other things a Man is sure of it Sow Righteousness and ye shall sow to your selves none shall come betwixt you and the blessed Fruits which is produced by that sowing Wherefore it is here added and reap in mercy Because the Verb here is the Imperative Mood some will have this a Command for a farther Progress in doing that good we have explained to be contained under the first Head But this cannot be admitted for besides the Tautology we must put a strain'd and unusual sense upon Reaping Wherefore certainly in this Phrase is set forth the gracious Reward wherewith God will bless Sowing in Righteousness Reaping follows Sowing and is the natural effect thereof so who Sows in Righteousness shall Reap in Mercy tho' what they thus Reap be neither the necessary natural effect of what they sow nor yet the just desert thereof if they merited what they Reap it should not be called Mercy But it is so called that they may not think what is given them to be their due If Men would consider themselves and their actions impartially and lay aside all proud thoughts they would adjudge their merits to ' be small and that little belonged to them on that account However all who ply Sowing in Righteousness sincerely may look for Mercy as the Husband-man doth for a Crop after he hath sown nay they may assure themselves of it which he cannot do they may claim it as their Privilege by virtue of the Divine Promise which can never fail With respect to which Promise and the undoubted certainty thereof the Prophet bids them here Reap Mercy Reap is Imperative to denote the certainty of the thing as if there were no more requisite than to put forth the hand and take it in which sense the Imperative is usually taken in Scripture as Ezek. xviii 32. They have not the promise nor are they capable of Mercy who sow not in Righteousness Indignation and wrath tribulation and anguish shall be upon every soul of man that doth evil Rom. ii 9. As therefore Sowing must go before Reaping so Sowing in Righteousness must be previous to the Reaping in Mercy this is necessary not that we may merit but that we may be fit objects of Mercy And as naturally the Crop exceeds the measure of the Grain which was Sown so the Gifts and Expressions of God's Mercy towards righteous Persons shall infinitely exceed the Works done by them Wherefore a Iewish Doctor hath not ill express'd it Sow c. Do that which is good in mine eyes and the good Reward which ye shall receive of me shall be far greater than your good Works as he that soweth a Bushel hopes to reap two or more and therefore in the Command for sowing he useth the word Iustice but in the promise of Reaping the word Chesed Mercy or Benignity which is more than Iustice or what in strict Iustice can be required The Mercy which they who Sow in Righteousness shall Reap is like God himself the Author thereof infinite and so cannot be express'd We cannot particularize all the ways whereby God will shew his Mercy to such Persons It is written Eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither have entred into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him 1 Cor. ii 9. As long before the Harvest the Husbandman is refreshed with the sight and savour of his Field so God comforteth and refresheth the Souls of the righteous even in this World and hereafter he Crowns them with unspeakable Glory and blesseth them with eternal Life The Light of God's Countenance even in this Life where its beams are often intercepted do yet afford more Joy than in the time of Harvest when Corn and Wine and Oil abound with Men And what will it do in the other World where it shines fully and clearly and without interruption and where there is nothing to obstruct the Power and Efficacy thereof Lord What Joy is there in the very prospect of this Harvest How happy and blessed are they who are sure of it What a kindness is it that we have liberty to throw in our poor stock into such a profitable Bank and a Privilege to Sow where we may Reap so much With what Face can any refuse the Occasion or what Excuse is sufficient Have Men by their many Inventions found out any higher Felicity than what God and his Superabundant Mercy can confer or is there a nearer way or more proper to this than that which the Prophet directs to the Sowing in Righteousness Is it better to labour for Temporal than Eternal things for that Meat which perisheth than that which endureth to Life everlasting Will ye plough Wickedness and reap Iniquity and eat the Fruit of Lyes that is will ye die rather than live This were a mad and shameful Choice and yet one of them we must make for there is no middle Course left us It is certain the Wages of Sin are Death and that there is no way to Everlasting Life but to have our Fruit unto Holiness Be not deceived God is not mocked for whatsoever a Man soweth that shall he also reap He that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption but he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting Gal. vi 7. The Prophet having told them what they would reap returns to exhort them to the Use of those means which are requisite in order to it and to the Performance of those Duties to which reaping in Mercy is promised which People have need to be put in mind of for ordinarily they are very slack and negligent Many would be at reaping but few set themselves to the Work and Labour that must go before it they would be putting in the sickle in Harvest-time though they have not sown nor made any Preparation for it But those who sow not shall not reap and that our sowing may be successful we are bid first break up our fallow ground for Interpreters make the Prophets Speech Elliptick and will have First or After that or some such Word to be understood If the Ground be not prepared sowing is to no Purpose the Seed was lost that fell on stony ground among thorns and in the high-way The good and precious Seed to be sown is the Word of God our Hearts are the Ground which must receive it and they cannot receive it till they be made honest and good as our Saviour speaks Luke viii 15. and in order to this they must be prepared Pains must be taken on them Break up your fallow Ground If the Husband-man did not till his Ground cast Furrows in it and root out the Weeds thereof he needed not sow and would in vain expect a Crop So our Hearts by their natural Constitution are like fallow ground which was never laboured which is indisposed for receiving Seed from the Sower and of it self brings forth only Thorns and Briars The natural Product of
you catch any thing that can recompence your Labour Come hither therefore solace your selves and take your rest I hope none of us is so Unwise as not to know how precious and desireable rest is therefore let us be so Wise as to embrace the Call To day while it is called to day let us hearken and not harden our hearts lest the opportunity pass away and God swear in his wrath that we shall not enter into his rest I will not trouble you with any Exhortation to accept Christ's offer for there will be no need of it if we be sensible of Misery or feel our burden because then we will be forward enough this sense and feeling will prompt us and our Exhortation would be to no purpose if there be no sense or feeling of these things as yet But as I hope we all desire rest and are ready to embrace it so that we may not be disappointed let us qualifie our selves for it by embracing the terms and complying with the Conditions on which it is promised which is the last thing here to be considered Some of these are only implied here and supposed as necessary others are expresly required I shall begin with what is supposed necessary in order to the receiving rest and that is the being sensible of our own Misery and the groaning under it This is implied in the Designation of the Persons invited ye that labour and are heavy laden For these words not only point at the natural condition of the Persons Called but also at their sense of it and carriage under it The Conjunction And is to be taken causally here as frequently it is used So labour and heavy laden is to labour and grieve because being so laden it is to be wearied because burdened it is to groan by reason of the Misery which is felt In a word it is to have a deep sence of all that Misery we are born to and involved in whether Sin or Punishment Without this there can be no Expectation of this blessed Rest nor will Christ bestow it for then he would contradict his own Precepts which forbid to give what is holy unto Dogs or to cast Pearls before Swine When the worth of a thing is not understood it is undervalued and slighted and Men will not be sensible of the worth of this offer Christ makes until first they be sensible of their own Misery without it A Physician is welcom and acceptable to him who feels himself Sick but he who feels it not cares not for him When one's Brain is infected he not only doth not perceive his Distemper but he is in love with it and doth think himself happy in that for which others think him miserable Mad and Melancholy Persons love their Disease and spurn at those who would cure them Without therefore a sense of our Misery we are neither capable of Relief nor worthy of it What do you think Christ will bestow the rest which cost him so dear upon those who undervalue all he has done and suffered who think he troubled himself to no purpose as wicked worldly Men must do Shall we think that Christ will entertain such as glory in that which brought him to shame who hug and cherish those Sins which pierced his Soul which filled him with Agony and which created him a bitter and bloody Passion Let us not deceive ourselves the hardned impenitent and insensible Sinner shall never enter into God's rest nor yet they who mind Earthly things and aspire after no greater Happiness all such shall be kept out But you who are sensible of your Misery and who groan under your trouble you who are wearied at the Vanity of the World and long for some other Happiness than what can be had here you who complain of your Sins and who earnestly desire to have them pardoned and removed you whose hearts are broken upon that account and whose Spirits are rendered contrite for you and for you only is this rest prepared you are the Persons invited it is you whom Jesus means by them that labour and are heavy laden Come ye therefore unto him and he will give you rest Take his yoke upon you learn of him for he is meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest to your souls And for your Encouragement you shall find his yoke easie and his burden light Now unto him who hath thus loved us who hath Pardoned our Sins healed our Diseases Delivered us from our Fears eased us of our Troubles and purchased for us Everlasting Consolation and a good Hope even unto the Lord Iesus Christ with the Father and Blessed Spirit be all Honour Glory and Praise both now and ever Amen SERMON II. On Matth. XI 28 29. Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest unto your Souls IF it be true that the full Soul loaths the Honey-Comb that Men use to despise that which they have no need of or are not sensible that they have then this gracious offer in the Text will not be much regarded by the World they will slight it for if we may take our measures from Mens outward Behaviour if by that we may adventure to guess at their inward state then we may conclude that the most are happy enough or at least think themselves so Few complain the most are merry and well pleased if not altogether with their own outward condition and circumstances yet at least with themselves They do not labour under spiritual Infirmities they do not groan because their Soul loatheth the Pleasures of the World and longeth and languisheth after better Dainties than what this World can afford Sometimes indeed they may be heard to grudge that the World goes not so well with them as they could wish and expressing fears of a change of their condition But help the one and guard against the other and then they would be at ease they would sing a Requiem to themselves their Souls would be at full rest and they would be as well satisfied as if perfectly happy Except when outward trouble is upon them few Persons are weary they are not sensible of other Misery they are not laden with their Sins nor born down with the dreadful Consequences of them The burden of Sin is commonly thought no burden at all Men bear it easily nay they can take on the heaviest load of it and walk as sturdily as if it were a light thing as if its weight lay merely in fancy This never troubles them nor upon this account would they seek rest to their Souls The Charms of the World lull Men asleep and render them insensible the noise and hurry of Affairs divert them from serious Reflections on their Misery even as Company keeps the Sick and Pained from the actual sense of their Disease and Pain But as
at present we are in the State of Children or Heirs while they are Minors and therefore now only we have Hope but it is a lively hope as the Text expresseth it It is Hope which enliveneth the Soul it quickeneth the Spirit and rejoiceth the Heart but without Hope the Spirit flags and the Heart faints and languisheth It is Hope which stirreth up to all Endeavours Hope is the Wheel which moveth all Designs it sets them on and keeps them a going The Labourer plougheth and soweth because he hath Hope the Merchant ventureth to the Sea and the Souldier to the War out of Hope and it is this which makes others follow the Court But these Worldly Hopes are much inferiour to this Christian Hope to which God hath now begotten us This is far more than any or all of them together And there is more Reason to rejoice and be glad of this Hope than of these other For neither the Object of them is so great nor the Ground of them so certain What worldly Men hope or what any Man hopeth of these things which relate to this World when narrowly examined amounts to no great matter oft times we are as well without these things as with them and sometimes better And however how uncertain a thing is worldly Hope and how soon and how easily is it blasted What Men trust to for effectuating their Hope is vain and deceitful and withal weak and unable to resist and overcome those Difficulties which fall in in the Prosecution of our Designs So that we see daily many ashamed and disappointed of their Hopes and not only come short of them but also to meet with the quite contrary Thus Shame and Wounds fall to the Souldiers share instead of his fansied Booty and Preferment the Labourer expected a rich crop and is reduced to Cleanness of Teeth the Merchant turns Bankrupt who was blown up with the Hopes of great Wealth the Courtier is forced away with Disgrace instead of the Honour and Command he promised himself and that Alliance which was enterprized with such Earnestness and was begun with so fair and big Promises produceth nothing but continued Vexations and Grief This is oft the end of worldly Hope and therefore it may be called a dead Hope but the Hope of a Christian is a lively Hope for it never dieth till it end in Fruition And in the mean time it hath more Life and Vigour in it to quicken and animate the Spirit of Man The hope which we have saith St. Paul is an anchor of the Soul both sure and stedfast Heb. vi 19. for it is founded upon two immutable things viz. God and his Promises his Power can never fail and his Word as little but as he is still able so he is ever willing to accomplish what hath gone out of his Mouth But let us see what is our hope it is saith the Text to an inheritance This is more than the World giveth to her Children All in this World are not born to Inheritances even those Fathers who have Lands and Possessions bestow not the Heritage of them on all their Children one only of the Sons gets it but our heavenly Father giveth to every one of his Children an Inheritance Fear not little flock saith Christ it is your Father's will to give you a Kingdom And as we have an Inheritance so an Excellent one for its Kind and Quality Some Kingdoms and Inheritances are petty and inconsiderable and afford small matter to brag off but this Inheritance is so great that there is none greater nor any comparable to it For First It is said to be Incorruptible this respects the duration of it and the like cannot be said of any other Inheritance The Psalmist tells us Mens inward thoughts is that their houses shall continue for ever and their dwelling places to all generations and that therefore they call their Lands after their own names Psal. xlix 2. but who sees not the Vanity of this thought What Chapping and Changing of Inheritances is daily made How do they run away that no Foresight nor Law nor Wit can secure them How many famous Kingdoms and Monarchies and Noble Families are extinct that there is no memory of them except in some old dark Records It must therefore add much to the worth of this Inheritance that it is Immortal and Unchangeable But yet the next quality is better for if a Possession is little worth it is no great matter though it pass away but if it be good and excellent the perpetuity of it is much to be desired wherefore that this Inheritance is incorruptible is matter of great Joy seeing it is also undefiled by which is meant that it is so pure as to yield nothing to give the least disgust to the Inheriter O rare and singular quality No perfectly pure Enjoyment is here to be found all are full of unpleasant mixtures or attended with troublesome inconveniencies which damp and spoil the Pleasure and Satisfaction of them No Rose is to be found but upon a Thorn nor any Delight without some Molestation what takes one Sense grates another neither in Company or Retirement Solitude or Publick Employment Celibacy or Marriage high Stations or low Places City or Country nor in any condition of Humane Life is matter of full and perfect Contentment to be found but whatever pleaseth one way displeaseth another It is the Property only of this Inheritance here spoken of to afford perfect Satisfaction to the Soul because neither its Pleasures are gross to cloy the Mind nor are they mixed with improper and disagreeable Ingredients to give any disgust It is altogether pure and Undefiled and so the joy it yields must be both full and pure In thy presence is fulness of joy and at thy right hand are rivers of pleasures for evermore Psal. xvi But to proceed it is further added that this Inheritance fadeth not away In the Original it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is the Name of a Flower that never withereth but keeps always fresh and green and by naming this Inheritance so the Apostle designed to hold forth the continued Vigour and Flagrancy thereof As it lasteth long so it never waxeth old the Infirmities and usual Appendages of Age never overtake it it never suffereth any decay in its Strength Beauty Glory or Vertue There be many things which at first and while they are New are taking and splendid but within a while they fail and answer not Mens expectations as at first But it is not so with this Inheritance it fades not when Thousand thousand Ages are past it is still gay and flourishing never diminished in its quality As it is Eternal in its Duration so its Pleasures Riches and all other Advantages are Eternal You will ask where lieth this Inheritance If you look for it in any of these lower Regions you will meet with a disappointment neither this nor any other Country