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
the righteous have a plain path to Heaven but the wicked they are upon the stones they are upon the dirt when one comes upon the stones and it be dirty too that is more difficult But the way of righteousness is plain And there is one Scripture more remarkable than these and that is in 1 John 5. 3. And his commandments are not grievous the commands of God have no grievousness in them there is nothing in Gods Commandments to be so much as grieving to a Gracious Soul It is said in the Scripture that God delights not to grieve the Children of Men certainly there is nâ—thing that God requires of thee if thou understandest it aright that will grieve thee when you tender a Child or a Friend you wil not require of them any thing that may grieve them now Christ hath so tender regard unto you that are the Servants of God that he will require nothing of you that wil grieve you and therfore if nothing be grievous in Gods Commandments surely his Yoke is eâ—sie and his Burden is light But now for the opening of this Point for there is a great deal that had need to be said to it for the opening of it and making it usefull and profitable I shall cast what my meditations have been about this Point into these Six heads The first is To give you some Evidences of it that this is so And then the second thing is The differences that there are between the ease that a carnall heart finds in the waies of Religion and the ease that a true Gracious heart finds in the waies of Religion those that are carnall and take up but a meer formality of Religion they find not ease but those that are truly religious they find rest And the third is this If the waies of God be easie How comes it to pass that many that we hope are truly Gracious and Godly yet make such complaints of so much difficulty as they do find in Gods waies And then fourthly We are to open which is the principal of all in the explication wherein the easiness of Gods waies appears what are those things that do make the waies of God so easie and in what particulars doth consist the easiness that there is in the waies of Religion And then fifthly Some Consequences that are to be drawn from this which is by way of Application And sixthly and lastly Some Directions what we should do to make the waies of God easie These are the six Heads that I cast the handling of this Point into CHAP. CXXXV Six Evidences of the former Doctrine in the last Chapter 1. Because the word that injoyns these waies is Sweet 2. A Gracious Soul counts his Duties his priviledges 3. He would rather come under any other Burden than cast off the Yoke of Christ 4. Because Christ whose Yoke it is is Gentle 5. Never any truly that put their neck under this Yoke would willingly take it out again 6. The Experience of all the Saints of God prove the Point FOr the first then The Evidences that do demonstrate that certainly the waies of God are easie and his Burden is very light unto those that have indeed submitted their necks unto the Yoke of Jesus Christ Evidence 1. First The first Evidence is this Surely Gods waies are easie unto them for there is none that is truly Gracious but they account the word of God that doth require them to walk in those waies very sweet unto them and they prize it highly now if there were difficulty and a harshness in Gods waies Certainly though the word of God may be accounted just and righteous yet it would not be sweet and comfortable unto the Soul but there is nothing more sweet and comfortable unto a Gracious heart than the word of God that doth require such waies of him Ye know the expression of David that It is sweeter than the Hony and the Hony Comb more precious than Silver or Gold or any riches of the world read but Psal 119. and there in every verse almost you find such expressions of much sweetness that David did find in the word of God if the word be sweet and delightful certainly the waies of God must needs be sweet and delightfull that are required in the word that is the first Evidence 2. Secondly Surely they are sweet and delightful for those that are in Gods waies do not account what they do only to be Duties but Priviledges they look upon every thing that Christian Religion requires of them not only as Duties but as Mercies as that wherein their happiness consists I have received mercy from the Lord that I may be faithful saith Paul I do not say I have received mercy from the Lord that I may go to Heaven that I may be rewarded and have such and such blessings but I count it mercy from the Lord that he makes me faithfull in this way not only dutifull but faithfull The Saints of God do not account the bonds of obedience to be fetters to them they account them chains of Gold about their necks for Ornament not bonds of necessity to tie them to obedience because otherwise they would not obey them but I say every Law of God is counted by the Saints of God to be as chains of Gold Ornaments to them that they account their Glory as wel as their Duty therefore in the Revelation we find the new City is described thus that her streets is paved with Gold that is the very way path of the Saints it is a Golden way it is paved with Gold it is a glorious way now that which a man accounts his Priviledg and Dignity Glory that must needs be easie their suffering actively and passively Paul counts his sufferings Glorious and Moses counts his sufferings more than the riches of Egypt If so be that you had given unto you as much Gold as you could carry the weightier the bag the lighter would your heart be you would count the burden so much the more lighter by so much the more was in it Certainly the suffering for Christ and dying for Christ is riches it is so to a Gracious heart may be this may be a Riddle to carnal hearts many carnall hearts think they must do such good things and if they do not they must perish and go to Hell and therefore they force themselves upon Duty I but it is otherwise with a Godly heart he doth not think I must do this but his work is wages every work that a Child of God doth is wages to him the man works hard I but he expects the more he expects wages So an Hypocrite may work he may do somthing but he expects wages but a Gracious heart his work is wages Receiving the end of your Faith the Salvation of your Souls there is receiving continually while we are working Saith Christ in Joh. 17. 4. Father I have finished the work that thou gavest me to do So the
would take care for to help you it is taken care for you there Luther hath such an expression I remember A Christian may keep a perpetual Sabbath all his life and all the week long any thing that you would have to help you otherwise God himself wil take care for you that you shal have it in himself you shal have all in himself We have a place in Isaiah for the encouragement of the people of God in Isa 30. 7. For the Egyptians shall help in vain and to no purpose therefore have I cryed concerning this their strength is to sit still Here they did depend much upâ—n the Egyptians for help I but saith God you need not trouble your selves about this the Egyptians to help Their strength is to sit still The word Strength here in the Original is Egypt their Egypt is to sit still as in another place in Isaiah 51. 9. Awake Awake put on strangth O Arm of the Lord awake as in the ancient daies in the Generations of old Art thou not it that cut Rahab and wounded the Dragon Rahab that by most Interpreters is used as a word that comes of Egypt and so in some other Scriptures the word Rahab comes of Egypt and so in this place too The Egyptians shal help in vain and to no purpose therefore have I cried concerning this their Rahab or their Egypt is to sit still that is look what help others would have from Egypt you need not care how Egypt shal come to help you you shal sit stil you shal have help in me in your sitting stil you shal have an Egypt all the strength you should have in Egypt you shal have in me Be quiet and sit stil and whatever strength you think may be otherwaies I will supply in my self O! the holy security that there is in the waies of God and if there be a holy security in those waies there must needs be abundance of ease in them Tenthly There is abundance of ease in the waies of Christ in this respect because they make other things easie that which will make other things easie that must needs be easie as thus The waies of Christ wil make hard things easie afflictions easie for afflictions come to let out thy sin and thy corruption And is there not a great deal of ease in that When a man hath a sore and there is a great deal of corruption in that sore if one come and prick the sore and the corruption comes out there is a great deal of ease So here afflictions to Gods people they are but as that which comes to prick their corruptions and to let out their sins and their corruptions and that gives ease to the soul A mans calâ—ing is easie to him if he have grace the going on in ones calling in a gracious mâ—nner is easie and the going about any thing that a man sets himself about it is easie O! with what abundance of sweetness doth Godly Men and Women go about their business more then those that have corrupt hearts You shall have many that have wicked and corrupt hearts go about their business with such fretting and vexing if any thing fall amiss they are so vexed I but now one that is Godly sets about his business in obedience to God and commits all to God and leaves the success to God and so he is at ease A Servant now if he have not grace in his or her heart if the Master or Mistress do not please them they go about their works and fret and vex themselves But now those that have grace and know that they are in the way that Christ would have them and that they obey Christ and serve Christ in that way they can find abundance of ease for I am serving Christ in this work though the work is a low work a poor work yet I am about Christs work I am serving Jesus Christ and so they go about it with ease And thus the waies of Religion make every thing easie our lives easie and our death easie our passage out of this world wil be easie too But there are two or three things more to be added the yoke of Christ is easie in regard of the yoke of the Law therefore saith Christ in the Text Take my yoke upon you for my yoke is easie the yoke and bondage you were under in respect of the Law that was a burden but my yoke is easie And it is easie in respect of Antichrist that was spoken prophetically indeed but now we may open the yoke of Christ in respect to that But then compare it with the yoke of sin then it is easie too the yoke of Christ not only in regard of all the former yokes but if you compare it with the yoke of the Law the yoke of sin and the yoke of Antichrist their yokes are far harder than the yokes of Jesus Christ I conâ—ess I need not spend much time upon those two of the yoke of the Law and the yoke of sin somwhat I would speak of either of them to open the difference between the yokes in them and the yoke of Christ though there hath been a great deal said in opening of the Text Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest there we spake of the rest from the Law and the rest from the burden of sin only I shal in this but a little compare the difference betwen the burden that there is in the yoke of the Law and the yoke of Christ and see which is easiest and so compare the yoke of sin with the yoke of Christ and then you shal see when I have set them both together that one is a great deal easier than the other CHAP. CXLIII The Yoke of Christ easier than the Yoke of the Law For 1. The Ceremoniall Law required abstinence from the comfort of the Creature 2. It s Service was chargeable 3. The Ceremonies were beggarly Rudiments THE waies of Christ are easie First In regard of the yoke of the Law Secondly In regard of the yoke and burden of sin For the easiness of Christs waies in comparison of the yoke of the Law you know what the Scripture saith in Acts 15. 10. That the Law it was a Yoke which our Fathers nor we were neither able to bear Even the Ceremonial Law the way of Christ is easie in respect of that For First The Ceremonial part of the Law required abstaining from the comforts of the Creature the People of the Jews in the times of the Law were forbidden the use of many Creatures that we have a great deal of use of now this is one ease that we have by Jesus Christ that we are to make use of all the Creatures we need make no question for Conscience sake of the use of any Creature in the world that is somwhat easier than to be restrained from this Creature and the other Creature And then Secondly We have a great
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
thy soul and other sins the sin of thy passion and the sin of thy giving liberty to thy thoughts may be as a thorn to thy foot to make thy way very hard unto thee No marvel though thou complainest the way is hard it is not the hardness of thy path but the tenderness of thy foote that makes thee to think the way hard therefore let every Christian if he would go on with ease in the waies of religion as soon as ever a thorn is got into the conscience Oh! get it out presently do not let it lye and fret in the flesh Oh! if we would as soon as we had committed sin get it out of the conscience presently then repentance would not be so difficult and you would find your heart at a mighty deal of ease When a man goes with pain and hee lookes upon his foote and pulls the thorn out he goes with ease then As the beast when you go in the way and your beast halts and shufflles you will have him searched if you cannot see it your selfe then when you come to the next Smith you have him searched so do you find the waies of God difficult that you cannot go the pace you were wont to go search your hearts see whether there be not a stone in your hearts or some gravel see if there be any particular sin that you know to be a sin and particularly repent of that and that will make the way of God easy to you the often renewing of repentance will make the way of God easy 6. Labor by wisdom to order the duties of your condition that is thus Labor for wisdom to know what is suitable to your condition and order the duties about that condition many think Oh! if I were in such a place as such a one is I would doe thus and thus but you should look upon the duties of your present condition what is the condition that I am now in I am a servant what is my duty in that condition not what is the duty of a governour And so in a single estate what is the duty of this condition not what is the duty of a marryed Condition and so in a Married Condition what is the duty of that And so when you are in affliction what is your duty at that time or if so be that God cal you to humiliation you should mind the duty of humiliation And when God calls you to rejoycing you should know the duty of that time Some when God calls them to rejoycing they think they must be humbled and when they are called to be humbled they think they should rejoyce and when they are called to beleeving then they wil be poring upon their corruptions and when God calls them to searching of their hearts they have thoughts of matter of joy Now wisedom to suite our duty to our condition and to apply our duty to that condition is a great ease to the soul Now many times we are thinking of a duty at one time that is not the duty of that time may be when one is sick Oh! they are many times troubled that they cannot go to heare the word and meere with Gods people and spend so much time in prayer and meditation and reading as they were wont to do and upon this they trouble themselves now this is not the duty of your condition the duty of your condition at that time is to fanctify Gods name in your affliction and to quiet your heart under the hand of God and the duty of your condition is not to go to heare sermons now but to think of what you have heard heretofore the duty of your condition now is not to spend so much time in your closet in prayer as when you were in health and you are troubled for the want of this we often trouble our selves about those duties that are not the duties of our present condition and that makes them difficult now wisdom in ordering our duties wil much help to facilitate them 7. Another Rule is this In the performance of duties you should ease your selves of the care of the success of what you do about success or discouragement for want of success nothing makes our lives more troublesom and our work more difficult than our carking care about success I wil do this and this but I am afraid I shal not have success or if I have success not such as I desire but now if you would perform duties in a gracious manner look to the duty perform that and cast the care wholly upon God it is enough for me to do what is required of me as a creature to do and let God himself take care of that that belongs to him and that is the success I told you in the opening of the ease that there is certain success and yet we might trouble our selves in carking about success now if we can go on in performance of duty and never be troubled about success it wil be exceeding easie but Christians find somtimes that though they have been diligent in performance of duty yet they do not find success they find nothing comes of it and this troubles them this makes them go heavily to the duty at another time I but observe that whatever duty you perform if you do not find present success you must not conclude that there wil be no success the carking about the success in things makes the work extraordinary difficult now if we could bring our hearts to this Lord I am where thou wouldst have me and doing what thou wouldst have me and as for the success that belongs not to my work but to thy self I walk according to that that is thy wil and as for success I will leave that to thy self 8. Another rule is this do not tye your selves to what Christ doth not tie you unto there are many Christians bring upon themselves many snares that way by tying themselves to that which Christ doth not tie them to tying themselves to such a time of prayer to spend so much time in such a duty we must take heed of laying a yoke upon our selves do not put a yoke upon Christs yoke It is a great question to many and it s to me a question whether in the Gospel there is required any Vows at all to vow any thing that is not a duty before we have vowed it indeed to strengthen our selves to do what God requires as David I have sworn to keep thy righteous Laws we may engage our selves that way but properly in the Law it was a free will Offering but for a Vow now I do not find that the Gospel hath any such thing for men to bind themselves to that that they were not bound to before by the word Indeed whatever we are bound to by the word that we are to engage our selves to the utmost but now to bind our selves to any thing else as that we will as long as we live keep such a day this