Christ for ease and Rest Fourthly the burden of the law is exceeding great in this respect That upon any one breach of the law the soul comes to be broken so as to lose ability to be able to keep any part of the Law for ever I said there is this in the Law more then in the Gospel that upon any one breach of the Law in the Covenant of works the soul comes to be so broken as to loose all the abilities of ever keeping any part of the Law again as thus I shewed you in Adam Adam was the Head of the first Covenant of works of the Law now Adam he breaks it in one particular failed in one Particular of what God required of him and in breaking of it in that one thing he and al his posterity was so broken that they lost all their abilities of keeping of the Law for ever except God come and create any ability they have lost what ability was given at first in their Creation so then this is a very great mistery that one by doing a thing that is evil should weaken the contrary habit that by doing a thing that is evil we should quite loose the Habit that is quite loose the habit by one act and not only loose the habit that is contrary to the particular evil that we do but loose al habits of al good whatsoever and that by one act now this is a thing above Nature this is only by vertue of the covenant of works God makes such a covenant it runs upon such tearms as if Adam did but sin in one thing he must die that is his Soul as wel as his body must die a spiritual death and so loose al habits of al Grace And this is the Reason why we are by Nature dead in sin Further such is the condition of the Law that suppose God should restore us al to be as perfect as ever Adam was in the state of innocency void of al sin and having the Image of God perfect and then God should come and put us upon the covenant of works again I say if we then should but fail in any one thing it would break us so as we should loose al our abilities to perform any duty ever after this is the condition of the law But it is not so with the Gospel though we sin against the Gospel we do not presently loose al our habits of Grace But the Reason of the difference That though Adam when he sinned against the Law he lost al his habits to do any good after and that though we sin against the Gospel yet we do not loose those habits That I shal shew afterwards when I shal come to shew that the yoke of the Gospel is easier then that of the Law And that is the fourth thing in the burden of the Law Fiftly The first thing is this That the Law upon every breach it doth take advantage against the soul presently I say takes advantage against the soul presently and binds it over to death to eternal death presently binds it over Yea and doth actually put it under a curse upon every breach instantly it doth it its true the law it may be is not presently executed as soon as a sinner hath broken it but this is certain that though God doth not come upon you as soon as you have broken the Law yet know that there are these three things come upon every one that is out of Chirst as soon as any one sin is committed there are these three things come upon him presently First He is bound over by Gods Justice by such abond as hath more strength in it then al the power of Heaven and Earth is able to break as a man that hath done that that is evil it may be the Law hath not present execution upon him I but he is bound over presently And not only so but in the Second place the Law passeth sentence the binding over that is the guilt but the Law passes sentence upon the sinner and condemns it the Soul is presently under the sentence of condemnation Thirdly The Law puts the sinner under a curse for so it is in the latter end of the 27. of Deu. Cursed is every one that abides not in every thing that is written in the Book of the Law to do it Mark every one that abides not in every thing he is pronounced accursed and that is a fift perticular Sixtly And in the Sixt place This Law requires constant Obedience also and such is the rigour of it that if you should obey it never so much for a great part of your lives If you should conceive you could obey it perfectly for a great while yet if at last you should offend in any one particular you are cast for al and al that you have done before is utterly rejected it wil take advantage against you for any one particular If it were possible that all your life time you should keep it and at the last houre of your life break it in any one particular certainly you would be condemned by it this is the condition of the Law for so it is in those words that are named though you do it if you do not abide to do every thing If there be but any one thing whereby it can take advantage it will certainly condemn you for it This is the condition of al that are under the covenant of works and is not this a load Would not this burden the Soul If so be the soul comes to understand it and whether it understands it or not yet certainly it is the truth of God Seventhly A seventh Burden of the Law is this that when once the sinner hath broke it the Law cannot be satisfied with any obedience which may make amends afterwards by any thing that the sinner can do suppose a man should be never so angry and offended he that hath offended him may make amends again a Servant thinks though I have offended my Master and done so many faults Yet I wil make amends for al. So many people think though we have broken the Law of God and lived a great while in sin and done that which is evil yet we wil make amends again and we wil give almes and come to Church and the like These are the Reasonings of many poor Ignorant hearts that do not understand upon what tearms they stand with God al the Children of men stand before God either under a Covenant of works or under the Covenant of Grace one of the two now those kind of men that Reason after this manner surely they are not acquainted with the Covenant of Grace they are under the Covenant of Works and now let them know that the covenant of Works admits of no such amends as they speak of but when once you have broken the Law all that ever you can do If you could live a thousand years never so strictly or be willing to suffer never so much for God
man of any way of Redemption of any way of deliverance but meerely shews unto us our misery and so leaves us I do not mean the law that is in the book of the old testament for there is Gospel mingled I do not say that Moses doth not tel us of any way of Redemption but I mean the Law of the Covenant of works so far as that is revealed in Moses and that is revealed in the new Testament in a great pâ—rt of it that only shewes us our misery and there leaves us but grace and truth and mercy that comes in by Jesus Christ Tenthly A tenth particular wherein the greivous bondage under the law appeares is this That it is such a Law as there can be no appeal from it no nor no repealing of it though it be thus strict and thus severe yet I say there is no appeale from it nor no repealing of it there are many Laws that we may appeal from one to another or if that Law be hard it may be called in again we cannot appeale from the Authority of this law nor can it be repealed You wil say this excluds us from al help though there be many hard Laws made by men and as long as they stand in force people are in a very sad Condition yet there may be meanes to repeal them but as for this Law there can it seems be no appeale from it nor repealing of it May we not appeale from Gods justice to Gods mercy seat I have indeed spoken of such an expression but that expession must be warily understood for the truth is there is no proper appealing from the justice of God to his mercy when the sinner comes to Christ it hath the pardon sealed in the Court of justice as wel as in the Court of mercy there is no soule that is saved but Gods justice is as wel satisfied as his mercy is glorified nor no repeale of this law What must the law stand in force then yes the law shal stand in force and yet there shal be thousands of soules saved How is that you wil say This is the mistery of the Gospel that the law shal stand in force and yet men shal be saved there shal be a way to save men for al this Certainly if the Law went on in its course one would think that it would carry on al mankind to eternal destruction yea and so it would have done but onely for this great Saviour and redeemer Jesus Christ that cals Sinners to him that they might have rest He comes and puts himself under the Law and what the Law requires he doth and he Suffers so that here is al the alteration the Law goes on and hath its course onely whereas it might have required to have had the course of it upon our selves in person now God is content that it should have its course upon our security When a man oweth a debt the Law requires performance it s one thing to have the law repealed and an other to have the debter delivered if a sureâ—â— wil come and undertake the debt he is delivered though he hath not paid it yet the law hath its course for the surety dischargeth what the debter should have done so the way of salvation for any soul it is not either by appealing from the law or by the repealing of the law but we must look upon the Law to have its course only to have its course upon Christ our surety who hath fully satisfied the law and Christ looked thus upon is the true object of our faith and except we apprehend Christ thus as one made under the Law as the Scripture saith and one that did indure the law to have its course upon him and so to satisfie the law except we look upon Christ thus we look not upon him as the right object of our faith and Christ he thus cals upon you that are weary and heavy laden to come to him as if he should say poor Sinners that are under such a Covenant as this is you know that though it be not repealed I have come and put my self under this law it hath had its course upon me come to me and the law shal be sattisfied it shal have nothing to say against you but you shal have through rest in me come therefore to me Eleventhly The Eleventh thing in the Law is That it is so far from inabling us to perform that obedience which it requires that in regard of our own wretched condition that we are now in the more it comes to be revealed the more are our Corruptions stirred up it doth through our fault not from any fault in the Law stir up our Corruptions so much the more Luther compares it to Water cast upon Lime the Law coming into the heart being in its Natural Condition till God oovercomes it by the Grace of the Gospell is stirred up so much the more You have a notable expression for this in the example of Paul who felt it thus in himself in Rom. 7.5 For when we were in the Flesh the motions of sin which were by the Law did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death and again in ver 8. For sin taking occasion by the Commandment wrought in me all manner of Concupiscence It took occasion by the Commandment there are many people that are the worse by hearing the Law revealed unto them until God pleaseth to overcome their hearts by the grace of the Gospel Now put all these together and the soul that comes to be enlightened to understand these do you not think that such a soul wil be burdened Is it not a burden to be in this Condition Is it possible that the soul can have any rest in this Condition You will say these things are hard in themselves But first if you did but understand the infinite holiness there is in God and the infinite Justice of God with whom you have to deal And if you did but understand the perfect Condition that God did make man in at the first present before your souls the infinite Holiness and Justice of the great God with whom you have to do and then present before your souls that perfect state that God did make man in Innocency and then these things wil be clear unto you And if these things were only preached to you and nothing else they would seem to be hard but it is all in order to this Invitation of Christ CHAP. VIII Three Conclusions arising from the former doctrine concerning the Burden under the Law Namely 1. That man by Nature is in an evil case 2. That it is a mighty work to save a Soul 3. That those vain thoughts whereby men think to pacifie their Consciences will stand them in no stead NOw upon the hearing of these things we may truly draw such Conclusions as these First That certainly man is in an ill case by Nature It is observed of the people of Israel when
cal such a Soul to come to him that it may have Rest and peace that indeed it might have that Righteousness that may make it stand with comfort before the great God and come to have eternal life at last but for our comming to Christ and our Rest in him that belongs to the other Point Thus much for the opening of the burden of Legal performances CHAP. XI Of the Burden of Corruption And that there is Corruption in the Saints Being a Burden 1. Of Grief 2. Of Shame 3. Of Fear 4. Of Care 5. Of Labor and Toyl THe next Burden is the Burden of the remaining part of Corruption in the Saints those that are godly and have their part in Christ and have come to Christ already but yet they must come again and again that is though they be beleevers and have exercised Faith to unite them to Christ they have stil remaining in them much Corruption much Sin they must come to Christ again to be eased of their Corruption and still all the daies of their Lives to be exercising of Faith in Christ to be eased of the Burden of remaining Corruption that is in them That the Corruption that yet remaines in the Hearts of the Saints is a Burden I suppose every one of you can witness that are godly there is no godly man or woman in the world but knows what the meaning of this Point is perhaps the other Point of Legal performances was such a Point that many of you scarce understood what it was but because I knew it was of exceeding use to others though it might not be understood of many they must not loose their portion but there is none that hath any spark of godlyness but do and wil understand what I mean and what I shal say in this Point of the burden of Corruption that doth stil remain in the godly in the best that live upon the Earth and that every one acknowledgeth it is in every mans mouth almost we are al sinners but now here is the Difference between the wicked and the godly the wicked have sin enough in them but it is no burden to them but the godly have their sins to be their burden the remainder of sin though it be never so litle it is a most grievous Burden unto them and to these I am to speak out of this text yea Christ himself speaks to them Come unto me ye that are Laden with the Burden of Corruption the burden of sin that stil remaines in you Come to me and I wil give you Rest in regard of that Burden Now to prove that there is a remainder of corruption in the godly that is a burden to them I wil give you but one scripture that shal serve instead of the rest and that is in Rom. 7.24 O! wretched man that I am saith Paul who shal deliver me from this body of death I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord here we have indeed a coÌ„mentary upon this text who shal deliver me saith Paul O! Wretched man that I am who shal deliver me from this body of death there 's the first part the burden of corruption then he runnes to Christ I thank God through Jesus Christ So then I my self with my mind serve the law of God but with my flesh the Law of sin I have got ease and rest by Christ by running to him but marke the scripture O wretched man that I am Paul though a godly man and one eminent in grace yet had remaining in him a body of death his sin that was in him he calls a body of death it was as a deadly thing unto his heart and it was as a body because it was made up of many members as a body is there were many sins remaining in him and al the faculties of his soul and members of his body were defiled with sin and therefore he cals it a body of death Now the Apostle is so sensible of this that he gives a grievous shreek as it were O! wretched man that I am he counts it his misery in that it appeares to be a burden and then he shreikes out under his burden O! wretched man that I am As a man or woman that hath a burden laid upon their shoulders and being not able to beare it they give a greivous shreik at the burden falling upon them so doth the Apostle here And observe further that the Apostle Paul had as much of the burden of affliction upon him as ever any one had no man had more of the burden of affliction then he had as you may read in the Cor. 1.4 and Cor. 2.4 the afflictions of Paul were exceeding greivous there was never any more abused then he was he tels you of being stoned suffering of shipwrake and abused of his owne countri-men that he suffered nakedness and hunger and was whipt as if he had been the most notorious rogue in al the country he had the burden of disgrace upon him accounted the off-scowring of the world and the burden of poverty wanted cloâ— and bread and was fain to go up and down from place to place yet notwithstanding these burdens upon him you never read that Paul did account himself a wretched man in regard of these burdens you never read that Paul cryed out O! wretched man that I am that I want â—read 〈◊〉 I want cloaths O wretched man that I am whipt and abused he doth not cry out O! wretched man that I am who shal deliver me from affliction who shal deliver me from persecution no we find in scripture that he rejoyced in affliction when he was cast into dungeons he could sing psalmes and when he had the whip he could sing psalms and rejoyce but when he comes to his sin then he falles under that burden who shal deliver me from that as if he should say O! Lord let me be never so much afflicted heere in this world yet if I cold have my soul delivered from this burden of my sin I should account my self a happy man and yet he was delivered from the guilt of sin for he knew he should never go to hel for his sin and he was delivered from the dominion of his sin to and yet he cries out under this burden of his sin who shal deliver me I appeale unto many of you what closet or secret chamber of yours can ever witness that you were thus crying out in respect of your sin O wretched man or woman that I am who shal deliver me from this body of sin from this wretched heart that I have many of you we heare cry out of poverty disgrace and trouble in your families and the like but who of you cries out who shal deliver me from this body of death from this sin of my nature many of you perhaps do not know whether you are delivered from the guilt of your sin you do not know whether any of your sins are pardoned you are not delivered at
keep from the acting of sin so much as to find that the death of Christ is applied to him And hence you never read of any such thing as mortification in any Heathen Author in the World the mortification of corruption is a Riddle to all Heathen Writers in the World The mortifying of corruption and the mortifying of their own hearts this is a peculiar expression of the Gospel and indeed it is peculiar to Beleevers Many men through good Education are so restrained that they are very fair in their course others as they come to more understanding the vanity of their youth being overcome there is not that prophaneness committed by them as heretofore I but what is this to mortification of the body of death that is in their hearts this is only peculiar to a Christian and it is from the application of the death of Christ the application of a Christ dying of a Christ crucifying of a Christ shedding his blood for sin this hath a virtue to mortifie sin There is a great deal of difference between a mortified lust and a restrained lust a mortified sin and a restrained sin The difference lies in this one thing for I must not go out to handle the Point but only this one thing take it by the way When a lust is mortified there is not only a ceasing from the act of it but there is now an unsuitableness between the heart and the sin whereas there may be much restraint of sin and yet stil there may remain a suitableness between the disposition of the heart and the sin only they dare not commit it but when sin is mortified the heart is so changed that there is an unsuitableness wrought between the heart and corruption now and this mortification of the body of sin is by the death of Christ Fourthly Christ is our sanctification and he only because it is by him that the spiritual curse that is upon every mans heart naturally is taken away it is Christ only that doth deliver the soul from the spiritual curse that is upon every mans heart naturally You know this is the condition of man by nature he is under the curse of the Law Cursed is the man that abideth not in al things that is written in the Law to do it But now we apprehend ordinarily this curse to be either in outward misery or else in hel fire cursed eternally but we are to know that one branch of this curse is that that is upon the souls of men here There is a spiritual curse that is upon the souls of men by the fal of Adam and that is God giving them up unto themselves unto the lusts of their own heart unto their own counsel and wayes Now I confess as it is in the curse of outward afflictions in this world it is in some degree upon some and in a further degree upon others but al are under it naturally so this spiritual death is executed in some degrees upon some and in more degrees upon others but every soule is in some measure in some degree or other given up to the lust of its owne heart there is a final degree of giving the soul up to the lusts of its own heart somtime but there is in every one a measure a degree of this and the reason of the prevailing of the corruption of mens hearts may appear in some measure by this It is strange to see that notwithstanding al the convictions of conscience telling men of the dangerousness of their wayes that it wil never be peace in the end that they wil rue it at the last and their consciences give them many a secret nip yet they goe on stil notwithstanding the terror in the Law many times nay notwithstanding the hand of God hath bin strong upon them and they have cryed out against their sins and promised against them and notwithstanding that they find that their sins do destroy the very health of their bodies waste their Estates take away their good names and thereby loose al their friends yet they are not able to overcome it As the Scripture speakes of some that have eyes ful of adultery they cannot cease to sin Now sometimes they plead this as an excuse for their sin and say they would fain leave it but they cannot and they think this is a sufficient excuse for their sin an excuse no this their cannot may be from the spiritual curse that is upon their souls because the curse of God is in a high degre upon their hearts giving them up in just judgment unto the lusts of their own hearts And this I take in some part to be the meaning of that place in 1. Cor. 15.56 verse The strength of sin is the Law Now spiritually the meaning of it is this that al the strength that sin hath to condemn one to kil one to bring death it is by the Law that I take to be the special scope of those words But there is included likewise in that expression thus much that the law of God giues a strength to sin How you wil say doth the Law of God give a strength to sin Thus there is the justice of God in his Law by virtue of the Law of God and the justice of God in it man is given up unto his sin and so his sin comes to have a power and strength over him the strength of sin it is the Law the Law requires this the justice of God in the Law requires this That those that do forsake God should be forsaken of him that those that give their hearts up to satisfie themselves in any way of sin that they should be given up to that sin So the strength of sin is the Law the Law makes sin to be so much the stronger that way Now therefore how should the soul come to be deliuered from the strength of sin the Law must be satisfied the Law must be taken off the strength of the Law must be taken away and none can take that away but Christ Christ takes away the strength of the Law but the Law is not executed upon Christ so as he was to be given up but the text saith he was made sin he came to take our sin upon him it was as neere as might be though he was not capable of having the execution of the Law upon him but the scripture saith he was â—ade sin for us that indeed is a very great meaning of this place though acknowledging of sin and suffering for sin be the cheif meaning of the place yet it hath besides very much of this in it Fifthly Christ is our sanctification by being the head of the second Covenant and so through our mistical union with him there is a virtue of holiness conveyed from him by being the head of the second Covenant and we being members of him as the head we come to have the virtue of holiness to be drawn from him As it was in Adam how come we
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
Impressions with and without Word 4. Light and Law within 5. Divine Providence 6. Christian Experience 7. Humane Reason 8. Judicial Astrology Delivered in Sermons on 2. Pet. 1.19 2 Christ in Travel Wherein 1. The Travel of his soul 2. The first and after effects of his Death 3 His Assurance of Issue 4. And his satisfaction therein Are opened and cleered in Sermons on Isa 53.11 3 A Lifting up for the Cast-down in case of 1. Great sin 2. Weakness of Grace 3. Miscarriage of Duties 4. Want of Assurance 5. Affliction 6 Temptation 7. Desertion 8. Unserviceableness 9 Discouragements from the Condition it self Delivered in thirteen Sermons on Psalm 42.11 His Four Sermons concerning 4 Sin against the Holy Ghost 5 Sins of Infirmitie 6 The false Apostle tried and discovered 7 The good and means of Establishment 8 The great things Faith can do 9 The great things Faith can suffer 10 The Great Gospel Mystery of the Saints Comfort and Holiness opened and applied from Christs Priestly Office 11 Satans power to Tempt and Christs Love to and Care of his People under Temptation 12 Thankfulness required in every Condition 13 Grace for Grace 14 The Spiritual Actings of Faith through Natural Impossibilities 15 Evangelical Repentance 16 The Spiritual Life c. 17 The Woman of Canaan 18 The Saints Hiding-place c. 19 Christs Coming c. 20 A Vindication of Gospel Ordinances 22 Grace and Love beyond Gifts Mr. Brightman on the Revelation Clows Chyrurgery Marks of Salvation Christians Engagement for the Gospel by John Goodwin Great Church Ordinance of Baptism Mr. Loves Case containing his Petitions Narrative and Speech Twelve Books of Mr. Jeremiah Burroughs lately published also the Texts of Scripture upon which they are grounded 1 Gospel Reconciliation Or Christs Trumpet of Peace to the World Wherein is Opened Gods exceeding willingness to be Reconciled to Man And Gods sending his Embassadors to that End From 2 Cor. 5.19 20 21. 2 The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment on Phil. 4.11 Wherein is shewed 1 What Contentment is 2 It is an Holy art and Mystery 3 The Excellencies of it 4 The Evil of the contrary sin of Murmuring and the Aggravations of it 3 Gospel-Worship on Levit. 10.3 Wherein is shewed 1 The right manner of the Worship of God in General And particularly In hearing the Word Receiving the Lords supper prayer 4 Gospel-Conversation on Phil. 1 17 Wherein is shewed 1 That the Conversations of Beleevers must be above what could be by the Light of Nature 2 Beyond those that lived under the Law 3 And sutable to what Truths the Gospel holds forth To which is added The Misery of those Men that have their Portion in this Life only on Psal 17.14 5 A Treatise of Earthly-mindedness Wherein is shewed 1 What Earthly-mindedness is 2. The great Evil thereof on Phil. 3. part of he 19. vers Also to the same Book is joyned A Treatise of Heavenly-mindedness and walking with God on Gen. 5.24 and on Phil. 3 20. 6 An Exposition on the fourth fifth sixth and seventh Chapters of the Prophesie of Hosea 7 An Exposition on the eighth ninth and tenth Chapters of Hosea 8 An Exposition on the eleventh twelfth and thirteenth Chapters of Hosea being now compleat 9 The Evil of Evils or the exceeding sinfulness of sin on Job 16.21 10 Precious Faith on 2 Pet. 1.1 11 Of Hope on 1 John 3.3 12 Of Walking by Faith on 2 Cor. 5.7 Mr. Burroughs his fifty nine Sermons on Matth. 11.28 29 30. Are Printed A Godly aâ—d Fruitful Exposition on the first Epistle of Peter By Mr. John Rogers Minister of the word of God at Dedham in Essex Mr Rogers on Naaman the Syrian his Disease and Ouâ—e Discovering the Leprosie of Sin and Self-love with the Cure viz. Self-denial and Faith Mr. Rogers his Treatise of Marriage The Wonders of the Loadstone By Samuel Ward of Ipswich An Exposition on the Gospel of the Evangelist St. Matthew By Mr. Ward The Discipline of the Church in New-England By the Churches and Synod there The Wise Virgins Lamp Burning Or Gods sweet incomes of Love to a gracious Soul waiting for him Published by Mr. Thomas Weld late of New-England Twelve new Books in one Volum of Nich. Culpeper All called the Idea of Practical Physick 1 The art to preserve Health 2 The preternatural disorder of mans body and their Signs 3 Of Medicaments 4 Of the art of Healing 5 Of the general Cure of Diseases 6 Of External Diseases 7 Of Feavers 8 Of Head Diseases 9 Of middle Belly Diseases 10 Of Lower belly Diseases 11 Of Venemous Diseases 12 Of Childrens Diseases Thirty four Books of Nich. Culpeper Gent. Student in Physick and Astrologie formerly published The first Twenty four Books Are all called the Practice of Physick Wherein is plainly set forth The Nature Cause Differences and several sorts of Signs Together with the Cure of al Diseases in the Body of Man Being a Translation of the Works of that Learned and Renowned Doctor Lazarus Riverius now living Councellor and Physitian to the present King of France Above fifteen thousand of the said Books in Latin have been sold in a very few Years having been eight times printed though al the former Impressions wanted the Nature Causes Signs and Differences of the Diseases and had only the Medicines for the cure for them as plainly appears by the Authors Epistle 25. A Sure Guide to Physick and Chyrurgery That is to say The Arts of Healing by Medicine and Manual Operation Being an Anatomical Description of the whol body of Man and its parts with their Respective diseases demonstrated from the Fabrick and use of the said Parts In Six Books of Riolanus translated and adorned with an hundred eighty four Figures cut in Brass 26 Vesâ—ingus Anatomy of the Body of Man Wherein is exactly described the several Parts of the Body of Man illustrated with very many larger Brass Plates than ever was in English before 27 A Translation of the New dispensatory made by the Colledg of Physitians of London Whereunto is added The Key to Galens Method of Physick 28 The English Physitian enlarged being an Astrologo-Physical Discourse of the vulgar Herbs of this Nation wherein is shewed how to cure a mans self of most Diseases incident to Mans Body with such things as grow in England and for three pence charge Also in the same Book is shewed 1 The time of gathering al Herbs both Vulgarly and Astrologically 2 The way of drying and keeping them and their Juyces 3 The way of making and keeping al manner of useful Compounds made of those Herbs The way of mixing the Medicines according to the Cause and Mixture of the Disease and the part of the Body afflicted 29 A Directory for Midwives or a Guide for Women Newly enlarged by the Author in every sheet and illustrated with divers new Plates 30 Galens Art of Physick with a large Comment 31 New Method both of studying and practising Physick 32 A
out of Christ from Prov. 23.34 II. Five Reasons thereof 1. They are under the curse of God 2. All creatures are their enemies 3. All the waies of Gods providence are against them 4. All their best services are rejected 5. They have no refuge for comfort III. Two conclusions from the premises 1 Most men live and perish in blindness 2 There is an insufficiency in al things out of Christ to give rest with the Reasons thereof Page 205 Chap. 27 The insufficiency of every thing besides Christ to give rest to the Soul is further enlarged with several choice Considerations Page 210 Chap. 28. Of the Rest that a Beleever hath by Christ from the guilt of sin laid out in ten Particulars 1 Christ takes upon himself al the sin of them that come to him stands charged with them before his father 2 He satisfieth for sin 3 The wrath of God is appeased 4 He is continually at the right hand of his Father to intercede for Sinners that come to him 5 Their Souls are sprinkled with the blood of Christ 6 The Soul at the first coming to Christ is made perfectly righteous before God 7 Christ not only undertakes for al the sins past but for al the sins to come 8 Guilt shal never return when it is once taken off 9 The soul at its first coming to Christ is cloathed with the righteousness of Christ 10 Such are sure that the day of judgment shal be the Solemnity of their absolution· Page 218 Chap. 39 The deliverance from the Law by Christ set out 1 Privatively in five Particulars 2 Positively in five Points more Page 228 Chap. 30 The Rest that beleevers have from the burden of the Law by coming to Christ laid out in ten Particulars 1 They do not stand or fal for life by the Law 2 The Law-giver is the Redeemer 3 The least spark of Grace is accepted 4 Their wil shal be accepted as the deed 5 Obedience is required in a sweet and gentle way 6 The grace of God in Christ doth melt the heart 7 Their sins make them an object of Gods pitty 8 They have Christ to undertake for them as a surety 9 They are delivered and yet satisfaction is made to the Law 10 They have assurance that they shal never forfeit the covenant of grace they are under by Christ Page 234 Chap. 31 Containeth divers Consequences from the rest Beleevers have from the burden of the Law And Lessons they are taught from thence Page 249 Chap. 33 Of the rest from Legal performances and the several waies how this rest comes from Christ viz. duties are delightfull to the soul because Christ renders God unto the soul in a gracious way 2. They are not performed as satisfactory but as testimonies of love and thankfulness 3 Christ himself offers up the duties to God 4 They are performed from the Law in the heart 5 They have the Promises joyned with them Page 262 Chap. 35. Two other waies whereby the former point is cleered with some consequences from the same and the use of the whol The First way is that whilst the soul is performing duty the strength of it is continually renewed Secondly The soul hath the love of God shed abroad into the heart The first Consequence is happiness of a Christian here Secondly Hence cometh the perseverance of beleevers The use of all is to exercise much faith in Christ Page 285 Chap. 36 Sheweth the Rest from the remainder of Corruption to be Sanctification and that to be a great Rest Laid open in six particulars 1 It is the right temper of the heart 2 In it the soul doth in great part attain its end 3 In it the soul lives the life of God 4 It raiseth the soul above the region of al troubles 5 It turnes every thing to good 6 It is the beginning of Glory Page 291 Chap. 37. Sheweth that Sanctification is only IN Christ Page 297 Chap. 38. Sheweth how our sanctification cometh from Christ in six particulars 1 It was the end of his coming to destroy the works of the Devil 2 He is the great Ordinance appointed by God to sanctifie his people 3 His death is appointed to mortifie sin 4 By him the curse upon the heart is taken away 5 By his union with Beleevers being the head of the second Covenant 6 In Christ are the strongest arguments for holiness that can be Page 300 Chap. 39 Containing two strong Arguments in Christ for holiness First In him the soul sees the greatest breach between it and God by reason of Sin Secondly In him it sees the greatest Hatred of Sin in God Page 313 Chap. 40 Shewing how Sanctification comes from Christ in six Particulars more 1. It is he that reveals the Father to the Soul 2. Through Christ the Love of God is shed abroad into the heart 3. All the Promises are made to us through him 4. In him all the Ordinances are effectual 5. He sends the Spirit into the heart 6. Christ Rules in the heart Page 317 Chap. 41. Six Consequences from the former Doctrine I. The difference between beleevers and the state in Adam II. We see the difference between Civility and true holiness III. We see the reason why so many Vowes and Covenants to live holily come to nothing IIII. It is impossible for any to be a member of Christ and not be holy V. Be not hindred from comming to Christ albeit you have not so much holiness as you desire VI. Hence we learne how to Vnderstand Christ aright Page 327 Chap. 42. Containeth an exhortation to come to Christ wherein Three hindrances are removed And six encouragements laid down First The Union between Christ and a beleever Secondly From the great Love of Christ Thirdly corruption is the burden of Christ as wel as of a sinner Fourthly He healed the bodies of many he will much more the soul Fifthly he knows what it is to be Tempted Sixtly It is for the Honor of the Death Resurrection and life of Christ to give Holiness Page 337 Chap. 43. Containes the conclusion of the former doctrine of Sanctification with divers directions how to come to Christ for holiness I. Be sensible of the want of it II. Be not satisfied with the ordinances further then you meet with Christ III. Come not so much for comfort and peace as for holiness IV. Be sensible of new supplies V. Converse with Christ in the Gospel Page 341 Chap. 44 Sheweth that a beleever hath Rest in Christ in al troubles he can meet with in the world which is laid out in four Particulars 1 All afflictions are at his disposal 2 In him the curse is taken away 3 They stand with Gods love 4 They are measured by God Page 348 Chap. 45. The Rest beleevers have from Christ in outward afflictions discovered in four Particulars more 1. They shall be to good ends 2 They shall be sanctified to the good of beleevers 3. God is present with his people
in darkness they can have God the Father made known to them by no means but by me there is no way for them to know what is in the Heart of God the Father towards them but by me and therefore Oh! Sinners come to me Here is the dependance of the words upon the former Likewise consider what followâ— If the poor should say Oh! blessed Saviour we are vild unworthy creatures we lie under the weight and burden of the guilt of our Sins and shal such as we come to thee Yea saith Christ notwithstanding that yet come to me The word in the Greek here hath an emphasis beyond that which you have in your Books it is not Venice that is usually translated come but adeste it is a word exhortation not a meer word commanding but a word of Exhortation as one friend calls to another in a familiar sweet way and saies come hither I come to thee Oh! blessed Saviour saith the poor Sinner thou art the Holy one of the Father thou art God blessed for ever and how should I be able to come to thee now saith Christ I am meek and I am lowly come to me and I wil lay no further burden upon you no other yoke upon you I am meek and lowly and I wil shew my self to be meek and gentle and loving to you I wil not upbraid you if you come I wil not say to you as Jeptha said to the Elders of Gilead you did hate me and cast me out and why are you come to me in your distress but if you come to me you shal find rest to your Soules and be sure that whatsoever yoke shal be layed upon you it shal be but an easie yoke and whatsoever burden shal be layed upon you it shal be but a light burden And thus you have the dependance of the words and the scope of them Now further for the meaning of them come to me ye that Labor The word translated here Labor is I think in some of your books Weary al ye that are weary And it signifies a cutting Labor it comes from a word that signifies to cut any kind of trouble or vexation that is upon ones spirit that is cutting a cutting trouble somtimes it is used for any kind of trouble in the world as in Revel 14.13 Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord for they rest from their Labors from al their trouble and affliction Al you that Labor and are heavy Laden the word comes from a word that signifies the Lading of a Ship such a loade that would load a Ship heavy laden this is the meaning of the words You that are under such afflictions of spirit as you are even cut again you that Labor under the trouble anguish and sorrow of your hearts And then you that are under such a burden that even would lade a Ship that is ready to sink your souls down into the bottom of dispaire you that are in such a condition come to me you that can find no rest any where else come to me and I wil give you rest So that here in vers 28. You have these three things for the division of it 1. The discription of those whom Christ would invite to himself what kind of people they are or the condition of such as are invited and required to come to Christ the subject Such as Labor and are heavy Laden 2. The sweet and gracious invitation of Christ to such Come to me come to me you that do thus Labor and are thus heavy Laden And 3. A Gracious promise unto such as come unto Christ that Christ wil give rest unto their Souls These are the three things in vers 20. For the first I shall only speak of that at this time though the other two are the Chief that I do intend And I speake of the first only as making way unto the other two that follow For the reason why I chose this scripture was to draw the Soul unto Christ and to open the riches of this promise of rest to shew what rest the Soul shal have in Christ that doth come unto him CHAP. II. Containing a Description of them whom Christ invites to come unto him which is laid down in this doctrine That they whom Christ cals to come unto him are such as Labor and are heavy Laden Whether 1. Vnder the burden of the righteousness of the Law Or 2. Vnder the weight of their sins Or 3. Vnder the power of any corruption Or 4. Vnder any outward trouble or Affliction YOu that Labor and are Heavy Laden So that then the point is DOCT. That those that Labor and are Heavy Laden are called to Christ Such as Christ calls are Such as Labor and are Heavy Laden 1. Such as Labor and are Heavy Laden under the burden of the righteousness of the Law So Chrisostom carries the text Those that heretofore have sought righteousness by the Law and find it very burdensom to them they that are toyling and laboring to get peace and rest unto their souls by the works of the Law but find themselves tyred find that peace and rest doth not come that way are even toyled and tyred and do as it were stick in the mire but yet find no peace nor rest that way Now saith Christ unto them come unto me as if he should say This is not the right way to get true peace and rest to your souls to think to bring it about by the works of the Law you may toyl labor performe duties and not dare to do any thing against your consciences be very strict in your lives be striving to do more and more And yet this wil not bring true rest and peace unto your souls you wil never have peace and rest through the righteousness of the Law you must have it by me There are many whose consciences God hath begun to enlighten to see that there is an evil in Sin that sin wil bring death that it doth endanger their souls of damnation eternally they are convinced of this and that they might have peace with God is the thing their souls doth much desire O! that they might have the pardon of sin and peace with God O! that they might have their consciences quieted God doth awaken the consciences of many men and women who yet have no saving grace and they spend a great deal of time in laboring and taking much pains to get their Consciences quiet there is many that have been divers years laboring and taking paines to get their consciences to be quiet and cannot but their consciences ever and anon wil be flying in their faces troubling of them and yet they are such people as dare not commit any known sin dare not neglect any known duty are constant in prayer in secret attend upon the word And whensoever they heare of a duty that they should perform they labor to set upon it withal their might but alas they feel little sweetness and comfort in
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
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
worse then his If the King were going in his Robes to the Parliament a long the streets and should see such a poor creature lying by the Walls and should take special notice of him and call him to him and say let that poor creature come to me it would incourage him exceedingly this invitation from Christ is just the very same for the Lord Jesus Christ sees thee lying in thy gore blood as it is described in Ezekiel 16. where the miserable condition of them that are in their Natural estate is most elegantly set down they lay in their blood none Eye pittyed them then I came saith God and said unto thee live and this time was the time of Love so when thou liest in thy poor wretched miserable condition in thy filth in thy baseness in the Gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity this blessed Redeemer this great Prince of al the world he cals to thee and saies Oh! thou poor creature Come to me I You will say this is the discouragement of all I would be glad to go to Christ the Lord knows this is that my Soul pants after that I might go to Christ but I am such a poor vile creature so Wretched so Miserable that it is impossible for me to be accepted you tel me that for an argument that is the greatest discouragement of my Heart because I am so vile and because I am so Wretched this is that discourageth me from coming to Christ ARG. VII To that I answer in the Seventh place Come to me and I will certainly receive you whatever you are Christ will certainly receive all those that come to him whatever they are and for that consider these three things that may make it plain First The Solemn expression of Christ for this purpose that you have in John 6.37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out He doth not say he that hath been such a great sinner such a vile wretched sinner but he speaks indefinitly he that comes to me I will in no wise cast out Now this that is translated in your Books In no wise cast out it hath a greater force in the Greek there is two Negatives for though we in English say two Negatives make an affirmative it is not so in Greek for it is for a stronger confirmation of a thing and so it may be read He that cometh to me I will not not cast out as if so be Christ should say he that comes to me I will not I will not cast out As we when we would express the fervency of our Spirits we double our speech so doth Christ he would express the Fervency of his spirit and therefore he saith he that cometh to me I will not I will not cast out Secondly Whoever thou art upon coming to him he will not cast thee off for this was the great errand that Christ came into the world for to receive poor troubled souls and to ease poor Laden sinners it was the very business that Christ came into the world about it is the work that God the Father hath sent his Son into the world about that he might receive such poor wretched sinful creatures as thou art and if it were not that he should receive those that come to him he should lose the end that he came into the world for and therefore he will receive you when you come for Christ saies I shal else lose the end of that that was the greatest work that ever was done since the world began or shal be done to al eternity that is my undertaking the Mediation between God and you if I should not receive poor Souls that come to me that great work would be lost that work wherein my Father and my self is so much glorified for this is the glory of Christ to do so and Christ saw there was so much glory to be had this way that it did move Christ to come into the world to take such a course as this is to save Souls Christ knows that he should to all eternity be magnified by Angels for the saving such Souls as thou art Yea Christ knows that the Father wil love him more for he saies The Father loves me because I laid down my life for the Sheep John 10.17 It is that that will delight God the Father it is that that wil make God the Father to delight in the Son it is that whereby Jesus Christ gets the very end of his death til he had laid down his life till he had made his Soul an offering for sin he was not satisfied This is it that satisfied him that he should see his Seed and amongst others thou art one thou that comest to Christ thou art of the Seed that Jesus Christ is so satisfied with that he gaines the very end of laying down his life for thee and certainly Christ will not cast thee off but wil receive thee and therefore come to him Thirdly He will receive thee for he hath heretofore received as vile wretches as thou art You will say There was never any so vile as we are It s true we may and ought to judg our Selves as vile as the worst though we have not committed such vile sins outwardly as others have yet because we know not the Hearts of other men nor do we know what means others have had therefore we are to judg ourselves as vile as any but know that Christ hath received as bad as thou art those that pierced Christ that shed his blood Christ received 3000. of them in one day he received three thousand in one day of those that had inbrued their hands in his blood and the story stands in the Scripture for an everlasting Monument to incourage poor sinners to come to Christ And besides though thou art a vile sinner and a wretched creature yet know the greater thou hast been in thy sin the more will the Grace of God in Christ be magnified and certainly there is in Christ such a Grace as is able to swallow up great sins as well as little as the infinite Ocean of the Sea is able to swallow up great Vessels as well as smal were it not a silly thing when we were to cast a Vessel into the Sea to say it is too great a Vessel God is willing to have his Grace magnified to thee though it be to the hardening of many thousands If there is an infinite Ocean in God to swallow up great as well as smal sins so long as this keeps thee off from coming to Christ so long thou dishonorest this infinite Grace of God in Christ Were Gods mercy only such as his common bounty is to other of his creatures this might keep thee off but now it being the infinite Ocean of mercy in his Son and purchased by Christ it is an infinite dishonor to the Grace of God in Christ to stand upon tearms and not to come to
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
eternal life it self and therefore there is rest in it it is so far from getting eternal life by it as it is rather eternal life it self then so much as any way to eternal life for this may be said though I performe duty it is true God hath taught me so much that now under the Gospel we must not think to get eternal life by our duty by our works this is popery yet it is the way to eternal life the way that tends to it it is via ad Regnum the way to the kingdom though not the cause of Raigning Nay I wil shew you a further thing then so the wayes of obedience and holiness in a Christians course they are rather eternal life it self then the way to it they have more excellency in them then being the way to life It is true it were a great deal of ease and rest to ones spirit to consider of holy duties but as the way to heaven if a man were going a journy and knew the ende of his journy should be very glorious to him if it were to receive a crown a kingdom though it were a boysterous day and stormy weather and the way were very foul he would not be troubled at it but he would account it very comfortable to know that he is in the right way for he thinks this wil lead me to my journeys end and when I come there that wil make amends for al. And the truth is there were ease and rest enough in the waies of God if God did reveale no more unto a soul then this these are the wayes that lead thee to life and salvation that lead thee to a kingdom to glory especially considering that before we were out of the way we were wandering in the wayes of death and destruction and God by his Almighty hand hath brought us into the right way When a man is going a Journy of great consequence and he is gone out of the way and God by his providence hath brought him into his right way O! what ease is in his spirit Before when he was out of the way what distraction and disquietness of heart but now when he comes into the way Oh! what ease and quiet is in his spirit so I say this were ease and rest enough of spirit to know that whereas before the soul was wandering in the path of death now it is in the path of life But I tel you further then so that when thou art performing of holy duties and exercising of the grace of God in the performance of those duties thou art not only in the way of eternal life but thou art in eternal life it self not only in the way to the kingdom but in the kingdom not only in the way to heaven but in heaven it is eternal life This is eternal life to know thee the true God and thy son whom thou hast sent into the world And that place in the Epistle of St. John he speakes of a murderer one that did hate his brother in the first of John 3.15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer and you know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him Then it appeares that one that loves his brother and is Godly and gracious hath eternal life abiding in him for that must needs follow if this be the evil condition of a wicked man that hates his brother that he hath not eternal life abiding in him then by the rule of contraries it must needs be a truth that he that hath holiness and loves his brother he hath eternal life abiding in him and therefore such a one he hath eternal life already to come downe to him he is in heaven already So the scripture makes grace but the beginning of glory it is no other but the very beginning of heaven in the soul And therefore in that golden chain in Rom. 8.30 Whom God hath predestinated them he also hath called whom he hath called them he hath justified whom he hath justified them he hath also glorified Marke but where is the link of sanctification It is not whom he hath predestinated he hath called and whom he hath called he hath sanctified and whom he hath sanctified he hath glorified One would have thought the chain should have gon along in that linke but there is no mention of sanctification Why because sanctification is nothing else but glorification begun and glorification is nothing else but the perfecting of sanctification Now I beseech you observe this as a most special thing that belongs to a Christian the best duties that we performe are nothing else but the life of heaven to us nay the truth is it is the life of God And therefore it is said of ungodly men before they come to Christ they are strangers to the life of God therefore when thou art come to Christ thou hast the life of God in thee and the life of heaven in thee and the beginning of Glory Glory and eternal life thou doest live whilst thou art in performance of holy duties What is the happiness of heaven but for the Saints and Angels to be exercised in magnifying the riches of God and of Christ now thou beginnest it here and therefore if thou knowest what this is thou art not I say to look upon any duty that thou performest meerly as a duty but thou art to look upon it as a priviledg yea as part of thy wages That is a certain truth that Gods work it is wages and the improving of that principle would help us very much in our Christian course if thou didst live and account every duty that thou performest to God to be wages Oh! with what sweetness wouldest thou go on in the performance of those duties that God requires of thee thou art receiving thy wages when thou art performing of duties In Rom. 6. and the last The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ At the 22. verse it is thus But now being freed from sin and become servants unto God you have your fruit unto holiness and the end everlasting life For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. You have your fruit unto holiness it is the fruite unto holiness which is the gift of God and holiness it is nothing else but the gift of God and the beginning of eternal life the fulness of eternal life that indeed is the end of it but the fruit that you have for the present it is holiness and that holyness that is the gift of God it is the beginning of eternal life here in this world Then indeed is a christian wel improved in Evangelical obedience when he doth account duties to be mercies and when mercies are turned into duties as when we turne Gods mercies into duties that is an argument we receive Gods mercies from a Covenant of grace and there wil be linkes of Gods mercies towards
in the 24. verse O wretched man that I am who shal deliver me from this body of death that is the remaining corruption that was in his heart Marke the very next words that follow I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. As if he should say the deliverance that I must have from this body of death it is from God but how through Jesus Christ our Lord The Apostle doth not only thank God for it and say al grace must come from God but he thanks God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Thus we must understand how grace comes unto us indeed God is the fountain of al but it must come from God through Jesus Christ our Lord as al mercies that we have for the pardon of our sins Now it is not from God immediately as the first person or as Creator of heaven and earth but it is from God through Jesus Christ So al the holiness that we have now it is from God through Jesus Christ our Lord. And then take one scripture more and then we shal come to the third particular which is the cheif we aimed at and that is in the 26. of the Acts. the latter end of 18. verse That they may receive remission of Sins and inheritance amongst them which are Sanctified by faith that is in Christ It is a speech of Christ unto Paul when he sent him to preach and tels him to what end it should he To open their eyes and turne them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God that they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith in Christ Multitudes of scriptures there are for this purpose CHAP. XXXVIII Sheweth how our sanctification commeth from Christ in six particulars 1. It was the end of his coming to destroy the works of the Divel 2. He is the great Ordinance appointed by God to sanctifie his people 3. His death is appointed to mortifie sin 4. By him the curse upon the heart is taken away 5. By his union with beleevers being the head of the second Covenant 6. In Christ are the strongest arguments for holiness that can be THirdly And especially we are to enquire how Christ is the rest of sanctification come to me and I wil give you rest I will give you power against your corruptions and you shall have sanctification in and by me For that 1. We are to know That a special end why Jesus Christ came into the World it was to dissolve the works of the Devil that was a special End of Christs coming into the World In 1 John 3.8 He that committeth sin is of the Devil for the Devil sinneth from the begining for this purpose the son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the Devil whosoever is borne of God doth not commit sin for his seed remaineth in him and he cannot sin c. It is a strange scripture whosoever committeth sin is of the devil you say you defie the Devil but the holy Ghost saith if you commit sin that is walk in any way of sin For you wil say who is there that commits not sin Well but the words are thus He that committeth sin is of the Devil Therefore it is apparent there is a kind of commission of sin that is an argument they are of the Devil for they are the words of the Holy Ghost And for this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the Devil It was the end why he came into the World yea it is a special thing that Christ is anointed to by God the Father to deliver Souls from the bondage of their corruption and to work Holiness in them That you have in Isa 61. and the beginning that notable prophesie concerning Christ The Spirit of the Lord is upon me that is upon Christ for it is a prophesie of him because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted to proclaim liberty to the captives to Spiritual Captives that are under Spiritual bondage And then in verse 3. That they might be called Trees of Righteousness the planting of the Lord So that that is the first consideration of Christs giving the rest of sanctification that it is the end for which Christ was born and it is the end for which he was anointed by God the Father to Sanctifie the hearts of those that he shall redeem So that Christ is our Sanctification by attaining the end of his own coming into the World by fulfilling of that that God the Father hath anointed him for Secondly Christ is our Sanctification as the great ordinance that God hath set up for the Sanctifying of the hearts of his people I say Christ is set up as the great ordinance oppainted by God for this end the Lord hath set him up and filled him ful of holyness that holyness might be conveyed through him unto the souls that do belong unto him And therefore it is said in that known place As in John 1.16 Of his fullness we receive Grace for Grace Of his fulness Jesus Christ is filled ful of holiness as a cistern fild ful of precious liquor and grace must come through him unto the souls of all those that are Godly that are beleevers Faith draws grace from him grace for grace that is grace answerable to grace as print for print in a seal there is print for print in the wax look what print there is in the seal the same print is in the wax So look what grace is in Christ there is answerably in some measure the same grace in the Saints Of his fulness we receive and al the beleevers that ever were in the world have received al the grace that ever they have had from him out of his fulness and from him as the great ordinance that God hath set up for the dispensation of the graces of his spirit for the working of Sanctification in al those that shal be saved Yea Christ is such an ordinance appointed by God the father for holyness and sanctification as indeed there is so much virtue in him that the very looking upon Christ hath a power to sanctify the heart the very looking upon him As the brazen serpent in the wilderness you know was the great ordinance of God appointed for the healing of those that were stung with serpents and being the ordinance appointed for their healing those that did but look up to the brazen Serpent received virtue presently and were healed of their sting of the deadly disease that was upon them by the stinging of Serpents now this was by virtue of that ordinance Now then I reason thus if when God makes but a piece of brass an ordinance there shal be such a virtue in it that the very looking upon it shal have power to heal the body then if God shal make his own son Jesus Christ God blessed for
ever God and man to be an ordinance to heal the souls of his people surely then those that look up to him by the eye of faith wil receive healing of their souls as they did receive by looking upon the brazen serpent The very beholding of Christ hath a power to sanctify the heart And therefore if you would have holyness you must often look upon Christ set Christ in your eye be not only poring upon your Corruptions and looking downward into the blackness that there is in your spirits Many Christians are laboring under the burden of their corruptions a long time why because they spend their time and strength meerly in poring upon their corruptions and looking down to their corruptions But Oh Christian thou must look up set thy eye upon Christ the great ordinance and behold him as the great ordinance set up by God the Father for the conveyance of grace to the souls of beleevers and for the healing of al their souls and wounds and then there wil come healing virtue from him We read of the poor woman that had the bloody issue that spent al upon the Physitian shee did but come to Christ and touch the hem of his garment and then she was healed Surely Christ hath a great deal of virtue in him that the very touch did heal her and therefore he saith who hath touched me virtue went from him at the very touch of the hem of his garment Christ is the great ordinance and he is ful of virtue and excellency the looking upon him and touching of him brings virtue to the soul to heal the soul of its corruption Thirdly more particularly Christ brings sanctification unto the heart because the death of Christ is appointed by God to have an efficacy to mortify sin and corruption it is from application of the death of Christ filled with virtue and appointed by God for that end that it should have efficacy upon the heart to mortify corruption in the heart A man may resolve against his corruption he may vow and covenant against a sin he may strive and struggle against a sin he may pray against a sin he may fast to overcome his sin he may use all meanes that he thinks he can possibly use to overcome his sin and yet stil his sin not dead in him perhaps the meanes that he may use to restrain sin may keep down his sin but it wil never mortify his sin The application of the death of Christ that is appointed by God for Christ is appointed himself as the great ordinance But now more particularly I say that the way that is appointed by God for the mortifying of corruption it is the application of the death of Christ to the soul the virtue that comes from Christ as a dying Christ from Christ as a crucified Christ from Christ as a dead Christ to mortify corruption in the heart That is cleer from that place in Rom. 6. the begining What shal we say then shal we continue in sin that grace may abound God forbid how shal we that are dead to sin live any longer therein dead a part of his coming know you not that so many of us as were baptized into Christ were baptized into his death therefore we are buried into Baptism by his death And in vers 5. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death Again in vers 6. Knowing this that our old man is crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve sin The old man is crucified with him in his being crucified there is a virtue in Christs death for the crucifying of corruption that the body of sin might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve sin He doth not say that we might have some power against sin that sin might be restrained or that such a particular sin may be kept down but that the body of sin might be destroyed So that in the application of the death of Christ there is not only the overcoming of this particular sin but the Body of sin comes to be destroyed all those principles of sin in the soul with the connexion of them and joyning one to another as the Members are joyned in the Body they come to be destroyed that is though not wholly cast out and radicated yet the ruling power of them is taken away as soon as ever the soul is come to Christ the Body of sin hath a deadly stroke given to it There are many of you striving against this particular corruption somtimes one and somtimes another for those that are Gods Children their hearts are more inclined unto some sins than others and at somtime to some particular sin more than other It may be one labors under the burden of passion and another of unbelief and another of Pride and another of wantonness and divers particular corruptions they are laboring under It may be at some times you find one corruption stir and you strive against that and another time another corruption stirs and you spend your strength against that but now here 's the way to strike at the whol Body of Corruption at once If one shal go to cut down a Tree and stand chopping at one sprig and one branch and another branch the Tree may stand long enough for al that But now if he would get the Tree down he goes to the root and a few blows gets down all there So this is the wisdom of a Christian That when he comes to labor against any corruption he doth not spend his time so much against this or that particular corruption but strikes at the body of corruption and how gets he strength against that By applying the blood of Christ the death of Christ by faith against that and by this means the body of death comes to be destroyed And here is the reason that Christians in a little time grow so much and get so much power against their corruptions whereas others are a long time before they get any power at all Those that are not acquainted with the way of Christ you shall have one that hath been a notorious wretch a wicked person a swearer a Sabbath-breaker if it please God to bring him to the Word and reveal Christ to the soul you shall have a mighty change in this man in a week a great change that he doth not only leave off now drunkenness and then lying and then swearing and then Sabbath-breaking but all goes down together Why Because at one application of the death of Christ al the body of sin comes to be destroyed though not quite dead and withered As a Tree though it may be dead yet the Leaves may be green still So though there be not at first the withering of them yet there is the deadly stroke given and therefore the way to kill them is to renew the application of the death of Christ And indeed this should be the care of a Christian not to
Holiness NOW for the last thing that I propounded To exhort and draw beleevers to come to Christ and in this I shal endeavour to take away the many hinderances of the soul in comming to Christ for sanctification and also give some incouragements to the heart to come to Christ for sanctification You see here is the way to get power over corruption and to get grace namely to come to Christ Yea say you if I knew I were a member of Christ and had interest in Christ then I could come to Christ for power over my corruption and for grace but I am afraid I have no interest in him 1. For answer to that which is the main stop and hinderance of faith know that if thou hast but a heart to come to him for grace that is as good a signe of thy interest in Christ as any signe thou hast that is as good a signe of evidence of interest as any thou canst expect 2. You must come to him for grace and if thou hast not interest before yet thy very comming to him now for grace to help thee against corruption that very act of thine may give thee interest in Christ What is it that unites thee to Christ what is it that makes a member of Christ what is it that gives interest in Christ It is but the coming to him as you heard before in the point Quest Is you wil say If I had a right to him If thou comest now to Christ to get power over thy corruption and to get grace I say though thou hadst no interest before this very act may give thee interest in Christ and therefore be not discouraged but come to Christ 3. Wilt thou stay til thou dost find power against thy corruption before thou wilt come to him then thou wilt never have power against thy corruption for you have heard that it is Christ that is the foundation of thy sanctification And then for incouragements there are a great many excellent incouragements for poor sinners to come unto Christ First The consideration of the neere union that there is between Christ and us in regard of his very humane nature That place in Heb. 2.11 is a very notable scripture for our incouragement For both he that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are al one for which cause he is not ashamed to cal them brethren He that sanctifieth and those that are sanctified are al one what is that That is Christ is of the same nature that thou art Christ hath taken our nature upon him and the fulness of the Godhead doth dwel bodily in him so that thou mayest goe with the more boldness He that is thy brother is not ashamed to be called thy brother and therefore do not look upon him as at such an infinite distance as thy judge but looke upon him as thy brother as one with him He that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all one Thou and Christ together are one body Now what incouragement is here to expect Sanctification from Christ to overcome corruption because Christ and you are made one body of the same Nature and so neerly united and made one Secondly Consider that if Christ did love thee so dearly as to lay down his life for thee surely he wil never suffer thee to perish in thy corruptions shall Christ come down from Heaven and lay down his life for poor Souls and shall he suffer them to die under their corruptions Now if a many should be willing to lay down his life for a Child and he should come and see the Child lie in the dirt ready to be stifled in the dirt could he go by and not regard the Child This is our case Christ hath come and laid down his life for poor sinners but yet they see themselves ready to be stifled by their corruptions and they cry to him for help surely Christ wil not pass by and let thee lie in thy filthyness to be stifled in thy corruption when thou wast so dear to him as to lay down his life for thee Thirdly Another incouragement is this know that thy corruptions are the burdens of Christ as wel as thy burdens they are burdens to thy Soul and burdens to Jesus Christ and therefore he doth certainly pitty thee under them and wil help thee Fourthly If Christ had so much pitty as to heal the bodies of poor creatures here in this world so that there was no diseased body that ever come to him but he healed them surely then Christ wil heal Souls Christ hath more regard to immortal Souls then to bodies Fifthly Christ knows what it is to be tempted for Christ had no Corruption in him yet Christ knows what it is to be tempted and Christ knows by his own experience what a Burden it is to be tempted to sin and surely Christ cannot but know what a Burden it is to be overcome with sin Now Christ himself had the Burden of being tempted unto sin and Christ knows that thy Burden is greater then his burden was and that it is more to be overcome then to be tempted to sin and therefore he knows how to pitty thee Sixthly Know it is to the Honor of the Death of Christ the Resurrection of Christ and the life of Christ to help thee against thy Corruptions and quicken thee in Grace Christ accounts his resurrection and life to be honored when he sees the virtue and power of it to be in the Hearts of beleevers Wherefore then if it be to the Honor of the Death and resurrection and life of Christ it may be incouragement to thee to go to him for help against thy corruptions And this remember when thou art upon duty and begging for help against thy corruptions carry this Rule with thee I come to pray against my sins but together with my prayer let me act my Faith I come to hear the word I but together with my hearing let me act my Faith upon Christ as Mediator to help me against my corruptions I come to the Sacrament but I come to have communion with Christ to help me against my corruptions Oh! act thy Faith in the promises of the Gospel through the blessed Covenant and thou shalt find abundance of strength against thy corruption and Rest unto thy Soul CHAP. XLIII Containes the Conclusion of the former Doctrine of Sanctification with divers directions how to come to Christ for holiness I. Be sensible of the want of it II. Be not satisfied with the ordinances further then you meet with Christ III. Come not so much for comfort and peace as for holiness IV. Be sensible of new supplies V. Converse with Christ in the Gospel I Shal now only add a word or two for the concluding of this and so go on to the next rest that is here promised Come to Christ for the Rest of Sanctification for holiness for the truth is there is no true holiness but that which we have by our coming to Christ