplied Here is the fruit of their rest The ease of a secure heart is that that makes it more barren in Gods waies but now the Church had rest through all Judea What then then they walked in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost and were multiplied and doth God give rest unto your Soul and peace to you then walk in the fear of the Lord and be edified and built up more and more and multiply the service of God more and more there is a promise that the people of God should be fat and well-liking in the times of the Gospel and flourish in the Courts of the Lord. There is two things that causeth Fatness the one is much Feeding the other is a great deal of rest and ease when men feed much and then have a great deal of ease this causeth fatness if there be either want of food or if there be never so much food yet if a great deal of labor it keeps them from fatness but when there is ease and food that causeth bodily fatness Now Christ expects in the times of the Gospel that all Christians should be fat and well liking that they should not be lean in their souls Why for 1. They have as plentifull food as ever was since the world began never had they better diet and more ful diet and wholsome diet than now And 2. He hath revealed likewise the blessed ease of the Gospel there was never a time wherein the Mystery of the Gospel was so much revealed to make the waies of Christ so easie as now there is a revealing indeed of the waies of the Gospel to be easie sensually and loose but wo to those that are thus at ease but I say there is a revealing of the Gospel and the waies of Christ to be easie spiritually Certainly formerly many went to Heaven more hardlier than we not only in respect of suffering but in respect of horror of sin the spirit of bondage there were scarce any brought to Jesus Christ but were brought with abundance of horror and had much of the spirit of bondage upon them and God did recompence them afterwards abundantly and we find this that it is true that many true Christians never knew so much horror of
the Lesson that Christ would have us indeed learn Come if you would be my Disciples you must deny your self and take up my Cross The word in the Greek is more than deny your selves you must throughly deny your self deny your self to purpose indeed if you will be the Disciples of Christ and indeed this Humility is the proper Christian Humility Your Heathens they were altogether for men to know their own excellencies and to seek themselves altogether but for such a Lesson as this to deny themselves you never read of any such thing in Heathen Authors never such a Lesson that they would teach them that they would deny themselves 8. An humble heart keeps down it self that is he would be no higher except he be worthier one that hath a vain proud Spirit stil would fain be higher and higher and is not so solicitous to be worthier of a higher place but one that is humble thinks thus I am unworthy of what place I am in and I would not be higher except I be worthier I would not be in a higher condition except God give me a heart to improve that condition that he shall put me into and though God keep me in a low condition in respect of outwards yet the truth is I have as much as I have Grace to manage and therefore when there is any rising thoughts within it about a higher condition an humble heart is willing to beat down it self and is ready to speak to it self as Jeremy to Baruch in Jerem. 45. Dost thou seek great things for thy self Seek them not So saith an humble Spirit to it self What! art thou rising in thy Spirit and seekest great things for thy self Seek them not it is well thou hast thy life for a prey it is well thy Soul may be saved in the day of Jesus Christ And so David it is said of him in Psal 131. As a weaned Child he quieted himself and behaved himself restraining himself and keeping down himself whereas his Spirit would have been froward against God he did keep down his Spirit that was ready even to rise against God One that hath a lowly heart yet whilst it remains in this world hath much to do to keep dovvn it self 9. An humble lovvly Spirit hides it self is vvilling to hide it self and doth much hide it self it doth therefore good in secret more than in publique though such a one vvhen God cals him to publique service is vvilling to serve God publiquely yet especially is vvilling to do good in secret vvhere none knows vvhat it doth and vvhere none is conscious to it self but it self and God The ful ears of Corn hang down vvhereas the blasted ears vvil stand bolt upright So it is vvith a heart that is humble the more excellency it hath the more it hangs dovvn it self and is lovv vvhereas the blasted Spirits of Men and women that have a little in them they stand bolt upright Or rather as the Violet the Violet doth hide it self with its own Leaves So the Fig Tree and the Violet grows low in the ground you can hardly perceive it but only it discovers it self by its sweet smel you may many times smel it before you can see it it grows so low and the discovery of it is from the sweet savor of it and so it is with an humble heart the discovery of the excellency that is in an humble heart is from the sweet savor it hath rather than from any comendations of it self by speaking of it self No it is that which is abhorred by a lowly humble heart to be speaking high things of it self and it doth not love to hear others commending of it and doth not deny them in a modesty because they would have them to confirm it the more strongly as many others will do but unfeignedly is willing to have them hidden any futher than God is pleased to draw them forth It doth a great deal of good when no body can know it as it was the similitude of an Antient saith he An humble heart in this is like to the Lightening that may work strong effects on a suddain and goes away and no body takes notice of it somtimes it may be melts the Sword in the Scabbard and is gone and no body knows who did it So it is with an humble heart it wil not make a noise in what it doth whereas a proud heart wil be brought to no good exercise except every one take notice of what it doth an humble Spirit is willing to hide it self when God may nay have Glory by an action though I may have disgrace yet I am content 10. An humble Spirit goes out of it self being conscious of its own weakness I say it goes out of it self for a principle to act by and for strength for assistance for help it goes out of it self and empties it self we may put both together it is unbottomed of it self is one that is willing to live upon Alms upon Gods Alms continually upon a continued influence of the Grace of God being sensible of its own weakness iâ— goes out to catch hold of strength without it self Like the Vine though a fruitful Creature yet a weak Creature therefore God in nature hath made it ful of little strings to catch hold of any thing that is next it to support it self So it is with an humble Spirit though very fruitfull yet weak and therefore is catching hold of strength without it self supports it self upon God and therefore it dares not go forth in its own strength â—n any business that God sets it about but is unbotomed of it self depends upon a strength beyond its self and looks for assistance in all actions that it doth from another it lives upon a principle that is without it self continually whereas a proud heart lives altogether upon its own principles But there is nothing more discovers our humilty than this than to live upon nothing in our selves but to go out to strength without our selves 11 This is the true behavior of an humble Spirit in respect of it self a lowly and humble Spirit is often bemoaning it self alone for its own wretchedness and vileness in Jerem. 31. 13. I have heard of Ephraim bemoaning himself before the Lord I have heard him bemoaning himself Is not Ephraim my dear Child saith God Oh! how frequently doth the Lord hear lowly hearts bemoaning of themselves before the Lord. It may be it doth not pine so much before others in complaints but gets into the presence of the Lord and there it is often bemoaning it self and pouring forth it self before the Lord. 12. The last is this an humble heart doth afflict it self is willing to afflict it self you know that the Lord requires in the day of a Fast especially that there should be an afflicting of our selves In Levit. 23. 26. The Text saith That every Soul should afflict it self and that Soul that doth not afflict it self in the day of a fast shouldbe cut
off Now an humble Soul is an afflicted soul is willing to afflict it self before the Lord it is not so much sollicitous of comfort and is altogether for comfort would fain have comfort and comfort no but is willing to afflict it self and to burden it self with its own sin and to beat down it self as we read of Paul 1 Cor. 9. 27. the Text saith He beat down his body least after he had Preached unto others he himself should be a Reprobate Not to afflict our selves as Papists to be whipping our selves and to do those things that God never aequired at our hands but so far as any way God shal require it such a one is willing to afflict it self before the Lord the main work of the heart in this thing is that it is not sollicitous so much for comfort as to be willing to be afflicted before the Lord so far as God would have it afflicted So now put all these together and you may see the behavior of a lowly heart in respect of it self 1. It is suspicious of it self jealous least theâ—e should be some secret evil in the heart that it doth nor know of 2. It is willing to know the worst of it self 3. It looks often to its poor beginnings 4. It is ashamed of it self and thâ—t in the midst of its own excellencies 5. It loaths and abhors it self before the Lord. 6. It judgeth it self 7. It denies it self 8. It keeps down it self 9. It hidâ—â— it self 10. It goes out of it self and empties it self 11. It bemoans it self And lastly it afflicts it self so that your hearts now having these workings in them in reference to your selves you may by this examine whether you have humble and lowly hearts yea or no. CHAP. CXXV Three Consequences from the former Point ANd from all these things there are these three Consequences Consequence 1. First Here you may see how to examine your own hearts in respect of Humility whether you find these workings of an humble spirit in respect of your selves lay these and your hearts Level examine and call your hearts to an account when you get alone By these twelve foregoing Particulars Ask thy self as in the presence of God Is my heart thus Have I this lowly heart Christ would have me of a lowly heart Thus if you cannot find these charge your selves with the want of them and take an advantage even from the want of them to humble your hearts before the Lord because you have not these things that are the genuine and naturall workings of an humble Spirit for so they are if you can find your hearts coming off in in these Particulars in a natural way from a renewed nature you may have abundance of comfort that this Grace of Humility of Lowliness that Christ would have you learn is wrought in your Souls you have been a Proficient in Christs School but many may have cause upon the hearing of this to charge themselves with this that they scarce have begun to learn in the School of Christ to learn Humility Consequence 2. Secondly Another Consequence is this upon the consideration of these several workings of Humility in respect of our selves we may see That the work of a Christian is very much inward it is a work of reflection upon our selves if there were nothing to do in a Christians life but that that is external to perform some outward Duties to come and hear the word and speak good things and pray and make an outward profession The Life of a Christian were a great deal more easie but from this that you hear from the working of this one Grace of Humility you may see that the work of a Christian lies much within doors that Christians should be very busie within their hearts there are many workings within rather then without and therefore if you would profess your selves to be Christians and would indeed have the power of Godliness in your Hearts you must work â—uch inwardly there must be much reflection upon your own Hearts Consequence 3. Thirdly And Lastly Another Consequence is this by this that you have heard what the working of an humble Heart in respect of it self is we may take notice of the great power of Jesus Christ in the heart of a Christian wheresoever Grace is wrought Jesus Christ is very powerful and very strong in that Heart Certainly these things could never be in the Heart of a poor wretched sinner Yea in a heart that is Naturally very proud for so we are all and were not the Grace of Christ very powerful in the heart of a Christian these things could never be wherefore when you hear that these things are in a heart working thus we may conclude surely the power of Jesus Christ is very mighty and very strong Well thus you have the Grace of Humility presented to you towards God and your selves let us Learn to be of Lowly Hearts and be not at rest until you find these kinds of workings in your Spirits CHAP. CXXVI The First Property of Humility in respect of â—thers is that it thinks better of others then it self Which is laid open in divers Particular answers unto several doubts and Objections THere is yet one of these three things to be spoken unto in this Grace of Humility which is the third Particular what the behavior of an humble heart is in reference unto others For Humility much appears in that though the principal work in humility is in the carriage of the Soul in reference unto God and in reference unto it self yet there is very much in this grace of humility in the carriage of the Soul in reference unto our Brethren Now then the First thing wherein the behavior of an humble heart is in reference unto others and a principal thing it is of very great concernment and that is this First It thinks better of others then it self this great work of humility that hath very much in it as I shal shew in opening of it is held forth unto you in 2 of Phillipians 3 verse Let Nothing be done through strife or Vain Glory but in Lowliness of mind let each esteem others better then themselves Mark This is the Work of a Lowly mind Learn of me for I am Lowly in Heart You must be of lowly Hearts of Lowly minds what is that Saith the Apostle Let each esteem others better then themselves You wil say this indeed upon the very hearing of it doth make us judg it to be a great work of the Grace of God in the heart to esteem others better then themselves and â—ow that should be that I shall speak unto by and by in the opening of it but I shall first shew some Examples of it of esteeming others better then themselves That which Paul did Exhort the Phillipians to he did himself he did not preach to others that they should esteem others better then themselves and yet he would lift up himself above others No see