Man commands, and would force us to hear the hirelings, who plead for sin and the body of death to the grave; which doctrine savours of the devil’s teaching, not of Christ’s; but we resolve to hear the Son, as both he and the Father command, and in hearing the Son we hear the Father also, as the Scripture testifies. For the author to the Hebrews says, ‘God, who at sundry times, and in divers manners, spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son;’ mark that, God hath spoken unto us (his apostles, disciples, church), by his Son. And whereas some have objected, that although Christ did speak both to his disciples and to the Jews, in the days of his flesh, yet since his resurrection and ascension he doth not speak now:—the answer is, that ‘as God did then speak by his Son in the days of his flesh, so the Son, Christ Jesus, doth now speak by his Spirit.’ Wherefore John saith in the Revelations, ‘He that hath an ear let him hear, what the Spirit saith to the churches,’ Rev. ii. And Christ is said to ‘speak from heaven,’ Heb. xii. 25. ‘See that ye refuse not him that speaketh; for if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from Him that speaketh from heaven.’ They that resisted Moses’ law, who spake on earth, died for it without mercy, which was a natural death; but they that refuse Him that speaks from heaven, neglect and slight their own salvation, and so die a spiritual death through unbelief and hardness of heart. Therefore was the exhortation given of old, ‘To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation,’ &c. Heb. iii. 15, &c. So that they who neglect or refuse to hear the voice of Christ, now speaking from heaven in this his gospel-day, harden their hearts. “Let all therefore mark well these three estates and teachers; the God of Truth was the first teacher, while man was in Paradise and in innocency. The serpent was the second teacher, the false teacher, who by his false teaching came to be the god of the world, which lies in wickedness. Christ Jesus, that bruises the serpent’s head, is the third teacher, who saith, ‘Learn of me,’ and of whom God saith, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him;’ and of whom the testimony of the saints of old was, ‘God hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son.’ Thus they that come to be renewed up again into the divine, heavenly image, in which man was at first made, will know the same God, that was the first teacher of Adam and Eve in Paradise, to speak to them now by his Son, who changes not; glory be to his name for ever!” Many deep and precious things were opened in those meetings by the Eternal Spirit, which searcheth and revealeth the deep things of God.