him fweat as it were great drops of blood, that made him groan and die !-It is,

2dly, A load of fervitude to lufts, which of themselves are heavy burdens; the very remainder of which made the apoftle groan: Rom. vii. 24. "O wretched man that I am! who fhall deliver me from the body of this death?" What greater burden can be, than for a man to have a fwarm of unmortified corruptions hanging about him, whofe cravings he is still obliged to answer. This is that which creates that weary labour, of which we have already spoken; better a man were bur dened with ferpents fticking in his flesh, than with thefe.-I obferve,

2. The Law has a load on the Chriftlefs finner and that,

(1.) A load of duties, as great and numerous as the commandment, which is exceeding broad, can lay on. Though they perform them not, yet they are bound upon them by the commandment; and they fhall fooner diffolve the whole fabric of the world, than make void this commandment. This is a heavy load. True, they that are in Chrift have a yoke of duties laid on them, but not by the law, but by Christ. The difference is great; the law exacts perfect obedience, but gives no strength; Christ, when claiming obedience to his law, gives ftrength for the performance, which makes it an eafy obedience.--There is,

(2.) A load of curfes: Gal. iii. 10. "Curfed is every one that continueth not in all things written in the book of the law, to do them." Every commandment of the law is fenced with a curfe, denounced against the breakers of it. How great must be the load, then, where every action is a fin, and every fin brings a curfe! This is a heavy

load,

load, that makes the earth reel to and fro, like a drunkard, under the weight of it.--I obferve,

3. That God has a load on the Christless finner, that is, of wrath: Eph. ii. 3. " And were by nature children of wrath." This is an abiding load : John, iii. 36. "He that believeth not the Son, fhall not fee life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." This load is far heavier than mountains of brafs; it is weightier than can be expreffed.

II. I AM now to make fome practical improve-
From what has been faid, I infer,

ment.

1. That every one muft bear his own burden. There is no getting through the world with an even up back. If people will not take up Christ's burden, they will bear a heavier one; if they will not be Christ's fervants, they must be flaves to their lufts; if they will not take on the yoke of holinefs, they fhall bear a load of wrath; if people will ftill flip the yoke of Chrift, God will wreathe the yoke of their tranfgreffions about their neck, that they shall not get shaken off. We have given forry entertainment to Chrift's burden; it is too likely we may come to get one of another fort. The entertainment we have given to Chrift's burden is like to wreathe a threefold yoke about cur necks.

For,

(1.) We have had little tafte for the preaching of Chrift, the great myfteries of the gofpcl. The preaching of fin and duty, as they call it, has been more defired than the preaching of the vitals of religion. I fear it be the plague of the generation, to get fuch preaching of fin and duty, as that the doctrine of Chrift and free-grace fall through between the two, and the gospel be turned into a fystem of morality with us.

(2.) We have little valued pure worship, it has been a burden to us, and we have ground to fear

а

a burden of another fort, the trafh of men's inventions in God's worship. There is an attempt already made to fet up Dagon by the ark of God; and God knows where it may ftop. If the ceremonies appointed by God himself were fuch, Acts, XV. IO. 66 as neither our fathers nor we were able to bear," what must they be that are laid on by men?

(3.) God took the yoke of the enemy's oppreffion off our necks, for which we have been very unthankful. It is very like that God intends to lay it on again, that we may know the worth of our defpifed mercy: Hof. xi. 4. 5. "I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love, and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them. He fhall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Affyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return.” -We may hence lament,

2. The cafe of the generation living without Christ, heavy-laden, but not fenfible of their burden, Ifa. i. 4.; compare ver. 3. both already quoted. Sin fits light upon people, they reign as kings without Chrift; the law's authority does not draw them away to Chrift; and though wrath lies heavy, they feel it not. Oh! what is the matter? They never feel the weight of it, nor once seriously put the queftion to themselves, What fhall we do to be faved? They are taken up with fo many things, that their foul's cafe cannot come into their minds. Again, they have a dead foul, and a stupid confcience, they complain not. Men's fpiritual fenfes are bound up, and a feared confcience, got by finning over the belly of daily warnings, is the plague of the generation. Well, but when confcience is awakened, people will find their fores; when drops of wrath fall on the conscience,

it will make a fearful hiffing: Ifa. xxxiii. 14. « The finners in Zion are afraid, fearfulness hath furprised the hypocrites; who among us fhall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us fhall dwell with everlasting burnings ?"-I only exhort you,

3. To labour to be fenfible of your burden, and to be concerned to get rid of it. Is there not a burden of fin upon your backs? mind that you have to do with it.-Confider, That heaven's gate is ftrait, and will not let in a man with a burden of unpardoned, unmortified fin on his back. The wide gate is that which only will afford room for fuch. Off it must be, or they will never see heaven. Confider again, all that they can do will not shake it off, the bonds of iniquity are ftronger than to be broken with their weak arms; all the moisture of their bodies, diffolved into tears, will not wafh it off. Confider, finally, it will never fall off of its own accord. Age coming on may wear off the violence of fome lufts, but the guilt remains, and the root of fin. Death itself will not put it off, for it will lie down, and alfo rife with you, and cleave to you through eternity.

What fhall we do then? What more proper than come to Chrift? He, and he only, can ease you of your burden. This brings us forward to the invitation itfelf: Come unto me all ye that labour, and are heavy-laden; which we have expreffed in

DOCT. III. That whatever finful and vain labours finners are engaged in, whatever be the loads. which are lying on them, they are welcome to Chrift; he calls them to come to him, and in coming they shall obtain rcft.-Or more shortly thus:

The

The devil's drudges and burden-bearers, even the worst of them, are welcome to come to Christ, and fhall find reft in him.-In opening which, I shall in general shew,

I. WHAT is meant by coming to Christ.

II. I fhall more particularly attempt to unfold the import of the invitation, in the feveral points deducible from the text.

III. I fhall confider what is that reft which Chrift promifes, and will give to such as come to him.

IV. I fhall make fome practical improvement.

I. I SHALL fhew what in general is meant by coming to Chrift. To come to Chrift is to believe on him: John, vi. 35. "And Jefus faid unto them, I am the bread of life; he that cometh to me fhall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." Unbelief is the foul's departing, not from a living law, but from the living God, Heb. iii. 12. Chrift is the Lord, God is in him, he calls finners to come to him; faith anfwers the call, and fo brings back the foul to God in Chrift. Now, the fcripture holds forth Chrisț many ways anfwering to this notion of coming to him by faith. And that you may fee your privilege and call, I fhall hold forth fome of these to you.

1. The devil's drudges and burden-bearers are welcome to Chrift, as the great gift of the Father to finners, to come and take it: John, iii. 16. "God fo loved the world, that he gave his onlybegotten Son, that whofoever believeth on him might not perish, but have everlafting life." The world was broken by Adam; God fends Christ as an up-making gift, and the worst of you are welcome to him, yea, he bodes (urges) himfelf upon you.

Come