And sm-ely so it is, that this is one way to discern a true Christian from another, even by a taste in hearing. For those that have a spiritual relish, they can hear with some delight things that are most spii'itual. As the heathen man said of a meadow, that some creatures come to eat one sort of herbs, others another, all that which is fit for them; men to walk therein for delight ; all for ends suitable to their nature ; so, in coming to hear the word of God, some come to observe the elegancy of words and phrases, some to catch advantage perhaps against the speaker, men of a devilish temper ; and some to conform themselves to the customs of the places they live in, or to satisfy the clamours of a troubled conscience, that will have some divine duty performed, else it goes on with much vexation. But every true Chris- tian comes and relisheth what is spii'itual ; and when outward things can convey in similitudes spiritual things aptly to the mind, he relisheth this, not as elegant and pleasing his fancy so much, as for conveying the voice of Christ unto his soul, so that a man may much be helped to know his state in grace and what he is, by his ear. ' Itching ears,' 2 Tim. iv. 3, usually are such as are ' led with lust,' as the apostle saith, and they must be clawed. They are sick, and nothing wiU down with them. They quarrel with every- thing that is wholesome, as they did with manna. No sermons wiU please them, no bread is fiLue and white enough ; whereas, indeed, it is their own distemper is in fault. As those that go in a ship upon the sea, it is not the tossing but the stomach that causeth a sickness, the choler within, and not the waves without, so the disquiet of these men, that nothing wiU down with them, is from their own distemper. If Christ himself were here a-preach- ing, they would be sure to cavil at something, as then men did when he preached in his own person, because they labour of lusts, which they resolve to feed and cherish.
Cakt. V. 2.] ' IT IS THE VOICE OF MY belo\t:d.' 57
And again, observe it against our adversaries. What say they ? How shall we know that the word is the word of God ? For this heretic saith thus, and this interprets it thus. This is the common objection of the great rabbis amongst them in their writings, how we can know the word to be God's, considering there are such heresies in the churches, and such con- trariety of opinions concerning the Scriptures read in the churches.
Even thus to object and ask is an argument and testimony that these men have not the Spu-it of Christ, for ' his sheep know his voice,' John X. 3, who, howsoever they cannot intei-pret all places of Scripture, yet they can discern in the Scripture what is suitable food for them, or in the un- folding of the Scriptures in preaching they can discern agreeable food for them, ha\'ing a faculty to reject that which is not fit for nourishment, to let it go. As there is in nature passages fit for concoction and digestion and for rejection, so there is in the soul to work out of the word, even out of that which is hard, yet wholesome, what is fit for the soul and spirit. K it be cast down, it feeds upon the promises for direction and consolation ; and what is not fit for nourishment, that it rejects, that is, if it be of a con- trary nature, heterogeneal. Therefore, we answer them thus, that ' God's sheep hear his voice,' John x. 4 ; that his word left in the church, when it is unfolded, his Spirit goes together with it, breeding a relish of the word in the hearts of people, whereby they are able to taste and relish it, and it hath a supernatural power and majesty in it which carries its own evidence with it. How shall we know light to be light ? It carries evidence in itself that it is Ught. How know we that the fire is hot ? Because it carries evidence in itself that it is so. So if you ask how we know the word of God to be the word of God ; it carries in itself inbred arguments and cha- racters, that the soul can say none but this word can be the word of God ; it hath such a majesty and power to cast down, and raise up, and to com- fort, and to dii-ect with such power and majesty, that it carries with it its own evidence, and it is argument enough for it, 1 Cor. xiv. 24, 25; 2 Cor. X. 4, 5. And thus we answer them, which they can answer no way but by cavils. ' God's sheep hear the voice of Christ.' He speaks, and the church understands him, ' and a stranger's voice they will not hear,' John x. 5.
And indeed, this is the only sure way of understanding the word to be of God, fi'om an inbred principle of the majesty in the word, and a power- ful work thereof on the soul itself ; and an assent so grounded is that which makes a sound Christian. K we should ask, what is the reason there be so many that apostatize, fall away, gi-ow profane, and are so unfi"uitful under the gospel, notwithstanding they hear so much as they do ? The answer is, their souls were never founded and bottomed upon this, that it is the word of God, and divine truth, so as to be able to say, I have felt it by experience, that it is the voice of Christ. Therefore they so soon apos- tatize, let Jesuits, or seducers set upon them. They were never persuaded from inbred arguments, that the voice of Christ is the word of God. Others from strictness grow profane, because they were never cominced by the power and majesty of the truth in itself ; and then in the end they despair, notwithstanding all the promises, because they were never convinced of the truth of them. They cannot say Amen to all the promises. But the church can say confidently, upon sound experience, ' It is the voice of my beloved,' &c.