The saints dignity and duty· Together with the danger of ignorance and hardness. /…The saints dignitie and dutie· Together with the danger of ignorance and hardnesse. /…

The third and last thing, which concerneth the manner of our hearkening to the voice of Christ, is this: When thus the soul is persuaded of the will of God revealed, and when the heart settleth it self upon it, and hears nothing against the good pleasure of the Lord thus manifested, then in the last place the soul must yield obedience thereunto, not alone in doing the thing God commandeth, but in doing the will of God in so doing. Mark, not alone, I say, performing what God requireth of us, but to be carried to the performance of the duty merely because God requireth it. For these you must observe are two distinct things and of great difference. A man may do the thing which God commandeth, and yet notwithstanding never do Gods will but his own. Many ⟨p. 133⟩a man cometh to Church and there hears, and understands, and remembers, and doth the things that God would have him do, and yet in the mean time doth not at all the will of God; for he doth not therefore go to Church because God requireth it, but partly either because custom, or shame, or the Law, or somewhat else forceth him to it. Here therefore is the main pitch of our obedience, not alone to perform what is the good pleasure of God, but to let the will of God be the first mover of our souls, in the discharging of that service he calleth for at our hands, to do what we do, because it is the will of God we should do it; to perform what he requires in obedience to him, because he requires it. Our Saviour Christ putteth these together in his prayer to his Father, Luke 22.42. If thou be willing (saith he) remove this Cup from me, nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. He saith not that he will do the thing that God requireth, but he will do the will of God in it, the will of God should be the carrier and mover of him to take upon him the great work of redemption. So should it be with us in every thing we do: It is not my will that moveth me, but the will of God; it is not my pleasure that provokes me to this service, but the pleasure of God. This is the third thing requisite in our manner of hearkening to the voice of Christ. And this may be sufficient for the explication of the point.

The third and last thing, which concerneth the manner of our hearkning to the voice of Christ, is this: When thus the soul is perswaded of the will of God revealed, and when the heart setleth it self upon it, and hears nothing against the good pleasure of the Lord thus manifested, then in the last place the soul must yeeld obedience therunto, not alone in doing the thing God commandeth, but in doing the will of God in so doing. Mark, not alone, I say, performing what God requireth of us, but to be carried to the performance of the dutie meerly because God requireth it. For these you must observe are two distinct things and of great difference. A man may doe the thing which God commandeth, and yet notwithstanding never doe Gods will but his own. Many