ye serve thord Chrift." Rev. xxii. 14. Our Lord fays, Matth. vii." He that heareth my fayings, and doth them, is "like ur.to a man which built his houfe on a rock; and when "the ftorm came, it fell not, becaufe it was founded on a "rock." His people cannot perish in the judgment, but will be eternally faved, because founded on him, the only rock of falvation. But every one founded there keeps his fayings; and fo their title to the promised falvation is manifeft. He reprefents himself, Matth. xxv. fpeaking thus to his people in the judgment: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the "kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the "world: for I was hungry, and ye gave me meat; thirsty, "and ye gave me drink," &c. The kingdom was fure to them by an eternal purpose of free grace in Chrift. But their keeping of Chrift's favings manifefts their intereft in this grace; and fo the promises run in this tenor.

Grace and duty harmonise pleafantly in the word; but since they have been fet at odds by the fubtilty of Satan, and the corruptions of men, the glory of both, which appears brighteft in their due connection, has been very much darkened and both contending parties feem to have loft, each of them, a confiderable part of the word, with the benefit of it, in the contention. If I durft presume to offer a text to the confi. deration of both parties, that might be of great use to them, it fhould be that word, Jam. ii. 22. "Seeft thou how faith "wrought with his works, and by works was faith made. perfect?" They that have a zeal for works, and magnify them, as it were, upon the difparagement of grace, and Chrift's righteoufnefs revealed in the truth of the gofpel, and fo give out that truth with great caution, as if they were a fraid of it, and that will not let themselves or others fee much in the gospel, but commands, and promises to the keeping of these commands, had need to understand and fee how faith wrought with Abraham's works, when he offered up his fon, and to endeavour to make it manifest to others, when they prefs any duty. Now, the faith that wrought with Ab raham's works was this, "God will provide himself a lamb "for a burnt-offering," Gen. xxii. 8. And if they would "testify in the Lord," Eph. iv. 17. and exhort us "by the "Lord Jefus," Theff. iv. 1. 2. and befeech us "by the " mercies of God," Rom. xii. 1. " and knowing the terror " of the Lord, perfuade us," 2 Cor. v. 11. when they tell us "how we ought to walk and please God," no man could justly find fault with them. On the other hand, they that

fhew

fhew a great zeal for grace, and love only to ear or preach of abfolute promifes, and to prefs our affurance of abfolute promises in believing the gofpel, and that give out the com. mandments of the Lord Jefus, and promifes made to the keeping of them, with great caution, as if they were afraid of them, would be nothing the worse, though they faw and confidered well, and did their best to let others fee, "how by "works faith is made perfect:" for by works Abraham's faith was thus confirmed, and, in fome measure, reached its end. "And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and "behold, a ram caught in a thicket. And Abraham

"called the name of that place Jehovah jireh. And the "angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven "the fecond time, and faid, By myself have I fworn, faith "the Lord, for because thou haft done this thing, and haft "not with-held thy fon, thine only fon, that in bleffing I will "bless thee," Gen. xxii. 13.-17. And when they testify the gofpel of the grace of God, they may also earnestly exhort us, to fhew conftant diligence in the work and labour of love" unto the full affurance of hope unto the end; and "that we be not flothful, but followers of them who "through faith and patience inherit the promises." For when God made promife to Abraham, "becaufe he could fwear by "no greater, he fware by himself, faying, Surely, bleffing, I

And

will blefs thee. Wherein God willing more abundantly "to fhew to the heirs of promise the immutability of his "counfel, confirmed it by an oath," Heb. vi. 10.-18. thus by works our faith would be made perfect, and we would learn to hold faith and a good confcience; which "fome putting away, concerning faith make fhipwreck," 1 Tim. i. 19.

If our preachers would look with both eyes upon both parts of this fame text, "Seeft thou how faith wrought "with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?" there would not be fo much encouragement given, on the one hand, to the natural inclination that is in us to establish a righteoufnefs of our own, and fo much offence to them that "love the truth as it is in Jefus ; " nor, on the other hand, fo much encouragement to a fort of profeffors of the truth, that would take joy from the gofpel, and triumph in their knowledge of the way of righteoufnefs, and in the exercise of their gifts, while at the fame time they flight the commandments of Jefus Chrift, walk after the flesh, and exercise not "themselves to keep confciences void of offence to

"ward

"ward God nd toward men; "their crofs, and follow Chrift."

"

and will not take up

Preachers of natural religion, with the wisdom of words, will be magnified by the Sadducees; and preachers of a zeal of God, but not according to the knowledge of the righteoufnefs of God revealed in the gospel, will be magnified by the Pharifees; and preachers of grace, or of faith, without works, the fruits of it, and without exhorting and warning every one how he ought to walk, and to please God, will be delightful to them that boaft in "faith without works ;" and they that fhun not to "declare the whole counsel of God," will please no party of this world; yet "they are unto God " a fweet favour of Chrift in them that are faved, and in "them that perish; and every one that is of the truth, will "hear Chrifl's voice."

But we must proceed now to confider what it is to "hear "Chrift's voice." And, 1. To hear Christ's voice is to difcern it. Chrift's fubjects that are of the truth, and fo have an ear to hear Chrift's voice, have another fort of difcerning of his voice than other men are capable of. “The natural man cannot know the things of the Spirit of God, because they are fpiritually difcerned." He takes up all that Chrift fays, in a natural way, accommodates it all to his natural way of thinking; and fo far as he imagines it to be according to that, fo far he understands it, and no further but if he apprehend that there is any thing more in it, he understands not, "it is foolishness to him," because it is not according to his wisdom; and fo he difcerns not the voice of Christ at all. For the things that Chrift fays, are the things of God's deep wisdom, which man knew not; and which the Spirit, that fearcheth all things, reveals not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but in words fitted by him to exprefs fpiritual things.

it

The natural man goes about to judge this by his wifdom; for he has no other way of judging; but he that is fpiritual, or he that is of the truth, and fo has an ear to hear Chrift's voice, "judgeth all the things that Chrift fays; he knows his "voice," understands his meaning, having heard him, and been taught by him, as the truth is in him; he has faith, the evidence of things not feen, the substance of things hoped for; the eyes of his understanding are enlightened, "to know "what is the hope of God's calling, and what is the riches of "the glory of his inheritance in the faints; and he is trans "formed by the renewing of his mind, that he may prove

"what

"what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of "God;" and he "knows the terror of the Lord;" fo he judges all the things that Chrift fays. Yet herein he is not fubject to man's judgment: for he judgeth of things above all man's wisdom: For who hath known the mind of the "Lord, that he may inftruct him? But," fays the Apostle, 66 we have the mind of Chrift," 1 Cor. ii. See у 13.-16. They that are of the truth, and "have tasted that the Lord "is gracious, do as new-born babes defire the fincere milk "of the word," and they fuck in that fincere milk, "that "they may grow thereby," Pet. ii. 1. 2. 3. But others feek the word, and a meaning of it, to anfwer this and the other corrupt end and defign; and they delight in it, as they conceive it fuited unto that end: fo, if they grow by it, they grow monsters in religion. They tafte not that fincere milk to grow up thereby unto eternal life; they take the word only as it makes for their purpose. And this is the way in all the perverfe difputings of them that use the word to serve their party-designs, and their pride, envy, and malice against one another they rejoice in the word, as it seems to hit their adversary, and as they conceive it makes for their party: but the fincere milk of the word they know not, they love not. However Chrift's fubjects may be for a time, or in fome things, carried out this way, yet this is no mark of his fubjects.

They that are of the truth, diftinguish Chrift's voice: "His "fheep follow him; for they know his voice: and a stran"" ger will they not follow; for they know not the voice of

ftrangers," John x. 4. 5. They can diftinguish his voice from enthufiaftic imaginations, and the language of a false fpirit, from the language of nature and man's wisdom, and from the doctrines and commandments of men: for though there may be fuperftition in them, and though they may be inflaved in many things to men, and afraid to doubt that their doctrines and commandments are the word of Chrift; yet they do not fee that glory in man's words that they fee in those words of Chrift which they difcern: "For what is "the chaff to the wheat?" Chrift's people may be keeping, in notion, and fome way in practice, the word of man, and yet have some discerning of, and inclination to observe the word of Chrift, directly contrary to what they are keeping of the word of man'; though they do not fee the inconfiftency; and fo are driven into great difficulties about keeping the word of Chrift and man's word together.

2. Chrift's

2. Chrift's people hear his voice; their confciences are fubject to it, they receive it, and embrace it, on account of his authority, as the rule of their faith and obedience, of their fears and hopes.

They hear his voice as it is the voice of their Lord Redeemer. They have a sense of his authority in his voice, and their minds and wills are fubjected to it. It is enough to them that he fays fo, without afking any further queftions about it; and thus they hear his voice of whom the Father hath faid, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well "pleased; hear ye him." Chrift hath not subjected the confciences of his fubjects to any other authority befides his own; yea, he has difcharged his difciples "to call any man "mafter." He would not have any of his difciples called "Rabbi; because one is their master, even Christ, and all

they are brethren," Matth. xxiii. 8.-12. His ministers, that bring his word to his people, " are not to preach them"felves their lords, but Chrift Jefus their Lord, and them"selves their fervants," in reprefenting the authority of Chrift in his word unto them. They have no authority of their own over the confciences of the difciples; and however the difciples may be in many things inflaved even by them, yet Chrift hath made them free. And this their flavery is no evidence of their fubjection to Jefus Chrift: for their fubjec tion to him, evidences itfelf in a respect to his authority in his word, in oppofition to all that stands in competition with it; and though his mind should be many ways miftaken by his fobjects, yet a regard to his authority, in holding what they take to be his mind, in oppofition to the authority of man, is a better evidence of their hearing his voice, than the obferving the things that he fays, on the account of no other authority but that of man.

Some feem to receive Chrift's word on the account of the reasonableness of what they think he says; and so it is not his voice they hear, but the voice of their own reason. Some receive what he fays, because of impreffions made upon them, as they take it, by his Spirit; and they take no further heed to what he fays in his word, than as they find it impressed upon them thus they hear not his voice in the fcripture-revelation, but the voice of these impreffions; and they take not the whole word of Chrift as it is his, but the word as they find it impreffed, for their rule. Yet the Spirit of Chrift is the fame Spirit that indited the fcriptures; and he that is born of God, heareth the scriptures, and Chrift's voice in them; and

VOL. I.