The right method for a settled peace of conscience, and spiritual comfort in 32…

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: For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. When the Prodigal, Luke 15.20. doth once come home to his Father, with sorrow and shame con•esting his unworthiness, yea but resolved to confess it; his Father preventeth ⟨p. 249⟩him, and sees him afar off, and stays not his coming but runs and meets him: and when he comes to him he doth not upbraid him with his sins, nor say, Thou Rebel, why hast thou forsaken me, and preferred harlots and luxury before me? nay he doth not so much as frown upon him: but compassionately falls on his neck and kisseth him: Alas, God knows that a poor sinner in this humbled troubled case, hath burden enough on his back already, and indeed more then he is able of himself to bear. The sense of his own sinful folly and misery is burden enough: If God should add to this his frowns and terrors, and should spurn at a poor sinner that lies prostrate at his feet, in tears or terrors, who then should be able to stand before him, or to look him in the face? But he will not break the bruised reed; he will not make heavier the burden of a sinner. He calls them to come to him for Ease and Rest, and not to oppress them or kill them with his terrors. We have not a King like Rehoboam that will multiply our pressures; but one whose office it is to break our yokes, and loose our bonds and set us free. When he was a Preacher himself on earth, you may gather what Doctrine he preached by his ⟨p. 250⟩Text, which he chose at one of his first public Sermons; which as you may find in Luke 4.18, 19. was this, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised; to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. O if a poor bruised, wounded soul had but heard this Sermon from his Saviours own mouth; what heart-meltings would it have caused? what pangs of Love would it have raised in him! You would sure have believed then that the Lord is gracious, when All (that heard him) bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth,