branches thus inobled I know it is the matter of your Prayers and let me beg you to joyn thereunto your utmost indeavours by a strict and pious education the common want of which hath stained the present age with as debauched a Nobility and Gentry as ever any time brought forth And Madam if to all this you shall add the winning motive of your own example so walking in all the Precepts of Christ and in all the virtues of the Holy Spirit that they may be won into the ways of God by the beauty of your feet O what an honour and rejoycing would this be to you in the near approaching day of Christ Jesus How many children have been brought into love with the ways of God by the holy example of Godly Parents And many more have perished by the contrary who are now cursing the Parents that begat them and the loyns that brought them forth I no way doubt of your Honours ready acceptance of this Present how mean soever it be Seeing it is a great bravery of mind as well to accept little kindnesses from them that have no better within their reach as to confer great ones For as by the latter you oblige love so by the former you incourage duty Thus the full Sea stocks Clouds richly while they pay again but by drops We have a pattern of it in God himself who as he gives the greatest Boons so he doth not disdain the least returns though they are made in Mites Luk. 21.2 3. Goats hair and Rams skins are as acceptable an Offering from them that were no better provided for the building the Tabernacle Exod. 23.4 5. as Purple and Scarlet so as it came from a willing heart Madam it is for the compleating the Temple of God in your soul that this Offering is made and though it is neither Purple nor Scarlet yet such as it is it comes from as willing a mind as ever Israelite offered from him that brought Gold and Silver to him that brought Goats hair and Rams skins And if your Honour be dispositioned like my Master you will accept of payment in Mites where it is the utmost and the All that is within the reach of a short arm But though it cannot reach so far as I would Prayer can For how incapable soever we are of other offices of respect and gratitude yet in Prayers and good wishes we stand next to immensity and infiniteness And it is nothing less then the great things of both worlds summed up in the blessed injoyment of God himself here much and hereafter much more that can be an answer to his Prayers who without ceasing bows the knee to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for this Blessing for you Madam and your Honourable and Honoured Relations as becomes Stepney Novemb. 15th 1682. Madam Your Honours highly obliged and humbly devoted Servant Matthew Mead. The Epistle to the READER Good Reader THough thy concern lies not much in knowing the reason of the publication of this Treatise yet it may not be amiss to give thee this short account of it That in April 1674 A Gentleman who was till then a stranger to me came with an earnest request that I would undertake the Preaching of a Sermon yearly on every May-day to the younger people I desiring to know his reason why to them rather then to others and why on that day rather then upon any other he told me that it had often been the grief of his Soul to behold the vitious and debauched practises of Youth on that day of liberty And did hope that many might be induced either by their own inclinations or by the counsels of their Parents or Masters rather to spend their time in hearing a Sermon then in drinking and gaming c. by which means many might be converted and saved The design being so honest and the reason so cogent I was perswaded to comply with it and began upon the following May Day and so it hath been continued ever since and I may say it not in any boast but to the praise of the glory of the grace of God with great success On May-day 1680 I took the Scripture here insisted on for the subject of my discourse and having then shewed the great advantage of bearing the Yoke of vfflictions and also the Yoke of the Spirit in conviction of sin in youth I did promise God granting life and liberty to treat of the Yoke of Christ in conversion in the next Anniversary course But before that day came I was much sollicited both by young and old they best know why to make publick the first Sermon which I had so Preached and it was fairly transcribed and sent to me by several hands for that end which yet I judged very improper but to answer their importunity I did promise that when I had finished the subject I would comply with their desires And therefore finding that I could not compass my design in the second May-day course I did for some Lords days following insist on the same subject till I had finished it And that thou hadst it no sooner the Bookseller is accountable and not I. However if it may be of any advantage to thy soul in breaking off the yoke of sin and lust and bringing thee under the yoke of Christ it comes in good time and to good purpose And when thou findest this benefit by it then pray for him that loves thy soul and desires thy Salvation and therein is November 15. 1682. Thy Real Friend Matthew Mead. THE CONTENTS CHAPTER I. SOmewhat praeliminary The Yoke explained What it is Litterally taken what taken Metaphorically CHAP. II. Afflictions called a Yoke in what sense they are good and for whom CHAP. III. Shewing the difference between the Yoke of the Spirit and the Yoke of Christ What the Spirits Yoke is Why convictions are compared to a Yoke Why sinners must come under the Yoke of the Spirit Why it is good to come under it betimes CHAP. IV. Contains some counsels and directions to persons of several Denominations with respect to the Yoke of the Spirit CHAP. V. The chief Doctrine propounded Christ hath his Yoke Wherein it consists The nature and properties of this Yoke VVhy the commands of Christ called a Yoke CHAP. VI. Holdeth forth the reasons of the Doctrine CHAP. VII Holdeth forth the last reason viz. from the good of obedience It is a necessary good a profitable good an honourable good a comfortable good CHAP. VIII Answers some objections against Early Obedience CHAP. IX More objections against Early Obedience answered CHAP. X. Wherein the reasons of slighting Christ are inquired into the evil of it aggravated CHAP. XI Wherein the Tryal of our state is pressed with seven reasons for it CHAP. XII Several rules for the knowledge of our estate are laid down both negatively and affirmatively CHAP. XIII Sheweth the truth of our subjection to Christ by such things as are necessarily antecedent to it
a Slave to sin to reject the Reign of Christ to resist the Spirit to slight the Grace of the Gospel to gratifie the Devil and to undo thy own soul O think of that word He that sins against me 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 speruit animam suam Vatab. in loc wrongs his own soul Prov. 8.36 And where lies the wrong He refuses the Yoke of Christ and so lays himself under the wrath of Christ and ye perish from the way if his wrath be kindled but a little Psal 2.12 And what greater wrong can any one offer to his own soul than to lay it under a necessity of damnation by a willing subjection to the Yoke of sin rather than that of Christ Therefore it is so far from being good that it is the greatest evil to bear this Yoke Be not ye the Servants of sin But then there is a threefold Yoke which it is good for a man to bear in his youth There is The Yoke of affliction The Yoke of the Spirit in conviction of sin The Yoke of subjection and obedience to Jesus Christ CHAP. II. Afflictions called a Yoke In what sense they are good and for whom 1. AFflictions may be called a Yoke and so they are often in Scripture Lev. 26.13 I am the Lord your God which brought you forth out of the Land of Egypt and I have broken the Bonds of your Yoke and made you go upright He speaks of the great afflictions with which Israel was so oppressed and burthened in Egypt that their backs were bowed down and they were even sunk and broken under them and this God calls their affliction I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt Exod. 3.7 and Deut. 26.6 7. The Egyptians evilly entreated us and afflicted us and when we cried to the Lord he heard our voice and looked on our affliction and oppression And this seems to be the Yoke intended in the Text at least to the Church of the Jews that were then in Babylonish bondage which the Holy Ghost calls a Yoke Jer. 27.12 Bring your necks under the Yoke of the King of Babylon And Jer. 30.8 It shall come to pass in that day saith the Lord of Hosts that I will break his Yoke from off thy neck and burst thy bonds And accordingly the Church here calls her present affliction and misery by reason of her captived state a Yoke Lam. 1.14 The yoke of my transgressions is bound by his hand The yoke of my transgressions that is the punishment procured by my transgressions as if he should say God hath laid upon me a heavy Yoke of affliction as the just reward of my sin Now this is a Yoke that it is good for a man to bear in his youth Afflictions have in them matter of real advantage This seems a Paradox to sense and no wonder for even good men can hardly make sense of it Therefore let us a little enquire In what sense afflictions are good and For whom they are good Quest 1. In what sence are afflictions good Answ They are not good in themselves they are not bona though they may work in bonum they are not good things though they may work to good ends In their own nature they are evil and so called in Scripture Amos 3.6 Is there any evil in the City and the Lord hath not done it Isai 45.7 I make peace and create evil I the Lord do all these things Mic. 1.12 The inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good but evil came down from the Lord unto the Gate of Jerusalem That which is a fruit of sin a part of the curse introduced upon the breach of the first Covenant must needs be in it self evil But so is affliction It is evil in it self and evil to the Creature evil in its nature and evil in its tendency But yet as afflictions are ordered and directed by God and under the management of his Spirit so they are good they serve to good purposes But I shall give a more distinct Answer to the Question in four gradual Conclusions 1. Nothing Man mistakes more about than Concl. 1 the matter of good This is most evident from the differing opinions of the Ancients about it Austin reckons up 288. which all shew that man is acted herein very much by fancy and present appearances insomuch that if God should give a man his own wish he would ruine himself with evil under the shew of good Brine preserves many things which would rot in Sugar and yet sense is all for pleasing the sweet tooth But no wise Body will give a sick man what he desires but what the Physician directs As God sometimes in judgment pleases a man to his ruine Psal 106.15 He gave them their request but sent leanness into their souls So he sometimes in mercy crosses him to his advantage We are short sighted and distempered with passions and therefore call that good which would be our bane and deprecate that as evil which would be a real benefit Doubtless Joseph could not but regret at and being a good Youth pray against his Brethrens unnatural cruelty as having nothing in it in appearance but evil and vassalage What for a young Stripling to be fold for a Slave to be barter'd away out of his Father's bosome into a strange Country never like to be heard of more then cast into Prison and exposed to all severities Can there be any good in this Sense and opinion say no But pray consider How had he been raised to such a price if he had not been first made so cheap how had he been made a Prince by Strangers if he had not been made a Slave by his Brethren nay how many had perished for bread had not he been sent for merchandise into Egypt So Joseph afterwards acknowledges Gen. 45.5 Ye sold me hither but God sent me before you to preserve life And Gen. 50.20 As for you ye thought evil against me but God meant it unto good to bring to pass as it is this day to save much people alive God many times takes away for our good strips us for our advantage casts us down and seemingly casts us off and all for our benefit Opinion says with old Jacob All these things are against me Gen. 42.36 and yet they were all for him and therefore Concl. 2 Good is to be estimated not by its suitableness to sense but by its reference to the soul That is the truest good which promotes the interest of the better part no mans condition can be made good by any outward circumstances while the case of his soul is desperate for that is the better part of us and therefore good men have always valued themselves more upon their inward indowments than any outward acquisitions and have set more store by a Dram of Grace than by all outward comforts Good is to be judged by its conducency to Concl. 3 the chief good God is the chief good and
then they came to him 6. It teaches them to see the emptiness of the Creature and what a vain thing the World is In our ease and prosperity we are apt to surfeit by excess in sensual fruitions The lust of the flesh the lust of the eye and the pride of life are the young mans Trinity Hence that of the Apostle 1 John 2.14 15 16. I write to you young men though the expression there hath a spiritual sense and what doth he write unto them Love not the world nor the things that are in the world for all that is in the world the lust of the flesh the lust of the eye and the pride of life is not of the Father This is a rare Lesson for young men but how seldome do any learn it till they come into the School of affliction How have I known many young ones wholly given to pride and pleasure but when God hath brought them under the Rod fetter'd them with afflictions made their Bed upon the Brink of the Grave O how have they then cryed out of their follies their mispending precious time their neglecting God and their souls their regarding lying vanities and so forsaking their own mercies and what strong resolutions have they then made never to return to these follies again And these things are great Preparatories to conversion Now then if afflictions obviate those evils which through the corruption of our Natures are occasioned by prosperity if they are inlightening and helpful to great discoveries and if they are preparatory to Grace and conversion then surely it must be good for a man to bear the Yoke of affliction betimes CHAP. III. Shewing the difference between the Yoke of the Spirit and the Yoke of Christ What the Spirits Yoke is Why convictions are compared to a Yoke Why Sinners must come under the Yoke of the Spirit Why it is good to come under it betimes THE next sense in which I am to speak of this Yoke is that of conviction of sin to make way to the last Notion of it which more especially design to insist upon and that is the Yoke of Gospel obedience and subjection the one is the Yoke of the Spirit the other is the Yoke of Christ These two are not the same but very different Yokes especially in these four things First The Yoke of the Spirit is grievous the Yoke of Christ is not grievous 1 John 5.3 the Yoke of the Spirit is very heavy the Yoke of Christ is very light Matth. 11.30 Secondly It is the heaviness of the Spirits Yoke which makes Christ's Yoke easie It is not easie to all no they that never felt the Spirits Yoke to them Christ's Yoke is a burthen And therefore when Christ says My Yoke is easie it points to them whom he calls to come and take it up and who are they Why the heavy laden and weary ver 28. They who are wearied by the Spirits Yoke shall thereby find ease under Christ's Yoke Thirdly The Yoke of the Spirit is but for a time and then to be taken off and never put on again but the Yoke of Christ is always to be kept on never to be put off the soul is under a perpetual obligation to Duty and obedience to Christ Jesus Fourthly The Yoke of the Spirit is to prepare us for the Yoke of Christ for Christ's Yoke can never be put on till the Spirit by his Yoke hath fitted the neck for it The soul will never obey Christ till it be conquered to Christ and that will never be till the Spirit in conviction put his Yoke and Fetters upon it I shall now speak somewhat of the Spirits Yoke and if ever the Lord give such another Call to this Work then I shall speak of Christ's Yoke more largely And in speaking of the Yoke of the Spirit in conviction I would insist a little upon these four things First That the Spirit hath his Yoke Secondly Why the convictions of the Spirit upon the soul of a Sinner are compared to a Yoke Thirdly Every Sinner that shall be saved must come under this Yoke of the Spirit Fourthly Therefore it is good to come under it betimes and why First That the Spirit hath his Yoke There is such a thing upon the consciences of Sinners at one time or other as the Yoke of the Spirit As the Spirit hath his joys and comforts so he hath his Yokes and Bonds as he hath a liberty which he brings some into so he hath a thraldom which he brings some under And it is first bondage and then liberty He is a Spirit of liberty to none but to whom he is first a Spirit of bondage The Spirits Yoke described And if you ask me What this Yoke of the Spirit is It is that state he brings the Sinner into and holds him in before his conversion to prepare him for his conversion and that is a state of sensibleness of sin and wrath which flows from the convincing work of the Spirit The Spirit of the Lord whereever he comes to work a saving change doth first put his Yoke upon the Sinners neck that is he doth convince the soul of the evil of sin and of its liableness to the wrath of God and so fills it with fear and horrour so that the poor Creature looks upon it self as utterly lost and undone so long as it abides in that state This is the Spirits Yoke It is called so in Scripture Lam. 1.14 The Yoke of my transgressions is bound by his hand they are wreathed and come upon my neck the Lord hath delivered me into their hands from whom I am not able to rise up Into their hands that is into the hands of sin and she was not able to rise up from under them Prov. 5.22 and why Because the Spirit had bound them upon her as a Yoke Secondly Why are the convictions of the Spirit compared to a Yoke First A Yoke is very heavy and burdensome So is sin when once the conscience is truly convinced of it Mine inquities are gone over mine head as an heavy burthen they are too heavy for me Psal 38.4 And therefore a soul under the sense of sin is said to be heavy laden Matth 11.28 Secondly A Yoke bows the Back by reason of its weight Hence is that expression of the kindness of God to Israel Lev. 26.13 I have broken the Bonds of your Yoke and made you go upright implying that the Yoke causes a man to bow and stoop under it so doth conviction of sin it bows the soul under it I am troubled I am bowed down greatly I go mourning all the day long Psal 38.6 Thirdly A Yoke is a galling wounding thing so is conviction O how it wounds with the sense of sin and dread of wrath Prov. 18.14 and a wounded Spirit who can bear Foarthly A Yoke is a taming thing It tames the wildest Beast so conviction tames the most unruly Sinner though he be never so raging
in his lusts yet when the Spirit of God doth but set sin close to the conscience O how pliable is he So it was with Saul he breathed nothing but threatnings and slaughter against the Disciples of the Lord Acts 9.1 but Christ no sooner smites him with a word from Heaven but how tame and pliable is he He trembling and astonished said Lord what wilt thou have me to do v. 6. And hence the convictions of the Spirit are fitly compared to a Yoke Thirdly Every Sinner that ever shall be saved must come under this Yoke of the Spirit he must be brought to a conviction of his lost estate There is a necessity for this and I will shew you why Reason 1. Because it is essential to sound conversion What is conversion but a turning from sin to God and how can a man turn from sin without a true sense of sin or how can he turn to God till he be made to see and feel the want of God therefore it is absolutely necessary Reas 2. It is the constant method of God with all that are capable of the work First He shews man his sin then his Saviour first his wound then his cure first his malady then his remedy first his danger then his Redeemer Gen. 3.10 15. Thus God began with Adam and Eve he first opens their eyes to see their sin and misery their nakedness and shame and then makes them a promise of the seed of the Woman God will have sense of misery go before the participation of mercy He look upon man and if any say I have sinned and it profited me not he will save his soul from going down to the pit and his life shall see the light Job 33.27 28. The Israelites are first stunâ— with the fiery Serpents Numb 21.6 8. and then the Brazeâ— Serpent is set up for them to look to for healing Peter's three thousand Converts werâ— first pricked in their hearts and then he applies the promise Acts 2.37 39. The Gaolâ— is first struck with a Spirit of trembling anâ— then Jesus Christ is held out to him for salvâ—tion Acts 16.29 31. Reas 3. God will not frustrate and makâ— void the use of the Law There would be 〈◊〉 conviction of sin no sight of the misery of natural state but for the Law therefore say St Paul I had not known sin but by the Law Rom. 7.7 How could he what should discover it to him Sin had not been sin but for the Law and therefore nothing can discover it but the Law which is Index sui obliqui 1 Joh. 3.4 for sin is a transgression of the Law The Spirit himself could not fasten this Yoke upon the Sinners neck but by the bond of the Law Rom. 5.13 for sin is not imputed where there is no Law Look how the Needle goes before to pierce the Cloth and so makes way for the Thred to sew it so the Law goes before to break the heart and so makes way for the Gospel to heal it The Spirit makes use of it as a School-master to bring us to Christ Gal. 3.24 Bonnerges makes way for Barnabas and John for Jesus Reas 4. The soul lyes under no promise of good from Christ till it come under the Yoke of the Spirit Then it is sensible of sin and sensible Sinners lye under the promise of Christ There is not one promise in all the Gospel made of Christ to a Sinner as he is a Sinner if there were it would be in vain For as such he could not receive it nor can it belong to him for he is under another Covenant Reas 5. Without this he can never set a true estimate upon the blood and Grace of Jesus Christ The Pearl of Pardoning Grace shall never be cast before Swine that wallow in their sins Though Christ be free of his bloud yet we shall see the want of it before we have it that we may know the worth of it when we enjoy it He discovers himself in such a way as the Sinner may prize him most and when is that but when sin lyes with the greatest load upon conscience When the Yoke of the Spirit is heaviest then redemption by Christ is sweetest When he sees his Case at worst then he prizes Christ most When he is made to know how wretched his state is then he considers how precious the bloud of Christ is Reas 6. Till the soul comes to bear the Yoke of the Spirit it can never be brought to close with Christ upon Gospel terms It is sense of sin and misery that must bow the soul to Gods conditions of mercy The reason why so many Sinners perish under the Call of Christ is not because they totally reject him but because they don't make a right close with him they don't come up to God's terms There are stated Conditions which every one that would have Christ and benefit by Christ must come up to and what are they Why he that would have Christ must have whole Christ Christ in all his Offices not only as Priest but as King and Prophet And this necessarily suposes a renouncing all sin and lust a resolute owning and adhering to his Truths and Ordinances and an unfeigned resignation of heart and soul to his will in all things This is the right receiving of Christ Now there are but few that can come up to this they would have Christ but they would not part with their lusts they would have a justifying Christ but not a sanctifying Christ a Christ to pardon and save them but not to purge and cleanse them There is such a close League between the natural man and his lust that till conscience be convinced and sin imbittered the soul will not be divorced and so long Christ can't be received therefore there is a necessity that every Sinner that would be saved should come under the Spirits Yoke Fourthly It is good to come under the Spirits Yoke betimes to bear the Yoke in a mans Youth A mans Youth may have a twofold respect either to the earliness of profession or to the earliness of being First To the earliness of profession Our first entrance into the ways of God is called in Scripture our Youth Jer. 2.2 I remember the kindness of thy Youth that is of her first espousals to God as the next words explain it It is a blessed thing when our profession of God and Religion begins in sound and thorow convictions It is good to bear the Yoke of conviction in the Youth of our profession For that profession of Religion that is not founded in conviction of sin will never hold out it cannot last long it is Seed sown in stony ground which though it may spring up for a while yet when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word it will wither away for want of depth of Earth to take root in Mat. 13.20 21. It is good therefore to found an early profession in sound
convictions Secondly It may respect the earliness of being And that seems rather to be the sense of the place Vatablus renders it from his Youth taking 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 early impressions upon the conscience by the convictions of the Spirit are a great good to the soul It is good to bear this Yoke betimes for three reasons 1. Because the sooner it is done the easier it is done the longer we are before we come under it the harder it will be to bear it The longer thou continuest in sin the harder it will be to bear repentance If thy conscience be so charged with guilt that thou darest not look into it at ten or twenty years old what will it come to if thou lettest it run on till fifty or sixty The longer the Debt stands in the Book the heavier the account when we come to reckon for all the arrears of so many years actual sins added to the grand Debt of original sin Therefore it is good to bear this Yoke in your Youth Strength to bear it is then greatest and the burden to be born is then lightest Guilt of sâ—n encreases by lying and new guilt daily added to the old makes the burden still the heavier therefore it is good to comply with the spirit of God betimes Reas 2. The sooner it is begun the sooner it will be done the sooner this Yoke is put on the sooner it will be put off For it is but for a time that the soul bears it but how long or how little while is uncertain Paul lay under it three days and nights Acts 9.9 Acts 16.33 the Goaler for ought I can find not above an hour the three thousand in Acts 2. not above the length of one Sermon But some now adays are held days and months and years according as the Case requires But the sooner we come under this Yoke the less while it is like to lye Reas 3. How rich do such grow in Grace that by early conviction pass through the new Birth betimes He that sets up soonest is like to get the fairest estate if be improve his opportunities Ford of Bondage p. 75. If one go to be an Apprentice when he is a man there is a double inconvenience in it First His service will be much more irksome and tedious Secondly The prime of his days will be gone wherein he should have been trading for himself had he been his own man Though the work of the Spirit be better late than never yet it is an unknown loss the soul sustains by a late work He loses much joy and peace the thought of his living so long without God becomes many times a new wound when the old is healed the after pains of the new birth do abide upon some to their dying day And in this Case there is but little comfort though the work be real He loses much sweet communion with God He loses many rich experiences He loses a great accession of Grace Growth in Grace is a work of time and he that hath but little time can make but little improvement He loses many opportunities of service Nay he loses much in the degrees of Glory Hadst thou had more time to sow thy Harvest would have been â—â—â—ater for as a man sows so shall he reap 〈◊〉 â—â—â—refore he that spends the best of his time in the service of the flesh if he should be converted at last which yet few are he is like to prove but a feeble Christian The more our opportunities of service are if improved and the more our seasons of communion are if used aright the richer must we needs be both in grace experience and comfort therefore it is the most thrifty course to be an early Convert to bear the Spirits Yoke in our Youth CHAP. IV. Containing some useful counsel and directions to persons of several denominations with respect to the Yoke of the Spirit THere are three sorts of persons I would speak somewhat to by way of counsel and direction in this matter First To such as have born the Yoke of the Spirit with good success to whom the Spirit of bondage hath at last become the Spirit of adoption who are passed from a state of fear and terrour into a condition of hope and comfort Your Duty lyes chiefly in these three things be thankful be humble be fruitful First Study thankfulness and give the Glory of this work to the Spirit of God We are very apt to ascribe too much to means to this or that Minister alas they are but poor Instruments Who is Paul and who is Apollo but Ministers by whom ye believed 1 Cor. 3.5 even as the Lord gave to every man They have but the place of Instruments God is the great Agent and therefore all supernatural effects are to be ascribed to him alone Neither is he that planteth any thing neither he that watereth but God that giveth the encrease And therefore the Apostle Paul having called the Church of Corinth his Epistle in 2 Cor. 3.2 he doth in v. 3. call them the Epistle of Christ ministred by us written not with Pen and Ink but with the Spirit of the living God Ministers are but as Pens it is the Spirit of the living God that writes his Law in the heart by them and thus they become the Epistle of Christ and therefore let him that glorieth glory in the Lord. 1 Cor. 1.31 Is there not a cause Especially if it he considered 1. What a heart thine was when the Spirit of the Lord first took it in hand how hard how stubborn how dead how obstinate how long was the light opposed that shined in darkness and the attempts of the Spirit frustrated how great were the resistances made by it against Grace and how many the strong holds of Satan which were pulled down to bring about the Conquest Think how often the Spirits motions were slighted his counsels set at nought his strivings resisted Think how often he knocked how loud he called before he could be heard think how much unbelief how many confederacies with corruption what strong lusts what enmity to God and holiness lay in the way to obstruct the Spirits design O what a mighty power did he put forth to make sin a burthen and to fasten his Fetters upon the soul without which thy resistances had never been conquered nor thy thoughts brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ 2 Cor. 10.5 And hast thou not cause to be thankful 2. How many miscarry under the same convictions which have issued in a sincere conversion to thy soul Many by their sights of sin and Hell have been driven into utter despair as Cain and Spira Many have laid violent hands on their own lives as Judas many have stifled and sinned away their convictions and thereby have provoked the Spirit finally to withdraw and give them up to hardness of heart many have mistaken their convictions for
close with Jesus Christ In conviction of sin the Soul is pursued with the avenger of blood and if he overtakes him he slays him there is no escaping but by fleeing to the City of refuge So Christ is called Heb. 6.18 the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 there used doth import two things 1 An apprehension and sense of impendent danger putting a man upon flight for deliverance lest the evil feared should overtake him 2 Speed and diligence in that flight to the place where he expects to find succour and safety And where is the place of safety for a sinner under guilt and pursued by the Curse of the Law and dread of the wrath of God but only in the Lord Jesus Christ Hence is that counsel of the Holy Ghost Turn ye to the strong hold ye prisoners of hope Zech. 9.12 O make haste to Jesus Christ so did Zacheus when Christ called him Luke 19.5 He made haste and came down and received him joyfully v. 6. You that are young and have had early strivings of the Spirit early convictions of sin see that ye improve them by an early seeking after Jesus Christ otherwise the Spirit may cease striving and depart and never return again thy convictions may die and never revive again thy day of Grace may be sinned away and then it can never be recalled again Other things a man may lose and recover them again He may lose his health and recover it again he may lose his estate and recover it again but if thy day of Grace be once lost thou canst never recover that again no not for any price thou canst not pray it back again nor weep it back again Esau's tears come too late Heb. 12.17 no sorrow no repentance will recover it and therefore blessed are they that have improved the Yoke of the Spirit into a saving union with Jesus Christ that by being made to feel the burden of sin and the weight of Gods wrath and so seeing their lost and undone state as in themselves have been outed of themselves and made willing to accept of Christ upon Gods conditions and in Gods season and so have believed in him to the saving of their Souls CHAP. V. The Doctrine laid down Christ hath his Yoke What it is The Nature and Properties of this Yoke Why the Commands of Christ are called a Yoke WHen I entred upon these words the last year on this occasion I told you of a threefold Yoke that it is good for a man to bear in his youth The Yoke of Affliction The Yoke of Conviction by the Spirit The Yoke of Subjection to Jesus Christ The Yoke of Affliction I have spoken to and shewed you the good of bearing that betimes I have also spoken of the Yoke of Conviction of sin and have shewed you that every one that would be saved must come under this Yoke of the Spirit and that this Yoke is necessary to prepare the Soul for the Yoke of Christ I now therefore am to speak of this Yoke And the Doctrine upon which I shall found my discourse shall be this Doct. That it is good for young ones to come under the Yoke of Christ betimes I shall speak to the Doctrine in these parts 1. That Jesus Christ hath his Yoke 2. Why are the Commands of Christ called a Yoke 3. Why is it the concernment of every one to take up the Yoke of Christ in his Youth 4. Remove some stumbling blocks out of the way of this duty 5. Bring home all to our selves by application 1. That Jesus Christ hath his Yoke For he is a King as well as a Priest and a Prophet As he redeemed us by his Blood so he rules us by his Power As he is a Priest upon his Throne Zech. 6.13 so he sits and rules upon his Throne And therefore in Revel 1.13 he is described as cloathed with a garment down to the foot and girt about the paps with a golden girdle These long garments were especially used by two sorts of persons Kings and Priests as you may see by comparing Isai 22.21 with Mark 12.38 So that it sets out his Dominion joyntly with his Satisfaction and Intercession These Offices are for ever united in Christ they may be distinguished but cannot be divided He is a Priest to none where he is not a King there can be no sharing in his Mercy but by submitting to his Authority The benefit of his Death and Blood is limited to the acknowledgment of his Scepter Where Christ cannot be a Head he will not be a help where he cannot rule he will not relieve where he can be no King he will be no Jesus Those mine enemies that would not that I should reign over them bring hither and slay them before me Luke 19.27 Slight his Power and you incur his displeasure reject his Authority and you become Traitors to his Crown and that is death without mercy He pardons none whom he doth not rule saves none that do not submit But here are two Questions 1. What is this Yoke of Christ 2. Why is it called a Yoke Quest 1. What is this Yoke of Christ Answ It consists of his Commands especially those Conditions which the Lord Christ puts upon every soul in order to the obtaining of that Salvation and Glory which he hath purchased For Christ hath not so purchased Salvation for any as that they should be saved meerly upon the account of his Death There were certain Terms and Conditions of Salvation agreed upon between the Father and the Son in that Covenant of Redemption that passed between them and none can be saved by all which Christ hath done and suffered but upon these Conditions and they are Self-denial Faith Repentance taking up the Cross Obedience all the necessary duties of Religion These are the unalterable Conditions of Life and Salvation and these Conditions of Salvation are the Yoke of Christ Take my yoke upon you Mat. 11.29 And this Yoke is variously expressed in Scripture sometimes it is called a Way The way of the Lord Prov. 10.29 The way of righteousness Prov. 8.20 The way of holiness Isai 35.8 The good old way Jer. 6.16 The way everlasting Psal 139.24 Sometimes it is called a Burden Mat. 11.30 Revel 2.24 Sometimes it is called a Rule Gal. 6.16 Phil. 3.16 But most commonly this Yoke is called a Law and so points to the Soveraignty of God over man in common with the rest of the Creatures For all Creatures that ever God made are under a Law The most glorious part of the Creation of God was the humane Nature of Christ and yet that was made in a state of subjection to a Law Made under the Law Gal. 4.4 The Scriptures speak of three Heavens the airy Heaven the starry Heaven and the third Heaven 2 Cor. 12.2 called the Heaven of heavens Deut. 10.14 and all the Creatures in each Heaven are under a Law Look into the Heaven of heavens there dwell the Angels
be not changed and made holy it is all in vain as to him because Christ dyed for sinners this many look upon as a good ground for hope but the question if put home must be this did Christ ever dye to save impenitent and unregenerate sinners did he dye to save such as flight him refuse his yoke and live and dye enemies to him if he did then hope on but if not then there is no hope Nay let me tell you it is out of the reach of Christs power to save any one of you in your lusts Mat. 1.21 He can save you from your sins but he cannot save you in your sins For 1. He can't falsify his trust God the father hath put the great work of Salvation and damnation into Christs hands And how is salvation carryed on but in pursuance of the election of God look how God chooses to Salvation and so Christ carries it on Now we are chosen that we should be holy Eph. 1.4 He hath chosen us through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience 1 Pet. 1.2 And therefore Christ will save none that are not sanctified for he came to do the will of God and he will not betray his trust 2. He cannot alter the standing law of Heaven and what is that it is the standing law of Heaven which the righteous God hath fixed more firm than the Sun in the Firmament and will never vary from it that a man must repent Luk. 13.2 and turn to Christ or perish He must be converted or he shall in no wise enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Matt. 18.3 He must take the yoke of Christ upon him Heb. 3.18 or he shall never find rest to his Soul Mat. 5.8 None but the pure in heart shall see God This is the standing law of Heaven and how then can the unbelieving and disobedient be saved either the law of Heaven must be reversed or sinners are eternally undone and will Christ who revealed this law to the world reverse it again to gratifie thy lusts 3. He can't make void his own offices Why hath God made him a King but to subdue sinners to himself to conquer the nolency of the will to set up his government and rule in the heart and to subdue and destroy the rebels He reigns that he may put all his enemies under his feet 1 Cor. 15.25 And if so what shall become of disobedient sinners can you think that this Melchizedek this King of Righteousness will ever countenance the impenitent and unbelieving will he take those to reign with him in his Kingdom of glory that would not that he should rule over them in the Kingdom of grace This were to violate the rights of his Crown which you cannot think he will do if you do but consider two Scriptures one is Luk. 19.27 Those mine enemies that would not that I should reign over them bring hither and slay them before me The other is in 2 Thes 1.7 8 9. The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty Angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power And how do you that slight Christ think to escape this sentence will not the judgment of the great day of the Lord be very terrible to all that live and dye in their lusts can you bear it Can thy heart indure or thy hand be made strong in the day that I shall deal with thee Ezek. 22.14 If not then be wise and flee from wrath to come and there is but one way and that is by closing with Jesus Christ and giving your selves up to an intire subjection to his yoke There is no way to escape wrath and secure eternal life but this You read of a strait gate Mat. 7.14 and a narrow way that leads to life The yoke of the spirit in conviction to conversion that is the strait gate and the yoke of Christ in holiness and obedience that is the narrow way and there is no other and as our Lord Christ sayes few there be that find it Is there any sinner here now that stands convinced of the necessity of undertaking this duty that you must take up Christs yoke or you must perish in your sins I hope you are and therefore I shall lay you down some directions to help and guide you in this work Take heed of mistaking the yoke of Christ Direct 1 Some will tell you it lies in this way of worship some in that as Christ sayes many will say lo here is Christ Mat. 24.23 and lo their is Christ believe them not Some will perswade you it lyes in ceremonious services and humane traditions but this is the yoke of men and not the yoke of Christ and therefore take heed of it If you would know which is the yoke of Christ you must be guided by the word of Christ for nothing is duty but what the word commands Some will tell you it lyes in Popery but this is the yoke of Antichrist And therefore you that are young ones take heed of this yoke for it is none of Christs It is a grievous yoke It binds you from the use of the Scriptures which are able to make you wise to Salvation It ties you up to worship God in an unknown tongue in a language you don't understand It ties you to make use of many Mediators whereas there is but one Mediator between God and man 1 Tim. 2.5 the man Christ Jesus It ties you to believe against your senses To believe that a blind sottish Priest can with a few words convert a wafer into the very body and blood of Christ and then you must believe it to be the very substance of Christ against Scripture against Reason and against Sense For though the Scripture calls it still bread and though you break bread and see bread and tast and eat bread yet you must believe it not to be bread It ties you to believe many abominable errors and false Doctrines as that of merit by works though Christ sayes when we have done all we must say we are unprofitable servants Luk. 17.10 And that of the infallibility of the Pope and his Supremacy over all Churches and Princes and that if he doth but excommunicate any Prince and pronounce him a Heretick it is lawful to murder him It is full of such abominable Doctrines Oh therefore never come under this yoke it is an idolatrous yoke a cruel bloody yoke a heavy intolerable yoke a yoke which neither we nor our fore-fathers were able to bear therefore they wisely cast it off and let us rather choose to dye then put it on again for it is none of the Yoke of Christ If you would resolve to take up Christs Direct 2 yoke then you must remove all hinderances
they be thus sinfully sleighted Thirdly It is a Duty to pray over what we hear and to beg success upon the Word for the ends whereto God sends it And is not this in the power of every natural man There is no man of reason but hath praying abilities many indeed have their excuses they cannot pray but this is but to shift off Duty and to excuse one sin by another You never saw a hungry Beggar but could pray nor a Child of five years old but when the Rod is at his Back can pray and cannot the Sinner cry to God When you go to hear can you not pray that God would open your eyes to see the wonders of his Law Psal 119.18 Cannot you beg of God that the Word may take hold of your heart and pull down all the strong Holds there Can you not plead with him that he would send his Spirit to accompany the Word to your heart that sin may be discovered and your hard heart broken and that you may be made to see the need of Christ and so brought to believe in him for pardon and salvation These are no other than what every natural man hath power to perform by the same assistance with which he lives and moves and who knows what God may do in a way of Grace and mercy when the Sinner is found thus doing I do not dare not say with the Papists and Arminians That if we use our natural power to do our utmost God is bound ex congruo to give Grace but yet this I may say That such is the goodness of God that he seldom if ever fails to give Grace to that man that doth to the utmost of his abilities in the use of means endeavour to obtain it nor had ever any cause to complain upon this account And therefore let young ones hearken to this counsel and as you love your souls do what in you lyes in the use of all Gods appointed means to come under the Spirits Yoke For consider First You can never be brought from under the Yoke of sin and lust but by coming under this Yoke Till you are weary of sin you will never forsake it and you will never be weary of sin till the Spirit of bondage hath made it a burthen to you Secondly You can never see the need you have of Jesus Christ till you are brought under the Yoke of the Spirit and till you do see your need of him you will never hunger nor thirst after him and so you will be excluded from all benefit by his righteousness and then you must perish For the Scripture discovers no way of escaping wrath to come but by being convinced by the Holy Ghost first of sin and then of righteousness Thirdly You can never take upon you Christ's Yoke which is the great command of the Gospel Matth. 11.29 unless you have been first under this There is as I said before the Yoke of the Spirit and the Yoke of Christ the Yoke of the Spirit is in conviction of sin the Yoke of Christ is in obedience and the one is preparatory to the other you can never submit to Christs Yoke until the Spirits Yoke have fitted the neck to it and so it becomes easie My Yoke is easie Matth. 11.30 It is not easie to the sinner that is at ease but to the weary soul it is Then any Yoke but the Yoke of lust any burthen to be delivered from the burthen of sin and guilt But who will walk in the narrow way that never entred in at the strait Gate Who will account subjection to Christ freedom until he hath first been wearied under the slavery of sins Dominion And this is a fruit of the convincing work of the Spirit And will you not come under his Yoke But when It must be done out of hand delay in this matter is very dangerous 1. In regard of the indisposition it works unto The longer sin hath possession the more it will strengthen it self and harden the heart against conviction and the harder the heart the greater the danger for growing hardness improves it self into a judgment Hardness persisted in provokes to hardening 2. In regard of the uncertainty of our duration Who knows how few hours there are between him and eternity You that refuse the Yoke of the Spirit as a work fit for riper years 'pray what security have you for the number of your years Hath God said you shall not dye next sickness or next Voyage to Sea or the next time you go to Bed or walk abroad An hundred dye young to one that lives long and is it not then an hundred to one but you may And how if you should dye in an unconvinced and unconverted state Consider what your eternal condition must then be O be willing therefore to come under this Yoke of the Spirit betimes 3. Here 's matter of instruction to such as are at present under the Spirits Yoke made sensible of sin and of their lost state and cry out of Hell and wrath c. First Take heed of discouragement To mourn under this condition that is a duty but to be discouraged and despond that is a sin For it obstructs the soul in that which is its duty it benumns and weakens the workking hand The Spirit of the Lord hath no hand in this he sets sin home upon the heart to humble us and break us and lay us low but not to bring us to discouragement and despair unless it be in our selves and therefore that is the print of the Devils foot It is one of his subtilties to rivet his temptations into our convictions When the Spirit of the Lord discovers sin in its guilt and filth to out us of our selves and shew us our need of mercy then he labours to sink us down under the despair of mercy therefore let not thy sense of sin cause thee to draw false Conclusions which in this Case is too common For though thy Case be dark it is not desperate though it is uncomfortable it is not incurable though it is sad yet it is not singular For First This is the way of God with all Sinners to whom he hath a purpose to shew mercy The Wilderness is the way to the Land of promise I will allure her and bring her into the Wilderness and there speak comfortably to her Hos 2.14 Secondly This lays thee under the Promise For that promises are not made to Sinners in their sins but to Sinners made sensible of their sins so that though thou art a Prisoner in a Pit where there is no water Ezek. 9.11 yet thou art a Prisoner of hope ver 12. God invites such as thou art the tenders of Christ and Grace have a peculiar respect to thy condition Thirdly This is that which prepares the way of the Lord into the heart He comes not till the mountains be laid low Luke 3.4 5. and the way prepared for him and nothing doth this
all that see their need and trust to his supplies And therefore it is all the reason in the world we should obey his Call and take up his Yoke who injoyns no obedience but what he gives strength and power to perform Fifthly It is he into whose hand the Judgment of the World is committed he is ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead Acts 10.42 And this is what you all profess to believe you say in your Creed that he is ascended into heaven and from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead and it is so for the Father hath committed all judgment to the Son John 5.22 He it is who disposes of all persons to their eternal condition the power of life and death salvation and damnation is in his hand He is the Husbandman who appoints the reapers to gather the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them but to gather the wheat into his barn Mat. 13.30 He is the Bridegroom who takes the wise Virgins in with him to the marriage but excludes the foolish Mat. 25.10 Mat. 25.14 He is the man who travelling into a far Country delivered his goods to his servants to one five talents v. 15. to another two to another one v. 19. and after a long time comes againe and reckons with them blessing and rewarding the diligence of the faithful v. 21. v. 31. and dooming the unprofitable servant into utter darkness And is there not great reason then why every one should take up his Yoke especially considering that it is made up of those Laws that are the rules both of his Government and of his Judgment as he rules by them so he will pass Sentence by them the same Laws that are now given by Christ for a rule of life shall then be the rule of Judgment Our Lord Christ tells you so John 12.48 He that rejecteth me and receiveth not my words hath one that judgeth him the words that I have spoken the same shall judge him in the last day If you will not submit to his word to guide you you must submit to it to try you you may decline his Precepts but you cannot decline his Sentence You will not obey him when he says Mat. 16.24 Follow me but you cannot resist him when he says Depart from me It is most rational therefore you should submit to his Precepts Mat. 7.23 or ye can't escape his wrath Psal 2.12 3. God the Holy Spirit he calls for thy obedience and for an early submission to the Yoke of Christ and therefore it is that he begins his work in the Soul betimes I know not nor is it for me to say how early but certainly it is very early There are none of you of any competent age but the Spirit of the Lord hath been dealing with you to bring you under the Yoke of Christ * Among such as are religiously educated there is scarce a child of ten years old but the holy Spirit hath been at work in his heart Increase Mather in his Book about Conversion pag. 134. The Gospel is the ministration of the Spirit 2 Cor. 3.8 and the Call of the Gospel is accompanied with a work of the Spirit where the Gospel calls outwardly the Spirit calls inwardly and this is the highest way of Gods calling There is no work of God beyond the striving of the Spirit in the heart and doubtless the Spirit strives less or more with all under the word He cannot be said to strive with all in the same manner nor in all with equal power and efficacy for then all would as well be brought under Christs Yoke as those that are But that he strives with all in one degree or other is evident For whence is it that many are under such frequent and strong convictions and that they are made to see sin and feel the burden of it convinced of their undone condition under it convinced of the necessity and equity of obedience and a holy life it is from the striving of the Spirit And whence is it that many are brought to take up the Yoke of Christ formally and feignedly that have no work of sound conversion wrought in their hearts So did the stony ground hearer he hears the word Mat. 13.20 and receives it and what is the receiving it but conforming to it So did Simon Magus Acts 8.13 he believed and was baptized and so came under the Yoke of Christ And whence is this but from the power of the Spirit put forth to convince of sin and of the equity of the ways of Christ This doth it Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves to thee Psal 66.3 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mentientur in te Arias Mont. virtus nolentium nulla est The word which we render submit signifies in the Hebrew to lye Your Margent reads it feigned obedience and to feign obedience when the heart is not right with God is a lye And whence is it that many are wearied out of their lusts and brought to a free and willing submission to Christ and his Yoke but from the irresistible power of the Spirit Acts 7.51 And whence is it that many do resist the Spirit of Grace How could he be resisted if he did not put forth his power and strive with the sinner Resistance is a forcible opposition made by one against another in his onsets and attempts So that it is most evident that the Spirit of the Lord strives with all to bring them under the Yoke of Christ at one time or other Now I pray do but consider what reason there is for your compliance with the Spirit herein First Consider what his work and design is It is to prepare the way of the Lord into the heart to break the Yoke of sin to destroy that confederacy with corruption which will be the ruine of thy Soul and so to captivate the heart to the obedience of Christ Whatever means he uses this is the end he pursues If he wound us if he break us if he empty and out us of our selves it is but to bring us to a more ready and free subjection to the Laws of Christ Wounds of Conscience are painful things and spiritual troubles are grievous troubles the burden of sin is a heavy burden but so long as these things are under the management of the Spirit as instrumental to a ready obedience to the Lord Christ there is all the reason in the world why you should undergo them Secondly Let it be considered how uncertain his striving is you don't know how long or how little while it will last He begins betimes but you know not how soon he may have done If you refuse his calls and repulse him when he knocks you have no promise he will knock again To be sure the more you resist him the sooner you quench him and where he is once utterly
service and subjection therefore call'd Ministring Spirits Heb. 1.14 and said to do his Commandments Psal 103.20 The Angel sayes to John Rev. 22.9 I am thy fellow-servant and of them which keep the sayings of this book So that the highest liberty is consistent with the service of God therefore David puts them together I will walk at liberty Ps 119.45 for I seek thy Precepts Many decline the ways of God and cleave fast to their Lusts for the sake of liberty Whereas it is the greatest slavery in the world to serve sin the little finger of lust is heavyer then the whole loyns of Christ Nothing makes a man such a slave as sin He that lives in the love and service and injoyment of God hath the truest freedom But every sinner is a vassal to lust at the command of every unclean motion Is not he a slave that is at the will and command of Satan That is moved and acted by Satan in his whole course You pity men made slaves by the Turks laid in chains condemned to the Gallyes grinding in Mills broken with burdens drub'd and beat after all I tell you it is an eligible condition to this Nay sin doth not only make a man a slave but a bruit for it bereaves him of all reason and judgment their is no judgment in their goings Isa 59.8 2. This finding rest under the yoke of Christ implyes an easiness in his service And so it follows Matt. 11.29 30. Ye shall find rest for my yoke is easy and my burden is light A Believer in the ways of obedience hath those aids of God those divine quickenings those daily supplyes of the Spirit that Communion with God in all that no duty is difficult or burdensome 3. This finding rest to your souls implyes an after good by your present obedience There remains a rest for the people of God Heb. 4.9 The service of sin is best at first and worst at last Sin in the temptation is taking but sin in the conclusion is vexing It is sweet in the mouth but bitter in the belly Satan shews the pleasure and profit of sin to insnare you and then comes the guilt of sin to torment you But now the service of Christ is worst at first and best at last All the difficulty is in the beginning but the end is peace Psal 37.37 4. This finding rest implyes an end of your service and duty as it is labour So sayes the Holy Ghost Blessed are the dead that dye in the Lord Rev. 14.13 for they rest from their labour your yoke shall be put off then But when shall the vassalage of sin end This is such a yoke as shall never be put off an everlasting servitude The sinner goes from a present slavery to a worse His present condition is servile but hereafter it will be dreadful First chains of Lust then chains of death and at last chains of darkness Jude 6. The sinner lyes in yokes and chains for ever for what is guilt of Conscience This is a chain that binds wrath upon the soul for ever He shall be holden with the cords of his own sins Prov. 5.22 What is utter despair This is another Chain the sinner is held in What is Gods power that is another chain And what is the everlasting sentence Mat. 25.41 go ye cursed into everlasting fire He is an Eternal Prisoner there God shuts him up and there can be no opening Job 12.14 He hath the Keys of Hell and Death Rev. 1.18 and who can get them out of his hand O what an everlasting slavery doth sin bring upon the soul Will you therefore hearken to the counsel of Christ and take his Yoke upon you 1. Consider How reasonable a thing this is For 1. God commands nothing that is unsuitable to our reason Look upon this Yoke in such duties as refer more immediately to God Either in External Worship or Internal 1. In External Worship As Prayer how reasonable is it that an indigent creature should go to God for what he wants seeing he can't support himself let him go to him that can Hearing how reasonable it is that if God be to be obeyed and this obedience is not to be by the creatures arbitrement but by Gods precept that then I should labour to know what Revelation he hath made of this 2. Look on Internal Worship Faith How reasonable is it that he who is the Eternal Truth should have credence in all the discoveries of his will and that I should trust him upon the credit of his promise Love It is the most reasonable thing in the world I should love God because he is the chief good and because he is always doing me good Gods love to us comes under no reason but what is in himself but our love to God is founded in the greatest reason 1 Joh. 4.19 we love him because he first loved us The fear of God how rational a duty is it he being the highest Lord and his supremacy absolute He is great and therefore greatly to be feared Look upon the most difficult dutyes Repentance Self-denyal Mortification of lusts c. These may be troublesome to the flesh but not unreasonable What more equal than that I should do whatever God would have me do how contrary soever to flesh and blood and the dictates of a carnal mind 2. He commands nothing that is prejudicial to our interest The end of every Precept is our felicity both our spiritual and eternal good are promoted by it And is there any thing more reasonable then that a man should persue his own good 3. He commands nothing but what answers the end of our being The end though last in execution is first in intention Now what is the great end of your being young ones what do you do in the world let me say as God said to Elijah what make you here What do you think God gave you being for was it to please the flesh to suck the sweet of the creatures to pass away your years in mirth and jollity to live to your selves Hath an immortal soul no other end of being but this Surely yes as God is the Fountain of being so his glory should be the end of being You are come into this world to make provision for another to avoid the snares of death and lay hold on Eternal Life To walk so before God here as that you may secure his favour for ever This is the great end of being and how reasonable is it that every man should attend to that which he was born for and came into the world for Or else the being of man is in vain as David expostulates the case Psal 89.47 Wherefore hast thou made all men in vain 2. Consider the great advantage that comes by this and that whatever your condition be Suppose your extract be mean that you are a branch of a poor Family What an advantage will your subjection to Christ