The strong helper, offering to beare euery mans burthen. Or, A treatise, teaching in all troubles how to cast our burden vpon God but chiefly deliuering infallible grounds of comfort for quieting of troubled consciences. By Iohn Haivvard.

CHAP. 4.

NOw we come to the instru∣ction.* 1.1 Cast thy burden vpon the Lord and he shall nourish thee: he will not suffer the* 1.2 righteous to fall for euer.

This instruction consisteth of two parts, the first is a precept of aduice, the

second is a promise of recompence. The precept is in these words, Cast thy bur∣den vpon the Lord: The promise is in the rest, and he shall nourish thee: he will not suffer the righteous to fall for euer. This promise giueth assurance of mercy from God according to our want and desire: and the precept directeth vs a sure course to seeke and speed of that wanting and desired helpe.

In the precept, Cast thy burden vpon the Lord: for the better vnderstanding* 1.3 thereof, it will be good to consider, first what this burden is, secondly what it is to cast this burden vpon God. These things vnderstood, the precept is vnder∣stood.

The name of a burden is familiar:* 1.4 many poore men liue by bearing bur∣dens, and know wel the meaning of that name, when they feele the waight vpon their shoulders. But here it is vsed in a borrowed sence, for any thing that is heauy to the mind, breeding feare care and griefe: of which burdens there is great plenty in the world: and euery man high and low, at one time or other, is faine to play the porter, and beare

some of these burdens, some more hea∣uy and some more easie, but euery man some.

For order sake we may endeauour to bring these burdens vnto certaine heads, vnder which, if not all (for this fruitfull world breedeth new burdens daily) yet the most may be comprehended.

And because in some of these burdens we haue immediatly and at the next hand to doe with worldly matters, and with men, in things belonging to this life: in others we haue immediatly and at the next hand to doe with spirituall matters, and God himselfe, in things belonging to our soules, and the life to* 1.5 come, therefore I will diuide them into secular and spirituall burdens.

The secular burdens shall againe be* 1.6 reduced to fower rankes, whereof the first shall be the burden of worldly cares, when a mans charge is great and his maintenance small, and he taketh care how to pay his debt, how to get meat and clothes, and other necessaries for him and his; which burden is made hea∣uy vpon vs▪ sometime by the immediate hand of God, sending times of dearth,

and losses by fire and water, and other waies: sometime by other men, as by oppressors, deceiuers, theeues, bad deb∣tors, false seruants, and riotous chil∣dren: sometime it is increased▪ by our owne fault, through idlenesse, through plaie, through foolish bargains, through daintinesse of fare, costly apparell, and other courses of riot. And this burden may be called the burden of the multi∣tude.

The second ranke shall be of domesti∣call* 1.7 troubles, either in thy selfe, thy fami∣ly, thy kindred, or thy habitation. For where there is wealth at will, and that way no cause of care, yet Iob may lan∣guish being full of diseases, Dauid may haue a scornfull Michol to his wife, A∣bigail may haue a churlish Nabal to her husband, Rahel may mourn for her chil∣dren because they are not, the sonne may be riotous and disobedient, the daugh∣ter may be dishonest, and between Am∣aon, Absolon, and Thamar, the father of the family may haue griefe enough: ser∣uants may be vnfaithfull, and perhaps maintaine factions, thy kindred may be vnkind, or fall into some calamity, and

thy next neighbour may bee thy neare and great enemy, or thy house may bee visited with sickenesse, so that thy trou∣ble shall breed euen in the nest of thy rest, in thine house, at thy table, in thy bed, and in thy bones, and there, and from thence shall thy vexation grow, where, and from whence thou didst pro∣mise thy selfe comfort.

A third rank of these burdens shall be* 1.8 troubles more remote, growing from e∣nemies and occasions further of. For many men haue peace at home, ioy in their obedient and louing wiues, com∣fort in their dutifull and sober children, content in their trusty and faithfull ser∣uants, and sweet fellowship with their kind neighbours, so that their home and habitation is their happy paradise: and yet their▪ estate may be vndermined, by oppressors and deceiuers, their names may be disgraced by liers and slande∣rers, and their liues brought into dan∣ger, by blood thirsty and malicious ene∣mies: and they touched with the cala∣mities* 1.9 of their brethren abroad.

A fourth ranke of these burdens shall be the difficulties following the duties of

our callings. For though it be our honor and our crowne to performe the duties of our callings, yet they grow diuersly to be burdens vnto vs: sometime when more is required at our hands then wee are able to performe, either by the fault of other men, when we are called vnto publique seruices, before we be •…•…ipe and fit for them: or by our owne great fault, when we, either couetously or ambiti∣ously, intrude into callings, that we are insufficient for, seeking the reward and honor of the place, without regard of the seruice to be done in it. Sometime we are sufficient, and also painfull, and yet either God denieth successe, to ex∣ercise vs therby, or men oppose against vs, as Elimas did against the preaching of Paul. Sometime men are sufficient, diligent, and effect the seruice laudably, but enuious men misinterpret and mis∣report their doings, as the Pharisies did the workes of our Lord Iesus Christ, and in stead of praise they are rebuked and reprooued, and in stead of deserued and expected reward they are in danger of punishment. In all these cases the duties of our callings in themselues honorable,

yet become heauy burdens vnto vs. Vn∣der these foure heads I suppose all secu∣lar and worldly burdens may be com∣prehended.

There are other burthens, wherein we haue to doe immediatly with God, in things that belong to piety, to peace of conscience, & to the life to come. Those may be reduced to two heads. The first* 1.10 head and ranke of these burdens, are our sinfull lusts, our inbred corruptions, and infirmities, and the law of sinne in our members rebelling against the lawe of our mind, whereby it commeth to passe, that euen the best regenerate man, that feareth God, and loueth righteousnesse, that hath both his vnderstāding enlight∣ned & his will sanctified, so that he wan∣teth neither knowledge, zeale, nor hu∣mility, yet can neither doe the good, that gladly he would, nor leaue vndone the euill that his soule abhorreth. This is no smal burden to the man that wold please God, and doe his dutie, that hee becomes his owne troubler against his owne will, and crosseth himselfe by cor∣ruption, in that wherein he taketh plea∣sure by sanctification. This made Paul

the Apostle to crie out in these words, O wretched man that I am who shall deliuer* 1.11 me from this body of death? It was death to him that such corruption was so pre∣ualent in his fraile body. And in another place he calleth the same law of sinne, a pricke in the flesh, the messenger of satan to* 1.12 buffet him; because it was euer seruice∣able to satan, and armed his hand against the holy feruant of God, so that whenso∣euer the Apostle did set his heart to doe well, the diuell did beat him with the weapons of his owne corruption. This is no small burden to an honest minded man.

The second ranke of these spirituall burdens are accusing thoughts, checkes* 1.13 and terrors of conscience, the worme in thy bosome gnawing thine heart. This burden often followeth the former, as Zophar speaketh, When wickednesse was* 1.14 sweet in his mouth, he hid it vnder his tongue, and fauoured it, and would not for∣sake it, but kept it close in his mouth: then his meat in his bowels was turned, the gal of aspes was in the middest of him. That is, at first, sinne in the committing of it is sweet, as ratsbane & poison often is,

goeth downe merrily, and is meate and drinke to the sinner, and he can not bee wonne from it, because it is his delight: but at last the time commeth according to the saying of God in the Psalme, I wil* 1.15 reprooue thee, and set them, (that is thy sinnes) in order before thee. According to this saying, God mustereth his sinnes together, and presenteth a view of them before the soule of the sinner: where the diuell as a great officer in that campe, setteth them forth in their colours, that al the contempt of God and of his com∣mandements, all their vnthankfulnesse, and forgetfulnesse of their duty, all the violence, filthinesse, fury and disorder that accompanied their sinnes, appea∣reth fresh to the sinners vnderstanding: and what wrathin heauen, what shame on earth, and fire in hell, he hath made himselfe worthy of, and must now looke for. And this turneth the meat in his sto∣mack into 〈◊〉〈◊〉, this is more deadly then the poison of aspes can be: then feare increaseth & nope decreaseth: then the wicked are confounded, and could wish •…•…illes and mountaines to fall vpon them to couer them from the face of God: and

thinking to flie deserued destruction, they oft times cast themselues into eter∣nall destruction, and with Saul, Achit•…•…∣phel and Iudas, kil themselues.

Yea the best seruants of God, when it pleaseth him to lay this burden in any toller•…•…ble measure vpon them, are ex∣ceedingly affrighted for a time. Dauids words being pressed with this burden, shew the heauy load of it. There is no∣thing sound in my slesh, because of thine an∣ger,* 1.16 neither is there rest in my bones be∣cause of my sinne: For mine iniquities are gone ouer my head, and as a waighty burden they are too heauy for me. His affliction was great, when the griefe of his minde changed the health of his body, and left no soundnes•…•…e either in flesh or bones. And so was it with the Prophet, and the only cause of this so great disease was, the remembrance of his sinnes, and the feare of Gods ange•…•… by those sinnes de∣serued. Another time laden with this burden as he was before, he complained* 1.17 of his load as he had done before, saying Innumerable troubles haue compassed me: my sinnes haue taken such hold vpon me, that I am not able to looke vp: yea they are

more in number then the haires of my head; therefore my heart hath failed me Needes must the assault of innumerable troubles follow the remembrance of innumera∣ble sinnes: and these troubles, where they lay hold, doe depresse the heart, that the ouercharged waight cannot looke vp to the mercy feat of God. Yea where faith wageth battaile against fear, and keepeth the field well strengthened with many promises, and in the end pre∣uaileth, restoring peace to the consci∣ence yet there for a time (vntil the houre and power of darknesse passe ouer) ter∣rors are great, when the charge of sinne lieth vpon the soule.

See it in him that had the greatest as∣surance of all the sonnes of men: when the glorious sonne of God, our blessed Sauiour Iesus Christ, for our redempti∣on was to take vp, and beare the burden of our sinnes, it did put him to vnspeak∣able paine, and was vpon his mighty shoulders a mighty burden. Hence came* 1.18 that tripled praier; O my father if it be possible, let this cup passe from me; neuer∣theles not as I wil, but as thou wilt. Thence came that agony that Saint Luke spea∣keth

of, that being in an open garden, and kneeling on the bare ground, about the middest of night, in a cold season of* 1.19 the yeere, he fell into a great sweat, and his sweat was like drops of blood, trickling downe to the ground. Thence came that crie vpon the crosse, which was not the singing of a Psalme, but the true dittie of sorrow, and of a depressed soule, spea∣king as was before prophecied of him, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken* 1.20 me? All these grew from the burden of our sinnes laid vpon him, that he bearing our sinnes in his body vpon the tree, we might be deliuered from sinne, to liue in righteousnesse. The burden therefore of sinne, when accusing thoughts once presse and charge the conscience, citing vs to appeare and answer before God for our offences, is a most heauy burden; the burden of the humble, and broken hearted man: these are the two rankes of spirituall burdens.

Now vnder these six rankes, fower of secular burdens, two of spirituall; I sup∣pose all those burdens may be compre∣hended, which lie heauy vpon vs in this world, and cause feare care and griefe

vnto vs; first care of the world: secondly, domesticall troubles: thirdly troubles more remote: fourthly, the difficulties that fol∣low the duties of our callings: fiftly the sinfull lusts of our flesh fighting against our soules: lastly accusing thoughts, bree∣ding terrors of conscience.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Instructiō.
• * 1.2

  Parts of the text a precept, and a promise.
• * 1.3

  In the precept▪
• * 1.4

  What bur∣den means
• * 1.5

  Burdens secular & spirituall.
• * 1.6

  First secu∣lar world∣ly cares.
• * 1.7

  Secondly, secular domestical troubles.
• * 1.8

  Thirdly, secular more re∣mote troubles.
• * 1.9

  Fourthly, secular difficulties of our calling.
• * 1.10

  1. Spiritua sinfull lusts.
• * 1.11

  Rom. 7. 24.
• * 1.12

  2 Cor. 12. 7
• * 1.13

  2. Spiritu∣al accusing thoughts.
• * 1.14

  Iob. •…•…0. 12.
• * 1.15

  Psal. 50. 21
• * 1.16

  Psal. 38 3.
• * 1.17

  Psal 40. 12
• * 1.18

  Mat. 26. 39
• * 1.19

  Luk. 22. 44.
• * 1.20

  Mat. 27. 46