Christ Inviting Sinners to Come to Him for Rest, Treatise · Chapter 15
CHAP. XV.
In what reſpects the ſtirrings and motions of Corruption … very burdenſom. 1. They continually fight againſt the Spirit of Grace in the Heart. 2. They are ſudden. 3. They are ful of Confuſion and diſorder. 4. They work very Malitiouſly. 5. They watch opportunity to do miſchief. 6. They are very unſeaſonable. 7. They are very prevalent.
NOw beſides the Corruption of our Nature, the ſtirring of Corruption is very burdenſome unto the Soul; I ſuppoſe if a Man or Woman did know what corrupt Nature is in them, and though this corrupt Nature did not ſtir, yet it would be very burdenſome, but we are to know that this corrupt Nature doth not lie ſtil, but is alwayes working, ſtirring, acting and putting it ſelf forth unto that that is evil, now the motions of ſin are burdenſome.
1. For Firſt, they are continually fighting againſt the Spirit of God, and the ſpirit of grace in the heart, the fleſh luſteth againſt the ſpirit, now to have a continual fighting and Combating in the ſoul, is it not very burdenſome; as a family where there is a continual falling out, never a day that you come to ſome families but there is falling out, and fighting, is it not burdenſome to live in ſuch a family? now in the hearts of men and women there is a continual fighting. If one ſhould be in a family where the husband and wife is continually fighting one with an other, and the children and ſervants flying in the face one of an other that would be burdenſome, now in the heart of man there is the fleſh and ſpirit continually fighting one againſt another, is not war in a kingdome a burden? and eſpecially, when men ſhal fight to make themſelves ſlaves, as I ſaid before would any man ever have thought it poſſible that there ſhould be ſuch folly in the hearts of any in England, to fight to make themſelves and their poſterity ſlaves, that the very victory that they ſhould get was to bring them to be ſlaves, now the fight with corruption it is for this end.
2, And then the ſtirring of corruption is ſudden, many times a man or woman that is gracious and godly, that finds their heart in ſome good temper and working for God, ſuddenly their corruptions wil be ſtirring in them unexpectedly, which is extream greife and damp to their ſpirits, and cauſeth many times exceeding much trouble to them ſuddenly, that no body can underſtand the cauſe of it but themſelves.
3. And then the ſtirring of Corruption is violent, the ſtirring of Corruption in the hearts of the Saints are many times extream violent and outragious, the divel ſtirs up their Corruption, and indeed the corruptions themſelves are as it were divels in them, that do as the divel that was ready to be caſt out of him that was poſſeſſed, he cauſeth him to foam at the mouth, ſo there is extreame violence of corruption in the hearts of the Saints. It was a Lamentable conditition of the poor Child that was poſſeſſed in the Goſpel, when the father came to Chriſt for help, becauſe when the evil ſpirit came it caſt him into the fire and into the water. So corruption is ſo violent in the hearts of the godly, that it is ready to caſt them into the fire and into the water, to do thoſe things that are againſt their own inclination, againſt their prayers, againſt their reſolutions, againſt their vowes, againſt their covenants, though they ſee ſuch a thing to be evil, are convinced of it, though they find a ſtrong inclination againſt the evil, though they have been at prayer to God to help them againſt it, though they reſolve with the ſtrongeſt reſolutions againſt it, yea though they vow and Covenant yea they come to the ſacrament and ſet to their ſeale, ſo violent is their corruption that it carries and hurries them on in wayes of evil notwithſtanding.
4. Again the motions and ſtirring of Corruption are very burdenſome unto the Saints, in regard of the confuſed diſorder that there is in the motions of their corruptions, there is much diſorder and confuſion in the heart when corruption doth ſtir, which cauſeth much diſturbance; what cauſeth more diſturbance in a State, in a Family, in a Town then confuſion and diſorder? nothing is more diſorderly and confuſed then the corruption in our hearts, and therefore burdenſome, it cauſes much perplexity in the hearts of the Saints, becauſe they find their corruptions working and ſtirring in ſuch a confuſed way, they find ſometimes when they are in duty ſuch ſtrange confuſed working of their hearts, that it is an extream burden upon them.
5. Further the corruption of the heart works very maliciouſly and therefore the more burdenſome, that is, it watcheth eſpecially thoſe times wherein it may do us moſt miſchief, then it wil be moſt ſtirring as a malicious enemy, wil not only be troubleſome to one that he is an enemy unto at ſometimes, but he watcheth if there be any time wherein he may do him more miſchief then another; I wil take that time, ſaith an enemy; ſo the corruptions of the hearts of men, they watch when they may do the ſoul the greateſt miſcheif, now many a chriſtian may think, though I find much corruption ſtirring many times yet if I could but be free when I get alone to have communion with God, O! that it would let me alone at that time; and ſo though I find it ſtirring at other times, yet if it would let me alone at the hearing of the word; but it comes at that time eſpecially, you wil have evil thoughts at prayer more then ever you had, and at the hearing of the word light workings of ſpirit more then at other times, and not only at the word but if there be but one truth that doth more neerly concerne the good of your ſoules then another, you ſhal find your corruptions to hinder you then, more then at another time, and ſo at the ſacrament, and faſting, there it wil be more working then at another time.
6. yea and further, if there be any time, that through Gods mercy in a day of prayer, faſting, and the like, if you can get your hearts to any comfortable frame, brokenneſs of heart, renewed reſolutions to walk in the waies of God more ſtrictly then before; as many times it is in dayes of faſting and prayer, above al times wil your corruptions be ſtirring after that, more then any time, thus maliciouſly when it may do you the greateſt michief, then it wil be moſt working. Now what a burden is this to the ſoule! as it is ſaid of Chriſt, in Matth. the latter end, There you have the ſtory of Chriſts baptiſme, and when he was baptiſed, then came the holy Ghoſt upon him in the likeneſs of a dove, and this manfeſtation of God from heaven, This is my beloved ſonn in whom I am wel pleaſed; wel, preſently ſaith the text, he was led into the wilderneſs to be tempted of the divel, God was in the worke, but the devil was malicious againſt him preſently after a glorious manifeſtation of God the father to him, As it was with Chriſt your ſavior, ſo you muſt expect it wil be with you, Chriſt when he had ſuch a glorious manifeſtation of God the father from heaven to him, then he was led aſide, then the divel preſently came upon him, ſo it wil many times be with you, when at any time you have got your hearts up to God in a day of faſting, prayer, or the like, and have got ſome ſenſe of Gods love, take heed of ſecurity at that time more then at al times and that is the reaſon that you ſhal find, if you obſerve it, that very often after a day of faſting, after ſuch a day that you have got moſt in, if not the very night, yet the next day, you wil find ſtrong workings of the corruptions of your herets, to keep them down immediately after that time, for the ſtirring of corruptions they are very malicious, and watch for the time that they may do us the greateſt miſchief of al.
7. Further the ſtirring of the Corruptions that remain in us, are very burdenſome in regard of their unſeaſonableneſs by that I meane this, (to ſpeak plainly to your hearts) the ſtirrings of our corruptions, if we ſhal gratifie them many times, yeild to them, as it were, for peace ſake, as ſometimes the heart of a man or woman is ſo troubled with the workings of corruption that they think they muſt needs yield that they might be quiet, wel if thou ſhalt yeild to them to quiet them, they wil come upon thee more and more, with greater ſtrength they wil come upon thee then before, as now, if any one that is troubleſome to us in ſeeking to get ſuch and ſuch a thing of us, and at length becauſe of trouble to us we yield to them, then afterwards they grow more and more upon us, incroach more and more upon us and are very troubleſome and burdenſome to us, it is ſo in the ſtirring of corruption, if you yield to your corruption for one thing, it comes more and more upon you, ſo that the only quiet you can have is by being at open defiance with them; now this is another thing wherby the corruptions of the hearts of Gods people are very burdenſome to them.
8. Laſtly, The Corruptions in the hearts of Gods people are very burdenſome, becauſe they are very prevailing, this is an higher degree: they are burdenſome in the root, and then in the working they are more burdenſome, but then in the prevailing they are yet more burdenſome; If ſo be a Child of God, that looks into his hear…, and finds what a root of bitterneſe there is, that makes him go heavily al his dayes, but now when he finds ſuch working and ſtirring of corruption, this troubles him more; he thinks, though I have ſuch a curſed nature, though I cannot keep down the motions and ſtirrings of my corruption, yet if I could keep them from working; yea though I cannot keep them from working, yet if I could but keep them from prevailing, but alas! they overcome me many times, and this is the greateſt burden of al, that they prevail in our hearts ſo much as they do, It is troubleſome to fight with an enemy, but it is a great deale more troubleſom to have an enemy prevail and get the day: and though it is true that corruption ſhal not get the day fully, that is, though it may prevail for a while in ſome skirmiſhes, it may prevail Praelio but not in Bello, as an enemy may in ſome skirmiſhes have the better of it, but yet the other may Conquer at laſt, and may get the day; the day, that is, when it comes to a pitcht ſet Battel, that is the Bellum, and there he prevails, if I can but prevail and get the day to be mine then, it is not ſo much. It is true, the Saints of God they ſhal get the day at laſt, but here as long as they live, their corruptions often prevail and foiles them which is very grievous and burdenſome to them.