calleth up his Officer Conscience out of all its Slumbers gives forth his uncontroulable Order to reprove the Rebel to set all his Sins in order Well Conscience must obey the Book is opened the Indictment as with the Voice of Thunder is read and the guilty Wretch roars out as one abandon'd to Despair It is like some Writings invisible till brought to the Fire and then all is legible But now on the other hand after a Man hath come under Christ's Yoke and continueth under it as a Loyal Subject in Faith Patience and sincere Obedience Now Conscience hath Peace and that upon sure and solid Ground Rom. 5. 1. Being justified by Faith we have Peace c. 2 Cor. 1. 12. This is our Rejoicing the Testimony of our Consciences that in Simplicity and Godly Sincerity not with Fleshly Wisdom but by the Grace of God we have had our Conversation c. Is it not then good to bear c. 6. It is good in respect of that security a Man hath under it that whatever befalls him here in this Life all shall now work for good I may now eat my Bread or want it with a chearful Spirit if I am tempted afflicted meet with Crosses Losses Disappointments in my Calling Well be it so yet this I know that being found in Christ and under his Yoke all lieth under that blessed Promise Rom. 8. 28. We know that all things work together for good c. Afflictions shall do thee good What good Ans Try thy Patience exercise thy Repentance learn thee Obedience make thee humble wean thee from the World conform thee to Christ shew thee more of the Corruptions of thy own Heart fill thee with more Pity and Compassion to others and finally fit thee more for thy Translation to Heaven Ah poor Desolate Sinner thou hast not one Syllable of this Promise or any other in the whole Book of God belonging to the while thou art Christless and Yokeless abiding under the Power of Unbelief and Impenitency thou abidest under the Terrible Threatnings of Divine Wrath and Vengeance thou hast not one poor Tag to hold to hang by for thy good only Divine Patience at present keeps thee out of Hell and that Darling Attribute thou abusest too but thou hast not one Promise to comfort thee Look into the Bible all 's against thee while thou refusest Christ's Yoke thy Part thy Portion in that Book lieth only among the Penal Statutes and Curses contained therein Look into the World all the Providences of God are against thee sculk were thou wilt send from County to County from one end of the Land to the other thou art but like a Rebel a Rogue Heavens Writs are out against thee so that no Place under Heaven is safe only under the Yoke of Christ and there thou wilt not come Ah my Brethren who would live in such a Case that but reflects reviews these things But now turn over a new Leaf come but over to blessed Jesus and under his easy Yoke and then all is for thee every Providence every Promise turns to and smiles upon thee every Wind whatever shall blow thee some good but till thou turn do what thou wilt thou can'st devise consult cast about thee to make thy Life comfortable all 's in vain Miseries attend thee thou dwellest on the dark side of the World not a Smile from God no he is angry with thee every Day at present thou art cursed and hereafter abiding out of Christ thou wilt be damned whereas would'st thou be but advised and perswaded to yield thy self to the Lord Jesus and his Yoke then even now in this Life would'st thou reap these six Benefits Thy Sins pardoned thy self adopted the Dominion of thy cruel Lusts subverted thy Duties accepted thy Conscience pacified and all the Providences of God sanctified to do thee good And then for the Life which is to come thy self eternally saved Which is next to be spoken to as falling under the second Branch viz. The blessed Effects and Consequences of bearing Christ's Yoke respecting the other World 2. It is good to bear the Yoke c. in respect of time to come And that briefly will appear if you consider That now the grievous Sting of Death is removed and the glorious Rest of Heaven remaineth So that I may now say Blessed be God my Eternal State is secured let Death come when it will I am safe as to the other World O Sirs when dreadful Fears of misâ—arring for ever fall upon a poor Creature it 's sad indeed that Word for ever the Thoughts of it work strongly and mightily on the Spirit of a tender Doubting Christian Hence I remember I have read of the Primitive Christians that they use to say Domine hic seca hic ure c. i. e. Lord cut here burn here so thou spare hereafter Ah poor unconverted Sinner thou art not sure of this Life another Hour that Deut. 28. 66. is but a sad Case O but then what is it to hang in suspense about everlasting Life if it were but a measuring Cast it were enough to disquiet a Man all his Days to go up and down in suspense about Eternity Ah I don't know but I may be damn'd for ever But my Brethren when it 's ten twenty nay an hundred to one but I am lost and undone for ever my next remove will be into Hell O! how can I eat or drink or sleep or laugh when there 's but a Paper-wall between my Soul and Hell When eternal Flames are e'en ready to kindle on me When if I am not found under this Yoke of Christ God's Truth stands ingaged for my Damnation Unconverted young Ones Have you no Pangs Can your Youthful Vanities quite drown the Fears the Thoughts of Eternity Do you never think of that Day of Judgment Or dare you in good earnest Poor Creature Suppose thou should'st make a Shift at best a sorry one God knows to rub through the Miseries that attend a Christless State in this Life Ah! what Shift in all the World can'st thou imagine thou can'st make when thou com'st to die and thence to be consigned to the dreadful Tribunal of an inexorable Judg This will be a Dilemma thou wilt never be able to answer Each Step of thy present Life thou now takest is towards Hell each Morsel thou now eat'st is but a feeding a fatning thee for the Day of Slaughter And what Peace can a Thief take in a long Table of Dainties with a Gallows at the end of it Sirs for the Lord's-sake think of the After-claps of Death and Judgment how bitter the Effects and Consequences of a vain and sinful Life will be What a Recoil what a Shriek will thy Soul give when it finds nothing opening before it but the eternal World and feels it self a sliding down a launching forth into that amazing Ocean of Eternity and has no Christ no Hope to fly to But now once come under the Yoke of Christ
talk in a customary manner of Conversion the Lord be merciful to us and it s much to be feared for the most part it is but Talk Had we Ministers a clearer realizing view of the Truth of Matters between a Holy God and Multitudes of the Professors of this Age it were enough to make us with Ezekiel stamp with the Foot lie on our Side and eat Dung and with weeping Jeremiah to cry out O that our Head were Waters c. and with Isaiah to cry aloud and lift up our Voice like a Trumpet to shew Professors their Sins mournfully complaining who hath believed our Report To whom is the Arm of the Lord revealed Ah I fear the Lord is angry his Spirit retired and withdraw'n from our Assemblies a Spirit of Carnality has broke out and brought forth a Spirit of Division in these Days of Liberty Church-Members many prove rotten and are become like Salt that hath lost its Savour we grow Bulky instead of Holy run out into Leaves and Stalk instead of Fruit hollow instead of hearty the honour of our Profession is laid in the Dust Ministers die away apace grey Hairs are on us but who lays it to Heart O that this were not our Case Verily unless the Lord of Hosts had left among us a Remnant we had been as Sodom and as Gomorrha Isa 1. 9. And a Remnant there must still be or the ruin of the Land is near My self with many others are upon the Brink of Eternity and will be removed from you by Death shortly wherefore you young People had need beware and tremble at any further delays of your Conversion and coming under Christ's Yoke in such Days as these wherein our Iniquities are increased over our Heads and reach up to the Heavens and there is so much of a dead Formality reigning among Professors and so little of the Power of Christianity It is sad to see how some young Men descended of Religious Parents are so yok'd to Evil Company c. That Parents Tears Sighs Groans melting Intreaties and Expostulations are weak as Water cast upon the Ground and their Childrens Lusts strong as Goliah or the Sons of Zerviah too hard for all so that one may almost as soon draw a Camel through a Needle-Eye or pull one Limb from another as draw or pull them from their Cups and Evil Companions Moreover it is lamentable to consider enough one would think to turn this Place into a Bochim how many Yokeless Christless young Men and Maidens and Children are here before the Lord this Day and that are like so to live and so to die after all our Endeavours to save them O do not think I am uncharitable the Searcher of Hearts knoweth what my Hearts Desire and Prayer hath been and is for you and how glad I would be in this Matter to be mistaken O young People Presumption is the reigning Sin among you in this secure Age both in City and Country Conversion is another manner of matter than many apprehend there is according to Scripture much required to make it sound and bespeak it saving The Lord keep you from Flatteries and Deceits in this thing so that it is upon this Consideration that we manage our present Intreaty to come under the Yoke and what can be more awful Wide is the Gate and broad is the way to Hell and many saith Christ go in there but strait is the Gate c. Ah how bitter is it to think how many are now yoked in Chains of Darkness with Devils for refusing Christ's Yoke the last Year How numerous is your last Year's Printed Bill of Mortality near one and twenty thousand that have died in and about this great City and it is computed by some that the one half according to the Term and Date of Man's Life set down in Psal 90. 10. had not lived out half their Days now as many of these as died unconverted whether Young or Old are now perished and are past all hope of recovery to all Eternity But now what if many of you that have escap'd the last Year and now are hearing me should be found going after them in the same Steps of Impenitency and Unbelief refusing the gracious Yoke of Christ and so before this New-Year is finished you should have finished and filled up the measure of your Sins and be turned among them into Hell too would not that be a Woful and Dreadful thing Verily Sirs it 's bitter as Death to see some of you just of the same stubborn Temper making light of all that God or Man say to you on you go still in your former Course of Undutifulness Pride c. Notwithstanding the warnings of Providence the threatnings of Vengeance the checks of Conscience the waitings of Patience and all the melting Methods of Divine Clemency and Indulgence yet mad upon your Youthful Lust trifling in the momentous concerns of your precious and immortal Souls and you seem as if you were resolved to continue so my earnest desire is that it may not be so with any of you here this Day But yet I am not without Jealousies and Fears least this Sermon should leave divers of you as very Belialites i. e. refusing the Yoke of Christ as it found you Well! the Lord be witness between you and I whether I have not set Life and Death Good and Evil before you and whether if any of you should perish you perish for want of warning or no 2. Consider how uncertain the youngest of you are of out-living the present New-Year Young Man what is thy Life Is it not as a Vapour Jam. 4. 14. It is wholly conceal'd from every Soul of you whether the present Day may not be your last and a Writ of Ejection be served upon you before another Day Luke 12. 20. It is but a slender weak Thread that ties thy Soul and Body together viz. The Breath that goeth out of thy Nostrils if that be once stopt which may soon be thou art gone hence and must return no more Ah how many now in the beginning of this New-Year are big with Projects and Purposes about the World that will be numbred with the Dead and be laid in the Dust before the half of its Month's be numbred and accomplished Certainly a serious Consideration hereof is enough to enforce and constrain you without one Moments delay to come under the Yoke of Christ It was Augustine's Speech that he would not for a Million of Worlds be an Atheist one half-hour because he knew not but God might take him away in that half-Hour of Atheism O young Man awake now out of this sinful Security and flie for Refuge to Christ and his Yoke since thou knowest not but thy next time of Sleep thy Soul may be required and thou may'st awake no more 3. Consider how many of God's own Children walk in the bitterness of their Souls to this very day in bearing the reproach of their Youth for not bearing the
coming under Christ's Yoke to save and secure your Immortal Souls from the Damnation of Hell Can their remain then any Doubt in this thing viz. The importancy and weight of coming under Christ's Yoke and that betimes or making over our precious Soul to Christ in an everlasting Lease or Bond when you are a lost Soul for ever if you do not and there remains no way but one with you even eternal Damnation unless you thus comply with God's established way of Life and Salvation as he hath plainly declared in the Gospel O then with what continual Solicitude and Carefulness should you mind and attend this one would think that it should swallow up your Thoughts Night and Day and that to talk of Indifferency and Remissness in this Case should be esteemed and entertained as talk of folding the Arms and betaking your self to sleep in case you were in a Ship that was ready to sink or an House that hath taken Fire So likewise one would think in so weighty a case to talk of Difficulties that there is a Lion in the way were a strange Impertinency and trifling when such an absolute necessity lies upon you in good earnest without delay to come to Christ and yield Subjection to his Yoke or be sentenced to an everlasting Destruction from his Presence 2 Thess 1. 8 9. to comply with and stand to his gracious Terms or fall into the Hands of a Sin-revenging living God Now since it s thus I make a solemn appeal to you young People before the Lord of Heaven and Earth this Day whether ever condemned Malefactor trembling under the fearful expectation of a shameful Death had more just cause supposing he received some hints that upon his Submission a Pardon for Life might be obtained to esteem it a Business of the most important deepest Concernment speedily to seek and humbly to sue for the King's Grace and Mercy than you have to Day while it 's called to Day to look upon it as the most serious awful Business that ever your Thoughts could converse with viz. to come in and comply with this way which God hath provided for and proposed to you not only as the best but the only way So that if this be refused there is no other you have no other Choice eternal Death lies upon the Neglect of it The Lord awaken you this Day to consider it You and I must at the Judgment of the Great Day stand accountable for this Sermon I have insisted the longer upon it because of that abounding Sloth and Aversion of our backward Hearts hereunto Which in course leads me in the seventh Place to tell you 7. That it is necessarily requisite on your part in order to come under Christ's Yoke to understand that since things are as you have heard surely it is no time for sitting still when you have a Business of that Infinite Weight and Importance depending which must be done or you undone for ever but to be up and doing that you may escape the final Doom of Unbelievers and Impenitent Sinners There remains not the least Doubt but that in this Case Diligence and Care is the Duty of all and every Mothers Child here but who almost among us is there that is stirring and striving in the diligent use of Means viz. Retiredness from a vain World deep Musings and Soliloquies servent and frequent Wrestlings in Prayer vehement Desires firm and fixed Resolutions c. O! what a wretched Stillness and Carelessness is there to be found in your Closets and Consciences as to these things Tears are fitter than Words to lament it There is a Jesus that hath come to seek you when all were lost that hath done much to save you when all were undone and under the condemning Sentence of God's fiery Law He bore the Yoke of your Guilt that a way might be made to restore you to his gracious and easier Yoke of Service which was so necessary with respect to your Fallen State that he could not love and save you had he left it out and suffered you to follow the Inclinations of your own corrupt and wicked Hearss and let you had your Wills in a course of Rebellion and Sin Now pray what have you done towards securing the present and eternal State of your miserable Souls in coming under his blessed Yoke After all that Christ hath done his Agonies bloody Sweat his Death on the Cross where are thy Prayers Tears Cares Fears Tremblings When did'st thou go apart and solemnly set thy self to meditate and commune with thy own Heart about the State of thy poor Soul using some such Soliloquy as this viz. O my Soul How is it with thee What State art thou in of Nature or Grace What are thy Wants thy Ails thy Maladies Art thou in Christ or Christless What are thy Dangers Temptations Sins Hast thou fled for Refuge under Christ's Cross When was the time thou did'st close with his Person Did'st thou ever sincerely like and comply with his Terms Can'st thou come up before God's Tribunal and stand to it that thou hast made a free Surrender of thy Self to him and with a Loyal Heart given thy Neck to his Yoke Will thy Evidences hold Weight in God's righteous Ballance Or are they light false and deceitful like Flowers on a dead Corps or Varnish on a rotten Post Was 't thou ever throughly made sensible of humbled for and by renewing Grace quickned raised out of that Gall of Bitterness and Bond of Iniquity wherein thy Original Guilt did entomb thee This sort of Soliloquies is called in Scripture communing with ones own Heart making a diligent Search there Psal 77. 6. And then upon a Discovery of an yet abiding and remaining in the Chaos of corrupted Nature a solemn Enquiry is to be made O my Soul what hast thou been doing How hast thou spent thy time till now Did'st thou never hear or read of this thy vile State of Apostacy and Enmity Wast thou never called upon to turn and live e're this time Have not thy Parents many a time told thee thou wast conceived and brought forth in Sin and wert a Child of Wrath by Nature and that thou must be born again or perish Have not God's Ministers told and taught thee this altho thy Parents had not What if Death had come and haled thee out of this World to the Judgment-Seat in all thy Guilt and Sin Hast thou not seen many as young as thy self snatched away O how could'st thou divert and drive away Melancholly Thoughts of thy present Sin and approaching Misery and turn to Sports and Mirth and Follies and the vain Pleasures of a transitory deceitful World O! What a desperate Hazard hast thou run all the Days and Nights thou hast been in this World O foolish wretched Soul who hath bewitched thee thus to forget thy self yea to undo and destroy thy own and only Darling Self thy Soul which the whole World could'st thou gain it would be infinitely
upon carnal Sports and Vanities So that upon this Consideration the Commands of Christ are called a Yoke and that for these two following Reasons First Upon the account of that Reluctancy and Opposition that is since the Fall wofully and deeply rooted in our Natures against Obedience and Subjection to the Commands of Christ in the Gospel A Yoke you know is used to tame and subdue the unruly Creature and to bring it into Subjection So the Yoke of Christ serveth to humble and bring down the Proud and stubborn Spirit of Youth it holdeth an hard and strait Rein on the Neck of those furious and foolish Lusts which in that Age are usually Jehu-like impetuous and violent in order to stop them in their mad Carrear and course of Sin it being the very Picture and Property of Youth by Nature to affect an uncontroulable Liberty to run where they please do what they list and walk after the Imagination of their own Hearts submitting to no Government save that of their own Lusts As the Wise Man intimates in that Ironical taunt of his Rejoice O young Man in thy Youth and let thine Heart chear thee in the days of thy Youth and walk in the ways of thy Heart and in the sight of thine Eyes all this is marvelously chearing O it goes swiftly and swiftly down with Wind and Tide of Youth 's corrupt Nature but then comes in the pinching gauling Yoke in the reer of the Text Know thou that for all these things God will bring thee to Judgment Eccl. 11. 9. as if he had said O young Man at thy peril proceed pursue those forbidden Pleasures but wisely stop in time consider in order to thy speedy Repentance what a fearful fatal end they will certainly bring thee to if thou stop not if thou turn not for God will bring thee to Judgment for all and therefore remember thy Creator in the days of thy Youth before the Evil day of Death and Judgment seize thee as it followeth in the beginning of the next Chapter Now what need all this line upon line precept upon precept to bind us to the blessed Service of Christ were it not for that cursed Reluctancy and Opposition that is in our corrupt Natures against it And indeed I cannot but think our Saviour in using the Metaphor of a Yoke to set out his sweet and sacred Government by designeth the humbling of the best of us all even of the regenerate themselves for as much as we daily need to be yoked to his Service by reason of the Remainders of Corruption in us My Brethren what a Reproach doth it lay us under that the Service of our Redeemer which in it self is the most pleasant employment in the World and among the Inhabitants of Heaven where holy Souls are perfectly freed from the Reliques of Sin it is their Felicity and Glory that our Saviour who never miscalleth any thing should with respect to us call it a Yoke surely it calleth us to loath our selves and say after him Rom. 7. 23 24. I see a Law in my Members warring against the Law of my Mind and bringing me into Captivity to the Law of Sin that is my Members O Wretched Man that I am c. Alas there is yet Flesh in us lusting against the Spirit in this Life which still needs the Yoke of Christ to be subduing and mortifying of it I dare appeal to all who have spiritual Life and Sense in this thing whether they do not find it so what else meaneth that Hue and Cry that is ever and anon raised in the Soul against indwelling Sin O Cursed Sin what Mischief hast thou wrought in me what Miseries hast thou brought on me the hidings of God's Face the weakning my Grace the breaking my Peace the grieving away my Comforter the deadning distracting my Heart in Prayer c. Hence O Wretched Man that I am c. Alas whensoever I set upon any thing that is good I find something within me opposing more then than at any time enticing and drawing off my Heart a bitter Root springing up to trouble me Hence O the Hurries Tumults and Distractions many times in the most Spiritual Duties Alas the Canaanites are yet in the Land lying in waite to make new Breaches between God and the Soul and to fill it with renewed Doubts and Fears So that there is no time to be secure to cast off the Yoke until we put off this Earthly Tabernacle Indeed sometime through Grace the renewed Soul findeth at an Ordinance such Heavenly Influences and Incomes of Light and Love as enlarge the Heart set it at liberty like the Chariots of Aminadab to run the ways of God's Commandments Psal 119. 32. and as the Spouse saith when the King sitteth at the Table my Spicknard sendeth forth its Pleasant smell then stay me with Flagons comfort me with Apples for I am sick of Love She sings as if she had put off her Yoke her Harness and ended her Warfare and took down her Harp and should no more need her Militant Graces of Repentance and Self-denial but alas how soon doth a fit of Security overtake her and then her Beloved was withdrawn and gone and she mourns Thus it is with renewed Souls when the Spirit of the Lord which is like the Wind blowing where it listeth blows and breathes draws and shines in making free and fresh Discoveries of the Love of Christ through the Lattice of an Ordinance to the Soul then there is Life and Liberty to run the Heavenly Race as if no Clog no Yoke were on it the Love of Christ constrains it 's like a Corner of Heaven a Penuel the Soul seeth that of the Glory of a Christ as sets it a singing Lo the Winter is past and gone the Summer is come c. Cant. 2. 11. But as Bernard saith Rara hora brevis mora sapit quidem suavissime sed gustatur rarissime Tho there are such Seasons wherein Gracious Souls are surprized with these sweet Illapses of the Spirit as a Comforter yet they are rare and but of short continuance by and by the Feast is over the Ordinance ends the Blessing got but Jacob goes away halting Corruption that lay dormant like a Thief in the House waiting for the Sleepiness of the Inhabitant soon rouzes up and is at its old work again lusting against the Spirit it grows unruly and rebellious so that there is need for the Yoke still and a Reinforcement of Prayers Tears Self-denial holy Diligence and Watchfulness to yoke down the Flesh those Remanders of Pride Passion Unbelief c. let the best speak if they do not find it so Ah blessed Lord thy Yoke is of constant use Sin is so deeply rooted in us and so often has deceived us that without thy Yoke we should soon run astray like Children of Belial And this may suffice for the first Reason why it is called a Yoke Secondly It is called a Yoke in respect of Labour A
sort not unto Death and Damnation but unto Life and Salvation a Repentance never to be repented of And the same Christian will tell you that he is never so sad as when he feels his Heart hard and unrelenting So that upon the whole this Objection against the Yoke as if it were not good to bear because Repentance is required in it which you have thought to be so sour and unpleasant you see it proceeds from a meer palpable Mistake and Error it hath been want of Judgment and Understanding in you as Christ told the Woman of Samaria John 4. 10. If thou knewest the Gift of God thou would'st have ask'd of him and he would have given thee living Water So if thou knewest the sweetness of Gospel-Repentance thou would'st not endure to live a Day longer in an Impenitent State It 's certain Sin hath no such Pleasure as Repentance hath Hos 2. 7. I will return to my first Husband for then it was better with me than now Consult but thine own Experience or if thou hast had none ask thine own Conscience which Day of a Sinner's Life yieldeth the sweetest Rest and Repose at Night whether the Day wherein he has been a Drudg to his Lusts heaping Guilt upon Guilt against the Day of Reckoning Or the day wherein a Man hath been in the Fear of God confessing and forsaking his Sin that all may be blotted out when the Times of Refreshing should come from the presence of the Lord O the Hell upon Earth of the former Could you search the Bed dig up the Conscience of such a Man O what bitings tormenting Despair might you find at the bottom The deeper they have sunk in Rebellion the faster have they tied Damnation to their Souls O fearful miserable Condition But O the Heaven upon Earth of the latter How welcome may he be to both to his God and his Conscience And so how merry may he be in the dark Night on his Bed After a Seasonable April-Shower and breaking out of the Sun again how are the Flowers and Herbs refreshed In like manner after a penitent Soul hath gone forth largely and freely Weeping and Mourning for Sin how Sweet an Odour doth it leave in Conscience It returneth not ashamed but refreshed especially when it can espy a Bow in the Cloud or The Sun of Righteousness breaking through it and shining upon the Soul Mat. 4. 2. Thus having cleared up this that the most difficult part of Christ's Yoke viz. Repentance it self which usually through Satan's Cunning and Malice is represented to Youth as frightful and formidable is good i. e. pleasant which according to the School-distinction of Good into jucundum utile honestum is a material part of what is Good I say having done this and so waded through the most difficult craggy part of my way and work that was most liable to Objections it may shorten my work as to what remaineth This Fort of the Jebusites being won we may conclude all will yield if the most exceptionable part of Christ's Yoke will pass Muster we need not question the rest Thus I have done with the first Head of Argument to prove the Truth treated on viz. That it is Good in an absolute Sense to bear Christ's Yoke Now that it is so especially in time of Youth I shall reserve the proof of that to the Close of the second Head of Argument Wherefore I now shall pass on to the second Consideration mentioned for the clearing up the Doctrine That to bear the Yoke of Christ is the summary of all Good viz. 2. That it is so relatively with respect to the Effects and Conquances of it For the Demonstration and Proof of this it is to be considered that some of the blessed Effects of bearing Christ's Yoke in the time of Youth do respect this present Life and others that which is to come For what the Apostle saith of Godliness I may say of bearing the Yoke of Christ it being the same thing in Sense tho different in Sound It is profitable for all things having the Promise of the Life that now is and that which is to come 1 Tim. 4. 8. 1. Touching those that concern this present Life take these following 1. The bearing this Yoke is good in this respect viz. That now a Man may hereby come to know that his Sins are all pardoned and that the dreadful Controversy is at an end between the Great God and him This the Prophet David lays down as the summary of Blessedness Psal 32. 1. Blessed is the Man whose Transgression is forgiven c. This Load of Sin is laid on Christ So that there is now no Condemnation to him Rom. 8. 1. O how ravishing a thing is it to be able to say Well! Here I stand under this Yoke of Jesus with a full a free a final Pardon there is an Act of Grace and my Name is in it If Satan come with his Charge of my former Vileness Conscience sprinkled with the Blood of Christ may discharge all for Christ's Yoke and Blood go together Before a Man come under and bear this easy Yoke of Christ he abideth under the cruel Yoke of the Guilt of all his Sins O cursed Case poor Christless Sinner had'st thou but thy Spiritual Senses restored thou would'st find and feel the Yoke the Load of Guilt upon thy Soul to be incomparably a greater load than Mountains or all the dead Weights in the World can be to thy Body A Giant that can bear a great Stone on his Back can't endure a little one in his Bladder but roars out and the Earth it self that can bear the Hurricanes Tempests and Storms on her Surface can't bear a little Wind in her Bowels but heaves and sets and roars and opens and overturns Cities c. So the case is here when a Sinner's Conscience awakes in Power and by the Law which is the strength of Sin arrests chargeth curseth condemneth throwing like Fire-Balls into the Soul an exquisite Sense and feeling of its Sins in all their Aggravations and Guilt O till this poor wounded Spirit comes under the sweet Yoke of Christ it is impossible to express the Stabs the Wounds the Throws it feels within so true is that of Solomon The Spirit of a Man may sustain his Infirmity but a wounded Spirit who can bear i. e. A Spirit feeling the Yoke of Guilt or unpardoned Sin Racks Stakes Fire biting Worms rendring Tortures are tolerable to this of a wounded Spirit The Psalmist felt a great deal of it Psal 38. 4. when he cries out Mine Iniquities are gone over my head a Burden too heavy for me to bear and Psal 32. 3. But the greatest part of unpardoned Sinners are altogether unsensible of it and in the greatness of their Madness and Folly sport themselves under this Yoke of Guilt Prov. 14. 9. Fools make a mock of Sin which makes a serious Christian sigh and groan Thus now Contraries illustrate one another what a
Lustre and Glory doth this reflect and cast upon the bearing of the Yoke of Christ Under which the Soul is delivered from the intolerable Yoke of Guilt Now the Man may dwell at ease and in patience possess his Spirit all 's well Sin is pardoned if Death comes the next remove is to Life Eternal 2. To bear Christ's Yoke is good in respect of that comfortable Sense he may now have of his Adoption My Brethren coming under Christ's Yoke is coming into his Family he is now no longer a Fugitive a Vagabond a Foreigner a Stranger as he was before without God without Christ an Alien from the Covenant having no hope but now in Christ Jesus you who were sometimes afar off are made nigh by the Blood of Jesus yea Fellow-Citizens with the Saints and of the Houshold of God Eph. 2. 12 13. compar'd with ver 19. O how good is it then to come under the Yoke of Christ and so be under the blessed Order Rule Care and Provision of his Family There 's bread enough and to spare in your Father's House You may conclude upon Paternal Care and Affection Psal 103. 13. As a Father pitieth his Children so the Lord c. Jer. 31. 20. Is Ephraim my dear Son my Bowels are troubled for him Your Heavenly Father in case of Danger hath a Bosom for your Refuge and in case of Miscarriages he hath Bowels to pity you he will say it 's a Child of mine I won't cut him off Temptation has been too hard for him Corruption has run him down The Spirit was willing but the Flesh was weak I 'le visit his Sin with Stripes but my loving kindness I will never take away Again you may conclude upon Access to God as to a Father with a Child-like Boldness Sin was that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that great Gulph betwixt God and you now Sin being pardoned the Partition-wall is removed and there is no Bar to Communion but within you a sweet Spirit of Adoption and above you an eternal inheritance kept in Reversion for you But O! the sad Condition of those that never came under this Yoke of Christ they lie abroad open and expos'd to all the Miseries of this Life and Pains of Hell for ever while out of Christ they are of their Father the Devil and can look for no Childs Portion from Above but from Beneath Is it not then Good to bear this Yoke betimes 3. It is Good in respect of Freedom from the Yoke of Sin 's Dominion O young Man do but think what an Hellish Life the Service of thy Lust is its Commands are always unreasonable cross to the great End of Creation Preservation Redemption c. and sometimes they are cross one to another So every Sinner till he come under Christ's Yoke is miserably haled pull'd this way and that way an Ambitious Lust calls him up Stairs a Covetous Lust calls him down a most fearful intolerable Thraldom The Lord open your Eyes that you may see and escape it e're it be too late But now when a Man comes under Christ's Yoke he is no longer under the Law but under Grace and so no Iniquity shall have Dominion over him Rom. 6. 14. His old Sin-mates may call and knock till they are weary the answer now is Ego non sum ego and with David Psal 119 115. Depart from me ye evil Doers for I will keep the Commandments of my God I am a Companion of all them that fear thee I have sworn and I will perform it that I will keep thy righteous Judgments ver 63. and 106. This is through Grace now the final Resolution of one under Christ's Yoke and now the Heart is fixed till now it was halting between two and you know a Man can never be quiet while unresolved but now being united to Christ he is at his Center Râ—th 1. 16 17. Millions of Gold and Silver can't draw him thence Cant. 3. 4 I held him and would not let him go Poor Judas wanted this therefore his Friends his Money his Chapmen could give no quiet but under Christ's Yoke the Soul is at rest As a Woman when married all her troublesome Suitors have now done their Solicitations O how good is it then to bear Christ's Yoke 4. It is good in respect of acceptation of our Persons and performances Eph. 1. 6. He hath accepted us in the Beloved It is a fearful case for a Man's Person and Duties to be rejected of God yet this is the very case of every Child of Belial i. e. without Christ's Yoke O it 's none but those that yield Subjection to Christ that find acceptation with the Father Believers their Duties tho attended with much imperfection like lame Mephibosheth yet being themselves under Christ's Yoke they are not despised the Father sees his Sons Name and Image on them and so tho there is much Alloy in the Mettal yet it passeth in the Court of Heaven And is it not then good to bear Christ's Yoke c. 5. It is good in respect of that Peace of Conscience which it possesseth the Soul with O what a Paradise of Pleasures are the Reflexions of a good and peaceable Conscience Now bearing Christ's Yoke hath a direct tendency to it Psal 119. 165. Great Peace have they that love thy Law and nothing shall offend them And as many as walk according to this Rule Mercy and Peace shall be upon them Gal. 6. 16. When a Man subjects himself to this Yoke he meets with Rest and Peace in his own Conscience My Heart saith Job shall not reproach me so long as I live Ah poor rebellious Sinners do but suffer your own Consciences to tell you all they know and it is enough to make your Ears to tingle and your Hearts to tremble yea to make you Magor-Missabib an Afrightment and Terror round about Felix his Throne could not secure him Alas that negative Quiet the Children of Disobedience have at present is but the effect of their Ignorance an Hours Sickness may break it and then their Conscience of Guilt appeareth like Hell and as the Hand upon the Wall to guilty Belshazar O the tremblings misgivings intolerable Torments that such do undergo after a wretched Course of Obstinacy and Opposition they would not have Christ reign and now they begin to feel Despair to reign in their Breasts and such a Tempest to arise in their Consciences as is ready every Moment to carry away and sink down all to Hell Soul and Body This Storm was breeding and gathering all the time of Rebellion against the Lord they were treasuring up Wrath as the Apostle stiles it Rom. 2. 5. and the Great God held his Peace and was silent Sentence against their evil Works was not speedily executed Hence they bless themselves and say they shall have Peace and on they go with more Violence and Presumption than ever Well what 's the Fruit and Consequence hereof Why an angry Majesty riseth up and
and it shall go well with thee to all Eternity an end will shortly be put to the Christians weary days on Earth his best is to come 2 Cor. 5. 1. and 1 Thess 4. and last Wherefore comfort one another with these Words ye shall ever be with the Lord. Hence saith Job when his Friends censur'd him his Estate and Relations fail'd him yea his Body ready for the Grave Job 19. 25. I know my Redeemer liveth and that tho after my Skin Worms destroy this Body yet shall I see God And upon this account you read 2 Cor. 4. 16. to the end of the flourishing Joys and Comforts of those afflicted Christians while they by Faith looked not to the things seen that are temporal but to the things not seen which were eternal Sinners have but there Hope here and a very uncertain Tenure of their Enjoyments all 's but at utmost for Term of Life and that 's but as a Vapour but the Saint is a Freeholder for ever and ever Christ makes a Jointure for Eternity and settles it upon every one that beareth his Yoke in time And thus now I have finished the Proof of this Doctrine That it is good for a Man to bear Christ's Yoke There remaineth only that Branch of it to be cleared viz. That it is so especially in time of Youth Now this I shall dispatch in few Words and I wish they may be piercing and reach the Consciences of all this Assembly of Young People this Day that you may stand fully convinc'd of the Truth preach'd and go home and give Glory to God acknowledging That to bear the Yoke in time of Youth is the summary of all Good Wherefore ponder but these two Things 1. The time of Youth is the fittest and most acceptable time to bear the Yoke 2. That in time of Youth to bear the Yoke is the most commendable Practice 1. That this is the fittest and most acceptable time to bear Christ's Yoke in and this will appear if you consider that the time of Youth is the freest time freest from bodily Infirmities and worldly Distractions The Wiseman doth elegantly set out the Infirmities of old Age in Eccl. 12. 2 3 4. all which Youth is free from for in Youth the Blessing of Life is in its Verdure and Flower thy Body strong for Service thy Spirits quick and vigorous thy Mind freest from Cares and Incumbrances which afterwards in a married State usually invade and loads both Hand and Head and Heart too So that the Obligation now in time of Youth to bear the Yoke is greatest and should make the deepest Impression on thy Mind Besides this Age is the fittest to receive Instruction as being more tender grown Sinners are more stiff and untractable as we see by Experience Now upon this Consideration it is good to come under Christ's Yoke in Youth before the Heart and Neck become so stiff and obdurate that there is no bowing them to the Yoke we should endeavour to prevent the Devil and his Temptation all we can and lay hold of all Advantages for Heaven and Salvation now you cannot reach this by any thing you can do like coming under the Yoke of Christ betimes this is a sure Rule the earlier the time the easier the Yoke will be not only because your Sins will be the fewer your Burden the lighter but because the evil days of Sickness and Death are coming a main Eccl. 12. 1. Youth is prone to delay and say I am but a Child as yet I have time enough but if you will go into Church-Yards and measure your little Body you will find as short if not shorter Graves and Coffins than would fit you Moreover the time of Youth is most acceptable to God Is it sit O young Man that God should accept the Devil's leavings That thy Youthful Vigor and Spirit should be given to thy Lusts And when these are spent in the Service of Sin so that nothing but Skin and Bones remains then to offer these to the Lord. The most acceptable Sacrifices under the Law were young Bullocks and the First-born and the First-Fruits c. So now God desires the first ripe Fruits 2. It is good to bear c. because this is the most commendable practise in time of Youth This is the chief Glory of that Age and it is that which most glorifies God and credits the Gospel and is one of the greatest blessings the Church enjoys in the World when she can say with the Church of old Take us the little Foxes for our Vines hath tender Grapes Again how gloriously do their Names shine like Stars in the Firmament of the Church And with what Honour doth the Holy-Ghost in Scripture make mention of their Names that have listed themselves under Christ's Yoke in time of their Youth 1 Kings 18. 12. 2 Chron. 34. 3. 2 Tim. 3. 15. and ordinarily such prove the most eminent Instruments of Service and Blessing to the Places where they live Again it is a most comfortable Evidence of Sincerity to bear the Yoke in their Youth it argues that you love esteem and value God's Service above the World and that it is not extorted meerly from the fear of Hell as Psal 78. 34 35. And as many when they lie sick and are ready to die O then they are marvelously concern'd for their Souls and all is no more than as an Iron in the Fire or a Mariner in Storm like Jonah's Gourd or a Morning Cloud But now in time of Youth and Health when besieged with 1000 Temptations to Sin O then to acquit your selves as Loyal Subjects to Christ under his Yoke and Banner how glorious how commendable is it And thus I have accounted for the second General Head viz. To clear it up that to bear the Yoke in Youth is the summary of all good And now I come to the third and last General Head proposed to be treated on and that is 3. To give you some Motives and Directions to excite and assist you to bear the Yoke of Christ in the time of Youth First for Motives wherein I fear there is but too much cause to insist for altho in lesser and lower Matters where the least Overture of Gain or Pleasure appears Men need no Motives to excite them our Natures are presently affected we are all upon the spur no Stone left unturned yet in Soul-concerns such as I have been treating on viz. the bearing Christ Yoke in Youth Alas we are like a Company of Stoicks as if we had no Passions about us ferventissimi in terrenis frigidissimi in caelestibus as one hath it we are red hot for Earth but Key cold for Heaven Wherefore to excite you in order to recover your Souls to Christ and his Yoke Consider 1. The Paucity of Conversions and coming under Christ's Yoke in these sinful times of Ours as also the awfulnes of such a Consideration Ah Friends let me tell you Conversion-work is no common thing we