the prophets to which Chrift feems here to refer, are, Ifa. liv. 13. Secondly, We have here the application of these teftimonies out of the prophets, made by Chrift himfelf;" « Every man therefore "that hath heard, and learned of the Father, come unto me." In which words we have both the neceffity and the efficacy of thefe divine teachings; without them no man can come, and under them no man can mifcarry. The words being fitly rendered, and the fenfe obvious, The notes are, Doct. 1. That the teachings of God are abfolutely neceffary to every man that cometh unto Chrift, in the way of faith. Doct. 2. No man can mifs of Chrift, or miscarry in the way of faith, that is under the special inftructions and teachings of the Father. Doct. 1. That the teachings of God are abfolutely neceffary to every. man that cometh unto Chrift, in the way of faith. Of the neceffity of divine teaching, in order to believing, the apoftle fpeaks, in Eph. iv. 20, 21. "But ye have not fo learned Chrift; "if fo be that you have heard him, and been taught by him, as "the truth is in Jefus ;" i. e. Your faith muft needs be effectual, both to the reformation of your lives, and your perfeverance in the ways of holiness, if it be fuch a faith as is begotten and introduced into your hearts by divine teachings. Now, in the explication of this point, I fhall fpeak diftinctly to the following enqui ries. 1. How doth God teach men, or what is imported in our being taught of God? 2. What thofe fpecial leffons are, which all believers do, hear, and are taught of God? P 310 They who believe, by means of the preacher speaking to them outwardly, hear and learn inwardly of the Father; they who believe not, hear outwardly, but not inwardly. Aug on Predeft. chap. 8. 3. In what manner doth God teach these things to men in the day of their conversion to Christ? 4. What influence God's teaching hath upon our believing? P326 5. Why it is impoffible for any man to believe, or come to Chrift without the Father's teachings. P. 32/ Firft, How doth God teach men, or what is imported in our being taught of God? To this I will speak both negatively and pofitively, for your clearer apprehenfion of the sense and meaning of the Spirit of God in this phrafe. Firft, The teaching of God, and our hearing and learning of him, is not to be understood of any extraordinary vifional appearances, or oraculous and immediate voice of God to men: God indeed hath fo appeared unto fome, Numb. xii. 8. Such voices have been heard from heaven, but now thefe extraordinary ways are ceased, Heb. i. 1, 2. and we are no more to expect them; we may fooner meet with fatanical delufions than divine illuminations in this way. I remember, the learned Gerfon tells us that the de vil once appeared to an holy man in prayer, perfonating Christ and faying, I am come in perfon to vifit thee, for thou art worthy But he with both hands fhut his eyes, faying, Nolo hic Chriftum vi dere, fatis eft ipfum in gloria videre; i. e I will not fee Chrift here, it is enough for me to fee him in glory. We are now to attend only to the voice of the Spirit in the Scriptures: this is a more fure word than any voice from heaven, 2 Pet. i. 19. Secondly, The teachings of God are not to be understood as oppofite unto, or exclufive of the teachings of men. Divine teachings do not render minifterial teachings in vain or ufelefs. Paul was taught of God, Gal. i. 12. and his converfion had fomething extraordinary in it, yet the miniftry of Ananias was used and honoured in that work, Acts ix. 4, 17. compared. Divine teachings do indeed excel, but not exclude human teachings. I know that feripture, Jer. xxxi 24. to which Chrift here refers is objected against the neceflity of a standing miniftry in the church, " They Thall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man "his brother," &c. But if thote words fhould be understood ab folutely, they would not only overthrow all public ordinances of God's own inftitution, 1 Cor. xii. 28. and deprive us of a principal fruit of Chrift's afcenfion, Eph. iv. 11. 12. but, for the fame reafon, would destroy all private instructions and fraternal admonitions alfo. Such a fenfe would make the prophet to contradict the apoftle, and spoil the confent and harmony of the fcriptures: the fenfe thereof cannot be negative, but comparative; it fhews the excellency of divine, but doth not deftroy the usefulnefs of human teachings; Subordinata non pugnanti. The teachings of men are made effectual by the teachings of the Spirit; and the Spirit in his teachings will ufe and honour the miniftry of man. Thirdly, But to fpeak pofitively, the teachings of God are nothing elfe but that fpiritual and heavenly light, by which the Spirit of God fhineth into the hearts of men, to give them "the light "of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jefus "Chrift," as the apoftle fpeaks, 2 Cor. iv. 6. And though this be the proper work of the Spirit, yet it is called the teachings of the Father, because the Spirit who enlightens us is commiffioned and fent by the Father fo to do, John xiv. 26. Now thefe teachings of the Spirit of God, confift in two things, viz. in his, 1. Sanctifying impreffions. 2. Gracious affiftances. First, In his fanctifying impreffions or regenerating work upon the foul, by virtue whereof it receives marvellous light and infight into fpiritual things; and that not only as illumination is the first act of the Spirit in our converfion, Col. iii. 10. but as his whole work of fanctification is illuminative and inftructive to the converted foul, 1 John ii. 27. "The anointing which you have received "of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach "you, but as the fame anointing teacheth you." The meaning is, that fanctification gives the foul experience of those mysterious things which are contained in the fcriptures, and that experience is the moft excellent key to unlock and open thofe deep fcripturemyfteries; no knowledge is to diftinct, so clear, so sweet, as that which the heart communicates to the head, John vii. 17. "If any "man do his will, he thall know of the doctrine." A man that never read the nature of love in books of philofophy, nor the tranfports and extaties thereof in hiftory, may yet truly describe and exprefs it by the fenfible motions of that paffion in his own foul; yea, he that hath felt much better understands, than he that hath only read or heard. O what a light doth spiritual fenfe and experience caft upon a great part of the fcriptures! for indeed fanctification is the very copy or tranfcript of the word of God upon the heart of man; Jer. xxxi. 33. "I will write my law in their "hearts:” so that the fcriptures and the experiences of believers, by this means answer to each other, as the lines and letters in the prefs answer to the impreffions made upon the paper; or the figures in the wax, to the engravings in the feal. When a fanctified man reads David's pfalms, or Paul's epiftles, how is he furprized with wonder to find the very workings of his own heart fo exactly decyphered and fully expreffed there! O, faith he, this is my very cafe, thefe holy men fpeak what my heart hath felt. Secondly, The Spirit of God teacheth us, as by his fanctifying impreffions, fo by his gracious affistances, which he gives us pro-re mala, as our need requires, Mat. x. 19. "It shall be given you in "that fame hour what ye fhall fpeak, John xiv. 26. "He fhall bring all things to your remembrance: he aflifteth both the underftanding in due apprehenfions of truth, and the heart in the fpiritual improvements of truth. And fo much briefly of the firft particular. *bari. Secondly, In the next place, we are to enquire what thofe fpecial truths are which believers hear and learn of the Father, when they come to Chrift. And there are divers great and neceffary truths, wherein the Spirit enlightens men in that day. I cannot fay they are all taught every believer in the fame degree and order; but it is certain they are taught of God fuch leffons as thefe are, which they never fo underflood before. Leon 1. First, They are taught of God that there is abundantly more evil in their finful natures and actions, than ever they difcerned or understood before: the Spirit when he cometh fhall convince the "world of fin," John xvi. 8, 9. Men had a general notion of fin before; fo had Paul, when a Pharifee: but how vaftly different were his apprehenfions of fin, from all that ever he had in his na◄ tural ftate, when God brought home the commandment to his very heart! There is a threefold knowledge of fin, viz. traditional, difcurfree, and intuitive. The first is in the more rude and illiterate multitude. The second in more rational and knowing men. The third is only found in thofe that are enlightened and taught of God. And there is as great a difference betwixt this intuitive know ledge of fin, whereby God makes a foul to discern the nature and evil of it in a fpiritual light, and the two former, as there is be twixt the fight of a painted lion upon the wall, and the fight of ing lion that meets us roaring in the way. The intuitive fight of fin is another thing than men imagine it to boy it is fuch a fight as Wounds a man to the very heart, A&s ii. 37. for God doth not only thew a man this or that particular fin, but, in the day of conviction, he fets all his fins in order before him, Pfal. 1. 21. yea, the Lord fhews him the finfulness of his nature as well as practice. Conviction digs to the root, fhews and lays open that original corruption, from whence the innumerable evils of the life do fpring, James i. 14, 15. and which is yet more, the Lord shews the man whom he is bringing to Chrift the finful and miferable eftate which he is in by reafon of both, John xvi. 9. And now all excufes, pleas and defences of fin are gone, he fhews him "how their iniquities have exceeded," Job xxxvi. 8, 9. exceeded in number, and in aggravations of finfulness; exceeding many, and exceeding vile; no fuch finner in the world as I; can fuch fins as mine be pardoned? The greatnefs of God greatens my fin; the holiness of God makes it beyond measure vile; the goodnefs of God puts unconceivable weight into my guilt. O, can there be mercy for fuch a wretch as I! If there be, then there will not be a greater example of the riches of free grace in all the world than I am. Thus God teacheth the evil of fin. Leon 2. Secondly, God teacheth the foul whom he is bringing to Christ, what that wrath and mifery are which hang over it in the threatenings, because of fin. Scripture-threatenings were formerly flighted, now the foul trembles at them: They once apprehended themfelves fafe enough, Ifa. xxviii. 15. Pfal. 1. 21. They thought, becaufe they heard no more of their fins after the commiffion of them, that therefore they fhould never hear more; that the effect had been as tranfient a thing as the act of fin was; or if trouble muft follow fin, they fhould speed no worse than others, the generality of the world being in the fame cafe; and befides, they hoped to find God more merciful than four and precife preachers reprefented him. But when a light from God enters into the foul, to difcover the nature of God, and of fin, then it fees that whatever wrath is treasured up for finners in the dreadful threatenings of the law, is but the juft demerit of fin, the recompence that is meet: "The wages of fin is death," Rom. vi. 23. The penal evil of damnation is but equal to the moral evil of fin: So that in the whole ocean of God's eternal wrath, there is not one drop of injuftice; yea, the foul doth not only fee the juftice of God in its eternal damnation, but the wonderful mercy of God in the fufpenfion thereof fo long. O, what is it that hath with-held God from damning me all this while! How is it that I am not in hell! Now do the fears and awful apprehenfions of eternity feize the foul, and the worst of fenfitive creatures is fuppofed to be in a better condition than fuch a foul. Never do men tremble at the threatenings of God, nor rightly apprehend the danger of their condition, until fin, and wrath, and the wages of fin be difcovered to them by a light from heaven. Leffon 3. Thirdly, God teaches the foul whom he brings to Chrift, that deliverance from fin, and wrath to come, is the greatest and most important bufines it hath to do in this world. Acts xvi. 30. "What "mult do to be faved?" q. d. O direct me to fome effectual way (if there be any) to fecure my poor wretched foul from the wrath of God. Sin, and the wrath that follows it, are things that fwallow up the fouls, and drink up the very fpirits of men: Their thoughts never converfed with things of more confessed truth and awful folemnity: These things float not upon their fancies as matters of mere fpeculation, but fettle upon their hearts day and night, as the deepeft concernment in all the world: They now VOL. II. Rr |