give you rest; take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest to your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light m." "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not grievous"." "Being justified by faith we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ. By whom also we have access by faith unto this grace, wherein we stand, and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God: and not only so, but we glory in tribulation"." "Whom not having seen, ye love; though now you see him not, yet believing ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls P." "We are the circumcision that worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh 9." "Rejoice evermore "." "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice "." "Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous, for praise is comely for the upright." "Ye that love the Lord, hate evil; he preserveth the souls of his saints, he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous, and shout for joy all ye that are upright in heart"." to What say you to all this now? Is it a life of trouble and misery that God hath prescribed for his people to live in? Is this a burdensome, grievous life? Will you not believe' him, concerning his own way? I tell you again, and declare you from the Lord, that you shall never have any true peace and comfort till you are converted, and lead a holy life. And you that say you shall never have a merry day more, if you leave your sins, and give up yourselves to a life of holiness, I do profess and proclaim to you, that you shall never have a merry life indeed till you do it: I mean, you shall never have that solid and lasting joy, which beseemeth a man of wisdom to regard. Believe the Lord himself that hath told you it twice over; Isa xlviii. 32., "There is no peace saith the Lord to the wicked;" Isa. li. 21., "There is "The no peace saith my God to the wicked." way of peace they know not, there is no judgment in their goings; they m Matt. xi. 27, 28. P 1 Pet. i. 8, 9. " 1 John v. 3. q Phil. iii. 3. t Psal. xxxiii. 1. • Rom. v. 1-3. r 1 Thess. v. 16. u Psal. lxxix. 10-12. have made them crooked paths; whosoever goeth therein, shall not know peace." I confess, a carnal peace you may awhile maintain, and for a time may have a merry dream, but the day is near, when you will have a terrible awakening. And you may think that the godly have no such joy, because you see it not, or because you see them sad and heavy: but their "joy is such as strangers meddle not with." I know the righteous have many troubles, and are oftener in tears and groans than others; but that is from the remnants of their sins, which as it consisteth with prevailing grace, so doth that sorrow with prevailing joy, or may do at least. A dead man groaneth not, when a sick man doth: and yet that is no disparagement to life. What is sweeter than life? and yet sickness may make it grievous; but we do not therefore prefer death before life, because some are sick: so what is sweeter than the life of grace? and yet spiritual sickness may make us walk heavily, and yet we do not therefore prefer a death in sin before it. O come and try, sinners, the pleasures that be in the ways of God, and do not for shame speak against them, till you have thoroughly tried them. The Lord himself doth testify of them, Prov. iii. 13. xxi. 20. " Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding; for the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared to her. Length of days is in her right hand, and in her left hand riches and honour. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her, and happy is every one that retaineth her." You see then that conversion is the beginning of consolation. 17. Another of the privileges of the converted, is this; As he hath cause of continual joy, so no evil that can befal him, is a sufficient reason to lay by these joys, as to the habit at least, and the prevailing degree. I know that so far as we have sin, we may, we shall, we must have sorrow: but then, so far as we have that sin pardoned and mortified, we may, we should have greater joy. And because a converted man hath no unmortified, unpardoned sin, therefore his cause of joy is greater than his cause of sorrow. Though yet x Isa. lix. 8. I must say, that there are seasons when sorrow must be most expressed, as in days of humiliation, and in great falls, and in some afflictions; yet habitually then our joy should be the greater, though it be not the season to express it. But my special meaning here is about the evil of affliction, which is sanctified to the godly, and hath lost its sting, and is turned by a hand of grace to their advantage. Should not that man live in continual joy, that is the heir of heaven, and a friend of God, and a member of Christ, and doth but wait for the hour of death to be possessed of that unspeakable, endless glory? What should trouble the heart of him that is escaped out of the power of satan, and the greatest trouble, which is the wrath of God, and the danger of everlasting misery? That which may torment the heart of another day and night, even the thoughts of the endless flames of hell; this is not only taken out of his way, but turned into the matter of his joy and praise, to think but of the fearful misery that he hath escaped. O what heart that hath received a pardon of all sins, and is saved thereby from the everlasting torments, can choose but daily rejoice in that salvation? Would not a Judas have been glad, while he was hanging himself in despair, if any one would have given him assurance, yea, or but hope of that salvation? Go to any despairing sinner, or any one under the terrors of the Lord, and ask them whether or no they would be glad if they could but be assured that they should escape that misery which they fear? You need not doubt what answer they would give you. They would be glad, and a thousand times glad; much more if you could assure them of an everlasting glory, instead of that deserved misery. O then, what a blessed state are all those in that are truly converted! How many times doth the mouth of Christ pronounce them blessed! "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for their's is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are they that are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for their's is the kingdom of God." What case soever that man be in that is the heir of heaven, he cannot choose but be a blessed man. If any thing might make him seem 'miserable, it would be to be persecuted and hated, and made y Matt. v. 3. 6 8. 10. the scorn of the world; and yet Christ saith, that even then he is blessed; and biddeth them even then " rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you." That man that hath a reward in heaven, may be exceeding glad, whatsoever befal him here on earth. Will a prince be troubled for the loss of a farthing, or the barking of a dog? That man that hath not clothes to his back, nor a house to put his head in, nor a good word from any about him, and yet hath assurance of living in glory with God and his holy angels, as soon as ever he is gone out of the flesh, I think is a happy man in the eye of reason itself. And he that professeth to have assurance of such a glory, and yet liveth not comfortably in every condition, I will not believe him, whatsoever he profess. Sure I am the great monarchs and princes of the world, when they are parting with their crowns, would be glad to have assurance of the everlasting crown, on condition they had lived as poor as the vilest beggar on the earth. There is not the stoutest gallant and proudest sinner but would be glad to change states with the poorest saint, when he seeth the end. O, but they must be wise in time, that will be ever the better for their wisdom. Balaam could say, "O that I may die the death of the righteous, and that my last end may be like his "." All the world would say at last as the foolish virgins, if it would do any good, "Give us of your oil, for our lamps are out." Who would not be a saint, when he is past the pleasure of his sin, and cast off by the world, which deceived him in his prosperity? Methinks the greatest men on earth should tremble in the midst of all their glory, to remember the everlasting misery that they are near, if they be not living members of Christ, as Belshazzar did in the midst of his joviality". And methinks the poorest true believer should have his heart abound with joy, to remember the things that God hath promised him, and which he must certainly ere long possess. O think not what you are, Christians, but what you shall be. Yet a little while, and you shall groan, and weep, and complain no more: you shall not know what poverty, or trouble, or any other sufferings do mean. You are almost your sorrow, as the unconverted are almost past all Numb. xxiii. 10. past their joy. O what difference is between their part and yours; between the good things which they have here, and the portion which you have there! Is it not better go by the dunghill to the everlasting crown, than by a fading crown to everlasting torments? They will forget their honour and delicious fare, when they want a drop of water to cool their tongues; and you will forget your present sorrow, when you are in Abraham's bosom, or in the presence of the Lamb. If one day in the courts of God on earth seemed better to David than a thousand elsewhere, what will an endless life in glory seem to a believing soul? O sirs, we want nothing but soundness of faith, and spiritual life and seriousness to make our hearts to leap within us, and to make our lives a foretaste of heaven, and to make us pity poor worldlings in the height of their vain-glory. What should be a terror to that man that hath overcome the prince of terrors? That hath God on his side, that hath a promise of everlasting life, and that hath evidence to shew for his interest in the promise, and a lively faith to improve it, and live upon it? Methinks if the devils should appear to him in his way; if they should walk before him in the ugliest shape, he should but look upon them as conquered miscreants. Methinks if he were passing by death from this world, it would be a joyful hour to him, that is presently to step into a world of glory. And now, dearly beloved neighbours and friends, I beseech you for the Lord's sake, hear these things, as men that believe the word of God. Is it not a thousand pities, that God should offer you such consolations as these, and you refuse them? Is it not a thousand follies that you should neglect such a blessed state as this, when it is set before you? God hath made you for high and excellent things, even to live with angels in the heavens in glory. Yield but to the work of converting grace, and see that Christ be formed in you once, and all is yours. These things are far off you, and out of sight, and therefore seem strange to flesh and blood, and carnal hearts will not believe them; but they are true as the living God is true. The souls of all the converted that are dead in Christ from the beginning to this day, are now in the possession of that glory that I am speaking of. They see it, though we do not; and we shall see it, if unbelief and neglect do not hinder us: believing is the |