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

much evil And so that other place in Job that I named about the Souls behavior before God when he saw the Glory of God In Job 42. 5. I have h●ard of thee by the hearing of the Ear but now mine Eyes see thee wherefore I abhor my self in dust and ashes this is the work of an humble heart to loath and abhor it self before the Lord. 6. The behavior of a Lowly heart in respect of it self it is to judg it selfe judgeth it self First Unworthy of any imployment unworthy of any service that ever God should imploy him in So you have it in that of Gideon in Judges 6. 15. when the Lord had revealed to Gideon what imployment he would use him in Who am I saith he or my Fathers House He judgeth himself unworthy of any such imployment one lowly in Heart doth think it a great mercy of God to be imployed in any work it judgeth it self unworthy of su●h a mercy as this May be you may think that God should be beholding to you to imploy you in any work or service for him but if your heart were Lowly you would judg your selves unworthy to be imployed in any work of God Secondly It judgeth it self unworthy of the least of the Creatures of God I am less then the least of all thy mercies saith Jacob unworthy of the to bread that it Eates and the Air that it breathes in it doth not think much that it hath not what others have but judgeth it self before God unworthy of what it hath acknowledging that it hath forfeited all the comforts that God hath vouchsafed to it Yea Thirdly It is ready to charge it self with any evil even that which comes in somtimes by temptation an humble heart is ready charge it self to be the only cause of it as other men Hipocrites they are ready to charge temptation with what comes from their own corruption So an humble heart rather chargeth its own corruption with what comes from temptation You shal have vaine and carnal Spirits think to excuse the evil that comes from them with this the Devil tempted them this was a temptation the strength and violence of a temptation and they were led to it by the Devil and so judg the Devil for it and not themselves whereas the truth is it was not thy temptation so much as thy corruption the heart that is lowly and humble chargeth himself with all this is my corruption this is my wretched and wicked heart it is true the Devil might tempt me but were it not for my corruption the Devil could never prevaile Yea Lastly It judgeth it self worthy to be destroyed So that place in Ezek. 36 31. Whereas some Books have it You shall loath your selves The old Translation hath it And shall judg your selves worthy to be destroyed A Lowly heart is willing to pass sentence upon it self to accuse it self before the Lord and therefore passeth the sentence of eternal death upon it self so as to justifie God God is clear when he judgeth whatever the judgment of God is against the sin that I have committed I joyn with it I close with the judgment and I judg my self as God doth judg in his word it takes the sentence of Gods word and laies it to it self and judgeth it self If you judg your selves you shall not be judged saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 11. 32. This is the work of a Lowly Spirit it judgeth it self before the Lord. That is the Sixth Seventhly An Humble Spirit denies it self First It denies its own Reason if the truth of God be revealed in his word he wil not set his own Reason against the evidence of the truth but though I cannot see a Reason of what is in the word it is fit that I should yeild to what the Lord reveales in his wodr it is willing to deny his Reason in matters of Faith and there is a great deal in this and a special ground why the Lord batters the Heart of sinners many times it is to bring them down to deny their own reason So I remember Luther hath a speech concerning Reason in matters of Faith Reason it is a most bitter enemy to God and of Faith he means unsanctified Reason now an humble heart can deny its own Reason Yea Secondly He is much in denyal of his own will though my will be set strong to have such and such a thing yet what great matter is it saith a Lowly heart for the will of such a wretched Creature as I am to be crossed What if my will be crossed and that for ever I that have been guilty of crossing God so much an humble heart never thinks much to have its will to be crossed whereas there is nothing more todious and grievous to a proud Spirit then to have its will crossed but now when we can get that power over our selves as to be willing to deny our own wils then our hearts are indeed broken and we are brought to be lowly in heart before the Lord the heart of a sinner is never broken and humble til it can deny its own will many of you would know when you are humble enough if you find this that whereas before you thought it very much to have your wils crossed you find now that it is a very little matter to you to have your wills crossed this is a sign that your heart is humble And Thirdly An Humble spirit can deny his own ends whatever my ends were wont to be what plottings contrivings what designes I was wont to aime at now I find I can deny them I can renounce mine own ends and am not for my self an humble Spirit is not a selfish Spirit not aiming at his own ends Yea Further An humble heart can deny its own lawful contentments for God even those things that are in themselves lawful contentments that it might have much liberty in yet if I see that God may have more honor by my being abridged of such lawful contentments and my Brethren may have more good I am willing to deny my self in them to let them go it is not fit I should look after my self such a wretched Creature as I am that might have been in Hell long ago it is not so much for me to look at my self but if God may have any Glory and my Brethren any good I am willing to deny my own lawfull contentments so that an humble Spirit denies not only its sinful self but its lawful self denies all its own excellencies whatever they be willing that they should be buried denies his own honor cares not for his own disgrace I have been perhaps of such an opinion and if I should alter I should be dishonored and disgraced but if the truth of God may come up let my honor lie in the dust let the truth of God be advanced he is willing to deny himself This is the behavior of a lowly Spirit in regard of it self it doth deny it self and that is

that God should be glorified in his own way this is hard now let this and the other fal out I but yet saith a Lowly heart it is fit God should have his Glory which way he pleaseth and therefore he is not troubled Fifthly Humility brings a great deal of quiet because it freeth us from opposition or if it come it makes us yeild to the opposition it freeth us from opposition of men for so I told you in the opening of it an humble heart is afraid to give any offence and so it is not likely that others will offend him but if opposition do come a Lowly heart yeilds to it and when there is a yeilding in time of opposition when a blustring wind comes yet if there be a yeilding to it it doth no great hurt and so the heart that yeilds to opposition it hath quiet and Rest Sixthly Humility brings a great deal of quiet because it makes us rejoyce in the prosperity of others the great trouble and disquiet of the spirits of men in the world is that others are above them now an humble heart blesseth God that any are above it Seventhly An humble heart is under a great many of promises and there must needs be Rest and quiet to that Soul Eightly All crosses are smal to an humble Soul because he is smal in his own Eyes according to what proportion a man bears to his own Eye so his crosses are if his Crosses be great in his own eye then they are great crosses to him and therefore you account your afflictions great if you account your affliction in your own Eye I but now if you were smal in your own Eyes you would count your afflictions smaller But we cannot open the particulars of these except we go further in the opening of the Grace of humility and therefore as ever you would have Rest and quiet in these troublesome and restless times labor for humble and quiet spirits CHAP. CXXXI Exhortation to humility with five several means to get it 1. Labor to see the Excellency of it 2. Convince the Soul of its emptiness 3. Get the knowledg of God 4. Of Christ 5. Of our selves NOw then we come to the Use and Application some time might be spent in speaking about Examination to shew whether we are humble or not and then to shew the difference between being humble and humbled many are humbled by affliction brought low or by Terror Tormented but their hearts are not humble there is a great deal of difference between Humiliation and Humility but I shal refer that as a seasonable point to be handled at another time Certainly God hath made many people to be humbled and yet not humble in their Spirits And then another use may be to humble our Souls for the want of humility and indeed that is a good Humiliation to be humble for the want of humility to be humbled for our pride is an argument of the truth of humility as much as any thing whatsoever and certainly if I should go back and open the Particulars of the behavior of an humble Soul towards God its self and others Certainly never a Man and Woman but may lay his hand upon his Mouth and say Lord have mercy upon me how have I failed in the behavior of my spirit towards God my self and others Lord my heart hath not answered to that that hath been spoken in the word the truth is the best of us all have cause to be humbled before God because they are not humble as they ought To be proud of heart one compares it to an Onion that if you pill off one part of it there is another pil afterwards pill off that and there is another still and another and another til you come to the end so when there is some pride take off one and under that pride there lies more take off that and under it there lies more and take off that and under it lies more continually more and more pride there lies in the heart of Men and Women and that man and woman that thinks they have not proud hearts I dare challenge them in the Name of God that they have proud hearts As John saith 1 John 1. and last vers If we say we have not sin we Lie so if we say we have not pride it is an evident Argument we Lie and it is an evident Argument we have pride Pride is like the Garment the first that is put on and the last that is put off and it is that that the heart sticks more in then any thing else and therefore Christ saith of his Disciples that were humbled they denyed al for Christ and yet mark what Christ saith concerning them In Matth. 18. There they inquired who should be greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven Jesus takes a little Child and sets him in the midst of them and saith Verily Verily I say unto you except ye be converted and become as little Children ye shal not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Now were not they become as little Children Had not they humility They were gracious and godly I but this is true of one that is gracious and humble he hath a great deal of pride stil and he had need be converted and become as little Children to be humbled more and more It is an excellent frame of Spirit that we read of in Hezekiah he had an humble Spirit and yet lifted up in Pride yet mark what the Text saith in 2 Chron. 32. 25. 26. Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the Pride of his heart it is said in ver 25. But Hezekiah rendred not according to the benefit done to him for his heart was lifted up Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the Pride of his heart It is true the best of all have Pride in their hearts But can you say I have humbled my self for the Pride of my heart that you are jealous of your own hearts You are afraid of the Pride of your hearts and you watch over your hearts that upon the first stirring of your heart you labor to keep it down that you find your heart humbled for your Pride if you have this you have that that an Hypocrite hath not the least of either to be jealous over his heart or to keep down his heart or to watch over his heart or to observe the stirrings of his heart An Hypocrite hath not the least of this Now if you find this perhaps you find temptation prevails with you to commit a great sin for that you are humble and to neglect your Duty for that you are humble I but are you humbled for the Pride of your own hearts when you can charge your Souls for the Pride of your hearts between God and your Soul when you can search your heart and find it out and go lament it in the bitterness of your heart this is a good sign Perhaps when the pride of your heart breaks out and shames you before

from thence the word comes My Burden is light The meaning in the original is this it is such a light burden as man may have it upon him and dance with it leap and dance have joy and delight with this burden upon their back● other burdens presseth down makes a man go heavily but this burden is so light that those that have it on it makes their hearts light and easie that they can go and skip and dance with this burden upon them that is the word in the originall we have not a word in the English to express it thus and the word that you have in 2 Pet. 1. 5. hath some likeness to that that Christ means Add to your Faith Virtue and to Virtue Knowledg and to Knowledg Temperance and to Temperance Patience and to Patience Godliness and so multiplies particulars And now the word is in the originall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to lead in the dance and these virtues one to another it is true it signifies the ministring of the supplies that Members have from the Head only in your English it is said Add to your Faith Virtue it either signifies the ministring of the Head to the Members that which the Members receive by the ministring of the Head and so ●t is proper there that all the virtues we have they are but added one to another from the virtue that is ministred from Christ our Head to us Members Or else the word signifies to lead in a dance as first one goes and the other follows so Faith goes first and that leads on the other it signifies the delightfulness in Christianity when Faith goes before and al the other virtues coming after there is a delightfulness in all the waies of Godliness and Christianity and in the excercising of Virtues That for the meaning of the word My Burden is light such a Burden as will make the heart light and that one may have a Burden on and go lightly and skipping as if he had none Only one thing more for the opening of the words My Yoke is easie and my Burden is light I confess these two expressions many make but all one Yoke and Burden and others think there is a little difference tha● by Yoke is meant what Jesus Christ requires of us in the Gospel to do and by Burden is meant what we are required in the Gospel to suffer both active and passive obedience the coming under the rule and government of Christ in the Gospel that is a Yoke I but it is a very gentle Yoke and so when we come under the obedience of Christ to be professors of the Gospel we must expect to suffer much and bear great Burdens of affliction in the world I but saith Christ these Burdens of afflictions if they come and persecute you never so much here you shall find them but light burdens all that I require of you to do shall be easie and all that I require of you to suffer shall be light So that from hence we have this Point of Doctrine for I shal not handle them asunder but put them both together CHAP. CXXXIIII Doct. The way of the Gospel that brings to Heaven is an easie way This confirmed and explained in Six particulars DOCT. THat whatsoever Jesus Christ requires of us either in doing or in suffering it is very easie and very light The way of the Gospel that brings to Heaven is an easie way That is the Point And when we name it I suppose it will seem one of the strangest points that ever was preached or that you have heard of That the way of the Gospel to bring People to Heaven is an easie way it seems contrary to other Scriptures Strive to enter in at the straight Gate for straight is the Gate and narrow is the way that leads to life and few there be that find it and Ministers tel us the way to Heaven is a very difficult way and many times it is made an evidence of men that are but carnal and have not the power of Godliness in them that they find so much ease in their way I suppose these you have heard of Well before we have done with the Point we shall reconcile all these things only for the present seeing they are the words of Christ we must yeild them to have a truth in them That the Yoke of Christ whatever it is that Christ would have us submit unto it is easie whatever Burden he would have us bear in this world it is a light Burden Let all those that are continually complaining of the difficulties that lie in the waies of Godliness take notice of this Point many there are that make it their Religion to be continually complaining of difficulties that there are in Gods waies as if by that they would shew that they saw somewhat and felt somewhat more than others did and are never in waies of thanksgiving or in waies of rejoycing but alwaies complaining of the waies of God and what difficulties they find in them let them take notice that whatever thy thoughts have been heretofore or what thy Speeches have been about them yet Jesus Christ himself saith that his Yoke is easie and of his Burden that it is light Now therefore First I shall confirm it by Scriptures and then come to branch it into several particulars for the opening of it For Scriptures take these three the first is in Psal 119. 44 45. So shall I keep thy Law continually for ever and ever and I will walk at liberty for I seek thy Precepts The Soul that doth truly seek Gods precepts to be under the command of the precepts of God such a one walks at liberty never hath so much liberty as at that time when he seeks Gods precepts You may think that to be under the command of the word and especially that in seeking the commands of the Lord it will bring you into bondage There is no such liberty in the world as being under the command of God and seeking the commands of the word And then in Prov. 15. 19. The way of the slothfull is as a hedg of Thorns that is there is a great deal of difficulty in the way of the slothful now this is an opposition to the waies of the s●othfull But the way of the righteous is plain there is no such difficulty in his way a righteous mans way to Heaven it is a plain way a plain path he may go in it with ease it is not a rigid way it is not a stony way a thorny way but it is a plain way that a man may go easie there Now if you be walking in any place from Town to Town if you walk in a place where is plain way in the fields it is easie all the while Now you go to the City and you walk in the fields it is plain it is easie but when you come upon stones it is more difficult So it is here The way of the righteous is plain

what is it that is in thee amiss What is it that thou wouldest fain have the word come close unto to help thee against What is the speciall corruption thou wouldest have the word to mortifie in thee If now you set your selves before you come to the word to examin your hearts and when you are there to attend to the word as that which is your life upon which your eternall estate depends and so to sanctifie the name of God in his word and not to dare to cast off any truth knowing that your Soul may lie upon that very truth and to drink in the word of God in every thing that is revealed according to Gods mind this will be a very hard thing you will complain of almost an intolerable Burden But now a gracious heart finds more ease when it Sanctifies God in the power of Godliness in hearing the word than in a formall Duty Alas when such a one comes in a formall way and goes away and gets nothing such a one is troubled at such a Sermon it brings more Burden and grief to such a heart to come to the word and not find profit by the word than any other thing can do almost nothing can be more difficult than this You find no difference you come to the word and you get nothing and you go away with as much comfort as at other times it is as easie to you but now a Gracious heart cannot find ease except he finds Christ in the Duty but you can find ease in holy Duties though you never find Jesus Christ in holy Duties I appeal to you if this thing God would be pleased to settle upon the hearts of Men and Women it might be a very great settlement to their hearts you perform holy Duties What is the ease in holy Duties meerly the performance of the Duty but now if your ease were that which is the ease of a true Gracious heart it comes from the meeting with Jesus Christ in holy Duties And so for the Sabboth how easie is it to keep the Sabboth to do as the most it is easie Why Because you do not now work in your calling as other daies you do and you put on your best Cloaths and come and meet with your Neighbors and so you come to Church and home again and have better fare at your Tables than other daies and somtimes walk up and down the Fields this is easie But now the Saints find the ease of the Sabboth to be this that whereas upon the week day I am busied about other things and so have not that immediate Communion with Jesus Christ as at other times now upon the Sabboth my Soul comes to enjoy more immediate communion with Jesus Christ when I awake I am put upon it more to mind spirituall things to prepare my heart for him And now this whol day is dedicated for my converse with Jesus Christ and it is no more to me but the very Type and forerunner of that eternall Sabboth that I hope to enjoy in the highest Heavens hereafter and so it is easie to me Now methinks whatever trouble I have in the week time in my business in my calling the Sabboth day that refresheth me again and makes me fit for my calling and my heart that was so perplexed with outward crosses and with the troubles of the world that did so dead and dul my Spirit the Sabboth quickens me again and adds new strength again for I have found Christ refreshing my Soul Now is there not a wide difference between the ease of a carnall heart and a Gracious heart in holy Duties The one meerly mistakes the Yoke of Christ And so for the Sacrament It is an easie thing for a man to come in his best Cloaths and take a piece of Bread and a cup of Wine but he knows not what is the power of Godliness in such a holy Duty he thinks that the outward coming to the Sacrament makes amends for all though he hath been a wicked carnall wretch the week before now if he comes to the Sacrament the meer performing the Duty that makes amends though there be no preparation before no spiritualness in the Sacrament no discerning of the Body of Jesus Christ and the Mysteries of Jesus Christ no closing of his heart with Jesus Christ in the Sacrament no engaging his Soul to God no renewing his Covenant with God as he comes to receive the Seal of Gods Covenant with him no such things But now a Gracious heart cannot find ease in taking the Sacrament except it find Christ the ease it hath in the Sacrament it is in preparing the Soul for communion with Jesus Christ it is in the exercise of Faith and repentance the more Faith is exercised and the more Repentance exercised the more the heart is broken in the Sacrament the more ease a man hath and the more he gets his heart engaged to God in the Sacrament and the more he hath renewed his Covenant the more ease he hath I when a man can go to the Sacrament and do this O! this is a good day indeed And indeed this I am speaking upon is as great a point of Religion for the helping of you to know the frame disposition of your hearts how things stand between God and your Souls as any thing I know What it is in holy Duties that brings most ease to your Souls whether it be the bare externall performance of them or the spirituall performance of them is the power of Godliness in them that holy Duties for the matter of them cannot satisfie your heart except you find your hearts sanctified by them and Gods name sanctified ●n them that is the second note of difference between the ease a carnall heart finds in the waies of God and the ease a gracious heart finds CHAP. CXXXVII Containeth a third and fourth Difierence between the ease of a Hypocrite and true Beleever in the waies of God For 1. They are easie even to the Corruptions of a Hypocrite 2. He takes up the waies God partially THirdly Another Difference is this The ease a carnall heart finds it may not only stand with the ease under the Yoke of sin to the Flesh but the truth is even the Duties of Religion are easie to their corruptions to their very corruptions not only may stand with their corrupt waies but are easie to the very corruption it self to the very sinfull distemper of their hearts this is a very evill and vile ease for to perform holy Duties so as to be easie to the very flesh to the fleshly part Indeed the Yoke of Christ is easie unto the Saints but it is not easie unto the flesh I mean to the corrupt part it is not easie to that I but the waies of Religion to carnall hearts is easie to their very corruption to their corrupt part For First There is agreement enough between any Duty they perform and their secret sins they can