Christ Inviting Sinners to Come to Him for Rest, Treatise · Chapter 45 – Chapter 46
CHAP. XLV.
The Reſt beleevers have from Chriſt in outward afflictions diſcovered in four Particulars more. 1. They ſhall be to good ends. 2. They ſhal be ſanctified to the good of beleevers. 3. God is preſent with his people in Chriſt. 4. There is abundance of preſent good in affliction.
FIfthly, Come to me, ſaith Chriſt, and you ſhal have Reſt in your affliction, for your afflictions ſhall have very good ends, God will never bring affliction upon you, but he wil have gracious ends that he will aim at in your affliction. God hath ſomwhat in his Eye that he aimes at more than you imagine, and the thoughts of this may bring a great deal of Reſt unto the Soul, we cannot alwaies underſtand what thoſe Particular ends are that God hath in the tryal of his people, but we muſt ſatisfie our ſpirits in this, certainly God hath very gracious ends, what a great deal of trouble is there now in the nation, how many godly people are ſpoiled of their goods, and wounded and made havock of, we think it is nothing but the rage of wicked men, certainly, God hath gracious ends in it, and God is about to bring to paſs ſome glorious thing, though we cannot underſtand it now, it is only one that is acquainted with the mind of Chriſt that can be ſatisfied with this that when God brings tryalls he hath glorious ends to bring about, and why ſhould not I be willing to be ſerviceable to Gods ends, to thoſe great ends that God hath to bring about? Wherefore was I made and brought into the world, but only that God may ſerve himſelf of me, and therefore if God hath need of my affliction as I may ſo ſpeak, why may not I be quiet in my affliction, for my affliction may be ſerviceable to God. Now this is that I profeſs, that I may be ſerviceable to God and his ends, now if thy heart be right in this, that thou wouldſt be ſerviceable to God and his e…ds, then thou muſt not chooſe the way how God ſhal fetch about his waies and ends upon thee.
Somtimes God may ſerve his own ends in thy proſperity, I but at other times he wil ſerve himſelf in thy affliction: now if thy Heart be gracious indeed, thou wilt be as willing that God may fetch about his praiſe in thy affliction, as in thy proſperity, in this a gracious heart rejoyceth. Now if thy heart be right in this, then if God take away thy eſtate and bring thee into affliction thou mayſt be quiet in this that God wil be ſerved by my wants, and bring about his ends that way, though thou mayſt think that God may be better ſerved by thy proſperity then by thy affliction, I but know this, that God hath glorious ends to bring about, and muſt have his people ſuffer to bring about thoſe ends, and therefore this may Cauſe Reſt and quiet of Spirit.
Sixthly, Come to me, ſaith Chriſt, you ſhal have Reſt in trouble and affliction, for not only you ſhal be ſerviceable to God for his ends, but al your afflictions ſhal be Sanctified for your own good to you, God intends it and you ſhal have a Sanctified uſe in them and this is more then removing the curſe, the Sanctified uſe notes a mighty operation of God in the affliction to fetch out good unto thy Soul.
Now this were a large thing, to ſhew what is the Sanctified uſe of affliction, the purging out of Corruption, the quickening of Grace, yea, if it were but the tryal of Grace, it were enough to bring quiet to the Soul, for the Scripture ſaith, the tryal of Faith is more precious then Gold, the tryal of Grace, the exerciſe of Grace, if it were but the exerciſe of the Grace of Faith that thou art put upon in thy affliction, there may be more good to thee in that then thou canſt imagine. There is more excellency in the exerciſe of any one Grace, but eſpecially in the exerciſe of Faith, then in all proſperity in the World, if God ſhould give thee a kingdome it may be thou haſt loſt thy land, thy Houſe, and goods, I but God hath put thee upon the exerciſe of Faith now more then ever. Now know that the exerciſe of one Grace is more then a kingdome to thee, better then all the proſperity in the world, thy friends may come and tell thee this and that, I but doſt thou feel thy affliction Sanctified to thy Soul? Doſt thou feel thy Heart drawn nearer to God? Doſt thou find the diſcovering of thy Heart more, and the purging out thy Corruption more, and thy Heart quickned in the waies of God more? This wil bring Reſt unto thy Soul, for you have heard, Sanctification is Reſt unto the Soul, therefore Sanctification of afflictions unto the Soul, muſt needs bring Reſt unto it.
Seventhly, God is with his people in time of affliction by Chriſt, thou haſt the preſence I ſay of God in thy affliction, Gods gracious preſence is only in his Son, no man comes unto the Father but by the ſon, it is true both waies, as no man comes to the Father but by Chriſt, ſo the Father comes to no man in a gracious way but by Chriſt, now Gods gracious preſence wil be with them in his Son. I will be with thee in the fire and in the Water, that is enough for the Soul to Reſt upon, that God wil be with them in the Fire and in the Water, in Iſa. 43.2. When thou paſſeſt through the Water I wil be with thee, and through the flouds they ſhal not overflow thee, when thou walkeſt through the Fire thou ſhalt not be burnt, neither ſhal the flame kindle upon thee, for I am the Lord thy God the Holy one of Iſrael thy Savior. I wil be with thee ſaith God, ſo that there is Gods preſence to ſupport them, now as ye heard al the promiſes are yea and amen in Chriſt, in Chriſt they are al made good, ſo that Reſt in affliction comes by Chriſt. As now in ſickneſs, art thou in ſickneſs, ſee what Reſt there is in Chriſt in time of ſickneſs, in Pſalm, 41.3. The Lord, wil ſtrengthen him upon his Bed of ſorrow, thou haſt made all his Bed in his ſickneſs, Surely then thou wilt lie ſoft, thou ſhalt have Reſt there. Many poor ſick people complain they cannot Reſt, they cannot lie ſoft, their Bed is not made well, their Bed is not made eaſie, high in one place, and low in another, now here is a promiſe that God wil make the Bed of his people in the day of their ſickneſs, in the day of their trouble, what an expreſſion is here of Gods love; that we may know how God tenders his people? And though it be but a hard bed, a flock bed, a bed of ſtraw, you may lie eaſie if God make it. And here you ſee in this pſalme God promiſeth to make the bed of his people, now if you have not Reſt, it is becauſe you have not been acquainted with the promiſes, nor not exerciſed Faith upon the promiſes, ſuch a promiſe will bring Reſt unto the Soul, when you cannot Reſt otherwiſe. And ſo I might give you Scriptures likewiſe for poverty, the many ſweet expreſſions that we have in Scripture for the quieting of the Heart in poverty the ſpecial regard that God hath to poor people, eſpecially ſuch as are godly who are in poverty. I might name abundance of Scriptures, as that, The Lord hath choſen the poor to be Rich in Faith, And the Goſpel is preached unto the poor. And not many mighty, and noble, but the poor receive the Goſpel. And in Zeph. 3.12. I will leave in the midſt of thee, an afflicted and poor people and they ſhall truſt in the Name of the Lord, The Lord hath reſpect to them, and if thou be godly and poor, thou maiſt ſearch into Scripture and find abundance of expreſſions to give thee Reſt. Chriſt was made poor that he might make us Rich, doth therefore poverty trouble thee? Conſider that Chriſt he was poor, and the poverty of Chriſt it was to make me Rich, and all the evil of my poverty is taken away by Jeſus Chriſt, If poor people would exerciſe their Faith upon the poverty of Chriſt, that he was made poor, for ſo he ſaith, though he was the Lord of all, yet the foxes had holes and the Birds had neſts, but he had not whereon to lay his Head. Chriſt had not ſo good a Houſe as any of you, Chriſt had not a cottage to dwel in, but went abroad from one place to another, therefore exerciſe but thy Faith upon the poverty of Chriſt, and that will help thee in thy poverty. And ſo for diſhonor, the Scripture is very ful that way too. In Matth. 5.9. Bleſſed are ye when men ſhall ſpeak all manner of Evil againſt you for my names ſake. And that in Peter, Bleſſed are ye when ye ſuffer reproach, for the Spirit of Glory ſhall Reſt upon you. Now all theſe promiſes in time of affliction is made to us in Chriſt, and therefore come to me, ſaith Chriſt, you ſhal have the vertue and efficacy of al theſe promiſes.
Indeed carnal Hearts, they do not think the promiſes of the Goſpel worth any thing, and they think that if they can have no more comfort but that, this is poor comfort, but thoſe that are godly, they know that there is abundance of comfort and ſweetneſs to be had in the promiſes of the Goſpel.
Eightly, The abundance of preſent good that Chriſt will bring unto the Hearts of the Saints that ſhal ſwallow up all the trouble of affliction, the abundance of preſent good ſhall ſwallow up al the bitter of affliction. As thus, now ſuppoſe you have a little Vinegar, one drop of Vinegar if there were a pinte or quart of the ſweeteſt liquor in the world put into it, could you taſt the Vinegar? the taſt would be taken away: So now the Soul that comes to Chriſt, and exerciſeth Faith upon him, Chriſt brings in the preſent good, beſides that that it ſhal have hereafter, the preſent good that is enough to ſweeten all things, and to ſatisfie the Soule. Chriſt ſets up ſuch a light in the Heart, that ſuch a one hath light in the midſt of darkneſs, though there be darkneſs round about, yet there is ſuch ſatisfying Contentments in Chriſt, that is enough to overcome all the bitterneſs that is in the world, ſuch a one though never ſo afflicted, yet is able to ſay with David, as before, My Soul return unto thy Reſt. And indeed all afflictions, to thoſe that are beleevers, and have the exerciſe of Faith, I do not ſpeak of all beleevers, one may be a beleever and yet not have Reſt in affliction, but if he be a beleever and have the exerciſe of Faith, then all afflictions wil be no more, but as if a poor Woman were married to a great prince, and had all the nobles about him, and all kind of dainties upon his table, and he ſhould hear the Rain rattling upon the tiles, that is in the windy wether abroad, what would this be to hinder the Reſt of ſuch a ones ſpirit? The truth is, had we but the exerciſe of Faith, all outward troubles in the world would be no more to us, no more trouble then this is. If thou wert come to Chriſt, and married to him, and come to ſup with him, there would be that ſatisfaction unto thy Soul in Chriſt, that al outward troubles would be no more at all, then the rattling of the Rain upon the Tiles to ſuch a one that hath al content within dores. You are not yet acquainted with ſuch bleſſed things that are in Chriſt who are troubled at any thing in the world, certainly the ſoul that is acquainted with that, will ſay, it hath enough, let what will become of my eſtate, of my body, of my Houſe, of my Lands, yet I have enough in Chriſt, how have the bleſſed Martyrs cryed out of the fulneſs of Reſt in Chriſt? I remember one German Martyr, that ſuffered much from his enemies, he ſaid, I verely beleeve that there is not a merrier Heart in this world then my ſelf. As Jacob had more bleſſed viſions when he lay abroad in the night, and laid his Head upon the ſtone; So the Children of God have more viſions many times of God in the times of their affliction, their Veins are filled with blood, and bones with marrow, al the capacities of their ſoul is filled with ſpiritual joy, and that keeps out affliction. As if a man have filled his belly with good chear, and eſpecially if his veines be ful of blood and bones ful of marrow, he can bare hardneſs the better. So when the ſoule comes to Chriſt, he fils the veins ful of blood, and bones ful of marrow, I mean thus, he fils al the capacities of the ſoul with heavenly conſolations, and that bares out any trouble or afflictions whatſoever, and thus there is peace and reſt unto the ſoul.
CHAP. XLVI.
Containeth the concluſion of the laſt doctrine in the two former Chapters, ſhewing how unbeſeeming a thing it is, for a beleever to be troubled in affliction.
THere might be divers other things named, as by coming to Chriſt there is the ſpirit of prayer, and ſo the ſoul hath reſt when it can go and power forth it ſelfe to God in prayer. But to conclude this.
You ſee by al this, how infinitely unbeſeeming it is for a beleever, one that profeſſeth himſelfe come to Chriſt, to be troubled in affliction, Chriſt makes this promiſe, that if he comes to him he ſhal have reſt. Surely either thou art not come to Chriſt, or thou haſt not exerciſed faith in Chriſt, Either thus, thou chargeſt thy ſelf for one not come to Chriſt, or one that hath not exerciſed faith upon Chriſt, or elſe thou chargeſt Chriſt with unfaithfulneſs by thy diſcontentment. For Chriſt here profeſſeth to the wotld that al that come to him ſhal have reſt, that thou haſt not reſt, but that a little trouble doth diſquiet thee, thou either art not come to Chriſt, or doſt not exerciſe faith, or elſe thou chargeſt Chriſt with unfaithfulneſs, now if thou haſt not reſt, which way wilt thou have it fal? Oh let it fal upon thy unbeleeving heart, let it fal upon this, that thou doſt not renew thy act in comming to Chriſt, for it is not meant of coming to Chriſt at the firſt, but of renewing the act of coming to Chriſt, and this exhortation belongs to Godly men and women, that have already come to Chriſt by faith, I ſay, it belongs to them to come to Chriſt, come you to Chriſt again and again. Now thy diſquiet and trouble in time of affliction doth argue, that thou art either no beleever at al, or haſt not renewed the act of faith. My brethren, the wayes of many, that we hope are beleevers, are ſuch, as if ſo be they had no uſe of faith at al in time of affliction, or as if faith were only of uſe to ſave their ſoules, and not to give reſt unto the ſoul here in this world, or as if it were of no other uſe, but as a ſun dial in a garden, to ſhew the time of the day when the ſun ſhines, but in ſtormy cloudy weather, there is no uſe of it. And doſt thou make no more uſe of thy faith, then of the ſun dyal in thy garden, to ſhew thee how it is with thee in the day of proſperity, but the truth of thy faith ſhould be a dyal, to make thee know how it is between God and thy ſoul in a cloudy day. And therefore you having now heard, where the reſt in regard of outward affliction lies Oh, do you repair hither for reſt, you vex, and fret, and trouble your ſelves, Why? becauſe you have not as others, others can have rich tables, fine houſes, and accomodations, and al things for their content in this world, but know that now the Lord hath preſented to you a way how to have reſt to your ſouls in time of poverty, Labor to know Jeſus Chriſt that was made poor for you. There is as plain a way for you to come to Chriſt as for the richeſt in the world, and Chriſt wil be as ready to entertain you as the richeſt. It is likely that al your endeavours may come to help you ſo forward as to make you rich in this world, I but, to give reſt in this world, nothing can do it but your coming to Chriſt. And above al, this may ſerve to help us to lay up againſt the time of trouble, that however things go in this world yet you may have reſt to your ſoules in Chriſt.