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Christ Jesus will now be formed in his will; and the spirit of God is now by its sacred influence restoring in his soul the divine resemblance, which consists in wisdom, righteousness, and truth. He now conceives an utter aversion for all falsehood, lies, and hypocrisy. He loveth and speaketh the truth from his heart; and is not ashamed to confess it, though attended with the greatest inconveniencies, insults, and affronts. Hence any one may easily infer, whether he belongs to the kingdom of the father of lies; or to the kingdom of Jesus Christ, and of the truth.

3. When we are called up on to confess the truth, we ought to avoid all evasions and subterfuges.

Among other reasons why St. Paul calls this confession, which Christ made before Pilate, a good confession, (Tim. vi. 18.) is, because he clearly and explicitly certified the true nature of his kingdom in these words, without any circumlocution, any vague or ambiguous expression. By this, the Son of God has left a noble example for all true professors, that they may when brought to be tried before the tribunal of Princes, make an unreserved confession of the truth. Therefore, when we are called upon by God to bear testimony to the truth, we must not deviate one step from it, or in the least preju dice the truth for fear of the cross, or any external sufferings. It is no less than eternal life that lies at stake, (1 Tim. vi. 12, 13.) He that cannot take up the cross of Christ will never be owned by him as his disciple, notwithstanding the sublimity of his speculations, or the fluency of his tongue. This spirit of integrity, by which the confessions of christians ought to be influenced, was very visible in the undaunted behaviour of Luther, who made a glori ous profession in behalf of oppressed truth. For when he was asked, at the diet of worms, in the presence of the Emperor and the principal states of the empire, whether he would revoke what he had

hitherto taught and written? and that if he did not he should be proceeded against with the utmost se verity; he made this intrepid answer: "Since your Imperial Majesty, and the illustrious Electors and princes who are here present require a plain, direct, and explicit answer to this question, I will give one at which no manner of offence can be taken; and it is this: Unless I am convinced of being in an error by testimonies drawn from the holy scriptures, or by clear and evident proofs, I neither can, nor will, revoke any thing I have said or written; it being neither safe nor advisable to act contrary to my conscience. By this declaration I abide; and God be my helper! Amen." Since therefore we profess the doctrine of Christ as reformed from the errors and superstition of Popery, let us pray to God that he will give us the spirit of confidence and faith; so that if we should be required to make a public confession of the truth, we may shew an undaunted resolution and ingenuous frankness, according to the example of Christ and his apostles, and the first reformers of christianity,

4. Barely to acknowledge the truth is not sufficient to render us true christians; but it must have a salutary effect on our lives and conversation.

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Hence our blessed Saviour does not sav, he that merely acknowledges the truth is my subject and disciple; but every one that is of the truth, i. e. to whom truth, candour, and probity are become, as it were. habitual, and influence all his thoughts, words, and actions, and heareth my voice, or obeys me as his Sovereign. Let this be particularly observed by men of genius and learning, who make profession of the knowledge of truth. If their understanding only is busied amidst a croud of abstracted ideas, types, and representations, which even relate to the truths of religion, they do not yet properly belong to the kingdom of Jesus Christ. But when they act conformably to this truth, which derives its beginning from a knowledge of our natural blindness and

imbecility; then the truth shall make them free. Ye shall know the truth, saith Christ, and the truth shall make you free,' (John viii. 32.) free from selflove, pride, ambition, and haughtiness; free from the tyranny of carnal lusts, and all criminal desires. He that has not attained to this glorious freedom, notwithstanding all his penetration, and supposed merits in the service of truth, will not have his portion with the true subjects of Jesus Christ.

5. Our blessed Lord acknowledges none for his subjects, but those who hear his voice.'

Hence Jesus says in the close of his confession, Every one that is of the truth,' and is consequently my true disciple and subject, 'heareth my voice.' Now he that can say I hear the voice of Jesus Christ, may be apt to conclude, that he is therefore of the truth, and one of the true subjects of Christ. Such a one will perhaps say, "If this is all that is required in a true subject of Christ, I need not question but I am one of them; for I have heard the voice of Jesus Christ, as it sounds in the gospel, time after. time, without number." Alas! vain man, it is not the question, whether the voice of Christ has outwardly reached the organs of hearing, and by the ears made its way to thy understanding. If that were sufficient to make thee a subject of Christ, the carnal Jews, who in the days of his incarnation heard his voice numberless times, would have been his true subjects; nevertheless, our blessed Saviour says unto them, • Ye therefore hear not my words, because ye are not of God. Ye are of your father the devil, &c.' (John viii. 44, 47.) Upon this supposition, Pilate also would have been of the truth; for he too heard our Saviour's voice, talking with him in the hall of Judgment. Nay, what is still more, if this sufficed, the devil himself may be said to be of the truth;' for he heard the voice of Christ when he tempted him in the wilderness, and likewise in those who were possessed; yet Christ witnesseth of him, that he

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abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him, (John 44.)

Hence it appears, that something more is required to render a man a true subject of Christ, than to hear his voice or his word. For this end, there must be an inward and universal obedience of the heart, a serious attention and sincere obedience to all his commands, and a lively faith in all his promises, so as to place so great a value on the invisible rewards expected from them, and so to be firmly convinced of the certainty of them, as to be always ready to renounce and part with all temporal enjoyments for his sake.

Dost thou therefore boast, that thou hast heard the voice of Jesus Christ? tell me what happy effect it has on thy soul. Or thinkest thou that the voice of the Son of God, by which the heavens and the earth were made, is a dead and ineffectual sound, suffering men to stagnate in their carnal security? By no means; the voice of Christ is said to be like the 'sound of many waters,' (Rev. i. 15.) Has the sound of it therefore awakened thee from the sleep of security? The Psalmist says, (Psa. xxix. 5, 3, 9.) The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars; the voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire; the voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness; the voice of the Lord discovereth the forests.' Has that glorious voice shaken and fertilized thy barren heart? Has it broken the towering cedars of thy carnal imagination? Has it torn up the ill habits so deeply rooted in thee? These effects are not like the fleeting images of a dream, but leave a lasting and indelible impression on the heart during the whole course of a man's life. Look on others who have heard the voice of Christ, and see what a change it has wrought in them! Matthew, the publican, heard his voice, saying, Follow me!' and immediately he left all, and followed Christ; Simon and Andrew heard his voice; and they forsook all, and followed him. The young

man who died at Nain, heard his voice, raised himself up, and revived. Lazarus heard his voice, was spoke into life, and came forth from his grave. The man afflicted with the palsy heard his voice, and rose and took up the bed on which he before had been laid. Saul heard his voice; and of a persecutor and destroyer of his followers, became a champion for the truth of the gospel. See! what happy effects the voice of Jesus Christ had on these remarkable persons. Nay, it is said in St. John, (chap. v. 25.) The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. And dost thou, O man, live the life that is of God? or art thou still dead in trespasses and sins, and pleadest thine inability and human weakness, when called upon to follow Christ, to crucify the flesh; and other duties that the gospel requires? Examine thyself well, how it fares with thy soul in this point! It is no inconsiderable fault for a man to stop his ears, and shut up his heart against the voice of Christ; for whoever will refuse to hear him, the same also he will not hear, nor answer when they call upon him in their distress, (Prov. i. 24, &c.) Alas! whither can we betake ourselves when we lie on the bed of death? What can we then implore but mercy! mercy! and who will then hear these our cries, but he whom the heavenly Father has enjoined us to hear: This is my beloved son, him shall ye hear.' Therefore, if thou hast not in thy life obediently heard his voice, and conformed to it, What dependance canst thou have, that he will hear thy faint and broken accents at the approach of death? and how dreadful will be thy case if He, who alone has power to save and to condemn, should likewise turn his ears from thy cries! Olet us hear his voice to-day, this instant; while we hear his voice, let us not harden our hearts. Let us turn our ears fróm the delusive voice of satan and the world, calling us to indulge in the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eye,

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