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The apostle having proved our Lord Jesus Christ to be the great Prophet and Teacher of his church, doth in these words draw an inference from the foregoing conclusion: namely, that seeing Christ is the chief apostle and prophet of his church, seeing he was a teacher sent of God to instruct the world in the practice of their reasonable duty, that therefore it is our obliged duty to hearken to Christ's voice, and that now to comply with his call, and that presently: Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith, "Today if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts."
Observe here, 1. The person spoken of, and that is Christ; his voice; that is, the voice of Christ our great apostle, speaking in his gospel.
Observe, 2. A duty required of us in reference to his person, and that is, to hear and obey Christ's voice.
Observe, 3. The circumstance of time, and the special season when this duty of hearing Christ's voice is to be performed, and that is presently; "Today if you will hear his voice."
Observe, 4. A cautionary direction given to all those that sit under the dispensation of the gospel, and hear Christ's voice speaking to them therein; namely, to take heed that they harden not their hearts.
Learn hence, 1. That the voice which speaks unto us in and by the gospel, is Christ's voice.
2. That it is the great duty of all those that sit under the preaching of the gospel, to hear and obey Christ's voice.
Learn, 3. That it is not only their duty to hear Christ's voice, and answer his call in the gospel, but to do it now, to do it presently, and without delay; Today if you will hear his voice.
Learn, 4. That it is the duty and ought to be the special care, of all those that sit under the dispensation of the gospel, and that hear Christ's voice speaking to them therein, to take heed that they harden not their hearts.
Observe lastly, From our apostle's drawing an instance out of the Old Testament, namely, that of the Jews in the wilderness, to instruct the Hebrews to make use of the present season for hearing the voice of Christ under the New Testament; we learn, That Old Testament examples are New Testament instructions. The examples of our fore-fathers are of use and concernment to us, and ought to be the objects of our deepest consideration: Your fathers tempted me, and I was grieved with that generation.