Chapter 12: The Burden of Corruption Set Forth in Eight Particulars
by coming to Him so that we will not need to toil and labour as before. Now, if grief is a burden, if shame is a burden, if fear is a burden, if care is a burden, and if labour and toil are burdens, then those who are godly are indeed under a great burden in regard to their corruption—this five-fold burden.
Chapter 12 The Burden of Corruption Set Forth in Eight Particulars.
1. It is a soul burden.
2. It contains all other burdens.
3. It is a continual burden.
4. It makes all other things a burden.
5. It is a burden to God himself.
6. It makes sins burdensome to others.
7. It makes one burdensome to oneself.
8. However grievous, we cannot be rid of it in this life.
Let us further consider the properties of this burden and the nature of the corruption that weighs upon the people of God.
The First Property of the Burden of Corruption First, it is a soul burden. Other burdens are mainly physical. It is easier for a man to bear a weight upon his shoulders than to carry a burden upon his conscience, where it torments him. The burden of corruption rests upon our very consciences. In the past, many have
said that people must be content to bear burdens, even if those burdens should not have been imposed. They reasoned that if they carried these burdens as such, it was good enough. For instance, when people encountered false worship in the house of God, they said they would prefer things to be otherwise, but since they endured it as a burden, they believed they had done enough.
It is true that if the burden only affected our estates or outward circumstances, it would be a lesser matter. However, when it becomes a burden upon our consciences, we must learn to distinguish between a burden on our shoulders and one on our conscience. Many Christians could endure burdens on their shoulders as well as others, but they could not bear burdens upon their consciences.
The Second Property of the Burden of Corruption Secondly, this burden contains almost all other burdens within it. Is poverty a burden? Sin makes us poor. Is dishonour a burden? Sin brings dishonour. Is debt a burden? Sin brings that too. Jesus teaches us to pray, "Forgive us our debts," thus showing that sin is a debt. Sin contains within it all other burdens, making it a heavy and great burden.
The Third Property of the Burden of Corruption Thirdly, sin is a constant burden, pressing upon the soul of the godly night and day. If people have other burdens, they sometimes find relief. Porters, for instance, may carry heavy loads all day, but they have time for meals and rest at night. Yet sin is an unrelenting burden upon the godly, day and night. They cannot put this burden
down, even for a moment, to find some relief. Sin is such a great burden that it continually weighs upon the saints.
The Fourth Property of the Burden of Corruption Fourthly, it is a burden that makes all other burdens heavier. As sin contains all other burdens, it also amplifies them. For example, poverty is a great burden. But when sin is added to poverty, it becomes an even greater burden. Sickness, too, is burdensome, but when sin is involved, the burden becomes heavier. Likewise, the loss of one's estate or other hardships—when mixed with sin—become more oppressive.
I would compare sin to lead. If a person carries water in a tankard, it is burdensome enough, but if the tankard itself is made of lead, though the water remains the same, the weight becomes far greater.
In the same way, hardships like sickness, poverty, or loss are burdensome to all who bear them. However, the corruption of sin in the heart, like lead, makes these burdens far more oppressive.
Though a man might lose his entire estate in a single night, that loss is a burden. But when sin weighs upon his heart, it turns every burden into a far greater affliction.
The Fifth Property of the Burden of Corruption Fifthly, sin is a burden to God himself, much more so to the saints.
God cries out that he is pressed under sin as a cart is pressed when it is full of sheaves. It is a burden to the Spirit of God, and therefore it is said that the Spirit of God is grieved. It must indeed be a great burden to your soul when you see and know that it is a burden to your Father, to the Spirit of God by whom you are sealed until the
day of redemption. Is it not a burden to the heart of any thoughtful and sensitive spirit when they realise that what they have done is a burden to their father, to the Spirit of grace? Any dutiful child will find it burdensome to know they have done something against their father. In the same way, so long as there is sin in you, you are a burden to God and to the Spirit of God.
The Sixth Property of the Burden of Corruption Sixthly, as sin is a burden to God, so it makes us burdensome to all those with whom we interact. The more corruption that remains in our hearts, the more burdensome we become to those around us.
Some, though truly godly, are still so filled with corruption that they are a burden to everyone they live and work with. In a family, for example, those who are quick-tempered, though godly at heart, become a burden to those around them. Others may have extremely stubborn or sullen hearts, or be frivolous, proud, envious, or covetous. It is only right that they should feel the burden themselves, for others feel it when their corruption manifests. This greatly intensifies the burden of those who are truly godly. When they reflect on their outbursts of temper, for instance, they lament, "Oh, what a wretched heart I have, that I should give way to anger in such and such company. Oh, what a wretch I am to be not only a burden to myself but to those I interact with." I am sure I am speaking to many who have wept over their condition in this regard, realising that they have been burdensome to others. They might say, "Yes, I have been a burden to such and such a person, but the Lord knows that it is an even greater burden to my own heart." Therefore, the remaining corruption is such a burden to the godly because it burdens others, while all God's people should strive to live in such a way that those around them bless God for their presence and thank God for having known them.
The Seventh Property of the Burden of Corruption Seventhly, this burden is such that it makes those who are godly burdensome to themselves, even to the point of becoming weary of their own lives. Why? Because the corruption within them is far more grievous to them than death itself would be. We often say of something that is deeply grievous, "It is like death to me." The godly can say the same of their sin, which is why Paul calls it "a body of death." "Oh, wretched man that I am," he exclaims, "who shall deliver me from this body of death?" Why? Because the remaining corruption in his heart felt like death to him. So it is with the saints.
The corruption that remains in their hearts is like death to them, and they can say to God, "The bitterness of death would not be as grievous to me as the corruption in my heart. Oh, this corruption that still overcomes me after so many resolutions, prayers, sacraments, and commitments—this is what makes me weary of life."
Just as Rebekah said she would be weary of life if Jacob married a daughter of Heth, so the godly say, "This remaining corruption in my heart makes me weary of my life. What shall I do, carrying this body of death around with me?"
Many men and women express weariness of life when they are discontented, but this is only a fleeting mood. How often can you say you have looked into your heart and said, "I see so much sin, corruption, worldliness, pride, passion, and the like, and this is what makes me weary of life"? The truth is, the main reason the people of God are willing to die is because they know that in death they will be delivered from this burden. That is why, when death comes, they welcome it, knowing that they will sin no more against God. Some of you, when you have been long in sickness, poverty, or distress, may think, "If death came, I could welcome it, because then I would no longer suffer as I do now." But that is no sign of grace. The true sign