Christ Inviting Sinners to Come to Him for Rest, Treatise · Chapter 13
CHAP. XIII.
In what reſpects Corruption is a Burden▪ 1. In that our Nature is oppoſite unto the very Nature of God. 2. It preſſeth down every holy Duty. 3. It affords matter for any Temptation. 4. It hath a Root from whence al kind of ſin may ſpring. 5. It dampeth all the activity of our Graces.
THe third thing is to ſhew that Corruption is a Burden to them.
I.
Firſt, For the corrupt Nature that is in them, beſides the act of ſin, this muſt needs be a burden to the godly, to think I have a Nature contrary to God, to think now and then that they ſin againſt God, this is not the burden, but here's the burden, Oh! Wretched man and Woman that I am, I have a Nature in me that is oppoſite to the very Nature of God, to the infinite holineſs of God himſelf, though God hath made me partaker of the divine Nature, yet ſtil I continue to be oppoſit to the Nature of God it ſelf.
II.
Secondly, This is that which is as a heavy weight that preſſeth them down in every holy Duty, ſo in that 12. of the Hebrews, Wherefore ſeeing we alſo are compaſſed about with ſo great a cloud of witneſſes, let us lay aſide every weight, and the ſin which doth ſo eaſily beſet us, and let us run with patience the Race that is ſet before us. He ſpeaks here of original ſin, the ſin of our Nature eſpecially, it is a weight that lies upon our hearts in the performance of holy Duties, when we are ſtriving to get our hearts up to God. This corruption of Nature keeps them down. I remember the ſtory of that good man, that going abroad ſaw a Bird fluttering up, and when it had got up, it fel down again, and then it would flutter up, and then come down again, and he looking wiſhtly upon it, ſaw a ſtone tied to the Birds Leg, and upon that the good man begins to weep, juſt ſo, ſaith he, it is with me, I would fain get up to God, fain would have communion with God, and ſomtimes I am getting up to God, but ſtraightway there is a weight that puls me down. Do not you find it thus? You that are converſant with God; you that get ſomtimes alone in Duty to God, and you would fain have your hearts raiſed to God, but how are your Hearts brought down again, and not only in theſe private Duties, but after publick Duties, a day of faſting and Humiliation ſomtimes, Oh at night your Hearts are up, and now you reſolve you wil Live above the World. And above al theſe things here below, and you wil live more to Gods Glory, but how are your Hearts brought down again by this corrupt Nature that is in you.
III.
Thirdly, Corrupt Nature is a burden, becauſe it affords matter for any temptation in the World, there is no temptation to any kind of ſin, but our Nature affords matter for al kind of temptation, what a burden is this, if a ſhip be on fire in the midſt of other ſhips, and we know that there is a great deal of Gun-pouder in the ſhip that is on fire in the midſt of the Reſt, would not he that oweth the ſhip be afraid, and wil he not toyle and uſe al means he can that the fire may not take hold of the Gun-pouder, I compare all the temptations to ſin about us unto the fire, now we are compaſſed about with the fire and what are our Hearts in them, there is matter for the temptation to take upon; as the Gun-pouder is matter for the fire to take hold of, ſo our ſinful Hearts are as ready to take upon every temptation as that is; now is not this a great Burden? That I ſhould carry about me in my Heart matter enough to entertain al ſin, any ſin in the World, yea the ſin of Blaſphemy againſt the Holy Ghoſt, if I had not the mighty power of God to reſtrain me, thus it is with the ſinful Nature of man.
IV.
Fourthly, The ſinfulneſs of our Nature is a burden in this reſpect, to have not only matter to entertain temptation, but it hath in it a Root from whence, (if God doth not come in with his Grace) all kind of ſin may ſpring up from it, though there ſhould be no kind of temptation, many of us do cry out of the Devil and temptation when we are overcome by ſin, but conſider what I ſay, there is not only that evil in your hearts that you are ready to entertain all temptations, but there is that evil in your hearts that would breed al kind of evils whatſoever, though there ſhould be no temptation, though there were no Devil in Hel; as thus now, you know there are the ſeeds of weeds in the ground, though it is true, they do not come up to flowriſh til the rain and the Sun draws them forth, yet ſtil there are the ſeeds of thoſe weeds, ſo as they would come up in time though not ſo ſoon, that except they be rooted up, they wil come up in time; ſo it is here, there is not only injections of the Devil in us, but our corrupt heart riſeth to it, it is one thing to have ſome filthy thing caſt upon us, and another thing to have the Body ſo rotten that a ſtinking ſteam ſhould come from the Body it ſelf, one may have ſome unſavory thing caſt upon him and ſo be unſavory, but when the Body is rotten and that caſt upon one, that would be more unſavory, ſo it is here, may be the Devil may bring ſome temptation upon us and make ſome diſturbance in our heart, I but there is that in our Hearts that wil make as great a diſturbance in our ſouls as the Devil can.
V.
Laſtly, The ſinfulneſs of our Nature is a Burden in this reſpect, that it wil damp all the activity of our Graces, the livelyneſs of our Graces, now the Saints of God make it to be the joy of their Souls to be active and ſtirring for God, but now this Corruption that we carry about with us damps al: as now a candle, if it were in a Coal-pit a Mine, there would come a damp that would make the Candle burn dim, ſo the Graces of Gods Spirit, in the beſt of us all, are but as a Candle in a Coal-pit, thy heart is like a Coal-pit, and God hath ſet up a Candle, ſome Grace in thy heart that ſhines there, but now though Chriſt takes care that all the damps of thy Corruption ſhal not put out thy Candle, yet God ſomtimes dimmes this Candle that it doth not ſhine ſomtimes, takes away the beauty, livelineſs, and activity of thy Graces, that though thou haſt ſome life and burnings, yet thou burneſt but dimly before others with whom thou doſt converſe. I do not now ſpeak of the ſtirring of ſin, the working of ſin, that is the next thing that I ſhal open, how that is a Burden to the Hearts of the Saints; as for inſtance, you know that the Scripture tels us that the fleſh fights againſt the Spirit, and the ſpirit fights againſt the fleſh, there is a continual fighting by this Corruption againſt al that is good, now that there ſhould be Corruption in the Heart that continually fights againſt God, that is a more fearful thing, ſo it is in thy Heart. Now to be alwaies in a fight or a combate it is a fearful thing, we count it a great burden that there ſhould be Wars and Rumors of Wars within our gates, I but, there is a greater war in thy Heart. It is a thing that was not thought poſſible ever to be in England, that there ſhould be found ſuch a Generation that ſhould indanger their lives to make them and their poſterity ſlaves, and yet for this they fight, who doth not ſee but the victory wil be this in the Concluſion. But I wil ſhew you a worſe thing then this in every of your Hearts, there are ſuch Corruptions in your Hearts, as put your Souls to fight to miſcheif your ſelves; to bring your ſelves to be ſlaves to the Devil, this is in your Hearts, though indeed ſome are not ſenſible of this; and what is the reaſon that if corruption be a Burden that ſome people …eel it not? One Reaſon is this, becauſe they are dead in ſins, if this whole building ſhould fal upon a dead man, he would not feel it, and take this as an infallible argument, that thou art dead in ſins and treſpaſſes, if thou doſt not feel the Burden of thy corruption, that man and woman that is not ſenſible of the ſin that is in their Souls, I dare in the Name of God, pronounce that Man or Woman dead. As it is in Nature, though we may looſe the ſenſe of ſeeing, or of ſmelling, or of hearing, yet we may live, yet the ſenſe of feeling or touching that cannot be loſt, if we be living if we looſe the ſenſe of feeling, certainly that man or Woman is dead, no ſenſe inwardly or outwardly, there is ſome ſenſe of feeling, ſo long as there is life. So here, though there may be many weakneſſes in men and Women, yet when they do not feel the Burden of their Corruptions at al, certainly they are dead men and Women. Now you that are weary and heavy Laden, come to me, (ſaith Chriſt) And I will give you Reſt, know, that Chriſt ſpeaks to you, not only out of pity, as to thoſe that Labor under the Burden of Legal performances, but out of love, and know, that by this you come to be fitted for Chriſt and it is that that is as delightful to the heart of Chriſt to give eaſe and Reſt to his poor Servants that Labor under the Burden of Corruption as to do any thing in the world; it was a ſpecial end why Chriſt came into the world, to diſſolve the works of the Devil, our Corruptions are from the Devil, and are tied cloſe to us, and they eaſily beſet us, (as the expreſſion is) now I ſay it was the end why Jeſus Chriſt came into the world, to diſſolve the works of the Devil, that is, when he ſees his poor Servants under this burden and to cry out under it, as Paul did, who ſhal deliver me, then Chriſt comes to cut this bond and ſo to diſſolve the works of the Devil and give eaſe and Reſt to their Spirits. You do wel when you ſtruggle and ſtrive againſt your Corruptions with all the ſtrength you have, but the great work you have to do that you may be delivered from your Corruptions is, to renew your act of Faith in Chriſt, to make uſe of thoſe Scriptures wherein Chriſt is ſaid to be our Sanctification, as wel as our Redemption, and to act our Faith upon thoſe Scriptures, and that is the way to eaſe our Souls of theſe Burdens.