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and hopeless, yet insensible of your danger; look forward to what he has provided for you, an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away; a crown of life, a kingdom that cannot be shaken; think of the love, the sufferings, the glory of him to whom you owe these blessings; and let these considerations animate you to run with patience* and thankfulness the race that is set before you.

Happy, likewise, are you whose hearts are fixed upon this rest and this Saviour, though as yet you are in heaviness through manifold temptations. The Lord will give you rest. Doubt it

not, he cannot deny himself; wait his hour; though he seems to tarry long, yet maintain your confidence in his promise. Redouble your prayers, cry mightily to him, he will not (as perhaps many around you do) rebuke your importunity, and charge you to hold your peace. Look at the generations of old, and see, did ever any trust in the Lord and was confounded? or did any abide in his fear and was forsaken? or whom did he ever despise that called upon him?

And you who are yet strangers to rest, are thus far happy, that you are still spared, and have the Gospel continued to you. The Lord is still waiting to be gracious; he says to all, Come unto me and ye shall find rest for your souls. Do you not see this rest desirable? What rest, either here or hereafter, can you expect, if you remain in the service of sin? Why may not you obtain your liberty? You are no worse than others, either by nature or practice. Though you have been transgressors from the womb, you are not excluded if you do not exclude yourselves; though your sinful habits and inclinations are exceeding strong, he is able to subdue them. There is a power in his blood, and in that Spirit which he is exalted to bestow, sufficient to make the Ethiopian change his skin, and the leopard his spots,† to soften the hardest heart, and to pardon the most aggravated guilt, and to enable those to do good who have been accustomed to do evil. Arise! he calleth you. O may he accompany the outward call of his word with the efficacious power of his grace, that you may this instant obey his voice, and flee to him for refuge? Whither can you flee else? Who but Jesus can save you from the wrath to come? Be wise and delay no longer. But if ye will not hear, mine eye shall weep for you in secret places.' If you will not come to Jesus for life, you must die. If you are out of Christ, God is angry with you every day. The curse of his broken law lies heavy upon you whether you are asleep or awake, abroad or at home, at the market or in the church. The wrath of God is Jer. xiii. 17,

* Heb. xii. 1.

+ Jer. xiii. 23.

revealed against you; if you turn not, he will whet his sword ;* he hath bent his bow, and made it ready; he hath prepared the instruments of death to smite you; he hath ordained the arrows of his vengeance against you; and can you, dare you go on in your sins, and say, I shall have peace? O may you be wise in time! It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.'t Consider this, ye that forget him, lest he tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.'

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SERMON XII.

OF THE YOKE OF CHRIST

MATT. xi. 29.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me: for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

THOSE who are enabled to come unto Christ, not only experience a change of state, but of character, disposition, and practice. They are not only freed from condemnation, but they are made partakers of a divine nature. They are delivered from the slavery and yoke of Satan, and made willing, in the day of the Lord's power, to accept and embrace his yoke, which is commended to us in the following verse as easy and pleasant. Our Lord speaks of his service as a yoke or burden, because it is so esteemed by all who know him not. They account him a hard master, and think his service wearisome; but those who have made the experiment find it otherwise though, it must be confessed, it exposes to some difficulties, calls for the daily exercise of self-denial, and will not admit either of competition or composition with the world, nor can it be pleasing to the unrenewed part of our nature. But the knowledge of his love, the hope of glory, and those seasonable refreshments with which he is pleased to favour those who come unto him, sweeten every bitter thing, and make them willing to bear his yoke and to prefer it to all that the world accounts freedom.

Let us inquire,

1. What is meant by the yoke of Christ.

*Ps. vii. 12.

† Heb. x. 31.

Ps. 1. 22.

2. The proper means by which we are enabled to take it upon us; that is, the believing consideration of him as our effectual teacher, and perfect pattern.

3. The happy effect of bearing his yoke: we shall find rest to our souls.

I. The yoke of Christ, taken at large, includes all that dependence, obedience, and submission, which we owe him as our rightful Lord and gracious Redeemer. He has a double right to us, he made us.'* We are the creatures of his power; he gave us our being, with all our capacities and enjoyments. And further, he bought as ;'t he pitied us in our low and fallen state, and gave his own life, his precious blood, to ransom us from that ruin and misery which was the just desert of our sins. There is good reason, therefore, that we should be his, and live and cleave to him in love alone; that we should no longer live to ourselves, but to him who died for us and rose again. In particular we may consider,

1. The yoke of his profession. This is very pleasing to a gracious soul, so far as faith is in exercise. Far from being ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, he is ready and willing to tell all who will hear, what God has done for his soul. Many young converts, in the first wamth of their affection, have more need of a bridle than of a spur in this concern. For want of prudence to time things rightly, and perhaps for want of more tenderness mixed with their zeal, they are apt to increase their own troubles, and sometimes, by pushing things too far, to obstruct the success of their well-meant endeavours to convince others. But, though this is a fault, it is a fault on the right side, which time, experience, and observation, will correct. And though we are hasty enough to condemn the irregular overflowings of a heart deeply impressed with a sense of eternal things, I doubt not but the Lord, who owns and approves the main principle from whence they spring, beholds them with a far more favourable eye than he does the cold, cautious, temporizing conduct of some others, who value themselves upon their prudence. We should judge thus if we had servants of our own. If we had one who was heartily and affectionately devoted to our interests, always ready to run by night or by day, refusing no danger or difficulty from a desire to please us, though sometimes, through ignorance or inattention, he should make a mistake, we should prefer him to another of greater knowledge and abilities, who was always slow and backward, and discovered at least as much care to save himself from inconveniences as to promote our service. However, † Acts xx. 28.

* Psalm c. 5. VOL. II.

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this warm zeal usually suffers abatement; we are flesh, as well as spirit and there are some circumstances attending a profession of the Gospel, on the account of which it may be with propriety termed a yoke to us, who have so many remaining evils within us, and so many outward temptations to call them forth. It will certainly stir up opposition from the world, and may probably break* in upon our dearest connexions, and threaten our most necessary temporal interests.

2. The yoke of his precepts. These the gracious soul approves and delights in; but still we are renewed but in part. And when the commands of Christ stand in direct opposition to the will of man, or call upon us to sacrifice a right hand or a right eye; though the Lord will surely make those who depend upon him victorious at the last, yet it will cost them a struggle; so that when they are sensible how much they owe to his power working in them, and enabling them to overcome, they will at the same time have a lively conviction of their own weakness. Abraham believed in God, and delighted to obey; yet when he was commanded to sacrifice his only son, this was no easy trial of his sincerity and obedience: and all who are partakers of his faith are exposed to meet, sooner or later, with some call of duty, little less contrary to the dictates of flesh and blood.

3. The yoke of his dispensations. This none can bear as they ought but those who come to him. It is natural to us to repine, to fret and toss like a wild bull in a net,† when we are under afflictions. Believers likewise find their flesh weak when their spirits are willing; yet they see sufficient reasons for submission, and they know where to apply for grace. Affliction is a touchstone that discovers what spirit a man is of.

The hypocrite may keep up a fair semblance of true piety while all things go smooth and to his wish, but in sharp troubles the mask will drop off. Satan proceeded upon this maxim in his contest with Job; and the maxim is a truth, though Satan was mistaken in the application.

II. The appointed means by which sinners are enabled to bear this threefold yoke, is suggested in the words, Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly.' However amiable and desirable the disposition I have described may appear, you will never acquire it by any strength, wisdom, or diligence of your own. Our Lord, to prevent you wearying yourselves with unsuccessful efforts and needless disappointments, has assured you before-hand, 'Without me ye can do nothing.' But here he graciously offers you the assistance you need. As if he had said, I know you are unable † Isa. li. 20.

*2 Tim. iii. 12. Matt. x. 36.

John xv. 5.

Be not afraid of the prospect,

of yourselves, but I will help you. but consider what I can do. To my power all things are easy; I can make the crooked straight, and the rough smooth; I can sweetly engage your affections, subdue your wills, influence your practice, and deliver you from your sinful fears. Consider, likewise, what I have done; thousands, who by nature were as unskilful and impatient as yourselves, have been made willing in the day of my power.

Therefore, Learn of me. Be not afraid to come to me, for I am meek and lowly of heart. Great and mighty as I am, you may freely apply to me in every doubt and difficulty. Awakened souls, through a sense of guilt, and the power of unbelief, are backward and unwilling to come to Christ. They think, surely he will take no notice of such a one as I am. But observe how kind and condescending is his invitation; how graciously suited to engage our confidence. It was said of a Roman emperor, that those who durst speak to him were ignorant of his greatness; but those who durst not, were still more ignorant of his goodness. This was a false and impious compliment when applied to a sinful mortal; but it is justly applicable to Jesus, the Kings of kings, and Lord of lords. His glorious majesty may well fill our hearts with awe, and humble us into the dust before him; but his immense compassions, tenderness, and love, are revealed to overbalance our fears, to give us confidence to draw nigh to him, and an encouraging hope that he will draw nigh to us.

Again, Learn of me. I know the cause why these things appear so hard. It is owing to the pride and impatience of your hearts. To remedy this, take me for your example: I require nothing of you but what I have performed before you, and on your account in the path I mark out for you, you may perceive my own footsteps all the way. This is a powerful argument, a sweet recommendation of the yoke of Christ, to those who love him, that he bore it himself. He is not like the Pharisees, whom he censured on this very account, who bound heavy burdens, and grievous to be borne, and laid them on men's shoulders, but they themselves would not move them with one of their fingers.

1. Are you terrified with the difficulties attending your profession, disheartened by hard usage, or too ready to show resentment against those who oppose you? Learn of Jesus, imitate and admire his constancy: consider him who endured the contradiction of sinners against himself.'t Make a comparison (so the word imports) between yourself and him, between the contradiction

* Matt. xxiii. 4.

# Heb. xii. 3. αναλογίσασθε.

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