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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	work_n	world_n	wretched_a	45	3	8.3323	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77983	Four books on the eleventh of Matthew: viz: I. Christ inviting sinners to come to him for rest. II. Christ the great teacher of souls that come to him. To which is added a treatise of meekness and of anger. III. Christ the humble teacher of those that come to him. IIII. The only easie way to heaven. By Jeremiah Burroughs, preacher of the Gospel at Stepny and Cripple-Gate, London.	Burroughs, Jeremiah, 1599-1646.; Goodwin, Thomas, 1600-1680.	1659 (1659)	Wing B6072_pt3-4; Wing B6116_PART; Thomason E965_1; ESTC R207640	203,123	309

than another you have more honor and esteem than another What great difference makes this between man and man But now Grace makes a great difference between man man one hath Grace another hath not this makes a mighty difference one hath Humility another not this makes a very great difference there is not so much difference between the natural excellency of an Angell of Heaven and a Worm upon the earth as between an humble Soul and the greatest Prince in the world that hath not the Grace of Humility Were we but throughly principled in this one thing we may hear it and confes it I suppose but none of you when you go away will say this is true that Grace makes the great difference except you be principled in this thing that it is not the having much and little that makes any great difference between man and man Thirdly Seriously work upon your hearts the meditation of the vanity of all these things how quickly all the beauty and excellency of these things will be gone what is become of all the great pomp and excellency of the world when death comes what is the difference between one that was poor and contemptible and one that was rich and honorable Death makes all even The Glory of the world passeth away and the lustre of of it every thing here is but as flesh and grass that withereth by looking upon all these things that puff up the heart to be but as wind is the main thing to make the soul humble But the main thing is the setting God before us and Christ before us and the right understanding of our selves these are the three principall things that are helps for the Lowliness of the heart 3. The knowledg of God and the setting God before us is a principal thing to make us humble you know how it was with him in Prov. 30. and the beginning The man spake unto Ithiel and Ucal I have opened the meaning of this to you at another time he spake to Ithiel God with me Surely I am more brutish than any man and have not the understanding of a man Oh! how low was he in his own eyes when he had to deal with God the sight of God is that that humbles one more than any thing in the world And so that of Job that famous place in Job 42. after God had made himself known to Job at verse 3 4. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear saith he but now mine eye seeth thee wherefore I abhor my self and repent in dust and ashes What an humble heart and a broken heart had he I set alwaies God before me And so Isay when he had the vision of God and the Seraphims cry Holy Holy Holy the whol earth is full of thy Glory wo to me saith he I am undone because he had seen God Thus al the Servants of God that did converse much with God were very humble Jesus Christ himself that had a lowly heart he conversing much with God and knowing so much of the divine nature having such interest in him therefore there was never such an example of a Lowly Spirit as Christs example was whenas we come to know God the infinite distance that is between God and us then what is all the excellencies in the world when thou comest to know the infinite excellency of God What is the glimerings of a Glo-worm when we come to see all the Glory of Heaven And then also we come to see the infinite dependance we have upon God I wonder not to see men in the world that do not know God to have bold and presumptuous Spirits and see men that have knowledg that they are humble though the others have their spirits lifted up in vanity But for the soul that ever had any sight of God it is a wonder that such a Soul should have any rising of Spirit that any sinfull height of Spirit should be in that Soul that knows what an infinite God it hath to deal with Oh converse much with God and then you will have humble Souls that Soul that never goes from Duty but hath much converse with God that Soul is very humble As Bernard said Lord I never go from thee without thee I carry thee out in my heart when I am in thy presence Now an Hypocrite converseth not with God you that converse with men you would be higher than your Neighbors and live better than your Neighbors O! this is the fruit of converse with men but now true Humility comes from converse with God nothing hath that excellency in it as that which comes from conversing with God and upon the sight of his excellency May be God laies affliction upon you takes away a Child or some of your Estate and this may be may humble you but true humility comes from conversing with God and the sight of his excellency 4. Another is from the right knowledg of Jesus Christ saith he Learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart There is no such means of Humility as conversing much with Christ for there was never such an example of Humility as Christ and it was one of Gods ends to send his Son for an example into the world to honor this Grace of Humility and therefore they that know Christ much and the way of Salvation cannot but have empty hearts It is a speech of Austin saith he It may be thou wilt be ashamed to imitate an humble man such a one as is humble to make him thy pattern thou thinkest thou hast more excellency in thee than him I but be not ashamed to imitate an humble God Do but consider how willing Christ was to have that Glory and excellency of his to be eclipsed and darkned for so many yeers though he was one that the Angels adored and he might have let out that Glory to have filled all the whol world and have made the world astonished with his Lustre yet he was content for thirty two or thirty three yeers together to go up and down in the world as a man without form and comeliness to be despised contemned and spit upon If you have a little excellency you shew it presently in Cloaths in Speeches and the like Christ shewes you by this what vanity this is what an excellency and Glory was upon him and yet he was up and down in the world without form and comliness And when we look upon Christ Consider that he was not only humble but humble for us to fatisfie for thy sin without which thou must have gone to Hell eternally to be humble for thy sin there lies the power and efficacy of Christs example in Christs example thou seest what a mean thing any outward excellency of the world is What did he care for any outward excellency When they would have made him a King he cared not for it look up higher God hath made mankind for higher things than these below I that had

largely they would take up a great deal of time to shew them only now to hint the heads of some meditations to you to humble your selves But Secondly Consider what you might have been if the Lord had taken advantage of you you are now in a comfortable condition now you come among the People of God into the assembly of the Saints but you might have been among the damned Reprobates you might have been roaring in Hell and sweltring under the wrath of the infinite God when others of Gods people were assembled to pray and hear the word you might have been roaring under the wrath of God in those everlasting flames consider what you might have been Yea If God had taken you away divers yeers since without the knowledg of him and the knowledg of his Son In what case had you been in if you had died when such a kinsman of yours died or such a Neighbor of yours died where had you been When you fit in your houses with your Wife and Children about you consider what you might have been I that sit here and have the day of Grace continued to me might have been in the bottomless Gulf I might have been cursing and blaspheming God you that God hath wrought something upon you desire to fear him and you come to worship him and have some delight to worship him if God had left you to your self you might have gone cursing and swearing and blaspheming committing any vileness that any the most vilest have committed It may God hath enlarged your heart in Prayer I but if God had left you to your self instead of being enlarged in prayer you might have been cursing and blaspheming God Now this is a mighty means to humble your heart Besides What you might have been in regard of poverty in regard of paine and sickness you now are comfortable in your Houses and sit with wives and Children and delight one in another you might have been in extreamity of torment and pain you might have lost your senses and lost your limbs and a Hundred such things might be named that if you would give your meditations out upon these things you might find enough to keep your hearts low before God Thirdly And the third head is this If God hath made any change in your State What a trouble it put Heaven and Earth unto that the Son of God must take your nature upon him and die and be made a Curse to deliver you from that condition Now this is a mighty humbling consideration for if a Man or Woman had done any such thing as deserves punishment though they be delivered yet if they know that the deliverance cost abundance of trouble for a Child to think my Father might have cast me off and I might have been a lost Child I but what a deal of charge and trouble have I put my Father to I have been a trouble to the Family and to my Friends So here God hath not cast us down to Hel as he might have done But O! what a deal of trouble have we put God unto Heaven unto that the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God must come and be made a Curse for me the thoughts of this should humble us it is true to consider of the torments of Hel is very humbling but to consider of the way of Gods delivering us from those torments is as great a means to humble us as any thing in the world Yea Fourthly Consider what thou art now though God hath delivered thee Thou hast yet a body of sin and death that thou carriest about with thee Oh abundance of sin and corruption remains in thy Soul Consider that of Paul Rom. 7. 24. O! wretched man that I am who shal deliver me from this body of death Consider thine unworthy walking for all those good things thou hast received from God that notwithstanding all that ever God hath done for thee yet thou walkest so unworthily as thou dost and God foresaw this that thou wouldest walk thus unworthily and wretchedly before him the thoughts of this that there is such unkindness offere do God that thou that hopest to receive such greatt things from God and perswadest thy self that God hath done such great things for thee as he hath in sending his Son to die for thee I say the thoughts of this is as humbling a consideration as any can be conceived of next unto that one what Christ did for us and what our souls cost our unworthiness of such a mercy and our unanswerableness to such a mercy is a mighty humbling consideration and indeed it would be a good Argument to perswade that thou art one that God hath done such things for in Christ if so be thou canst find that the thoughts of what he hath done for thee makes thee humble so much the more in the consideration of al thine unworthy walking for what he hath done for thee here is matter enough for meditation to humble the Soul in the presence of God if these things be considered what yet thou art Fifthly Another head is this what thou wouldest be if God should but leave thee though he hath done great things for thee and shewed thee himself and Christ and shewed thee the evil of sin and eternal life yet for al this if he should but leave thee to thy self one quarter of an hour thou wouldest depart from him and lose al that Grace thou hast and be brought into a miserable condition as ever thou wert thou wouldst be plunged into the depth of al evil Yea if God should but withdraw his Spirit from thee one moment Oh consider what thou wouldest be and if God should come out against thee in his anger and displeasure what a dreadful change would there be of that condition in which now thou art Now indeed thou hast a great many things wherein thy heart is satisfied and delighted and many excellencies thou hast that perhaps thy heart is lifted up in but what wouldest thou be in regard of thy spirituals if God should withdraw from thee thou wouldest leave all thy spiritual estate thou wouldest be in a worse condition than ever thou wert And for thy natural estate thy parts of nature or activity of body or strength what would become of them if God should withdraw from thee And so thy outward estate how soon might God send fire upon thy House or upon thy Ship and how soon mightest thou lose all and be brought into woful extremity you that enjoy much now yet meditate what you might be in a moment if God should withdraw himself from you and especially if he should come out against you Sixthly and Lastly Consider what you will be ere long certainly your outward estate will be gone whatever you pride your selves in Beauty or Health or Strength or Parts it wil be gone and vanish your strength wil be turned into weakness and your Health into sickness this body of yours that now you deck and

would take care for to help you it is taken care for you there Luther hath such an expression I remember A Christian may keep a perpetual Sabbath all his life and all the week long any thing that you would have to help you otherwise God himself wil take care for you that you shal have it in himself you shal have all in himself We have a place in Isaiah for the encouragement of the people of God in Isa 30. 7. For the Egyptians shall help in vain and to no purpose therefore have I cryed concerning this their strength is to sit still Here they did depend much up●n the Egyptians for help I but saith God you need not trouble your selves about this the Egyptians to help Their strength is to sit still The word Strength here in the Original is Egypt their Egypt is to sit still as in another place in Isaiah 51. 9. Awake Awake put on strangth O Arm of the Lord awake as in the ancient daies in the Generations of old Art thou not it that cut Rahab and wounded the Dragon Rahab that by most Interpreters is used as a word that comes of Egypt and so in some other Scriptures the word Rahab comes of Egypt and so in this place too The Egyptians shal help in vain and to no purpose therefore have I cried concerning this their Rahab or their Egypt is to sit still that is look what help others would have from Egypt you need not care how Egypt shal come to help you you shal sit stil you shal have help in me in your sitting stil you shal have an Egypt all the strength you should have in Egypt you shal have in me Be quiet and sit stil and whatever strength you think may be otherwaies I will supply in my self O! the holy security that there is in the waies of God and if there be a holy security in those waies there must needs be abundance of ease in them Tenthly There is abundance of ease in the waies of Christ in this respect because they make other things easie that which will make other things easie that must needs be easie as thus The waies of Christ wil make hard things easie afflictions easie for afflictions come to let out thy sin and thy corruption And is there not a great deal of ease in that When a man hath a sore and there is a great deal of corruption in that sore if one come and prick the sore and the corruption comes out there is a great deal of ease So here afflictions to Gods people they are but as that which comes to prick their corruptions and to let out their sins and their corruptions and that gives ease to the soul A mans cal●ing is easie to him if he have grace the going on in ones calling in a gracious m●nner is easie and the going about any thing that a man sets himself about it is easie O! with what abundance of sweetness doth Godly Men and Women go about their business more then those that have corrupt hearts You shall have many that have wicked and corrupt hearts go about their business with such fretting and vexing if any thing fall amiss they are so vexed I but now one that is Godly sets about his business in obedience to God and commits all to God and leaves the success to God and so he is at ease A Servant now if he have not grace in his or her heart if the Master or Mistress do not please them they go about their works and fret and vex themselves But now those that have grace and know that they are in the way that Christ would have them and that they obey Christ and serve Christ in that way they can find abundance of ease for I am serving Christ in this work though the work is a low work a poor work yet I am about Christs work I am serving Jesus Christ and so they go about it with ease And thus the waies of Religion make every thing easie our lives easie and our death easie our passage out of this world wil be easie too But there are two or three things more to be added the yoke of Christ is easie in regard of the yoke of the Law therefore saith Christ in the Text Take my yoke upon you for my yoke is easie the yoke and bondage you were under in respect of the Law that was a burden but my yoke is easie And it is easie in respect of Antichrist that was spoken prophetically indeed but now we may open the yoke of Christ in respect to that But then compare it with the yoke of sin then it is easie too the yoke of Christ not only in regard of all the former yokes but if you compare it with the yoke of the Law the yoke of sin and the yoke of Antichrist their yokes are far harder than the yokes of Jesus Christ I con●ess I need not spend much time upon those two of the yoke of the Law and the yoke of sin somwhat I would speak of either of them to open the difference between the yokes in them and the yoke of Christ though there hath been a great deal said in opening of the Text Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest there we spake of the rest from the Law and the rest from the burden of sin only I shal in this but a little compare the difference betwen the burden that there is in the yoke of the Law and the yoke of Christ and see which is easiest and so compare the yoke of sin with the yoke of Christ and then you shal see when I have set them both together that one is a great deal easier than the other CHAP. CXLIII The Yoke of Christ easier than the Yoke of the Law For 1. The Ceremoniall Law required abstinence from the comfort of the Creature 2. It s Service was chargeable 3. The Ceremonies were beggarly Rudiments THE waies of Christ are easie First In regard of the yoke of the Law Secondly In regard of the yoke and burden of sin For the easiness of Christs waies in comparison of the yoke of the Law you know what the Scripture saith in Acts 15. 10. That the Law it was a Yoke which our Fathers nor we were neither able to bear Even the Ceremonial Law the way of Christ is easie in respect of that For First The Ceremonial part of the Law required abstaining from the comforts of the Creature the People of the Jews in the times of the Law were forbidden the use of many Creatures that we have a great deal of use of now this is one ease that we have by Jesus Christ that we are to make use of all the Creatures we need make no question for Conscience sake of the use of any Creature in the world that is somwhat easier than to be restrained from this Creature and the other Creature And then Secondly We have a great

humbled for our sins in an evangelical way as wel as performe duty in an evangelical way Now evangelical humiliation it is a sorrow for sin not that we might purchase p●●don for that sorrow as we must not perform a duty to think to purchase Heaven neither must we sorrow for sin to think to satisfie for sin and to purchase pardon for our sin but our very sorrow for sin must have a sweetness from Christ in it it must be out of love our very mourning must be a fruit of love and not come from the fear of being destroyed eternally for such sins that is legal sorrow I have sinned against God and therefore am afraid that God will destroy me eternally and therefore I am sorry No but I have sinned against the Lord a gracious and a merciful Father and the Lord yet hath made a Covenant with me that he will not take advantage of my sin that he will not destroy me and therefore my soul mourns and laments the rather for my sin that I have sinned so much against the grace of the Gospel as I have done Sorrow evangelically and then your sorrow wil have more sweetness in it then all the joy that the men of the world have when all their Corn and Wine and Oyl is encreased not only when God lifts up the light of his countenance but even the very sorrow of your heart for sin may have more sweetness in it then all the men of the world have when their Corn and Wine and Oyl encreaseth Many Christians have much bitterness in their sorrow but certainly Evangelical sorow the tears of it is Rose water that hath a great deal of sweetness it is sweet both unto God and sweet unto the soul even while the soul is sorrowing there is sweetness in the heart and this is the difference between legal terror and Evangelical sorrow the one hath nothing but bitterness and gal in it and the other nothing but sweetness That is the first thing Secondly Another way to facilitate and make easie that we do is this Labor to keep our hearts in a constant readiness and preparation to every duty Duties are very hard because we fall upon them unprepared we are not in a readiness continually unto every good work you know when you are set about any work and if you have many things to prepare and to look for when you should go about your work it will go off but heavily and it will be more troublesom but now when every thing is prepared in a readiness then how soon and how easie doth the work go on when you are going to Sea there is making a great deal of preparation aforehand now when the Ship is rigged and trimmed every thing ready then you are at an instant able to put off and set saii and go away when al things are ready you go off with ease If you would entertain Guests if they come upon you suddenly and you have nothing ready what a deal of stir is in the house what running up and down this way and that way but now if things be ready when they come they are entertained with a great deal of delight and all things in the house are in order and things go off very easily and there is no trouble in it Truly thus it should be with a Christian he should not only perform duties now and then but his life should be a constant walking with God so that he should be alwaies in readiness for every duty that God requires of him so it comes to be easie As now for the duty of Prayer you should keep your hearts in a praying frame continually and then prayer would be easie it would be an easie thing for you to pour forth your souls to God when you keep your hearts in a praying frame all the day long It may be when you go to prayer you find a great deal of trouble within you your thoughts wander and your affections are dead and dul and you rise up discouraged But what is the reason you do not keep your heart all the day long in a praying frame in a heavenly temper and frame in the day time and therefore when you come to pray at night there is no readiness in your hearts to the duty but you are altogether indisposed to it And so to come unto the Sacrament you find it a great labor and toyl to prepare for the Sacrament as you should I speak of those that make conscience of preparation many times they find it a mighty toyl a hard work I but Christians should keep themselves alwaies in a Sacramental disposition a Sacramental frame alwaies having their spirits savoring of the meditation of the death of Jesus Christ that nothing should be more familiar to a Christians Soul than the meditation of the death of Christ and of discerning the Lords Body and the Covenant of grace and giving it self likewise to God in a Covenant of grace this should be continually and then if you should receive the Sacrament every day you might be fit for it or every week you would be fit for it Now People think it a great matter and make a great deal of do about receiving of it often whereas the truth is the Saints of God they should be in as great a readiness to receive the Sacrament as to hear the word or to pray and that would be a mighty ease unto them therefore if things were as they should certainly it would be more convenient to have it more ordinary and constant every Lords day the Sacrament The Christians in the primitive times would receive it every day in the year and they kept their heart in readiness to such kind of duties let it be what work it wil be You should be patient in affliction if affliction come upon you and your heart is not in a readiness to alter your condition Oh! it wil be a grievous burden to exercise patience it wil be a hard thing for you now you should keep your hearts ready for every condition that is the true work of grace in the Soul to keep the soul in a constant bent Godward and that Soul wil do things very easily Somtimes you have much ado with your children when strangers come to keep them in good order the reason is you neglect them at other times and that is the reason that they trouble you when strangers come but keep them in a good order at all times and then you wil have them right at those times So it is with the heart keep the heart prepared and ready to every good work and then every work wil be easie Object But you wil say That is a great deal of toyl and labor to keep our hearts alwaies bent and ready to good works To that I answer at first it may be some labor and toyl but those that have once got their hearts into a readiness find it not so hard but have a great deal