276 Attending public In/Irutlion, S E R M. when this divine meffenger atually came XI. into the world, God himfelf, by an exprefs voice from heaven, commanded men to hear him. Now, hearing, in the text, and other pa- rallel declarations of fcripture, importeth a ferious and attentive confideration; not mere- ly the ufe of the external fenfe commonly fignified by that word, but principally, a diligent application of the mind to under - fl:and the important contents of the divine meffage. Our bleffed Saviour, in his para- ble of the fower, Matt. xiii. reprefenteth force hearers of the gofpel by the fimilitude of ground by the way-fide, fo hard, being conftantly trod upon, that the feed doth not enter into it, but is catched away by the fowls ; which he thus applieth to the carelefs unattentive profeffors of religion; they hear indeed, but underjland not the word of the kingdom ; then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which is film in their hearts. Their not underftanding it is not a liimple ignorance arifing from inca- pacity, or fpoken of without any regard to the caufes of it ; for it is plain our Lord in- tendeth to lay blame on fuch hearers, and to charge them with guilt, which he could not do, if their ignorance proceeded altoge- ther
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