God's believers are Chrift's fheep: "Now my fheep" (faith Christ) "hear my voice." It is the ear-mark, as it were, of a chriftian, one of the characters of the new man, to taste words by the ear, as Job faith, he hath a fpiritual tafte, a difcerning relifh in the ear, because he hath the fpirit of God, and therefore relifheth what is co-natural, and fuitable to the fpirit. Now the voice of Chrift without in the miniftry, and the fpirit of Chrift within in the heart, are co-natural and suitable to each other.

And furely fo it is, that this is one way to difcern a true chriftian from another, even by a tafte in hearing for those that have a fpiritual relifh, they can hear, with fome delight, things that are moft fpiritual. As the heathen man faid of a meadow, that fome creatures come to eat one fort of herbs, others another, all that which is fit for them; men to walk therein for delight; ali for ends fuitable to their nature. So in coming to hear the word of God; fome come to obferve the elegance of words and phrafes; fome to catch advantage, perhaps, against the speaker, men of a devilish temper; and fome to conform themselves to the cuftom of the place they live in; or to fatisfy the clamour of a troubled confcience, that will have fome divine duty performed, elfe it goes on with much vexation. But every true chriftian comes, and relifheth what is fpiritual: and when outward things can convey, in fimilitudes, fpiritual things aptly to the mind, he relifheth this, not as elegant, and pleafing his fancy, fo much, as for conveying the voice of Chrift unto his foul. So that a man may be much helped to know his state in grace, and what he is, by his ear: itching ears ufually are fuch as are led with luft, as the apostle faith, and they must be clawed. They are fick, and nothing will down with them, they quarrel with every thing that is wholefome, as they did with manña; no fermons will please them, no bread is fine and white enough.Whereas indeed, their own diftemper only is in fault As thofe that go in a ship upon the fea; it is not the toffing but the ftomach, that caufeth a fickness, the choler within, and not the waves without: fo the difquiet of thefe men, that nothing will go down with them, is from their own distemper. If Chrift himfelf were here preaching, they would be fure to cavil at fomething, as then men did when he preached in his own perfon; becaufe they labour of lufts, which they refolve to feed and cherish. And again, obferve it against our adverfaries: what say they? How fhall we know that the word is the word of God? For

this heretic faith thus, and thus interprets it. This is the common objection of the great rabbies, amongst them, in their writings, how we can know the word to be God's, confidering there are fuch herefies in the churches, and fuch contrariety of opinions concerning the fcriptures read in the churches.

As

Even thus to object and ask, is an argument and teftimony, that these men have not the spirit of Chrift; for "his fheep know his voice:" who, howfoever they cannot interpret all places of fcripture; yet they can difcern in the fcripture what is suitable food for them; or in the unfolding of the fcriptures, in preaching, they can difcern agreeable food for them, having a faculty to reject that which is not fit for nourishment, to let it go. there are in nature paffages fit for concoction, and digeftion, and for rejection: fo there is in the foul, to work out of the word, even out of that which is hard, yet wholefome, what is fit for the foul and fpirit. If it be eaft down, it feeds upon the promifes for direction, and confolation; and what is not fit nourishment, that it rejects, that is, if it be of a contrary nature, heterogeneous. Therefore we anfwer them thus: that God's fheep hear his voice, that his word in the church; when it is unfolded, his fpirit goes together with it, breeding a relifh of the word in the hearts of people, whereby they are able to taste and relish it; and it hath a fupernatural power and majesty in it, which carries its own evidence with it. How fhall we know light to be light? It carries evidence in itself that it is light. How know we that the fire is hot? because it carries evidence in itself that it is fo. So if you afk, How we know the word of God to be the word of God? it carries in itself inbred arguments and characters, that the foul can fay, none but this word can be the word of God, it hath such a majesty and power to caft down and raise up, and to comfort, and to direct with fuch power and majefty, that it carries with it its own evidence, and it is argument enough for it. And thus we answer them, which they can anfwer no way, but by cavils. God's theep hear the voice of Chrift. He fpeaks, and the church understands him, " and a stranger's voice they will not hear." John x v.

And indeed, this is the only fure way of understanding the word to be of God, from an inbred principle of the majesty in the word, and a powerful work thereof on the foul itself; and an affent fo grounded is that which makes a found chriftian. If we fhould ask what is the reafon there are fo many, that apoftatife, fall away, grow profane, and are fo unfruitful under the gof

pel;

pel? notwithstanding they hear so much as they do? the answer is, their fouls were never founded and bottomed upon this, that it is the word of God, and divine truth; fo as to be able to fay, I have felt it by experience, that it is the voice of Chrift. Therefore they fo foon apoftatize, if Jefuits, or feducers fet upon them; they were never perfuaded from inbred arguments, that the voice of Chrift is the word of God; others from ftrictnefs, grow profane, because they were never convinced by the power and majefty of the truth in itfelf; and then in the end they despair, notwithstanding all the promises; they were never convinced of the truth of them, they cannot fay amen to all the promises : but the church can fay confidently, upon found experience, "It is the voice of my beloved," &c.

Again, Whereas the church faith here, "It is the voice of my beloved," &c. and knows this voice of her beloved, we may note, That the church of God, and every chriftian, takes notice of the means that God ufeth for their falvation.

A christian is fenfible of all the bleffed helps he hath to falvation. To a dead heart, it is all one, whether they have means or no means, but a christian foul takes notice of all the means. "It is the voice of my beloved that knocketh," it seeth Christ

in all.

And mark what the church faith moreover, "It is the voice of my beloved," fhe acknowledgeth Chrift to be beloved of her, though the were afleep. So then here is a diftinction between the fleep of a christian, and the dead fleep of another natural man: the one when he fleeps, his heart doth not only awake, but it is awake to difcern the voice of Chrift; it can relifh in reading what is fpiritual and good, what is favoury, and what not. And likewife take a chriftian at the worst when he is afleep, he loves Chrift, he will do nothing against him. "I can do nothing," faith Paul, "against the truth, but for the truth;" he will do nothing against the caufe of religion; there is a new nature in him, that he cannot do otherwife; he cannot but love, he cannot fin with a full purpose, nor speak against a good cause, because he hath a new nature that leads him another way; Chrift is her beloved's ftill, though the fleep.

Take a christian at the lowest, his heart yearns after Chrift. Acknowledging him to be his beloved, there is a conjugal chastity in the foul of a christian, holding firm to the covenant

Kand

and marriage between Chrift and it; he keeps that inviolable; though he may be untoward, fleepy, and drowfy, yet there is always a conjugal fpoufe-like affection. It is the voice of

my beloved," &c.

Now, leaving the church's notice of the voice of Chrift, we come to Chrift's carriage towards her.

1. He knocketh: and then we have, 2. His patience in that carriage.

"My head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night," &c. Here is patience and mercy to endure this indignity at the church's hand, to ftand at her courtesy to come in; befides, 3. The appellation, afterwards to be spoken of. The general obfervation from Chrift's carriage, is this, That Chrift ftill defires a further and further communion with his church.

Even as the true foul, that is touched with the spirit, defires nearer and nearer communion with Chrift; fo he feeks nearer and nearer communion with his fpouse, by all fanctified means. Christ hath never enough of the foul; he would have it more and more open to him: our hearts are for Chrift, who hath the heaven of heavens, and the foul of a believing christian for himfelf to dwell in; he contents not himself to be in heaven alone, but he will have our hearts. He knocks here, waits, speaks friendly and lovingly, with fuch fweet words, "My love, my dove," &c. We had a bleffed communion in the ftate of innocence, and fhall have a glorious communion in heaven, when the marriage fhall be confummated; but now the time of this life is but as the time of the contract, during which there are yet many mutual paffages of love between him and his fpoufe, a defire of mutual communion of either fide. Chrift defires farther entertainment in his church's heart and affection, that he might lodge and dwell there. And likewife, there is a like defire in the church, when the is in a right temper, fo that if any ftrangeness be between Chrift and any man's foul, that hath tafted how good the Lord is, let him not blame Chrift for it, for he delights not in ftrangenefs. He that knocks, and ftands knocking, while his locks are bedewed with the drops of the night? Doth he delight in ftrangeness, who makes all this love to a chriftian's foul? Certainly, no.

Therefore look for the cause of his ftrangeness at any time in thine own felf; as, whether we caft ourselves imprudently VOL. III.]

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into

into company, that are not fit to be confulted withal, in whom the fpirit is not, and who cannot do us any good, or they caft themselves to us. Evil company is a great damping, whereby a chriftian lofeth his comfort much, efpecially that intimate communion with God, whence we may fall into fecurity.

Again, difcontinuing of religious exercifes, doth wonderfully cause Chrift to withdraw himself. He makes no more love to our fouls, when we neglect the means, and discontinue holy exercises, and religious company; when we ftir not up the graces of God's fpirit. Being this way negligent, it is no wonder that Chrift makes no more love to our fouls, when we prize and value not the communion that should be between the foul and Christ, as we fhould. "Whom have I in heaven but thee ?"

Thy loving-kindness is better than life," faith the Pfalmift. When we prize not this, it is just with Chrift to make himself ftrange. Where love is not valued and efteemed, it is estranged, and for a while it hides itfelf. So that thefe, with other courfes and failings, we may find to be the ground and reason of the ftrangeness between Christ and the foul: for certainly the cause is not in him; for we fee here, he useth all means to be entertained by a christian soul—" he knocks."

You know what he fays to the church of Laodicea, Rev. iii 20. "Behold, I ftand at the door and knock." So here, "It is the voice of my beloved that knocketh;" therefore, in fuch a cafe, fearch your own hearts, where, if there be deadnefs and defertion of fpirit, lay the blame upon yourselves; and enter into a search of your own ways, and fee what may be the cause.

Now, to come more particularly to Chrift's carriage here, knocking at the heart of the fleepy church. We fee, that Christ takes not the advantage and forfeiture of the fins of his church, to leave them altogether, but makes further and further love to them; though the church be fleepy, Chrift continueth knocking. The church of Laodicea was a lukewarm, proud, hypocritical church; yet, "Behold," faith Chrift, "I ftand at the door, and knock;" and it was fuch a church as was vainglorious and conceited. "I am rich and want nothing, when fhe was poor, blind and naked." And here he doth not only ftand knocking, but he withal fuffereth indignities, the dew to fall upon him, which we fhall fpeak more of hereafter. Chrift therefore refuseth not weak finners; he that commands that we fhould receive him that is weak in the faith, and not caft him

off