poor troubled souls whose consciences pul them on to duty but why do they performe them because conscience accuseth them for their sins and they know what need they have of Gods mercy they stand guilty before God and therefore they perform duties that they might get a pardon and they know that they were made for eternity and therefore they make conscience of duties that they might get eternal life by them as I when I opened shewed the burden that there was in legal performances But now when the soul comes to Christ it hath rest in this for the very first thing that is done in Christ is that al thy sins are discharged the pardon is granted and thou art put into an estate safe for thy eternal life and al the hazard of eternal life is now over Now then that that is required of thee is only as the fruit of the pardon of thy sin and as a fruit of thy safe condition that thou art put into for thine eternal life and here is a great deal of difference between performing of duties that I might have pardon that I might get eternal life by it and performing of duties as a fruit of my pardon and as a fruit of the assurance of my wel being to al eternity As for instance a man that is in danger of his life stands before the judg and there is no way for pardon for him but he hath his book given to him as you know the way is to have the benefit of the Clergy as we use to cal it now when he knows if he reads he shal have his life but life lies upon it and the judg is strict and sets one by him that the ordinary shal not prompt him and he wil have him read out and his life lyes upon it I suppose you have heard of some that were able schollers and able to reade wel enough at other times yet at such a time were not able to read one word for a world But suppose this man now have his pardon and you then put him to read then he can read with delight he hath freedom enough now to read his eyes that were bound before are loosned Now suppose he were to read a Psalm of mercy before he had his pardon and when he had his pardon there is a Psalm of thankfulness for his life given him to read he could read it then with delight just thus it is with those that performe duties in a legal way they stand before God as their judg and look upon what they performe as that which their souls depends upon that if I do not do such and such things that is commanded me my soul lyes upon it alas this straitens the heart and it is put into a condition of feare But now when the soul is come to Christ and the Lord hath granted pardon to it and hath quieted it by the blood of his son now sayes God read performe duties and let al the duties you performe be in way of blessing my name and praising of me for giving of you your lives And indeed this is the principal ground of al that God requires of such as are come to Christ meerly that thou shouldest go out before the Lord in way of thankfulness for pardoning thy sins and accepting of thee in his Son And so likewise if so be a man were amongst his enemies and should be set to do some work and business and is set so to it that if he do not do it he is a dead man they wil have his life if he doe not do it alas he goes about it with a great deal of dread and fear But now if this man should come home to his fathers house and his father sets him about a work and he doth it so that though he would not do the work yet he should not loose his life he should go about it with a great deal more freedom of spirit Thus it is with beleevers when they come to Christ they come to their fathers house and their father sets them about workes but so as he wil not lay their lives upon it their soul doth not ly upon their duties thy eternal estate doth not lie upon duties as heretofore you have heard in being freed from the Law so now make use of it in deliverance from legal performances That the Lord though he wil be strict to mark what is done in every duty he wil not be strict to take advantage of thee It is true it is said that the Lord spared not his owne son but he wil spare thee In Malachy 3.17 The Lord wil spare them as a man spareth his own son hat serveth him And so in the Romans it is said God did not spare his own son and yet in Malachy that he wil spare thee as a man spareth his only son that serveth him What should be the meaning of this That God should not spare his only begotten son the Lord Jesus Christ he wil not spare him but thee This is the reason he did not spare him that he might Spare thee here is the reason why God wil so spare thee in the performance of thy duties because he would not spare his son he was so exact to him that he might not be so exact to thee Indeed when Christ came to performe duties the life of al the world lay upon that that if Christ had failed in one thing the life of al the world lay upon it yet so they lay upon him that they were not grievous to him because he was most able to perform it But thou must make use of Christs performances in way of obedience so as to give thee rest ease in performance of thy duties think thus I come now to performe duties and thankes be to God my life my eternal estate lyes not upon it but Christ what he performed my soul and al the world lay uyon what he did and the weight that Christ was willing to take upon him in his obedience is that which makes any obedience so easie and comfortable to me I remember we read in the Law that in peace offerings a female was accepted in other cases ordinarily God required the male but in peace offerings the female now peace offerings was for thanksgiving and indeed the whole life of a Christian is nothing else but a peace-offering his whol conversation al the duties that God requires of any christian it is nothing else but a peace offering to offer an offering of thanks-giving for the mercy he hath received from Christ in this peace offering the Lord accepts of a female though it be but weake And this is the sixth thing wherein the rest of the soul in the performance of holy duties when it is once come to Christ doth consist Seventhly As the soul doth not performe duties that it might get life thereby it is not in that way now so the performance of duties when the soul is come to Christ is a part of
thou hast goods laid up for many Years A Christians Rest is this Come saith Christ to me and I will give you Rest the Rest of a Christian it is in the Son of God it is in the Mediator of the second Covenant it is in him that brings the Soul unto the Father and brings all the treasure and Riches of the Grace of the Father unto the soul it is in him that a Christian finds rest and a worldling only in meat and drink and other things as we shall see more afterwards Thus in general what the meaning is Now in this promise of Christ there are two things to be handled the First implyed the Second exprest That which is implyed is this That there is no rest in the Souls of the Children of men out of Jesus Christ that is plainly implied Come to me and I will give you rest So that here is plainly implied That there is no rest for an immortal Soul out of Jesus Christ it can have no rest out of Christ And then that that is exprest is this That in Jesus Christ as soon as the Soul comes to have union with Jesus Christ it shall have true rest indeed there is ful rest to be had in Christ Now for the first That out of Jesus Christ there can be no rest unto the soul As we read of the Dove that Noah sent forth when his Ark was floating up and down on the Water he sent forth a Dove and you find in the story of Noah there in Genesis 8.89 That when the Dove was sent forth she flew up and down but she had not whereon to rest the Sole of her Foot and therefore she comes flying to the Arke again so it is with a soul that is not in Christ for the Arke was a type of Christ it may floate up and down in the world here but certainly there is nothing for the soul to rest it self upon out of Christ Indeed we read that when Noah sent forth a Raven out of the arke the Raven came no more but the dove came again and the difference between the Dove and the Raven doth elegantly express the difference between those souls that God hath an intent to do good unto in Christ and those that are left by God and have no other portion appointed for them than the things of this world men of this world whom the Lord intends no higher good than the things of this world they are like the Raven they flutter up and down in the world but never come to the arke never come to Christ the other that the Lord hath an intent to do good unto although they may for a while be floating up and down here in this world yet so wil God order things that their soules shal never have any rest and quiet til they come to Jesus Christ nothing in this world shal satisfie them but the Lord wil make them seek to be sensible of any emptiness that they have not that good that their soules were made for no rest to be had out of Christ There is a Scripture or two that is very observable I might Name multitudes But I shal content my self with one or two That place in Isa will be sufficient if I Name no more it is in the 57. Chapter of the prophecy of Isa and the two last verses There you shal see al men that are out of Christ described in this of having no rest the 20. verse But the wicked are like the troubled sea when it cannot rest whose waters cast up myre and dirt there is no peace saith my God to the wicked or there is no rest saith my God to the wicked yee that are mariners know what a troubled sea doth meane a sea that is troubled casts forth myre and dirt and just thus is a wicked mans heart it is like the troubled sea it casts forth mire and dirt And as when the sea is most troubled it casts forth most dirt so it is with wicked men when wicked men are most troubled then they cast forth most wickedness So somtimes it may be you find it when you are in a storme at sea some kind of men instead of seeking God and praying unto God they fal a cursing and swearing and railing and so their hearts are more troubled than the troubled sea and thereby cast out more filth and dirt out of their hearts than is cast out by the troubled sea Or if not at sea yet when they are here at land as men that have no rest and peace with God every thing troubles them having not rest in Christ they are troubled in their family and with their neighbors they do cast forth nothing but mire and dirt oaths swearing and blaspheming Oh! how do they come forth of wicked men when they are crost at any time when you see at any time the husband or the wife to be crost and troubled when you see them in a distemper and hear them swearing cursing railing blaspheming speaking wicked speeches in their passion remember this text of the 57 of Isa the 20. verse That a wicked man is like the troubled sea that casts forth mire and dirt Oh! that you would remember it and apply it to your own hearts is it thus with my heart I fear that there are many whose consciences tel them that this text doth lively set forth their hearts their consciences tel them that when they are troubled they cast forth mire and dirt Oh! what mire and dirt hath been cast forth by many when they have been in trouble now that the Lord would settle this text upon your hearts for the Lord saies it is the wicked man and woman when they are troubled that do cast forth this mire and dirt But the special thing I aime at is in the next verse There is no peace saith my God to the wicked no peace no rest this is a truth that doth belong unto al men and women that are out of Jesus Christ there is no peace no rest unto their soules and as he doth deny al kind of rest that such a one can have so you may observe what a confirmation there is Saith my God It is God that saith it as if the prophet should say I am now preaching unto you about the restless condition that you are in remaining in your natural estate as unconverted to God while I am preaching of this it wil be a sad thing to you it is a sad argument you wil say the prophet tels us there is no rest no peace but as if the prophet should say it is not I that saith it it is my God that saith it God doth pronounce this upon every ungodly man and woman that there is no peace no rest unto such let the world have never so much rest and peace though there should be no war abroad in the world yet there is no peace unto wicked men no rest unto their soules I shal demonstrate this more cleerly
afterwards that there is no rest nor peace to any wicked men in the world though they seem to others to live in never so much ease rest and peace Further there is no peace to the wicked saith my God it is not I saith the prophet but God that saith it wherby he would teach us this note That when any ministers of God preacheth that which is hard to us we should consider that it is not their words but Gods that speakes to them that God that wil make al good that he speakes by them which is according to his word according to what he saith in his word there is no peace saith my God Further there is no peace saith my God it may be that many would flatter you and say there is peace and these ministers do but trouble people trouble consciences and what needs so much stir what needs so much a doe no question the prophet did aime at these false prophets as there were many that we reade of in Isaiah and Jeremiah that cryed peace peace when there was no peace There was many false Prophets that lived in those times that said the prophet Isaiah preacheth to you things that are too hard God is merciful and have we not al infirmities and therefore it is but trusting in Gods mercy and do we not do as others do and we hope it shall be with us as with others at the last and it is but repenting at last now in opposition to al these saith the prophet Isaiah there is no peace saith my God let all the fals prophets plead what they will let them say what they please yet my God saith to every wicked and ungodly man and Woman there is no peace to their Souls Further It may be there are some that their own Hearts would say peace peace as many men and Women that when they hear out of the word those things that are very dreadful and do come very near to their Consciences their Consciences tel them this word of God neerly concernes them yet they will be ready to bless themselves in their own thoughts and say notwithstanding it shall be peace to them just as we read in 29. of Deut. 19 and 20. verses saith the Lord It shal come to pass that if any man when he heares the words of this curse shall bless himself in his Heart and say I shall have peace though I walk in the imagination of mine own Heart the Lord will not spare him but then the anger of the Lord and his Jealousie shal Smoake against that man and all the curses that are written in this Book shall lie upon him and the Lord shall blot out his Name from under Heaven How dreadful doth God speak and to whom To that Soul that shall hear out of Gods word that there is no peace no Rest unto them in that condition in the way that he is now in yet it may be saith the Lord when you shall hear pronounced this day in my word against them you shal have many in your auditory shall say I shall have peace though I walk in the imagination of my own Heart Now we do not find such a dreadful expression in all the Book of God against any as we do against those that shall say they shall have peace though they walk in the imagination of their own Heart Now hear saith the prophet may be some of you will say in your own Hearts I shall have Rest I shal have Peace but saith the Prophet there is no Peace to the wicked saith my God though your own Hearts say you shall have Peace and what need we trouble our selves with the Ministers words but my God saith there is no peace to the wicked methinks here we have a place that speakes of wicked men directly in opposition to that which the Church speaks of her self in Lamen 3.24 The Lord is my portion saith my soul therefore wil I hope in him Now let us observe at this time when the Church speakes this and saith the Lord is her portion she was in a very afflicted estate and condition and it may be that her enemies would say that the Lord had forsaken her and neglected her I but against al the enemies in the world her faith prevailes and sayes Let al the devils in hel say what they wil let al the world say what they wil yet my soul shal say the Lord is my portion that is that faith that Gods spirit hath wrought in my soul shal inable me to say that the Lord is my portion So on the contrary when wicked men are in prosperity and feel not the hand of God upon them perhaps friends may flatter them false prophets wil flatter them may be their own hearts wil flatter themselves but now to answer al saith the prophet there is no peace to the wicked saith my God my God saith it Further there is no peace saith my God no rest to any out of Christ this is to note from whence it comes that wicked men can have no peace why they can have no rest it is from God it is God that wil not give it God is against them There are many wicked men and women whose consciences are begun to be inlightened and they many times have trouble of spirit and when they awake in the night they are troubled and when they go about their business in the day they are troubled and when they come home they are troubled and so troubled as they scarce know what it is that troubles them Now perhaps you have not known what it is that troubles you but this text in Isa 57 and the last verse tels you what it is that troubles you it is the Lord that is out with you it s the anger the displeasure of the almighty that is upon you in those wayes that you have walked in and therefore it is that the prophet brings the name of God to shew whence it is that wicked men can have no peace Further It is observable that he adds it is My God he doth not say there is no peace that God saith though that had been enough but my God that is thus as if the Prophet should say through the mercy of God the Lord hath revealed this mercy to me and my Soul hath some interest in this God and since I knew God in Jesus Christ my soul hath found peace and Rest in him and he is my God and hath revealed himself to me he whose mind my soul is in some measure acquainted with my God saith there is no Peace to the wicked And though however others may think it is a strange thing to tel ungodly men that they are in a condition wherein they can have no peace when they hear of the dreadful wrath of God against all ungodlyness to be revealed out of the word yet those who are acquainted with the waies of God those who know the holiness and justice of God those who understand the mind
of the covenant this may seem difficult to some and that is this that al the mercy of God in heaven cannot be sufficient for the rest of any soul but through a Mediator in Christ the soul must be brought to this mercy by the hand of Christ the mediator thou must first come to Christ the mediator before thou canst have any rest even in the mercy of God it self You must know and if you know any thing of the mistery of the Gospel you must know this that though God be an infinite current of mercy yet al the current of Gods mercy is stopt by mans sin so as it can only be opened by the blood of Jesus Christ and therefore thou must know God in Christ and you must know how you come unto God in and through Christ before you can rest upon the mercy of God this is that which doth undo many soules those that are of the better sort they think to rely upon Gods mercy think to rest in that and that is a sure rest to their soules but they little understand how al the current of the mercy of God is stopt and there is no coming to it but by the hand of a mediator between God and man Others they wil say they do many good things they do many good actions they serve God and they rest in this they do not commit the gross sins of the world and they do performe duties they pray in their families and in their closets this is that they rest in but the rest of an immortal soul must have a better foundation than this than al the duties than al the sorrows for their sins than al that God himself works in them it must be somewhat without them that must be rest to their souls and nothing wrought in us no not the grace of God in us can be rest to our souls it must be the perfect righteousness of a mediator though it be wrought in us by faith can be rest to our souls yet nothing in us So that you may mistake and performe duties in a formal manner but suppose you performed them in a gracious manner yet you must not rest in them you must go higher than al the best duties that ever you performed Wo to Abraham Isaac and Jacob if they had no other rest but what their duties brought them you must look higher than whatever you are or can be inabled to do for your rest You wil say what is there that can be higher than what we are inabled to do by God There is a righteousness in Jesus Christ by which you must come there is an insufficiency in al the creatures in the world to give rest and yet the truth is the greatest part of the world make al their rest in these things much might be spoken concerning the danger of this and much of the signes when our soules have true rest in Christ but we shal meet with that in the other point in handling the Rest that we have in Christ I wil therefore pass over this about the insufficiency of the Rest in al other things only with this one thing Know this That that Heart that is touched with Jesus Christ as the Iron is with the Load-stone can never be quiet either in creature comforts or in hope of mercy or in any Duty or performance it can never be quiet til it gets union with Jesus Christ Just as it is with a Needle that is touched with a Load-Stone shake it which way you wil it wil never be at Rest til it come to the North and when it gets North then it stands there so it is with a heart that is touched with Jesus Christ there is the touch of the spirit of Jesus Christ upon the Heart of a beleever and when the Heart is but touched with Jesus Christ it shakes is ful of fears and doubts and offer it this creature comfort and the other creature comfort it wil not do it the Heart is not at rest But now when there is the manifestation of Christ unto the Soul let them come to a Sermon where some blessed promise to the Gospel is opened to them and Jesus Christ presented to them and they find this to be the Rest of their Souls their Hearts come presently and close with this and they are able to lay the weight of their eternities upon the promise of the Gospel upon the free Grace of God in Christ they are able to lay the weight of their eternal estates here however others think that the promise of the Gospel is but a notion yet here they are able to lay the weight of their eternal estates and they can say with Simeon Lord now lettest thou thy Servant depart in peace for mine Eyes have seen thy Salvation Here I see Rest for my Soul my Heart was ful of Terrors fears and doubts and I sought for Rest and ease in this and the other creature comfort and could not find it But now Christ is made known to me and here is the Rest of my Soul It is true Godly people may be troubled for a while but it is as the trouble of the shaking of a Needle in the compass and other men they are troubled too there are some people troubled in conscience for their sins they come to a Sermon and hear the evil of sin opened and God meets with their Particular sin some secret sin that they live in they are troubled and they shake too I but they are like a fals Needle not rightly touched that shakes as the other doth but it wil stand at any point do but put it this way or that way and it wil stand here and there would marriners give any thing for such a Needle that would stand at this point and the other point So it is with wicked men when they are troubled the Devil the world and their corruptions come and quiet their consciences out of Christ and so indeed this hinders them from coming to Jesus Christ because they find quiet some where else The Saints they are troubled but their trouble and shaking in the world is like the trouble of a ship that is in the Haven at shore that lies at Anchor a ship that lies at Anchor though the waves toss it up and down yet it is tost up and down at Anchor So here is the difference for al the world between al the troubles of the Saints and the trouble of ungodly men Now when you have a ship at Sea and have no Anchor and the storm drives it any way when there comes a mighty Tempest and hurries it up and down and you do not know but you may light upon a Rock and be split you are troubled But the Saints they are at Anchor and you count your selves at Rest though you are tost by the Waves when you are at Anchor CHAP. XXVIII Of the Rest that a Beleever hath by Christ from the Guilt of Sin laid out in ten Particulars 1.
Christ for this rest Sanctification the Rest from Corruption I. Sanctification is great rest unto the soul of a beleever the truth is there is nothing troubles the heart of a strong beleever but only the want of his Sanctification nothing in the world I say troubles the heart of a strong beleever but that It is time a weak beleever is troubled for want of the apprehension of the pardon of his sin a weak beleever hath trouble of spirit stil in the sense of the guilt of sin but a strong beleever gets over that A weak beleever hath trouble by the Law stil because through the weakness of his faith he is not able to make use of the Covenant of grace that God hath brought him into so as to deliver himself from trouble that way a strong beleever gets over that A weak beleever performes duties but there is a great deale of legality in his performance of them that many times they are troublesom to him but a strong beleever gets over that burden but now the remaining corruption that is in the heart none in this world gets over this Indeed in great part the strong beleever hath got power there also a great deale more then the weak one hath done but the cheife burden that lies upon a strong beleever in this world is the remainder of corruption that is yet in him And so for the next burden of affliction the strong beleever gets wel over that too but this is one cheife burden of the strongest beleevers that the world hath that yet there is much remaining corruption in them As it was in Paul though a strong beleever saith he Oh wretched man that I am who shal deliver me from this body of death as you heard it formerly opened to you so that sanctification is a special rest that beleevers have it is a rest 1 In this regard because it is the right temper of the heart As corruption was a burden because it was the distemper of the heart as sickness is a burden so sanctification it is the right frame and temper of the soul and so brings ease and rest unto the soul If your bodies be distempered with sickness you are a burden to your selves by it you know not what to do a sick body first lies down in one place and then in another and wil change roomes and change beds change postures because he is a burden to himself Let the distemper be gone let the body be put into a right temper and now he hath rest now he can sleep quietly now he hath ease in his body his pain is over Now sanctification is the health of the soul then the soul comes to be healthy when it comes to be holy holiness is the due temper of the heart and therefore it is rest 2. Sanctification is the rest of the heart because in that the soul doth in great part attain its end now what is it that the soul rests in so much as in its end every thing rests when it comes to its end the end is as the proper place in which every creature rests now by sanctification the soul doth attain its end in great part as First it attains the end that God intended in the making of it a man or woman now they attain in great part the end for which they are born thou art born to that end that thou mightest be holy that thou mightest live here in this world unto God which by sanctification thou dost that is the end God aymed at the end why thou art borne why thou camest into the world Secondly It is the end of al Gods wayes towards thee a special end of al the passages of Gods providence to thee of al the workings of God towards thee in this world of al the wayes of his providence to thee that thou mightest be godly that thou mightest live to him to his praise Thirdly It is the great end of Christs coming into the world Christ came into the world that he might purchase a peculiar people Zealous of good works and that he might sanctifie them unto himselfe Fourthly It is the end of al Gods ordinances towards thee why dost thou enjoy any ordinance but that they might sanctifie thy heart Fifthly It is the end if thou beest one that is in any measure Gods already it is the end of thy desires what are the desires of a gracious heart but that he might be holy to God and be freed from the body of death Sixthly It is the end of thy Labor what dost thou endeavor after what dost thou labor after if thou beest Godly but that thou mayest be more Godly that thou mayest be more sanctified surely that which is the end of our comming into the world that is the end of al Gods wayes towards thee that which is the end of al Gods ordinances which is the end of thy desires and the end of thy Labor that must needs be rest in attaining that thou must needs attain Rest 3. Sanctification is rest unto the soul in that the soul lives even the life of God the soul doth not only live to God but lives in God and therefore must needs live in Rest You have a notable expression for that in 1. John 2.24 Let that therefore abide in you which we heard from the beginning if that which ye heard from the beginning shal remain in you ye also shal continue in the son and in the father You shal continue in the son and in the father When the truths of the Gospel working on the heart unto holiness abides in the heart such a soul doth abide in the son and in the father lives in God and therefore must needs have rest must needs have rest there where it lives in God It s true the Saints they live in the world but as they live in the world so they live in God even in God here 4. Sanctification it must needs be rest unto the heart because that is a principle that raiseth the soul above the region of al kind of trouble and molestation As the Philosophers tel us that here in the inferior region there are stormes tempests changes and alterations but in the region on high the third region that is above stormes tempests winds and blusterings there is nothing but quiet nothing but peace there It is true while the heart of a man or woman is grovelling here below in the world as al are til God raiseth them by Grace their spirits are ful of trouble vexation and molestation There is no peace to the wicked saith my God but he is like the troubled sea which casts forth mire and dirt As you heard in the opening of that scripture But now when God gives grace and sanctifies the heart the Lord raiseth the heart above these regions of trouble raiseth it on high gets it up in the highest region there is nothing but quiet calme peace ease and rest unto the soul 5. Sanctification is rest
of the Father and throughly pleads their cause Fourthly In thy spiritual desertion thou must look up to Christ to seek the fulfilling of that promise of his that he makes to his disciples to send to them the comforter When Christ was to leave his disciples he saith Be of good cheer I will send the comforter to you and therefore be of good cheer Christ doth comfort his disciples against his absence he was to go from them and leave them in regard of his bodily presence Now Christ was so careful of his poor Servants that when he was to leave them in regard of his bodily presence he tels them he wil send the comforter to them that is the Holy Ghost shal come so much the more fully and he shal manifest me unto you Now plead this promise of the Lord Christ in the times of spiritual desertion and say Oh blessed Redeemer wert thou careful of thy disciples that when thou wert to leave them in regard of bodily presence that thou wouldst send the Holy Ghost that should come to testifie of thee and reveal thee to them and bring things to remembrance Oh much more wilt thou have compassion of a poor Soul from whom thou art absent in a spiritual way it is a greater affliction to want thee O blessed Redeemer in a spiritual way then to want thy bodily presence and therefore there is a great deal more need that the comforter should come in now to supply the want of spiritual presence then bodily presence Fifthly In the time of spiritual desertion if thou canst find no evidence at all nothing at all to satisfie thy Soul then go to Christ in the very same way that thou wentest to him at first better to do so then to lie groveling and sinking under thy Burden If thou thinkest that yet thou hast nothing that all is nothing all is lost and the like go again in the same way that thou wentest at first unto Christ thou art not in a worse condition then thou wast then when thou wert an enemy and thou foundest ease and rest in him at first now renew that work that there was in thy Soul at the very first There are many people in the time of spiritual afflictions and desertions they spend so much time in looking after old evidences whereas the truth is they might get new ones sooner then the old ones As somtimes a man may spend a great deal more time in looking after an old Key of a Box then in making a new one he might make a new Key with a great deal less trouble and it would not be so much prejudice to him to have a new Key made as to look the old one He may look up and down and spend a great deal of time that may be more worth then to make a new one So it is with the Soul in time of trouble and under spiritual desertion it is looking about for its old evidence and to such and such works of Grace and cannot find them and is poring and cannot be at quiet til it can find those former signs and marks that he had before I say such and such may sooner get new ones then find the old ones If a man have writings perhaps he cannot find such a writing he may be at less charge to have new ones writ over again then to look the old ones so thou wantest the evidences of thy Grace and canst not find them I say renew thy Grace upon Christ again and thou maist get thy evidence new writ over again and have it with less cost then to look after the old ones Sixtly Be sure in time of thy desertion to keep good thoughts of God though thou hast no comfort in them for the present yet beleeve it there is comfort in Christ and whatever becomes of thee acknowledg Christ to be faithful Christ is to be thy Lord and thy king and let thy Heart Love him and strive at the least â—o do so It is true the sence of his Love wil inflame Love again yet at that time when thou canst not have the sence of his Love yet resolve to Love him and Love his waies You know Christ when God seemed to forsake him yet at that time when he was upon the Cross when human Nature could not but see he had need of Gods presence but then he cryed out My God My God And so in Psalme 88. The example of Heman O God of my Salvation He speaks yet stil wel of God and cals God the God of his Salvation· O God of my Salvation he speaks yet stil wel of God and cals God the God of his Salvation O God of my Salvation stil keeps good thoughts of God And so the Church in the Canticles when Christ had withdrawn himself from her yet she would cal him her beloved and go up and down asking for her beloved and where her beloved was so let the soul in time of desertion Keep good thoughts of God Seventhly And Lastly If thou canst not have Rest in Christ resolve thou wilt never find rest in nothing else that thy Heart shal be restless til thou hast rest in Christ Perhaps in the time of desertion there comes one to thee and saith Christ hath forsaken thee go and have comfort elswhere look for it other where or may be the tempter wil come to a poor deserted Soul as he did to Christ in Matth. 4. When Christ was a hungry then comes the tempter to him and saies Command that these stones be made Bread As if the tempter should say thus do do not you see how your Father hath forsaken you that he will not afford you bread take a course for your self So here just thus it is for all the world with a troubled Soul the Soul is troubled the Lord is withdrawn from the Soul and now comes the tempter and saith you see you cannot have comfort you have praied all this while and you cannot get comfort Peace and Rest now therefore seek for Rest elswhere Oh take heed of this a deserted Soul should abandon such temptations and resolve that it wil be content to be in a restless condition to al eternity if it cannot have Rest here As it is with those that do ill offices if there be any breaches between Father and Child or one freind and another they take the advantage of that and say do not you see your Father regards you not though you be in such need he wil not regard you nor help you come therefore and take my counsel I will shew you how you shal live a better life and so when they would withdraw one friend from another those that would do ill offices they go and take advantage of the breach so doth the Devil when the Lord is withdrawn from the soul and the soul is in a deserted condition then comes the Devil to draw the soul to unlawful waies he wil be sure to take the advantage to do al ill
then look what Christ hath rest in that is thy rest too as now what is the rest of Christ Christ hath rest especially in three things there are three things that are the rest of Christ Gods rest in his Saints His rest in his Ordinances And his rest in his Sabbaths Now those that are partakers of true rest for their Soules in Christ look what Gods rest is thy rest is As now for the Saints the soul hath rest in them that is thy soul hath content and rest in them in their company Marke what is said of them in Zepha 3.17 Saith the Holy Ghost The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty he wil save he wil rejoyce over thee with joy he wil rest in his Love he wil joy over thee with singing Is the society and company of the saints a rest to the or rather a trouble to thee Oh to many the company of the saints it is a trouble to them but when they get into their own company amonst their own Companions then they have some Rest And then for the ordinances for that you have a text in the 132. Psalm and 14. Speaking of Zion For the Lord hath Chosen Zion he hath desired it for his habitation this is my rest for ever here wil I dwel for I have desired it Oh in Zion in ordinances in duties in the worship that is tendered up to thee here is my rest for ever and here is my delight Lord let me have rest this way my spirit is never so much at rest as when I am in the duties of Gods worship when I am exercised in Gods ordinances here my soul is at rest what ever I have else If I should have peace again and enjoy estate quietly yet except I have Gods ordinances I cannot have rest Now doth thy soul enjoy more rest in the ordinances then in any other way then thy rest is Christs rest And then for the sabboth you know what the scripture saith what a sabboth is it is nothing but rest and is the saboth a day of Rest unto thy soul do not many people think the sabboth day most troublesome to them especially if they be kept to holy duties prayer hearing the word the like Suppose you be put to pray in your closet then to pray in your family and to aske some questions to your servants children and then come to the publick and there to sanctifie the name of God and then when you come home again to examin your family over what they have learned and so prepare your selves again to the ordinance and so to spend your self in prayer and hearing and excercising al the day would not this be a weariness to many of you And would not many of you say as those in Malachy When wil the sabboth be over Men indeed count the sabboth a rest Why because they cease from working and they put on fine cloths and go abroad and walk in the feilds and upon this they count the sabboth a rest surely such are not acquainted with the rest that is in Christ but if thy soul be acquainted with this rest then the sabboth is but a tipe of that rest that thou shalt keep in the highest heavens it is but a tipe unto thee and a forerunner of that Glorious Rest that thou shalt enjoy hereafter Fifthly If thy soul have true rest it is such rest as wil abide examination of the word of God though it doth touch to the quick and the more the word doth touch to the quick the more it comes to thy soul the more rest thy soul hath In Heb. after the Holy Ghost had spoken of the rest that is to the people of God in 12. saith he The word is quick and powerful and sharper then any two edged sword peircing to the dividing a sunder of Soul and spirit and of the Joynts and Marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the Heart As if he should say if you enter into the Rest of Gods people you shal have such a rest as wil abide the most narrow and quickening searchings of the word of God the word of God will search you through and through and your rest shal be such a rest as wil abide the search A rest that comes by the word the more the word searcheth the more it increaseth quickning it searcheth between the marrow and the bones and the more rest a true gracious Heart finds CHAP. LI. Eight means to get and keep Rest in Christ 1. Beware of secret sins 2. Be thankful for what good God hath given thee 3. Judg not thy self in time of temptation 4. In trouble wait upon God in the use of means 5. Meditate much upon the promises 6. Proportion humiliation to thy comfort 7. Be throughly grounded that thou art in Christ 8. Improve the Rest thou hast to God by doing much work to him OBJECT BUt you wil say notwithstanding al this you have spoken yet many of the Saints of God though they have been careful to do what you have said yet they do not find this Rest you speak of in Christ Answ It is true it is not enough for you to be a beleever for one may be a beleever and yet not have the evidence of the Graces in Christ so as to have Rest unto his Soul You will say what should we do then First Take heed that there be no secret sin abide in your spirits you had need examine and look to that for that wil be a thorne in the flesh that wil trouble you if there be any secret sin thou livest in it wil be as a thorne in the flesh that thou canst not be quiet Secondly Another thing that will hinder the rest of beleevers is That because they have not so much as they desire they wil not take notice of what good God hath granted to them because they have not al they would have they think they have nothing at al. Now take heed of that though thou hast not all yet take notice of what God hath done for thee and be thankful for that We read of the Women in the Gospel that went â—o seek Christ they found the Angels and heard news of him though they found him not at first So though thy soul find not Christ for the present and the rest thou desirest yet if thou hast any news of him any beginning of Gods work in thy Soul take notice of that Should the Women have said what is that to us that we find the Angels and that we hear news of him it is Christ that we seek No they said not so And therefore I say bless God for what ever thou hast it is more then others have bless God for it and that is the way to have more Thirdly Never judg of thy self as thou feelest thy self in a time of temptation it may be thou art under a temptation or spiritual desertion now do not judg of thy self as
thou findest thy self at that time As now if so be a man when he hath been long in a Quartan Feaver or one that hath layen long in the Disease of the Pox if he shal at last look upon his visage and judg of the constitution of his body according to his countenance this would discourage him but he must judg of his constitution at that time when the distemper is not upon him So many poor Christians they judg of their condition then when they are under the greatest temptation No you should rather judg of your estates as you are when you injoy your selves most when God and your souls are together and most free from temptation If a man would weigh Gold perhaps the Gold hath one grain more then the weight yet if you come to weigh it and hold it in the wind the wind may toss up the scale and make the Gold seem to be too light and you wil say the Gold is not weight Why Because the wind tosseth up the scale the other way But now if you would see whether the Gold be weight indeed hold it steady where the wind comes not So if you would weigh your condition aright do it at that time when your spirit is most setled and staied and do not do it when temptation tosseth you up and down Fourthly Another help to beleevers to prevent another hinderance of their rest is this That their spirits because they have not what rest they would have many times grow impatient and trouble themselves more then God would have them Now this is a Rule labor to quiet your hearts by waiting upon God in the want of comfort and Labor in the use of what means God shal give you for a waiting frame That Text is very notable for that purpose in Isai 30.7 For the Egyptians shal help in Vain and to no purpose therefore have I cryed concerning this their strength is to â—it stil And than at verse 15. Thus saith the Lord God the Holy one of Israel in returning and Rest shal ye be saved in quietness and confidence shal be your strength but ye would not And so in Isaiah 52.12 For ye shal not go out with hast nor go by flight for the Lord will go before you and the God of Israel wil be your rereward There shal not be a tumultuous hurrying hasty Spirit You wil say can a man make too much hast to get assurance of Gods Love in Christ The truth is you make the best speed when you can in the quiet and calme of your spirits waite upon God while he wil please to speak to your Souls when we can go on in the use of means til God seal up by his spirit of assurance to your Souls Many Reasons might be given to put on the Soul to waite upon God but I pass on Fiftly Another Rule is this be much in Meditation upon the promises swallow down promises do not let them role upon your Tongues Wicked men they role the promises upon their Tongues but they do not take them down But now as when we take bitter Pils the way is to swallow them down whole when we take sweet things the way is to chew them if a man should chew his Pills he would suddenly throw them out of his Mouth So a Godly man should not chew the Pills that is by Meditating upon the threatnings of the Law this is not the way rather swallow down the Pills by Meditating upon the Gospel and the Covenant of Grace and so thy soul may come to find rest in Christ this way And when thou hast done al that thou canst yet stil the only way is for thee to depend upon God in his ordinances and to pray for the spirit no evidence that can be given can quiet the Heart till that comes to pass But now if so be the soul hath gained this what a thing is it for the soul to loose it again In Isaiah 26. â—0 Come my people enter thou into thy Chambers and shut the doores about thee hide thy self as it were for a little moment until the indignation be overpast What is it to come and enter into our Chamber To get into Christ our hiding place and then shut the dores that is take heed of parlying with temptation As thus now when as the Lord hath given thee rest and thy rest comes in by the word by applying the word to thy soul now shut the dore against temptation there wil arise some fears and Jealousies at that time now therefore shut the dore against al surmises â—eaâ—es and Jealousies and call for the word let the word be the rule for thy fear as wel as for thy comfort and rather depend on one Scripture for thy comfort then upon a thousand Jealousies for thy fear And this is now to shut the dore against temptation resolve here will I venture here is the word of God which is sure and certain and for temptation the Devil will trouble me with the Rapping and knocking at the dore but let him Knock as long as he will I have got a promise here and I will venture my Soul upon this promise And for want of this though thou hast gotten the promise yet upon every temptation thou openest the dore You know in time of danger when any come and rap at the dore wil you open the dore presently No you bid your Servant ask who it is and they must give a good account what they would have and from whence they come before you wil open the dore So when any temptation raps at thy soul inquire what it would have and whence it comes doth it come from God or no or from the Devil Many people they think the word to be a rule for their Faith but they think the word is not a rule for their fear you must have as good a warrant for refusing any comfort that is tendred to you as wel as for the taking of any comfort and if you would observe that rule that you wil never refuse comfort but you wil have a word to warrant you If the Lord come to you and say why did you refuse such comforts and you say I was in fear and Jealousies I but if God should say what word have you for it What were you able to answer Oh This is that that God wil require of you for it is a dishonor to the truth of God that whenas there is a word to ground thy Faith upon and nothing but Jealousies to ground thy fears yet thou wilt make thy Jealousies and thy fears to weigh down the word Sixthly Again according to the degrees of thy inlargment so let thy Humiliation be as thou findest thy Heart inlarged with joy at the same time let thy Grace work downward in way of Humiliation observe a proportion betwen thy joy and Humiliation many people are inlarged upon the joy they have in Christ but they are not humbled and therefore they vanish Seventhly Again Be not satisfied meerly that thou art in Christ and a beleever but labor to be throughly grounded that thou art in Christ for who knows what troubles and desertions thou maist meet with al labor to roote thy soul be established in Christ grounded in Christ to be a grounded Christian aâ—d therefore not to live upon sence but to live by Faith when thou hast sence Eightly Lastly Improve thy rest for God be sure to do much work when the Lord gives thee Rest as we use to say of outward peace it brings plenty so the truth is the peace thaâ— God gives in our consciences and the rest that we have in Christ should make us plentiful in all good works And by these rules if thou dost keep the dore shut against temptation if according to the degrees of thy inlargment thy Humiliation is If thou art not satisfied meerly that thou art in Christ and a beleever but laborest to be throughly grounded that thou art in Christ if thou dost roote thy soul in Christ and if thou dost improve thy rest to God to do much work for God when he gives thee Rest Thus doing thou shalt have rest an abiding rest unto thy soul thus thou shalt be in thy Chamber of Rest with the door shut while the indignation is overpast thus thou shalt have rest in the time of evil and all the troubles in the world shal be but as the rattling of the Rain upon the Tiles while thou art in the House Yea and the rest thou hast in Christ is but the forerunner of the glory that thou shalt have with Christ which thou oughtest to long for when thou hast fears and troubles thou oughtest to pray O Lord Jesus Christ fulfil the things thou hast promised to thy Servants and give Rest and Peace unto my Soul FINIS * See my Treatise on 2 Cor. 5.19 20. See my Treatise of the Evil of Sin See the treatise of the evil of sin
and in their Duties but meerly according to the stirring of conscience if conscience be awakened stirred then they are careful to perform duties but if conscience do not stir them they are careless again therefore those that do perform Duties in this manner you shal not observe an evenness in their waies but somtimes they are very strict and dare not for their Lives omit any Duty but at other times they are loose again for it is according to the beating of their consciences they do not work according to the new Nature for that which works according to a new Nature works in an even way wherein is a proportion between one Duty and another and this may be an argument of tryal whether that that you do be from the change of Nature or from other principles if there be a proportion between one duty and another you be not very forward in somthing and backward in another that is a sign it is done from a new Nature but if you make conscience of some thing and at other times in other things take more liberty this is a sign that what you do is but Legally done and this must needs be burdensome as it is a burden to a man to go upon uneven ground one Leg up and another down so for a man to perform Duties up and down forward and backward here is a Great deal of burden in that way whereas those that come to perform Duties by the spirit of God in them their way is made even for them not but that Gods people may somtimes be better then they are at other times yet there is generally an evenness and proportion between their actions The Sixt Misery Sixtly there is this evil in the burden of Legal performances that if so be that by these Duties their consciences come to be quieted then they are kept of from Jesus Christ there are no people more kept of from Jesus Christ then those that perform Duties in a Legal manner and have quiet of Conscience that way yeâ— not only kept from Christ but further they set up their Duties in the place of Christ and make them to be their very justification what is it that many people would present before the Lord for their Righteousness and Hope of Heaven but performance of such and such Duties that the Law requires now here 's a mighty mistake though we are bound to obey Gods Law yet for us to come and make this our Righteousness before God and set it up before the Lord to be our interest for eternal life this is to put Jesus Christ out of his office and make our own Duties to be our Saviors this now is exceeding dangerous and yet how many people are there that do thus and therefore I have been willing to be the Larger in this Point because it is not an argument that we do every day meet withal and also because I would have many whose Consciences begin to be inlightned and much troubled to know where they are what is the ground of their trouble and where the bottom of their trouble lies there are many people that are so far to be beloved that they are very conscientious of Duty and abstein from those sins that others live in and perform Duties that others neglect but they go on very heavily and sadly for many years together and the truth is they know not the ground of their trouble from whence their trouble comes now by that that I have opened to you in this Point you may come to know whence al your trouble comes whence it comes to pass that you have gone on in that sadness and heaviness as you have done you have done your duties in a Legal way you have not been acquainted with the way of the Gospel You wil say what is that way how shal we be eased of this burden when I come to that there I shal shew in some measure the Rest that we have in Christ from al those burdens that I have opened Christ wil not have us omit duties every a whit the more but in Christ we shal see how they are performed with a great deal more ease then before not more easie to the flesh but in the spirit and whosoever you are that are under this Burden of Legal performances if your hearts tel you this is my condition the Lord knows it is my condition I have indeed made conscience of my waies a great while but I have gone on just in this Legal way as hath been shewed in this Point if this be your condition so far be comfort to you and know that Jesus Christ cals you it is true your condition is for the present sad yet there is help Hope and Remedy in Christ come to him and he hath promised to give you Rest and teach you to honor God that shal be more comfort to your Souls than this way you are in the way of the Gospel is a safe way and a speedy way for comfort and it is as holy a way too therefore the way of the Gospel doth not cal to you to make less conscience of your Duties than you did No but it is as holy a way and a more safer and speedier way than that now you are in Christ cals you Quest But you wil say Doth Christ cal to these to come to him for Rest as if he did approve of their condition and as if it were a thing that ought to be that people ought to be burdened by these Legal performances Answ There are some of the burdens here that it is true ought to be and Christ approves of them that is to be sensible of the guilt of our sins and the remaining part of corruption c. and Christ cals these as approving of them so far as they are good though not truly good but there are other burdens that are upon sinners that Christ cals to come to him to be eased of not as they are approved of by Christ but Christ pities them and hath compassion upon those that are under those burdens as being under a great misery as now when a man shal make Conscience of his waies when Christ shall see a poor soul to make Conscience of his waies to have the fear of God and his eternal estate upon him to Labor and do what he can and al this while not in the right way but thinking by this to make up his Righteousness with God and eternal life Christ sees that al his labor wil come to nothing if he go on in this way he wil loose all his Duties and notwithstanding all the conscience he makes of holy Duties he wil perish at last except he comes to understand the way of the Gospel of justifying sinners before his tribunal fear notwithstanding al the Duties he performs except he come to understand this he will perish now in pity and tender compassion to such a Soul that hath done so much and gone so far the Lord Christ doth
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