8. Have not fignal mercies, as well as judgements, brought a fting along with them, while confcience has been whispering unto thee, that God was thine enemy.

9. Was ever thy heart truly at rest in these things, fo that thou couldft fay thou defireft no more? Nay, but the more of thefe, the more are they defired.

io. There is another way to come at your purpofe. Come to Chrift, and he will give you reft. This is a short way, for all is in hin; whatever perfections are scattered up and down amongst the creatures, all is in him, and infinitely more. It is a fure way, for you will not mifs happiness if you come to him.

I WOULD once more expoftulate with you. Why do you spend your labour for that which fatisfieth not? I would befeech you, in the most earneft manner, not only to cease from, to give up with, your prefent unpleasant and unprofitable labour, but also to change your labour; I would have you, not only to depart from evil, but even to do good; I would call upon you to engage in the service of a new Mafter, and run in the way of his commandments. You are labouring, you must be labouring, one way or other; will you not then engage in the labour of true religion, real godlinefs? If we must ferve, furely it is better to ferve Chrift than the devil. The labour that there is in religion affrights the world at it; but why fhould it, feeing their labour is fo great while out ofChrift? Confider,

1. We are not calling you from idleness to working, but from labour to labour. And even if we were ftill to be flaves, better be fo to God than to

the

the devil. What will men fay to Chrift at the laft day, who will be at pains in their lufts, but be at none in holiness, that will bear a yoke, but not Christ's yoke?

2. We call you, not from one base labour to another, but from a base to an honourable work. Should one be called from the ftone-barrow to be a king's cup-bearer, it were not comparable to what is propofed.-1. They will have a moré honourable Mafter. 2. More honourable fellow-labourers, for the angels ferve him.-3. More honourable work, God himself is glorious in holinefs.-4. A more honourable office; from being flaves to the devil, they are made kings and priests unto God.

3. We call upon you from vain labour, to that which fhall be profperous and fuccefsful; you are labouring for happinefs there, where you will never get it, but here are full breasts ; you are in vain ftriking at the flinty rock for water, here is an open fountain, where none ever went away difappointed.

4. We call you from a barren labour, where you will get nothing but forrow to take away with you, to a labour which, when you have finished your works, will follow you, Rev. xiv. 13. Ah! miferable is your prefent labour, Ifa. lix. 5. 6. The spider waftes its bowels to fpin its web, and when all is done, one stroke of the, befom sweeps all away; it is either killed in its web, or drawn by it as a rope unto death; fo that it doth but fpin its winding-fheet, or plait the rope for itself. Confider,

5. That the worst which can be made of it is, that religion is hard labour. But this fhould be no prejudice against it with you, feeing, as has been faid, the labour out of Chrift is also hard labour. But to caft the balance, observe,

(1.) If it is hard labour, it is worth the pains, the other is not fo; for, Prov. ii. 4. 5. "If thou feekeft her as filver, and fearcheft for her as hid treasures, then fhalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God." There is hard labour in digging ftones, as well as in digging for gold; nay, it is hard labour digging difappointments, that which is not; whereas the gain of the other is precious and certain.-1. The promise, Prov. viii. 21. "That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance, and I will fill their treafures."-2. The experience of all the labourers confirm the certainty of it: "I (God) said not unto the feed of Jacob, Seek ye my face in vain."

(2.) If it is hard labour, it is short; if the work be fore, yet it is not longfome. You shall foon reft from your labours: Rev. xiv. 13. He that is tired with his journey, his fpirits will revive when near the end. The fhadow of the evening makes the labourer work heartily, for loofing-time is at hand. The trials, afflictions, weeping, &c. of the faints, endure but for a moment. On the other hand, the labour of other persons knows no end; no rest abides them, but an everlasting toil under wrath that never ends.

6. We call you from a hard to an eafy labour: "My yoke is eafy," Chrift has faid it, we must believe it. But to clear it, confider for this time only these two things.

(1.) All the difficulties in religion arise from that active corruption which is in men, putting them to labour in their lufts and in the law: Mat. xi. 12. "The kingdom of heaven fuffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." Violence and force, not with God, he oppofeth us not, but with our own corruptions. And in this sense only the scripture

holds

holds out the labour of religion to be hard. But men do not state the matter fairly: Lay a tonweight upon a rolling-ftone, certainly it is harder to roll both together than the stone alone; but is the ftone therefore lighter than the ton-weight? Take them feparately, and abfolutely, the labour in religion is eafy, the other hard. Men cannot bear Chrift's burden. Why? because they ftill keep on the devil's burden, and they cannot bear the one above the other; that is not fair. Lay off the one, take up the other; fee which is lighteft. A meek and a paffionate man, which of them has the hardest task in bearing an affront? the fober man, or the drunkard? the worldly man, or he that lives above the world? The more power grace has, the more eafy; the more power lufts have, the more hard is the labour.

in the

(2.) There is true help in the one, not other. The labour in religion has outward helps; the labourers are not helpless, they have a cloud of witneffes gone before them, whom they may fee with their crowns upon their heads, Heb. xii. 1. Ye are not the forlorn in hope. Armies of faints

have stormed heaven before you," and have left it behind them; that the work is poffible, and the reward certain. The other have not this; if they get fatisfaction in their lufts, they are the first. They fee thousands before them, who have laboured as hard as they, disappointed, and are lain down in forrow. This labour has inward helps. Chrift bears the heaviest part of his own yoke; he gives ftrength, he works the will for the work; and the work for us, when we have the will: Phil. ii. 13. "For it is God that worketh in us, both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Ifa. xxvi. 12. "Thou alfo haft wrought all our works in us." The

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others

others have not. True, they have that within them which puts them on to this labour, but the more of the one, the harder is the other, as the wearied beaft is goaded by the fpur, and worn out by their being beaten when no ftraw is allowed them. But where is the help to work fatisfaction and happiness out of the creatures, or from the law?

7. We call you from a wearifome to a lightfome pleafant labour. I have proved the firft; for the laft, fee Prov. iii. 17. "Her ways are ways of pleasantnefs, and all her paths are peace." But let us hear what can be faid for both.

(1.) Is there much pleasure in fin? Anf. In fome there is none. What pleasure has the paflionate man, that kindles a fire in his own bofom? What pleasure has the envious, that gnaws himfelf like a ferpent for the good that others enjoy? What pleafure has the difcontented, that is his own executioner. Confider the calm of spirit that the contrary graces bring, and judge who has the better part. As for thofe fins in which pleasure is found,

[1.] It is common to them with thefe creatures with whom they will not defire to be ranked. For these things that gratify men's fenfual appetite are common to them with beafts, as gluttony, drunkenefs, filthinefs, &c. A fow can drink, and be as drunk as the greateft drunkard, and fo on.

And

they have the better of them, as being under no law, and therefore, they can go the full length of their appetite.-2. They do it without remorse. -3. They find fatisfaction in these things, feeing they are not capable of defiring greater things. Now, put thefe together, where is the pleasure? Is it not furpaffed by the pain? As to the defires of the mind, thefe are common to them with devils. The greatest fwearer, liar, and proud oppofer VOL. I.

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