CHRIST INVITING SINNERS TO COME TO HIM. › Chapter 29, Christ inviting sinners to come to him for rest by Jeremiah Burroughs (1659) | AskReformation

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:793p. 233

Lastly, we are delivered from the Law as the covenant for life, the law at first was given as the covenant that God made with mankind for life, for God deals with the rational creature according to the nature of it, & because it is capable of a covenant with God, therefore God deals with it in the way of a covenant, and as soon as man was made, the Lord entered into a covenant with mankind, now the covenant was no other than the law, Do and live, that was the covenant that God did enter into with mankind, and made our first parents Adam, the head of that Covenant, Do and live, upon thy doing shall thy life depend (saith God) thy present and thy eternal life. Now we are delivered from the law by Christ, that is, that now it doth remain no more unto believers, to be the covenant of life unto them, they being once in Christ, but they are brought under another Covenant, a better Covenant. So that in these five respects we may be said to be delivered from the Law by Christ, from the rigour of it, from the bondage of it, from the binding-over power that is in it, from the condemning power, and from it as the Covenant of life. Now here is enough, one would think, if so be that the spirits of Men were not very wild and wanton, for the quieting of the soul in the deliverance of it from the law.

Lastly, we are delivered from the Law as the covenant for life, the law at first was given as the covenant that God made with mankind for life, for God deales with the rational creature according to the nature of it, & because it is capable of a covenant with God, therefore God deals with it in the way of a covenant, and as soon as man was made, the Lord entered into a covenant with mankind, now the covenant was no other than the law, Do and live, that was the covenant that God did enter into with mankind, and made our first parents Adam, the head of that Covenant, Do and live, upon thy doing shal thy life depend (saith God) thy present and thy eternal life. Now we are delivered from the law by Christ, that is, that now it doth remain no more unto beleevers, to be the covenant of life unto them, they being once in Christ, but they are brought under another Covenant, a better Covenant. So that in these five respects we may be said to be delivered from the Law by Christ, from the rigor of it, from the bondage of it, from the binding-over power that is in it, from the condemning power, and from it as the Covenant of life. Now here is enough, one would think, if so be that the spirits of Men were not very wild and wanton, for the quieting of the soul in the deliverance of it from the law.

:797p. 234–235

First, Know, That thou dost not stand and fall for thy eternal estate by the law, that is the first Ease and Rest, the law indeed may threaten thee, and dreadful things may be revealed by it against thee, but be of good comfort in this, thy eternal estate shall not be cast by it, it is full of severity, but thou art so far free, that whereas before thou didst depend and rely upon that for thy eternal condition, now thou art out of the power, out of the reach of it, so far that it hath not to do with thee, to cast thy soul for thy eternal estate; we would not be at the ⟨p. 235⟩dispose of any man that we look upon as full of severity and rigour in matters of great consequence, but we do desire rather to be, in such cases, at the dispose of men, who are full of pity and compassion, know, O! thou believer, who art in Christ, that thou art not at the dispose of the Law, that is full of severity, for thy everlasting condition, but thou art at the dispose of the Gospel, of the covenant of grace, that is filled as full with mercy and compassion, as an infinite wisdom could devise, it hath that fullness of compassion, more then possibly all the wisdom of the angels in heaven, and men upon earth could ever have devised or thought on, beyond their imagination: Now for one to be at the dispose of a man in matters of the greatest concernment, that hath as much mercy in him, as ever man had in this world, yea, as much mercy in him as were in all the men in the world, If all the mercy that were in all the men in the world were put into one, the heart of one man, and you were to be at his dispose in a matter of the greatest concernment, you would think your selves well, whereas before you lay at the mercy of a man that is very rigorous, and full of severity, now you come to lie at the mercy of a man that hath all the bowels and tender compassions of all the men in the world, would you not think this a good change?

First, Know, That thou dost not stand and fal for thy eternal estate by the law, that is the first Ease and Rest, the law indeed may threaten thee, and dreadful things may be revealed by it against thee, but be of good comfort in this, thy eternal estate shal not be cast by it, it is ful of severity, but thou art so far free, that whereas before thou didst depend and rely upon that for thy eternal condition, now thou art out of the power, out of the reach of it, so far that it hath not to do with thee, to cast thy soul for thy eternal estate; we would not be at the ⟨p. 235⟩dispose of any man that we look upon as ful of severity and rigor in matters of great consequence, but we do desire rather to be, in such cases, at the dispose of men, who are ful of pitty and compassion, know, O! thou beleever, who art in Christ, that thou art not at the dispose of the Law, that is ful of severity, for thy everlasting condition, but thou art at the dispose of the Gospel, of the covenant of grace, that is fild as ful with mercy and compassion, as an infinite wisdom could devise, it hath that fulness of compassion, more then possibly al the wisdom of the angels in heaven, and men upon earth could ever have devised or thought on, beyond their imagination: Now for one to be at the dispose of a man in matters of the greatest concernment, that hath as much mercy in him, as ever man had in this world, yea, as much mercy in him as were in al the men in the world, If al the mercy that were in al the men in the world were put into one, the heart of one man, and you were to be at his dispose in a matter of the greatest concernment, you would think your selves wel, whereas before you lay at the mercy of a man that is very rigorous, and ful of severity, now you come to ly at the mercy of a man that hath al the bowels and tender compassions of al the men in the world, would you not think this a good change?

:799p. 235–237¶2

2ly, now he that is the lawgiver, is thy redeemer, thou comest now to receive the law from the hand of a mediator & ⟨p. 236⟩here indeed is the principle ease and rest of a gracious heart, to the mind of a Saint, a believer, that now he comes to receive the Law from the hand of a mediator. There is many that speak of deliverance from the Law as it came by Moses, but if we understand things aright, we have no such cause to think that necessary, to be delivered from the Law as it came by Moses in one sense, that is thus, Moses was a type of Christ as a Mediator, for so he is called a Mediator, in Gal. 3.19. It was ordained by Angels in the hand of a mediator. God made use of the ministry of the Angels in delivering the law, and he gave it in the hand of a mediator, not to the people immediately, for they were not able to bear it, but in the hand of Moses, because he was to bring the Law from God unto them, and it was not immediately given unto them, but in his hand as in the hand of a Mediator. Now Moses is called a Mediator here, as a type of Christ, as he was a type of Christ; as he was a type of Christ in diverse respects, so in this, and he typified Christ in this particular, that the Law to believers, comes not unto them merely from God as a righteous and just God, as their Judg, but comes unto them in the hand of Christ as their Mediator, and there is a great deal of comfort in the Law to receive it thus, to receive it from the hand of Christ who is their Mediator, and (as I showed before) who is their advocate; for so he is called in scripture: that now they should receive the Law by his hand, that is at the right hand of the Father, to be their advocate, to plead for them when they shall through infirmity break the law; this is a mighty rest to the soul, therefore believers are to look upon the Law coming from God, but coming from God in the hand of a Mediator, to look upon their mediator as indeed their Law-giver, not only handing the Law to them as Moses did, but the truth is, the Law-giver himself, Christ the Mediator hands the Law to them, yea, is their Law-giver, and receives the Law for them: now this must needs be a great ease, a great ⟨p. 237⟩Rest to the Soul, if it understands this aright.

2ly, now he that is the lawgiver, is thy redeemer, thou comest now to receiv the law from the hand of a mediator & ⟨p. 236⟩here indeed is the principle ease and rest of a gracious heart, to the mind of a Saint, a beleever, that now he comes to receive the Law from the hand of a mediator. There is many that speake of deliverance from the Law as it came by Moses, but if we understand things aright, we have no such cause to think that necessary, to be delivered from the Law as it came by Moses in one sence, that is thus, Moses was a tipe of Christ as a Mediator, for so he is called a Mediator, in Gal. 3.19. It was ordained by Angels in the hand of a mediator. God made use of the ministry of the Angels in delivering the law, and he gave it in the hand of a mediator, not to the people immediately, for they were not able to beare it, but in the hand of Moses, because he was to bring the Law from God unto them, and it was not immediately given unto them, but in his hand as in the hand of a Mediator. Now Moses is called a Mediator here, as a tipe of Christ, as he was a tipe of Christ; as he was a tipe of Christ in diverse respects, so in this, and he tipified Christ in this particular, that the Law to beleevers, comes not unto them meerly from God as a righteous and just God, as their Judg, but comes unto them in the hand of Christ as their Mediator, and there is a great deal of comfort in the Law to receive it thus, to receive it from the hand of Christ who is their Mediator, and (as I shewed before) who is their advocate; for so he is called in scripture: that now they should receive the Law by his hand, that is at the right hand of the Father, to be their advocate, to plead for them when they shal through infirmity break the law; this is a mighty rest to the soul, therefore beleevers are to look upon the Law coming from God, but coming from God in the hand of a Mediator, to look upon their mediator as indeed their Law-giver, not only handing the Law to them as Moses did, but the truth is, the Law-giver himself, Christ the Mediator hands the Law to them, yea, is their Law-giver, and receives the Law for them: now this must needs be a great ease, a great ⟨p. 237⟩Rest to the Soul, if it understands this aright.

:800p. 237

Thirdly, In Christ now thy condition is such, that though there be never so many imperfections, never so many weaknesses, Yea, strong Corruptions, yet if there be but the least Spiritual good, the least work of Gods Grace in thee, the Lord hath a special Eye to that little good that there is in thee, and all thy Corruptions, all thy imperfections shall not hinder the acceptation of the little spark of good that is in thy Soul, this is our freedom by Christ: For in the opening of the Law, there I showed, that whatever good man doth do being under the Law, let it be what it will, yet except it be perfect, it is all rejected. All that are in their natural condition, and under the first Covenant, whatever they do, if there be any imperfection mingled with it, it is not at all accepted, but here is the Rest that believers have, that the case is altered with them. Now though there be much corruption remaining in them, if the Lord sees but one spark of grace, though never so weak, though it be but as the smoking flax, as the bruised Reed, yet they are accepted of God, having but the least spark of any good at all in them: this is a mighty ease to the Souls of those that labour under the bondage of the Law, That before seeing so much Corruption in their Hearts they had little Hopes of acceptation of any thing that was in them, now the Lord hath regard to any thing that is good, be it never so small, Yea, And he will find it out too. Perhaps thy Grace may be so small, that it may be buried in the he•• of Corruption, that thou shalt not be able to find it out. The condition of some Christians is, as a Maid that shall go in the morning to the hearth, and there raking up and down in the ashes, to see if she can find some spark of fire, and she finds none, and is ready to think there is none there, but perhaps there may some spark lie in a corner, though she finds it not:

Thirdly, In Christ now thy condition is such, that though there be never so many imperfections, never so many weaknesses, Yea, strong Corruptions, yet if there be but the least Spiritual good, the least work of Gods Grace in thee, the Lord hath a special Eye to that little good that there is in thee, and all thy Corruptions, all thy imperfections shall not hinder the acceptation of the little spark of good that is in thy Soul, this is our freedome by Christ: For in the opening of the Law, there I shewed, that whatever good man doth do being under the Law, let it be what it wil, yet except it be perfect, it is al rejected. All that are in their natural condition, and under the first Covenant, whatever they do, if there be any imperfection mingled with it, it is not at al accepted, but here is the Rest that beleevers have, that the case is altered with them. Now though there be much corruption remaining in them, if the Lord sees but one spark of grace, though never so weak, though it be but as the smoking flax, as the bruised Reed, yet they are accepted of God, having but the least spark of any good at al in them: this is a mighty ease to the Souls of those that labor under the bondage of the Law, That before seeing so much Corruption in their Hearts they had little Hopes of acceptation of any thing that was in them, now the Lord hath regard to any thing that is good, be it never so smal, Yea, And he wil find it out too. Perhaps thy Grace may be so smal, that it may be buried in the he•• of Corruption, that thou shalt not be able to find it out. The condition of some Christians is, as a Maid that shal go in the morning to the hearth, and there raking up and down in the ashes, to see if she can find some spark of fire, and she finds none, and is ready to think there is none there, but perhaps there may some spark lie in a corner, though she finds it not:

:801p. 237–238

So it is here, corruption in the Heart ⟨p. 238⟩is like the Ashes, and Grace is like some spark that lies in a Corner, and when poor Souls go to examine their Hearts, they see a great deal of Ashes, a great deal of Corruption, and are ready to conclude, the fire is out, no spark there, I but, though rhou canst not find a spark there, yet being in Christ, God will find it when thou canst not thy self, if there be any that lies in any corner, as we hope there is some sparks in many, though there is so much Corruption in the Hearts of many godly people, that we wonder where their Grace lies, so much passion, frowardness, and the like, well, were it indeed that these were under the Covenant of works, under the Law, that corruption that doth appear in them would cause all to be cast off, whatever might lie secretly in their Hearts, God would cast it off, but now, if they be such as are under the Covenant of Grace, and the Lord hath brought them to Christ, this is the Rest and ease for their Souls, that all the Corruption that is in them shall not hinder the acceptation of the least spark of the Grace of God that the Lord hath wrought in them.

So it is here, corruption in the Heart ⟨p. 238⟩is like the Ashes, and Grace is like some spark that lies in a Corner, and when poor Souls go to examin their Hearts, they see a great deal of Ashes, a great deal of Corruption, and are ready to conclude, the fire is out, no spark there, I but, though rhou canst not find a spark there, yet being in Christ, God will find it when thou canst not thy self, if there be any that lies in any corner, as we hope there is some sparks in many, though there is so much Corruption in the Hearts of many godly people, that we wonder where their Grace lies, so much passion, frowardness, and the like, well, were it indeed that these were under the Covenant of works, under the Law, that corruption that doth appear in them would cause all to be cast off, whatever might lie secretly in their Hearts, God would cast it off, but now, if they be such as are under the Covenant of Grace, and the Lord hath brought them to Christ, this is the Rest and ease for their Souls, that all the Corruption that is in them shall not hinder the acceptation of the least spark of the Grace of God that the Lord hath wrought in them.