England Faithfully Watched, Lecture 4
Coloſſ. 1.13. And hath tranſlated] us into the kingdome, &c.
WE have been at the border of hell, and now we are come to the borders of heaven: nature is as near hell, as grace is heaven. From nature to grace, and from grace to glory, is loſt mans journey home again; this journey is long and mans legges weak, and not able to go it, and therefore doth God bear him from one to another, and transferre him along. Transferring notes motion from one place to another; but upon ſome bodies ſhoulders, or in ſome bodies arms, by bearing. Obſerve the road to heaven, and you ſhall ſee none going that way, but in Chriſts arms; you will ſee the way narrow, and full of cripples, carried along from tithing to tithing, from ſinne to grace, from one grace to another, till they come home to glory, which is their kingdome.
Doctr. Grace is Gods carrying the ſoul to Heaven. Chriſt carries ſouls in his arms unto eternall bleſſedneſſe. Fallen man can neither ſtand nor go, his fall hath killed him, and the dead ſtirre not but as they are carried. When the Angel ſtirres the water, I have no body to put me in, ſaid the cripple, if ſome bodie would take me in their arms, or take me upon their backs and carrie me in, I might come to health and happineſſe. The emblem ſpeaks our ſtate, we are born from a miſerable condition, to a bleſſed; from ſinfulneſſe, which is ſoul crippledneſſe, to holineſſe, which is ſoul ſoundneſſe and bleſſedneſſe. Some can prevail with their wounds and weare them out; but man is not ſo ſlightly wounded; nature is deeply wounded, and lies by it: The Samaritan put the wounded man upon his own beaſt, and brought him to an Inne, and took care of him, ſaith the Evangeliſt, Luke 10.42. We are born from wounds to health, from nature to grace; from the kingdome of Sathan, to the kingdome of Chriſt, by Chriſts own power, we are transferred into the kingdome.
Things have their nature, and the reſult of this, is their will; man moves not heaven-ward, nor will not; things that will not go to ſuch a place, muſt be carried thither, or they will never come there. Chriſt puts himſelf to no more pains then needs muſt. They will not come to me (ſaith he of ſome, which is true of all) I muſt go to them and fetch them, or they will never come to me elſe; Chriſt ſpeaks all our conditions in theſe words. There is not bare indiſpoſition, but oppoſition reſolute, and in caſes of this nature, all muſt be carried by ſuperiour power, or nothing is done. 'Tis a hell to man to come out of hell, and they are as devils tormenting before the time, that meddle about this matter; you chain and carry diſtracted creatures to means of remedie: corruption hath its deſtructive haunt. They are a perverſe and a crooked generation, Deuteronomie 32.5. they will not go Gods way, and that they may not, they wreath up their legges like a Tortoiſe, contorti, ſo ſaith the originall, when a Tortoiſe wreaths in his legges under it, you muſt carrie him, if you will have him.
Chriſt ſaves laboriouſly, he makes a ſea of his bloud ſo deep as to bear the ſoul, he makes arms and ſhoulders chariot wheels, carriages to bear a ſinner heaven-ward, which is wonderfull heavy. A ſinner is a heavier burthen then all the creation, he ſinks all but Chriſt, he makes the creation grone and crack under him, he preſſes a world to nothing with his weight, and yet Chriſt ſhoulders him. The bearing up of the world, is not ſo much burthen, as the bearing up the ſoul of man, he does the one with his word, but to the doing of the other, goeth word, perſon, bodie, ſoul, arms, ſhoulders, heart, bloud, all; and yet Chriſt ſubmits all theſe, and becomes a porter, a ſervant, a ſlave, and bears till his back and and heart break. Labour if honourable, helps to bear it ſelf, the labour it ſelf lends one ſhoulders, and gives one legges; but baſe labour loads it ſelf, the ſervility and baſeneſſe of it is more burthen then the burthen, and pulls away all ſhoulders from it; who will put himſelf to drudgings, baſe ſervice, that is of any qualitie? And yet Chriſt did this. Drowning waters are up in this low world, and Chriſt ſtrips himſelf, and wades, and carries over poore ſouls upon his back, and weaklings in his arms, ſome one way, and ſome another, as may be beſt eaſe to them, though moſt pain to him.
Chriſt ſaves fatherly. Parents know no pains nor coſt for children; knees, arms, boſome, ſoul, all open to bear them. Jacob wrapt up Joſeph in his ſoul, and carried him up and down in his boſome: Chriſt is a father, and moves juſt ſo to his children; for every one of his children is a Joſeph to him: he takes up a child when complaining like the Shunamite, and ſets him in his lappe, and keeps him their till he die; all Chriſts children die in his arms, like the Shunamites ſonne. If a child of God live an hundred years, his father never ſets him down out of his arms, but carries him unto death, beyond death▪ as the Pſalmiſt ſpeaks. Chriſt wraps us up in his ſoul, and carries us there alwayes, he is ever mindfull of us. You have that expreſſion in the Scripture; we are but trifles and yet Chriſt cannot put theſe trifles out of his mind; he carries our ſouls, as he carries his own thoughts, he minds us, up and down the world, till we come home. Compaſſion is, when things are laid to heart, and ſo carried up and down; and they are choicely carried indeed, which are ſo carried. Compaſſion carries Chriſt and us; compaſſion gathers about his heart, and that gathers his children about there too, and ſo they are bound up together in that bundle of life, and carried through ſinne and miſerie, to eternall felicitie, into his kingdome.
Chriſt ſaves ſurely: a father bears over his children, to make ſure work, that they may not fall in. Between nature and grace is a great gulf, and a remove from one to the other, is not without great danger; ſoul tranſaction from corruption to grace, is with perpetuall fierce conflict; the ſoul cannot put out a ſtep for heaven, but Sathan lets fly at it, and Chriſt therefore is a convoy, and he transferres from ſinne to grace, and from hell to heaven. As tranſactions of ſtate removing this and that, have their bloudy conteſts: ſo tranſaction of that great State, for eternity within, pulling down and ſetting up, have deadly conteſt, and the ſoul will be killed in the way to heaven, if not born along. When Iſrael went out of Egypt, not a dog barked, but when a ſoul goes out of the bondage of ſinne, into the libertie of Chriſt, many dogs and devils bark and bite: Chriſt therefore as he doth pull out, ſo he doth carry in, whom he faſtens hold on he lets not go, whom he takes into his arms he keeps there, and ſtill carries them there in all conflicts, to make ſure work; all Chriſts children fight in his arms, if the devil can kill them there ſo, they all fight upon this advantage every battell; paſſage to heaven is ſecured, the great whale that is maſter of the deep bellies us, and ſaves us from all ſtorms, carries us, and conveyes us to our haven, the kingdome of his dear ſonne.
Chriſt ſaves ſweetly, 'tis pleaſant travelling in his arms, a man may go a great way with eaſe upon anothers legges; the way though long and dirty goes away one knows not how, when bravely carried▪ Chriſt will have none deſtroyed nor none tired in the way to heaven. Wiſdomes waves are pleaſant, they go all in coaches and chariots to heaven; 'tis the honour of the way, the ſtate of the king in his kingdome below, to be born up and down ſo. The king brought me into his chambers, ſaith the Spouſe. Chriſts yoke is eaſie, eaſie indeed, becauſe born upon anothers neck: you yoke creatures ſo that their yoke may not pinch, you uſe art to leſſen labour, and make work no work, and pains pleaſures: Chriſt is excellent at this art, he doth ſo yoke every one, that he draws with eaſe, he makes every ones yoke big enough to put in his own neck together with the man, and ſo he draws himſelf and the man too, and that is an eaſie yoke indeed, and a little burthen: as you put ſomething of weight ſometimes into a childs hand, and you carry the child with that in his hand: therefore the child eaſily bears, becauſe he and his burden both, are born by another.
This is ſubſtance according to ſhadow: this ſweet way of ſalvation was typified, in Noah. Noah was transferred by an ark from an old world to a new, and that ſhadowed out ſalvation in Chriſt▪ and the very manner of it, Chriſt transferring the ſoul from a bad ſtate to a good. So Iſrael was brought out of Egypt to Canaan, and the Scripture tells you how, juſt as an Eagle carries her young▪ and as a father carries his children. Have I conceived all this people, that thou ſhouldst ſay unto me, Carrie them in thy boſome, as a nurſing father carries the ſucking children, Numbers 11.12. God was more tender then Moſes, it was tedious to him to bear ſo many▪ and ſo froward, in his boſome to Canaan; yet ſo did God, and ſo would he have had Moſes done▪ and becauſe he had not patience enough to do it, he died ere he came there; 'tis dangerous not to be compaſſionate, according to expreſſe command, though ones burden be never ſo great. God took up the burden that Moſes would not, and he tells you how he carried them, As an Eagle ſtirreth up her neſt, fluttereth over her young, ſpreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, and bears them upon her wings; So the Lord alone did bear them, and no ſtrange God with him. Deuteronomie 32.11, 12. God can bear much alone, and will, for a ſinners good, and his own glory, that is, to anſwer types, and fulfill truth.
Uſe. As Chriſt does bear ſouls to heaven, ſo does the devil bear ſouls to hell: evil ſpirits are very painfull too. Who bears your ſouls? Sathan carries by deluſion, ſome are carried about by winds of Doctrine, the devil is in that wind; when errour rules the life, Sathan rules the heart, this ſoul is born in the arms of an evil ſpirit. 'Tis a light ſoul that a ly will carry, but his fall will be heavy. Whom Chriſt carries, truth carries; the word of God, and the Spirit of God, are the two wings upon which Chriſt carries ſouls to heaven. Upon what wings do ye flee? By theſe you may know who carries you, whether Chriſt or the devil. Chriſt wraps up ſpirits in the word, and ſo away with them to heaven.
Sathan carries by violence. The Apoſtle Peter tells us of ſome that are carried about by a tempeſt, Sathan certainly is in that tempeſt: ſouls born by that evil ſpirit, are hurried. Tempeſts are beſide rule, and beſide reſiſtance; ſo are ſouls carried by Sathan; the heart hath choſen its own way, and reaſon muſt not ſtirre, nor divinity leſſe; every thing is irkſome that oppoſeth, nothing that contradicts can the man heare; this ſoul is in the devils chariot, tumbling to miſery apace, if God ſtop not no man can. The Lord ſeldom ſtops ſouls when they run apace, till they have fallen and hurt themſelves much, if not ruin'd themſelves quite. Chriſt drives gently, he goes truths way, and truths pace: ſouls carried by Chriſt, go no faſter then truth, ſuch make a ſtop at every turning, and look out, they go ſlowly and ſurely. Chriſt kicks at wilfull ſpirits, but he doth not carry them; they are meek ſouls willing to be carried onelyonly by Chriſt, whom Chriſt carries.
The devil bears to deſtruction, to ruine grace and the ſoul: he bears as he did bear Chriſt, to ruine all, body and ſoul. Souls carried by Sathan, are carried away from God to the glory of the world, to a god which is not God. Carrying away from God is a graduall thing, ſome are carried away more then others, and ſome are carried away quite, which I will ſtand upon a little. I ſee ſome carried away extremely, which makes my heart tremble to behold. Men are carried away captive, that is, when evil is committed againſt all means uſed to avoid it, and that caſe is afflicting, but not deſtroying: for 'tis the caſe of the beſt ſometimes. The compaſſe is ſet to ſuch a haven, and all mariners working that way, and by force of wind beaten aſide.
As the heart ſtands to Chriſt, and truth, or not; ſo is the man more or leſſe carried away: ſome plead againſt their own hearts, as working ſo, and ſo unruly, and ſide with conſcience and Chriſtians as condemning them, and wiſh that as they condemne that which is naught, that ſo they would execute it too, and bury it quite, that like the body of Moſes, neither man nor devil might find it, to make a reſurrection of it again. Others plead for an evil engaged affection, againſt Chriſtians, yea againſt conſcience; and all the art lies to keep along between theſe two ſmoothly and well, that ſinne and the man may enjoy themſelves without being notorious both, and afraid one of another▪ or both of hell; this ſoul is carried very farre from God, if he ſee it, but if not, the man is in a deſperate condition, and yet Chriſt can bear out of this.
Does God bear ſouls heaven-wards? load him, let him not want imployment, caſt your burdens upon him. Caſting our burdens upon God, turning off perplexing thoughts; making known requeſts▪ and reſting upon God for anſwers. One complains of this, and another of that, but do you complain of all to Chriſt, that he would give you with his everlaſting arms a lift? Iniquity is too heavie for the ſoul, and the ſoul is too heavy for it ſelf, when it onelyonly bears it ſelf, and makes not to Chriſt to be born. Every thing cracks under the weight of ſin: our very ſouls crack under the weight of ſinne. Sinners thank your ſelves: Why is not Chriſt of more uſe with you? You would bear all alone, that will kill you: Chriſt can carry all alone, your ſouls and the guilt and filth that is in them, but none elſe; he did tread the winepreſſe alone. There is art in unloading the ſoul upon Chriſt, and it lies in this; in obſerving particularly what loads the ſoul, and what Chriſt hath ſaid particularly to ſuch a caſe; no ſoul miſcarries of being born to heaven that thus does.
Chriſtians bleſſe-God, he takes much pains with you: receive this, and I conclude this point. Gods arms are as free for you, as yours for your children. I have often wondred at that expreſſion, They ſhall runne and not be weary: but now I ſee how it comes about, we run upon anothers legs. Chriſtians, that you keep on the way of God ſo chearfully and ſo reſolutely, againſt all oppoſition, 'tis Gods bearing of you; bleſſe him, you would wax weary and with-draw, to the perdition of your ſouls elſe. Perſeverance in grace is a great deal of pains to Chriſt, though it be little to us. When you carry children long in your arms, over this ſtile and over that, do not your arms ake? Then think of Chriſt, what bearing your ſouls and your ſinnes is, and whether it be worth thanks. Let him have the burden for the bearing, and if it were all gold: You pay porters for carrying this and that, pay Chriſt well, let him have your ſouls for the carriage of them.