being but partly enlightened herein, need to be directed in their faith and fpiritual thoughts of God, that they be not legal, terminating upon God abfolutely, but evangelically upon Chrift, or God in him, John xiv. I. "Ye believe in God, believe alfo in me;" fo much more do blind Pharifees need to be directed to the right road, as here our Lord does. Ye think of God, but, What think ye of Cbrift?

6

4. Remark, When Chrift is revealed, people may think of him, and yet think amifs, unlefs their thoughts be fpiritualized by a fupernatural change of the mind, and faving illumination of their understanding in the knowledge of Chrift.' Thoughts may be confidered as either rational and fpeculative, which is juft the work of the brain, and lies only in a bare theory of divine things; or, as practical and fpiritually operative, which does not reft in the head, but affects the heart, and fets the affections in motion towards divine things, and raises the fpiritual eftimation thereof. Now, whatever thoughts of Chrift the natural man may have in the former fenfe, yet no fuitable thoughts of Chrift can he have in the latter fenfe, till a fupernatural change be wrought by faving illumination. It is as impoffible in the black ftate of nature to think upon Chrift, or fpiritual things, in a spiritual manner, as it is for a man that was born blind to judge of colours, or to be taken up with their beauty and luftre; The natural man receives not the things of God, they are foolishness unto him, neither can be know them, for they are fpiritually difcerned, 1 Cor. ii. 14. This difcerning he cannot have, till he be tranflated out of darkness to God's marvellous light, and till the God, who commanded light to fhine out of darkness, fhine into his heart, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jefus Chrift, 2 Cor. iv. 6. People then may think of Chrift, and yet think amifs, without this faving illumination. This is alfo fuppofed here in the queftion: for the Pharifees did not want fome thoughts of Chrift the Meffias, and partly right thoughts too upon the matter, while they thought he was the Son of David; yet they were fo far from being right thoughts of Chrift, as God-man, and as to the

man

manner of thinking of him, that they had no due esteem of the true Chrift; nay, He was defpifed and rejected of men, as a root out of a dry ground, and as having no form or comeliness, Ifa. liii. 3. And thus he is ftill undervalued by multitudes, who yet judge they have right enough thoughts of Chrift; they think of him, but think amifs and therefore the queftion is not merely concerning the act of thinking, but the quality thereof; it is not,, have you any thoughts of Chrift; do you ever think of him? but it is, What think ye of him?

5. Remark, That man's thoughts are within God's jurifdiction, and under his authority.' The commands of God extend not only to the outward, but the inward man of the heart, and confequently further than ever any earthly command could go; where was there ever a monarch that could give out fuch laws, as would bind the heart and thoughts of men? If any mortal fhould make a law, that his fubjects fhould not daṛe, upon their peril, to welcome a traiterous thought against his royal perfon, otherwife he would be revenged upon them; really fuch an one would deserve to be laughed at for his pride and folly, more than Caligula, who threatened the air, if it durft rain when he was at his paftime, who yet durft not look upon the air when it thundered. It were the height of madnefs, for any crowned head in the world, or potentate on earth, fo far to forfeit their reafon, as to think, that the thoughts of men's hearts were within their territories or jurisdiction: but behold, they are all under the authority of God; for his name is Kagdova'ss, the Searcher of the heart, A&ts i. 24. 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 Jay bands upon the inner man, and to judge the fecrets of men by Jefus Chrift, Rom. ii. 16. who is here the catechift, putting the queftion to you; and he is the fitteft hand, for he knows what way your thoughts are running he is the witnefs, 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 evi

dent

dent as action to him; Heb. iv. 12, 13. "The Word of God, [the effential Word, the Word that was made flesh,] is quick and powerful, and fharper than any two-edged fword, piercing even to the dividing afunder of foul and fpirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a difcerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart; neither is there any creature that is not manifeft in his fight; but all things are naked, and open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do." He knows our thoughts afar off, even before we conceive them; and thoughts are actions before him: heart-thoughts are heart-acts, and real deeds in his fight; 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 itfelf: 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?

6. Remark, That as men may expect to be catechifed, and examined of God, with refpect to their thoughts, as well as their actions, fo efpecially concerning their thoughts of Chrift.' And as God will judge us by the thoughts we have of Chrift, fo we ought to try and judge ourselves 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 Christ are very high and honourable, he being the Father's darling and delight, Ifa. xlii. 5.; 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-pleafed with Chrift, fo he is well-pleafed 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,

men, and their thoughts, may accufe or excufe, and fo condemn or juftify them, according as they do good or evil, Rom. ii. 15.; and to be thus condemned and juftified, is no evidence of the man's ftate 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 justified, ver. 13. and the breaker of the law condemned. These are some of the beams of nature's light: all men may find themfelves condemned here, and they that think themselves juftified here before God, by their good deeds, they but discover 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 Christ, from whom the law hath got full fatisfaction to all its commands and demands, and by whofe blood the fiery law is extinguifhed: the confcience being fprinked with that blood, and fo purged from dead legal works to serve the living 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 his thoughts condemn him, if he understood the fpirituality of the law: but, the more he thinks of Chrift, as the end of the law for righteoufnefs, the more will his thoughts and confcience fimile upon him, and give him confidence towards God; for, we have boldnefs 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 themselves, and think little or nothing of Chrift, they are least in the kingdom of heaven; yea, they are not of that kingdom at all; they defpife Christ, 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 question is, What think ye of Christ?

II. The

II. The fecond head propofed, was, To fhew the import of this question, What think ye of Chrift? That people may not deceive themfelves with paffing thoughts they may have of Chrift, I would more clofely open up the meaning and import of the question; and this being the main head upon the doctrinal part, we muft explain the feveral branches of the queftion, and fo fhew the import of it. 1. Objectively, with refpect to the object, CHRIST. 2. Actively, with refpect to the act of thinking. 3. Formally, with refpect to the quality of the act, what fort of a thought it is; What think ye of him? 4. Subjectively, with respect to the perfons that are the fubjects, ye; What think YE of Chrift?

ift, Then, I am to confider the import of this queftion, with respect to the object, or matter of our thoughts, namely, CHRIST: What think ye of Chrift? And here I own it is impoffible for me to go through all that I thought might be faid here: there are fo many things in Chrift, that I found to be the matter of the queftion, he being all in all, and all the fulnefs of the Godhead being in him, that before ever I was aware, there were more than an hundred queftions occured to me, that might be put upon this one particular; and therefore I found a neceffity of reftricting myfelf. And though, if time allow, in the application I may, through grace, dilate upon fome of thefe; yet at prefent I shall confine myfelf to what I judge precifely to be the fcope of the text and context, and the intent of the Spirit of God in this question, 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? Thefe four, I fuppofe, we will find as the special import of the queftion here.

[1.] What think ye of his righteousness? This I place first, because I judge, from what goes before, as the occafion of this queftion, that the great defign of Chrift therein was to lead off these felf-righteous Pharifees from the righteoufnefs of works and of the law, concerning which all their queftions were put to him, and to lead them to another righteoufnefs, even to himself as the Lord their righteousness, the end of the law. As if he

had