Obj. But does not Christ say, ' Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest ' ? Mat. xi. 28.
To this I shall give these three answers :
(1.) That though the invitation be to such that 'labour and are- heavy laden,' yet the promise of giving rest, it is made over to ' coming,' to 'believing/
(2.) I answer, that all this scripture proves and shews is, that such as labour under sin as under a heavy burden, and that are laden with the guilt of sin and sense of God's displeasure, ought to come to Christ for rest ; but it doth not prove that only such must come to Christ, nor that all men must be thus burdened and laden with the sense of their sins and the wrath of God, before they come to Christ.
Poor sinners, when they are under the sense of sin and wrath of God, they are prone to run from creature to creature, and from duty to duty, and from ordinance to ordinance, to find rest ; and if they could find it in any thing or creature, Christ should never hear of them ; but here the Lord sweetly invites them : and to encourage them, he engages himself to give them rest : ' Come/ saith Christ, ' and I will give you rest.' I will not shew you rest, nor barely tell you of rest, but ' I will give you rest.' I am faithfulness itself, and cannot lie, ' I will give you rest.' I that have the greatest power to give it, the greatest will to give it, the greatest right to give it, ' Come, laden sinners, and I will give you rest.' Rest is the most desirable good, the most suitable good, and to you the greatest good. ' Come,' saith Christ, that is, ' be- lieve in me, and I will give you rest ;' I will give you peace with God, and peace with conscience ; I will turn your storm into an everlasting calm ; T will give you such rest, that the world can neither give to you nor take from you.
(3.) I answer, No one scripture speaks out the whole mind of God ; therefore do but compare this one scripture with those several scriptures that are laid down in the second remedy last mentioned, and it will clearly appear, that though men are thus and thus burdened and laden with their sins and filled with horror and terror, if they may come to Christ, they may receive and embrace the Lord Jesus Christ.
Remedy (4). The fourth remedy against this device of Satan is, to consider, That all that trouble for sin, all that sorrow, shame, and mourning which is acceptable to God, and delightful to God, and 'pre- valent with God, floivs from faith in Christ, as the stream doth from the fountain, as the branch doth from the root, as the effect doth from the cause. Zech. xii. 10, ' They shall look on him whom they have
148 PRECIOUS REMEDIES [2 COR. II 11.
pierced, and they shall mourn for him.' All gospel mourning flows from believing ; they shall first look, and then mourn. All that know anything know this, that ' whatever is not of faith is sin/ Rom. xiv 33. Till men have faith in Christ, their best services are but glorious sins.
The fourth device that Satan hath to keep poor sinners from believ- ing, from closing with a Saviour, is,
Device (4). By suggesting to a sinner Christ 's unwillingness to save. It is true, saith Satan, Christ is able to save thee, but is he willing ? Surely, though he is able, yet he is not willing to save such a wretch as thou ait, that has trampled his blood under thy feet, and that has been in open rebellion against him all thy days, &c.
The remedy against this device of Satan is, briefly to consider these few things.
Remedy (1). First, The great journey that he hath taken, from heaven to earth, on purpose to save sinners, doth strongly demonstrate his willingness to save them. Mat. ix. 13, 'I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.' 1 Tim. i. 15, ' This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.'
Secondly, His divesting himself of his glory in order to sinners' sal- vation, speaks out his willingness to save them. He leaves his Father's bosom, he puts off his glorious robes, and lays aside his glorious crown, and bids adieu to his glistering courtiers the angels ; and all this he doth, that he may accomplish sinners' salvation.1
Thirdly, That sea of sin, that sea of wrath, that sea of trouble, that sea of blood that Jesus Christ waded through, that sinners might be pardoned, justified, reconciled, and saved, doth strongly evidence his willingness to save sinners, 1 Cor. v. 19, 20.
Fourthly, His sending his ambassadors, early and late, to woo and entreat sinners to be reconciled to him, doth with open mouth shew his readiness and willingness to save sinners.
Fifthly, His complaints against such as refuse him, and that turn their backs upon him, and that will not be saved by him, doth strongly declare his willingness to save them : John i. 11, 'He came to his own, and his own received him not.' So in John v. 40, ' But ye will not come to me, that ye may have life/
Sixthly, The joy and delight that he takes at the conversion of sin- ners, doth demonstrate his willingness that they should be saved : Luke xv. 7, ' I say unto you, That likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons that need no repentance.' God the Father rejoiceth at the return of his prodigal son ; Christ rejoices to see the travail of his soul ; the Spirit rejoices that he hath another temple to dwell in ; and the angels rejoice that they have another brother to delight in, &c, Isa. liii. 11.
The fifth device that Satan hath to keep poor sinners from believing, from closing with a Saviour, is,
Device (5). By working a sinner to mind more the secret decrees and counsels of God, than his own duty. What ncedest thou to busy thyself about receiving, embracing, and entertaining of Christ ? saith 1 From the cradle to the cross, his whole life was a life of sufferings.
2 Cor. II. ll.J against satan's devices. 149
Satan ; if thou art elected, thou shalt be saved ; if not, all that thou canst do will do thee no good. Nay, he will work the soul not only to doubt of its election, but to conclude that he is not elected, and there- fore let him do what he can, he shall never be saved.
Now the remedies against this device are these :
Remedy (1). The first remedy against this device of Satan is, seriously to consider, That all the angels in heaven, nor all the men on earth, nor all the devils in hell, cannot tell to the contrary, but that thou mayest be an elect person, a chosen vessel. Thou mayest be confident of this, that God never made Satan one of his privy council, God never acquainted him with the names or persons of such that he hath set his love upon to eternity, &c.