to have so much sin conveyed to us by Adam by propagation but thus As we may read in Rom. 5. By one man sin came into the world Now Adam he was the head of the first Covenant and by being the head of that al mankind are looked upon as members of the first Adam he being the head in that notion of the Covenant in that consideration Adam was not looked upon as a parent only as the first father but as the head and we are not looked upon only as the children of Adam but as members so that al men were looked upon as one in Adam and therefore the Scripture speakes but of two men the first Adam and the second Adam that look as sin is conveyed to us being members of the First Adam and he being the head of the First Covenant so grace comes to be conveyed unto the soul by our being members of the second Adam the Lord Jesus Christ being the head of the second Covenant here is the way of conveyance of holiness our union with Christ So that now the holiness that is in Christ comes to us by virtue of the mistical union As by virtue of the natural union of the members of the body with the head there comes animal spirits to the members of the body so by virtue of our mistical union with Christ our head there is conveyed holiness and grace to strengthen us against our corruptions As the oyntment did run from Aarons head 〈◊〉 â—to the rest of his members so Christ that is anoytâ—â—at hath the oyl not only of gladness but holiness too doth descend down to al his members by virtue of the union they have with him And for that end you have a most famous scripture in Rom. 8.2 For the Law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the Law of sin and death It is a scripture that hath very much in it What doth he mean by the Law of sin and death The Law that is the mighty power that there is in sin and so in death that comes by sin in the hearts of unbeleevers There is a Law of sin the strength of sin I speak of sin hath strength going along with it hath power with it So a Law of sin there is in the hearts of men they are compelled to sin as I may so speake as a man is compelled to a thing by a law a law of sin though this be no excuse to them And let them know that so far as they are compelled to sin they are compelled to death to But how shal this Law of sin and death be overcome Marke the words The Law of the spirit of life in Christ hath made me free from the Law of sin and death The Law of the spirit of Life here is two gradations that is the holiness that is in Christ that is likewise a Law as wel as the corruption that is in the heart The corruption in the heart hath a strength in it and the holiness of Christ hath a strength in it too So that when grace comes into the heart the heart goes on in a way of holiness in a holy kind of necessity We can do nothing against the truth saith the Apostle But yet there is a necessity of willingness goes along with it too there is a Law of Love and kindness but by this word of Law is meant a strong impetuousness a mighâ—y power that carries the soul on to holiness Again secondly it is the Law of the spirit and of the spirit of life the holiness of Christ it is a holiness that is ful of life First it is Life And secondly it is the spirit of Life Now the spiriâ— of life is a higher degree then life as the spirit of a thing hath the quickning of the thing in it beyond what the whol bulke of the thing is When the spirit of herbs or any such thing is extracted you know those spirits have much quickning in them beyond the things themselves so the spirit would express the mighty activity in the holyness that comes from Christ it is life it is the spirit of life and then it is the Law of the spirit of life Oh my brethren you see then here that Godliness is no dul thing it is no heavy thing no poor weake contemptible thing but it is the life it is the life of Christ it is the spirit of life and it is the Law of the Spirit of life he speakes of grace when it comes to that as the Law of the spirit of life There is but two things in sin the Law of sin and death and in grace there is life and the spirit of life and the law of the spirit of life and al this in Jesus Christ It is not in our owne resolutions purposes endeavours but in our union with Jesus Christ and this it is that brings grace unto the heart though there be much corruption before yet the soul being thus one with Christ and looking upon Christ as the head of the second Covenant and doth draw virtue from Jesus Christ a mighty strong virtue to help the soul against corruption and quicken it in the wayes of God and thus comes the rest to the soul by Christ in sanctification Carnal hearts they know no way in the world how to get grace they heare talking of grace and leaving of sin but they know not how to get it and they wil go and pray read heare and the like I but you must know that grace lies in another way then you think of for you think it must come from God I but it must come from God in a mistical way through Christ Perhaps some of you hearing the mysteries of the Gospel understand this that as God is the fountain of al grace so it must be conveyed by Christ as through the cisterne I but you must understand also that you must have it from God through Christ as he is a head unto you and you are the members through a mistical union that your souls must have with Christ so as you be made one with Christ you must be made one with Christ As the member can never receive any spirit from the head except it be united to the body it is not by being tied to the body If you take an arme of flesh and tie it to a mans shoulder it wil never receive life that way but it must have a natural union Just thus your common Professors that meerly have the name of Christians and are not spiritually united to Christ they are like to Armes tiâ—d on to the shoulder or to wooden legs that are fastened upon mens thighes that want legs they have some use of those legs to help theÌ„ a little to go I but those legs have not virtue and life conveyed from the head So your common Christians they have some knowledg of Christ they are only fastened to Christ as a wooden leg is fastened to a mans
the world sin is very light Well know That as Christ himself felt sin to be a heavy burden so one way or other they must feel it either here or hereafter but blessed is that man or woman that feels the weight of sin while he may be delivered from it that he be not hereafter prest under the weight of it We read of Pharoah when the people of Israel came for ease he bids them go to their burdens that that he did unjustly Christ might do to many righteously hereafter when you upon your sick beds or death beds hereafter shal cry for mercy Christ may say to you go to your burdens when any thing of the Word came to press sin upon your souls you cast it off O! 't is a dangerous Condition when men and women cannot only sin enough but now when any truth of God should lay sin upon their hearts they cast it out and they think hardly of those Truths of God that would come and â—ind their sins to their Consciences and so burden them with their sins but it should be otherwise with us If those that be thus laden with their sins be those that Christ doth call to him we should not think so hardly of those Truths of God that doth reveal the evil of sin unto us but rather let us joyn with those Truths of God and labor to burden our own hearts for you see that those that are burdened Christ cals them to him that they might have rest there is no other burdens that we are to bring upon our selves but rather seek to avoid them but as for the burden of sin we are to burden our hearts with that and to labor to lay our sins to our hearts and to press them there and to charge them upon our own Spirits with all the aggravations we can and to joyn with the work of Gods Spirit when the Spirit of God comes to lay sin upon the soul to joyn with it and to say Lord I begin to be more sensible of my sins than I was before Lord humble me through it let me be under thy hand as long as thou pleasest only work thy good work upon me Object But you wil say We may sink under the burden of Sin Answ O no those that cast off the burden of sin they are most like to sink under it now can you think that the Lord wil Suffer such a soul to sink under the burden that doth burden it self that God might have glory But those that are unwilling and are forced to be burdened that never are sensible of the burden of sin til al the props and Comforts of the creature are taken away Upon their sick beds and death beds then men are burdened with Sin and why because the props are taken away before they had comforts and estates and such things which are as so many props but now God comes and takes the props and down they fâ—l upon us That is the reason that many upon their death beds lie Roâ—ring and Crying out so bitterly for their sins and why because the Lord hath cut asunder the props and now it lies heavy upon their hearts Now Christ cals come to me you that are weary and heavy laden come to me saith Christ Know that you are in a faâ— better condition than you were when you went on with delight in sin you are now in the way that God doth use to bring them in that he hath a purpose to do good unto I remember in the Gospel where the poor blind man cryed to Christ O Son of David have mercy upon me and stil cryed at length Christ heard the cry of the blind man and asked what it was Now those that were by him they go to the poor blind man and say to him be of good comfort he calls he might say I but my eyes be not opened I but be of good comfort he calls So I say to al burdened Sinners be of good comfort troubled soul Christ calls thee he saith come to me al ye that are weary and heavy laden he doth not say thou that art so much laden Christ cals thee to him Object I but thou wilt say I have no ease if I were sure that my sins were pardoned I should be saved then I should have ease and comfort Answ I but poor soul be of good comfort thou art called he doth not say thou art a wretched wicked creature and depart from me thou cursed as he wil say to sinners hereafter that might have been thy condition but thou didst not heare the voice from Christ this day depart from me but thou doest heare this voice this day from Christ Come to me al you that are weary and heavy laden Christ is neer to you the Lord is neer to the broken heart he is neere to the contrite spirit And know this the longer thou art under the burden of thy sin there wil come the more comfort hereafter Now there is a burden of sin upon thee and there wil be a weight of glory hereafter So the Scripture speakes of a weight of glory as wel as of a weight of Sin be willing to beare the weight of sin quietly say with the Prophet I wil be willing to beare the indignation of the lord because I have sinned against him So say thou 't is fit my soul should beare a burden be content to wait now do you the same thing that Christ did when he was under his burden mark what he did in Heb. 5.7 See how the heart of Christ was affected when he felt the weight of our sins upon him In the dayes of his flesh he offered up prayers and supplications with strong Cryes and teares unto him that was able to save him from death and was heard in that he Feared Goe thy way O Soul and get into the presence of God and tel God of thy burdens that thou feelest make thy moan unto him and let it be with praiers and supplications and strong Cryes and tel him Lord I fear least my soul should be prest down to eternal death under this burden tel him of thy feares this way and it is very probable that thy soul shal be heard and according to this invitation here surely there is rest for thee as wel as for any while thou art crying out under thy burden for ought thou knowest or any Angel in heaven the pardon of thy sins may be sealling in heaven and therefore do not make any desperate Conclusion against thy own Soul for thy pardon may be a sealing and then the Lord wil send a messenger to tel thee of this Nay do I tel thee that theâ—e wil a messenger come Behold here in this text the Lord Jesus Christ comes the Angel of the Covenant cryes to thee Come O Come come freely though thou hast no good at al in thee there is enough in me to give rest unto that soul that doth most labor under the greatest burden of sin that ever
them but they have arts to make their tankerds light as can be but now if they carried their water in tankards of Lead though the water were no heavier yet this would make it more burdensome so sickness poverty loss of estate they are burdensome to al that beare them but yet the corruption of sin when the heart is corrupted with sin that is as lead that makes it the greater burden and therefore sin in the heart is such a thing as makes al other things burdensome that are burdensome Though a man should loose al his estate in one night this might be some burden but he that hath sin upon him that makes al other burdens to be burdensome The Fifth property of the Burden of Corruption Fifthly Sin is a burden unto God himself much more to the saints God cries out that he is prest under sin as a Cart is pressed that is ful of sheaves it is a burden to the spirit of God and therefore it is said that the spiâ—it of God is greived and it must needs be a great burden to thy soul when thou seest and knowest it is a burden to thy father it is a burden to the spirit of God whereby thou art sealed to the day of redemption Is it not a burden to the heart of any ingenious spirit when he shal consider that that which I have done is a burden to my father to the spirit of grace any ingenious child it wil be a burden to him that he hath done any thing against his father now so long as thou hast any sin in thee thou art a burden to God and to the spirit of God The Sixth property of the burden of Corruption Sixthly As it is a burden to God so it is that that makes us burdensome unto al that we converse with al and the more Corruption that remaines in our Hearts the more burdensome we are to all that we converse withal some there are though truly godly yet they have so much Corruption in them that they are burdensome to all that they converse withal as in a family take those that are passionate though they have godliness lies at the bottome yet how burdensome are they to those that converse with them others they have extream stout and stubborn Spirits others have sullen Hearts extream sullen spirits others have slight and vain spirits others proud and envious spirits and others Covetous now there is reason they should feel the burden themselves for others feel the Burden when it breaks forth from them and therefore it much more aggravates their Burden those that are truly godly that are overcome with passion when they think thus Oh! what a Wretched Heart have I that I should break forth into passion in such and such company Oh! what a Wretch am I that I should not only be burdensome to my self but to those that I converse withal I make no Question but I speak to many that have lamented their condition in this kind alone in that they have been so burdensome to others it is true I have been a Burden to such and such but the Lord knows it is much more a burden to mine own heart and to my self therefore the remaining part of Corruption is such a Burden to the godly because it is a burden to others whenas all the people of God should be useful in the places where they live they should live so as that all that live by them and with them should bless God for them this they should endeavor to do to live in such a manner as all that come neer them should bless God that ever they came neer or had converse with them The Seventh Property of the Burden of Corruption Seventhly This Burden is such a Burden as makes those that are godly to be burdensome to themselves yea even to be weary of their lives many times Why For their Corruption in them is a great deal more grievous then Death would be to them We use to express a thing that is very grievous to us and say it is death to us those that are godly can say so of their sin and that is one Reason that Paul gave that Name to his sin a Body of Death Oh! Wretched Man that I am who shal deliver me from this Body of Death Why because the remaining Corruption that then was in his Heart was as Death to him so it is with the Saints the Corruption that remaines in their hearts it is Death to them and they can appeal unto God and speak thus in his presence The bitterness of death would not be so much to me a thousand parts as this Corruption that is in my heart Oh! this Corruption that is in my heart that overcomes me after so many resolutions so many Prayers so many Sacraments so many ingagements it is that which makes me weary of my life as Rebeccah said if Jacob should marry a Wife of the Daughters of Heth it would make her weary of her Life so saith the godly this remaining Corruption in my Heart makes me weary of my Life what shal I do that carry such a Body of Death about me so as I do There are many Men and Women that in a discontented mood say they are weary of their lives but this is in a discontented mood but when could you say so in respect of your Hearts when did you say I lookt into my Heart and I saw a great deal of sin Corruption worldliness Pride Passion and the like and this is that which makes me weary of my Life The truth is the great thing that makes the people of God to be willing to die is this because they know when they die they shal be delivered from this Burden and therefore when Death comes they entertaine it willingly because they know they shal sin against God no more There is many of you when you have lived a long time in sickness and poverty and are in great straites many waies you think if Death should come to me I could be willing to die because then I should suffer no such things as now I do I but that is no argument of Grace but this is an argument of Grace that because of the great burden of Corruption that thou carryest about in thy Soul therefore thou would'st be willing to die The Eighth property of the Burden of Corruption Eightly Sin is a grievous Burden while we have it and makes us weary of our Lives and yet it is such a Burden as we must certainly carry about with us such a Body as we know we shal never be freed from wholly while we live in this world it is true we may be freed from it in a great measure Christ saith come to me and you shal have Rest that is some Rest for the present and whole Rest in the Life to come but we cannot be wholly freed from this Burden whilst we are in this World And thus much for the properties of this Burden what
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 God aymes at the execution of his just judgment upon them thereby 7. God doth it for this reason that the Saints may long more after heaven therefore it is that the Lord in the ordering of his providence workes so that they should be kept under the burden of Corruption in this world that they might long to be in heaven with their father and that when they come to heaven they might know the difference between heaven and earth between their state there in heaven and their state here on earth Thus though corruption may be a great burden to us while we live here in this world yet the Lord hath many great ends and purposes to suffer thee a poor creature to be under remaining corruption and therefore thou canst not draw any such argument God loves me not for if he loved me he would deliver me from this corruption I have been praying a longtime to be delivered and yet I am not delivered do not gather any such arguments from it you know Paul prayed once and again and al the answer he had was my grace shal be sufficient for thee so though thou prayest under the burden of corruption again and again yet if once God say thus to thy soul my grace shal be sufficient for thee thy corruption shal not crush thee and undo thee but I wil sstrengthen thee this wil be sufficient Now from al this that hath been said you may by way of consequence see First a great deal of difference between the sins of the Godly and the sins of the Wicked the wicked they sin and the godly sin too we use to say we are al sinners but it is to the one a burden to the other a delight Secondly You may see from hence also one reason why the Saints of God go on sometimes so sadly in their wayes thou dost not know what burdens they are under But you wil say we are better we do not feele it No they have not so much sin as thou hast they have got some grace thou hast none they have in some degrees mortified their sins thou hast not yea they have their sins pardoned thou hast not but yet though they have some assurance that the guilt of their Sin is removed yet the very remaining of the Corruptions of their hearts is their burden Object You wil say Why should it be so burdensome if they know the guilt of their Sin to be forgiven Answ I beseech you observe it there is a deale of difference between a carnal heart and a Godly heart one that hath a carnal heart if he can be eased from the burden of conscience he is no more troubled but now a gracious heart though he be first burdened with the apprehension of the guilt of sin that burden be removed yet there remaining a body of death there is another burden stil upon him so that the very remaining of some corruption is a greater burden unto him then al thy corruption that is in the ful strength of it and together with thy corruption al the guilt that is upon thee only thou art dead in sin and dost not feel it if a whole building fal down those that are buried in the grave they would not feel it but al you that are alive if it should fal down would feele it so the wicked have the burden of their corruption in the ful strength of it in the guilt of it upon them and they feel it not for they are dead but the Godly though they have the guilt of Sin removed yet the very least sin remaining in them is a burden though they have mortified their sin and do it every day yet the remaining of sin is a great burden to them And hence you may see the reason of the watchfulness of the Saints over their spirits why they spend so much time and rise so early to heare the word what is the reason you wil say they know that if they do not Labor under the burden of their Corruptions to a void sin it wil be a greater burden to Labor under the burden of sin afterwards Now you do not watch over sin because you do not know what a grievous burden sin is when they Labor under it but such a one as feels the Burden of Sin the Lord be merciful to me I had thought saith he my Back would have broke under the Burden of sin And therefore David Praies for the healing of the bones that were broken and that is the Reason of the watchfulness and carefulness of the Saints under this burden Now the maine thing that hath been intended in al that I have said about this Burden is this That I might point out those whom Christ cals to himself that you might be prepared to hearken to the invitation of Christ to come to him for Rest though we are not come to that yet take notice that there is Rest in Christ for all these from under all these Burdens And so much for the Burden of the remaining part of Corruption in the Hearts of the Saints CHAP. XVIII Of the burden of outward afflictions and the grievousness thereof laid open in three Particulars 1. In themselves they are a part of the curse of the Law 2. They hinder much in doing Service to God 3. They often help forward many strong Temptations Why God wil have his Saints to be under this Burden Namely 1. Because he wil have his Servants to honor and obey him meerly out of Love 2. Because he knoweth that thus their Corruptions may be best mortified 3. To be a Stumbling-block to the wicked THe next Burden is The Burden of affliction the Burden of outward afflictions Poverty disgrace sickness or any kind of trouble in this world you shal find these things to be very Burdensom to you Now Christ cals such as Labor under this Burden to come to him and promiseth to give them Rest Christ hath a tender affection towards poor Creatures under outward burdens towards all those that the Father hath given to him especially when they are Burdened with outward affliction and the Gospel hath in it abundance of refreshments to help and ease sinners that feel the Burden of afflictions in this world no such way of ease and Rest unto them as by the Grace of God in Christ as we shal open more fully when we come to the promise Now the burden of affliction is very grievous to many the Burden of poverty disgrace sickness or the like those whom God lets prosper in their waies little think what burdens are upon their Brethren how many in these daies are there of our Brethren that groan under these Burdens though we do not feel them We know not how soon we may be brought under them and therefore it wil be very seasonable to shew the Rest that we have in Christ even from under these Burdens I have spent some time in opening the grievousness of other Burdens now this burden of
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
Christ what dost thou think that mercy is worth that cost the Blood of Christ Thou thinkest thou art a great sinner and that it must be wonderful mercy that must save thy Soul It s true and it 's well thou thinkest So but now consider further sinner what dost thou think of the mercy that shall be as much worth as the Blood of the Son of God For him to be made a curse for sinners will that do it If that will do it thou mayest come to him How much dost thou think the mercy of Christs coming to take Mans Nature upon him is worth to take our sinful Nature upon him If he will do it thou mayest come to Christ Yea Further know That the Lord Jesus Christ never receives any that come to him but Beggars none but Beggars none but miserable creatures none but those that are wretched that are vile and Christ did never yet from the beginning of the world receive any man upon these tearms because he was not so vile as another man as thus here is one that is thus vile here is another that is not altogether so vile I will receive him upon this ground because he is not so vile this was never the ground but when he receives them he receives them upon free Grace and therefore it is not how vile thou art for that is the Glory of Christ to save vile creatures and he saves none but those that come as Beggars those that come and do see themselves as vile wretched worthless unworthy miserable damned dust and Ashes in themselves Only such are objects for the Heart of Christ to be set upon rather make it an argument to drive thee more to him as David did in the 25. Psalm O Lord have mercy upon me pardon my Sin for it is great So Lord I am vile I am wretched I am unworthy and therefore Lord receive me Lord therefore I come unto thee do not say as Peter once did Master depart from me I am a sinful Man No but the truth is he should rather have said thus Master Come to me or Master I come to thee because I am a sinful man So thou shouldest not say O Lord depart from me because I am a sinful creature Or Lord do thou come to me because I am a sinful wretch And know that upon thy coming to him thou wilt have wonderful welcome wonderful great entertainment above all that thy Heart can think of O the great imbracing by Jesus Christ of those Souls that come to him and this is the very Reason why poor sinners at their first conversion have their Hearts so filled with joy because at their first coming to Christ Christ doth give them such wonderful imbracements til they come to be more Strengthened and then perhaps Christ will have them live rather by Faith than by sence It is in the new Birth as in the Birth of Nature Children when they are first born they shoote up mightily take a Child that comes very little out of the Womb come to it a quarter of a Year after the Child is shot up a great deal you may see it a great deal taller and bigger every Limb increased but take it at ten years Old and it grows not so much then as at the first and the Reason is because it coming out of the worm Womb it could not subsist if Nature did not hasten to strengthen it self at first so men when they come to Christ at first they shoote up and grow to such inlargement of Spirit and they do so sensibly perceive Yea and others do so sensibly perceive a greater growth at their first coming than afterwards because when they first come Christ will Strengthen them against all discouragements Christ will use you tenderly Christ will not upbraid you for your former sins and say What! you that have lived a prophane life a prophaner of my ordinances a scorner at my waies and at my people Christ will not upbraid the Soul but he wil be render of you he will pass by your sins and heal your weakness He will not break the bruised Reed nor quench the smoaking Flax. ARG. VIII Eightly Further Consider The infinite need thy Soul hath of Jesus Christ and therefore that should drive thee to him if the other Arguments do not draw thee Oh! Let that drive thee to Jesus Christ thou art an undone creature for ever without Jesus Christ all the mercy in Heaven can do thee no good without Christ all the Ordinances can do thee no good without Christ all the duties thou performest can do thee no good without Christ for before thou comest to Jesus Christ there is no Prayer no Duties that ever thou tenderest up to God that can be accepted and this is a sad condiâ—ion that all my Duties my Prayers my services are all cast away till I come to Jesus Christ Certainly this is so for thou must know that Jesus Christ is not only the great conveyer of all good from God to us but also all that comes to us from God must go through him and therefore there is cause thou shouldest hasten to Christ and never be at quiet all thy Life til thou hast some comfortable evidence that thy Heart hath closed with Jesus Christ there is an infinite necessity because al Ordinances Duties services whatever thou dost doth thee no good til thou come to Christ ARG. IX Ninthly Yea Further Christ is such a one as all the creatures one day will see a need of him Yea all that live under the sound of the Gospel they shall see a need of him and they shal curse themselves that when they lived under the sound of the Gospel and were called to come to Jesus Christ that yet notwithstanding they would satisfie themselves in the lusts of their spirits Christ came from Heaven once to us in the daies of his flesh but know that Jesus Christ shall come again in his Glory with all his Angels all his Saints about him and then how happy will those appear that in the time of their lives when they were called by the Ministery of the Gospell did come to Jesus Christ When Christ comes thus in his Glory perhaps you would then all go to Jesus Christ no friend if you will stay till then you will heaâ— another voice from Christ he will not come to call sinners to come to him then but he will come to bid them depart from him for all that the father gives him do come to him before then ARG. X. Yea and yet further let me tel you this that while you have heard the word of God by a poor minister in the name of Christ to cal you unto him to draw you to come unto him if you shal reject this invitation and other invitations that you have by the ministers of the Gospel know that of al the sins that ever you committed in al your lives this wil prove to be the greatest that you have stood
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
most in the world do live and die and perrish in blindness and in woful disperate hardness of Heart for where almost is the Man and Woman that is convinced of this Restless condition That ever were in this Restless condition This I dare undertake to aver concerning every one that you were once in such a condition as I have now spake of how you have got out of it that you must look to and what argument you have that you can be able to rest your Souls upon for your deliverance out of this condition do you examine but this condition every one is in naturally Abraham Isaac and Jacab was in this condition once and therefore every one must look unto it now while this Rest is opening unto you and here indeed is the Reason of the tumultuousness of spirit that is in most people What is the Reason that people hurry up and down in seeking after the things of this world That they are in a Restless condition Their Souls have not union with God in Jesus Christ and therefore they are hurried up and down here in this world to seek after comfort this way and that way but the truth is as with the unclean spirit in the Gospel they seek for Rest but find none as I tould you before the Dove sought up and down for Rest but she found none til she came to the Arke and so the Reason of the disturbance of the Spirits of Men and Women is from hence that they are not acquainted with the true Rest that there is in Christ but we let this pass Only one thing more in this point before we shal come unto the next and that is to shew the insufficiency that there is in al things in the world to give Rest unto the Soul til we come to Christ Al men out of Christ are in a Restless condition There is an insufficiency in al things in the world to give Rest til we come to Christ And for that I shall give two or three Reasons I. First Because the Rest of an immortal Soul must needs be in the reference it hath to God Now al the Transactions between God and us are only in the hand of Christ it is not committed unto any creature to transact any thing between God and us for any good but through Christ now then if al our Rest must needs be in our reference unto God and al the Transactions between God and us must be in the hand of Christ the Mediator then certainly there is an insufficiency in al things in the world to give Rest unto our souls II. Secondly There is an insufficiency in all things in the world to give Rest unto the Soul because the misery that we are in is so deep and the happiness that our Souls are capable of is so high that it is impossible that any creature can reach the one or the other either to deliver from the one or to raise up unto the other only Jesus Christ in whom we have Rest can do it because that there was never any thing that came to that depth of humiliation nor hath that height of Glory put both together Christ hath subjected himself to the lowest degree of humiliation that ever creature could subject it self unto and Christ is in the highest degree of Glory that it is possible for any creature to be in above al creatures his subjection unto sorrow and trouble was such as no creature can subject unto and his glory is higher than any creature is capable of therefore he and only he is able to deliver from the depth of misery in which the Children of men are and raise them to the true happiness and Glory that their Natures are capable of III. Thirdly There is an insufficiency in all creatures to give Rest unto the Soul because all ceatures here in this world that we have to do withal except the Angels in Heaven are under the curse and the Angels are only ministring spirits to attend upon Christ and to be sent upon Christs errand they do nothing but in order to Christ now all other creatures are under the curse and being under the curse through mans sin it is impossible that those creatures that are under the curse should give Rest unto our Souls and I do not know any argument in the world of greater strength to take off the Hearts of men from resting in creature comforts than this to understand cleerly that al creatures here in this world are under the curse through our sins the whole world that is under the curse by our sins cannot make us happy and therefore there is an insufficiency in al things in the world to give Rest unto our Souls Do but consider then what are the things that most people Rest in Particularly and then we shal see the vanity of men in seeking for Rest out of Christ CHAP. XXVII The insufficiency of every thing besides Christ to give Rest to the Soul is further enlarged with several Choice Considerations FIrst There are some that are so vile as the cheifest Rest and comfort of their Souls is in the pleasure of sin in the delight that they do take in satisfying of their sinful lusts that is the comfort and Rest of their Souls if they be troubled at home Wife Children or Servants do but trouble them what do they do to ease themselves they go abroad among company and there drink and play and swear and perhaps be unclean And others when they are crossed how do they ease themselves by venting their passion and the truth is it is a most holy truth I am speaking of Oh! That ever it should enter into the Heart of a creature to make it to be the greatest quiet ease and Rest of his Soul to satisfie himself in sinning against the blessed God and yet I appeal unto you do not your consciences tel you some of you that this is your condition And do you not know Men that the greatest comfort ease quiet and Rest of heart that they have in this world is in the satisfying of their sinful lusts How far is this from seeking out Rest in Christ in the Son of God in the great Mediator of the Covenant yet this is the condition of most people take away the satisfaction of their Souls in their sinful lusts and they have nothing to quiet their Hearts with but when they are there now they are safe now they are quiet Do but consider of this one thing that now I am speaking of That to have Rest and quiet in any way of sin it is no other but just as if a man had a burning Feaver and he cals for a pot of Water gets it to his mouth and drinks it up every drop now in the very time he is pouring this down his Throat he hath some Rest some ease he finds some ease from the fit of the feaver while he is drinking down the pot of Water but do you think this wil be Rest
to him Do but stay a quarter of an hour or may be an hour or two then you wil find him in his scalding burning fit then he burnes ten times more than he did before and it is like to cost him his life but he finds trouble and disquiet and that gives him ease and therefore he drinks it down and this indangers his Life afterwards So it is with men that seek after ease and Rest unto their Souls in any way of sin thy pleasure in thy sinful waies take all the pleasure of thy Life from thy youth to the day of thy death and put it altogether yet in respect of eternity it is but just like the ease that a poor man in a Feaver hath while the water is going down his Throat all thy pleasure is no more and thou art like to be scalding and burning in Gods wrath to al eternity for that one draught of thine for the ease and Rest that thou hadst in the way of sin I am sure when Christ had the burden of our sins upon him he found it no Rest and therefore it cannot be ease to thy Spirit Secondly There are others though not so vile yet they Rest not in the act of sin but in the creature if they can have good trading quick voyages and have as their neighbors have then they are ready as the rich man in the Gospel to say Soul take thine ease eat and drink for thou hast goods laid up for many yeares and this is the rest that most people in the world do seek after they think that if they might have as such and such have then they had rest enough but be it knowne unto you that this is an argument that thou doest not understand nor savor the things of God if thou thinkest that al the creatures in the world yea if God should give thee the possession of al the creatures in heaven and earth if thou shouldest think that they would give thee rest I say thou dost not savour at al the things of God but those that understand what God is yea those that have but one sparke of true saving grace this spark of grace doth so inlarge the soul that al the creatures in heaven and earth cannot give rest cannot give quiet but stil it hath a higher good to seek after than al the creatures in al the world There is a notable text of Scripture which we have in the book of Job in the 26. of Job and 7. verse He Stretcheth forth the north over the empty place and hangeth the earth upon nothing Wilt thou seek thy rest in that which hangs upon nothing the whole earth hath nothing to rest upon and therefore nothing in the earth can be rest unto thy soul In Micah 2.10 as it is said there in that place so I may say of creatures Arise ye and depart for here is not your rest The whole world is as a wheel in a continual motion and therefore in James 3.6 Where the text speakes of the course of nature or the wheel of nature the whole world is as a wheel running up and down and therefore there can be no rest in the enjoyment of the creature Wel but there are some yet would fain have rest there having got good estates some of you have got good voyages and God hath prospered you in your young dayes and having got great estates now you would have rest that is to live idlely and to live uselesly and to keep at home and let al things go which way they wil it is good to be quiet in ones old dayes when God hath delivered you from many dangers at sea now you think the only way is to live quietly at home and to meddle with nothing and this is the rest of your souls this is the rest that many men have after their yonger time is past and how then to live and do nothing this is their rest now Oh! that God would but speak to the hearts of these men 1. Do but consider this That by living thus idlely and unusefully thou comest to have al thy parts and thy spirits to corrupt just as a standing water as waters in a pond do corrupt and putrifie by their standing so men that live uselesly and are not active for God and for the publique good according to the opportunities that God puts into their hands their hearts do putrifie and grow corrupt there is a corruption that comes upon al their parts the beauty the excellency the quickness the liveliness of their parts are taken away and they begin to putrifie more and more because they are not imployed for God what ever we have that we imploy not for God and are not active in for God it putrifies and however many men think it a great happiness because they have estates and they may live and do nothing there is not a greater misery to a gracious heart than to be useless for God and for God to lay them aside as such as are useless not to use them in his service it is the greatest affliction to a Godly heart in the world if God should take away their estates it would not be such a great affliction as to lay them aside and do nothing for God and therefore let no man think because he hath got a great estate that therefore he may ly stil do nothing Oh! what wil this man do when he shal be called to account for al his time for al his opportunity for al his estate certainly this wil not be sufficient that he can say he did no hurt no but thou shouldest have been active for God God is active for thee in saving thy soul al the Atributes of God is working for thee and al the passages of his providence is working for thee if thou be saved and therefore this is a wretched condition for men to think no higher rest but meerly freedome from outward trouble and if there be any whose conscience tels them this is the truth this is my condition and God speakes to my heart this day this is the rest that I have sought after know that thou art not acquainted with the wayes of God for certainly the rest of an immortal soul is a high thing Jesus Christ came into the world from the bosom of his father and laid down his life to purchase rest for the soul and dost thou think that Christ did this only to purchase this that thou mayest be freed from some outward trouble in this world and that we might sit in the â—himny corner and do nothing Oh! there is another rest for the Children of God than this Object I but some go further some wil say We trust in the mercy of God for rest for our soules Answ Now for that though this be better than al the other yet a man and woman may mistake in this thou trustest in Gods mercy for rest to thy soul what hath God revealed to thy soul concerning the mediator
Grace of the Gospel they are of all things most precious in the Eyes of God next to the blood of Christ next to the drops of Christs blood thy mourning Lamenting Spirit is one of the most precious things in the Eyes of God God treasures up every one of them and this is the Rest of the Soul the Soul may have abundance of Rest therefore in Christ when thou comest to know that thy mourning for thy offences is accepted of God Seventhly The ease that the Soul hath from the burden of the Law is this That whereas before through the severity of the Law sin did make thy Soul an object of Gods wrath take sin as it was in it self and coming from thee God having no respect in Christ towards thee sin made thy Soul an object of Gods wrath Yea and of hatred too for so the Scripture tels us plainly that the Lord hates the workers of iniquity now being come to Christ according to this invitation Come to me ye that are Laden now your sins being looked upon in Christ do rather make you an object of pitty and compassion to God not from any virtue not from any thing in its own Nature but in regard of your condition as thus let a tender Mother look upon the Child that is sick that is wounded it is true the Mother cannot Love the distemper or love the wound the Mother would not have the sickness or the wound upon the Child but doth not the sickness or wound that is upon the Child make the Child to be an object of pitty and Compassion Make the bowels of a tender Father and Mother to yern so much the more to the Child So here the Lord now looks upon thy sin being in Christ as thy sickness as thy wound and therefore doth pitty thee as under thy affliction rather then under thy sin For the truth is all those that are the Saints of God and are come to Christ they look upon their own sins as their affliction as the greatest affliction they have in the world as I shewed when I spake of the load and Burden of Corruption that remaines in their Hearts Now God therefore looks up on thy sin as thine affliction and as for any other thing that is thy affliction as it is the breach of the Law or the like Christ undertakes for that and so thou art delivered from the wrath that it doth deserve and those evil effects that should come of it through the revenging justice of God Christ hath undertaken it but yet it remaines thy affliction though thou art delivered from guiltiness and condemnation yet one that hath a gracious Heart Reasons thus Though I be delivered from my sin from the Guilt of it from the condemning power that the Law hath through my sin yet it is my affliction my trouble and so I look upon it now peace and Rest be to that Soul from what the Law can require so that as we go along we may not only see the benefit we have by Christ but who they are that are thus delivered those who though they know they are delivered from the Burden of it yet they do account their sins the afflictions of their Soul whereas others that are meerly Legal they apprehend their Souls as guilty and under condemnation but if they were delivered from it they would look upon their sins as their wounds and afflictions The Saints they see that they are now made the objects of Gods pitty and compassion towards them and hence is the Reason that Christ is willing if it be possible to find many excuses that may be made for his poor Servants thou shalt not need to find out any excuse if there be any thing that may alleviate and lessen thy sin Christ will find it our and lessen it for thee You know what Christ saith to his Disciples when they were sleeping and could not watch one hour though he rebukes them yet he saith though the flesh is weak yet the Spirit is willing Mark how Christ excuse them they do not say when Christ comes and saith cannot you watch with me one hour Alas it is true Master the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak they do not say thus but Christ saith so to them and the truth is this is the way to leave their excuse to Christ their way is to aggravate their sins as much as may be and it is the temper of those that are come to Christ it is not their care to lessen their sins but they do what they can to aggravate their sins and lay it upon their Hearts for the humbling of their Souls but Christ undertakes to excuse them And therefore you that have so many excuses for your sin just as your Grand-Father Adam had he put it off to the Woman and the Woman unto the Serpent and one to another so you it is true my Nature is passionate and I am froward by Nature and a hundred such excuses men have whereas all thy care should be to humble thy Soul for thy sins and if there be any thing to alleviate thy sin and lessen it Christ will do that and the more thou excusest thy self the greater will be thy sin and it is better for thee for another to excuse it than thy self As when a Child or servant shal offend and one that is a neer friend or neighbor shal come and excuse them this is a great deal better than if they did it themselves Now those that are under the Law they have no excuse to be made for them but those that are come to Christ they have Christ to make al the excuses for them Oh! take heed of abusing the rich grace of God in Christ this I know that this is such a pure quality that it hath not such a malignant quality in it that it wil be abused and where you see any such quality know that they have it not aright they have something else instead of the thing as sometimes you shal see two things as like one another as can be suppose drinks made with some kind of composition they shal look just like one another but one shal have some venom in it enough to kil one and the other shal be wholesome and able to recover one yet both shal have the same â—ur and the same tast so it is with the free gracâ—â—d in Christ you may have the same word spoken â—e thing exprest to one and to another the very same thing preached for the outside of it for the word for the expression in a sermon the same doctrin raised for the expression and yet they shal be so carried that one shal have a malignancy in it and the other shal have a soveraigne power in it now when the soul hath the true rest in Christ that rest hath not such a malignant power to make the heart worse by it But of that I shall speake more afterwards Eighthly When thou art come to Christ thy soul
of the name of God there was a time that my soul was under these as wel as any but now the Lord hath delivered me and brought me under another Covenant brought me to his son to Christ and he hath undertaken to satisfie the Law for my soul and so the beleever stands upon the shoar and prayses God and this makes him love Christ so much the more prize Christ so much the more and bless the name of God that ever he heard the voice of the Gospel sounding in his eares and therefore it is not tedious and grievous to him to heare the dreadful threatnings of the Law he knowes how to make a holy use of them his heart is drawn neerer to God by it as wel as by the promises of the Gospel It is an ill signe when men and women cannot indure to heare the threatnings of the Law a dangerous signe that they are under those threatnings if they were not under them it would not be troublesome to them to heare them but they that are delivered from them they know how to make use of them Many men and women wil say when they hear of the terrors of the Law what doth this but harden us the hearing of the terrors of the Law doth more harden us but if thou wert acquainted with the Gospel thou wouldest be softened by hearing of the terrors of the Law because thou wouldest prize Christ more And therefore beleevers must not look upon them as things that no way concerne them though they be not under them to be cast by them yet they do concerne them nearly and therefore God would have those things revealed even to beleevers because of many gracious uses that beleevers are to make of those things The 2. Lesson Secondly from what hath been delivered both from the burden of the law and the rest in being delivered from it this Lesson may be learned Here we may see how beleevers are in the course of their lives to mix humility with confidence they may learne how to be humble and yet how to be confident how to rejoyce and yet how to tremble there is no such way to learne the mixture of humility with faith and confidence and the mixture of joy and trembling as this is know the Law and the bondage under it and then the rest that is to be had in Christ this wil teach thee to be sensible of thy own wretchedness and what a condition thou art in naturally and yet how to be confident in the grace of God in Christ This wil teach thee how to feare in regard of what thou art in thy self and yet to rejoyce in regard of what thou art in Jesus Christ in the rest thy soul hath Got in Jesus Christ Many people do not know how to mingle these two together if so be they be humbled for their sins then they are dejected in their spirits they cannot tel how to exercise humiliation for their sins and faith and confidence in Gods grace together they think the humiliation for sin wil hinder Gods grace and therfore they cannot indure to hear of such things as tend to beat them down to humble them for their sins but they say they must beleeve altogether in Gods grace aad the other wil bring them to despair Certainly thou art not acquainted with the mystery of Godliness if thou doest not understand how these two may stand together to be deeply humbled for thy sins and yet at the same instant of time the soul to be raised with the Mercy of God in Christ both together It is true vices are opposite one to another but graces are never opposite one to another those that understand the Mistery of Godlyness they know how to mingle these two together at one and the same time You know that the scripture saith that Godliness is a mistery Great is the mistery of Godlyness and indeed Godliness consists in the skil that a Christian comes to have to know at the same time how to be humbled and yet to be confident yet to be beleeving and one the other side to rejoyce and yeat to feare many cannot rejoyce but they grow loose and wanton with their joy and others cannot feare but their hears grow lumpish and dead if they do feare now the heart that understands what it is to be under the Law naturally and what rest Christ hath brought unto us in delivering us from the Law can tel how to rejoice in trembling and to beleeve in humiliation and there is no such way to make such a mixture of both as to understand what it is to be naturally under the Law and what the rest is that we have in Christ I confess these things wil not perhaps come so ful upon the hearts of those that do not in some measure remember what we have said hertofore both from the burden of the Law and the rest that we have in Christ those wil not be able to make so much use of this that I am speaking of I could wish these things would have come altogether but we cannot do al things at once The Third Lesson Thirdly A further thing that is to be learned from the deliverance we have in Christ from the Law it is this here appeares plainly that the way of Life and salvation is above nature it is supernatural for that that I have opened in the rest we have in Christ from the law teacheth you that beleevers are not to stand or fal for their eternal estates by any worke of the Law if they performe any worke of the Law this doth not bring them to eternal life if they breake the Law this doth not cast them down unto death therefore the way of life and salvation is supernatural for nature can teach a man no further then this that he must serve God if he do thâ— God wil bless him and love him and if he sin against God God wil afflict him and chastise him nature can tel of no way how a man should be saved but only by serving of God and by doing the workes of the Law nature teacheth a man nothing else but this together with the other that if he doth that that God forbids he must expect the wrath of God and to ly under Gods wrath and beyond this nature cannot go Now then for to heare of such a thing as this is that my soul shal not depend upon what I neglect nor my eternal life shal not depend upon what I do that is a high mystery that is infinitely above nature I do not say what the neglect of Gods wil doth deserve of eternal perishing yea even in beleevers but now they are under the Covenant in Christ they have the rest in Christ that their souls shal not be cast one way or other by what they do or what they leav undon though if they neglect his wil the Lord may make them to know it here while they live in this world And if upon this any
Christ for this rest Sanctification the Rest from Corruption I. Sanctification is great rest unto the soul of a beleever the truth is there is nothing troubles the heart of a strong beleever but only the want of his Sanctification nothing in the world I say troubles the heart of a strong beleever but that It is time a weak beleever is troubled for want of the apprehension of the pardon of his sin a weak beleever hath trouble of spirit stil in the sense of the guilt of sin but a strong beleever gets over that A weak beleever hath trouble by the Law stil because through the weakness of his faith he is not able to make use of the Covenant of grace that God hath brought him into so as to deliver himself from trouble that way a strong beleever gets over that A weak beleever performes duties but there is a great deale of legality in his performance of them that many times they are troublesom to him but a strong beleever gets over that burden but now the remaining corruption that is in the heart none in this world gets over this Indeed in great part the strong beleever hath got power there also a great deale more then the weak one hath done but the cheife burden that lies upon a strong beleever in this world is the remainder of corruption that is yet in him And so for the next burden of affliction the strong beleever gets wel over that too but this is one cheife burden of the strongest beleevers that the world hath that yet there is much remaining corruption in them As it was in Paul though a strong beleever saith he Oh wretched man that I am who shal deliver me from this body of death as you heard it formerly opened to you so that sanctification is a special rest that beleevers have it is a rest 1 In this regard because it is the right temper of the heart As corruption was a burden because it was the distemper of the heart as sickness is a burden so sanctification it is the right frame and temper of the soul and so brings ease and rest unto the soul If your bodies be distempered with sickness you are a burden to your selves by it you know not what to do a sick body first lies down in one place and then in another and wil change roomes and change beds change postures because he is a burden to himself Let the distemper be gone let the body be put into a right temper and now he hath rest now he can sleep quietly now he hath ease in his body his pain is over Now sanctification is the health of the soul then the soul comes to be healthy when it comes to be holy holiness is the due temper of the heart and therefore it is rest 2. Sanctification is the rest of the heart because in that the soul doth in great part attain its end now what is it that the soul rests in so much as in its end every thing rests when it comes to its end the end is as the proper place in which every creature rests now by sanctification the soul doth attain its end in great part as First it attains the end that God intended in the making of it a man or woman now they attain in great part the end for which they are born thou art born to that end that thou mightest be holy that thou mightest live here in this world unto God which by sanctification thou dost that is the end God aymed at the end why thou art borne why thou camest into the world Secondly It is the end of al Gods wayes towards thee a special end of al the passages of Gods providence to thee of al the workings of God towards thee in this world of al the wayes of his providence to thee that thou mightest be godly that thou mightest live to him to his praise Thirdly It is the great end of Christs coming into the world Christ came into the world that he might purchase a peculiar people Zealous of good works and that he might sanctifie them unto himselfe Fourthly It is the end of al Gods ordinances towards thee why dost thou enjoy any ordinance but that they might sanctifie thy heart Fifthly It is the end if thou beest one that is in any measure Gods already it is the end of thy desires what are the desires of a gracious heart but that he might be holy to God and be freed from the body of death Sixthly It is the end of thy Labor what dost thou endeavor after what dost thou labor after if thou beest Godly but that thou mayest be more Godly that thou mayest be more sanctified surely that which is the end of our comming into the world that is the end of al Gods wayes towards thee that which is the end of al Gods ordinances which is the end of thy desires and the end of thy Labor that must needs be rest in attaining that thou must needs attain Rest 3. Sanctification is rest unto the soul in that the soul lives even the life of God the soul doth not only live to God but lives in God and therefore must needs live in Rest You have a notable expression for that in 1. John 2.24 Let that therefore abide in you which we heard from the beginning if that which ye heard from the beginning shal remain in you ye also shal continue in the son and in the father You shal continue in the son and in the father When the truths of the Gospel working on the heart unto holiness abides in the heart such a soul doth abide in the son and in the father lives in God and therefore must needs have rest must needs have rest there where it lives in God It s true the Saints they live in the world but as they live in the world so they live in God even in God here 4. Sanctification it must needs be rest unto the heart because that is a principle that raiseth the soul above the region of al kind of trouble and molestation As the Philosophers tel us that here in the inferior region there are stormes tempests changes and alterations but in the region on high the third region that is above stormes tempests winds and blusterings there is nothing but quiet nothing but peace there It is true while the heart of a man or woman is grovelling here below in the world as al are til God raiseth them by Grace their spirits are ful of trouble vexation and molestation There is no peace to the wicked saith my God but he is like the troubled sea which casts forth mire and dirt As you heard in the opening of that scripture But now when God gives grace and sanctifies the heart the Lord raiseth the heart above these regions of trouble raiseth it on high gets it up in the highest region there is nothing but quiet calme peace ease and rest unto the soul 5. Sanctification is rest
heat of the furnace and as the heat you know consumes stubble combustible matter put into it so there is that heat in the love of God shed abroad in the heart by Christ that consumes the lust of the heart and the soul growes up into holiness thereby It is with the heart of a Beleever as it is with the fruites of the earth you know that the frost may keep down some weeds but it is the sun-shine it is the beams of the sun and the warme beames that makes the fruit to ripen and to grow up that fruit that growes in the sun is soonest ripe your grasse that growes in the orchard is sowre and the beast wil not eate it and other herbs that grow in the shade comes to no maturity nor to be so good as those that grow in the sun fruit that growes upon the wal how quickly doth that grow ripe whereas the other that grows in the shade withers so there are some that live altogether under Legal feares and trouble of conscience perhaps they have somtimes fruite but it is sour fruit it is not so sweet fruite as comes from those that are under the sun-shine of the Gospel that have the shine of the love of God upon their hearts their fruite is sweet and they thrive better and looke more lovely and live a more amiable and lovely life then the lives of others And this is another way how Christ comes to be our sanctification in shedding abroad the love of God into the heart and that the scripture is ful of how the love of God is shed abroad in Jesus Christ Ninthly Christ is our Sanctification in this respect becaus al the promises of the Gospel are made to us in him he is the foundation of al the promises that are in the Gospel they are al made good in him they have a boundance of sanctifying power in them Christ is our sanctification I say because it is through him that the promises are made which hath a mighty sanctifying power As for the First In 2. Cor. 1.20 For al the promises of God in him are yea and in him Amen unto the glory of God by us Al the promises of God in him are yea in him amen al Gospel promises are made unto us by christ that is a very useful a notable meditation to consider of al promises that they come unto us from Christ an excellent meditation to set out the excellency of Jesus Christ that in him are al the promises they are in him yea what is the meaning of that That is they are confirmed to us in Christ in him they are made certain to us they are made good in him or as some of your books read it thus For al the promises of God in him are yea and I find it is I know not whether it be in your books but Calvin Beza and other interpreters say it is read in some copies thus Therefore in him let them be yea and Amen unto the glory of God by us Al the promises of God in him are yea that is they are made certain things in Christ as the foundation therefore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so Beza saith it is read therefore let them be Amen in him unto the praise of God That is as God hath made al promises in him as certain so let us look upon Christ and see the promises of God in him and beleeve in them and so by our faith say Amen unto the promises that are made in him unto the glory of God so shal we Glorifie God when we shal look upon the promises by our faith and say Amen unto our soules Now the word Amen signifies firme and sure that is the meaning of the word Amen Sometimes it signifies at the end of our prayer so be it Amen it is an Hebrew word that signifies so be it let it be O Lord as we have prayed and according to thy promise that is the meaning of the word Amen when you conclude your prayer with Amen It is a word that is used for faith and it is the expression of faith after we have made our prayer and that is the meaning here therefore al the promises in him are yea they are made in Christ and affirmed in Christ as certain therefore in him let them be Amen unto the soul let them be as firme and certain things unto us for us to rest upon unto the glory of God by us and thereby shal we glorifie God ye have so many precious promises in Christ but now they are unto the glory of God by us we by faith say Amen to them and we make them as firme and sure unto our soules by the exercise of our faith upon them So you may understand in some measure this scripture which hath exceeding much in it thus you see by Christ the promises are made to us Quest I but you wil say How doth this help our sanctification Answ I answer exceeding much there is nothing helps the sanctification of the soul of a beleever more then the promises of the Gospel those that are exercised in the promises of the Gospel they grow more abundantly in sanctification then others The promises of the Gospel are channels not only of mercy for our salvation but of holiness for our sanctification and for that you have a most excellent scripture 2. Cor. 7.1 Having therefore these promises dearly beloved let us clense our selves from al filthiness of flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God It is as ful a scripture as I know any here you may see what use the holy Ghost would have you make of the promises of the Gospel and of mercy It may be you think that seeing there is such promises of mercy you may take more liberty to the flesh but that is not the reasoning of the spirit he would not take more liberty therby but seeing we have such promises saith he let us clense our selves from al filthiness filthines cannot stand with beleeving of promises And marke he saith from al filthiness of the flesh and of the spirit So that it is not enough for you to say you have as good a heart towards God as any others I thank God my heart is right my spirit is right I but you must clense from al filthiness of the flesh as wel as of the spirit and these promises if you have the right use of them they wil be mighty clensing And marke from al filthiness it is not enough to clense from some gross filthiness that is that you do not live in the grost sins that others of the world live in and that your neighbors live in that you are not whoremungers drunkards cheaters prophaners of the saboth and the like but these promises wil cleanse from al filthiness that is there shal be no filthiness that shal stick to you as to the wicked and ungodly but it wil clense gradually by degrees from al Filthiness of
The Scripture speaks of true holiness there may be abstaining from many sins and performance of many duties but no saving holiness but that that is had from God through Christ as Mediator no true holiness til the Soul comes to be acquainted with Christ and have it that way and the holiness that we have by exercising of Faith upon Christ as the Head of the Covenant that indeed is the mystery of godliness that is the true godliness that is godliness in a mystery which the world is not acquainted with that is the power of godliness the powerful holiness that comes by Christ And indeed that is the Reason why there is so much strength of Grace in the Hearts of the Saints because they have it from Christ it is from the spirit of Jesus Christ that is in him and Christ is the Lyon of the tribe of Judah his spirit is a spirit of might Common gifts have not that strength as this holiness that comes from Christ hath the holiness that is from Christ that is the only supernatural holiness it is that that is the divine Nature whereas that kind of abstaining from sin and performing of duties that civil men have and that comes in by common gifts that is not the divine Nature they have it but in a natural way what they have is by strength of Reason and argument but that which comes in by the exercise of Faith in Christ that is supernatural that is of a divine Nature and that is aboundant aboundant is the holiness that the Soul comes to have in exercising of Faith in Christ In drawing of Grace from Christ the Heart grows more in the way of Holiness it exerciseth much more Faith in Christ in a little time then it did in a long time before though perhaps those were truly godly before and members of Christ yet for want of a right understanding how all Grace comes from God through Christ and so drawing of it that way they did not thrive in the waies of Godliness That text in the 3 of the Ephesians and the 17. Is most admirable for this the Apostle praies That Christ might dwel in your hearts by faith that ye being rooted and grounded in Love there is the strength of Grace when Christ dwels in our heart That you may be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height and to know the Love of Christ which passeth knowledg that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God Here is the fruite of it that you might be filled with all the fulness of God a strange speech had it not been in Scripture who durst have exprest himself thus that by comming to know God in Christ you may come to be filled with all the fulness of God in Christ It were very much to say thus by knowing God in Christ you may come to have God that is somwhat but secondly that you may come to be filled with God that 's more But Thirdly That ye may come to be filled with the fulness of God that is yet more yea Fourthly That you may come to be filled with all the fulness of God What a gradation is here that shews the admirable use of knowing God in Christ Whereas now other men and women that onely are taught in their childhood to serve God they must serve God and they are restrained from many sins and they performe duties they wil pray and come to heare but not being acquainted with the mystery of the Gospel and drawing holiness from God through Christ how far are those from having this text made good in their hearts that is from being filled with al the fulness of God Whereas afterwards they come to have more cleere understanding of the mistery of Godlyness from Christ then they come to enjoy communion with God more then ever they did whereas before they were strangers to God now they have communion with him yea now they feele Gods fulness come more fully into their hearts then before now they feele a fulness from God and so come by degrees to be what is said in this text to be filled with al the fullness of God The reason of al the emptiness scantiness and barrenness that is in your heart is for want of understanding how God hath filled Christ with al fulness from whom wee are to receive grace for grace and by drawing grace from Christ we come to have permanent holiness and lasting holiness and this indeed is the reason as heretofore ye have heard why the grace of the saints endures for ever and they can never faile whereas the grace of Adam did faile because the one comes from God through Christ and the other did not that did not come from God through a mediator so as this did and therefore this is permanent and the other is not But of that I spake before only we bring it in now as a further motive to make us seek for holiness in Jesus Christ this rest of sanctification Some rules I wil briefly propound by way of direction as helps in seeking of grace and sanctification in Christ As First Labor to get a sence of your want of holiness and of your need of Christ for it Secondly in the exercising of your selves in the ordinances be not satisfied with the ordinances any further then you meet with Christ be not satisfied with a prayer or with hearing but think with your selves what have I of Christ here that I told you in the opening of the point how Christ was the sanctification of the heart because the blessing of al the ordinances is by having Christ there There are two or three things more that I would commend unto you The First Is this in seeking Christ do not come so much for enlargement for comfort for peace as for sanctification you seek your peace for holiness rather then seek holiness for peace this is a special rule of direction to thrive in seeking for sanctification by Christ Many Christians they seek to have Christ but why that they might have peace that they might have comfort and they make their holiness but subservient to their peace and comfort They think thus except I be holy I cannot have peace therefore I wil labor for holiness that I might have peace But a true gracious heart wil rather say thus the more holiness I have the more peace I have and therefore I wil labor for peace that I might have holiness One labors for holiness that he might have peace and the other labors for peace that he might have holiness Now those Christians that labor rather for peace that they might have holiness wil more thrive then the other that labors for holiness that they might have peace It is true indeed it is one good motion to labor for holiness because it wil bring peace I but it is a stronger motive to labor for peace that we might have holiness therefore when we seeke to
then look what Christ hath rest in that is thy rest too as now what is the rest of Christ Christ hath rest especially in three things there are three things that are the rest of Christ Gods rest in his Saints His rest in his Ordinances And his rest in his Sabbaths Now those that are partakers of true rest for their Soules in Christ look what Gods rest is thy rest is As now for the Saints the soul hath rest in them that is thy soul hath content and rest in them in their company Marke what is said of them in Zepha 3.17 Saith the Holy Ghost The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty he wil save he wil rejoyce over thee with joy he wil rest in his Love he wil joy over thee with singing Is the society and company of the saints a rest to the or rather a trouble to thee Oh to many the company of the saints it is a trouble to them but when they get into their own company amonst their own Companions then they have some Rest And then for the ordinances for that you have a text in the 132. Psalm and 14. Speaking of Zion For the Lord hath Chosen Zion he hath desired it for his habitation this is my rest for ever here wil I dwel for I have desired it Oh in Zion in ordinances in duties in the worship that is tendered up to thee here is my rest for ever and here is my delight Lord let me have rest this way my spirit is never so much at rest as when I am in the duties of Gods worship when I am exercised in Gods ordinances here my soul is at rest what ever I have else If I should have peace again and enjoy estate quietly yet except I have Gods ordinances I cannot have rest Now doth thy soul enjoy more rest in the ordinances then in any other way then thy rest is Christs rest And then for the sabboth you know what the scripture saith what a sabboth is it is nothing but rest and is the saboth a day of Rest unto thy soul do not many people think the sabboth day most troublesome to them especially if they be kept to holy duties prayer hearing the word the like Suppose you be put to pray in your closet then to pray in your family and to aske some questions to your servants children and then come to the publick and there to sanctifie the name of God and then when you come home again to examin your family over what they have learned and so prepare your selves again to the ordinance and so to spend your self in prayer and hearing and excercising al the day would not this be a weariness to many of you And would not many of you say as those in Malachy When wil the sabboth be over Men indeed count the sabboth a rest Why because they cease from working and they put on fine cloths and go abroad and walk in the feilds and upon this they count the sabboth a rest surely such are not acquainted with the rest that is in Christ but if thy soul be acquainted with this rest then the sabboth is but a tipe of that rest that thou shalt keep in the highest heavens it is but a tipe unto thee and a forerunner of that Glorious Rest that thou shalt enjoy hereafter Fifthly If thy soul have true rest it is such rest as wil abide examination of the word of God though it doth touch to the quick and the more the word doth touch to the quick the more it comes to thy soul the more rest thy soul hath In Heb. after the Holy Ghost had spoken of the rest that is to the people of God in 12. saith he The word is quick and powerful and sharper then any two edged sword peircing to the dividing a sunder of Soul and spirit and of the Joynts and Marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the Heart As if he should say if you enter into the Rest of Gods people you shal have such a rest as wil abide the most narrow and quickening searchings of the word of God the word of God will search you through and through and your rest shal be such a rest as wil abide the search A rest that comes by the word the more the word searcheth the more it increaseth quickning it searcheth between the marrow and the bones and the more rest a true gracious Heart finds CHAP. LI. Eight means to get and keep Rest in Christ 1. Beware of secret sins 2. Be thankful for what good God hath given thee 3. Judg not thy self in time of temptation 4. In trouble wait upon God in the use of means 5. Meditate much upon the promises 6. Proportion humiliation to thy comfort 7. Be throughly grounded that thou art in Christ 8. Improve the Rest thou hast to God by doing much work to him OBJECT BUt you wil say notwithstanding al this you have spoken yet many of the Saints of God though they have been careful to do what you have said yet they do not find this Rest you speak of in Christ Answ It is true it is not enough for you to be a beleever for one may be a beleever and yet not have the evidence of the Graces in Christ so as to have Rest unto his Soul You will say what should we do then First Take heed that there be no secret sin abide in your spirits you had need examine and look to that for that wil be a thorne in the flesh that wil trouble you if there be any secret sin thou livest in it wil be as a thorne in the flesh that thou canst not be quiet Secondly Another thing that will hinder the rest of beleevers is That because they have not so much as they desire they wil not take notice of what good God hath granted to them because they have not al they would have they think they have nothing at al. Now take heed of that though thou hast not all yet take notice of what God hath done for thee and be thankful for that We read of the Women in the Gospel that went â—o seek Christ they found the Angels and heard news of him though they found him not at first So though thy soul find not Christ for the present and the rest thou desirest yet if thou hast any news of him any beginning of Gods work in thy Soul take notice of that Should the Women have said what is that to us that we find the Angels and that we hear news of him it is Christ that we seek No they said not so And therefore I say bless God for what ever thou hast it is more then others have bless God for it and that is the way to have more Thirdly Never judg of thy self as thou feelest thy self in a time of temptation it may be thou art under a temptation or spiritual desertion now do not judg of thy self as