I. Prophetical. " The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet." Enun- ciatur hie locus de Christo, — it is spoken of Christ. There are several names given to Christ as a Prophet : He is called ' the Counsellor,' Isa. Lx. 6. In uno Christo An- gelas foederis compleliir, Fagius. ' The Messenger of the covenant,' Mai. iii. 1. < A Lamp,' 2 Sam. xxii. 29. ' The Morn- ing-star,' Rev. xxii. 16. Jesus Christ is the great Prophet of his church. Tiie wo- man of Samaria, gave a shrewd guess, John iv. 16. He is the best teacher, he mjikes all other teaching effectual, Luke xxiv. 45., " Then opened he their umler- standing." He did not only open the scriptures, but opened their understanding. He teacheth to profit, Isa, xlviii. 17., " I am the Lord thy God, who teacheth thee to profit."
Quest. Hoiv doth Christ teach ?
Ans. 1. Externally, by his word, Ps. cxix. 105., " Tliy word is a lamp to my feet."
Such as pretend to have a light or revela- tion above the word, or contrary to it, never had their teaching from Christ, Isa. viii. 20.
A. 2. Christ teacheth these sacred mys- teries, inwardly, by the Spirit, John xvi. 13. The world knows not what it is, 1 Cor. ii. 14., " The natural man receives not the things of God, neither can he know them." He knows not what it is to be transformed by the renewing of the mind, Rom. xii. 2., or what the inward workings of the Spirit mean ; these are riddles and paradoxes to him. He may have more in- sight into the things of the world than a believor, but he doth not see the deep tilings of God. A swine may see an acorn under a tree, but he cannot see a star ; he who is taught of Christ sees the arcana imperii, — the secrets of the kingdom of licaven.
Quest. What are the lessons Christ teach- eth ?
Ans. 1. He teacheth us to see into our own hearts. Take the most mercurial wits,, the greatest politicians that understand the mysteries of state, yet they know not the mysteries of their own hearts, they
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cannot believe there is tliat evil in them as is, 2 Kings viii. 13., " Is thy servant a dog?" Grande profundum est homo, Aug. The licart is a great deep, whicli is not ea- fiily fathomed. But Christ wlien he teacli- eth, removes the veil of ignorance, and lights a man into his own heart ; and now he sees swarms of vain thouglits, — lie hlusheth to see how sin mingles with his duties, — his stars are mixed with clouds, — he prays, as Austin, that (iod would deli- ver him from himself.
A. 2. The second lesson Christ teacheth, is the vanity of the creature. A natural man sets up his haj)j)iness here, worships the golden image ; hut he that Christ Imth anointed with his eye-salve, hath a spirit of discerning, he looks upon the creature in its nigiit-dress, sees it to be empty and unsatisfying, not commensurate to an hea- ven-born soul. Solomon had put all the creatures into a limbeck, and when he came to extract the spirit and quintessence, all was vanity, Eccl. ii. II. The apostle calls it a show or apparition, I Cor. vii. 31., having no intrinsical goodness.
A. 3. The third lesson is the excellency of things unseen. Christ gives the soul a nio-ht of glory, a prospect of eternity, 2 Cor. iv. 18., " We look not at things which are seen, but at things which are not seen." Moses saw him who is ' invisible,' Ileb. ix. 27. And the Patriarchs saw a better country, viz. an heavenly, Heb. xi. 16. where delights of angels, rivers of pleasure, the flower of joy, fully ripe and blown.
Quest. How doth Christ's teaching differ from other teaching ?
Ans. Several ways :
1. Christ teacheth the heart. Others may teach the ear, Christ the heart. Acts xvi. 14., " Whose heart the Lord o- pened." All that the dispensers of the word can do is but to work knowledge, Christ works grace ; they can but give you the light of the truth, Christ gives you the love of the truth ; they can only teach you what to believe, Christ teacheth how to believe.
2. Christ gives us a taste of the word. Ministers may set the food of the word be- fore you, and carve it out to you ; but it is onlyChristcausethyoutotjuiteit, 1 I\t.ii.3.,
" If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious ;" Ps. xxxiv. 8., " Taste and see that the Lord is good." It is one thing to hear a truth preached, another thing to taste it ; one thing to read a promise, ano- ther thing to taste it. DaA'id had got a taste of the word, Ps. cxix. 102, 103., " Thou hast taught me : How sweet are thy words unto my taste ! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth." The apostle calls it the savour of knowledge, 2 Cor. ii. 14. The light of knowledge is one thing, the savour another. Christ makes us taste a savouriness in the word.