now this is a special thing to be spoke of in this point how beleevers should improve this and what it is that they should learn by this and how helpful this will be to them and somthing for the satisfaction of those that doubt that they are not beleevers but we cannot do all things at once this shall suffice for the present the meer presenting to your Souls what Rest there is in Christ from the load of the Burden of the Law from the load that many feel to be upon their Souls through the burden of the Law CHAP. XXXI Containeth divers Consequences from the Rest beleevers have from the Burden of the Law And Lessons they are taught from thence TO proceed now There are divers things that follow from hence from the rest that we have in Christ from the Burden and load of the Law I shall speak very breifly of them and so pass to what remaines in the next burden and rest to that From hence follows exceeding help unto beleevers against divers temptations that do exceedingly trouble the peace and Rest of their souls if they be delivered from the Law in those several respects as at large hath been opened to you 1. Then first from the Meditation of this their delivery they may have Rest and ease from this temptation that because of some imperfections weaknesses and distempers of Heart and sins that they are guilty of therefore they have no interest at al in Christ they have no interest to beleeve in Christ because of that The strength of this temptation cannot stand with the right knowledg of Christ as delivered from the Law if Christ delivers from the Law then an interest in Christ may stand though we be not able to keep the Law Yea And further we know this that it is usual with beleevers upon the breach of the Law in any thing to call their estates into question all into question Certainly if we know that we are to deal with God not by the Covenant of works not to be cast by the Law we would never be so ready to cal all into question upon any breach of the Law that our conscience tels us we have been guilty of 2. Further This would marvelously help against this temptation likewise That God accepts not of what we do because it is not perfect because it is not compleat when beleevers look upon their duties that they do perform and see so many imperfections in them they dare not tender them up to God God is an infinite Holy just God and they are ashamed of what they have done so as they dare not tender them up to God now the right knowledg of our deliverance from the Law would help us against this temptation likewise Remember O thou beleever that thou hast to deal with God in a Covenant of Grace thou hast to deal with him in Christ through a better Covenant then the Covenant of the Law 3. Further This would help against this temptation also that many times is in the Hearts of the Saints That because they hear of divers that have seemed to have more then they have that have had more ability then they have had have been able to do more for God than they have done yet for all this have fallen away and so it may be have perished for ever Now saith many a poor Christian if such Eminent men of such excellent abilities that were able to do such great things if they that go thus far fall away what shal become of such a poor creature as I am Now by the understanding of our deliverance that we have from the Law by Christ we come to have help against this temptation for let a man have never such abilities and be able to do never so much work yet this man may fall away when one that is a thousand times weaker in regard of abilities that hath the least dram of true Faith which brings him into the Covenant of Grace will stand such a one shall stand when the other fals If indeed thy standing did depend upon what strength thou hast in thy self then thou hadst cause to lear that seeing such as did stand fel away what shal become of thee But we are to know that we are to deal with God in a way of the Covenant of Grace our standing or falling doth not depend upon any thing in our selves but upon Christ that hath undertaken for al those that are his members Thou hast to deal with God in the Covenant of Grace and being once brought into the Covenant that will uphold thee though thou art weak when thousands of others that have a great deal of Natural abillity and common guifts of Gods Spirit yet being not brought under this Covenant may vanish Yea Had they the strength of an Angel yet if not brought under this Covenant of Grace made with beleevers in Christ they would fall and come to nothing Whenas the weakest beleever that hath to do with God through Christ and not through the Law such a one shal stand and not fal Now the being delivered from the Law in Christ will mightily help beleevers against these temptations and divers others I know nothing that doth help beleevers more then this in being delivered from the Law in that sence as hath been shewed before Likewise from hence there are a great many Lessons to be learned as The First Lesson First From this deliverance we are taught to entertain the hearing of the Threats of the Law I speak to beleevers though others may make an ill use in hearing the deliverance from the Law yet they must not miss their Portion I say beleevers are hereby taught how to receive the Threats of the Law you hear dreadful threates of the Law out of Gods word against sin Now how shouldest thou entertain these threates The way is this when thou hearest such threates know that God by this would have thee to consider what his mercy is in delivering of thee from what thou hast deserved God would have thee to consider what the evil of sin is in it self and to consider what Christ hath done God would have thee to be driven to Christ by this meanes to see thy need of Christ to bless his name for Christ and to prize Christ who hath delivered thee from these threatnings A beleever when he heares the threates of the Law is like a man that stands upon the shoare when there is a greivous tempest and storme he sees the waves rise high heares the winds blow and the waves roare but he stands safe upon the haven indeed he was in the storme and tempest but God hath brought him to the haven and there he stands and blesseth God It may be he sees other ships a great way off ready to be split upon the rocks or swallowed up but he is safe on the shoare so it should be with al beleevers when they heare the threatnings of the law they should entertain them with blessing
quite against those duties opposite unto them there is a contrary streame in them they go against wind and tide you know what a burdensome thing it is for the boatman to go against wind and tyde he must put to a great deale of strength so it is heere til the soul come to beleeve in Christ and to have the spirit of Christ having onely conviction of conscience and being put upon duties there are such corruptions in the heart and such evil principles in al men naturally that are as wind and tide against those duties and yet saith concience you must do them though you find your inclinations to be never so strong another way yet conscience tels you you must do them and when God is pleased to put strength into conscience it wil make a man or a woman to go on in duty though it be never so cross to their own nature you wil say if it be cross to their owne natures why do they not leave it off No they dare not notwithstanding so it is true we shal show you afterwards that even godly men and beleivers are burdened with corruptions they have contrary principles to the duty too I but they are not so prevailing as with unbeleevers that are only legal It is a tedious thing you know to cast a stone upward not onely to cause a stone to move any way that is some trouble because you keep it from its center but to put it upon a motion that is quite contrary to the principle that is burdensome because al heavy things have principles in them that work downwards therfore to put them upon those things that are quite contrary to their natural principles it is a motion that wil cause burden and that because you keep them from their owne center so conscience may keep a man and woman from their own center from those wicked courses that their natures are inclined unto and al the while they are kept from the course that their natures do so strongly incline them unto it must needs be burdensome to them until God come and sanctifie their hearts they may be a great while without any sanctification many whose consciences are convinced may goe on in duties without sanctification in them The third Burden of Legal Performances 3. One that goes on in the performance of duties in a legal way meerly is weary and tired with what he doth and yet can find no strength comming in unto him no further ability to perform what conscience puts him upon then he had at first nay rather less ability Now this must needs be burdensome As suppose a man be put upon a work and if he have no mind to it that is tedious but if it be against the haire quite opposite to his disposition that is more tedious yet he must go on and he toyls and wearies himself and yet the more he works the more grievous it is unto him for he finds no strength comming but strength wearying rather his strength wears a way and no strength comes in to assist him and yet his work is as strong as it was that work must needs be burdensome so those that are meerly legal they go on stil in duty and the work is stil as strong but they are weaker many a man when he first sets upon a work is cold and benummed bur when he continues in the work he gets warmth and then it is not so burdensom unto him but if he continues in the work and is colder and colder this is very tedious to those that performe duties in a meer legal way conscience puts them upon it at first and they go to duty with some vigour but the truth is they grow more weary and the work is more tedious and yet conscience puts them upon asmuch work as at first when a man hath been at work and growes weary and desires ease and a cruel task-master shal come and tel him there must be no decrease of your work nor no increase of your strength this must needs be tedious thus those that performe duties in a legal way conscience puts upon them as much worke when they are weary and tired as at first here is the difference between the works of sanctification legal performances though they seem to be hard at first yet while the soul sets upon them there comes in strength and the more work the more strength they do not spend their strength and throw it away and grow more weary afterwards then at first but the more they have experience of the ways the more strength they have they grow warm at their work and being warm they get further and further strength and it grows easie unto them but it is not so with one that performes duties in a meere legal way some have been seven yeares in a profesion of religion and made conscience of their duties yet after seven yeares spent their hearts no more mortified then at first and they have got no more strength then at first their lusts are less mortified and their strength is less then at first and therefore their work must needs be grievous unto them The 4. Burden of Legal Performances 4. Those that performe duties in a legal way meerely while they are striving to do their duty they are contracting stil further guilt upon their souls they strive to do that that the law requires and in their very striving they are breaking of the law You wil say so godly men while they are striving to do their duty they sin also there is imperfection in the best I but yet their sin is done away in Christ their sin is not layed to their Charge but those that are meerly legal while they are striving they sin and contract Guiltiness upon their spirits and it lies upon them and they stand charged with it But then it may be said it were better that they did not strive no not so neither conscience must have them strive it would be a greater guiltiness if they should not strive though when they strive they stand charged with further evil then before now this is a greivous burden as now if a man were rowling a stone up a hil and as soone as he had rolled it up the stone should come down upon him again it would be a mighty tiresome work it is so with those that are meerly legal while they are in duty in working stil corruption brings them down againe and they contract continually guiltiness upon their soules The 5. Burden of Legal Performances 5. Those that performe duties in a meere legal way what they do they do meerly out of feare they are put upon it in a forcible and rigorous way they are put upon al their duties in a rigorous way meerly by force and constraint if you put a man to do a thing meerly by force it is very tedious to him and especialy when your forcing of him is with rigor as those that are slaves they are not only exhorted to
al and yet you do not cry out but Paul he was delivered from the guilt of his sin yet the very remainder of sin in his heart was a burden to him there is much sin in many of your hearts and you cry not out of it Paul he was delivered and yet he cryeâ— out of it who shal deliver me from this body of death But now to open this I shal shew First how manâ— waies the remaining part of corruption is a burden to the Saints Secondly What kind of burden it is Thirdly Open the particulars shewing that sinful nature is a burden and the stirring of corruption a burden and the prevailing of corruption a burden Fourthly Why it is that God doth so in his providence order things that his owne saints shal be under the burden of corruption and so make some application of it First Then in what respect the remaining part of sin and corruption in the heart of the saints is a burden The First burden of Corruption First It is a burden of greife unto them you know grief causeth heaviness and sadness now the remainder of corruption that they find in them it is as lead and lies heavy upon their spirits in regard of greif it is the cause of their grief and trouble some wil say perhaps sometimes to others such and such that are professours of religion they go very sadly and heavily and when once you come to be so strict in your way you wil loose al your comfort for such and such are alwaies sad and pensive but do you know what is the reason of their sadness you have as much cause to be sad as they the burden is not because they are religious but because they are no more religious not because now they do more duties then they did before but because they cannot find their hearts come up to their duties as they would do not atribute their greif to their godlyness but rather say to thy self thus if they that do so much for God are yet so much troubled and greived because they do no more for God how much cause of trouble and greife have I then that do nothing at al for God The Second burden of Corruption Secondly The remaining part of corruption in the hearts of the saints it is a burden of shame greif is a burden and shame is a burden many that can beare great burdens that can beare the burden of poverty yet are not able to beare the burden of disgrace especially to those that are most ingenious it is one of the greatest burdens in the world now the saints they are ashamed of the corruption that remains in them they account it a shame before the Lord and before his blessed Angels and in regard of themselves what they know of themselves that the world knowes not of they look upon it as ashame that they do even loath and abhor themselves as the scripture speakes it may be their lives are such as others do honor and have high thoughts of them but they being acquainted with their own hearts and looking into the secret working of their own spirits they see so much evil there as they see much cause to abhor and loath themselves and to lie down in their shame before the Lord whom they know doth see into their hearts a great deale more then they can see themselves I wil appeal to any one that knows his owne heart if God should open your heart and make it known to your friends and acquaintance so much evil as is in your heart in the performing of one duty if al men should know so much evil as is in your heart at one time in praier or hearing a sermon would you not be ashamed now God knowes and sees al the baseness and vildness of your spirits and the godly knowing this they cannot but be ashamed and go under this burden of shame with heavy hearts The Third burden of Corruption Thirdly The remaining part of Corruption in the hearts of the godly it carries with it a burden of feare fear you know is a great burden as wel as greif and shame though the evil be not so great upon them yet if their be an evil apprehended to come upon them it is a great burden to them as those that dare not go out of dores in the night because of feare or dare not be in the dark because of fear when they are delivered from their feares do they not account that it was a great burden now the godly they have a great deal of fear upon their hearts and the truth is those that are godly they fear more what their owne evil hearts should bring upon them then what al the divels in hel and al the creatures in the world can bring upon them and that is a good fear but yet it makes them walk heavily others feare sometimes they fear men fear those that wil come and take away their estates and undo them feare their enemies or feare the divel but one that is godly he feares more his own heart the evil that may come to his soul by that then al the hurt that al the divels in hel can do to him for they cannot afflict more then the body I but this brings an evil upon the soul it breakes their communion between them and God and therefore they are afraid of sin before it comes they have experience of their hearts what evil it hath done to them and so are afraid of miscarrying and afraid of the evil consequences of their sin they do not know what mischief their sin might possibly bring upon them and so they goe under this burden of fear along time together even those that are truly godly The Fourth burden of Corruption Fourthly The remaining part of corruption in the hearts of the saints is a burden of care for men and women to be alwaies careful to be ful of care you know that is a great burden that many of you are acquainted with that when you have a great deal of business upon you and much lies upon you when your thoughts are ful of care is it not a great burden to you many men that have been ful of business and afterwards have got over their business what a freedome do they account it the saints they have a burden of care upon them because they find so much to do with their own hearts that they had need be watchful night and day over them they have had experience what their hearts have done when there hath not been a strict watch over â—hem and therefore there is no Child of God but if he be in a right temper he is a careful man so long as we live in this flesh our condition is ful of feares and so we must neds be ful of care in this world though there be a great deale of difference between the distracting care that wicked men have about their outward estate and the care of the godly about keeping their
send forth somwhat of thy spirit that may draw our Hearts and then we will run after thee Keep thy Heart in such a frame for this is a great discouragement about coming to Christ in the Hearts of many Christ calls and we have many sweet incouragements in the word to come I but it is to them that have their Hearts stirring and working towards Christ to go to him But I have a dead and dull Heart and cannot work towards him I but if thou canst not stir and work after him yet set thy Soul in sight of Christ and look towards him and waite til Gods time come when he will let some influence into thy Heart this will be a mighty help this way And take heed of listening to any temptation that may draw away thy heart from coming to Christ It is a notable Scripture that you have in 1. Sam. 12.20 it is of Samuel Speaking to the people of Israel that had sinned against the Lord and were troubled for their sin and Samuel said unto the people Fear not you have done this wickedness yet turn not aside from following the Lord but feare the Lord with al your hearts and turne ye not aside for then should ye go after vain things which cannot profit nor deliver for they are vain You have sinned against the Lord and you are troubled what shal we do Saith Samuel though you have thus sinned yet do not turne aside to vanity So do I say you have sinned against the Lord and Christ cals you to come to him and you complain you have a dead and dul heart I but then do not turne from Christ to vanity set your selves stil in the sight of God and attend upon him in those Ordinances that he useth to present himself in RULE VIII Eighthly When thy heart begins to come to Christ give up thy self to the stream of Gods spirit for the spirit of God wil be stirring ever and anon though not at al times alike Thou art attending upon the Ordinances and waiting when the spirit of God should come to draw thy heart to Christ wait upon this stirring and if thou feel the Spirit beginning to draw thy heart to Christ in any measure Oh! then joyn with the work of the spirit of God and give up thy soul to the stream of Gods spirit do not thou draw back it may be Gods spirit is drawing thy heart to Christ and thou presently drawest back with discouraging thoughts upon consideration of thy Vileness and that thou art not humbled now when thou feelest Gods spirit stirring in thee give up thy soul to the strength of Gods spirit As when a man goes to learne to swim he is not to lay down himself and keep a padling with his hands and feet but there must be a giving up of himself to the water Sometimes a man keeps ten times more stir to keep himself from drowning then another that can swim one that hath got the art of swimming while the other sinkes to the bottom the water helpes him and he keeps himself above water Just thus is the difference between some that are troubled in their consciences for their sins and others between some that are coming to Christ and others Some that are coming to Christ and have not the right art of giving up themselves to Christ they are sinking and in mighty confusion of spirit and keep such a do with their own hearts and strange confused thoughts they have and horror of spirit and al because they fear they shal sink down to the bottom of destruction Now there are others that are afraid of sinking and drowning as wel as they but coming to understand what the way of Christ is and what it is to come to Christ though they have nothing in themselves to keep them from sinking yet they come to learn how to give up their souls to the stream of Gods spirit that carries them on to Jesus Christ in a more solid way and with a great deal less trouble they come to Jesus Christ and there they get into the arke and so are safe for ever Whereas others they skrabble on the outside of the arke as if a poor man should be skrabbling upon the ship no body lookes after him he fals down and is drowned at last So those that skrabble and do not give up themselves unto the arke they fal down again and at the last perish You have a scripture for this in 1. Kings 20.33 The Servants of Benhadad they diligently observed whether any thing would come from the King of Israel and they say thy brother Benhadad this is the thing they go in a way of seeking to the King of Israel for his brother Benhadad and this is the way they watch for any word that might pass from the King of Israel whereby they might have any hope and at last he said my brother Benhadad and they take hold of this presently So it should be with a sinner that is seeking after Christ he should diligently watch what may come from the Spirit of Christ that may give any incouragement doth the Spirit move in thee and begin to work in thee to draw thee to Jesus Christ Oh! thou mightest have got a great way thither it may be thou mightest have been in his bosom and in his armes by this time if thou hadst taken this course RULE IX Ninthly The soul that is about coming to Christ that doth not yet know whether it is truly got to Christ it should often renew the act of coming for certainly there are many that are at Christ but do not know it It may be some soule may say I had thought I had got to Christ before but I see my Corruptions prevail and I am afraid I am not come to Christ wil not these soules think that they must not come to Christ til they have overcome their Corruptions wheras the best way to overcome thy corruption is to come to Christ to renew the act of thy coming to Christ and the longer thou staiest from renewing this act of thy coming to Christ the more strong thy corruptions grow in thee Certainly do thou ly down as long as thou wilt in any sullen mood and say my Corruption is thus and thus and I am afraid I never went to Christ thy corruptions would grow stronger in thee thou must not stay til thy corruptions be subdued before thou goest to Christ but renew the act of coming to Christ again say I wil try it again may be I did not do it aright at first and if I miss it the second time I wil try it again and again and the hundredth time Do not say if I had overcome sin thus and thus I would come to Christ it is as much as to say if I were first sanctified by Christ then I would come to Christ for justification and is this the right order No thou must come first to Christ that thou mayest have thy corruptions subdued
that it shall not abide one moment longer than it hath wrought out the Corruption wrought out evil and brought good unto thee now this is a mighty Rest unto thy spirit If so be a patient is to deal with a Physitian that is learned and wise and experienced that I know he understands the state of my body to the ful to a hair in every thing and I know that what he gives he is very careful about and what he gives he doth it himself doth not trust the Apothecary but goes himself and sees how many drams is put into it and hath it weighed before his Face trusts not others but weighs it himself and so observes every circumstance that is suitable to his patient now would not this be quietness unto thee Perhaps the potion may be bitter but if thou knowest that it comes from the hand of such a Physitian that is thus careful and thus skilful and thus experienced this causeth Rest and quietness in thy Spirit So truly by the Eye of Faith thou mayst behold God though God useth creatures as instruments yet the Lord will not trust them but stands by and looks upon every dram that is put into the cup. If a man should give that which is Poysonous or ratsbane to a dog he cares not how he gives it but now if there should any venemous thing be put into Physick then the Physitian needs to look to every dram that it be proportionable to the state of the Body So I say when God distributes his afflictions to the wicked he cares not for any proportion he cares not for doing them good by it But now when he comes to beleevers in Christ God is careful to proportion every dram for the time of it that it shal come but just when God would have it and continue not one moment longer than God would have it That Scripture is enough to quiet the soul in regard of any affliction Which you have in Peter 1.6 Wherein ye rejoyce though now for a season if need require ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations Though now for a season for a little time now so the words are though for a little time now it is but now and it is but a little time and then too if need be Mark what a blessed parenthesis this is it is worth Gold this very Parenthesis is wherein ye greatly rejoyce though now for a season you are in heaviness it will not be much it shal be but for a little time and that if need be as if God should say were there not need you should not be for one instant of time in heaviness this is that you must learn from this Scripture Would it not be Rest to your Soul if you could hear God out of his word this day speak to every one of you and say did not I see thâ—re was need you should never have any minute of sickness in all your life this were enough to give Rest unto the Soul and though there be need it is but for now for a little time I do not find in the original that the word signifies season but a little now and if need be so that you shall not be in heaviness no not for a little now unless there be need this is a great deal of Rest CHAP. XLV The Rest beleevers have from Christ in outward afflictions discovered in four Particulars more 1. They shall be to good ends 2. They shal be sanctified to the good of beleevers 3. God is present with his people in Christ 4. There is abundance of present good in affliction FIfthly Come to me saith Christ and you shal have Rest in your affliction for your afflictions shall have very good ends God will never bring affliction upon you but he wil have gracious ends that he will aim at in your affliction God hath somwhat in his Eye that he aimes at more than you imagine and the thoughts of this may bring a great deal of Rest unto the Soul we cannot alwaies understand what those Particular ends are that God hath in the tryal of his people but we must satisfie our spirits in this certainly God hath very gracious ends what a great deal of trouble is there now in the nation how many godly people are spoiled of their goods and wounded and made havock of we think it is nothing but the rage of wicked men certainly God hath gracious ends in it and God is about to bring to pass some glorious thing though we cannot understand it now it is only one that is acquainted with the mind of Christ that can be satisfied with this that when God brings tryalls he hath glorious ends to bring about and why should not I be willing to be serviceable to Gods ends to those great ends that God hath to bring about Wherefore was I made and brought into the world but only that God may serve himself of me and therefore if God hath need of my affliction as I may so speak why may not I be quiet in my affliction for my affliction may be serviceable to God Now this is that I profess that I may be serviceable to God and his ends now if thy heart be right in this that thou wouldst be serviceable to God and his eâ—ds then thou must not choose the way how God shal fetch about his waies and ends upon thee Somtimes God may serve his own ends in thy prosperity I but at other times he wil serve himself in thy affliction now if thy Heart be gracious indeed thou wilt be as willing that God may fetch about his praise in thy affliction as in thy prosperity in this a gracious heart rejoyceth Now if thy heart be right in this then if God take away thy estate and bring thee into affliction thou mayst be quiet in this that God wil be served by my wants and bring about his ends that way though thou mayst think that God may be better served by thy prosperity then by thy affliction I but know this that God hath glorious ends to bring about and must have his people suffer to bring about those ends and therefore this may Cause Rest and quiet of Spirit Sixthly Come to me saith Christ you shal have Rest in trouble and affliction for not only you shal be serviceable to God for his ends but al your afflictions shal be Sanctified for your own good to you God intends it and you shal have a Sanctified use in them and this is more then removing the curse the Sanctified use notes a mighty operation of God in the affliction to fetch out good unto thy Soul Now this were a large thing to shew what is the Sanctified use of affliction the purging out of Corruption the quickening of Grace yea if it were but the tryal of Grace it were enough to bring quiet to the Soul for the Scripture saith the tryal of Faith is more precious then Gold the tryal of Grace the exercise of Grace
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
them but they have arts to make their tankerds light as can be but now if they carried their water in tankards of Lead though the water were no heavier yet this would make it more burdensome so sickness poverty loss of estate they are burdensome to al that beare them but yet the corruption of sin when the heart is corrupted with sin that is as lead that makes it the greater burden and therefore sin in the heart is such a thing as makes al other things burdensome that are burdensome Though a man should loose al his estate in one night this might be some burden but he that hath sin upon him that makes al other burdens to be burdensome The Fifth property of the Burden of Corruption Fifthly Sin is a burden unto God himself much more to the saints God cries out that he is prest under sin as a Cart is pressed that is ful of sheaves it is a burden to the spirit of God and therefore it is said that the spiâ—it of God is greived and it must needs be a great burden to thy soul when thou seest and knowest it is a burden to thy father it is a burden to the spirit of God whereby thou art sealed to the day of redemption Is it not a burden to the heart of any ingenious spirit when he shal consider that that which I have done is a burden to my father to the spirit of grace any ingenious child it wil be a burden to him that he hath done any thing against his father now so long as thou hast any sin in thee thou art a burden to God and to the spirit of God The Sixth property of the burden of Corruption Sixthly As it is a burden to God so it is that that makes us burdensome unto al that we converse with al and the more Corruption that remaines in our Hearts the more burdensome we are to all that we converse withal some there are though truly godly yet they have so much Corruption in them that they are burdensome to all that they converse withal as in a family take those that are passionate though they have godliness lies at the bottome yet how burdensome are they to those that converse with them others they have extream stout and stubborn Spirits others have sullen Hearts extream sullen spirits others have slight and vain spirits others proud and envious spirits and others Covetous now there is reason they should feel the burden themselves for others feel the Burden when it breaks forth from them and therefore it much more aggravates their Burden those that are truly godly that are overcome with passion when they think thus Oh! what a Wretched Heart have I that I should break forth into passion in such and such company Oh! what a Wretch am I that I should not only be burdensome to my self but to those that I converse withal I make no Question but I speak to many that have lamented their condition in this kind alone in that they have been so burdensome to others it is true I have been a Burden to such and such but the Lord knows it is much more a burden to mine own heart and to my self therefore the remaining part of Corruption is such a Burden to the godly because it is a burden to others whenas all the people of God should be useful in the places where they live they should live so as that all that live by them and with them should bless God for them this they should endeavor to do to live in such a manner as all that come neer them should bless God that ever they came neer or had converse with them The Seventh Property of the Burden of Corruption Seventhly This Burden is such a Burden as makes those that are godly to be burdensome to themselves yea even to be weary of their lives many times Why For their Corruption in them is a great deal more grievous then Death would be to them We use to express a thing that is very grievous to us and say it is death to us those that are godly can say so of their sin and that is one Reason that Paul gave that Name to his sin a Body of Death Oh! Wretched Man that I am who shal deliver me from this Body of Death Why because the remaining Corruption that then was in his Heart was as Death to him so it is with the Saints the Corruption that remaines in their hearts it is Death to them and they can appeal unto God and speak thus in his presence The bitterness of death would not be so much to me a thousand parts as this Corruption that is in my heart Oh! this Corruption that is in my heart that overcomes me after so many resolutions so many Prayers so many Sacraments so many ingagements it is that which makes me weary of my life as Rebeccah said if Jacob should marry a Wife of the Daughters of Heth it would make her weary of her Life so saith the godly this remaining Corruption in my Heart makes me weary of my Life what shal I do that carry such a Body of Death about me so as I do There are many Men and Women that in a discontented mood say they are weary of their lives but this is in a discontented mood but when could you say so in respect of your Hearts when did you say I lookt into my Heart and I saw a great deal of sin Corruption worldliness Pride Passion and the like and this is that which makes me weary of my Life The truth is the great thing that makes the people of God to be willing to die is this because they know when they die they shal be delivered from this Burden and therefore when Death comes they entertaine it willingly because they know they shal sin against God no more There is many of you when you have lived a long time in sickness and poverty and are in great straites many waies you think if Death should come to me I could be willing to die because then I should suffer no such things as now I do I but that is no argument of Grace but this is an argument of Grace that because of the great burden of Corruption that thou carryest about in thy Soul therefore thou would'st be willing to die The Eighth property of the Burden of Corruption Eightly Sin is a grievous Burden while we have it and makes us weary of our Lives and yet it is such a Burden as we must certainly carry about with us such a Body as we know we shal never be freed from wholly while we live in this world it is true we may be freed from it in a great measure Christ saith come to me and you shal have Rest that is some Rest for the present and whole Rest in the Life to come but we cannot be wholly freed from this Burden whilst we are in this World And thus much for the properties of this Burden what
instance you know that the Scripture tels us that the flesh fights against the Spirit and the spirit fights against the flesh there is a continual fighting by this Corruption against al that is good now that there should be Corruption in the Heart that continually fights against God that is a more fearful thing so it is in thy Heart Now to be alwaies in a fight or a combate it is a fearful thing we count it a great burden that there should be Wars and Rumors of Wars within our gates I but there is a greater war in thy Heart It is a thing that was not thought possible ever to be in England that there should be found such a Generation that should indanger their lives to make them and their posterity slaves and yet for this they fight who doth not see but the victory wil be this in the Conclusion But I wil shew you a worse thing then this in every of your Hearts there are such Corruptions in your Hearts as put your Souls to fight to mischeif your selves to bring your selves to be slaves to the Devil this is in your Hearts though indeed some are not sensible of this and what is the reason that if corruption be a Burden that some people â—eel it not One Reason is this because they are dead in sins if this whole building should fal upon a dead man he would not feel it and take this as an infallible argument that thou art dead in sins and trespasses if thou dost not feel the Burden of thy corruption that man and woman that is not sensible of the sin that is in their Souls I dare in the Name of God pronounce that Man or Woman dead As it is in Nature though we may loose the sense of seeing or of smelling or of hearing yet we may live yet the sense of feeling or touching that cannot be lost if we be living if we loose the sense of feeling certainly that man or Woman is dead no sense inwardly or outwardly there is some sense of feeling so long as there is life So here though there may be many weaknesses in men and Women yet when they do not feel the Burden of their Corruptions at al certainly they are dead men and Women Now you that are weary and heavy Laden come to me saith Christ And I will give you Rest know that Christ speaks to you not only out of pity as to those that Labor under the Burden of Legal performances but out of love and know that by this you come to be fitted for Christ and it is that that is as delightful to the heart of Christ to give ease and Rest to his poor Servants that Labor under the Burden of Corruption as to do any thing in the world it was a special end why Christ came into the world to dissolve the works of the Devil our Corruptions are from the Devil and are tied close to us and they easily beset us as the expression is now I say it was the end why Jesus Christ came into the world to dissolve the works of the Devil that is when he sees his poor Servants under this burden and to cry out under it as Paul did who shal deliver me then Christ comes to cut this bond and so to dissolve the works of the Devil and give ease and Rest to their Spirits You do wel when you struggle and strive against your Corruptions with all the strength you have but the great work you have to do that you may be delivered from your Corruptions is to renew your act of Faith in Christ to make use of those Scriptures wherein Christ is said to be our Sanctification as wel as our Redemption and to act our Faith upon those Scriptures and that is the way to ease our Souls of these Burdens CHAP. XV. In what respects the stirrings and motions of Corruption 〈◊〉 very burdensom 1. They continually fight against the Spirit of Grace in the Heart 2. They are sudden 3. They are ful of Confusion and disorder 4. They work very Malitiously 5. They watch opportunity to do mischief 6. They are very unseasonable 7. They are very prevalent NOw besides the Corruption of our Nature the stirring of Corruption is very burdensome unto the Soul I suppose if a Man or Woman did know what corrupt Nature is in them and though this corrupt Nature did not stir yet it would be very burdensome but we are to know that this corrupt Nature doth not lie stil but is alwayes working stirring acting and putting it self forth unto that that is evil now the motions of sin are burdensome 1. For First they are continually fighting against the Spirit of God and the spirit of grace in the heart the flesh lusteth against the spirit now to have a continual fighting and Combating in the soul is it not very burdensome as a family where there is a continual falling out never a day that you come to some families but there is falling out and fighting is it not burdensome to live in such a family now in the hearts of men and women there is a continual fighting If one should be in a family where the husband and wife is continually fighting one with an other and the children and servants flying in the face one of an other that would be burdensome now in the heart of man there is the flesh and spirit continually fighting one against another is not war in a kingdome a burden and especially when men shal fight to make themselves slaves as I said before would any man ever have thought it possible that there should be such folly in the hearts of any in England to fight to make themselves and their posterity slaves that the very victory that they should get was to bring them to be slaves now the fight with corruption it is for this end 2 And then the stirring of corruption is sudden many times a man or woman that is gracious and godly that finds their heart in some good temper and working for God suddenly their corruptions wil be stirring in them unexpectedly which is extream greife and damp to their spirits and causeth many times exceeding much trouble to them suddenly that no body can understand the cause of it but themselves 3. And then the stirring of Corruption is violent the stirring of Corruption in the hearts of the Saints are many times extream violent and outragious the divel stirs up their Corruption and indeed the corruptions themselves are as it were divels in them that do as the divel that was ready to be cast out of him that was possessed he causeth him to foam at the mouth so there is extreame violence of corruption in the hearts of the Saints It was a Lamentable conditition of the poor Child that was possessed in the Gospel when the father came to Christ for help because when the evil spirit came it cast him into the fire and into the water So corruption is so violent in
that God aymes at the execution of his just judgment upon them thereby 7. God doth it for this reason that the Saints may long more after heaven therefore it is that the Lord in the ordering of his providence workes so that they should be kept under the burden of Corruption in this world that they might long to be in heaven with their father and that when they come to heaven they might know the difference between heaven and earth between their state there in heaven and their state here on earth Thus though corruption may be a great burden to us while we live here in this world yet the Lord hath many great ends and purposes to suffer thee a poor creature to be under remaining corruption and therefore thou canst not draw any such argument God loves me not for if he loved me he would deliver me from this corruption I have been praying a longtime to be delivered and yet I am not delivered do not gather any such arguments from it you know Paul prayed once and again and al the answer he had was my grace shal be sufficient for thee so though thou prayest under the burden of corruption again and again yet if once God say thus to thy soul my grace shal be sufficient for thee thy corruption shal not crush thee and undo thee but I wil sstrengthen thee this wil be sufficient Now from al this that hath been said you may by way of consequence see First a great deal of difference between the sins of the Godly and the sins of the Wicked the wicked they sin and the godly sin too we use to say we are al sinners but it is to the one a burden to the other a delight Secondly You may see from hence also one reason why the Saints of God go on sometimes so sadly in their wayes thou dost not know what burdens they are under But you wil say we are better we do not feele it No they have not so much sin as thou hast they have got some grace thou hast none they have in some degrees mortified their sins thou hast not yea they have their sins pardoned thou hast not but yet though they have some assurance that the guilt of their Sin is removed yet the very remaining of the Corruptions of their hearts is their burden Object You wil say Why should it be so burdensome if they know the guilt of their Sin to be forgiven Answ I beseech you observe it there is a deale of difference between a carnal heart and a Godly heart one that hath a carnal heart if he can be eased from the burden of conscience he is no more troubled but now a gracious heart though he be first burdened with the apprehension of the guilt of sin that burden be removed yet there remaining a body of death there is another burden stil upon him so that the very remaining of some corruption is a greater burden unto him then al thy corruption that is in the ful strength of it and together with thy corruption al the guilt that is upon thee only thou art dead in sin and dost not feel it if a whole building fal down those that are buried in the grave they would not feel it but al you that are alive if it should fal down would feele it so the wicked have the burden of their corruption in the ful strength of it in the guilt of it upon them and they feel it not for they are dead but the Godly though they have the guilt of Sin removed yet the very least sin remaining in them is a burden though they have mortified their sin and do it every day yet the remaining of sin is a great burden to them And hence you may see the reason of the watchfulness of the Saints over their spirits why they spend so much time and rise so early to heare the word what is the reason you wil say they know that if they do not Labor under the burden of their Corruptions to a void sin it wil be a greater burden to Labor under the burden of sin afterwards Now you do not watch over sin because you do not know what a grievous burden sin is when they Labor under it but such a one as feels the Burden of Sin the Lord be merciful to me I had thought saith he my Back would have broke under the Burden of sin And therefore David Praies for the healing of the bones that were broken and that is the Reason of the watchfulness and carefulness of the Saints under this burden Now the maine thing that hath been intended in al that I have said about this Burden is this That I might point out those whom Christ cals to himself that you might be prepared to hearken to the invitation of Christ to come to him for Rest though we are not come to that yet take notice that there is Rest in Christ for all these from under all these Burdens And so much for the Burden of the remaining part of Corruption in the Hearts of the Saints CHAP. XVIII Of the burden of outward afflictions and the grievousness thereof laid open in three Particulars 1. In themselves they are a part of the curse of the Law 2. They hinder much in doing Service to God 3. They often help forward many strong Temptations Why God wil have his Saints to be under this Burden Namely 1. Because he wil have his Servants to honor and obey him meerly out of Love 2. Because he knoweth that thus their Corruptions may be best mortified 3. To be a Stumbling-block to the wicked THe next Burden is The Burden of affliction the Burden of outward afflictions Poverty disgrace sickness or any kind of trouble in this world you shal find these things to be very Burdensom to you Now Christ cals such as Labor under this Burden to come to him and promiseth to give them Rest Christ hath a tender affection towards poor Creatures under outward burdens towards all those that the Father hath given to him especially when they are Burdened with outward affliction and the Gospel hath in it abundance of refreshments to help and ease sinners that feel the Burden of afflictions in this world no such way of ease and Rest unto them as by the Grace of God in Christ as we shal open more fully when we come to the promise Now the burden of affliction is very grievous to many the Burden of poverty disgrace sickness or the like those whom God lets prosper in their waies little think what burdens are upon their Brethren how many in these daies are there of our Brethren that groan under these Burdens though we do not feel them We know not how soon we may be brought under them and therefore it wil be very seasonable to shew the Rest that we have in Christ even from under these Burdens I have spent some time in opening the grievousness of other Burdens now this burden of
acknowledg that it is through grace that he hath but somewhat which God works through him that is the most natural to a rational creature to rest upon somewhat that he doth to make up his peace with God and to be his righteousness before God And it is a mighty work of God to beat off the heart from this especially The heart comes thus far to say it is true I can do nothing of my self but it is by the grace of God that I do al now for the heart not to rest upon this as its own righteousness this is the hardest thing in the world And although men may be convinced in their judgments that they should not rest in any such thing but go out of themselves to another principle yet it is the hardest thing in the world to come off from it and it is that makes the work of faith the most difficult thing in the world because it carries the soul out of it self from its own bottom from its own principles and the mistake of this thing is that that is the undoing of thousands of those that live under the sound of the gospel that when they have somewhat reformed their lives and think they are able to do thus and thus yet here they rest and go not out of themselves to look for rest out of themselves and do not come to Christ Quest You wil say What not rest upon what we do and are inabled to do upon Gods grace Faith it self is a resting upon Christ Ans No but this you must observe in your comming you must not rest upon your comming but upon Christ that you come unto for their may be a deceit in that too There be some that rest upon works of humiliation mourning for sin reforming their lives and they think that is their rest and peace Others go further and think they must beleeve in Christ but they wil rest upon their beleeving so they rest upon their comming and not upon the object that they come unto but we must be taken off from resting upon our comming upon our very beleeving and Christ must be all in all to have true rest in Therefore faith is a Supernatural grace because by that we are taken off from what we are in our selves and carryed on to somewhat else 6. Upon this follows likewise That faith is an humbling grace it is that that must needs humble the soul where it is for indeed it is the greatest self denial in the world for a creature to come to be willing to rely upon free grace for the soul to be so emptied of it self as to acknowledg there is no worthiness no good at al in it self and yet it is content to live eternally upon meere almes and to give God the glory of al. Is there any thing more hard to any of you then to live to be beggers al your daies to be beholding to others so as to live upon meer almes and nothing else al the dayes of your lives Now for the creature to be so emptied of it self as to live upon meere almes to al eternity upon nothing but meer free grace and upon a principle of life without our selves this is a mighty work of emptying of our selves and of self denyal And therefore in Rom. 10.3 It s spoken of the Jewes For they being ignorant of Gods righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God This plainly shewes that the bringing the heart to rest upon the righteousness that is of God by faith for that is meant here requires a submission of the heart a laying down the heart and a humbling of the heart and indeed this is the very ground why the Lord doth so humble the spirits of men and women when he brings them to Christ because that the Lord knows that the very act the coming to Christ is an act of the greatest self denial in the world because the heart must be emptied of it self in that that is so much against the pride of mans heart to live eternally upon meer free grace and nothing else For there is nothing that man doth more desire then to have somewhat some stock of himself to live upon And indeed herein man comes to be more humble then Adam in innocency could be for Adam had a stock to live upon in his own hand to live upon in himself not but God was the principle of it but then God gave it him to live upon the stock of Grace he had in his owne hand But now in the second Adam the way of God towards us is otherwise the second Adam keepes the stock of life and grace upon which our soules must live eternally in his own hand I say they are in Christs hand not in our selves and therefore our life is a better and safer life then that was and thereby we cannot fal from God because we live by the principle of life that is in him It is a great mistery and almost impossible to unfould only some glimmering we have in the word that this is so 7. If there be nothing required but to come then another consequence wil follow from hence and that is this Hence then beleevers that come to Christ may learn this lesson to be willing to do and to suffer very much for Christ after they come because there was nothing required of them to the pardon of their sins but only to Come I strengthen the inference thus If God had said thus indeed I have sent a mediator to pacifie my wrath and to pardon your sins and before you come to Rest I require that you should suffer so many hundred yeares of torment in fire and that should be a preparation to come and then after you have suffered so much then you shal come and have rest suppose this had been the condition of the covenant now had it been so we had al had cause to have fallen upon our face and have blest his great name that we can have peace on any termes and we should have been not only willing to accept of these termes but to magnifie Gods grace that we can be thus saved at last But the Lord hath not required that first we should suffer such and such hard things and then Come to Christ but he calls upon us first to come and requires nothing before And therefore before we are able to do the Lord any service the Lord wil first accept of us and pardon us and heale us and interest us in himself and be our God and take us to be his Children and make us heirs of heaven and eternal life this at first before we shal ever be able to do him any service What an infinite grace of God is this how is he beforehand with us for he calleth to the greatest sinner that knowes what his sin is and is Laden saith God I require nothing before the receiving you to mercy but meerly to
worse then his If the King were going in his Robes to the Parliament a long the streets and should see such a poor creature lying by the Walls and should take special notice of him and call him to him and say let that poor creature come to me it would incourage him exceedingly this invitation from Christ is just the very same for the Lord Jesus Christ sees thee lying in thy gore blood as it is described in Ezekiel 16. where the miserable condition of them that are in their Natural estate is most elegantly set down they lay in their blood none Eye pittyed them then I came saith God and said unto thee live and this time was the time of Love so when thou liest in thy poor wretched miserable condition in thy filth in thy baseness in the Gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity this blessed Redeemer this great Prince of al the world he cals to thee and saies Oh! thou poor creature Come to me I You will say this is the discouragement of all I would be glad to go to Christ the Lord knows this is that my Soul pants after that I might go to Christ but I am such a poor vile creature so Wretched so Miserable that it is impossible for me to be accepted you tel me that for an argument that is the greatest discouragement of my Heart because I am so vile and because I am so Wretched this is that discourageth me from coming to Christ ARG. VII To that I answer in the Seventh place Come to me and I will certainly receive you whatever you are Christ will certainly receive all those that come to him whatever they are and for that consider these three things that may make it plain First The Solemn expression of Christ for this purpose that you have in John 6.37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out He doth not say he that hath been such a great sinner such a vile wretched sinner but he speaks indefinitly he that comes to me I will in no wise cast out Now this that is translated in your Books In no wise cast out it hath a greater force in the Greek there is two Negatives for though we in English say two Negatives make an affirmative it is not so in Greek for it is for a stronger confirmation of a thing and so it may be read He that cometh to me I will not not cast out as if so be Christ should say he that comes to me I will not I will not cast out As we when we would express the fervency of our Spirits we double our speech so doth Christ he would express the Fervency of his spirit and therefore he saith he that cometh to me I will not I will not cast out Secondly Whoever thou art upon coming to him he will not cast thee off for this was the great errand that Christ came into the world for to receive poor troubled souls and to ease poor Laden sinners it was the very business that Christ came into the world about it is the work that God the Father hath sent his Son into the world about that he might receive such poor wretched sinful creatures as thou art and if it were not that he should receive those that come to him he should lose the end that he came into the world for and therefore he will receive you when you come for Christ saies I shal else lose the end of that that was the greatest work that ever was done since the world began or shal be done to al eternity that is my undertaking the Mediation between God and you if I should not receive poor Souls that come to me that great work would be lost that work wherein my Father and my self is so much glorified for this is the glory of Christ to do so and Christ saw there was so much glory to be had this way that it did move Christ to come into the world to take such a course as this is to save Souls Christ knows that he should to all eternity be magnified by Angels for the saving such Souls as thou art Yea Christ knows that the Father wil love him more for he saies The Father loves me because I laid down my life for the Sheep John 10.17 It is that that will delight God the Father it is that that wil make God the Father to delight in the Son it is that whereby Jesus Christ gets the very end of his death til he had laid down his life till he had made his Soul an offering for sin he was not satisfied This is it that satisfied him that he should see his Seed and amongst others thou art one thou that comest to Christ thou art of the Seed that Jesus Christ is so satisfied with that he gaines the very end of laying down his life for thee and certainly Christ will not cast thee off but wil receive thee and therefore come to him Thirdly He will receive thee for he hath heretofore received as vile wretches as thou art You will say There was never any so vile as we are It s true we may and ought to judg our Selves as vile as the worst though we have not committed such vile sins outwardly as others have yet because we know not the Hearts of other men nor do we know what means others have had therefore we are to judg ourselves as vile as any but know that Christ hath received as bad as thou art those that pierced Christ that shed his blood Christ received 3000. of them in one day he received three thousand in one day of those that had inbrued their hands in his blood and the story stands in the Scripture for an everlasting Monument to incourage poor sinners to come to Christ And besides though thou art a vile sinner and a wretched creature yet know the greater thou hast been in thy sin the more will the Grace of God in Christ be magnified and certainly there is in Christ such a Grace as is able to swallow up great sins as well as little as the infinite Ocean of the Sea is able to swallow up great Vessels as well as smal were it not a silly thing when we were to cast a Vessel into the Sea to say it is too great a Vessel God is willing to have his Grace magnified to thee though it be to the hardening of many thousands If there is an infinite Ocean in God to swallow up great as well as smal sins so long as this keeps thee off from coming to Christ so long thou dishonorest this infinite Grace of God in Christ Were Gods mercy only such as his common bounty is to other of his creatures this might keep thee off but now it being the infinite Ocean of mercy in his Son and purchased by Christ it is an infinite dishonor to the Grace of God in Christ to stand upon tearms and not to come to
Christ what dost thou think that mercy is worth that cost the Blood of Christ Thou thinkest thou art a great sinner and that it must be wonderful mercy that must save thy Soul It s true and it 's well thou thinkest So but now consider further sinner what dost thou think of the mercy that shall be as much worth as the Blood of the Son of God For him to be made a curse for sinners will that do it If that will do it thou mayest come to him How much dost thou think the mercy of Christs coming to take Mans Nature upon him is worth to take our sinful Nature upon him If he will do it thou mayest come to Christ Yea Further know That the Lord Jesus Christ never receives any that come to him but Beggars none but Beggars none but miserable creatures none but those that are wretched that are vile and Christ did never yet from the beginning of the world receive any man upon these tearms because he was not so vile as another man as thus here is one that is thus vile here is another that is not altogether so vile I will receive him upon this ground because he is not so vile this was never the ground but when he receives them he receives them upon free Grace and therefore it is not how vile thou art for that is the Glory of Christ to save vile creatures and he saves none but those that come as Beggars those that come and do see themselves as vile wretched worthless unworthy miserable damned dust and Ashes in themselves Only such are objects for the Heart of Christ to be set upon rather make it an argument to drive thee more to him as David did in the 25. Psalm O Lord have mercy upon me pardon my Sin for it is great So Lord I am vile I am wretched I am unworthy and therefore Lord receive me Lord therefore I come unto thee do not say as Peter once did Master depart from me I am a sinful Man No but the truth is he should rather have said thus Master Come to me or Master I come to thee because I am a sinful man So thou shouldest not say O Lord depart from me because I am a sinful creature Or Lord do thou come to me because I am a sinful wretch And know that upon thy coming to him thou wilt have wonderful welcome wonderful great entertainment above all that thy Heart can think of O the great imbracing by Jesus Christ of those Souls that come to him and this is the very Reason why poor sinners at their first conversion have their Hearts so filled with joy because at their first coming to Christ Christ doth give them such wonderful imbracements til they come to be more Strengthened and then perhaps Christ will have them live rather by Faith than by sence It is in the new Birth as in the Birth of Nature Children when they are first born they shoote up mightily take a Child that comes very little out of the Womb come to it a quarter of a Year after the Child is shot up a great deal you may see it a great deal taller and bigger every Limb increased but take it at ten years Old and it grows not so much then as at the first and the Reason is because it coming out of the worm Womb it could not subsist if Nature did not hasten to strengthen it self at first so men when they come to Christ at first they shoote up and grow to such inlargement of Spirit and they do so sensibly perceive Yea and others do so sensibly perceive a greater growth at their first coming than afterwards because when they first come Christ will Strengthen them against all discouragements Christ will use you tenderly Christ will not upbraid you for your former sins and say What! you that have lived a prophane life a prophaner of my ordinances a scorner at my waies and at my people Christ will not upbraid the Soul but he wil be render of you he will pass by your sins and heal your weakness He will not break the bruised Reed nor quench the smoaking Flax. ARG. VIII Eightly Further Consider The infinite need thy Soul hath of Jesus Christ and therefore that should drive thee to him if the other Arguments do not draw thee Oh! Let that drive thee to Jesus Christ thou art an undone creature for ever without Jesus Christ all the mercy in Heaven can do thee no good without Christ all the Ordinances can do thee no good without Christ all the duties thou performest can do thee no good without Christ for before thou comest to Jesus Christ there is no Prayer no Duties that ever thou tenderest up to God that can be accepted and this is a sad condiâ—ion that all my Duties my Prayers my services are all cast away till I come to Jesus Christ Certainly this is so for thou must know that Jesus Christ is not only the great conveyer of all good from God to us but also all that comes to us from God must go through him and therefore there is cause thou shouldest hasten to Christ and never be at quiet all thy Life til thou hast some comfortable evidence that thy Heart hath closed with Jesus Christ there is an infinite necessity because al Ordinances Duties services whatever thou dost doth thee no good til thou come to Christ ARG. IX Ninthly Yea Further Christ is such a one as all the creatures one day will see a need of him Yea all that live under the sound of the Gospel they shall see a need of him and they shal curse themselves that when they lived under the sound of the Gospel and were called to come to Jesus Christ that yet notwithstanding they would satisfie themselves in the lusts of their spirits Christ came from Heaven once to us in the daies of his flesh but know that Jesus Christ shall come again in his Glory with all his Angels all his Saints about him and then how happy will those appear that in the time of their lives when they were called by the Ministery of the Gospell did come to Jesus Christ When Christ comes thus in his Glory perhaps you would then all go to Jesus Christ no friend if you will stay till then you will heaâ— another voice from Christ he will not come to call sinners to come to him then but he will come to bid them depart from him for all that the father gives him do come to him before then ARG. X. Yea and yet further let me tel you this that while you have heard the word of God by a poor minister in the name of Christ to cal you unto him to draw you to come unto him if you shal reject this invitation and other invitations that you have by the ministers of the Gospel know that of al the sins that ever you committed in al your lives this wil prove to be the greatest that you have stood
Now this I might shew you in abundance of Scriptures in the very first commission that Jesus Christ gave unto his Apostles after his Resurrection to go and Preach throughout the world he saith unto them in Mark 16.15 verse Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature he that beleeveth and is Baptized shal be saved This is cleer that Christ would have us in our first beleeving to have an aime at our own good And so we find such a kind of promise as this is in the Text In Jer. 6.16 verse Thus saith the Lord stand in the waies and see and ask for the old paths where the good way is and walk therein and ye shall find Rest for your Souls Inquire after the good waies and you shall find Rest for your Souls So that you see God propounds duties together with promises the Lord knows what is best for us and what wil work most upon us and therefore for us to think that we must have no aime at all of any good to our selves in coming to Christ and that it is no grace but self-love to come to Christ for our own good this is a temptation I speak the rather this point because I know how useful it is unto many poor Souls whom the Lord is drawing unto Jesus Christ the Lord hath taken off their Hearts from sinful self they would not enjoy themselves in the lusts of the flesh as formerly the Lord hath made them willing to deny their own opinion their own wills their own affections their former waies to deny themselves in the comforts of the things of this world so as to prize him and Christ and his waies the way of Christ more than they prize their very lives here in this world and yet for all this there comes a temptation upon them I but you seek Christ only to free you from Hell and to save you and therefore it is but self-Love it is no true Grace because that you ayme at your selves rather than Christ the Devil cannot prevaile with a Heart that is drawing to Christ thus telling of it Oh! but you prize your lusts more than Christ or you prize your ease more than Christ or you prize your estate and your liberty more than Christ or your life more than Christ if so be that the Devil shal come thus and tempt such a soul could in some measure be able to answer and to appeal unto God and say Lord thou that knowest all things knowest it is otherwise that howsoever my Heart heretofore went after my lusts after the world after my ease and liberty and I followed the common course of the world and made those things to be my greatest good and comfort yet Lord thou knowest it is otherwise with me now my Heart is set for Christ and I can say from the bottom of my Soul with that blessed martyr Lambert None but Christ none but Christ Now when the Heart is got thus farr one would think thou mightest be above the Devil and come to get assurance I saith the Devil though you be taken off thus far that you dare not commit any known sin and you seek after Christ more than your estate and your liberty yet there is one thing more that your hearts is not taken off from you do not prize Christ most of all you seek Christ to save you from Hell and bring you to Heaven that is it that you seek Christ for and therefore I know your Heart is not right all this while this is a temptation that seizeth upon many men Now I confess it is a temptation that is beyond many men they do not know what this temptation is that I prize Christ only to deliver me from Hell and bring me to Heaven this temptation is above the highest form of the course of the world then ordinary professors Now the Spirit in the Text thus answers this temptation the Soul thus answers It is true I do seek Christ to save me from Hell and bring me to Heaven the fear of the wrath of the great God under which I saw my self to be and the displeasure of God was mighty upon my Spirit the Lord hath made my Soul to be sensible of the dreadful breach that sin hath made between him and my Soul and the Lord hath caused the fear of eternity to fall upon my soul and I come to be convinced of this that such is the breach between God and my soul that there is none but Jesus Christ the Mediator of the second Covenant that is able to make up the breach and my soul makes after him as the Mediator as he is propounded in the word in the Gospel to be a Mediator between God and mankind so my soul makes after him and closeth with him and what can the Devil say to this For my heart doth close with Christ in the way that Christ is tendred unto me in the Gospel for so he is tendered God himself saith thus God so loved the world that he sent forth his only begotten Son that whosoever beleeveth in him should not perish but have everlasting Life Thus God sets forth his Son as if God should say thus Be it known unto you O poor wretched sinful creatures that are in danger of eternal perishing that I have sent forth my only begotten son into the world and tender him unto your souls to the end that your souls may not perish but have everlasting Life Thus God tenders his Son Now then when a soul shal be made sensible of the danger of eternal perishing and the Lord shall make it apeare to the soul what the excellency and the glory of eternal life is and the soul shal come to see that the being delivered from perishing and the obtaining of eternal Life is only to be had in Christ and upon this doth close with Jesus Christ and cast it self upon him and adventure it self to lay the weight of its eternal estate upon Christ the soul that doth thus receive Christ according as he is tendred in the word whatever objection may be to the contrary this is to receive Christ according as he is tendred in the word Yet further for the helping against this temptation it fals ful in this Text Come unto me and I wil give you rest Now many poor souls do come to Christ that they might have rest but then the devil puts this in Oh! but you come to Christ for your owne good Now for the helping against this temptation know 1. That the Lord at the first conversion doth ordinarily make use of the creatures self-love but it is of self-love for eternity and that is a higher degree of self-love than the most people in the world do attaine unto Some people in the world they love themselves only for this present life but when God makes a man or woman to love himself for eternity it is a good signe that the hand of God is upon the heart and
look upon their faith as legal As thus because their faith doth not come up so fully to the perfection that they do desire yea to that perfection that the Law requires in any thing that we tender up to God For though the Law doth not mention any thing of our beleeving in Christ yet thus much the Law requires that what we do should be tendered up to God and what we tender up to God With perfection Now beleevers looking upon what they tender up to God as imperfect this makes them to make their faith Legal The Sixth Lesson Sixthly another Lesson that beleevers are to learn from the Rest that they have in Christ from the burden of the Law is this that if they find any way or meanes to be delivered from the terrors that come by the Law certainly then they need not be troubled with al the terror that possibly can come from any creature from any men If thy faith can deliver thee from the terror of the Law and give rest to thy soul notwithstanding al the terrible things in the Law threatned against thy sin then thy faith may deliver thee much more from the terror of men for take al the rage and power of al the men in the world and devils in hel they are not so terrible as the threates of the Law Now if God hath given thee such a grace into thy heart as thou by that comest to know a way to deliver thee from the terror of the threatning of the Law and to give Rest unto thy soul from that then thou needst not be afraid of al terrors from wicked men do but set that grace of thine a work set it in exercise upon such promises as have given thee Rest from the Law and this wil free thee from the terrors of wicked men in the world Truly if beleevers did understand the reality of this point there is nothing in the world could be terrible to them but they would have â—est in their souls in the midst of al the terrors in the world for they might reason thus through the grace of faith that God hath given to mee my soul hath rest when I heare the terrors of the Law dreadfully in my eares yet I have that within me that gives me rest from them and I am sure that al the terrors of al the men in the world and devils in hel cannot be more terrible than the threates of the Law therefore as thou hast made use of thy faith to believe in Christ to get Rest from those terrors in the like manner put forth thy faith when thou hearest the terrors of wicked men to deliver thy soul from them let there be never so much rumors in the world yet thou mayest say my soul returne unto thy Rest The seventh Lesson Seventhly Another Lesson that beleevers are to learn from their deliverance from the law which is of marvelous use to them in their life and conversation is this That certainly it is the most unbecoming thing in the world to see a beleever to be rigorous towards his brethren Christ hath delivered thee from rigor then wilt thou be rigorous Christ hath given thee Rest wilt not thou do what thou canst to give thy brother rest too If Christ hath delivered thee from great troubles burdens and bondage that thou wert under why shouldest thou not endeavor with al thy might to deliver thy brother from burdens troubles any thing that might grieve thy brother Oh! what an unworthy thing is it that a Christian that hath received so much rest from Christ yet should be a troublesome man or woman to his brother or sister Christ doth therefore give Rest to thee that thou mayest be of a quiet disposition towards others that thou mayest be pitiful towards others To see one that professes to have deliverance from the Law and to have Rest in Christ to be rigorous to those under him rigorous to his servants rigorous to his Children it is miserable remember what rigor Christ hath delivered thee from and remember to be quiet spirited to thy brother Hence it follows in the next words to my text Learn of mee for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shal find rest unto your soules I wil give rest to your soules that so you may be of a meeke and quiet disposition towards your brethren but of that when we come to those words that follow we shal then speake of the weakness and quietness of spirit that should be in Christians Now these things are necessarily the consequences that do follow upon the rest that we have in Christ from the Law many other things might be raised but because they are but consequences of what hath been delivered I resolved not to be large upon them CHAP. 33. Of the rest from Legal Performances and the several waies how this rest comes from Christ viz. duties are delightful to the soul because Christ renders God unto the soul in a gracious way 2. They are not performed as satisfactory but as testimonies of love and thankfulness 3 Christ himself offers up the duties to God 4. They are performed from the Law in the heart 5. They have the Promises joyned with them NOw to make some entrance into the next thing which hath great affinity to the other aad that is the rest that is in Christ from the trouble of spirit that there is in many in regard of Legal performances that you know I opened at large the great burden that there is in the spirits of many people who have convinced Consciences and there Consciences pul and hale them to duty and they dare not but performe duty but when they do their duty their very duties are a burden to them for they do them in a legal way There are many I know that are acquainted with this it is impossible to speak of such a subject but that there are divers that know what I meane though others know not to be under so much power of Conscience as not to dare to omit a duty though the duty be burdensom to them There be many that are not under so much command of Conscience but though conscience require them to do such a duty they dare omit the duty and they are not troubled at it but but there are others who have not felt the Grace of the Gospel to set their souls at liberty they are under so much command of conscience that they dare not but do what Conscience requires and yet the Lord knows the duties that they have performed have been girevous burdens them they have gone under the command of their Consciences as under a grievous burden Now to these Christ speaks come ro me and I wil give you rest in the beleeving in Christ in the exercising of faith in Christ there is deliverance from this burden and many poor souls that for many yeares have gone on under this burden whom the Lord hath opened to them the grace of Christ their hearts
unto the soul because it is such a principle as turns every thing to Good and that must needs bring rest when God sanctifies the heart works grace in the soul it is of that excellency that it hath a virtue and efficacie in it to turne every thing to good Now that were indeed a precious stone that could turne every thing into gold that it toucheth A great deal of labor there is about the Philosophers stone that they say turneth other mettals into gold now grace in the heart turnes every thing into gold as it were ever thing into good it hath that excellency in it that whatsoever befals such a man or woman grace can turne it to the good of them Al the workes of Gods providence al things that seem to goe never so contrary unto the good of a man or woman that hath grace if such a one do but act his grace or her grace this wil turne things that seem to be most contrary to the good of them it wil turne it unto good Those things that others vex at and fret at and think themselves undone by a gracious heart one that hath grace can turne them to advantage and get good by them such a one that is in such a condition they have got such a virtue from God God hath given them such a principle within as whatsoever befals them he can by the acting of that principle turne it to Good What need then such a man or woman have any trouble in this world no trouble wil you say do not such and such things fal cross to them such and such afflictions fal as cross to such men as any others That is true things may fall as cross to them as any I but they have a principle within them that turnes al those crosses and afflictions to good that we shal speake more unto in answering to the fifth burden of outward afflictions but only to shew it now in the rest that the soul hath in sanctification because it turnes al things to good Sixthly and Lastly Sanctification is a rest to the soul because indeed it is the beginning of glory it is but the beginning of heaven and we are in heaven there is nothing but rest there is peace and rest in heaven sanctification is glorification begun and therefore rest unto the soul This now is the first particular I wil give you rest that is come to me you shal have power over your corruptions you shal have grace and holiness that shal be rest unto your souls CHAP. XXXVII Sheweth that Sanctification is only IN Christ SEcondly That this sanctification it is in Christ al the sanctification of a Christian it is in Christ there are some common gifts that God gives unto other men there are gifts of nature there are gifts of common grace gifts of the spirit of God that are beyond the gifts of nature yet they are such as are given in a common way to those that are strangers to Christ The heathen had many coÌ„mon gifts and so others now may have many common gifts but sanctification is the proper gift of Christ it is only to be had in Christ Al the strength of nature natural abilities education morality natural parts can never raise the heart to the least degree of sanctification I mean of the sanctification that is saving In a large sense it may be called a sanctification as the scripture sometime doth a setting some kind of men apart for such ends but sanctification that is true holiness that is the image of God and the beginning of glory that is only in Christ and al the strengâ—h of nature and parts can never raise the soul unto the least degree of it And that it is only in Christ I shal give you some scriptures to shew it and it wil further appeare when we come to the third thing in shewing you how it comes from Christ which is the principle That text is very ful for it which we have in 1. Cor. 1.30 if there were no other But of him are ye in Jesus Christ who of God is made unto us wisdome and righteousness and Sanctification and Redemption Christ is made unto us of God wisdome to enlighten our blindness and righteousness for our justification and sanctification and redemption that is to deliver us from al kind of evil to deliver us from the power of sin and to renew the image of God in us that is sanctification and redemption that is to deliver us from al kind of evil and to bring us to the redemption of the sons of God to the perfect liberty that is appointed to sons Christ is made to us sanctification sanctification that is not only that Christ hath merited our sanctification but in a further degree efficiently so as our sanctification is from him and it is he that workes it in us and upholds it in us the beginning and the progress of our sanctification it is from him as wel as merrited by him For we are to know that Christ hath laid down his life to merit of God the father as wel sanctification as justification or glorification Christ hath not only laid down his life for to merrit the pardon of our sins to purchase that from God to save us from hell but it was a special end of Christs laying down his life to merit our being set at liberty from the bondage of our sins our deliverance from corruption the renewing of the image of God in our soules for the present which is that indeed may cause us to prize holiness somewhat more then we have done We must not look upon holiness as a duty that we must be holy and as a necessary meanes to heaven but we must look at holines as the purchase of the blood of Christ he hath purchased holiness for al those that he hath layed down his life for And therefore as we shal see afterwards it is impossible for any to be holy but those that have part in Christ so that Christ is made sanctification by his merit and by the efficiency that is in him it is he likewise that works it in our hearts we have it not immediatly from God the father but from God the father through Christ through his son we come to have sanctification and therefore we shal see it afterwards how different our sanctification is from the image of God that there was in Adam at first and the holiness that there was in Adam Adam he had his holiness immediately from God as Creator but those that are now made holy and sanctified now they have not their holiness and sanctification immediately or as from God their Creator but they have it from Christ Christ that is the second person in trinity he it is that is made to us sanctification And then that it is in Christ appeares further in that notable place in Rom. 7. that was quoted in the former point about the load of corruption Where saint Paul cries out
ever God and man to be an ordinance to heal the souls of his people surely then those that look up to him by the eye of faith wil receive healing of their souls as they did receive by looking upon the brazen serpent The very beholding of Christ hath a power to sanctify the heart And therefore if you would have holyness you must often look upon Christ set Christ in your eye be not only poring upon your Corruptions and looking downward into the blackness that there is in your spirits Many Christians are laboring under the burden of their corruptions a long time why because they spend their time and strength meerly in poring upon their corruptions and looking down to their corruptions But Oh Christian thou must look up set thy eye upon Christ the great ordinance and behold him as the great ordinance set up by God the Father for the conveyance of grace to the souls of beleevers and for the healing of al their souls and wounds and then there wil come healing virtue from him We read of the poor woman that had the bloody issue that spent al upon the Physitian shee did but come to Christ and touch the hem of his garment and then she was healed Surely Christ hath a great deal of virtue in him that the very touch did heal her and therefore he saith who hath touched me virtue went from him at the very touch of the hem of his garment Christ is the great ordinance and he is ful of virtue and excellency the looking upon him and touching of him brings virtue to the soul to heal the soul of its corruption Thirdly more particularly Christ brings sanctification unto the heart because the death of Christ is appointed by God to have an efficacy to mortify sin and corruption it is from application of the death of Christ filled with virtue and appointed by God for that end that it should have efficacy upon the heart to mortify corruption in the heart A man may resolve against his corruption he may vow and covenant against a sin he may strive and struggle against a sin he may pray against a sin he may fast to overcome his sin he may use all meanes that he thinks he can possibly use to overcome his sin and yet stil his sin not dead in him perhaps the meanes that he may use to restrain sin may keep down his sin but it wil never mortify his sin The application of the death of Christ that is appointed by God for Christ is appointed himself as the great ordinance But now more particularly I say that the way that is appointed by God for the mortifying of corruption it is the application of the death of Christ to the soul the virtue that comes from Christ as a dying Christ from Christ as a crucified Christ from Christ as a dead Christ to mortify corruption in the heart That is cleer from that place in Rom. 6. the begining What shal we say then shal we continue in sin that grace may abound God forbid how shal we that are dead to sin live any longer therein dead a part of his coming know you not that so many of us as were baptized into Christ were baptized into his death therefore we are buried into Baptism by his death And in vers 5. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death Again in vers 6. Knowing this that our old man is crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve sin The old man is crucified with him in his being crucified there is a virtue in Christs death for the crucifying of corruption that the body of sin might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve sin He doth not say that we might have some power against sin that sin might be restrained or that such a particular sin may be kept down but that the body of sin might be destroyed So that in the application of the death of Christ there is not only the overcoming of this particular sin but the Body of sin comes to be destroyed all those principles of sin in the soul with the connexion of them and joyning one to another as the Members are joyned in the Body they come to be destroyed that is though not wholly cast out and radicated yet the ruling power of them is taken away as soon as ever the soul is come to Christ the Body of sin hath a deadly stroke given to it There are many of you striving against this particular corruption somtimes one and somtimes another for those that are Gods Children their hearts are more inclined unto some sins than others and at somtime to some particular sin more than other It may be one labors under the burden of passion and another of unbelief and another of Pride and another of wantonness and divers particular corruptions they are laboring under It may be at some times you find one corruption stir and you strive against that and another time another corruption stirs and you spend your strength against that but now here 's the way to strike at the whol Body of Corruption at once If one shal go to cut down a Tree and stand chopping at one sprig and one branch and another branch the Tree may stand long enough for al that But now if he would get the Tree down he goes to the root and a few blows gets down all there So this is the wisdom of a Christian That when he comes to labor against any corruption he doth not spend his time so much against this or that particular corruption but strikes at the body of corruption and how gets he strength against that By applying the blood of Christ the death of Christ by faith against that and by this means the body of death comes to be destroyed And here is the reason that Christians in a little time grow so much and get so much power against their corruptions whereas others are a long time before they get any power at all Those that are not acquainted with the way of Christ you shall have one that hath been a notorious wretch a wicked person a swearer a Sabbath-breaker if it please God to bring him to the Word and reveal Christ to the soul you shall have a mighty change in this man in a week a great change that he doth not only leave off now drunkenness and then lying and then swearing and then Sabbath-breaking but all goes down together Why Because at one application of the death of Christ al the body of sin comes to be destroyed though not quite dead and withered As a Tree though it may be dead yet the Leaves may be green still So though there be not at first the withering of them yet there is the deadly stroke given and therefore the way to kill them is to renew the application of the death of Christ And indeed this should be the care of a Christian not to
body they make some use of Christ some profession of Christ can speake of Christ what they heare spoken of Christ is somewhat serviceable and useful to them I but they have not life from Christ and hence they have not holiness from Christ they have not the true holiness that comes from the Law of the spirit of life that is in Christ Sixthly Another thing that is to be considered of in Christ how the rest of sanctification comes to the soul through him is this In Christ there are the greatest arguments for holiness that possibly can be imagined and Christ comes to be a rest of sanctification that way when the soul comes unto Christ and knowes Christ in the right way the soul sees in Christ enough against sin and for holiness if it never saw any thing else there is enough in Christ to help against sin and for the furtherance of of holiness that that is discovered in Christ hath a mighty power to help the soul against sin and to further it in the way of holiness as now to instance the mighty arguments that there are in Christ against sin and for holiness as CHAP. XXXIX Containing two strong Arguments in Christ for holiness First In him the soul sees the greatest breach between it and God by reason of Sin Secondly In him it sees the greatest Hatred of Sin in God FIrst in Christ there the foul sees the greatest breach that can be imagined that sin made between God and the creature it is true when we preach the Law to you and tel you of the curse of the Law that is due to sin this acquaints you with somewhat of the breach that sin made between God and you and this may terrifie you but the truth is the breach between God and a soul by sin is never throughly seen til you come to Christ the soul never throughly sees sin til then when it comes to Christ and sees Christ indeed sees Christ so as one that hath union with him then it understands the evil of sin after another manner then ever it did before And that is the reason that faith doth more purge the heart from sin then al the terrors of the Law possibly can do yea if God should let a crevis into hel and let you see into al the torment that is there they could not discover so much the evil of sin to you as when you come to have a real sight of Jesus Christ how sin made such a breach between God and us as can be made up no other way but the son of God must come and take upon him mans sin this is the greatest discovery of the evil of sin that possibly can be Object You wil say Others know this as wel as beleevers It is true they know it after a sort but none can know this throughly but those that through faith have the real sight of Christ and so have the real sight of the evil of sin in Christ Secondly another strong argument of the evil of sin in Christ is this the infinite hatred of sin in God that God should so infinitly hate sin that he would not spare his owne son this shewes the evil of sin We heare much of hell and of the terror of the Law now when I come to consider the fruit of Gods hatred of Sin in his son this shewes me a great deale more the evil of sin And therefore though the terror of the law may restrain men from sin I but when the soul comes to know the infinite wrath of God against sin that he would give his son to satisfie for sin this shewes the evil of sin and this shewes the infinite holiness of God that he would send his only son to purchase holiness And in this we see the infinite love of Christ to die for sin the infinite price of the soul to purchase it and the infinite difficulty in the deliverance from sin and nothing can prevail upon the heart more then the viewing of Christ There is so many things that I cannot speak of them that when the soul comes to Christ makes the soul hate sin and makes it in love with holiness The knowledg of Christ in any common way hath as much power to restrain sin as any thing but now the knowledg of Christ in a spiritual way in a saving way it hath an infinite efficacy in it And the truth is the special way for a soul to help it self against its own corruptions it is much to dive into the knowledg of the Gospel look into the Gospel pry into the mystery of the Gospel be much conversant in the mistery of the Gospel and there consider what argument thou maiest draw against thy sins They are poor low arguments that common people draw against their sins they have a temptation to sin and they think Oh! let me take heed I do not do it for my master and mistris wil know of it or such a one wil know of it or if I do it I shal be brought to punishment these are poor low arguments But saith a beleever Oh let me not commit sin Why It is that that brought the son of God down from heaven to be made a curse for man It is that that made the greatest stir in the world that ever was it is that that Gods soul infinitly hates and it is that that made such a breach between the soul and God as only can be made up by the son of God These are the arguments that a beleever hath against sin and a beleever being conversant â—n these arguments and often exercising faith in Christ they being made real to the soul They must needs have a mighty power to overcome any corruption whatsoever As we read in the Gospel when the husband man that let out the vineyard sent for fruit and they took the servant and beate him and killed another at length saith he I wil send my son surely they wil reverence him So may I say there is such and such arguments against thy sin to overcome thy Corruption and to put thee on to the way of holiness perhaps those arguments thy corruptions break and they are but like Sampsons cords thy corruption snaps them asunder like flax I but saith God I wil send my son and reveale the glorious misteries of the Gospel in my son I wil shew to their souls what my son hath done and what the deep counsels for the salvation of their soules in my son are and these shal prevail upon you And here is the reason of al their fearfulness of sin and strictness in walking with God when the Gospel hath convinced them you wonder why they wil be so strict and fearful to offend do you wonder at it Oh my brethren they have arguments perhaps that you know not of God hath revealed much of his son to them the wonderful misteries of Godliness revealed in his son and they are the arguments they go upon They do
the flesh And spirit or of spirit not to make you make conscience of wicked actions but cleanse you from your very thoughts these promises wil clense from the filthiness of the flesh I perhaps they may a little serve the turne for them I but from the filthiness of the spirit the filthiness of the thoughts the Filthiness of the affections those inward spiritual wickednesses Of pride malice and the like May be you would count it a vild thing to be accused of whordom the Filthiness of the flesh I but what say you to the filthiness of the spirit of pride malice distrust earthly mindedness and such like these promises are to clense from the filthiness of the spirit aswel as of the flesh And then perfecting holiness in the feare of God it makes them fear God more and then it perfects holiness such a one as is acquainted with the promises of the Gospel is content with no measure of holiness but growes higher and higher til he comes to perfection Here you see the use of promises what a clensing nature promises have Oh my brethren be much exercised in promises lay up promises if you would get power over your corruptions And then one scripture more for this is that in 2. Pet. 1.4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises The promises of the Gospel they are precious more worth then a world a beleever that knows the preciousness of the promises accounts more of them then of his estate What do you account precious that you may have your ships laden home with precious things I but to have your hearts filled with precious promises it is far better then these But now wherein do these promises appeare to be so precious It appeares by this whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature that by these great and precious promises you might be partakers of the divine nature that is of holiness of sanctification that is called the divine nature having escaped the corruptions that is in the world through lust By these the soul escapes the corruption that is in the world by lust and not only escapes the corruption of the world that is doth not live so wickedly as others do but comes to be made partaker of the divine nature through these promises So that Christ is the rest of sanctification because in him al promises are made they have a mighty clensing virtue to sanctifie the heart you would willingly have interest in promises and have the mercy that the promise holds forth now as you would have the interest in the promises and have the mercy that the promises holds forth so you must labor to feele the efficacy of the promises to clense your hearts and make you partaker of the divine nature Tenthly Christ is sanctification because in him al the ordinances are effectual the ordinances are effectual only in Christ Christ gave his ordinances unto his Church at first and then they come to be effectual through him It is not what you come to heare in the word but how much of Christ you have in the word you come to the sacrament it is not what you partake of there but what of Christ you get there it is not what you partake of there but what of Christ you get there it is Christ in the word sacrament and prayer that is the efficacy of al the ordinances the ordinances are but al as the vehiculum Christi the conveyance of Christ unto the soul And therefore we should when we come to any ordinance think with our selves what have we of Christ what have we of Christ here have we met with any thing of Christ here In the word prayer sacraments hath my heart been drawn neerer to Christ in them For certain it is that it is Christ that is the virtue and kernel of al the ordinances Hence it is that those that are acquainted with Christ and have been brought to him they come to profit more in one month now by the ordinances then they did in al their lives Before the ordinances were as empty things and liveless things to you but in Christ they come now to be made effectual Eleventhly Christ is our sanctification by sending the holy Ghost into our hearts for the holy Ghost comes from the father and the son we can never expect the saving work of the holy Ghost nor the sanctifying worke of the holy Ghost but through Christ for so Christ saith in that place in John 16.14 concerning the spirit He saith he wil send his spirit He shal glorifie me for he shal receive of mine The spirit the holy Ghost doth receive of Christ when he comes into the heart therefore if there be any sanctification by the Holy Ghost it must be through Christ he must receive of Christ he works from the father and from the son And therfore the scripture hath that phrase We are baptised into one spirit that is by being baptised into Christ having the inward work of baptisme we are made partakers now of that one spirit the Holy Ghost Now such is the excellency of sanctification as it cannot be wrought by any natural meanes but it must have the Holy Ghost to be sent into the heart and therefore the saints are said to be the temple of the Holy Ghost Now what ever worke of the Holy Ghost there is required for sanctification that must be in and through Christ and from Christ The Holy Ghost never comes to sanctifie any but the members of Jesus Christ for he is the spirit of Christ as wel as of the father and never comes to any but to the members of Christ in this work of sanctification There are some common gifts of Gods spirit that the heathens have but for this gift of true holiness it is only in the members of Christ that the holy Ghost doth come into Lastly Christ is our sanctification by his Kingly power swaying his scepter in our hearts and ruling there subduing our lusts as a king subdues rebels and walking and governing the hearts of his people Christ doth exercise a kingly power when any soul doth beleeve when Christ comes into any heart he comes into the heart to exercise a kingly power there to set up his throne in a kingly manner and by this he comes to sanctifie the heart and give rest And as in a kingdom there are mutinies seditions and the like so in the hearts of sinners there are mutinies and seditions even against God himselfe But now whenas the king sends forth power that very power prevailes against al things if it prevail in a way of justice al things are brought into right and due order again So here when Christ comes into the heart as king of righeousness and then as king of peace hereby he comes to bring rest and quiet unto the heart by his kingly power Carnal hearts they think that the kingly power of
see the reason that many people their vowes and Covenants to live better then they have done doth so often come to nothing our Sanctification is in Christ our overcoming of corruption it is by virtue of Christ then from hence I say we see plainly the reason why the vowes and covenants of so many people that do promise in the time of their sickness or when they are in any danger at sea to live better Oh say they if ever God restore us they wil never live as they have done they wil live better then heretofore they have done and though they do not speake thus for the present to deceive people but speake what they do intend their hearts are fully resolved to leave their sins and to live better yet when they are restored they live as before when they come to land whatever promise they made at sea yet they live as before What is the reason of this Because they are not acquainted with the mistery of Godliness they know not how to fetch strength from Christ to inable them to keep their resolutions they do not know where the stock of grace lies They depend upon their owne resolutions and promises they do not see the strength that should come from Christ and hence it is that al their vowes and covenants come to nothing As we reade of Sampson he said after his strength was gone from him that he would go forth as before but the Lord was departed from him So you think if God restore you you wil live better and overcome your corruptions you wil not live as before I but the strength of Christ is not with you you do not know that the strength of Christ is departed from you Adam had grace from God as the creator it is not for us to pray to God for grace as creator of al things but we must seeke God in Christ and see how the fulness of al the Godhead dwels bodily in him and so we come to have strength against our corruptions I remember a German Divine writing to his friend professeth that before he understood the way of the Gospel he had vowed and covenanted a thousand times against some sins and could never overcome them but after the Lord revealed to him the way of the Gospel that al strength comes in by exercising faith in Christ and seeing the father giving his son to supply al grace and exercising faith in the Covenant of grace he found strength against his corruptions so that he was able very comfortably to walk with God in the wayes of holiness So Christians that understand the way the Gospel wil find abundance of power against their corruptions more then they did with al their striving and paines taking before though we should strive and take al paines we can yet we must know that this wil not do it without the exercise of faith in Christ for the helping of us against our corruptions IIII. From hence followes also that it is impossible any should be a member of Christ but he must needs be holy because Christ is our sanctification Christ is Filled ful of holiness that holiness might be conveyed to his members therefore those that have yet their lusts in the strength of them that have not the rest of sanctification in some measure surely the spirit of Christ is not in them these cannot stand together to be a member of Christ and yet to walk in Filthiness these cannot stand together For Christ is the great prophet that teacheth and the great King of his Church to governe and certainly whatsoever is brought to him must be taught of him and governed by him it is impossible to have communion with the fountain of al holyness and yet for al that to live under the power of sin this cannot be V. From hence followes likewise That for any to be hindred in their comming to Christ because they have not that measure of holiness that they desire this is a great temptation for any soul that sees the want of grace the want of sanctification and labors under the burden of corruption for any such soule to be hindered in the coming of it unto Christ because it hath not what grace it doth desire this is a very strong and a dangerous temptation of the devil which we are to take heed of It is a most irrational temptation and yet this is that that many poor souls are troubled withal they think thus when we exhort them to come to Christ alas what should I do poor creature I am so vild I have such a wicked and sinful heart how should I come to him were I thus and thus had I power over my corruptions as others have then I could be bold to come to Christ Now what a temptation is this Christ saith come and I wil give you rest you say if I had rest I would come Christ is the fountain of al holiness therefore to be kept off from Christ because I want holiness is a very great temptation it is the work of the Divel should I be kept off from Christ for want of holiness when Christ is appointed by God the father to convey holiness unto the heart to renew the image of God in mee and to draw it more beautifully then ever it was before Remember the point you have heard that Christ is our sanctification and al holiness comes from him therefore surely my want of holiness shal not drive him from me but draw me to him Let me not say as Peter Master depart from me for I am a sinful man the truth is he should rather have said Master come to me for I am a sinful man So many poor soules wil say Lord I cannot come to Christ because I am so sinful thou shouldest come to him the rather because thou art so sinful VI. From hence we learne how to understand Christ aright and how to beleeve in Christ aright some people they understand Christ only as a savior that they must be pardoned by Christ and saved by him and delivered from hel by him but you must understand him to be sanctification to you also you must trust in Christ to sanctifie you as wel as save you if you understand Christ aright you must understand him to be a sanctifyer as wel as a savior if thou beleevest in Christ aright thou beleevest in Christ as a sanctifier as wel as a savior thus much of the conseqences that follow from the Rest of sanctification in Christ CHAP. XLII Containeth an exhortation to come to Christ wherein Three hindrances are removed And six encouragments laid down First The Vnion between Christ and a beleever Secondly From the great Love of Christ Thirdly Corruption is the burden of Christ as wel as of a sinner Fourthly He Healed the bodies of many he wil much more the soul Fifthly he knowes what it is to be Tempted Sixtly It is for the Honor of the Death Resuâ—rection and Life of Christ to give
Christ we should seeke rather for holiness and sanctification from Christ then that we might have peace Would you know the reasons you say you tel us that Christ is our sanctification but we have not found such sanctification from Christ to increase holiness but what is the Reason you have exercised your faith upon Christ mainly that you might have peace that you might have enlargement and comfort as others have and that is the reason that your holiness is scant if you had exercised your faith in Christ that you might have holiness then you might have had more peace Saith Christ be it unto thee according to thy faith so in this case Christ saith to every beleever be it according to thy faith according to what you exercise your faith so be it unto you As do you exercise your faith for peace and comfort and mainly for that you have some peace and comfort but you shal not have so much holiness but do you exercise your faith for holiness most then you shal have most holiness Now certainly a true christian prizeth holiness rather than peace and I know no surer argument for the truth of grace and the difference between an hipocrite and one that hath true grace than this the hipocrite would have holiness that he might have peace I but the true beleever would have peace that his peace might increase his holiness Secondly Another rule is this Though Christ doth give in grace increase of sanctification and holiness yet do not depend upon what Christ gives in for the present but stil keep thy heart sensible of the need of new supplies There is many Christians when they have been at duty and have exercised faith upon Christ for this rest of sanctification and have got somewhat some enlargement and some quickening of spirit and some resolution in the way of God here they rest and now they think they are wel they think to live upon this stock a great while But now we are to pray for our daily bread and to depend upon Christ for new supplies of grace and holiness every day every moment according to every worke that we are set about to go to Christ for new supplies as if we had nothing at al given us before and Christ wil be wel pleased with this that though we have never so much Grace yet to go to him to renew our faith as if we had none at all that iâ— as strongly I do not mean that we should apprehend that we have none at all but as strongly and eagerly to exercise faith upon Christ for new supply of holiness as if we had none at all and indeed those that seem to have none exercise Faith in Christ most Thirdly For Conclusion of all take this as a Rule Those Christians that do most converse with Jesus Christ in the blessed way of the Gospel those will increase most in Grace and they have this by way of Sanctification I wil give you but only that one Scripture in way of allusion to apply it to this in Acts 4 13. Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived they were unlearned and ignorant men they marvelled and they took knowledg of them that they had been with Jesus Peter and John had much boldness they had strength of Grace they had much boldness notwithstanding all their opposition But how came they by it they were unlearned men ignorant men poor weak men in regard of their naturals and yet they had got aboundance of Grace so as to make their profession of Christ with boldness notwithstanding all the rage of their potent adversaries and the people wondred how they could get such strength as they had but saith the text they took knowledg of them that they had been with Jesus It was that that did so raise their spirits it was that quickned them and inlarged their Hearts so much with Grace that they had been with Jesus that they had conversed boldly with Christ Now I would apply this in a spiritual sence that as Peter and John did grow to that height and strength of Grace by conversing bodily with Christ much more may Christians grow to a height strength and fulness of Grace by much converse with Jesus Christ Converse with Christ in a way of Faith and that will mightily enlarge thy Heart in Grace And the truth is when you see any Christian that perhaps his natural parts may be but weak but yet you see him grow in Grace mightily he hath a mighty large Heart for God and hath much spirit in prayer and his conversation is very holy and convincing you may conclude this man and this woman to have been with Jesus Christ that is converst much with Jesus Christ Would you know whence it is that you see many poor Christians not long since how they have grown in holiness and you think they have got a great deal more than you have got they can depend upon God more and can rejoyce in tribulation more and they have more spiritualness and more Savor in their conversation and find a great deal more sweetness in the waies of God than you whence is it Their means perhaps is not more their outward means their parts in Nature is not more whence grows it then Would you know whence They have been with Jesus they converse much with Christ and you may have it too The Reason why you have been a professor perhaps twenty or thirty years and you now grow old and yet perhaps weak still and it is as much as can be said of you that there is some hope that there is some good in you but for the seeds and sparks of divine Nature that are in others spirits there is no such matter at all what is the Reason because they are not acquainted with this drawing of Sanctification from Christ by the exercise of Faith Wel thus much shal suffice for this Rest the rest of Sanctification the Rest of holiness that brings abundance of Rest unto the Heart according as that encreaseth so doth holiness encrease CHAP. XLIV Sheweth that a beleever hath Rest in Christ in all troubles he can meet with in the world which is laid out in four Particulars 1. All afflictions are at his disposal 2. In him the curse is taken away 3. They stand with Gods love 4. They are measured by God NOw we come to the fifth Burden you may remember the fifth Burden was The Burden of outward affliction come to me saith Christ you that are burdened with the guilt of your sins you that are burdened with Legal performances you that are burdened with remaining corruption that is in you come to me and I will give you Rest Now what Rest have been from all those you have heard Now Lastly come to me you that are under the burden of afflictions for that is a Yoak as we opened when we handled the point of being Laden the Burden of affliction bodily afflictions or spiritual
much exercised withal and that was Heman that was the penman of the 88. Psalme you read it in the title it was a song or Psalme for the sons of Korah To the cheif musician upon Mahalath Leannoth Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite a Psalm of Heman Now this Heman was one of the greatest men exercised with desertions upon the face of the earth If you read this Psalm at your leisure you shal find that though he was a man very Godly yet exceedingly exercised with spiritual desertions and afflictions the Lord withdrew the comforts of his spirit from verse the first saith he Oh Lord God of my salvation I have cryed day and night before thee verse the 3. My soul is ful of troubles and my life draweth nigh unto the grave verse the 4. I am counted with them that go downe into the Pit I am as a man that hath no strength free among the dead c. verse the 7. Thy wrath lieth hard upon me and thou hast afflicted me with al thy waves What a strange expression is this of a godly man And then there is outward afflictions mingled with spirituall afflictions verse the 8. Thou hast put my acquaintance far from me thou hast made me an abomination unto them I am shut up and I cannot come forth verse the 9. My eye mourneth by reason of affliction verse the 13. But unto thee have I cryed Oh Lord and in the morning shal my prayer prevent thee Lord why castest thou off my soul why hidest thou thy face from mee God had hid his face from him verse the 15. I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted He was acquainted with these spiritual afflictions from his youth up verse the 16. Thy fierce wrath goeth over mee thy terrors have cut me off What expressions are here for a godly man and when we read this Psalme and know it is the Psalme of a Godly man speaking how greatly he was afflicted we may be put in mind of that scripture If the righteous scaresely be saved where shal the ungodly and the sinner appeare Where shal the sinner appeare if such a man that was wise that the spirit of God saith of him that he was one of the wisest men that lived upon the face of the earth and yet afflicted excercised with inward afflictions the Lord hiding his face from him In 1. Kings 4.31 There the Holy Ghost speakes of this Heman that was thus afflicted speaking of the wisdom of Solomon it is said He was wiser then al men then Ethan and Heman c. So that it appeares by that that Heman was one of the wisest for else it could not be an argument of Solomons wisdom that he was wiser then al men and that he excelled in wisdom above any other And yet this man had the terrors of God upon his spirit Therefore let none of you when God seemes to withdraw himself and afflict you say that your condition is worser then ever any ones was when any of you have such thoughts as these are remember the 88. Psalme and when you think of the great greif sorrow and trouble that is upon you and are ready to think that it is greater then others then go and read the 88. Psalme As Luther was wont to say when they were in any trouble go and sing the 46. Psalm So when you are in trouble and sorrow and greif then say come let us go and read the 88. Psalm and remember who was the penner of that Psalm Heman a godly man and what his condition was and then thou shalt see that thy condition is not so sad as his was CHAP. XLVIII Containeth Seven Directions how a beleever may get Rest from Christ in spiritual Desertions First Look upon Christ as once in the same condition Secondly Look to Christ as ful of Grace and Goodness Thirdly Look to Christ as an advocate at the right hand of God Fourthly Look to Christ for fulfilling the promise of sending the Comforter Fifthly Go to Christ as at first in thy Conversion Sixthly Keep good thoughts of God Seventhly Resolve never to take Rest in any thing else beside Christ WELL but now though thy condition be as bad as his yet there is Rest in Christ to be had for thee and Christ cals thee to come to him that he may give thee Rest I shal not need to spend time in opening what this rest is in Christ in this particular because it is contained in what was said before as in deliverance from the guilt of sin the burden of the Law and the remainer of corruption and the like those things if they were made good to the soul they might give rest But now al that I intend to shew shal be what course the laden sinner must take in this case to have rest in Christ for the soul it is delivered from the guilt of sin and the wrath of God though it cannot apprehend the love of God and the pardon of the guilt of sin yet it hath it already but now to help such a deserted soul in this case that it might begin to have the use of the good that there is to be had in Christ therefore by way of direction to have ease in that greivous condition First Labor to exercise thy faith upon Christ as one that was once in the same condition in some degree and some measure as thou thy self art in that is a good way for one that hath spiritual desertions I say to look upon Christ as one that for the present was in this affliction for Christ was deserted and this breeds a great deale of rest to the soul in outward afflictions If one that is in poverty exercise faith upon Christ who was poor as I told you before The Foxes have holes and the birds have nests but the son of man hath not where to lay his head To exercise faith upon Christ as poor doth help to give ease and rest unto the soul under the burden of the affliction of poverty so when a soul feels the burden and trouble of spiritual desertions the soul should look up to Christ as one that was under such desertion as when he was in the garden and professeth that his soul was heavy to the very death and that he began to be amazed with the apprehension of the wrath of God Now when thou art in a combate and strife in thy spirit with temptation know that Christ was in such a combate and strife he sweat drops of blood It may be the soul is in combate and in trouble and gets to prayer and the soul is in a sweat remember what a sweat Christ was in when God withdrew himself from him and especially when he was upon the cross there he tels you plainly that he was forsaken My God My God why hast thou forsaken mee Thou thinkest that God hath withdrawn himself from thee no he wil not withdraw himself from
first opening of the text is the interpretation of Chrisostom upon this text You that are weary and heavy Laden that is you that are laden with the burden of seeking righteousness under the Law Come unto me and I wil give you Rest First I wil shew unto you what I mean by the burden of Legal Performances Secondly What a great burden this is and how much evil there is in it and so apply my self to those that are under this burden to shew to them how Christ cals them here in this text to come to him that they might have Rest First that which I mean by the burden of Legal Performances is this the performing of duties that are required by the Law meerly out of conscience because conscience puts men and Women upon those duties and doing them in the strength that they have of their own and looking upon what they do as the Righteousness which they must tender up to God as Righteousness for life now this is a Legal performance to perform duties in a Legal way is this to do what the Law requires meerly out of conscience because conscience tels me I must do it and to work in mine own strength though it be that that God gives yet but a natural strength and to make account of this to be as my Righteousness and to tender it up unto God for Righteousness unto life here is a Legal performance and this is to performe duties in a meer Legal way and those that do thus wil find that this will be a very great burden to their spirits it is a burden unto the Spirits of those that do thus unto the spirits of such as are conscientious indeed for we look not now upon men and Women as performing Duties out of Hypocrisie to be seen of men to make a show of what they have not in their Hearts we do not speak of such but we speak of those that have got into a higher form beyond such kind of Hypocrites such as perform duties out of conscience and yet rise no higher then looking at the Law that binds them to those duties and so tender them up to God as their Righteousness and do them for life making account that this is the thing that must bring them to life such as do this and are not acquainted any further with the mystery of the Gospel they do go under a most grievous burden all the daies of their lives I do not say that it is a burden to perform Duties that conscience requires when we do them to the Honor of God in the strength of Christ as a work of the sanctification of this spirit and as a fruit of our thankfulness for the Grace and mercy of God in Christ to us that is not a burden that is no burden at al but to do them meerly as being forced to them by conscience and as our Righteousness for life this is the burden and though there be no other principles that men and Women have but this yet they may be very conscientious so as not to dare to commit any known sin in secret they may make conscience of secret duties yea they may be aboundant in duties that is do perform many duties In the 6. of Micah and the 7. what shal we do say they Shal we give Rivers of Oyl and thousands of Rams and the fruit of our bodies for the sin of our souls there you have the expressions of those that are Legal they would know what they should do professing that they would be willing to do any thing for to save their souls offer thousands of rams and Rivers of Oyl for a sacrifice so one that is meerly Legal may perform many Duties yea he may be conscientious of every Duty that he knoweth there may be a kind of universal obedience in him to obey in al so far as he knows for the outward action he may make conscience of every thing that he knows to be the mind of God and yet do al this in a legal way and his performance may be rather a burden then that which shal do him good in the conclusion and bring him to life and except he doth come to know furher then yet he doth to know the evangelical performance of duties he cannot have true rest in his soul Now this as the other is a poynt of great consequence to many it may be divers that read this book may not so cleerely understand what this is they may not feel any such thing in their one experience but I suppose I shal speake to some even to their hearts and open their conditions to them whereby they shal say that they have not taken a right course to procure rest to their souls and to this end I speake that they may hearken to the blessed invitation of the gospel to come unto Christ that they might have rest as thus you perceive a little what I meane by legal performances now then we are to come to shew the burden of legal performances that they are very burdensome to those that are acquainted with nothing but to performe duties meerly from the law The first Burden of Legal Performances 1. Because now they are put upon duties that they have no principle to do to be put upon a work where there is no inward principle to do the work that must needs be burdensome conscience puts me upon the duty and that is right but I have no principle to do it yet I must do it conscience saith so whether I have a principle or no and though it is true I have no principle to do it so as the Law requires yet I may doe some outward performances now for me to goe about such a work to endeavour and strive to do al the work that the Law requires not onely the outward part but the wole worke and to be put upon to strugle and strive to do that which I have no inward principle to do that must needs be burdensome Al motions of nature that are from an external principle are violent and so tedious heavy and troublesome so this motion to duty that comes not from an inward principle of heart but is meerly legal conscience stands to put the soul upon duty but doth not put any principle into the soul to do it this is a violent motion and those that have the experience of this find it tedious heavy and troublesome Now here lieth the burden for it is not according to those vain conceits of men that the duty ought not to be done because they have no inward principle to do it but here is the burden that conscience binds you to do it you must do it though you have no principle in you to do it The second burden of Legal performances 2. Legal performances have a great burden in them because there is in al men that are but under the law before they come to be true beleevers sanctified by the spirit of Christ a contrary principle a principle