Christ inviting sinners to come to him for rest

The 7. Burden of Legal Performances.

7. Those that perform duties in a mere legal way, find nothing to come of their duties, but are merely as a horse in the mil, go the rounds, or as if a man were to rive or cleave a knotty piece of wood, he strikes, but the knottiness of the wood gives the rebound to the axe and wedges, and he can make no mark of it, though a man strive and work hard, yet if he finds his work goes on, here is some comfort, but when he works and works, and it continues so still, this is burdensome. If a man should be set to pull a log out of a ditch, and enjoined to work from morning to night, and he pulls and pulls all the day, and it stirs not, is no further on in his work at night then he was in the morning, and he must go to it the next day and nothing comes of his work this is very tedious, so it is with those that are merely legal in their performances, they find little or nothing comes of all their performances and this must needs be very burdensome: you that have been thus burdened, know, this very text concerns you, and Christ hath thoughts of you and calls you to himself and saith, Come to me, as if Christ should say, certainly there is another way for you to have ease and rest to your souls, it is true you must go on and do your duty; but you must come to know me in the gospel before yo• […] have ease and rest to your souls.

7. Those that performe duties in a meer legal way, find nothing to come of their duties, but are meerly as a horse in the mil, go the rounds, or as if a man were to rive or cleave a knotty peice of wood, he strikes, but the knottiness of the wood gives the rebound to the axe and wedges, and he can make no marke of it, though a man strive and work hard, yet if he findes his work goes on, here is some comfort, but when he works and works, and it continues so stil, this is burdensome. If a man should be set to pull a logg out of a ditch, and injoyned to work from morning to night, and he pulls and pulls al the day, and it stirs not, is no further on in his work at night then he was in the morning, and he must go to it the next day and nothing comes of his work this is very tedious, so it is with those that are meerely legal in their performances, they find little or nothing comes of al their performances and this must needs be very burdensome: you that have been thus burdened, know, this very text concernes you, and Christ hath thoughts of you and cals you to himself and saith, Come to me, as if Christ should say, certainly there is another way for you to have ease and rest to your souls, it is true you must go on and do your duty; but you must come to know me in the gospel before yo have ease and rest to your souls.