Christ Inviting Sinners to Come to Him for Rest, Treatise · Chapter 6
CHAP. VI. The Application, Exhorting Sinners to come unto Chriſt, with Anſwers unto certain Objections.
APPLICATION.
NOw for a word of Application: doth Chriſt cal for burdened Souls; to come to him that they may have reſt? Then thoſe that are burden'd ſhould harken to what Chriſt ſaith in this Congregation this morning; Is there any poor ſoul that is ready to periſh under the weight of ſin, that goes under the Load of it; Chriſt cals to that Soul to come to him. It were a grievous thing for Chriſt to come and cal into ſuch a Congregation, and there ſhould be none there. Nay, I cannot but think, there may be many in this Congregation that ſhal hear the cal of Chriſt. Chriſt many times cals where there are none to anſwer: we may ſay in this caſe as our Saviour Chriſt ſaid in another, the harveſt is great, but the Laborers are but few; So we may ſay, the harveſt of ſin is great, but the Laborers under the burden of Sin, are but very few: many there are that would caſt the burden of ſin upon Chriſt, but they do as the Phariſees did, caſt heavy burdens upon others, but they themſelves wil not touch them with one of their fingers. So many would caſt the burden of ſin upon Chriſt, but they will not feel it themſelves. O! let me ſpeak to you, What Chamber, or Cloſet can witneſs that you have been ſending ſtrong cries unto God, as being under that grievous burden. A beaſt if it lies under a burden, it wil roar and cry out for help. So certainly if your ſouls were preſt with the burden of ſin, there would be mighty cries to God to eaſe you of that burden: But to moſt people in the world, ſin is very light: Well, know, That as Chriſt himſelf felt ſin to be a heavy burden, ſo one way or other they muſt feel it, either here, or hereafter; but bleſſed is that man or woman, that feels the weight of ſin while he may be delivered from it, that he be not hereafter preſt under the weight of it. We read of Pharoah, when the people of Iſrael came for eaſe, he bids them go to their burdens; that, that he did unjuſtly, Chriſt might do to many righteouſly hereafter, when you upon your ſick beds, or death beds hereafter, ſhal cry for mercy, Chriſt may ſay to you, go to your burdens; when any thing of the Word came to preſs ſin upon your ſouls, you caſt it off. O! 'tis a dangerous Condition, when men and women cannot only ſin enough: but now when any truth of God ſhould lay ſin upon their hearts, they caſt it out, and they think hardly of thoſe Truths of God that would come and …ind their ſins to their Conſciences, and ſo burden them with their ſins; but it ſhould be otherwiſe with us. If thoſe that be thus laden with their ſins, be thoſe that Chriſt doth call to him, we ſhould not think ſo hardly of thoſe Truths of God that doth reveal the evil of ſin unto us, but rather let us joyn with thoſe Truths of God, and labor to burden our own hearts; for you ſee that thoſe that are burdened, Chriſt cals them to him that they might have reſt; there is no other burdens that we are to bring upon our ſelves, but rather ſeek to avoid them; but as for the burden of ſin, we are to burden our hearts with that, and to labor to lay our ſins to our hearts, and to preſs them there, and to charge them upon our own Spirits with all the aggravations we can, and to joyn with the work of Gods Spirit, when the Spirit of God comes to lay ſin upon the ſoul, to joyn with it, and to ſay, Lord, I begin to be more ſenſible of my ſins, than I was before, Lord, humble me through it, let me be under thy hand as long as thou pleaſeſt, only work thy good work upon me.
Object. But you wil ſay; We may ſink under the burden of Sin.
Anſw. O no; thoſe that caſt off the burden of ſin they are moſt like to ſink under it; now can you think that the Lord wil Suffer ſuch a ſoul to ſink under the burden, that doth burden it ſelf, that God might have glory: But thoſe that are unwilling, and are forced to be burdened, that never are ſenſible of the burden of ſin, til al the props and Comforts of the creature are taken away. Upon their ſick beds, and death beds, then men are burdened with Sin, and why? becauſe the props are taken away; before they had comforts, and eſtates, and ſuch things which are as ſo many props; but now God comes and takes the props, and down they f…l upon us. That is the reaſon that many upon their death beds lie Ro…ring and Crying out ſo bitterly for their ſins; and why? becauſe the Lord hath cut aſunder the props, and now it lies heavy upon their hearts. Now Chriſt cals; come to me you that are weary and heavy laden; come to me ſaith Chriſt, Know that you are in a fa… better condition, than you were, when you went on with delight in ſin; you are now in the way that God doth uſe to bring them in, that he hath a purpoſe to do good unto: I remember in the Goſpel where the poor blind man cryed to Chriſt, O Son of David have mercy upon me, and ſtil cryed; at length Chriſt heard the cry of the blind man and asked what it was? Now thoſe that were by him, they go to the poor blind man and ſay to him, be of good comfort, he calls; he might ſay; I, but my eyes be not opened; I, but be of good comfort he calls. So I ſay to al burdened Sinners; be of good comfort troubled ſoul, Chriſt calls thee; he ſaith come to me al ye that are weary, and heavy laden; he doth not ſay, thou that art ſo much laden; Chriſt cals thee to him.
Object. I but (thou wilt ſay) I have no eaſe, if I were ſure that my ſins were pardoned, & I ſhould be ſaved, then I ſhould have eaſe and comfort.
Anſw. I but poor ſoul be of good comfort, thou art called; he doth not ſay, thou art a wretched wicked creature, and depart from me thou curſed, as he wil ſay to ſinners hereafter; that might have been thy condition; but thou didſt not heare the voice from Chriſt this day, depart from me: but thou doeſt heare this voice this day from Chriſt, Come to me al you that are weary and heavy laden: Chriſt is neer to you; the Lord is neer to the broken heart; he is neere to the contrite ſpirit. And know this, the longer thou art under the burden of thy ſin, there wil come the more comfort hereafter. Now there is a burden of ſin upon thee, and there wil be a weight of glory, hereafter; So the Scripture ſpeakes of a weight of glory, as wel as of a weight of Sin, be willing to beare the weight of ſin quietly; ſay with the Prophet, I wil be willing to beare the indignation of the lord becauſe I have ſinned againſt him. So ſay thou: 'tis fit my ſoul ſhould beare a burden, be content to wait now, do you the ſame thing that Chriſt did when he was under his burden: mark what he did in Heb. 5.7. See how the heart of Chriſt was affected when he felt the weight of our ſins upon him▪ In the dayes of his fleſh he offered up prayers, and ſupplications with ſtrong Cryes and teares unto him that was able to ſave him from death, and was heard in that he Feared. Goe thy way O Soul, and get into the preſence of God, and tel God of thy burdens that thou feeleſt, make thy moan unto him, and let it be with praiers and ſupplications, and ſtrong Cryes; and tel him Lord I fear leaſt my ſoul ſhould be preſt down to eternal death under this burden: tel him of thy feares this way, and it is very probable, that thy ſoul ſhal be heard, and according to this invitation here, ſurely, there is reſt for thee as wel as for any, while thou art crying out under thy burden, for ought thou knoweſt, or any Angel in heaven the pardon of thy ſins may be ſealling in heaven, and therefore do not make any deſperate Concluſion againſt thy own Soul, for thy pardon may be a ſealing, and then the Lord wil ſend a meſſenger to tel thee of this. Nay, do I tel thee that the…e wil a meſſenger come. Behold here in this text, the Lord Jeſus Chriſt comes, the Angel of the Covenant cryes to thee, Come O Come, come freely, though thou haſt no good at al in thee, there is enough in me to give reſt unto that ſoul that doth moſt labor under the greateſt burden of ſin that ever was. I'll now conclude with that that I began with al at the firſt. O remember again the dependance of theſe words with the former; that he that cals to thee to come to him for reſt, it is he that hath received al things of the father; and what hath he received them of the Father for, but for ſuch poor Soules as theſe are?