Four Books on Matthew 11, Book 4 · Chapter 133
CHAP. CXXXIII.
The words in the 30. verſe Opened and Explained.
AND now we come to the laſt verſe, For my Yoke is eaſie, and my Burden is light. Here we have the Reaſon, and Encouragement, the Reaſon why we ſhould take the Yoke of Chriſt upon us, and the encouragement to take it, becauſe it is eaſie and his Burden is light.
MY YOAK. Chriſt would have us take his Yoak upon us, that you had in the former verſe, but the Spirits of men are loath to be brought under a Yoak, they count it burdenſome, therefore ſaith Chriſt, Learn of me for I am Meek and Lowly in heart, and then My Yoak is eaſie, and my Burden light, when once you have but learned Meekneſs and Humility, you ſhall then find my Yoak eaſie, and my Burden light.
Eaſie. The word here that you have tranſlated in your Books, Eaſie, is Creſtos in the Greek, a word that ſignifies Profitable, Ʋtility, and Commodious: ſo it might be turned; and upon this, thoſe that were called Chriſtians (Juſtin Martyr hath ſuch an expreſſion) he called them Creſtians, from this word, becauſe they were men that were uſefull and profitable, and ſo they might be called Creſtians as wel as Chriſtians, my Yoak is profitable and that makes it eaſie, whatſoever it be that a man undertakes, yet if it bring much profit with it, you count it eaſie, you that take a great deal of pains and endure much difficulty at Sea, go to the Indies, yet if it bring in profit, you count it eaſie, becauſe there is ſo much profit co…es in.
Secondly: As the word ſignifies Profit, ſo it ſignifies Gentleneſs, in oppoſi…ion to Severity, to roughneſs, harſhneſs, or rigidneſs, and ſo I find the word in Rom. 11. 22. ſaith the Apoſtle, Behold the goodneſs and ſeverity of God, there it is, Creſtos, of eaſineſs, for ſo Creſtos there is the ſame word, only here is the Adjective, and there the Subſtantive, the eaſineſs, and gentleneſs, and ſeverity of God, ſeverity and gentleneſs oppoſed to one another, God is very gentle, and ſweet, and good unto ſome, and is very ſevere unto others. So, Take my Yoak upon you, for it is eaſie, that is, it is gentle, in oppoſition to ſeverity, and this is very ſuitable to what Chriſt hath ſaid before, Learn of me, for I am Meek and Lowly in heart, and my Yoak is as I am, Low as I am, of a gentle diſpoſition, as I am Meek, ſo you ſhall find my Yoke, my Yoke is very genle, you ſhall find no rigidneſs, no harſhneſs, no hardneſs in in my Yoke, that is the meaning of the Yoke; For my Yoke it eaſie, and my Burden is light, it may be a Yoke and ſeem to be heavy to you, but the Yoke is eaſie: but it may be a burden▪ wel, if …t be a burden it is light, the word is Nimble agile, it is a very ſtrange thing that it ſhould be a burden, and yet light, it may be a burden to fleſh and blood, it may be in ſome reſpects burdenſome many waies, I but when you have taken it upon you, you will find it light. Now the word tranſlated here Light, it is taken from the lightneſs and agility of Stags, of thoſe Creatures that are very ſwift, and agill, and nimble, and light in their motion, 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 foreign 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.