Christ inviting sinners to come to him for rest

Now sometimes they plead this as an excuse for their sin, and say, they would fain leave it but they cannot, and they think this is a sufficient excuse for their sin, an excuse, no, this their cannot may be from the spiritual curse that is upon their souls, because the curse of God is in a high degree upon their hearts, giving them up in just judgment unto the lusts of their own hearts. And this I take in some part to be the meaning of that place, in 1. Cor. 15.56. verse. The strength of sin is the Law. Now spiritually the meaning of it is this, that all the strength that sin hath to condemn one, to kill one, to bring death, it is by the Law, that I take to be the special scope of those words. But there is included likewise in that expression thus much, that the law of God gives a strength to sin. How, you will say, doth the Law of God give a strength to sin? Thus, there is the justice of God in his Law, by virtue of the Law of God, and the justice of God in it, man is given up unto his sin, and so his sin comes to have a power and strength over him, the strength of sin it is the Law, the Law requires this, the justice of God in the Law requires this. That those that do forsake God should be forsaken of him, that those that give their hearts up to satisfy themselves in any way of sin, that they should be given up to that sin, So the strength of sin is the Law, the Law makes sin to be so much the stronger that way. Now therefore, how should the soul come to be delivered ⟨p. 309⟩from the strength of sin? the Law must be satisfied, the Law must be taken off, the strength of the Law must be taken away, and none can take that away but Christ, Christ takes away the strength of the Law, but the Law is not executed upon Christ, so as he was to be given up, but the text saith, he was made sin, he came to take our sin upon him, it was as near as might be, though he was not capable of having the execution of the Law upon him but the scripture saith, he was •ade sin for us, that indeed is a very great meaning of this place, though acknowledging of sin, and suffering for sin be the chief meaning of the place, yet it hath besides very much of this in it.

Now sometimes they plead this as an excuse for their sin, and say, they would fain leave it but they cannot, and they think this is a sufficient excuse for their sin, an excuse, no, this their cannot may be from the spiritual curse that is upon their souls, because the curse of God is in a high degre upon their hearts, giving them up in just judgment unto the lusts of their own hearts. And this I take in some part to be the meaning of that place, in