Chrift into my foul? I answer, You may know it by this, that whenever this light is with-held, you will be troubled: Pfal, XXX. 7. "Thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. I go mourning without the fun." Your aim and defign in reading, hearing, praying, and any other duty, will be to get a new beam of that light of life: Pfal. xxvii. 4. "One thing have I defired of the Lord, that will I feek after, that I may behold the beauty of the Lord, and inquire after him in his temple." And you will wait for it " as they that wait for the morning, yea, more than they that wait for the morning." And when it comes from his countenance, your hearts will be glad, and more glad than when corn, wine, and oil, doth abound. 4. The voice of Chrift has a foul turning and converting power in it. This is the ordinary way the efficacy and power of Chrift in the gofpel is expreffed, Pfal. xix. 7. It converts the foul, or it turns the finner from darkness unto light, from the power of Satan unto the living God. Whenever the Lord's voice is carried in upon the heart of backfliding Ifrael; whenever he says, "Return, thou backfliding Ifrael," immediately they turn to him, faying, "Behold, we come unto thee, for thou art the Lord our God." The whole foul gets a turn by the power of the voice of Chrift. The understanding is turned from darkness to light, from ignorance to a faving uptaking of the things of God. The will is turned from enmity to a voluntary fubjection to the Lord: Pfal. cx. 3. "Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power." The heart is turned from its rockiness and obftinacy to a bleffed yielding to the will of God, therefore called a heart of flesh. The confcience is turned from its former fecurity and fearedness, to act as God's deputy, and to rebuke for every fwerving from the holy law. The affections, fuch as the love, delight, defire, and joy of the foul, are turned from following after vanity, to centre in Christ, and God in him, as the only object of delight and joy, so as the man does not any longer fet his affection on things below, but on things above. In short, the man is turned from calling God a liar, to fet to his feal that God is true. And with this turn of the heart and foul, there is a turn of all the members of the body, and of the whole converfation. The eyes that were full of adultery, and fed themselves with beholding vanity, now delight in reading the word of God, and in beholding of his works. The ears that were delighted with hearing idle ftories and profane fongs, are now delighted in hearing the word of God. The tongue that was fet on fire of hell, and that talked of vanity, is now employed in prayer and praise, and in commending Chrift, and Ipeaking things that are good, for the the ufe of edifying. The feet that were fwift to run the devil's errands, are now employed in carrying the man to the houfe of God, to the ordinances of his appointment, where his foul may get edification and nourishment. Thus, I fay, the voice of the Angel Chrift has a turning and converting power in it. 5. The voice of Chrift has a fanctifying and fin killing power: Pfal. cvii. 20. "He fent forth his word and heated them." The dominion of fin is broken by the power of the voice of Chrift; for this is the end of every manifestation of the Son of God, in the flesh, in the word or Spirit, to " deftroy the works of the devil," and particularly to destroy the reign of fin, which is the firit-born of the devil. Object. Alas! if this be fo, I am afraid I never yet heard the voice of Chrift in me; for I never found unbelief, enmity, carnality, pride, and other evils, fo much prevail against me, as fince I began to lay things to heart. Anfav. The very feeling of thefe heart plagues, or a fenfe of them, is the fruit of the light or power of the word or voice of Chrift in the heart. It is the work of the Spirit and voice of Chrift to "convince of fin, and to pierce to the dividing afunder of joints and marrow," and to humble and meeken the foul fo, as that it may give employment unto Christ the great Phyfician. See how Paul groans under the remains of a body of fin, Rom. vii. 24. "O wretched man that I am, who fhall deliver me from the body of this death!" 6. If the power of the Angel's voice has reached thy heart, thou hast been awed with the majefty, and charmed with the melody of it. ft, You have been awed with the majesty of his voice; and no wonder, for the name of God is in him, and the voice of the Angel, is the voice of God, and therefore his voice must be full of divine majefty, and this brings the awe and fear of God into the heart: hence believers are fometimes defcribed to be fuch as tremble at his word, and tremble at his difpenfations: "My flesh trembleth because of thee, and I am afraid of thy judgements." Alas! the generality of gospel hearers in our day, are no more moved, either with the voice of Chrift in his word, or yet in his rod, than the fmith's anvil is with the beating of the hammer; fo that we may take up Ifaiah's complaint, If. xxvi. 11. Lord, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not fee, they will not behold the majefty of the Lord; but they hall fee.' It is otherwife with thefe that have effectually heard the voice of Chrift; they are, I fay, awed with the majefty of his voice. ་ adly, 2dly, They are not only awed with the majefty, but charmed with the melody of his voice. His voice is the voice of the charmer, Pfal. lviii. It has such a charming captivating quality, that the dead live when they hear it; the lips of them that are afleep begin to speak, the lame leap like an hart, and the tongue of the dumb begin to fing. I may ap peal to the experience of all that know the voice of Christ, for the truth of this. Hence it is that his fheep hear his voice, and at the hearing of it they follow him. If they hear him inviting them to follow him in prayer, meditation, Chriftian conference, or in any ordinance of his worship, saying, "Come with me from Lebanon, my fifter, my spouse," immediately their foul echoes, " Behold, I come, for one day in thy courts is better than a thoufand: I had rather be a door-keeper in the houfe of my God, than dwell in the tents of fin." if they hear his voice calling them to go into the fire or water for him, they will be ready to fay with Paul," I am ready not to be bound only, but to die for the name of the Lord Jefus." If they hear him calling them to any peace of work, they will be ready to fay, Lord, command what thou wilt, only give ftrength to obey: "I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou hast enlarged my heart. I will go in the strength of the Lord, making mention of thy righteoufnefs, even of thine only." If they hear his voice inviting them to come away to glory to him through death, they will be ready to fay with David, "Though I walk through the valley of the sha dow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me, thy rod and thy ftaff fhall uphold me:" or with Paul, "To me to live is Chrift, and to die is gain. I defire to be diffolved, and to be with Chrift, which is beft of all." Object. If this be a mark of them that have heard and felt the power of the voice of Chrift, I am afraid of myself, for the thoughts of death are a terror to me. Anfw. Death, or the diffolution of nature, is indeed a ter for unte nature; and I own, that the beft of the faints fhrink at it, under this confideration: but will you answer me this question, Does not the thoughts of being with the Lord, and of feeing him as he is, and the thoughts of perfect freedom from a weary body of fin and death, and of being perfectly like unto him in holiacfs, fometimes fweeten the thoughts of death, and reconcile thy heart unto it? If fo, it is an evidence that thou hast heard the voice of Chrift, and that ere it be long thou shalt be among that ranfomed company, who are finging his prifes in the higher house. The left thing propofed in this ufe, was to fhut up with a few words of advice, in order to your obeying the voice of the the Angel who bears his Father's name. I only mention these following. 1. See that ye be well acquainted with the name of God as it is fet forth in him, for this is the very ground and reason of all obedience to him, Obey his voice, for my name is in him : we will yield but a forry obedience, if we do not take up a God in Chrift. Study to take up the being, the perfections, and glory of God as difplayed in him; for it is this that makes every knee to bow, and every tongue to confefs that Jefus Chrift is the Lord. 2. If you would yield acceptable obedience to the voice of the Angel, you must take up God in him as your God; not only your creating God, and your preferving God, but as your redeeming God, your God by a new covenant grant, where he has faid, "I am the Lord thy God;" for the faith of this is the foundation of all acceptable obedience, as your Catechifm well instructs you, in that question, What doth the preface to the ten commandments teach us? It teacheth us, that becaufe God is the Lord, and our God, and Redeemer, therefore we are bound to keep all his commandments.' Never reft then till you know and acknowledge him as your God in Chrift, and fo your obedience will go upon the right footing, for "without this faith, it is impoffible to please God; and whatsoever is not of faith, is fin." Believe in him as your pardoning, pi tying, juftifying, fanctifying, fupplying, and faving God, and this will make his yoke eafy, and his burden light. for way, ་ 3. Make conttant ufe by faith of the ftrength of the Angel, your affittance in work and wartare, and of his righteoulnefs for acceptance. This was David's I will go it the ftrength of the Lord," and when I have done fo, "I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only." We muit work by a foreign ftrength, and be accepted upon a borrowed or imputed righteoufnefs; and in this way it is, that we come up from the wilderness, leaning upon the beloved." 4. Shake yourfelves loose of every thing, that would encumber you in obeying the voice of the Angel: Heb. xii. 1. 2.--. "Let us lay afide every weight, and the fin which doth fo eafily befet us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus," &c If thy right hand of. fend thee, cut it off; if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and caft it from thee;" that is, if any luft or idol be in thy heart, be it the luft of covetoufnels, the luft of uncleannefs, the luft of envy, the luft of revenge, pride, worldlinefs, or whatever it be, though as dear as a right hand, or a right eye, away with it, that you may obey and follow the voice of the Angel: "Mortify thefe deeds of the body for if we live after after the flesh, we fhail die; but if we through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, we fhall live." 5. Let your obedience to the voice of the Angel be abfolute and unreferved; be aware of hiding any idol that he requires you to part with; for "if we regard iniquity in our hearts, the Lord will not hear us." And be aware of a partial obedience to the Angel, doing one thing, and neglecting another, for he will not be obeyed by halves. It is true, indeed, it is impoffible to yield a perfect and finlefs obedience to him, but we mult aim at it through his grace, by a regard to every part of his revealed will: Then fhall I not be afhamed, when I have refpect unto all thy commandments." It is gi ven as the character of Zacharias and Elizabeth, that" they walked in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless." Chift he glories in an upright Chriftian, as a man glories in the fruit-trees of his garden. How doth he upbraid the devil with Job's integrity?" Haft thou confidered my fervant Job, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and efcheweth evil?" 6. Be diligent in reading the fcriptures, and in hearing of the word preached, for it is by the word that the voice and mind of the Angel is known and understood. Hide his word in your hearts, that you may not fin against him; attend unto it as a "light fhining in a dark place;" let it be unto you as the pillar of fire and cloud to Ifrael, and follow no man further than he is a follower of Chrift; for the Angel has ordered us to call no man father, or matter in this fenfe. 7. Keep your eyes, upon him as your guide and pattern: "He that faith he abideth in him, ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked." He has not only chalked out our way of obedience in his word, but he has trode the path before us, and fo "left us an example, that we fhould follow his fteps." And, in a fubordination to him, eye the footsteps of the flock, that have followed the Lamb to glory, and keep company with them that are minting in fincerity to obey his voice, and to follow him; for " he that walketh with the wife, fhall be wife." 8. Pluck up your fpirits, put on courage and resolution to face all oppofition in following the voice of the Angel; refolve to refitt, even unto blood, ftriving against fin. Men will think it strange, that you do not walk with them according to the course of the world and the lufts of the fleth, and they will hate you, they will brand you with hypocrify and fingularity, they will oppofe you in your way, they will perfecute you in your name, in your relations, in your worldly interests; but let none of these things move you, neither account your |