pon the Air when it thundred. It were the Height of Madness, for any Crown'd Head in the World, or Potentate on Earth, fo far to forfeit their Reafon, as to think, that the Thoughts of Mens Hearts were within their Territories or Jurifdiction: But behold, they are all under the Authority of God; for his Name is [Gr. Kardiognoftes] the Searcher of the Heart, and the Trier of the Reins of the Children of Men. Think not that Thoughts are free, any more than your Words or Actions before God. It is his Prerogative to lay Bands upon the inner Man, and to judge the Secrets of Men, Rom. ii. 16. by Jefus Chrift, who is here the Catechift, putting the Queftion to you; and he is the fitteft Hand, for he knows what Courfe your Thoughts are driving: He is the Witness, and will be the Judge of your Thoughts, which are all under his Jurifdiction, Therefore it is his unquestionable Right, to call you to an Account of your Thoughts; Thoughts are as vifible and evident as Actions to him, Heb. iv. 12, 13. The Word of God, the effential Word, the Word that was made Flesh, is quick and powerful, &c. a Difcerner of the Thoughts and Intents of the Heart; neither is there Creature that is not manifeft in his Sight, but all Things are naked and open to the Eyes of him with whom we have to do. He knows our

any

Thoughts afar off, even before we think them, and Thoughts are Actions before him; Heart Thoughts are Heart-Acts, and real Deeds in his Sight; the adulterous Thought is Adultery before him, and will be judged as fuch; the covetous Thought is Idolatry before him, the malicious Thought is Murder, and the unbelieving Thought is Unbelief, the contemning Thought of Chrift is Contempt itself: He is an infinite Spirit, that fees your Thoughts better than Men fee your Actions and therefore anfwer for your Thoughts to him, What think ye of Chrift?

6th Remark, That as Men may expect to be catechifed and examined of God, with respect to their Thoughts, as well as their Actions, fo especially anent their Thoughts of Chrift. And as God will judge us

by

by the Thoughts we have of Chrift, fo we ought to try and judge our felves by this Rule; for as our Thoughts are, fo are we; yea, God's Thoughts of us are according to our Thoughts of Chrift. If we think nothing of Chrift, God thinks nothing of us; if we think highly of Chrift, God thinks highly of us in him: For, as God's Thoughts of Chrift are very high and honourable, he being the Father's Darling and Delight, Ifa, xlii. 1. fo, when our Thoughts of Chrift in fome Measure agree with God's Thoughts of him, and we think highly and honourably of him, as God does ; furely it is evident, that we have the Spirit of God, and that as God is well pleased with Chrift, fo he is well pleased with us in him. Now, if our Thoughts and Hearts condemn us in this Matter, God is greater than our Hearts, and knows all Things; but if our Hearts and Thoughts condemn us not, then we have Confidence towards God, 1 John iii. 20, 21. It is true, the natural Confcience of Men, and their Thoughts, may accufe or éxcufe, and fo condemn or juftify them, according as they do Good or Evil, Rom. ii. 15. and to be thus condemned or justified, is no Evidence of the Man's State before God; for this only fhews the Work of the Law, written in our Hearts by Nature, even the Covenant of Works, which fays, That the Doer of the Law fhall be juftified, Verse 13. and the Breaker of the Law fhall be condemned. Thefe are fome of the Beams of Nature's Light; all Men may find themselves condemned here, and they that think themselves juftified here before God by their good Deeds, they but difcover their Ignorance of the Law, which condemns all vain and evil Thoughts, as well as evil Deeds; and therefore no Man can have his Heart, and Thoughts justifying him before God, nor a good Confcience or Confidence towards God, till once he come to think duly of Chrift, from whom the Law hath got full Satisfaction to all its Commands and Demands, and by whofe Blood the fiery Law is extinguished: The Confcience being fprinkled with that Blood, and fo purged from dead legal Works to ferve the li

ving

"

ving God, the Man hath Confidence towards God, according to the Measure of his Faith, and regular Thoughts of Chrift. The more a Man thinks upon the Law, the more will his Thoughts condemn him, if he understood the Spirituality of the Law: But, the more he thinks of Chrift as the the End of the Law for Righteoufnefs, the more will his Thoughts and Confcience fmile upon him, and give him Confidence to wards God; for we have Boldness to enter into the Holieft, and to come to a holy God, by the Blood of Jefus, Heb. x. 19. They that think much of themfelves, and think little or nothing of Chrift, they are leaft in the Kingdom of Heaven, yea they are not of. that Kingdom at all; they defpife Chrift, and God defpifes them: But they that think little of themselves, or think nothing of themfelves, but think much of Chrift, and think every Way highly and honourably of him, they are great in the Kingdom of God; Chrift is great in their Eye, and they are great in God's Eye, being accepted in the Beloved: Therefore the great Qeflion is, What think ye of Chrift?

SECOND HEAD.

The Second Head propofed, was, To fhew the Import of this Queftion, What think ye of Chrift? That People may not deceive themfelves with paffing Thoughts they may have of Chrift, I would more. clofly open up the Meaning and Import of the Queftion ; and this being the main Head upon the doctrinal Part, we muft explain the feveral Branches of the Question, and fo fhew the Import of it. 1. Objectively, with Refpect to the Object, Chrift. 2, Actively, with refpect to the Act of Thinking. 3. Formally, with refpect to the Quality of the Act, what Sort of a Thought it is; What think ye of him? 4. Subjectivey, with refpect to the Perfons that are the Subjects, ye; What think ye of Chrift?

First then, I am to confider the Import of this Queftion, with respect to the Object or Matter of our Thoughts, namely, Chrift; What think ye of Chrill?

And

And here I own it is impoffible for me to go through al that I thought might be faid here: There are fo many Things in Chrift, that I found to be the Matter of the Question, he being All in all, and all the Fulness of the Godhead being in him, that, before ever I was aware, there were more than an hundred Questions occurred to me, that might be put upon this one Particular; and therefore I found a Neceflity of reftricting myself. And tho', if Time allow, in the Application' I may thro' Grace dilate upon fome of these; yet at prefent I fhall confine myself to what I judge precifely to be the Scope of the Text and Context, and the Intent of the Spirit of God in this Queftion, What think ye of Chrift? That is, 1. What think ye of his Righteoufnefs? 2. What think ye of his Pedigree! 3. What think ye of his Perfon? 4. What think ye of his Anointing? These Four, I fuppofe, we will find as the special Import of the Question here.

First, What think ye of his Righteousness? This I place firft, because I judge from what goes before as the Occafion of this Queftion, that the great Design of Chrift therein was to lead off thefe felf-righteous Pharifees from the Righteoufnefs of Works and of the Law, anent which all their Queftions were put to him, and to lead them to another Righteoufnefs, even to himself as the Lord their Righteoufnefs, the End of the Law. You think to be juftified by the Deeds of the Law; but, How is that poffible, feeing by the Law is the Knowledge of Sin? Rom. iii. 20. If ye. will ftand clofs to thefe old Covenant Terms with God, then let the Law itfelf catechife Where is your Righteoufnefs of Nature and Practice, that the Law requires? Where is your Righteoufnefs of Thought, Word and Deed, that it requires? Where is your Righteousness of Affection and Action, that it requires ? Where is your perfect, perfonal and perpetual Obedience, your Righteoufnefs internal in Heart, external in Life, and eternal in Duration, which the Law requires? for, Curfed is every One that continues not in all Things written in the Book of the Law, to do them,

C

you;

Gal

Gal. iii. 10. The Law will tell you, that tho' you keep it wholly, and yet offend in one Point, you are guilty of all, Jam. ii. 20. Now, is there no Point wrong in your State, Nature, Heart or Thought all your Days, not to speak of your Words and Actions? If there be, then you're guilty of all; and feeing by the Law is the Knowledge thus of your Sin and Guilt, how can you be juftified by the Law? Can that holy righteous Law pronounce you juft and righteous? No, no; in vain do you think of Righteoufnefs by the Law: Therefore, what think ye of Chrift the Meffias, who is called Jehovah Tfidkennu, the Lord our Righteousness, Jer. xxiii. 6. It is he that came to fulfil the Righteoufnefs of the Law in his own Perfon really and actively, that the Righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us imputatively and paffively, Rom. vii. 4. Is not this the only Righteoufnefs that magnifies the Law and makes it honourable? You magnify your own Righteoufnefs, which does but difgrace and difhonour the Law; but what think ye of Chrift? Do you magnify and honour him, as the Lord the Righteousness? Ought not you to magnify that Righteoufnefs that magnifies the Law, feeing it is more than an Angelical Righteoufnefs? It is not the Righteoufnefs of a Man only, or of David's Son; but the Righteousness of God, and of David's Lord. If you think no more of Chrift but that he is David's Son, no wonder then you be hankering after the Law, and a poor pitiful Righteoufnefs of your own; you have never feen the glory of Chrift's Righteoufnefs: But if you think duly of Chrift, you'll fee him to be the Lord Jehovah, and his Righteousness to be a glorious Divine Righteoufnefs, fo as you will count all things but Lofs and Dung for the Excellency of the Knowledge of him, and to be found in him, not having your own Righteoufnefs that is after the Law, but the Righteousness which is of God in Christ by Faith, Phil. ii. 8, 9. Let all your Queftions about the Law then, might Chrift fay, give Way to this great Question, what think ye of Chrift, and his Law-biding Righ