1 
 
PRINCETON, N. J. j 
 
 I 
 
 Division 
 
 Si'C/ian ....: 
 Shelf... ^>J.\ Ntimlwr .... 
 
 Ai'f^^H^- 
 
/ 
 
A ^ 
 
 ttORM SOLITARI^ 
 
 on, 
 
 ESSAYS 
 
 UPON SOIME REMARKABLE 
 
 NAMES AND TITLES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 OLY SPIEIT 
 
 dccunRiNG in 
 
 ? 
 
 THE OIB AND NEW TESTAMENTSj AND DECIARATITE OF HIS ESSENTIAL DIVINITX 
 AND GHACIOCS OFFICES IN THE SALVATION OF MEN : 
 
 TO WHICH IS ANNEXED 
 
 A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE HERESIES, 
 
 UELATIVE TO THE DOCTRINE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHICH HAVE 
 BEEN PUBLISHED SINCE THE CHRISTIAN ^RA, 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 
 Whosoever speaketh against the Holt Ghost * ** 
 
 ***=■'*■**** 03' Matth. xii. 3?.. 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 ECOND AJIERICAN FROM THE THIRD LONDON EDITION. 
 
 HARTFORD: 
 T'UBLISHED BY SILAS ANDRU? 
 
 K. liy E. Hosfvrd, Printers^Albanti. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 T. 
 
 HE former volume ©f essays, which chiefly related to the 
 divinity of Christ, was composed in hours of retreat from the 
 business of the world : the present, which treats of the divinity of 
 the Holy Spirit, has been written in full retirement from the 
 world itself. It was therefore supposed, that the title of Hora 
 Solitariee might not be improper for both. 
 
 However trite and common the apology, it can very truly be 
 said, that this part of the work was attempted and now appears at 
 ihe instance of a learned and most valuable friend, whose wishes 
 •with the author, on the best of accounts, ought to have the force 
 of commands, and whose worth and eminence it might seem vain 
 to mention upon this occasion, as it would be thought superflu- 
 ous (did he take the liberty to name him) upon any. 
 
 The two volumes, beyond the particular subject of each, concur 
 in one common design to shew ; that the doctrine of a Trinity 
 of iter sons in one and the same Jehovah is essential to the very 
 being of the Christian religion ,- and, that the firactical use or 
 exfierience of this truth, including and combining all the other 
 principles of the faith, is the proper constituent of the Christian 
 life. If the essays tend to confirm a doctrine so important, or to 
 induce an imprevement so desirable, the author may be credited 
 in professing to have no other purpose in their puhiication. 
 
 The author's distance from the press has increased the imper- 
 fections of his papers, which the candid and intelligent reader will 
 have the goodness to correct or excuse : and he ventures hum- 
 bly to solicit every reader, who is duly sensible of the consequence 
 of divine truth, that prayer may be made for the blessing of 
 grace, without which no human endeavours can be successful, 
 and that all the praise, if the least good ensue, be rendered to 
 HIM, " from whom all holy desires, all good counsels, and all 
 just works, do proceed," 
 
ADDRESS TO THE PUBLIC* 
 
 THE knowledge of God is the most important subject that can engage; 
 ;he attention of man. " This is eternal life to know the only true God and 
 Jesus Christ whom he hath sejit." 
 
 Every attempt to assist in searching- the Scripture and of becoming better 
 acquainted with the character and perfections of Jehovah, Father, Son and 
 Holy Ghost, deserves the approbation and encouragement of every faithful 
 Christian. Tlie Hon.E Sohtahi^ or Hours of Retirement, are eminently en- 
 titled to Christian pati'onage. 
 
 The author, with great piety, application, and a large share of scriptural 
 criticism, hath explained, and by sound reasoning established this funda- 
 mental article of the gospel. That Jehovah our Lord is one God, revealed 
 to us under the distinct names and personal properties of Father, Son and 
 Holt Spihit. 
 
 The doctrine of tlie Trinity, so essential to the faith and comfort of the 
 Christian, and the peculiar offices and operations which distinguish the per- 
 sons of the ineffable Godhead, has not received an illustration more satisfac- 
 tory and purely scriptural, since the days of Jltluinasius, than what these 
 papers contain. 
 
 The author, it is said, was a Layman, attached to the British arjuy in the 
 revolutionary American war. The parts were written at different times, 
 some of them in the camp, and published at different times and places. 
 His motives, for he sought no profit, he courted no applause, must have 
 been pure and disinterested. 
 
 Published in detached portions, and issuing from presses, in all cases, 
 not correct, many errors in the text, but especially in his valuable notes, 
 nbounded. The Philadelphia edition published by different printers in 
 1801, is liable to tlie same censure. It v/as printed from the second London 
 edition. 
 
 This edition is printed from the tliird London edition, of 1804, revised 
 and corrected by the author himself, which is allowed to be peculiarly ac- 
 curate. 
 
 The proof-sheets have been revised by gentlemen who are pledges that the 
 learned notes have suffered no injury. THE PUBLISHER. 
 
 * The absence of the Publisher from the Press 7vhen the frst vohme -was 
 printed, occasioned the omission of the Address to the Public and Recommen- 
 dutions of tlie luork from being i7itroduced in the front of that volume, the usual 
 place allotted for them. He hopes that by prefixing them to the second volume, 
 every object intended by them shall be accomplished tvifhont any real di'^ad- 
 ".•antttpe 
 
RECOMMENDATIONS. 
 
 'po MR. TORRiT, 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I am highly pleased with j-our intention of offering to the Christian public 
 an American, from the third London edition of those interesting volumes en- 
 titled Hon^ SoLiTAuiiE. This work, from its first publication, lias been 
 highly esteemed by every real believer who has become acquainted with it 
 The subject itself is of great importance and sublimity ; and, whilst the 
 friend of Jesus Christ delights to trace the real divinity of the Son and the 
 Holy Spirit in the light of divine Revelation, he will here find arguments an4 
 view s calculated to strengthen his faith, and draw forth the affections of his 
 iieart, towards the triune god, in holy adoration and praise. 
 
 SAMUEL BLATCHFORD, D. D 
 Pastor of the United Congregations of hansingbvrgh and Waterfurd. 
 Lansingburgh, June 16, 1814. 
 
 I concur in tiie above recommendation. 
 
 WILLIAM NEBLL, D. D. 
 
 ]^Cistor of the First Presbyterian Church, Albany. 
 Albany, June 19, 1814. 
 
 I also concur in the above I'ecommendations. 
 
 JOHN M'DONALD, 
 
 Pastor of the Presbyterian Church, Chapel-street, Albavy, 
 
 Sin — Your design to re-publish the volumes entitled the " Honjj Sou- 
 TAHi.E," cannot fiill to gratify the friends of evangelical truth. There are 
 it'x works of human composition in which the divinity of the Son of God 
 with the infinite sufficiency of his sacrifice for tlie remission of sin ; also, the 
 divinity of the Holy Spirit, with his agency in the sanctification of the soul, 
 arc more clearly stated and ably defended : And what adds to the excel- 
 lence of this Treatise, thetie great doctrines of our religion are very happily 
 applied for solving the doubts and enlivening the hopes of those who are ex- 
 ercised to Godliness. I have i-ead the work with great pleasure, and can 
 cheerfully recommend it to all who love the truth as it is in Jesus, and 
 ivould grow up to the measure of the stature of his fulness. 
 
 ALEXANDER PROUDFIT, D. D. 
 Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Salem, JV*. Y. 
 
 Salem, August 13th, 1814. 
 
 Sin — I rejoice to heai- that you are about to print that valuable work, 
 termed Hors Somtaui*. Its republication, at present, is peculiarly sea- 
 sonable, when many are exerting themselves to subvert the Christian's faith 
 in the doctrine of tjie Trinity. In this precious work, the learned and pious 
 author proves from the sacred volume, that tlie Redeemer and Sanctifier of 
 dinners, arc pod equ;il with the Father. I know of no publication cmittecl 
 
SECOMMENDATIONS. vii 
 
 from the press for a length of time, that is better calculated to confirm the 
 wavering, strengthen the weak, and comfort the afflicted believer ; and 
 therefore recommend it to the people of my charge, as worthy of a place in 
 their libraries. JAMES MAIRS, A. M. 
 
 JUinistef of the Associate Itefonned Congregation of Galiuay and Charlton, 
 Gal-way, 2^th August, 1814. 
 
 Having perused " Hor.s Scutari^:," I do most cordially approbate the 
 \rork, as exhibitmg tlie highest marks of ingenuiu^, learning, and piety ; 
 and I do most cheerfully recommend it to the careful and candid perusal of 
 all classes of people, ars eminently calculated to establish in the public mind, 
 the Deity of the Second Person in the Trinity. 
 
 JOEL BYINGTON, 
 Minister of the Gospel of Christ, Hahron, JV. I' 
 
 Sir— Understanding that you are about to publish an edition of the HoHiE 
 Solitabia:, I most cheerfully reoommend it to the serious perusal of all who 
 have a relish for evangelical truth. R. PROUDFIT, 
 
 JkEnister of tfie Associate Seformed Chwxh, £roailalbin. 
 
 September 26th, 1814. 
 
 The HoH.ffi SoLiTABi^ have been so long known as a work of superior me- 
 rit, and so justly recommended by names of such respectability, that my 
 approbation can be of little avail. A publication exhibiting so much evan- 
 gelical doctrine and pious sentiment, has a powerful claim upon the patro- 
 nage of the Christian public. GILBERT M'MASTER, 
 
 Minister of the Gospel of Christ, in Gabtx^. 
 
 'September 8fA, 1814, 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 LORD, or Jehovah 
 
 Alehim, or God 
 
 Adonai 
 
 Most High 
 
 Holy Spirit 
 
 Eternal Spirit 
 
 Comforter 
 
 Spirit of Life 
 
 Water of Life 
 
 Spirit of Truth 
 
 Spirit of Grace 
 
 Spirit of Adoption 
 
 Spirit of Faith 
 
 Law 
 
 Voice 
 
 Spirit of Wisdom, 8cc. 
 
 Spirit of Counsel 
 
 Spirit of Might 
 
 Spirit of Knowledge 
 
 Spirit of Fear of Jehovah 
 
 Guide 
 
 Teacher 
 
 Power 
 
 Spirit of Promise 
 
 Love 
 
 Understanding 
 
 Oil of Gladness 
 
 Conclusion 
 
NAMES, TITLES, AND ATTRIBUTES, 
 
 OF THE 
 
 HOLY SPIRIT, 
 
 REVEAIED IN THE 
 
 TWO TESTAMENTS, 
 LORD, OR JEHOVAH. 
 
 A HE import of this glorious name has been considered in the 
 former volume, in which it was shewn, that the Almighty called 
 himself by this title to explain, to our understandings, his neces- 
 sary, independent, self-existent Being, and to impress us with the 
 idea of his own immutability and eternity, and of the derivation 
 of all other existence from him. This name of course cannot be- 
 long to a creature^ is never applied to any, but is claimed distinct- 
 ly from all other names and attributes by the great Author and 
 Creator of all things. 
 
 It is the purpose of this Essay to prove, that the incommuni- 
 cable name Jehovah belongs to the Holy Spirit: And such 
 testimonies will be brought for this end, as (it is hoped) may 
 confirm every believer, and do something to silence the mouth of 
 the gainsayer ; because they will be testimonies from Him who 
 cannot lie — from Him, who cannot te mistaken himself, and who 
 is too good and gracious, in the remotest degree to deceive us. 
 We shall see, as we go along, what a glory this sublime truth 
 throws upon ail the other doctrines of the gospel, and in what per- 
 fect agreement it proceeds with the analogy of faith revealed in 
 the Old and New Testaments, and (it may be ndded) revealed in 
 every real Christian's soul for his comfort and salvation. To 
 those who neither knonv the scri/itures nor the fiower of God, it is 
 not pi'esumed, that any evidence upon this subject, from those 
 scriptures can be satisfactory ; since, as our Lord assures us, 
 that, rejecting these, they nvouldnot (or could not) believe though 
 one arose from the dead. The Spirit Jehovah himself must af- 
 
 VOL, II. B 
 
10 LORD, OR JEHOVAH. 
 
 ford an elenc/ms, or energy, to his own testimony; or, could they 
 cease to be declarcdinfidcis, they would only become mere specu- 
 latists, and consequently notional, not real believers. But to those, 
 whose understandings are ojiened to understand the scri/iturea 
 (Luke xxiv. 45.) and from whose hearts the stone is in some mea- 
 sure removed (Ezek. xxxvi. 26) ; it is hoped, that the evidences 
 of this great ti'uth will not only be convincing and undeniable, but 
 (what seems, to the author, of more moment) edifying and esta- 
 blishing in their most holy faith. Merely to inform the judgment, 
 is but half the object: The desire is, that, with a clear and sound 
 comprehension of the truths the heart may be warmed with the 
 love of it, and the soul built up thereon by a happy and divine ex- 
 perience. The Spirit, of whom we are treating, is alone able to 
 effect this : Reader, look up to him for his blessing, that thou 
 mayest be led in a right way to a right end ; which is, by the pow- 
 er of grace, to the glory of Jehovah, and thine own salvation. 
 
 Our first design is to prove, that the Holy Spirit is Jehovah ; 
 and our next, that, being Jehovah,* He is able to accomplish all 
 that is said of Him, and all that is necessary for xis to life 
 etei'nal. 
 
 It will be granted by all but professed Atheists, and no Chris- 
 tian therefore can deny it, " That there is but one Jehovah." We 
 are slandered, consequently, when, upon our professing to be- 
 lieve, that the Father is Jehovah, the Son Jehovah, and the Spirit 
 Jehovah, it is said of us that we talk oi three Gods ; for the very 
 name Jehovah (if our adversaries would but understand it) en- 
 tirely precludes that notion. A simple, infinite, perfect essence 
 must necessarily be indivisible : Nor do wcjin our idea, presume 
 to make divisions in the Deity, but to believe only those distinC' 
 tions of persons, hypostases, or subsistences in him, of which He 
 himself hath been pleased tc^ive a revelation, and by which reve- 
 lation alone we can know any thing of the matter. We are not 
 wise above what is -written s nor would we be too proud or self- 
 sufficient to follow the written wisdom of God. In another case, 
 v/hen our philosophers speak of the light, or fire, or substance of 
 the material sun ; they would deem it an insult, if they were ac- 
 cused of maintaining, that there were several suns ; because of 
 those distinctions, which they perceived in his nature. And, by 
 
 * One cannot help wishing" with Forster, tliat the Hebrew name Jehovah 
 were preserveil ui all translations of the Bible, gitotl hcec nttributa [i. e. Do 
 minus et Deus,] neqnc esseiitiavi iUxinam, neque nominis propriam signijica- 
 tionem exprimant ,■ "bccaiisctlicse titles of Lord and God can neither express 
 the divine essence, nor give the proper signiiicutiou of hW names." 
 
LORD, OR JEHOVAH. 11 
 
 a very small share of candor, those, who charge the Christians 
 ■with Tritheism, for holding the doctrinp of the Trinity, might 
 have saved themselves from committing a violent injustice ; be- 
 cause, though we maintain, that " each person by himself is Je- 
 vohah," yet we also declare, that there are not three Lords, but 
 one Lord, according to what is written in Deut. vi. 4. Hear, O 
 Israel, Jehovah our Alehim is one Jehovah, — Nor doth it strike 
 our reason with more repugnance to assert this concerning a spi- 
 ritual essence, of which we can know nothing but what is reveal- 
 ed, when God himself hath revealed this doctrine to us ; than it 
 can the reason of a philosopher to conceive light and heal in a ma- 
 terial substance, without aflFecting the imity of that substance, 
 •when he knows this only by his senses, which in some respects 
 are acknowledged to be fallacious. In the one case, there is the 
 testimony of God, who surely knows the mode of his own being, 
 and who is himself pure and perfect reason ; but in the other, wc 
 have only the evidence of sense, which not only is not reason, but 
 very often is contrary to it. Yet were we to assert the existence 
 of three sefiarate suns, because we could find as many properties 
 in our one sun ; we should have enough to laugh at us for our 
 notion, and especially among those who are so unfair (not to say 
 ■worse) as to accuse us of believing in three separate Gods, because 
 ■we assert three divine hypostases, or persons, to be in the Godhead, 
 and this upon the authority of God himself. Who then act the most 
 rationally ; they^ who, confessing God to be incomprehensible^ yet 
 presume to define his infinite nature according to their own low 
 and limited notions ; or we, who, acknowledging that his being f«- 
 finitely transcends all human investigation, receive with humble 
 submission that testimony, which he bath given us of himself ? We 
 never pretend, that God's existence is a subject of human reason : 
 Nor have we so little reason as to attempt the measure of all in- 
 finitude by a finite rule. The presumption of infidelity^ which af- 
 fects to believe nothing beyond its own puny comprehension, and 
 yet blames those who cannot believe it upon a point confessedly 
 incomfirehensible ; is at once too daring to be safe, and too igno- 
 rant to be trusted, in a matter of such importance. God's own 
 wisdom and truth, in this respect, are only sufficient to satisfy us : 
 But, if they were not, we certainly could not be satisfied with the 
 cogitations of poor mortals, who know not even the mode of their 
 own being, nor how themselves think, nor indeed the essence of 
 ^ny one material substance about them. 
 
le LORD, OR JEHOVAH. 
 
 THE SPIRIT IS JEHOVAH. 
 
 Jeremiah xxxi, 33, 34. This shall be the Covenant^ saith Jcho' 
 ■vah — they shall teach no more every inan his neighbour — saying, 
 Kjiow Jehovah ; for they shall all know 7ne-— saith Jehovah. 
 
 John xvi. 13. When He, the Spirit of Truth is come, he ivill 
 guide you into all truth. 
 
 This is the accomplishment of the promise, that Jehovah the 
 Spirit guides into all truth, and makes himself known to his peo- 
 ple. An obvious distinction is here made between the teaching 
 of God and of man : And as obvious a fact it appears, that the 
 Spirit guiding, in one text, is Jehovah promised to be known in 
 the other. 
 
 Deut. vi. 16. with Matth. iv. 7. Thou shalt not tempt Jehovah 
 thy Alehim. 
 
 Acts. v. 9. How is it that you have agreed to tempt the Spirit 
 nf the Lord ? 
 
 Ananias and Sapphira for this temptation were judicially seized 
 by immediate death, which proved upon fact, that they had not 
 lied unto men, but unto God, and that to tempt the Spirit, is no 
 other than to tempt Jehovah himself, which could not be unless 
 the Spirit were Jehovah.* 
 
 Acts xxviii. 25. Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the Pro^ 
 phet. Sec. But we read in 
 
 Luke i. 68, 70. that it was the Lord God [Jehovah Alehim] of 
 Israel, who spake by the mouth of his holy Prophets, which have 
 been si?ice the world began. See Micah iii. 8. 
 
 It follows, then, that the Holy Ghost is the Lord God of Israel. 
 
 1 Sam. xvi. 13. The Spirit of Jehovah came upon David from 
 that day forward. 
 
 But in the 18th verse, it is said expressly, that Jehovah was 
 with him. 
 
 Deut. xxxii. 12. Jehovah alone [nia entirely alone] did lead 
 him [Jacob, a collective name for his people.] But in 
 
 Isaiah Ixiii. 11, 12. We read that it was the Holy Spirit, that 
 led them by the right hand of Moses, with his glorious arm. 
 
 The Holy Spirit, therefore, is Jehovah. 
 
 Isaiah vi. 9. Jehovah Sabaoth said, go and tell this people. Hear 
 ye indeed, but understand not ; and see ye indeed, but perceive 
 not, &c. But the Apostle says, 
 
 * See an excellent Note upon tliis argiunent in Jones's Catholic Doctrine 
 of a Trinitij. p. 41. 3d. edit. 
 
LORD, OR JEHOVAH 13 
 
 Acts xxviii. 25. ffcll s/iake the Holy Ghost by Emian the Pro- 
 fihet unto our fathers^ saying^ Go unto this fieople^ and say ^ Hear- 
 ing ye shall hear, and shall not understand^ &c. Therefore, 
 
 The Holy Ghost is Jehovah Sabaoth.* 
 
 Numbers xii. G. If there be a Prophet among you, I Jehovah 
 will make myself known unto him in a vision, &c. 
 
 2 Pet. i. 21. For the profihecy coine not in old time by the will 
 of man ; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the 
 Holy Ghost. 
 
 The Holy Ghost, therefore, niust be Jehovah. 
 
 The name Jehovah in the Old Testament is rendered by 
 Kvpioi in the New, and into the English by Lord, which certainly 
 doth not convey the sense of the original word. It is, however, 
 as- well as to the Father and the Son, applied to the Holy Spirit ; 
 though not very modestly or carefully denied by the opposers 
 of his divinity. Thus, 
 
 2 Cor. iii. 17, IS. Por the Lord is the Spirit — eve7i as by the 
 Lord the Spirit ; for so it should have been translated ; as indeed 
 it is so translated in the margin of our larger Bibles. 
 
 Col. ii. 9. In him [Christ"] dwclleth all the fulness of the God- 
 head bodily. 
 
 Isaiah xi. 2. ^nd the Spirit Jehovah shall rest upon him, 8cc. 
 Matt. xii. 18. I will put my Spirit upon him, Sec. 
 
 The Spirit, therefore, is the yji/wes* of the Godhead, not sepa- 
 rate from (for that is impossible, the Godhead being one) the 
 other divine persons, but in unity with them, participating the un- 
 divided essence. 
 
 Isaiah Ixiii. 10. The Israelites of old re/5f//frf and vexed his 
 Holy Spirit. But in 
 
 Numb. xiv. 11. They are said to have provoked Jehovah, and 
 in Psalm Ixxviii. 56. to have tempted and provoked the most High 
 God. 
 
 The Holy Spirit is, therefore, Jehovah and the Most High God. 
 
 Psalm xxxiii. 6. JBy the word of Jehovah were the Heavens 
 made, and all the Host of them by the Spirit [nn] of his mouth. 
 But it is said, 
 
 Prov, xvi. 4. Jehovah made all things for himself, &c. And 
 that Acts xvii. 24. God lyiade the world, and all things therein. 
 
 * See some valuable Notes from the fathers upon this argument, in that 
 excellent volume of Sermons upon tlie Divinity of the Holy Spirit, by the 
 late Mr. John HuiTion : printed 1734. And also an answer to some objec- 
 tions in Sloss's Sermons upon the Trinity : Serm. xvi. See .ilso Witsii 
 Srerc in Is yu 
 
U LORD, OR JEHOVAH. 
 
 The Spirit, therefore, as well as the Son, is both Jehovah and 
 
 God. ^ 
 
 Romans xv. 9, The Apostle ascribes the mighty signs and 
 wonders, wrought in confirmation of the Gospel, to the fiower of 
 the spirit of God. But the Psalmist says, in 
 
 Psalm cxxxvi.thatit is Jehovah, the Alehim, the Lord of Lords, 
 <ivho alojie doeth great wonders. 
 
 The Holy Ghost, therefore, is Jehovah, God over all, blessed 
 forever. 
 
 Many more arguments of this kind might be drawn from the 
 scriptures; but these, it is presumed, may suffice ; at least, they 
 may suffice, till they are proved not to support the Holy Spirit's 
 divinity, or that the term Jehovah may belong to a creature, an 
 emanation, or a sort of inferior God like the demi-god of the Hea-? 
 then ; which probably the adversaries of this truth, with all their 
 acuteness, may not be in haste to perform. When they have 
 done this, they have but one step farther, and that is, to prove that 
 self-existence belongs to any thing, or nothing, just as they please. 
 
 But if God be true, and can give the best accoimt of his own 
 being; then, upon the authority of his holy word, we may rest 
 satisfied, that the Spirit is Jehovah. It seems even wonderful, how 
 any man who pretends to reason or philosophize upon the data 
 of the Bible, can be absurd enough to deny a truth, so strongly 
 marked from one end of that book to the other. For, to talk of the 
 Spirit of Jehovah, the Spirit of the Alehim, or of God, as a sepa- 
 rate, inferior, and dependent Being ; is to assume, that God hath 
 parts and divisions, and that, so far from having a simplicity of 
 nature, he is a composition oi superiority and inferiority, endur- 
 ing a comparison within himself, which entirely takes away every 
 idea of his perfection, infinitude, and eternity. If the Spirit be 
 «c/iara;e from Jehovah, or is Mof Jehovah himself; then the title 
 Spirit of Jehovah, so frequently given, is a dreadful mistake into 
 which (it seems) God himself hath led us ; and the Being so cal- 
 led dwindles down at once into a mere Minister of Deity, an An- 
 gel, or seme other creature. It follows too, that something can 
 be in the Godliead, which is net 6/ the Godhead, and that God*s 
 Spirit, by which he made all tilings, may be like our breath and 
 vanish into thin air. To such absurdity of blasphemy do some 
 men's opinions necessarily lead ihem,if they are but extended to 
 their natural length, without ay strahiing or perversion. 
 
 If, likewise, the Spirit be inf trior or depi-ndtnt, he can neither 
 be i'lfinite nor eternal : or, if he be infinite and eternal, he will be 
 
LORD, OR JEHOVAH. 15 
 
 f^fiifl/to Jehovah himself, and consequently must either be Jehovah, 
 which we believe ; or there must be two Jehovahs, two eternal 
 and infinite Beings, which we deny, and which no man in his sen- 
 ses can maintain. The doctrine of two first principles* is absurd 
 in reason ; and by religion we are told that Jehovah our Alehim is 
 but One Jehovah. 
 
 God is one pure, uncoinpounded, infinite, and eternal essence ; 
 a mere and simple act ; the spring of all power, wisdom and being. 
 He only is : and whatever can be predicated of him, does not 
 inerelij belong to him, like a quality in the creatures ; but is him- 
 self. Whatever is now in Him, ever was in Him : It is his E?is ; 
 it is himself.^ If, therefoi'e, the Spirit be of Jehovah, according 
 to his name and the proofs already given from divine authority ; 
 then He is Jehovah essentially, infinitely, and eternally : and there 
 is no avoiding this conclusion, but by denying him to be the SfiiriC 
 of God ; in which case, a flat contradiction will be given to every 
 text of Scripture, which calls him by that name. 
 
 The Spirit, therefore, being Jehovah, not oi like but of one and 
 the same essence ; he depends upon no other being for his being, 
 but is necessarily self-existcnt^injinitc.i and eternal. 
 
 If he be not self-existent^ Stc. then he is not Jehovah, or a per- 
 son in the essence Jehovah ; for that name implies a.u Avretpvij 
 or self-existence ; and consequently he is only a creature. But if 
 he be not a creature, but Jehovah himself; he then is whatever 
 can be predicated of Jehovah, and possesses all the attributes which 
 Jehovah has claimed, or which can possibly be ascribed to him. 
 And when the wisdom of God intornns us, that in the One Jehovah 
 there are Three hypostases, or persons, or Alehim, osconomically 
 styled Father, Son, and Sjiirit ; we may be assured there can be 
 no contradiction in this testimony. Nor is this tesiimony propos- 
 ed to us as a matter to be submitted to our little reasonings and 
 speculation, but as an article of faith, in the reception of which 
 we may be led up to communion with the Godhead in three per- 
 sons, agreeably to our dependence upon them in their respec- 
 tive offices of Father, Redee?ner, and Sanctifier. Nor yet do we 
 « divide the substance" of Deity by this our faith ; for though wc 
 
 * Marcion and Cerdon, with some other of the ancient Heretics, maintrjjned 
 this preposterous tenet, which common sense can easily refute. 
 
 f To this effect, Eulogius or Alexandria observes, that Ens(^ov essence of 
 all being) is more than to be. Man hath a bemg-, but lie is not prop- 
 erly the Ens or essence of that being'. For that properly is Ens, which pro- 
 ceeds from nothing- else, and which doth not cwse to be the Em of all other 
 tilings, .'^p^^(i Phot. Cod. ccxxx. 
 
16 LORD, OR JEHOVAH. 
 
 say, that each of the three persons is self-existent, and so proper- 
 ly Jehovah ; yet we do not maintain either or all to be scfiarate-ex- 
 istent, or to form more than one Jehovah. .In other things, men 
 can distinguish where they do not divide, and can allow three in- 
 separable peculiarities (as in the case of the sun, or in the mind, 
 will, and affection of man. Sec.) to constitute but one substance or 
 being ; and all this upon no better evidence than human sensation, 
 which (as we said before) is often fallible. Surely, then, having 
 the infallible declaration of God, with us, we may be bold to speak 
 a truth, which cannot contradict our reason, because it is not 
 and cannot be the subject of it. We must follow God in this high 
 matter implicitly ; and surely we may follow him with safety^ 
 where we cannot conduct ourselves. All the objects of religion 
 do indeed rise above the poor intellect of man ; and he can know 
 nothing of another life, of immortality, or even of the grand pur- 
 pose of his own existence, but by divine revelation. How then 
 by searclwig can be find out God ; or honv study the Almighty to 
 fierfection ? Here, as one of the Fathers says, mens dificit, vox 
 silet ; " the mind fails, and the tongue is dumb." And surely it 
 should be so among short sighted beings, who cannot tell hoiu 
 their own spirits act upon their bodies, or in what mode the spring 
 of life is exerted and influenced within them. 
 
 The Christian doth not pretend to explain the modus existendi, 
 or manner of existence, which the Holy Spirit has in the divine 
 nature ; because no finite nature, human or angelic, can form a 
 comparative idea of what is infinite : And we properly know no- 
 thing from reason but by comfiarison. It is quite sufficient for the 
 believer, that God hath said any proposition ; and he leaves it (and 
 it is both his wisdom and his duty to leave it) to God, either to be 
 reserved as an inscrutable truth, or to be opened to his mind by a 
 farther explanation. There are mysteries, which one day will be 
 mysteries to him no more ; and there are mysteries, which from 
 their own exalted nature, must remain so for ever. As he grows 
 in gi'ace, though now imprisoned in a frail and corruptible body, 
 which acts like a clog upon his spirit, he grows in the knowledge 
 of many truths, which once he did not comprehend : And there is 
 just cause to believe, that, in his advances/ro7?2 glory to glory, he 
 will increase ad infinitum in the conceptions of heavenly things, 
 and still be finding a glorious infinitum before him. The height 
 and depth, the length and breadth, (as the Apostle speaks, while 
 himself is absorbed in the vastness of the subject) of tl)c wisdom 
 and love of God around him, will still be unexplored ; and that 
 
LORD, OR JEHOVAH. 17 
 
 infinite ocean of everlasting entity and truth must remain, to all 
 ranks and orders of being, both unbounded and unfathomable for 
 ever. 
 
 What then hath man to do, but to act like the Angels, who 
 ivonder and adore ? And if man knew what Angels know, and was 
 but as unclouded with sin as they ; he would find it his supreme 
 delight, to hold company and communion with them in this bless- 
 ed employment. 
 
 Over and above all other arguments, the real believer in Jesus 
 hath a testimony, that the Holy Spirit is Jehovah, which lies out of 
 the view of the world, because it is within him. Behold, says 
 Christ, the kingdoflt of God is within you. A throne is erected in 
 every believing heart, from which the Spirit of God directs his 
 rule, bringing every thought 'into captivity, and into sweet sub- 
 jection to Christ. The promise of the Father* is accomplished 
 in the Christian when the Spirit is fwured out upon him, like oil 
 to enliven, or like water to purify, his new-born soul. He sees 
 clearly, that none but Jeho-vah could vouchsafe the Holy Spirit ; 
 and he views as plainly, that this Holy Spirit must be Jeho-vah, to 
 perform the wonderful works, which are ascribed to him in na- 
 ture and grace, and a portion of which he feels to be wrought in 
 him by his power. He reads his Bible and sees, that the ever- 
 lasting covenant can only be performed by those divine persons 
 who made it, and that the full completion of it, being reserved for 
 the Spirit, could only be effectuated by Him, as He is Jehovah. 
 Believing in Him, therefore, as Jehovah, he cannot but consider 
 him fully able to accomplish all that is said of him in the Scrip- 
 tures, and all that is necessary for his people to life eternal. And 
 this was the next part of the subject to be considered. 
 
 Man is represented by the Scriptures, in a state of spiritual deatbj 
 through the fall. This was the penalty of his transgression — In. 
 that day, thou shalt si-.rely die. Gen. ii. 17. Now Adam lived, 
 as to his body, many hundred years after his sin ; and therefore 
 the denunciation must be understood, in order to justify divine 
 truth, to imply that death of the soul that immediately befel him, 
 which consists in its separation from the life of God, and removal 
 from the fruition of holiness, happiness, and Heaven, All men 
 experience the absence of this good ; but all men are not sensi- 
 ble of its worth : Their spirits being dead to God, and to the 
 things of God. And the people of God themselves are by nature 
 as dead in this respect, as other men. This is fully expressed in 
 'Joelii.'PS. Acts U. 30, 
 
 VOL. II. C 
 
' 16 LORD, OR JEHOVAH. 
 
 the xxxviith chapter of Ezekiel, under the vision of the dry bones. 
 These bones belonged to the house of Israel, or the people of 
 God : And these the Sfiirit of God renewed to life. They were 
 dead in trespasses and sins, till the Spirit of life brought life into 
 their souls, and enabled them to live by the faith of the Son of God. 
 This is as full a communication of life, as the creating of any 
 thing which did not exist before ; and therefore believers are said 
 to be born of the Spirit (John iii.) whose life they had not before 
 their new birth. They are also called 7iew creatures or a new 
 creation, in- the very same sense ; because they had no existence 
 in heavenly things, till the Holy Spirit afforded it by his power. 
 This is the obvious meaning likewise of theVord regeneration, 
 and of all those terms which denote the bestowment of a new 
 life, the translation from darkness, and the admission to God. 
 Hence it is that the redeemed, being born of the Spirit, are said 
 to be born of God, and are called the Sons, the Children, and the 
 Heirs of God. They claim not Heaven as an uncovenanted mer- 
 cy, which too — too many unwarrantably do ; but as a matter of 
 inheritance, ^ro»Jwfrf and therefore due from the i^a?Afr, purchas- 
 ed by the S'j?i, and afforded by the power of the Hohj Ghost, 
 
 Now, as none but God can impart life, and especially the im- 
 roortal life of grace ; the Holy Spirit, being " the Lord and Giver 
 of Life," and the great Agent to maintain it in the hearts of his peo- 
 ple must necessarily be God over all, blessed for e\£r. The Spirit 
 himself is life, and communicates life to whom he 'will. 1 Cor, 
 2tii. 2. John iii. 8. 
 
 As the Divine Spirit gives life, so he supports it when given^ 
 by his almighty pov, er : and none but almighty power could sup- 
 port the life of grace, against the united force of the spirits of 
 darkness, the temptations of the world, and the treachery of an 
 evil heart of unbelief, always inclining to departure from the liv- 
 ing God. The Spirit of God visibly cast out Devils, to testify 
 the divine mission of Christ ; and he hath spiritually cast them 
 out in all ages, and will cast them out to the end of the world, 
 to render that mission effectual for the salvation of his people. 
 
 He teaches the redeemed, also, whatever is necessary for them 
 to know. Could any but an omnipresent agent thus instruct 
 through every 7no7nent, and in every age, all tlie individual mem- 
 bers of Christ's scattered Church, correcting their thoughts, in- 
 forming their judgments, sanctifying their wills and affections, and 
 thereby preparing them for life eternal ? And if this agent be em* 
 
LORD, OR JEHOVAH. 19 
 
 nifiresent, doth it not conclusively follow, that he is the infinite 
 God? 
 
 In a word ; if this Holy Sfiirit create anew in Christ Jesus; if 
 he cause to be quickened from death into life ; if he translate 
 fi-om darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God ; 
 if he be always present to help his people's infirmities, to mortify 
 their sins, to sanctify their persons, to renew their minds, to teach 
 their understandings, to give them access to the Father, to be in 
 them all and to dwell in all for ever ; is it possible for common 
 sense itself to suppose, that He can be less than true and very 
 God, the ail-wise, the all-gracious, and omnipotent Jehovah ? It 
 -seems less absurd to affirm, that a gnat or a fly can create a world, 
 and preserve the series of being upon it, in its perfect, yet com- 
 plicated arrangement ; than to assert, that any existence could 
 accomplish all the wonderful works above mentioned, but the au- 
 thor and preserver of all existence himself? Yet paradoxical as 
 the expression seems, this sort of credulity does that person enter- 
 tain, who, admitting the Bible to be a divine revelation, has infi- 
 delity enough to deny the proper divinity of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 To thee, O believer in Jesus, this article of the S/iirit's Deity 
 is a maxim of indisputable moment — an axiom of indubitable 
 truth. Thou wilt not deny his word, which asserts it : thou canst 
 not resist his ivitness in thyself., which confirms it to a demon- 
 stration. Others may deny, what they do not experience or feel ; 
 but thou knowest Him that is true^ because thou art in him ; and 
 he, with all his evidences of comfort, love, and joy, divelleth in. 
 thee. He first brought thee spiritual life from the death of sin : he 
 reconciled thee to God, when thou wast an enemy by wicked works ? 
 he giveth thee a thousand tokens of his presence and support ; 
 he leadeth thy thoughts and thy heart direct to God and Heaven : 
 preserves thee (always ready in thyself to stray) from numberless 
 snares in thy daily walk, and at lengtii will give thee an abundant 
 entrance into his everlasting kingdom. Thou constantly feelest 
 thyself to be a poor, dependent creature ; able to think nothing, 
 10 will nothing, and to do nothing good of thy own power : and it 
 it is thy privilege and thy joy to find this gracious spirit, working 
 in thee both to will and do of his good pleasure. Thou art never 
 happy but in this perception. Thou at never holy but in this en- 
 joyment. Thou art never safe but in this protection. What 
 cares the Devil for all the resolutions and strength of man, even 
 if man could exert them, without grace divine ? He broke down 
 ti^e patience of the most patient Job; and made hin^ curse the day 
 
20 LORD, OR JEHOVAH. 
 
 in which he \vas born, when God permitted him to exercise his 
 power for a trial. And he would bring to nothing the highest at- 
 tainments of thy soul, did the spii-it of truth depart from thee for 
 a moment. If any man bade fair to stand alone, surely it must 
 have been the man after God's own heart ; but he fell, as every 
 body knows, and fell foully and horribly too. If any man could 
 hope to recover himself from a fall ; who might expect to do it 
 sooner than he, who had vanquished repeated foes, and trampled 
 •upon tlie boasted strength of a giant .^ Yet this man, a Prince and 
 a Piophet too, wise and powerful, lay for a long time in his trans- 
 gression, and at last cried out, like an helpless infant, for the re- 
 storation and support of God's /r^'f'S/HnV. Ps. li. 12. He found 
 the powers of darkness and sin too mighty for his feeble efibrls t3 
 resist, and too subtle for his dull understanding to oppose. The 
 wisdom of Gods's Spirit alone could repel the sophistry of hell ; 
 and the energy of the Almighty bring him back from the captivi- 
 ty of Satan. 
 
 Art thou not sensible of this gracious operation, dear Christian, 
 from time to time within thy soul 1 Dost thou never feel a power 
 ■\vhich is not thine own ? Never taste a joy, which animal sense 
 cannot induce ? Never rise to views, which nature cannot shew 
 thee? Never have a communion with Heaven and the unuttera- 
 ble glories of the world above, which earth could not inspire ? 
 
 Examine thy secret chamber, and the secret of thy heart ; and say, 
 " have I not tasted that the Lord is gracious indeed? Did I not 
 feel his divine power at such and such times, far superior to any 
 thing of my own ? Was not my heart drawn out, in the sweetest 
 communion of love, with God my portion, my father, and my 
 friend?" — The records of Heaven preserve the facts: They arc 
 gone up, like Cornelius's deed? of grace, for a 7nemorial before 
 God. If a drop of water, given to another for thy master's sake, 
 shall not be lost or poured out upon the ground ; surely, the living 
 streams of his love, which have ilowed into thy soul, shall one 
 day be recounted with joy, and' all rise up again in the circuits of 
 Heaven. 
 
 Remember, believer, for thy comfort likew'ise, that thy gra- 
 cious guide and supporter is the self-existent Jehovah, who fail- 
 cth not, neither is weary, whose gifts and callings are without 
 repentance, and whose love is everlasting as his nature. This 
 Holy Spirit did not bring thee into the way of salvation for any 
 other purpose, but to lead thee to the end of it : and every teslimo- 
 Dyof his grace in thy soul isaS sure an earnest for glory, as though 
 
LORD, OR JEHOVAH. 2! 
 
 thou wert already in it. li''e know that we have fia^.sed from death 
 unto life (says the Apostle ;) because we have his spirit dwelling 
 in us, working all the motions of prayer, love, hope, joy, right- 
 eousness and praise, which are his genuine fruits and the evidences 
 of his presence. So surely therefore, as thou hast the pledge, 
 thou wilt, in due time, possess the everlasting inheritance. The 
 world cannot prevent thee, the Devil cannot destroy thee, thy o\^ 
 sinful flesh shall not prevail against thee ; for the arm, counsel, and 
 love, which are engaged in thy behalf, belong altogether to the 
 Spirit Jehovah. 
 
 " But may not libertine professors abuse this truth I" Indeed 
 they may: and so do libertines abuse all otlier truths and bles- 
 sings. Itisthought bad logic ill the schools to reason from the 
 perversion of a thing against its worth : and it is more dangerous- 
 ly erroneous in the school of Christ. There is not a single doc- 
 trine of grace, but which the folly of man, acted upon by the sub- 
 tlety of the Devil, may wrest, and wrest to destruction ; but 
 grace is gracious still, and will lead the children of God to his 
 glory. Dogs will eat the children's bread ; but it is not the less 
 bread, and good bread too, though dogs devour it. This grunni- 
 tus fiorcorum {?iS Luther termed it,) this " grunting of hogs" 
 is very different from the gentle bleating of Christ's sheep. We 
 have, therefore, one short answer to give to all questions of this 
 kind; that those persons, who, under pretence of gospel-liberty, 
 run into any licentiousness of heart and life, and plead the privi- 
 leges of grace lor purposes which are not gracious, are neither 
 more nor less than the servants of corruption^ and bond-slaves of 
 the Devil, and aliens from the commonwealth of Israel. To which 
 it may be added, that if they live and die in this horrible state of 
 mind; it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the 
 day of judgment than for them. The gospel of the blessed Re- 
 deemer, and the grace of the Holy Spirit, are so far from indul- 
 ging sin, thatthey indispensably inculcate upon believers to deny 
 ■U7iffodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and 
 godly, in this present evil world. All God's ways are holy ; and 
 so must they be, who call themselves his children, or they are not 
 his children. 
 
 If the Christian were asked, which were his happiest moments ; 
 he would answer, those which were spent in the closest walk with 
 Christ, and in the nearest communion with God. The enjoyment 
 of the life of grace is founded in the death and destruction of all 
 ■^in : and the believer is only unhappy, when corriiption.s within, 
 
U2 LORD, OR JEHOVAH. 
 
 aided by corruptions without, draw him off from an entire depen- 
 dence upon his Lord. He would be perfect, if he could ; because 
 in perfect holiness, he would obtain perfect happiness and a com- 
 plete possession of all good; and he longs for Heaven itself, both 
 for the full enjoyment of God's presence, and for the absolute per- 
 fection of holiness, which he cannot attain till he arrives in it. On 
 the other hand, every true believer can witness, that departing from 
 God, is departing from peace. A serious Christian once asked a 
 great backslider, whether he really had found more satisfaction in 
 the indulgence of his lusts, and the full swing of carnal pleasure, 
 than he before had done in the profession of the gospel and in the 
 hours he had formerly spent for God. He honestly answered ; 
 heliadnot; and that, so far from being happy, he was not even 
 iintormentedjbut when in a state of the most intoxicated dissipa- 
 tion. It pleased God to restore him again ; but not without such 
 bitterness of soul, as all the mad and foolish pleasures he had pur- 
 sued, were but a poor compensation to him. They, who leave 
 the fountain of living waters., hevj out unto themselves broken 
 cisterns, that can hold no water, or water only that can destroy 
 them. 
 
 Turn then, beloved Christian, to thine only rest. Turn to Jeho- 
 vah the Father, who hath loved thee forever : turn to Jehovah the 
 Redeemer, who hath saved thy life from destruction: turn to Je- 
 hovah the Spirit, who crowneth t!iec with loving kindness and ten- 
 der mercies. Soon shalt thou behold him face to face, and turn from 
 him to the \vorld, or to sin, or to self, no more. Soon shalt thou 
 enjoy whatever can be possessed of this great One Jehovah, and 
 be wrapt up in the fulness of his joy through a blessed eternity. 
 O for transporting views of this ineffable glory ! O how poor, 
 how vain, iiow perishing, do the world and all other things 
 appear, held up before this unutterable brightness of the Majes- 
 ty on high ! what is life, what is death, what are crowns and king- 
 doms below, what is all that can be named, in comparison with 
 the unsearchable riches of Christ, the communion of the Holy 
 Ghost, and the unalienable possession of both in Heaven ! — We 
 should scarce endure to live in this wretched world, if we had 
 much foretaste of this bliss, or if God, till his purposes are fulfil- 
 led in us below, did not permit the veil of flesh to hide the fulness 
 'rfhis love and briehtness from our minds. 
 
ALEHIM, OR GOD, 
 
 ALEHIM, OR GOD. 
 
 IN the former volume, the import of this significant title 
 "W&s considered ; and it was shewn, that this name, applied to the 
 Godhead, was manifestly meant to convey an idea of what we 
 call the fiereons,* the Greeks htjpostases, and the ancient Jews 
 
 * We follow the Latins in using' the word person for hypostasis, and the 
 word essence for Ovcriot, being or existence. Seneca says in his 58th Epis- 
 tle, that this translation of Ovticc was first adopted by Cicero, and that he 
 understood by it the universal nature and cause of all things. In this epistle 
 he complains heavily of the Latin tongue for its incapacity to translate the 
 sense of Greek terms, Avithout a periphrasis. The Latin fathers seem to 
 have followed Cicero for the same reason — the want of Ijetter terms. In- 
 deed we are told by Gregory Nazienzen, that because the Latins could not 
 otherwise make a proper distinction between the essence and the hypostasis^ 
 through the poverty of their languag-e, they used the word person for the 
 latter, lest it should be thought, that they held three essences. He well ob- 
 serves that " the purity of our faith dotli not stand upon names, but upon 
 things." We use the nmnes, not for their accuracy of expression (for no 
 words of man can express God, or thoughts of man search him out,) but 
 to prevent confusion, or concealment of tlie truth. See Introd. to vol. i. p. 
 13 JVofe. Aug. de Trin. 1. v. Greg. Naz. Orat. i. de Pace, apud Gasp. Lau- 
 rent. Cath. Cons. Vet. p. 44. Muret. JVof. in Sen. epist. 
 
 In addition to the substance of this note, it may be here observed, that 
 some have objected to the use of any of these terms, because they are not 
 found in the scriptures. If this proceeded from a real regard to what the 
 scriptures revealed, it would deserve the more attention ; but wlien the ob- 
 jection is raised merely for cavillation, as, without breach of charity it may 
 be affirmed hath often been the case, it is sufiicient to say, that if men will 
 abide only by the terms of scripture, it will be absolutely necessarv for them 
 to use the scripture only in the two languages of Hebrew and Greek, in 
 which they are written. For if there be any force in such an ai-gument, it 
 iies against every translation in the world, because these alter the terms a/id 
 sometimes impose a sense upon them, v/hich not only is contraiy to the 
 sense which other men may affix, but in some instances wide enough from 
 the original. In such a case, there would be no allowable divinitv but 
 what might appear in Greek and Hebrew, to the great edification (no doubt) 
 «f the common people, who happen to have souls as well as Rabbies and 
 philosophers, and who in general are at least as desirous of their salvation. 
 The truth is, the terms, used in this and otlier cases, would not offend ; if 
 the things, which the terms signify, were not disagreeable to the pride suid 
 conceit of man. We knov,^, as well as these objectors, that the words Trin- 
 ity, Incarjiation, Person, Essence, and such like, are not to be found in the 
 Bible ; but we also know, that the truths, which these words relate to are 
 not only to be found tiiere, but are the very sum and substance of it. If 
 these terms convey the notion of these truths, they answer the use of all 
 terms, which is to communicate the knowledge of things. And as to the 
 '. rms themselves, they were iii'st employed in opposition to various Heretics 
 by the Fathers of the Church, for a cleai'er or more full expression of tlieir 
 doctrines, and have been very properly retained to tliis dav. j\Tosheim in 
 his Ecclesiastical History, and some othere,* aflect to cen'sui'C Theohhilus 
 Antiocfienus for his first using the word tftxi or Triiiity, He beg-in at 
 the wrong end ; for he should first have proved, that the doctrine itscil had 
 1)0 foundation. » 
 
 * See Dr. King's Rites and dremoju'et of the Greek Church'm Russia, p. 7. 
 
24 ALEIIIIM, OR GOD. 
 
 Sc/ihiroth, in ihc divine essence. Tliesc denominations are given, 
 not because they can express the mode of existence in God, for 
 that is both inexpressible and inconceivable ; but because they 
 declare, according to the sense of the scripture, that there ar& 
 7Tiore subsistences than one in Jehovah, which notwithstanding 
 are but one Jehovah. We arc bold to say, that there is, and can 
 bono contradiction in this assertion ; because it is a proposition, 
 delivered to us by God himself; and that, if this doctrine be not 
 true, the rest of the Bible will be equally false, which has no oth- 
 er sanction to command our submission, than that of its being a 
 divine revelation. We do not presume to reason upon God's ^5- 
 
 Othcrs have attempted to confound the terms pei-smiaml essence, when they 
 <:ould not justly throw them aside, and liave endeavoured to make the Clu'is- 
 lian assert, tliat there are three essences, and consequently three Gods ; oi-, 
 that the names of the persons were but mere names, and consequently tliat 
 there is but one person in the Godhead. Tliese are answered by saying, 
 that person and essence are neither synonjniious nor convertible. For though 
 each person be of the essence; yet the three persons together do constitute 
 THE essence ; and though the whole essence is inseparably connected with 
 cacli of the persons, both in willuig and working at/ exrrrt ,• yet it caimot 
 be said with any propriety, that the Father is the -ahole essence, or the Son, 
 or tlie Holy Ghost, notwithstanding they are distinctly and by themselves 
 essentiaUi; divine. Thus it will appear, that though essence txnd person differ 
 as to the full extent of the terms, yet they perfectly agree, when they ap- 
 ply to the reaUty of the Deity.* Eacli person by himself is God, but not 
 tfie Godhead ; and the Godhead is in each person, but is not each person. 
 From this i-elative distinction it follows, that the Son and Spirit, being per- 
 sons in Jehovah, and inseparable from tlie essence, are both personally :uid 
 essentialhj Jehov;ih, and consequently, either in union or distinction, are the 
 object ot" worship. In fact, as true believers, we do not and cannot worship 
 any one of the divine persons separate or alone, however we may mention 
 each b}' themselves ; for if v.e invocate the Son, we invocate the divine es- 
 ■lence, which is inseparable from the Son, and consequently invocate the 
 Father and the Ifohi Ghost. The same may be observed, if we address the 
 ether persons. By this we may understand what our Lord implies, v.hen he 
 says. He that hath seen me, [meaning spiritually] hath seen tlie Fatlie.r : land 
 ■ny Father are o^v., 6cc. so the Apostle, He that hath the Son, haih the Father 
 also. If this doctrine of three persons in one essence; or of the one es- 
 sence existing indivisibly, though distinctly, in the three persons, were 
 rightly stated, there would seem but little room for the dispute.*, respect- 
 ing the proper object of worship, and the inferiority or snhordinaliov of the 
 divine persons. This supposed inferiority, applied to Godhead, is aji ab.sur- 
 Uity in termino. It originated from the doctrines of the generation and pro- 
 cession, which, relating entirely to the ?j>odiis existendi, the scripture has not 
 endeavoured to explain, because man could not possibly conceive that wot/f'. 
 nor is it necessary for him ; and theretbi-e all disputation upon these points 
 is impertinent, and proceeds from the affectation of being iiisi-: above -zvho: 
 is ivritten. 
 
 * We would use the word person in the sense of the Aug.sh\irgh Confes- 
 sion, which says, JVo?n!?i<? persons ntunt}tr ea significatione, qud vsi sunt r. 
 /luc causa Scriptores ecclesiastici, lit signifcet non p:irtem ant qualitatem in 
 alio, scd quod proprie subsistit. Syntag. (Jonf. Fid. P. ii. 8. However, it 
 woidd not be worth while to nttarrel about the frm. whilr- *h'- .-»7 »■• - --'i- 
 anJ s'ifclv nnOerst'^od 
 
ALEHIM, or god, 25 
 
 Since; because it is impossible that such ao essence should be 
 the subject of our reason ; and especially too since we know, that 
 our reason cannot determine upon the mode of its own existence, 
 nor specify the constitution of any one property, whether tangi- 
 ble or intelligible, about us. Reason would be unreasonable, if 
 it pretended to define what it cannot reach ; or rather becomes ig- 
 norance and folly, in attempting assumptions without data, and 
 arguing, from what is unknown, to any positive or determinate 
 propositions. It is impossible tliat God, as to the mode of his 
 existence, should be comprehended by the idea of any of his 
 creatures, and certainly not by so low and imperfect a creature as 
 man ; because, in that case, He must first cease to be iiifinite and 
 eternal ; which attributes are themselves not to be conceived by 
 the utmost extent of human thought and imagination. We can 
 say, what God is not from our reason, rather tlian what He is* 
 In order to ccmprehend God, creatures must be no longer crea- 
 tures ; or \y,\i\\ reverence be it spoken) God would be no rnore 
 that height and depth, that length and breadth, which are eter- 
 nally exploring, but never explored. To know God in this view, 
 would be to possess ideas commensurate with his own ; which is 
 a presumption, perhaps, attempted by no man in profession, how- 
 ever in practice it is absurdly and ignorantly attempted every day. 
 Of all philosophers, they are the most inconsistent with them- 
 selves, who, asserting that " nothing is in the intellect but what 
 was before in the sense,*' preposterously fix any notion of a Be- 
 ing, whom no sense can possibly perceive, and whom no intellect 
 but his own can ever explain. Nay, did God condescend to ex- 
 plain the extent of his nature, with all its wonders ; the faculties 
 of his creatures must be equal to his own attributes, before they 
 could fully conceive that extent and those wonders ; and this 
 equality is impossible, on the first view. Reason thus can help 
 us to discern our own ignorance ; but cannot lift us up to attain- 
 ments, which creatures, as creatures, can neircr possess. Our 
 ideas, aided with our senses, can conceive something of the weight 
 of a mountain, by the Weight of a pound ; but sense and idea fall 
 together in forming an adequate notion of the weight of the uni- 
 verse of things, because its extent is beyond their perception. 
 Yet this universe is material and tangible ; and its quantity is sub- 
 
 * Thus it may be safely asserted, that God is not a liar ; and that he is 
 without sin, and cannot sin ; by which, (as Augxistine hath observed) there 
 is no derogation of his omnipotence, because sm and error proceed from 
 infirmity ; and therefore if God could sin, he would c.;a?e t© b(» omnipotent. 
 
 VOL, rr. D 
 
26 ALEHIM, OR GOD. 
 
 ject to our senses as far as they can go. But wc presently sink 
 beneath the weighi of this extent of substance, and feel ourselves 
 with regard to matter about us, but almost imperceptible atoms, 
 lost in astonishment among innumerable worlds. 
 
 Matter, however, neither is nor can be infinite, nor eternal, nor 
 omnipotent ; and is far beneath those intelligible forms, of which 
 ■we can faintly conceive the existence, such as Angels and supe- 
 rior Spirits, of whose vastness or multitude we have some notion, 
 though certainly not a notion commensurate with what they are. If 
 this be true, and we have almost a sensible demonstration that it 
 is true, how must we sink below the £ns Entiu7n.^ the Being 
 which includes all this Being within himself, to whom the uni- 
 verse is but a span, and the nations of the earth as emptiness and 
 nothing ? If the mere works transcend our investigation beyond 
 every comparison or idea ; how must ihenature of the Great Ar- 
 chitect himself ascend above our thoughts, and cause us to shrink 
 within ourselves as littleness and vanity ? " What is man (says the 
 " admirable M. Paschal) considered in nature ? — A nothing in re- 
 ^' gard to infinity, and every thing in regard to nothing ; a me- 
 " dium between nothing and every thing. He is alike removed 
 " from the two extremes ; and his being is no less distant from 
 *■' the nothing, from which he was taken, than from the infinity in 
 ^* which he is lost. His understanding holds the same rank in 
 " the order of intelligible beings, as his body in the extent of na- 
 " ture ; and all that it can do, is to perceive some appearances in 
 '* the middle of things, in an eternal despair of knowing either the 
 " beginning or the end. Who can follow these amazing progres- 
 " sions ? — The Author of these wonders comprehends them ; 
 « which onhj He can do."* 
 
 From hence it plainly appears, that the powers of reason can 
 have no exercise in a point of this sublime and superior kind ; 
 but, like the powers of sense amidst the universality of matter, 
 raust stand still and own, that God's infinitude is absolutely be- 
 yond them. 
 
 " Has reason then no employment in this research, no office in 
 religion ? Arc we to give up all understanding and knowledge 
 concerning the Deity, and no longer see with our eyes, or hear 
 with our ears, or reflect with our miuds ?" We have found, that 
 it is as reasonable for reason to confess her own weakness here, 
 even were \t perfect reason, which our reason is not ; as it would 
 
 * RoHin's Jiflks Lettres. Vol. l\. B. 5. 
 
ALEHIM, OR GOD 27 
 
 be for a man to own his want of strength to remove a mountaio 
 or a world. This, then, is the first exercise of true reason, to 
 know that there are boundaries to her powers, and to find ivhere 
 those boundaries are. We call it wisdom to discover this in all 
 other things ; and why it should not be so here in the great cause 
 of those things, it seems very difficult to explain. God's intellect 
 alone, from the necessity of his nature, is unbounded. He is all 
 centre as to himself, and all circumference to every other being. 
 Our knowledge is a very minute circle within himself, which ho 
 has been pleased to describe around us ; and if we attempt to 
 look beyond it, we only see a stupendous immensity, which swal- 
 lows up all our conceptions, and leaves imaginatior. itself to wander 
 in a pathless profound, till it recurs to the earth again. In this con- 
 finement of our parts, is it not reasonable and right to understand, 
 that we are thus confined, and that if we pass beyond our line, we. 
 shall lose our powers like a machine without a rest, and in that case 
 become truly irrational ? If one wise Heathen could justly say, that 
 the maxim Know thyself descended from Heaven ; he, who was 
 called the wisest of the Heathens, did not say amiss, when he 
 confessed, that he knew nothing but h-.s own ignorance. Right 
 reason publishes this, because it is a truth ; and right reason can 
 only be employed upon truth : In any other engagement, it would 
 degenerate into nonsense and folly. And, if it be a truth, that 
 reason, by searching, cannot Jind out God ; is it not perfectly rea' 
 sonable for reason to confess that inability ? Surely, it is. What, 
 then, is its next procedure ? Is it right to sit still, and go no far- 
 ther ; or because we cannot fly like Angels, are we not to walk as 
 men ? — If we had no other beginning or end but self, and no other 
 assistance but what self can procure ; perhaps it might be right 
 to stop here. 
 
 But it doth not follow, that because we cannot know the whole of 
 God by ourselves, we are therefore, unable to know any thing of him 
 by all of Aer communications. Nor, though none of God's creatures 
 can possibly discover any notion of the manner of his existence by 
 their own intellect, is it by any means rational to say, that they can- 
 not be sure, that such and such a manner doth exist, when it is 
 discovered to them by Him, who alone is able to inform them. 
 Nor yet is it absurd to say, that He still exists beyond their com- 
 prehension, though some idea of his existence is brought within 
 it ; any more than it would be to affirm, that an unfathomable 
 ocean still remains, though a man or a thousand men had received 
 a part of it within them. God alone can make out his discoveries 
 
28 ALEHIM, OR GOD. 
 
 proportionally to our faculties ; and, in this case he adapts the 
 faculty to the discovery, not merely to indulge the imagination, 
 but to communicate the grace of faith. And, therefore, though 
 "wc cannot covxjireheml God, as to his incommunicable nature, we 
 may apfirehend him in what He himself is pleased to communi- 
 cate. A ii'hole may be incomnnmicable, while a /lortion may be 
 easily taken : And God, as to the injimtude of his being, and con- 
 sequently as to the precise mode of tlie existence of that infini- 
 tude, cannot properly and strictly be conceived ; but still his peo- 
 ple are said to be, and iive, fiarcahrs of his divine nature. Our 
 eye cannot absorb all the rays of the sun; and yet it may receive 
 such un illumination from those rays, as may sufiice to satisfy us 
 in the reality of its existence, as well as in the kvid of it. Tor this 
 end, however, the sui^nmst first have shone ; or we should have 
 i-emaincd perfectly ignorant of the matter. And we must have 
 had senses fitted for its impressions ; or Ave could not have known 
 the nature of those impressions more than a plant or a stone. 
 Nor should we have been less ignorant of the divine being, if He, 
 in mercy, had not revealed himself to us, and prepared us for that 
 revelation. His revelation alone in this respect removes our mys- 
 tic darkness; which is sufficiently proved in the example of the 
 most acute and learned of all the Heathen world,* who formed 
 such wretched opiriions of the causa cau.'.arum, or first cause, as 
 demonstrate how closely human reason borders upon stupidity in 
 heavenly things. 
 
 Now, this revelation being granted, it is the ofSce of reason to 
 follow, not to run beyond it : And a man cannot be conceived to 
 act more rationally, than when, sensible of his natural incapacity, 
 he implicitly submits to the declarations of Him, who is all wis- 
 dom beyond the possibility of error, all truth beyond the reach of 
 deceit, and all goodness beyond the attachment of evil.t If Truth 
 
 * Vid. ]Macrob. in Somn, Scip. 1. i. c. 14. Cic. de nat. I)eor, Lactant. de fals. 
 MqI 1. i. 
 
 f A late noble and masterly writer, speaking of " tlie pure and essential 
 doctrines plainly and evidenliy dehvered m the gospel," has observed, that 
 " these being made known to us by a reveladon supported hy proofs that our 
 reason ought to admit, and not being such things as it can ccrtciilly knoxa to 
 be false, must be received by it as objects of faith, though they are such as it 
 could not have discovered by any natural means, and such as arc difficult to 
 be conceived, or satisfactorily explained by its limited powers. — Indeed, not 
 even in Heaven itself, not in thehigliesl state of perfection to wluch a finite 
 being c.r.i ever attain, will all t!ie counsels of Providence, all height and the 
 depth of the infinite wisdom of God, be ever disclosed or understood. Fidth 
 even then will be necessary ; and there will be mysteries which cannot be 
 penetrated by the most exalted Archangel, and truths which cannot be 
 known by him otherwise than from revelation, or beheved upon any othtt 
 
ALEHIM, OR GOD, 29 
 
 .tself lay down a principle, it is necessarily a true principle, an ax- 
 iom, a demonstration. If we cannot conceive it, the truth will 
 still be the same, and cannot chancre its nature ; and the question 
 then only is, whether it shall be admitted or rejected, because we 
 have too short an understanding to comprehend it ? And if we re- 
 ject all that we cannot comprehend ; we must begin to deny, that we 
 ourselves exist, because we do not understand the firoxima cau:^a, 
 or even the mode of our own existence. Reason itself, then, brings 
 us back to a more sure guide, and says aloud. That w^ cannot err 
 in believing the declarations of the God of Truth, and that it i<s the 
 highest ivisdom of man to receive them. 
 
 Here reason and revelation unite to bless the mind, by leading it 
 from those wild mazes of ignorance and delusion, in which pride, 
 infidelity and sin, have conspired man's destruction, and where he 
 could only roam without certainty, without hope, and without 
 peace at the last. 
 
 One of the fathers hath well observed, " That ignorance of God 
 is the death of the soul:" And we all by nature are ignoiaut of 
 God ; because our souls, since the fall, are all dead in trcn/iasses 
 and sins. To recover us from this ignorance, is one great object 
 of the divine revelation : And, to be sensible of this ignorance, is 
 the frst step to be made in departing from it. Tlie nejct is, to 
 follow our divine leader, as the blest above follow the Lamb, 
 ivhithersoever he goeth. He (we may be assured) can neither err 
 himself, nor lead his disciples astray.* 
 
 We have now sonne ground to proceed upon, and no longer 
 need, like the bewildered Heathens, to grope in the darkness, if 
 haply lue might fed after God aridfnd him ; for we have the most 
 convincing testimony, from the highest and most infallible evi- 
 dence, that HE IS, that he exists in a manner peculiar to himself, 
 and that this peculiarity hath a description, as far as we are 
 able to comprehend it, or, at least, as far as it is necessary for us 
 
 ground, of assent, than a submissive confidence in the divine -ivisdoin. ^^hat 
 then, shall man pi esume that his weak and niirrow understanding is suffi- 
 cient to guide him into all truth, w iihout any need of revelation (h* truth ? 
 Shall he complam, that the -uiaysof God are n<it like his ivays, and past Jinding 
 out ? I'rue philosopliy, as well as ti'ue Chi'istianity, would teacii us a v> iser 
 and a modester part. It would teach us to be con ent with;n iliosc; bounds 
 which God has assigned to us, 2 Cor. x. 5. casting dottm imuginattons and 
 every high thing that exalteth itself against tlie knoiuledge of God, u?id brm&i/ig 
 into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." Lord Lyti.lc:on's 
 Obs- on the conversion of St. Paul. 
 
 * Cceli mystcrium dacsat me JDeu? ipse, 7wn homo qui scipnum ignoravit.— 
 Ambr Epist. 31. 
 
no ALLIUM, OR GOD. 
 
 to know. Of course, we arc not to seek for descriptions of the 
 Deity out of the linoits of this testimony, beyond which we are 
 sure only of finding nothing certain, but most entirely wf/Zim those 
 boundaries, where we can hear nothing but the truth. If even 
 Pythagoras could say, « Without light nothing is to be uttered 
 concerning God." Where tlien shall we find this light, but in his 
 •word? Till this /zos^M/cCum be admitted, a man has nothing but 
 his own chimerical fancy to support him, which will not only dif- 
 fer from the ten thousand d.fFerent opinions of ten thousand dif- 
 ferent men, but also quarrel with itself times without number in 
 the course of his life. But when this ground and pillar of the 
 truth is once erected in the heart, the man does not measure it by 
 his own whims and conceptions taken from other things ; but he 
 makes this the standard and rule whereby to measure t/iem. And, 
 after some experience of the justness of this measure in its ex- 
 ercise upon natural and raoral subjects, in which it never was yet 
 detected, by all human wit and malice, of one mistake ; he has 
 an increasing encouragement to trust it, I)y the grace and light of 
 the Holy Spirit its author, in the determination of those purely 
 spiritual topics, to which no rule, taken from or existing in mate- 
 rial object?:, can possibly be applied. 
 
 The rule, tlien, by which we are to be guided, in these high and 
 momentous enquiries, is no other than the mind, rule, or law 
 of God, speaking and revealing itself, so far as it is right or neces- 
 sary for us to know, in the lioly scriptures. These were given by 
 his inspiration, and are profitable for doctrine, for reproof [con- 
 viction] for correction \_i7rix,vo^B-eao-n;, restoration to rectitude,] 
 for instrttction in righteousiiess ; that the men of God may be per- 
 feet [wanting nothing] thoroughly furnished unto all good ivorks, 
 2 Tim. iii. 16. The prophecy came not in old lime, or at any time, 
 by the will of 7nan ; for man could have foretold nothing by him- 
 self, and bad men especially, in different ages of the world, would 
 never have combined to compose such a system of pure and pious 
 doctrines ;* but holy 7nen oj God spake as they mere moved by the 
 Holy Ghost. 2 Pet. i.21. We can call for no greater witness in 
 this cause than God himself ; and we owe both to it and our own 
 souls too much, to think of calling for less. 
 
 God hath revealed his nature under the name of Jehovah, by 
 
 • "If the scriptures were delivered by men ; then either by 5'oo'^rnen or by 
 bad : If by lioly men, then Uiey would speak tlie truth, and not lie; if by 
 bad men, then they would never have set down such strict rules of doctrine 
 to live bv, as must condemn themselves." Sec Dr. IVcston's Sermons on 
 the Divine Esse?ice, 8cc. Serm. iii: 
 
ALEHIM, OR GOD. 31 
 
 which he declares himself to be the sole independent essence, the 
 necessary existence, in whom and by whom alone all othei' be- 
 ings, corporeal or spiritual, exist and subsist. This title expres- 
 ses his incommunicable, self-existent, infinite, and everlasting na- 
 ture. He ever ivas, eyer w, and ever will be. This is all we can 
 comprehend of his essence, when we have added every idea of 
 perfection and glory, which are revealed concerning this essence, 
 and which can fill our minds. He is then beyond all idea the 
 
 EVERLASTING SAME. 
 
 If we were /aire creatures, this unchangeable perfection of the 
 Most High would be an unfailing source of joy to our souls : But^ 
 being imfierfect^ fallen^ and sinful creatures, all this purity of our 
 Creator is directly opposed to us. We have now no complacency 
 in it, naturally ; and cannot have, while we continue in our natu- 
 ral state ; for it is repugnant to our lusts and passions, which are 
 all corrupted by sin. God is not only opposite to the sinner; but 
 the sinner feels a diametrical opposition to him, and all that be- 
 longs to him. 
 
 Hence, the world, in all ages, hath been averse to the revealed 
 Will of God, and to the true disciples of God, who have spoken 
 of tliat Will and walked in it. That no natural man can savor the 
 things of God, is a proposition, which since the fall ever was true, 
 and which will be true to the end of the world. From this opposi- 
 tion nothing could justly have been expected by the creature but 
 absolute destruction and misery, a taste of which every man feels 
 "within him ; had not the benignity of his Creator graciously in- 
 clined both to procure the means of deliverance, and to publish 
 them to him. His Creator did publish these means ; and they 
 are happily in force to this day. In the discovery of so much 
 goodness and mercy iri himself for his ruined creature ; he was 
 pleased to represent himself under a varJe^!/ q/wames, either cha- 
 racteristic of his engagement to save, or explanatory of the nature 
 of his salvation. It was expedient for man's faith and comfort, 
 that this publication should take place ; or rather, it was nece^- 
 ^ary-i or God would not have made it. 
 
 One unalterable attribute which God hath declared of himself, is 
 his Justice. The soul that sinnethy shall surely die. In the day^ 
 that thou eatest thereof dying, thou shalt die. Without shedding 
 of blood (which is spilling or destroying the lifej thvrc is no remis- 
 sion of sins- How then could this justice be satisfied? Not by 
 the sinner's perdition ; for then there could be no exercise of 
 mercy. Not by the sjj^nev's mere pardon: for then Cod mu-^ 
 
S3 ALEHIM, OR GOD. 
 
 have been a liar, and given up that pure J4istice, which is foundcdf 
 upon his infinite holiness and is absolutely essential to his nature. 
 The sinner was to be saved ; and God's denunciation against sin 
 was at the same time to be fully accomplished. Here it was, that 
 hifinite wisdom alone could not be at a loss : Here, infinite love 
 only cOuld not meet with despair. Life was to be forfeited to pro^ 
 cure salvation. But the life of whom ? What created being could 
 step forth and say, " Take my life for the lives of millions of men ; 
 and let my perdition prove an atonement for them I" If any finite 
 love could have uttered this tender expression ; it would have 
 been madness or presumption for any finite being to have offered 
 the change. No holy creatuie could have been guilty of it; be- 
 cause the root oi /17-^sum/irion is ignorance and sin. All the An- 
 gels in Heaven, blessed with holiness and wisdom, could not but 
 see, that no finite sufferings could have made an atonement to the 
 infinite justice of their Maker, and that the destruction of one crea- 
 ture could never answer the deserved destruction of millions of 
 creatures, — -a destruction to keep equal with the guilt, necessari- 
 ly without intermission or end. The scripture now breaks in with 
 lightdivine, and shews ; that He only, ivhom all the Angels luor- 
 shifi, was to perform this astonishing task of suffering ; and that 
 He only, who breathed into man his original life, would restore 
 him, by a new and incorruptible birth, to the possession of that 
 forfeited life again. The scripture marks these two pronouns 
 He and He by various names descriptive of their distinction in 
 point oi personality or subsistence.^ as well as of their U7idertaking 
 or office. From the one end of the Bible to the other, it appears 
 to be the office of the one He to atone for, reconcile, and restore; 
 and of the i3/Aer,to effectuate, apply, and complete, all that was ne- 
 cessary for the divine glory, and for human salvation. Thus Je- 
 hovah was to be reconciled by Jehovah : Thus Jehovah became a 
 Saviour, and the oJily Saviour : And thus Jeliovah is the sanctijier 
 of those unholy creatures, who are the objects of his mercy and 
 redemption. 
 
 Here, then, Vr'e see distinct offices^ undertaken and accomplish- 
 ed by distinct persons. We read of one person, who is called the 
 Father, who sent his Son into the world to save sinners ; we read 
 the prophecies concerning this Son, and their fnlfilnicnt in him 
 and by him for the salvation of sinners ; and wc read of the Hoi]/ 
 Spirit, sent from the Father and the Son to quicken and bless 
 these sinners to the end,* To these three persons we also find 
 
 * These and many other doctrines of divine revelation, in the delivery of 
 "^hicU so many holy men ii» ail ag«s,unkno\vn to each other, have concurred 
 
ALEHIM, OR GOD. 53 
 
 ascribed all the powers, glories, perfections, and attributes of 
 the Deity: we hear far/j saluted by that incommunicable name, 
 which is above every Jiafne^ and distinctly denominated Jehovah : 
 and we are taught, both by precept and example, to worshi/i, in 
 consequence, all these persons under (his navic. Yet, after all, 
 we find it written, as with a sun-beam, and most careftiJly and em- 
 phatically delivered, as an infallible and invariable trutli, that Jeho- 
 vah is but ONE Jehovah. Either, therefore, these three persons, 
 each called Jehovah, are but one Jehovah ; or the revelation and 
 v/isdom of God, respecting his own being, contradicts itself. But, 
 as this is impossible, it will follow most irrefragably, that Jeho- 
 vah is 07ie Jehovah in three persons, and that the three persons 
 have a c?«^/«c? mode of subsistence in the one Jehovah, though 
 their essence is not d/rzc/erf, but the «a772e.* It is absurd in this 
 place to say, that we cannot comfirehend this ; because our reason 
 is not the judge here, but God's own revelation of himself; and 
 this truth cannot depend, for its existence, upon ourdepraved and 
 unequal faculties. God hath revealed it^aud therefore it is true; 
 is an argument which human wit cannot repel, and which it will 
 be found the height of human imprudence to oppose. If he hath 
 not revealed it, then it falls to the ground of itself; but then also 
 fall with it, the whole gospel of God, and the whole salvation of 
 man. There is no alternative in the case, but humble faith or ab- 
 solute scepticism and infidelity. 
 
 Now, as the word Jehovah doth not express the trinal conjunc- 
 cion of these three divine persons in the divine essence; ariother 
 word hath been given us, v/hich affords us a notion of this plurali^ 
 ?!/,and yet is so applied as not to mislead us from the unity. This 
 name is the title of our present essay. Alehim is plural, and 
 intimates plurality : it is fi::^ quently used with verbs and nouns 
 singular, and is sometimes applied to unity itself. Thus, in that 
 important text ; Jehovah our Alehim is one Jehovah. As a very 
 
 and concurred to one and the. same end; in humano cereuro nasci non potiie- 
 ^■unt (says tlie excellent ]SIorn?:us) could never have spiiinsj from the head 
 of man, but must have been, as appears even tiom dieii- internal ev.dence, 
 communicaled from Him, who only could give just thoughts of his ov.a 
 being', and confirm die truth of these thoug;hts by xvorida^s and signs foUoiu- 
 ing. See much more to this effect in that great work of Mornseus. De verit. 
 Rcl. Christ, c. 25. 
 
 * The Wirtemberg confession of faith states the doctrine m the following' 
 ■".vords; Credimiis iS conftevnir, uwuxn solum, -ven; in, cetcnmm, immcnswn cs&e 
 Deum, omnipotentem creatorem, omnban xisibillvm^ invisibiliiim ,- et in i,. c ima 
 PC ceieriia Divinitate tees esse per se svBSifTENTKs proprietates sen personar, 
 F;.lrein, Filiriir, -' Spir.tujTi Sar.ctv.m. ^Li'itag. Conf.Fld. V ii, p. 142. 
 
34 ALEHIM, OR GOD. 
 
 iearnerl and exceiient author hath observed; "the very sense of 
 ''' this passage leads us to seek for a filural interpretation ; because, 
 « there is no need of a revelation to teach us, that Jehovah our 
 " Alehi in is one Jehovah, which is no more than one is one."* 
 This word, then, expressing the plurality of the divine persons, 
 is proved to mean the conjunction of tliose persons by the use of 
 the singular word Jehovah with it : or the two terms would con- 
 tradict each other. For if the word Jehovah mean one essence, 
 and the word Alehim bear a iilural interpretation ; these divine 
 persons are in some respect that divine essence conjunctively .^ 
 ■which they are not distinctly respecting each other. In other 
 •words, there is a distinction in the miity of the divine essence ; or 
 an application of plural words to that essence would be an absur^ 
 dity, with which no man will surely be hardy enough to charge 
 the wisdom of God. 
 
 Since then there exists a /z/M7*c^?7t/ 0/ /persons in the divine es- 
 sence, we have a full answer at once to the question ; how Jeho- 
 vah could be reconciled by Jehovah ; how Jehovah could be an 
 atonement for sinners to Jehovah ; and how Jehovah could lead 
 those pardoned sinners to Jehovah ? Upon any other ground 
 than that of this plurality, these doctrines, which frame the very 
 constitution of the gospel, would be overthrown as inexplicable 
 and absurd. 
 
 The word, in this view, necessarily implies as well as expresses 
 a co-ycwa;:?, and, because undertaken for lost sinners, a covenant 
 oi grace. The Son in Jehovah must have undertaken this re- 
 demption, or he could not have been compelled. The Spirit, 
 who promised all that was promised, voluntarily made these 
 pi'omises, or they could not have been forced from him. Deity 
 cannot suffer any impressions of external power ; because there 
 is no power out of itself. If, therefore, the Son undertook this 
 ■work, long before its fulfilment ; and the Spirit promised for ages 
 before the accomplishment of his promises ; it will follow, that it 
 %vas because the mind, counsel, and purpose of the three persons 
 had determined\tbat it should be done, in the fulness of time. If 
 tbe counsel and purpose of the three persons deter7mned this^ 
 it will then follow to have been from an affree7nc7it or covenant ex- 
 isting among them, in the frame of which they all concurred, and 
 in the reciprocal parts of which they all engaged to take their re- 
 
 * Sermoiis upon the Laxi- and Gospel, by the Kev. Mr. Eomaine. p. 243- 
 t Acts iv. 28.. 
 
ALEHIM, OR GOD. 35 
 
 tiprocal share. And as all the ideas or purposes of Jehovah Ale- 
 him must, from the necessity of his nature, be everlasting and 
 perfietual ; this covenant could not but be, what the scripture 
 calls it, a perpetual or cuerlasting covena72(, 3. covenant order editi 
 all (/ii?igs and stir e, a. co\en<mt oi faithfulness which 72 ever can 
 fail. 
 
 Here, then, we see the reason, the glory, the benignity of this 
 wonderful name; I'evored by Patriarchs and Prophets, abused by 
 ancient apostates and idolaters,* but full of grace and truth to 
 every believer in Jesus. 
 
 In the former volume, we proved, that the title Alehim belong- 
 ed to Jesus Christ, respecting his divine nature, as the Son in the 
 ever blessed Trinity : and it is our professed purpose in this es- 
 say to shew, that this ascription pertains and is applied to that 
 other person in the Trinity, v/ho is frequently called the Holy 
 Ghost. 
 
 It should be premised, however, that as our translators have 
 rendei^ed this name by the word God from the Old Testament, and 
 as it is thus rendered (from the usage of the septuagint) in the 
 New ; the indiscriminate use of the terms Alehim or God, as they 
 occur in the two Testaments, will be allowed, if both are proved 
 to be applied to the Holy Ghost. 
 
 THE DIVINITY OF THE HOLY SPIRFF. 
 
 Gen. ii. 7. Jehovah Alehim breathed into man's nostrils the 
 breath of life, or lives. 
 
 But in Gen. vii. 22. this breathing of Jehovah Alehim, is said 
 10 be the breath of the Spirit of life, or lives. 
 
 The Spirit therefore is Jehovah Alehim. 
 
 Jer. xxiii. 23, 24. Am I the Alehim at hand, saith Jehovah, and 
 ■not the Alehim afar off? — >Can any hide himself in secret places, 
 that I shall not see him ? saith Jehovah : do not I Jill Heaven a7id 
 earth ? saith Jehovah, 
 
 The same question is asked almost in totidem Verbis, concern- 
 ing the Spirit. Psalm cxxxix. 1 — 12. Whither shall I go from thy 
 Sjilrit? Or whither shall I fee tijdd from thy faces ?\ And au 
 
 * This name Alehim was very early abused by the Heathen, and applied to 
 the powers ofnatui-c, to the heavenly bodies, and afterwards to stocks and 
 to stones. They retained the sound, when they had lost the sense : and be- 
 cause it conveyed the notion of a plurality of persons in the Godhead, it was 
 perverted by them to signify a plurality of Gods. 
 
 f This word is often used for person or persons, and their immediate pre- 
 sence. It occiu's very reuiairkably in Dcut. iy, 37- where Moses, speaking' 
 
36 ALEHIM, OR GOD. 
 
 answer is given, in the course of tlie Psalm, to this eftecl ; " thou 
 Jehovah Alehini, art every where ;" evidently implying the co- 
 equal Omiiiprcsence of the Sfnrit. The question, other wise, is ab- 
 surd, and the answer impertinent ; which no man will dare to as- 
 sert, wiio believes the Bible to be a divine revelation. 
 
 Tl e Spirit, then, is Alehim and Jehovah. 
 
 Acs X. 19, 20. The Spirit said to Peter — go — / have sent 
 them. 
 
 B".t,iii verse 33, it is said, that they were /ircsfnr 6«^c/r<r God to 
 hear all things that ivere commanded him of God. 
 
 The Spirit, therefore, in one text, is called God in the other. 
 
 By comparing Joim i. 13. with James i. 18. and Gal. iv. 6. we 
 find that true believers are culled the children of Gody because 
 ihey are dorn of Gorf, and hence have a right to cry, Abba, Father. 
 
 But they are also sain, necessarily and indispensably, to be bom 
 of the Spirit, in John iii. 5, 8. 
 
 Consequently, the Spirit must be God : or God's children have 
 tnvo spiritual births, of tv,o different spiritual beings, which is 
 equally preposterous and unscriptural. 
 
 Lukei. 68, 70. Acts iii. 18, 21. The Lord God of Israel — 
 spake by the mouth of his holy Prophets, ivhich have been since 
 the world began. See also Hebr. i. I. 
 
 2 Peter i. 2L But, holy rnen of God spake as they ivcre moved 
 btj the Holy Ghost. 
 
 The Holy Ghost, therefore, is God, and the Lord God of Israel. 
 —A multitude of other scriptures may be found to confirm the 
 major and minor of this ar;':ument. 
 
 God's people arc QtoStSctx.'Jei, tqught of God. I Tiies. iv. 9. 
 Hence they are called D) Jehovah himself no'?, twz/ disciples^ i. e. 
 those whom I have taught. Is. viii. 16.* The whole verse con- 
 iirms this point, and is literally thus: Impress (or establish) the 
 
 to Israel, says, that Jehovah brojijht them out by his faces, or persons : or, m 
 other lani^Tiuge, that the iliree persons in Jehovah concurred in their tempo 
 raid iiverance, typifjjng- tliereby, the spiritual recovery of all his people. 
 Thai Cod should bring- Is;'ael out in his own slight, according- to oui- transla^ 
 tion, ,s ;i very poor sense, if any sense at all. Christ is called the Messenger 
 or .'higel oii^oiVi faces, because through him his people renew theu- lost 
 comni'.imoii wuli the diviiu- persons in Jeliovali. 
 
 * Th.s gracious passage p-r()uiises the gift of the Spirit and his inward tes- 
 timony to all his people. Its purport may be more clearly expressed by a 
 pai\i])iir:'.se, ilian by a literal version, — " Mark and fix indelibly as on a rock 
 "the experimental tesumony of my grace: seal my Spirit, who is the living' 
 *' law, m t!ie hearts of my disciples." To this p'-omise there seems a plain 
 reference made b) tlie Apostle in 2 Cor. i. 22. and, Eph. i. 13. See hereafter 
 under the word Law. 
 
ALEHIM, OR GOD. 57 
 
 testimony ; seal the law in my discijiles. And again, Is. xlviii. 61. 
 I a?n Je/iova/i thy jillehini, who teacheth thee to jirojit. 
 
 But tlie Apostle says, that the wisdom in the gospel is not that 
 which man's wisdom teacheth, but that which the Holy Ghost 
 teacheth.* 1 Cor, ii, 13. That ?//e anointing [i. e. the Spirit, by 
 whom believers are anointed] teacheth them all thi7igs. 1 John ii. 
 27. Chi'ist also says, the Sfiirit of truth — will guide you i7ito ail 
 truth — shall shew you things to come — shall take of the things of 
 mine and shew them unto you. John xvi. 13, Sec. So Neh. ix. 
 20. thou gavest thy good Sfiirit to instruct thevi^ or to make them 
 understand ; intimating plainly, that, without his instruction, they 
 could know nothing aright. 
 
 This combiiiation of evidence proves, that this instructing good 
 Spirit is and can be no other than Jehovah and Alchim, or Lord 
 and God. 
 
 Justification of a sinner is and must be an act of Deity alone. 
 All the peiTect creatures, in the universe of being, have no more 
 righteousness than what their faculties are fitted to obtain and ex= 
 ert ; and consequently the whole of that righteousness is due 
 from them to their Creator, and so due, that they can have none 
 to spare for any other creature. But, admitting for a moment, 
 that they had this exuberant stock ; what becomes of their power 
 to apply it ; and where do we read the promise of any such boun- 
 ty from them ? Now, as all creatures must fail in this sort of ca- 
 pacity ; it is expressly said, it is God that justifeth : And again, 
 that He [God] justifeth the tingodly ; and that this God is owe 
 God, who shall justify the circumcisio7i by faith^ and lincircumci- 
 sion through faith. Rom. iii. 30. iv. 5. viii. 33. 
 
 But divine truth assures us, that the Spirit also justifieth. 
 1 Cor. vi. 11. Ye are justified — by the Sjiirit of our God. 
 
 The Spirit, therefore, is God ; and (because he is not the whole 
 Godhead; a /zerson, necessarily, in the one God Jehovah. 
 
 Peter said to Ananias ; why hath Satan filed thine heart to lie 
 to the Holy Ghost — thou hast not lied unto men, but zmto God. Acts 
 V. 3, 4. This Scripture contains a syllogism within itself. " Thou 
 hast not lied unto men, but unto God :" because thou host lied to 
 the Holy Ghost, who is God. They, who take this Scripture in 
 any other way, only puzzle themselves to make the Apostle speak 
 nonsense. Dr. Clarke, Crellius, and others, have attempted to 
 torture this text to confess a contradiction of itself j namely : that 
 
 * It has been justly obse^^■ed, that the antithesis in this text of* man an J 
 'ho Stmt is^ by itself, ?utficientto dcr.ote, tbc^t the SH-i-it i.s God. 
 
G8 ALEHIM, OR GOD. 
 
 Ananias, in lying to the Holy Ghost, did not lie to God ; but only 
 to his messenger, an emanation, a virtue, a power, a quiddity.— 
 An absurdity not more unphilosophical, than unscriptural and un- 
 worthy of his high titles and character 1 But, if the Holy Ghost 
 be not true and very God ; where is the particular horror and ag- 
 gravation of Ananias's crime? — A crime which, if committed on- 
 ly against a creature^ is also committed against the creatures eve- 
 ry day. 
 
 This Holy Spirit hath dominion and power in the souls of men ; 
 and, therefore, the grace oS. faith is. stiled one oi\A^ fruits^ effects, 
 or operations. Gal. v. 22. 
 
 But this very faith is, by the same Apostle, said to be of the 
 operation cf God. Col. ii. 12. 
 
 What, therefore, is the Spirit, but God ? 
 
 From the same possession of power, the Sfiirit helfieth our in- 
 firmities ; for we laioiu not what we should firay for as we ought, 
 &c. Rom. viii. 36. 
 
 But in Phil. ii. 13. the Apostle says, it is God which worketh in 
 rjrju both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 
 
 Consequently, the Spirit is God. 
 
 Upon the same principle is this argument : Believers are seal- 
 ed by the Sfiirit to the day of rcdemfition. Eph. iv. 30. 
 
 But the same Apostle, speaking in behalf of believers, says, 
 that God liath scaled us. 2 Cor. i. 22. 
 
 Therefore, the Spirit is God. 
 
 Another operation of the Spirit is his witness in the soul by his 
 heavenly grace. Hebr. x. 15. The Holy Ghost is a witness to 
 ■us. John V. 6. It is the Spirit that beareth witness-, because 
 the Spirit is truth* 
 
 But, in verse the 9th of the last mentioned chapter, this witness 
 is called the witness of God^ which he hath testified of his Son. 
 
 Therefore, the witness of the Spirit, and the witness of God, 
 arc one ; because God and the Spirit are one. 
 
 God is an unsearchable being to his creatures ; because he is in- 
 finite, and they are finite altogether. There can be no measure 
 wit.iout d(;grces of comparison : And the divine nature must 
 transcend all degrees, which infer more and less, for there cannot 
 be more or less, or any expression of quantity, in a being, both 
 unlimited and incomprehenbible. Hence it is said ; His great-' 
 ness (or vastness) ie unsearchable. Ps. cxlv. 3. And it is asked ; 
 
 * See a further illustration of the evidence from this text in that able con- 
 futation ol'Mr. Luidscy's Apolot^y, by William Burgh, Esq. p. $12. 2d Edit, 
 
ALEHIM, OR GOD. 39 
 
 Canst thou by searching find out the Aloah? Canst thou find oui 
 Nxon ns^ nSsn ny to iierfection the Shaddai^ or Almighty ? That is 
 canst thou apprehend the whole of him? Job. xi. 7. 
 
 But the Spirit searchtth all things, yea the deefi things \\hc pro- 
 found fuhiess] of God. 1 Cor. ii. 1 0. 
 
 Can any words, therefore, more strongly argue, that the Spirit 
 is equal with God ? And if equal, then necessarily God himself?* 
 
 This Holy Spirit is promised to remain with the Church in all 
 ages of the world. There is no true ministry in it but by his or- 
 dination ; and no success from that ministry but by his operation. 
 Hence the Holy Ghost is said to make cjr/o-xflxss Overseers to 
 feed the flock. Acts xx. 28. 
 
 But, in 1 Cor. xii. 28. we read that it is God, who hath set in 
 the Church the various orders of ministers. 
 
 And, therefore, it obviously concludes, that the Holy Ghost is 
 God. 
 
 It is repeatedly said, that God raised Christ from the dead. 
 Acts ii. 24. et al. Very remarkably in Heb. xiii. 20, 2 1. The God 
 of peace that brought again from the dead our hord Jesus, that 
 great Shepherd oj the sheep, make you perfect in every good work^ 
 ivorking in you that ivhich is well pleasing, &c. 
 
 But it is also said, that Christ was quickened by the Spirit. 
 1 Pet. iii. 18, And the text in Hebrews evidently relates to the 
 office-character of the Holy Ghost. 
 . It will follow, then, that the Spirit is God and the God of peace. 
 
 The Israelites provoked Jehovah and Alehim, in the wilder- 
 
 * The learned Gomar hath taken this argument of omniscience, and at once 
 j^roved the divinity of the three persons from it. As his works are not in 
 many hands, the following' translation is offered, for the sake of the com- 
 mon reader. " Some particulars ai-e ascribed to the Father alone, to the Son 
 " alone, and to the Spirit alone, which are not to be understood in reference 
 *' to the other persons in the Godhead, but only in relation to the creatures. 
 " For instance ; Math. xi. 27. JVo ova {aSiti, nemo] knoweth the So7i but the 
 *' Father .- i. e. he alone knoweth. But the Son must certainly know his own 
 " self; nor can the Spirit be ignorant of him, because he searcJieth all things^ 
 "yea [T« 'omB'ti, profunda] the deep thing's of God. 1 Cor. ii. 10. And here 
 "tha creatures are excluded. Again ; Christ says in the above text, iieitler 
 *' hioiveth T 1 5 any one the Father save the Son, and he to tuhovi the Son luill re' 
 *' -veal him. Here, surely the Father is not excluded from the knowledge 
 ** of himself, nor yet the Holy Spirit. Lastly, tlie things of God kiioiveth a^etg 
 " no one, but the Spirit of God. 1 Cor. ii. 11. And yet beyond dl controv ersy, 
 " neither the Father nor the Son are excluded fvom that knowledge. But all 
 " these propositions — the knowledge of the Son, to the Fatlier alone — the 
 •' knowledge of the Father to tlie Son alone — and the know ledge of God 
 " to the Spirit iAowe. — are to be understood, not as excluding ^Jie kaowi'idge 
 '* of one divine person from the other txvo, but onlv as excepting the creatures." 
 Ulustr. .loh.i.l>. 211. 
 
40 ALEHIM, OR GOD. 
 
 77ess, firoved fiim, and saw his ivorks. Comp. Ps. xcv. 8, 9. witii 
 Exod. xvii. 7. Numb. xiv. 22. et al. 
 
 But the Holy Ghost saith — your Fathers tcmfitcd tne^ he. Heb. 
 ill. 7, &c. 
 
 The Holy Ghost, therefore, is Jehovah and Alehim,* or Lord 
 God. 
 
 No creature can possibly be a proper object of ivorshi/i ; and 
 therefore no creature can possibly have a temfile for the worship 
 of itself. The pretence would be impious, and the service idola- 
 trous. 
 
 But believers are called in sevei-al places the temples of the 
 Holy Ghost, and the temples of God, indiscriminately. There 
 ]s not the least difference or distinction, or even the remotest 
 hint of a difference or distinction made between them. 1 Cor. 
 iii. 16. 2 Cor. vi. 16, &c. 
 
 God and the Holy Ghost, therefore, are essentially one, as well 
 us their temples ; and thus, distinctly in person^ or conjunctively 
 in essence, are the proper object of ivorship and adoration. 
 
 There would be no end to the arguments, which might be 
 brought to prove this truth of the Spirit's divinity from his owa 
 Bible. Indeed, as the testimony cf Jesus is the spirit of prophe- 
 cy ; so the testimony of the Holy Spirit is the power and princi- 
 ple of all revelation, and, consequently, as such, the very life of 
 all the scriptures. Without Hiin, they never would have existed ; 
 nor, without his continual agency, are they, more than any other 
 book, a blessing in the world. 
 
 It appears, then, from revelation, that the Holy Spirit is Jeho- 
 vah and Alehim, or Lord and God ; that he is a divipe/^eriow, and 
 not a mere unconscious instrument, or created quality ; and that, 
 accordingly, he hath ascriptions which can belong only to a per- 
 son in the Godhead, who sees, who knows, and who orders all 
 things. In the course of these essays, the evidence of his divine 
 personality w'lW he move particularly considered; and therefore 
 we will conclude this point of the Spirit's proper divinity by an 
 argument of a mixed nature, founded indeed, as to its datum, 
 upon divine revelation, like all other spiritual truth ; but more 
 combined with human reason, which some people pretend to 
 exalt against the wisdom of God, but which " purged from its 
 film," becomes its dutiful servant and willing advocate against 
 the daring pretences of unreasonable men. 
 
 * If it be asked, "How croi tliin plural \rortl Mehim be applied to one of 
 tlie divine persons ?" the reader is requested to turn to the first Volume, p. 
 
ALEHIM, OR GOD. 41 
 
 God alone is the Creator of all thifigs. This is a maxim which 
 revelation hatb fully declared, and to which the lowest degvee of 
 reason must yield a ready assent. AU the men, who have ever 
 lived upon the earth, were never able to produce a neiv thing 
 upon it, or to give life where it has once been taken away. The 
 intellect of man can only rise to a discovery, more or less, of Avhat 
 exists; and all his power is exercised only upon the matter and 
 forms about him, to which he can add nothing of his own, nor 
 from which diminish aught by a reduction to nothing. This rule 
 must hold with all ranks of being, except the Sup.reme. But we 
 are informed, by the unerring wisdom of the Most High, that the 
 Spirit, of whom we are treating, hath made, hath fashioned, doth 
 give life and being, to the heavens, to the earth, and to me7i. 
 This Spirit, therefore is not, cannot be made himself : And if he 
 be no; made; then, consequently, he is not a passing emanation 
 era dependent creature. But if he be not a creature, he must 
 be of the same substance with the Godhead of the F. ther, and the 
 Son ; and, being of the same substance, has a right to the title 
 of «n3, or Creator, with them in the unity of that substance, as 
 the whole three persons or Trinity have to the plural denomina- 
 tion of D^«"ii3 and ci'j? the Creators and Makers. See Eccl. xii. 
 1. and Is. liv. 5. et al. Now, as whatever is not God, must ne- 
 cessarily be a creature ; so what a creature is not. That God is. 
 If the Spirit, therefore, be not of the same substance with the 
 Godhead, he is unavoidably a created substarice : And if he be a 
 created substance, then nothing ever was, or ever could be crea' 
 ted by him. But the word of the living God says positively, that 
 the heavens and the earth, and man in particular tvere created by 
 him : And, therefore, it will follow, upon the united assent of 
 revelation and reason, that the Holy Spirit as Creator is of one 
 substance or essence with the Father and the Son, and conse- 
 quently is with them, God over all, blessed fur ever. 
 
 Could it be admitted for a moment, that the Holy Ghost is not 
 very God, nor a proper object of worship ; then the Christian 
 Church in all ages* hath been guilty of the most profane and 
 abominable idolatry, and the ritual of the Church of England,! 
 among others, is contaminated with the abomination of heathen- 
 ism, by instituting divine service to a creature. The hosts of 
 Heaven sing Holy, Holy, Holy, for nought ; and (vvith horror be 
 
 * See Lord Chancellor King' o?i the Creed, ch. vi. p. 316. 
 I See her Litany ; her offices of Consecration of Priests, &c. and the 
 Boxologies. 
 
 VOL. ir. F 
 
42 ALEHIM, OR GOD. 
 
 it spoken) God himself hath failed in the performance of his pro- 
 mise, that his people should be led ayid guided into all truths 
 and that against his Church the gates of Hell should never firevail. 
 But, if it be impossible, that God should have so left his Church, 
 or that his faithfulness and truth should thus have failed ; it will 
 follow, that the Holy Spirit hath been rightly th6 object of their 
 constant adoration, and that he himself hath inspired them with 
 his grace to render to him this tribute of their praise. 
 
 The Holy Ghost then is God. But it has been before said, and 
 it is a principle of true religion which even the wiser sort of hea- 
 thens have assented to,* that there is but one God. It, therefore, 
 the scriptures inform us, that there are three distinct persons, 
 styled Father, Son and Spirit, who have distinct offices and ener- 
 gies in the salvation of man ; and that each of these three doth 
 claim the power and name of the one Jehovah ; it is obvious, that 
 they are not ofie in the same resfiect as they are three^ but that 
 there is a real distinction in their inseparable union. One they 
 must be essentially^ for there is but one God : Three they must 
 also be hy/iostaiical'y or personally ; or there is neither Father, 
 Son, nor Holy Ghost, and of course the scriptures are false. 
 The conclusion, therefore, is plain and clear, that these three 
 persons nve one Godhead, and that the one Godhead (if it may be 
 said) is the common substratum of the three persons, in which 
 they mutually and inseparably coexist, " without any difference 
 or inequality." To express this intercommunity of the divine 
 persons, the /J/wm/ names, ascribed to the Godhead in the He- 
 brew Bible, appear to have been revealed ; and not honoris causa, 
 or for the sake of dignity, as some have imagined ; because God 
 can receive no honor from mere sounds, but only from v/hat they 
 signify ; and he has given us not the least hint that he has used 
 the plural number for any such purpose. And if the Godhead be 
 one only person, with what sort of propriety is the plural number 
 Alehim so often used, when its own singular Aloah would, in 
 that cQse, be so much the fitter term? Besides, it is a question 
 upon his truth, that he should call himself we and us, instead of 
 I and ME, as he frequently doth, if he were only one person or 
 
 * Selden, de Diis Syris. Prol. c. 3. To the s.ime purpose, Maximus Tv- 
 rius, a heallien, says eloquently : " Amidst all the contx'oversy, di.scord, 
 •' and diflerences of men, you may see one rule and opinion obtaining: 
 " Ihroui^diout the world, That God is o7ie, tlic King- and Fatlicr of all things, 
 « with many other Gods, his children reigning' with God. 'I'his l)otli the 
 *• Greek and Barbarian maintain ; this is asserted by nations both near and 
 " remote ; and in this both the wise and the ignorant ai'e agreed." Ink 
 jilura upud Grot, de rev. lid. Christ. I 1. §■ n. 16. 22- 
 
ALEHIM, OR GOD. 43 
 
 subsistence ; and it would be representing G •>d as complimenting 
 himself, at the expence of his veracity, in the hollow language 
 of earthly courts and princes. 
 
 To render this important point still more undeniable, it may 
 not be improper to produce some proofs from the scripture, in 
 addition to those offered under the name Alehim in the former 
 volume, which may evince, that what is said of the Father, is 
 said of the Son and Holy Gfiost without reserve or limitation, and 
 that, therefore, they are one in essence though three in person. 
 
 God alone, mediately or immediately, can raise the dead. 
 
 But the Father raiseth up the dead, and guickenetii them : John 
 V. 21. So doth the Son, whom he will: Ibid. And the Spirit 
 raised and quickened even Christ himself from the dead. 1 Pet 
 Jii. 18. See also Rom viii. 11. 
 
 Therefore each of these three must be God. 
 
 But there is but one God : 
 
 And, therefore, these three are one God. 
 
 Col. ii. 2. The Apostle here speaks of the rnysterij of God, 
 and of the Father, and of Christ. Now, if the God and the Fa- 
 ther in this place are one and the same person ; it will follow 
 upon the same ground, that God, and the Father, and Christ, are 
 all one and the same person ; for the same copulatives unite the 
 one and the other. The Apostle, likewise, could not have called 
 that a mystery (to acknowledge which the Colossians were to in- 
 crease in faith,) which would only imply that these three names 
 meant one and the same thing ; for this would have been playing 
 upon terms, which is a sort of folly not to be found in God's word. 
 But if he meant the doctrine of a Trinity, and that the Father, and 
 Christ as to his diyinity, with another person termed God, who, 
 from other scriptures we learn, must be God the Holy Ghost, are 
 three persons in one Godhead ; then he might justly call it a mys- 
 tery, because it is both a divine revelation and a matter of faith, 
 to the acknowledgment of which it would be the riches of the 
 full assurance of understanding to obtain. And these last words 
 areas much a mystery to the carnal mind, as the doctrine of the 
 Trinity can be to any mind ; but, however, not the less certain 
 and true. 
 
 Haggai ii. 4, 5. I am with you, saith Jehovah Sabaoth, with the 
 
 VVord which 'ma I cut ojf (or severed; with you in bringing you 
 
 forth from Egypt, and my Spirit residing in the midst of yozi., (hat 
 
44 ALEHIM, OR GOD. 
 
 xj e might not fear * In this glorious promise arc mentioned the 
 three covenanting persons, Jehovah, the Word and the Sfiirit ; 
 and it doth not seem improbable, that the Apostle had his eye 
 wpon this passage, when he wrote the remarkable text of the three 
 nvitncss^s in Hea-ven, the Father^ Word, and the Holy Ghost ; 
 1 John V. 7. However, in that text of Haggai there are three 
 persons, as well as in that of St. John ; and in both the three 
 mre one. 
 
 Maith. iii. 16, 17. Here we find the Father speaking, 'This is 
 my beloved Son, &c. — to the Son the Heavens ivere opened, and 
 ufionhim descended, hv a. visible testimony, the S/iirit like a dove. 
 
 That the Father is God is allowed by all. That the Son, for 
 whom these words were used, is God, will appear from the se- 
 cond Psalm and the first chapter of Heb. And that the Spirit is 
 God, beside the proof already given, is manifest from Isaiah xi, 2. 
 where he is expressly called the Spirit Jehovah. 
 
 But there is but one God. 
 
 Therefore the Father, Son, and Spirit are one God. 
 
 John xiv. 23. The Father dwells in believers. Eph. iii. 17. 
 Christ dwells in them. Rom. viii. 9. The Spirit also dwells in 
 them. 
 
 But God hath said, I will dwell in them, Sec. 2 Cor. vi. 16. 
 
 * The word nnis rendered in our version, / have covenanted, is strictly, 
 I have cut off, or severed, iind ulludes to the cutting in pieces or severing- 
 of a clean beast before the Lord, as the instituted type, tliat Christ, the 
 ^TfjX purifier of his people, should be so cut o^and severed, as xo be applied 
 to then- respective use and benefit. And i.he institution of the Lord's Sup- 
 per retains the same idea, that Christ is broken and distributed among his 
 redeemed. The above text in tlie Pi'ophet refers to the Paschal Lamb in 
 Exod. xii. who was sacrificed and severed, and whose blood was sprinkled 
 upon the houses ot' the Israelites, that the vengeance of God might pass over 
 them, and hence this Lamb was itself called the Passover, and its death the 
 sacrifice of the LarcPs Passover ; and it was to be a memorial to them, that 
 this _/i>5«-6o»7j Lamb (i or it was a male of the first year) was typically slain 
 for che salvation of X\\ft first-bom among the people Israel Thus Christ our 
 Passover was sacrificed for the first (>o^-n, wlio are called the Church of the 
 first-bom, -whose names are luritien in Heaven ; and was the Word (here men- 
 tioned by Haggai) ivithxvhom Jehovah -was (or as the Apostle speaks, God 
 ■was in Christ) and whom He cut off, as t/ie first-born Lamb, -anthout spot or 
 hleminh. to be a ransom for their deliverance from the .spu'itual Egjpt or bon- 
 djigc ; and in tesi imony of whicli his Spirit would reside in them, that they 
 •might not fear on account of their sins, but have everlasting consolation and 
 good hope through grace. 
 
 It IS vvortli remarking from Dr. MWji, that the Targum of Jonathan Ben 
 Uzziel t!>e Chaldee, hatli rendered this text of Haggai ; / am with you, saith 
 the Lord of Hosts, with the Word vy/wcA covenanted with yoti, when ye came out 
 tf Egypt, and my Spin: which abide th in the midst of you. See Dr. Allix's 
 Judgment of the Jewish Church, p. 358. Of tlie Targums, &c. see a clear. 
 yet concise, accotmt in Prideaux's Connect. Part. ii. B. 8. 
 
ALEHIM, OR GOD 45 
 
 Therefore, the Father, Son and Spirit are God. 
 
 Mattb. xxviii. 19. People are to be baptized in the name of the 
 Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.* 
 
 But there is only oyje Lord, as well as one faith and one bafi" 
 tism. Eph. iv. 5. 
 
 Therefore, these three are the one Lord, who is the object of this 
 faith, and to whom his people are baptized. 
 
 The following text is an invincible argument by itself ; and 
 therefore it is not a wonder, that the adversaries of the doctrine 
 should iittempt every means to get " well rid of it." 
 
 1 John V. 7, There are three that bear record in Heaven, the 
 Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost ; and these three are 
 
 ONE.f 
 
 2 Cor. xiii. 14. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the 
 love of God, and the comfminion of the Holy Ghost, be with you 
 all, Aiyicn. 
 
 But it is God who ^iveth grace. 1. Pet. v. 5. et al. Therefore 
 Christ is God. It is the Father who loveth and bestoweth love, 
 and he is here called God. And the communion or fcllowshifi of 
 the Holy Ghost, must be that, by which believers have fellowship, 
 with the Father and Son, 1 John i. 3. and which is called ye//o7£;- 
 shift with God, in v. 6. From whence it may be inferred, that 
 the Spirit is God ; or else the communion of the Church is with a 
 
 * " This is an evident demonstration of the Spirit's Divinity ; for it can- 
 not be believed, that to two persons, tertium quid, a third something- should 
 be added, which might only be an operation or a quality. Noi- are \\e bap- 
 tized in the name of any operation or grace, but in the name of God. Nor 
 do we believe, according to the creed, in a Spirit which may not be God. 
 And if the sin against the Holy Ghost be unpardonable; against whom bat 
 God can such an offence be committed ?" Molenseus de uno Deo, &c. apud 
 Thes. Sedan. Vol. i. p. 93. If the Holy Ghost m this text be nothing but a 
 quality, there can be no reason given, why the other two names, which are 
 coupled with it should be more : And, in that case, it was no material blun- 
 der, which those ignorant chmxhmen made, who, instead of using the 
 above names in Latin, baptized in nomine patria, et Jilia, et spiritusancta. 
 iSmn. Condi, per Carranzam. p. 357. 
 
 ■j- Let any unprejudiced person read the context, and he must perceive a 
 flagrant chasm if this text be removed. It is so necessary to the Apostle's 
 argument, that the argument is not complete without it : And it is abund- 
 antly more likely, that these remarkable words should be left out and ob- 
 literated in copies, made or kept by the ancient heretics, than that thev 
 should have been foisted in by tlie orthodox, who have authorities enough 
 beside for the doctrine expi-essed in them. If the reader would see a full 
 investigation of this matter, let him consult the excellent Witsius, in his 
 third E.vercit. de Sermone Dei, and the authorities cited therein. See also 
 the Letters annexed to Sloss upon tlw Trinity. Mill ui loc. To wliicli may 
 be added a very sensible and learned discussion in several Letters sig-ned T., 
 ;n the Gent. Jifag-azine. iov the year 17S?. 
 
46 ALEHIM, OR GOD. 
 
 creature ; and the Apostle would bless the Church in the name 
 of a creature, which creature he hath placed upon a line with God 
 himself. 
 
 These three persons, then, are God ; and, because the Godhead 
 is but one, they are one God. 
 
 From this unity of essence alone, can we conceive the purpose 
 of God in denominating the Holy Spirit by various titles, which be- 
 long to the Father and the Son, or why he is called the Spirit of 
 the Father ; Eph. iii. 16. the Sfiirit of the Son or of Christ ; Gal. 
 iv. 6. Phil. i. 19. the Sfnrit Jehovah or of Jehovah (which is just 
 the same, unless it can be proved, that there is any Spirit in God, 
 which is not himself) Is.xi. I.et al. and the Spirit Alehim ; Gen. 
 i. 2. Being essentially one with the Father and the Son, he cannot 
 be a different Sfiirit from them, for then there would be three Hfii- 
 rits and three essences ; but he is essentially one and the selfsame 
 Spirit, dividing his gifts according to his will, anci inducing faith 
 in the souls of his people. All other people are called sensual^ 
 not having the Spirit, wiiich is explained still further by their 
 having no hope and being without God in the world. 
 
 One argument more, instead of a multitude which might be 
 sj-iven, shall suffice. 
 
 Mai. ii. 10. Hath not 07ie God created us ? 
 But in Eph, iii. 9. we find, that God (plainly meaning ihefath- 
 erj created all things : In Col. i. 16 th<xt Christ created all things 
 in Heaven, earth, Sec. And in Job xxxiii. 4, that the Spirit of God 
 made man, and gave him life ; that the same Spirit made the Host 
 of Heaven, in Ps. xxxiii. 6. and in Is. xl. 13 — 17. that to the same 
 Spirit (who is called God v. 18) all nations are as nothing. 
 
 Either, therefore, these three distinct agents are but one God ; 
 and so the syllogism is perfect; or, there are three different Cre- 
 ators and three Gods, which proposition will contradict the major, 
 and many other texts in the Bible. 
 
 Thus it seems very fairly to appear, that the Holy Spirit is Je- 
 hovah and Alehim, personally and per se, and consequently the 
 object of praise and adoration ; and that in an essential conjunc- 
 tion of this Holy Spirit witli the Father and Son, wiio likewise ar« 
 personally and per se Jehovah and Alehim, there is orte only true, 
 infinite, everlasting, incomprehensible. Lord God ; by whom, in 
 v/hom, and from whom are ail things, to whom be glory forever 
 and ever, Amen. 
 
 That Jehovah, therefore, exists in three persons, is a truth, 
 which he, V'bo only could know it, hath been pleased to reveal in 
 
ALEHIM, OR GOD. 47 
 
 his word : but it may be an everlasting truth in itself, and yet no 
 more truth to us, respecting our comfort from it, than it is to fal- 
 len Angels, or the ground beneath our feet. The question then 
 Occurs ; " what interest has the soul of a believer in this truth cf a 
 Trinity, and of the divine personality and self-existence of the 
 Holy Ghost .?" All divine truth hath its nse ; and the mere clear- 
 ly it shines (and clearly it would ever shine but for the clouds of 
 sin and corruption,) the more comfortable awd reviving. 
 
 The first great advantage, which the Christian perceives to be- 
 long to him, in this doctrine of a Trinity is — the covenanted, cer- 
 tain, and unchangeable purpose of the whole Godhead, both in es- 
 tablishing the means and in securing the end, of his eternal salva- 
 tion. He perceives, that the means are equal to the end, and 
 that the end must be the result of the means; because the great 
 agents, who use the means, are divine and infinite, can neither be 
 mistaken in their views, nor be disappointed in their purposes. 
 Jehovah, ivho fainteth not, neither is weary, is the Alehim, and is 
 engaged, by an everlasting covenant existing in his divine person- 
 ality, to create, recover, and preserve, the souls of his people. 
 Nothing, therefore, can arise which hath not been foreseen ; no 
 impediment thrown in the way, which was v\oi for eknoivn ; no 
 difficulty, but which was designed to be overcome. The great sin 
 of Adam, that fountain from which innumerable streams of iniqui- 
 ty have overflowed the world, hath only rendered this covenant 
 more illustrious, by proving, that where sin did abound, grace 
 could much more abound, and that nothing, which concerned the 
 happiness or misery of myriads of souls for everlasting ages,?s too 
 hard for Jehovah. It is not too hard indeed for Him ; but it would 
 be infinitely too hard for all created strength, whether in earth of 
 Heaven. None but Jehovah could reconcile to Jehovah : none 
 but himself had either will, or love, or power, to accomplish the 
 reconciliation. This certainty and perfect ordination, then, of the 
 everlasting covenant, is a ground of great consolation, to all, who 
 through faith, have an interest in it. It is a consolaiion, which 
 they are privileged, i7ivited,and coimnanded to take; that God 
 may be glorified in the felicity of his chosen, even in the presence 
 of this miserable world. If the Father hath determined to love ; 
 if the Son hath completely rf/fcmff/; if the Holy Spirit hath be- 
 gun to bless ; if thus the Alehim in Jehovah, the three persons in 
 one essence ; or Jehovah Alehim, the Unity in Trinity ; are en- 
 t;'agcd for his people's happiness and salvation : Vi'hat men, what 
 
48 ALEHIM, OR GOU. 
 
 devils, what height, -what depth, -what other creature, of what 
 creatures all together, can frustrate his design, extinguish his 
 love, and resist the eternal impressions of his power 1 O could 
 believers see, on what a rock of eternity their hope and all their 
 eternal concerns are divinely built ; they would blush for shame 
 at those fruitless anxieties, those foolish vexations, by which they 
 are too' often engrossed, through this momentary scene, and by 
 which they at once so frequently dishonor the cause of religion, 
 and disgrace themselves in the sight of a watchful world I They 
 would blush again to think, that the miserable slaves of lust and 
 Hell should pretend to talk of more happiness, than the children oj 
 the kingdom who are privileged to have God's jierfect peace in 
 their hearts, and are born for his eternal peace in Heaven. 
 
 Another comfort, which the believer hath a right to draw from 
 these truths, is, that having the earnest of the Spirit in his soul, 
 first in quickening from the death of sin ^ and then working faith, 
 hope, and love towards Christ ; he is privileged to receive some 
 degree of assurance from the word of God, in proportion to the 
 evidence of this earnest from the Spirit of God, that he who hath 
 begun the good work, will carry it on to perfection. The written 
 word declares the divinity of this spiritual agent ; and this agent 
 brings the heart to the word, by which he gives his own divine 
 persuasion ; so that the believer can say, " I set to my seal upon 
 God's revealed truth, and I am enabled to do it by the grace of 
 God's enlightening Spirit ; upon this united testimony in my be- 
 half, I believe, that God's love cannot fail^ but that I am saved in 
 Jehovah with an everlasting salvation." 
 
 Come, believer; hast thou a right to this language ; and are 
 these thy privileges ; and wilt thou, then, being the king's son go 
 serf all thy days? ?l stranger, indeed intermeddleth not with the 
 joy of God's heritage; but thou art 7io stranger any more ; thou 
 hast an unalienable claim to the choicest delights of thy Father's 
 house, and art more welcome to enjoy them all, than to pass by 
 the least of them. Thou art not straitened in Him at any time ; 
 hut only in thine own dowels. I71 thij self or\c;\n^\es every cause 
 of complaint; not in thy merciful Lord. Thou canst not exhaust 
 an infinite ocean of everlasting good ; but thou mayest, as all too 
 often do, shut thine own mouth, and taste for a lime not a drop of 
 it. O the depth of unbelief I may we all cry, as well as, O the 
 depth of the riches of God I If this deep did not answer to the 
 other, and confound it ; the strongest believer in the world would 
 ■^or s;v5m long upon the surface, but must be swallowed up in the 
 
ALEHIM, OR GOD. 49 
 
 dismal abyss. And yet if the eye be but opened, and tlie heart 
 graciously enlarged ; here is enough and to spare of mercy, love, 
 and faithfulness in God, an infinite abundance of such durable rich'- 
 es as are commensurate wiih the existence of God himself, and 
 flow incessantly from his fulness. If our harps were but in con- 
 stant tune ; that is, if our spirits were but in purer harmony, 
 or more exact unison with God the Spirit ; we should feel as 
 well as utter the Psalmist's fervent song, which that Spirit 
 inspired; how great is thy goodness which thou hast laid up*^ 
 for them that fear thee ; which thou hast wrought for them 
 that trust in thee^ before the so7is of men I — O love Jehovah all 
 ye his saints; Jehovah preserveth the faithful and completcth 
 with exaltation him that doUi excellency. \ Be of good courage 
 and he shall strengthen your heart.y all ye that hope in Jehovah ! 
 Psalm xxxi. 19, 23, 24. 
 
 Afflicted Christian ; thou, who art tossed and exagitated either 
 in body or in mind, and often in both r Here is comfort, rich com- 
 fort, and everlasting consolation, for thee I Thou, indeed, art 
 writing bitter things against thyself: and bitter things most tru- 
 ly may be written of thee : Thou canst not set down a thousandth 
 part of the evil, which exists in thy heart, and which hath polluted 
 thee before God, through every day of thy life. If the world did 
 not complain of thee ; if thy friends did not murmur ; if perhaps 
 the very partner of thy cares, who sliould be as thy right hand, 
 did not concur to annoy : The sense of thy own sinfulness, weak- 
 ness, unprofitableness, and deserts, would be sufficient in the 
 hand of the enemy, to hai'rass and perplex thy wearied soul. Butj 
 fear not, thou miserable worm. Take thine eyes from the earth, 
 and look upward. Look, with the Bible in thine hand, upwards 
 to Him, who sent it down, in pity and grace, to JHst such misera- 
 ble worms as thou art. All thy fellow-creatures have cause for 
 the worst of thy feelings ; and, if mercy had opened tlicir eyes, 
 their hearts for a time would ache, and mourn, and droop, even 
 as thine. Thou art alivt ; therefore thou canst feel : The dead 
 in body have no sensation, nor have the dead in sotiL Ask for a 
 
 * riJSS hidden ; i. e. from the world. Hence God's wisdom is called mys- 
 tery or hidden -msdom, his people are termed hidden ones, and their life is 
 said to be hid with Christ in God. T/ie world kniotveth us not (saith the Apos- 
 tle) because it knew him not. 
 
 f To render this clause in a good sense, seems more agreeable to the con- 
 text which is addressed to Gud's people, than the comnion and otlier ver- 
 sions which have followed the Ixx. The Psalmist is proposing- moth es of 
 comfort ; and certainly it is a greater cause of joy to the faithful, that Jeho- 
 vah wiljL complete iUeir salvation, than that ha will re7i'ard a proud doer, 
 which is no part of that salvation. 
 
 VOL. It. G 
 
CO ALEHIM, OR GOD, 
 
 ray of this Spirit to illuminate thy mind, while thou ixadesthis ho- 
 ly book, that his promises, his exceeding great and firecioua 
 promises, may not be passed over unnoticed, but stand like so 
 many Angels in the way to point thee to rest, and to thy best good 
 hope through grace. Reading by his light, thou wilt find (and O 
 that thou mayest find it to thy unspeakable joy !) that there is not 
 one harsh word, not one severe denial, to the weakest, the poorest j 
 the worst returning sinner, who longs for mercy brecause he sees his 
 want of it. On the contrary, just such as thou art (behold thy- 
 self as vile as thou canst,) are welcome only to Jesus; and for 
 these poor, halt, maimed and blind, is the rich feast of the kingdom 
 prepared. These thy sovereign Lord Jilleth with good things j 
 The rich alone, those who conceit themselves to be full and in- 
 creased, he sendeth emfity away. If thou seest thy need of God's 
 mercy; it is because God hath already had mercy upon thee.— 
 Trust in him, therefore, and implore the gracious power of his 
 omnipotent Spirit ; thou shalt then find, that his own faithfulness 
 to his word shall keep thee from falling, and in the best time re- 
 lieve thee from all thy impressions of sorrow. Live upon thii> 
 promise, and soon shalt thou have it fulfilled: I/ye, being evil, 
 know how to give good gifts unto your children : how much mors 
 aAall your heavenly leather give the Holy Spirit to them that ask 
 him ? Ask, and receive : Seek, and thou shalt freely obtain. 
 
 The omnipotence of this Spirit is the Christian's unfailing 
 ground of hope. He hath indeed a strong Lord, and one as wise 
 as he is strong, and present as he is wise. Nothing, concerning 
 his people, escapes his notice ; and all their holy cares are his 
 own, and his own to relieve or fulfil them. O what a kind Be- 
 nefactor have we, who are saved by his grace ! He saw us in our 
 sins, and had mercy upon us, nay, loved us, when we were abomi- 
 nable and deformed : He loved us to purify us from our abomina- 
 tions, and to deck us with the beauty of his holiness. After all this 
 cost and concern, shall he cease to love us, and be gracious? Shall 
 his hand stop its bounty, or his heart refrain to love ? He might 
 cease to love us, if his motives of regard arose from our faithful- 
 ness or worth ; but standing, as they do, upon his own sublime be- 
 nevolence ; fixed, as they are, upon the Rock of ages; and ari- 
 sing, as they have done through all eternity, from an irrevocable 
 covenant of everlasting truth : The Father must lose his paternal 
 affection, the Son all the merit of his suffering and obedience, the 
 Holy Spirit his operation and effect, and the whole Godhead change 
 or cease to be ; ere wc, who are brought into the bond of this 
 
ALEHIM, OR GOD, 51 
 
 covenant and have cast our souls upon it, can be lost after all and 
 sink into perdition. This is our privilege, to knov) that we have an 
 unchangeable God, and that, only through him, we are kept un« 
 changeable too. In this view, we are made both happy and holy 
 at once : Hafifiy, because we are safe in our God ; and holy in 
 hira, because we are led to depend upon him, and to receive out 
 of his fulness grace for grace. This grace is the pledg-e of our 
 interest in the covenant, and cannot be abused. Men may pervert 
 the nocion, but they cannot corrupt the thing ; for the possession 
 oS the filcdge will always spur the diligence, holiness, and hope of 
 those, on whom God hath been pleased to confer it. 
 
 And how it doth fill every gracious heart with wonder and joy, 
 that God should be pleased to dwell thus in very deed with man / 
 2 Chron. vi. 18. That he should have thoughts of love and com- 
 placency for sinners, traitors, and rebels ! " Next to the love of 
 Christ, f said a good man) in taking our nature, we may wonder at 
 the love of the Sfiirit, in taking up his residence in such defiled 
 souls, and turning a dungeon into a temple, a prison into a para" 
 dise, yea, an Hell into an Heaven." And in another place, he adds, 
 " To make so little grace so victorious over so great a mass of 
 corruption ; this requireth a Spirit more than human ; this is to 
 preserve fire as in the sea, and a part of Heaven as it were in Hell. 
 Here we know where to have this power, and to whom to return 
 the praise of it."* It is matter of wonder upon earth to every be- 
 liever, that God should have mercy upon him; and he is ever 
 ready to ask, " why me, Lord, why me ? Who am /, and what is 
 my Father^s house, that thou hast brought me hitherto ? I deserv- 
 ed nothing but Hell ; and thou hast placed me in the full view of 
 Heaven ! I sought death in the error of my life y and thou hast 
 given me hopes of life everlasting i" — And it is a matter of won- 
 der, and will always be a matter of wonder, in Heaven itself: The 
 very Angels desire to firy into it. The love of their Maker is so 
 deep, that, though they/irt/, they cannot see to its bottom : It is 
 too vast and profound for even the capacious and subtle intellect 
 of Angels. The world above is full of rapturous astonishment, 
 and admires the love, which was stronger than death, and the pity, 
 which encountered rebellion to save. All Heaven exults in the 
 effusion of unbounded mercy, and welcomes the sinner, the re= 
 
 * Dr. Sibbes in his Bruised Reed ,- one of the most comfortable books of 
 practical Divini'.y, in oiir language, for mourning and afflicted Christians, 
 His Fountain Sealed is MWJthcr excellent work, a,nd ^v^ittm in a etils above 
 
 his tim?. 
 
5-2' ADONAI. 
 
 claimed, the pardoned, the exalted shiner, to his mansion oF peace. 
 And Heaven sees and owns, that the whole is everlasting grace, 
 and that its lowest tribute is everlasting glory. Let us join, be- 
 loved souls, let us join this delighted, this majestic throng, in 
 pouring forth the richest praise of our souls for benignity and 
 blessings of grace showered down, not upon them, but upon us. 
 Shall they therefore triumph with transport for us? And shall 
 not tve join with them to acclaim aloud for ourselves ? Shall hu- 
 man hearts be dull ; when for these very hearts all Heaven is full 
 of jov ! — O forbid it meixy, truth, and love divine ! — Come, thou 
 gracious Spirit, for thou only canst inspire thankfulness and 
 praise; couie and inspire them into every believing soul! O fill 
 xis with the sense of that faithfulness and truth, which stooped so 
 low from Heaven, only for the purpose of leading us thither; nor 
 let us dishonor such unmerited bounty, either by living ivithout 
 its power, or beneath its dignity and our own ! Thou hast exalted 
 us ny grace ; suffer us not to debase and degrade ourselves by sin : 
 Bui complete, O complete, in thy glory, all thy promises concern- 
 ing us, and our everlasting relation unto thee ! Then, with una- 
 batiiig ardor, shall we join the innumerable hosts above, and shout, 
 as they shout for ever ; Holy., holy^ holy., Lord God Almighty., who 
 •wast, and art, and art to come : — Thou art worthy., O Lord., to 
 receive glory., a7id honor, and poiver ; for thou hast created all 
 thitrgs, and for thy pleasure they are and were created / Even-so : 
 Amen. 
 
 ADONAI. 
 
 THE sense of this title hath been explained in the former 
 volume, in which it was observed, that our translators have usu- 
 ally rendered it by the word Lord, and printed it in common or 
 small characters, to distinguish it from the word Jehovah, which 
 also they have rendered Lord, but have placed it in Roman capi- 
 tals. But though this rendering has been adopted by them in 
 imitation of other translators ; the sense of the two words Jeho- 
 vah and Adonai is much more remote from each other than their 
 sound. 
 
 As this title is applied to Christ in almost every page of the 
 Bible, because he is che ruler and disposer, the basis and support 
 of his redeemed ; so is it addressed to Clod the Holy Ghost, for 
 
ADONAI. 53 
 
 the very same reason. If Christ and the Spirit were n6t persons 
 in the Godhead ; this title would be used, to convey the idea of 
 their respective offices and power in redemption and regenera- 
 tion, improperly and falsely ; and, consequently, the book of 
 God would not be the record of truth. But as this is impossible, 
 it will follow, that the application of this name, in its spiritual 
 intention, is an argument or proof of the divinity of the second 
 and third persons in the Trinity ; and, therefore, all that will re- 
 main under this head, is to prove, that this application hath been 
 made, and made by God himself. That Christ is so denomina- 
 ted, we have already proved ; and that the Spirit claims the same 
 title, it is the furtl^er purpose of this essay to shew. 
 
 It is the office of the Spirit to re-veal the mind, the will, and 
 the things of God. This the Apostle fully declares in 1 Cor. xii. 
 and asserts that whatever gifts^ ministrations', or ofierations, are 
 enjoyed by or wrought in the people of God, whether wisdomj 
 knowledge, faith, the power of healing, miracles, prophecy, dis- 
 cernment of spirits, possession and interpretation of tongues; 
 they are all worked by one and the self-same S/iirit^ who divideth 
 to every man severally as he will. For this reason, among other 
 names, the same Apostle styles him the Sfii7Ut of Revelation 
 (Eph. i. 17.) because, without him, was no revelation given to 
 man : And, when he says, in another place, that to God's pco 
 pie are revealed the things which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard ^ 
 neither have entered into the heart of many but nahich God hath 
 fire flared for them that love him ; he immediately adds, that God 
 hath revealed these things to them by his Spirit ; for the Spirit 
 (ai.d only the Spirit) searcheth all things., yea., the deep things of 
 God. 1 Cor. ii. 9, &c. To this purpose speaks another Apostle : 
 The prophecy came not in old timcj or at any time, by the ivill of 
 ■man ; but holy tnen of God spake as they were moved by the Ho- 
 ly Ghost. 2 Pet. i. 21. All this taken together proves, that the 
 Spirit is the immediate agent of z\\ prophecy zxid revelation ; that 
 he dictated the written word ; and that the mind of Jehovah hath 
 at all times been manifested and known by his inspiration alone. 
 This proposition of itself might suffice to prove his divinity : The 
 following scriptures, by way of assumption, do fully confirm it. 
 
 Isaiah xxii. 14. It was revealed in mine ears by Jehovah Sabo' 
 oth ; Surely y isfc. saith Ado7iai Jehovah Sabaoth. Amos iii. 7, 8- 
 Surely Adonai Jehovah will do nothings but he revealeth his secret 
 unto his servants the Prophets. The lion hath roared, who can 
 but fear ? Adonai Jehovah hath spoken, who can but prophesy ? 
 
Hi ADONAI. 
 
 iv. 18. lie-— thai declareth unto man what is his t bought i—^Jeho- 
 ■vah the God of Hosts is his name. 
 
 The Spirit, therefore, who revealeth according to these words, 
 is the God of Hosts, Jehovah Sabaoth, and Adonai Jehovah Sa- 
 baoth : — The great characters, and peculiar titles of the Most 
 High. 
 
 The following text is an argument, for this truth, of itself. 
 
 Ezek. viii. 1. The hand (or power) of Adonai Jehovah felt 
 ihere ufion me. In the third verse he explains who this was, for 
 he says, that the S/iirit lift me ufi^ &c. and brought me in the 
 •visions of God to Jerusalem. In the conclusion of this, and in 
 the succeeding chapters, wc shall find, that the same Spirit at- 
 tends the Prophet throughout the vision ; and that, in chap. ix. 8. 
 the Prophet falls down upon his face, and invokes him by the title 
 of Adonai Jehovah, which title is repeated to him, with other 
 titles of the highest import, in the continuation of the prophecy. 
 The Spirit, therefore, is Adonai Jehovah. 
 
 One argument more shall serve ; for as the word Adonai, in 
 connexion with the name Jehovah, is not and cannot be applied to 
 any creature ; so if it be but once found in that connection and 
 thus applied to the Spirit, it will sufficiently prove his right both 
 to that, and to all other essential titles of the Deity. 
 
 Jsaiah Ixi. I. The Spirit of Adonai Jehovah is ufion me ; bc' 
 cause Jehovah hath anointed me, Sec. Now if the Spirit of Ado- 
 nai Jehovah, or the Spirit of God be different from Jehovah him- 
 self; there is something zn the nature of God, which is not God. 
 It is of no importance what that something be : for if it be not 
 truly and essentially GoJ, it must necessarily be a erf a/«re ; And 
 then it will follow, that God had no Spirit of his own, or that there 
 was no Spirit of God, till it was created. Take it in another 
 view. If there be something in God, which is not God, in truth 
 and essence ; then the Deity is not a pure, simple, uncompound- 
 ed Being, but composed of parts ; which parts are, from a ne- 
 cessity of nature, limited, finite and various, because nothing but 
 a whoU or unity can be infinite, unbounded, and eternal. This 
 notion, therefore, is not only repugnant to the Bible, but even to 
 the finft principles of common sense. Take it in a third form. 
 If there be any iieing in God, or of God, which is not truly God, 
 or (what amounts to the same) is inferior in any respect to any 
 person in the Godhead; then it is impossible to avoid the inference, 
 that there are either more Gods than or.e, or that there is an exis- 
 tence in God, which is not coessential with his n?.ture, and con- 
 
ADONAI. Sbi 
 
 sequently not of it. The first branch of this dilemma contradicts 
 one of the most express truths in the Bible, and is evident Poly- 
 theism. Deut. vi. 4. The other (as was before observed) militates 
 against the simplicity of the divine nature, which, being one and 
 therefore uncompounded, admits of nothing heterogeneous or 
 additional. — As all these interpretations of this and such like 
 texts, then, are obviously erroneous and absurd, both contrary to 
 the revealed word, and contradictory to every idea which man 
 hath been taught therein to form of the nature of divine things ; 
 it is both wise and safe to reject them, and to follow only the de- 
 clarations of Him, who can neither deceive nor be deceived in 
 this matter. If the Father and the Son are one (as Christ him- 
 self declares) and if there be but one Sjiirit, who likewise with 
 the Father and the Son is one Godhead ; as the scriptures express- 
 ly determine, from his own divine authority; we may be as sure 
 of this, as of any other revealed truth, that Jehovah and the Spi- 
 rit of Jehovah can be one only in one undivided essence^ however 
 they may be distinguished in respect of fierson. Nor would it 
 have been any force upon the original, if it had been translated, 
 as some learned men do translate it, the Spirit Adonai Jehovah, 
 v/ithout the particle of; because whatever can be predicated of 
 God, is God himself. To this may be added, that, when we say 
 the Sfiirit of a ma?if nobody understands by the phrase any thing 
 in a man different from his being, but rather what is entirely es- 
 sential to it, and without which he doth not exist at all. And in 
 like manner (for it is an Apostle, who draws this very compari- 
 son, I Cor. ii. 11.), when the scriptures mention the Sfiirii of God^, 
 ;hey certainly mean God the Spirit who only knowethf according 
 'o the truth or mode of their existence, the things of God ; be- 
 cause he only searcheth all thi?igs, yea, the deep, things (or the 
 profound) of God. When God anointed Jesus of Nazareth ivith 
 the Holy Ghost and with potver (which is the Apostle Peter's ex- 
 position of the text from Isaiah ;) he means evidently what St. 
 Paul expresses by, God wasm Christ (2 Cor. v. 19,), that is, God 
 the Spirit, who formed and endued his human nature in the vir- 
 gin's womb, and to whom only all power can belong : And that it 
 doth mean this, is further evident by what St. Peter immediately 
 adds, in the above text of Acts x. 38. — he went about doing goodf 
 and healing all that were oppressed with the Devil ; for God 
 was with him. Thus, God being with him, according to the 
 Apostle, is tantamount to the Spirit Adonai Jenovah being upcTt 
 ^m (or with him, as the particle ^-j might have been rendered,) 
 
^ ADONAI. 
 
 according to llie Prophet : And so the prediction is completed, 
 but in no other sen^e can be completed. Sec also Luke iv. 18. 
 where our Lord claims the accomplishment of this prophecy io 
 himself. 
 
 It seems then fairly and clearly proved from the scriptures, 
 v/hich alone are competent to give evidence in this cause, that 
 the •Sy^nY of Adonai Jehovah is neither more nor less than Adonai 
 Jehovah himself, and is consequently possessed of every divine 
 attribute and perfection in conjunction with the Father and the 
 Son, who, according to their eascnce anda^ fiersoiis in the essence, 
 have called themselves by this very name. The name indeed does 
 not express honu they exist in that essence, for no words can ex- 
 press or thoughts conceive an nyf/i/rc nature; but it conveys a 
 notice to his people, that the Trinity in Unity is the Adonai, not 
 for their speculation, but for their faith and salvation. 
 
 What then, may we ask, is the mind of the Sjiirit^ in taking this 
 name upon himself? For God doth not take names and use ivorda 
 .in an arbitrary manner, without any connection with some doc- 
 trine or sense, as men too often do ; but speaks, as well as acts, 
 ■ with truth and precision. It is right, therefore, to inquire, what 
 docirine the Holy Ghost would convey to our understandings by 
 this denomination, and what practical use is to be made of it by 
 the grace of faith in our souls. His doctrines cannot be mere no- 
 lions or opinions, but must have an important relation to the wel- 
 fare and happiness of his people. 
 
 As he is the divine agent of the tietv creation^ the " Lord and 
 giver of life," the teacher and preserver of the redeemed ; this 
 blessed Spirit becomes their gracious Adonai, the hvige on which 
 they move, the basis on which they stand. If He were not true 
 and very God ; He could not be what He calls himself to them ; 
 nor do what he promised to do for them : Nay, it would be rank 
 and abominable idolatry in them, to expect in that case, any such 
 blessings of him. They ought not, they dare not, depend for life, 
 peace, and salvation, upon a creature: And they would not, if they 
 might ; because they are Jirivilcgcd to rest upon the everlasting 
 armsf and to stay themselves ufion their God. They could not en- 
 dure such insufferable nonsense and blasphemy, as would direct 
 them to a finite or dependent being, for the creation of their spi- 
 ritual and eternal life, and for the bestow?nent and maintenance of 
 that life to them in a world, where every being, but the divine, 
 x-eceives all it has for itself from the merest grace and bounty. 
 Nor will they, while they follow God's M'ordj build upon any fotm- 
 
ADONAI. *7 
 
 tiation, but what he himself hath laid. On the contrary, they are 
 botii taught by this Holy Spirit, (according to the promise that 
 theij shall all be taught of God,) and are directed by his holy and 
 infallible word to look unto Jehovah alone, not only for salvation 
 at larLj;e, but for every branch of salvation. — Are they deadi?! sin ? 
 He is the Sfiirit,that quickeneth. Do they want strength ? Their 
 strength is in Jehovah Sabaoth, their Alehim, (^Ztch. xii. 5.) yea, 
 they have everlasting strength in hifn, who strengthened them ivith 
 might indeed, by his Spirit, in the inner 7nan. Do they need 
 grace ? He is the S/iirit of grace to bestow grace, and even the 
 Sfiirit ofsu/!/ilicaeion enabling them to ask for the bestowal. Seek 
 they for comfort and peace in their souls ? He is the God of all 
 comfort, ?nd that blessed Jehovah, who ordains, decrees, or dc' 
 tcrmines,/2race ybr them, and ivorks all their ivorks in them. Is. 
 xxvi. 12. Are they sensible of their blindness and ignorance, and 
 do they wish to be led into all truth ? He is the very sfiirit of ivis- 
 rfom, not only to give, but to seal instruction. His word, enlight- 
 ened by his power, clears away the mental darkness of our na- 
 ture, and affords the convinced sinner an tinderstanding that is 
 true — even a right understanding in all things. Do they hope for 
 victory over death ? He is the sfiirit of life itself, who bears up his 
 people's hearts beyond that last great enemy of man ; and he so 
 sivallows him tip, in victory, that death is no more death to them, 
 buL the blessed harbinger of life eternal. Look they for glory I 
 This Spirit jidonai \% also the Spirit of Glory : nor will he leave 
 one of his people, till he hath brought them to the full possession 
 o'l glory, honor, ajid immortality. And then not one of them can 
 leave him: For they shall be in God, and God will be ever in 
 them : They shall be one with Christ in the communion of this 
 Spirit, and shall biess the favor, love and mercy of a triune Jeho- 
 vah, world without end. 
 
 From all this, fully supported as it is by the divine testimony of 
 the written word, let the Christian, let any man judge, if so high 
 and gracious an agent, capable of performing such sublime, such 
 omnipotent, infinite, eternal, and omnipresent acts in and for the 
 redeemed, can possibly be inferior to Jehovah himself, or arnj 
 other than Jehovah. They, who can suppose such an inferiority, 
 either know not or consider not the nature of these operations, 
 and so consequently, not knonving the scrijittires nor the power of 
 God, ascribe those things to created might, which are inconsistent 
 with such a might, and of which God in his word haih taken a pe- 
 culiar care, that they shall not be ascribed to it. Hence, besides 
 
 VOL, u. H 
 
a8 ADONAl. 
 
 a thousand pussages of sciipture which diiccily secure lo him- 
 self all the efTicacy and glory in the work of salvation, his very 
 names, which he hath revealed himself by, and this name Adonai 
 among the rest, are so many demonstrations of his own necessary 
 activity in this great cause, and of the inability of all creatures to 
 devise, to carry on, and to accomplish it. On the other hand, the 
 names of his Church and people, are all names of a Jiaf/sivc or 
 hel/ilt'ss sense, and are evidently calculated to impress them with 
 a conviction of their entire dependence upon Jehovah, in his per- 
 sons aiid oflkes of grace, and of their utter incapacity to quicken, 
 restore, support, and to perfect any thing for themselves. Cri- 
 tics take great care to explain the terms in the classical writers, 
 ■which relate only to the poor affairs of this world, in order to ob- 
 tain a right understanding of those authors, though the tei ms 
 themselves are often vague and arbitrary sounds, with very little 
 infoimation or meaning : And if the same attention were paid to 
 the language of God's holy book, filled as it is with the most im- 
 portant matter for man's present and eternal happiness; it seems 
 almost impossible, that such absurd aiistakes. such bold positions, 
 as have been uuered and avowed, in direct opposition to the very 
 luords, lihra es and scope of the whole scripture, could ever have 
 been foisted ir.to the world. In public affairs, and the concerns of 
 time, one has often reason to regret the industry of evil, which in 
 men is abundantly more quick and active than their good inten- 
 tions ; but here the evil arises, as it might seem, from indolence^ 
 OY ina!ti;ntio7i,\isQ\L For, though nothing but divine grace can 
 affect the faculties of the soul and give them an experimental per- 
 ception of divine things ; yet common sense can easily see, that 
 Creator and created. Agent and patient, Redeemer and redeemed, 
 or the like, are relative terms, and cannot subsist in the same ob- 
 ject. Man, therefore, can be but one pan of these : And it seems 
 easy enough for a child to say, which part that must be. These 
 and many olher terms., are not nicknames, imposed without sense 
 accoraing to fancy, but are formed to convey the notices of the 
 most necessai y docuincs ; and further, when those doctrines are 
 expicssed more at large and run in\.o /i/irat,es, these terms bar- 
 mo.'ize with great lorce and exactness to compose, strengthen, 
 anu enliven tne phrases. As these plu'ases, likewise, relate to 
 one subject, for which both in themselves and in their component 
 terms tney are admirably fitted ; so, in their great compilation, 
 they universally agree, and make altogether one book of one great 
 truth, whicu ;^rig,htiy understood; is bright and beautiful as well in. 
 
ADONAl. 5y 
 
 lis parts, as in that glorious whole, into which those parts are re- 
 solved. . It resembles one vast and noble arch ; every stone of 
 which is fitly framed^ has a just contact with, and affords its pro- 
 portion of strength to all the rest. To son e minds indeed, the 
 parts may appear to be loose stones, without connection ; but the 
 true believer sees tiie union, and is enabled to view the beauty, 
 order, and grandeur of the whole. If Voltaire, and other unhap- 
 py infidels, had understood these terms, and perceived hovv ex- 
 actly they were squared for their subject and purpose ; much of 
 their ignorance and blasphemous wit would have been silenced 
 by a wisdom, which wiser men than themselves were never able 
 to gainsay or resist, and which sooner or later will make it ap- 
 pear, (according to the Apostle) that they have only been sjiori- 
 ing with their oion dcceivings. 
 
 The sense of this term Adonai, perfectly agrees with the office 
 and agency of the Holy Spirit, in effecting and completing his peo- 
 ple's salvation. He is the arranger, the disposer, the perfecter, 
 of the whole. He judges, what is best for them : And his judg- 
 ment, not dcpeiiding, like our judgment, upon the comparison of 
 ideas or things which are complex and various, but existing in 
 himself as the essence and ground of ill truth ; is a aimfile deter- 
 mination and decree of grace or providence, for the welfare of his 
 chosen. Tiius he judge; from himself, and like himself: as the 
 true and very God. And being the great mover, He is necessa- 
 rily the great foundation, of all salvation. It cannot subsist, or 
 be carried on, without him. — All these truths may we learn from 
 this blessed name, which he has graciously assumed to convey 
 our instruction in them ; and, in consequence of his tuition, ought 
 we to cast all our hopes, cares, and confidence upon Him, as upon 
 that Almighty agent, who is engaged to work for us, and in us ; 
 and as upon that eternal foundation, which can never sink, or 
 cease to support us. 
 
 If a wise Heathen, Thales, could believe, that " Providence 
 [[which contains much of the sense of the name AdonaiJ extends 
 to the lowest of all beings, and that nothing is hid from it, no not 
 even that which is most minute ;"* hovv ought the real Christian 
 to be persuaded of the constant, immediate, and invariable atten- 
 tions of this Spirit Jehovah, who is Providence indeed with a high- 
 er name, but who carries on Providence for a higher end, tnan the 
 valuable Heathen could conceive I What confidence may he not 
 
 * From Philoponus in l\js comment upon Arist. da »^«. in Harris's P« . 
 Cos, Arvang. p, 435. 
 
<iu ABONAI. 
 
 place ill Him, who knoweth /its doion'Sitthig, and his uji-rising, 
 and ivho under st.andeth hi>i very thoughts afar off ? To whom 
 nothing; in nature is hidden or unexplored ; and how much less 
 the concerns of his people : Even the very hairs nf your head are 
 all numbered^ says Christ ; those affairs of our bodies, which we 
 have not numbered ourselves, or make any account of, and which 
 ■we lose without care or pain. He Avalches over each of his peo- 
 ple, as though he had but that one ; and he watclies over the 
 whole, as though they were one single frame. () could they 
 but trust in him at all timefs as they are privileged, naV) author- 
 ized by his word to trust in Him ; m hat a different face would the 
 Christian world present to us! What holier and what happier 
 lives should we see ! What triumphs over the follies and pursuits 
 of the world ; what victories over the flesh and its lusts ; what 
 resistance to the Devil and his works ; would appear to honor 
 and adorn the Christian's high vocation I Instead of a cold, lan- 
 guid, or at best a lukewarm conversation about spiritual things; 
 ivhat melting fervor, what holy and strong affection, would pos- 
 sess the souls of men ; if they lived more accoiding to the word, 
 and more upon the Spirit for his application of it to them ! It 
 would be a little Heaven within their hearts, if this gracious Ado- 
 nai were more depended upon by professors ; And they would 
 see,that it isallbut poor and wretched stuffindeed, mere lumber 
 and waste, which often occupies his proper room, and cloys, and 
 clogs, and wearies them out — for no other end, but their weari- 
 ness. Nor would there be any longer such a wide chasm between 
 their faith and their lives. It religion, indeed, consisted in clisfiu- 
 ting ; the present, as v.ellassome former ages, is religious 
 enough. "There has always been a vast multitude of disputers 
 about Christianity, and alwoys (in the comparison) but very few 
 Christians."* But to talk of divine things, and to enjoy them, are 
 as different as substance and shadow : And to dispute about 
 Ciirist, without the Spirit of Christ, is only beating the air and 
 crowning a man's labor with his pains. 
 
 " Let me then (may the Christian say) have this unction from 
 ihe Holy 0;zc, that I may not only A-^oto the things of God, but 
 [know them an^-Zj^— know thcratobe his — know them to be mine 
 'a\ him ! May I ever be afraid of naked, barren speculations ; as 
 children arc of spectres ! May it be my aim, through the help of 
 this Spirit Adonai, to seek not only for substance in divine things, 
 
 '* Bcgaltius in Commo^ian. apud Cave. Hist. Lit. 
 
ADONAI. 6ki 
 
 but for their enduring substance ! Let nie grow rich in faitfi^ 
 rather than in notious, that I may be humbled in myself where I 
 ought to be humble, and lifted up in the Lord, where only in fact 
 I can be exalted ! Amidst a world of opinions, may I see it my 
 privilege and my duty to rest upon him, who can never change, 
 and upon his excellent word, which can never be broken ! Let 
 rne never be taken with any fine-spun speculations of salvation; 
 but be ever pressing that the life and power of it may be estab- 
 lislied within me !" — This is the cry of the believer's heart ; and it 
 is blessed with a joy, with ivhich a stranger to God and this cry 
 intermeddleth not. 
 
 " Keep within the revealed word (said an excellent man) and, 
 in the patience and comfort of the scriptures, live by hope. No 
 flesh can see God and live. Poor man would be wise, and see 
 the upshot of all things; but the vessel of his understanding 
 cannot hold it."* When men would be wise above what is written, 
 they are never wise in what is wriLtcn. Theij cannot govern 
 themselves, who will not obey God. 
 
 Happy is the believer, who knows, by gracious experience, 
 that the Holy Spirit is his constant Adontti, who moves him 
 when he is moved for God, and who supports him all the way to 
 the presence of God. In trusting to this divine power, he obtains 
 the evidence of that power, as, by believing the divine record, he 
 receives the witness of its truth. Could he trust at a// times ; he 
 would at all times, find cause to rejoice. When he doubts, he 
 fails ; as Peter began to sink in the sea, when he began to fear its 
 threatening waves. The Psalmist nobly sings ; rjhat time I am. 
 afraid^ I will trust in thee. In God I ivill firaise his word; in 
 God I have fiut mij trust ; I will not fear what Jlesh can do unto 
 me. And thou, O Christian, wilt bear a part in this holy song; 
 whenever thy faith, like the Psalmist's rests firmly on the same 
 foundation. This Adonai cannot fail iiimself ; nor will he suffer 
 thee to perish. The Joundation of God standeth sure : sure also 
 Is his word ; and sure is his covenant, according to which tiiat 
 word was framed. He bears up. the pillars of Heaven and earth ; 
 ?nd is he not sufficient then to sustain thee I 
 
 « I do not doubt his sufficiency (^says the doubting soul,) nor 
 any other of his attributes : my only fear is, that his will is not in- 
 clined to save and preserve me. I feel in myself, what ray mouth 
 vVould not and cannot utter, but what is so abhorrent from every 
 
 * See Dorney's dmncly e\]pcTimcni&l Hieconrse of Salvation, p. 151. 3d. 
 
62 ADONAI. 
 
 thing good, that, were I one of his, it surely could not be thutt 
 'Lvith me." — And is this thy grief, that so much ill appears, and so 
 little good ? Is it thy sorrotv indeed, ttiat there is any thing sinful) 
 depraved, and unclean within thee ? D.-stthou feel real comfiunc- 
 tion of spirit at thy departure, or thy distance, from God ? — Then 
 be comforted; not in thy distance, or in any evil ; but in the dh- 
 covcry of all this within thee. If God had not loved thee, he would 
 rot have acquainted thee with tins corruption ; nor wouldest ihou 
 have been grieved at these depravities of thy nature. The sins of 
 the hpavt would never have been an affliction, if the spirit of grace 
 had not renewed the heart. The sins of the life are scandalous ; 
 and the pride of character, and the caution of the hypocrite, will 
 often keep a man from these : but nothing except a principle of 
 gracious life will disturb the den of thieves within, and aim to drive 
 them out of the temple. Whatever manifests is light : and God 
 hath enlightened thee to take this view of thy heart, that, seeing no 
 ho/ie in thyself, thou mayest fly to Christ for pardon and righteous- 
 ness, and, finding no hel/i in thyself, thou mayest rely wholly upon 
 the Spirit Adonai. God shews thee to thyself, to frighten tliee 
 from thyself: and thou couldest not be without this view for a 
 thousand worlds ; as thou wilt find to thy joy hereafter. Only 
 let this discovery humble thy proud nature, and bring thee, with 
 most absolute dependence, to Christ and the Spirit, for mercy, 
 and grace : and all shall be well at the last. 
 
 How WELL it shall be at the last ; the thoughts of men cannot 
 conceive, nor the tongues of Angels declare. That it shall be 
 infinitely and eternally well^ we may be very certain ; for God 
 hatii said it. Let this be thy repose, O believer; here do thou 
 dwell and have tliy constant delight. Soon the shadows of earth 
 and cf time shall fiy av>'ay ; soon shall each dreary and drooping 
 scene be removed ; and the whole vision and fruition of thy God for 
 ever arise. The night is far sficnt ; the daij, the everlasting day 
 is at hand. Our longest life below is but a moinent of that night : 
 and the puny divisions of time are lost in the eternity of day be- 
 fore thee. As a good man observed; if before the flood, when 
 men lived for centuries, they reckoned their continuance on earth 
 by days ; surely, it becomes us, whose length of life cannot even be 
 mentioned with theirs, to reckon uj) our ages hyhourg. By hours ! 
 And who thinks of an hour ? Who calculates its worth ; or lives ac- 
 cording to the calculation ? — None but he, who values it for Christ 
 and who passes it with him and for him. He only saves the hour: he 
 alone redeems the time. All other time is lost but this, and sinks intc. 
 
MOST HIGH. ^3 
 
 oblivion, or, rather, into worse than oblivion. O what are men 
 employed in 1 Wliat paltry occupations engross, as well as en- 
 gage theiv hearts, their hands, and their lives ! Could they 
 feci the wortii of time by knowing the worth of grace in time ; is it 
 possible, that not only their busy, but their vacant hours should 
 Siicit; away, without any concern upon their tninds, hoiv they slide, 
 ox for nvhat they have been spent I Look back and reckon, believ- 
 er, if all cut of Christ has not been vmiity or vexation of spirit : 
 look forward, and count if any thing on earth, can promise thee 
 more. But O that joy and peace, which will exceed the calcula- 
 tion of time, and which is not reckoned by the world at all ! 
 Tiiis, and this only, like purified gold in the fire, remains to en- 
 rich thee. Tliis, like its autlior, can never be lost. This, and the. 
 gospel, through which it is given, shall brighten to eternity. 
 With respect to the busy, blustering, and the fleeting world; 
 thou niayest sing with a writer of old :* 
 
 Peaceful let me live below. 
 Though my life I pass unknown : 
 Cnreless, whether others know, 
 It' my name the Lord will own. 
 
 Thon 3.vt indeed unknown^yet well known — unknown by man — 
 well known oi God. And soon shall thou know, even as also thou 
 art known. — Here language fails; and imagination is absorbed. 
 Thou canst only add, with the Apostle ; and mayest thou add with 
 the same transporting views; O the depth of the riches both of 
 the wisdom and knowledge of God I How unsearchable are Ms 
 judgments^ and hi a ways fiast finding out I For of Him^ and 
 through Him, and to Him are all things ; to whom be glory fo'^ 
 ever. Amen. 
 
 Must high. 
 
 ALL sorts of people do allow, that this illustrious title is pe- 
 culiar to the everlasting God. It isnot so much a 7iame', which 
 generally implies the definition of a person or thing, as an ascrifi-^ 
 tion, which asserts, that God, in respect to definition, cannot 
 properly be named ; for let us conceive of him as far as wc can 
 and let us apply to him all the nam.es we are able, he will yet be 
 infinitely above every name, and eternally transcend all our concep- 
 * Syncsius, upu-d Wits. AIisc. Sacr. Vol. i. p. 637. 
 
^4 MOST HIGH. 
 
 tions. This seems to be the sense of this title jr^j;, or Most High. 
 It tends to express, that Jehovah is both inej:/ircssible,a.n(.\, from 
 the unbounded sublimity of his nature, by us and all the creatures 
 inconceivable too. This ascription, therefore, is admirably char- 
 acteristic of Deity, is used for that purpose in the holy scriptures, 
 and sets him forth, both as unknowable and unknown, unless ac- 
 cording to the mode and extent of his oivn revelation. Our old 
 translation of the Psalms has ventured to employ a grammatical 
 solecism to shew, that this title is above all rule of language, and 
 above all idea of man. The term Most Highest^ is no more a 
 blunder, in this view, than another title given to him in the scrip- 
 tures, namely, Higher than the Highest., Eccl. v. 8. Keither name 
 pretends to explain, hoiv high Jehovah is ; but both concur in as- 
 serting, that over all names put together, over all descriptions 
 whether of Angels or men, overall conceptions and ideas that the 
 most exalted intellects of creatures can frame; Jehovah is still 
 higher than the highest, and that they do not and cannot, by infinite 
 degrees, reach up towards him. The considerate Heathens could 
 reason upon this truth, that God must necessarily be inconceiva- 
 ble. They could trace out his wisdom and power by his works ; 
 they could be convinced, that the vast frame of things, which is 
 obvious to human sense, could be the effect only of an all-per- 
 fect and immortal being ; they could be assured, that all activity, 
 motion, or life, must proceed from a cause of infinite energy, or 
 rather from some existence who is all energy, fuhiess,and truth : 
 but, with all this, they were obliged to own, that to conceive any 
 thing of so pure and abstracted a nature in the mind, was immense- 
 ly difficult, and consequently, to express that nature if it were 
 even right to attempt ii) absolutely impossible.* Some of these 
 Heathens procured, by one means or other, this title of God 
 from the true worshippers, in the first ages after the flood, and 
 gradually debased it, as they did all other traditions of the kind, 
 to the purposes of the vilest idolatry. And indeed, in all ages, 
 when men follow any rule, but God's own revelation, concerning 
 liis nature and existence, and set up tlieir wi-etchcd " reasoning 
 faculty," perverted and clouded as it is by sin ; they are sure to 
 wander into doubt or absurdity at best and generally, by stating 
 their own chimeras as true representations of the Deity, become 
 as mere idolaters in reality, as the very worst of the Heathens. 
 
 * Stobxus. Serm. Ixxxviii. Thus Xeiiophon, Pliito, and his ccimmenta- 
 1 or Ploiinus, with many olher of the ancient Heathens, owiMid, Deunmei: 
 p:rvestigare possible, ivc J\.3 invesligave. See much more, to this effect, in 
 jMonixu.s, Ji vevit. liel. Chviist. c. iv. 
 
MOST HIGH. 65 
 
 Yet, it is remarkable enough ; all these will be so positive and dog- 
 matical respecting their particular hypothesis ; that one should 
 think, the Most High must be as much an object of their senses as 
 a stick or a straw ; and they will tell us, that God is such and such a 
 Being, nay, and must be so too ; tiiough, at the same time, they have 
 not the goodness to inform us of the manner of existence even in a 
 stick or straw, nor yet the particular mode of being ^hy which thexj 
 exist themselves. What is further remarkable likewise ; all these 
 over-intelligent heads shall differ amazingly upon this topic from 
 each other: and yet there is not one cf them, but will afBrraj 
 that all his ideas are not only founded upon his " reasoning facul- 
 ty," but ought to be founded upon it, as the highest standard and 
 criterion of truth. The ancient dogmatists differed in the same 
 way. Some said, that ^re was God ; others, wa^gr^- others, «z>; 
 others, that God was the soul of the world ; some one thing ; and 
 some another ; and the wisest of them all honestly confessed him 
 to be unknoivn. Take Spinoza's God, Hobbes's, Whiston's, Col- 
 lins's, Toland's, Chubb's, Tindal's, the God cf the Arians, the God 
 of the Socinians, the God of one kind of Deists, and the God of 
 another kind ;* and place them together : and a man, viewing all 
 
 * Spinoza's God was. All-visible Being, the particulars of which were 
 only modifications of the Deity ; so that men, dogs, mice, insects, are parts 
 of Isimself, there being only ane existence or nature. 
 
 Hobbes's God was not very different, for he made him corporeal, and as- 
 serted, that " what is not body, is nothing at all ; and that all religion ori- 
 ginated in fear and superstition ; in which he was of the same mind with 
 Lucretius and the Epicureans. 
 
 "Whiston's God was a being entirely different from the Son and Holy Ghost, 
 who, in his opinion, were mere creatures, and by no means the object of 
 our worship. 
 
 Collins went farther, and made his God still more remote from every idea 
 suggested of him by Christianity, insomuch that he did not scruple to ra- 
 nounce Christianity altogether. 
 
 Toiand was a glaring-ly vain and conceited man, even in Locke's judgment, 
 and favored Spinoza's pantheistic scheme, but without Spinoza's moral.s. 
 His God was every thing, or (as it might be better said) a nothing, in the 
 world. 
 
 Chubb's God was framed at Salisbury according to his own " reasonin«f 
 faculty ;" but was a Deity of that odd make, as to render it unnecessary- 
 to pray to him ; for this Chubb disallowed, as well as th& ideas of particu 
 lai- providence, a future judgment and existence, or any thing else whick 
 we have oi" that kind by Revelation. Possibl)', by not praying to his God^ 
 Chubb tnought he should at least avoid idolatry. 
 
 Tinual quaintly called himself a Chistiaii Deist : and therefore his God 
 must be sui genens, and notclassed with the others, 'i'hose, however, who 
 took pains to develope him and his principles, reduce him to the foroi of the 
 common Deists, as to his own proper place. With them, he indeed dis~ 
 cards all Revelation, and implicitly follows, what he calls, and perhaps be- 
 lieved to be, reason. 
 
 The Arians muke their God of a most extraordinaiy composition. They 
 assert, that the Father is the one gi-eat God, and that the Son and Holy S&i- 
 vol/, n-, I 
 
Co MOST HIGH. 
 
 these Gods as the result of the " reasoning- faciilly," would be al- 
 musi tempted (if there were no better rule in the case) rather to 
 adopi Vanini's notion, and roundly assert at once, that there is no 
 God at all. Afultitiido 7iuinin7im,millitas est miminum. ^// these 
 and many other opinions of him cannot possibly be right : all buS 
 one (if even //mr one could be excepted,) must necessarily be 
 ivrong. And the question then is, which is the one I The resi 
 are unavoidably idols, or (at best) illusive unreal phantoms : and if 
 even this one stand upon the " reasoning faculty," which is the 
 assumed ground of all the rest ; there is no sort of certainty, but 
 that this may be a phantom too. Here, then, comes the issue of 
 all pretended " rational religion," which begins with the rejection 
 of God's revelation, and usually ends in little better than scepti- 
 cism and infidelity. It floats perhaps awhile in the brain, but hath 
 not weight enough to sink into the heart, nor force enough to in- 
 fluence the life. It can carry a man no farther, than it did the 
 Heathens — to a semblance of virtue, and outward decency ; but 
 \vill never so affect the soul, as to crucify it to the world, renew it 
 in itself, and lift it up to the enjoyment of God. Possibly, it doth 
 not pretend to this. Then, c'ui bono ? Doth it not leave a man 
 just as it found him ? In which case, what is he the better for this 
 ideal affair, which begins, proceeds, and ends, with nothing ? Nor 
 is this religion i,if it can deserves the name) even so rational as it: 
 pretends; for it rests upon /(uwz«?z ideas to determine a matter 
 
 rlt, are mere etnanaiions, issuing from him and resolved into Him again. 
 Tluis they, in fact, confound the simplicity of the di-\ ine nature, and reject 
 its uidti;. 
 
 The Socinians advance a degree or two beyond the Arians, and affirm 
 roundly, tltut Christ and the Huh/ Spirit are not even emanations of Deity, 
 but real creatures, that there is truly no such thing as redemption or satis- 
 faction for sin, and no inward operation of what is called grace upon tlie 
 soul. Of course, their (^od difters, in fact, but veiy little from the next 
 class (to omit several others) which we shall mention. 
 
 The Deists form their God after tlie model of the Heathen Philosophers, 
 receiving, liowevi.r, a few of his embellishments from the Christian Reve- 
 lation, which some of them aflect to despise. They differ, notwithstanding, 
 as their Heathen masters did, concerning'his precise nature Aud attributes ; 
 and a few of them have even pretended tQ, pay a sort of specious respect to 
 Christianity itself upon the score of its morality -, forgetting, perliaps, tliat 
 if tlie system be not wholly true, it is the most impious and blasphemous 
 hnpostiuc, that ever was foisted upon mankind. Their kiss, like Judas's, 
 is to be dreaded, lest it be only a signal to betray both Christ and his go.s- 
 pel. 
 
 For a solid and dispassionate confutation of most of these opinions, the 
 reader may be referred to the writings of the late Dr. Leland, and partic- 
 ularly to his View of the Deisticul JVnters, and his ^flclvmitagu ia,d A'ecessitv 
 fif tlie Christian Jievelalion ; in which works his reasoning opponents aj"& 
 iairly and tlioroughly beaten \\\\\\ theii" own weapons. 
 
MOST HIGH. 67 
 
 which is infinitely above them : add to this, these very ideas are, 
 at the same time, 77z^cr2/a/in5- and unsteady in themselves, ex- 
 tremely different in different fiersons, and often exceedingly vari- 
 ous, perplexed, 2ind obscured in the same individual person at 
 different times. A pretty foundation this to rest upon, in prefer- 
 ence to that rocfc of ages, which can never be moved, and to his 
 holy word, which hath at all times been firoved, and proved again, 
 and never been known to fail ! Reaspn intruding here iJito things 
 •which she hath not seen, becomes, Atheism in a fair. disguise ; and 
 thus by misleading, while she herself is misled, plunges her (in 
 fact) irrational votaries into every pernicious consequence, Tnat 
 man can never be a truly reasonable being, Avho leaves the author 
 cf all right reason, for the clouded cogitations of his own mind, 
 or for the no leas clouded and wavering and uncertain opinions of 
 others. Nor, on the other hand, can he be irrational, who, con- 
 senting with the wisest of men as well as with the word of God, 
 applies for information to Him, who only can give it upon this 
 subject, and then relies upon that information given, as upon an 
 invincible truth, proceeding from a Being, who is both too wise, 
 and too holy, to be mistaken himself or to utter a lie to others. 
 There is either no revelation at all ; in which case, all religion is 
 a cheat, and there is nothing certain in the world, respecting 
 the e»zrf of our being, as well as the cause of it: or, if there be a 
 revelation, it is madness and impudence at once in any man, who, 
 admitting its existence, doth not abide by its declarations, but 
 ventures to controvert or determine without them. There is but 
 
 this alternative in the matter. Thus much for the little gods 
 
 of human brains : let us now turn our attention to the revelation 
 of God Most High. _ 
 
 From revelaiion we learn, that this Most High is Jehovah, the 
 incommunicable, self-existent, essence ; or (what is exactly the 
 same) that Jehovah only is the Most High. Thou, whose name 
 alone is Jehovah, art the Most High over all the '^arth ; or as 
 others render it) Thou, whose name is Jehovah, art alone the Mosc 
 High over all the earth. Ps. Ixxxiii. 18. He is called Jehovah Most 
 High, in Ps. vii. 18. and in other places: And, in Ps. xcii. 8. Je- 
 hovah, the Most High* for evermore. There can be no doubt, 
 
 * C3nD, whence the liimmon of the Gentiles ; as from p^Sy, their FJiou. 
 ov Elioan. See vol. 1. p. 127. The Lord seems to have taken tl.e i.tle 
 ann lo denote the elevated situation of liis dwelling-, and the title jv'jy t-O 
 signify himself as the only means of ascension to it. So the words ;ue iised" 
 in Ps. Ixviii. 18. armh vrhy, Tltou fiast ascended to the height. Seethe Hebr 
 in that remarkable text. Jer, xvii. 1;?. 
 
6$ MOST HIGH. 
 
 therefore, that this term can only be applied to God, and be recipro- 
 cated as a name of his infinite and exalted nature. If, then, it can 
 be applied, and is applied, to the Holy Spirit ; it will prove most 
 demonstrably, and ought to prove beyond all controversy, that 
 he is truly God or Jehovah, or a person in the self-existent essence 
 so named. 
 
 Psalm Ixxviii. 17 — 22. The Israelites /iro-yo^frf tfie Most High 
 in the ivilderness, a?zd they tempted jil in their heart by asking meat 
 for their lust ; yea, they spake against the Alehim, Is^c.— There- 
 Jbrc, Jehovah heard this^ and was nvroth^i^c. — because they believ' 
 ed not in the Mehim, life. It appears as self-evident as any first 
 proposition, that these several titles of Jehovah, jil, Alehim, and 
 Most High., belong to one and the same being, whom we call 
 God : Or, otherwise, there is a plurality of Gods, which the 
 Scriptures oppose and Christians deny. Whoever, therefore, has 
 one of these appellations strictly ascribed to him, has an indefea- 
 sible right to all the rest. 
 
 Now, the Prophet Isaiah declares, that this provocation of the 
 Israelites was against the Holy Spirit : They rebelled and vexed 
 his Holy Spirit. Is. Ixiii. 10. The martyr Stephen says, (hat they 
 resi-jted the Holy Ghost. Actsvii. 51. And the Apostle to the 
 Hebrews confirms both, by declaring, that it is the Holy Ghost, 
 •roAo saith, your fathers tempted me^ proved me ; and saw Juy 
 ivorks forty years. Hebr. iii. 7, 9. 
 
 The Holy Spirit, therefore, in tlicse last texts, is the Most 
 High, Jehovah, AI, and Alehim, stated by the Psalmist in the 
 preceding text, and, consequently, the true, infinite, self-existentj 
 and everlasting God. 
 
 It may be noted, by the way, that the above passage in the He- 
 brews, were there no other in the Bible to assert tlie essential divi- 
 nity of the Holy Spirit, is sufficient of itself for that purpose ; for it 
 asserts, that all the works which were done in the wildcrnessj 
 before or in behalf of the Israelites, were the glorious operations 
 of the Holy Ghost. We have seen, in the former volume, that 
 they are also ascribed to Christ as one of the persons in the es- 
 sence ; and nobody will deny, who believes in revelation at all, 
 that God, or the Father, was undoubtedly present : It follows, 
 then, that all was performed by the Trinity in Unity, and that the 
 whole was carried on by the power and according to the will of 
 the three divine persons in the one undivided essence. Take it 
 %n any other view; and there will be different agents of different 
 r.aturejs hi this work of salvation, and consequently more Gods 
 
MOST HIGH. 69 
 
 than one ; because to these different agents are the names of God 
 ascribed ; or, there will be only one ageni, under differe7it narnes, 
 and so, consequently, C/trist and the Holy Ghost with the Father 
 are but one person, who suffered and bled, who departed yet came 
 again as another Comforter, yet not another but the same ; and 
 thus the Scriptures will be an heap of contradictions as well as 
 blasphemies against the divine n, ture. The adversaries, thei-e- 
 fore, of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, who profess to re- 
 ceive the Bible, have only this refuge as adversaries; either to 
 adopt Polytheism and so become idolators, or to plunge hito the 
 sink of Sabellianism, and so admit that the Father was crucified 
 and suffered, putting a lie into Christ's mouth, when he declared, 
 my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me. A man must in 
 fact reject the Scriptures altogether, as a divine revelation, if he 
 deny the doctrine of a Trinity, upon which, as upon one great and 
 necessary foundation, they entirely stand. 
 
 Luke i. 35. The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the pow' 
 er of the Highest shall overshadow* thee : therefore also that ho- 
 ly thing, which shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God. 
 In the o2d verse, this Son of God is called the Son of the High- 
 est, and, therefore, Christ, as to his human nature, is the Son of 
 the Holy Ghost, by whose operation that human nature was form- 
 ed in the Virgin's womb. Hence it appears, that God, Highest, 
 and Holy Ghost, are terms of reciprocation, which could not be 
 the case, unless the Holy Ghost were God Most High. But being 
 God Most High, there is no blasphemy (^as otherwise there cer- 
 tainly would be) in ascribing to him all the peculiar titles of the 
 Godhead : Let those take care of blasphemy against him (Matth. 
 xii. 31.) who are bold enough to ascribe any other. 
 
 It seems almost a work of supererogation to add a word to 
 proofs like these ; but such is the hardness of the human heart, 
 that God useth line upon line, and precept upon precept, like suc- 
 cessive sun-beams, to melt it down; and such is the stubbornness 
 of the human will in maintaining its own preconceived opinions, 
 that argument upon argument, though not to be refelled, can 
 make no due impression, without the concurrence of omnipotent 
 aid. It is right, however, to endeavor to silence those, who re- 
 fuse to be convinced : or, at least, if they will not be silent, to 
 
 * E«-<crjc<«ec-f /- This word seems to bear a similar idea v/ith nemo in 
 Gen. i, 2. whicli might prefigure wha L the Spirit would do, in the fulness 
 of time, with rehitioa to the human nature of Christ, and the new life It^ 
 ■E'ould impart, at all times, t.A the people of fJod. 
 
?0 MOST HIGH. . 
 
 leave them nothing;, in fairness, to say. It may be right also to 
 establish those, who arc weak in the truth, that they may not be 
 shaken by the unscriptural sophisms* of the advtrsanes. 
 
 John iii. 5. Exccfit a man (says Christ) be born of luater^ and 
 of the S/iirit, he cannot eiiter into the kingdom of God. 
 
 Luke vi. 35. But the same Christ t -lis his disciples, that they 
 shall be children of the Highest, and (in Luke xx. 36.) the chil- 
 dren of God. 
 
 The Spirit, therefore, is the Highest and God. 
 
 Upon the proof of this important point,, there is an end of that 
 controversy, which has employed so many tongues and pens, re- 
 specting the pro/ier object of worship. An Arian, who dreams 
 of the inferiority of Deity, and all the endless absurdities which 
 arise from that principle, may indeed be perplexed himself, and 
 may perplex others, upon this point ; but the orthodox Christian 
 knows, that there is one, and but one object of worship, and that 
 it is abominable idolatry to pay adoration to more. He also pro- 
 fesses, that, as the three divine persons are one only essence, he 
 cannot worship them as separate or different from that essence, 
 and, coasequently, that whether he address himself to t?ccA of the 
 three persons, or to the three persons together, his prayer or 
 praise ascends to the whole essence, which is an undivided One, 
 and his worship is of " this Unity in Trinity, and the Trinfty in 
 Unity, in all things," and at all tinics. He is, therefore, a wor- 
 shipper of one God, and indeed can worship no more, for there 
 is but one. A lcarne<l and ingenious writer hath illustrated this 
 matter by a very pertinent instance. " The disciples of Christ 
 (says he) were commanded to baptize in the name of the Father, 
 end of the So :•, and of the Holy Ghost : and, withsut doubt, the 
 haptism they jd.v.inistercd, was in all c?ses agreeable to t!.e pre- 
 e^cribed form Nevertheless, we are told of some who were 
 commanded to be baptized in the name of the Lord (Acts x. ''8.), 
 i^md particularly, in the name of the Lord Jctnis (Acts viii 16.) : 
 50inat there was a strange defect either in the baptism itself, or 
 in the account we have of it ; or the ?nention of one person in the 
 Trinity mw^limply the presence, name, and authority of thtin all ; 
 
 * ILereticits, advukd vilia, rcl sxculi in^^enia, confiigit. Tert. 
 
 •j- Water is the Spirit^s emblem ; for as water pcrv;icle3 the whole matter 
 rtf the universe, .s insinuated into the f:ibric of all curllily tlungSj and both 
 rivifiesand puviiies ugrceiibly to its iwtui-c ; so Uie Uolv Spirit cle;iiiseii the 
 souls of hijpe)";i!o, enters into their wliole spintu i const. tution, iUid en- 
 livens the whole by his penetrating ajjeucy. See fujlhcr in th^ Essay belovv, 
 CJititlcd, Walcr of Life. 
 
MOST HIGH. 71 
 
 as the passage understood by Irenasus — in Christi nomine subau- 
 ditur, qui U7ixi(, et giii urctus esif CS" ifisa iinctio in qua unclua 
 est. 1. iii. c. 20."* i. e. By baptism in the name of Christ, is to 
 be understood, be, who anointed, he, who was anointed, and the 
 anointing itself by which he was anointed : In other words, Fa- 
 ther, Son, and Spirit. 
 
 To those, who consider this point, in an cxfierimental view, 
 the proofs increase from the word of God, with still more abun- 
 dant force and clearness. Such, and such only, know truly what 
 the Apostle means, where he introduces the love and grace of the 
 whole Trinity in two lines, and says, that through Him rchrist"! 
 ive both [Jew and Gentile] ha-ve an access for introduction! by 
 one Sjiirit unto the Father. Eph. ii. 18, This Spirit leads to 
 Christ, and through Christ carries up the soul into communion 
 with the Father; so that, by this agency, the believer hath fel- 
 lowship with the Father and the Son in and by the Spirit. Here 
 is the very substance and reality of the Christian religion, with- 
 out which all the rest is but name or liotion. Upon this ground, 
 the true believer sees the importance of this doctrine, finds its 
 establishment evidenced by the word and carried into himself, and 
 that, but for this doctrine experimentally known and considered, 
 there could not be, in fact, any such thing as the Christian reli- 
 gion at all. He holds communion by the grace of faith, which 
 the divine Spirit has planted in his soul, with all the three per- 
 sons at once in their names, covenant-engagements, and charac- 
 ters, feels all these gracious engagements realized and realizing 
 •within hivi (Luke xvii. 21.), and rejoices that, as the one fs.st'/zce- 
 is Jehovah Almighty, each fiersonm this one essence hath the 
 undivided power, love and truth of the whole, and consequently 
 is Almighty to perform every promise and requirement for his 
 salvation. This is the foundation of all his joy in God. He is 
 assured, that he trusts the Rock of Ages, and not the various 
 will and dependant power of any creatures. Upon the divine 
 immutability he builds his own immutability, and is persuaded, 
 that, till God himself change, he himself shall be for ever un- 
 changeable. By this Holy Spirit, all his services and sacrifices, 
 of prayer and praise, of heart and of life, are carried up to the 
 throne in Heaven, and rendered acceptable to the Father through 
 Christ Jesus. Thus the three persons are glorified in him and by 
 nim ; and thus, by communion with each, he enjoys a necessary 
 .and perpetual communion with all. 
 
 * Jones's CathiUc D«ctrme. p. 57. 3d Edit. 
 
72 MOST HIGH. 
 
 This truth is as old as the regeneration of the first believer in 
 the world. Cain and Abel were both taus^ht the knowledge of 
 the true God, and were told, that their worship was due to him. 
 But the one came with a carnal unrenewed heart, and (like the 
 Pharisee in the temple) offered up the fruits of his own doings, 
 which being utterly imperfect and defiled with sin in themselves 
 and offered up also without faith, the Lord had no respect to him 
 or to his offering. On the contrary, the other approached in faith 
 (Hebr. xi. 4.) and brought^ not the product of his own labour, 
 but Nin-OJ even himself before or ivith the First-born of his flbck^ 
 und before or with the fat thereof in testimony of his reliance 
 upon the sacrifice of the great first-born^ who should appear in 
 the fulness of time for the remission of sins. Himself therefore, 
 and his offering were resftected* by the Lord. His sacrifice was 
 accepted in this view^, and the smoke of it ascended as a snveet 
 smelling savour (speaking according to the sense of men) before 
 God. — When Noah came forth from the ark, in which he had 
 been saved by figure or similitude ; the first thing he did, was to 
 commemorate the means of his typified spiritual salvation. He 
 built an altar unto the Lord, and took of every clean beasty and of 
 every clean fowl rhy '?j!n and caused an holocaust, a sacrifice as- 
 cending by fire, to ascend, upon the altar. This he did, like Abel, 
 in faith of that great sacrifice Christ, who, through the eternal 
 Sfiirit, was to offer up/izmscZ/'unto God. Tlie sacrifice was typi- 
 cal of the Redeemer ; and the ascent by fire represented the ope- 
 ration of the Divine Spirit, who alone carries up the intention 
 and effect before the throne. The next verse proves this, where 
 it is immediately added. The Lord smellcd a savour of resty ac- 
 cording to our marginal translation ; but there is a force and pre- 
 cision, in the original, which the translation, either in the text or 
 margin, doth not reach. The Lord nnn« mi inhaled, spiritually 
 received, or received by the Spirit, the breathing, the aspiration 
 rf rest, or of his own Spirit, which ascended up in that emble- 
 matic sacrifice before hin). The sacrifice was slain ; and so Christ 
 was killed. — It might be slain under the law by strangers, but of- 
 fered only by the priest ; and so Christ was crucified by Gentiles, 
 but he offered up his own life as the great High-Priest. — It was 
 to ascend by fire, by which only the particles of air or any othei- 
 
 * Theodoiion renders the word j;ty> by ittwpitrs, infamed, answered by 
 fire frovi Heaven, in token of acceptance. To which the Apostle has been 
 ihovight to allude in Hebr. xi. 4. God testifyinif of Ids gifts. Spanh. JJim'. 
 ^fWiit. sac ii- p- 651. See also 2 Chron, viii, 1, and Est in s in Gen >v, 4. 
 
MOST HIGH, 73 
 
 substance tan ascend from the earth ; and so the merit of the sa- 
 crifice and the faith of the believer in it, as so much sfiirit and 
 life^ are made to ascend before the throne of Heaven by that Eter' 
 nal Sfiirit, whose subtle and invincible energy, under the simili- 
 tude of ^re, is engaged for that purpose. The Apostle gives 
 the effect of this emblem in plain words ; He that srarcheth the 
 hearts., knoweth what is the mind of the Sfiirit; because he mU' 
 keth intercession for the saints accordiiig to the will of God, or 
 according to God. Rom. viii. 27. The same mystical rite was 
 continued under the Jewish dispensation, which was only aclearei* 
 illumination of the fiatriarchal services. It was not a new reli- 
 gion, but a fuller and further manifestation of the old. The Jews 
 were to sacrifice these holocausts^ burnt-offerings, or sacrifices 
 ascending by fire, in all the filacea (says the Lord) which I make 
 the mcftiorial of my ?2cwe (Exod. xx. 24.); and there he would 
 come unto them and bless them. They were to carry on the doc« 
 trine, that as the ascent of the sacrifice could only be mat'e by 
 fire in the emblem, so their faith in the great sacrifice could 
 only be raised by the Spirit in the truth of the emblem. — 
 Their heave -offerings* expressed this great truth iii another 
 form, and shewed that their bread, of which this kind of of- 
 fering was made, came from the Lord, should be devoted to his 
 glory, and that they should lift up their hands and hearts unto Him, 
 ■—In the Christian dispensation, the emblem indeed is taken 
 away, because the sacrifice intended by it, is accomplished ; but the 
 idea and doctrine are the same.f Christ is the great Holocaust of 
 his Church, that sacrifice slain, burned, and ascending by fire un- 
 to the Lord. He offered ufi himself without sfiot ; yet not ajone, 
 but (^as the great commentator upon the Jewish Ritual explains 
 it) through the Eternal Sfiirit, of whom the fire was an instituted 
 
 * The heave-offerings and the tvave-offerings, under the law, had theh.' re- 
 spective doctrines, and preached to the ancient believers the necessity of 
 their acknowledging" God to be author of all their poivers and blessings. 
 Tile shoulder in tlie sacrifices was appointed for the riDTin or heave-offering, 
 and the breast for the nsun or ivave-offenng ; and botla were lhe portioii of 
 the Priests, as God's agents or representatives. The Priests were to Iieuve 
 or hold up the one towards heaven, in testimony, that all service, and pow- 
 er to render service, expressed by the shoulder, as the instrument of action 
 or labor, came from and sliould be devoted to God ; and tliey were to -j^lvg 
 the other backward and forward to the four parts of tlie world, in token 
 that the piu'poses and affections, signified by the breast, are given by him 
 to his people, respecting salvation, and should therefore be spread out be- 
 fore him and laid out for him. 
 
 f To this effect Gregory excellently says ; Una est ecclesia electontm, 
 pr(ecedentium et sequentium. Antiqui Fatres non divisi u S. Ecclesi ■ fnernnt i 
 quia mente, opere, prxdictione, istu jam fidei sacravienta tenvernnt, &c. Apud 
 b'pan'L. Hist. Christ, ssec. vi.col. 1Q65. 
 VOL. ir. K 
 
n MOST HIGH. 
 
 emblem. God receives by this Spirit the propitiation of Christ 
 the sacrifice ; and his people become thereby, with all their ser- 
 vices, (according to the language of the Old Testament, which 
 the Apostle uses, and, by vTsing, explains') a siueet savour of Christ 
 unto God. Compare 2 Cor. ii. 15. with Eph. v. 2. 
 
 Here, then, we are come to the proper office-character of this 
 Most High and Holy Spirit, and may perceive, that as one of the 
 divine persons must be God Most High, to atone and merit for 
 the redeemed ; so it is needful, that another of the divine persons 
 should car?-y vfi the memorial of this before the throne, and afi/ily 
 the benefit of it to their souls. Here too we may learn, what our 
 Lord means, wh n he says, Mo wan hath ascended up, to Heaxien^ 
 but he that came doivn from Heaven^ even the Son of Man, which 
 is in Heaven. John iii. 13. No man but the God-inan, could as- 
 cend as a propitiation before the throne, even He who ca7ne down 
 from Heaven for tl;at purpose, and who, respecting his divine na- 
 ture, is ever in Heaven. We may also learn hence another most 
 important, yet often forgotten, truth ; that no service of our'scan 
 ascend up to God, but in Clirist Jesus, and by the power of the 
 Holy Spirit. We have no recommendation, and can have none, 
 ■which will be accepted, but Christ : We have no strength or 
 grace, and ran have none, bu*^ by the operation of the Holy Ghost. 
 Thus one person in the Most High must lead us, through another^ 
 up to the third ; in which act we have communion with the ivhole^ 
 and, hereaftei, when we have parted with sin and corruption, shall 
 have an uninterrupted and perfect enjoyment of the whole to all 
 eternity. This is the true reception of the Christian doctrine of 
 the Trinity ; and, without it, all the rest is but as idle a subject 
 of ''ispute, as the quidlibets and quodlibets of the schools. 
 
 Tills Spirit Most High raises his people to the high and ftoly 
 filaccj which his own word hath set before them. There is no pos- 
 session of grace, nor progression in grace, but by Him. He instils 
 heavenly thoughts; he iniparts heavenly frames ; he carries on 
 the hearenly work in the soul, which is to prepare it for an eter- 
 nal Heaven and for God. This is called, and justly called, ascend- 
 ing to Heaven in the mind, and the raising up of the affections to 
 things above. All this is performed by the power of the S/iirit 
 Most High. Believers, under the Old Testament, were privi- 
 leged to wait upon the Lord for a renewal of their strertgth, and 
 to mount up with wings as eagles. Is. xl.31. They could not 
 rise upwards of themselves, in their souls, more than in their bo- 
 dies i ^ut the Spirit, who is described here under the well-known 
 
MOST HIGH. rs 
 
 emblem of the wm^-* of the eagle^ would bear them aloft to his 
 holy habitation. It is his office to do this. When Ezekiel was 
 lifted ufi^ it was by the Spirit ; and, by the Spiiit was Piilip car- 
 ried through the air from the Eunuch to Azotus : And what 
 He did for their bodies, he doth for all his peoplt's souls. He 
 beareth them on high. From this sinful and perishing world he 
 lifts them up to Heaven, and never fails to bless them all the way 
 thither. In this consists the health of the soul; and it is remark- 
 able, that the word rhyn, which signifies 7nedicine^ ov actual heal- 
 ing", or health procured by medicine., is derived from the same 
 root. Man's nature, in falling from God, became sick and dis- 
 eased both in body and soul. The Holy Spirit works this heal- 
 ing in the soul, purges out its corrupt and sinful affections, and 
 establishes it finally in the perfection of life. There is neither 
 health, nor increase of health, without him. What a blow doth this 
 truth give to all the pi-ide, and power, and presumption of man I 
 It slays unrighteousness, and self-iighieousness at once. It shews 
 that there is no life, nor health, nor strength, nor activity, nor will, 
 nor any other principle of grace and truth, in any creature, but by 
 his immediate inspiration and " continual help." When the soul 
 is brought to an experimental acquaintance with this doctrine 
 (and ah Goci's people, more or less, do experience it > there is an 
 end of all strife in the conscience, respecting free-will, free-agen- 
 cy, inherent power, and those other absurd opinions, which the 
 foolish and ignorant pride of fallen man hcith prepared (like so ma- 
 ny empty bladders upon the sea) to swim by into eternity. The 
 believer sees, that though, like blov\n bladders, they seem lavgC} 
 and round, and full ; tliey are only empty fancies, or doctrines 
 swelled out of measure with air. They are winds of doctrine^ and 
 doctrines of wind. They have neither life, nor truth, nor power ; 
 And this is evident in those who espouse them. They, for the 
 most part, are strenuous contenders for these matters ; but do 
 nothing but talk in honor of them. The established Church is 
 become heterodox, in the opinion of thousands of its members, 
 and it would be happy if it were not so in the esteem of many of 
 its ministers too ; especially where she declares, that " the con- 
 « dition of man, after the fall of Adam, is such, that he cannoi 
 " turn and fir efiare himself hy his own natural strength and good 
 " works to faith, and calling upon God : Wherefore we haue no 
 ^^ flower to do good works, pleasant and acceptable to God, with- 
 « out the grace of God by Christ preventing us, that Ave may have. 
 '•' a good will, and working with us when (dy?:: v,!iile) we hayQ 
 
■U IMOST HIGH. 
 
 '< that good will." Art. x. Alas I how many subscribe to tbib 
 sound tbrmularv e contra, instead of ex jinimo, and l)ave the ef- 
 frontery to justify it too ! What a wretched sa/vo do they also 
 make, who divide the articles into two contrary senses, and cause 
 them to appear, deceitful and monstrous like the Devil, with a clo- 
 ven foot ; who set the Church at variance with itself, and force it 
 to blow hot and cold, to vent error and truth, in the same breath ! 
 '^mm.Pudet h(zc opfirobria riobis. 
 
 By this Highest of all, the sfiirits of the just are finally made 
 perfect. They are fitted for their mansions, and their mansions 
 for them, by his agency. What these mansions are we know not, 
 and in this state of ^ense we cannot know ; because they are spi' 
 ritual recefit.acli's fov Ihe residence of saved spirits to the judg- 
 ment day ; and we do not understand the nature of a spiritual ex- 
 istence. But, hereafter, we shall know, even as also ive are 
 known. In the mean time, however, we may be sure, that, as 
 nothing defiled can enter into Heaven, our spirits shall be puri- 
 fied by thdt Spirit of Btirnir.g, through whom our forerunner and 
 sacrifice offered up himself without spot unto God, and in whom 
 ive shall be unblameable and unreproveable in his sight. Thus 
 the Most High raiseth his people, from death to life, from sin to 
 grace, from grace to glory, and then from glory to glory., world 
 without end. What majuier of love is this J Can sinners know I 
 Can Angels teil ! 
 
 Angels cannot tell the manner ; but recovered sinners know 
 the love. They have tasted that the Lord is gracious ; and they 
 know that taste, though they cannot fully explain it. And this 
 thuu canst testify, O believer, for thyself, antl for others. Thine 
 hands have handled of the ivord of life : Thy spiritual sense has 
 been exercised with its perception : Thou hast been led to coni- 
 munion with the Highest, by the fellowship of the spirit Most 
 High. I John i. 1 — 3. This hath taught thee to make a right es- 
 timate of thyself, and of all sublunary things: so that thou art no 
 longer a slave to the opinions and customs of the world, which ex- 
 alts low and trifling matters, and turns away from the most mo- 
 mentous and important concerns — from concerns, which, with all 
 its madness i^nd folly, it will allow to be important and momen- 
 tous. Tic iucjuisition of temporal things, what is it after all, but 
 an argument of poverty and want ? Men court honours, titles, dig- 
 nities : And what are these ? — The empty admiration of the 
 ?roud ! And then, Avhat becomes of that admiration, when the 
 
MOST HIGH.. 77 
 
 croud is no more ?* All these things, as they begin, do quickly 
 end in a sound. But the possession of grace is not only happiness, 
 so far as it is used, but the pledge of an enduring substance^ of 
 joys unsfieakable and full of glory. In thy right frame, fellow- 
 christian, thou hast set this present world in view of the world to 
 come, and compared them well together. The balance of the 
 account is, millions against nothing, in favour of eternity. Hence, 
 thou canst account it to be but a' poor business to be wise, and 
 rich, and reputable, only for a season and in man's deceived es- 
 teem ; and, then, to be found foolish, and poor, and base, through- 
 out the never-ending ages. An Heathen could justly say, re- 
 specting this world ; " He most enjoys riches, who wants them 
 least :"t But this cannot be said of the world to come ; for the 
 riches of eternity are indispensable, and the soul must be misera- 
 ble in the exti'eme, which doth not possess them. He, who doth 
 not obtain the inheritance of the Most High, must be thrust down 
 to the lowest Hell. Thus thine estimate is formed, according to 
 the extent zxAperjietuity of the object, and not according to the 
 ivorld's advertisement, which is ever fallacious. Even the pledge 
 of thy future portion is not to be exchanged for all, that the world 
 contains ; and much less for what any one poor worm can possess 
 upon it. And if this pledge cannot be bartered without loss ; 
 where is the gain, if, for any thing, or for all things, a man throw 
 away the eternal felicity of his soul ? 
 
 How often doth thy heart O believer, burn tvithin thee, upon 
 the prospect of the glory, which shall soon be revealed ! The Sfii- 
 rit Most High will cause thee to ascend both to the holiest and to 
 the highest of all ; and even now often bears thee up, above the 
 world and all dying things, in the contemplation of these transcen- 
 dent blessings. When thy frame is quick and lively, much with 
 God, or much employed for him ; what a man out of the world 
 dost thou feel thyself? Thou seemest to be living in another ele- 
 ment, upon a different bottom, and upon a higher principle, at 
 such moments, than animal nature can know, or animal sense in« 
 spire. Thy enjoyment is pure and exalted, like the complacency 
 of Heaven. Then all thy heavenly graces flow. " Faith says, all 
 these wonders belong to believers ; hope cries, they then are pre- 
 served for me ; and love adds, I run to enjoy them."^: Blessed 
 
 * Acquisito Inijus sxciili, quid, nisi inopice et paiipertatit argvme7ittim ? Jif- 
 ■Ttamiis etiam honores, titulos, dignitatet : hac quid? nisi vana admiratia 
 'I'.lji : et qualis ista, si desit vulgus ? Morn, de ver. rel. chr. c. 18. 
 
 I Is maxime divitiia friutur^ qui wivim? divitiis indiget, Seneca. Eph. 14. 
 
 ^- Bernard, in Ps. xc. 
 
78 .MOST HIGH. 
 
 be God ! Thou shalt enjoy them. God never gave a gracious 
 desire, but to fulfil it with grace, and to crown it with glory. He 
 is faithful^ rjho hath firomised : And Heaven and earth shall soon- 
 er pass away, than one tittle of his word can fail. Tiiou hast an 
 unchangeable God, ivhose gifts and catlings are 'without refien- 
 tance^ who never gave grace to be lost, and never quickened for 
 Heaven to furnish for Hell. What consolation, what strong con- 
 solation arises from this gloriorfs immutability of thy Covenant- 
 Lord ! Sensible of thy own vt^eakness and blindness, this is the ve- 
 ry elcnchus., the foj-ce, the life, and the marrow, of the gospel to 
 thee. Take away this ; and O what a gloom 1 Wnat a melancho- 
 ly horror appears ! All is dark, because all is doubtjul. All 
 would be distressing, if the success of any part depended upon 
 thee. The sense of thy incapacity, the power of thine enemies, 
 and the very weight of glory itself, would sink thee down to des- 
 pair. Thou hast an argument for the Spirit's divinity, which the 
 careless and the carnal professor cannot know, ar}6/eelest in thy soul 
 (not merely fanciest in thy head) that nothing but the invincible 
 strength of the Most High is able to quell such a wide combina- 
 tion of evil, and to preserve, amidst all, to the full introduction 
 and establishment of eternal good. Nothing revives thee more, 
 than the demonstration afforded by his word without thee, and his 
 grace within thee, that this invincible and immutable God is en- 
 gaged to bless, keep, and multiply his mercies upon thee, without 
 alteration, without remission, and without end. O how delightful 
 is it to be assured, agreeably to those excellent lines of Dr. 
 Watts, that 
 
 The sacred word of grace is strong. 
 
 As that which built the skies : 
 The voice, which rolls the stai's along'. 
 
 Spake all the promises. 
 
 Engraved as in eternal brass. 
 
 The mighty promise shines ; 
 Nor can the powers of dai-kness faze 
 
 Those everlasting lines. 
 
 « I maybe faint and weary (says the believer) but my God cannot. 
 I may alter and fluctuate, as to my frames ; but my Redeemer is 
 unchangeably the same. I might utterly fail and come to no- 
 thing, if left to myself; but I cannot be so left to myself, for the 
 Spirit of truth hath said, / will never leave thee 7ior forsake thee. 
 He will renew my strength, either by changing; my weakness in- 
 
MOST HIGHr. 7.9 
 
 to strength, or by enduing me with /lis own power. He is wise 
 to foresee and to provide for all my dangers : He is rich to relieve 
 and to succor me in all my wants : He is gracious to hear and to 
 answer all my prayers : He is omnipotent to deliver and defend 
 me from all my enemies : He is faiihful to perfect and perforin 
 all his own promises : He is eternal and immortal to bless my 
 poor depending soul, with eternal blessedness and immortality. 
 O what a great and glorious Saviour for such a mean and worth- 
 less sinner ! O what a bountiful and graciously indulgent friend 
 for such a base and insignificant rebel ! What, what am I, when I 
 compare myself, and all I am of myself, Avith what I can conceive 
 of ray God, and of what he hath kindly promised even to me ! 
 "What a mystery am I, to myself, to Angels, to men ! A worm of 
 earth to be like a star of Heaven ; a corruptible sinner to be an in- 
 corruptible saint ; a rebel to be made a child ; an outlaw to be- 
 come an heir; a deserver of Hell to be an inheritor of Heaven ; 
 a strong hold of the Devil to be changed into a temple of God ; 
 an enemy and a beggar to be exalted to a throne, to be in friend- 
 ship with God, one with Christ, a possessor of his Spirit, and of 
 all this honor, happiness, and glory, for evermore ; and all with- 
 «ut any right to any one thing on my part, but the miseries of the 
 lowest Hell ! O what manner^ and what matter, of love is this I 
 Lord, take my heart, my soul, my all ! I can render thee no more; 
 and I would render thee no less. 'Tis indeed a poor return. My 
 body and soul are but tivo mites ; and yet (glory be to thee 1) 
 Thou who didst esteem those of the poor widow, nilt not despise 
 these of mine. Lord, they are thine own too : And I can only 
 give thee what is thine ! I melt with gratitude ; and even this 
 gratitude is thy gift. O take it, and accept both it and me ; bles- 
 sing me in thyself, which is all my salvation and all my desire, for 
 ever and ever ! 
 
 May this be the language of thy heart, reader, with increasing 
 fervor, till thou art translated from this sickening, dying scene, to 
 the life immortal, to the joys hieffable, and, above all, to the King 
 eternal, who having loved his own with an everlasting love, will 
 love them to the end or earth, and world without end in Heaven ' 
 
«0 HOLY SPIRIT, OK 
 
 HOLY SPIRIT, OR SPIRIT OF HOLINESS. 
 
 THAT God is a S/iirit, is agreed on by every one who be- 
 lieves there is a God at all. Even those, who have maintained the 
 grossest opinions of his nature, have allowed, that he must at least 
 be the Jnima Mundi, the Soul or Spirit of the Universe, which 
 pervades the whole material system, and unites, invigorates, and 
 moves all corpuscular being. What Spinoza and the whole tribe 
 of Atheists term nature, is, when they explain themselves, visi- 
 ble substance enlivened and energized by an invisible one, which 
 they allow is too subtle for sense, and therefore is called by 
 the name of Spirit. The Heathens were full as knowing as 
 our modern philosophers about this sublime subject ; and the 
 most ignorant are just as wise as both of them, without a light 
 superior to reason. The memorable words of Virgil (however 
 he obtained the idea) arc as expressive as any Heathens of later 
 times, and, because fewer, much less impertinent. He says of 
 the whole creation, that 
 
 Spiritus intiLs alit ; totanigue infusa per artus 
 Jilens agitat molem, et magno se corpore miscet* 
 
 Mn. vj. 726. 
 
 Here Mind and Spirit are synonymous, which he represents as 
 pervading and actuating all things : And in another place, he calls 
 this Agent God.-\ 
 
 As we can know nothing by ourselves l)Ut through the medium 
 of sense, which likewise can perceive nothing but what has rela- 
 tion to matter ; we have no real comprehension of pure abstrac- 
 ted spirit, further than we can conceive any substance or being to 
 be -void of matter. We therefore understand rather what it is 
 not^ than what it is. But if we could form a notion of what it is, 
 wc must yet be more puzzled about the modus exisiendi, or how 
 it is, than we are already upon the existence of material objects. 
 Our senses discern these, as to their being and reality ; and yet 
 neither our senses nor intellect can investigate their mode and 
 composition. Thus ignorant is man concerning the plainest sub- 
 jects before his eyes ; and with the wisest of the heathens, he 
 
 * See Macrobius's Comment upon these words, in Somn. Scip. lib. l.c 
 14. where he collects the sentiments of tJie ancient philosophers on this 
 7T» alter. 
 
 t ■ Deum namqiie ire, per omnes 
 
 Ter^-nn. Trartueqv^ J^fan;;, Cabimgve profufiSurn 
 
 Georg. iv. 221 
 
SPIRIT OF HOLINESS. 61 
 
 may truly in this strictness of consideration, confess, that, he 
 knows nothing. The philosopher was wise enough to know that ; 
 some later heathens have thought, on the contrary ; that they 
 could soar much higher ; and some have aimed so high as even 
 to define God himself, not considering that he is necessarily inde- 
 finable. Socrates owned his ignorance; but these men pro-ve 
 their's; for, while they tell us God is an wfinite being, they limit 
 him by their conceptions, and, out of their own heads, express- 
 ly lay down, nuhat he is, and /i07« he is; nay, what and how he 
 must be. O the folly of man, whose whole being is but an atom, 
 and his life a moment, and who yet pretends to comprehend in- 
 comprehensibility itself, and to sec bounds to the Most High I 
 Whereas God cannot be defined, because to define is to limit; 
 and to limit infinitude is an absurdity. Names are ascribed to him 
 indeed, and attributes, not as they fully express his nature, which 
 is inexpressible, but as they convey some faint notices of his ex» 
 alted perfections, sufficient to preserve the mind from vain ima- 
 ginations or gross conceptions of his being. 
 
 The word or revelation of God turns upon a very different prin- 
 ciple. It lays dov/n as a fixed and absolute truth that man knows 
 nothingof God, nothing of spiritual being, and (what is more 
 humbling yet) nothing of himself, without God's instruction. 
 Upon this ground, among others, we apprehend the necessity of 
 a divine revelation, and can perceive, that if our notions of Godj 
 of the universe, and of ourselves, arc not taken from this his 
 own communication; they at best roust be uncertai7i,a.ui\ are 
 TTiost probably /a/sf. To say, that God hath given us reason to 
 discern the true from the erro«f(5z;.«,and that all our ideas must be 
 squared by that rule, is only saying at the most, that we have ob= 
 tained a ca/iacity to receive ideas upon the subject, not to originate 
 them, and z. p.oiuer to reject what our intellectual sense does dOt 
 approve or delight in. But if, upon proof, this capacity of ours, 
 this boasted reason, be a mutilated energ* and a perverted princi- 
 ple ; it can be trusted no farther, than itself is squared by some 
 ■ji^ore perfect rule ; for, otherwise, in the disquisition of things, and 
 especially of those which transcend all animal sensation it can 
 stfTord us no certain and infallible conclusions ; and if not such con- 
 clusions, then only can it lead us into inextricable doubt. Of this 
 'we have a demonstrable proof in the endless variety of opinions, 
 'which men form upon all subjects ; yet they will all profess that 
 'iheir respective notions arc founded in reason. This proves the 
 1^ rror of that boasted faculty, and the impossibility of its being a 
 
 VOI,, TT, Ii 
 
g2 HOLY SPIPIT, OR 
 
 rzile, especially in things Avhich are above human nature, or which 
 relate to the divine. Reason hcrebecomcs irrational, if it presume 
 to steer without chart or compass, and even condemns its own 
 advocates in rejecting Ilim and his declarations, who as the great 
 ant'.ior of reason, cannot be supposed to act without it.* We may 
 not see the ivhole of his reason, because our participation of it 
 •would be finite, if it were not corrupt ; but we may be assured, 
 that it must be right, and wfniitehj rii^ht, because God is infinite, 
 and can utter no wrong. 
 
 In condescension to our eapacities, God hath revealed himself 
 under names and notices, which may best strike our senses, the 
 channel of all our reasonings, and the medium by Which we know. 
 He calls himself by the word Spirit, which refers to afr or breathf 
 or tiiat subtle Jluid, by the respiration of which all things live ; 
 because it is a substance of the most subtile and refined exility of 
 nature, Avhich our sense can discern. Analogous to this air or 
 breath in the animal life is the Almighty Spirit, by which all spirit ' 
 iial beings exist and proceed. What the air in motion is to the 
 material world ; that (as we learn from his own revelation) is the 
 divine Spirit to the whole spiritual world. We can ascend no 
 higher than this notion of his existence, and the communication of it. 
 Our senses are conFu>ed to matter, and, at present, prevent us. 
 Only when we are disembodied, cmi we knot!} even as we arc 
 knonorit This will be truly seeing the face of God, and enjoying.- 
 his presence. We shall have another manner of being, and, of 
 course, a different comprehension of all things. In this world i' 
 is not necessary for us to know more than God hath been pleased 
 to reveal. And, upon the ground of his revelation, we cannot be 
 mistaken, because he cannot deceive. 
 
 God, then, is a Spirit; and consequently, the three hypostases 
 or persons, in Avhich he exists, must be, distinctly and conjunctly, 
 Spirit too. God, otherwise, would not be that pure and , uncom • 
 
 * I.crd Bacon excellently says ; Prxrogativa J)ei totu-n honunem comptec 
 Htiir : ncc minv/i ad rationem qitam ud voluntatem /iuvia?iam extenditur, 
 Qitare, sicut legi diviiue obedire tcnevmr, licet rehictetur vohmXus ; ita et vet'- 
 bo Dcijidcm habere, licet rehictetur ratio. Etenim si ea dimiaxat cedcmwi 
 <jii(S sunt rationi v.ostrx cuitsentanca, rebus adsentivmr; ?ion aucloria : gvoii 
 eliam svspeciic J/dei testibus pj\cstare solt7mis. Quanto igiwr viifsterium aU<ivo<i 
 dii-iimm fuerit magis absomim et iiicredibile, tanio phis in ci'edevdo exhibetn:' 
 honoris Deo, et Jit -victoria fdei nobilittis. — Qiiin etium, si attente rem perpen - 
 dantus, dlgvius quiddam est credere qtutm scire, qnuliler scivnis. Jn scient,i i 
 fmim vims humana patitur a sensii, qui n rebus inuteriatis resilit : in fide cu - 
 frm aniina patitur ah anima, qiue est iigats vobilis. De Align;. Scicnl. Lib . 
 ix. De Ids plura apinl Witslinu in Exercit. de usa et .ibusu rationis. §. Sr, 
 Ti6, 
 
SPIRIT OF HOLINESS. 63 
 
 pounded Being, which he hath revealed himself to be. He is 
 pure Spirit, because pure act. Each person in the divine nature, 
 being esseiuial in it, must likewise be this pure spirit, or pure act : 
 " without quality good, great without quantity, everlasting with- 
 " out time, present every whei*e without place, containing all 
 " things without extent."* 
 
 The Deity is revealed under the name of Spirit, in order to de- 
 clare, that all existences, both corporeal and incorporeal, derive 
 their spirit, or life and being from him. He is Spirit in the foun- 
 tain : the creatures are only so as streams proceeding froin him. 
 The will and power of the Godhead gave them their entity. 
 Hence, Aratus, the Heathen poet, quoted by St. Paul, could just' 
 ly sing of himself and of others, lue are his offs^iring. 
 
 But though Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, are one God and 
 Spirit, as to the immateriality and transcendent sublimity of the 
 divine nature ; yet one of the three persons is ceconomically and 
 emphatically distinguished by the names of Holy Sfiirity Hjiirit 
 of Jehovah, Sfiirit oj Alehim.^ and//ie Spirit ; because it is his of- 
 fice, in the covenant of grace, to put that spirit and life into his fal- 
 len people, which they lost iu their progenitor by sin. They be- 
 come «/2/r?Vwc/ by his agency. Not that the Father and Son do 
 not concur in it, for the energy of the Godhead ad extra is one ; 
 but it is the Holy Spirit's expr<2ss appointment to carry on that 
 energy to effect salvation. He works in unity with the Father ;; 
 and therefore he is called the Spirit of the Fatherj Eph. iii. 16. 
 He works likewise in uniity with the Son ; and therefore he is sty- 
 led the Spirit of the Son. Gal. iv. 6. And he works of himself 
 in perfect conjunction with the Father and the Son. Thus he di- 
 videth his gifts as he luill. I Cor. xii. 1 1. and is therefore by him- 
 self a sovereign agent ; and yet the communion of belieyers, who 
 are his workmanshiji, is with the Father, 1 John i. 3. with the Son, 
 1 Cor. i. 9. and with the Spirit, Phil. ii. J. because they are 
 one utidivided essence. A"d as Spirit is only another name for 
 active energy i^and in this sense our Lord calls his words spirit 
 mid life,) the third person in the Trinity is peculiarly styled the 
 Spirit, because the impulse of the Godhead is exerted by hira, 
 The ary dories (Ezek. xxxvii. 14.) or the dead sinners of Israel, (as 
 all God's people are) lived by the spirit : and thus God is said to 
 have created all things by tne spirit. Throughout the scripture, 
 the spirit is declared to be the acting' agent of natural and spirit? 
 lal life. 
 
 * ^ishop H:iU. Decad. iv. Epist, 7. IMornwus J)e Yerit. Ed. xi, c. 4, 
 
U HOLY SPIRIT, OR 
 
 From hence we may i)crceive, with what suitableness to his 
 ofFice ami our understandings, the third person in the Godhead is 
 called tfie Sfiirit : we will now enquire, wherefore he is called the 
 Holy S/iirit, or Sjurit of Holiness, and vipon that ground treat of 
 liis divinity. 
 
 Holincssj according to God's revelation by which alone wc 
 know any thing of the matter, means a/itr/l^c^ scjiaradoti from 
 all sin and ev.il. Holiness in effeci is this ; and consequently ho- 
 liness in its cause must certainly be so. It is, therefore, an es- 
 sential attribute of the Most High. Nothing created can claim 
 this as an of ^ri^wre to itself ; for be it ever so holy, it is not so 
 ea: sf, from itself, but from its cause. That is not, cannot be, 
 essential holiness, which is derived. Holiness in essence must 
 be God himself, who exists from himself, and communicates the 
 rays of his perfeclions to his creatures. All the holiness of all 
 the creatures therefore is from God. He always laid claim to 
 this attribute among his people ; and, that they might remember 
 it the more constantly, he commanded it to be worn upon the 
 forehead of his High Priest. Exod. xxviii. 36. For this end he 
 is represented as nitting lijion the throne of hia holiness, Ps. xlvii. 
 8. intimating, that there is no authority or power to effect holi- 
 ness but in him. And so essential is this attribute in God, that 
 lie is revealed to have sworn by his holiness, i. e. to have sworw 
 i;y Himself, becavise he can swear by no greater, and consequent- 
 ly by no other. His holiness and his nature are one and the same. 
 God is his attributes ; and his attributes are himself. We cannot 
 iook on the divine blaze of giory at one view ; and therefore the 
 rays of it are selected and distinguished by the medium of reve- 
 lation, which, like a g'lass darkened, suits itself rather to the 
 weakness of our sight than to the fulness of the object. God 
 not only lives, but is lifej not only knows, but is understanding ; 
 not only hath power, but is /:oi^er ; not only is holy, but is holi- 
 ness itself. 
 
 The spring, then, of all holiness, or holiness in essence, is 
 God : and to him alone, therefore, can we address the words of 
 that pathetic hymn, coniposed by Athenogenes the martyr'* (used 
 in tiie primitive Church, and retained in the communion service 
 »f the Church of England) " Thou only art holy, Thou only ait 
 .the Lord." The universal chorus in Heaven echoes the sound, 
 ana fills tiie realms ot bliss \vith the adoring theme — Thou 07ily 
 
 <l S. Basil de S^. S. apud Cave Ilift. Jit in Xom 
 
SPIRIT OF HOLINESS. 8:^ 
 
 art holy, Lord God Almightij ; Thou King of Saints ! Rev. xv, 
 3. 4. 
 
 If then true holiness be God, and God be holiness itself; what 
 can tiie Spirit of Holiness be ? Can that be less than holiness, 
 which is the very essence and spirit of it? Can he therefore be 
 less than God, who claims, who possesses, and who is distin- 
 guished by, his most essential attributes ? 
 
 But the Spirit of God is called the Holy Spirit, because he is 
 God himself. He claims the epithet Holy, both from his nature 
 and his office. If he were not holy in his nature, or rather holi- 
 ness itself, he could not perform that ofRce in the covenant of 
 grace, which begins, is carried on, and is completed, in the ex- 
 ercise and communion of holiness to the redeemed. He could 
 not impart, what is not his own. No stream of holiness could 
 proceed from him, were he not the fountain of it. 
 
 He is not (as the Arians dream) an inferior or created God, or 
 the creature of a creature, made by the Son, who himself was 
 made of the Father ; because he could not, in that case, be the 
 Spir't OF God, but only a Spirit from God. Nay, by their ac- 
 count, he could not be so much : He could only be the Spirit of a 
 creature, who is (according to them) the Son. And so, in this 
 strange notion, we have the representation of a creature, who is 
 himself the creator of another creature, which other creature 
 quickens or gives life to his own creator (for Christ was quicken- 
 ed by the Spirit, 1 Pet. iii. 8.) and becomes the power, by which 
 this last creator performs his work of mediation. This is at once 
 absurdity, Polytheism, and idolatry. Deism itself doth not fur- 
 nish so wretched, contradictory, and disgraceful an opinion of 
 the Godhead. 
 
 Nor is the Holy Ghost an emanation only, or a ray from the 
 Godhead, as the Socinians, and others have dared to affirm. Can 
 an emanation be the giver of itself? Can this emanation divide 
 various gifts, according to his own knowledge, and severally as 
 he will? If the Spirit be only an emanation from the Son, and the 
 Son another emanation from the Father (as the Arians speak) ; 
 is not the Spirit, in that case, the emanation of an emanation} and 
 %vill there not be emanations without end ? Can an emanation will 
 any thing, search any thing, explain any thing, abide and depart 
 at his i^or rather its) own pleasure? — *' But it is an emanation^ a 
 virtue, from God." Still more absurd ! Can an emanation from 
 God act 'Without God, who himself is a pure act ? And, if not 
 3^'iihont him, is not God (he affecting agent ? And is not then the 
 
86 HOLY SPIRIT, OR 
 
 emanation or virtue (if it must be so called) God himself? Or, 
 can God be divided from his own attributes ? — This word emana- 
 tion, applied to God, is indeed a whimsical term, without any 
 Yfo\ meaning or idea; or, if it hath one, it divides God from 
 ^.imself, or represents, by what can only be used to signify a 
 (juality, a conscious independent effective agent. In this view, 
 therefore, it quarrels with the attributes of God, the work of 
 God, and the word of God, and it is but a sorry name employed 
 to obscure the iiersonalitij and divinity of the Holy Ghost. Nor 
 doth it impart an idea, which can square with scripture or with 
 common sense. For (to mention but one instance among many) 
 if the Holy Ghost be only a quality^ the condition of a being and 
 not a being himself; it must be extremely absurd to baptize a 
 person in the name of a things which has no existence but fier 
 accidcns, no essentiality of its own. They, who can justify or 
 make even reason of this (to say nothing of the Bible), may be 
 very fit apologists for the Romans, who dedicated temples io/eary 
 Jio/ie, fialeness, and twenty other qualities besides, and at the same 
 time be much safer employed than in venting blasfihcnnj against 
 the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Against these unscriptural dogmas, we will oppose a few scrip- 
 tural proofs of X.\\Qfiersonality and divinity of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 That the Holy Ghost is a person, and not an emanation, a vir-* 
 tue, or a something from God w-hich is not God, will appear from 
 the following, among many other, texts of scripture — He creates 
 and gives life. Job. xxxiii. 4. is seen descending in a bodily 
 .y/ia/te. Luke iii. 22. commands Apostles, Acts viii. 29. andxi. 12. 
 lifts up an x\postle through the air by his own power, v. 39. sends 
 messengers. Acts 19. appoints ministers hi the Church. Acts 
 XX. 28. calls Apostles. Acts xiii. 3. bestows gifts. Heb. ii. 4. 
 bpeaketh to the Churches. Rev. ii. 7. spake by the Prophets. 
 Acts xxviii. 15. 2 Pet. i. 21. speaketh ex/iressly. I Tim. iv. 1. 
 renews his people. Titus iii. 5. hclpeth infirmities. Rom. viii. 
 26. maketh intercession, ibid, reveals mysteries. Eph. iii, 5. 
 searcheth all things. 1 Cor. ii. 10. teacheth all things. John xiv. 
 ■26. guideth into all truth. John xvi. IS.beareth witness in earth 
 and Heaven. Rom. viii. 16. 1 John v. 6. pronouncelh words of 
 blessing. Rev. xiv. 13. testifies of Christ. John xv. 26. glorifies 
 Christ. John xvi. 14. is another comforter, distinct from Christ. 
 John xiv. 16. hath a 7mnd of his own. Rom. viii. 27. hath a will 
 of his own. 1 Cor. xii. 1 1. hath a Jiovjcr of his own. Rom. xv. 13. 
 !}ath worship performed in his name, together with the Father and 
 
SPIRIT OF HOLINESS. £7 
 
 Son. Matth. xxviii. 19. hath a temple for his worship. I Cor. vj. 
 15. abides' with his people forever. John xiv. 16. And, by no peo- 
 ple is blasphemed, but upon the peril of damnation, Matth. xii. 3 ! , 
 
 Each of these scriptures, (and much more all together,) is suf- 
 ficient to demolish that unscriptural and absurd opinion of the 
 Sociniana and others, which treats the Holy Spirit of God as an ef- 
 fusion separate from God, consequently as something created by 
 God, and therefore something not of his nature or in it. It v/as the 
 saying of a good man, that " the Devil may pervert scripture, but 
 he cannot answer it.'* But the above texts, to which many more 
 may be added, are so positive and direct in proof of the Spirit's 
 personality.^ that, able as the Devil is in sophistry, they seem to 
 defy his wiles upon this point, and are as convincing to faith, as 
 any mathematical demonstrations can possibly be to sense. Two 
 and two making four, does not appear more clear and conclusive, 
 than that the Holy Spirit is a living divine agent, working with 
 consciousness^ ivill and fioiver. If people will not be persuaded 
 by these testimonies from God, neither ivould they be persuaded, 
 though one rose again from the dead. 
 
 That the Holy Ghost is not a creature, nor a little God, nor 
 God inferior to the Father and the Son, but possesses true and per- 
 fect divinity equal to and united Avith the other divine persons, let 
 the scriptures, and scriptural arguments only, prove and deter- 
 mine. 
 
 Hi« claim to the highest titles and ascriptions of the Deity haih 
 been considered in some other of these essays ; and therefore, in 
 this place, it will be sufficient to prove him to be God from the 
 nature of his work and ojffice, as the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Christ hath declared, that the work of the Comforter consisted 
 of two parts ; the one was to anoint, to testify of Christ, and to 
 glorify him in his work of mediation ; and the other, to teach, to 
 lead, to dwell in, and to abide with his redeemed fur ever. 
 
 The anointing of the man Jesus was both his commission and 
 capacity to perform redemption. As a mere man, had he been 
 *'.ver so pure and holy, he could have done nothing, he could have 
 •merited nothing, to salvation, but for himself. But as God-man, 
 as a person composed of tv.o natures, divine and human ; he could 
 accomplish all that was necessary by the one, and suffer all that 
 was due in the other. Being, therefore, in this exalted form ; 
 who could commission, who could delegate, who couid arf/iut, 
 the blessed Redeemer for the exercise of his fur.-tiia- J ^: :,uld 
 he creatures ? Could the highest Angels in Heaven ? Could he. 
 
88 HOLY SPIRIT, OR 
 
 who Vv^as the great Creator Jehovah in our nature receive any 
 thing of design, instruction, authority or power, fiotn his own 
 works ? — But Christ was anointed with the Holy Ghost for his 
 rncdiatorial office. The Holy Ghost, therefore, must he e(jual> 
 with God, and consequently God himself ; or he added nothing to 
 the Redeemer, and was therefore of no use ; which to assert, is 
 blasphemy against the wisdom of God. Christ was baptized with 
 water and the Holy Spirit and declared or anointed by him, at the 
 same time, by the voice of the Father to be the Son of God with 
 power and authority, that he might be received and acknowledged 
 for the great Redeemer. 
 
 The Holy Spirit was to testify of Christ. In so important a 
 matter, for which Christ was to suffer, and concerning which his 
 people were to be saved, it became necessary for him and them, 
 thai there should appear the highest evidence and testimony. And 
 the highest hatii been given to both. God hath borne witness and 
 testified of his Son ; 1 John v. 9. and hath also borne witness and 
 testified of him to his people. Heb. ii. 4. But we shall find, that it 
 was the Holy Ghost, who testified of Jesus, John xv. 26. And 
 that it is the same Holy Ghost, who is a witness to the redeemed. 
 Heb. X. 15. A human testimony might deceive, and, if it did not 
 deceive, must soon fail ; but God iiath appointed a witness for Je- 
 sus in the people, which continues from generation to generatioa 
 and can never decay. 
 
 The Holy Spirit was to (glorify Christ. But neither earth nor 
 Heaven could add glory to the Lord of life ajid giory. He could 
 only be glorified with his own nature: And therefore he says to 
 the Father, glorify me tvith thine own self. But the Holy Spirit, 
 being the Spirit of glory yCo\i\d glorify the Redeemer with the glo- 
 ry wiiich he had before the world was, and with a glory among his 
 people, which should remain throughout all ages. 
 
 The Holy Ghost was also to teach the redeemed, and to guide 
 them into all truth. And who teacheth like him ? Men may ap- 
 ply words to the ear ; but God alone can fix instruction upon th© 
 heart. He only, who is truth itself, can give the demonstration 
 and power of it to the soul. The senses may have a certainty 
 with respect to mathematical quantity and the proportion of mat- 
 te i ; but who can alTord the Spirit of man an elenchus concern- 
 ing spiritual and invisible thing**, but He, who is the Father of 
 S/iirits, and who can clothe all words and ideas with conviction and 
 efficacy ? It is Jehovah Alehimy who teacheth to firofit^ and lend- 
 ptli hiJifieofilc by the •way thev should go. Is. xlviii. 17. 
 
SPIRIT OF HOLINESS. S9 
 
 The Holy Ghost was also to divellin and abide ivith his people 
 for ever. Christ, when he departed to his glory, sent the Com- 
 forter for this very purpose, as a proof for the completion of his 
 own mediatorial office. — But we read in the Psalms, that, when he 
 ascended on high., and led cafitivity cafitive., it was expressly for 
 this end that Jah Alehim might dwell among his people, and be 
 unto them that Shechinah^vfhich implies every idea of God's gra- 
 cious comfort and presence. Ps. Ixviii. 18. The Holy Ghost, 
 therefore, is Jehovah Alehim, or (as it is rendered) the Lord God. 
 Again. God hath said, I will dwell in them., and walk in them. 
 2 Cor. vi. 16. But it is the Holy Spirit which, Christ promises, 
 shall dwell with them, and be in them. John xiv. 17. The Holy 
 Spirit, consequently, is God. 
 
 That the Holy Ghost, though personally and (Economically 
 distinguished from the Father and the Son, is essentially conjoin- 
 ed with the other divine persons, as to the Unitij of the Godhead ; 
 will appear from a variety of Scriptures, some of which have been 
 already considered in the former essays. His peculiar office, 
 which is to enlighten and comfort the redeemed, proves it also 
 most fully and directly. By him they have a communication and 
 communion with the Godhead. They have access unto this gr-ace 
 indeed through Christ, and in virtue of his redemption: Rom. v. 2o 
 But it is by one Spirit, who worketh all in the children of God, 
 that through Christ they thus approach the Father. Eph. ii. 18, 
 By Christ they receive the title., by the Holy Spirit they obtain 
 the enjoyment., of their inheritance. And, therefore, when com- 
 munion with God is described in the Scriptures, it is usually in 
 the names of the three divine persons, by whose love, mercy and 
 power, distinctly and severally, the faithful are brought in the par- 
 ticipation of it. Thus their fellowship is with the Father and the 
 Son, 1 John i. 3. with the Son particularly, 1 Cor. i. 9, wifli the 
 S/iirit expressly, Phil. ii. Land the three persons together, 2 Cor, 
 xiii. 14. It follows, then, that as there is but one God, this God 
 exists in three persons, who, because of their perfect equality and 
 union, are sometimes mentioned together, to express the Unity, 
 and sometimes a/iart to explain their offices, but always in refe- 
 rence to their glory and divinity, or in reference to man's particu- 
 lar dependence upon them, according to their peculiar characters 
 in the covenant ot grace. And, iu order to s'r.ew more particular- 
 ly the entire union and equality of the divine persons, there is 
 sometimes mentioned an interchanging of office among them; 
 which proves, that ail and every part of salvation is the joint ef; 
 
 vox-, n. M 
 
90 HOLY SPIRIT, OR 
 
 fectof ORf win, ctie power, one grace, in the Deity. Sanctifica- 
 tion, for instiance, whether it be considered in its strict sense of 
 se/iaration, or in the sense of consecration, or oF the communica- 
 tion of holiness, is the proper work of the Spirit : But the Spirit 
 is not divided from the Father and Son in this gracious office ; for 
 we find, that God the Father sanctifieth, Jude 1. and that the Son 
 sanctifieth, Heb. xiii. 12, Tne Apostle Peter marks how this is 
 accomplished, in a very particular manner. Believers are elect 
 fthis is one part of sanctifying] according to the forekno ivl< dge of 
 God the Father, through sanctijication of the Spirit unto obedience 
 [^tlnis is another], arid sprinkling of the blood of Jestia [this is a 
 third] 1 Ptt. i. 2. Who doth not see an entire union and commun- 
 ion of the divine persons in this passage ? Who hath creaulity 
 enough to suppose, that any of these important offices can possi- 
 bly be performed by creatures ? These all relate to works of eter- 
 nal salvation, and can be accomplished by no finite being ; for God 
 hath said, with a most remarkable emphasis ; /, even /, am Jtho- 
 "vah, and beside me there is no Saviour. Is. xliii. 1 1. 
 
 Happy the man, who, to all this testimony from the word of 
 God, can add that of his own experience ! He knows whom he 
 hath believed. The confidence and hopes of his soul are not 
 placed upon an unknown God, nor upon a speculative and uncer- 
 tain foundation. He that believeth, hath the witness in himself 
 says the Apostle : And Christ hath declared, that if any man will 
 do the will of God, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of 
 God. To the authority of the word, God adds the evidence of his 
 Spirit in the believing soul. By this Spirit, he first believes ; 
 and, by the same Spirit, he knows that he believes. As an ani- 
 Bial is perceived to live, by that inspiration of air which is called 
 breathing ; so a Christian is understood to enjoy the Spirit of 
 life, ;*y the spiritual breathings of prayer and praise. IVc know 
 that we have passed from death unto life, by the effects af that life. 
 A man cannot live, and perform the functions of life, without a 
 consciousness of life ; nor move, without some sense of motion j 
 nor see, without the perception of sight. 'Tis true ; like an in- 
 fant, he may not exercise these faculties with advantage or com- 
 fort at fiist; but he doth not always remain in this state, and, 
 •while he doth, he cannot long secrete some evidences of his spi- 
 ritual life from others. He is born of the Spirit ; and being born 
 of Him, who is all life, all enei'gy, he will not, he cannot, remain 
 in the sluggishness and death of the flesh. He hath a new Spirit 
 put into his old frame ; and he must and will walk in ncivness of 
 
SPIRIT OF HOLINESS. 9\ 
 
 iife. There is no unnatural constmint in the case (as some have 
 dreamed, who know not the Scriptures nor the power of God;) 
 but this new Spirit and new life bring with them their own pro- 
 per acts and faculties, and, among the rest, a new will, new affec- 
 tions, new hopes, new fears, new joys, a new understanding ; so 
 that the man is become the new creature of a neiv creation. Con- 
 straint implies resistance ; but the believer's new nature doth 
 not resist, but thinks with the Spirit and wills with the Spirit, and 
 therefore is not constrained. The eye must see, ana ine sense 
 must feel ; but there is no violence upon either faculty in the 
 case, for it is its nature and delight. It is much the same with 
 the real believer. He is not forced to love and serve God ; and 
 yet he cannot but love and serve him. It is his desire and deiight ; 
 and without this engagement he has no more complacency, than 
 the eye can have without its sight, or any other faculty without 
 the use of its peculiar discernment. This wonderful work is al- 
 together the agency of God's free Spirit. It is his honor and his 
 office : And it is called by various names in Scripiure, which bear 
 reference to our outward senses, that we may perceive the more 
 clearly what a work and what a chanie it is. Sometimes it is 
 called, a removal from darkness to light ; and this applies to the 
 difference in the understanding between the former state and the 
 present ; Sometimes an exchange of bondage^ for libertij ; and 
 this affects the ivill^ and its thraldom to sin and corruption : Some- 
 times, a translation from the power of Satati into the kingdom of 
 God ; and this relates to the exercise oi oxxv fio%<trs and service; 
 Sometimes, the alteration of condition from being children of 
 •wrath to being children of grace ; and this applies to the enjoy- 
 ment of this life and the hafifiiness resulting from it : And somcf 
 times, a passing from death unto iife ; and this, including all the 
 rest, refers to the absolute change whi/:h is made within the soul 
 in the act of conversion to God. This operation hath been, and 
 ever will be, an incomprehensible business to those, who have not 
 lyuown it in themselves. Like Nicodemus and other masters in Is~ 
 raely they will reason and re-reason, till they puzzle and perplex 
 themselves by darkening counsel without knowledge ; and, when 
 they cannot make out the matter, will give the strongest proof of 
 all that they do know nothing of it, by fretting, and raving, and 
 calling hard names, and saying, in short, that there is no such 
 thing. Thus will they strive to content themselves by sporting 
 wiih their own deceivings : And, if they can find out some me- 
 lancholy examples of hypocrites and pretenders (as, God knows o 
 
92 HOLY SPIRIT, OR 
 
 they may soon find too many) they will quote these, as so many 
 proofs upon fact for the truth of their opinion ; and so, where 
 they do not reason, they will not fail to abuse. Yet reason itself 
 might leach them, that from the abuse to the use of a principle 
 no consequence holds : And the Scripture docs teach them, that 
 a 7/ian must be born from above ere he can ascend thither; and 
 that this is one part of that work concerning which God says, I 
 •work a work in your days, a work which you shall in no wise be- 
 lieve, though a man declare it unto you. Acts xiii. 41. 
 
 Blessed be God, the truths of his grace do not at all depend 
 upon the feeble and fluctuating opinions of fallible men. Though 
 we are all Popes I)y nature, and every man is prone to claim to 
 himself an infallible chair, to the decisions of which if others op- 
 pose themselves he is ready to thunder out angry bulls and bitter 
 loords ; yet the Spirit of God pulls this Papal spirit down with- 
 in his children, and teaches them not to domineer, but to sit 
 meekly at the master's feet, or to walk humbly in the sense of 
 their own weakness and dependence upon him. 
 
 All this work of grace in the soul, is to the believer an internal 
 proof of the Holy Spirit's divinity, who is the agent. 'Tis no proof 
 indeed to the world at large, nor is it offered as such ; being a 
 part of that hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world 
 tinto our glory, and a portion of that hidden 7na7inay which the 
 ■world knows nothing of. It is that tohite stone, and new name 
 nvritten on it, which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it. 
 The Holy Ghost is a witness for himself in the spirits of his 
 people ; and his people rejoice in his testimony. As they know 
 by sense, that the sun shines at mid-day, and are assured of it by 
 its ovvnilluniination ; so they know by the grace of faith (which 
 sceth him that is invisible,) that the s/iirit of God is in them of a 
 truth, and are convinced of it by his own light anddemonstratioa. 
 The world, on the other hand, laugh at what they know not, with 
 just as much wisdom as a simple clown, who should jeer at the 
 earth's motion and other astronomical truths, merely because he 
 cannot conceive them. Nor let the world call this conceit or 
 /2rzc?(? in the Christian; because he will own, that he must have 
 remained in the same blindness of heart with them, but for the 
 free and unmerited mercy of his God.. Unto him, it was given to 
 believe : of himself (whh the Apostle) he knowsnothing. " Scep- 
 tics may wrangle (says in ingenious author) and mockers may 
 blaspheme ; bui the pious man knows by evidence too sublime 
 Tor their comprehension, that his affections are not misplaced. 
 
^ SPIRIT OF HOLINESS. 93 
 
 and that his hopes shall not be disappointed ; by evidence, which, 
 to every sound mind, is fully satisfactory; but which to the hum- 
 ble and tender-hearted, is altogether everlastings irresistible, and 
 divine" Beattie on Truth. Part 1. c. ii. 5. See also, to the same 
 effect, Stillingfleet's Origines Sacre. Book ii.c. 9. 
 
 The Spirit proves himself to be God, by the spiritual wonders 
 which he hath wrought : and he takes upon him the name of the 
 Sjiirit of Holiness, both because he is the essence of it, and because 
 he wonderfully condescends to impart it to sinners among- men. 
 As without holiness no man shall see the Lord ; so, without the 
 Lord, no man shall enjoy holiness. It is a principle which can- 
 not arise from so foul a soil as a sinful soul. It is life eternal 
 both in substance and consequence; and surely this must be a 
 life, which no weak and wicked wretch, as man is by nature, can 
 either create or claim. He has no title to it, but from God's boun- 
 ty ; no power to exercise it but by God's strength ; no confi- 
 dence of its perpetuity, but through that faithfulness and mercy 
 which endure forever. 
 
 The Lord, the Spirit, bestows holiness upon his people, as the 
 means of their happiness, nay, as their happiness itself. They 
 fly not from sin, merely lest they should be damned for it (though it 
 is certain as God is true, that they who live and die in sin, who- 
 ever they be, shall be damned ;) but they avoid it, as the path of 
 misery itself, in which they are sure never to find that presence 
 which is better than life, nor that communion of the Spirit which is 
 one main-spring of all their joys. Some there are (and O that it 
 were not too undeniable a truth!) who talk of keeping up this 
 communion and enjoying this presence, even where Satan's seat 
 is, and among the lying vanities and amusements of the world. 
 The condemnation of such men is just. Rom. iii. 8. To do evil 
 that good may come, to mix with sin to enjoy holiness, and to con- 
 federate with the Devil to serve God ; are some of those horrible 
 problems, which make real Christians tremble, excite wonder in 
 Heaven at the divine patience, and raise a malignant smile in 
 Hell over the amazing impudence and apostacy of man.* Such 
 unhappy souls (for they never knew the ha/i/iiness of the Spirit 
 of Holiness) have neither fiart nor lot in the matter; but, like 
 Simon Magus the founder of such like heresies, are in the gal^f 
 
 * " This is the double policy of the spiritual enemy, eitlier by counter- 
 feit holiness of life to establish and autiiorize errors ; or by corruption of 
 jnanners to discredit truth, and the thing^s that are lav,'f!il." Lord Bacon. 
 JPcnce of the Cfmr'rk. 
 
94 HOLY SPIRIT, OR 
 
 bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity. They may talk of the 
 gospel, but do not enjoy it; they may criticise upon doctrines, 
 but do not know their power; and they may split hairs perhaps 
 upon theological theses, but be all the while within a hair's breadth 
 of Hell. The Sfiirit of Holiness will not be blasphemed, but at 
 their cost, by those who profess to know him, while in works they 
 deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good 
 toork reprobate. Tit. i. 16 — This is plain language ; but the times 
 require it. The real Christian will n'>t be offended at the truth, 
 for he loves to be sincerely dealt with : and as to hypocritical pre- 
 tenders, they oug-/i? to be offended, tiiat either they may be hum- 
 "bled for their sins, or be allowed no title to a profession which they 
 disgrace. For this, we have the example of the primitive Church s 
 and it would be happy for the Church in all ages and countries, if 
 she could follow it. 
 
 And now, O believer, in whom this divine Spirit hath breathed 
 his heavenly life, and whom he hath anointed with his holy unc- 
 tion ; what says thy heart to this title of thy God? Is he not a 
 sfiirit indeed to thee, quickening thy soul and renewing thy 
 strength ? Is he not the Holy S/iirit, or Sfiirit of Holiness, willing 
 in thee all holy inclinations, stirring in thee all holy desires, promp- 
 ting to thee all holy words, effecting in thee all holy works? 
 Hast thou atiiought, a wish, an affection, a work, holy in the least 
 degree without him ? Thy spirit will witness for him in all this 
 matter — will witness his kindness, and mercy, and power, and 
 Godhead everlasting. His own word proclaims his divinity ; thy 
 heartyee/s it. If or/iers doubt this glorious truth, /Aozt canst not. 
 Thou art taught by himself, as well as by his word, that none but 
 almighty power could have raised thee from the death of trespas- 
 ses and sins, and none but invincible grace have protected thee 
 when raised. And thou hast seen in manifold instances (and thy 
 memory can furnish both the times and occasions,) how readily 
 he has come in to thine aid ; when, but for his aid thou must have 
 sunk under thy various temptations, and fallen into the snare of 
 the Devil. He furaisiies thy mind with hioivl<dge, not notional 
 or specuiaiive knowledge only, but with such full intelligence of 
 necessary truth, as enables thy spirit to receive it as something 
 bdcnjxing to thee, and to relish and enjoy it. He sanctifies 
 thy affections, and prevents their intanglement with tliin-,s be- 
 neath him aud below thyself. He gives thee sweet comfilacencif 
 of heart, and many a happy hour, wliich no eye but Ms beholds, 
 and no mind but a Christian's can conceive. How kiudiy doth he 
 
SPIRIT OF HOLINESS. 95 
 
 bend down the old man of sin, and conquer those harsh and ru?^ged 
 dispositions, which no created strength could subdue ! What 
 meek resignation, what placid contentment, what abstraction from 
 the world and from self, doth it introduce into a heart, which, be- 
 fore, was like an untamed heifer^ unaccustomed tv the yoke, and 
 which only sought self, and sm for self, in all it tl^ought or did ! 
 Hov powerfully, yet how graciously, doth he sustain thy spirit in 
 every trying hour; and, though he suffer thee to slip perhaps, 
 that thou mightest remember where thy strength lies ; with what 
 increase of fervor and holiness doth he raise thee up again, and 
 with what sense of his unmerited mercy and love !* O what a 
 debtor, what a daily debtor, art thou to this Holy Spirit's wisdom, 
 power, and grace ! 'Tis indeed, a salvation, which thou canst not 
 number ; a rich salvation, which all Heaven cannot count. Thou 
 wilt be counting it to eternity, and all the while be perceiving(» 
 more and more clearly, that thou art and must be an everlasting 
 debtor. 'Tis a blessed debt, and thou wilt forever be welcome to 
 increase it. O come, let us add something to it even here ! We 
 have a bad world indeed ; but still grace is to be obtained in it; 
 and we can augment our stock in this valley of Achor for our 
 heavenly Canaan. Soon, soon shall the hour come, when the 
 shadows shall disappear, when the day of Christ shall dawn, and 
 ihe full effulgence of the divine glory shall irradiate, and fill and 
 make unalterably happy, our redeemed souls. Soon shall we see 
 Jesus as he is, and, by the love of the Father, and power of the 
 Spirit, be forever like unto hhn. 
 
 Wonderfully saved art thou, O Christian ! Wonderfully re- 
 deemed from'the earth ! All things here are full of wonders, when 
 we survey the visible creation as we ought: but how surpassing 
 in wonder, how unutterably amazing, must the redemption of thy 
 soul appear, when thou shalt be able more perfectly to trace it 
 out, as it began in Heaven, was carried on upon earth, and com- 
 pleted ill glory! — when the wonders of God shall burst forth upon 
 thy ravished soul in those realmsof bliss, w/zcre mortality is sioal- 
 iowed ufi of life I There, even there perhaps, in the perfect il- 
 lumination of Spirit and life, without one cloud to obscure ; thou 
 may est justly take up the Apostle's words to proclaim the ineffa- 
 ble theme ; O the defith of the riches both of the loisdom and know- 
 
 * Bernard elegantly says of these /r-wi7s of the Spirit, that they are Spei 
 qutedam seniinaria, charitatis incentiva, occulta prccdestinationis itulicia, fv- 
 turce felicitatis prxsagia ; " Nourishments of hope, motives of lo^e, discov- 
 eries of God's secret predestination, and sure prog-nostics of everlasting- 
 felicity. De Grat. & Lib. Arb. Wits. Irenic. c. xiv. §. 15. ^ 
 
96 ETERNAL SPIRIT. 
 
 lege of God I how unsearchable are his judgments^ and his ivays 
 past finding out I Of Him ^ and through Himyond to Hiniy areaP 
 things ; to Him be glory forever. Amen. 
 
 ETERNAL SPIRIT. 
 
 ETERNITY ! — how short a word for an infinite meaning !— 
 'Tis a name for an existence, of which the creatures can only 
 apprehend the succession of parts, and which its author and 
 cause alone can comprehend, without succession, as a whole. It 
 depends upon the existence of God ; and it necessarily exists, 
 because He necessarily exists. As it is impossible that there 
 should be no being, no place, no duration ; so, on the contrary, 
 there must be that Being, by whom and in whom all being, place, 
 and duration subsist. For it is absurd to say, that a nonentity en- 
 duresy or that the cause of duration doth not endure. And as du- 
 ration must have been eternal a parte ante, or before the present 
 now ; so it must be eternal a parte post., or after any given mo- 
 ment of time. Consequently, the author of duration, in both 
 these respects, is from everlasting to everlasting also. 
 
 This idea is included in the peculiar name of God, nin'« Jeho- 
 vahi which says in its original four letters, what perhaps no four 
 words of any language beside the Hebrew can express, that the 
 JESSENCE necessarily existing is, and was, and is to come, with- 
 out begin7iing of days or end of life. He, who can fully conceive 
 this, may likewise fully comprehend the sense of the word Eter- 
 nity, which bears the same relation to God, as time doth to the 
 creatures. But, as no created being can thus dilate itself to in- 
 finitude ^7iullum minus continet in se majus ;]] so none by search- 
 ing can find out God, or explore the height and depth which is 
 unbounded. 
 
 Now, though we are unable to fathom what is necessarily un- 
 fathomable to us, it is however expedient, that we should know 
 it to be so, and in consequence not presume to launch out into 
 an immense ocean, without chart or compass. Man, in every 
 sense of the term, is placed upon an island, to which there is an 
 appointed shore ; and he can see but a very little space beyond 
 it — far enough, however, to know, that there is, beyond his small 
 circle of perception and conception, a wide circumference of 
 time, place, power, and visilpm j which, like circles,, including; 
 
ETERNAL SPIRIT. 97 
 
 others ad infinitum., grow in immensity and compass, the wider 
 they are extended from him. 
 
 As man can go but a very little way towards the knowledge and 
 apprehension of God ; it hath pleased the divine goodness to 
 bring into his narrow reach such notices of what lies beyond it, 
 as may serve to fill him with a due understanding of his own mi- 
 nuteness and dependence, and to make him humble, teachable, 
 and submissive in those things, wliich are only to be known by 
 divine communication, though absolutely necessary for his being 
 and well-being. 
 
 Much of these notices concerning God and his revealed truthsj 
 is to be found in the titles and ter7ns, by which they are conveyed. 
 'Tis a poor attempt to extend theology, even as a science, by any 
 methods which can be found, out of the language and sense of 
 the Bible. God is to be known only by God : And he has directed 
 to his laiu and testi7nony for the means of this knowledge. His 
 word contains all the true divinity, which ever appeared in the 
 ■world. They are, therefore, to be pitied for their pride and pre= 
 sumption, who talk of the " Improvements which latev ages are 
 making in theological knowledge ;" which improvements, if they 
 are enquired into, are mean and unsatisfactory compilations of 
 metaphysical, ethical, and philosophic opinions, coUected from 
 ancient heathens, modern infidels, and other Imman authorides; 
 having no real connection with God's own revelation^ or the, fallen 
 state of man, but, in most respects, entn'ely inconsistent with 
 both. This mode of pursuing religious knowledge has been the 
 occasion of ail the heresies and absurdities, which ever appeared 
 in the world, and possibly of most of the infidel and sceptic fu- 
 tilities of the present time. If Origen had not studied Plato, in- 
 stead of St. Paul ; it is probable, that the world had not heard of 
 Arius, nor of the various tribes which have descended from him. 
 Men of easy principles, or who do not trouble themselves to 
 search into tlie ri^'ht "ivell, where alone trut/i lies at the boltomj 
 and from vi^hence only it can be drawn ; seeing such flimsy and 
 dry discourses upon subjects, which Cicero, Seneca, and other 
 heathens, have treated, at least, as rationally as most latter au^ 
 thors ; are tempted to believe, that Christianity and heathenism 
 are nearly of kin, that their morality is mucli alike, and that the 
 works of the philosophers are very enlightened commentaries 
 upon the Bible. Others, from such hints, have gone further, and 
 treated the Bible itself as one of those old and obscure booksj 
 ^vhich are hard to be understood, and not worth the labor of un- 
 
 VOL. IT, N 
 
S8 ETERNAL SPIRIT. 
 
 dcrstanding. From this mode of treating religious subjects lis 
 Protestant countries, and from the mummery and ridiculous var- 
 nish with which they are disfigured in Popish ; Deism has gained 
 its principal ground, and in most companies can now be profes- 
 sed and maintained with an open front. They, who know the 
 state of religion in France, easily tell us, that its first ecclesias- 
 tics are almost universally Deists J and that those, who are not 
 lax at least in religious principles, are smiled upon as bigots or 
 fools. And, with respect to England, it is quite enough to say, 
 that neither oaths nor subscriptions can restrain men from dispu- 
 ting against thef established articles, founded as they are upon the 
 firmest basis of the scriptures ; nor yet from maintaining, even 
 within the Church itself, opinions which the Church abhors. 
 Than such Christians, it must be owned, that fair and open De- 
 ists ai^ at least honester and more laudable men. 
 
 As these people neither lead themselves nor others to the 
 knowledge of God, because they either forsake or use not his 
 own revelation ; we must beg to leave them, and inquire, what 
 God hath said of, and what he calls himself. His names, com- 
 municatedto us, are various ; because the doctrines, which those 
 names teach us, have a relation to our various wants, infirmities, 
 and dependencies upon him. One name would serve as well as 
 ten thousand ; if we had but one relation to, or but one idea of 
 God. For instance ; could we, being perfect creatures as an- 
 gels, only depend upon him as our great Creator; that name 
 "would have been sufficient for us to declare him : But, being sin- 
 ful creatures, yet creatures to be redeemed., our Creator stood 
 immediately in many relations to us, according to our several 
 conditions of sinfiihiess, recovery, redemption, and salvation^ 
 which it was necessary for us to know, that we might apply to 
 him under those relations and receive every benefit and blessinr 
 we need. He hath, therefore, suited himself (as it were) to us 
 in the revelation of his nmncs, that, by the doctrines they contain, 
 we might apprehend or be brought into those relations to him, 
 which those names were intended to signify. And as he hath 
 been pleased to inform us, that he exists in himself as Jehovah, 
 or one everlasting and almighty essence, and as the Alehim, or 
 three persons in that essence, which hi» word styles Father, Son, 
 and Spirit ; so he hath shewn us, honv this Son became our Re- 
 deemer as well as Creator, and hovj this Spirit is our Sanctifier, 
 as well as our Maker. These tivo divine persons in the essence 
 ^eing the declared agents of our salvation j they have taken ma- 
 
ETERNAL SPIRIT. 99 
 
 ny titles upon them to shew us, in what sense they are those 
 agents, and how they become the fulfillers of that saivution. By 
 them we are led to communion with the Jirst person, or Father; 
 who is not called Jirst from any firiority of person or existence, 
 but only by way of distinction ; for we find the Son placed Jirst^ 
 and aiso the Spirit, and the Father last, in the same texts, on 
 purpose to shew (as it seems) that " in this Trinity none is afore 
 or after other, none is greater or less than another, but that the 
 whole three persons are coeternal together, and coequal." We 
 have considered many of the divine names, with respect to the- 
 .igency of the divine persons; and the present denomination be- 
 fore us is held out to cur minds, that we may hold communion 
 with the person of the Spirit, and receive that comfort which it 
 proposes to our souls ; even everlasting' coyisolation^ because He 
 is everlasting. 
 
 That God is a S/iirit, Christ declares ; that the Spirit is a S/ii' 
 rit, his name signifies ; and that he is the Eternal S/iirit, the word 
 of God expressly pi-oclaims. Hebr. ix. 14. If the Holy Sfiiritf 
 then, be the Eternal ; it will follow^, that he is true and very God ; 
 because God only is properly eternal, and none of the creatures 
 are called by that name. No creature could be so ; ior there was 
 a time, when, whatever creature can be named, was not ; and 
 therefore he could not exist from eternity : And, consequently, 
 he cannot be called an eternal being. There is also a /ilace, in 
 which any one creature is not j for a limited nature can only occxi' 
 ■py one fioint oi space in the eternity of being about him: And 
 therefore, in this view, he is not eternal ; but comprehended by 
 Him, whose Fulness fdleth all in all. But the Holy Spirit is the 
 Eternal Spirit, whoever existed beyond all (points of timcy and 
 does exist beyond all) bounds oi place ; and therefore He is the 
 eternal God, who \sfrom everlasting to everlasting with respect 
 to duration, and whom the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain 
 with regard to his dwelling. He is in all ages present, and in all 
 limits unlimited, and possesses that eternity •which (as Boethius 
 terms it) is at once a whole and perfect possession of an etidless 
 or boundless life,* 
 
 * Tliomas Aquinas, in the first part of his Stimma Theologi<e, Qusest. x. 
 Art. i. has discussed tins passage of Boethius with his usual metaphysical 
 subtlety ; but proves, how poorly the intellect of man can conceive, or the 
 pen of man express, what is infinite and unbounded. The French hermit^ 
 who spent his whole life in pondering (as he said) upon enmity, might 
 have spent a thousand lives, and then be beginning only to think upon it.— 
 There is a sensible Essay upon this topic ot e^ermVi/ in the Spectator. No. 
 590. And for a more metapliysical and philosoplucal Disquisition, see 
 traje's Court of the Gentila. Tai-t jv p. 276—288. 
 
10G> ETERNAL SPIRIT. 
 
 This title of eternal is proper to God ; and, therefore, God hath 
 revealed himself by that name, and by others which include or im- 
 ply it. So Abraham called on the name of Jehovah, the everlast- 
 ing God. Gen. xxi. 33. So the promise was made to Israel, con- 
 cerning the eternal God and the everlasting arms. Deut. xxxiii. 
 27. Su Jehovah is railed in Isaiah, the Alehim of ages, or ever- 
 lasting God. Is. xl. 28. And so the Apostle, who calls the Spirit 
 eternal, uses the same word in another place, as a high and grand 
 title peculiar to God alone. Rom. vi. 26. 
 
 And as God only is eternal, in the strict sense of the term, and 
 the cause of eternity ; so all eternal things, or things which shall 
 remain to eternity, are ascribed to Him as the agent, and deriv- 
 ed from Him as the source. Thus, his kingdom is an everlasting 
 kiugdo7n ; his power, an eternal fiotver ; his righteousness, an 
 everlasting righteousness ; his glory, an eternal glory. In like 
 manner, what is derived from Him, partakes of his duration : 
 And, tlierefore, his redeemed receive an everlasting consolation, a 
 crown of glory ivhich fadcth not, a life eternal, and do reign with 
 him for ever and ever. In a word all that shall endure to eterni- 
 ty, must and doth proceed from Him, who only can possess, in 
 their proper sense and relation to each other, those glorious titles 
 oi Jehovah Alebim the Truth, the very Alehim of Lives (or of all 
 liie^) the King of Eternity. Jer. x. 10. 
 
 Fiom hence it appears, that scarce any, and perhaps no word> 
 could more positively assert the truth of the Deity, than this one 
 wordLtcrnal; and, accordingly, we find it ascribed to no being 
 whatever, but to that hig/i and lofty one, who inhabiteth* etej-vity. 
 All the multitude of the blest, ail the Angels of God, are immor- 
 tal, and in G(jd, shall participate a future eternity : But not one 
 of them can say, that he existed from all past eternity, since, in 
 that case, he must deny himscli to be a creature : because all cre- 
 ation, with respect to the ]jeing which created, is a beginning 
 io be. None of ihpse therefore aue eternal : none of these 
 possess eternity in their own nature, or fiom theinsclves ; but 
 
 * The word implies not only to occupy or fill by inhabiting, but to rci:t as 
 in an liubitation. 'I'o occujiy, therefore, eternity as a wi.ole, and to rest in 
 that whole, is a most sublime expicssion of tlie pow cr of the D.vine Majes- 
 ty, llviinan authors \\v\ii attempted this sense m tlieir expressions of his 
 eterm;}, particularly some of the ancient phdosophers. Bocthius, the 
 Christian ph.losophcr, addresses Cod very nearl) in this idea; 
 Stabilisqiie manens das cvncta tnovtri. 
 
 The Uubbins are said to call God mpD Place, with the same notion of 
 his rtsting' or stuiidiiig- inuU that exists by this word, they would express 
 Uis Omupresence ; as, by ."iid jis [literUlly, -Mthout end] tlicy mean his 
 etfrnitij, or ivjimtude. 
 
ETERNAL SPIRIT. 101 
 
 are limited in the gua?itity and gualitij of their existence, and 
 are dependent for the continuaJice of it. Now, then, as the Ho- 
 ly Spirit is expressly styled the eternal S/iirity without any ex- 
 pression of his dependence or derivation, but the contrary ; 
 it is a plain and precise declaration, from the word of truth, that 
 lie is (he Eternal God^ who was in Christ reconciling the ivorld 
 of his elect to himself^ and through whom Christ offered u^i him- 
 self without s/ict to God, i. c. the Father. 
 
 If, aftt-r so positive a testimony, any one can doubt of the Divi- 
 nity of the Holy Spirit, it may be worth while to recur to thexxxii. 
 chapter of Deuteronomy, in which we have a definition of all false 
 Gods, with their abomination in the sight of Jehovah. The stri- 
 kiiit;; circumstance, laid down in their character, is, that they are 
 new, newly come up, of a late original ; strange, of a nature re- 
 mote from the divine, and different from it. The idolaters, there- 
 fore, were cursed ^br their Gods, or rather Devils who so im- 
 posed themselves upon them, and with their Gods. This service 
 to these new a^^AJinite beings is called, by Isaiah, rebelling and 
 ■vexing the Holy Spirit ; and \\\c punishment was, that this Holy 
 Spirit was turned to be their enemy., and fought against them. 
 Is. Ixiii. 10. But, wherefore ? Because they left the service of Him, 
 who is the only true and everlasting God, and turned to idols, who 
 2.VQ false and^ni7f,and therefore are termed vanities, erjiptinessesj 
 nothings. In opposition to all these vanities and errors, Jehovali-' 
 speaks so often of his et»cr/as/z«^'- name, and of the eternal dura- 
 tion of his nature and attributes.* 
 
 In this view, what a blasphemy must it be to ascribe the epithet 
 Eternal to any being but the great One ; to Him, who fills eter- 
 nity with his presence, and who is himself the very life and spring 
 of eternity ? And, on the other hand, how direct a testimony is 
 this ascription to the Holy Ghost, that He is the eternal Jehovah, 
 whose kingdojn is an everlasting kingdom, and whose dominion 
 endureth throughout all ages ? 
 
 Need we more proof of the divinity of this gracious Spirit from 
 the eternity of his nature ? — Blessed be God for his word, we have 
 (if required) proof upon proof, as well as line %ipon line. What 
 think, we of the following scriptures. 
 
 * There is a grand idea of the superiority of the divine nature to all the 
 descriptions and conceptions oitime in those words, which Moscs hath used 
 in tlie xc Psal. A thousand years in thy sight are bnt as yesterday, when i*, 
 is past, Sic. 1. e. As ihe day p.ist, vvlucii beuig- now no more, is less to us 
 than the present existing moment ; so are a thpusand years almost a nothing 
 i'.i tlic ctcrmty of God. 
 
\02 ETERNAL SPIRIT. 
 
 Gal. vL 8. He that sowcth to the Spirit, shall^ ex. m Tlvevf<.x]ei;f 
 of or from the Spirit [i.e. by the S/iirit's gift and powti] reap life 
 everlaslinif. From hence it may be argued, that 
 
 //t, who bcstoweth iij'e cvcrlastiiig^musthc the author and pos- 
 sessor of it : 
 
 But eternal lift (says the Apostle, in Rom. vi. 23.) is the gift of 
 C;od : 
 
 Therefore, the Spirit, from whom it is reaped, or derived, and 
 by whom consequently it is bestowed, is necessarily God. 
 
 To the real Christian, this title lA Eternal Spirit affords a hope 
 full ofimmortalitij. He is led to perceive, from the eternity of 
 liis nature, that he is capable of performing all the great and glo- 
 rious operations ascribed to Him in the scriptures, and that those 
 operations, upon this account, are /zcrjwcnew? ?a-\d perpetual. On- 
 ly because He is the £ter7ial, could Hebe a party in the everlast- 
 ing cQi>mant made before all worlds, of which so frequent men- 
 lion is made : Only because He is God, could He stipulate to be- 
 stow those blessings of grace and of glory, which spring from Je- 
 hovah, and are at his sole disposal. His purpose is an eternal pur- 
 po.se, because, both in essence and person, he himself is eternal. 
 
 Hence the believer sees, that this counsel is also immutable, (for 
 i;iolhing can be eternal oy perfect, which is subject to 7nulabilityJ 
 not exposed to diminution or chang-c, but ordered in all things and 
 i,tire ; that all these things were known to him from eternity, not 
 because, they might exist, but because, in his purpose which 
 could not alter, they viiist exist ; and that He beholds the whole 
 series of things, not as they arise to our view in parts or degrees, 
 but as one great whole, of which He himself is the one great 
 cause. When a man stands upon a mountain (to use a simile of 
 the schoolmen,) he can see an whole army in march from the be- 
 ijinning to the end at one view ; while another, who walks in the 
 valley and is a part of the train, can see but very few, and those 
 only who are close about him. So God (if one may compare im- 
 mensity by minuteness) viev/s at once all infinitude ; and all 
 things revolve in the order, in which He hath placed them. This 
 order consequently, is immutable and 7iot to be broken^ 
 
 Hen'cc, likewise, the Christian is led to consider the omnipre- 
 sence of the Divine Spirit, who only can be so, as He is eternal. 
 It has been observed before, that a creature must be confined to 
 place, and must begin with time. But this Almighty Spirit, as He 
 is never nowhere, so He always exists : He is present with the 
 blest in Heaven, and never absent from Uie redeemed on earth. 
 
ETERNAL SPIRIT. 103 
 
 In every moment of time, He diffuses his everlasting consolation 
 through all the mansions, the innumerable mansions of glory, an<\ 
 sheds his sacred influences upon all, even the meanest, believers 
 in houses of clay. From pole to pole it is but as a point with Him 
 who views the various nations of this habitable globe, like a few 
 atoms of dust. As Jerom phrases it ; « The Court of Heaven is 
 equally open at once for Jerusalem and Britain." There is not a 
 sigh of prayer, nor an emotion of praise, however secret in any o* 
 his people's hearts, but what He perfectly knows, because He first 
 imparted it to them. He knows indeed the mind of every Spirit ; 
 but especially the mind of those, who are the objects of his pecu- 
 liar care. 
 
 From hence, lastly, the believer is privileged to rejoice, that, as 
 his salvation is not the purpose of a day, nor rose upon the spur of 
 some accidental occasion ; so it shall endure, like its great and 
 bountiful author, for evermore. God gives like himself: And 
 his gift is eternal life through Jesus Christ. The Spirit impai'ts 
 this blessing, through his own divine nature, maintains it amidst 
 all the agitations of an evil heart and an evil world, and secures it^^ 
 beyond all possibility of decay, throughout its own eternity.-— 
 With how much reason, then, may the believer entertain ever-- 
 lasting consolation^ and good hofie through grace ? With how 
 much absurdity, do those persons think or talk of either, who 
 dream of this Holy Spirit as a creature, an emanation.^ a quality, a 
 7iothi7ig ? — If He be only a creature ; he is to «s, in respect to the 
 eternity of our salvation, but as nothing. 
 
 What comfort results from this whole matter to the weak, the 
 troubled, or desponding soul ! Come build upon this rock of 
 cj'es, and thou shalt never fail, never be moved. Remember, his 
 kingdom is a kingdom of all ages [Psalm clxv. 13. margin,] and 
 his dominion throughout all generations. He hath visited thee in 
 thy generation, and set up a throne within thy heart for his own 
 praise. Now, look to him upon this throne; and seek to ask in 
 prayer nothing but what shall be for thy real welfare, and to offer 
 in praise nothing but what shall be for his own glory : at the same 
 time, pray to leave and give up the whole into his hands. Then, 
 rest assured, upon the faithfulness of his own word and promise, 
 that thy praise shall be accepted, and thy prayer answered, through 
 Christ Jesus. — " P.ut I want comfort ; and surely, I should have 
 it, if I belonged to him." O that «e//?5// spirit, which ever rises 
 Tvithin us ! Thou ivantcst this thing ; thou wantest the other ; 
 ihowivantest Heaven upon earth j all comforts and no troubles; 
 
•101 ETERNAL SPIRIT. 
 
 but, if it be for God's glory, tliat thou sliouldest want all these 
 things (like those noble believers in Hebr. xi.) throughout thy 
 whole way to Heaven ; art thou willing that God's purpose should 
 be answered, rather than thine ? — Speak to thy heart, reader; and 
 bid it tell thee no lie — Canst thou give up all, without reserve, to 
 God's will ; and keep hack nn part from him ? — I know, thou art 
 staggered at this inquiry, and hast need to make a very long 
 pause — Consider well ; and pronounce not hastily. — In the mean 
 time, recollect, that to induce this disposition in thy soul, to work 
 this new life within thee, and to break down the strength of the 
 old ; is one great end of all the divine visitations within thee, and 
 upon thy affairs. Providence, to a believer, has no end but grace : 
 and when the effects and purposes of grace are accomplished in 
 him and by him, he has no more business in this life. Our unhap- 
 piness consists, as Christians, in getting into a multitude of things, 
 for our oivn ends or with relation to others, without committing 
 our Tjay to the Lord, submitting to his will, or considering his 
 glory. We feel hurt and disappointed, if our wishes are not at- 
 tained ; if men annoy us ; if our affairs are entangled; if our per- 
 sons are slighted: if we fiill into sickness, decay, or tribulation. 
 And can all this affliction spring out of the ground ? No, indeed j 
 there is a very superior cause; and as merciful (could we view it 
 aright) as it is superior. We are all, by nature, froward cliildren; 
 and want much weaning. The earth is our mother, and we love 
 her milk : and we often roar aloud, only because we cannot ob- 
 tain it. But God, having provided some better thing for w«, 
 takes us off from undue attachment to what men call their com- 
 forts and enjoyments, makes us feel how poor and wretched we arc 
 in our ownselvesjand at length draws us on progressively to him- 
 self. We are then more and more in earnest, that he would not 
 merely bestow temporarxj^ but everlasting cojisolations upon us. 
 If we get indeed into the spirit of the world, let our pretences be 
 •what they may; we are sure to lose the sweet presence of God's 
 gracious spirit, and to go lean and dry in our souls. And this is 
 one great reason of the empty, barren profession of the gospel, 
 which we see in so many sad instances about us at this time.^ 
 Speak, reader to thy heart ; and ask, if it hath not been so with 
 thee P — Thou hast disputed perhaps for Christ and his gospel, 
 and indeed very sincerely at the bottom, but at the same time with 
 a secret wish to display thy own knowledge or talents, or with the 
 little mean view of conquering an opponent. Thou didst not dis- 
 putc 6y Christ, as well as /er himj and, therefore^ when thoi: 
 
ETERNAL SPIRIT. 105 
 
 retlredst to thyself^ thou hadst no other dci'iglit or compla- 
 cency, but the poor flat satisfaction of having had the haulest 
 head or the most voluble tongue.* When thou earnest to thy- 
 self, how glad wouldest thou have been, «o^ to have disputed at 
 all ? Christ was not glorified, thy heart i>ot edified, and perhaps 
 some other persons only offended. The martyr was in a much 
 better frame, who said, " I cannot di.^fiute for Christ ; but I can 
 die for him." — .Thou hast mixed, perhaps, with the great run of 
 the professing world, which, alas 1 hath its passions like the rest 
 of the world at large. Thou hast heard great outcries about pa- 
 triotism, and protestantism, and liberty of conscience, and many 
 other finely isounding names ; and hast been persuaded, it may 
 be, to run with a multitude, v/ho have talked mtich, and loudly 
 too, of all these things, till thou hast been as heated^ if not as idle 
 and ripe for folly, as they. But, who opposes the Antichrist in 
 reality ?• — He, who hath ceased from man, and depends upon the 
 living God. Who is the true patriot ?■ — He, who prays for his 
 king and country, rather than he, who only prates about them ?— 
 Who enjoys and promotes liberty of conscience ? — The Chris- 
 iiaji, who possesses God's free Spirit^ who hath this noisy foolish 
 world under his feet, who tramples upon the powers of darkness, 
 and whose aim is, that the everlasting gospel may be sent forth 
 to all the world. Out of this frame and temper, the believer is 
 out of his element, finds no liberty, and can justly expect none. 
 God's flock is a quiet assembly : dogs and wolves only set up a 
 I'oaring. Art thou offended at this, reader ! — Turn inward ; and first 
 be offendedat thyself. Take shame to thy heart, that thou hast ever 
 allowed such odious dispositions within Christ's sacred femplc ; 
 and much more, if thou hast ever dared to plead for them. Regret, 
 that thou hast been so forgetful of thy true strength, as a Chris- 
 tian, as to employ any thing, but (what indeed is an « invincible 
 armada") /az7/2 and /o-crt/er, in the behalf of thyself and of others; 
 and seek ability and wisdom to handle those truly potent vjea- 
 poiiS) which the Apostle recommends to our use, in 2 Cor. x. In 
 compunction of thine own spirit, implore the power of God's S/n- 
 r?V, that his kingdom may be quietly established in thy heart over 
 all the rebellions of the man of sin which are in it ; and, in the 
 room of the abominable rage and follies of the men of the world, 
 
 * If the reader would wish to examine his motives of acting or speaking 
 for God, he may find a touchstone for his heart (and tmchstones every sin- 
 cere believer desires) in a very excellent Sermon, preaclied by the late Ecv. 
 ZVIr. Bostwick, styled Self disclaimed, and Christ exalted. 
 
 VOL. II. Q 
 
:0'J F/i'ERNAL SPIRIT- 
 
 that thou may est receive the ivisdom ivhich is from above, uliicii 
 isjtrs( fiurc, then ficaceable, gentle, easy to be inlreatcd, full of 
 mercy and good fruits, without luranglifig [aJ'<«x.p<7e«] or cen- 
 siU'W!^, and without hy/iocrisij. James iii. 17. Remember, Chris - 
 Tjan, if ever thou fallest into a controversy or cabaJ, that there is 
 such a text as this in thy Bible. 
 
 As the ways of the world are net the way.<i of /leacc ; so there 
 is but one sprin?^ of comfort in this dreary wilderness. The 
 Eternal S/ririt, shining upon his word, can only illujuinate the 
 daricness of our minds ; and, pouring forth his own gladness, can 
 only refresh our hearts. Looking simply to him, O believer, 
 thou art safe, among all the corruptions of thine own nature, anfl 
 amidst all the confusions of time about thee. Come what may, 
 (and nothing ca-ii come but what thy Father wills) all shall work- 
 together for thy good. To the world it may secjn, and may be 
 otherwise ; but thou art not to reckon from the world, nor with 
 it. Thou hast a sacred record to peruse, sure and fixed as tlie 
 being and throne of God : And, from this record, thou art to take 
 the estimate of all things. There is a sanctuary into which thoix 
 art privileged to go, and to learn the ends of providence and 
 grace ; while those, who remain without, see nothing but either 
 confusions or themselves. In \h\<i holy oracle, thou wilt find the 
 iindcrstandi7ig, which is true ; and, by it, thou shalt be guided in 
 to all the truth. I^To outward things can harm thee ; if all be but 
 right within : And it is thy privilege to receive the dispensations 
 of Heaven, in a very different frame from the men ot the world. 
 What consumes them, should only iiurify thee. " lu the same 
 fire (said a venerable father") gold brightens and rubbish fumes : 
 under the same stroke, the chaff is bruised, and the corn educed : 
 Nor are the husks confounded with the oil, under the pressure of 
 the same weight. Even so ; the same visitation proves, purifies* 
 and purges the Christian ; while it ruins, wastes, and destroys the 
 •man of the world. This last rages and blasphemes ; while the 
 ether prays and givci thanks to God, in one and the same afflic- 
 tion. From whence it appears, that it is not of so much conse- 
 quence, what things are suffered, as what the persons are who 
 suffer them.*'* Let a man be a Christian, and let him suflcr as 
 a Christian ; it shall all be well with him at the last. The heaven- 
 ly potter puts his vessels into the furnace of tribulation, not to 
 oroak them, but to nt them for use and glnry, 2 Tim. ii. 2 ! . Oar 
 
 •' A(i£r. lie civit. D"! 1. !. c P 
 
ETERNAL SPIRIi . i07 
 
 ii^Iit affliction (light, even where heaviest) %vhich in but for a mo- 
 ment, luorketh for us afar more exceeding and eternal loeight of 
 ^lorij ; v.'hile we look not at the t/migs 'ivhicli are seen, but at the 
 things which are not seen ; for the things, which are seen, are 
 temjioral ; but the (ht?!gs, ivhich are not .%ccn, are eternal, i Co!% 
 iV. 16, 17. 
 
 And why shovild they look at, and much less bo swallowed up 
 in, temjioral matters, who have an eternal hope, gn eternal life, an 
 eternal home, an eternal Spirit, for their comfort, portion, and 
 everlasting security ! O why should such heirs of glorv wallow in 
 the dung, or covet the dross, of this giddy, dying world 1 Whv 
 should such immortals be bowed down to the dregs of mortality I 
 
 At this Angels may wonder, and Christians should mourn— ~ 
 
 should mourn, that Angels have reason to wonder and be aston- 
 ished, that Christians can stoop so low, and rise so heavily to join 
 in the anthems of praise. Could we see, what xVngcls and those 
 spirits of the just now behold, to whom the veil of corruption is 
 no more ; what manner of persons should we aim to be? — It 
 seems almost impossible, when wo get a little way up the mount 
 on which they stand, that our apprehensions of divine things 
 should ever sink so low into this vale of tears, as Ihey too — too of- 
 ten do.* With what sense and force, hath every heart a reason, 
 even the most enlivened heart among us, to cry out ; JVoe is mr. 
 
 * We know but little in reality of the nalural world, and far less of the 
 spiritual. What we, in following- ihe scripture, term the covenant of grace, 
 with all its relations and dependencies, may only form a part of an infinite- 
 ly greater system, extended to worlds upon worlds heyond and above us. 
 The A.ngels, principrdities, powers, might, and dominions, iix the Heaven ■ 
 :i';s, of which we have only hints revealed to us, bcca-iise;, as yet, more is, 
 not necessary for us to know, may have such a connection with the fall, and 
 jierhaps, (at least those who are evil among them) such a share in produ 
 cing it, as may vastly surpass our present powers or conception. It jilain- 
 3y appears, that, as this world of ours makes but a part of a great whole., 
 so its spiritual concerns may have a relation to transactions in the Heavens, 
 which it may constitute a great part of our happiness to grow more anit 
 more acquainted with throughout eternity Itself; as doubtless it will add 
 to the felicity of all the inhabitants of glory, of whate\-er order or degree, 
 to see the consummation of the elect with them, through th.c merit aiui 
 power of the Redeemer. 
 
 How little do we know of the principle of natural life, even in ourselves ^ 
 3Iuch less do we know of tlie life of other beings arouiul uy ; and least of 
 all of the life of spiritual beings and themiumer of their agencies or opc- 
 ra'dons. We understand not tlie life of a mite ; and yet we are privileg-e<l 
 to enjoy the life of God, which we know that we do enjoy by its eHects, sji 
 distinct and superior to the course and bent of natural life, as it now e.\- 
 ists in our fallen state, and so plainly stated and delineated in the word of 
 God. — ^Thereis no end to these wonders ! They are all unsearchable ! In the 
 fulness of times, all things are to be gathered together in one, in Clmst, both 
 •yy/uch are inHsaven, ar.ti -vhich are o'l earth, even in h!:,'.. F.ph. i 13. 
 
iU3 ETERNAL SPIRIT. 
 
 that I r.ojourn in I\Ier;ech, that I chvcll in the tents of Kedar I — 
 Corruption presses hard upon us on every side ; and darkness, 
 M'ith all its power, combines to attack our minds. O Ibr more of 
 Uiis Eternal Spirit to dispel the encroaching i^Ioom, and to cheer 
 lis with his heavenly light ! — We are called out of nothing ; wc 
 ivere spoken into being, when it was by no means necessary that 
 \ve should exist at all, and, by a wonderful act of the iVeest grace 
 and mercy, are made partakers of an everlasting existence. With 
 what humility and prostration of soul, should we, therefore, enter- 
 tain this benefit, and the means, which God's infinite condescen- 
 sion used to procure it? How happy in our hearts, how holy in 
 cur lives, ought we to be, in thankfulness for such unmerited, 
 such superabundant good ! — for good, which our thankfulness 
 cannot fully acknowledge ; no, not even to eternity. Eternity will 
 rot complete this joyful employment, though it will be continued 
 through eternity. It will ever be " beginning to begin ;" never 
 ending, nor approaching an end. — " Q my soul ! says the Chris- 
 tian ; is this thine ineffable portion, through tlie love of the i^'fl- 
 ther^ the grace of the 5o«, and the power of the eternal Spirit ; 
 and shall I not stand with rapture and amazement, at such a con- 
 fluence of all the divine attributes, in all the divine persons, for 
 such a poor, such a helpless, worthless sinner ! Can I withhold 
 iny feeble praise, can I suppress the grateful emotions of my 
 soul, to whom so much is given, and so much forgiven ? — O no! 
 I ought not, I would not, I cannot. Let me join in the triumphant 
 fervor of the holy Polycarp, who when he was leading to martyr- 
 dom, could lift up his voice and say, O thou true and faithful God ; 
 I praise, and bless, and glorify thee in all things, by the eternal 
 God and High Priest Christ Jesus, thy beloved Son ; through 
 ivhom,and ivith whom, and also with the Holy Spirit, be the glory 
 ascribed to thee both notv and for ever ! Let me join in the Spirit 
 with that blessed and enraptured throng, who, with a great voice 
 and luispeakable ardor, are shouting in Heaven ; Hallelujah I sal- 
 'oation, and glory, and honor and poiver, unto the Lord our God : 
 
 liven so, Hallelujah .' Arnen^ Thou shalt join them, happy 
 
 soul ; for the Lord hath spoken it : Thou shalt join them, in the 
 power of the Eternal Spirit, never more to be sepai'ated through- 
 out eternity. — Lay aside the willow, then, and take up the palm ; 
 shouting, and for ever shouting, Hallelu-J.iH ! 
 
COMFORTER. 10^ 
 
 CO]MFORTER. 
 
 LEARNED men are divided upon the proper significatioi: 
 of the original 'vvord. Some contend that the Paraclete is so 
 called, because of his office as Comforter ; and othei;s believe 
 that tfec name strictly signifies an Advocate. The word, ver}. 
 probably relates to both ; for, in the application of the office to hir. 
 people's souls, the Holy Spirit, as an Advocate, with God mthera} 
 is also their inward Comforter by the exercise of Lis intercession. 
 He is their Comforter, by explaining how much he is their Friend 
 and Advocate, who has taken upon himself their everlasting in- 
 terests, and who will never leave tior forsake them. The dis- 
 pute, therefore, seems rather a strife of words ; since the thiiir^ 
 implied is nearly one and the same. We will treat of the name 
 in both views, and endeavour to shew, that, in both, He, who is 
 this Paraclete, must be God, and therefore able to perform, 
 •whatever the illustrious name signifies, for the salvation of his 
 people. 
 
 The title remarkably occurs in our Saviour's last affecting dis- 
 courses to his disciples. He was about to remove from them, 
 and, with respect to their outward sense, to relinquish the office 
 of his personal protection and comfort, which, from their first 
 calling, they had enjoyed continually from him. It v/as needful 
 and exiicdient for thein, that he, in his person as Christ, should 
 depart from their bodies, in order that the Spirit of Truth might 
 perform his spiritual functions of salvation in their souls. For it. 
 very plainly appears, that all their first knowledge of Christ was 
 but after the flesh (2 Cor. v. 16.j and that they had but poor and 
 low conceptions of his spiritual kingdom, and of the spiritual 
 -state into which it was necessary for them to be brought ; until 
 i.he Spirit descended from on high, and made them a very different 
 sort of men. Christ, as God, could, no doubt, have eflected this 
 mighty change in their minds ; but it is evident, that he did not ; 
 and it is as evident, that the Holy Spirit did. The reason seems 
 equally obvious ; for, as Christ had declared, that except a man be 
 born of the Spirit he could not enter into the kingdoin ; no the as- 
 sumption of this office by the Spirit was to be manifested, in a 
 way no less explicit than illustrious, upon the first and greatest 
 cf the disciples, on the day of Pentecost. On that day, a visible 
 demonstration was given to the then Church, and through it to the 
 l?hurc.h in all future ages, that the Divine Spirit was the greai 
 
1 10 COMFORTER. 
 
 agent both to purify, as with Jtrcy the souls of the redeemed, and 
 also to impart wisdom and to enable tliem to speak wisdom to 
 others, by being to each of them a cloven tongue. The Spirit had 
 exercised this office, in fact, from the beginning ; as, in the same 
 manner, Christ was a Lamb slain from the foundation of the 
 •world: For as the benefit o^ his mediatorial office began with 
 Adam, Abel, and the first of the faithful ; so did the efficacy of 
 the Spirit's work, in applying Christ's atonement and mediation 
 to them. This benefit and efficacy were always (like the great 
 Agents themselves) distinct as to circumstances in the faith of 
 believers, but never divided: They went, (as it were) Jiari fiassu^ 
 or hand-in-hand ; so that wherever the blood of propitiation was 
 sprinkled, in the purpose of the covenant; the testimony or seal- 
 ing of the Spirit followed of course, according to the same pur- 
 pose. To ivill and to do with God, are as indivisible as the attri- 
 butes, from v/hich (according to our notions) the willing and the 
 acting do proceed : And, therefore, as Christ was to be the Lamb 
 slain without the possibility of a failure, and is said, upon this 
 ground, to have been dain from the beginning ; so the Holy Spi- 
 rit was Jiromised to be the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to his 
 people, that they might know their salvation, but yet was ever 
 that same Spirit of wisdom, who spoke by the Prophets and other 
 holy men, and who opened his mysteries to believers, from the 
 foundation of the vvorld. All this was done, because the covenant 
 and purpose of the Godhead could not but be fulfdled ; for to 
 lum all things ^vc present, and the intention and act the same. 
 Christ could not but perform bis undertakings ; nor could the 
 Spirit fail in his. An immutable determination c::isted in both, 
 as persons in the Godhead ; And the whole Godhead or essence 
 Avas engaged in the operations of the respective persons. There 
 is no making sense of the Bible, but upon this foundation : And 
 upon this foundation, there is the most wonderful harmony, wis- 
 dom, truth, righteousness, and mercy, pervading the whole of its 
 revelation ; so as to render it to those, whose understandings are 
 opened to understand it (Luke xxiv- 45.) the most delightful as 
 well as most interesting book in the world. The want of this 
 view hath been attended with many other wants ; for when Christ 
 and the mind of his Spirit do not appear as the basis and substra- 
 tum of all religion : moral virtue, fitness, propriety, and many 
 x)ther fine names become mere names only, and are scarce under- 
 stood in fact by those who use them. Yet the fashionable divini- 
 ty of the day is founded upon these sounding ;vords and notions — ■ 
 
COMFORTER. lU 
 
 »20/fon5, which are rot realized by those -vvho talk cf them, and 
 ■which cannotbe realized at any rate by any fallen, helpless, sinful 
 \yorms, without the power of that Spirit, which many of those 
 worms affect to ridicule or deny. It may well be called modern 
 divinity ; for, God knows, it has very little connection with his 
 most ancient book the Bible. 
 
 Spiritual and eternal consolation, wrought or established in the 
 soul, is an act of God only. Believers cannot be thus comforted 
 but by the God of all Comfort. The ground., the means, the end^ 
 of his consolation, all result from his wisdom and power. The 
 ajiplication of the term toman,.shev.'s him to have been in a state 
 oi weakness and misery. If be were not ivretched, the adminis- 
 tration of comfort would be too superfluous an act to rec'uire so 
 many circumstances of detail, which the scriptures lay down con- 
 cerning it. If he were not 'weak, and incapable of being support- 
 ed by created aid ; the office of a divine Comforter would be en- 
 tirely useless. But, being both yi-ci^/f and z^w^onf, the sound of 
 an Almighty Paraclete, an everlasting ComforteryS.zi omniscient 
 Advocate, rings with unutterable delight in the awakened ear. 
 The heart, when made alive to God and renewed, feels the need of 
 this office ; nor is the promise of this gracious aid any longer an 
 idle tale, an enthusiastic dream, or at best a scriptural something, 
 with which people now-a-days have nothing to do ; but glad ti' 
 dings indeed, tidings of great joy, an assurance o? joy unsfieaka- 
 ble and full of glory. Let infidels, in fond conceit of themselvesj 
 affect to frown ; and the profane, in equal ignorance of their own 
 hearts, attempt to despj^e j the convinced sinner feels the worth 
 of God's promise, and is neither to be laughed out of his spi- 
 ritual sense by the buffoon, nor by the sophister to be tricked 
 out of his hope. He knows that their tone, if not their hearts^ 
 will hereafter be changed, according to that striking passage in 
 Acts V. 34, &c. and his worst wish, for the worst of them all, is, 
 that both heart and tone, for their authors' sakes, may be duly 
 changed before that hereafter shall come. 'Tis one thing, how- 
 ever, to laugh in the gaiety and health of life ; and quite another 
 to rejoice in death itself, and in the nearly approaching views of 
 a solemn eternity. 
 
 As Jehovah is the author of all true consolation, so is each /;<??■- 
 oon in him. Henc-e the Father is styled, the Father of Mercies, 
 and the God of all Comfort. 1 Cor. i. 3. Hence Christ is called 
 the Paraclete, Advocate, ov Comforter, 1 John ii. 1. in 'whomX.h.cv& 
 \'?. comolationyV\v(\,u. l.ahd who, with the Father, comforts his 
 
lij COMFORTER.. 
 
 "pcoiilc's /icarts,m)'\ gives than cvc7-lasting cOfisoiatioit and good 
 hofic through grace. 2 Thess. ii, 16, 17. Hence also the S/iiriC 
 is the Comforter, or Advocate ; and his people arc privileged to 
 nvaik in the comfort of the Holy Ghost. Acts ix. 31. It woidd be 
 beyond the natural bound we perceive fixed to all inferior beings, 
 ii" creatures were to give the consolation, the everlasting consola- 
 tion which Christ and the Spirit are said to give : It would be in- 
 verting the order of all things, if these, were they created beings, 
 should attempt those eternal mercies, and spiritual creations, 
 which are promised in the word to the people of God. In that 
 case, it would bo confounding subordinate with fircordinaie, and 
 creature with Greater, beyond the apprehension of faith, as well 
 as the comprehension of reason. The scriptures hold averydif 
 f'erent language. / Jehovah, and none else : Ifyrm the light, and 
 create darkness ; I viakc fieace^ and create affliction ;* I Jehovah 
 do all these things. Is. xlv. 7. When men want spiritual comfort, 
 the scriptures speak of the consolations of Go(\. Job. xv. 11. and 
 say, that it is Jehovah, who must comfort Zion. Is. Ii. 3. It mubt 
 be averred concerning the creatures, in this view, what Job said 
 of his friends, 7niserable comforters are they all! There is no 
 helfi in them. But, looking to God the Father, the redeemed 
 can bless him, who ordained them peace ; looking to God the 
 Son, they can magnify him, as the promised consolation of Israel } 
 and looking to God the Holy Ghost, they can pray for his holy 
 comfort, as from that o^/ter great Comforter,^ which was promised 
 to console and conduct them in the Avay to Heaven. They 
 receive this comfort from each of the divine persons, by the agen- 
 cy of the third: and, from the happiest experience, can say of 
 the ivhole essence or Jehovah, that lie indeed is the God of all 
 Comfjrt, and hath extended his peace to their souls. This Com- 
 forter speaketh to the hcart,\ and He alone. All others may visit 
 the ear without effect, cr with no better effect than music out of 
 season. Peace is the fruit of the lips ; and God may bless the 
 ■voice of man in speaking about his peace : But man's voice is 
 nothing but voice, unlcskj God create peace to accompany it. Is. 
 Ivii. 19. 
 
 * y) Affliction, or sorrow, wliich arc opposite to peace ; us darkness is to 
 U^ht. The text h;is a double a;it.lthes;s. 
 
 ■j- Another Comforter : John xiv. 16. Here is a most obvious distinction 
 of this divine person from the So'.i — anotlier personally — ycl the same essen- 
 tially ; for he adds, Iziillnot leave you comfortless, I xvill come ag-ain unto 
 you. The foiTner text sh.ews tke distinction, tlie latter the unity, of the two 
 divine persons, in the divine essence. 
 
 + Has. ii. 14. See LivcliUi's Note upon the passage in Leigh's Cn7 Sacra. 
 
COMFORTER. in 
 
 This Holy Spirit, and heavenly Comforter, is to be 7^/:'/* liis 
 people, and to dwell in them, — ^^lo be irt and unih his people in all 
 ages, — at one and the same mofnent in all countries — in heaver: 
 above and in earth beneath at once — without conJineme7it ; ■with- 
 out inter tnissioii ; and without end. Is it possible then to con- 
 ceive any thing like this of a creature ? Who can venture to as- 
 sert, that a Jinite being is equal lo tliis momentous, this injinitc 
 task? Is that to be called folly or presumption, which can dare 
 10 pronounce, ih^i ell the creatures together can create and svJiJiIl 
 such infinite and everlasting good ? — The languageris strong, but 
 not too strong for the truth, that Beelzebub himself, liar as he is. 
 hath not said it : It is a truth felt to the very bottom of hell. The 
 mightiest angel there cannot create for himself a moment's enjoy- 
 ment of Jieace, or a moment's ce&^atiun from pain. Though re- 
 luctantly, yeteren Satan owned the omnipotence of Christin the 
 flesh. He hath owned too the power of the Divine Spirit in the 
 hearts of his people,* to the confusioo of himself; and all his 
 lying oracles. 
 
 This Spirit brooded, like a dove, upon the f^ce of the troubled 
 deep ; and he warms, in tender love, the far more troubled deep 
 of man's disordered soul. This mystic dove visits his Church 
 i'as Noah's dove, his emblem, did the ark) vlth the olive branch 
 of eternal peace, prognosticates an approaching rest to the hea- 
 ven-conducted vessel, and leaves it not, even when in full view 
 of the everlasting hills. This holy dove, in confirmation of his 
 consolatory office, witnessed visibly for Christ at his baptism, and 
 afterwards spiritually a6ocf(? or rested upon him, when this em-' 
 ])lem of his presence was seen no more. He took the name and 
 ?ype, possibly to express the fertility, meekness, purity and love 
 of his grace in the redeemed, the renewal of their minds into 
 the same pattern by his almighty power, or, as his true forerun- 
 ner, the immediate mission of the great Redeemer. He is, in 
 every sense, the spiritual oz7to make the face shine with the splen- 
 dor of his holiness, and the spiritual ivine to make glad the heart 
 of man with his consolation. Ps. civ. 15. 
 
 The usage of the term ivine was to express the ^ect of his 
 agency in the soul. The word ivine is derived by some from the 
 same root with the Avord dove, and is often used in the scriptures 
 
 * Tertullian, in his Apolo^, hath several remaikable passag-es upon this 
 ■subject, and makes an appeal to the senses of the Roman people tlien living- 
 {circ. ann. 200) for the truth of his assertion, that " the Devil in the ora- 
 cle, or in the possessed, would confess himself to be the DevlL '.vhen cludt' 
 'enged to declare it by a CAns^/a/i." Jpol c. U^. 
 VOL. II. F 
 
114 COMFORTER. 
 
 to s'v^infy c6n8olatio7i. Thus the wise tnan says; Give wine to 
 therd that be of heavy hearts. Prov. xxxi. 6. that is, comfort. 
 Comc^ buy v/inc^ l:fc. nvithout firue. Is. Iv. 1. that is, receive 
 jny free consolation. The like may be observed of other passa- 
 ges. And here, though it be a digression, it may not be altoge- 
 ther wide of our subject to remark, how it is, that wine is em- 
 ployed to symbolize this effect. Its natural property is, undoubt- 
 edly, to cheer the animal spirits ; and hence it is very fit to an- 
 swer the spiritual idea of comfort: but, if we search a little far- 
 ther, v/e shall find a still more cogent reason why it is used to 
 imply consolation, and wherefore it is employed by the wisdom of 
 God for this purpose. Christ instituted the sacrament of bread 
 and nvine for a memorial of himself: Do this (said he) in remem- 
 hrance of me. We are at no loss to know, what the bread means ; 
 for he has told us, that it signified himself and that they, who 
 partake of this bread, live by him. They become the members 
 of his body. The wfne, likewise, he explains to denote his blood ; 
 and commands all his disciples to drink of it, in order to live for 
 ever. But under the law, the positive command Avas, that the 
 blood -of the creatures, sacrificed or imsacrificed, should by no 
 means be tasted ; and yet, here, Christ commands us to drink 
 his own blood. The reason of these commands, considered to- 
 gether, seems very striking and important. The blood signifies 
 the life ; and man cannot live by pouring out the lives of victims 
 under the Jewish dispensation, nor by the lives of the creatures 
 under any dispensation. Their lives could not atone for his for- 
 feited life ; nor could he live before God by all the powers of cre- 
 ated beings. In token of this, he was not to support his natural 
 life by their blood or life, under the law; and from hence he might 
 Temember, both that God alone was the strength of his life, and 
 that a higher life than the life of the creatures must be poured 
 out for his atonement and redemption, Christ, therefore, com- 
 mands, when he appears in the flesh, that his people should drink 
 his blood, in direct opposition (as it might seem) to the Jewish 
 ceconomy j in order that they might notice, that though they could 
 not live by the blood or lives of the creatures^ or by any atone- 
 ment or activities of inferior beings ; yet they could and were to 
 live by A/v blood or life alone, and, because it was the life of his 
 eternal nature, ybr ever and ever. John vi. 54. Well, then, may 
 the emblem of consolation, wine^ be used for this bloody from 
 xvhich origir.atcs the consolation of a saved sinner; and Christ 
 employed the symbol for this end, that it might hold forth tc his 
 
COMFORTER, 115 
 
 people in all ages, what he hath borne for them, and tliat from 
 hence they are to derive their peace. His blood uas \he means of 
 th^ir reconciliation with God ; because his life was shed for their 
 sins, and delivered their lives from eternal destruction. He 
 gave ufi a life of infinite value to save their lives from an infinite 
 punishment, due to them through sin, which is infinite both as it 
 ©annot end of itself, and as it is committed against infinite holi- 
 ness. He resumed his life by his own almighty power, proving; 
 thereby, that he had cancelled all the debt and fully satisfied eter- 
 nal truth and justice. The Holy Spirit, as the first office of his 
 consolation, applies this blood through faith to his people's bene- 
 fit ; and so imparts the life of that blood to their souls, that it be- 
 comes their life ; and then it is, that, because Christ liveth-, they 
 live also. No blood will serve for this but the blood of the God- 
 man, Christ Jesus. His people*s blood would not answer ; for 
 in the attempt their life roust be lost, and lost for ever. Nor can 
 they for themselves, or others for them, atone in part, leaving 
 Christ to do the rest ; for as, under the law, the blood of the sa- 
 crifice was not to be mixed with leavened bread ; so, in the law of 
 faith, no leaven of man, none of his doings, can be mingled with 
 Christ's atoning blood. Nothing will serve for this end, but the 
 true and living bready naraely, his pure body and divine right- 
 eousness, represented in the law by the unleavened bread. Hence, 
 his blood is called the blood of the JV*cw Testament, in direct op- 
 position to all the works and services of man under that old co- 
 venant in which he was born, and which was declared from Mount 
 Sinai. And it is termed also^Ae blood of the everlasting covenant ; 
 because it was purposed to be shed in the everlasting covenant 
 of grace and mercy. The drinking of this blood spiritually, is 
 drinking or receiving the life of Christ in the soul : And the vic- 
 tories, which th€ redeemed gain by this blood, (Rev. xii. 1 1.) arc 
 ©btained, under that name, by the life of Christ and his almighty 
 power within them. The application of this blood, for both these 
 ends, is the office of the Spirit. He takes of the things of Christ, 
 and explains, and enforces them, in his people ; and, in doing 
 this, he makes them partakers of the divine nature, partakers of 
 the life of Christ : so that they no longer live [i. e.of themselves, J 
 but Christ liveth in them ; and, through him, they have commu- 
 nion with the Father and Spirit. His humanity is their head, in 
 whom all fulness dwells ; and, by him, they dwell in that fulness, 
 or (as St. John expresses it) they dwell in God, and God in them. 
 \ John iv. 16. I^et us judge, then, \i his Jiesh be not meat in- 
 
lis COMFORTER. 
 
 dcfd, and hia blood drink indeed : Let us consider too, if this 
 blood is not also become the ivine vf everlasting co7isolaCion. It 
 is the^jifw wine of the kingdom (Matth. xxvi. 29.) of which Chri^ 
 participates with his people for evermore. And, when believers 
 approach his table below, how ought they to remember, that his 
 body was broken, that they might become Q7ie body in him ; and 
 that his blood was poured out, that it might become their life and. 
 he rich loine of immortal comfort, through the Spirit, to their 
 iouls ? Without this kind of remembrance of that dear Lord, the 
 reception of the outward elements would be no sacrament to them , 
 but rather an iibomination, and undoubtedly might be ranked with 
 the forma! sacrifices of the formal Jews, which God hath severe- 
 jv reprobated. Is. i. 1 1, £cc. with Ixvi. 3. But, remembering him 
 ari-^ht, that is, in faith ; then his redeemed Snd him to be tha 
 I'ood aud compassionate Samaritan [a Samaritan to the v/orld, 
 despised and rejected of mcri,'^ pouring hito their wounded spirits 
 the oil of grace and nviJie of consolation; " then [as the Liturgy 
 v.'ell expresses it] we dwell in Clirist, and Christ in us ; we are 
 one with Christ, and Christ with u?, to our great and endless 
 comfort.'* 
 
 The Holy Spirit becomes the great comforter of his people, 
 both by explaining these things to tlieir souls, and by firejiaring 
 Iheir souls for the explanation. What Christ said to his disci- 
 ples, may be said to all sinners in their natural state, concerning 
 these consolations ; Ye cannot bear them now. The heart must 
 hoihfeel its voant &/, and be fitted for them. If there bene 
 spiritual sense of want ; any earthly comforts, however false and 
 T)ernicious, will be more welcosnc than all the joys of Heaven * 
 \nd, if the soul be not/ird'/;r/nfrf for these divine realities; they 
 •will do the soul no more good, than a shower of rain could refresl: 
 a rock. Now, Jehovah only can work these firejiaradons of the 
 heart of men. Prov. xvi. 1. Heonly can yu/c^-^n the dead in sin 
 to a life of righteousness in grace and glory. And hedoeth all this; 
 because, and only because, he is Jehovah. But as the Holy Spir- 
 it is expressly the agent of all these wonderful works in the spir- 
 its of the redeemed ; it is, and to them must be, an undeniable 
 argument of his divinity, and consequently of his cotissentiality 
 •with the Father and the Son in the one Jehovah. They perceive, 
 by the word and by Uieir own experience, that it is He, who trans- 
 lated them from darkness to light,'who changed them from a state 
 of sin and unbelief to a state of grace and faith, who turned the 
 course of their minds directly opposite to the course of thr 
 
COMFORTER. 117 
 
 %vorId, as well as to their own former course in the world. They 
 see the greatness of this operation, in reducing the contrariety 
 of their stubborn nature and in this Jieiv creation to a glorious life, 
 £nd therefore acknowledge Him to be Jehovah, ivho only doeth 
 wonderful works. He granted them this repentance to life ; this 
 change of sentiment and will ; this desire for Christ, and holiness, 
 and Heaven : And they find, that this is wrought in them by way 
 of preparation, both for the present consolations of grace, and 
 for the future and unutterable joys of glory, — They see also such 
 a union of love, mercy, truth, honor, justice, and grandeur, in 
 all this dispensation ; as carries out their hearts, at times, inta 
 the profoundest admiration, gratitude, and praise. O did the 
 men of the world know some qf this secret intercourse with 
 Heaven ; their rAirprize would soon cease, that real Christians 
 can love their frequent retirements and solitude, and give up the 
 silly shewy pleasures, which others spend their very souls for, 
 and with so much ardor covet and pursue. And did professars 
 themselves enjoy more, or seek to enjoy more, of this distin- 
 guished blessedness, this " calm sunshine of the soul, this heart 
 felt joy ;'* the world would not have so much reason to reproach 
 them for their too great solicitude upon those things, which in> 
 vords at least they affect to despise. If the consolations of God' 
 Tjere not small with too many of them ; so many would not find 
 such delight in hunting after JMainmon^ in pi'ocuring (what arc 
 impiously called) independent fortunes-y or in laying cut for fine 
 houses, splendid furniture, gay apparel, and all the wretched 
 modishness of this dying world. Alas I Alas ! what can the mere 
 man of the earth do more ? And how much, and how often, do 
 these poor trifles lead astray their souls ? effects,- like these, ren- 
 der things innocent in their nature, noxious to those who possess 
 them. If the things were ever za indifferent^ as indeed all such 
 matters certainly are in themselves j yet they cease to be so, when 
 once the mind and affections are solicitously employed about 
 them. How rarely is Christ the topic in our elegant apariment>5 
 and genteel societies I How rude and unseasonable would anv 
 conversation there be thought, which referred to the greatest in- 
 tei'ests of the soul, or conveyed the solemn ideas of an approach- 
 ing eternity? Thus modern politeness and Christian discourse 
 are held incompatible. The language of tiie times is become sc> 
 excessively refined, that the name of Jesus (except by way of 
 blasphemy) appears almost a mere barbarism, fit only for the use 
 qI" rustier, or the Canaille ^ at least; not to be mentioned, but!" 
 
118 COMFORTER. 
 
 the old forms of a church, and there to lemaiii, liil the peopic 
 resume their^ seats and the forms again. In some more learned 
 and (one would expect) more solid assemblies ; what a disgust- 
 ing fool would a man be now set down for, who should dare ta 
 enter upon the matters of salvation ; though they are at once 
 undeniably the nvisdotn of God, and God's great purpose in the 
 original being of man ? A discourse upon weeds or butterflies 
 shall be reckoned a thousand times more intelligent and wise. — 
 To /lint upon these things, is enough to shew the bent and stream 
 of the world, and the direct opposition it makes, not at i his iimc 
 or the other time only, but uniformly and at all times, to God and 
 his Gospel. To the Christian this should be a lecture ; how light- 
 ly all these circumstances, which last but for a moment, ought to 
 sit upon his mind ; and with how much mercy it is, that God, for 
 the most part, keeps these lying vanities nut of his people's hands. 
 The society of Christ in a cottage is infinitely a greater estate, 
 than palaces and kingdoms, without any other heart to enjoy them 
 than the evil heart oj unbelief* He, that hath Christ, '' haih him, 
 who hath all things." And when Christians can make a true es- 
 timate of objects, and have learned to distinguish apjfieararicea 
 from truth, and gold from tinsel, as sooner or later they undoub- 
 tedly will ; they will grow gradually into the Psalmist's frame^ 
 who accounted, that a little that a righteous man hath, is better 
 than the riches of many wicked. Ps. xxxvii. 16. They will find^ 
 that these wicked seem to enjoy, but do not ; while the believer, 
 in the sense of God's favor and presence, eTT/'ot/s nzcfc'crf, but with- 
 out seemivg. He may make but little or no appearance in the 
 outside i yet, like the King's Daughter, he Is all glorious within. 
 One great office of this holy Comforter or Advocate, whom 
 we are treating of, should never be from the memory of his peo- 
 ple. He doth not call them to a set of notions and opinions only j 
 for, with respect to these as mere subtle disquisitioris, perhaps 
 the devil himself is as orthodox as any one ; but he works in 
 them a change of heart and newness of life. This is the trne 
 
 * An Heathen could sing : 
 — — ^ me silva, cavusqtie 
 Ttitui ab irisidiis tenui sdcbituv ei'vo. 
 
 Hon. Sai. I. ii. s. 6 
 And so a moral poet of our own : 
 
 " Then, Pilgrim, turn, thy cu-es forego ; 
 
 " All e:»it.h-born cares are wrong r 
 " Man wants but little here below, 
 " Nor w.ants that littJc long." 
 
 Gou)SMii?a 
 
COMFORTER, 119 
 
 purpose of all his agency, to make and keep his people in a near- 
 er and nearer likeness to their Redeemer. Their tenets, there- 
 fore, or rather the doctrines of the gospel, known as they ought 
 lobe known, are things rather than words, and exist in fads more 
 than in sfieculations. A carnal man may know the yb?-m of the 
 gospel ; but the true believer only knows the matter of it. To 
 the one, divine truth is but a picture., though possibly a very fine 
 one, curiously gilt and adorned, perhaps, by man's art to be ga- 
 zed at : but to the other it is substance^ theybocJby which he lives, 
 not lifted up for shew, but taken inwardly for the very sustenance 
 of his life, A man, with a very fine painting of a feast, may 
 ■^vant a dinner. And those professors, who can speak or write 
 perhaps very elegantly upon the gospel, and paint its glorious 
 beauties in splendid colours, while they have never tasted and 
 enjoyed its mercies, will, in the hour of trial, discover their own 
 leanness ; and the hour of trial may be possibly sent for that very 
 purpose. But he, who has true and solid provision in the house, 
 doth not show it about the apartments for ornament, but brings it 
 forth for use in due season. In like manner, the real Christian 
 aims not to make a parade of his profession, but lives within 
 himself upon that bounty, which his gracious Lord constantly 
 supplies to him. He is renewed in the spirit of his ?nind, and is 
 become, in a measure, of the same mind with his divine renewer- 
 They walk together, because they are agreed : And ail the felicity 
 of God's people, like Enoch's, consists in walking thus to the 
 end 
 
 To the end they do walk in safety ; and all the war/ thither is 
 truly the way of peace — not perhaps the peace of this world, but 
 that superior peace, which the world can neither give nor take 
 from them. This blessed Comforter is \.he immediate cause and 
 fireserver of it all through Christ Jesus. 
 
 In the day of affliction, this ever-firesent help stands by with 
 his necessary consolations, and so tempers every affliction with 
 them, as to produce, out of all, the most blessed and perpetual 
 good. Where Christ and his Spirit are, sorrow can do no harm, 
 nay, cannot even subsist long as sorrow, but is turned into joy. 
 2«Ior is the occasion, which works the sorrow permitted to come 
 at all, but for some purgation of evil, or some preparation to 
 good. Flesh and blood I'evolt ; and, therefore, it is commonly 
 sent to subdue flesh and blood, which, in believers, as well as in 
 <ithers, are too apt to entertain confidence and consequence, and 
 Biust for their real welfare be brought down and kept down. 
 
120 COxMFORTER 
 
 Flesh and blood nee not the reason, but feel the pang . And tiitj 
 pang they should feel • or the crucifixion, wliich the Apostle 
 speaks of (Gal. v. 24.) as the necessary consequence of their 
 union -with Christ, would never appear, would nerer he known. 
 This holy Comforter bestows and increases, for a clear view of 
 this case, his grace o? faith ; and faith, enlightened by his tuition, 
 reads his -ujord, and there finds the secret of the whole. " He 
 first enables his afPactcd children to believe what he had said of 
 his love in affiicting them, and then to wait for the experience of 
 iiis love under (heir afflictions. This waiting quietly, without 
 giving way to sense, or unbelief, is patience. Faith is tried, and 
 stands the trial. Tribulation comes ; faith is exercised with it, 
 but holds fast its confidence in the word of God, and thereby has 
 full proof of the faithfulness of God. This worketh patience— 
 a quiet submission to the divine will — and an holy subjection to 
 the divine rod. The flesh murmurs; self-will repines; self-in- 
 dulgence rebels : Ijut faith looks up for the present strength, and 
 by it conquers them. It stops their mouths with a hush — Be 
 atill, and know that he is God — He is my sovereign and my fa- 
 ther. This affliction indeed is not for the present joyous, but ra- 
 ther grievous ; nevertheless it comes from his love — love guides 
 l^is hand— lovo will bring good out of it. O that all within me 
 may submit to his will, and bless his holy name !"* 
 
 In the day of uproar and confusion^ v/hen the earth seems un- 
 <ler the immediate agitation of Hell, this gracious Comforter 
 keeps those in perfect peacc^ ivhose minds are stayed upon him* 
 Come what may^ they are upon \\\^ mountain of the Lord'' s house ; 
 where they see his presence, learn submission to his will, and 
 look down with calmness upon the tumults beneath ; which, how- 
 ever they may shipwreck those who mix in them, cannot reach 
 up to their souls. Tiie Christian can pity the misery of such 
 persons, as conflict with raging; passions only by passions equally 
 raging ; and. if the storm threaten himself^ he commits all to 
 Him, who in one moment can say, Peace^ be still I and at whose 
 command, in the next moment, there shall be a great calm. The 
 winds and the waves cannot but obey him, who made them ; and 
 so also the restrained fierceness of man, aiming however at no 
 such event, sooner or later shall turn to his praise. 
 
 In the day of persecution, God ever did, and ever will, sup- 
 port his people with his comfortin^i or rather with his triufnphant 
 
 * See that very excellent and experimental Treatice of the Walk of Fai'fi. 
 by the Rev. Mr. Romawe- \o\. ii. p. 9?. 
 
COMFORTER. 121 
 
 grace. This Comforter has shcAvn to the strong of the •vvorld> 
 that they are but as tovj with him, and that he can make the 
 weakest of the weak more than a match for all their strength. 
 These last have often smiled at the persecutor's rage ; and dared 
 the coarsest eiffbrts of his power. They have discovered their 
 victorious superiority, by pitying and praying for the poor worms, 
 to whose folly and madness for a while they have been exposed^ 
 They knew them to be but the slaves and tools of that infernal 
 tyrant, who would wreak upon them, for this very thing, the per- 
 mitted wrath of the Almighty. Acts vii. 60. Let any man read. 
 Lactantius's account of the deaths of the ancient fieraecutors ^ 
 and then let him consider, whether they are not equally the ob- 
 jects of pity and contempt. Though, through the divine pr6vi= 
 dence, the most bitter adversaries to the truth of God cannot at 
 this time, proceed to those enormities ; yet it is worth remem- 
 bering, however, that, in the fiurest ages of the church, these 
 furies were permitted to range upon the earth, and to carry their 
 i'age to lengths, which even common humanity must shudder to 
 write. All humanity was then overborne, or turned into diabolic 
 barbarity, whenever the religion of Jesus was concerned : And it 
 ■was often observed, that persons, who were the most humane, 
 civil, and polite upon all other occasions, laid aside their usual 
 character and put off that agreeable varnish, when the truths or 
 cause of God became the subject of consideranon. An instant 
 proof hath then been given, that however education may induce 
 habits, which shall make men eJCceedingly accomplished in the 
 eyes of the world and for worldly purposes ; no education andno 
 habit can root out the enmity of the carnal 7nind against God. It 
 will discover itself, by some means or other, to be perfectly the 
 same, whether it exist in a Roman emperor or the reviling thief 
 upon the cross, in the highesi or the lowest, in the proudest or 
 the meanest, of mankind. According to their capacity or oppor- 
 tunity, they will always find pleas to exercise this dislike. The 
 politician brings his reasons of state ; the religionist, his reasons 
 of superstition ; and the tyrant, his strong reasons of power. It 
 was the same of old. Si Tiberis (said Tertullian) ascendit in. 
 mcsnia, si JVilus non ascendit in arva^ si cesium stetit, si terra 
 viovitf sifames^ si lues, statim — Chuistianos ad leones* If 
 the Tiber overflow, if the Nile do not How enough, if the skies 
 are bound from rain, if the earth be loosed and c^uake, if famine,. 
 
 ' Adv. Geiites, 
 
 VOL. II. Q 
 
122 COIMFORTEK. 
 
 or pestilence, arise ; the cry immediately is " Aivaij -with thf' 
 
 Christians to the lions." 
 
 In the day oi fioverty and keen distress, this ComforterhccoTCXG'i 
 the nearest and the dearest friend. He snroothes the brow of 
 care, and soothes the heart of sorrow. He teaches the soul of 
 the Christian, that fioi'erty is but a relative term, and that, out of 
 God, or without him, there is nobody rich. All men live by di- 
 vine bounty, and therefore have nothing- properly the^r own. 
 "Whatever God has lent them, arose from his own will : And if 
 he set the rich man in a palace, and Lazarus among the dogs 
 upon a dunghill ; it only proves, that the Lord saw a reason for 
 it, which men perhaps do not see. The great things (as they are 
 called) of this world, are so lightly esteenied by God, that he often 
 throws them away upon the vilest of mankind, as people throw 
 trash upon a dunghili. If Chriblians are too fond of this trash ; 
 jt may be needful for their souls, that they should be kept from 
 ■wallowing among the dung, and that their way be hedged up wit'i 
 thorns. The riches of this world are not riches in God's sight j 
 nor even in the sight of mere reason, as it may be proved in the 
 examples of Heathen philosophers who despised them ; and cer- 
 tainly they ought not to be so in the eyes of God's children. V/hat 
 a poor creature, at the best, is a rich man without grace ? Nay, 
 how poor have people of that stamp thought themselves ? Ws 
 may take their own evidence and confession in this matter : "vV'J! 
 may learn this truth by their own example. Have we never heard 
 of some very opulent persons, so loaded with misery as well as 
 with wealth, that they could not support the torment of their owa 
 minds, and therefore, in the anguish of despair, have attempted 
 to get rid at once of their wretchedness and being ? Instances of 
 this kind have occurred in the history of mankind, and are so ma- 
 ny blazing beacons to the Christian, warning him against the le- 
 gions of devouring caresy which in a manner swallow up the world 
 about him. On the other hand, let a man look to God's rich pro- 
 mises ; and there he will find both support and supply. — " What I 
 to naked promises !" may one ask. — Yes, friend, for the trial of 
 X\\j faith: And if thou hast not faith to rely on these naked pro- 
 mises, then (whatever thou hast beside) thou art poor indeed. 
 Thou wouidbt not call thcra riaked, however ; if thou didst but 
 see, that they are richly clothed with all tlic power, faithfulness, 
 love, and infinitude of God. 
 
 In the day of sickness, this "Comforter is at hand to administer 
 his medicines to the souL lie compounds ihem according to the 
 
COMFORTER. 12 S 
 
 word, which is the publication of his skill, and applies them wisely 
 to the case and condition of his people. He is almighty to com- 
 mand, to carry on, and to ensure the effect. His people at such 
 seasons more sensibly feel their need of his aid, and look more ea- 
 gerly after his power : And he stands by them when they do 
 not see, and comes into them when it is right they should feel the 
 force of his supporting love. He makes all their bed in their 
 sickness, and never leaves their bed nor them, however it may 
 seem, so much as for a moment. 
 
 In the day and honr of death, this God is the believer's God, 
 his friend, and infallible guide, — Having conducted him to the last 
 moment by his grace, it would not be for his glory to leave him 
 then. And he doth not. He hath made many a once feeble heart* 
 to triumph — O death, where is thy sting ! O grave, where is thy 
 ■victory ! But, whether the nature of their disease allow this noble 
 exclamation or not, all the people of God are conquerors, over 
 death, and more than conquerors, through Him. that loved them. 
 They are enabled to conquer death ; and then death himself per- 
 forms the office of a friend. — If the vain and ungodly knew this life 
 in death, or could see it ; instead of a foolish laugh or senseless 
 jeer, they would cry out as one of themselves did of old. Let me 
 die the death of the righteoiis, and let iny latfer end be like his ' 
 Numb, xxiii. 10. 
 
 In the everlasting day of Heaven, this gloi'ious Comforter will 
 comfort his people with joys beyond measure or end. All his 
 consolations below are but as a spark to that eternal blaze of rap- 
 ture, which shall glow through their spirits above. — But hereivasL" 
 gination will fail, and we must be content with that summary de- 
 scription wViich the scriptures afford us, That this everlasting 
 state is an exceedingly exceeding and eternal weight of glory ; 
 and that eye hath not seen, ear heard, nor hath it entered into the 
 
 * If Lucretius had seen a Christian, in dying triumphant over death, he 
 would have omitted, if not some other arguments he uses against the im- 
 mortality of the soul, certainly this : 
 
 Quod si immortalis nostra foret mens : 
 
 JVonjam se moriens dissolvi coiiqiiereretur : 
 
 Sed magis irejoras, vestemque relinqitere, ut unguis, 
 
 Gauderet, prcelonga scnex ant cormta cervus. . 
 
 Lib. ili. I. 611. 
 4. e. " If our mind were immortal ; in the article of death, it would not 
 mui'mur to be dissolved, but rejoice rather to go forth from the body, and 
 leave it, as a snake doth its skin, or an aged stag doth his weighty horns." 
 — Blessed be God, many of his redeemed have rejoiced to quit their bodie?j 
 and have left them with a hop© full of glory and immortality. 
 
124 COMFORTER. 
 
 heart of man to co7iceive, what God hath firefiared for them that 
 lave him. 
 
 And now, dear Christian, what are thy thoughts concerning 
 such a Comforter as this ? — concerning one, who hath done so 
 much for thee, is doing so much in thee, and will continue to do 
 so much both for thee and in thee to all eternity ? Is he not in- 
 deed God the Comforter^ full of royalty to command comfort, full 
 of deity to ensure it ? Canst thou tliink that an Angel, or ten thou- 
 sand Angels, or all the Angels and all the creatures, Avhich ever 
 knew existence, are or can be equal to bestow such floods of 
 comfort, such an infinite ocean of everlasting joy, which will re- 
 plenish thy soul, and the souls of all the blest, in glory ? — Thou 
 dost not, canst not, think so. They only, who never tasted his ho- 
 ly comfort and are strangers to its nature, can think thus madly 
 and blasphemously of this blessing and its author. But thou hast 
 felt its divine force in thy soul ; and, when thy faith is lively, thou 
 continuest to feel it. O look to this God, of all Comfort to in» 
 crease it within thee, in such manner and degree, as may be expe= 
 dient for thy good and his own glory I If there were no sin or 
 corruption within thee to be mortified and subdued, thy heart 
 •would be a little Heaven. If thy faith ivere but as fixed, as thy 
 condition is secure ; thou wouldest be but little short in joy of a 
 Saint in light. Thou art not straitened in Christ, nor in this Com- 
 forter from Christ : All the confinement is from thyself Thy 
 own tempers and unbeiief are the only bars to the richest conso- 
 lation ot grace on this side of eternity. When, therefore, thou 
 com plainest of darkness, dulness, and despair ; search, (and pray 
 to the great searcher of hearts that thou mayest search duly) if 
 thou be not in some dark path, out of the narrow v/ay which lead- 
 cth to life, and if some sinful practice or some sinful opinion be 
 not indulged in thy soul. Christ will not dwell in his temple, as 
 In a den of thieves s but will either scourge them out by some 
 sharp trials, or leave thee for awhile to the natural deadness of thy 
 heart, without one ray of his presence. Bad practices and evil 
 doctrines are an abomination to the Lord. On the other hand, if this 
 Comforter fill thy Spirit with his pure consolations ; pray to him 
 earnestly, that pride may be hidden from thee, and that careless^ 
 nessor drowsiness do not overtake thee in the gracious sunshine, 
 nor entice thee to lie down and sleep. But •watch and be sober^ 
 be circumspect and serious ; for thou art here in the enemy's 
 country, and always upon polluted ground. Pray, that the mani- 
 festations of Almighty love may be so many attractions to thy soul, 
 
SPIRIT OF LIFE. 123 
 
 and the means of putting spirit and life into thy affections and du« 
 ties. Remember, that the most, thou canst enjoy here, is but a 
 slight foretaste, a little drop of that infinite ocean of pure joy, 
 which thou art to inherit in Christ. This should cause thee to 
 thirst for more, and to aspire after greater attainments- Finally, 
 what a weight, what an eternal weight of transporting bliss is be- 
 fore thee, prepared for thee, secured to thee, by omnipotent pow- 
 er and endless grace ! — Reader, hast thou no longing for this ? Is 
 thy heart, can thy heart, be all dead, and dull, and damp, to such 
 immeasurable glories ! What ! not a ray of hope, not a thrill of 
 joy, at al! this unmerited mercy ! At all this mercy merited /u/- 
 ly and only by Jesus, for thee ! — It is enough to make the stone in 
 thy heart to cry out. The heart must indeed be the heart of 
 stone., if it feel no emotion here .' The heart ofjlesh, renewed by 
 the Holy Sfiirit, will triumph in the glorious expectation, and be 
 looking out, beyond all perishing shadows, for the blessed hope, 
 and the glorious afipearing of the great God and our Saviour Je^ 
 BUS Christ : And, blessed be this great God and our Saviour, it 
 shall not look in vain. 
 
 My soul in fervent long-ing waits 
 
 (Each true believer cries) 
 For God to end my earthly straits, 
 
 And bear me to the skies. 
 
 O when shall this poor scene depart, 
 
 And Heav'n itself appear ! 
 God hath so wlden'd all ray heart, 
 
 Jt can't be filled here. 
 
 SPIRIT OF LIFE, 
 
 ALL life is motion, though all motion be not life. What- 
 ever lives, acts ; but what is acted, on, being only passive power 
 at the utmost, and moving because it is moved, cannot be said to 
 live. The true definition of life., therefore, is — a principle of 
 power to act or move, inherent or planted in a distinct substance 
 or being. A being, thus possessed, is said to live^ because it can 
 act from within itself. If we speak of a being, who lives inherent- 
 ly or of himself i we must say, that He is God, and that there is 
 no other, who can live in this self-existent mode, and perform 
 motions without the assistance of another. If we speak of a be- 
 
126 SPIRIT OF LIFE. 
 
 ing, who lives derivatively or by another ; we may affirm, that he 
 is a creature., and that the life in him, though distinct from and per- 
 liaps independent of all other beings who live derivatively like 
 himself, is not williout God, though its motion be contrary to him. 
 Evil spirits subsist by the first life, which is God, though they act 
 in opposition to his holiness. When, therefore, we define life in 
 a creature, we mean, that this life exists independently only of all 
 other creatures, but not of God its Creator, by ivhom those crea- 
 tures //f e, even when they sin or act against him. If, for instance, 
 a creature breathe ; its power to perform that action is beyond 
 the aid of all other creatures, and arises independently of them. 
 And so it may be said concerning the rest of its functions, which 
 discover or exercise the principal of animal life. 
 
 There is also a life, which consists in motion, but which is not 
 obvious to the animal sense. The life of man's immortal and im- 
 material part acts and moves, not from the vibratory motions of 
 matter, but by a principle to which matter has no relation, and 
 to which matter itself, being passive and inert, is and must be 
 subservient. The coilisi<;n of two stones might as soon inspire 
 them with thought, as the vibration of the nerves, being mere 
 material motion, could constitute the intellect of man, which, in a 
 thousand cases, has and can have no sort of relation to the motion 
 of matter. Those, who propagate this notion, are only support- 
 ing the cause oi materialism ov pantheism ; for, when once a rule 
 is established, that matter produces thought ; it is no very dis- 
 tant nor difficult transition to urge, that matter itself, as the au- 
 thor of thought, must therefore be God, and consequently so 
 much the source of all intellection, that there can be no ideas 
 without it. Hence thought is nothing but matter acting upon it- 
 self, and of consequence the universal harmony and arrangement 
 of things appears a -nost lucky and fortuitous jumble of matter in 
 atoms. Here atheism comes in with a full tide, and offers to 
 sweep away religion, revelation, and even morality itself, into the 
 ocean of anarchy and universal infidelity. Those pretended rea- 
 soners, therefore, who promote such principles, cither see not 
 the mischievous and preposterous result of them ; or, if they do 
 see them, are very little entitled, either by their heads or their 
 hearts, to the respect and attention of mankhid.* 
 
 • We have had scvcr:il attempts of late to introduce tlie falaliJyof the Sto- 
 ics, andllie absolute neeessuy ot all thing's, ^v.tliout relercnce to the will or 
 providence ot God, which itbtlf, accorumg' to some, seems tied down to this 
 sll-ruhng late, after the representation ol the ar.cient iieathens. 
 
 'I'liis IS, to all intents aiid purposes, mere materialism: And tlie arguments. 
 
SPIRIT OF LIFE. 127 
 
 The life of Sfiirits, not only distinct from but heterogeneous to 
 matter, is exercised in memory, will, understanding, reasoning, 
 &c, and moves by these faculties, as the body obtains sensible 
 motion by its members. When this spiritual principle is remo- 
 
 wlilch are brought to prove that sort of natural necessity, do conclude in ma- 
 terialism. 
 
 If matter existed before mind, those philosophers are undoubtedly rijjht, 
 who raise all tlie actions of mind out of matter, in which case there is no 
 supreme intellectual Being ; and then the creed of Spinoza (following some 
 ancient heathens) that " God is all things," must in consequence be receiv- 
 ed. Upon this plan, it will be right to allow, that, in all respects, the prin- 
 ciple called the soul is wholly modified and governed, entirely acts and 
 thinks, according to the disposal or organization of the bodi/. The next 
 step after this is, when the body perishes, the soul ceases to be. And here 
 we may look round us, and see religion and revelation swallowed up in the 
 vortex of infidelity and atheism. 
 
 But if mind existed before matter, or, in other words, if God existed be- 
 fore gross substance, and is in his own nature different from it; then, all 
 forms of being, whether sensible or intelligible, are copies of those ideas 
 which pre-existed in his mind ; or, they \\'ere created without design. Those 
 ideas also must have been essentially mental, because they existed before the 
 sensible forms, and are not the objects of sense in any respect. It follows, 
 then, that his ideas (speaking with humble reverence) were prior to the mo- 
 difications of matter, and that those modifications exist agieeably to the 
 ideas ; otherwise, tliere is no such being as God, considering him as pure spi- 
 rit, nor any such arrangement, as we understand by his proxidence. 
 
 If this last conclusion be impossible and tibsurd (as may well be believed) 
 God, as an infinite and eternal Spirit, is the mental cause of all material exis- 
 tence, and the source of intellection in all spiritual being. Whatever exists, 
 or acts in its existence, received its substance and all its powers entirely from 
 him. 
 
 That organization of body is not necessary to the acts of the mind, is ev)= 
 dent from the Angels and spirits of just men made perfect, who see and 
 enjoy felicity and knowledge more purely and ireely without body, than we 
 can, who remain in the flesh. This we must believe, indeed, upon the author- 
 ity of the Scriptures ; or, if we will not believe them, we may commence 
 Saddacees, and say, there is neither Angel nor Spirit, who, if they exist at all, 
 must necessarily exist more perfectly and sublimely in thought and power,, 
 than creatures stirrounded with clay. 
 
 If mere organization of body was sufficient to work up thought, or to 
 modify it into reason and wisdom ; the Onran-Outang would have as good 
 a chance to comprehend or cogitate, as the being called human. M. Buftbn 
 says, that " all the parts of the Ouran-Outang' s head, lunbs, and body, ex- 
 ternal and internal^ are so perfectly similai* to the human, that we cannot 
 collate them together, without being amazed at a conformation so parallel, 
 and at an organization so exactly the same, though not vesultlng to the same 
 effects. Tlie tongue, for example, and all the organs of speech, are the 
 same in both ; and yet the Ouran-Outang docs not speak : I'he brain is ab- 
 solutely the same in texture, disposition, and proportion ; and } et he does not 
 think: An evident proof this (continues he) that mere matter alone, though 
 perfectly organized cannot produce tliought, nor speech the index of thought, 
 
 unless it be animated with a superior principle." One is almost tempted 
 
 to think, that the similarity between this brute and human nature was created 
 on purpose to shew us, that the soul is a principle independent of matter, and 
 that we do not think and reason because we have bodies, but because (in that 
 neai-er approach to the image of God) M-e have immortal and immaterial so«/5. 
 
 If the excellency of the mental faculty depended on corporeal organizaion ; 
 then the mo5t beautiful, strong', and well -proportioned bgdies must thinkj, 
 
12S SPIRIT OF LIFE. 
 
 ved, the body becomes torpid and inactive : Wiicn this principle ' 
 IS only suspended, as in trances, or in bodies half-drowned, there 
 is no action in the outward machine, though all the nerves re- 
 main, and no alterations appear in the material frame. But, let 
 
 and reason, and understand, with the gi-ea.test force, perspicuity and wisdom^ 
 But nothing needs to he added to refute tins proposition. 
 
 It is one thing to say, tliat the soul receives many of its ideas through the 
 medium of the senses ; and quite another to affirm, that the senses generate, 
 those ideas. &«se and sensible objects may (as it has been well expressed) 
 be " a medium to awaken the dormant energies of man's understanding ; yet 
 those energies themselves are no more contained in sense, than the explosion 
 of a cannon in the spark which gave it fire."* Tfie nnnd of man, simply con- 
 sidered as mind, mvist be uimilar to that of Angels or disembodied spirits ; as 
 their mind is (so far as finite can respect infinite) to the mind of God. There 
 must exist something of congeniality in tne whole spiritual world; or there 
 cotild be no communication between human and angelic spirits, or between 
 those and God. 
 
 Thio congeniaiitu or identity of ideas, between Imman and svperior spa-its, 
 seems to demoitstrate of itself, that ideas are not dependent upon or formed by 
 matter; because, if they were, pure spirits could not think at all. Nor could 
 the identify of ideas subsist between men, and angels, and God ; if the ori- 
 gin of the human idea was placed in seiisaiion, and the origin of pure spirits 
 in absolute intellection, which are properties entirely discrepant and hetero- 
 genous. And if heterogenous, how can»/lo«e." produce what is so imlLke it- 
 seli^ as mind is .' 
 
 Carrying our ideas still higher, we may make this principlte confute itself. 
 For, if matter generate idea ; it will follow, that there is no idea without 
 matter : And, if there be no idea without matter, then, either God is matter, 
 or depends upon matter for his ideas, which will amotmt to nearly the same 
 thing, and is down -right Pantheism. 
 
 Further ; it seems unavoidable, that all, which ie^/?;s witli matter, must 
 knd with matter ; because no effect can rise above its cause : And from hence 
 likewise it will follow, that all that philosophy (as 'tis called) which makes 
 gross substance the primum mobile and the principle oi thought, tends only 
 to establish the blind fate of the heathens, or direct materialism. 
 
 But, among other proofs, that the mind of man did not originate from 
 matter, it dotli not end there, but seeks for Itself a more perfect and exalted 
 good. The whole world cannot fill the soul, nor satisfy it ; and the spirit of a, 
 man can find no true rest or complacency but m an intellectual good. The 
 good, which is goouxess itself, and fills all things, can only fill that " ach- 
 ing, void," which every man, by the corruption of his nature, feels withhx 
 him. 
 
 Undoubtedly respecting the material substances about us, \v& form oiu- 
 ideas of litem through the medium of matter. But matter doth not/f^'m. those 
 ideas ; for, if it could, the eye would see, and tlie organs of sense woukl contin- 
 ue to perceive, when the spirit is departed. It is the .spirit, which employs those 
 organs, as instruments, to range in the world of matter, and by the ;.j)plica- 
 tion of them determines upon tlie quality or quantity of substances, veiy dif- 
 ferent from itself. God hath given us tiiis constitution, and wonderfully ena- 
 bles us to perceive by it. Indeed, it seems a greater wonder, that maitcr ac- 
 tuated by mind should seem ahnf)st to investigate matter, and so rise above it, 
 than that mere mind should comprehend matter, as it undoubtedly must, if 
 there are such beings as Angelsj and the spirits of just men made perfect. 
 Our spirits can work upon matter, can frame ideas of it or according to it, 
 and tlirough the intervention of matter .can receive ideas. But matter is on- 
 
 * See a learned and elegant discussion of thi^ Subject in Harris's Hermes, 
 Book iii- chap. 4. 
 
SPIRIT OF LIFE. 12,9 
 
 the sfiirie be restored, the body revives, and proves itself amnm/frf, 
 or endued with something far above itself by those actions which 
 correspond with its frame. Shall we say then, that this mass, 
 which presently corrupts without that other principle, is the life 
 
 \y the medittm (as we said before) not the cause. If a man invent a science, 
 the origin of the idea was intrinsically intellectual. The spirit combines the ma- 
 terial forms, and discovers conclusions, whicli, iiowevcr they may exist in the 
 matter, matter itself could not have discovei'ed. Geometry, for instance, 
 respects material proportions ; and these proportions exist m the substiuice of 
 matter: But was it ti»e eye, or the liand, or the ear, of Euclid ; was it his 
 mind, or his body, which traced them out ? His bod)-, surely, was but the 
 machine of liiB mind, and acted upon matter by its direction. 
 
 If" the soul hath no ideas but what it derives from the body ; then it is not 
 an ens distinct from body, \>\\X. 2^ co-essential substance with it, thotig-h rar- 
 ified to the utmost degree of exility. Hence, it seems psrishable with body ; 
 or, if it could exist without it, yet having no body to act witli, it can have 
 no ideas, but must lose the very activity of its being', and sink into an inert- 
 ness, which contradicts every notion of spirit. — Of such consequence is tlie 
 opinion, which renders the soul dependent upon mattei- both in esse et in opO' 
 rari, that it dii-ectly removes the basis of the immortality as well asinimateri- 
 ality of all spirit, and puts men, nay, God himself, upon a level witli the 
 beasts that perish. 
 
 Wiieii we ascend to forms purely intellectual^ we seem to act as truly spi- 
 ritual beings, and leave matter quite out of sight. We think, withotit the 
 intervention of our animal senses, upon many subjects, and upon some of 
 whicli those senses could have no exercise. Our corporeal frame, for instance, 
 has notlmig to do with religion, but to be governed according to its dic- 
 tates : It has no particular relation, as a lump of matter, to its spiritual con- 
 cerns, and can afford us no ideas, no nor yet sensation concerning them. It 
 may be acted upon and assuredly is, in this momentous case ; but it doth, 
 not and cannot act from itself See John iv. 24. 
 
 Upon the ground of the Christian religion, this Epicurean business of the 
 potency of matter must presently fall into atoms. Here we find, that there 
 is no activity but in spirit ; and that this activity originates from the supreme 
 Spirit, is communicated by him to every thing which acts, and is limited by 
 him in the mode and degree of action. Matter is all obedience here ; and 
 even spirits themselves are active, only through the impulse of his activitjr. 
 As \ olrtions, or comprehensions, are as much mental acts, as local motion is 
 an act of tlie body ; so these are determined, as well as that, by tiie motion of 
 tJie suprememind : Odierwise, there woidd be a principle q\' self-determination 
 in the creatures, which would render them independent of his direction. la 
 otlier words, they would, in that case, be no longer creatures : And so there 
 would be an utter end of all Providence in the government of nature, and 
 of all grace in the Revelation of God. There would be no certainty in any 
 thing, and consequently no order ; for order is certainty, wearing only 
 another name. But if we view God's Proviiie?ice in tlie government of things, 
 carried on with his grace in the salvation of his people ; we may see a beau-, 
 tiful arrangement in the whole disposition of the intellectual and natural 
 world, and a strength in the whole fabric, which renders it indemolisliable. 
 Yet there could be no arrangement of a -uhole, without the previous dispO" 
 sition of all theparts. How God influences the will of Spirits, we cannot 
 define; nor can we define the mode of God's .action in any thing : But we 
 are sure, as his word can teach us, that it is He who doth make them willing^ 
 and that they -will and do according to his po-ixr. We are also sure, that He 
 effects this disposition in our souls, sometimes with, and sometimes with- 
 out, the intervention of matter ; and that, therefore, matter is not absolute^ 
 ly necessary to his operation. Meaner and worse agents than this can affect 
 the rnind, and give it iiiclluatior.s, which it had not of itself. The tempta* 
 VOL. II. Pt 
 
fSt) SPIRIT OF Lll^E. 
 
 or motion of that principle ? Or, rather, that this immaterial 
 part, which can leave the body without taking away one atom of 
 its substance, is the life, which thinks in that body, and the mo- 
 tive power v/hich acts upon it ? It seems even reasonable to as- 
 
 tions of llie Devil are not always by material objects,but remote from them, 
 and often affect only spiritual concerns. Trom iliese short hinls, we may 
 conclude that God is the sovereign agent, that he acts according to his 
 providence and grace, and that both matter and spirit are acted upon by Him. 
 That God acts by nccessit-j, in the usual sense of that term, it seems as 
 impious to affirm, as it is above us to enquire. If we say, he is his own necessi- 
 ty ; we can only mean, that lie has no necessity out o/liimsclf : And how far 
 we can pretend to determine what tliat self-necessity in the Godhead is, 
 should be left for a very modest consideration. Certainly, he is his own 
 law in this respect : And if we say, that God is his own freedom or his own 
 necessity, we are too bold, if we mean by these terms more than this, that God 
 acts according' to liis pleasure, and that all his pleasi ire must be just and true 
 
 To a Christian, then, the naked notion of an absolute necessity, independent 
 of the divine controul, is as absurd and blasphemous a tenet, as the opinion 
 of self-determination and free-agency independent of the divine direction, 
 is untrue and impious. In all thing's, we s/iotddhe guided by God; and cer- 
 tainly in all }mist be ruled by him. Otherwise, there is an end of all provi- 
 dence ; and we miglit adopt tlie poems of 7>7fcre^«/>!, in the.roomof the two 
 Testaments, called the Bible. " God's will (says Bernard) is done concerniir- 
 all men, and by all but not in all ; for his people only have this blessing — 
 He is pleased with good things in themselves, and satisfied with his wise 
 and good disposal even of tiie bad." "Judas did ill in hetraving Clirist (says 
 Austin) but God out of his treachery produced a good, which Judas never 
 thought of. God viewed our salvation ; but Judas only filthy lucre." Far- 
 tlier ; if matter could not ex/si but by spirit (ns matter, in any other view, will 
 he eternal, and its oiun maker, wiiich is preposterous) certainly, it cannot act 
 but by spirit. It will follow, hence, that all the impressions, which may be 
 derived to the soid from matter, must be a7';'fl7)j-f,' J according to Spirit, and 
 that this Spirit must be God. If this be admitted, as it seems but justto admit 
 it, the divine providence opens to our view in its resplendent glory ; free 
 gi'uce in its sovereign beauty ; and all the attributes of God uniting in the 
 salvation of man, with the utmost perfection and harmony. — This is all the 
 jiecessity for which aChristi.an sliould contend, and all which lie is concerned to 
 know. And this he shoidd know, because God hath taught it : This he 
 s/jomW believe, because the Author of truth himself hath been pleased to re- 
 veal it. 
 
 He is bound to believs this, let liis otitward sc7ises oppose or let sensilda 
 matter appear, as it may. Indeed it is the great business of faith to live 
 abo^e mere sense and sensible objects : And hence again it may properly be 
 asked, how then is faitli to receive any ideas from them .■' It can receive 
 none, but under such distributions of the sensible forms, which speak (as 
 it were) spiritual tilings, and so ai-e composed to shadow fortli what tliey 
 have not iii themselves. Such were the Levitical institutions, winch led sensi , 
 even away from itself, up to faith ; thereby proving themselves, when ab- 
 stracted of their object, but iscak and beggarly elements. A Clu'istian now 
 is not to judge from the appearances of mattci", but live above matter upon 
 his God. This is one brancli of the life oi faith, which is contradistinguished 
 from sense in almost every thing. 
 
 Tliere is no absurdity in this, unless it be absurd to believe God, and to 
 be persuaded lluit he cannot lie : And of this it becomes us to be, at least, 
 as fully assured, as Vv'e are of any evidence whicli can residt from our corpo- 
 real senses. It is po.ssible, that tJiesc may deceive us ; but it is impossible, 
 that Goc/ should. We may err in the application of our senses; but Goi.' 
 cannot be misUiken ui the declaration of liis will. Every idea of certain''-. 
 
SPIRIT OF LIFE. 13i 
 
 scrt, with the voice of revealed truths that it is (he Spirit, ivhic^ 
 <]uickcncth : The flesh firqfileth nothing. 
 
 Life, however, is motion, wliethcr in the animal^ or the intel- 
 lectual world. In the one case, matter is moved : In the other, 
 sfiirit. The first cause of both must be that grkat life, who 
 only can be said to live independently, necessarily, and eternally. 
 What had a beginning of life, owed that beginning to a superior 
 cause ; for no being can produce itself out of nothing. But God, 
 having no beginning, existed from himself, and is consequently 
 independent, necessary, and eternal. This he gives us to under- 
 stand from his name Jehovah, which implies all that Ave can 
 conceive (and probably much more) of Ufc^ without beginning, 
 dependence, or end. In truth, He only li-ves ; because he is the 
 only cause of life, and the only determiner of its various modes 
 of existence. He is the great author of all understanding ; there- 
 fore the intellectual substances li-vc by him, and act in mindj 
 thought, reason, and memory, by his power. He is the sole 
 Creator of that gross substance called 7natter ; therefore, all 
 material natures are moved (having nothing akin to motion in 
 themselves) by his activity and direction. He is the first cause of 
 all existence ; therefore, in him all things, whether s/iiritual or 
 material, have their being. 
 
 Hence, it appears, that God only is the Life, properly so cal- 
 led, and that no other being hath a life of its own, independent 
 or underived. It is nonsense, as well as blasphemy, to say of a 
 
 both in the moral and spiritual world, is derived from the existence of God^ 
 without whom all is dai-kness, anarchy, and error. 
 
 The intelhgent reader will pardon the length of this note, if it appear in 
 the least to establisli, what the author meaiis it should esti.blisb, That all 
 matter was produced by God, the creating' mind, and that it is ffio<^j/?eci accor- 
 ding to his 7vil[ ; that all spirit, is derived from God, the only Jirst spirit, 
 and hath no rirht or true end but commujiion with God ; that botli matter 
 and spu'it are controuled in all things by the jonstant superintendance o4' 
 his PnoviDENCE ; tliat they cannot act lor good, without his efficient aid, nor, 
 for evil, without the />er?/j2V^ef/ abuse of his poiuer ; ^vA that there is no neces- 
 sity in any created beings, l)eside that of tlieu- dependence upon him, nor any 
 nelf-determination, beyond the limits of his luiU. 
 
 In this view, it is evident, that man is free when he acts by and accor- 
 ding to him, who is the author of iiW freedom; and a slave, when, abusing the 
 powers given to his nature, he attempts to act -without or against him. In 
 the one case, as a child of Gud, he is privileged to walk in hisj7or;o7^s liber- 
 ty ; and in the otlier» as a bond-man of tliatevil spirit who exists without 
 that liberty, he is taken captive by him ; while that spirit liimself is held i?^ 
 chains of darkness by the power of ills Maker. Thus every man, in his de- 
 praved state, is at best but the slave of a slave. Righteousness and true ho- 
 liness are the essential liberty of the divine nature itself: And therefore sin 
 and corruption, having no communion witii the Almighty, though under hi,*; 
 ii:sntroul, are * weakness, misery, and bondag'e. 
 * Boethius, p. 91 ■ 
 
133 SPIRIT OF LIFE. 
 
 creature, that he is Ufe of itself: And all beings ere creatures\ml 
 ONE, who, in an eternal distinction, is denominated God the 
 Creator. 
 
 Now, then, we must adopt these conclusions, that whatever 
 being is truly and justly called the Hfe^ as the cause of life, is and 
 can be no other than God : And that whatever being is thus term- 
 ed by divme revelation, is therefore most truly and strictly so. 
 
 That the Father hath life in hhnself nobody -will deny. Here 
 all men, who believe that there is such a being as God, are agreed : 
 And as for those, who venture to deny his existence; their un- 
 derstandings rather demand our pity than an argument. A fo^l 
 only can affirm. There is r.o God. 
 
 Of Christ it was said, that in him ivas life^ and the life (or that 
 life) ivas the light of men : And he says of himself, openly and 
 expressly, /cm the life. Hence, then, the Father and the Son, 
 assuming this essential name, claim to be true and very God. 
 
 That the Spirit is also life, will appear both from the attribute 
 being applied to him, and from the exercise of the attribute by 
 him. 
 
 In Rom. viii. 10. the Spirit is called Ife, in opposition to the 
 condemnation or death, which comes by the transgression of the 
 law. He is termed, not only life, but what is more emphaticaf, 
 the very S/iirit of life, in many places of the New Testament; 
 and stronger still, in the Old Testament, the Spirit of lives. As 
 if it had been said, he is Life, the very Life of life, the original 
 Life of all lives. To denominate the Holy Ghost thus, is calling 
 him God by the strongest terms, which could be used. It is re- 
 presenting him essential (as it were) to the divine essence ; be- 
 cause he is called the very Spirit of that life, in which the eS' 
 sence exists. He is denominated hereby the very energy of its 
 energies, the very principle of its action ad extra, the divine 
 glory of its power in a!l the creatures. Compared with this, to 
 say simply, that the Spirit is God, though it be the same truth, 
 is certainly not the same forcible expression of the truth. God 
 (as it were) clothes the assertions of tlie Spirit's divinity and glo- 
 ry by periphrases and terms, which may excite the strongest faith 
 and comfort in the hearts of his people, and leave without excuse 
 those who, knowing not his grace, have dared to dispute his 
 being. 
 
 If we consider the Holy Spirit's exercise of this attribute of 
 J//(?,we may still be farther covinced of the same important doc- 
 trine, revealed by his name. The Spirit (says the Apostle) giveth 
 
SPIRIT OF LIFE. 133 
 
 iife, 2 Cor. iii. 6. He ^ives natural life, sfiiritual life, and eternal 
 life ; and, in this view, He is the Sfiirit of lives. All live by Him. 
 It was the breath or insfiiration of the Spirit of lives^ which com- 
 municated 72«nira/ existence to all the creatures., at the beginning. 
 Gen. vii.22. And when that breath is taken away, they die, and 
 return again to their dust. Psalm civ. 29. 
 
 With respect to spiritual life, man by the fall was cut off and 
 alienated from the life of God. In this view, the human spirit is 
 accounted as dead, and affirmed to be so in a multitude of texts ; 
 because it hath now no true spiritual action, no pure motion ; and 
 because it is in that state, separated from the holiness of Hira, 
 whose life is holiness itself, and in communion with which all per- 
 fect creatures are moved and concentered towards him. Thus, 
 not to think what is good, not to love what is good, not to compre- 
 hend what is good, not to follow what is good ; is that cessation 
 from the most truly spiritual motion, which constitutes spiritual 
 death. If all death be the privation of life ; this is most eminent- 
 ly so.— ——Now, who could restore this life, who could repossess 
 the human mind with activity for God, but God himself? Yet the 
 S/iirit of life doeth this ; it is his office to do it ; and he takes this 
 name, among other reasons, to denote, that it is his own peculiar 
 office to do it. The law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus, hath 
 
 ■made me free (says St. Paul) fro7n the law of sin and death : 
 
 J^'or the minding, will, or purpose, of the flesh, is death ; but the 
 minding, will, or purpose, of the Spirit, is life and Jieace. Rom. 
 viii. 2, 6. Margin. See the whole chapter. 
 
 As the Spirit gives natural and spiritual, so he bestows ever' 
 lasting life. He that soweth to the Spirit (says the Apostle) shall 
 jof the Spirit reap life everlasting. Gal. vi. 8. 
 
 It appears, then, that the Spirit is both " the Lord and tbe Gi- 
 
 ■ver of life," Of life abstractedly, i. e. of all the life, which we 
 
 can understand or know. And if this be his title and his power - 
 jf there be no energy but by him, no principle of being but from 
 him ; what shall that opinion be called, which denies him to be 
 God ? Shall we say, that it is an absurdity ? It must be so, if a 
 contradiction to all truth and evidence can merit the name. Shall 
 we believe it to be blasphemy ? It cannot be otherwise, if a word 
 spoken against the Holy Ghost shall never be forgiven, either in 
 this world or in the world to come. O how fearfully, then, do 
 they presume ; how dangerously do they trifle with their own 
 souls ; who, not content with speaking a word against this bles- 
 ied Comforter, viriXQ volumes ifpo?i vohmes in dec;radatioD oi hijt 
 
134 SPIRIT OF LIFE. 
 
 glory, and seek to make proselytes to the most daring defama- 
 tion of his person aiiaong men ! 
 
 As the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, have each life in them- 
 »e/T;c*, and are therefore three /if rso/2s ,• so, there being but one 
 original life, the three persons, by claiming that original life, do 
 declare themselves to be but one undivided essence. They could 
 not hcftersons ; if they had not this life distinctly : They could 
 not be Q7ie essence or God ; if there was any scfiaration or differ- 
 ence inthe life. Hence the coessentiality and the coequality are as 
 common to each, as the life is common to all: They coexist, as one 
 God; and yet exist in distinction, as three persons. Thus, coc/it 
 is called Jehovah in scripture, and is certainly Jehovah : Yet there 
 is but one Jehovah, and can be but one. Of course, the three per- 
 sons ai'e, in a mode inconceivable by the creatures, the one Jeho- 
 vah ; and the one Jehovah exists in the three persons: Or the 
 scripture will contradict itself, and be untrue ; which is either im- 
 possible, or it is not a divine revelation. Each of the three per- 
 sons, then, is self'cxistcnt ; or each cannot be Jehovah, which is 
 the name for self-existence, and which means the same thing with 
 the having life in himself. They are also coexistent, or of equal 
 existence J else, it is impossible, tliat they should be of orze es- 
 sence. There is not, there cannot be, higher or lower, inferior or 
 superior, difference or inequality, in Jehovah ; for such discord 
 would destroy the very sense of the name, and is repugnant to 
 every scriptural, and even rational, idea of the perfections of the 
 Godhead. As each person claims the essential attributes ; these 
 attributes could not be essential, perfect, and divine, unless the 
 three persons were equally so. It is impossible, that either of 
 them should hold the same attributes in a higher or lower degree ; 
 for that notion destroys the very idea of the essentiality of those 
 attributes, and divides and distributes, what is absolutely indivisi- 
 ble and unimpartible. 
 
 Those people therefore, who suppose any injcriority in the 
 Godhead, do not seem perfectly aware to what consequences their 
 rioiion will lead them, and how, by supposing it, they entirely dar- 
 ken the divinity of /wo of the divine persons, and in fact deny the 
 jiersonality itself. Otherwise, to avoid this conclusion, they must 
 run into absolute Tritheism, or, if they please into positive idola- 
 try. Thus, 
 
 Jncidit i?i Scyllam, qui vulC vitare Chary bdim. 
 
 It may be said, and it has been said, " That God is a Spirit, and 
 that this name of Spirit may belong to him as one indistinguisha- 
 
SPIRIT OF LIFE. 135 
 
 Me person." Respecting the subtlety, purity, and absolute 
 
 immateriality of his nature, it is undeniable, that God is Spirit,^ 
 Spirit, one Spirit ; because He is one nature, and one essence ; 
 and, in this respect, the Father, Son, and Spirit, being holy, may 
 justly be termed Holy Spirit. But these last names are names 
 of office, and were not intended so much to convey the notices of 
 what the persons are in themselves, as of what they are io us. The 
 Spirit of God, for instance, is so named, because it is his office in 
 the covenant, to breathe life, to inspire the strength of that life, 
 and to be the very Spirit, fountain, and cause both of it and of its 
 continuance, in all the redeemed. In this respect. He is also theiv 
 Father ; and is so called. The Son of God, for a similar reason, 
 is styled. The everlasting Father.* And, when we address our- 
 selves in that perfect form of words, which Christ hath taught us 
 to use ; we address the three persons in one Godhead, and style 
 them. Our Father. As it hath been already observed in the for- 
 mer volume, p. 149, the characters and offices of the eternal Tri- 
 nity are plainly marked out and expressed in the course of that 
 prayer ; and the interchanging of some of these characters and 
 offices to the respective persons in the Godhead, seems evidently 
 designed to demonstrate their respective equality, and their mu- 
 tual consent and energy in all operations. We, in fact, cannot ad- 
 dress one of the divine persons, without worshipping the other 
 iwo } because we worship him as God, and because there is but 
 one essence or Godhead. A true Christian cannot be an idolater., 
 for he doth not worship the figment of his own brains, but a God. 
 revealed ; nor a Polytheist, for he worships one God j nor an 
 Arian, for he worships each fierson in the Godhead ; nor an here' 
 tic against the Holy Ghost, for he adores the Godhead in the Spi- 
 rit, and by the Spirit, and also the Spirit himself, in the Unity of 
 the Godhead. He believes God's own account of his own divine 
 nature, and implicitly obeys his sovereign direction in all acts of 
 adoration and duty. 
 
 The enmity, which has been shewn to ih\$, fKv.damental doctrine. 
 of true religion, both by Jewt and Gentile, is the best apology 
 
 * See under this name in Vol. i. p. 94. 
 
 ■j- "When the enmity of the Jews is spoken of in this case, it is to be un- 
 derstood of the motkim Jews. The ancient people of this denomination 
 were of a different opinion respecting this and some other doctrines of Rev- 
 elation, and agreed in substance with the Christians. Seme proof of this 
 has been given in the introduction to the first volume of these essays ; and 
 the learned reader may find more, in Mornseus's book tie Veritatc lieligionit 
 Christicnci:, and in Pococke's Kotes upon Maimonides's Dissertations, enti- 
 tled Porta Mods. 
 
 It may not be unsatisfactory to reader:*, who hj^ve not opportunity to con- 
 
135 SPIRIT OF LIFE. 
 
 for considering it in so many of the various ways, which relate to 
 our faith and hopes both here and hereafter. The souls of men 
 are at stake in this case ; and the dignity of God forbids all pre- 
 sumption and trifling. We, therefore, for safety fly to his \vord> 
 ■which, we are sure, can never deceive us; and we slay ourselves 
 upon his revelation, which alone can precisely inform us in all 
 things, which are proper or necessary to our salvation. Of one 
 thing, we are very certain, that, if God hath not told us the truth, 
 respecting his own nature and his engagements to us, we shall ne- 
 ver be able to find it out of oursel ves ; and in that case we may (old 
 as the world is) erect another altar, and hiscribe it, Avith the 
 Heathens — ATxttSTJi ©ECt — To the unknown God. 
 
 We have hinted, in anotlior place, for what reason the third 
 
 suit such kinds of books, to lay before them an abstract of the present 
 Jewish fundamentals ; by w'hich they may see something of then* distance 
 from the Christian religion, and how little in fact they differ fi-om So- 
 cinians, Turks, and the men of what is called natural re!igio7i ,- even while 
 they profess to believe in a divine Revelation. Tliese fundamentals are sta- 
 ted in the celebrated Catechism of Rabbi Abraham Jagel, and were origin- 
 ally extracted from Maimonides, as may be seen in thePor/a Jllosis, p. 164, 
 Sec. 
 
 1. That there is a Creator, by whom are all things. 
 
 2. That this Creator is one God, of the most perfect simplicity and unity 
 of being. 
 
 3. That this one God is absolutely incorporeal, and cannot be ivchtded in 
 bodtf, nor wear the likeness of body. 
 
 4. That God is also eternal, without beginning or end. 
 
 5. That this one eternal God only is to be worshipped by all the crea- 
 tures. 
 
 6. That God hath imparted his Will to Moses ar.d the Prophets, by his 
 own inspiration. 
 
 7. That the prophecy, delivered by Moses, is more excellent, than that 
 delivered by the l-'atrlarchs and other Prophets ; because Moses spake with 
 God, face to face, without vision, or suppression of the natural faculties", 
 or anv previous preparation ; which was peculiar to Moses alone. 
 
 8. That Moses acted as the mere amanuensis of God, in writing both the 
 historical and ceremonial parts of his five books. 
 
 9. That to this Revelation nothing is to be added, and from it nothing tci 
 be diminislied. 
 
 10. That God knows all the thoughts, words, and works of men, 
 
 11. That God will punish or reward men in another life, according to their 
 w6rks, and particularly tlie Jews, more or less than others, for tlieii- obedi- 
 ence or disobedience of tlie law. 
 
 12. That God ivill yet send the Messiah to deliver the Jews from the 
 bond.ige of the Gentiles, although his advent be long delayed; that this 
 Messiah is to arise of the stock of Oavid, the son of Jesse, of Bethlehem ; 
 that iic will govern the world in righteousness; that, upon his advent, the 
 Jews shall repossess their own land, rebuild tlie temple, and resume all the 
 ancient ceremonies and observances of the law ; and that it is their duty to 
 pray for this continually. 
 
 13. That tiiere is a resurrection of the dead. 
 
 Concerning this last article there is much difference and disputation 
 among them ; as may be seen at large in the very Iciuncd Notes of Dr. 
 Pococke above mtulioatd, c, vi. p, 8u, 5sc. 
 
SPIRIT OF LIFE, V}-7 
 
 person in the Trinity halh assumed llie name of Spirit. It is a 
 title borrowed from the air, which we breathe, to convey to our 
 minds, undeK that sensible form, our sfiiritual dependence upon 
 liis person. As wind is air in motion, it is his frequent emblem 
 to demote the quickness, subtlety, and effect, of his activity. No 
 animal can subsist a moment without air, not even the fishes under 
 water: all the vegetable tribes live by it, and without it perish. 
 It is, in feet, so much the life of all creatures in this system, 
 that to breathe and to live, are perfectly synonymous. We have 
 no power in our animal sense, but by this medium. Air conveys 
 sounds to our ears, smells to our nose, and reflects the light of 
 the heavenly orbs to our eyes.— What this subtle and most ne- 
 cessary fluid is to our bodies ; just such is the most holy and 
 blessed Spirit to our souls. We have no spiritual life but by his 
 momentary supply. We have no spiritual strength but by his 
 continual support. Whenever we move for God ; he is the 
 spring and life of our motion, gives all the efficacy, and doeth all 
 in us and by us. Our bodies, possibly, are not more gross in 
 comparison of the air, than our spirits are to the subtle nature 
 and force of the spirit of God. We know the action of the wind^ 
 though we cannot see it; and throughout eternity we may be 
 perceiving the impressions of the Holy Ghost, without being able 
 to explain them. It will be sufficient for us, both here and here- 
 after, to enjoy the fulness of his almighty love, which, because 
 it is infinite, inust always be indefinable. As our outward senses 
 cannot be exercised without the intervention of the air, his em- 
 blem ; so neither can our spirits hear, taste, see, and enjoy the 
 wisdom, grace, and lighteousness of God, but by his constant in- 
 spiration. He reflects the light of Christ upon our souls, ex- 
 plains the things of Christ to our minds, and applies the salvation 
 of Christ to our whole frame. We are spiritually dead without 
 him, separated from the life of God, alienated from the love of 
 God, altogether both spiritual and natural rottenness, corruption, 
 and mortality, or whatever of misery and death can be included 
 in those terms, 
 
 God hath given his people a pointed description of their case, 
 in the xxxvii of Ezekiel, under the very emblem of which we arc 
 treating. The Prophet was carried out in the spirit of the Lord, 
 and was set down in the midst of the valley, which was full of 
 bones ; and those bones were very dry. They (whom these 
 bones i-epresented) were in a low place, far from the mountain 
 of God's holiness, ami void of the least oil or moisture of his 
 vol, II. 3 
 
iod .SPIRIT OF LIFE. 
 
 grace. '* Is it possible, that these bones can live r" The Proph' 
 et knew, that nothing was too hard for God, though every thing 
 of this kind must be too hard for the creature, and therefore rc- 
 fcred the answer to his Avisdom and power. He was command' 
 ed to preach to these bones, in the name and bv the word of the 
 I^ord. Could his feeble voice avail ? No. He might soonc. 
 turn the tides of the sea, and cause the v.inds to be still, than im- 
 part life by his speaking to the least of these dry bones. But he 
 did not reason like a bold rationalist, who must be informed of 
 and will pretend to understand every ihinir, or will credit nothing: 
 lie obeyed like a true believer in that God who cannot lie, who 
 orders nothing, and who will do nothing, in vain. As he s/iake. 
 while tlie words were in his mouth, the effect began: the wind 
 breathed upon the bones; and they lived, and stood up upon theiv 
 feet, even an exceeding great army. This was the vision or par 
 able. Immediately afterwards is subjoined the comment or ex 
 planalion, which contains one of the most noble testimonies in the 
 Bible for the Spirit's divinity and glory. / ivill iiut my spirit vi 
 you, and ye shall live, says Jehovah to his people. As if it had 
 been said; "your souls areas dead to God, as these dry bones 
 are to the world : ye have no power to raise yourselves from 
 death, any more than they. My word, by my appointed instru- 
 ments, must come forth ; and my spirit must accompany tha 
 word, to make it effectual for your regeneration. When tha" 
 Holy Spirit is placed within you, ye shall live — live spiritually by 
 his continual inspiration, and finally enter into the possession of 
 Heaven yoicr own, for ever appointed to be, your oivn land.'* 
 Taking this whole expressive prophecy together, it evidently 
 appears, that as the dry bones, when restored to their original 
 state and form, that is, compounding the respective men to whom 
 they belonged, could not live without breathing the material 
 wind ; so neither God's people, even when regenerated and re- 
 newed, can subsist in their spiritual life, without the breath of 
 that Holy Spirit, whose olnce it is to impart and maintain it in their 
 r,ouls. — A man mvjst be most violently prejudiced indeed, who 
 will not see, that this is the obvious and important doctrine, in- 
 culcated by the prophecy before us. 
 
 When men can live naturally without air for their bodies, they 
 may live spiritually without the Holy Ghost for their souls. This 
 is one of those evident and solemn truths, which shine through 
 the fabric of the book of God. And if, therefore, it be equally 
 trnr, that in God wr livcj are moved, and have our being ; will v. 
 
SPIRIT OF LIFE. 139 
 
 .:ot demonstrably and undeniably follow, that the Holy Spirit, by 
 whom we thus live, is true and very God ? Doth it not appear, 
 upon the ground of that fact, highly absurd to deny il ? Even rea- 
 son becomes, in this case, a handmaid to faith, and bears evidence 
 for the divinity of Him, who created her. If the Holy Ghost be 
 not God, he could not piv-e life, which is solely the work and the 
 gift of God. If the Floly Ghost be not God, he could not maintain 
 life, because this is the prerogative of God. If the Holy Ghost 
 be not God, he cculd not bestow life euerlanting^ because this i? 
 the sole possession of God, and cannot be enjoyed but in him. 
 But the Holy Spirit doeth all these things, hath done them from the 
 beginning, and hath promised to do them for evermore : He doeth 
 them to myriads upon myriads of creatures, in the same instant 
 of time, beyond the impediments of space, and according to their 
 various capacities. Is it v.nbclief only to say, tlicn, " that he is; 
 not God ever-blessed?" — If these premises be true, it must be 
 spiritual folly, absurdity, and impiety. 
 
 Could we ask the highest creatures, which God hath made, to 
 communicate to us the gifts and excellencies of grace ; the 
 nearer they are to the throne, the louder they would say, " It is 
 uot in us to bestow them." They are as much indebted for di- 
 vine life, and all its sublime advantages ; as the poorest reptile 
 ^vhich crawls upon the ground, or as the smallest insect which 
 floats in the air, are for their lives, to the Almighty Creator. Nov 
 could they convey any of their natural endowments to man, more 
 than man himself can impart his human nature to a fly. Life, 
 with all its proper appendages, capacities, and exercise, flows 
 freely and solely from Him, who only hath life in himself, and who 
 infinitely and eternally lives, independent of others. " Creatures 
 live, but tkey are not life itself because they have their life by 
 participation: And e%-ei'y being by participation must be redu- 
 ced to somewhat, that is such [life or being] of itself ; therefore. 
 ;he life of the creature must be reduced to G'oc?, who is life itself."" 
 
 Upon the whole, we see, that if the Scriptures be true, in ascri- 
 bing this name and attribute of life to the Holy Spirit, and true, 
 in relating the facts of hia granting and supporting life in the 
 creatures ; the unavoidable consequence is, that the Holy Spirit 
 is God ov Jehovah : But if he be not Jehovah or God, then the 
 scriptures are untrue both in doctrine and record.) the Christian 
 religion becomes at once 2,fable^ and there is no hope of salvation 
 
 * GiJe's Court »/ ih? Cent. Part iv, p. 319, 
 
140 SPIRIT OF LIFE, 
 
 by the means it proposes, either in this world or in the world ta 
 come. 
 
 Of such importance to our faith, is the doctrine of the S/iirit^s 
 divinity : x\nd it is of no less consequence to onv'exfierience. If 
 Jehovah Alehim alone could breathe into our nostrils the breath 
 of our natural life ; surely none less than himself could impart to 
 our souls the inspiration of spiritual life. Gen. ii. 7. And if this 
 be from him, we must depend upon him for it on the one hand- 
 that it may be constantly maintained in us, and, on the other, live 
 out of ourselves and reject the pride of our fallen hearts, which 
 very hardly stoop to this dependent situation. This proud inde- 
 pendent Spirit is so dear to us, that the giving of it up is called a 
 crucifixion in the scripture, and even 2l losing of our very life. Tc 
 do this daily (and daily it must be done) is takirg ufi the Cross dailtjj 
 and following Christ. It is that surrendering up of life for lifQ, 
 which every believer is more or less acquainted with, all the way 
 to Heaven. " This, (^says the excellent Mr. Dorney) cuts the 
 hez.rt of self firide, spiritual surfeiting^ zr\<\ slothfulness, when I 
 live every moment at the mercy of another, even Jesus Christ, 
 both for justifying righteousness, and every influence thereof, 6tf 
 the immediate breathing of his S/iirit, according to his good plea- 
 sure ; having not the power, so much as to make one hair white 
 or black : But I must wholly work by his hands, see by his eyes, 
 and in his light behold the light. What more powerful induce- 
 ment can there be to self-denial than this ? Boasting is excluded : 
 because Christ, in his own person, and by his own S/iirit, doeth 
 \vhatboever is done ybr me, or in me. Here lies the mystery and 
 labor of faith, which the mere motion thereof can never reach un- 
 to, so as to improve the same to a self denying activity for God, 
 in the paths of Godliness and travel towards Zlon." This is one 
 of those mysteries of Godliness, \vhich, to the ungodly, the carnal, 
 or mere reasoning professor, will always he mysteries. Not to 
 live a man's own life, but to live by the faith of the Son of God, 
 and to breathe spiritually by the Spirit of God ; are inexplicable 
 points even to masters in Israel, who walk by their own under- 
 standings ; though obvious enough to the meanest disciple, who 
 knows the (ruth as it is in Jesus. We are, by nature, fond of our 
 own will, wisdom, power ; and, at every turn, are ready to cry 
 out. Who is Lord over us ? We presuine, in consequence, upon 
 our free agency and the vigor of our faculties, and fancy we can 
 do all things for God, while we perceive not, that we have not at 
 present the will, and that, in fact, we have never had the power 
 
SPIRIT OF LIFE. Ul 
 
 to do any thing for him. The louder the beast, the less the deed. 
 The Pharisee in the temple was of this cast He came in the un- 
 discerning pride of his natural state, and therefore was rejected. 
 Another spirit actuated the Publican, led him to renounce him- 
 self, and to see that he could do nothing at the most but cry for 
 mercy. He could not even have cried for that mercy ; had he not 
 already obtained the mercy to cry for it. It was grace, which 
 made the difference : It'was sovereign grace, which filled his hun- 
 gry soul with good things, and sent the rich and self-exalted emp- 
 ty away. Instead oi giving to God, as too many dream ; we can 
 only receive from him: And, when we have received 07ie bles- 
 sing, we must receive arzother, that we may be enabled to use the 
 ^firs t ior ^ood. If we have the life of the Spirit, we need the 
 strength of that life for its exercise and employment. If we pray 
 and receive, we want grace to praise for the receiving : And if 
 our souls are enlarged towards God, we must be indebted to his 
 conduct, that we be not puffed up within ourselves. If we are 
 diligent, the Spirit of Truth, who gave us power to be diligent, 
 Jiiust preserve us from the pride of human activity. If we are 
 depressed or deserted in mind, the same Spirit must uphold us 
 from falling and fainting, must restrain our ungrateful hearts 
 
 from murmurs, and our lives from disgracing his truth. Real 
 
 believers know nnich of these wrestlings ; and they know them 
 because they are really alive. The life in them, given by the 
 •^/lirit of Life, struggles against the attacks of disease, which is 
 
 in, in their carnal nature ; and, struggling by a strength far above 
 itself or what can be exerted by a creature, it assuredly aiid finally 
 prevails. It gives no quarter to the least unholy thought, declares 
 perpetual war against all evil words and deeds, ana tends to re- 
 duce the whole man to the love and obedience of Jesus Cluist. 
 His " service being perfect freedom," it seeks the utmost liberty 
 liere, not for an occasion to the flesh, but for the glory of God. — 
 Will any man venture to say then, that this holy guide can lead 
 ^0 licentiousness, or that those, who are led by him, caw be the 
 
 crvants of sin ? Can the boldest mortal declare, that docliints 
 iike this, or founded upon this, tend to diminish morality, or cor- 
 rupt the principles of holiness, either in heart or lii'c t — If they 
 •an insist upon so strange a conclusion ; they may also insist, that 
 
 he sun is the cause of all darkness, and that the icy regions of the 
 lorth send forth the intolerable heats, which pervade the Arabian 
 
 'nds The Spirit of God in the believer leads him as opposite to 
 
142 SPIRIT OF LIFE. 
 
 all sin, as the Devil leads those, over whom he has povi er, in ways 
 contrary to all holiness. 
 
 " But may not people he deceived, concerning this life, ami 
 fancy they have it, when they know nothing of the matter?"— 
 Most undoubtedly. The scripture mentions such persons in the 
 Apostles' time ; and there, most likely, have been such at all 
 times. But this is no argument against the truth, but for it. 
 Here, as in other cases, cxcefitio jirobat rcgulam: if there was 
 no line, there could be no deviation. It, however, strongly ur- 
 ges, that every professor should exaviiJis and firove himself: 
 and this the real believer is always desirous to do. Our Lord 
 hath proposed a rule for trial ; and so have his Apostles. He 
 tells us, concerning others, by their fruitsy ye shall know them : 
 he assures us, concerning ourselves, ye must be born again. 
 His Apostjes follow his doctrine, and affirm, that if any man 
 have not the sfiirit of Christy he is 7ione of his ; and that every 
 man., that hath this hope in him, fiurifieth himself even as he is 
 pure. Take these with many other such tests, and compare 
 them together in our own bosoms ; we cannot but see some- 
 thing correspondent with or contrary to them, arising within our- 
 selves. If we are sincere in the inquiry, we shall pray before we 
 make it: we shall pray to that searcher of hearts to prove and 
 ?rz/, whether there be any ivay oftvickednessin us ; and we shall 
 beg, with tears, to be led into the nvay everlasting. No hypo- 
 crite asks about the matter, at least never asks in this secret earn- 
 est manner before God. He wishes to take it for granted ; and he 
 desires, that ail men should take it for granted too. The true Chris- 
 tian is never satisfied, but with the testimony of his own conscience, 
 the testimony of God's word, and the testimony which is laid down in 
 this sentenceof the Apostle, Aer(?3i/ nve knonv that he [GiO(P^ abide th 
 in us.) by the spirit ivhich he hath given us. 1 John iii. 24. These ev- 
 idences, indeed, may be sometimes clouded ; but there will ever 
 be light enough to distinguish the reality of their existence ; as, 
 in the shortest and the darkest day, people can see a wide differ- 
 ence between that and the night. Serious Christians soon Mill dis- 
 cern a real believer under a cloud, even though the believer seeniE 
 himself bewildered, and ready to give up all for lost. Persons 
 upon a hill can sec the end of the thickets beneath them, v/hile 
 those in the thickets are puzzled about the way through, think 
 themselves in an impenetrable forest, and cannot view a step of 
 their progress before them. In temptations of this kind, it is 
 well to advise with csiablished and experimental Christians, and 
 
SPIRIT OF LIFE. U3 
 
 specially pious ministers, who if they have not been exercised 
 in this manner themselves, must know many that have, and are 
 *heretbre the more able to suit their instructions and advice. 
 
 It is an invincible argument of comfort to the believer, who 
 knows, that the life, which he liveth in the flesh by the faith of 
 the Son of God, havimdef<;cndle life, that /le can never perish 
 from it, and that it cannot cease from him. He is enabled to 
 view it, not as /lis 07ynlife, but as the life of God in him ; and 
 he, therefore, is the more persuaded of the perinanericy of the 
 gift from the //er/ze^wiV^/ of the giver. I'o talk, as some poor 
 unacquainted people do, of the perishing nature of this immortal 
 life, appears to him (what it truly is,) first, the uttering of an 
 absurd error in itself then, a most gloomy and uncomfortable 
 position for the soul of the Christian, and in fine a direct blasphe- 
 my against the divinity of the Holy Ghost. 'Tis readily granted, 
 that such persons do not see these consequences, or it may be 
 hoped they would abhor them ; but they follow as necessarily from 
 their principles, as the conclusions of the most perfect syllogisms 
 do from their respective premises. Such professors debase the 
 glory and truth of God's promises, v/hich are as immutable as 
 himself; they endeavour to rob his people of their strong conso- 
 lations founded upon this immutability ; and they hold forth, in its 
 
 5tead, what ? — a dark uncertain void, where no prospect of 
 
 stability, no ground of hope, can relieve the mind. They pre- 
 posterously suspend a man's salvation upon his own will and 
 strength, when the man of himself cannot so much as think one 
 good thought towards it, nor do (what is less indeed thaji tluB, 
 because Christ says it is least of all '.vith respect to rfo/n^- J aught 
 to make one hair blacker nohite. — And thus much for this arro- 
 gant presumption of man, which, whether it be more Impious or 
 absurd, it is indeed difficult to say. 
 
 Our God, believer, is a God mi chart geabhj true. The life, 
 which he grants to the soul, is strictly indefeasible ; or it could 
 not have been for his glory to have granted it. It was granted by 
 God, upon a covenant of promise and power, which stipulates lo 
 perform, and twws^ perform (if its author be true) whatever it hath 
 stipulated. If, when we were dead, this Spirit, of which we are 
 treating, graciously gave us life, without any procurement of 
 our own ; surely, he will, at least with equal ease, preserve 
 this life already bestowed, and lead it on to eternal bliss. This 
 life is given in and through Christ for this very end. He holds it 
 as the Afoo', for his people as the ncml>ers, llcnc^j he :j r/,r 
 
144 SPIRIT OF Lit'E, 
 
 mediator of the J^'e-vj Testament, or covenant, that — they which 
 are calledmight receive the firomi^e of eternal inheritance. The 
 calling of men by God, is the making of them saints to God- 
 The Holy Spirit doth not sound in men's ears, as men do, without 
 effect, but is a still small voice in the soul, which (while it speaks) 
 works new creatures, and transforms to the image of God's dear 
 Son. The believer also doth not receive this grace of the spirit 
 of life, without a mediation ; because, without the Mediator, the 
 holy God could have no communion with defiled sinners : but he 
 receives every grace, mercy, promise, and blessing, in Christy 
 for Christ's 5a^(? and for iha glory of Christ. Hence the Spirit is 
 called the spirit ofUfe in Christ Jesus, Rom. viii. 2. as well as the 
 sfiirit of life from Gorf, Rev.xi. II. We have no access to the 
 Father but by Christ ; no communion of the Spirit, but in him. 
 Through his human nature we approach to the divine ; and (what 
 ia stiil more) through the seme human nature, glorified in him, 
 we are partakers of the divine. He, that is joined to the Lord, is 
 one sfiirit : i.e. there is an indissoluble union between God the 
 Father and believers through God the Son, who hath assumed 
 our nature, and who partook of both natures to become a due 
 mediator, and also by the power and effectual working of God the 
 Spirit. Thus tlieir /j/v i3hid:xii(\ laid up with Christ in God ; and 
 because hep.veth, they live also. The life is in the Son for them, 
 brought through the Son by the Spirit Into them, and by it they 
 are united to Father, Son, and Spirit, for evermore. John 
 xiv. 17, 19, 2Q. xvii. 21, &c. O what glory to God from man, 
 what security for man to God, rest in this glorious truth ! The 
 Apostles are full of this subject in their several epistles to the 
 brethren. They admire and bless God for this unutterable be- 
 nignity to their souls. They seem transported at times with the 
 exhilarating views of the divine beneficence in Christ Jesus, and 
 labor to express the gratitude they felt by words, which after all 
 teem with big thoughts that cannot be expressed. Behold, ivhat 
 manner of love ! the defith I arc among the fervent exclama- 
 tions of their spirits, which could neither fitthom the defith, nor 
 describe the manner, of what they saw and enjoyed. They only 
 fx/!r(7s* by these terms, t^hat the /oz/e is altogether inexjircssible. 
 In Heaven, doubtless, their language is the same ; for the farther 
 they see into what is infinite, and the more they enjoy of what is 
 eternal; the wonder, the love, the transport, must increase up- 
 on them, and (in a devotion which mere mortals cannot feel) en- 
 tirely rapt them up in the sublimity of praise. The highest 
 
SPIRIT OF LIFE. 145 
 
 praise is even then (as it were) but dumb, in declaring the good- 
 ness or the glory of the Lord : the loudest acclamation of Heaven 
 is but like the stillest silence, when that acclamation attempts to 
 utter the mighty majesty of God. It can sing almost nothing. 
 To this purpose, the Psalmist no less justly, than beautifully, 
 says, firaise is silent for thce^ O Gody in Zion. Ps. Ixv. 1. It 
 cannot declare his glory, it cannot express how much he is to be 
 praised. As the most pungent grief stuns the faculties and makes 
 men dumb; so this height of God's due praise, when faith can 
 look up to it, absorbs all human and angelic powers, and would 
 leave the creatures, like Daniel and some others, quite over- 
 whelmed with the sense of its majesty (Dan. X. 8. Rev. i. 17. 
 Ezek. i. 28.) did not the spirit of life from God go forth to sup« 
 port them. — Happy believer ! all this blessedness, all this tri- 
 umph and transport, shall one day be thine ! Thou shalt be fit- 
 ted for this work; as this work is already prepared for thee.-— 
 Doth not thy heart burn within thee in the foresight, or rather 
 from the foretaste, ot this delightful portion, of this everlasting 
 joy, with which the stranger intermeddleth not! Satan cannot 
 touch it, the world cannot take it away ; no, nor even thy con= 
 temptible flesh detain thee from it. This thou shalt drop as a 
 filthy garment, and the others shall be removed far away. Then 
 shalt thou be all life in this spirit of life, all activity by his power, 
 all love by his goodness, all purity by his holiness, all joy by his 
 blessing. Surrounded by innumerable millions of happy spirits, 
 like thyself; grief, corruption, and sin, thou shalt see no more. 
 Fitted for God, thou shalt enjoy God. One with Christ, thou 
 shalt be like him. The Father, Son, and Spirit, will commune 
 with thee through the human nature of thy Saviour, and impart 
 all, what thou wilt be able to receive of the vastness of glory. 
 Thou wilt then know, whatever is to be known by the purified 
 intellect of man, concerning the Trinity in Unity, the Unity in 
 Trinity, the incarnation of the Messiah, and all the other acts and 
 intentions of the covenant of truth. The veil of ignorance, which 
 thou hast often deplored, together with sin its cause, shall entire- 
 ly be done away. Every faculty shall be dilated with the love of 
 God, and every capacity filled with his joy. O couldst thou see 
 the high employment of the blest, couldst thou conceive but the 
 half of their glory ; this dull poor life below would appear doub- 
 ly dull and disgusting, and thy soul would be crying out in a I'ap- 
 ture, " co77ie, Lord Jesus ; come quickly ! Hasten^ my beloved.) 
 and my friend ' My soul panteth for thee j yeaj my heart and 
 VOL. H. T 
 
146 SPIRIT OF LIFE. 
 
 7ny flesh, the ineanest faculty that I have, for thee, eveuforthee, 
 the living God I When Hegcsius a great philosopher first pjeach- 
 cd the immortality of the soul, and from reason asserted that 
 there must be a better world for the spirits of men than this we 
 live on ; two of his hearers went away and put an end to their 
 mortal lives, in order (as they hoped) to enjoy it. Though thei? 
 firaclice was wrong ; yet how many, who are called Christians, 
 will their fervor condemn ! If these Heathens could not endure 
 to live upon earth from the bare notion of an immortal joy ; O 
 ■what hearts have we, that we should cling so close to the earth, 
 and be ready to sacrifice almost our very souls to obtain but a small 
 particle of it ; even when life and immortality are, in a manner, 
 laid open to our view by the Gospel ! Old men, what say ye to 
 this ? Ye, who are treading quick towards the grave, and yet 
 liave lingering hearts for the world ? Can ye rejoice to die ; not 
 because death brings you to the end of pain, but to the end of 
 sin, and to the beginning of life eternal ? " Grey hairs (says ati 
 ingenious physician) are church-yard flowers, which may serve to 
 them that bear them, instead of passing-bells, to give them cer- 
 tain notice, whither they are suddenly going."* These hang 
 about your ears : have they sounded t/ius in your ears ; and do 
 ye find pleasure in the sound ? O what an honorable example 
 ai-e you privileged to give among men, if grace be in your hearts, 
 and glory in your eye ? You may respectively say with good ol(\ 
 Polycarp, yet without his particular trials " I have served for so 
 many years, [he served, as he told the Roman proconsul, 86 
 years] ray good master Christ; and he hath ever been kind 
 to me : and shall I forsake him now ?" You are upon the 
 threshold of Heaven, and may almost hear the melodies of the 
 blest: surely the din and confusion of the world can never be en- 
 tertaining to you. Wliat is earthly clamor to those who live 
 above it ? — The muttering of slaves in a mine, which free men in 
 day-light and good air, when they hear it, only commiserate oi' 
 contemn. Com« then, old believer, some few steps more ; and 
 all the life of Heaven is yours. Commit your grey, hairs to Him, 
 ■who hath said, that not one of them shall perish. And if not one 
 of these shall perish ; how mucli less the least of your dearer con- 
 cerns, the hopes of your soul, the promise of a mansion in Hea- 
 ven ! Cheer up, therefore, and say, with an aged believer like 
 thyself, " t'/iough my heart and my Jlesh Jail ; though all the 
 strength of my nature be gone and tlie very grasahopper is a bur- 
 
 * Smith's Portrait of old .%e. p. 148. 3d Edit. 
 
WATER OF LIFE. 147 
 
 ufM ; yet God is the strength of my heartland my fiortion forever I 
 I trust in the ancient of days to whom all my days are hntfevj^ as 
 Xomyselfihcy 2iVe evil ; tiwdihc %h2\\ renew my youth as the ea- 
 gle^sy and give me that immortal bloom, which shall grow bright- 
 er and brigiiter throughout eternity ! Behold, Lord, thy servant: be 
 it unto me according to thy word 1** Dear old friend ; it shall be so ; 
 thou shalt have this cordial, and more. Wait for thy Lord ; and 
 he, that will come, shall coine a?id will not tarrij. He will replen- 
 ish thee with eternal youth ; and thou shalt remember thy cares 
 and thy infirmities no more for ever. 
 
 WATER OF LIFE. 
 
 LIFE hath already been considered as an attribute of the 
 Holy Spirit, and consequently as a proof of his divinity. He is 
 the spirit of life to imfiart life, and the water of life to nourish it 
 when imparted. When and where this spirit breathes, this water 
 flows : or, in other words, to whomsoever the Holy Ghost con- 
 veys life, he immediately so possesses the soul, as to maintaiii it 
 continually, finally, eternally. It has been repeated, that God 
 uses this emblematical language in order to illustrate, from the 
 natural objects around us, the necessity, the riches, and (in many 
 respects) the manner of his grace. He hath employed the em- 
 blem of water for that end, and thereby shews us, that this fluid 
 is not more necessary to the subsistence of the material, than this 
 Holy Spirit is to the spiritual or intellectual world. And, hence, 
 he is most admirably denominated (what the Godhead alone could 
 have denominated him) the living Water, and Water of Life, or 
 Liives. 
 
 Every body knows, that water is a simple and transparent 
 fluid, which enters into the composition of all matter, at least all 
 the matter of our system. There is no substance, whether an- 
 imal, vegetable, or mineral, without it. The accretions of the 
 hardest substances, probably even of precious stones which are 
 as hard as any, are formed by this univej'sal principle, and pos- 
 sibly derive a proportional perfection from its purity. Every 
 being, which has a proper life, lives by it ; and whatever grows, 
 through it receives its growth. When they decay, they return 
 for the most part to water, not excepting the driest substances, 
 as to one of their original principles. We have no fluid so subtle 
 
14$ WATER OF LIFE. 
 
 and penetrating, excepting fire : it enters into the minutest par- 
 ticles and pores of matter, into the finest vessels of animals, and 
 the smallest tubes of plants. It will pierce through substances, 
 ■which detain air itself. And, wherever it enters according to the 
 oeconomy of Providence, it promotes, sustains, and increases life ; 
 preserves all material natures in their proper classes of being ; 
 and is one of the first principles in the fabric and constitution ol 
 the world. Wiiether, in short, it be considered, as productive 
 of health to animal and vegetable being, as requisite to the beauty 
 and existence of the earth, or as the great mechanic power, by 
 ■which God woi'ks in the sustentation and action of the whole uni- 
 verse ; we may perceive a noble propriety in the sensible image 
 for a representation of the spiritual agency, and divinity, of the 
 Holy Ghost. 
 
 The necessity and use of this admirable fluid in all things, im- 
 pressed some ancient philosophers with a notion, that it was the 
 first principle of universal life, and that therefore (as they had not 
 then conceived the idea of an universal mind) it must be God, or 
 the source of the Gods.* 
 
 At the creation of the world, the sfiirit of God i^oved, or brood- 
 ed +«/i07z the face of the 'ivaiers, ingenerating life with this fluid 
 into all the material substances as they were created, and diffusing 
 the i^uid itself through all the members of this terrestrial frame 
 for the support of the life bestowed. Jn this first great instance, 
 he acted by water for the sustenance of all things, declaring upon 
 fact, that, without his express energy, it had no power of its own 
 to support the natural being of things, and declaring also in the 
 emblem of that fact, that the spiritual life of men is by his infu- 
 sion, that it can by no means subsist without him. 
 
 To explain and enforce this important truth, there are many 
 rites and declarations, concerning the use of water, both in the 
 Old and New Testaments. These all refer to the agency of the 
 spirit of God, and, at the same time, shew, for the most part, 
 
 * Cicero, in his first book de natura Beorum, says, th.it Thales the Mile- 
 sian was the first who asserted, tli.at " God was that viind, who formed all 
 things out of water ;" but he presently adds, that Anaxagoras was the 
 first who affirmed, that tlie design and frame of all things was ])lanned 
 and formed by the power and reason of an infinite mhid. The honor, liowev- 
 er, is gencr-illy attributed to the latter, who was surnamed Naj, or viind, 
 upon the doctrine. 
 
 j The ancient heathens had many obscure traditions both concerning' the 
 cosmogony and the state of man before .ind about the times of the Hood. 
 Thus, according to Dr. Thomas Gajc, quod Mo>C3, per Spikitum, qui aquas, 
 jovcbat, expressitjT.^yitt'ii J)er Zutji designabant. Not. in Jambl. Sect. viii.c.S- 
 
WATER OF LIFE, 149 
 
 that this agency and its blessings result only through the great 
 Redeemer. 
 
 It was not by chance that the people of Israel, after their de= 
 parture from Egypt, were led to Rejihidim^ ivhere there ivas no 
 water Jbr thein to drink. Exod. xvii. God himself led them thith^ 
 er, to teach believers among them, and believers also among us, 
 a lesson of his grace, as well as of his power. Moses, npon their 
 complaint of thirst, was to go on before the people, and with the 
 rod of authority, which God had given him, was commanded to 
 smite a great rock which formed a part of the mountain in Horeb. 
 It was very improbable to human reason, that a dry impenetrable 
 substance, as a rock is, should afford the fluid of water at all, 
 and much less a sufficient quantity for the lasting refreshment of 
 so many hundred thousand people : but Moses was too wise too 
 reason upon God's revelation : he obeyed it in faith. Behold 
 (says the Lord) / will stand before thee there upon the rock. In 
 this and in the xx chapter of Nuinbers, where the fact is repeat- 
 ed with other particulars : we iind, that the water came out 
 abundantly, and supplied the whole congregation. — We are not 
 left \.o guess at xhe instruction meant by this wonderful transaction : 
 the scripture is full upon the subject. The rock (says the Apos- 
 tle) wa^ C^rw?; and Christ, to the eye of reason, when he ap- 
 peared in the flesh, was just as unlikely to afford all the benefits 
 of salvation, as the rock in Horeb was, at the stroke of a stick, 
 to send forth water. So thought the Jews when they saw him ; 
 and so think all unbelieving Gentiles : while both of them, with- 
 out meaning it, only fulfil thereby the scriptures concerning him. 
 He was c niaji of sorrows, and, to human view, barren even of 
 comfort for himself. Yet it pleased the Lord to smite him ; and, 
 at his smiting, forthwith issued out the water of life everlasting. 
 John iv. 1^. He gives this living water. If any man thirst (says 
 he,)Z(rf him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the 
 scripture hath said, out of his belly shall fiow rivers of living 
 ivater. Bui this spake he of the Spirit, which they, that believe 
 on him, should receive s for the Holy Ghost was not yet given^ 
 because that Jesus was not yet glorifed. John vii. 37, See, God 
 was in Christ ; and this he emblematically declared, when he 
 said to Moses, behold, take notice, / will stand before thee there 
 upon the rock. The rock was nothing in itself to this purpose, 
 and could have yielded nothing without God : nor could Christ 
 liave redeemed us by his human nature alone ; for he could not 
 liave merited but by the divine.'* When this human natrre ^Ta5 
 
 * See Vol. I. p. 90, ?;c. 
 
150 WATER OF LIFE, 
 
 smitten /or the transgressions of his people ; then came forth, 
 even with sensible demonstration, the Spirit of God from this 
 Jesus. It was however the same spirit, which, in all past ages, 
 had proceeded from him, and even then had spiritually accom- 
 plished his own office to helicvers in those iypes, which proclaim- 
 ed the work and sufferings of the Redeemer, til! he should ap- 
 pear in the world. The spirit operated in virtue of that eternal 
 covenant, by which Jesus also was considered as a Lajnb already 
 slain from the foundation of the nvorld. — The whole congregation 
 of Isrncl was replenished from the water nut of the rock; and 
 so is the whole Church of God by the spirit of life in Christ Jesus ; 
 and this by the way, affords the reason why he is called so often 
 the Spirit of Christy as well as the Spirit of God. 
 
 It was the same lesson, which was taught by the standing rite, 
 recorded in Lev, xiv, 4, If a man had been healed of the leprosy ^ 
 the mode of cleansing was, that the Priest should go forth to him 
 out of the camp, and command tv,-o clean living birds to be taken 
 for the person, with cedar-wood, and scarlet (or scarlet-wool or 
 silk) and hyssop. One of the birds was to be killed in an earthen 
 vessel^ over running water (Heb. living vjatcr or water of lives j) 
 and the other bird was to be dipped, with the cedar, the scarlet, 
 and the hyssop, in the blood of the bird, which was killed over 
 this running watter. The man was then to be sfirinkled seven 
 limes with the hlood ; in consequence of which he was pronoun- 
 •ed clean, and the living bird was let loose into the open field. 
 So the redeemed of the Lord have Christ for their High-Priest, 
 who came to them in their pollution, and when cast out of the 
 ■amp of God. He is also the sacrifce itself. His divine nature, 
 represented by that aerial creature the bird, was placed in our 
 human nature, under the well-known image o^an earthen vessel, 
 and, in it, suffered for their sins. Out of his side came forth 
 blood and tvater, the two testimonials of cleansing. As the bird 
 was kifled over or upon the living or running water ; so Christ 
 offered himself through the eternal spirit^ which that water signi- 
 fied, imto God, z.rtd poiireth ou^ that spirit upon his people, when 
 he sprinkleth them with his blood. The sprinkling, reiterated 
 seven times denotes the perfect purification by that blood. The 
 living bird also represents, under another form, the Lord Jesus, 
 This was to be dipped mhXood, and to rise from it. and to fy 
 away. So Christ was buried, and rose again, and is now ascend- 
 ed into Heaven, having obtained et€r7ial redemption for his peo- 
 
WATER OF LIFE. IJI 
 
 pie. Through him, the Spirit of Life became the Water of Life 
 for them, all-elTicacious to cleanse and replenish for evermore. 
 
 If we go through the whole ceremonial of the law, we shall 
 find the application oi water made in a variety of instances, which 
 ■were appointed to shadow forth the necessary and illustrious agen- 
 cy of the Spirit of God. The Priests were to be outwardly wash- 
 ed with water, in sign of their inward purification, and not from a 
 political motive of ?nere cleanliness^ (as some authors have very 
 xmscripturally supposed ;) and, in allusion to this, the gi'cat ex- 
 pounder of the Jewish ritual, rerommends to believers, that their 
 bodies be tuashed ninth imre ivater, by which he means, that their 
 outward life and conversation should be purified from the filth of 
 sin, as well as their hearts be sprinkled from an evil conscience, 
 Heb. X. 22. Exod. xxix. 4. Lev.viii.6. Men are not truly quali- 
 fied to minister in holy things without the water of life ^ whatever 
 be their parts or learning ; and nothing, done for God, can be ho- 
 ly, but by \\.?> purification. Lev. viii. 7. It Avas necessary eveii 
 for Christ himself, as the great High-Priest of our profession, to 
 offer himself with this water, or the Eternal Spirit so called ; as 
 •was prefigured by the sacrifice of the red heifer, whose ashes 
 were to be mingled with water, and kept for the Church, as a-zyc- 
 ter of separation, or purification for sin.. Numb. xix. Thus 
 Christ came /iz/ u-a^dT ; not only in his own innocence hut in the 
 power cf the Spirit ; and also by blood, shedding his own life for 
 the lives of his redeemed. His merit was confirmed by the Holy 
 Spirit, and is applied by him to all the people of God. This the 
 Apostle seems to mean, in 1 John v. 7, 8, by the Three that bcfir 
 witness in Heave?:, and the Three that bear witness in earth ; the 
 former giving spiritual testimony, the latter a sensible one, that 
 the work of salvation is accomplished by Christ. The three di- 
 vine persons bear witness to believers concerning Christ ; and this 
 is called the witness of God, which every believer hath in himself : 
 verses 9, 10, The spirit of the believer witnesses to the truth oi" 
 what God reveals, setting to his seal that God is true, respecting 
 the efficacy of the water and the blood, or, in other words, of the 
 Spirit and Christ, in their engagements of salvation. And these 
 three, namely, the believer's spirit, this water, and this blood, 
 agree in one : i. e. they all harmonize and agree together in one 
 object, and in one great end and purpose fully accomplished for 
 that object. Thus (we may i-epeat the heavenly truth) Christ 
 fame not by water only, to sanctify by the Spirit; but by water and 
 
152 WATER OF LIFE. 
 
 blood ; I. e. by the united efficacy of his oivn atonement and of" 
 tlic Spirit's purification and blessing. 
 
 Nothing was clean or purified to the Lord, but by this emblc- 
 inatic nvater of sefiaration. The spoils taken from the enemy un- 
 derwent this ceremonial or purification. Numb. xxxi. 23. And 
 this was to declare to believers, that all victory over sin was to be 
 effected by him and ascribed to the Spirit of God, working in them 
 through the great Mediator. For this reason, Christ is said to be 
 'ivith his fieofile always, even to the end ; not in his corporal pre- 
 sence, or human nature, for .?Aa^ is SLSCcnded into the holiest till 
 the time of restitution ; but in the Spirit, who is one with him and 
 v/ith the Father, and who, dwelling in his people, fulfils the scrip- 
 ture, that God is in them of a truth. In a word, there was a con- 
 stant use of tvater in the Mosaic ritual, in order to shew the 
 Jews, and to shew us by them, that the grace of sanctification and 
 all its blessings must be derived through Christ, from the Holy 
 Ghost. Considered in this view, they do exhibit many important 
 truths, which, as other parts of scripture prove, they were intend' 
 ed to exhibit ; whereas, without this consideration, they dwindle 
 into insignificant ceremonies, unworthy of a divine institution, 
 and have either no meaning at all, or no meaning of importance 
 to any man. And this result would contradict an universal 
 rule, laid down concerning the Bible, that all Scri/iture is given 
 by insfiiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for refiroofj 
 for correction, for Instruction in righteousiiess. 2 Tim. iii. 16. 
 
 If we turn to the Christian dispensation, water, as the emblem 
 of the Holy Spirit's agency, is appointed in one of the two sacra- 
 ments to signify, that our introduction to a new life, and to the 
 company of those who have obtained this life here and hereafter, 
 is by his renovating power alone. Except a man be born of wa- 
 ter, (says our Lord, employing the long-accustomed QmhXcm) and 
 of the Spirit, (explaining directly what the emblem signified) he 
 cannot enter into the kingdom of God* John iii. 5. Tlic simple 
 element alone is nothing in this respect, not even the whole world 
 
 * As the Spirit of Life preserves the Hiithfiil, so he is the breath of tlie Lord 
 to de stroy tlie ungodly. Tlie same water, wiucli drowned the world, sustain- 
 cdtlieark, or clnurh," from destruction. It is a just observation of the learn- 
 ed Mr. Bryant, who, speaking of this tu-k, says ; " It was of such a model and 
 c onstruction as ])hiin)y ir.dicated, that it was never designed to be managed, 
 or directed by the hands of men. And it seems to have been the purpose 
 of Providvnce throughout, to signify io those -who were saved, as well as to 
 their latest postcritv, tliat tlieir prescrv.ition w;'.s not in any di'grce effected by 
 human means." .^nal of ant. Myth. Vol. ii. i>. 197. The Christian reader wiU 
 anticipate any reflections, how exactly tliis emblem corresponds with tlie 
 -:'.;ttc of I'ic cli'.UTli ill ullage!}. 
 
WATER Of LIFE. 153 
 
 of waters, could they be thrown upon a man, or were he plunged 
 into them. Of themselves, they could sooner wash the Ethiopian 
 white, than purify one sin. If they had a voice, they would take 
 up the words in Job ; and the Depth luould say^ It is not in me s 
 and the Sea, It is not loith me. Job. xxviii. 14. God understand^ 
 cth the way thereof, and he knotveth the place thereof, v. 23 : Itio 
 from Him alone, that there is any blessing or use in the crea» 
 tures. He only makes his ordinances effectual, and adds to the 
 outward sign the thing signified thereby. To be truly born of 
 water, is indeed to be born of the Spirit ; In other words, the Spi' 
 rit of God will operate upon the believing soul, as water acts in 
 the frame and composition of all material things. These cannot 
 live, nor increase, nor be pure, without that salutary fltiid ; nor 
 can the Christian be in reality a Christian, nor put forth one act of 
 the truly Christian life, but by the life and agency of the Spirit of 
 God. All substances are dry and dead, when deprived of elemen=' 
 tary water i And so are all souls, as dead to God as souls can be, 
 and as evil Spirits are, without the possession and support of this 
 water of life.* 
 
 The whole office of the Divine Spirit, under this emblem of 
 living water, turns upon these two points of Life and Purification^ 
 throughout the Bible. In fact, these two are but one ; for purity^ 
 being the true life of Spirits, purification is nothing more than the 
 conti?iuance, increase, ov support, of the spiritual life bestowed. 
 When a being continues to live, it is not by the adhibition of an^ 
 other life, but by the support of the same life. In like manner, the 
 soul, being made alive by the agency of the Spirit, doth not re» 
 ceive new and new life from time to time, but a maintenance of 
 the same spiritual life by the Spirit's power. Thus, a soul, once 
 born of God, or of the Spirit who is God, can never die again, un* 
 less the being of whom it is born, can die, or should withdraw the 
 siupport of his life, which he hath most positively declared he will 
 not. Hence, those people, who talk of the defectability of graccj 
 approach so nearly to charging the Almighty Spirit with impotence 
 or falsehood, that they ought to consider well, how closely they 
 advance to indirect blasphemy against him. It is not sufFerable 
 among men to publish any thing, which affects the honor and dig'- 
 
 * When man fell from God, he lost this laatert and so became parched 
 ground, a -wilderness, &c. Hence it was, that wlien believers in the Old Tes- 
 tament acknowledged their fall and loss of God's presence, they poured out 
 water before him in humiliation and confession of soul, acknowledging there- 
 by, that they were lost and landone without his mercy. See 1 Sain, vii. <5. 
 2 Sam. xiv. 14. 
 
 VOL, II, U 
 
154 WATER OF life: 
 
 nity of a king : and how far the truth and majesty of Jehovah can- 
 be safely questioned by poor mortals, it seems of much impor- 
 tancc to them, that they should inquire. 
 
 In the law (as we have said) there was no sacrifice for sin with- 
 out some use of water. This points out to us, that, as the Spirit 
 never acts but in and through Christ with respect to his people, 
 so Christ is never received but by and with the influences of the 
 Spirit. They are as undivided in their operations, as in their es- 
 sence. A man eannot truly believe in Christ, but by the power of 
 the Holy Ghost : Nor cana man have the Holy Ghost, who doth 
 not truly believe in Christ. There is a reciprocity in the two di- 
 vine off;ces, which illustrates and magnifies both, and for which, 
 respecting the divine glory, they were covenanted and underta- 
 ken. Christ is the fountain of life ; and the Holy Spirit is the 
 •water of life from that fountain. Christ is also called the fountain 
 of Israel, because the water of life flows from him only to his Is- 
 rael, or true and spiritual people. Christ is likewise termed a 
 fountain sealed, a fountain of §-arde?is, a. fomitain ofiened to the 
 house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem ; because none 
 but the Spirit of God can zmseal this fountain, and impart the wa- 
 ter of life from it ; because it is not a common spring, but stands in 
 God's Garden or Church ; and because only the house or family 
 of the spiritual David ; i. e. all true believers, who are citizens of 
 the heavenly Jerusalem, are privileged to draw from it. As 
 Christ cannot be a dry fountain, or be without water for his peo* 
 pie ; so the Spirit, as the water of life, flows only to them through 
 that fountain. The humanity of our great Redeemer is the grand 
 Tifxus or bond by which v/e are united to hijn, and in him to the 
 Spirit, and through the Spirit to the Father. Hence the life of 
 believers is said to be from Christ, who is their life, and from the 
 Sp.irit and from the Father ; because it is their joint bestoivment 
 as to its nature, though each distinct person is oeconomically dis 
 tinguished in the respective manner of its bestowal or enjoy- 
 inent. 
 
 For this great purpose there ia so much mention made in the 
 scriptures of the use o{ living water, or the water of life. Be« 
 licvers, being planted or grafted into Christ, are to grow and in- 
 crease by the continual watering of the Holy Spirit. As they 
 need his influence and support, from moment to moment : he hath. 
 graciously promised to water thern every moment. As they re- 
 quire free access to Christ, as to their fountain, from whom this 
 v/ater of life proceeds ; the grant runs. Whosoever will, let bim 
 
WATER OF life; IS5 
 
 Ceke the water of life freely. They are athirst for this, and there- 
 fore they will to drink ; and, being ivilling to drink, they may 
 ttrink freely and for ever. The Spirit gave them life^ or they 
 could have /e/? no thirst : They thirst for increasing life; and 
 they may have it to their full replenishment and joy by him. O 
 what a glorious promise is here to those, who thirst for the living 
 God, and who feel within them a will to drink, not out of the bro" 
 ken cisterns of the world, which can hold no water, but Out of the 
 inexhaustible fountain of living waters ! To such the word isj 
 drink, yea drink abundantly, O beloved J 
 
 From the foregoing considerations it may appear, that it is the 
 peculiar office and glory of the Spirit of God to be the water of 
 Iff e unio his people, and the water of fmrification to keep them 
 clean, when made alive, from their original filth and pollution. 
 He is called the Holy Spirit, not only because he is intrinsically 
 holy in himself, for this cannot be doubted, but because he is the 
 author of all bolineos and purification to the Church of God. He 
 gives life, sustains it, and purifies it from the filth of the earthen 
 vessel into which it is -received. He is not mere passive power 
 like elementary water, and therefore he .calls himself living wa- 
 ter, water of Ufe, or of lives. He both gives life, and acts in the 
 life given. As water naturally rejects imparities, and purges 
 away all heterogeneous particles, till nothing remain in its sub- 
 stance but its own pure fluid : How much more, then, must the 
 water of life cleanse all defilements from the hearts of his peo- 
 ple, till, in the appointed time, nothing shall remain but its own 
 pure life within their souls ! 
 
 If these premises be admitted, and admitted they must be upon 
 the ground of the scriptures, they conclude most invincibly for 
 the Divinity of that blessed Person, by whom such supernatural 
 operations are performed. No effect can rise above its cause : 
 And therefore, as these effects are above all created might, it fol- 
 lows, that 720 creature could perform them. But the Holy Ghost 
 hath performed them ; and it is his office to perform them. Will 
 Beelzebub himself say, then, that he is a creature ? Beelzebub, 
 with all his effrontery, would disown such logic, as would render 
 him as much a fool as he is a devil. He knew Christ in the flesh, 
 and acknowledged his divine power and glory : And he hath seen 
 too much of the mighty works of the Spirit of God, not to know, 
 that only God himself could have wrought them. So many de^ 
 monstrations of this grand truth, even upon experiment (to use 
 a favorite word from modern philosophy), might convince modern 
 
156 WATER OF LIFE, 
 
 philosophers themselves, were they to be convinced by God*& 
 machines rather than tlieir own, that this is a truth resulting from 
 the God of truth. The mighty signs and •mondem^ wrought by 
 the power of the Sfnrit of God^ do so manifest and testify /;jc 
 eternal poiver and Godhead^ that they, who presume or persist to 
 deny it, are left without excuse. Rom. xv. 19. i. 20. T}iey have 
 no refuge, but to deny the signs and wonders themselves ; and, 
 in this refuge, they must deny all religion and revelation, com- 
 mence avowed heathens, and utterly reject the scriptures and 
 tlieir God, 
 
 Upon these strong foundations, believer, rest the pi'oofs of thy 
 blessed supporter's Divinity, They, who deny it, may pretend 
 indeed to kiss the Bible ; but they do it, like Judas, either to be- 
 tray, or, like some customary perjurers, only to gain by it. That 
 a sincere, sensible, and intelligent mind, which is able to see the 
 consequences and combinations of facts and doctrines, should 
 oppose the very principles upon which all those facts and doc- 
 trines have proceeded, and in spite of the effects disown the 
 cause ; can only be accounted for in one way, and in the way St„ 
 Paul accounted for the preposterous unbelief of the Jews. Acts 
 3cxviii. 25, &;c. And that this is the true mode of accounting for 
 this procedure, appears from hence ; let the man be once touched 
 by the grace of this Spirit (and, blessed be God, there have been 
 many instances of this kind) ; let him feel himself to be, as he is, 
 a poor, lost, and guilty creature ; let him find his own nature 
 suiful, helpless, and hopeless in itself throughout ; let him cm* 
 brace the Lord Jesus Christ as his only rock of salvation, and his 
 blood and righteousness as the only means of his acceptance with 
 God; and he owns at once, that this mighty change in his heart 
 and life could only be effected by a divine power, and that this ii 
 the power of the Spirit of God. No longer will he doubt of the 
 divinity of his person, no longer disown the omnipotence of his 
 grace. lie is charmed with this truth, as the comfort of his soul, 
 and blesses God, that, as he alone could have mercy upon such 
 a worm and restore him to life, surely he will do nothing in vain, 
 but bless him to life eternal. The demonstration is brought 
 home to his heart ; and he could juat as soon deny his own exis- 
 tence, as dare to oppose the divhiity of God the Holy Ghost. It 
 is a truth, as certain as the Bible itself, that, let the man be who 
 he may or what he may, if he gainsay the divine nature and glory 
 of the Spirit of God, he neither knows his own heart, nor the 
 book of God, nor the power of God, and hath no true hope or 
 
WATER OF LIFE. 15l? 
 
 comfort in his soul, while he coniinuesin this state, for life eter» 
 nal. Speak, conscience, in him that reads this, and bear witness 
 for God, that these things are so. 
 
 The whole book of God is a book of exp.erience^ as well as of 
 instruction. It is a channel provided by the Spirit of Life, ancj 
 himself, as the Water of Life, flows within it; and thus wher- 
 ever the book is understood, it is not like other books labored 
 with fine thoughts or bright compositions only, but full of life, 
 demonstration, and power. To the real believer, it is a book 
 sprinkled for his use by the blood of Jesus, and his conscience is 
 sprinkled with the same blood to use the book. See Hebr. ix. 19. 
 There are no naked principles, void of influence or use, in the 
 scripture ; but they all apply to the heart, mind, and conduct, 
 and, wherever they enter, make the whole man the wiser and the 
 better for eternity. Continual appeals are made in this book to 
 men's experimental knowledge of divine truths ; and this kind of 
 knowledge is the only one called by that name in the original 
 •word, and becomes the taste and enjoyment of the things assu- 
 med to be known. Carnal professors of Christianity do not com- 
 prehend this quickening mode of acquiring theology, but erro«- 
 neously suppose, that it consists in high notions, refined ideas, 
 or some metaphysical speculations. On the contrary, it is so 
 plain to the renewed capacity, that he ivho runs may read it, and 
 he, who wills, may enjoy it. The Spirit of truth prepares the 
 heart for the truth, and, by this preparation of the Spirit, the 
 most ignorant man apprehends so much truth as is necessary to 
 salvation; and the most learned can do no more. As with the 
 manna, he that can gather but little, has no lack ; and he that ga- 
 thers much, has none to spare. The reason is, both apprehend 
 it by an higher operation than their own : And, without this ope- 
 ration, they cannot apprehend it at all. There were divers ivash^ 
 ing-s and carnal ordinances i?nposed on the Jews, until the time of 
 reformation^ or the appointed season of correction and explana- 
 tion ; and these shadowed forth the purifying operations of the 
 Holy Spirit : But the carnal Jews, like too many of our nominal 
 Christians, knew nothing of the matter, and did the work as a 
 work, without the sense of its experimental instruction. They 
 were no more cleansed by the spirit of the law, though they 
 punctually followed the letter of it, than some of our modem 
 professors are by the sacrament of baptism. They thought, that, 
 if they put aivay the Jilt h of the Jiesh literally, it was all very 
 vi^W with them, and that their mind ?ind conscience, however dcr 
 
TSS WATER OF LIFE. 
 
 filed, would stand in the judgment. Our Lord corrects this gross 
 Kiistake in Mark vii. And in Luke xi. 38. he seems to omit the 
 common practice of washing before meals, on purpose to have 
 an occasion of explaining that original design, which had been 
 forgotten, and without which all these outward services became 
 empty ceremonies, oi' (in the Apostle's indignant phrase) weak 
 and beggarly elements. That design was not a political one fra- 
 med by Moses's own brain, in order to induce cleanliness in a 
 hot climate among a nasty people, as so-me have pretended to ac- 
 count for the institution ; but a piece of instruction to the people, 
 like the rest of the law, to lead up their minds by natural types 
 to high and heavenly things. As all natural men do, the carnal 
 Jews courted the shadow, and lost sight of the substance. They 
 did what was right in following the outward precepts, but they 
 become guilty of perversion, when they so rested in them, as to 
 look no farther. Hence, the Apostle calls such men taells nvith- . 
 out 'water ; they are in form wells professing to have and to yield 
 •water? but because they haye none, they may justly be called 
 empty professors. 
 
 When a man, therefore, applies to his own experience, he 
 soonHiay know, either that he hath not this divine Spirit, or Wa- 
 ter of Life in him, and so he knows not, in truth, whether there 
 he any Holy Ghost; or else, that he hath the blessing of his 
 grace in him, which, from the very nature of it, he is sure could 
 onlv be the work of a divine agent. If any man have not the 
 Spirit of Christ he is none of his : and in that case all his belief 
 or unbelief, respecting his divinity, is a mere notion, and ends 
 in nothing (unless God prevent) but to harden him on the oae 
 band, or to make him secure and careless on the other. To con- 
 vince a man in his sins of tiiis truth, speculatively, that the Holy 
 Ghost is God : is not woi'th the labor of writing one line. He may 
 hold it, or not hold it ; it is just the same to him. The divinity 
 cf the Spirit can afford no more comfort to him, than tlie bare idea 
 of God's justice or vengeance upon sinners. On the other hand, 
 vheii this truth, concerning the Holy Ghost, is applied to the 
 real believer; he can say, upon the warrant of God's word, that 
 he ought, and upon the testimony of his own conscience, that he 
 doth apprehend and know it, experimentally, to the comfort and 
 r upport of his soul. He further can say ; " once I was dead, but 
 :,ow am alive to my God. Once I was blind to my true, and my 
 everlasting interests ; but now I see them : once I was a scoffer 
 iX true religion, and coald not endure (what I thought) the insup- 
 
WATER OF LIFE. 159 
 
 portable strictness of an holy life ; but now I love and rejoice in 
 it as my portion, and find all its paths to be paths of peace. God's 
 ■word tells me, that this I'enewal or restoration to life is by the 
 power of the divine Spirit ; that he converted my soul, and sup- 
 plies it with that living luater, by which it is comforted and nour- 
 ished for his heavenly kingdom ; and that I am, with all the re- 
 deemed, to be cm habitation of God through the sfiirit. My 
 heart's experience tallies with the holy scripture, and assure3 
 me, in conformity to it ; that he, who hath wrought this selfsame 
 thing in me, is God, And I see it as impossible for it to be the 
 ■work of a creature, as it is impossible for creatures to create at 
 all, and so give a life which they have not in or from themselves. 
 I could much sooner believe that a fly could create an Angel o? 
 frame a world, than that any being, who depends for his all upon 
 another, should of his own will beget me by the word of truth, and 
 as he will, divide unto me and others severally, all those gifts, 
 which are positively and directly called the operations of God." 
 James i. 18. with I Cor. xii.6, 11. 
 
 Experience, which is the repeated work of God's spirit in the 
 soul, teaches the believer, that the several outward acts of wash- 
 ing and cleansing loudly preach purity of heart and life, and were 
 chiefly enjoined as expressive symbols for that purpose. Thus 
 the having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience^ is the 
 great object of the legal injunction, that our bodies be washed 
 iiith pure water, Heb. x. 23. Thus the purpose of being baptized 
 outwardly, is a sensible expression of faith, that our sins are washed 
 G7yaj/ through Christ Jesus. Actsxxii. 16. Thus this outward 
 washing is typical of the mystical was/ting of regeneration and 
 renewing of the Holy Ghost. Titus, iii. 5. See also Ezek. xxxvi. 
 25. And the whole design of it is comprehended at once by the 
 Apostle in these words ; biit ye are washed, but ye are sanctified^ 
 hut ye are justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the 
 spirit of our God, 1 Cor. vi. U. Abana and Pharpar, the rivers 
 of Damascus, the Ganges of the east, nay, Jordan itself, dignified 
 as it hath been by Christ and his Prophets, could not wipe away 
 one spot of sin, nor purify to the least degree of holiness :* but the 
 blood of Christ, and the living water alone, from the spirit of 
 God. Man can at any time find v/ater enough ; as John Baptist 
 said, / baptize with water, Sec. But God alone can baptize with 
 
 * Epiphanitis goes farther, and says, in the words of his translator, J\'eqiie 
 eni'm, occamis, neque omnia fventa ac maria, fuviique perpetiii, ac f antes, %mi~ 
 "oersaqiie imhripe.ra A'a.inra m vnum ro>/!ires'ia, peixaia ddrrp potea'. Contra 
 Hc-meroh, 
 
.160 WATER OF LlrE. 
 
 (what the water signifies) the Holy Ghost, for the ablution of stn. 
 In vain do men catch at the shell of religion, if they enjoy not 
 what lies within. The shell hath no life nur food in itself, though 
 ordained to hold and communicate, what is altogether food and 
 life to those, who receive it. 
 
 But some may yet ask, "how shall we know indeed, that our 
 experience is true, and that we are really partakers of this Water 
 of Lifer" — Consult the emblem, which God has set before you. 
 Common water is called living water, because it is running- or 
 moving water.* So the spirit of God in man moves and acis, is 
 not inert himself, nor suffers the creature to be so. Has he stir- 
 red up the mind towards God, and Christ, and heavenly things ? 
 Doth he cleanse from the filth of sin, and the flesh, and earthly 
 things? Are the affections of the heart engaged for God, and 
 the actions of the life employed to his glory ? Is there a positive 
 renunciation of self, and a continual breathing after a nearer com- 
 munion with God in all duties and functions ? — These are the acta 
 of life. This is the motion of the living water, which our Lord 
 describes as springing^ continually running and springing ufi into 
 everlasting life. It flows because it lives. View its emblem in 
 plants and animals. The water which nourishes them, and 
 forms a considerable part of their composition, is ever in act and 
 exercise, is always moving through the various parts and chan- 
 nels of their frame. Thus also, the Holy Spirit acts in the soul 
 of the Christian, and is to it, respecting its divine life, what ma- 
 terial water is to the animal life of the body. He nourishes, sa- 
 turates, and prepares it for everlasting glory. This is a very 
 common image in the holy scriptures, particub,"ly in the Old 
 Testament, and must have occurred to the frequent observation 
 of every serious reader. 
 
 As we have corrupt bodies, and walk in a filthy world, we our- 
 tselves have need of frequent cleansing from our own unavoidable 
 defiiements, and should look, therefore, with candor and com- 
 passion on the defilements of others. This lesson is taught us in 
 a most forcible emblem by Jesus Christ, in John xiii. His dis- 
 ciples, except one, were all clean, and truly so, by being washed 
 in the fountain of life. Yei the yceMieeded repeated washing by 
 hi7n, and, not only this, but washing by each other. In plain 
 words ; our obedience^ signified by the feet as the instruments 
 
 * Quemadmoditm enim corpus animd car ens von movettir, sed coiUra vivum, 
 animx vi movetur : sic aqua efonta pro/iuev^ ron. quiesdt ffrf novetnr. tiomar- 
 iA Johun. iv 10 
 
WATER OF LIFF, 16i 
 
 of motion, is imperfect at the best, and requires much cleansiHg 
 from God: and it is also so combined widi corruption, that 
 Christians, knowing their own infirmities, should be tender to the 
 infirmities of others, endeavour to recover them from their falls, 
 strive to cleanse away dirt instead of sticking it on, and cover 
 with a mantle of charity whatever may be concealed without inju- 
 ry to the cause of God or to society. He should hate the «fn as 
 much as possible, but not the sinner, who is to be tenderly pray- 
 ed for, and resto7-ed upon his penitency ivith the spirit of meek- 
 ness. 
 
 When this well of living water springs up in a man, it dispo- 
 ses his habit and frame to the likeness of Christ in all the duties 
 ef love, patience, forbearance and humility. The life and conver- 
 sation of a person will soon shew, whether this water be in him or 
 not, and how strong or weak it is in him. It cannot run long in 
 him without cleansing his lips and his life ; as the muddiest chan- 
 Dcl will be washed from its filth by the continued accessions of 
 running water. A foul mouth is a lying mouth, if it pretend to 
 have been cleansed by the water of life : And the same may be 
 said of the heart, if it can indulge itself in allowed impurities. If 
 Pericles also an Heathen could affirm of a General, tliat " he 
 ought not only to have clean hands, but clean eyes too ;" un- 
 doubtedly it may be urged with far greater reason concerning 
 the Christian's employment of that faculty.* Turn aivay mine 
 eyes, lest they behold -vanity ; was an excellent prayer for as ex- 
 cellent a practice. There are many cufis and filatters fairly wash- 
 ed on the outside, which will not bear to be looked at within. — 
 We may also judge of the strength of the stream by the manner 
 of its flowing. Shallow little rivulets make a wonderful rippling 
 noise, because they are only little and shallow. The deeper the 
 stream, the more solid and calm it will glide along. Its object is 
 ■use, and not clamor. While it yields fertility to the shores, ancj 
 profit to those who pass upon it or receive a portion of its flood ; 
 its depth is not seen by the eye, nor can the ear perceive its flow j 
 yet the ear is gi-atified by the sounds of those who enjoy its bene- 
 fits, and the eye is filled with the prospect of advantages arising 
 on every side. But rivers are rare, and deep rivers still more 
 rare ; while rivulets, bourns, and shallows, not to say puddles, are 
 common wherever we go. 
 
 Talking or wiiting about this living water, if it end in writing or 
 ralking only, vvUl do the soul no good A dissertation upon the 
 
 ■^Plutarch. Life of Pericles. 
 yoT.. IT, ^\' 
 
16:^ WATER OF LIFE. 
 
 properties of the elementary water will not quench the thnst ol a 
 jtiai! ready to perish, nor yet a view of its use by others : It must 
 be drunk, received within, and appropriated to lumsclf. Hence, 
 all true believers, are said, by the Apostle, to be baptized by ont 
 Spirit into one body, which regards their /27»- j/7cai ion as member? 
 of Christ, and to have been all made to drink into one Spirit., which 
 implies their reception of this water of life so as to live by it. I 
 Cor. xii. 13. They are cleansed from outward defilements by that 
 very Spirit, by whom they inwardly enjoy the life and peace oi 
 God. Were this more understood, and the necessity of it more 
 forcibly felt, even by good men ; we should see more honor ap- 
 pear in ibe world for the cause of true religion, than can possibly 
 be expected from hard words and sharp disputes, which, what- 
 ever they do beside, certainly can edify nobody.* 
 
 flappv believer ! How art thou privileged constantly lo be 
 drawing water, this very water of eternal life, out of the wells, ov 
 rather fountains, of salvation J Isa. xii. 3. Thou art by nature a 
 dry soil, and situated in a wilderness, where there is no water : 
 But God nath promised to make this wilderness a pool of water, 
 and this dry land springs of water. Isa. xii. 18. He hath begun 
 to fulfil this promise in thy heart. Thou canst not say, as former- 
 ly, that there was no plant of grace within thee ; no hope, no 
 
 * It seems impossible for any veal Ciiristian to read the following words 
 of tiic lute Dr. D-adndgc, witliout an edifying satisfaction. This amj.ible 
 man, tboiigi^ a disse.ntei-, undertook a very laborious revisal of Archbishop 
 Jjeigh con's Comnientar).- on ilie firbt Epistle of St. Peter ; and, towards the 
 clo.ieof 3 long and excellent pi-eiacc, drops ihese sentiments, winch do liim 
 as invich hor.(/!- as aChr.stian, as his other valuable performances distinguish 
 hir.i for a scholar. " It is truly nu" grief iliat any <hing should divide me 
 " from the fullest comraunion with those, to v>'hom I aui united in bonds of 
 " as tender affection, as I uear to any of my fellow Christians. And it js my 
 *' daily prayer, that God will, by his gentle but powerful influence on our 
 •' nunds, mutually dispose us more and more for such a further union, as m.iy 
 " most elfectually consolidate theProiestant cause, establish tlie tlirone of our 
 " gracious sovereign, remove the sc; ndids our divisions have occasioned, 
 " and strengthen our hands in these efterts, by which we are attempting, .iiid 
 " might Iheix I hope more sucxebsfully aliempt, the service of our common 
 *' (Jliristianitv." — If die pious reader lias not read tliispivface, and the admira- 
 ble book, to v/hich it is prefixed ; lit has yet a satisfaction to receive, which 
 it \\ ould be even injurious to deny l.'imself. Leighton's v.orks stand among 
 the foremost upon practical and txpcrimental Divuiity. Dr. Doddridge's edi- 
 tion :s wholly in private hands ; but it is a favor to tlie public, that anodier 
 has lately been set forth, under the direction of the Rev. Mv. Foster. 
 
 The pious reader v.'ill also be p'eased tof.nd almost tliese vei-y sentiments 
 in the DLvryoi Mr. Matthew Htiuy, published in the account of his life by 
 Mr. Tonge, p. 225. ]t is with ufi:glit one reads these candid and Ciiholic 
 opinions, which (Cod be praised) are lO be loimd among the most eminent- 
 ly i^'jiucious writers both ji and out of tlie estabiislied church, May this har- 
 mony of grace be increased ! 
 
WATER OF LIFE, i63 
 
 iovc, no desire to please God, nor solicitude about salvation. 
 These graces are all trees of the Lord's filayiting : The wilder- 
 ness within, which is but a parched sand, could not have raised 
 them. And what he plants, he waters ; sometimes with rivers, 
 which represent his sensible, solid, and lasting: ^'ace ; sometimes 
 with ra/n6>, which, though perceptible, are short and occasional ; 
 and sometimes only with dews, which fall invisibly, yet keep the 
 plants alive between shower and shower, till they are matured for 
 glory. The Spirit of the Lord hath an order and a season for all 
 his operations. Not a drop more or less of the living water falls 
 upon a believing heart, than is appointed for it, or appointed for 
 particular good. Hence the Psalmist said, mij times, my sea- 
 sons, opportunities, or fit times, are in thy hand cr power. And 
 hence the wise man observes. To every thing there is this time or 
 season, and to every fmrjiose under Heaven. The world of grace 
 is no more conducted by chance, or the self -determining will of 
 man, which is exactly the same, than the world of nature i.-;. And 
 for this reason, believer, thou art privileged to entertain a more 
 abundant joy, which none can take from thee. God's omnipotence 
 and faithfulness are thy safoty, and form a ground of security 
 which cannot be found in all the creatures,. His wisdom, likewise, 
 metes out thy proper portion, and works in the whole of it for thy 
 real welfare. The divine Spirit waters, cleanses, replenishes, 
 and sustains, from time to time, by his grace all that principle of 
 life in thy soul, which, left to thy own corrupt nature, would soon 
 perish or decay. It is thy privilege, therefore, as well as thy in- 
 terest and duty, to be ever looking up to Him, and to be praying 
 for strength and wisdom to be, as constantly, looking out from thy- 
 self. In thee all is barrenness and misery : In Him, all is life and 
 peace. It was a gracious cry of St. Augustine ; Domine, libera 
 me a malo homine meifiso I " O Lord, deliver me from that evil 
 TDZx\ ynyself !" And it is a cry, which none but a truly gracious 
 heart can feelingly utter. Whoever can utter it aright, is ena- 
 bled so to do by the power of that Spirit, who discovered so much 
 weakness, sin, and corruption within the heart, as to make it 
 loathe itself, and to cry out for his present and omnipotent aid. 
 Nothing but omnipotence will satisfy a mind, who considers the 
 extent of sin with its infinite train of evils, the power of Satan and 
 his adherents, the snares of all sorts laid in the way, and the in- 
 ward disposition of corrupt nature to follow all these, both in ig- 
 norance of the worth of God and in enmity to the will of God. To 
 discourse with such an one, about his natural no\yers in spiritu^i 
 
164 WATER OP LIFE. 
 
 concerns, is to him entering upon a romance, which never has 
 been realized since the fall of Adam, and which never can be re- 
 alized upon the present constitution of things. It will only prove, 
 that the discourser, however eminent or intelligent in other af- 
 fairs, knows nothing of the subject in hand, or (^mortifying as it is 
 to human pride) is not duly acquainted with his own heart. It is 
 seeking the garden of Eden in the deserts of Arabia ; nay, worse, 
 it is representing those very deserts, which are vast tracts of in- 
 hospitable sands, to be groves, and parterres, and gardens, and 
 even paradise itself. Such a fairy land may amuse those, who _ 
 pursue religion as they do their reveries ; but the Christian seeks 
 for solid ground to walk upon, solid comforts upon that ground, 
 and finds both to be only attainable through the word and the 
 luorkmg of Him who built the world. 
 
 Blessed be God, solid ground and solid comforts are attainable 
 here : And every believer is privileged to po&sess them. " But 
 if this be the case (says some drooping heart) why go I mourning 
 thus all the day ? Why do I not experience this inward blessed- 
 ness of God's people, and taste the felicity of his chosen ?" — Ask 
 thyself first, " Why do I desire the bles-sing ?" Is it with a view 
 to God's glory alone ; or is it for some ease and satisfaction to 
 thyself? It is wG^wra/ to desire happiness j but it is not natural 
 to desire it in the right way, and for the right end. The Devil, with 
 out doubt, would be happy if he could ; and so would the wicked- 
 est mortal upon earth. Art thou contented to go without hap- 
 piness, if it be God's will ? And canst thou say to him, Thy iviU 
 be done in this respect ? How art thou seeking peace for thy mind i 
 And what end dost thou propose to thyself in having it ? — These 
 are questions which are worth examining ; forthere are many peo- 
 ple, who expect the comforts of the gospel, without the faith of the 
 gospel ; and as many, who would have the /leace of grace, without 
 the /f/^f of grace. Into these two classes, perhaps, all sorrowing 
 professors may be resolved. If they have not true faith, or do not 
 exercise that faith truly ; it is impossible they should have peace. 
 While darkness rules in the mind, and hides the object of salva- 
 tion ; they can no more trust rn it, than the Israelites could look 
 upon the Serpent in the wilderness at midnight. The truths of 
 the gospel must be obvious to the understanding, and the will 
 and judgment must cleave to them, before a man can be comfort- 
 ed by those truths. And, therefore, where the soul is enabled to 
 see, that both itself is a sinner, and that Christ died for such sin- 
 nersj holding ferth his salvation to them who feel their need o' 
 
WATER OF LIFE. 163 
 
 it, without any conditions or qualifications but that need s it will 
 also be enabled to see, that one soul, thus circumstanced, is as 
 welcome to Christ as another, and that, if it had not been welcome 
 to Christ, it had never been made to see this absolute need of him, 
 nor to feel any distress about its own miserable condition without 
 him. There is no ground of hope but this ; for God's people do 
 not come to Christ for salvation as elected persons, but as sinful 
 persons ready to perish. Afterwards indeed, when faith is esta- 
 blished, the sense of their election fills them with " sweet, plea- 
 sant, and unspeakable comfort •" but it is by no means their prin- 
 ciple of hope or action in coming to Christ. They come as 
 wretched and undone sinners', depend upon him only as such ; 
 and, then, finding his gracious ^'oy and fieace in believing commu- 
 Dicated through the divine Spirit, they have a testimony of their 
 adoption into God's family, and find this testimony confirmed by 
 the assurance of his free favor in their election. Now, a mau 
 cannot see and feel all this, without receiving consolation : And 
 he never loses this consolation, but when he gets off from this 
 hinge upon some other. And 
 
 Here, he gets into the second class abovementioned, namely, 
 of those, who live not the life of grace. The greatest saint, that 
 ever lived, could never find peace in sin : and all things arc sin, 
 which are not conducted in a gracious spirit and for a gracious 
 end. This sin is the source of all sorrow. A negligent walk and 
 conversation proceed from lifelessness in grace ; and, therefore, 
 it either degenerates into downright hardness and stupidity, prov- 
 ing the man to be a hypocrite ; or it brings on trouble and inquie- 
 tude of soul, in order to shew the man, that he is out of the high- 
 way to Heaven. If a careless walk will break tranquility ; whai 
 must be said of a sinful and unholy conduct ? There are many 
 persons, who are always aiming to unite God and Mammon ; and, 
 indeed, it is from one of the prevalent corruptions in our na- 
 ture that they do so. They carry on their business in the world 
 without the least grace in it, or prayer over it: and a man, wha 
 cannot pray over what he is doing, may be sure that there is no 
 grace in it, but a great deal of sin. A person, in the commis 
 sion of a fraud, (though it may not be an open cheating like an 
 avowed thief; but a fraud of trade and occupation) can never be 
 so impudent with God, as to pray for his assistance m it : and, if 
 he doeth itby liimsclf, God surely leaves him to misery as the 
 effect of it. A cool and deliberate siiiuggler, for this reason, has 
 no title to the name of a C hristian ; nor those liars, (for they are 
 
166 WATER OF LIt'E 
 
 not to be called by 'a softer name) who ask high prices, that peo- 
 ple may bidiov comrhodities more than they are worth ; nor those 
 cheatSf who will take more. People, who follow evil professions 
 of business (and a man may know that a business is evil which 
 cannot be prayed over, both in its act and design, J or who follow 
 just professions in an evil way, who seek nothing but money or self 
 in them, without any i-espect to God's glory or the good of men ; 
 these people cannot expect happiness in the Christian profession, 
 while they allow themselves in practices incompatible with it. 
 They cannot say over their gains ; " here, Lord, thy providence 
 hath bestowed this money upon me, as the medium to answer my 
 own necessities and those of my family. Thou hast been pleased 
 to give it me in the use of that lawful vocation, which thou hast 
 assigned to me in the world ; and I pray thee to put thy blessing 
 in it, that the little may go a great way in good purposes, or that 
 the mnc/i Biay answer thy will in the holiest uses ; so that, for ali 
 of it, I may have reason to bless thy providence and love, in be- 
 stowing upon me the means of doing good, and enabling me to 
 employ the means for thy glory. O help me to be thankful for 
 this mercy, in time and in eternity!" — Can a man be so pre- 
 sumptuous, to expect peace with God in the world, who cannot 
 thus pray to him ? Can he dare to hope, that God will be Wis part- 
 ner in fraud and deceit, or in telling lies in the shop, or in per- 
 jury at the custom-house ? Can he believe, in his sober senseS; 
 that, while he lives in the indulgence of any impurities, either in 
 thought, word, or deed, the Holy Spirit will vouchsafe him the 
 :omforts of holiness ? — It is impossible. 
 
 To enjoy peace from God, a man must ivalk with him, and 
 with him be agreed : and the closer he walks with him, the more 
 peace will be found to flow. The soul, v/hich hath the true taste 
 of the Water of Life, will always be thirsting after it, that, in its 
 strength, he may come nighcr and nigher unto God, and enjoy 
 the sweetest communion with him. O what are all other things 
 to such a Heaven-born, such a Heaven-desiring, soul ! What 
 trash docs all the world appear to him, at such moments of life 
 and fervor, which men vex themselves about for a short space of 
 time, and then, at death, cast all away ! What poor trifles, in 
 this consideration, are the honors and opinions of dying worms '. 
 What empty joys their highest pleasures I He longs for God; 
 he thirsts fur him, as the Water of Life : and he uses the things 
 of time, as a traveller does a carriage upon the road, only for an 
 appointed means of bringing him nearer to the for.ntain, whence 
 
SPIRIT OF TRUTH. 167 
 
 tiiis water flows. God hath given him a mind too great to be 
 laken up with little things, and a temper too justly ambitious to 
 be put off with less tlian eternal things. It becomes him, there- 
 fore, as a Christian, to be exalted above other men ; not in pride 
 or conceited airs, for these are baseness and folly ; but in that 
 dignity of sentiment and expectation, which renders him most 
 iike to the God he serves, and most useful to the world about 
 him. In this high, yet heavenly, frame, he enjoys the subiimest 
 and most extensive views : and the higher he ascends to the ob- 
 ject of his soul above, the less and less do all worldly matters be- 
 neath him appear. And when he loses sight of them (as ere 
 long he shall,) he comes at once into the full vision and fruition 
 of God. Blessed are the dead ivhich die in the Lord, ccTrxpli, in- 
 :jtantly ov fierfectly. There is not a moment lost between their 
 death and their everlasting bliss. They come, at once, to that 
 fiure river of the Water of Life, clear as crystal, i. e. of the most 
 transparent holiness, which proceeds out of the throne of God, and 
 of the Lamb. This is that Holy Spirit which comes from the 
 Fatherand the Son, and which purifies and replenishes the Church 
 and temple of God throughout eternity. — O then, what are men 
 doing, who seek not this eternal good i what are believers con- 
 sidering, when they consider not tlicir latter end ! Is this the 
 voice of Christ! The sjiirit and the bride say, come. Jnd let 
 hiin that heareth, say, come. And let him, that is athirst^ come. 
 And whosoever will, let him take the Water of lAfe freely. — Here 
 is a triple call to endless joy ; who that hears it, who would not 
 wish to obey! Who that feels its worth, would not answer; 
 ^ome Lord Jesus, come quickly I 
 
 SPIRIT OF TRUTH. 
 
 WHAT is truth ? was the inquiry of a Heathen, who neith- 
 er loved it nor cared for it : and truth, in the sense of the scrip- 
 tures, is no more the concern of the great bulk of mankind, than 
 it was of Pontius Pilate. 
 
 Truth, strictly speaking, is that which exists firmly and unal- 
 terably. It cannot change; for then it would lose its nature: 
 error only is mutable and various ; and, though it pass through 
 numberless forms and semblances, can never become the truth, 
 which is perfect iiniiy and rimfiUcUy. Hence, truth is not only 
 
165 SPIRIT OF TRUTH. 
 
 t'lie foundation and reality of all existence, but is also infinite ex- 
 istence ; for it must be commensurate with all being, as without 
 it being is only ideal, or rather no truth of being at all. But there 
 is and can be only one infinite existence, comprehending all things 
 and comprehended of none ; for, could it be comprehended of 
 any, it must necessarily be bounded, and therefore not infinite. 
 Here then truth appears to be an infinite, unchangeable, and eter- 
 nal attribute, which can be applied to no being, but that which is 
 infinite, unchangeable and eternal. It can belong therefore, to 
 none but God, who is his own attributes, and consequently that 
 distinguished one, truth i^se//" in the abstract. And he is called 
 the God of Truth because truth in him, as the fountain, flows 
 from him into all the creatures. They have no reality or existence 
 but in him : and he only can impart that permanency to them, which 
 forms the continuance of their being. According to his iiame Je- 
 hovah, He is : and he alone exists of himself : all entities are in 
 him and from him, and with this difference likewise, that time is 
 applicable to them, but not to him. All being, but the Divine^ 
 be^an to be; whereas Jehovah eternally fs, and only is, in an un- 
 utterable supremacy of nature. 
 
 It must be the same with all the spiritual and invisible species 
 of being, as it is with the visible and material. There can be no 
 truth in mental act or energy, but as it proceeds from this root 
 of truth, which communicates what is communicable of itself to 
 all existences, according to their order and capacity. The gos- 
 pel, which treats of both truth in essence and truth co7nmunicated, 
 is the truth of God, because it both proceeded from him as its 
 cause, and returns to him and to his glory as its end. It takes in- 
 Yinan's salvation as means or uses to that end; but this salvation 
 necessary as it may be to the happiness of a fallen creature, can 
 be no more the original motive of God's action than his other 
 operations in the world. He will ever appear to be his oivn mo- 
 tive, having none higher or lower than himself, which certainly 
 is suitable to his perfection ; and whatever he hath wrought in 
 and for his creatures, began with himself, and tiierefore not occa- 
 sioned by them. The proof of this, were it necessary, might be 
 easily given at large from his own revelation. 
 
 Here reason seems to shew, with what strict propriety God 
 hath assumed this name of Truth. But it was only the revela- 
 tion of God himself which could convince, how suitably and just- 
 ly this bright attribute operates for the eternal welfare and salya-f 
 tion of sinners. 
 
SPIRIT Ot' TRUTH. 169 
 
 in the holy word, this title of truth ' is frequently applied to 
 God : and when any matter concerning the welfare of men is 
 mentioned, where all the comfort depends on its being true, there 
 is constantly a reference made to God himself, as the source from 
 whom, being the truth essentiaU it entirely flows. 
 
 An argument or two from scripture will serve to convince an 
 unprejudiced mind, both that this title of the Truth is proper 
 only to God ; and that, as to God or each person in the Godheadj 
 it is also properly applicable and applied to the Holy Ghost. 
 
 In Deut. xxxii. near the beginning, Moses publishes the name 
 of Jehovah, and, among other titles, ascribes to him the remark- 
 able one, Al the Truth, which is rendered in our translation, God 
 of truth, but more justly by Montanus, Deus Veritas, " God the 
 truth." — But the Apostle John says (1 John v. 6. It is- the S/ii" 
 Tit that beareth witness, because the S/iirit is (ij uXtjS'cict) THE 
 TRUTH. — The Spirit, therefore, is Jehovah, ^lehim, and jilj 
 which are among the titles given to the Truth in Deuteronomy 
 abovementioned. 
 
 In Psalm xxxi. God is styled Jehovah ^l the Truth, Or of truth, 
 according to our translation. — But the Holy Ghost is named the 
 Truth, and Spirit of Truth. Consequently he is Jehovah M. 
 
 The Prophet Jeremiah (c. x. 10.) says, Jehovah Alehim is the 
 Truth, he ii the living Alehim, (or Alehim of lives, i. e. of natu- 
 ral and spiritual life,; and everlasting King — But the Sfiirit is the 
 Truth, according to the text in 1 John v. 6,. And, therefore, is 
 Jehovah Alehim, the Alehim of lives (as all live by him) and the 
 everlasting King. 
 
 It appears from hence, that truth essential, and especially sfd' 
 ritual truth, which is our more immediate subject, is applicable 
 only to Deity. Whatever is true, is true alone in God, and must 
 have some respect to his excellency and glory. And the priva- 
 tion of spiritual truth, or, (what is just the same) a separation 
 from God, is darkness and error, the effects of which are sin, 
 confusion and misery. Truth in the concrete is from God ; as 
 truth in the abstract is an attribute of God, or rather God himself 
 
 For this reason the Psalmist prays to Jehovah, Lead me in thy 
 truth. Psal. xxv. 5. But Christ himself says, that the Spirit of 
 Truth shall guide into A.-Li^ truth. John xvi. 13. Of consequence, 
 the Spirit is Jehovah himself, or lie could not, at that time and in 
 all times to come, guide into the truth of Jehovah, and much 
 less \n\.Q all the truth necessary to salvation. 
 
 Nehemiah confesses to the Lord, Thou gavest thy good Sfiiris 
 
 VOL, II. X 
 
no SPIRIT OF TRUTH. 
 
 (0 instruct the people of Israel, or rather to make them to under-' 
 staitdf Neh. ix. 20. But it is very particularly delivered to these 
 very Israelites themselves, in Deut. iv. 36. that Jehovah Alehim, 
 and NONE ELSE beside him, out of Heaven made them to hear hia 
 voice, that he might instruct them. The Spirit, therefore, is Je- 
 hovah Alehim, whose office it is to guide his people, in all ages, 
 into all the truth. 
 
 And it was God atid his revealed truth, which these Israelites 
 were constantly opposing. Ye do always resist (said Stephen) 
 the Holy Ghost : a.i your fathers did, so do ye. Acts vii. 51. But 
 if Deut. ix. 7. be compared with Psalm evi. 25, it will appear, 
 that this resistance of the Israelites was made to Jehovah, him- 
 self. It follows, then, that the Holy Ghost is Jehovah, and, as 
 such, true and very God. 
 
 It is written in Isaiah concerning the Church ; All thy childrex 
 shall he taught of God. Is. liv. IS. Which promise is referred to 
 by our Lord in John vi. 45. But it is said also by our Lord to his 
 disciples, the Holy Ghost shall teach you all things. John xiv. 26. 
 And the Apostle assures the Corinthians, that he spake of divine 
 things, 720/ in the words which * man's wisdom teacheth, but which 
 the Holy Ghost teacheth. 1 Cor. ii. 13. The Holy Ghost, there- 
 fore, is God. 
 
 Not to multiply arguments from scripture under this head, Ifit 
 one more sufSce, which the Arians and Socinians may do well tt. 
 consider. 
 
 The Sfiirit (says the Apostle) searchetk all things, yea, the 
 deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, 
 save the spirit of man, which is in him ? even so the things of 
 God knoweth 7io man, but the Spirit of God. 1 Cor. ii. 11. But 
 the Psalmist, speaking of Jehovah, says, that his understanding 
 is infinite. The Spirit, therefore, in order to search all things 
 and the decfi things of God must necessarily be infinite too. Ii 
 he be not in&nite, he Cannot search the deep infinitude mention- 
 ed; but, if he be infinite, he must be coessential with the God- 
 head, and consequently God. — What further confirms this argu- 
 ment, is the prophecy of Isaiah concerning the everlasting God, 
 Jehovah, of wliom it is said. There is no searching of his under- 
 standing. Is. xl. 28. He evidently means, not by the creatures, 
 
 * It has been well obsen-ed by an able writer, that the antithesis is in thb 
 place, of m:in to the Holy Gl)ost, accordinjj to tiie usual style of the Scrip- 
 lure, is sufficient alone to proe the Spirit to be God. Jones's CothoHc Do(- 
 trine^ p, 30. 
 
SPIRIT OF TRUTH. 17i 
 
 iwt by any finite being. But if the Holy Ghost cloth search this 
 infinite understandings or the depths of God himself; it is a de- 
 monstration of his infinitude and "Deity, and that nothing can pos- 
 sibly be hid from him. The Psalmist, upon this ground, j^istly 
 inquires, Whither shall I go from thy S/nrit ? or nvhither shall I 
 go from thy Face ? If J ascend up. into Heaven, Thou art there ?- 
 Ps. cxxxix. 7. What words can more strongly mark the omni» 
 science and omnipresence of the Holy Spirit ? What could more 
 directly assert him to be Jehovah ? " I can go no where from thy 
 Spirit i for thou art every where." 
 
 It was a great expression for a heathen that, " He is most per- 
 fect, who understands all things, at all times, and all together.** 
 Max. Tyrius. The Spirit of God so understands ; or he could 
 not be qualified for the great office of leading the whole company 
 of the faithful into aU truth. No created being can be omnipre- 
 sent, nor omniscient, nor infinite. Not the brightest angel of 
 Heaven can be in the hearts of all God's people -at onee^ helping 
 their infirmities every moment, and conducting them all together 
 in the way of truth. They are scattered far and wide. They all 
 want help in every instant; and God hath premised, that in eve- 
 ry instant he will water them. Water is the Spirit's emblem^ 
 and be is poured out, according to his office, upon all his people, 
 ti)rough all ages, mali places, and upon all together. Who but 
 God is equal to a task of such magnitude, power, and salvation? 
 Who, but God, coukl^* his help to the occasion, with such ex- 
 a^itness and wisdom, to millions of souls, in all ages and coun? 
 tries at ©nee ; so that, as their day ivas, their particular strength 
 should be ? This the Holy Ghost hath done, this he deeth, and 
 this he will do to the end. For the promise of his gracious aid 
 was not only to the Jews and to their children, but to all that are 
 afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. Acts ii. 39. 
 This free donation extends to all his people that are afar off, in 
 point of time, or place, or disposition of soul. They all meet in 
 this one Eternal Spirit, and are brought nigh by the blood of 
 Christ, And if all this be done in them and for them by one great 
 agent ; what absurdity, as well as blasphemy, is it to suppose 
 that this agent can be less than the Omnipotent ? A man, who 
 can deliberately utter such a position, must not only understand 
 very little of the Bible, or the experimental truths which it con? 
 tains, but must, allowing this Bible to be a divine revelation, 
 make war against the plainest deductions which reason itself car? 
 make from it. For as this revelation states, that, the whole of 
 
172 SPIRIT OF TRUTH. 
 
 man's salvation is planned, effected, and completed by Clod alone ; 
 while, at the same time it represents the particular, the constant, 
 the efficacious operation of the Holy Ghost through the whole of 
 it ; we cannot, with any consistency, avoid the immediate con- 
 clusion, that he is, upon that very account, God over all, blessed 
 for ever. This truth, so consentaneous with positive revelation 
 and those plain inferences which reason fairly makes from it, one 
 ■would think, would be obvious to every candid inquirer, and shine 
 bright enough to confound the dark prejudices of all opposers. 
 
 But, however we may err by ourselves or in following others, 
 we surely cannot be mistaken in an humble dependence for instruc- 
 tion upon God. He hath promised to give his spirit to them 
 that ask him ; and his word declares, that the Spirit is Trul/i^, 
 who therefore cannot give a false evidence oi himself. He is the 
 Sfiirit of Trtith, and cannot misguide us. He is Jehovah Ale- 
 him the Truth (Jer. x. 10,) and therefore able to effect all, which 
 he hath promised to do or bestow. Hence, to his people, who 
 believe is and rest upon him, he gives a7i earjiest of himself in 
 their hearts; by conferring, what in the Old Testament is called, 
 the Jieace of truths and in the New, joy in the Holy Ghost. They 
 can say, with holy boldness, the truth dtvelleth in us, and shall be 
 Hvith us for ever (2 John 2 ;) for they find, according to the pro- 
 mise of Christ, th^t the truth hath 7iiadc them free. They were 
 slaves once to the vvorld, flesh and Devil ; but now are brought ' 
 into a glorious liberty. They love truth and righteousness, which 
 they formerly loathed; and they tremble at sin, which heretofore 
 they had loved. Their happiness* lays entirely in their love and 
 duty to God ; and they knov/, by the rpitness of God^s spirit luith 
 their spirits, that there is no method of maintaining and increas- 
 ing that Iiappincss, but by cleaving to and depending upon him 
 in humility and holiness. He, that walketh not according to this 
 Tule (if the scripture may determine) is a liar, and the Truth 
 is not in him; or, in other words, he is sensual, not having the 
 Sjiirit. 
 
 In the Old Testament, there is a very particular and frequent 
 conjunction of 7nercj/ and irtt^A. They are a^fridu^es of the God- 
 head, and, in this conjunction, are used as such. 
 
 As they operate in this fallen world, they beautifully display 
 the two distinct, yet inseparable, persons in Jehovah. It seems 
 
 * "Certainlj- (saj s Lord Bacon in his essajs) it is Heaven upon Earth, tij 
 have a man's mind move iu charity, rest in proviilcncc, and tiu-n upon the 
 poles of truth." 
 
SPIRIT OF TRUTH. 173 
 
 no strain to say, that the attributes are sometimes used, by a 
 metonymy, for the persons themselves. Thus mercy frequent- 
 ly stands for the great Redeemer, by whom alone mercy did and 
 could come to man.* And truth as frequently denotes the S/iirit 
 of Truth, by whom alone the redeemed are led into truth. They 
 are inseparable whether f/z se or ad extra; that is, whether they 
 are viewed as attributes in the Godhead, or exercised officially 
 by the Son and Spirit. If any soul partake of mercy, it is in strict 
 and indissoluble union with truth : that is, if a man taste of the 
 redemption of Jesus Christ, it is through and by the Holy Ghost. 
 Ko man can truly call Christ his Lord, but by the Spirit of Truth. 
 And this furnishes the criterion or rule so often proposed in the 
 scripture, that a man should examine himself by: know ye not^ 
 that Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates ? It appeals to their 
 internal perceptions, for the assurance of his mercy. Again. If 
 any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he ia none of his. This ap> 
 plies to the same demonstration of sensible consciousness, by 
 which a person knows any thing to be true, and much more when 
 he enjoys God, who is the fulness oi truth, for it would be strange 
 indeed, that a creature should possess such operative principles, 
 and never know or be sensible of the profession. Thus mercy and 
 (ruth meet together, and thus all the paths of Jehovah are mercy 
 and truth ,; because he walketh among men for salvation in no 
 other way, but that of grace through the Son and Spirit. There 
 is no approach to the Father, but by Jesus Christ, and the Holy 
 Ghost. Hence, believers are exhorted to call upon the Father in 
 the name of the Son, by the Son himself; which would have 
 been a useless injunction, if they might have been accepted with- 
 out it. And hence, likewise, the same unerring witness hath 
 said, that they who worship God, must ivorship him in spirit a?id 
 truth, or they worship him not at all. Agreeably to this, it is 
 said, the Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him ; but it is 
 said with an explanation, that it might be particularly noticedj, 
 to all that call upon him in Truth. Ps. cxlv. 18. The Truth it- 
 self must enable the heart trnly to call upon God, by freeing it 
 from the dominion of sin, and by releasing it to a state of grace. 
 In this state, the Spirit helpeth the ivfrmities of his people, and 
 worketh in them both to iviU and to do. They loill the truth in 
 
 * The Prophets, and even the ancient Jews, understood the Messiah b} 
 this name of Mercy : And the Messiah himself leaves no room to doubt, 
 that the Spirit is the truth. See several testimonies to this effect in that 
 incomparable book J)e Yerit. Bel. Christ, bv the celebrated Mornay du 
 Plessis, c. ?X 
 
17-i SPIRIT OF TRUTH. 
 
 his willingness, and they flfMn the truth by his energy. Thus 
 acting and acted upon, not by a slavish constraint but by a joyful 
 harmony of spirit, they are said to do things, which, of themselves, 
 they are morally and naturally incapable of doing. Very remark- 
 ably are they said, in this view, to work out their oivn salvation., 
 by an Apostle who affirms, thm of himself he knew nothing; be- 
 cause it is God nvhich ivorketh in them. They cannot, therefore, 
 hxit work: for they have an almighty helper, and are privileged 
 to work with him, and by him. In another place they are said to 
 purify their souls in obeying the truth — but it is added, through 
 the Spirit. The Spiiil of Truth e7;a6/crf them to obey his own 
 truth revealed, and, in the obedience of faith, they obtained re- 
 mission of sins and justification oftlteir persons. The excellent 
 Archbishop Leighton says upon the passage; " It is certain and 
 " undeniable, that the soul itself doth act in believing or obeying 
 «^ the truth, but not of itself ; it is not. the first principle of mo- 
 « tion. They purify their souls, but it is by the sjiirit. They 
 'f do it by l)is enlivening power, and a purifying virtue received 
 " from him. Faith, or obeying the truth works this purity. But 
 " the Holy Ghost works that faith, as in the forccited place, God 
 " is said to purify their hearts by faith. He doeth that, by giv- 
 " ing them the Holy Ghost."'*^ 
 
 These expressions of scripture should be well considered by 
 those, who contend for the/rce ivill ^ndfree agency of the natu- 
 ral man. We can only say of so high an opinion in this place, that, 
 in order to be ^free agent., not only man, but every being, must 
 be entirely indcliendent ; for how can he be free, who depends 
 from moment to moment upon the will and power of another 
 being for the very existence and support of /;z4' own ? And if he 
 be not free, ar.d hath not an unlimited enjoyment of existence: 
 how is it possible that he can be free, respecting an unlimited 
 f .rfm.se of it ? The Apostle says, in God ive live; we derive 
 
 our existence from his will in God we incve, or are moved f 
 
 wc take our activity from his power- in God we have our being ; 
 
 we enjoy the continuance of both, in utter dependence upon him. 
 This one text, duly considered in all its connections and conse- 
 quences, ought to humble the insolence of man, when he assumes 
 to be, what even angels, pure and perfect as they are, cannoL 
 
 * The famous Dr. Scott himself, whom nobody will suspect of pleading 
 
 tor enthusiasm, asserts, "thatoui- knoidedrre and belief of divine things, so 
 
 i'sLT forth as tliey are natiiiq^ and effectiinl to our renovation, are the fruits and 
 
 p;-oducts of this irUeraal illumination of the Spirit." Cr.iistian Life, vol. ii. 
 
 h. vli 
 
SPIRIT OF TRUTIL 173 
 
 tenture to claim. They are ministering spirits, they serve, they 
 obey : and they find that, in all their duty, is comprized (what real 
 Christians also find) the most " perfect freedom." 
 
 Besides ; how obviously is it the setting imfierium in imfierio^ 
 a rule against a rule ; if we state more independent principles 
 than one, in the ordination and controul of all things ? And if there 
 be any thing independent of God, or any being which can frus- 
 trate his designs, or any event which can arise without his per- 
 mission ; it seems something more than a limiting of the Most 
 High, for it takes away his infinitude and deity^. As the infinite 
 God, he must include all things ; for that cannot be infinite, 
 which is excepted and bounded in any. Upon this account, the 
 Psalmist could even say ; If I descend into Hell, Thou art there ; 
 though the manner of God's presence be very different in Hell 
 and Heaven. God can pervade Hell and the deepest recesses 
 of the damned, as a pure and refined Spirit can grossness, without 
 being effected by evil. We may therefore safely talk of God's 
 free-will, but very dangerously of man's, when not in strict con- 
 junction with and dependence upon his Maker's. In this depen- 
 dence it may be allowed to be free, because it then will be right- 
 eous ; and all righteousness is freedom, and essential to it. Nor 
 need Ave fear the limitation of the human will in this dependence ; 
 imless we can suppose that the human will may over pass un- 
 bounded holiness and truth. 
 
 One observation more shall suffice, in this essay^ to prove the 
 necessity of the Holy Spirit's agency for the instruction of his peo- 
 ple in the truth of his will ; and consequently, from the nature 
 of that agency, the divinity of his person. Christ said to his dis- 
 ciples, just before he departed from the world ; It is exfiedieni 
 for youy that I go away ; for if I go tiot away, the Comforter will 
 7iot come unto you ; and then he proceeds to explain his officii 
 und character. Upon a review of the whole of that passage, it is 
 plain, that the Mediator, as God matifest in the flesh, was about 
 to complete Ms official part in the covenant of grace, styled the 
 •work ivhich the Father had given him to do ; that though this work 
 was perfect in itself, and the ground of salvation was finished fur 
 the redeemed, insomuch as to be incapable of any addition from 
 all the creatures ; yet that it was not and could not be finished i-i 
 them, but by the advent of the Comforter. It also appears, that, in 
 order to prepare their souls for the reception of so great a mercy, 
 \i is the office and work of the Comforter, to convert the people 
 of God in their nnderslandingi from error to truth, to change 
 
176 SPIRIT OF TRUTH. 
 
 then hearts and affectiojis, to apply the salvation of Jesus for the 
 remission of their sins and iheir justijication before the Father, to 
 preserve, strengthen, and settle them to the end ; and, in a word, 
 to do all that remained to be done in them, for them, and by 
 them ; previous to that glory, to which he finally and infallibly 
 conducts them. It was expedient, therefore, that Christ should 
 depart upon the finishing of Azs work, that the agency of the Holy 
 Ghost might eminently ensue in his crowning grace, and yield his 
 own sealing pledge of eternal glory. How expedient all this 
 was, we have a proof upon fact to convince us. No mortals 
 could be more unlike themselves, in point of knowledge, faith, 
 and courage, than the Apostles were before and after Christ's as- 
 cension to Heaven. And nvho made the difference ? It is undeni- 
 ably evident, the Holy Ghost alone upon the day of Pentecost. 
 View them from that time forwards, and they appear heroes of 
 p-race, or rather lambs in holiness and lions in boldness. Peter, 
 who denied Christ with oaths, and all the rest who ran away from 
 their master and fled, rejoiced from that day to suffer reproach 
 and even death itself for his sake. Could any created being work 
 this astonishing change, and by a visible intervention equally asto- 
 nishing ? A man must have the credulity of an Atheist, who pre- 
 tends to think that there is no God at all, before he can believe 
 that any being but God could work all this and carry it on against 
 the utmost malice and opposition of the world. The same proof 
 upon fact is carried down to this day in the heart of every believer, 
 who can truly say, " Once I was darkness, but now am I light in 
 the Lord ; once I was dead in sin, but now am alive unto God ; 
 and once I was without hope and an Atheist in the world, but now 
 I have obtained hopes full of immortality, and a Comforter who 
 will never depart from me." 
 
 The word truth-, O believer, contains a sense in its original lan- 
 p-uage, Avhich is both precious to thy soul and confirmed by thy 
 experience. It signifies not only truth in the abstract, which car- 
 ries alon"- with it the idea o{firm?iess and stability.^ and so relates 
 lo God himself; but it also signifies to ?iourish with the truth, and 
 bears tlie sense of the Apostle's expression, c«7zew-dor?i babes de- 
 sire the sincere (or JmreJ milk of the word, that ye may grow 
 thereby. In the former view, thou hast reason to rejoice in the 
 never failing ground of the Trutht because it is a rock and full of 
 perfection ; but, in the latter viow, thou hast a title to be exceed- 
 ing glad, because oixh^t nojirishment, which it supplies to thy 
 soul, oUrnth comnninicubic, Avith all its train of graces and bles- 
 
SPIRIT OF TRUTH. 177 
 
 sings. The one is truth as the spring, and therefore inexhausti- 
 ble : The other is truth in the stream, and therefore to believers 
 gracious and accessible. In the former respect, it is illustrious ; 
 and, in the latter, comfortable. It is comfortable dear Christian, 
 whosoever thou art that hast a right to that name ; it is full of 
 " sweet, pleasant, and unspeakable comfort" to thee. Thou hast 
 an infallible rule, and an infallible guide ; the one in the Word of 
 Truth, and the other in the S/iiriC of Truth. This guide, who laid 
 down that rule, applies the rule to thy heart, works by it in thee, 
 and according to it for thee. This rule is the sensible manifesta- 
 tion of invisible truth, so far as it concerns thy happiness and sal- 
 vation. He hath new created thee in the holiness of truth (Eph. 
 iv. 24.) ; and he conducts thee in the truth and beauty of holiness, 
 from day to day. He doth not merely prescribe, but enables. 
 Thou hast no mental powers, capable of discovering the things of 
 God, or capable of exercising themselves upon those things: It 
 is God the Spirit alone, who teacheth thee to profit. If all the 
 Saints of God were equal in spiritual endowments with the 
 Apostles, if all the Apostles, together with those Saints, could de- 
 scend from Heaven to instruct one soul, and if all of them had the 
 eloquence of Angels, or the highest created eloquence and wisdom 
 which can be imagined j vain would be their united efforts, unattend- 
 ed by this Holy Spirit, to translate that soul^ro7rt darkness to light, 
 and to give it that right understanding of the truth, which consists in 
 the real enjoyment and participation of it. They would all plane 
 and water ill vain, unless God should give the increase.* What 
 an argument is this, to thy soul, of the divinity and glory of thy 
 Holy Teacher I — And if he hath once taught thee the way of life 
 and truth, shall he not teach thee to the end .^ Who can pervert 
 his counsels, or frustrate his designs ? Ii is God, who hath drawn 
 the plan. Who can obstruct the execution to its full effect ? It is 
 God, who worketh all in all. Who can plunge into error, or into 
 Hell the consequence of error ? It is the Spirit, who is truth, and 
 who will lead into all truth for ever. Fear not, fainting soul, 
 thou hast not only an all-wise conductor, but an Almighty agent, 
 who hath vmdertaken to bring thee safe home. Thy safety is of 
 the Lord, and not from thyself, nor from the whole creation to- 
 gether. Without him, all the Angels in Heaven could not pre- 
 
 * J\^on siifficit homini spirituali Moaem aliquem aiidivisse, aut ^postolum, out, 
 xi forte, cxlestem Jlngehun, 7iisi arcanus accesserit Divisi Spihitus Sei^mo, 
 Jlliimtroriim Condones Jlnimo rnsi/ma?is, exponevs, comjlnnans, alqve obsignann. 
 "^Vitsii Misc. Sacr. Vol. ii. n. 35. 
 
IT'S SPIRIT OF GRACE. 
 
 serve thee for a moment : Nor without him, could they even sup- 
 port themselves. How then shouldest thou stay thyself upon his 
 everlasting arms ! He cannot deceive thee,for he is the truth\i%e\{\ 
 he cannot forsake thee, for he hath promised to keep thee ; he 
 cannot be overcome, for he is the invincible God. Thou, O fee- 
 ble fainting heart, art more his care, if there be any difference in 
 the divine care, than the strongest believers. His holy word is 
 more frequently addressed to such as thou, than to them. O be- 
 lieve this record, which is of much importance to thy happiness, 
 and which in itself must be both faithful and true. Pray to this 
 author of truth to bless thee with the clear perception and en- 
 joyment of it ; and thou shalt not pray in vain. He will give it 
 thee in thy hcad^ in such measure as shall be expedient, but ceiv 
 tainly he will pour it into thy hearty so as to induce a solid and a 
 comfortable experience. His truth is not a shadow or a phan- 
 tom, but substantial life and everlasting love ; and thou shalt pos- 
 sess the delightful pledge of it now, and the full enjoyment in 
 God's due time. In one one word; he ivill guide thee with fee 
 counsel, and aftervjard receive thee to glory, 
 
 SPIRIT OF GRACE. 
 
 THE word gi-ace is used in two significations. In one sense 
 it is taken to convey the abstract notion oi free favor or gratuitous 
 bounty ; and, in the other, to imply the positive possession of 
 that divine firincifile within the soul. In the first instance we may 
 contemplate what it is in itself; and, in the other, its operatioii 
 and effect, or what it is to us. In the former case, we should 
 remember, that it exists only in God as the giver, and in the 
 latter, that it descends to man as God's free gift. These distinc- 
 tions are included in the term ^race, with all their relations and 
 consequences. 
 
 Grace, in both these respects, is the cavise and the means of all 
 true blessedness to man : and God the Holy Ghost is called the 
 S/ilrit of Grace, because he is the fountain from which this grace 
 doth wholly flow. He is indeed Grace itself, though, in conde- 
 scension to our apprehensions, he hath been pleased to convey 
 the notices of his love by figures and expressions, ■which strike 
 our senses and apply to the objects we perceive about us. Wo 
 
SPIRIT OF GRACE. 179 
 
 are not able to survey the unlimited ocean of goodness ; nor, if 
 our capacities were enlarged to ten thousand times their present 
 dimensions, could we enjoy all that is to be enjoyed of it. God 
 would still be an Infinite beyond us ; and the most we could re- 
 ceive, cither in such a state or our own, would only be a large? 
 or a smaller drop of an unbounded sea. We could say, with cer- 
 tainty, from our participation of its nature, that it is good and 
 very good : but hovj much so, it would be a depth and a breadth 
 eternally beyond us. 
 
 The spirit is called ^rccc, or the S/iirit 0/ Grace, because he is 
 the convincer and conductor of grace to the souls of his people. 
 Christ suffered and obtained ; and therefore grace came by him 
 (John i. 17:) and Christ ws.s full of grace (John i. 14 ;) because 
 he was full of the Spirit. He received the Spirit likewise ivithoui 
 measure ; because he had an infinite capacity, which cannot be 
 paid of any creature : and the Spirit itself niust therefore be im- 
 measurable and infinite to fill that capacity ; and these are terms, 
 which can be applied to none but God. 
 
 The scriptures have many passages of this sort which may 
 strike every gracious mind with full conviction of the proper di- 
 vinity of the Holy Ghost, and which ought to silence the blas- 
 phemy of those, who have, ventured to deny it. His word wit- 
 nesses for him to all men ; and he witnesses with his word, by a 
 most gracious and particular evidence indeed, to the hearts of his 
 people. Let us consider then some testimonies of his divine 
 glory, as they occur under this name of his ofRce, gr in relation 
 to it. 
 
 Sanctification, considered as an act of grace upon the soul, 
 cannot be performed or maintained by the agency of any creature. 
 It is always ascribed to God throughout the Bible. Whatever 
 means are prescribed or used, they have apparently no efficacy 
 but by him. The God of peace must «a;zc;j/5//«5 /teo/i/e nvholly, 
 or they cannot be truly sanctified at all. 
 
 This operation is ascribed to the Father, in Jude, v. 1. who ad- 
 dresses his Epistle to them that are sanctified by God the Father. 
 It is ascribed to the Son, the Lord Christ, in Heb. ii. 11. and oth- 
 er places. And it is no less directly referred to the Holy Ghoat 
 in Rom, xv. 16 — This to a fair and candid mind would alone be a 
 sufficient evidence of the equality and coexistence of the three 
 persons in the Godhead ; for if an act, which can only with propri- 
 ety be ascribed to God, be equally ascribed to three distinct per- 
 sons, it proves that each of these persons is God, and that the^' 
 
180 SPIRIT OF GRACE. 
 
 (both in union and distinction) have one common intercommunity 
 in the divine nature, Avhich at the same time must be one in itself, 
 or such intcrconnnunity could not subsist. There must be an 
 homogeneity of essence or existence in the three persons: for a 
 division of substance would be a difierence of mind, will, and op- 
 eration, and, of course, a gross tritheism contrary to the Bible, 
 which dec\dLYes t/iat Jehoxmh is One Jeliovali. Deut. vi. 4. But, 
 stp.ting the doctrine of three persons, to whom severally and dis- 
 tinctly arc referred several agencies and operations, which, 
 though they vary, are, notwithstanding imputable to none but 
 Deity ; we find an harjnony in the scriptures, respecting the na- 
 ture of God's unity and personality, which, without this doctrine, 
 is most evidently broken. If, therefore, God only can sanctify 
 the ungodly ; and if we find, that the Holy Spirit doth sanctify 
 them ; it proves most incontestably, that he is God, and conse- 
 quently the great object of praise and adoration. 
 
 It is also true, that no peculiar attribute of God can be proper- 
 ly ascribed to a creature. One creature may be used as an instru- 
 ment to convey the agc7icy of that attribute to another creature ; 
 but it is not inhereiit in him, nor is it in his power to use it, when 
 or how, or where he pleases. Now, grace \?, a peculiar attribute 
 of God in every strict sense of the term. He only Ac* it, as the 
 fountain. He only can give it, as a stream from the fountain. 
 Whatever the first Angel or the first Saint in glory may possess 
 of grace, it is not their own radically. They enjoy it by donation, 
 and by the donation of God. They are what they are by his free 
 favour and bounty. He is therefore called the God of all grace, 
 1 Pet. v. 10. There is no grace but from him. Christ is said 
 to bestow grace, Eph. iv. 7. because there is no grace but by him. 
 And the Holy Ghost is called repeatedly the Sfiirit of GracCy be- 
 cause there is no grace but with him. He is, therefore, con- 
 jointly with thp Father and the Son, true and very God. 
 
 The gifts of grace, and the attestations of them in the working- 
 miracles, are directly applied in scripture to the Holy Spirit ; and 
 so directly are they applied to him, that it is affirmed, that no yuan 
 can say, knowing what he says, t/iat Jesus is the Lord, or Jeho- 
 vah, but by the Holy Ghost, because without the Holy Ghost, 
 in strict truth, he can icnov/ nothing of the matter. He may use 
 the words and syllables ; but he has no demonstration or convic- 
 tion of the thing. Our sufficiency (says the same Apostle) is of 
 God. It is God alone, who can controul the powers of nature, 
 aud interrupt those laws of being, which he hath placed in the 
 
SPIRIT OF GRACE. 181 
 
 world of matter. It is God alone, who can (govern in the spirit- 
 ual and invisible Avorld, and direct effects in the souls of men, 
 which can be ascribed to no subordinate or created cause. This 
 none but an Atheist can deny. But the Holy Ghost expi'cssly 
 said by the Apostle in 1 Cor. xii. to have accomplished all this. 
 The word of wisdom and of knowledge, the grace of faith and the 
 gifts of healing, the working of miracles and the power of proph- 
 ecy, the discernment of spirits with the variety and interpretation 
 of tongues, are all ivrought by one aiui the self-same Sjnrit^ di' 
 ■viding to every man severally as He •will. And yet, in all these 
 diversities of o/ierations, it is the samk God which luorkcth all in 
 all. The Holy Ghost consequently, is this same God: and a 
 Elan must resist all sorts of evidence, delivered from the senses 
 and testimonies of others, oppose even the most common princi- 
 ples of ratiocination ; and renounce the Bible itself, when he de- 
 nies this conclusion. And yet it must be owned, there are peo- 
 ple who, in the face of such testimonies, do venture upon this 
 denial, of whose mental accomplishments in other things there 
 can be no doubt. We can only take up the words of the Prophet 
 concerning them : the %uise men — have rejected the ivord of the 
 Lord? and what wisdom is in them ? Jer. viii. 9, 
 
 Justification^ another act of divine grace is from God. It is 
 One God (saith the Apostle) which shall Justify the circumcision 
 by faith, and the uncircumcision through faith. Rom.iii. 30. It 
 is God thatjusdfieth. Rom. v. 3. 33. — But believers are justified 
 in the name of the LordJesus-find by the Sjiirit of our God. 1 Cor. 
 v'l. 11. — The Spirit therefore is God: or, are there more Gods 
 than one. 
 
 One of the greatest, if not the greatest, operation of power in 
 the heart, is the creation or donation of faith. The Apostle says, 
 it is not of ourselves : it is the gift of God. Eph. ii. 8.— .Buthe also 
 says, in another place, that Faith is given by the Sfdrit. 1 Cor. xii. 
 9. — The Spirit, therefore, is God. 
 
 All the work of grace in the aoul is iotirejiare it for glory. It 
 is an ag6ncy of diyine love ; and none but a divine hand can per^ 
 form it. For this purpose, God promised in the Old Testament 
 to dwell in his people and to walk in them ; and hence, because 
 of his presence, they are called the temjile of the litiing God. % 
 Coi\ vi. 16. — But in another place (1 Cor. vi. 19.) their body is said 
 to be the tem^de of the Holy G//os«.— -The Holy Ghost, there- 
 fore, is the living God. 
 
 M^ny arguments of this kind might be drawn from the sQrip^ 
 
182 SPIRIT OF GRACE. 
 
 tures to prove, under this title of grace, the proper personality 
 and divinity of the Holy Ghost, To tl<e Christiai--, tl1e^:e will 
 more than suffice ; and to establish the Christian in this important 
 truth, are these papers principally written. With respect to the 
 unbeliever, all the arguments in the world, ubejther from scrip- 
 ture or its analogy, would fail of tlicir full effect, unless attended 
 with that grace, which the Hciy Spi-.-it, as God over all, bestows 
 as he nvill. If his reason v/ere silenced or convinced, bis heart 
 ■would be just as it vvas before : And to make a inan a Christian 
 in head or in notion only, would be rendering him as useless as 
 the paper which might be wasted for the purpose ; c*' at least 
 would be drawing a mere portrait, which has neither life nor ac- 
 tion, and which, as it is calculated to deceive the sight, has for 
 its only worth its capacity of deception.— A qualification, Vyhich 
 no sincere mind would wish to acquire. 
 
 But they, who have tasted that the Lord is gracious can never 
 dispute, that the grace they enjoy can only be from the Lord. 
 Acquainted with the powers of corruption and the strength of si'i, 
 they know full well, that none but He, who is stronger than the 
 Strong One armed, could have rescued them from the iron bon- 
 dage, in which they were held. They perceive exjierimcntallij^ 
 that none but God could /i/a?z such a determination of free grace, 
 as the scripture reveals : that no created being could have either 
 the wisdom, will, or power, to accomplish all that was necessary 
 for their salvation and that only the infinite and everlasting Jeho- 
 vah could make it really an everlasting salvation. 
 
 When the believer considers himbclf, he is ready to say : 
 ?' Here am I, a sinful inhabitant of a wicked world, without any 
 thought of God by nature, and turned away in my affections from 
 all that can be conceived of divine purity and perfection. I feel 
 no natural inclination to goodness ; but a strong propensity to all 
 things, which are corrupt and perishing. My soul never sought 
 after its God ; and, if it has thought of futurity, it considered 
 the eternal state as a dark barren void, the gloomy apprehensions 
 of which inclined me to forget it as fast as I could. My heart 
 was all alive to the pursuits of the world, which, in my sober 
 moments, undistracted by the immediate presence of the objects, 
 my heart told me were altogether perishing and vain. Still 1 run 
 on the mad career, sure of a precipice whicli must terminate my 
 course, and sure of nothing beyond it. Thus my whole nature I 
 have constantly found rivetted to the earth, without one aspiring 
 thought or desire of its own to quit it. The very idea indeed of 
 
SPIRIT OF GRACE, 183 
 
 quitting it, has filled me with horror and pain. In this state, al- 
 ways in quest of good without ever finding its satiety, I have 
 heard and read of God, and with the mere curiosity of a man, 
 have perused his word. I saw nothing in the holiness and omni- 
 potence of my Maker, but which struck me with a sense of my 
 distance from him^ and with a terror of his future approach lovie. 
 All his attributes considered in the aggregate, filled me with awe : 
 His mercy alone afforded me some hope, when I thought of it 
 by itself; but attempered with his justice, even mercy increased 
 the dread. The very goodness of God must detach him from all 
 that is sinful and impure, and consequently (as I saw) must de- 
 tach him from me. The scripture appeared dark and confused 
 to my understanding. I saw no propriety in many of its precepts, 
 no force in its allegories, no comfort in its promises, no glory in 
 its end. Indeed, its end I did not understand ; for it seemed void 
 of scheme or plan, and only, to my dark mind, a rude and undi- 
 gested mass. It was, in all respects, a book sealed to my eyes, 
 a book tmaffecting to my heart. Some of its moral precepts 
 alone seemed worthy of attention ; and these I viewed distmctly 
 from all the rest ; and, thus viewed, I thought that Cicero, Sene- 
 ca, or any of the philosophers, had or might have delivered as 
 good as those. Thus I was left afloat in an immense ocean of un- 
 certainty, without chart or compass to direct ray course, or to 
 promise me an harbor of comfort or repose. I found, likewise, 
 that I had no rudder to my bark to steer it aright by any rule, 
 could I obtain one ; and that I lay exposed to the united agitation 
 of winds and waves. To sink, filled me with horror ; to swim, 
 afforded me a prospect of continual restlessness and care. I saw 
 others in the same situation of distress, some sensible of it and 
 others stupid or asleep ; but this only wounded my humanity, 
 without presenting me with relief. At length, a voice reached 
 my heart ; a voice, not of sound but of power, which I had never 
 perceived before. " God hath sworn by an oath to his people, 
 that he would grant unto them, that tluey, being delivered out of 
 the hands of their enemies, might serve him without fear, in ho- 
 liness and righteousness before him, all the days of their life.'' 
 A sun-beam, darting upon the eyes of a man just recovered to 
 sight from being born blind, could not fill him with so much 
 amazement and wonder at the light, as these important words did 
 my soul at the truths, which they contained, and which, though I 
 had read them an hundred times, I never had perceived before. 
 1 saw, I felt an elenchus and a power in them ; which no mere 
 
.184 SPIRIT OF GRACE. 
 
 "words, formed by any kind of art, could possibly have inducecT. 
 I stood astonished ; not at the t/emonsfraffon of truth alone, though 
 that appeared bright and obvious ; but at \\\q force and impression 
 ■with which it seized my soul. It was quick and powerful indeed, 
 and sharper thananxj two-edged sword, piercing even to the divi- 
 ding asunder of soul and spirit., and of the joints and marrovj, 
 and a discerner of the thoughts and inte?its of the heart. The 
 electrical fluid could not pervade the body with more subtility 
 and surprize ; than the heavenly flame affected and seized upoa 
 the powers of mv mind. I soon found, that to know a truth, is 
 not merely to see it, but to feel and enjoy it too. I tasted, I han- 
 dled, I felt the word of life. I found it was life indeed. Soon 
 mv soul, like a new-born babe, casting its eyes around, perceived 
 its situation by nature, and the gracious change, which had pas- 
 sed upon it. By degrees, it could explore the darkness of sin 
 and error, by the light of grace and truth. I saw, that through 
 all my past life, I had been in a state of bondage ; that I had been 
 a slave in the hands of my most cruel enemies ; that I had feared 
 God only as an angry and inexorable Judge ; that, so far from 
 -walking before him in holiness and righteousness, I had counted 
 it as the best enjoyment of my life to turn away from him; that 
 it had been a part of my misery to reflect upon his transcendent 
 holiness, to the commands of which I neither could yield, nor 
 loved to yield, obedience ; and that all his attributes were at war 
 with mc a sinner. I now saw, on the other hand, how God could 
 he just, and yet the justifcr of him that believeth in Jesus ; and 
 how all my sins, sufficient as they were to damn a thousand 
 •woilds, could be blotted out and forgiven. I perceived, with 
 horror, the deep apostacy of my nature, and my total aversion 
 of heart to God and his holy will. I was covered with shame 
 and contrition, in the view of myself, and with wonder at so much 
 goodness and beauty, in the consideration of /iw». My soul was 
 bowed down with the conflict of remorse, hope, love, adoration, 
 and surprize. I saw, I felt, I believed. I wondered, at first, 
 that I had never seen, felt, or believed before. But I soon found 
 that this wonderful change in tlie human mind, is indeed a bles- 
 sing and a gift from God ; that it is not of him that willeth, vor of 
 him that runneth, but of God, who shewet h mercy ; in short, that 
 it is not of human might or power, but altogether by God the 
 Spirit. The scriptures now -were unsealed in all those partr. 
 •which became necessary for my establishment ; and they shewed 
 mc tliat God onlv could raise the dead— the dead in tres^iassc-y 
 
SPIRIT OF GRACE. 18i5 
 
 end sins to 7ie%vness of life ; that no human wisdom can impart 
 spiritual instruction ; that the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus can 
 only sustain that life, which it is his office to give ; and that the 
 same Spirit of grace and truth alone can confer the grace and 
 truth, which are needful for the soul in all its conflicts with it>< 
 enemies, and for safe conduct to eternity. And, O what a har 
 mony and glory did then appear in all the offices of the everlast- 
 ing covenant; what a propriety and suitableness in the work of 
 the divine persons ; what a lustre in the satisfaction of their un- 
 changeable attributes ; what a force and savor in the holy scrips 
 tures ; what a hope from the promises ; what privileges froni 
 communion with God, in his will, and love, and mercy ! In short, 
 it was altogether wonderful, and altogether new. It was a life 
 of newness, as well as a newness of life. There was indeed a 
 life and glory in the whole, which those, who have enjoyed them, 
 can better rejoice in than describe. In one word, I felt a hope 
 full of immortality, and found new and earnest desires after im- 
 mortal life." 
 
 This, more or less, is the growing experience of every believer. 
 He is a child of wrath by naturcj and hath had a transition from 
 this natural state to a state of grace and favor. It is so great a 
 change, that it cannot pass upon a man unknown to him. He may 
 not know, indeed, the hour, tl^e day, or perhaps the month of this 
 translation ; but the translation itself he must know, or he hath 
 found none. He once was darkness ; but now he is light in the 
 Lord. And can a man emerge from darkness into light, without 
 perceiving the change ? He once Avas dead in sin ; but now he is 
 alive to God. Can any creature pass from death unto life, with- 
 out any perception of the difference ? Impossible ! Equally impos- 
 sible also is it for a soul to live unto God, but by the power of God. 
 An Angel could not impart life to a fly ; and can any created be- 
 ing induce a life immortal, and eternal, to man ? Can that, which 
 depends for the existence and support of its own being on the 
 will and power of its Creator, act independently of that Creator I 
 Lazarus might, v/ith equal ease, have raised himself from the 
 dead, and come forth. It follov/s, then, that as spiritual life can 
 only be given from God, it can only be exerted by him. Grace is 
 not a principle given to man to render liim independent, but to in=> 
 crease his dependence by increasing his communion with God. 
 He cannot live to God, without God. The strongest believei" 
 cannot excite so much as one good thought in his soul, Avithout 
 the agency of the divine Spirit ; and much less can he bring that 
 
 VOL. 17, 7>, 
 
5 86 SPIRIT OF GRACE. 
 
 thought into act Avithout the same agency and aid. It is God 
 which work eth in you (says tlie Apostle) both to nvili and to do. 
 We are not sufficient of ourseh'cs (lie tells us in another place) 
 to THINK any thing as oj ourselves. Our sufficiency is of God. 
 Again. The S/iirit helfieth our infirmities ;for we know not what to 
 firay for^ as we ought. " As thou (says that most excellent Col- 
 lect in the Liturgy for Easter-Day) by thy special ^ys.cc fir event- 
 ing us dost put into our minds good desires, so by thy continual 
 help we may bring the same to good eftect." To tlie like pur- 
 pose is the tenth article of the Church of England. To say, that a 
 man is good without communion with the author of all goodness, 
 is a blasphemous assertion of human independence, and as false 
 in speculation as in fact. An Heathen philosopher could teach a 
 better doctrine, and has taught it. Seneca says, Saccr intra nos 
 Sjiiritus sedet — Bonus vir sine Deo nemo est—-Ille dat consilia 
 magni/ica et erecta. In 7inoquoque virorum bonorum habitat Deus. 
 Ep. xli. " An holy Spirit dwells within us — No man can be good 
 ■without God — He gives exalted and upiight instructions, and re- 
 sides in every good man." — Alas 1 how many, who are named Di- 
 ■y/nes, and who have professed themselves 7novcd by the Holy 
 Ghost^ to take upon them their sacred office, will this ingenious 
 Heathen one day condemn ? How many condemn even themselves 
 by their subsequent lives and doctrine, both in works and in words 
 denying the efficacy or the existence of the Spirit of Grace ? Such 
 persons should remember one text, which they are often obliged 
 to read — If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is rionc 
 of his. 
 
 But to thee, O believer, the mere argument of thy teacher's di- 
 vinity needs not to be urged : Thou hast been taught the heaven- 
 ly truth by an heavenly guide. Thou hast been made to see and 
 to feel thyself destitute of all spiritual life and grace; and thov; 
 knowest, by experience, that none but God himself could evei 
 give thee life, or maintain it when given. Thou ai t sensible too, 
 that the life of grace from the dead is of far more importance and 
 dignity, than thy mere life of nature as a creature. The unction 
 of God's Spirit, which anointed thy Redeemer for this purpose of 
 salvation, hath descended from him upon thee. The Sjiirit of 
 Grace hath distilled like the dew upon thy barren heart, and en- 
 riched it with the knowledge and the love of God. He hath been 
 and is to thy soul a gracious Spirit, according to the everlasting: 
 covenant, both in comingyVef/y, and in working efficaciously. He 
 came with free grace, because the value of his blessing couW 
 
 1 
 
SPIRIT OF GRACE. 187 
 
 not possibly by thee have been purchased ; and with efficacious 
 grace, because none but a divine power could remove the oppo- 
 sition of world, flesh and Devil, and introduce the divine life with- 
 in the soul. O what a debtor art thou already to this Almighty 
 Lord i And what an increasing debtor wilt thou be throughout 
 eternity 1 He is and will be the Spirit of Grace to his people in 
 everlasting glory. All the company of the blessed are imbued 
 ■with his divine anointing ; and they enjoy him as their life and 
 their portion, world without end. The spirits of just men are 
 made perfect by God the Spirit. He fills their capacities with his 
 divine inhabitation, and they live in and by him as the great spring 
 of all their bliss. They are there become a perfect unison with 
 this Holy Spirit. And what they are, redeemed soul, thou, even 
 thou, shalt one day be. Corruptible as is thy body, and feeble as 
 thou feelest thy inward man ; within a while, and a short while 
 too, thou shalt part with corruption and weakness ; and all the 
 enemies of thy peace, which thou hast seen in the days of thy 
 flesh, thou shalt see again no more for ever. God will wipe away 
 not only all tears from thine eyes, but the cause of all tears from 
 thy heart. There thou shalt never shed another ; unless it br. 
 possible to shed one of gratitude, wonder, and joy. O what hath 
 God the Spirit done in thee now ! He hath subdued thy reigning 
 sins, and mastered for thee thy domineering corruptions. He 
 hath released thee from thy bondage, and brought thee into a glO" 
 rious liberty. And all this he hath done as the earnest only of 
 greater blessings. The mercies, that remain behind, are beyond 
 all human account er conception. The pledge is delightful and 
 full of an uncioying sweetness : "What then shall the full measure 
 of grace and glory be ; where there is nothing to abate it, or to 
 distract its course for a single moment ? 
 
 And all this is thine, assuredly thine, thou weakest of believers ! 
 God never gives grace to the soul, to disappoint it of glory. It 
 is a blasphemy, perhaps, against the Spirit of Grace to utter so 
 detracting an expression against his nature and office. The very 
 term of communicated grace, precludes such a notion. For if it 
 might be lost as soon as given, it appears no better than the gift 
 of a man, who cannot secure the possession of any one thing to 
 himself or to others, for a moment. But the gifts and calling of God 
 tire without repentance ; and whom the Lord loveth, he loveth to the 
 end. Man would change in a moment without the divine help j 
 but God, being God, changeth not. All change implies defect ; 
 and therefore both are impossible in God, Christians in this life 
 
135 SPIRIT OF GRACE. 
 
 are full of defects ; and arc kept from changing only by an Al- 
 mighty hand. Ii was Gain's curse to be a vagabond or wanderer 
 upon earth. The law of God restrained him not ; and the grace 
 of God, not being imparted, gave him no rest. AH men by na- 
 ture, like Cain, stroll about in the land of Nod ; and none enter 
 into Canaan, but (as Abraham did) through the sovereign call and 
 power of God. But Grace, which is fixed in itself, fixes the be- 
 liever in Jesus. This is the work of the Holy Spirit, and, to the 
 redeemed soul, it is one of the most incontestible arguments of 
 his divinity. He is essentially God to bestow grace : And He is 
 God Almighty to preserve it, where bestowed, against all the 
 powers of darkness for evermore. By him, from being a dismal 
 ivandercr after peace, the Christian enters into rest. His ach= 
 ing heart is privileged, through him alone, to obtain quict- 
 pess and assurance for ever. — And this is thy privilege, fainting, 
 feeble, and heavy-laden soul : It is thy privilege more than any. 
 For he, that thirsts most after God, by God's own promise, hath 
 the most right to him. O look upon this grace, which God the 
 Spirit can alone bestow ; and is not thy very soul wrapt up in ea- 
 gerness to possess it ? And why is thy soul thus eager? Is there 
 any principle in thy heart in the least similar to this heavenly 
 gift? No. Thy heart is naturally full of baseness, corruption and 
 unbelief, and would lead thee (like fallen Adam) from God in- 
 stead of to him. This is the cause. The Holy Spirit hath al- 
 vcady quickened thee with his livhig grace, and worketh in thy 
 soul all these desires after himself. If he had not wrought them, 
 thou never couldest have had them. And if he hath stirred up 
 these holy longings ; did he stir them to disappoint thee at the 
 last ? O think not so unwoithily of the God of all grace ; for this 
 in fact is calling the God of truth by the name of liar. He hath 
 promised^ nay, to give thee strong cojisolation^hQ hath stvorn^ and 
 sworn by himself, because he could svvear by no greater ; that 
 Vi'hosever conieth to him, he nvill in no tvise cast out ; that they, 
 'iL'ho hunger and thirst after righteousness, shall be filled ; that 
 the weary and heavy laden, who come to him, shall Jind rest to 
 their souls ; and, in a word, that he will be a strength to thefioor^ 
 a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a 
 shadoTJ, a?id a hel/i, a very Jiresent hclfiinthe time of trouble. 
 God is thu3 rich in mercy, that thou shouldest be rich in faith \ 
 And when thy faith once embraces his mercy, thou wilt have a 
 present comfort in that act, and ere long, in the best time, a sure 
 fulfilment of the promise. Remember; God cannot Xin'^ and 
 
SPIRIT OF GRACE. 189 
 
 while thou trustest in him, thou canst not be disappointed. The 
 77jc72?/er and the means may not be after thy imagination ; but the 
 end will be right, and thou wilt rejoice in it at the last. Thou hast 
 laid hold of an omnipotent arm ; and thy great business is to be 
 stai/cd ui)Qn it. 
 
 In the view of all these things, what encouragement is there 
 for the believing soul, not only to contemplate, but to enjoy the 
 Spirit of Grace, and the effusions of his divinity ? He is the Spi- 
 rit of Grace, and grace itself, which, like all hh other perfec- 
 tions, is unutterable. Grace is his nature ; and grace, in the ef- 
 fect, is his office. He will be gracious to 'who7n he will be gra- 
 cious ; for he possesses grace as the sovereign dispenser, and re- 
 ceives it from none. In the union of the persons in the Godhead, he 
 enjoys every essential glory, in perfect equality and concord, and 
 bestows the grace of the eternal throne, according to the eternal 
 covenant and decree. He is the immediate agent conferring that 
 grace in which the other two persons essentially concur. It is 
 equally the grace of the Father and the Son ; but it is the Spirit's 
 office to reveal it unto men, and to effectuate by it their eternal 
 salvation — O wonderful creature, thou believing Christian, who 
 art born of God I — Saved by a cost which Angels cannot count, 
 and in a manner, which fills all Heaven with amazement ! A brit- 
 tle clod, a crawling worm, or, at the highest, a rebellious sinner, 
 full of the enmity of Hell and the insignificance of earth ; is saved 
 for glory, for the highest glory of Heaven ; saved by the abase- 
 ment, by the sufferings and death of the Son of God ; saved by 
 the power of the Almighty Spirit and his effectual grace ; saved 
 according to the eternal purpose and decree of the Father, Son 
 and Holy Ghost! What an expense of salvation for beings, who 
 are minute as atoms in the universe of things, and fit only for 
 Devils and the damned in the bosom of hell ! O the height and defithi 
 Love passing knowledge ! Love without end ! Angels wonder, and 
 all Heaven is filled with joy, both at the complacency of God, and 
 at the happiness of man : And shalt not thou, O believer, parti- 
 cipate the joy, who art so immediately the object of its excite- 
 ment ? Can Heaven pour forth its praises for thee ; and canst 
 thou be dumb ? No. If thou art silent, it must be from the ex- 
 cess of gratitude and joy, overpowering the organs of speech or 
 the extent of imagination ; and, in this respect, there may, some- 
 times, be silence in Heaven : But it will not, it cannot last. God 
 ^vill improve thy power of praise, with the increasing sense of its 
 due. He will be glorified, and thou Phalt be blessed in glorifying 
 
190 SPIRIT OF ADOPTION. 
 
 him, throughout eternity. ^Lord, what is man, that thou art viind' 
 ful of him ; or the Son of Man that thus thou visitest him ! 
 
 Spirit of Grace, my heart renew, 
 
 (Each faithful Christian cries) 
 And where the weeds of error grew. 
 
 Let plants of truth arise ; 
 
 My soul, an howling wilderness, 
 
 Shall then such beauties wear, 
 That Heaven with rapture sliall confess 
 
 Thy workmanship is there. 
 
 SPIRIT OF ADOPTION. 
 
 ADOPTION, among men, is the taking of a stranger into 
 u family, and conferring upon him all the rights and privileges of 
 a son : and as it depends upon the adopter's free choice and boun- 
 ty ; the favor is more or less valuable, according to the inheri- 
 tance ^yhich is entailed upon it. When Tiberius was adopted by 
 Augustus Caesar, it was understood, that whatever the patron or 
 adopter possessed, would of right descend to the adopted ; and 
 thus Tiberius inherited the empire of Rome, to which otherwise 
 lie could not have aspired from any notion or pretence of heredi- 
 tary right. 
 
 The first instance of adoption, that can be found, is the recep- 
 tion of Moses by Pharaoh's daughter : and from this instance we 
 may believe, that it was in that early age a well-known or estab- 
 libhed custom ; or it may be presumed, that a king's daughter 
 would not have ventured to begin it. We will omit the silly 
 stories, which Josephus and the Rabbins relate concerning Moses 
 in this exalted station, on purpose (as they think) to embellish 
 his character, and will only add that illustrious testimony of him 
 from the voice of truth, which does him more honor tlian the 
 plaudits of ten thousand historians. By faith Moses, 'when he nua?. 
 come to'yearsy refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daus^h' 
 ier ; choosing rather to suffer affliction ivith the fieople of Gody 
 than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season ; esteeming' the re- 
 firoach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt. Hebr. 
 xi. 24 — 26. '•■ What a madman I" cries human policy. "Whui 
 wisdom I" says Moses now, and a!l Ifeaven with him. 
 
SPIRIT OF ADOPTION. 191 
 
 This practice was so well established among the Greeks, that: 
 they had positive laws to direct theybrm and extent of it; so that 
 every adoption might appear by a public act, and become notori- 
 ous to the world.* And it was followed by the Romans down to 
 the times of Justinian, who, in his Institutes^ has established 
 particular regulations concerning the adopted, putting them 
 under the adopters' power, as though they were their own off- 
 spring.! 
 
 God hath been pleased to use this term, in order to convey to 
 our minds another view of his grace and love to the souls of his 
 people. Every image of endearment in nature he hath employed 
 for the expression of his kindness ; and this important one, there- 
 fore among the rest. The motives of this affection and adoption 
 are entirely within himself. Indeed, they could not be but so; 
 for all the world was become guilty before God ; and vihenhelook- 
 ed down from Hea-ven^ he saw that all men were become abom- 
 inable^ and that there was none doing good, no not one. There 
 ■were no attractions in miserable, hateful, and hating sinners : 
 and there could be none to win the love of a holy and righteous 
 God. Thus, when he was pleased to adopt the people of Israel 
 from among the sinful families of the earth, a very particular 
 declaration is given. That the Lord did not set his love ufion^ 
 nor choose them, because of their number, (or they were the fewest 
 of all fieofile — nor for their wealth, for he gave them the fiower to 
 get wealth, nor for their righteousness, for they were a rebellious 
 and stiff-necked fieofile : but because the Lord loved them, and 
 because he would be gracious to whom he would be gracious, and 
 would shew mercy on whom he would shew mercy. Every cause, 
 reason, and purpose, existed entirely in himself; and, from his 
 own benignity, did every blessing proceed. And yet bad as this 
 people was, what shall we think of this other declaration, which 
 God made in their behalf, in the face of their enemies ? Thufs 
 saith Jehovah, Israel is 7ny son, even my first-born, Exod. iv. 22. 
 See Rom. ix. 4, And of what was said to themselves ? T^ruNa pn, 
 void of all cause in thy Fathers, Jehovah nariN*? p'an adhered to 
 love them, or would love thevi ; and he chose their seed after 
 them, eve7i you above all fieofile, as it is this day. Deut. x. 15, 
 Not that the Lord wanted their service, or would have been less 
 
 * Rous Jlrch. Att. 1. v. c. 15. 
 
 f Jvistin. Inst. 1. i. tit. 11. The reader may see a curious controrersy, 
 upon the subject of adoption, in the remains of Marcus Annxus Seneca, (ta- 
 Iher of the great Seneca) in his second book of Controv. § 9. aivi notis varior. 
 
192 SPIRIT OF ADOPTION". 
 
 a fulness without their salvation, for the Heaven, and the Heav 
 en of heavens-) belonged to Jehovah their ,4lehim, the earth and 
 all that is therein, v. 14. He chose and adopted, not because he 
 v/antedthem, but because r^ey needed him. And he mentions to 
 them their high inheritance, that they might adore his bounty, be 
 encouraged to live upon him, and be lool^ing beyond the grave 
 for the full possession. 
 
 What the Lord once did to Israel, he doeth for ever to all his 
 people. The calling and salvation in the type fully expresses, 
 and was designed to express the calling and salvation of all the 
 redeemed in every age of the world. His election of grace is a 
 truth as positively revealed to believers by the Old Testament, as 
 it is or can be to them by the New ; for the same eternal Spirit 
 dictated both, and both for the same end. And the only difference 
 betAveen the terms election and adofition is ; theybrw<:'r expresses 
 God's simfile choice of his people, without any motives for that 
 choice, but his own ; and the latter implies the same kind of 
 choice, but at the same time conveys with it an idea of what they 
 are elected to. Election is the choice of God, as it exists in 
 himself ; and adoption is that very choice as it \ie.coxn.c^ manifest- 
 ed to them. By their adoption therefore they are persuaded of 
 their election ; and not of their adoption by their election. Their 
 faith does not conclude from what exists in the unrevecled mind 
 of God, which it is impossible for them to know ; but fi om what 
 hath already passed upon their own minds, agreeable to his mind 
 revealed, which God hath designed that they should know. They 
 do not infer without evidence, which would be enthusiasm with a 
 witness, or something worse ; but, in their earnestness for the 
 kno-vledgc of salvation, they are so far from being satisfied with 
 faint hopes and mere conjectures, that they require no less testi- 
 mony than God's own warrant, and God's own seal with that war- 
 rant to prove that it is for them. This doctrine consequently, 
 cannot be abused, wherever it is understood in faith and expert^ 
 ence : and as for those, who will abuse it ; they are to be pitied 
 and deplored for the predominancy of that corruption, which ever 
 turns the use and benefit of the best things into uselessness or 
 destruction. 
 
 If Israel, after the flesh and in type, was adopted to be the Son, 
 and the first-born, of Jehovah; Israel, after the spirit, and the 
 consummation of that type, can certainly be invested with no in- 
 ferior privilege. If God chose the one from motives of his own ; 
 urely, the or/trr h:\th no other instiyes to plead, why he shouM 
 
SPIRIT OF ADOPTION. 19,3 
 
 ever adopt them. If Jews were stiff-necked and sinful ; can Gen- 
 tiles plead greater obedience and purity ? And if the children of 
 Abraham, who were brought up in the faith, and who had the 
 promises of the life that now is as well as the future were not re- 
 ceived, because they were his children ; how shall strangers to 
 the co-venants of promise^ aliens from God's commoniveallh^ and 
 atheistsin the world^ dare to hold up their heads, and claim the 
 inheritance of glory by desert ? — If this argument of adoption were 
 but rightly understood in the hearty as well as \^^t,head ; the pride 
 of man, which inspires him with high notions of his own will and 
 powers, with the wild farrago of opinions issuing from those no^ 
 tions, would tumble, like Dagon before the ark, and be broken 
 into ruins. 
 
 " But Aoware God's people adopted by him ; when he is im- 
 maculately holy, and they are altogether defiled by sin ?" — This is 
 an important question ; and the answer, which God's word affords 
 us, is no less complete than delightful. 
 
 The Apostle tells us, that we are chosen in Christy that God 
 hath predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus 
 Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will, tv> 
 the praise of the glory of his grace, &c, Eph. i. 5, 6. and thai 
 Gcd sent forth his Son made of a woman, made under the law, 
 lO redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive 
 the adoption of sons. Gal. iv. 4, 5. God sent his Son in h-"nan 
 nature to redeeiii us first, and then to give the right of adoption 
 to us. To them, that received him, gave he power [Marg. right, 
 ov privilege,'] to become the sons of God. John i. 12. As, ameng; 
 men, they were to be made free, before they could be positively 
 and effectually adopted; so we are first delivered from bondage^ 
 before we can receive or lay claim to the privilege of spiritual 
 adoption. We are, therefore, partakers of this adoption through 
 Christ ; and we can enjoy it only in him : Consequently, we must 
 first be in him, before v/e can A-now our adoption, or possess it. 
 He is the great Son, the great iwa or -First-born ;* and we are 
 
 * In a former note [p. 44.] the doctrine of the -1133 or frst-bom, was briefs 
 iy considered : And it was shewn to belong to Christ, and to his members 
 through Him. He is also, respecting his Imman nature, the n^B'XI, the head^ 
 the beginning, and the onwa n*'i:'Ni the chief, ovjirst of the Jirst-fruits, for 
 the sake of his people, unto God : But as to his dh'ine nature, he hath no 
 beginning, and tlieretore cannot be the first or chief of any creatures, be- 
 cause this would express a relation or comparison, which cannot obtain be- 
 tween infinite and finite, or Jehovah the incommunicable and dependent be- 
 ings. Regarding Christ's humanity, he may be called the primmt inter pares 
 witli relation to his people, a^ indeed he is their '-'';'; r«cc: Volume i. r.ote.'} 
 
 VOT. IT. A a 
 
iU SPIRIT OV ADOPTION. 
 
 *o?2s and ^r.st'born too in him, according lothc declaration giver* 
 to Israel, Exod. iv. 22. And therefore it is, that we inherit all 
 the rights, honors, and privileges of the Jirst-born and become 
 joint-heirs with Christ. lie is also, in another view, the First' 
 
 ihcir fellow, and one, though the pnncifial one, of them ; Kutiii his divinit}', 
 he is above every name, the n"");!; of Jehov.ah hiniscltj and therefore neces- 
 !*arily the srlf-cxistent and iiico< ct-ivable Jehovah too, the cause of all things, 
 and conscq'ieiitly neither 07ie noi* the^A'rs* of those things. The primogeni- 
 ture and the blessing are ahnost convertible terms ; and some authors have 
 observed the same of tlie two i"oots, 133 and ^nj, from which those terms 
 arc derived. We had forfeited, like Esau our bvth-right and the blessing i 
 and therefore (Jhrist became n Jirst-born, and suffered for his people, that 
 they might partake of /«'« birth -right and its attendant blessing : And thus 
 thev ai'e first-boim, AS being members 0/ and ?« Ilim. They are, therefore, 
 considered, by the Scripture, as all one in Christ Jesus ; and he is considereil 
 as their head. And this unity, which subsists between Christ and his €hurcb, 
 is as much insisted upon,, peviiapfs, as any one truth in the Bible; and possi- 
 bly for the purpose of explaining to his people, that without Him, they are 
 nothing, and can do nothing. 
 
 From the corruption of this doctrine o{ Xhefr^t-born, it is very probable, 
 that the Heathen round about Israel (for this corruption doth not seem to 
 have obtained much farther) oflfei-ed to J\Toloch the sidi, or king of the mate- 
 rial heavens, their Jirst-born for their tra7iigressio7i, thefndt of their body for the 
 sin of their soiil. jNIicah. vi. 7. 
 
 As the frst-born belonged to the Lord tinder the law, in tj-pe of his spi- 
 ritual frst-boim in (,'hrist ; so the />s^^i'?«7.? also were to be offered to him, 
 as peculiarly his own. In Lav. ii. 12. ^c. the manner of this oblation is pre- 
 scribed, and hath an immediate reference to the subject of this essay. The 
 first-fruits in this place typify both believers themselves, and thafirst-friuts cf 
 the Spirit in believers, as Ids earnest bestowed upon them, in testimony of 
 then- adoption to the primog-eniture. Tlius they are Q'niaa frst-born and 
 f I'st''' •id's hy being members, in the 7f?«7i/ abovementioned, of Christ th? 
 great 1133 the frst-born, who is (according to the Apostle) the frst-f nuts of 
 tiiem that slept : And they .ire to ofler up thefrst of their fir st-f'ridts, their first 
 affections, and principal services imto Gqd. — The f.rst-fnnts under the law 
 vera not to be a burnt sacrifice ibr atonement, but matters of oblation and 
 thanksgiving; so the fridts of the Spirit in his people are not to be preferred 
 as means of atonem.ent or reconciliation, but only as duties of devotion .and 
 praise. l"he m3TN or memorial only was to be burnt by the priest before 
 the Lord for an nrN, 9. fire -offer iv.g, or offering for atonement: And thus 
 Christ, who is his people's viemorial and representative before God, offered 
 tip himself (^bc'in^ both priest and sacrifice) for the sole propitiation of their 
 sins. These first-fruits under the law were also particularly enjoined to be 
 presented, after they had been seasoned with salt, called the salt of the cove- 
 ra/;< of the Aiehim ; .and no oflci-ing would be .accepted without it. HoW 
 ibrcibly doth this descril>e, that nothing can be acceptable to God even 
 from his people, but through the eternal Spirit, who is that salt and seal of 
 ■Ihat immutable covenant, which the divine Pcr.'ions entered into for the rc- 
 dem]5tion and adoption, of the first-bom ? Thus God's people are to haxg 
 valtin tltemsclves; because as s.ilt is the appointed emblem of preservation 
 iind incorruptibility.they are preserved to an incorruptible life by tliis Spirit, 
 and are privileged to present them.selves, as a. living sacrifice of first-fruits 
 tlu-ough his di^■lne power, as children of the coven.ant and adoption, and as heirs 
 
 of the Kingdom hi Christ Jesus. Oil also and/rowWjjfCTise Were to be put 
 
 upon the olfering: And these :u'e emblems of the Spirii's grace of JIoltTiess 
 andpraycr or praise, with which all the redeemed are to offer up themselves 
 and their services before God. This oil and frankincense accompanied the 
 mcmoriul itself: And so the Spirit of thchovii -zvcs upon Jesus, who was holv. 
 
SPIRIT OF ADOPTIONS i93 
 
 Jrult unto God for us ; and toe in hint are also to God the Jimt- 
 fruits of Ilia creatures. He is the Jirst-born among manij hre^ 
 ihren ; and those brethren are all first-born in him, their com- 
 mon inseparable head. He is the Ajr«i^;^ij ihefirst-Jruits, 1 Con 
 XV. 20. and the Ap^t], the beginning or chief, the first-born from 
 the dead, Col. i. 18. or (according to the same titles in the Old 
 Testament) the h^b'K"), the begimzing, head, first-fruits, &c. of all ; 
 the n't?Ni chief, head, oj Jehovah's way of salvation, Prov. viii. 
 22. of whom God said, / ivill make kirn the mrj, the firat-borv.^ 
 higher than the kings of the earth. Ps. Ixxxix. 27. And we, his 
 redeemed, being his brethren, nay, members of his body, of his 
 flesh, and of his bones, are privileged to enjoy all his inheritance 
 in him, and are thus (according to the promise) made princes bij 
 him in all the earth ; i. e. from every part of the earth are called 
 to this adoption. Ps. xlv. 16. Thus, it appears, we are adopted 
 in Christ, and because we are his members ; not in ourselves, in- 
 dividually or separately from bim. We were slaves, and could 
 not be adopted till we were made free ; and we had neither wealth 
 nor strength of our own to purchase or procure our freedom. 
 He paid our rausom, by becoming one of us, by suffering for us.. 
 
 harmless, vndejiled, and who offered up prayers and sitppUcations tvith strong 
 crtfinff and tears for the salvation of his people. — O reader, what a fund of 
 instructiou dotli all this mystery of godliness contain for thy soul ! JMeditaie 
 according' to the precept. Josh. i. 8. upon the purpose of this latv, day and 
 7nght : and then thy way indeed sha'I be prosperous, and thou thyself shalt have 
 good su-ccess, or true understanding. 
 
 Though it may add to the great length of this note, the subject of which 
 would not be exhausted in a volume, it may not be imacceptuble to some 
 readers to annex an idea of llie ti-uly learned and excellent Archbishop Usher 
 on this interesting mattei'. " At the time of tlie passover, Christ our pass- 
 over was slain for us, and the whole sabbath following he rested in the gl•a^•e. 
 The next day after that sabbath, the "vsy (Lev. xxiii. 10. 11.) or sheaf of 
 the frst-fridts of the frst (or barley) harvest, v.'as offered unto God : And 
 Christ rose from the dead, and became the Jirst-frvits of them that slept ,- 
 mujiy bodies of the saints that slept, arising likewise after him. From thence 
 was the account taken of the seven sabbaths .and upon the ?norj'ow after the 
 seventh sabbath (which was our Lord's day) v/as celebrated the feast of 
 weeks [Lev. xxiii. 15 — 17. Numb, xxviii, 26. Exod. xxxiv. 22.] the day of the 
 first-fruits of the second (or wheat) harvest; upon which day tlie Apostles 
 having themselves received the first-fruits of the Spirit, begat 3000 souls 
 Tjith the word of truth, and presented them as the first-f nuts of the Christian 
 Church unto God and unto the Lamb. And from that time forwai-d doth 
 Waldensis note [Thorn. Walde7is. Doctrinal Tom.iii. tit. 16. c. 140.] that the 
 Lord's day was observed in the Christian church in the place of the sabbath -■ 
 Qida inter legalia (saith he) tunc sublatasabbati custodiafuituman,pIamimeat 
 tuncintrdsse Dominicam loco ejus sicut baptisma statim loco circumcisionis. .Id- 
 hue enim superstes erat Sanctus Johannes qui diceret ,■ et fui in Spiritu die Do- 
 minica, v^/>oc. i. citm de Domiincd die ante Christi Resurrectionem nulla pror- 
 sus mentio haberetur. Sed statim post missionem Spiritus Sancti, lege novafd^ 
 gente, in humano cultu siiblatian est Sdbbatum ,- et dies fiominicx resurrectionis 
 clarescebat Dominicd." See Archbishop Usher's Life and Letters. Lett, 205. 
 
196 SPIRIT OF ADOPTION. 
 
 and by payin?;: down the full tale which God's righteous justicdve- 
 quircd : to which the Apostle Peter alludes ; Ye loere not redeem^ 
 ed ivith comifHibLe things, as silver and gold — but rjith the fire- 
 clous blood oj Christ. 1 Pet. i. 13. Hence, we are said to be, 
 710/ our own, because we are bought with a firice ; and are now 
 become so much a part of our gracious head, that if men perse- 
 cute MS or do us good, they do it to him (Acts ix. 4. Luke x. 16.)> 
 and that we are all one in him, and he in us. John xvli. 21. All 
 his estate is ours; and whatever he gained in our nature by being 
 a son made of a woman, and a Jirst-born ; he gained it for those, 
 who by a living faith are united to him. This is, and to eternity 
 will be found, an immense inheritance. God, by his ApostlCj 
 liath given us a kind of sum total, because the particulars of it 
 are innumerable. Jill things are youm : whether Paul, or ApoU 
 losj or Cephas, [all ministers and Church-ordinancesl, or the 
 Vforld, or life, or death, or things present, or things to comes all 
 are yours : and ye are Christ's ; and Christ is God's. 1 Cor. iii. 
 21 — 23. — Look, Christian, if any thing, which thou canst want, 
 is left out here ; or see, if thou canst add any thing to the sura I 
 This is what we are adopted to; and this is the way of our 
 adoption, namely, in Christ Jesus the living Way. But we are 
 to be brought into this way ; we are to be grafted into Christ ; 
 Ave are to be made alive in him : AH of them terms, expressive 
 of our inherent \yeakness and incapacity, and of the exercise of 
 some external power. The viry term ado/ition not only implies 
 our for ?}ier aliejiation (for no true and natural son could be adop- 
 ted, nor any who possessed an hereditary right to an inheritance,) 
 but also that we are the mere subjects and not in any sense the 
 authors of it. The adoption must entirely depend upon the will 
 of the adopter. The scriptui-e hath not left us in darkness here. 
 God never appoints an end, but he always provides the means. 
 As we are the first-fruits in Christ, we are to have also the first- 
 fruits of the Spirit, Rom. viii. 23. and because we are sons, and 
 first'born, God hath se7it forth the S/iirit of his Son into out- 
 hearts, crying, jlbba, Father: Wherefore, we are no more ser- 
 vants, but sons ; and if sons, then heirs qf God through Christ. 
 Gal. iv. 6, 7. We are brought therefore into this state, or born 
 again, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, tior of the will 
 of man, but of God. John i. 13. By this Spirit of Adoption it is, 
 that we can call freely upon God, claim to be his sons, style him 
 our Father, our tender Father [Abba], and plead all the benefits 
 of our adoption. Wc can ask for Heaven itself, without fear of 
 
SPIRIT OF ADOPTION. 197 
 
 asking too much ; because v/e ask for our own, and now our own 
 Just inheritance. As heirs, we can stand upon our heirship, and 
 need fear nothing but the living below it. 
 
 We have here the 7neans of our adoption before us, viz. Christ 
 and the Spirit : And are not the means adequate to the end ? — If 
 these two agents be divine ; if they be Jehovah himself; they 
 certainly are equal to the task undertaken by t!^em. But, if they 
 be, in any sense or in any nature, inferior to Jehovah ; then un- 
 doubtedly they are not ; and we shall build upon creatures, nay 
 upon sinful creatures, because they undertake to do, and claim 
 the glory of doing, what is the peculiar alone of the Almighty. 
 
 That Christ is not, respecting his divine nature, inferior to Je- 
 hovah, but Jihovah himself has been proved in the former vo- 
 lume; and, therefore, he is equal, in all points, to the agency, 
 which was undertaken by him. That the Hjiirit also is Jehovah^ 
 or 2i person in Jehovah^ seems to have been cleared in some pre- 
 ceding essays of this volume, and will be further manifest, if we 
 consider the gracious character, which he hath assumed, under 
 this title of The S/iirit of Adoption. 
 
 Among men, nobody could force a person to adopt another ; 
 but it was also an act of the freest choice and liberality ; nor could 
 any one be adopted to inherit an estate, 720^ beloiiging to the adop- 
 ter himseif. So, in the spiritual adoption^ it is an act of sovereign 
 grace arid mercy ; and the inheritance, consequent upon it, which 
 is Heaven and Glory, is the jidofiter's own property, and is grant- 
 ed as such to every adopted child. If therefore the Spirit be, ac- 
 cording to his name, the Spirit of Adoption, and brings into the 
 I>eavenlv family any worms of earth, who were aliens to it, con- 
 stituting them, by that act, the very children of God ; it will fol- 
 low irresistibly that the Spirit himself is God, or he gives what 
 he hath no right to give, and therefore Avould be erroneously 
 styled, for this purpose, the Spirit of Adoption. But as this last 
 is impossible, because it would overthrow the truth of the Bible ; 
 it follows, that the Spirit is the omnipotent Jehovah, who bestows 
 the grace of adoption, in order to convey the inheritance of glo- 
 ry, which glory is his oivn, and therefore freely given by him to 
 whomsoever he pleaseth. Were the Spirit not the everlasting 
 and true God ; how could his adoption make the redeemed the 
 children of God ? He could not confer that title, nor bear witness 
 to the truth of it in their souls, unless the title God v/^ere his own 
 just title. His adoption otherwise might make them indeed the 
 • bildren ©fa creature^ according to his own rank aod eminence; 
 
19S SPIRIT OF ADOPTION. 
 
 but they could not be made by such adoption the children of the 
 Highest. But we read of no angelic adoption, no adoption of 
 creatures by creatures for glory, nor of any adoption for the king- 
 dom of Heaven established by any one inferior to the King cf 
 Heaven : And, therefore, the Holy Sfiirit, being this S/tirit of 
 jidofition, whereby the redecmedcry^jibba, Father j is necessarily 
 and incontrovertibly, from the word of truth and from the fairest 
 and most obvious deduction, true and very God. Here then we 
 see with what delightful propriety it is said, that as many as are led 
 by the Spirit of God, they are the Sons of God ; and that the Spirit 
 ztself beareth witness ivith our sfiirit^ that we are the Children of 
 God) and if children then Heirs, heirs of God^ anrf joint Heirs with 
 Christ. We sec also another glorious and comfortable truth ; 
 that it was God the Father, who /iredestinated us zinto the adofi- 
 cion of children by Jesus Christ to himself ; Eph. i. 5. that it was 
 God the Son, who was 7nade of a woman, made under the law, to 
 vedeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the 
 tzdofition of Sons ; Gal. iv. 4. and that it is God the Spirit, by 
 whose leading, or forming, we are the Sons of God, and by whom 
 five cry, Abba, Father. Rom. viii. 15. The whole Trinity con- 
 curs in bestowing this blessing of adoption ; because it is the re- 
 sult of a covenant entered into between the divine persons from 
 before all worlds, and therefore both in prospect and retrospect 
 perfectly everlasting. 
 
 The last cited text furnishes another invincible argument for 
 the Holy Sfiirit's divinity. He not only gives a title to, but makes 
 us fit for the enjoyment of the inheritance. The words of an ex- 
 cellent friend have furnished the following valuable hints upon 
 the subject of this essay. '' When an human adopter has raised 
 " a poor beggar, he may enrich him with a princely fortune ; but 
 •' he cannot give him the temper and affection of a dutiful child. 
 " The adopted may prove ungrateful ; He may abuse the favor, 
 <• and be worse for the adoption. But it is quite otherwise, when 
 " God gives his Sfiirit. He, at the same time, creates spiritual 
 "life in the adopted son, unites him by his Almighty power to 
 " 7t'.swa,'and thereby enables him to live by faith in and upon Jesus, 
 " through whom he knows and finds the father's love. Thus he 
 " forms the son for the family. He lives, as Christ does ; has the 
 " mind of Christ ; judges of things as Christ does ; has the same 
 "affections as Christ, I John v. 1, 2, 3. has the same relations 
 " with Christ, John xvii. 21, &c. has the same inheritance, Rom. 
 f( viii. 17, and for the same duration, Horn. vi. 33. In this yiew, 
 
SPIRIT OF ADOPTION. 199 
 
 ^' the Spirit of Adoption bestows the highest dignity, which a crea^ 
 « ture can possibly receive-^-united by one S/iirit to Immanuel) 
 « and in him united to the Father^ and thereby capable of enjoy- 
 « ing the greatest happiness, of which any creature can possibly 
 "partake, even to be a partaker of the divine nature" — Can the 
 agent, who effecteth all this grace for such consummate glory, 
 be any other than Jehovah ? Could a creature prepare for and 
 bestow crowns and kingdoms in Heaven ? Is it possible for 
 any being, less than the supreme, not only to give a right to en- 
 joy Heaven, but to change the heart, renew the spirit, and to qua^' 
 lify the believer for Heaven ? Yet the Sfiirit of Adoption hath this 
 office to perform ; an office as much beyond the power of the 
 creatures, as it is beyond the strength of a mite to move a world. 
 It is a nev) creation.^ and consequently the work of an Almighty 
 Creator ; a restoration to the image of Oody which God only could 
 form at first, and reform v/hen defaced. It is, therefore, said, that 
 God did predestinate his people (o be conformed to the image of 
 his Son / and then it is added, that such He also called, zndjusti- 
 fed, and glorifed } all which is effected by the internal opei"ation 
 of the Divine Spirit. The fallen Angels, who are great in power 
 and might, cannot recover themselves ; nor can all the unfallen 
 spirits round the throne, blot out one sin, convert one soul, or 
 confer one grace, upon this polluted globe. The good, that is 
 done upon earth, Jehovah doeth himself ; and certainly, then, that 
 Holy Spirit can be no other than Jehovah, who doeth the greatest 
 good, which ever can be done upon it, in leading souls by his 
 grace to eternal salvation. 
 
 Thus it appears, that the great spiritual Adopter, or Spirit of 
 Adoption^ is an almighty, free, and sovereign Agent ; that, accor- 
 dingly, he bestoweth his Adoption, on whom He 'will, his will be» 
 ingly agreeable to the covenant of grace which was framed by 
 himself and the other divine persons ; that those, whom he adopts, 
 have his influence upon their souls, renewing, guiding, and inspi- 
 ring them to call upon God as their Father ; that they, therefore, 
 are led in this way from the love of sin to a thirst after more and 
 more righteousness, as an earnest of their inheritance ; and that, 
 finally, they are brought, by the same Spirit, to the full enjoy- 
 ment of that inheritance in his everlasting kingdom, where they 
 reign triumphant kings and holy priests in unutterable glory. 
 From this view, we may perceive, that God the Spirit's Adoption 
 is not a matter of hypothesis or speculation, but of life, reality, 
 and power ; and that they, who arc blessed with it are privileged 
 
JOO SPIRIT OF ADOPTION. 
 
 even here, in some degree, to know it, to feel it, and enjoy it. An 
 unknown earnest could be no earnest at all, and can answer no 
 end lor which any earnest could be given, namely, the assurance 
 or testimony of a./M/;zirf inheritance. A sfieculative earnest (ad- 
 mitting tliere could be any sense in the term) would be much the 
 same ; for whatever floats only in the fancy, without renewing the 
 soul, may indeed be finely fanciful and extremely curious, and so 
 are many romances ; but it could have no effect, but what roman- 
 ces have — corrupt and puff up the mind and render the man not 
 one tittle the better for it. On the contrary, God's S/iirit fills the 
 soul, at times, with the sense and impression of his adoption, 
 makes the man alive to God, serious, devout, and thankful, gives 
 him a taste of Heaven in his affections, opens the evidence and 
 truth of his own word to the mind, and yields him that faith and 
 hope of glory, by which he hates sin, overcomes the world, and at 
 last is a conqueror and more than a conqueror over Hell and death 
 itself. Now as Christians are men like others, endued with the 
 same senses and appetites, carrying the same corrupt hearts and 
 affections, and naturally loving ease, and pleasure, and honor, and 
 riches, like all the rest of the world : Can it be a mere notion or 
 idea, which enables them, in ar.y degree, to turn from these things, 
 to consider them as lying' vanities^ tojdesire that these inbred 
 corruptions should be subdued, to deny the flesh and its lusts, 
 and to pant for (what will crucify them entirely; the enjoyment of 
 a spiritual good beyond the reach of all animal gratification ? Is 
 it a mere whim, a fond chimera, by which they rise and have risen 
 superior to the world, and long for tlie presence of Christ and the 
 communion of his Sjiiric ?~Surely, there must be something 
 more in the case, strengthened as it is by a wonderful uniformity 
 of this principle in all ages, against the current maxiins and sen- 
 timents of the world : And it might seem a matter of surprise 
 (\yere the reason unknown,) that our inquisitive phiiosopners, 
 ■who compass the woiid in search of plants and butterflies ; our 
 acute naturalists and chemists, who attempt to dive into the depths 
 of nature ; and our enlarged astronomers, who are for measuring 
 end exi>loring worlds upon worlds; that all these knowing and 
 ingenious people never enter into a due investigation of this far 
 more interesting phenomenon in that little great world, called 
 man. Till this be done, it is absurd and unworthy of them, as 
 men of science, to call it by an ill name^ and so get rid of the mat- 
 ter I)y writing c/it/runiasm upon the back of it. The refuge of 
 ignorance in occult qualiae.i has been so much and so justly ex« 
 
SPIRIT OF ADOPTION. 201 
 
 plodedj that it is rather extraordinary that philosophers, at this 
 time of day, can venture to contradict their own principle, by 
 making use of it. For if they be asked, ivhat this enthusiasm is, 
 which has been so long exemplified in prophets, apostles, martyrs, 
 and believers in every age, they are generally honest enough to 
 confess, that they nc\tTfelt or exfierienced or knetv this strange 
 thing, this occult quality, in themselves. Will they term it mad' 
 ness ? Madness is a deviation from all rule: And if we prove 
 what they venture to call enthusiasm to be strictly agreeable to 
 the ride of God in his word ; what must that principle be called 
 (let it be adorned with the name of reason or any other fine titie) 
 which not only deviates from this perfect rule, but dares to op- 
 pose and contradict it ? Either the rule revealed is 720 rule ; or 
 theirs is the madness, who wander from it. And if we ask, how- 
 it can possibly be rational hi these great masters of reason to call 
 by any name a subject, with the properties of which they are con- 
 fessedly unacquainted, and whether, without ground, they may not 
 sooner impose a wrong name than a right : their ratiocination is, 
 to justify themselves by holding up their knowledge in other 
 things, and bearing us down with them. But is this more correct 
 than the conduct of Phidias's cobler, who, because he knew how 
 to cover a man's foot, would presume to know the anatomical 
 structure of a man himself? — We will only add, that it may be 
 honest for a person to coT\fcss what he doth not know, though not 
 quite so wise to condemn it : And, therefore, Phidias's proverb 
 may be applied to these reasoncrs, and to reason itself%upon spi» 
 ritual things — ne sutor ultra crefiidam. When it pleases God to 
 impart the knowledge of his truth, as in mercy he hath sometimes 
 done, to the great and learned of this world : they first feel that 
 they must become fools in order to be wise ; and they soon after 
 know, that the wisdom and grace of God are not to be called by 
 hard and opprobrious names, without a very high measure of spi^ 
 ritual presumption and folly. They then perceive and are ready 
 enough to own, that, as the wisdom of this world is foolishness 
 with God, a man may reckon himself and be esteemed by the 
 world for very wise and knowing, and yet, after all, be a magnifi- 
 cent fool, or elevated madman, fond of mere tinsel, and satisfied 
 with mere sounds. 
 
 But leaving these, hath God the Spirit, O believer, been gra- 
 ciously pleased to communicate his blessed Adoiuim to thee % 
 and what ia thy language and frame ? The Psalmist will describe 
 k exactly, and with a divine pathos, which it is thy privilege like- 
 
 YOL. n, B fe 
 
202 SPIRIT OF ADOPTION. 
 
 wise to feel : " TV/mt s/iall Irc7ider unto the Lord for ail his bent- 
 Jits towards me ?" What shall I ofler to him, who hath had such//i- 
 ty, such tender love and pity, on so poor and despicable a worm as 
 
 me ? Render ! Thou like David, canst render nothing. Do, 
 
 then, as he did — receive more ; take the cufi of salvation^ that full 
 cup of grace and truth, and call ufion the name of the Lord, that 
 he may enable tliee to take still more and more from it. Thou 
 hast not grace of thine own so much as to thank him for grace 
 given ; and, therefore, he giveth more grace to grace received, 
 that thou mayest praise and bless his holy name for thy free re- 
 ception of it. O what a gracious Spirit of Adoption is this ! He 
 not only confers a blessing, but suffers it not to be lost upon us, 
 nor sunk iato the corruption and unthankfulness of our nature : 
 He works ttie praise in our hearts, which is due to him for his 
 Adoption bestowed upon our souls. Thus all " our works," eve- 
 ry thing exerted in us, and carried on by our instrumentality, " are 
 begun, continued, and ended in him." He gives both will and 
 power, defends us in ail operations, and crowns them with even- 
 tual success by his etfectual blessing. 
 
 How deeply, how inconceivably, art thou indebted to this 
 Almighty Spirit, O thou, who art one of his first-born and first' 
 fruits for glory ! Know, as much as thou mayest, of his grace j 
 taste, as much as thou canst, of hislove ; enjoy, as much as thou 
 art able, of his power ; thou mayest say more strictly than the 
 queen of Sheba said to Solomon, that not only not the half but 
 not the ten thousandth part of his wisdom and goodness hath ever 
 been told thee. And it never can be told thee. Angels pry into 
 this unsearchable love, but, still finding it unsearchable, cannot 
 express it : and when thou hast enjoyed it for myriads of ages.-. 
 and comprehended worlds after worlds of his communicable 
 glories ; thy finite faculties must yet view an infinite pro- 
 found of inefiable love, wisdom, and truth ; ever to be dived 
 into, but never to be fathomed or explored. In Heaven, thou 
 wilt see, as much as thou canst bear and enjoy ; but thou wilt not 
 see all : thy God will comprehend thee, and all the blest, with 
 happiness and splendor; while he himself can be comprehended 
 of none. 
 
 And while thou art a prisoner in the body, remember, dear 
 Christian, that thou art' an heir of God by adoption, and a co-heir 
 with Christ Jesus in love. Walk worthy of this high vocation, 
 •with which thou art called : walk, like the king's son, and not 
 like a slave of the Devil. The eyes of all arc upon thee : the 
 
SPIRIT OF ADOPTION. 20D 
 
 eye of the world, to censure thee ; the eye of Satan, to distress 
 ihee ; the eye of the Church, to be edified by thee ; the eye of 
 Angels to glorify God for thee ; the eye of Christ to intercede 
 in thy behalf; and the all-seeing eye of Jehovah, to whom thou 
 criest Abba, Father^ to protect and bless thee. Walk and speak 
 among men, as in the presence of God ;* and the presence of 
 God will be known in thy closet, and in thy soul. Say to thyself; 
 " I am adopted into Gad's family, and from being an execrable 
 " slave, am made hh freeman, his son, and his keir, I am entitled, 
 '• through my redeeming //07-rf, my friend, ?Lnd my brother, to all 
 " the privileges of grace, set forth in his declared will ; I have 
 " tasted some of these privileges, as an unperishing earnest o( nn 
 " unperishable inheritance ; and I am assured, that I shall have 
 ^^ full fiossessian in the best time, and for evern'iore. What then 
 "becomes me? Whatought such a person to do? How ought 
 
 " he to think, and sfieak, and live ? Lord ! I am ashamed of 
 
 "myself; I am covered with confusion and abasement, that Ij 
 " for whom thou hast done so much, am living and doing so little 
 " for thee ! I bow my soul before thee, in deep contrition ; and 
 '• acknowledge, with all compunction of spirit, that lam vile and 
 " ungrateful, and that, if thy mercy did not endure for ever, it 
 " could not have endured to put up with so base a worm as I, 
 " with such long suffering and grace. I own, that if thy goodness 
 " had lasted no longer than my deserts ; I should have lost thy 
 •' goodness, in the moment thou didst bestow it upon me 1 O 
 " pity my weakr.ess, which thou knewest from my birth, and 
 'f which thou understandeth better than I do myself; and suit all 
 " the vuercies of thy holy adoption, to my various occasions and 
 " thine own glory. I only know and feel, that I -ivould be ttiinc 
 " andnoKe biU thine for ever: and this sense and knowledge thy 
 " grace alone conveyed to my heart ; for by nature I never found 
 " them tiiere. Cause me therefore to live as becometh thy ^osfiel^ 
 « my o^yn happiness, and my everlasting, my unchangeable rela- 
 " tion to thee. Cause me to live more and more like one, who 
 '♦ hath a title and a hope to live, with an innu7nerable comjmny ol 
 " holy beings, with an holy Jesus, and with thee my holy and my 
 " heavenly Father, for ever and ever. O let it never be said, that 
 " my tongue and my life are at variance ; lest I conclude against 
 
 * An Heathen could say : Ulc hqutndwnx est cum hominibus tanguam Dr^ 
 andiant. " Men ought to speak with inc^n, as though God were to hear."' 
 Macrob. Sat. 1, i. c. 7. To the same purjiose. T^vtu'Jitin Ita fab'J.ant'.'.v (sc. 
 Christiani) iit qtd sciant Ihrninw^ ^-{idiV- 
 
204 SPIRIT OF FAITH. 
 
 " myself, that tho\i and I never were agreed, tliat I am not thine 
 "adopted child, but only a presumptuous pretender to an inheri- 
 « tance entirely unmeet for me. — I fall down before thy throne : 
 « O make me to be, what thou wouldest have me to be ; and let 
 « me be that to all eternity I 
 
 Whoever thou art, that canst utter this cry, take courage and 
 peace : it is the voice of the Sfiirit of Adojxtion within thee. O 
 go on, and prosper : the Lord enlighten thee, and give thee peace ; 
 give thee every earnest of his blessing, every first-fruit of his 
 glory below, and in his own time, which is the best time for thee. 
 an abundant entrance into his everlasting kingdom ! Amen. 
 
 That God should lift an holy creature 
 
 From earth to reijjn with him above, 
 Would shew, were such in human nature^ 
 
 A vast transcendency of love. 
 
 But when his grace a traitor blesses, 
 
 With the full title of an heir. 
 To his own kingdom and caresses , 
 
 O who can tell, what love is there ' 
 
 SPIRIT OF FAITH. 
 
 FAITH is supposed to have various acceptations in the word 
 of God, which may easily be reduced to one plain definition. But 
 faith, emphatically so called, or saving faith, wrought in the 
 heart by the regeneration of the Spirit of God, is what we mean 
 to treat of in this essay, and what we vmderstand to be particular- 
 ly designed for the character of its divine agent, in this title of 
 Sjiirit of Faith. 
 
 To understand with precision the terms used in scripture, we 
 ■must recur to that sacred language, in which t'ley wei e original- 
 ly deiivcred. It is held fair and just in all other books to take the 
 author's own words ; but it is of the greatest importance, in 
 reading the book of God, to sec the exactness and force with 
 which all things are expressed. 
 
 The word /af^A is derived from the root pN ainen^ which sig- 
 nifies, to fix or rest, as upon a foundation, to confide that a thing 
 is according to a representation given, ^'r??!/i/ to trust and desirCf 
 that a matter is and shall be agreeable to the promise and assu- 
 
SPIRIT OF FAITH. 205 
 
 ranee proposed concerning it. When the prayers were ended to 
 God, or the promises given from God, the ancient Church used 
 to say amen to them ; that is, we believe that these things are 
 gracious and true, and we desire their fulfihnent. The Christian 
 Church in all countries, has retained this Hebrew word for the 
 same use : and the primitive Christian Church, who spoke the 
 Greek language, employed the nearest word they had to express 
 the same idea. Ut^ii faith infers the persuasion and agreemeiit 
 of the mind and will, that a thing is to be received and desired as 
 true : and the Latin Fides is taken from two words, which nearly 
 express the sense of amen, Jiet dictum, i. e. " be it so, according 
 as it is spoken." 
 
 We see then xhdX faith regards truth, and cannot exist without 
 it, any more than a house can stand without a foundation. And 
 truth is that existing substance which agrees or is correlative with 
 the /rfffl or /ier««asfo72 of its existence, named faith. When we 
 say, a thing fs ; we mean the tiuth of its being: the belief, that 
 it is, arises from the agreement of the mind with that truth, when 
 the mind is exercised upon it. Thus he that cometh to God, must 
 believe that he is. That God exists, is the truth ; and the agree- 
 ment or persuasion of the mind is ih^ faith, which influences the 
 man to come unto God. 
 
 Truth, then, is the proper foundation of all credibility ; and 
 God's truth the only foundation of Christian credibility, ov faith. 
 There can be no foundation without ^rw^A ; and, consequently, no 
 faith without this foundation. 
 
 But the foundation must be laid ; that is, the truth must be 
 published, or faith cannot rest upon it. God, therefore, hath re- 
 vealed and published his truth, which, before his revelation of it, 
 must have hecnhidin himself diS its proper essence. 
 
 When this truth z* published, it is not absolutely essential to 
 the agreement of the mind, or to the concurrence of faith, that the 
 truth should be fully comprehended, either in the extent or in the 
 manner of its existence ; because, in such a case, the mind of a 
 man could properly believe little or nothing. We know not the 
 mode of being in any natural substances! and if full comfirehen- 
 sion wei-e essential to faith, we could not receive much of the 
 revelation of God. because we cannot explain some of its myste- 
 ries ; such, for instance, as the revealed account of God's exis- 
 tence, the doctrine of the incarnation, and some other points 
 v/hich, at least in this world, will ever be the mysteries of faith. 
 Nay, we could not brlieye much concerning our own nature- and 
 
20G SPIRIT OF FAITH. 
 
 very little indeed, or rather nothing, concerning the state of our 
 futui'e being.* 
 
 As all truth proceeds from God ; he is, and he calls himself, 
 the Truth emphatically: he is the source of all reality. What 
 therefore proceeds from him, must be true ; and thus the mat- 
 ters, which he hath declared ov dories are manifestations or reve- 
 lations of his truth ad extra, or to his people, and as such are to 
 be received by them. What is communicable (even though it 
 be not fully comprehensible) of this truth belongs to them to 
 whom he extends it. This extension, in spiritual things, is now 
 given through his written word ; as formerly (in the wisest ar- 
 rangement) it was by vocal prophecy, or other sensible communi- 
 cation. In both, however, it was only understood, as well in or- 
 der as degree, according to the will of the ^z-yer. John xvi. 12. 
 Markiv. 33. Prov. iv. 18. 
 
 Hence these manifestations or revelations, in the word, are 
 real and immoveable Truths from him, by him, and to him ; 
 and also Truths necessary and credible, for us, iviih us, and in 
 ^is. 
 
 They proceed from him, as their caz/si?; are effected by him 
 as their agent ; and tend to him as their end. 
 
 They descend for us, as grounds of our faith ; are with us, 
 for strengthening our hofie ; and remain experimentally in us, as 
 the means or earnest used for our salvation. 
 
 When we say us, we mean " all the elect people of God." In 
 this view, the Apostle says, that the house of God is the church. 
 of the living God, s-yAos "«' eS'pia/iLct which some translate, /lil' 
 lar and ground, others belter, tiie station aJid seat of the truth.-\ 
 1 Tim. iii. 15. God is the truth: and bo subordinately are the 
 
 * Dr. Jonathan Edwards, in his valuable preservative against Sociniaidsm, 
 justly observes, "That in matters of faith we must be content with Cod's 
 •' affirmation, whether we do or do not comprehend those divine truths, 
 *' which He hath revealed. Which comprehension ought to be of no regai-d 
 *' in these matters ; it being extrinsical to the true and formal reason of bc- 
 " lieving ; which is not resolved into the evidence of tlie thing [i. e. as it cx- 
 " ists in itself,] but into the cnithority uf Gad, and the truth and certainti' of 
 " his revelations." Part lii. p. 56. 
 
 f Dr. Guyse upon the place, takes the pillar and ground of the truth here to 
 mean the trtit/t of the gospel, or Christ in it. But tliis sujjposition seems to 
 destroy the present allusion of the Apostle, and is not warrranted by the 
 construction of the language. 'Tis probable, if the Apostle had written 
 in Hebrew, he would h.ave used, for the Greek words abovementioned, 
 C3)|"3Di njDN -ns, tlie column [viewing the mental sense] a7id place of all God's 
 truth among men. For this reason, the Psalmist desired, as the one thing 
 needful, fo dwell intlie house of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple. Vs. 
 xsvii. 4.— Christ is certainly the foundation ; but these words appear to 
 mean something jipon i".. 
 
SPIRIT OF FAITH. 207 
 
 -evelations from him : The Church is the column raised upon this 
 truth as upon its proper foundation, and is also the seat or filace 
 where all these revelations concentrate, and where only, as to 
 application, they will ever be found. There is no column or fiii- 
 iar which will be acknowledged out of the temple of the living 
 God ; because this temple is the only edifice upon earth which is 
 founded upon the truth of God. His testimonies are now, and 
 always were, ivithin the sanctuary, and in the tabernacle^ which 
 God pitched and not man. The Apostle alluded to the structure 
 ©f the outward temple, and of those columns in it, which bear 
 the very name oi faith in the original language, and are no unapt 
 symbols of it. For, as the material columns rested upon the rock 
 Moriaht or holy mountain j so the faith of the Church collective- 
 ly, and of every individual in it, stands upon that truth, which 
 God hath revealed in Christ, who hath framed them as a spiritual 
 temple for his glory. Eph, ii. 22. Rev. iii. 12. 
 
 From this ground of faith, and from its name^ both imparted 
 by God ; we may be able to form a just idea o^ faith itself, and 
 to consider it, as that gift of grace to the soul, by which it stands 
 upon the truth of God, for the attainment of those blessings, 
 which that truth promises and reveals. 
 
 If God hath threatened ; faith believes, that the threat shall be 
 accomplished: If he hath promised; it is persuaded also, that 
 the promise shall be fulfilled. Hence, it turns away from the 
 evil which is the ground of the threat, and appropriates the good 
 which the promise discovers. Faith credits the blessings upon 
 the foundation of God's word and promise, and claims those bles- 
 sings for its own, only because God hath engaged to bestow them. 
 As this grace of faith cannot build upon mere notions, or upon 
 any thing imperfect as to its certainty, but requires a sure foun- 
 dation ; so God hath provided this foundation in himself He 
 hath given his word, as so much communicable truth from him- 
 self, on which faith may ground itself; and thus ultimately it 
 reaches up to and rests upon God himself The word reveals 
 Christ, declares the grace of the Spirit and the love of the Fa- 
 ther, and discovers so much of their covenant-engagements for 
 sinners, as is necessary for the knowledge of their salvation. Ac- 
 cordingly, the word contains the promises of an happy and eter 
 nal life, and points out the means and manner of its attainment 
 And, as this whole world is established in the hand of a personal 
 mediator; so this mediator is frequently called the Word itselfj 
 in whom all the covenant and its promises are framed, and through 
 
208 SPIRIT Oi' FAITH. 
 
 whom they arc carried forth unto his people. Christ, therefore, 
 this mediator, hath taken also the name of truth, (Rev. iii. 14.) 
 and, as such, is become the basis or foundation of his people. 
 He was appointed to this purpose by Jehovah : And, therefore, 
 JeJiovah hath said, Behold^ I lay in Zionfor a/oundation, astoncf 
 a tried stone, a firecious corner -atone, a sure foundation : He 
 that believeth, shall ?iot 7nake haste. Isa. xxviii. 16. 
 
 From this ground of faith, we may see further into the nature 
 of faith itself. Consistent with what it proceeds from, and on 
 what it stands, faith must be certitude in respect to its object, as 
 that is certainty s and certitude also, in respect to the nature of 
 its a/i/irehcnsion, becaus'e it is a t^race arising from a divine poW" 
 er, and not the accidental impulse of a fallen creature. It takes 
 for an infallible position, that God is true, and, for a position 
 equally infallible, that his promises, or the things firomised by 
 him, are also true and real ; though the things cannot be the ob- 
 jects of iimnediate science to the mind, nor oifiresent sense to th9 
 body. Hence, we see, that faith is not o/ii«fon; because opinion 
 implies doubt : And doubt is contrary to the nature of faith, which 
 is founded upon the certainty of God in his word. Nor is it per- 
 fect ktioivledge ; because knowledge infers the firesence bv enjoy- 
 ment of a thing at some certairi time. To know Christ himself, 
 is not merely to believe in him ; but is the refection of that belief, 
 and is properly understood by the word experience in this life, 
 and the consum?nation of that belief in enjoyment hereeiher. But 
 faith is certitude respecting things, not yet seen or possessed, 
 but only doctrinally pro?nised and revealed ; Avhich is the high en- 
 comium given of it in all the examples, recited in the xi chapter 
 ©f the Epistle to the Hebrews. See Luth. on Gal. ii. 16. fol. 61. 
 
 Faith is certitude in itself; but there is as great a difference in 
 its proportions, as between the grain of mustard seed when cast 
 into the ground, and afterwards when it becomes a great tree. 
 The seed had the tree in embryo ; but the tree did not thc7i dis« 
 cover itself. So there is a distinction between faith aud the full 
 assurance* of faith ; or they would not have been distinguished 
 in scripture by different names. Faith, given to the soul, in I'e- 
 generation, is the grain, which can scarce be discerned at first 
 
 * Witsius has collected several excellent jiulgments of learned divines 
 upon this point : Perhjips none of them is more cle:>.r and pious, than the fol- 
 lowing from Perkins. JVam licet omnis fides ex natxira ami. sit persucuio tola 
 tameiiperfectaperSvaitio estjlivna & consummatajides. I'roinde debebatjides de- 
 fimri, 7ion iolnm 271 gtnciQ & gxadibus sumniis ; sed etiam varii e;'w5 gradus 
 cJ mensura declaran, ut et epd ivfimn sunt vere et recte de suo statu possi/:", 
 edoreri. Iren, c- vii. See also Spanb- Opera. Yol iii. p. 173. 
 
SPIRIT OF FAITHi .^09 
 
 by the soul itself, and still less by any body else. Fall assurance 
 is radically in that grain, and in due time may grow out of it to 
 the size of a tree ; but it cannot properly be called a tree, till it 
 be grown up to one. Their nature is one ; but the difference 
 consists in the degree. True faith may exist in the soul without 
 the height of full assurance, and trembling may catch hold of 
 the promises, as a little child doth its nurse's hand. The defect 
 is not in the fir'mcipJt' itself, because it is true and spiritual life ; 
 but in the exerciac of that principle of life in our nature, which 
 is full of weakness and frailty, not to say hostility against its very 
 being in us.* If all this were not true ; it would have been idle 
 iu the disciples to pray for the increase of fait hy or useless for 
 us, that our faith may be strengthened. Nor can we otherwise 
 understand, what the Apostle meant by the weak in faith, or 
 those distinctions of babes, ijoung men, and fathers in Christ. 
 
 In the strongest believers there may be doubts and fears ; be- 
 cause they have mortal and sinful bodies : But they do not con- 
 quer and prevail. In the weakest believers, for the same reason, 
 there are also the same doubts and fears ; but without the like 
 strength of faith to repel them. God carries these lambs in his 
 bosom, and therefore their faith doth not fail. 
 
 It seems a paradox to say, that he never believed, who never 
 doubted : But it is as real a truth as it is to say, that / had not 
 knoiiin sin, but by the law, sin and the law are not more opposites, 
 than faith and unbelief: Yet unbelief had never been known, but 
 for the grace of faith. 
 
 These distinctions are necessary to be observed, on the one 
 band, against those who (with the Papists) affirm that there is 7io 
 certitude m faith, and, on the other, in behalf of those who are op- 
 pressed, because their faith is not arisen t'o the full assurance of 
 certitude. 
 
 This full assurance is, however, to be desired and pursued, 
 as the happy privilege of every believer ; though (as it hath been 
 said) it can only be employed and exercised by those who are 
 strong. These only can^rw/y say with St. Paul, /a7« persuaded, 
 
 * " The graces of the Spirit, as they come from thehand of God that infu- 
 ses them, ai-e nothing but puren&ss ; but being- put into a heart where sin 
 dwells (which, till the body be dissolved and taken to pieces, cannot be fully 
 purged out), there they are mixed with conntpiion and dross .- And particu- 
 larly faith is mixed with unbelief, and love of earthly things, and depen- 
 dence upon the creature j if not more than God, yet togevher with him ; 
 and for this the furnace is needful, that the soul may be pm-ified ucm this 
 dross, and made more sublime an4 spiritutd iji believing." J,tighto;i. Go1». 
 on St. Peter. Ch. j,. 5, 7. 
 
 VOL, II, C C 
 
!:io bPlRlT OV FAITH. 
 
 f/:at neither death, nor life, iD'c. shall be able to separate us from 
 the love of God u-hich is in Christ Jesus ozir Lord : But the others 
 should aspire to say it ; and those who do not aspire, may very 
 ■well doubt of one thing, nvhether they be in the faith or not. 
 
 And here again to the high Gommendation of faith, it may be 
 said, with the Apostle, that it is the substance of things hofiedfor, 
 because it substantiates what is not yet enjoyed ; and the evidence 
 cf things not seen, because its own very being in the soul is ? 
 demonstration from God, that, what he hath promised, he will 
 assuredly perform.* Thus, he that belicvcth on the Son of God, 
 hath the witness in himself. 1 John v. 10. And the author of that 
 witness confirms the tesiimony : The Sjiirit itself bcareth -wit- 
 ness ivith our spirit, that ivc are the children of God. Rom 
 viii. 16. 
 
 Thus much for the A'ature and Foundation of Faith : Let us 
 >iO\v consider its Efficient Cause. 
 
 All natural men think, that they themselves can produce and 
 exercise faith, whenever they please : And they think so, because 
 tliey are natural men, not having the experience of this faith, and 
 therefore not knowing tke scriptures nor the poiuer of God. 
 
 Faith, it is true, is an act in and luith the mind, but no more an 
 act q/'the mind, ovfrom and by itself, than the gushing of the wa- 
 ters from the rock was actually wrought by the little stroke of * 
 Moses's rod, or the resurrection of Lazarus from the grave was a 
 mere act of his own. If faith were an act simply of the mind, or 
 the mere production of its natural powers ; then, perhaps, mer. 
 might believe, as they please, and •when they please. But then 
 we must presently reject the ground of faith, the Bible, which 
 most positively contradicts this opinion ; and, consequently, this 
 sort of faith, having no foundation, must sink into confusion or' 
 nothing. We must give up the notion of the self-producinp; 
 caicse of faith, if we follow the scripture, which says, that faith is 
 the gft of God : that to Christians, it is given to believe ; and that 
 no man can come unto Christ [i.e. believe on him to salvation] 
 except the Father draw him. Many other passages occur to the 
 same purport.! 
 
 •It is a tiulh, though uttered by sclioolflien, Fiikm essf (nibstantiam rentm 
 Pperendaruvi ; ipiia sitlicet prima inchoalio reriim spercndaiinn in nobis est per 
 assensum fdei, qiice virtule coritinet orntien res epcraitdas. Aquin. Sec. sec. 
 qiisest. iv. art. 1. — Certiim est enim fidem, (jux est coffiiitio (jvxdam justitia el^ 
 •virtutia Dei, esse rcidicem iinmortalitutis, gniu ex fde it.itiiirn eal. & origo *fl« 
 liitis & beatitiidinis jioslnc. Estlus in lib. !^ap '" 15 
 
 t SeeLuth (ial. iv, G i 11, 19. ii. 4 5 
 
SPIRIT OF FAITIL lill 
 
 When God comrnands to believe, he bestoxm; j\oii'cr to obey that 
 command ; for if faith be his gift., and no inherent principle (which 
 it could not be if a gift of ^-rnce,^ men cannot obey •without it. 
 So then he enjoins the action of a power only Avhere the power is 
 given. In like manner, Christ said to the Apostle St. Matthew, 
 FoUow me : But if at the same time, he had not granted him the 
 power of faith, the Apostle could not have yielded the obedience 
 of faith at one single word. The call of God is not in vain ; nor 
 doth his word return void, or without its accomplishment. 
 
 This is to be understood of God's own particular call to the 
 soul. T\\Qre is ^. general call made to the outward ears of men 
 by his ministers, and to their outward eyes by the word itself, but 
 this call is effectual^ only where seconded by the immediate grace 
 of God ; and then to all intents and purposes,' it becomes 2, parti- 
 idar call to every object of its success. The r.ill of ministers is 
 and must be general; they are to call all nations., and conse- 
 quently the rich and mighty in them : But these are rarely the ob- 
 ject of God's particular call ; for we read, that not many wise 
 men after the fleshy not many mighty., not many noble, are called. 
 Without this obvious distinction, it is impossible to reconcile or 
 understand many important tests upon this subject. 
 
 The improper consideration of this matter, and the not attend- 
 ing to these necessary distinctions, seem to have occasioned the 
 presumptuous error of the Arminians, Antinomians, Socinians, Pe- 
 lagians. Papists, Sec. who generally lay it for a foundation, " either 
 that faith exists in the mind of man, as one of its natural powers, 
 or that it can be induced and exercised by him at his will." Hence, 
 ihey all speak very slightly and superficially of faith ; and, in- 
 deed, according to their notion, it is so common an affair that i*; 
 really deserves no more notice than they take of it. They evi- 
 dently understand no more in the term faith, than what can really 
 be meant in the act of assent to a history. 
 
 The Arminians indeed do say, that it is the gift of God j* bvi-. 
 
 * Deus statuit ilUs darefidem & pcenitentiam perg>"atiam siifficientem: hoc 
 est ita dare ut illi possint accipere, per vires ipsis a Deo datas, necessarias SJ 
 mfficientes ad accipitndum. Armin. opera, p. 666. But he means that this suf- 
 ficient grace is cjmmon to every man and resident in all : so that it amounts 
 to nothing more than nattiral powers, which, to be sure, are the gift 6f God, 
 but not a special gift in the redemption of Christ. The great Du Moulin 
 hath well observed upon the concession of the Arminians, " that faith is the 
 gift of God," h(ec verba non accipiunt eo sensii, quern pr£ se fervnt. Eori/m 
 mens est fiit ipsi fateiiturj Deum dare omnibus hominibits vires credendl: A& 
 noil dare to credere, sive, actum ipsum creclendi, contra .Spostolum, qui dicit, 
 Deum dare ipsum credere. Phil. i. 29. Et Deum dare velle & perjicere. cap. 
 -": ].'>. Qiicc voces designant ipsum volcndi ■^'^ credcndi actum. San^ posfc 
 
212 SPIIUT OF FAITH 
 
 they also say, that it. wholly depends upon us, -wliether we willre-^ 
 ceive it, or act it when received. In this case, they can only 
 mean, that faith is a common gift put into the power of all men ; 
 and, therefore, not a particular grace specially conferred. This 
 is but saying, in other words, that it is at their ofition,, whether 
 faith shall be a gift or not. For, if they chuse to have it ; then it 
 exists in them only as they chuse, and so virtually they give to 
 themselves God's gift, which is absurd : But, if they chuse tore- 
 ,iect it ; then it becomes no gift at all, or it is wholly annihilated 
 •with respect to them. Either way it is a rash usurpation of God's 
 ivisdom and power to pretend to effectuate or frustrate the first 
 great object of both in tlie world, and that too by tlie puny efforts 
 of human strq;igth or pleasure. By a bold perversion, it is say- 
 ing : God works^ but man can let. It is throwing the beautiful 
 arrangement of grace and providence into confusion, introducing 
 chance into the world instead of foresight, and subjecting the 
 Creator of all things to one of the worst and most helpless of his 
 creatures. 
 
 The very notion of a ^vyi; implies, that it is a i^atter which the 
 receiver had not before^ and consequently, that it was at one time, 
 out of himself, and, at another y brought to himself 'Tis strange to 
 say, that God confersa gift upon a man, which he either could have 
 elsewhere, or already possesses '.viihin him. Upon such apian, 
 grace and nature would be one and tlie same. 
 
 But, if faith be the proper gift of (iod, and, as such, a gracious 
 r(\h not inherent in human nature : Man can derive it whoJly and 
 ♦entirely from him. And if it be a principle to be acted from, in, 
 and with his mind, respecting spiritual objects ; then his mind 
 could never have acted for those objects, r.'ithout this principle. 
 Otherwise, this new faculty of grace would be given idly or un- 
 necessarily ; which it must be blasphemous to affirm concerning 
 its giver. The life (the spiritual and active principle) I live in tha 
 flesh (said the Apostle,) that by whicli I move and exercise in the 
 body) towards the things which are above the body, J live by the 
 faith cf the Son of God, 
 
 It appears, therefore, that as a man can only possess faith by 
 the cfj/V of God ; so he can only act this faith when possessed, by 
 the/iower of God. Hence, Christ says, Without me yc can do 
 7iothing ; and the Apostle, It is God that ivorketh^ encrgizeth i7i 
 
 credere, non est fides .• Ergo, si Deus 'dat tantum vires credendi, nan dot 
 iiikm. Quomodo autem Deus dat lircs credendi in Christum, quibus Chrisfrs 
 r.oninnotuit, did non potest. Molin. Thes. p. 110 
 
SPIRIT OF FAITH. 213 
 
 ww, both io will and to do. Faith is a spiritual life, which the 
 children of God enjoy through their union Avith Christ, and are 
 enabled to employ according to the ■will of God by Christ. It is 
 not a detached principle put in them, and held by themselves ; 
 but a life conjunct with the Mediator's life, and supplied continu- 
 ally by him. 
 
 Here, then, we may conclude ; that the sole efficient cause of 
 Faith is God ; and that the exercise of this faith^ with all ofjfior- 
 f unities found for that exercise^ is induced and occasioned only 
 by the iioiver of God. 
 
 What can declare this conclusion more positively than the fol- 
 lowing words? JVe are his [God's] nvorkmanshifi^ created in 
 Christ Jesus u7ito good works, which God hath before ordained, 
 that we should walk in them. Eph. ii, 10. Believers are here 
 represented, as a spiritual creation in Christ, and not less unable 
 to effect this creation in grace, than they were to create or beget 
 themselves in nature. Nor can they obtain the end of this crea- 
 tion by themselves ; but God is stated as wholly providing and 
 praeordaining that end. 
 
 He so doeth all in them, and all for them, with respect to tli£ 
 life «nd acts of grace, that they are even his entire workmanship ; 
 they are as much so, at least, as the vessel of clay can be the 
 perfect formation of the potter's hand. In becoming the members 
 of Christ, they can do nothing without their head.* He is solely 
 the author and the finisher of their faith. 
 
 Faith, then is the gift of God. This proposition cannot be 
 denied, but by a denial of the scriptures themselves. But faith 
 is also the gift of the S/iirit. 1 Cor. xii. 9. and therefore called 
 the fruit of the S/iirit, Gal. v. 2. — Consequently, the Spirit is, 
 *ruly and properly, God. — The conclusion is equally infallible 
 with the firemises, and can only be refelled with them. 
 
 This irrefragable argument evinces the propriety of the name, 
 wliich entitles this essay. The Holy Ghost may v/ell be called 
 THE Spirit of Faith ; because, as the great agent from the 
 Godhead, he creates this divine principle of faith in the soul, 
 which is in fact sfiiritual life by another name ; and ever after 
 
 * The elder Spanheim exceilently says ; Qui enimpcr reramfidem Christum 
 apprehendlt & snumfacit. Hie Christo inserilur & fit membruvi Hlivc, adeoque 
 vi tale non tmitumjns fuibet ad satisf actionem & vierita sui capitis, sed et Spiritu 
 iUius v'.agis magii-qite rcnovatiir et gid/ernatiir, gumn absurdmn sit membrwn 
 alio prceterguam capitis r:<i spiritu L'' ivflitTv rep-i If inove.vi. Dnb. Evang'. 
 Vol, li. p, 751. — . - 
 
^Sl* SPIRIT OF FAITH 
 
 yields every support to this principle, till it arrives to lis end iu 
 the eternal fruition of God. 
 
 Upon this ground, we cannot wonder at the constant reference, 
 made in the scriptures, to the presence, power, love, and conso- 
 lation, of God the Holy Ghost. Believers are privileged, upon 
 the warrant of hif; own word, to look to him tlirough Clirist, as 
 the energy of their spiritual life, the blissful comfianion of their 
 souls, and the kind firefiarer of their hearts and of their ways to 
 the mansions above. 
 
 Nov,', their lij'ey as well as their creation, is altogether 72ew, 
 If they obey the voice of God (and him they must obey, or they 
 could not be believers,) their obedience being excited and invigo- 
 rated by this Spirit of Faiths it is called the obedience of faith. 
 Without him, they perceive, they have neither will nor power, 
 and much less the faith, to obey. It is the work of God the 
 Spirit, that they believe in Christ.^ or Mrz(iers?a«rf any thing indeed 
 of the curse of sin or their own sinfulness, as the preparation to 
 tliis belief. Itisbyhim, that they /(rraow, and, knowing, are con- 
 strained to love his holy v/ord. 'Tis truly said, that "the assent 
 t)f the mind to heavenly things, because revealed by supreme 
 truth itself, doth not so much arise from the natural conclusions 
 of reasonjasfrcm the humble subjection of the soul, tamed into obe- 
 dience, under the word of God."* All this is effected by the in- 
 ternal operation of this almighty agent. In short; It is the same 
 God, who';vorkethallin all ; or, as the Apostle reciprocates al- 
 most imm.cdiately the same phrase, all these vjorketh that one 
 and (he self-same Spirit, dividing, or distributing, to every man 
 severally as he ivilL 1 Cor. xii. 6, II. 
 
 Hence it further appears, that the obcdiefice of faith cannot 
 possibly be the condition of obtaining it ; because, without faith 
 men cannot properly obey at all. The fruit of the tree did not plant 
 the tree, nor give it life : but the fruit is produced, because 
 the tree is already planted and lives. The fact is not more real 
 in nature, tlian this principle is true in grace. 
 
 It also appears, that this obedience cannot be our justifying 
 righteousness with God: not only because it proceeds with some 
 mixture of corruption by passing through us, but because faith 
 itself, which is the ground or instrument of tiiat obedience, is en- 
 joined to embrace the righteousness of a/zor/^fr, called the right" 
 eousncss or obedience q/"o\'E, by whom mcny shall be made right' 
 ebus. Rom. v. 19. 
 
 • Wits. Misc. Vol, ;■' p. 747 
 
S)PIRIT OF FAITH. tlii 
 
 AH opinions, therefore, which tend to dignify the natural poAV- 
 ffrs of man in spiritual things, or to nullify the necessity and ope- 
 ration of divine grace in all things, are impious violations of the 
 laii) of Faith, and consequently are not less odious to God than 
 injurious to man. 
 
 As faith rests upon truth, its proper basis ; it must continue 
 there by this law of Faith. It has no motion beyond it ; but rises 
 lapwards upon it, as a house necessarily rises in its whole frame 
 from the foundation. The same terms, for the signification of 
 this doctrine, are employed in scripture. Believers are edified., 
 or built lip in their most holy faith : and they are built according 
 to rule J and this rule is the s?Lxne law of faith, which arranges 
 them as individuals, and collectively as the whole temple oi' 
 God. 
 
 Believers, therefore, are not to nvanderluio the regions of en- 
 thusiasm, but to stand fast with respect to the word as their 
 ground, and to ffrow u/iwards in the Lord by his divine power, 
 which acts according to the word. The book of God is the ^vrit- 
 ten law of faith, that document or statute which faith must reciir 
 to at all times, and which, by the power of the S/iirit of Faith 
 who gave that word, is the lively orucle of truth for this purpose. 
 But, as some men are slow to hear, as other* have different states 
 and capacities in spiritual things, and as none are without need of 
 assistance ; God hath enjoined the constant publication of this 
 word, enabled some to explain it to others, and established an unity 
 oi occasion, as well as of faith, among all his people. He makes 
 use of sensible instruments to convey spiritual blessings: and 
 his word becomes /iz^jn^- and //z'Pi'j/ in their mouths by his spirit. 
 Thus, the law of faith, by being extended to dead and enslaved 
 sinners, becomes the ^aw of liberty for their deliverance, and then 
 also the lanu of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus for their life eter- 
 nal. 
 
 From hence we see the necessity, design, and tise of an evan- 
 gelic ministry, the members of which are to make constant proc' 
 lamations according to the lait> of faith and to present it at all 
 times, to the eyes and ears of men. Faith comcth by hearing : 
 hut hoi!} shall they hear, without a preacher ? And how shall they 
 fireach, except they be sent ? Their business is to preach : and 
 it is the office of the Holy Spirit to convert, which he usually 
 doth by their preaching. Those are to be mistrusted, therefore, 
 or, rather, they ought to mistrust themselves, who cither des- 
 nisc the faithful ministers of Christ, or jiee-lect their rninislra- 
 
216 SHRIT OF FAITH. 
 
 tions. These are ordainedhy God, as means of his grace: an;! 
 those men presume to be wiacr than God, who undervalue his 
 ordinations. 
 
 When, by all these aids, the Sfiiri! of Faith hath imparted his 
 grace of faith to the soul, he doth not suffer it to remain thero 
 torpid and inactive ;* but he constantly breathes in it and works 
 upon it, that by exercise it may be strengthened, and by his 
 nourishment it may grow. So far from permitting their own fac- 
 ulties to lie rusty (as it were) and useless ; often their whole body, 
 soul, and sfiirit, are engaged by him in operation, affection, and 
 understanding: or, if not so engaged, then they appear lifeless 
 and listless, are employed to no valuable end, and usually feel all 
 this, sooner or later, with bitter experience. And yet, to shew 
 himself \n them, at times, above these faculties, that his opera- 
 tions may not be mistaken for their own ; he maketh intercession 
 for them with groanings, which cannot be uttered. Nature feels 
 his power, without the capacity to express it. 
 
 By these exercises, the soul is prepared and matured for that 
 ^XovioviS progression of faith, which is called the ///fro/jAory, or 
 full assurance, of it ; and thus attains the substance and substan- 
 tiation o/" //!£//«■«_§•« /jo^ec/ybr, libertxj o{ speech, ^nd access unto 
 God, confidence, triumph, and hope to the end. The building is 
 now raised above the ground, and tends upwards to the skies. It 
 waits only for the topstone of grace to be completed for glory. 
 
 If we now collect the wAo/t? of what hath been considered, it 
 seems fairly reducible to this plain a«d scriptural conclusion: 
 that ialthis a principle of grace awrf divine life in the soul ; that 
 it is the free and unmerited gift of Jehovah, in Christ, and bij the 
 Sfiirit ; that it enables the soul to believe whatever God hath said 
 and done, generally, as an invincible declaration qv demon stratio?! 
 of his eternal- truth ; that it appropriates, particularly, according 
 toils strength, all the promises and mercies rf God; that it 
 in the principle by which the Spirit, acts to produce hope, love, 
 joy, peace, and all his other graces in the soul ; and) lastly, t/utt 
 the Spirit, thus the author and agent of all thij supernatural 
 
 * The admirable 'jBe/^/ic confession of faith professes, crcdimusxcram hcinc 
 fidem pcrauditum verbi Dei & Spiritus sancti operatic?tein vnicuique nostr^in 
 inditam nus regerierare, atqiie vehui novos homines cfficere, ut quos ad novum 
 vitam vlvtndn/n excitet, et (i peccati servitute libevos rtddat. 'I'(mtt)m abesi 
 igitur 7i: ,fiies hxc justifcans homines a recta sanctaqtie vivendi rntia-ns 
 avocet, aut iepidioresefficicit, ut contra absque i lid nemo miquam g7iicquc->ii. 
 boni propter Deum Csed omnia vet propter sctpswu, vet ob metumjustie condcTn ■ 
 nationisj agere atque opernri possit. Fien itaque ?io?i potest, ut hxc fCsz 
 ■laneta in homne oiioxa mt. Syntagma Confess. Fid. p. 174. 
 
SPIRIT OF FAITH, Sl| 
 
 ;J0Qd, jn'ovcs himself to be true and very GoD, and the almighti 
 Jehovah, who ojily dcieth wondrous things. 
 
 In this view, (which, for its importance, we have the more 
 largely considered) fuith appears to be a mighty grace, building 
 and built upon a strong foundation. Having an omnipotent cause, 
 it is carried on also with omnipotence and fixing itself upon the 
 faithfulness, wisdom, love, and power of God, cannot possibly be 
 destroyed. It is a covenanted grace, and therefore indefectible ; 
 unless it can be supposed, that the covenant of God can be broken, 
 or the promises of it can fail. From hence it is we perceive, 
 what sura ground faith stands upon, what sure mercies it expects, 
 •what a blessed end it may certainly conternplate ! They, who 
 treat of faith, as a mere vapor of the brain, or an exertion of na- 
 tural strength, do not more dishonor God, than take away every 
 ray of comfort from the souls of men. 
 
 The ^nd of faith is a united object, and as happy as it is sub- 
 lime. Faith aims at nothing less than connecting the glory of 
 God with the final salvation of the soul. Christ, for his people, 
 hath joined these two together ; and these neither men nor devils, 
 from his people shall be able to put asunder. 
 
 Doth not this raise a cry in some solicitous heart ; Lord, I be- 
 lieve i O hdfi mine unbelief I — ^'Tis a good cry, and the cry of 
 faith. No Unconvinced sinner ever poured it forth, in deed and 
 in truth : No convinced sinner ever uttered it, without a gracious 
 aid. Lord, save ; or I /itrish ! was a word of faith, though extor- 
 ted by unbelief. Peter/d'arfc?, and therefore he c/ozifi^erf; He crierf 
 to Jesus because he believed. If he had not believed, he would 
 have perished ; and if he had not feared to perish, he would have 
 had no unbelief. He had but little faith, yet enough in Christ to 
 keep him from sinking: He felt himself just upon sinking; and 
 his little faith cried out for more help, which Christ never denied 
 to any who asked it of him. 
 
 What a gentle, though just, reproach ! O thou of little faith i 
 wherefore didst thou doubt? 
 
 Imitate Peter, thou troubled, because doubting, believer ; cry, 
 as he cried ; and the stormy sea of trial, and the furious waves of 
 the world, shall never destroy thee. Thou art walking upon this 
 sea every day of thy life : And thou wilt never enter into the ship, 
 till thou enter into Heaven. Faith and patience, like oil upon 
 the billows, shall smooth much of the boisterous turmoil without 
 thee, and often quiet thy spirit within thee through all thy course 
 f.o glory. 
 
 voL.it, D d 
 
:ii8 SPIRIT OF FAITH- 
 
 "When carnul faith (if it deserve the name) encounters thes« 
 tiials, it presently succumbs, and shews its base original. It be- 
 gan with the flesh ; and it will end there. " If the faith, that thou 
 hast, (said the gracious Archbishop Leighton) grew out of thy 
 natural heart of itself; be assured, it is but a weed. The right 
 plant of faith is always set by God's own hand ; and it is watered 
 and preserved by him because exposed to many hazards : He 
 watches it night and day. Isa. xxvii. 3. / the Lord do keeji it ; 
 I ivill nvatcr it every 7noine7it ; lest any hurt it) I will kee/i it night 
 and day." 
 
 O what comfort must this afford to the tossed and afflicted soul ! 
 What nourishment to its failb ! What encouragement to its hopes ! 
 -—•If God be for us, who can be against us ? — Who shall separate 
 us from the love of Christ ? — Shall tribulation ? Through much 
 tribulatio7t) and in despite of tribulation, ive shall enter into the 
 kingdom. — Shall distress ? We miiy be troubled on every side, 
 but 7iot distressed ; perplexed, but not in despair. — '^h^W persecu- 
 tion ? Men have no power, but of God ; and God will give them 
 none to drive us from Christ : So that, if we are persecuted, we are 
 notforsaken. — Sh^xU fa jnine ; sYlVlII nakedness ^ shallperil or sword ? 
 Nay, says the apostle, so far from it, that in all these things we are, 
 not only mere conquerors, but, more than co7iquerors through him 
 that loved us. Rom. viii. 31 — 37. This is the victory, which 
 ovcrcomeih the world even our faith. 1 John v. 4. — Why then 
 dost not thou add with the Apostle, as thou art privileged to add ; 
 I am persuaded, that neither death, 7ior life, 7ior angels, nor prin^ 
 cipalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to co7ne, nor 
 .height, nor depth, nor anij other creature, shall be able to sepai-ate 
 me, weak and worthless as I dim, from the love of God which is m 
 Christ Jesus my Lord .^ 
 
 Pray, then, for the ivcrease of faith. If faith do not grow : 
 there can be no growth in any other grace : Because this is the 
 hand which receives every thing spiritual, or the channel through 
 which all heavenly blessings flow. According to faith, so is the 
 measure of all advancement, both in true knowledge and real ex- 
 perience. A man cannot have the full assurance of understandings 
 which consists in a strong and undoubted perception of the cor- 
 respondence and relation of all heavenly truths to God and to each 
 other, without the full assurance of faith ; because out of this last, 
 and not out of the man's own head, the other proceeds ; and pro- 
 ceeds by its exercise on the word, and through the illumination 
 of the Spirit upon it. Then from th^conjunction oi faith with 
 the understandings and in the advancement of both., arises tha! 
 
SPIRIT OF FAITH. 21§ 
 
 most comfortable grace, which the apostle styles, the full assu' 
 ranee of/iofie to the end. This sort of hofie is not like that poor 
 vapid principle of the natural heart, v/hichhath nothing certain to 
 expect, and longs for distant objects as matters of mere chance ; 
 No ; it is a hope, which never yet ly.ade a man ashamed, and which, 
 grounding itself upon what faith discovers in the word concerning 
 the sureness and truth of salvation, looks out for and expects it, 
 as a great estate which it is heir to, which it shall soon enjoy, and 
 which nothing can take away from it. Thus the man's faith, zin" 
 dcrstandinff, and hofie j or, in ©ther words, faith as a divine prin- 
 ciple, acting upon the other two, and enduing them with its own 
 full persuasion, carries all the faculties of the soul and body (al- 
 lowing for their infirmities) into the sweetest communion with 
 Christ, and through him with the Spirit and the Father. The 
 whole Trinity is glorified, in one poor creature ; and, thus glori- 
 fied, elevates tliat creatui'e to a dignity, which (according to the 
 apostle) no thought can conceive. God is first glorified in him ; 
 for man of himself can give no glory to God ; and then man re- 
 flects the rays of this heavenly splendor, confessing that they all 
 came from Jehovah, and belong only to him. Like the moon, the 
 redeemed have no true light of their own ; but derive all that de- 
 serves the name from their self-existent Sun of righteousness. 
 
 The trial of faith is appointed for this end. God suffers, and 
 even ordains, that the things evil shall firove those which are good. 
 It is an evil thing, which attempts to debauch or destroy our faith : 
 And Christ calls those matters b^ the name oi offences, which are 
 to come, and must come, for the trial of this faith that it may aft" 
 hear to be 'wrought in God. But this is a precious trial, and a 
 precious end, whatever be the means which God permits and 
 which the world and the devil may use upon the occasion. These 
 are indeed evil, and intend nothing beside evil : But the Spirit of 
 Faith shews his own sovereignty in all, by establishing righteous- 
 ness itself from the very opposition of iniquity, and by constrain- 
 ing the powers of darkness to drive his people into higher degrees 
 of light and glory.. 
 
 Upon occasiens of this kind, the word of God becomes doub- 
 ly precious to the believer's heart and understanding. He looks 
 upon it as a pledge of God's faithfulness, and is happy in the 
 assurance, that Heaven and earth may pass aivaxj, but that noi 
 one tittle of this word shaliyaiY. He consults the word for infor- 
 mation and instruction, that his understanding may be found io 
 the truth ; and for comfort and support; that his hope may increase 
 
22b SPIRIT OjF FAITH- 
 
 in the truth : and he prays to the Sfiirit of Faith over his faithlul 
 word, that he may be enabled to act faith upon it, and that a full 
 persuasion of the divine truth may flow into his soul, in order 
 that he may go through his warfare, like a faithful priest and 
 soldier of Christ Jesus. Nothing endears the Bible more to a 
 Christian, than his trials; and these are made to prove, that in= 
 deed the Bible belongs to him, and that he belongs to God. — 
 Flights and fancies may amuse those, who are at ease ; but, in, 
 the great fight of affile tionn^ one plain word in God's book is 
 worth ten thousand times ten thousand of them all. They are 
 but husks and trash, which can never satisfy the soul, who hun- 
 gers and thirsts for the living God. The heart in trial doth not 
 want Tjords only, but thiiigs in the words: and no word but God's 
 can pretend to this, which hath more matter than language^ nay, 
 implies infinitely more than language can express. It is, there- 
 fore, called the word of God, not only because it proceeded /rom 
 him, but because he fills it with his power, and vses it as the 
 proper instrument for the happiness and salvation of his people. 
 
 In matters of faith and practice, the real Christian makes his 
 Y/hoIe reference and appeal to the word, and suffers no guide to 
 direct his mind, but this. A truly excellent and evangelical 
 •writer hath observed, " tliat scripture is the only rule of right and 
 wrong, and that conscience has no dircctioti but this rule. Nei- 
 ther ethics, nor metaphysics, no fancied light of dark nature, no 
 lawless law of rebel nature, no human science, whether preten- 
 ded to be implanted, or by the use of reason to be acquired, have 
 any right to guide the conscience. These arc blind leaders of the 
 blind. Thpy undertake, what they arc not only unfit, but what 
 they have no warrant for."*— Nothing needs to be added to this, 
 but the exhortation of the Apostle, upon another occasion ; that 
 Christians should hold fast the faithful rjord as they have bee?:, 
 (aughty that they may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and 
 to convince the goinsayers. Tit. i. 9. 
 
 And if men are exhorted to hold fast the faithful word ; shall 
 v/e suppose, that the God of all faithfulness will not hold fast his 
 avri v/ord ? Can we imagine, that he, who restores men from 
 death unto life, and who hath promised that this life is and shall 
 be eternal, will disappoint his own purpose, and break his own 
 promise, by suffering that lite to be tcvifiorafy only, or by per- 
 mitting any wretched creatures to controul his will ? What can 
 be a more horrid or blasphernous position than tlus, against the 
 
 - Walk of Faith. Vol. i, p 40. 
 
SPIRIT OP FAITH. 221 
 
 very power, honor and truth of God ? — Blessed be his holy narae^ 
 he doth not cure like a Paracelsus, to make the relapse worse 
 than the disease ; but he heals all diseases of sin, and prevents all 
 relapses to ruin. He is faithful, that hath firomised ; is a word 
 for a Chri^ian's heart, which will administer more comfort, even 
 in the time of his trial, than the contrary tenet possibly can to its 
 espousers, in the moments of their greatest ease. Our God is 
 ^ Rock ; and his Ivor k must he. fierfect ; and surely then the 
 works of his grace, so much more costly and sublime, as they 
 are, than all his works of nature, can never be uncertain or in- 
 complete. 
 
 Come then, humble Christian ; while others contend for doubt' 
 ing (a poor prize, not worth their pain !) do thou pray and intreat 
 for the firmest acts of 6 eZzV-vm^". In this way, thou wilt be ena= 
 bled to glorify God ; and, in this course, he will, one day, glori- 
 fy thee. Faith is the death of sin, as well as the life of righteous- 
 ness. Faith makes a treasure of God's word, and treasures up, 
 as the choicest jewels, the exceeding great and fire clous promis- 
 es found therein. Faith lifts up the soul above the busy bustling 
 troubles of a thorny world, or wafts it over a sea of cares with 
 safety to the haven of bliss. Faith leads the spirit of a man to 
 communion with Christ, and, through him, to an access ivith 
 confidence to the eternal Three. In a word ; faith teaches, puri^ 
 fies, and comforts the heart living and dying ; inspires it with a 
 holy longing for unalterable bliss ; and, at length, dissolves into 
 Jove when the believer is arrived in that place, where he will be 
 found to the praise, and honor, and glory of his God, without in- 
 terruption and without end. 
 
 Lastly: contemplate the triumphs of faith, and pray, that, ac- 
 cording to the occasion, these triumphs may be thine. What a 
 golden legend, indeed, is the eleventh chapter to the Hebrews I 
 Wlvat a noble army of martyrs, and other confessors of Christ, 
 may be found there, and in ancient ecclesiastical histories ! Fil- 
 led with this Spirit of Faith, they despised all the malice of men, 
 i\nd looked down upon their cruel tormentors, with contempt for 
 their rage, and with pity for their souls. One cannot read those 
 magnanimous words of Lactantius, without being moved. " With 
 God before our eyes, with God in our hearts, we can triumph by 
 iiis aid over all the torments which men can inflict upon our 
 bodies. At those times of trial, we are able to think of nothing 
 else, but th^ blessings of the life immortal. Though torn m 
 pieccsj or consuming in the fire, we are assisted to sustain, with» 
 
222 SPIRIT OF FAITH. 
 
 ©ut difficulty, whatever the madness of tyranny can contrive to 
 lay upon us. Nor do we meet death itself with regret or fear, 
 but court it freely and with joy; knowing what glory is just 
 ready to be put upon us, and that we arc only hastening to enjoy 
 the promises."* This was not an empty boast, uttered when no 
 danger was near, but professed about the time of one of the bit- 
 terest and most severe persecutions, which ever tried the Church 
 of God. 
 
 "Tis not probable, believer, that thou shouldst be called to this 
 sort of trial for thy faith : but, if thou wert, the same God, who 
 filled thine ancient brethren with courage and joy, could give thee 
 the same triumph in the end. There is, however, one trial, which 
 thou and all men must in a very short time endure. The horn* 
 und trial of death is near to thee, and far from nobody in the 
 vorld. Thou art graciously privileged to triumph over the last^ 
 as well as other enemies of thy soul. Victory over death is the in- 
 lalliblc blessing to every believer ; and sometimes transport in 
 death. He will ere long open his eyes and mouth in Heaven, 
 though disease may have stopped them below. And can that be 
 death, which ends in life? Can that be an evil which lasts for a 
 moment, and then conducts to everlasting good ? — Who can read, 
 Avithout encouragement, the noble confession of the gracious 
 Rivet, just before his translation lo glory ? " Lord, come and 
 " receive me — I long for thee, O my God I My soul looketh for 
 *' thee, as the parched earth for moisture. Come, Lord ; come, 
 -<' Jesus ; take me into thy bosom. I am ready whensoever it 
 « shall please thee. — I long for his coming; yet do I not fretmy- 
 " self. Through the help of God, I ara not troubled. I wait; I 
 « believe ; I persevere. Though he delay my joy, yet I am in 
 « my way ; and the sense of his favor grows in me every moment. 
 '' My pain is sufferable ; and my joy is beyond value. I have no 
 *•' more earthly cares, nor any desires, but of the things that are 
 " above." Then laying his hand upon his breast, he added ; " Here 
 " is inward joy, by the spirit of God dwelling in me. What am 
 " I, O gracious God, that thou deignest to dwell under my poor 
 « roof? It is thy will, O Lord ; and it is mine also. Let thy 
 « good spirit dwell in me to the end !'■ Some of his very last 
 words were ; " I am going to tjour God, my friends, and to mtj 
 
 « God. We have gained all : Amen :" Doubtless, one of 
 
 his first words, soon after these, was Hallelujah ! — Reader; pray 
 that it may also be thine ! 
 
 ^ Inst. Epit. Sec. 8. 
 
LAW'. i2r. 
 
 LAW 
 
 WHEN man fell from God, the world, which was made for 
 him, was thrown into disorder ; and he himself, like a 'U!a7idering' 
 star removed from its proper course, began to slide from dark- 
 ness to darkness, and naturally tended onward to the blackness of 
 darkness for ever, A law had been given him, as the test of his 
 obedience, calculated both for body and mind ; and this law rc= 
 quired nothing, but what it was both his duty and his happiness to 
 ©bserve. He had a superiority over all creatures in the world, 
 which was then his pleasant though not perpetual home ; and he 
 was subject to none but to Him, who afforded him both life and 
 love, and who only claimed that from him, which he well was 
 able to pay, and in the payment of which he was to receive new 
 and new incomes of joy. All his blessedness consisted in looking 
 upwards to God ; and therefore, as a picture of the state of hi?; 
 mind, his maker gave him a sublime countenance* and an erccf: 
 posture of body. Thus while his natural eyes might easily view 
 the Heavens ; the eyes of his mind could behold Him, whom the 
 Heaven of Heavens cannot contain, but yet who vouchsafed to scf. 
 up his throne in the heart of his humble creature man. By the 
 very figure of his body was he taught, ivhere lay the fundamental 
 happiness of his soul : His face, then the true index of his mind, 
 pointed upwards and continually to God. The beasts were cre- 
 ated othei'wise ; that he might learn from their prone and down- 
 ward aspect, that they had no end beyond the earth ; and that he 
 alone was privileged, as well as enabled, to hold intercourse with 
 Heaven and the God of Heaven. And concerning the test of his 
 obedience, as an excellent man hath well observed ; « the fair 
 tree, of which he was forbidden to eat, taught him the same les- 
 son, that his happiness lay not in enjoyment of the creatures ; for 
 there was a want even in Paradise : So that the forbidden tree 
 was, in effect, the hand of all the creatures, pointing man away 
 from themselves to God for happiness. It was a sign of empti-^ 
 Tiess hung before the door of the creation, with that inscriptioHj 
 '"'' This is not your Rest "^ 
 
 * Boston's Fourfold State, p. 13. 
 
 "j" Os homini sublime dedit aehrmq. videre 
 Jussit, £^ erectos ad sidera tollere vidtus. 
 
 Ovid. Met. 1. i. f. 2. 
 Lactantius frequently dwells upon this thought, with his usual elegance 
 of expression, ii\hi? Initituu'onn ■ And Boethius In hh Cons, Phil 1. v. 
 
S|24 LAW. 
 
 When man, for his disobedience, was thrust out of this I'ara- 
 dise, he lost the instruction, which the objects existing in it were 
 created to give him, as well as the cafiacity to understand any 
 thing, but a part of his own wretchedness. He felt misery and 
 death in his body, beyond the possibility of denial, and his soul be- 
 came, as our souls are from him, exceedingly dark and ignorant 
 concerning the great objects of his being. He was not only with- 
 out the knowledge of God, but without adesire to know him. He 
 burst forth from Paradise an Outlaiv in every sense of the term : 
 liable to divine vengeance, and without title to divine mercy. In 
 this forlorn condition, without light from God, because void of all 
 spiritual ^communion with him ; he must ever have wandered 
 znd groped in mental darkness, if Jehovah himself had not deigned 
 to provide a recovery. For this end, it was necessary, that there 
 should be a manifestation of some enlightening jftw, by which the 
 divine purity might be known and man compare his own lapsed 
 and miserable condition. Accordingly an exhibition was made of 
 one ^vzxiA spiritual decree, the truth of which was to be attested 
 by several particulars that reach the animal sense of both sexes ; 
 namely, that enmity should be put between the Devil and human 
 nature, instead of their then present league, and between his ad- 
 herents and the woman's offspring ; and that, though this fallen 
 spirit might attack and distress the inferior part of the promised 
 seed called his Aec/, this promised seed by his divine power should 
 at length trample upon and bruise his head for ever. 
 
 This was the first ray of spiritual light which broke through the 
 darkness of our fallen world : And it became a ray of hope to all 
 succeeding generations. That Spirit of God, which in the first 
 creation, moved upon the face of the troubled deep, now began to 
 brood with the warmth of his love upon the troubled soul of man, 
 TAe Latu of this Spirit of Life here began to free the unhappy- 
 mind, fettered and brought into captivity to the law of sin and 
 death. It is our privilege, then, to consider, ivhat this law is in 
 its essence and effects, and what relation these bear to us. 
 
 There are many acceptations of this word Law, all of them just 
 and true, and all of them important likewise to salvation ; or, 
 ihey had never been revealed. 
 
 The word Law, as it stands in the Bible connected with spiritual 
 dhings, includes these various senses. 1. It is taken for the law 
 ■which God hath planted in the frame and constitution of the world, 
 which is preserved and conducted according to his ordinance. 
 Ps. cxix. 91.— 2. Sometimes it implies the Jiery Law delivered 
 
LAW. 225 
 
 io Moses, which, because of its extreme purity and our sinful- 
 ness, seems clothed vyith all the fire of God's vengeance. And 
 this is frequently called the moral law^ the Idler of which is in the 
 Ten Commandments. 3. The term is also used for the ceremo" 
 nial law, which was a doctriiial exemplar of the goafiel of grace. 
 4. The scriptures are sometimes called by this name, John x. 34. 
 possibly because they contain the whole revealed law and mind of 
 God. 5. ThG gospel likewise, in distinction from the law of Mo- 
 ses, is called the law of faith. Rom. iii. 27. 6. The covenant of 
 grace itself, of which every iota must be fulfilled and shall never 
 pass away, is thus named. 1 Chron. xvi. \7.etal. 7. And some- 
 times it is used personally for the Spirit of God : In which view- 
 it will be considered in this essay ; because He is the spring or 
 foundation o{ \.\\Q nvhole. 
 
 If we look at the radical sense of the original term which seems 
 to be the only true way of studying the Bible, we shall find it de- 
 rived from a root, which signifies to castor t/ironv, or s/ioot any 
 thing like a dart, and which, in the conjugation Hip/iil, means to 
 Ceach, to throw instruction upon the mind, to inject or shower dowji 
 doctrine, like the rain cast down from Heaven. The term, there- 
 fore, teaches us, that we not only need this instruction naturally, 
 but also that it can only be given us from above, or that by a supe- 
 rior agent it must be injected into our minds. And because our 
 capacities are dull in heavenly things, and our corruptions make 
 great opposition to them within ; this tuition is applied under the 
 image offeree and strong impression, and this being effected by au 
 Almighty hand, the instruction becomes a word quick and power ' 
 fu!,and sharper (or more penetrating) than any two-edged sword, 
 piercing eveyi to the dividing asunder of soul a7id spirit, and of 
 the joints and marrow, andis a discerner (or critic) of the thoughts: 
 and intefits of the heart. Heb. iv. 12. 
 
 It may also be observed, that as rain in nature descends freely 
 from the skies, this rain of instruction also comes down as freely 
 from the God of the skies. This doctrine, therefore, whether it 
 be called Law, Ordinances, Statutes, Testimoriies, Commandments, 
 or the like, means neither more nor less in its primary sense, than 
 Adivine Revelation, branched out into these various particulars 
 according to some peculiar and necessary application to the state 
 of the children of men. All these particulars were delivered, or 
 (according to the root) poured down, from Heaven by the inspi- 
 ration of God, and indeed, when collected, compose but one great 
 aggregate, arising from one great cause, and answering one 
 
 VOL. ji. E e 
 
236 LAW. 
 
 great end. This eiid is God's glory in his peoplc^s salvation i 
 And the cause we shall consider presently. Upon this plan, was 
 the first revelation of Cod thrown into the aching" bosoms of oui* 
 first parents. For this purpose, did Abraham obey Jehovah's 
 'voice, and kccfi his c/iarge, his com7nand7ncnts, his statzites, and 
 hid la-.vs, under the patriarchal dispensation. Gen. xxvi. 5. In 
 this xxew, {he 7noral and cere}}7onial /cTy, accompanied with ri(es, 
 tcremo7iiesyStaeiacs, tes(imo?tces, bzc. into which those laws were 
 distributed and disiinguished, were delivered to Moses for the 
 Jewish GEconomy. And to fulfil this great ol)ject, was the ^os- 
 yiel itself, and all its written word, delivered to man ; as the con- 
 summate revelation of God's eteinal will, mindj or law, concern- 
 ing his redempiion. 
 
 This word Law, then, in its broad and glorious sense, signific?, 
 »11 or any instruction and revelation of the mind of Jehovah ; and 
 though expressed by different names, in order to shew its diffe- 
 rent purposes, it still is in perfect harmony in all its parts, and 
 results only from one grand idea in the ?nind of God. The law 
 delivered to Moses is generally understood to be a law of deatli 
 and condemnation ; and so it truly is to every sinner out of Christ ; 
 and it was given to teach sinners that most important instruction. 
 But yet that law in itself is confessedly ho/y, Just, and good, and 
 lo every believer in Jesus, the atoner and fulfiller, ia really a 
 part or manifestation of that perfect law of liberty, v;hich open*j 
 xo him ten thousand promises, and at length introduces him to 
 glory. The matter of death is in the si>vier, not in the law ; and 
 though damnation itself arise from the pure goodness of Godj 
 Avhich cannot endure sin, it is not to be imputed to him, as the 
 cause, but to iniquity, which is averse to his being, and being 
 separated froui ii necessarily becomes miserij. This law, so far 
 from quarrelling with the gospel, w the gospel in Christ, and 
 •another branch, or appearance only, of the same unalterable and 
 holy will. The gospel could not be the gospel witiiout this pei- 
 i'ect law ; which points out the just requirements of God, on the 
 one hand, full of truth and majesty; and which, in tonj<:nction 
 with the gospel, exliibits, on the other, a complete satisfactiou 
 uf ail those requirements by one, who was able to pay them. The 
 law and the gospel are two branches of one divine revelation ; 
 the former, when alone, shewing the hiiincusness of sin and the 
 condemnation of sinners; and the latter, without the least dero- 
 gation from the absolute perfection of the law, explaining the 
 puriHcation of sin, and the salvation of sinners by a mediatorv 
 
■Both unite in displaying God's purity and justice glorified by 
 means, which at the same time illustrate his kindness and love s 
 And, in this union, it is, that mercy and truth are met together, 
 righteous?iess and peace have kissed each others or, in the lan- 
 guage of the New Testament, that Qodisjust, and the justificr 
 of him^ that believeth i7i Jesus. 
 
 We are now come to the main object in view, and may perceive, 
 that as all God's revelation is but owe, though diversified by seve= 
 j-al names and parts ; so the Great Rcvealer is one and the same, 
 ■who spake by patriarchs, pi'ophets, and apostles, and who hath 
 rained down all the true instruction from heaven, which ever re- 
 newed men upon the face of the earth. 
 
 In some other papers, we have considered, who this great in- 
 structor, teacher, and i-evealer is ; and have proved, that He is 
 no other than God the Spirit. Holij inen oj old spake as they nvere 
 moved by the Holy Ghost : and the Holy Ghost is to teach his 
 people and to divell in them, to the end of time, and thereby to 
 prepare them for his eternal inhabitation. Eph. ii. 22. " But can 
 he, therefore, be called the Law of the Lord f" — Let his own 
 fevealed law determine ; only premising, that /aw, mind^ and ivill^ 
 with relation to God, are terms, in their broad extent, perfectly 
 synonymous. His law is, respecting us^ the expression of his 
 mindf and the declaration of his will ; all which are terms rather 
 adapted to our conceptions and feelings, than definitions Aow God 
 thinks, wills, or commands, of which it is impossible we should 
 form any proper idea. We know not even the mode of our own 
 understandings* Augustine calls Christ himself ^Ae eternal Law ;^ 
 
 "* De vera Rel Each person in tlie Godhead, arid consequently the whole 
 Godhead, is this law, eternal and esse?uial which is also called the ?aw of 
 liberty ; because it removes that force and oppression of sin, which confines 
 from holiness, and liberates the soul to the exercise of all goodness, //"the 
 Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed i was tlie voice ov the Son 
 himself, who, with the Father and Spirit hath a rig-ht to this utle. It is re- 
 markablcj that Luther, in bis comment upon the Galatians, in which he 
 speaks With great vehemence against the mural law as a covenant of works^ 
 and justly reprehends them who so far pervert it from the desig-n of its reve- 
 lation, as to aim at salvation by it ; has these striking words upon the etsV' 
 nal la-v of which we are speaking : " I hear thee murmuring, O law [taw of 
 Moses], tliat tliou wdt accuse and condemn me ; but this doth not trouble 
 me. Thou la t to me, as liie grave was unto Christ ; for I see thai: iliou art 
 fast bound : And this hath my law done. What law is thalt ? Liberty^ which 
 is called tlie law, not beciiuse it bmdcih me, but because it bii^deLh the law" 
 [i. e. ?.s to its condemning power] which bound me, even the law of the :en 
 commandments. But against that law, I ha\e another law, even the i'tw of 
 grace, which however, is to mc no law, bccaiise itdotli not bind, but set me 
 ut Uberiy. And this is a law against that accusing and condemning law, 
 wliich is so bound by this law, that it hath no power to hurt me. — Thus 
 Clif ist, M^ith most sweet names, is called 7ny law^ &c." Con. on Gal. ii. 18 < 
 
228 LAW. 
 
 and very justly, because the scriptures I'cprcscnt him as that 
 Jiternal Life, ivhich was tvit/i the Father, and <was 7na?iifested 
 unto man, 1 John i. 2. and as that author of eternal salvation, in 
 vfhom was jiurfiosed the eternal fnirfiose of God, for that end. Eph. 
 iii. 11. In short, Avhatever can be predicated of God is God him- 
 self; and as the cause and end of the divine law and government 
 is God's own existence, his /aw cannot be any thing different from 
 himself, ^%X.o\i?> essence ; for otherwise something will exist in 
 God, which is not God, and so opppose the simplicity and purity 
 of his nature. The intellect of man is the subordinate rule and 
 measure of man's capacity, and is the grand constituent of his be- 
 ing. The intellect of God likewise (humbly speaking after the 
 manner of man, who is erected in his likeness) is the rule and law 
 of his own being, and cannot be any thing but himself. We know 
 concerning his intellect only by his comtjiunication ov publication', 
 •which is now a rule and law to us, it being the manifestation of his 
 own will, applying itself to such and such objects as fall under 
 our apprehensions. Farther than this publication, we can know 
 nothing of God : And this, so far as we truly know it, is (as it were) 
 God's speaking to us, or the rule, mode, or law, by which we are 
 to have our intercourse and communion with him. 
 
 If the essence of God, then, be his own laiv, the original and 
 " primitive reason," and the cause of all laios planted in or deliv- 
 ered down to the creatures ; the Holy Spirit, as a subsistent in 
 that essence, participates whatever can be predicated of it, and is 
 personally, therefore, this essential law. Thus, He who says, la?): 
 7inderstandi7ig, immediately adds. By me kings reign, and iirinces 
 decree justice : By me Jirinces rule, and nobles, even all the judg- 
 es of the earth. Prov. viii. 15, 16. Through this Eternal Spirit, 
 or lanv, or counsel, or divine essence (which in this view are one 
 and the sjime), Christ offered himself without spot to God, that 
 he might fulfil the revealed law of God, which sprung from that 
 eternal law just mentioned. Thus the secret of the Lord is with 
 them, that fear him ; i. e. his Holy Spirit or secret law, confirming 
 the mind and law of God revealed. Thus believers are led by 
 the Spirit (who becomes the law of their minds) to be the chil- 
 dren, and the obedient children, of God. Rom. viii. 14. with vii. 23. 
 Thus the law of the Spirit oflife^ makes these believersyrceyro;;i 
 
 Pee also Lactantius, \\\\o calls Christ, as to his Godhead vivam prxsentem- 
 que. legem. He vera Sap. 1. iv. sec. 17. To the same purpose see Thorn. Aq. 
 Finis divinx gubcrnationis est ip^e JDeuv^ nee ejus lex est aliud ab ipso. Prini 
 Sec. Q. xci. A. 1. 
 
LAW. 229 
 
 iiic lano of sin and death. Rom. viii. 2.* and to ihis law the carnal 
 7nind is not subject, neither indeed can fie, because the carnal 
 mind is enmity against God who is the law. Rom. viii. 7. Thus 
 ■nvhere the Sfiirit of the law is, there is liberty ; because the Siii- 
 rit is ihziX. fierfect law of liberty, which is not only free himself, 
 but makes his people free by his energetic grace. Thus the Spi- 
 rit, under this name of Law, as well as Christ under the title of 
 word, spake unto the fathers by the prophets. Isaiah i. 10. • Thus 
 the law was in the Psalmist's heart ; not surely the written, the 
 moral, the ceremonial, law, for these of themselves could not pi'o- 
 fit the heart ; but that great law, which enlightened to him the ob- 
 ject and use of those revealed laws, and which was the understan- 
 ding he prayed for, by whom alone he should be enabled to kee^i 
 or observe them. Ps. xl. 8. cxix. 34. This law was his delight-, 
 because this law is the truth ; which is as much as to say, God 
 or the Spirit himself. And thus man can yield no true obedience 
 to the written and revealed law, but by the power of that essential 
 and secret Law, who help.eth his fieofile's infrmities, and maketh 
 intercession for the saints, according to the will of God. 
 
 From this consideration of the Holy Spirit, under the name of 
 Law in essence, or Lawgiver in fact ; we draw another incontes- 
 table argument for his divinity and equality in the Godhead. For, 
 if He be the essential law, He must be essentially God :t Or, if 
 He be the great revealer of the communicated law, in all or in 
 any of its branches ; He must be God, who only could in the first 
 
 * In this view of the word law, considering- it .is the Spirit of life himself-, 
 the difficulty, which Dr. Guyse complains of, in his note upon the passage, 
 seems to vanish ; and a very considerable light is also thrown upon tlie 
 eontext. 
 
 •j- The Stoics and other Heathens bad some faint notions of this truth up- 
 on the principles of reason, which led thenf. far enough to see, that there 
 must be some supreme and universal law pervading all that exists ; as, 
 without it nothing could exist, and much less in order and perfection. Bui 
 their dark and blind /afe, their so\d of the -world or natural force, is founded 
 upon a very different idea from what revelation aflbrds ; for, examined to the 
 bottom, their /a^e, Imi;, &c. is neither uncompounded with matter, nor purely 
 abstracted from it. Not even Seneca's notion is clear in this respecr^ 
 though he had the advantage of living later in the world, and possibly had 
 some information of the Christian religion, but certainly not that information 
 which his pretended correspondence with St. Paul would insinuate to us. 
 According to the gospel, God is the laia because of his perfection and omni- 
 science, and of consequence is the eternal rule of rectitude and truth both to 
 himself and his creatures. Yet this law or rule, doth not imply confine- 
 ment to him, because this law is the unlimited exercise of unbounded good- 
 ness and perfection in the divine nature ; but, with respect to us, it forms a 
 boundary only because we are sinners, limiting our exercise of evil and cor- 
 ruption ; for, after we are regenerated, and especially when we enter Heav- 
 en, we possess the glonous liberty of God through his perfect latv of liberty, 
 and are not other ways confined in the activity of holiness but by the extent 
 
230 LAW. 
 
 instance reveal ins own mind and will : Or, if lie explain the 
 mind of the Father, and give to believers the mind of Christ or the 
 Son ; He must be equal to the Father and the Son, unless it can 
 be presumed, that God revealed to his Spirit, what the Spirit did 
 not know before ; which is a presumption, supported neither by 
 reason nor scripture. Not by reason ; because it would be asser- 
 linjj, that there is something in God, called the Spirit of God, 
 •which is heterogeneous to the divine nature ; and this consequent- 
 ly would destroy the simplicity and perfection of his being. 
 Not by scrifiture ; because the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the 
 \ cry profound ov deefi things oj" God, whose infinite and eternal 
 being he must fully know, and to which for that end he must bs 
 perfectly equal ; or there would be an infinitude of things ever 
 beyond him, which, as a creature he could not possibly search, and 
 which, \{ unsearched by him, the scripture could not possibly be 
 true. 
 
 Being the law ov mind of God himself, the Holy S/iirit is cer- 
 tainly able to teach it, to impress it, and to effectuate it, in the 
 redeemed. His doctrine, therefore, according to this gracious 
 name, descends as the rrt/?z (one of his emblems,) and orders as 
 the law, spirit, or power (for these are his names,") throughout 
 the universe of the faithful. He is the fulfiller of that glorious 
 promise in Is. ii. 2, Sec, and in Micah iv. 1, 2, &c.* In the last 
 
 of our faculties. Absolute purity is all liberty : Sin onJy is bondage, bot^ 
 in iLielfus to its connection with nothing but evil, and with resjxrct to God> 
 who bounds and limits its encroachments upon the visible and invisible parts- 
 pf his creation. 
 
 Of the Heathen opinions Goncerning this subject, the reader may see more 
 in Cic. Je natiird Denr. and especially in Lactant. de falsa Itel. lib. i. § 5. and 
 dc vita beat. 1. vii. § 3. 
 
 * This movmtam of tine Lord's house is named Moriah, the sjxjt where 
 Abraham oH'ored up his son, and where the Temple was afterwards built. 
 Tlic word »lfm«A stems to be derived from the same root, with -he word 
 la-ii; and plainly denotes, that iipu7i il.is mountain, the doctrine, instruction^ 
 and representation of grace, should descend and be revealed. Upon this 
 mountain, Abraham received instruction, through the type of his son, con- 
 cerning the mode of Christ's redemption : so did the Jews, in the constant 
 .sacrhices and services of tlie temple, as well as by ihc immediate revelations 
 of God's will often delivered there. Here God made hi» doctrine descend as 
 the de-i; and upon this holy mountain, typifying Clu-ist himself (Zech. viii. 
 3.) God would alone be worshipped with his prescribed services ; and con- 
 cerning tliis mountain, under the symbol of our Redeemer, very glorious 
 things are spoken in Isaiah xxv. 6. &c.— All this, in plain«>r language, signi- 
 fies,' tliat the .v/jm/ would descend upon Chri.st alone for the purpose of 
 • Ilixting salvation, and that God -was in Christ reconciling tlie world to him- 
 self; so that " -(-////oj/f Christ, there is no grace given, nor sin forgiven," 
 butthati?i hivi all our communion with God is obtained andcontinued for ever- 
 itinay further be oh.ser\ed, that part of this mountain with part of the Tem- 
 ple srood in Jud.ab. and t!ie other pr\rt of both in Benjamin; which partition 
 
LAW. 231 
 
 daysi the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established——' 
 arid all nations shall Jlow unto it : and many people shall go and 
 say, co?ne ye,, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, fj 
 the house of the God of Jacob, and he ivill teach us of his ways, 
 aiidive nvill walk in his paths ; for out of Zion, [not from liorebj 
 shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jem- 
 
 sale?n.— house of Jacob, come ye, and let us laalk in the light 
 
 of the Lord. And what is this light, but the divine nature itself, 
 of which believers arc ms-Ac partakers ? And what is this lau\ 
 Hvhich proceeds from Zion, but this very light ? This essential 
 law is that essential light, from which all statutes, testimonies, 
 ordinances, revelations internal and external, were ever but so 
 many rays sent down to man, in order to lead him up to his God. 
 Believers here are in a dark wilderness; and the word of God is 
 given as the lanthorn, and the spirit of God as the light therein, 
 to conduct their otherwise undirected feet to their Father's house. 
 This spirit is the perfect law, converting the soul: and all his stat' 
 utes, testimonies, zx\A co7ninandmcnts,vieyQ revealed for the work 
 of his salvation. The redeemed, in all ages, like the rest of the 
 world, were ignorant sinners, without rule, and ivithout law ( 3 
 Cor. ix. 21.) by nature s this spirit of truth comes, in the appoin- 
 ted time, takes his written rule and applies it to their hearts, and 
 so makes that to be the measure and ground of his own conduct 
 towards them. He explains to their minds, how his own I'eveal- 
 ed law, when expressive of the absolute perfection of the divine 
 nature (as in the case of the law called moral) is necessarily 
 against them as sinriers ; and how, on the other hand, it gra- 
 ciously becomes a part of the covenant of life itself in Christ 
 Jesus, who hath fulfilled it for his people and entitled them to 
 be Saints ; and not only Saints, imperfect as they are in this life, 
 but holy and immaculate beings. Thus, hereafter, they are re- 
 presented as walking in (emblematic) white, ov purity, and crown- 
 ed with the utmost perfection and bliss. AH the revealed word, 
 Vfill, law, and promise of God, are shewn by this spirit to be all 
 yea, and all afnen, in the great Redeemer; all full of positive 
 mercy and blessing, and all confirmed by the faithfulness and 
 truth of an omnipotent God. As the written word is a revela- 
 tion of the unwrittenmind and law of God; so the spirit convin- 
 
 may possibly be intended to mean, that Christ was not the Saviour only of 
 one class ol' men, i.e. the Jews, but of Jews and Gentiles, who are pi-ivileg- 
 ed to look upon him as their common Lord, and to have an equji! claim to 
 him as their holy Temple and mountain of holiness, 
 
332 LAW. 
 
 ces the believer's soul, that it is all fulfilkd in Christ Jesus, and 
 all brought into cflcct and applied to salvation by his ohvh quick- 
 ening power, in a manner, of which, though a carnal (and in 
 other respects sensible) mind may consider the words and their 
 grammatical construction, no carnal mind can form a true, be- 
 cause not extierimental^ conception.* And this some of the most 
 ?ble and sensible men have confessed of their own capacities, 
 
 after their conversion by the grace of God : Men, Avho could 
 
 not easily have been deceived themselves in such a matter, and 
 who could have no interest to combine in the same testimony, from 
 age to age, for the deception of others :-.^ Men, who confirm- 
 ed by their latest breath, the principles and doctrines, which they 
 had maintained, aixl who loved not e-ven their lives^ nor counted 
 them deary so that they might ivitness this good, this important 
 ^on/ession. 
 
 From the whole, it seems to appear, with how great propriety, 
 God is called by the name of Law ; how, with the same proprie- 
 ty, the Holy S/iirii, as God, is so entitled ; and how, in comtnu- 
 nion with God and longing after him, every believer is privileged 
 to pray, o/ien thou mine eyes, and I shall behold ivonderful things 
 out ofthij latv : O hoti) I love thy law, it is my ineditation all the 
 daij : and unless it had been my delight, I should have perished pi 
 7717/ trouble. I have longed for thy salvation, and thy law is my 
 delight. Grant vie thy law graciously : how sweet are thy loorcfs 
 So my taste, yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth. 
 
 This living law m the heart is the death of ajl legality, or what 
 is usually called by that name. It leads a man to Christ, and to 
 Christ c^?7f. It strips him of himself, lowers the pride in the 
 flesh, and all confidence in the Jlesh : for this spirit testifies of 
 
 * Bishop Stilling-fleet, in his Or/ifine-^ Sacra, has fjuoted the translation. 
 of a sentiment from D:inte the Italian poet, which is very apphcable to this 
 {Joint. 
 
 lar^a pluvia 
 
 Spirit us Sancti, qxix est diffusa 
 Super veteres £J super novas memhranas, 
 Mst cyllogisimis iUe qui cam iiihi conclusit 
 Jhled acute, at prce ilia dcmon.stratioiie 
 Omnia demonstratio alia mihi videatur obtusa. 
 
 Which may be thus rendered ; 
 
 " God's holy spii'it hath so amply fiU'd 
 
 AVith gTacious wisdom all the world reveal'd, 
 
 'I'hat tliis alone an ai'g-umcnt appears, 
 
 And to my soul such demonstration beai's. 
 
 As makes all reasoniutjs, which the mind can frame. 
 
 Seem shadows of the irath, or tlat and lame." 
 
LAW. 2S3 
 
 Christ in the sinner, and shews to the sinner his need of Christ. 
 He opens his understanding to know and regard what the scrip- 
 tures say of Jesus, and concerning the means, the promises, the 
 hope, the joy, the assurance of salvation ; and then applies all 
 these things to the soul, and makes a glorious feast within. In 
 this act, the convinced sinner, so far from depending upon self-- 
 righteousness^ sees it to be much rather unrighteousness.^ and 
 therefore cannot trust to what he must look upon as sin, for any 
 part of his salvation. — He sees too much impurity in himself, and 
 in every thing he is capable of doing, and beholds too much oC 
 the perfection of God, to imagine any of his performances can be 
 acceptable without his Redeemer. And though he knows there 
 is a re-ward, yet he hears also that it is a reward of grace ; and 
 though men are saved 'According to their works, he is divinely 
 taugiit, that it is not according to the merit of their works. He 
 reads in the book of God, and he feels by the grace of God, that 
 his works cannot ?nerit in any sense, and that grace itself, by 
 ■which he works and delights to work, is not given him to merif 
 by and so deserve of God, but to live by and so receive fvom God, 
 The law of the spirit of life doth not send him to the lawof workSj 
 but to the law-ful filler, for fneritorious righteousness and then 
 enables him, according to measure, to love and to do (however 
 imperfectly) an evangelical righteousness, in proof of his interest 
 in the other. He aims to follow Christ, but not to sufifilant him. 
 Instead of so ignorant a conduct, which the Pharisees and their, 
 successors (learned as they may be in other things) uniformly 
 patronize ; the believer flies to Jesus Christ, in the power of his 
 Holy Spirit, and cries with the Psalmist ; 7ny mouth shall sheii' 
 forth thy righteousness, and thy salvation all the day; for J 
 know not the numbers thereof. I will go, (not in my own strength, 
 for that is weakness, but) i7i the strength of the Lord God : I will 
 maks me-ntion (hot oi my own righteousness, for alas! that is 
 mere sin and defilement, but) of thy righteousness, even of thine 
 only. Ps. Ixxi. 15, 16. 
 
 And thi'S, law of the S/iirit of Life is the death of all self-right- 
 eousness, which is sin in its most inviting form, and which often 
 looks so much like the innocence of Angels, as to be mistaken 
 for it; so is he the utter death, and the most determined foe, of 
 all barfjaccd ungodliness and iniquity. If he cannot endure sin 
 in tlie specious guise of holiness, and set off with painted beau- 
 ties ; surely, he utterly loaths and abhors it in its open deformity^ 
 
 vol.. II. F f 
 
i234 ' LAW. 
 
 or in that audacious hue with which it stalks abroad in the world. 
 This spirit teaches his people also to hate sin in their very 
 thoughts, and to fight against its power, not only without them, 
 but within them ; to follow it with a drawn sword, (the word of 
 God) ; and to give it no quarter wherever they can fasten upon 
 it. And the heart which doth not this, in the strength of 
 grace ; but which can indulge inward sins, the sins of the thought, 
 of the passions, and of the mind, with complacency; may- have 
 the greatest reason to examine itself, whether it be in the faith or 
 not. Certainly, if this be formed into any thing like a habit, the per- 
 son is without one great and indispensable evidence of the spirit 
 of Christ within him: for he, who is a disccrncr of the thoughts 
 hath declared by his Apostle, that sin shall not have do?ninion over 
 his people, but that the thoughts and every thought as far as pos- 
 sible, are to be brought into cafitivittj to the obedience oj" Christ. 
 The sincere Christian is grieved at his imperfections, and cer- 
 tainly can never delight in them. 
 
 The victory, which this law of the Lord gains for the believer 
 over these two evil principles of self-righteousness and sin, both 
 clears his way for, and adds strength to enjoy the triwnfih of ho' 
 iiness. This almighty law works holiness in him l)y uniting him 
 to Christ as the great head of influence, through whom all his 
 isanctification must proceed: And this was typified by the sacred 
 oil, which was poured upon Aaron'^s head, and which from the 
 head ran down to the skirts of his clothing. The unction from 
 the Spirit is all through the head, from whom it descends to the 
 meanest of its members. Christians have no consecration or se- 
 paration to God from the world and sin, but in this way ; and they 
 enjoy all real and vital holinest with its potver, and the several 
 and particular acts of that power, only by this great mean. It is 
 as much beyond a poor helpless sinner, for such the strongest 
 believer upon earth is in himself (and the strongest believer is the 
 most sensible of his weakness,) to perform any act in God's sight 
 intrinsically holy by 'lis own strength ; as it is for him, by the 
 same strength, to wrest the earth from its orbit, or to pluck the 
 sun from the sky. Now, what is the eff*;ct of this knowledge in 
 his soul ? And what doth the consciousness of all this infirmity 
 produce in him ? — Not laziness, or inaction ; not despair of do- 
 ing good, nor yet of pleasing God by attempting it ; but a firm 
 and more entire reliance upon this all-quickening Law, that he, 
 by his energy, may vjork in him both to ivill and to do. In this 
 way, like the Apostle, he finds, that when he ia lieak^ then he is 
 
LAW. 23" 
 
 strong ; that is, when he is most sensible of his natural weak- 
 ness, he lays the faster hold by faith upon this spiritual helper, 
 who is not only strong, but strength itself, and even everlasting 
 strength. And in this mode too he perceives his experience to 
 be parallel with the Apostle's, / can do all things through Christ 
 which strengtheneth me : — through Christy because the Spirit (as 
 was before observed ) works all in the believer through his divine 
 head and Saviour, which is another proof to him., and upon fact 
 too, tljat there subsists an eternal and inseparable union between 
 the divine persons, and that his own enjoyment of communion 
 with one, is the enjoyment of communion with the other tnvo^ 
 rendering him a worshipper " of one God in Trinity, and of the 
 Trinity in Unity; neither confounding the persons (with the Sa- 
 bellians, Sec.) nor (with the Arians, Ecc.) dividing the substance." 
 Thus, believer, art thou privileged to consider and apply to 
 the GREAT and glorious law, of which we have been treating. 
 In Him all manifestative or revealed laws concentrate, and from 
 Him alone did they proceed. They were all given to lead his 
 people into a right way, all calculated according to their state 
 and condition, all designed to introduce them to holiness and hea- 
 ven. Rightly understood, the several branches are seen perfectly 
 to coalesce ; the moral, the ceremonial, and the evangelical, 
 forming one great and beautiful whole. They extend, like radii 
 or rays to the different points of a vast circumference ; but, as 
 they issued from one centre, they all unite in the same. Like 
 the several parts of a mighty arch, they give reciprocal aid to 
 each other, constitute one grand design, and perform one com- 
 mon end. The moral law curses indeed, but, in Christ, it only 
 curses to bless ; by shewing the sinner to himself, and by driving 
 him out of himself to his Redeemer for refuge. The ceremonial 
 laWf with pointed and most expressive emblems, shews hoiv this 
 I'efuge and salvation are to be effected, and leads the faith of be- 
 lievers to Jesus the sum and substance of all its speaking and 
 lively shadows.* The evangelic law (if such it may be called) 
 is the consummation of the other two, and records, that all the 
 statutes of external rites, all the Jirece/its which denoted God's 
 
 * Abarbapel the famous Rabbi could call the apparatus of the Jewish, 
 ceremonial " a book of the most sublime wisdom to the glorious substance 
 of whicii all tliose rites refer." Nor is there any wonder in this case, since 
 we are expressly informed, (1 Chron. xxviii. 12.) that David had tlw pattern, 
 the model, the revelation, hy the Spint, concerning these things, and that 
 he was made to understand them (v. 19.) by the hand or Spirit of the Loi'd tipor. 
 Mm. 2 Kings iii. 15. See Wits, .^^"pt 1. iji, q, JQ, 
 
236 LAW. 
 
 presence, all the testhncmies which shewed the coming of the 
 Messiah, all the judgments or decrees of God concerning him 
 and his people, all the commandments or gejieral dutie.i, all the 
 word revealed whether of Christ or from Clirist, and, in short, 
 all the mind and to/// of God comprehended nnder the notion of 
 rule and law ; were one grand efflux from this Holy Spirit of 
 trutli, in conjunction with the Father and Son ; were designed to 
 signify their respective offices of grace; and do now, as they 
 ever have dqne, lead up the hearts of his faithful people to com- 
 munion with him in those offices ; the end of all which is glory 
 to God and life everlasting- to them. 
 
 Dear Christian 1 what is here before thine eyes ! — Canst thou 
 view thyself any longer that despicable worm, which sin hath 
 rendered thee, or which the miseries and infirmities of thy na- 
 ture seem to proclaim ? Can all this expense of salvation be laid 
 out for nobody^ or nothing ; or for thee^ if thou wert considered 
 by thy God, as not worth the saving ? Did Christ die for a wretch, 
 a miserable apostate, and a slave ; only to leave him in the same 
 condition, in whicli he was found ? Doth he set no higher value 
 upon thee, after thou hast cost him so many cares, and such re- 
 iterated sufferings, than to leave thee to thyself; or to permit 
 thee to sink into original nothing ; or to perish into endless mise- 
 ry, which is worse than that nothing ? Is it possible for thee to 
 believe all this concerning Him, and concerning that lovhig S/nrity 
 ■which led thee, as a living law, to this Jesus iur his promised 
 solvation ? — O the depth of unbelief; that bitterest root of sin ! 
 Prone to credit any thing but the truth, unbelief would inspire 
 thee to contradict cyerv result of God's eternal counsel, and to 
 question the reality, certainty and wisdom of his everlasting cO' 
 •venant, which (being such) can never be broken. But " Thou 
 Sitl a, ivorm .' — Well, be it so: Yet /ear not, nvorm Jacob : I wiH 
 help, thee, saith Jehovah. Is. xli. 10. — 14, — But " Thou art a sin- 
 ner !" Hearken again ; Come noiv, and let us reason together, 
 saith Jehovah, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be a-t 
 'White as snow ; though they be red like criinson, they shall be as 
 wool. Is. i. 18. Only Co7ne ! — But " Tliou art a oackslidcr J" — . 
 J'erhaps, a very gvcat one; but see if thou art, or ever canst be 
 greater than those, to whom these words are addressed ; Rctura, 
 thou backsliding Israel, saith Jehovah, and I ivill not cause mine 
 iinger to fall upon you j for I am merciful, saith Jehovah ; I "^iU 
 not keep anger for ever. Jer. iii. read the whole chapter. — But 
 ■^l these were Israelites (:t may be urged) and ihou art a Gentile */' 
 
LAW. 237 
 
 - — God doth not stop here ; for thus saith the Adonai Jehovah, 
 Behold I will lift ufi mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my 
 standard to the people. Wherefore ? That the Gentiles might 
 glorify God for his mercij. There is no difference between Jew 
 or Greek (or Gentile), for the same Lord over all is rich unto all 
 that call upon him. O that this Spirit may quicken these words 
 to thy soul, that the power of unbelief, that principal sinew of 
 all other sin and corruption, may be weakened within thee ! Learn 
 to consider unbelief, as a most heinous treason against the truth 
 of God, and. a most impudent presumption (with all its affected 
 modesty) at^ainst the omnipotence of God; and then pray against 
 it in this view: Like the Devil himself, its abettor, thus resist- 
 ed, it shall be put under thy feet. If it rise up again and har- 
 rass, do not trifle with it in thy own strength, nor hold parley for 
 a minute : Buckle on thy Christian armour., and fall on with the 
 sword of the Spirit. Often one blow, with a Th^is it is written^ 
 shall bring the monster prostrate to the ground. Reasoning with 
 sins, like coaxing with rebels, only tends to give them confidence, 
 and to make them tenfold more rebellious. 
 
 And O what a privilege, thou more confirmed Christian, art 
 thou entitled to enjoy 1 This great living Law, who reigns in 
 Heaven, descends to reign and dwell within thy breast. He is 
 thy Law : and thou desirest his dominion for evermore. He is 
 also the Law of Love, and brings peace, joy, and righteousness 
 to thy troubled mind. When he appears, sorrow dies away. 
 His absence, or the sense of his absence, is the presence of mis- 
 ery, and the occasion of all evil. " O for his continual, his more 
 abiding presence !" — is thy daily cry : and thou shalt not cry in 
 vain. Remember, he is the Law of Faith for thee to trust in and 
 to work by, a spiritual law to suit his doctrine to thy spiritual ig- 
 norance,* and the law oi the Spirit of life to bring thee from the 
 death of sin to life everlasting. This was one great end, why he 
 would be known as the Law of life, and why he revealed all other 
 laws to erring man : and this object and purpose can never be 
 lost by him, either through want of wisdom, power, or love ; for 
 these attributes are all spirit and life in him. As Christ is the 
 Lord thy righteousness^ so the Spirit is the Lord thy Law, writing 
 h\mse\i upon thy heart, and witnessing for himself in thy life; 
 enabling thee to embrace Christ as thy righteousness for Heaven^ 
 and exciting thee to bring forth works of righteousness all the wajr 
 >':o Heaven. How happy, then, art thou privileged to be, in fulj 
 
 '♦ Eemoto ]3e9y ccelestique doctrind, emnia errgnbus plena ctrT, Lsict, 
 
538 VOICE. 
 
 recumbence on \\\s fail h fulness and truths and upon tho^c counsels 
 of old, which sprung from both. Did ever man fail, that trusted 
 in the Lord? Search, and inquire. Did he publish himself as 
 the ground of the unerring law and the everlasting covenant, on 
 purpose to break the one and to render the other void ? Stop and 
 consider. — -Men may act foolishly or ineffectually, which is al- 
 most the same ; but thy God cannot. Lean, therefore, upon his 
 strength ; and he will bear thee o?;, and bear thee out, to thy 
 journey's end : and, when mortalitij is sivalloived ufi of life, and 
 thy corrufitible shall fiut on incorrii/ition ; O with what joy, what 
 unutterable joy, slialt thou enter the mansions of the blest, and 
 sing, with eternal liberty, the prsise^ o{ that perfect Law of Life, 
 ■which shall fill them, and fill thee, with his own fulness, without 
 
 end ! After a little more faith and patience thou shalt inherit 
 
 the firoviises, and possess those perfections, which thou canst not 
 even guess at or conccivehe\o\\ : and then, — O then what remains ? 
 —Surely, nothing, nothing but praise upon praise; the great, th'^ 
 universal, the everlasting Hullelu-Jah ! 
 
 Come, tlioii universal Lav:, 
 And with tliy sweet power draw 
 All my soul from Satan's wiles. 
 And from siu'a delusive smiles. 
 And from v.'hat, devoid of thee, 
 Only death or IIcll can be ! 
 
 Then my soul, with wisdom fraugiit, 
 Sucli as thou hast ever taught. 
 Shall to heights of truth aspire, 
 ■With no languid dull desire. 
 And with liberty shall rove 
 O'er thy vast expanse of love. 
 
 Come, thou living Law, to mc ; 
 Oi- translate mv soul to thee ! 
 
 VOICE. 
 
 BY the word voice is generally understood that vibration o; 
 ihe air, performed by the mouth of man, which excites the sensa- 
 tion, called sound, in the auditory nerves of his own and other 
 f?pecies of creatures about him. The elastic nature of the s.Ut 
 
VOICE. 233 
 
 which returns a vast variety of impressions with the utmost speed 
 and exactness ; and the organs of speech, which, minute as they 
 are, affect so powerful and fleeting a body to a great and wide 
 degree; are truly astonishing circumstances in themselves, and 
 might justly raise astonishment in men at the Creator's wisdom 
 and power, could these operations be less common, or more con- 
 sidered, than they are. 'Tis an old debate, that we have no ex- 
 .act idea of mo^/o« ; but certainly we have much less idea of the 
 rapidity of the motion of sou/2(/, which, according to the experi- 
 mental calculations of Dr. Derham, passes at the rate of 1142 
 feet in one second of time. We know, by experience* that the 
 lips, teeth, and tongue, which modulate the sound of our voice 
 into distinct articulations, can no sooner perform their office ; than 
 the words, which are sounds articulated, are at the same instant 
 in the cars of those we speak to. Our voice is the means, by 
 which we convey the ideas of our own spirits to the spirits of 
 others; and our organs strike the spring of air, as the only me- 
 dium in this v/orld of matter, for the communion of souls, which 
 are inclosed in that matter, and which, but for a substance of this 
 rariiied exility, must be more locked up in prisons, than at pre- 
 sent we find them. 
 
 Thunder, and other agitations of the air, which surpass the 
 art and power of man to accomplish, or, which are confessedly- 
 accomplished by God in the elementary world, are usually called 
 in scripture, for that reason, the voice of God. They are vibra • 
 tions of, or sounds in the air, and thus become a vaicc : and thev 
 are effected and ordained by the power of God alone, and. there- 
 fore, are properly his Voice. 
 
 But this word voice, in its application to God, has a mucl:^ 
 higher sense than this, and is used to express the ac^cncrj or ccju 
 municadons of his blessed Spirit. He takes his name S/iiric irom 
 the air we breathe, signifying to us under that emblem, that 
 whatever the air is to the respiration, life, and well-being of the 
 material world ; he, the Holy Spirit, in a superior though similai- 
 manner, is to the existence, enjoyment, and support of the spi 
 ritual world. - And as the voice is air moved or in motion, as to 
 natural things; so the voice of Jehovah is the spirit in motion, 
 w^ith respect to heavenly things. When, therefore, the voice oj 
 the Lord is said to do such and such wonders, as are ascribed to 
 it in the Bible ; we are to understand, that it is the Lord the 
 Spirit in act and exercise, accomplishing some particular ob- 
 ject. God uses this mode of speaking according to natural em- 
 
240 VOICE. 
 
 blems, in condescension to our capacities ; for had any otiier mode 
 of speaking been used, with relation to spiritual concerns, our 
 present faculties could not have conceived them.* They conceive 
 but too little of them even in this way, and constantly need su- 
 perior aid for instruction : how then must we have been puzzled^ 
 if even language could have borne it ; had God delivered his sub- 
 lime truths, as they are in se, or as they really exist in them- 
 selves ? 
 
 Two or three scriptures may serve to shew, with what pro- 
 priety, the Holy S/iirit is revealed under the title of Voice of the 
 Lord. 
 
 At the creation of the world, it is revealed, the S/iirit of God 
 moved ufion the face of the waters., as an agent in that glorious 
 vork. In the xxixth Psalm, which celebrates the mighty acts of 
 the Voice of the Lord, we shall find, that this voice was, or is 
 Tj/1071 the waters, ruling and governing the great depths of nature 
 and of grace; and that the same Voice is no other than Jehovah 
 himself, because it is presently added, by way of describing this 
 voice, that Jehovah is u/wn many, or great, waters. From the 
 comparison of these two scriptures, it is evident, that the voice 
 upon the waters inihe one text is not a mere sound, but that 
 divine person who is called the Spirit of God in the other text, 
 and both the one and the other name, /. c. of Voice and Spirit, re- 
 fer ultimately, as the grand titles of the same divine person, to 
 Jehovah upon the wafers. The whole Psalm is a noble testimo- 
 ny concerning this Spirit, under the name of Voice ; and there is 
 a remarkable interchanging of that title with tlie name Jehovah 
 which is a convincing proof, that the Voice and Jehovah are one, 
 and consequently, that the Spirit is Jehovah himself, or z.fierso7i 
 in Jchovah.f 
 
 In Isaiah vi. 8. we read, that (he voice of the Lord said, whom 
 shall 1 send? {nox'w^ the personality of that Voice: and who 
 will go for us ? declaring the filnrality oit\\-<xt personality, in the 
 Godhead. In the next verse, it is added, crzrf he said, &c. If 
 ■we turn to Acts xxviii. 25, &c. we shall fi:id that this Voice, 
 
 * It Is .in old and true inaxim, Qvicqvid recipilvr, recipltvr secun- 
 dum modum recipientis. Wc can receive nothing- above, but only accor- 
 (Uvff to our ca])!icity ; .and as our ideas usually p^ss through the medium 
 of ova- senses, God'in his gracious wisdom halh given his revelation accor- 
 ding-ly, and raises up the mind tlirough objects of sense to those thing's, at 
 winch sense ends and faith beg-in.s. 
 
 "t" The Romish commentators have tortured tliis glorious Psalm into a 
 mere p.ineg')rlc upon tlicir seven sacraments, but with how much absurdity 
 it may be easily seen in one of the best of them, the Icanied Estius upon Mie 
 place. 
 
VOICE. 241 
 
 mentioned by the Prophet, is, according to the Apostle, identically 
 the Holy Ghost, who spake by Isaiah to the fathers, sayings go 
 unto this fieofile^ &c.— From these texts (and others might be 
 added) it appears, that the t;ojce of Jehovah is the Sfiirit of Jeho- 
 vah, and that the S^iirit is a person in Jehovah himself. 
 
 God's Voice, therefore, is not (like the voice of the creatures) 
 a vibratory motion only of the air or mere sound, but that iierso7i 
 the divine S/iiric, who is all life^ activity, and omnipotence. Ac= 
 cordingly it is said of him, that when God uttered his voice^ i.e, 
 sent forth his Spirit ad extra, to effect the divine purpose, the 
 earth melted ; it sunk beneath his power in a moment. Ps. xlvi.. 
 6. Again; inPs.lxviii. 33. it is said, that God sendeth out his 
 voice, and that a mighty voice s a voice of Power. This Spirit d 
 power concurred in the whole work of creation ; for when God 
 said, or gave forth his voice, let there be light ; that voice effect- 
 ed what was said, and fulfilled, outwardly, God's inward mind 
 and decree. When God spake to the fathers; he sent forth 
 his voice or spirit to them for the revelation of his will ; and ac= 
 cordingly it is said, that it was the Holy Ghost, who spake to 
 thera. He was the voice both in them and to them. When the 
 law was given by Moses ; it was the voice of the Lord who spake 
 to him, and gave instruction by him to the people. Deut. iv. 36, 
 When the Spirit came down at the day of Pentecost upon the 
 Apostles ; they spake indeed the words of God, but it was the 
 voice or spirit of God in them, tvAo gave them utteriince. In a 
 Avord, he is the almighty Voice of thunder and dismay to his ad- 
 versaries, breaking in pieces the tallest cedars, the loftiest of the 
 creatures ; but a still small voice to his people, constantly giving 
 to their ears an instructive ivord, this is the way, walk ye in it.--" 
 is of equal power in both, though to different ends; in the one for 
 the terror of destruction, and in the other for the peace of salva- 
 tion. 
 
 From all this it seems plain, that the voice of God is God spea- 
 king by his Spirit, and that therefore, the Spirit hath taken the 
 name of voice, in order to declare his swiftness, life, and energy. 
 It is also plain, that God hath used this emblem of voice, to con- 
 vey further to our minds, by natural effects which are constantly 
 with us, such notices, as we are able to conceive, of that sublime 
 and supernatural agency, which his holy Spirit is performing for 
 us. It becomes our duty and our interest, to consider the name 
 and the sign, with frequency and attention, as we would wish to 
 
 VOL. n. fv e: 
 
642 voicr:. 
 
 liave, the more frequently in our minds, the important end signi- 
 fjcd. 
 
 God sent forth his Spirit, who, together with the other divine 
 persons, made the world, and whatever we can see or conceive 
 upon it and beyond it. He sfiake and all things were made. Om- 
 nipotence was in this vpice ; or, rather, this voice was omnipotence 
 itself. Words and deeds are the same with him : And his will, 
 Avisdom, and power, though employed by the different persons in 
 the divine essence and for distinct ends, arc all essentially the 
 same, are alike in each person, and common to all. The voice is 
 both the eocfires&ion and the act of that will : It is the Spirit per- 
 formiog outwardly from the essence in creation. When God said 
 let it be done ; it ivas done as soon as it was said, and done tn and 
 by the saying. It would be blasphemy to affirm, that he wills any 
 thing, which doth not ensue ; or that his voice commands, without a 
 consequent obedience to his command. He said, live, to beings, 
 which had no being till that word was pronounced ; and by the 
 voice of his power, all the universe of beings exist and are main- 
 tained. If he withdraw himself, they die, are discomposed, and 
 turned again to their dust ? for, in him alone they live, and 
 ino-ve.) and have the continuance of their being. 
 
 This voice not only spake all things into being, but preserves 
 them in the enjoyment of that being. The world and all the 
 creatures are supported by the same divine power which created 
 them ; or they could either not subsist at all, or must rush into 
 confusion. This voice is both in providence and grace, and ban- 
 ishes the absurdity of mere chance into chaos, if such a region 
 can be found. The sun, for instance, doth not rise of itself; God 
 maketh t/ie sun to rise, as well as the rain to fall. Matth. v. 45. 
 This text " shews (said a good man) the continual concurrence 
 and power of God with natural eauses. It is not like a clocky 
 which, when it is once wound up, will go itself by the weight of 
 the plummets ; but like a/itw, which writes not a letter nor a tit- 
 tle, without the continual guidance of the writer.*" 
 
 When man fell fromhis original rectitude, he no longer received 
 the voice of God as at the first, a voice of peace and instruction in 
 which he delighted ; but, immediately, upon hearing the voiccyXhc 
 very voice, of Jehovah Alehim, walking,^ or moving Qvn nnS/or 
 
 •White's n«»,9-foA<sy<«. p. 100. 
 
 j-Tiie piu'ticiplc is yc-i stronger for the persc7ia!Lty of this voice in the ori- 
 g'iiiul, being- in ilithpael, wlii'^li signifies j n agent acting upon himself; so 
 tliat the words might i)uve been rendereil, t/ie voice cmtsed InmselJ to move, &c 
 
 I'he idea of the voice's walking in the cool of the day, like a man nbeu*. 
 
VOICE. 243 
 
 ike Sfiirit of the daijj i. e. (probably) to carry on that spiritual and 
 natural life for which the day of this system was created ; both 
 Adam and his wife hid themselves /ro?n Ms presetrce, for they 
 felt their souls to be more naked of truth and uprightness, than 
 their bodies were of raiment. He hea7'd the divine voice, and was 
 afraid, because he found himself a sinner. He hid himself, in the 
 foolishness of sin, from an all-seeing eye, to whom he could no 
 longer look up vi'ith confidence for protection, favor and delight. 
 And had God's voice left him, as he left the voice of God ; he had 
 been undone for ever. But this gracious voice spake a promise, 
 which, as God, he only could make or perform, and carried the 
 faith of it to poor Adam's heart. Thus, the first sinners became 
 the first believers, and gave a lesson to their fallen offspring, 
 both of the unavoidable curse of sin, and the free salvation of 
 grace. 
 
 This blessed voice hath, in all ages since, communicated the 
 mind of God to men. He gave forth the precepts to patriarchs, 
 the law to Israelites, the gospel to all. He gave all in Christ, 
 and for Christ, who was appointed to be the head of all things to 
 his church. This voice came in perfect communion with the Fa- 
 ther and Son, and hath ever illustrated the transcendant glory of 
 the three undivided persons in one Godhead. 
 
 When he gave the precepts to patriarchs, he gave with those 
 precepts the everlasting gospel. Abel, Seth, Noah, Abraham, 
 and the rest of the holy ancients, believed, had faith, rested 
 upon the truth of God, and found him at all times the God 
 of truth. This mighty voice carried peace, and every requisite 
 grace into their souls. He appointed some ordinances to them, 
 as witnesses of himself; and he witnessed for himself, in those 
 ordinances, by his own divine power to their hearts. What les- 
 sons of grace, love, and promise, did Abraham receive for instance, 
 when he had devoted his only son to God, under an appointed fi- 
 gure, which was to shew him, hoAV God had devoted his only Son 
 for him ? If one could have seen the good old patriarch's heart, in 
 
 his garden in the evening' to avoid the heat, according to our own and some 
 other translations ; or, in the afternoon of the day, according to the Septiia- 
 gint ; seems ncitlier agreeable to the -luards or the sense of the original. Tlie 
 purport of the passage may be conveyed by the following paraphrase ; " As 
 the wind passes over the earth for the life of the creatures upon it ; so the 
 Spirit of God moved through this perfect spot, thence called a garden, for 
 the life and support of tlie souls, he had placed in it. The mode of tliis mo- 
 tion, in the Spirit or in its symbol the wind, is not to be understood by us ; 
 though the effect of both will be ahv.'iys evident enoug-h. See John iii. 8. 
 Secies, xi. 5. 
 
244. VOICE. 
 
 the close of this transaction upon the mount ; one might also 
 have seen, with what justness he is called, the father of the faith- 
 ful and the friend of God. 
 
 When this voice uttered the law, and enjoined the ceremonial 
 institutes, to the Jews ; he clothed the one with power, to shew 
 men their sin and departure from truth ; and the other with grace, 
 to declare his ov/n righteousness and their salvation by the Mes- 
 siah. Without his energy in both, both Avere ineffectual ; and, 
 therefore, thousands, who came out of Egypt and had seen his 
 might!/ acts, Avere afterwards destroyed, because they believed not, 
 Jlis mighty acts, and his loudest thunders, carried no voice of 
 grace and life to the soul, but by that spiritual and almighty voicCj 
 who spake them all into being. How few of that vast multitude 
 an the wilderness are recorded for their faith ? Rather, almost the 
 whole multitude itself were punished for unbelief. The way of 
 life and the way of destruction had the same limits then, as now i 
 the one, narrow for zfew ; and the other, broad for the many. 
 
 When this holy voice tspake by the prophets, his revelations 
 came with the power of saving life to some, and to others with the 
 force, or savor of death, mito death. The hardness of man's heart 
 by fallen nature is shewn, by the constant, unintermitted and ob> 
 stinate resistance, it has at all times made to the mind of God, 
 the threatenings of God, and the witnesses of God. Facts and 
 examples in every age may convince us, that no power, but the 
 divine, can meliorate the obduracy within, and impart the tender 
 flesh for the callous or impenetrable stone. This voice gives, 
 and ever gave, the hearing car, the seeing eye, and the believing 
 wind: And, if /;c command not these blessed gifts, men have 
 ears and hear not, eyes and see 7iot and hearts without 7mdersta7id' 
 ing, or power to belipve. To prove this, is to quote the whole 
 bible : To exemplify this, is to point to the world. 
 
 When Jesus s/iakc as never i7iqn sfiake, this voice was with 
 iiim, and in him. God was in Christ, the Spirit was in Christ ; 
 and, therefore, Christ spake not his own words, as the God-man, 
 but the words of the Father, and of God. The manhood of Jesus 
 ■was inhabited by the Son, and was witnessed to by the Father and 
 the Spirit, at his baptism and at his transfiguration ; by all which 
 this very manhood became the Son of God with power, and was 
 qualified to be the great High Priest to mediate between God and 
 man. And as the Spirit witnessed for Jesus ; so Jesus witnessed 
 for the Spirit, as tlie comforter, the promise of the Father, tlie in- 
 fallible guide into all truth. When Christ commanded, this Spi« 
 
VOICE. 245 
 
 rit went forth and effectuated his command. He was the voice of 
 God in the Messiah, and performed, in him, by him, and for him, 
 all the miracles which men saw in nature, and those which only, 
 his people felt in grace. 
 
 This voice attended the Apostles, gave them utterance, filled 
 their mouths with right words, and clothed those words with a 
 glorious force. Acts iv. 33. He spake in them, and by them. It 
 is not ye that sfieak (said Jesus,) but the spirit of your Father 
 ivhich sjieaketh in you. They did not go forth into the world, 
 like philosophers, or like the learned ignorants of the age, with 
 the unmeaning or inefficacious words of man's wisdom, but with 
 the words of the Holy Ghost and with power ; that it might be 
 seen, that the conversion of sinners is not to be effected by human 
 arguments or artifice, nor the faith of God's people by eloquence 
 or moral suasion, but only by him, who gave the word, and the 
 company of preachers to declare it. What was there in St. Peter's 
 first sermons, for instance, which could create such amazing effects 
 in changing and piercing hearts, as we find they did in the con- 
 version of three thousand souls at one time, and of five thousand 
 at another I They were plain, unstudied, and unadorned narra- 
 tions of some simple matters of fact, with an obvious inference or 
 two, which arose from them. The Apostle had no skill to fence 
 with words, and desired none. 2 Peter i. 16. He knew his own 
 strength to be nothing, and that all good consequences must pro- 
 ceed from a much higher cause. Nor was it in him to give the 
 Holy Ghost to whom he would, as Simon Magus thought, and 
 as some besides him have seemed to think ; but it depended en- 
 tirely upon the sovereign power of the voice by whom he spake, 
 to bestow the life and grace of the gospel, and, in some sad in- 
 stances, to seal up to death and condemnation by the law. Acts 
 xi. 17. V. I. xxviii. 27. All the Apostles acknowledged this grand 
 truth ; and so, more or less, have all the witnesses for God in 
 every age of the world. 
 
 This voice of majesty accompanies his own revealed and writ- 
 ten word, even now. When his ministers preach it, or according 
 to it ; the blessing is imparted by him, and doth not stand upon the 
 propriety, the arrangement, the elegance, or force of their style, 
 manner, or matter; but upon his own will and activity. His 
 word by them, not ^Adr word by themselves, is to be considered 
 by the people; and as his word, it is conveyed by himself to the 
 hearts of the people. He honors his ministers, Avhile they honor 
 him ; and though he could convert souls without their instrumen- 
 
246 VOICE. 
 
 tality, yet he very rarely operates but by it. The Eunuch might 
 have been taught by his grace to understand his word without 
 Philip ; but he so regarded the means of his own appointment, 
 that he rather chose to send Philip a journey into the desart. The 
 Eunuch also might have had the help of the Apostles at Jerusa- 
 lem ; but the Spirit suffered him to depart, in order to shew, 
 that he would work by whatever means he pleased, without any 
 confinement of time or place. The Angel likewise might have 
 taught Cornelius the same truths with St. Peter ; but the Spirit 
 chose to declare, in a contrary appointment, that a feeble reed, 
 as the Apostle was in himself, trembling at every wind, and once 
 at the mean breath of a servant-maid, should by this superadded 
 strength work such miracles in men's souls, as all the Angels in 
 Heaven united could not perform. Those blessed Spirits would 
 say aloud, if permitted, 'Tin not in 7is : and, if not in them, 
 surely not in the children of men, nor in all the ministers of God. 
 'Tistrue; God hath indue times manifested his word through 
 preaching ; but 'tis equally true, that no7ie can preach that v/ord 
 except they be scnt^ nor impai t success, in preaching, by them- 
 selves. They might as well take a bell, as the Romish Priests do 
 to scare away the Devil, and ring it in the pulpit lo bring up the 
 dead ; as expect the salvation of men should arise from their fleet- 
 ing breath, 'Tis possible for them (as, v/ith too many it is to be fear- 
 ed is the case) to tinkle like a cymbal and afford a pretty tune ; and 
 'tis equally posoible for people to go away vastly delighted with 
 the jingle of their sound or the cadence of their words : but fol- 
 low them home, examine the influence of all upon their lives, 
 and there it will be perceived, whether or not the sense expired 
 with the sound, and wliether they only remember (what people re- 
 member of oratorios) that it was all very fine, elegant and charming. 
 There is a deal of ibis sort of diversion in modern profession ; and 
 too many appear to estimate the state of their souls, only by the 
 nuantity of religious amusement, wliich they can procure for 
 them. But, with respect to the life of God, or any experimen- 
 tal knowledge of his word ; they know no more of it, upon ex- 
 amination, than their horses ; nay, will do, what their horses can- 
 ret, revile and blaspheme it. This is no novel, though plain 
 comparison : it is as old at least as Isaiah, who gives it even in 
 blunter terms. Is. i. 3. 
 
 As it would be a wonder indeed, if men by their voice could 
 raise the dead in sin ;-^o the wonder ceases, when we find that it 
 la the voice of God) which causeth sinners to arise, and walk; and 
 
VOICE- 2+7 
 
 iive. This voice, being the power of the Godhead earned forth 
 into external act, is an omnipotent or irresistable voice. He no 
 sooner reached the auditory nerves of Lazarus in the grave, and 
 he reached them (far sur\>assing the velocity of material sound) 
 in less than a moment, than those nerves felt and heard in tha£ 
 individual instant, though but, in the moment before, they were 
 actually dead. He was not the mere sound of the words, come 
 forth ; but the vivid life and energy, under the emblem or me- 
 dium of that sound. In like manner, his written word, though 
 given from him and agreeable to his will, is not himself^ as some 
 heretics have imagined ; but plain letters and symbols of sound, 
 expressing sacred truths, which then have their force, when this 
 Holy Spirit breathes into them, carries them like a shaft into a 
 sinner's heart, and clothes them, with his living power. A man 
 might read the Bible from morning tonight, and from January to 
 December; but, unless this Spirit enlighten it, be the man as 
 learned in other respects as he may, it will be a book sealed, and 
 in its most important matters, really unintelligible to him.* It 
 hath been so to learned Rabbles, as well ancient as modern, m 
 whose tongue it was written, and who have had some outward 
 helps, which the present learned among the Gentiles have not. 
 And what was the Gospel to them ? Nothing, but a mere stum- 
 bling-block ; all wood and nothing good. To the learned Greeks, 
 who were the most acute, ingenious, and scientific of all men,^ it 
 was altogetherybo/is/^ness, or (in polished modern phrase) " cant, 
 enthusiasm, nonsense." They sagaciously thought, for instance, 
 that the resurrection^ which St. Paul preached, was (like fear 
 znd paleness among the Romans) a new or strange God ; and as 
 to the doctrine of a crucified Saviour, they scouted it as the mosl 
 ridiculous babbling or stupiility. It was, and is, an hidden wisdorn, 
 which, as man is by nature too blind to see it, and yet too con 
 ceited to own this blindness, he profoundly calls it by the name 
 oi folly, that he may run it down, if possible, by an ill name. 
 He succeeds in this attempt, perhaps, in the present world; but 
 loses himself by it, for the world to come. 
 
 To the people of God, in all ages and nations, this voice of God 
 is full of life and energy. He calls them from the night of nature 
 and the death of sin : and his calling is effectual iov this end. He 
 emits, not only word, but power in the word, which the dead hear 
 and feel, and, by feeling and hearing it, live. This voice, im- 
 parting life, collects all the heirs of life, and gathers them int© 
 one, under one head, Christ Jesus. They are the called accor- 
 ' See Witsiws's Mekt. Levd- p. 323, 
 
248 VOICE. 
 
 ■ ding to his fnirfiosc. Hence they derive theii' general name of 
 Snp and (Kx,Xit<n», in the Old and New Testaments ; i. e. the 
 Church-, which consists of « the whole company of faithful peo- 
 ple," who are called together in one body by this glorious voice. 
 The Spirit called, the Spirit gathered them all, and will do so, till 
 the number of those be complete, tohose names are ivritten in 
 Heaven. This shews, that the calling of God, originating both 
 as to purpose and exercise in himself, is both unfrustrable and 
 ivithout refientance : and that the salvation of the called depends 
 upon the effectual working of his fiower^ and not upon their own. 
 
 As this Voice speaks life into the people of Christ ; so it bears 
 continual witness for him in their hearts and lives. He keeps 
 their hearts, that they might not fail : he orders their lives, that 
 they may not depart from him ; and he gives them all the holiness 
 they have. This Voice explains the nvorth of Christ in all things, 
 draws the affections after him, keeps faith alive and active upon 
 him, preserves from wrong apfirehensions of him, discovers more 
 and more of his ^-/orr/, and finally brings the soul to everlasting 
 communion with him. 
 
 This blessed Voice teaches the children of God to cry, Abba^ 
 Father : he gives them utterance, and adds power to the sound. 
 This voice speaks in them, when they pi-ay and praise ; not in 
 the clatter of mere woids, but in the deep and fervent devotions 
 of their souls. He also speaks ybr the7n before the throne ; and 
 is their advocate, in conjunction with the Saviourj in the holiest 
 of all. 
 
 This Voice opens to them the mysteries of the kingdom, and 
 enables their souls to rejoice in the glories of the world above. 
 He speaks understanding to their minds, affording them a right 
 conception and a true experience of his holy word. This word, 
 without him, is a lock without a key ; an unintelligible cyphering for 
 the most part, which the unassisted wit of man can never ex] Jain.* 
 He yields the rich sense, rather than the nicety of words, to the 
 soul ; and enables it, not only to read a naked account, but to 
 
 * The word of God was ever an eenigma, or parable, to the world, aiid to 
 carnal professors wlio arc but of tlie world. There is a spiritual sense, 
 which runs throug-h tlie wliole l:iw, Ihe Prophets, and tlic New Testament 
 itself, which only is truly explained by the IIolj Spirit, and which he does 
 explain, in various measures, to the meanest believers ; wliile the learned 
 and great (in their own eyes) arc sent empty away. — This is a grating- truth 
 to human pride ; but a truth notwithstanding. Peter, the fishennan, knew 
 this sense ; wlien (iumaliel, the most learned doctor of the Jewish law, 
 could not comprehend it. See more to this eft'ect m Bishop Stilling- 
 Jleet's Orig. Sacra:. Book vii. c. 7. and abo v.-rv eTccUcutlv, in Spanh 
 Hub. Ev.ing:.A'ol l.p. 4P6 
 
VOICE. 249 
 
 t3r>te the sweet savor of eternal life revealed in his book. Nor 
 does he teach them to im/iose a sense, or to make allegories^ for 
 the word is fixed and the prophecy sealed ; but explains the sense 
 already laid down, and the allegories before established, to their 
 believing"minds. Hence, they see an analogy in the book of God, 
 which others do not ; and discover, by degrees, that it is not a 
 « rude and indigested mass" of various mattersj but a complete: 
 and beautiful arrangement of grace, love, and peace, from be- 
 ginning to end. It flows from one great fountain of truth, and, in 
 its several streams, rolls the water of life through the whole 
 city of God. 
 
 This Voice condescends in all his tuition to our capacities, and 
 speaks the things of God in the language of man. He descends 
 to the poverty of our ideas, and enriches them from the everlas- 
 ting treasures of his grace. When his people look to him for 
 instruction, he is not a Bath-Kol,* or daughter of a voice, as the 
 Jewish dreamers have asserted ; but he speaks to their hearts by 
 his word ; he enlightens their eyes to read it : and (as that word 
 is made for all their possible circumstances) he enables them to 
 read his answer in the sacred code. By his aid, this book bC" 
 comes a true Encyclofiedia, a circle of all spiritual science, a 
 lively oracle^ to answer all the wants, longings, and ignorances 
 of their souls. 
 
 And, if any word or >yords in these essays, O reader, find a 
 way to thy heart, and render thy soul the least aid or advantage 5 
 this glorious Voice, of whom they treat, and according to whose 
 word, 'tis hoped, they are framed, hath alone spoken that aid or 
 advantage to thee. Ten thousand volumes, all penned according 
 to truth, and containing nothing but the truth, would not impart 
 one ray of light, nor afford one drop of comfort, to thy spirit, 
 without this effectual help. How should this teach thee, then, 
 to pray over what thou mayest hear or read ; that thy time may 
 not be lost in the exercise, nor thy soul go away dry without a 
 blessing ? For want of this, we hear such constant complaint* 
 among religious people of ihciv frames, their fireac/iers, or t/iem- 
 selves. There is no wonder in the case, that ordinances, prayers, 
 sermons, &c. should not profit ; because they are not ?mxed with 
 faith in those who use them. They look up to men ; who, as 
 
 • The reader may see a very satisflictory account of this pretended ora-» 
 cle, and of the sortes Virgiliana, with other stupid divinations, in Prideaux.*3 
 Connect. Vol. 11. B. 5, To which might be added. Wits. Mhc. Sacr. Vol., 
 1. p. 18. 
 
 VOL, TT. H Jx 
 
259 voice; 
 
 men, are barren trees. And what right have they, then, to grieve, 
 that God doth not hear them, when they themselves do not listen 
 to God ? Can they expect, that he should comfort them on earth, 
 while they do not look up to him in Heaven ? Ought they to com- 
 plain, that the Lord slights their desires, who attend not to his 
 ■word in the nature or expression of those desires ? if Abraham, 
 Moses, or St. Paul, were on earth ; neither of them could give 
 a spark of grace from themselves ; and all of them would pe- 
 rem.ptorily point men to the Spirit and his word for that end. In 
 vain do rainisters preach even the truth as it is in Jesus to people? 
 who are not taught by the Spirit of Jesus to look up to him alone 
 for his gracious power and instruction. They may run from or- 
 dinance to ordinance, and yet go lean all the day long. They may 
 be diverted (according to a strange fashion grown up in the pro- 
 fessing world) under a sermon ; their ears may be tickled with 
 the wit, or the eloquence, and sometimes perhaps with some- 
 thing less than these ; but their minds not savingly enlightened; 
 their hearts not edified, nor the life of grace more established 
 •within thcmo O what deceits of sin and sinfulness have we in us, 
 and about us I How little communion do we hold with our God, 
 even in places devoted to that communion ; and how viuch less, 
 every where else I Might not Christ ask again that awful ques- 
 tion ; Wken the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on th: 
 
 earth ? Reader, ask thyself, " shall he find faith in me ?" 
 
 Attendance upon ordinances, uttering prayers, singing praises, 
 or any other acts which the body can perform, considered in 
 themselves, are not religion^ though proper and appointed means, 
 by which the Holy- Spirit works to beget and support it. They 
 are, therefore, rightly called means ; for they are no more the 
 cnd^ than the scaffold is the building itself, which it is only con- 
 structed to raise. But true religion is^ that inwrought grace of 
 God, which shews itself in faith towards /«m, and goodness to- 
 wards man; which enables the Christian to lean upon God as his 
 only stay, to enjoy communion with him, and to give up body, 
 soulr and all things, to his wise disposal ;. which invigorates his 
 lieart against the power of the world and sin, and which cnligh- 
 tens his mind to follow truth and to renounce every delusion and 
 error, which may effect his salvation. In this blessed religion, 
 there is life, light, peace, holiness, and all the fruits of the Spi- 
 rit r because this religion is a creation, not of the animal nature, 
 
 but of the spirit alone When one considers this truth, and looks 
 
 ^bro?id in the world for some appearances of it j Alas ! Where 
 
VOICE, £5- 
 
 arc they to be found ! How many poor souls, under the most 
 evangelical preachhig for years, join in the prayers of others and 
 make many long prayers themselves, constantly frequent every 
 holy ordinance, and look with soleinn faces on all the solemnities 
 of the gospel ; wlra never knew, and never enjoyed, the secret 
 and divine experience of the religion of Jesus I If they are not 
 ignorant of its form, or not cold and insipid in their manner ; yet 
 how many only get heated in their passions, or fervent in their 
 animal frame, either by the affecting energy of a sermon, or 
 upon the relation of some extraordinary occurrences in the world ?. 
 And hov/ many, when nothing but the old man has been stirred 
 up in them, have fancied themselves, only from the violence of 
 his emotions, deeply devout and religious ; when, if they would 
 examine the case, they might find perhaps, that the same emo- 
 tions might be raised upon any other occasion, or at the play- 
 house. The voice of God, in his people*s souls, is not thunder 
 and bluster, but a still small voice, inducing a calm in our turbu- 
 lent nature, and lifting us up, above that nature, into his holy 
 rest. Thus, he that truly AcsVeye^/i, hath erJeredinto res(, and 
 Jlnds it within his soul. 'Tis not grace, but the flesh, which finds 
 amusement in profession. Faith doth not go to ordinances to pass 
 away the time, or merely because it is right to go; but enters 
 upon the holy duties with a sacred awe, considers in whose pre- 
 sence it acts, and looks, throtigh the duties, for the blessings of 
 strength and wisdom, promised in the use of them. Unbelief, 
 ■on the contrary, attends ordinances, not to edify but to stun con= 
 science with a form of godliness, to quiet a gnawing worm withinj 
 or to appear vn\h a good face in the professing world without.— - 
 O the deceitfulness of the hearty which can draw motives of self- 
 righteousness and self-complacency out of those very duties, 
 which were enjoined for the suppression of those principles with- 
 in us ! And how wonderful a business is it, in the view of so ma» 
 ny shipwrecks about usj to be indeed a Christian^ and at last to 
 get safe into the haven.—- — Believer, let this awful reflection 
 preach to thy heart, that it is all of ^race, from beginning to end, 
 ihat thou art saved; for surelj-^, it speaks aloud, that nothing 
 but gracious omnipotence could save thee, so long and so often, 
 from the snares of the world, from the wiles of the Devil, among 
 the falls of professors, and from (what is a more dangerous evil 
 than all the rest) — thine own self. O look up to this blessed Spi- 
 rit, this eternal Voice of heaven, that he msiy finish what he hath 
 k-egun in th^e^ and that, after enabling thee to fight the good^gbs 
 
352 SPIRIT OF WISDOM, Sec. 
 
 of faith, he may finally r'-tzje thee the crown of righteousneis^ and 
 Wess thee among his chosen for ever and ever ! 
 
 The Voicr. of God is Gon alone. 
 
 Speaking- lus perfect will : 
 ^ngels arc dumb before his tlironc, 
 
 And mortals should be still. 
 
 " Be still and know, that I am God ;" 
 
 This glorious voice commands ; 
 And swift the universe abroad 
 
 In awful silence stands. 
 
 So when this toice divine affords 
 
 The counsels of his grace. 
 All Heav'n is mute, because no word^ 
 
 His mercy can express. 
 
 SPIRIT OF WISDOM, &c. 
 
 FOLLY came into the 'vvorld by sin ; and therefore, in thp 
 language of divine revelation, it is called by the same name. Mo' 
 ral turpitude and spiritual ignorance arose from one source ; and, 
 though we may distinguish them into acts of the body and acts of 
 the mind, they are as closely allied as cause and effect, or even, 
 in our present state, as the body and mind from which they pro- 
 ceed. The wickedness of folly, and the folly of wickedness, are 
 terms perfectly convertible : They mean the same thing, and 
 in fact are the same. No wkkefl man is a vjise man. . The world 
 may possibly consider him as such, because he may have craft 
 and cunning ; and so have the Devils : But like them he is in- 
 deed a very fool, and v/ill be found so to all eternity. He may 
 possibly delude and bubble his fcUow-crcalurc? ; but while he is 
 doing it, he is labouring to cheat himself into everlasting ruin ; 
 And the man, who commits this cunning folly, denies also the ve- 
 ry being of Godj in the strongest manner he can deny it, for which 
 impudence and absurdity God calls liini a stu/iid sinner^ or a 5j>2- 
 Jitl fool, for his pains. Psalms xiv. and liii. If he could get the 
 ivhole ivorld by his industry in this way, our Saviour says, (in al- 
 Hiost so many words) that he would be an eternal loser : And what 
 a wretched mistake, then, must he commit, who throws away his 
 iioul for less than the ten thousandth part of that world ? — Yet 
 every man commits this very mistake, who, leaving God, hunt? 
 
SPIRIT OF WISDOM, &c. 253 
 
 after the earth as his portion, and becomes the identical person of 
 whom the Lord speaks in the text just mentioned ; because his 
 heart and /ry^, which are stronger evidences than his ^ow^wfjagree 
 to say, — There is no God. 
 
 The original word h2i, from whence the words for foily, &c. 
 are derived, is very expressive, and plainly points out how this 
 evil came into man, and how odious it is, both as to cause and ef- 
 fect, in the sight of God. It signifies to/all away, slide, or Jlow 
 off, and alludes to the woeful fall of Adam. It means, likewise, 
 as a consequence of that fall, to be wcc/t, languid, cut off from 
 nourishmeyit, as leaves are by falling from their tree. Nor does 
 the fulness of the word stop here, but carries on its idea into the 
 effect of all this, viz. to make or esteem vile and loathsome, as a 
 putrid substance is to the outward sense. Hence, a dead carcascy 
 ■which evei'y body knows was unclean and abhorred among the 
 Jews, receives its name. Lev. v. 2. This very name for the cor- 
 rupt carcase is also the word which God hath used for the expres- 
 sion of vileness and abomination. The very same word likewise 
 is employed to convey the true notion oi folly, which at best is 
 insipidity and so opposed to ivisdom which is derived from tastingy 
 and in conclusion becomes (like all insipid and unsalted matters} 
 Jilth, rottenness, and corrufition. By all this, as well as by ex- 
 press phrases and passages of scripture, we may perceive, how 
 senseless and abominable at once all sin and corrufition are in the 
 sight of an holy and all -wise God. 
 
 By man came sin and folly, and death or the dead carcase, into 
 the world ; all expressed by one word, which imports whatever 
 is stupid, and insipid, and hateful, and loathsome. In opposition 
 to this, God hath used another word, nD:)n, ivisdo?n, which does 
 not mean mere naked intellect, but that capacity of the soul, cm- 
 ployed and engaged upon mental objects, which fierceives, tastes^ 
 •relishes, and consequently knows assuredly ; as the faculty of 
 sensation, which our palates have, tastes and distinguishes with 
 certainty the sweet or bitter qualities of food, or other substan- 
 ces.* By the fall, our nature was cut oS from the life of Godj, 
 became insipid, foolish, sinful, and, in one word, spiritually dead 
 and loathsome, without capacity to taste, without wish for that 
 capacity, and without any emotions of hunger and thirst after 
 fighteousness or spiritual wisdom, which might discover the least 
 true symptom of life. For creatures in this state, divine mercy, 
 
 * Even Cicero could say ; JVb?j enim pciranda nohis solun^ sedfrvenia 
 {^iipientia est, J)e Jinih. 1, i. 
 
254 SPIRIT OF WISDOM, &c« 
 
 with equal love and power, contrived the means of recovery. A 
 person in the Trinity would assume the human nature, to make 
 a satisfaction for sin, to remove every cause of separation between 
 God and man, to give a title to man for the heirship of God, and 
 to render to God the glory, which his justice required from man. 
 Another person in the Tnnhy firotnised, and so became the Sfiirit 
 cf firomise, to renew the spiritual life in the heirs of salvation; 
 to endue them, in consequence, with the mental capacities of 
 tasting, and seeing, how good the Lord is i to carry on and sup- 
 port this gracious life t.irough their pilgrimage here ; and to fit, 
 ripen, and introduce them, for and into the kmgdom of glory. 
 This operation of the Spirit proceeds in a mode analogous to the 
 animal nature ; and gives the first symptom of its quickening 
 power in the soul, by creating hunger and thirst for spiritual food, 
 (which food is the sincere or unadulterated milk of the word ;) by 
 bestowing a faculty to taste and delight in this food ; by imparting 
 strength to concoct and digest it, so that growth may be attained 
 thereby ; and, finally, by carrying on the whole osconomy of grace, 
 till the soul haih obtained its proper fulness of stature in Christ. 
 This is the great work of the Spirit. Its leading effect in us is 
 this nvisdom or tasting : And, because he is the cause and opera- 
 tor of it, he hath revealed himself under the name of the Sfiirit 
 of Wisdom. Hence, every one, whose soul is convinced of the 
 lack of ivisdom (James i. S.), which is spiritual hunger and thirst, 
 and one of the truest signs of real life, may know where to apply 
 for it. He is to ask of God, ivho giveth liberally and ufibraideth 
 ■not J and, by obeying this precept, he grows to the full and ex- 
 perimental conviction that this Spirit of Wisdom is the God of all 
 wisdom, and that, according to his name, it is his office to give 
 and grant the ivisdom of grace, and the grace of wisdom to all 
 his people. They obtain the wisdom of grace, which puts them 
 upon seeking salvation ; and then they grow in the grace of wis- 
 dom, which enables them to discern, what doth or doth not be- 
 long to that salvation. By him, they are thus made wise, how- 
 ever ignorant or simple in other respects, to the true ends of 
 their being. That this great agent is God, will more fully ap- 
 pear, by an argument founded on scripture, and by the conside- 
 rations v/hich follow it. 
 
 The Sfiirit of tvisdom and revelation was to be given, in or for 
 ihe knoKvledge of God or of Christ, that, the eyes of the understand 
 4ing in believers being enlightened, they might know the hofie of 
 Jm calling^ the richer of his gtoru^ and the exceeding greatness of 
 
SPIRIT OF WISDOM, See. 255 
 
 hisfiower. Eph. i. 17, Sec. All which is confirmed and expressed 
 in other words, but more at length, by the same apostle, in 1 Cor. 
 ii. 11, &c. 1 Cor. xii. 8, &c. 
 
 But it is Jehovah, or God, who giveth this nvisdoniy and who 
 teacheth to firqfit in this understanding ; which is proved, among 
 many others, from the following scriptures : Prov. ii. 6. Ps. xciv, 
 10. Is. xlviii. 17. Dan. ii. 20 — 23. 
 
 Therefore, the Spirit of wisdom is Jehovah, God, the Spirit. 
 
 In the former volume, that glorious climax in the prophecy of 
 Isaiah (ix. 6.) was considered in proof of the divinity of the great 
 Redeemer ; and a climax equally glorious may now be treated 
 of, which the same evangelical prophet has delivered to us from 
 God, respecting the Spirit's divinity. The words are in the xith 
 chapter, and 2d verse. Christ was called Christ, because he was 
 anointed by the Spirit: And here we shall see the nature and ef- 
 fect of this unction. The S/iirit of Jehovah shall rest ufion himf 
 the Spirit ofnvisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and 
 might, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of Jehovah. We wiii 
 briefly take each of these titles in their order, with some others 
 which have an immediate relation to them, only premising (what 
 has more than once been already observed), that they are all names^ 
 assumed by one and the same Spirit, to enable us to conceive the 
 several effects of his operations in the soul, and not the manner of 
 his oivn existence which is ineffable. 1 Cor. xii. 11. 
 
 He calls himself the Spirit of Jehovah, or the Spirit Jehovah, 
 because he would impart the knowledge of his divinity, and make 
 us know, that his attributes are the attributes of the Godhead, 
 that he is self-existent and eternal, and that, therefore, all his ope- 
 rations being divine must be sure, permanent, and indefeasible. 
 In this view, he has been considered in a former essay j and there- 
 fore we shall pass on, and enlarge only in the present attempt 
 upon those names, which may not be treated of more distinctly 
 elsewhere. 
 
 The Spirit of Wisdom or Spirit Wisdo7n. We are all rendered 
 brutish and foolish by the fall. 2'he ox knowcth his owner, but we 
 know not ours ; and the ass his master's crib, but loe are insensi- 
 ble, and walk insensible of our dependence upon God for the gifts 
 of providence and grace : We do not know by nature, nor by na- 
 ture do we consider or understand The Spirit Jehovah in his 
 office of grace is the Spiiit of Wisdom ; the very po-uter, e-sence 
 and life oj ivisdom ,• to restore to his people both life and those 
 faculties which attend upon life, in hungering, thirsting, tasting, 
 
256 SPIRIT OF WISDOM, Stc. 
 
 and enjoying the word of grace, the gospel of the kingdom, and 
 finally life everlasting. This kind of wisdom is not to be raised 
 by the intellect or industry of man or any other creature ; for it 
 is lifct strength^ z. faculty., which enters into the very composition 
 of the soul, and is tlie very principle of its spiritual being and wel- 
 fare. It hJ'ro?n above, and leads the mind (o things above. It 
 delivers the soul from the vanities and fooleriesof time and sense, 
 in proportion to tlie force of its operation ; and gives it that true 
 telis/i oi unseen and invisible realities, which causes tlie possessor 
 to thirst for them, as the hart panteth for the nvater-brooks ; and 
 to count every thing else, as trash or dirt in the mouth, in com- 
 parison of them. Nor is this relish given in vain ; for God never 
 creates faculties but for their suitable objects. By having a/zow- 
 cr to taste, the believer comes to possess tlie spiritual wisdom 
 which is to be tasted ; for as men, in the animal sense, partake 
 of what they taste according to the quantity received, so Chris- 
 tians 2iXt. partakers of this divine nature or wisdom, according to 
 the measure of their several capacities. They do not taste this 
 food, to cast it away ; but receive it into their own frame for 
 its very life and sustenance. Hence, this wisdom seems placed 
 as the foremost of the Spirit's divine operations ; because it is the 
 basis and groundwork of all the rest. 
 
 The Spirit of Understanding or Binah. By this we are to un- 
 derstand a farther progression in the divine life, which the Spirit 
 worketh in the soul. He brings it to a true judgment and discern- 
 jnent, respecting himself and all necessary truths. 
 
 The Spirit of Counsel. Christ was called the Counsellor ; and 
 here we perceive the reason. The Spirit rested upon him "with- 
 out measure. He was filled with the fulness of God ; and in him 
 it dwells. Through Christ (for the Spirit worketh all in and 
 through him, and is, therefore among other names, called the Spi- 
 rit of Christ J he is the Spirit of counsel, and counsel in essence 
 to ensure his counsel, to all the redeemed. His counsel, with re- 
 spect to the persons in the divine nature, is the counsel of the 
 everlasting covenant, and is therefore called, in Zech. vi. 13. the 
 counsel of peace, its object being to restore peace between God 
 and man. Thus, the covenant and the counsel are alike everlas- 
 ting. Ps. xxxiv. 11. And, with regard to the redeemed, his coun- 
 sel is the manifestation of their interest in that everlasting cove- 
 nant, and the demonstration of their right to all the benefits which 
 it ensures. It seems to be the very same, as to the enjoyment of 
 believers, ^vith the TriKtjiio-^epta or full assura'^rr, of the New Tes- 
 
SPIRIT OF WISDOM, &c. 257 
 
 tament : And, accordingly, it enters into all the conclusions and 
 energies of the spiritual life, in its prof2;ression and approach to 
 glory. The believer is led by the Spirit, under this character, 
 into all truth, not as notion but as reality : And this Spirit, in the 
 use of his word, gives him the evidence of spiritual sense (if the 
 term maybe used) respecting divine thing-s, preserves him in con 
 sequence from the fallacies of error, and opens to him brightci 
 and brighter views of his everlasting inheritance. This is ener- 
 getic counsel, not mere naked advice, vt'hich may be taken or let 
 alone : For the Spirit is in it, enlivens, engages, and effectuates 
 Ihe v/hole, beyond the resistance of t!ie animal corruptions, or all 
 the oppositions of men or devils. Hence, this Spirit may well be 
 styled, 
 
 The S/iirit of Might. He was so in Christ, and, therefore, 
 Christ is called by the same name -\\2> mighty^ in Isaiah ix. The 
 Spirit is the Sfiirit of Might ; because there is no might, but by 
 him. JVot by mighty nor by fioiver, but by my S/iirit, saifh the 
 Lord of Ho.'ita. Zech. iv. 6. He is the S/iirit of Might to the 
 redeemed; because sin, in robbing them of their s]")iritual life, 
 left them without any spiritual atrvngth. Rom. v. 6. Throughout 
 the scriptures, in this respect, they are described in the condition 
 of a dead carcase— without sensation— without capacity — without 
 the power even to wish or to will for power. In their regenera- 
 tion, this Spirit exerts his might, qtiickc?2ing ihcm from the death 
 of trespasses and sins, and enabling them (like the dry bones in 
 Ezekiel) to rise, stand up, and walk. Nor is this all. He works 
 all their works in them. He gives strength to act grace, to grow 
 in grace, and to put forth the fruits of grace. The believer has 
 no spiritual life or power, separate from this Spirit; but being ia 
 communion, nay, in union itself, with him, he is invigoiated to 
 do all that is truly done for God, by the effectual working of his 
 poiver. Eph. iii. 7. This is an inestimable privilege; because 
 operations, so performed, have spirit, life and value in them, 
 cannot be lost or perish, but must be acceptable to God through 
 Christ Jesus foi" ever. And these are the good ivorks, whicli, 
 the Spirit himself says, do follow his people into glory. Rev. 
 xiv. 13. The natural man laughs at all this. He thinks himseit 
 iTjighty enough in his l\\llen nature to do " woriis pleasing and 
 acceptable to God;" and, though he cannot keep one single 
 thought in his head without fluctuation for one single minute, he 
 presumes, that he can fx for himself an everlasting foundation 
 beyond the skies, But a trial will come upon all these 7iaturul 
 vol,. It, I i 
 
258 SPIRIT OF WISDOM, Sec 
 
 powers ; and then will be fiilfillcd the words ot" the Prophet ; the 
 youths shall faint and be ivearij (those who promised to hold out 
 the longest,) and the young men (the choicest and the strongest 
 of all) shall utterly fall. Is. xl. 30. 
 
 The Spirit of Kiionvledge. The word rendered knowledge^ in 
 this place, has a very full and comprehensive idea, and includes 
 the whole experience of the children of God. It consists in 
 knowings, by a sensible enjoyment of the thing known, and it par- 
 ticularly refers to the enjoyment of God and the things of God, 
 by communion with them. By this Spirit, as the Spirit of know- 
 ledge, a man is led to know and to estimate himself aright, as 
 well as to form a just value upon all other things. By this he is 
 led to know experimentally, whatever he knows, concerning the 
 objects of salvation. An Apostle, and the most learned of all 
 the Apostles, humbly proftssed; Of myself I know nothing. 
 After such a testimony, it must be no moderate arrogance in any 
 other man to pretend the ability. And yet, there are people at 
 this time, and there have been people at all times, who suppose, 
 that, from first to last, they are the immediate and ejtpress agents 
 of their own salvation, and who contradict, by that supposition* 
 the terms, the phrases, the analogy, and agreement, of the whole 
 book of God. Scarce any presumption, for instance, is more 
 common, than that it is in every man's own power to repent^ when 
 he pleases, as often as he pleases, and as long as i.e pleases: and, 
 accordingly, vve have volumes upon volumes written, and ser- 
 mons after sermons preached, to strengthen that presumption. 
 But where is the effect, and what? Who is converted by these 
 imscriptural discourses to God? Who learns from them to detesl 
 and avoid sin, to be heavenly minded, or to be weaned from the 
 •world? Do the writers and preachers themselves? — It is tender 
 ground : Let them ask their own hearts the question. God's 
 word, however, holds out a very different sentiment concerning- 
 repentance. The term ,«.«7«sya<« which implies the repentance 
 vmto life, is used in the New Testament to express a change of 
 the mind,* and points out, by an easy implication, how much the 
 
 * The word ani signifies this change ,• .and it also signifies consolation : 
 Possibly because tliis repentance leads to all consolation, and is never to be 
 repented of. There is another word nic, which is transhited to repent ,- but 
 it means ratlier to be converted ; as when a person hath gone wrong into a 
 way of trouble and sorrow, he is turned back or restored to a nglit path of 
 pc.ice and quietness. The Apostle Peter hath used the sense of both words 
 in Acts lii. 19. 
 
 The re.ider may see a just definition of cv.angclical repentance in tliat ex- 
 cellent little tract, entitled, .? Sketch of tlie disdvgidshing graces of a Chri.' 
 titm i by the Rev. .Mr. Gurdon, p. 44, &c. 
 
SPIRIT OF WISDOM, &c. 259 
 
 r,aind of man is turned from truth and rectitude. To change it 
 from this state of corruption, can only be tiie work of the Father 
 of spirits. God only could raise a dead body : and can any being, 
 inferior to God, quicken vith life a perverted and dead soul ? Re- 
 pentance is a grace of the Spirit, effected in the soul by his own 
 immediate agency, and carried on to its perfection in life eternal 
 by his almighty power : And they, who imagine this ability in 
 themselves, (though they never found it there, nor saw it in oth- 
 ers) only prove, that they know not the scrijitures^ nor the Jionvcr 
 of God. 
 
 The last title, which the Spirit has in the text of the Prophet 
 is. The S/iirit of the Fear of Jehovah. It has been well obser- 
 ved by a learned author, that " the word i^'v [whence snt or tnt, 
 translated year] when it is used with relation to God, signifies 
 every kind of religious duty and wo ship both internal and exter- 
 nal.* Hence he observes, that mm na-vi mpans the same with 
 B-eoircfieix and evtrs^eix^ that is, the adoration of God and fiiety. 
 The word reverence oy veneration, more aptly conveys the sense 
 of the term used by the Prophet in this viewj and well expresses 
 the final ofiice of the Spirit in his people upon earth, which con- 
 sists in making them meet, by all holiness, for his kingdom of 
 glory. Much of this holiness lies in the religious actings and 
 pious breathings of the soul towards God. It is indeed a careful 
 and circumspect carriage of life outwards, and must be so ; other- 
 wise, there is nothing within, or at least nothing for comfort 
 But its chief energies are applied to thei?2ner jnar., and are acted 
 in him, very much out of the worici's eye, often out of the eye 
 of even gracious professors, and sometimes ((jspeciaiiy in the 
 hours of temptation) out ot u,° believer's own eye. Tne pur- 
 pose of the Spirit, in all seasons, whether light or gloomy, tiied 
 or not tried, is to bring xhe soul to that filial reverence, depen- 
 dence, sdoration, and consciousness of God in Christ, both for 
 time and eioinity, which may render it fit for the beatific vision 
 and fuli fruition of Heaven. He induces all devotion, to' effect 
 devotedness. This is the Spirit's finishing work in the soul upon 
 earth ; avid therefore it is placed last in the above text, that we 
 might, as Christians, see, wliat the power of the Spirit was in 
 Christ ybr us, and what through Christ his power is te be in us. 
 In both respects, there is an ir.exiiaustible fund of hope and joy ; 
 because Christ cannot be disappointed of the fruit of his doings 
 
 * Spanh. Dub. Evang. vol. 11. p. 276. 
 
 •|- The jxx have rendered nNi^ in tiie text by this wox<l ^ 
 
260 SPIRIT OF WISDOM, &c, 
 
 in bis ^reat work of redemption, nor the Spirit defeated in his 
 purpose of appl^intj; that work to our benefit, and of fittingj us 
 for its full enjoyment. O what news is this to the soul w. dis- 
 tress, or to a soul going into eternity 1 Kingdoms, and en., ires, 
 and a thousand worlds, are not to be mentioned with these supe- 
 rior glories with glories, which cannot decay {as these do'!' 
 
 but which shall grow more and more glorious through all the 
 everlasting ages. O how has this prospect ravished the spirit of 
 many a departing Christian, and given him a taste of the unut- 
 terable bliss of Heaven, before he could come there ! How in- 
 tense, yet solid, the delight which he has felt — almost too much 
 at times for the mortal frame ; and, with what transport, has hs 
 proclaimed victory over death and the grave, and all the fears and 
 apprehensions which swallow up the world 1 — Reader ; canst 
 ihou pity the Christian in this state ? If thou canst ; well may 
 iie pity thee. 
 
 There are some other terms, applied to the S/urit, which are 
 so immediately connected with this office of being Wisdom to his 
 people, and seem to arise as so many branches from it, that they 
 may properly be considered in the same essay. Indeed, they may 
 be looked upon only as farther explanations, or presentations, of 
 his divine agency to the mind; or as different or distinct views of 
 ihe same magnificent object, m some particular respects or pro- 
 portions. The object is a nvhole ; but, through the minuteness of 
 our capacity, and the narrowness of our apprehension, we can 
 f,ce only one part, or one side, of this object at a time : and, thcrc- 
 iore, these various displays should be owned, as so many mer- 
 ciful accommodations from God to our limited understandings. 
 
 OxE of the S/tirii^s gracious attentions to his people, is to be 
 found in his title of Guide. The gracious promise is, that He 
 shall Guide the77i irito all the truth. John xvi. 13. But, it may 
 be said, that the same promise is made concerning Christ ; and it 
 may be asked if there be no confusion of the office ? — If the words 
 arc diily considered, it will appear, that there ia no confusioy, 
 but, on the contrary, the utmost harmony in the case. Christ, 
 as the dai/-s/iri}iffj was to vis^t^ give light, and to guide our feet 
 mto the nmij of peace. Luke i.79. In this last text, the word is 
 Koliv^vvui which signifies, " to direct by a right line" to some 
 particular object:* and it answers well to the title of the blessed 
 Redeemer, H/ie^po^®-, Forerujiner, who laid down that rigbt 
 ane, di\u\ first walked i7i //himself. The Old Testament has h 
 
 ' Leig'h. Cri:. Sue-, in vrr'^ 
 
SPIRIT OF WISDOM, 8cc. f2Gl 
 
 I'orrcsprondent word; Iiut more strong and simple. The name 
 fjiSN Leader, Forerunner^ Preceptor, is formed upon this idea ; 
 that as N (the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet) is the leading 
 letter of the other letters, and the Jirst element of all future 
 science and erudition ; so is the name, taken from it, applied to 
 one who precedes, qv leads uji a train after him. Christ, there- 
 fore, calls himself by this very name, to subserve this important 
 idea of his walking before us, and oK entering first into the holy of 
 
 holies for us. Rev. i. 8. I am Al{iha But there is another 
 
 •word, used to express the agency of the 5/;mV, in resppct to /iz.s 
 personal guidance. He is the « J'ljyas, not merely as 2i forerunner, 
 or as one that points out the way, but as our Conductor and Com- 
 fianion in it. The Hebrew word for this (as usual) expresses the 
 doctrine more happily. Tkou slntlt guide me with thy counsel. 
 Ps. Ixxiii. 24. The term nnj not only signifies simply to guide^ 
 but to guide ivit/t comfort aiid comjilacency, agreeably to the 
 Spirit's office oi Comforter and S/ilrit of Counsel. Thus in Isaiah 
 Iviii. II. Jehovah shall guide thee continually : and the words, 
 which follow these, express the happy effects of his guidance. 
 There are some other passages, where this word is used to signi- 
 fy Jehovah the Spirit's comfortable guidance and support ; one 
 in particular at Exod. XV. 13 — 18, Thou in thy mercy hast led 
 forth \j.houhB.5t guided fiowerfu'ly in Christ] the fieo/ile tvhom 
 thou hast redeemed: thou has guided them '[^gently led, as a shep- 
 herd his flock] in thy strengthunto thy holy habitation, or habi- 
 tation of thy holiness. Fear and dread shall fall upon them 
 
 l^the zxi^\c{\G,%^by tltr greatness of tlmie arm they shall be as still 
 as a stone ; till thy [leopdc pass over, O Lord, tiir thy people pass 
 over, which thou hast purchased, or possesstd. Tho2i shalt bring 
 ■them in, and fdant them in the mou7itain of thine inheritance, the 
 place O Lord, nuhich thou hast m.adefor thee to dwell in [for thine 
 own rest^ in the sense of Eph. ii. 22] : in the sanctuary, O Lord, 
 which thy hands have established : the Lord shall reign for eva: 
 and ever. This glorious passage includes the purport of the Old 
 and New Testaments, the offices of Christ and the Spirit, the 
 object and end of all grace and salvation. The people of God 
 are said to be — redeemed-^in mercy — guided powerfully, andgen^ 
 tly led — not in their own strength, but in Jehovah's — to Heaven j 
 the earth not being the habitation of his holiness, because it hpollu^ 
 ted and cursed — all opposition to be nothing or in vain against 
 them — while they ^ass oxier; which is doubled for a particula^y 
 emphasis, and denotes, that they must be Hebrews \w deed, as 
 
262 , SPIRIT OF WISDOM," Sec' 
 
 well as in7m77ic ; and must fiassyXikc Abraham ever the river, leav- 
 ing all behind them for God ; or, like the Israelites over the sea, 
 quitting with Moses the world and its bondage — for they belong to 
 
 another, being the finrchace and jiossession of God are to be 
 
 his habitation through the Spirit and, then, the Lord will 
 
 reign in them and over them for ever and ever. According to 
 this gracious promise, the Holy Spirit typically led them through 
 the wilderness, by the pillar of cloud and fire. They moved as 
 Le moved, and followed wAerever he led He nevor left them 
 
 till he brouglit them to Canaan. This is a summary of the 
 
 gospel and grace of God, and was given to lead up his people's 
 minds, above the consideration of their present deliverance from 
 Pharaoh and Egypt, to what that deliverance typified, and to what 
 ■^vould be tlie end of their faith in him; namely, a present release 
 from the curse and bondage of sin, and finally the consummation 
 of grace in glory. It is a full answer to the miserable cavil, that 
 the people of God in the Old Testament were to have nothing in 
 vievv but temfwrol things : it is a rich promise to believers in all 
 nges that (Jehovah-Jesus having redeemed and purchased them 
 by his blood and righteousness) Jehovah the Spirit will guide 
 them with comfort and safety, in the face of all their enemies, to 
 
 liis and their holy habitation. O what a delightful theme is 
 
 here for meditation and praise !■ For meditation without anxi- 
 ety, and for praise without end I How justly then do they, who 
 liave gotten the fined victory and are entered into rest, take up 
 the harps of God [{ov, e\cn there, they have neither instrument 
 nor skill of their own,) and sing the song of Moses, and the so7!g 
 of the Lamb, saying great and ?narvellous are thy worfct, Lord 
 God, jilmighty ; just and true are thy ivaiJs, thou King of Saints ■ 
 The song of Moses, and the song of the Lamb, are but two parts 
 of the same glorious Anthem ; ihe one chauniing forth the pre- 
 dict io7i ; the other, the crcco??2/i/ii/iwp?2; of everlasting i ruth : and 
 they accord in one chorus, in one transpc; ring, univuisal thun- 
 dering, Halldujah '. The voice from Heaven, the voice as cf 
 ?nany waters, the voice as of a vast thunder, and the voice cf 
 these ini umerable harpers, was o,iiy o7ie great resounding voice 
 of ili^ii perfct 7iu7nber of God's eicct, who sing belore tiie throne 
 one blessca oc/e of thanksgiving, fver-n^w, though everlasung. 
 Rev. XV. 3. andxiv, 2, 3. To all this, reader, the Holy SpiU is 
 the heavenly Guide. Art thou not ready to turn the Psalmist's 
 ivords into a prayer ; may this God be our God for ever a7id cvcr-^ 
 
SPIRIT OF WISDOM, &c. 263 
 
 for time and eternity : May He be our guide even unto deaths and 
 beyond it ! 
 
 Connected witli this office of the Spirit, as the SfiiritofWis- 
 dotrii is his title of Teacher. Under this name, the Prophet 
 Joel speaks of him, in ii. 23. Be glad, ye children of Zioru and 
 rejoice in Jpfwuah your jilehini., for he hath given you npixS nmcn 
 the Teacher of or for right eousnes.i ; and he will cause to come 
 down C3:h to you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain^ in 
 the first, or clrief (pvobabiy) of their season. The words cannot 
 be translated into any other '..vnguaf^e, to carry their spiritual and 
 imoortant sense ; as the original did to true believes, under the 
 Old Testament. Our tongue can convey the notion of rain, the 
 Spirit's embleir. , but not, as in Hebrew, what the rain signifies 
 in the same word. This is a glorious prophecy, to the end of the 
 chapter, concerning the divine Spirit. He is to teach '..is people; 
 and his doctrine is to descend like a K»'Jj a cppious showei, which 
 shall replenish with grace, or fall in its gentler infiuences, as 
 the miD the earli/ rain at seed-time, representing the instruction 
 which is first imparted to the mind, and as thenfipSn the latter rain 
 at harvest maturing the corn, answering; o that subsequent eru- 
 dition which ripens and fills the soul for the heavenly garner. — 
 Our translators, by rendering ptt'Nia f/i the first month, set:r>. to 
 have made the text absurd ; as though it said, both the former 
 rain and the latter rain fell in one month. But the former and 
 the latter rain came down in months as wide asunder as October 
 and March ; and there is nothing said about month in the whole 
 chapter.* The natural image appears to be, that both of these 
 rains shall fall in the prime or chief of the season ; and the spi- 
 ritual sense, that these doctrines and instructions shall all descend 
 in him, and through him, who is the head or chief of Jehovah's 
 ■way of grace, and the head or chief of his own body tiio Church ; 
 or that they shall be imparted in the very best time. The next 
 verse, the 24th, treats of the consequentblessednessof the Spirit's 
 descent through Christ upon his people : Thf floors shall be full 
 of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wikc and oil — there 
 shall be abundance of grace ; and comfort and joy shall super- 
 
 * There is a similar prophecy in Rosea vl. 3. and s\Tnbols of the hke ki;;d 
 are used in other places, which are to be understood m the same manner. 
 Cocceius renders tlie above pass?.g-e in Hosea ; et veiiiet ut imber nobis, vS 
 serodna eriuliens terram ; " and he shall come hke a shov/er '.o i;s, like the 
 latter rain teaching- the ground," i. e. prepanng it. The ler.rncd Hebrxaii 
 aimed to preserve the double sense of the ong-iniil, which the Latin and Eng- 
 lish will scarcelv bear. See Psalm Ixxii, 6. 
 
264. SPIRIT OF WISDOM, &c. 
 
 abound. The following verse speaks of ihc triumph over ene- 
 mies, and the restoration by grace of what was lost by sin; and. 
 the two succeeding verses, treat of the happiness, salisfaciion, and 
 joy, which shall be to God's people, and of the praise which they 
 shall render him, in consequence of their sense of his presence 
 in the midst of them ^ and of the assurance that they shall never be 
 ashamed. After this follows immediately that celebrated proph- 
 ecy, which St. Peter explains in the Acts, and which, in fact, is 
 only a farther illustration of the verses above mentioned. They 
 all belong to one and the same prophecy, and afford a key to Deut. 
 xi. ] 1. Lev. xxvi. 4. and several other passages of that nature. 
 The office^ and neccssitij of the office, assumed by the Holy Spirit, 
 oi the Teacher., is undeniably set forth in the end of this second 
 chapter of Joel, and set forth in such a manner, and with such 
 dignity of circumstances ; as, one would think, could leave no 
 doubt in the mbid of any candid and impartial person, concerning 
 the truth of his divinity. 
 
 J3 e ho Id (s^ys Elihu) God exalieth, raiseth up the mind, by his 
 fioivcr : who teaxheth like him ? He teacheth not like man with 
 uncertain effect, but efficaciously^ mightily^ yea (if the word may 
 be permitted) almightily. It is the glory of Jehovah, to give men 
 real knowledge,, and to teach them, with the utmost certainty, ta 
 jirofit : and it is as expressly the office of the Comforter, the 
 .Holy Ghost ivhoiyi the Father hath sent in the name of Jesus ■^ t» 
 teach his /leuple all things. John xvi. 26. and to guide them into 
 all the truth, v. 13. Consequently, he is the true and very Jeho- 
 vah, the most mighty and omniscient God. 
 
 Let him, who hath the unctioii of the Holy One^ look into al- 
 most any passage of the Bible ; and he will see full and indubi- 
 table proofs of his great Teacher's divinity, everywhere expres- 
 sed or implied. And he hath the ivitncss of his tuition within 
 himself. The word and his own experience wrought by him who 
 gave the word, answer, as in a glass, like face to face. He is leu 
 more and more to prize the words not which mart's tvisdom teach- 
 eth, but which this Holy Ghost teacheth, comfiaring sfiirituat 
 things with spiritual. By these words, the great Teacher dis- 
 f//^/^w<'s and z;zs^ruc/s his mind, and often f/arrs his communica- 
 Uons cf grace and knowledge, like a keen and irresistible arrow, 
 into the inmost soul. He makes his doctrine enter into the very 
 heart; and, therefore, the Apostle calls it ^<wy, x«/ EVf/)'/??, ««« 
 TofA.u'] ifoi, living and energeticiand 7Hore pnictratmg.,\.\\z.n even the 
 sharpest weapon, which is all edge and point — a two-edged sword- 
 
SPIRIT OF WISDOM, S-.c. 565 
 
 Heb. iv. 12. God doth not deal in flashy expressions, which hav& 
 great pomp and little meaning ; but uses that internal vigor of 
 sense, which language alone can never impart to the soul. 
 
 Sense in each word with power shines 
 And truth through all the nervous lines. 
 
 In this way, he renders his people (however ignorant in v/orld ■ 
 ly science) truly learned, and deeply wise : not in the jingle and 
 cadence of sounds, (the fribbled dress of literary coxcombs;) not 
 in puny and trifling criticisms upon such supposed elegances 
 and polish of phrase, as are to be met with in human authors^ 
 who have, more or less, high words and low sense ; not in com- 
 paring his holy book with the trifting compositions of heathea 
 poets and philosophers, nor in admiring passages, only because 
 (like them) they charm the weakness of fancy, or the flights of im^ 
 agination ; not in measuring and moulding his revealed will ac«' 
 cording to the little low rules of human logic, rhetoric, or gram- 
 mar, the mere eflbrts of mortal ingenuity : but in planting or im- 
 buing their very spirits into those profound and momentous truths 
 ■which open the eternal affairs of an approaching immortality, and 
 which are founded on the solemn declarations of a most holy 
 and tremendous God. To a mind thus rightly informed, and 
 preserved thus rightly in frame, which sees the glory, and /"ce/? 
 the worth of these important things; how flat and jejune, how 
 barren and poor, do the finest ivords appear, which only play (as 
 it wcrej about the surface of the subject I How puny and insipid 
 all comparisons of the excellencies in scripture, with the tink- 
 lings of the ciassicsj or the most labored performances of men i 
 These indeed may serve to amuse, and in natural things-, may 
 also serve to embellish and inform the mind ; but, in the things of 
 God either by way of rule or illustration, they are perfectly out 
 of season, order and place. The utmost end they can serve, in 
 this respect, is by way oifoil, to shew their ignorance when op-» 
 posed to the -wi-do??! of Heaven. In the spiritual temple, they are 
 as profane and impertinent; as were, in the outward temple, 
 those bold intruders, Antiochus and Pompey the Great.* Per- 
 sons became holy by having a real relation and right to the tern* 
 pie ; and they did not expect the knowledge of divine things ouf 
 o/ it. H'hen I ii'ent in to the sanctuary (said David) then under" 
 sto'jd I, bic. In like manner ; we must find divinity, and the true 
 excjilcncies of divinity in the Bible alone, which is the Christian. 
 
 * Mace, V. 15. Joseph. JIjjJ. Jwl. 1. xlv, r. 8. 
 VOL. II. K k 
 
«66 SPIRIT OF WISDOM, 8cc. 
 
 sanctuary; wc cannot cow^o«c them ourselves, nor obtain them 
 elsewhere from others ; nor do they require human ornaments to 
 recommend them, but their or^n native simplicity. " Many (says 
 the learned Medel would have gold to be gilded, and find want 
 of knowledge in the noblest piece of learning in the world."— 
 What would the men of taste say, if, in a picture of Christ with 
 his Apostles at the last supper, ihe painter should draw the fig- 
 iires with bags, swords, ruffies, and other trappings of men going 
 to court ? Would they admire his judgment ? The beauty of 
 God's word consists in its truth and relation to spiritual things s 
 and the best representation of that word, in human languajfe, i& 
 ^vhat most discovers this relation of eternal truth and draws back 
 the veil from before it. Hence, men must firay as well c\sread ; 
 or they will find nvords instead of things :■ they may adjust or ad- 
 mire the cadency of the language, discover poetical flights^ and 
 respect the strength of the diction ; but, with all these exterior 
 circumstances, which are but as tinsel to the gold which it covers, 
 they may know nothing of those divine glories which irradiate 
 and almost animate the book of God. If this method were pur- 
 sued in studying theology, most of the heresies and errors which 
 obtain among men, through neglect or ignorance of that blessed 
 book, would soon be exploded for futilities, which, under a shev/ 
 of reason contradict the first great reasonm the world. At pre- 
 sent, too many bring sentiments to the scripture, instead of re- 
 ceiving \\\\X\\from\\. ; and because these sentiments will ever vary, 
 and those who hold them are glad to catch at any thing which may 
 support their respective opinions ; they turn (as far as they can) 
 the Bible into Babel, and try to make it speak all manner of lan- 
 guages. Whereas, it contains but one great truth, whose root 
 is in the God of Truth; and all its several doctrines, phrases, 
 and terms are but so many branches growing out of it, which 
 have a natural relation and resemblance to each other. 
 
 There are several other titles, ascribed to the Holy Sjiirity 
 which have a very near relation to these here considered ; but we 
 should carry this essay into a volume, if we attempted to treat of 
 them all: and, therefore, the last which shall be adduced in this 
 connection, is his name of Maker, Former, Fashioner^ or Fra- 
 mer. Our translation unhappily uses these terms in an indis- 
 criminate manner, for one and for other words in the origi' 
 Tial, which, though they have a relative signification, are certain- 
 ly not the same, and are sometimes applied in very different 
 ;icnses» We will talic the principal of these which are usually 
 
SPIRIT OF WISDOM, &c. 267 
 
 rendered Alaker or Former ; and, by the natural, endeavour to 
 to explain its spiritual idea. A text or two will help us in 
 this. Isaiah xlv. 18. For thus saith Jehovah, that Kiia cre- 
 ated (out of nothing) the Heavens, the Ale him himself that 
 tp (formans)ybr;«fir/i ('?wou/rfe;/i according to his will) the earth, 
 and 7\vy (faciens) maketh (arranges its perfect frame and order) 
 even Ae njjiD es^ad/ZsAes ?V (fixes it firmly and unalterably in its 
 whole aiTangement :) He created it not in vain; he formed it to 
 he inhabited : I am Jehovah, and^iv ri< ivithout end of my dura- 
 tion or power. Let the verse, preceding this, be considered ; 
 and it will appear that all this testimony of Gcd relates to spirit- 
 ual objects and matters of salvation, and that the present verse, 
 with its illative particles ns-'-a, for thus, is intended for a confir- 
 mation of the other verse, which it could not be unless that verse 
 had a spiritual meaning also. The following parapnrase may 
 possibly explain the whole. " Israel hath not been called to my 
 knowledge in order to perish, but shall be saved in Jehovah with 
 an everlasting salvation : ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded 
 world without end. For thus shall it be in your spiritual creation, 
 as it was in the natural ; I the Alehim, God in covenant, brought 
 the world and you both out of nothing ; I gave you a new creation 
 from amidst the destruction of sin, I have endued you with gra- 
 cious capacity, as I did the earth with beautiful form. I have ar- 
 ranged all things in you and for you ; as I have arranged in per- 
 fect order all the universe of matter about you. I, even I, have 
 so fixed all tliese blessings of salvation, that, like the world 
 itself, they cannot be moved, shaken, or frustrated. Nor have I 
 bestowed all this cost and care in vain ; for, as I have formed the 
 earth to be inhabited, so have I formed and fitly framed you to be 
 an habitation of Jehovah through the Spirit. I, who pronounce 
 this mighty promise, am Jehovah himself, to whom there is no 
 
 bound of will, time, or power." Another text, which must be 
 
 understood in the same way, may be cited from the same Proph- 
 et to confirm this important testimony. Is. xliii. 7. God's peo- 
 ple are to be brought to his salvation from all parts of the world : 
 not one is to be left, but all are to be gathered ; even every one 
 (says the Lord) that is called in my name [God's calling is an effec- 
 tual calling in Christ] a7id to my glory : I have created him, I 
 have formed him, (or moulded him to my will,) even I have made 
 him, or disposed him to such a frame of mind, as is necessary for 
 his salvation. There are several other passages, and particular- 
 ly in this prophecy, which mention the power and loye of God in 
 
Ua SPIRIT OF WISDOM, Sec. 
 
 forming his people, and which are to be understood in no olhec 
 than a mental or spiritual sense. See also Zech.xii. 1. 
 
 And wherefore shall none of these fail ? and why shall none of 
 the redeemed be left ? — Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and 
 read : .Yo one of the.ie shall fail, none shall want her mate ; for 
 7ny mouth [Christ] hath himfielf comManded, and hU Spirit himself 
 hath gathered them. Is. xxxiv. 16. There is an almighty efficacy 
 in Jesus to redeem, who is the mouth and word of the mouth for 
 Jehovah to his people , and there is an equally omnipotent power 
 in the Spirit to collect and gather together in one [that is, Christj 
 all th:- children of God that are scattered abroad. Compare Johu 
 xi. 52. with Eph. i. 10. — And who is sufficient for these things, but 
 He who is all-sufficient ? Who could do this great work, but that 
 great God, who can do every thing? And if all this be through 
 the operation of the Spirit ; what bold creature can presume to 
 question his divinity, or call into doubl ths efficacy of his creating 
 power ? 
 
 How wonderfully suited are all these offices of grace to the 
 condition and wants of the redeemed ? In this gracious Spirit, 
 through Christ, there is an adequate supply for every possible 
 occasion and circumstance of their souls ; and in his holy word 
 there is a full and positive direction, under each of those possible 
 circumstances, to that supply. — They were sunk in sin and folly, 
 and loathsome in the sight of incorruptible holiness : There is the 
 Sjiirit of wisdom, given through Jesus their coyenant-hcad, to re- 
 new them to life, and to recover them from ignorance and insen- 
 bibilily. — They are situated in a world of error, and have ten 
 thousand attacks made upon their minds by the sophisms and fal- 
 lacies of a carnal nature, of carnal men, and of evil spirits : The 
 Holy Ghost is the Binah, or Spirit of understanding, to give them a 
 right judgment and true discernment in spiritual things; so that 
 they shall not be beguiled of their reward by any enticing words. 
 Col. ii. 4, 18. — When they have obtained faith ; it is their privilege 
 and duty to seek the full evidence and comfort of their faith, that 
 they may ho/ie to the end : The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Coun- 
 sel to work this demonstration and clear perception in their souls, 
 so that believing they may rejoice with joy U7isficakabie and full of 
 glory. They are naturally without strength, and have no spi- 
 ritual power of tnclr own ; and, when grace is given and an op- 
 portunity occurs, they have no ability of themselves to exert it 
 (or any just and gracious purpose: The comforter is the Spirit 
 cx MiglU and worketh inightily in their inner man, eKuUling theiu 
 
SPIRIT OF WISDOM, &c. 269 
 
 both to Hvill and to do of his good /ileasure : He suffers none of 
 his to be barren or unfruitful ; and be not only inspires them 
 with readiness to every good word and work, but he ordains even 
 the works themselves, and affords his people strength so to per- 
 form them, as to render them good in reality, with respect to God 
 and man : He allows none that belong to him to take up the form 
 of' godliness in their lips, and to deny the power of it in their lives. 
 They want experience and establishment in the truths of salva- 
 tion : He is the Spirit of that knowledge and experience, and ex- 
 ercises their minds to endzire hardiness as good soldiers of Christ, 
 that they may conflict with their enemies, and become at length 
 conquerors and more than conquerors, through him that loved 
 them. — ^They ought to be devoted to God in heart and life, 
 should walk as in his presence, and should be prepared for his 
 eternal fruition : This Holy One is the Spirit of the fear of the 
 Lord to effectuate and establish these heavenly principles in their 
 lives and souls. — Further : They were not only ignorant, but out 
 of the way : He is the guide, to bring them again into the right 
 ivay, to walk with them in it, and to conduct them safely to their 
 journey's end. — They need constant instruction : He is their sub- 
 lime Teacher, who will make his doctrine descend as the dew, 
 and his lessons of grace, like the early and the latter rain, in due 
 seasons He will water them every moment ; so that they shall 
 spring and grow, and bear fruit abundantly to his glory. — As 
 they could not create themselves anew ; so likewise they can- 
 not frame and prepare their own souls for the everlasting man- 
 sions ; This blessed Spirit therefore is the former, maker, fa- 
 shioner, and preparer of all their spirits for glory, as well as glory 
 for them : All his dispensations, providences, teachings, and sup- 
 ports, concentrate in this one great end, that they might be eter- 
 nally saved, and that God in all things may be glorified through 
 Christ Jesua. 
 
 From these considerations, the dignity of the person, who exe- 
 cutes these amazing operations in myriads of souls at one and the 
 same time, and at all times as well as in all places, without inter- 
 mission or end ; and the vast importance of the opei'ations them- 
 selves, in the bliss of such innumerable multitudes and in the 
 glory of God ; may evidently appear, and perhaps cannot but ap- 
 pear, to any unprejudiced or awakened mind. But, however, to 
 guard us (as it were), against a contrary conclusion, absurd as the 
 conclusion is even in reason, as well as repugnant to scripture ; 
 God hath given such a positive testinfiony to the divinity of bis 
 
270 SPIRIT 01' WISDOM, See. 
 
 Spirit in this case, as ought to silence the most audacious tongue. 
 He himself calls this Spirit, as his first and leading name of na- 
 ture, the Spirit Jehovah ; thereby declaring, that He is able to 
 perform all the stipulations and promises of the everlasting cove- 
 nant revealed to his people, and that they are to look up to him 
 for the performance of them, both in time and eteraity. Of whom, 
 beside this Spirit, is the following glorious declaration (to men- 
 tion no others) given to the church, which contains his particular 
 agencies for her ? Hast thou not known ? hast thou not heard^ 
 that the everlasting Alehim Jehovah, the creator of the ends of 
 the earth fainteth not, neither is weary ? there is no searching of 
 his inider standing. He giveth fiower to the faint ; and to them 
 (hat have no might, he increaseth strength ; even the youths shall 
 faint and be weary ; and the young men shall utterly fall : But 
 they that wait u/ion the Lord shall renew their strength ; they 
 shall mount ufi with wings as eagles ; thexj shall run and not be 
 nveary, and they shall walk and not faint. Is. xl. 28, 8cc. Com- 
 pare these operations with the Spirit's titles in Is. xi. above reci- 
 ted ; and see whether they do not answer as precisely, as the name 
 of any agent, and the agency signified in the name, possibly can do. 
 
 And now. Reader, what says thy heart to all this ? Canst thou 
 receive it, not only as true, but (what is almost as important, at 
 least to thy state) true to thee? Hast thou any savour of these 
 blessings ; and are the names and offices of the Spirit, who be- 
 stows them, as ointment fioured forth ? Art thou led into the 
 exfierience of these doctrines ; and arc not the doctrines them- 
 selves reviving to thy soul ? It must, it will be so, indeed. 
 
 Thou wilt be ready to break forth with the Psalmist ; how pre- 
 cious are thy thoughts, the whols counsel of thy revealed will, 
 unto me, O God .' How great is the sum of thein ? 
 
 If thou nast been truly convinced of thine own ignorance and 
 the want of spiritual wisdom ; nay, what is more, of the want of 
 cajiacity to attain it, and the inability of all the creatures to con- 
 fer it upon thee ; thou art convinced also, that the Spirit of Wis- 
 dom can bestow it upon thy soul, and impart the power to exer- 
 cise it, when bestow-ed.— .Thou hast seen, that this wisdom is 
 not a wisdom oi words only ; that it doth not consist infne sounds, 
 but im/ioriant sense ; that it doth not sfieculatc so much upon its 
 proper objects, as taste and enjoy them ;* that it is an acquaint- 
 
 * The reader may Hnd many gracious aiiJ excellent reflections of this 
 
 kind in that aclmirabls Oration of Witsius, entitled devero Theologo, which 
 
 •ujnctbe too m'ich or too often read, ei'peciajly by young professors of di 
 
SPIRIT OF WISDOM, kc: 271 
 
 ance with thingsi imperceptible indeed in themselves to the ani- 
 mal sense, but open and clear to this wisdom in the very spirit 
 and purpose of them. In a word, they are the things of God^ 
 and not of wen : And thou hast been taught the humbling lesson, 
 that God only can bestow them upon thee. Finding, therefore, in 
 the scripture the full evidence of this truth, and in f/ty oiun soul 
 the deep experience of its necessity ; thou becomest entirely 
 persuaded, that, because the Spirit is God, he both is, and is 
 qualified to be the Spirit of Wisdoiyi to thy soul, and to all the 
 redeemed. He is equally necessary to thee, as to them ; and a 
 man must be credulous with a witness who can believe, that v. 
 creature is able to extend himself to myriads of other creatures 5 
 know their very thoughts ; supply with perfect exactness, what 
 is requisite for their respective instruction, strength, comfort, 
 and life, through all the ages of time ; and at length carry on the 
 •whole ot their felicity to his own glory throughout eternity. He, 
 that can believe such a monstrous proposition, rather than sub- 
 mit to God's testimony concerning his own Spirit, without whom 
 (as it hath been proved in the course of these Essays) there is not 
 one operation carried on either in the natural or spiritual world, 
 and to whose divinity every doctrine of the gospel has a direct 
 and indissoluble relation j cannot indeed be called an infidel in a 
 certain sense, but a very devoted believer in human authority in 
 direct contradiction to the divine. He doubts of God's infallibil- 
 ity ; but he swallows, by wholesale, the infallible omniscience of 
 that stupendous reason, which exalts itself against all that is cal- 
 led God and denies the only Lord God and our Saviour Jesus 
 Christ. " That person can very easily believe men in opposition 
 to God (says Cyprian), who will not believe God in opposition 
 to men." Or, perhaps (as some have done) they will make a 
 merit of doubting upon every thing. It would not be an unfair 
 question to ask these sages, whether they do not doubt of their 
 very doubts, and whether in doubting they are sure if they doubt 
 at all. For, if they doubt not of their very doubts, they become 
 ielievers in unbelief: But, if they do doubt of them, they are 
 unbelievers of that very reason, which they pretend to admire, 
 and by which they have acquired the whole art of doubting. Ad- 
 mirable sophists ! who learn the knack of deluding others, by 
 first playing the cheat upbn their own selves. To such mighty 
 
 vinity. The elegance of the composition, gTcat as it must be allowed to be, 
 is nothing in comparison to that amiable spirit of evangtjlical truth and ho- 
 'ine??;, which breathes in every ]inc. 
 
272 SPIRIT OF WISDOM, &c, 
 
 lengths can man's boasted reason lead him; and, though it be ^-^ 
 depraved and short-sighted as not to be able to explain any one 
 substance in the world as to the mode of its existence, nor yet to 
 shew how a man's own spirit acts upon his own body, nor how s» 
 different a principle should be confined for any period of time to a 
 lump of matter ; it can arrogate to comprehend the incomprehen- 
 sible, to define the indefinable, and to assert that God must be 
 t/iis and the ot/ier, while it knows nothing essentially of any one 
 of his creatures. But this is reason^ and sense, and ivisdom ; 
 and, further, his rati oJial religion, natural religion, the religion 
 of very great reasoners; who, above sixteen imndred years aftCF 
 the Apostles, have made a wonderful discovery, ti^al all tlie first 
 ages of Christianity were involved in fanaticism, and stupidity^ 
 •without any rational ideas of religion or any just conceptions of 
 truth. And yet, without much presumption, it n.'ay be creditedj 
 that if some of these immortal rationalists had lived in those ear- 
 ly times, when " the blood ot martyrs was the seed of tae Church ;" 
 their great reasoning faculty would have found out twenty argu- 
 ments, why a man should not forsake all and die for Christ, for 
 one, why he should. — But, when it is considered, that all this re- 
 spect is paid to reason, in order to get rid of the Holy Spirit's 
 agency in the minds of men, and, by that riddance, to prepare the 
 way for something else ; though one cannot admire the reasoning 
 powers or the arguments which are to effect this, one may be as-* 
 tonished at the effrontery of the artifice, which aims to overthrow 
 all Christianity, and to put men exactly upon the level of the el- 
 der Heathens. These certamly had as acute and strong under- 
 standings, as perhaps any moderns will pretend to, in the discov- 
 ery of divine things : yet they had so much modesty as to confess, 
 that God was unknoivJi to their faculties, nor was He an object to 
 be discovered by them. But, let these people but once prevail 
 in exploding the necessity of the Holy Spirit's internal operations 
 in the souls of men ; or (what will finally amount exactly to the 
 same thing) let them once gain credit to their assertions, that he 
 is a creature, an emanation, s^ virtue, a name, or at most an inje- 
 rior God ; it is very easy to see, how they may demolish the whole 
 Christian fabric, and put the gospel of Jesus (as some already 
 have had the boldness to do) upon the same footing with the Ko- 
 ran of Mahomet. As they set out upon a principle, which is di- 
 ametrically opposite to the first great principle of the Bible, viz. 
 
 THAT NO MAN CAN KNOW GoD, OR THE THINGS OF GoD, BUT 
 
 Hv HIS OWN bevelation; it is no sort ef wonder, that their 
 
SPIRIT OF WISDOM, Sec. 273 
 
 /Inductions should contradict its sublimests truths. It could not 
 be otherwise ; partly because these truths were never the ob' 
 jects of reason^ but oi faith only ; and partly because the minds 
 of men are fallen and perverted, and. consequently different fronx 
 themselves at different times, as well as contradictory to the minds 
 of others : And this is the surest proof that can be, of the fa/lacj 
 and imfierfecdon of human reason, and in divine things especially. 
 Were this duly settled, we should hear but little more of, wha^, 
 the world calls, rational religion, natural religion, &c. which 
 are just as proper epithets to be joined witb the word religion, as 
 idolatrous, heathenish, &c. the notions to which these terms are 
 applied, being alike the corrufited offspring of humaii brains. 
 They are altogether but impotent stretches to supersede or get; 
 rid of the Bible. But if the gates of Hell cannot /irevail in such 
 an enterprize ; the gates of earth (as often hath been the case) 
 can scarce expect a better fate. " Light of this sort (says Dr. 
 John Edwards) is but the prologue to eternal darkness." 
 
 All this, however, may deserve the name of cunning, which 
 (as Lord Bacon calls it) is " crooked or left-handed wisdom ;*' but 
 there is not one grain of true wisdo7n in the whole procedure. 
 For since the Holy Spirit is indeed God, and since Jehovah him- 
 self hath declared this for a truth ; the blasphemers of his divini- 
 ty can have but a sorry account to make with him, when they 
 present the sum total of their lives and sayings. There is a fear- 
 ful text against them, which, it is presumed, " all the copies of 
 the New Testament may have extant ;" and which if they realljr 
 believed to be of divine authority, one cannot call their hardiness 
 very reasonable, though peihaps it may be very confident and 
 daring. It seems a great stake to venture ; and a man must have 
 more courage than becomes a Christian, who, as such, dares to 
 hazard any thing, rather than the salvation of his soul. But this 
 sad hazard every man makes, who presumes upon the sufficiency 
 of his own reason, either without or in contradiction to the reve- 
 lation of God. 
 
 Though ignorance is certainly to be avoided, and that man is 
 brutish who desires not to knew ; yet it is much to be lamented^ 
 that people of the finest parts, and those who have the greatest 
 compass of human erudition, are most exposed to the infelicity 
 of thinking highly of themselves, and of becoming dupes to ttieir 
 own vanity or the splendid fallacies of the human understanding. 
 In proportion, as they can make these fallacies shining and spe- 
 cious (whkh men of v.it. and abilities are always capable of ma,- 
 
 voi, ji. I 1 
 
ar* SPIRIT OF WISDOM, &e. 
 
 king, upon the wildest paradoxes and reveries ;) they are the 
 more liable to be ensnared themselves, as well as more dange- 
 rous in deluding others. Most of the arch-heretics were men of 
 undoubted parts and accomplishments, as to the world : But 
 they sought distinction by those parts, invented new opinions to 
 create it, and at length became the victims of their own vanity 
 and pride. It was a just remark of the excellent Philip Henry ; 
 " a head full of vain and unprofitable notions, meeting with a 
 Iieart full of pride and self-conceit, disposes a man directly to be 
 an Atheist." Every body seems delighted with a polished stylcj 
 the charms of wit, the refinements of knowledge, and that com- 
 bination of distributed ideas which is the characteristic effort of 
 genius ; but every body does not see the danger which attends 
 these illustrious qualities, not even those who possess them, nor 
 how much more mischief they are the more likely to work (with- 
 out superior guidance) and above all in spiritual concerns. None 
 of these things are nvisdornjor even iirancAes of wisdom ; because 
 they are and have been employed by men, whom common sense 
 must condemn, to the most undeniable follies, and for the most 
 miserable ends. A wise man may possibly have them; and so 
 may a fool. The world, it may be, will not call him by that name, 
 who is so endowed ; but he must be so, who knows not or neg- 
 lects his true interest. The famous Lord Rochester, the fine- 
 ness of whose genius is undisputed, thought thus of himself, 
 when he was brought to consider, with how little wisdom he had 
 used that genius. And graver men than he^ men possessed of 
 the most uncommon erudition, have lamented at last the misera- 
 ble prostitution of their time to pursuits, which did not make 
 them more wise and knowing for eternity, nor dispose them bet- 
 ter for the enjoyment of it. Cyprian, a great and a good man, 
 \ised to say. Give me the master meaning his Tertullian : He 
 had called more wisely as Selden and some others did in their 
 last days, for the Bible I the Bible ! nothing but the Bible I Here 
 alone is truth without error, or the danger of error ; but fine 
 parts and learning, though in themselves neither one nor the oth- 
 er, have often been engaged in the service of both. Error needs 
 ihem much, to make itself plausible ; but truth appears, most 
 beautiful, when stripped of all ornaments but its own. 
 
 The wisest of men, or rather God by him, gives a strong cau- 
 tion, therefore, on this head Lean not to thine own under' 
 
 standing ; for he that trusteth his own heart is a fool. Prov. iii. 5. 
 Hfid xxxviii. 26. True wisdomj on the contrary, is simple, pure. 
 
SPIRIT OF WISDOM, &c. sn 
 
 smd removed from the appearance of vanity, even in natural things : 
 and the purest wisdom of all, which the spirit of God communi- 
 cates to believers, is still more so. This flows from God, who is 
 all purity and simplicity ; it is supported by him, to the contempt 
 of that wisdom of fools— o?2ssim«v'arion and ^-zii/e; it is carried on 
 towards the enjoyment of a spiritual and everlasting interest, and 
 it ends, where folly never can end, in the salvation of the soul 
 The meanest peasant, who can speak his own language but im- 
 perfectly, may through this wisdom converse deeply with God ; 
 not by the rules of gt-ammar indeed, nor by rhetorical flourishes, 
 but by (what is infinitely beyond these poor arts) the language of 
 Sfiiritsy which God understands, the heart feels, and all Heaven 
 intimately knows. T/ie groanings^ ivMch camtot be uttered^ have 
 an eloquence, which moves the courts of glory, and the very 
 God of glory. There is a pathos in these, which finds all lan- 
 guage poor, and, sometimes, leaving it as such, aims to convey 
 itself by that vehemence of spirit and life, which the God of spirit 
 and of life, both loves and comprehends. Here, the unlettered 
 clown, possessed with this gracious wisdom, soars beyond the 
 learned and the wise of this world, keeps better company than 
 they, talks a more noble language, enjoys more exalted and re» 
 fmed sentiments, feels higher sensations, has more just and gen- 
 erous gratifications, takes more extensive views, estimates life 
 and time with better reason, meets death with more courage, and 
 at length enters into glory (where the comparison ends) with un- 
 speakable triumph. This is his wisdom ; not radically, but im- 
 parted to him : and is it not the very same wisdom, which the 
 most learned Christians desire, above all things, to obtain ? Most 
 assuredly ; for, in fact, there is no other. Nothing can be truly 
 wisdom, which doth not render a man better and happier for eter- 
 nity. Where, then, shall we find this, except in the Bible ? By 
 whom shall we obtain this, but 6;/ the Spirit of Wisdom? And 
 ivhat are they, then, who despise or reject both ? — The answer 
 is a harsh monosyllable in proud ears ; and a man would not ven- 
 ture to utter it, but from something better than man's authority. 
 
 These considerations may afford some comfort to ignorant be- 
 lievers, who fancy themselves low in God's favor, because they 
 are low in the reading of men's books : nor can they give any just 
 cause of offence to the most literary Christians. 1{ these are truly 
 enlightened, they see, that they must sit upon the same form 
 with the meanest believers, must learn the same lessons from 
 the same divine master, and become fooU^ in the apprehension of 
 
2f§ SPIRIT OF WISDOM, &c. 
 
 their own sense and capacity, that they may be wise indeed. Both 
 the one and the other are brought to be convinced, that there is 
 but one wisdom, and but one way of obtaining it : they hav? als» 
 but one lieart, under the divine impression, in the enjoyment of 
 that Wisdom. " He, who would be much with God (which is 
 the only -way of being wise,) let hiin, says Austin, often pray over 
 and read his Bible ; for when we pray, ivc speak with God ; and 
 when we read, he speaks with us." These are the stated meanii 
 of obtaining and improving in this wisdom. The temfile of God 
 /« in the believer ; and, be his body wherever it may, his soul may 
 be at Church, (as it were) all tiie day long, and so firay without 
 ceasing. Here he may draw wisdom continually. Inlikemanntr 
 outward ordinance? become truly refreshing, and (according to 
 Iheir name) meanti of grace : the grace and the means are togeth- 
 er with hi.n ; and he gloi ifies God in both. They consequently 
 increase this wisdom, and establish i^ to the end, through the 
 blessing of the Spirit of Wisdom. For, as the wisdom is but words 
 ^vithout hivi ; He is the spirit and life to make his own wisdom 
 real, and living, and spiritual, to all his people, 
 
 This Spirit will be ever known as the S/iirit of JVisdom, beyond 
 the grave: when the faithful enter glory, they shall know even as 
 they arc krioivn ; not by the iTicdium of sense or sensible objects, 
 as in this v;orld, but by an immediate communion with their God. 
 In that pure and exalted state, the faculties of their souls, now 
 fettered and loaded with matter, will doubtless have a manner of 
 perception neither attainable nor c<"nceivable here. They will see 
 Christ as he is, which now they cannot; and shall be for ever 
 like unto him, which now ihey arc not. IJovv' they will maintain 
 an intercourse with the spirits in eternity^ we can at most but 
 faintly imagine; but certainly by sympathies and attractions, dc- 
 yoid of all gross sensation and its mistakes or interruptions, and 
 probably by that intuitive communication \vluch good men often 
 feel below, in the impressiuni} of grace upon their fiouls. When 
 they are ail spirit, and life, and holiness, it is in)possible but 
 that they must perceive and comprehend vastly beyond the most 
 txalted sublimities imaginable here, and enjoy a scope of wisdom, 
 which, however rempte from the infinitude of that attribute in 
 God, will possibly be; beyond all qompavison with the highest 
 liieasure of it in this life, and even there shall be growing through 
 all the successions of the ages of eternity. Tlie object of kno^^- 
 ledge is infinite ; and, therefore, the created faculties of knowing 
 fee they eyer so immensely extended, will always bg inAnitgly 
 
Spirit of ^VISDO m, &e. 2;^ 
 
 beneath it.* How then, may the heirs of salvation rejoice in thu 
 unsjieakable gifty ar.d in the adorable giver 1 How ought they to ^ 
 worship and glorify him ; who sought them, when they wander- 
 ed out of the right way ; who gave them eyes, to see, at once their 
 own error and his rectitude ; who guided them constantly by his 
 counsel ; and who finally receives them to his glory 1 And how 
 mayest thou rejoice, dear reader, if God hath had mercy on thee, 
 and made thee one of this happy number ! Thou wast, in time 
 past, as a sheep going astray ; leaving home for a wilderness, and 
 
 * Thoug'h it may seem a digression from the immediate subject of this 
 essay, the sei-ious reader will forgive a short reflection or two upon a point, 
 which has often oppressed, if not depressed, many a serious mxnd ; namely, 
 the apparent insig'nificLOice and minuteness of its own being. But the di- 
 mensions of the soul (speaking after the manner of corporal existence) 
 are not to be considered merely as commensui-ate with tliose of the body ; 
 for as the cogitations of the spu-it of a man can act, and do exceedingly ex- 
 tend themselves, far beyond the measure and povrer of that material frame, 
 which is its temporary seat and residence ; so it seems highly probable, that, 
 when the spint is unconfined by gross substance, it shall be ddated and ex- 
 panded at one time, or contracted and compacted at another, according to 
 the measure and operations, which God m his love may assign it. Yet all 
 this may be ordei-ed as much above the remotest approach to corporeity 
 even in its glorified state, as the mode of our Lord's glorified body confes- 
 sedly transcends all those present conceptions, which we are at presentable 
 to form concerning the mode of our own corruptible bodies. VVith respect 
 indeed to the Godhead and his infinitude, all measures of being, so fiir as 
 we are able to conceive of measures, may dii^'er little as to him, however 
 their magnitude or minuteness may strike us. We find however m scripture, 
 that Christ cast out of one individual man a legion of devils (Luke viii. 30.) ; 
 and vet Satan himself, the prince of the devils, is said to -.vork in the hearts of 
 the children of disobedience .■ and, if to work in them, certainly to reside in 
 or act txpon them according to the mode and limited force of his being. 
 But if an evil and accursed spirit is capable of so much extension in liim.- 
 self, and of so diversified a capacity with respect to his powers ; what have 
 not we to bs;li,eve concerning the spirits ofjvst men made perfect, relati\ e to 
 the greatness of their glorified existence, and the vastness of their abilities 
 to shew forth the praises of their divine Redeemer ? What can be said 
 against the erlargement of their powers, even like those of Angels, to ut- 
 ter the wonders of his love, to worlds .almost infinite in number and place, 
 and to beings of glory and power beyond all present conceptions of created 
 nature ? Who can doubt, but, if all heaven is to wring with the triumphs of 
 Jesus Immanupl, that those, who iiave been tlie immediate occasion of Ins asr 
 suming that n une and character, will be the happy instrimients of declaring 
 those triumphs to listening myriads throughout that unbounded region, and 
 of finding new and new myriads to inform and commune with upon the bliss- 
 ful theme throughout eternity ? 'Tis indeed a ravishing prospect, and 
 
 lifts up the mind, above its present narrow scale of being and employment, 
 to an ardent desire for the fidfilment of so much blissfulness in itself, and 
 of so much usefulness in a more exalted and extensive occupation. " O my 
 soul (may the Christian say) though now thou seemest a mere atom or a con- 
 temptible littleness in the magnitude and hnmensity of the creation of God ; 
 yet be not dismayed at thine own meanness and insignificance, as tliough 
 thou couldest be slighted or forgotten ; for thy liedcemer is mighty, and, as 
 te is the fulness which filleth all in all, so shalt thou be raised up, I'ar above 
 all earthly and contracted meastu-es of exlstt^nce, to be fdkd vith kim un^ 
 |o be like unto him for ^\\v ^nd ever i" 
 
2T» SPIRIT OF WISDOM, 8cc. 
 
 the earth which God haih cursed, for the Hell which God hath 
 damned. Thou mayest truly say, with the ancient Christian 
 poet, 
 
 — ■ erravi tempore multo. 
 
 Gens & e^o/ui, perversa mente moratv&.* 
 
 ■Which may be rendered, 
 
 Erring' from God, and in perverseness strong, 
 A Heathen oice I was, and erred long. 
 
 He brought thee to thy rit^/il mind. This S/iirit of wisdom made 
 thee, what thoa wast not born, — a Ciu'istian ! who, contrary to the 
 common notion, is a person not to be known by his name, but by 
 Ills nature. He began, by teaching thee thine own ignorance, and 
 thine utter need of his help. He hath bent, not merely thy knees 
 in prayer, but (what none but his power could bend) the stubborn 
 tempers of thy soul. How often hast thou cried in secret ; " Lord 
 save, or I perish ! I feel myself a wretched, blind, and worthless 
 worm ; without /jowt'r to do good when I would, and without iviU 
 to do it when I ought. I commit a thousand mistakes in my ap- 
 prehensions, which I could not bear that men should know, lest 
 thcv should esteem me for a fool ; but they are all known to thee, 
 even all my straying and my stupid thoughts ; and shall I, can I 
 presume myself to be wise in thy sight, or Jive without depeii- 
 dence upon thee, O thou S/iirit of Wisdotn, for tuition and gui- 
 dance all my days ! Adorable comforter^ I would renounce myself 
 and all the fancied powers of my nature, and would roll all wi'.hout 
 reserve, upon thy conduct and truth, now and for ever, through my 
 covenant-head Christ Jesus !"■ — Thou canst look back upon such 
 secret moments aa these, and canst remember too, that these 
 longings and resignations of soui did not pass away without some 
 token ff^r good. At least thou wast strengthened, if not comforts 
 cd ; emboldened if not lifted up, to ^o on thy luaij rejoicing: Go 
 on, ond prosper, blessed soul : The Lord is with thee. He is the 
 faithful add true witness ; and he neither will nor can, consistent 
 with his own word, promise, and oath, suffer so much as one hair 
 of thine head to perish, or the least portion of his own grace to be 
 lost. O with what peace art thou privileged to live ; with what 
 hope art thou encouraged to die I Death can make no change to 
 thee, but what is for thy good : Death is not the end of thy nature, 
 but of thy sin : Death doth not destroy the least trie life, but con- 
 iummates that life, which is everlasting, wi'.h everlasting glory. 
 
 * ron)modian>:«:, r-pu4 Cave ///:/ li' 
 
POWER. 279 
 
 What a gainer then is the Christian by death ! What profit is it 
 for him to die ! Say then, " Leap my soul, beyond the utmont 
 bounds of the everlasting hills ; spring upwards to him that made 
 them ; mount to God, Father^ Son, and S/iirif, Jehovah the Al- 
 mighty ! Thou hast said — look to me and be saved — I look, and I 
 long : I have nvaited for thij salvation, O Lord ! Nor can I look, 
 and long, and wait in vain. Thou hast kindled this holy fire, that 
 the flame might rise upwards to thy glory, and warm my own 
 heart beneath, and enlighten others around me. O pour thy sa- 
 cred oil upon it, that it may rise higher and burn brighter, that it 
 may illustrate thy praise and increase my joy, throughout eternity.** 
 So be it ! Amen ! 
 
 POWER. 
 
 GOD is pleased to convey to the minds of his people sucJi 
 notices of his divine nature, as they are able to know, or such as 
 are expedient for them to believe, by a variety of names and attri- 
 butes. No variety, however, exists in God, nor is there any dif- 
 ference in the divine perfections; for, as he himself is a pure^ 
 simple and uncompounded being, all his acts and energies do ne- 
 cessarily flow in purity and simplicity, without division or sepa- 
 ration. But,as our narrow capacities cannot duly or fully consider 
 him in the mode oi his existence ; he hath vouchsafed to comrai;- 
 nicate the knowledge of himself, according to the mode of our ex- 
 istence, and, by presenting to us the distinctions in his attributes, 
 hath enabled us to reflect upon the attributes themselves, one by 
 one, with that advantage and comfort, Avhich we were not able to 
 receive from an abstract view of the whole together. For though 
 one attribute of God doth inseparably and actually include all the 
 rest : yet we cannot understand it in this respect for our edifica- 
 tion^ which is the end God proposes in all the revelations of him- 
 self; nor can we Unite the several acts of love, power, wisdonij, 
 mercy, truth, justice, &c. (as they appear to us) into one uncom 
 pounded act, according to the reality of its existence in the divine 
 nature. We cannot do this even in his creatures. We cannot 
 comprehend, respecting ourselves, how the five senses of the bo- 
 dy unite with the reason, memory, will, and other faculties of the 
 soul, to pursue w complete any one action ; nor see all the colors, 
 ivhich are occasioned by the refraction of the same ray of light. 
 
i880 POWER. 
 
 %ithout distinclion or distribution as they are in thcmsclvcsj b^ 
 one application of our sight. When we think of God's justice^ 
 we are obliged to set it off (as it were) from his mercy ; because, 
 liowever the two attributes may exist (as they certainly do) in a 
 perfect unity and without any distinction at all in him, we cannot 
 conceive of their action in this way towards ourselves : We must 
 look upon ejjch apart, or we shall understand neither of them, and 
 perhaps nothing right or clear concerning their importance to us. 
 Our case is the same with all the other attributes ; and if we at- 
 tempt to conceive of them in any other manner, we find our minds 
 bewildered in an inextricable labyrinth, and we feel nothing but 
 amazement instead of knowledge. As our bodily eye cannot take 
 into view all objects at once ; so much less can the eye of oui* 
 minds behold the infinite author of all objects. For this reasons 
 the Lord suits himself to our apprehensions, and reveals the truths 
 concerning his sublime nature in a manner, which bears the near- 
 est analogy to our own. Man, in this respect, as well as others, 
 might be said to have been created in the image of God ; because, 
 in his perfect state, he was to survey God after the similitude of 
 himself, and to consider the mode of God's own action to him, ac* 
 cording to the mode of his action in the world. He had a noble 
 communion with his Creator for this end ; but he lost it by his 
 transgression, and then fell into that spiritual death, which had 
 been threatened, and which involved his nature in darkness, error, 
 and evil. His frame and constitution, however, were radically the 
 same: And, therefore, when God revealed himself for redemption, 
 the mode of his instruction was accommodated, as before, to the 
 natural capacity of the redeemed. 
 
 It seems proper to premise this to shew^ that, as all God's at- 
 tributes and perfections are one in themselves, or rather one in 
 hiJii, so they are not communicable to any creatures, nor act *f/m- 
 ratclxj from himself. Wherever any one of God's attributes acts 
 (speaking after the human conception of this sublime truth,) 
 there God acts : he is his own energy ; and his energy is himself. 
 He is not simply /^owcr, as we understand of an attribute carried 
 out into act, but afiore /io'jycr in himself, and is the being from 
 •whom whatever we know or can conceive of power primarily pro- 
 ceeds, rhe same may be said of all his other perfections. From 
 hence it will follow, that to whomsoever these attributies and per- 
 fections are ascribed either by the testimony of God himself, or of 
 those to whom lie \\\\\\ revealed his will; that bdfig is and can be 
 no other than Co;l. Oihcrwif.e the a.scription wohUI not be true : anri 
 
POWEfi. 281 
 
 Wod can testify nothingbut truth. But these very attributes and per- 
 fections arc ascribed by God himself, and by men inspired by him, 
 to one person called the Son of God, to another person called the 
 iloly S/drity sind to a third styled the Fathers each of whom exer- 
 cises those attributes, with relation to men, in a mode distinct 
 from the mode of all the others, or with expressions of their dis- 
 tinct and particular action. From whence it unavoidably follow^, 
 that these three /lersons are respectively and essentially God ; and 
 yet, because of divine revelation and the simplicity of the divine 
 nature, in a manner inconceivable by us, buto«e Godhead. - 
 
 Among the other attributes, we may consider this of Power: 
 and we shall find that this glory of the divine nature is ascribed as 
 such to each of the divine persons, and that it is not and cannot 
 be so ascribed to any creature. It is applied to each, as to an in- 
 divisible person in that one Godhead, who is pure act, essential 
 power, and the first mover in all that acts or has power. There 
 is no power but of God, is an infallible axiom: and the times and 
 the seasons the Father hath put in his own power, i9 an axiom 
 equally undeniable. The Father, then, hath power, in a manner 
 superior to all creatures. Christ also is set in the hea-veyihj places 
 far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion^ 
 and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also 
 in that which is to come. Eph. i. 21, Now, if Christ be above^ 
 and /ar afioTye all these, it will follow, that Christ hath a divine 
 nature and so is God ; or else, that he is exalledyar above himself, 
 because he is exalted above e-wert/Hawzf, or idea that can be raised, 
 in the natural and spiritual world. Again, he is styled the head 
 of all principality a7id power. Col.ii, 10. Rise as high as possible 
 in the idea of rule and power, he is still the head or spring of 
 them; so that there is no power or rule but of him: and, if this 
 be not asserting his divinity, words can never declare it. The 
 Spirit likewise is termed the Spirit of Might ; because of all pow- 
 er he is the very life and Spirit, its energy, and its act. Hence 
 the Apostle says, that the mighty signs and wonders wrought inf 
 Christ, or through Christ by his disciples, were wrought by the 
 power of the spirit of God. Rom. xv. 19, Acts x. 38. Luke iv. 14. 
 Hence, Jesus himself said, with an asseveration of truth, ho that 
 believeth on me, the works that I do, shall he do also, and great-, 
 er works than these [outward miracles] shall he do ; because 
 I go unto my Father. John xiv, 12. How is this possible ? 
 He explains it afterwards to his disciples, by revealing to them 
 the descent of the Holy Ghost^ the Comforter^ the prsmiae vf 
 
 VOL, II. M Wl 
 
282 ' POWER. 
 
 the Father^ who could ciuliie Ihcm with power, as the Fotvcr 
 from on high. Luke xxiv. 49. And this power was not only to be 
 exercised in the outward miracles of healins: the. sick or raising 
 the dead, but in the far {greater and more difficult wonders of con- 
 verting the soul and quickening the dead in trespasses and sins. 
 This was the demonstration of the S/iirit, who clothed his Apos= 
 tie's words with a po'iuer, which they had not in themselves, and 
 which not all the creatures could give them; and from hence he 
 
 is styled by the Apostle (he Sfiirit of Power. 2 Tim. i. 7. Let 
 
 all this be considered maturely and impartially ; and it seems al= 
 most impossible, upon the ^rround of the scripture, for any man 
 to deny, thatthe^ower so eminently ascribed to each of the three 
 divine persons can be any thing less than the power of God ; and 
 that this ascription of it to them is one of the most forcible modes, 
 which could be used, of c:cpressing their proper divinity and 
 glory. 
 
 The preachers under the Old Testament, who generally were 
 the Prophets, confessed that their knowledge and strength in 
 their office came from the agency of God's Holy Spirit. Triihj 
 (says one of them) I am full of fiower by the Spirit of Jehovah^ 
 and of judgme7itf and of might .^ to declare v?ito Jacob his trans- 
 gression, and to Israel his sin. Micah iii. 8. 77ii/ people (says 
 another, addressing himself to Christ) shall be ivilUng in the day 
 cf thy power ; the peculiar day of which power was, when thr 
 spirit of God and of Christ was poured out upon his people after 
 his ascension. 
 
 The Apostles, under the New Testament, confessed the same 
 truth with their elder brethren the Prophets. Their hope of suc- 
 cess and of salvation abounded through the power of the Holy 
 Ghost ; and, therefore, they did not preach with the entici7ig words 
 of man* 8 wisdom, but in the demonstration of the Spirit, that their 
 [^hcavQVs'^faith might not stand in the wisdom of men, but i7i the 
 pojiver of God i and hence God committed (as one of them urged) 
 this treasure to earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power 
 may be of God, and not of us. 2 Cor. iv. 7. Here the terms GoU 
 and Spirit are reciprocated, and evidently predicated of the same 
 person. The power of God and i\\e. power of the Spirit are also 
 one and the same thing, pi'oceeding from one and the same sojurce.. 
 and concluding to one and the same end. The man, who willnoi 
 see this, shuts his eyes, and then has an excellent cause to com- 
 plain of the darkness. 
 
 An Angel hath confirmed the testimony of Prophets and Apos- 
 tles, and declared, that the greatest blessing, which was eve;' 
 
POWER. 28S 
 
 shewed t» the world, came by the supreme power of the Spirit 
 of truth. The Holy Ghost (says he to the Virgin Maryl shall come 
 uponthee^ and the Potuer of the Highest shall overshadow thee ; 
 therefore also that holy thing-, which shall be born of thee^ shall 
 be called the Son of God. Luke i. 35. The Power of the Highest 
 is characteristic of the agency of that divine Spirit, by whom all 
 things were made^ and who, as a person in the Qprlhead, is es- 
 sential Potuer. This text alone is sufficient to prove the divinity 
 of the HoJy Ghost, and is a two-edged sword against the oppo- 
 sers of the Trinity. For, if the Holy Ghost be the power of the 
 Highest, as Christians believe : then is he true and very God, be- 
 cause he possesses the essential attriijute of the Godhead ; but if the 
 power of the Highest be a being, different from the Holy Ghost ; 
 then there are either ^wo /^ersoj^s mentioned in the text, ora/zer- 
 son and an attribute Cas the anti-chiistians \yould rather have it,) 
 "which is equally against them. If the text speak of ttvo fiersonsy 
 then the spirit or power of the highest are distinctly or conjointly 
 God, — or there will be more Gods than one ; for that which was 
 to be born, through their agencyj was the Son of God — of one 
 God. But if the text speak oi Si/ierson and an attribute (as some 
 folks talk,) then the Holy Ghost must be the person and the flow- 
 er of the highest must be the attribute ; and consequently the Holy 
 Ghost is God; because the human nature of Christ was produced 
 by liiJn and called the Son of God in the text for that reason ; other- 
 wise, to say that Christ's human nature was born oizn atfiibute 
 (in the sense of some, as a mere emanation) not only renders the 
 Spirit's presence a matter of nullity, but contradicts the propri- 
 ety of the expression, which affirms Christ to be the Son of God. 
 Will the adversaries say, that the Holy Ghost and the power are 
 two nmnes £ov the saiJie attribute only l They still cut up their 
 cause; for the Holy Ghost, even according to them, can be no 
 created attribute in that case, but the essential, underiyed act of 
 the Most High : and then it will become them to shew us, how 
 God is so separable from his own act, as to render it improper to 
 say, that the i^o^t/ Ghost is God himself. 1( they grant this; they 
 inake a concession, which will roiit their opinion presently in the 
 hands of the Christian : if they do not grant it, they strip God of 
 liis attribute of Power, and leave him (one cannot say what kind 
 of) an helpless being, Avhose eaergies are in his emanations, and 
 not in himself. And this futility and obscurity must be embraced 
 by men, who, pretending respect to the scripture, oppose the 
 dpctrine of the T)rinity. Qn the other hand, if the text be cono 
 
284 POWER. 
 
 side red in the orlliodox view, there is an end of all ambiguity a"t 
 once; because tl>c Holy Ghost being the fierson in the Trinity 
 who for liis opciations and nature in grace is called the fioiver of 
 the highest, and who was the agent to /irc/i are Christ's body ; the 
 human nature of the Messiah might justly be called the So?i of 
 God, having no other Father. 
 
 Not only in ftliis wonderful operation of producing the body of 
 Christ, was the Spirit expressly the agent ; but, in the whole mi- 
 nistration of Christ and his Apostles, the same S/iirit ivas ivith 
 fii?n and with Ihcm. God anointed him with the S/iirit and with 
 flower. He was led by the S/iirit into the wilderness to be temp- 
 ted ; and he returned from the wilderness by the fiower of the 
 Sjiirit. The Apostles were endued also with fiower from on 
 high ; and they received that fiower.^ it is expressly said, after the 
 Holy Ghost came ufion them. By this power, they wrought mira- 
 cles and wonders in the sight of the people ; and constantly de- 
 clared, that they wrought them by the agency of the Holy Spirit. 
 They could not be mistaken in the case ; for the miracles were in- 
 tended to prove and testify truth : And if this doctrine of the 
 Spirit had not been a truth, it is impossible to believe, that any 
 miracle would have been permitted, or could have been effected, 
 to confirm it. 
 
 That this fiower should have been an emanation only, or a na- 
 ked attribute, seems as preposterous, as it is Unscriptural. That 
 a naked attribute should have a rnind in itself to direct it vpith in- 
 iinite precision to certain objects, and so lake a name of acting and 
 existing without God in it, is that new creation of human genius, 
 which might do well enough in a Poem or a Fable ; but ill accords 
 with the plan of the scripture, which asserts, that God doeth all, and 
 is in all. Or, tliat an attribute or emanation should act separate 
 from God, or rather be npt God himself acting according to the 
 notion of such an attribute, may pass with children, or with those 
 who will own any thing and adopt any absurdity, rather than em» 
 brace the truth of revelation. 
 
 But, that this fiower of God is God in the fiower^ eflecting all 
 whatever is ascribed to it, and that the Holy Ghost is the fiower of 
 God because He is God the Holy Ghost, are truths written with 
 a sun-beam throughout the scriptures, and one great point of 
 their harmony from beginning to, end. Nor could there have 
 been conceived a more forcible or emphatic mode of asserting 
 the divinity of the Holy Spirit, than that which the scriptures 
 Vise, by applying to his ficrson, in the most abstract sense, the |rt,H 
 
POWER. 2S5 
 
 tribute oificnvc-r. In this sense, poiver is not a firincifile actedy 
 but pure act itself, which act hath no cause or end out of its own 
 nature, but effects every thing agreeably to it. But as this is or 
 can be predicable only of God ; fioivei\ then, is G :d himself, and 
 is accordingly used by our Lord to signify the divine nature ; yc 
 shall see the Son of Man sittiJig on the right hand of Power. 
 Mark xiv. 62. To say of him in this view that He is the Pow- 
 er, and the power of God, is only calling him God by another 
 name, which name properly belongs to God alone. There is no 
 power but of God : And where the power of God is displayed, 
 ihere God is manifestatively in the power. The calling God by 
 -the name of any attribute, or the applying any attribute to either 
 of the persons in the Godhead, is ascribing the infinite perfection 
 of that attribute, and a most strong, though indirect, assertion of 
 the essential divinity of him, to whom it is applied. When the 
 Apostle, for instance, pronounces, that God is lo-ve ; no manner 
 of speaking •.among men) could glorify that benign attribute with 
 anore force of expression on the one hand ; nor, on the other, 
 shew, that love originally and essentially is God himself, and one 
 •with the truth of his being. And if it be said, that God is iioiuer^ 
 or that the Holy Ghost is fiower^ in the same essential manner 
 that he is lov^ : we may invert the terms, if we please, and affirm, 
 [ that the power is God, that the power is the Holy Ghost, that the 
 Holy Ghost, therefore, is God ; yet the proposition is still the 
 Game, containing, under these reciprocations, one inseparable 
 truth. The power, ascribed in this essential manner, to God and 
 the Holy Spirit, is an invincible argument of divinity. It would 
 be impious to say to a creature. Thine is the kingdo7n, the fiowerf 
 and the glory : And yet these two last attributes in particular, 
 ■which are the principle of the first, are often applied to the Holy 
 Spirit. The word God is a name, indeed, in which all the other 
 conceivable attributes unite collectively ; but neither this of/jow- 
 €r, nor any other of them, in their essential form, can possibly be 
 applied, and never were applied, to a mere creature. 
 
 From all this it appears, that the Spirit, and this attribute of 
 power, are so often joined together and reciprocated, on purpose 
 to declare, that as power belongeth unto God, the Spirit of God is 
 the God of all power to effect the salvation of his people. De- 
 rivative power could not accomplish this task ; and this sort of 
 power is carefully exploded in the word by God himself. This 
 luas the word of Jeho-uah unto Zerubbabel, saying, JVot by might, 
 iicr byfioiver^ [evidently n\eanjng human jioight and power] b7:t 6y 
 
286 POWER, 
 
 viy Spirit, daith Jehovah Sabaoth. Zocb. iv. /, What could 
 more strongly have cut down all the pretended power of the crea- 
 tures I What could more vehemently assert the divinity of the 
 Spirit, the Creator ? ► 
 
 If we consider the effects of povrer, ascribed to the Spirit, and 
 with the scripture view him as their cause ; we must still be fur- 
 ther convinced of his divine omnipotence and glory. The pre 
 viiscs of God concerning these are so many declarations and pro- 
 phecies, which are confirmed by their fulfilment upon fact. He 
 hath done whatever was aaid o^ him, and brought down as much 
 as could be possessed of the truth of God, into the knowledge 
 and experience of man. 
 
 Hy the Spirit God garnished the heavens. Job xxvi. 13. The 
 Game Spirit mflrfe man, and was the breath of the Almighty which 
 gave him life. Job xxxiii. 4. He, therefore, is called Jehovah Ale* 
 liim, who breathed this life into man. Gen. ii. 7. He was also pro- 
 mised in the Prophets, as the great renewer of the spiritual wcrld, 
 as ihefree Spirit to recover from the thraldon) of sin, and as the 
 great teacher of the house of God : And ail this we find him upon fact 
 in the New Testament. The miracles were wrought by him, as 
 ^e finger of God ; souls were converted by him, as the /jower cf 
 God : and life everlasting is bestowed by him, as the Spirit of 
 God. He is the blessed Paraclete or Advocate^ who carries on 
 the cause of Christ upon earth, by various divine operations in 
 the hearts of his people, and who pleads their cause in H' aven 
 before the throne. He enables his ministers to perform, or be 
 the means of performing, far greater works than any outward mi- 
 racles, by raising the dead in sin at their preaching of his gospel, 
 and edifying his Church through their instrumentality. It is the 
 power of this Spirit, or this Spirit of Power, which breathes in their 
 breath, and goes forth in it and with it to revive the sinner's soul. 
 It was this sublime power, which, in every age, invigorated the 
 redeemed to withstand the rage of the world, and to tread Satan 
 imder their feet. He it was, who supported them in that grtat 
 fight of a^ictiotis, which mere professors would tremble to view, 
 but which by the " noble army of martyrs" was thought but light 
 and momentary, and in some cases sought after with perhaps too 
 much avidity. They courted the crown of martyrdom- with greater 
 zeal, than the ancient Greeks pursued the crown of triumph at 
 the Olympic games. They strove for the 7?iastery in a strength 
 very superior to their own, and, in the same strcRgth, obtained 
 the prize of their high calling. To this very day, we sec believers 
 
POWER. 28f 
 
 triumphing over death and the grave, and borne up against the 
 evils within and without, unconquered and unconquerable. And 
 tvhat should give this immortal vigor, but that ever living Spirit, 
 •who is all power and immortality ? What should dissipate the 
 most awful gloom of drooping nature, but this Spirit of the Al- 
 mighty, who created at first, and who only can replenish or re- 
 store ? Who is able to do all these things in the world, and in his 
 people throughout the world, but that divine Spirit, who is Jeho- 
 vah, God over all, blessed for ever ? 
 
 Thus we see, that the declarations, prophecies, promises, and 
 facts, recorded in scripture concerning the Holy Spirit, uniformly 
 concur in the attestation of his divinity. We find it confirmed al- 
 so by the people of God in every age, not in opinion only, but in 
 experience and enjoyment ; and we are assured, that it is to have 
 this confirmation to the end of time, and that there shall be wit- 
 nesses of this truth in the world, as long as the world shall en- 
 dure. The promise \t. e. of the Spirit] is untn you (said St. Peter 
 to the Jews) and to your children^ and to All that are afar off, even 
 as many as the Lord our God shall call. Acts ii. 39. 
 
 And what is this calif but that effectual word of power, with 
 -which the Holy Spirit penetrates the human heart? The soul is 
 dead in sin ; the word comes from some instrument or other, and 
 says, live ! There is nothing in such a word, considered as a 
 word, which can produce any effect. A man, a minister, an An- 
 gel, might traverse the church-yard, and call up the dead from 
 their graves by saying the word live over them, with more ease 
 (because it is a less work) than they, by saying the word live^ or 
 any other words to that effect, to a congregation of people dead in 
 soul, could induce their conversion. People often think, that it 
 is the multitude of words, or the strength of argument, v.hich 
 converts sinners. But what was the force of argument, when 
 Christ said to Matthew, Polloio me ! Exactly the same, as when he 
 said to the dead son of the widow at Naio, Jrise I The objects 
 were different, but the power was one. If there was any greater 
 exertion in the one case than in the other, it was shewn towards 
 Matthew ; because to change the state of the soul itself, must 
 necessai^ily be a far superior work, than to return the soul again 
 to ocQupy its body. Where was the skill, the eloquence, or pow- 
 er, in St. Peter's Sermon at the day of Pentecost? He was an 
 illiterate man, quite unacquainted with the managements of the 
 schools. He had never seen the great world, but only had follow^ 
 ed, till about two or three years before, the solitary trade of a 
 
asa POWER. 
 
 fisherman, and therefore knew not how to address with artifice 
 the passions of men, or to lead a multitude by their eyes and ears. 
 We have the Sertnon before us, to this day ; and we can see 
 nothing in it of what men admire in orations. It only contains 
 some plain matters of fact, in the plainest and simplest language : 
 And these are delivered with all possible brevity. Though it 
 may be said of the Apostle with more truth than it was of Phociou 
 the Athenian, " that his words were to be estimated like coins, 
 from the intrinsic value of the metal, not from the bulk :" Yet 
 how could such a discourse have such an amazing effect, as ta 
 win three thousand souls at once to the faith of Christ ; when, ii 
 is notimpossible, many of them had, but a little while before, im- 
 portuned Pilate to crucify him ? We shall find, in the book of th© 
 Acts, where this and many like facts are recorded, that the fioiver 
 of the Holy Ghost fell upon the hearers, and that it was t/ie Lordy 
 who added to the Church daily such as should be saved It was 
 no more by the Apostle's own ftower or holiness.^ (as he said upon 
 another occasion) that this vast draught of spiritual fishes was ta- 
 ken at one throw of the gospei-net ; than that the lame ynariy by 
 his mere speaking, was made whole, or Dorcas raised from the 
 dead. The Apostles well knew where the strength of the argu- 
 ment lay, which could convert sinners to God, and declare it to 
 be in the secret power of the Holy Ghost. They, therefore, did 
 not aim to speak their own words, but the words which the Holy 
 Ghost taught them, who only could give demonstration of the 
 truth to the mind, and carry it home with /lower to the heart. To 
 have used human skill upon the occasion, they knew well enough 
 would have been that ignoratio clenchi, that mistake of the point 
 in hand, which would have concluded in nothing for the hearers, 
 and produced only shame for themselves. They had too much 
 concern for men's souls to tickle their ears, and too deep a sense oi' 
 their important errand to play with words. They spake as the 
 Spirit gave them utterance ; and the power of the Spirit attended 
 all their words, rendering them the means of faith and salvation 
 to as many as He himself had ordained. 
 
 Though the wonderful eft'usion of this Holy Comforter has 
 ceased, so far as regards external miracles and the more sensible 
 operations ; it is by his power, even now, that souls are awaken- 
 ed to life and called forth from the grave of sin. In proportion 
 as ministers are led to depend upon and acknowledge him, and 
 in proportion as they are truly called and ordained by him and 
 according to his will 5 is the success of their rainistration and 
 
powkfe. iip 
 
 labor.* Such gracious souls are about playmg the orator and 
 tlescending to the low solicitude of pleasing mortals like them- 
 selves : Their gi-eat desire is to please God, and to put the?nselves, 
 as much as may be, out of the question. If the work succeed* 
 be it cither through them or others, they rejoice ; and they will 
 be exceedingly glad, if souls are brought home to Christ by oth^ 
 er men, when they themselves (like Peter) have toiled all the 
 ■night and caught nothing. They are sensible of this one truth, 
 that, were they to preach ten thousand years to ten thousand times 
 ten thousand people, with all the eloquence of Demosthenes, or 
 of St. Paul, or of Angels themselves, they should not be able to 
 bring one soul in reality to God, even though all these people 
 should profess to receive their word, and to be delighted in them 
 as their teachers. They are convinced, that they might as soon 
 stop a torrent with one of their fingers, as stop the course of sin 
 in a man's heart by any of their endeavours. They see, that the 
 things of God have a reach far above all the capacity of man, and 
 that though God condescends to use them as his instruments ; it 
 is chiefly for the purpose of shewing^ hoiu strong his own grace 
 is) when he can make it effectual to life eternal in their weak 
 
 * This is one great proof, which faitliful ministers alone can venture to 
 cffer, concerning the trutli of their own mission, or of the certainty that 
 the Holy C=host hath not yet forsaken the earth. In these days of blasphe- 
 my, wlien worldly men and vrorldly ministers presume with open front to 
 deny the agency of God's Spirit upon tlie hearts of men, only because they 
 have not felt it upon their own (whioli certainly is a very wise reason for* 
 contradicting the word and church of God upon the subject ;) it behoves 
 those, who know their calling, to insist the more strenuously on the neces- 
 sity of that operai ion. v/ithout which men are and can be no more Chris- 
 tians, than statuea of wax or of stone can be creatm'es of life and conscious- 
 ness. — " How many souls have been awakened under my ministry to the 
 *• knowledge of God ? How many seals can I shew of my vocation ? Who has 
 *• been quickened from the death of sin to a life of grace and iioliness, 
 ** through my preaching ? And who lias been edified m the most lioly faith 
 " of my master Christ, by the blessing of God on say labors ?" — These are 
 the questions, which faidtful men will ask of their own heai'ts ? And such 
 men only will be most deeply solicitous of the salvation of tlieir hearers, 
 above all considerations of the earthly advantages which may be di-awn from 
 them. 
 
 In a v.'ord ; those are very ill qualified to treat upon the corruptions of 
 others, and much less to di-aw sinister insinuations from any pretended 
 " Corruptions of Christianity," who either by life or doctrine do demon- 
 strate, tliat they know but little or nothing- of their own. There is a pride 
 of understanding, and a conceit of abilities in all men, if their mental at- 
 taiuraeiits are ever so little above the vulgar, and proportionally increasing 
 with the poor opinion and applause of theii" fcllow-worms, which nothing" 
 but divine grace can subdue to tlie obedience of (Shrist : But where these 
 corruptions are not subdued, the greater the man's talents are, the more 
 error and spiritual folly will he usually produce ; as the richest soils m^-- 
 Jain the rankest we?ds, when not under due cilltivation and restraint. 
 
 VOL, II. N n 
 
1^0 POWER, 
 
 IkibcIs. They feci it llicii duty to go forth in his name, and to rely 
 upon his strength, persuaded that, without him, they only beat 
 the air, and raise a transient and a dying sound.* Invigorated by 
 him, they plead from the heart for God ; and God usually honors 
 
 * Neither this doctrine, nor that of election, tends to make those, who 
 are really influenced by it, idle and indifferent, but the contrary. Those, 
 •who have been most sensible of the worth of these truths, have, beyond 
 compai'ison, been most diligent In their work, most earnest with God for 
 the success of it, and mast happy in the attendance of that success. The 
 reason is, they are not human truths, or truths of man's invention, but of 
 God and of his revelation. I'hey were maintained oy Christ and his Apos- 
 tles, by the most excellent of tlic Fathers, by holy men in all ages^ and by 
 the Reformed Church (ibr ti\e most part) in particular down to thi^ as^e. 
 One is almost astonished, therefore, to hnd so candid and sensible a man, 
 as Montesquieu, among ihe herd of rude declaimers, in attacking tlie doc- 
 trines of grace. " From the mactivity of soul (says he) springs the Ma- 
 hometan doctrine of pi'edestitiation, and t"rom this doctrine of predestination 
 springs the inactivity of soul. This, they s.ty, is in the decrees of God ; 
 they must, therefore, indulge their rej^ose." Spirit of La-Ms. Book xxiv. c. 
 14. It IS sufficient to refute his conclusion by a liigher authority. Be al- 
 7t»«7/« abomiiiin^ (says St. Paul) in the work of the Lord, forasmuch asi/e kno-a 
 that your labor is not in iiain in the Lord, A fair arg'ument ibrtli^ use of the 
 means, when t!ie e?id is certain through the vise of them. How so master- 
 ly a -vr.cev covdd slide into tlie absurdity of confounuiug cavse and effect, as 
 he does by rendering reciprocally the one principle to be the spring of the 
 otlier,- cannot be accounted for, but by the triymph of prejudice in this 
 case over the understanding. In fact, this truly ingenious man was a bet- 
 ter civilian than divine, and understood the spiritof human laws with great- 
 er accuracy than the spirit of true Christianity. Otherwise, he had not 
 unliappily jumbled all religions (as they are falsely termed) almost toge- 
 ther, and made the true religion itself the tool and creature of human po- 
 lity. See the xxiv. and xxv. books of the Spirit of Laivs. To call (as he 
 does) the doctrine of predestination by the odious name of Maliometan, i.s 
 abusive and unbecoming so great a writer ; unless it were a doctrine /;ec?//w;' 
 to the Mahometans, which he well knew it was not. but that it is as old as 
 revelation itself It is the more surprizing, after his great approbation ot 
 the Stoics, who, with tlie Mahometans, held the doctrine in that exception- 
 able manner which Christians do not, to the exclusion of providence. " Ne- 
 ver (says he) were any principles more worthy of human nature, and more 
 proper to form the good man, than those of the Stoics : And if I could for 
 a moment cease to think t!iat I am a Christian, I should not be able to hin- 
 der myself from ranking the destruction of the sect of Zeno among the 
 misfortunes, that have befallen the human race." I'lie rest of this x chap, 
 of the xxiv. I'ook is little else tiian a high panegyric upon the virtues of 
 Stoicism, and offers a striking contradiction to the lazy effects, wliich he 
 supposes in another place must result from predestination. He asserts here, 
 that rank fatalism did not extei'minate virtue, but promoted it in the high- 
 est degree ne.xt to Christianity. Mow then was it possible for him to think, 
 that the doctrine of predestination deserved to be branded with the word 
 Jiluliometan ? How could he avoid believing, that this principle, founded ai 
 it is on Providence and not on blind indurate fate, must necessarily be more 
 active and vigorous, than a persuasion, without hope of certainty on the 
 one hand, or full of the ideas of a rigid, dark, and inexorable rule, on the 
 other ? If Stoicism could be alert (as lie vehemently assures us) in tiie cause 
 of virtue ; what reason coidd he have giVen ; what can any man give ; th.it 
 Christianity should not, at least, be equally so ? But it has been infinitely 
 more alert; witness the hlstorieJi of the two professions, and the conduct of 
 philosophers 5inc} Chfistians, 
 
POWER. 291 
 
 tiiem by making their words all life and power to the hearts of his 
 people, who truly receive these words, and who v.'ere appointed 
 to receive them. 
 
 This fioioer of the Holy Spirit is a glorious attribute for the 
 true believer. He sees what need there is of it to keep him from 
 falling, and to carry him on from day to day. The promise, that 
 in waiting upon God he shall renezv his strength^ is no idle pro- 
 mise to him ; for he constantly feels a necessity for fresh supplies 
 of immortal power, having nothing of his own to oppose against 
 his enemies, or to move one step towards heaven. His heart 
 would faint, and his hopes fail, but for the ever-present help of 
 his powerful Comforter. He sees (what worldly men cannot see) 
 innumerable difficulties and foes to overcome all the way to God ; 
 lie finds it a constant warfare without, and as constant a fighting 
 within ; he surveys his own puny might, and his heart is ready 
 to sink like a stone. It would sink, did not the gracious hand 
 which held up Peter in the sea, hold him up also, and keep him 
 from drowning. Then he takes the last refuge for believers. He 
 cries out with them, in the view of all his corruptions, and 
 snares, and adversaries, O our God, nve have no might against 
 this great comfiany that cometh against us; neither knoiv ivc 
 what to do ; but our eyes are ufion thee I 2 Chron. xx. \2. And 
 what is the consequence ? He hears the voice of the Spirit in his 
 word, saying. Be not afraid nor dismatjed by reason of this great 
 inultitude ; for the battle is not yours, but God's. When the 
 believer can make God his strength, the battle is as good as won : 
 The great fight is, to keep off corruptions, till the soul can get 
 under the Lord's banner. Here he fights to purpose and assu? 
 i^dly prevails. 
 
 In the difficulties of life,*we are prone to double them, by taking 
 them all upon ourselves. We are not able in our own might, 
 properly to sustain or master the least trouble ; and our usual 
 object, in trying to get rid of it, is merely our own ease. Too of^ 
 ten we forget who sent it, or for what it was sent; And, hence, 
 we neither glorify God in it, nor reap, as we ought, any spiritual 
 improvement for ourselves. We never had a sorrow or tempta- 
 tion, but, if we had brought it to our God, Ave might have been the 
 wiser or the better for it as long as we live. Our very slips and falls, 
 with this management of grace, would have made us stronger and 
 ynore upon our guard for the time to come. Eut we too ofterj 
 encounter trials in our own strength, and especially if we think 
 ttiemsm^U; and then our trials, eyen the least; bring us dows^ 
 
39S JPdWEU 
 
 with grief an4 trouble. The sorrows of a believing soul, in this 
 respect, no unbeliever can know. The troubles of his mind are 
 more, from what the world cannot see, than from what it cao- 
 The making God our strength, or reposing ourselves upon his 
 holy arm, is no slight business, but the hardest M'ork in the worlds 
 It is easy to believe a matter out of trial ; and so it is for people tp 
 talk of storms and shipAvrecks in a warm room upon shore: But 
 let evil spirits or corruptions blow like the winds ; let the floods 
 -of ungodly men beat on every side ; and then, if faith h^th not fix- 
 ed the house upon the rock, down it will fall. There is but one 
 support in the case, and that support is at the foundation. If this 
 be not right, all the rest will soon be found wrong. And even 
 where it is right, the tempest is not pleasant, although the soul 
 be safe. It may be shaken, though it stand ; and so shaken, as to 
 put the trembling inhabitant in fear of his life. It is a shrewd 
 sign, that a man doth not know his own heart, who makes lightj 
 iind talks light., of temptations and trials : For, if he saw the weak- 
 ness within and the strength without, he would shrink within hJm- 
 .self at the sense of the danger. Bravoes in common life are 
 usually men of no true spirit, and often cowards: And, in the spi- 
 ritual life, it is much the same. Young professors, like young 
 recruits, talk bravely about battles: The veteran is silent upon 
 che pleasure of fighting, and recollects the variety of his hardships 
 and dangers. Bring both into the field ; and the old soldier will 
 be firm, where the very noise and terrors of the conflict shall 
 make the young one tremble. Our Lord puts it into all his peo- 
 ple's mouths to pray — lead us not into tnvptation : And, whether 
 we see it or not, there is a temptation lurking in every thing. It 
 is our duty to pray, in all circumstances, against the temptations 
 which attend them. If we saw sometimes, what temptations 
 lay disguised under our greatest blessings and privileges, and 
 even under our holiest duties; we should almost be afraid to use 
 them. When we are alone, as to our own apprehension, we are be= 
 set by them ; and we are kept from being a prey only by superior 
 power. In company, we have these and other snares in our way ; 
 and we had need to pray, and pray again, lead us not into tempta- 
 iion. In our nearest approaches to God, and when our souls are 
 most enlarged ; we are not beyond the reach of a snare, nor able 
 of ourselves to repel it. We are never safe but in /nm, who is 
 Qur strength, and who alone can keefi us, by his mighty fionver^, 
 through faith unto salvation. 
 ♦'True (says the desponding Christian) I feel apd see all this, in 
 
POWER. 293 
 
 iByseit. i knew so much of my own weakness, that I often fear 
 the prevalence of my enemy, and that I shall one day perish by 
 ihe hands of this Saul." — The man, who feels and fears this in re- 
 ality, shall never fall. The soul is often brought into this state, 
 that it may be sensible of its entire dependence upon the strength 
 of Almighty grace for its support and continuance. We are 
 beaten very hardly out of ourselves : And all the struggles we 
 endure within arise, in fact, from the want of confidence in God. 
 Flesh and blood cannot enter into the kingdom of God, nor quiet- 
 ly submit to the wiJl of God. Could we cast all our care upon 
 him, as we are privileged to cast it, our moments of anxiety would 
 be few, and the natural perturbations of our heart less distracting 
 and strong. 'Tis a heavenly lesson to put every thing into the 
 Lord's hand, to view with calmness the workings of his providence, 
 to abate the impatient forwardness of our earthly nature, and to 
 follow him with resignation of spirit wherever he is pleased to 
 lead. — " Our vows are cruel to ourselves, if they demand nothing 
 but gentle zephyrs, and flowery fields, and calm repose, as the 
 lot of our life ; for these pleasant things often prove the most 
 dangerous enemies to our nobler and dearer life."* Our unhap- 
 piness is, we want all things to be done, in us and for us, according 
 to our own way, and in our own time. We do not wait the Lord's 
 leisure^ nor his ivill ; but often make haste to perplexity and sor- 
 row by seeking our own. As God doth not refuse, when he de- 
 lays ; so he doth not delay, without the most sufficient cause. 
 Take, for instance, the case of Abraham. God could have given 
 him Isaac, as soon as or before Ishmael ; could have made his 
 promise i-nuch earlier than he did, and after he had made it, could 
 have fulfilled it in a very short time. Instead of tiiis, God defer- 
 red the promise and th,e fulfilment for many years, and brought it 
 forward in the extremity of Abraham's old age. But the good 
 Patriarch's faith was not only to be tried., which is the general 
 view of the case, but to be taught i and the faith of future ages 
 \vas to be instructed by that teaching: And the lesson was ; that 
 from the promise and its fulfilment being deferred to a time of 
 life, when he could not expect much or long enjoyment of any tem- 
 fioral blessing, and to days, when iie might say, I have no pleasure 
 in them ; he might lake notice, and we by him, that the great and 
 true blessings promised was not a matter of this world, and tnai ic.Q 
 earthly good Avas a good, principally, in being the syuiboi oi- prom- 
 ise oisjiiritual and eternal mercies. In like manner, Moses was 
 
 • ^rchbishop Lei^hten, M^d. on Ps. fessx- 
 
J-** power; 
 
 fourscore, when he preached deliverance to the people in Egypt, 
 and could expect no great felicity in the promised Icind, as a mere 
 earthly possession ; and especially when he had continued near 
 forty years longer in the wilderness. But he desired this posses- 
 sion, as an instituted sacrament or pledge of a far greater posses- 
 sion, even the inheritance of the spiritual Canaan. He desired c 
 better country.^ even a heavenly^ and looked for the earthly one, 
 chiefly as its ap pointed earnest. If he had not been thus disposed, 
 he might have said, when God ordered him into Egypt at four- 
 •jcore, what Barzillai said to David at the very same age, "/io^y 
 long have I to live?'' And what is the difference between earthly 
 good and evil to me ? But viewing this dispensation by the grace 
 of faith, he saw into the sfiiritual and eternal truth, which that dis- 
 pensation pr^ched, und gave up his quiet retirement in the wil- 
 derness in proof of it ; as, before, he had quilted human grandeur 
 for the wilderness, in testimony of his adherence to the gospel 
 and people of God.— -After these bright examples, believer, be not 
 thou Weary, nor faint in thy mind. God doth not withhold com- 
 forts on earth from thee, but to quicken thy desires after, and fi- 
 nally to bestow upon thee, the joys of Heaven. Thou wilt have 
 happiness enough there : And the voice of his afHicting dispensa- 
 tions should tell ihce so. He gives the world, as a matter of 
 small account in itself, to wicked men; but himself only to his 
 ciiildren. And will not such a portion suffice for thee ? 
 
 This attribute oi power in God is alarming, or will be alarming, 
 to all them, who oppose his truth, or who fight against him in his 
 people. If he be mighty to save^ he is Almighty to destroy. — 
 They who run upon the thick bosses of his buckler, C2a\ ov\\y wouiid 
 themselves. I'he Highest, on his everlasting jhrone, is not to be 
 moved by the weak efforts of dying worms ; nor pan their silly 
 designs prosper or prevail against his eternal counsel and de- 
 cj'ce. 
 
 As the Holy Spirit hath all power in himself, so he communi- 
 cates the power of his grace through the gospel of truth. He 
 gives power to liis word, and power by his word. When he ht- 
 st(^s light upon the soul, he doih not give " a useless knowledge 
 of useful things ;" but in)parts a vigor and efficacy with that light, 
 which mould the spirit of a man into the frame and temper of the 
 great pattern, Christ Jesus. A man is not left here to the form 
 of Godliness, but possesses the /loivcr of it. In this state, he sees 
 that all divine truths are not merely to be known as speculations, 
 ^ut enjoyed as realities : And a truth without enjoyment aqd re- 
 
POWER. 29«; 
 
 Sish, is to him hut as a statue without life. It may be fine marble, 
 perhaps, and highly polished ; but it is nothing but form^ and ve- 
 ry cold. Our minds are naturally inclined to soar ; and the more 
 ingenious a man is, the higher he may mount ; but the more 
 dreadful will be his fall. There is a luxury for the head, as well 
 as for the appetite. Fine thoughts and nice speculations shall 
 bloat a soul, which may belong to a man, whose body at the same 
 time may be quite emaciated through abstemiousness. We may 
 know the worth and the kind of our knowledge, by the fruit which 
 it bears. There are many trees beautiful to the sight, whith 
 are also very strong and very lofty, but do not produce the least 
 food or fruit : And there are others, which (like the vine) are ve- 
 ry feeble and homely in appearance, but yield productions of tlie 
 greatest value and delight. In like manner, towering thoughts, 
 decorated speculations, unprofitable inquiries, coiicerning divine 
 things, may amuse the mind ; but one humbling view of our- 
 selves, or one moment's communion of divine grace, is better 
 than a world full of such useless vanities. , We may ^ee the f vi- 
 dence of this truth, by the lofty speculatists of the day, who are 
 impatient of the least contradiction, swell with arrogance and !:>- 
 suit at the most trifling opposition, and cannot endure the opinion, 
 that other men should not thirl: as well of their vast capacity, as 
 they do themselves. All this is poor indeed ! If such be the ob- 
 ject of a man's life, and li ail his aim be to live in the opinion of 
 ethers ; he may well be pronounced miserable, because it is an 
 object never attained, and r.n aim which no man could ever possi- 
 bly enjoy. He quus the judgment of God, who is the author of 
 all wisdom and happiness, for the opinion of creatures, who are 
 all folly and misery in themselves, and whose best opinion dies 
 with them, if not before them. 
 
 Learn then, believer, to make God thy strength, and thy glory. 
 His trumpet shall not blow an empty or a lying blast, like the ti-um- 
 pet of fame, but, in /ironouwcin^- thee blessed, shall make thee so. 
 It was a faithful resolution, I ivillgo in the strength of the Lard 
 God : And it is a wise example for thee to follow, that tboumay- 
 est never want power. In Jehovah, one said,/ have everlasting 
 strength: But not the only one, who hath said and found it too. 
 It is thy privilege in faith so to say, and so to find. It is the com.- 
 inon privilege of all the people of God. O then, let us join in 
 looking up to this Holy Spirit of Foiver for fresh and fresh sup- 
 plies of immortal strength, that we may proceed in. our heavenly 
 way rejoicing, tijjit we may hold on and hold out to the end of tha^. 
 
^9s Spirit of promise, 
 
 way, and finally obtain the purpose of all grace in the enjoymCDt 
 of eternal glory. Then shall we attune harps, hearts, and voices, 
 to never-dying strains of the purest love ; and then, in the vievp 
 of past and future mercies, which Jehovah hath ordained, shall 
 we triumph when we sing his /iraise, and rejoice to proclaim his 
 fiQiver I 
 
 SPIRIT OF PROMISE. 
 
 UPON the Fall, man was surrounded with e*ery prospect of 
 misery, and needed a Promise to l^eep him from despair. Mercy 
 triumphed over this misery, and supplied that promise, raising up 
 his drooping mind to the expectation of good. This good, and the 
 means by which it was to be introduced, made the ground of the 
 promise : The author of it could be no less than the author of 
 all good, even God himself. 
 
 The promise, at first immediately delivered by God to man, 
 was afterwards renewed upon various occasions, both immediate- 
 ly by himself, and mediately by persons commissioned by him> 
 When the promise came directly from God, it was generally as- 
 cribed to his Voice ; and this voice has been proved, in another 
 place, to denote his Spirit. When it has been communicated 
 through men, the same Voice spake in them ; and therefore it is 
 said, they spake as they ivere moved by the Holy Ghost, or still 
 more directly in the terms of Christ, it is not ye that sfieakf 
 but the Sfiirit of your Father ivhich sfieaketh in you. This 
 voice gave the word, which is sometimes translated Jiromise, and 
 always implies it ; for God's word declared, being predictive of 
 •what shall come to pass, is consequently /^ro/zAencc/ ov firofnisso-' 
 ty. It usually means, what we particularly understand by pro- 
 mise, when it predicts good things, and hence the promises are 
 called exceeding great and precious, both on account of their ow- 
 thor aud subject ; but the wcr<i itself is a// /zrom/se, even oi de- 
 struction to sinners, and must to a tittle be accomplished. 
 
 As the whole promise of graee and life eternal proceeds from 
 God, because He only hath the right to give or power to fulfil it, 
 and because his Voice only can utter his own mind and decree, 
 which voice is his Spirit ; therefore the Spirit is termed, some- 
 times TR-E. promise emphatically, as including every other decla* 
 ration of salvation ; aud sometinjes the JPjy?nise ojFihe Spirit^ an4 
 
SPIRIT OF PROMISE. 39? 
 
 the Sfiirit of Promise, explicitly, as expressing the great agent 
 who is to fulfil it. He is called the Jiromise itself, because he re- 
 veals or makes it known ; and the Sfiirit of Promise, because he 
 is the very Spirit and Power, by whom it is accomplished. 
 
 He gave his promise to his people in the Godman, Christ Jesus 
 as their foederal or mediatorial head ; and no one promise, or 
 the fulfilnvent of it, flows to them through any other channel. 
 In him only the promises are all yea, and all amen ; all positive 
 and full, all established and sure. The truth is in Jesus ; and so 
 likewise is the proniise of truth. The Spirit never gave a pro- 
 mise but what related to Christ, or to his people m Christ.— 
 Christ is, therefore, the promised seed ; and sO are iheyy for his 
 sake. Rom. ix. 8, But the great promiser, and one greatbranch 
 of the promise itself, is that eterJial Sfiirit through whom Christ 
 offered himself without spot unto God, and by whose power the 
 redeemed are gathered and united to Christ, as one body or tem= 
 pie, for his own habitation and glory. Eph. ii. 21, 22. In Christ 
 they have communion with the Spirit; and by the Spirit they are 
 brought to Christ for this communion. In and through both these 
 divine persons, they are led up finally to the Father, as to the 
 consummation of their own bliss, and of Jehovah's glory. Thus 
 the Spirit is the great vivifying agent of all the people of God, 
 who convinces them of sin, leads them to Christ for his atone- 
 ment and righteousness, keeps them in dependence upon Christ 
 by his almighty power, instructs their souls in the truths of sal- 
 vation by enlightening his holy word, supplies them with strength 
 against their enemies, affords them comfort in all their tribula- 
 tions, imparts to them the various degrees of grace and holiness, 
 and at last brings them safely to glory and Heaven. Surely, such 
 a Spirit as this might be well called a Promise, in the highest 
 sense and as the greatest blessing that can be conceived ; and he 
 may likewise be v/ell styled the Spirit of Promise ; since none but 
 his omnipotent power could impart or secure it. 
 
 But, that we might not mistake in so important a matter as 
 ihe nature of this holy agent, he is called by other names in con- 
 junction with the word promise, or with what is promised. Thus 
 our Lord styles him, the promise of my Father, because the 
 Spirit is sent by the Father, proceedeth from him, and is one with 
 him in the Godhead, These addilions to the name of the Spirit 
 appear designed to prevent a misapprehension of him for some 
 common or created spirit. Hence he is called the Spirit f^>m on. 
 high, or from the highest, Isaiah xxxii, 15. because he descends, 
 
298 bPlRlT OF PROMISE. 
 
 not only from Heaven (fov Angels do this,) but from the t}ivui« 
 nature or Godhead. The words are framed according to the ap- 
 prehensions of our sense, and mean, that in descending from the 
 highest, he necessarily was above all, and as such came as neces- 
 sarily from Jehovah most High, who only is above all. He v/as 
 a party in the everlasting covenant [in a manner superior to our 
 conceptions as to the mode, but somewhat analogous to what we 
 apprehend from those words in the sense or fiurport'], which cov- 
 enant is \.\\c foundation of the promise ; as the promise itself is the 
 declaration of God's intention in that covenant. Now, none could 
 make thj-s declaration or promise, but the Godhead who conceiv- 
 ed and determined it, or tL person in the Godhead. NocreatureS) 
 however exalted, could apprehend the infinite mind and will of 
 Jehovah, but by tlie communication of Jehovah, and then only ac- 
 cording to their limited capacity. The whole matter and manner 
 TOUst spring originally from God alone ; and could have been 
 known to any creature only by his inspiration ; for creatures de- 
 pend as much for their knowledge \ipcn God, as for their being. 
 But, as the Spirit is a parij in this everlasting f;c..\!?.nt,.9<:'cfrc/!c;/i 
 all things.) e.-ven the deep, things of God, hath revealed in all ages (as 
 the -voice of God) the tMI of God, is the very promise itself for the 
 tuition and comfort of the children of God, and the Spirit of PrO' 
 mise to effectuate v)hat is promised to them, both in time and eter- 
 nity ; the man who, on the one hand, will gratit these premises, is 
 most absurd, if he doth not also grant, that none but Jehovah could 
 do these mighty acts ; and the man who, on the other, will not grant 
 them, must deny the Bible itself, and renounce all revelation for 
 ever. There seems, therefore, no refuge in the case ; but either 
 the Spirit cf Promise is Jehovah promising, or there is no promise 
 at all, and consequently no revealed communication between God 
 and man. The one principle is the root and ground of faith ; and 
 the otlierof alhn/rfe/zVy. To which it may be added ; the opera- 
 tion and effect of these two principles c^ji^zV/e the world, and separate 
 gracious souls of all denominations from the graceless in every one. 
 It appears from hence, as well as from some other considera- 
 tions, how important a matter it is for Christians to be well ground - 
 ed in the truth of their conductor's c/n'z>ji7t/. Their comfort in 
 the hope of salvation, as well as salvation itself, depends upon ii. 
 R emove this doctrine, and what man, who knows his own heart, 
 the warfare he is engaged in, and the power of his foes, would 
 not give up all for lost in a moment? The ignorance of these 
 matters venders men trifling, unpersuaded) and unconcerned 
 
SPIRIT OF PROMISE. 299 
 
 respecting the divinity of the Spirit. They do r.ot see that the 
 Christian religion itself stands upon it, and the vei-y purpose of 
 that religion to man, even life eternal. Demolish this principle, 
 and Deism, under cover of Socinianism, and other heterodoxies, 
 come in with full force, upon the citadel of faith. To an awakened 
 or enlightened soul (as the ancient Christians used to term the 
 established believer) the divinity of the Holy Spirit appears as es- 
 sential to his salvation, as the prior existence of God himself was 
 neces«ary to his natural being. He cannot read a page in hts 
 Bible, but he perceives an expression or implication of this truth, 
 which also is the very spring of ail provideaice and grace, resolv- 
 ing the occurrences of the one into the purposes and conclusions 
 of the other. And he possesses a further demonstration of thi; 
 truth, in conjunction with the Bible, from tliat experience of it, 
 which the Bible warrants and hiculcates, aud which it may not be 
 unprofitable to consider. 
 
 The Apostle, in mentioning this Hubj Sfdrit of Promise in 
 Eph. i. 13. declares also the use and advantage of the Spirit. 
 And it may be noted, by the way, that all the doctrines of tl>e 
 Bible apply to ?/«<?, and are not to be considered as mere notions 
 to swell the brain, without feeding the heart. After ye believed* 
 in Christ (says St. Paul) ijc ivere sealed ".ulth that Holy Sjiirit of 
 firomisCi) ivhich is the earliest of our inheritance^ 8cc. They be- 
 lieved^ which they were enabled to do by the o/ieratcon of God, 
 Col. ii. 12. and thus they were sealed by the Spirit of promise, 
 or according to the promise of God, This sealing is the earnest, 
 sure pledge and part of that possession, which is called our in- 
 heritance because, through Christ we are born of the S/:irIt, or 
 of God, are therefore children of God, and, being children, be- 
 come heirs of God ana joint-heirs with Christ for that inheritance,. 
 The admission is through faith, the/z/crfj-eand security i% the seal 
 of God the Spirit, and the end everlasting life. As a naked pro- 
 mise without witness is not obligatory among men, before their 
 courts of law; God takes up a similitude from it, in order to 
 shew the positive certainty of his salvation. He delivers his pro- 
 mise under the name of a testament, which he ratifies by his own 
 
 * Tlie words might be rendered, Believing ye were sealed ; but thcv 
 amount to tlie same sense. Faith, thi'ough a grace of tlie Spirit as exercised 
 In and by us, is otie thing; and the sealoi' the Spirit is another. Dr. Guyse, 
 upon the place, h{is judiciously distinguished them ; and even Mi-. Hei-ve) , 
 wlio corrects our translation, seems to mean by thLs sealing of the Spirit, 
 "' some delightful /oretosfe.9 of life and immortality." Theron and Aswasio. 
 Dial xvi. near the end. 
 
306 SPIRIT OF PROMISE. 
 
 # 
 
 oath, which comes into force by the death of that (cstator in whose 
 name it was made, which is sealed by the Spirit and impleaded 
 by him in the hearts of his people for whose benefit it was made, 
 and which is witnessed to by the Son and Spirit before the court 
 of Heaven. In this way, God delights (as it were) to communi- 
 cate to the heirs of salvation the immutability of kis counsel, and 
 their security in him. But if the Holy Spirit were not a.fiersony 
 he could not seal at all ; if not a divine person, he could not seal 
 for the conveyance of an inheritance, which only a divine nature 
 couid bestow ; and much less could he .so seal, as to be the very 
 earnest, assurance, and certainty of an eternal inheritance. His 
 scaling' obliged the divine nature to perform to man ; and it seems 
 not a little incongruous to imagine, that any creature whatever 
 could seal an innumerable multitude of souls, and oblige his own 
 maker to grant salvation to them. On the other hand, admitting 
 the Holy Spirit to be, what indeed he is, God over all ; there is 
 a beautiful harmony in the above similitude, and (what is better 
 for us than all mere beauty) that perfect security from alienation, 
 which every believing soul desires to understand. He sees, in 
 this delightful view, that God contrived the Testament, that God 
 effected the purpose of it, that God sealed and secured the whole, 
 without possibility of failure or disappointment. The covenant 
 or testament now appears "utort/ty of God, as well as ordained by 
 him ; and znost comfortable to man, for whose poor soul it was 
 graciously framed. Here is God planning, effecting, and secur- 
 ing to eternity ; and 7nan to ctcrriity enjoying, adoring, and prai- 
 sing. This is all brightness and delight at once ; while the re- 
 verse is altogether gloom and despair.— Judge then, reader, 
 -.vhich of the two proffers more hont^rto God, or more happiness 
 to thee ! 
 
 In full dependence upon the divinity of the Spirit of promise 
 do all his promises, engagements, and operations proceed. Trace 
 them to their fountain-head, they rise from him, and, rising from 
 him, do thereby prove him to be God. They cither spring not 
 from the Spirit, and so the Bible is an imposition; or, springing 
 from him, according to the Bible, they demonstrate his divinity. 
 He could not give a promise of grace, if he were not the God of 
 all grace ; for the nearest Angel to the heavenly throne, the very 
 fust which stands in the whole order of creatures, depends abso- 
 lutely upon the grace and favor of his Creator, and can have no- 
 thing more, in any resp<ct, than wiiat lie is capable of enjoying; 
 ?.nd yie employment of this whole capacity, or of the grace and 
 
SPIRIT OF PROMISE. 301 
 
 favor bestowed upon him, belongs to the giver, and cannot be 
 communicated by one creature to another. If the Spirit then 
 could not confer grace, but as God ; he likewise could not seal 
 or secure it, but in the right and power of liis divine nature. 
 Were there any being superior to his own, the security would be 
 nothing which a dependent being could give, but must be ulti- 
 mately resolved into him, who bears the supreme power. Every 
 promise, seal, or security, which the subordinate being might 
 give, would, in that case, be impertinent and nugatory : What 
 is more, they would arise from one, who had no right, as well as 
 no power, to form such a sort of covenant, as deals out heaven 
 itself to worthless sinners, and parcels eternal life and happiness 
 among a set of rebellious mortals. There would be so much 
 eiTor, arrogance, and presumption in such a case, that x\^ good 
 being could be guilty of them ; and the attempt itself would be 
 frivolous and contrary to the nature as well as above the powers 
 of an evil one. 
 
 And why doth God so often claim the epithet oS. faithful: but 
 because he keepeth promise for ever ? The Spirit, for the same 
 reason, is the Spirit of Promise, to make good all those engage- 
 ments, which he declared to the holy men of old who were moved 
 by him, and which filled the sacred volume from beginning to 
 end. He spake the promises to them ; and he was well qualified 
 to promise, because he is also able to perform. He gave them 
 out, in ancient time, by pertinent symbols ; and he taught his re- 
 deemed both the sense and the experience of those symbols. 
 This Holy Spirit signified ; Heb, ix. 8, and then gave his people 
 t\\Q purport of the sign. Carnal professors and the world at large, 
 then., as well as wow, saw the types and shadows, but took them 
 for ends and substances : But the Spirit imparted the ultimate 
 sense and understanding of them only to the faithful. When the 
 Spirit of Promise held forth the promised land, the multitude of 
 mere professors thought of nothing beyond the milk and honey, 
 the worldly ease and worldly comforts, which they might enjoy in 
 it : But the true Jews, or real confessors of God, saw through the 
 veil of time, and were taught to consider Canaan, either as the 
 Church collectively in one body, or the everlasting residence of 
 the Church finally in one place. Concerning Jerusalem itself, 
 they perceived the same, and knew it to be relatively only the holyi 
 city, in symbol of that Jerusalem which is above. This was the 
 Canaan and this the Jerusalem they longed for, and in the hope of 
 which they confessed themselves strangers and pilgrims upon, 
 
S02 SPIRIT OF PROMISE. 
 
 earthy seeking a better country than Jiidea^even a heavenly^ and a 
 citynvhich nxTnfaundatiojis [solid and perpetual, which Jerusa- 
 lem had not] whose builder and maker is God. They knew that 
 the /«wfi below was an appointed type of the courts above; and 
 they enjoyed it in this frame. Upon this account, the country it- 
 selt became (as it were) a sacrament to the laithful Jews, and put 
 them in continual mind, that this was not their rest, being Jiollu- 
 ted, but that Heaven only was their home, even the holiest of all, 
 for the forerunner into which they ardently waited, even for Je- 
 sus, their High-priest, and ours. All the services of the law 
 likewise were promises and prophecies in disguise ; yet known 
 ■well enough by them, to whom it was given. They were a veil of 
 ilesh ; but that veil was rent in twain, spiritually, by the divine 
 teacher, when saving life and light were brought into their souls, 
 and when they were instructed in the mysteries of the kingdom. 
 Hence the distinction between the outward and the inward Jews ; 
 the one having the veil ufion their heart, when Moses was read, 
 and the ceremonies given by Moses were exhibited ; the other 
 having that veil do7ie away in Christ, and through faith in him, 
 who was then to come. Christ himself also was promised in this 
 wav, and came z»ez7crf with human flesh; so that the carnal or 
 outward Jews knew him not, nor saw what a divine and ineffable 
 pearl, far above all price, tabernacled in mortal clay. But those, 
 who were enlightened by the Holy Spirit, were at no loss about 
 Hiiv, but, through all the helpless simplicity of a little -babe when 
 he came into the world, beheld him by faith, and acknowledged 
 \nva tohc their iialvation. What made the difference between 
 gocHi old Simeon, Anna the prophetess, with others who rejoiced 
 in him, and Herod, with all those who received him not but sought 
 to destroy him ? The answer is ; that very Spirit alone, who 
 brought Simeon into the temple, at the time of his circumcisicn, 
 and led others to testify of him ; as may be i-ead at large in the 
 two first chapters of the gospel by St. Luke, and what makta the 
 distinction beiween the r-^.al Christian and the nominal profcss.or 
 in tiicir livs and deaths even now ? Why is the one enabled to 
 live and be happy in the things of God, to rejoice iu tribulation 
 and death, and to have ardent desires for the blessi'igs of eternity ; 
 %vh!lc the other passes his flc-cting hours in the hot pursuit after dy- 
 ing affairs, cares neither for God nor his soul, for Heaven or Hell ? 
 It cannot be imputed to mere difference of natural understand- 
 ing ; for, usually, those who are esteemed wisest in the wo;ld, 
 accept the worse rather than the better fart, and are even pron<j 
 
SPIRIT OF PROMISE. 303 
 
 to think the others, as Festus did Paul, mad and beside them^ 
 selves. Nay, some of the very persons themselves, v.ho have 
 turned from Avhat they conceived to be follies and sins bewitcbint; 
 others, have been people of whose learning, sense, and integrity, 
 no reasonable man could possibly doubt, and the difference of 
 whose conversation and conduct have been obvious to all who 
 knew them ; and yet they have frankly and seriously owned, that 
 it was no might, wisdom, or capacity of their own, which effected 
 this change upon them. To what then could it be ascribed? 
 Surely to nothing else but that which they ascribe it to, in strict 
 concurrence with the word of God ; even the power and wisdom 
 of the divine Spirit opei^ating upon their souls. By this they 
 lived y for this they prayed ; and for the same have all the Church- 
 es of Christ in all ages of the world prayed most expressly either 
 in liturgies or other solemn addresses to Heaven. The Church 
 of England in particular reiterates the petitions of this kind 
 throughout her service, and, in the deepest sense of human frailty, 
 implores that the " Holy Spirit may in alL things direct and 
 KULE our hearts, through Jesus Christ."* 
 
 From all this it may appear, that the promises, made in the 
 
 • It seems truly ustonishlng, how it is possible that a minister of this ex- 
 cellent Church, should venture to nullify the exercise of the Holy Spirit 
 upon men's souls, or (what is thoug-ht at present to be the more decent 
 fesliion) to assert that this exercise is so secret, so iir.perceptible, so re- 
 sistable, and so extinguishable by rnen, that they either cannot kno-.'/ when 
 they have its povci ;.n them, or can sup])ress it at their pleasure. That the 
 form of Prayer should express or imply iri all its parts the absolute necessity 
 of tlie Spirit's aid, that men should read over these sound words in tlie desk 
 and then imuicdiately afier deny, repiobate, and even ridicule the whole 
 sense of 'Jieui in the pulpit, is so very sliocking' and horrid, that it adds a most 
 d:readful weight to all the other pi;!! rii^v ai;d unprincipled conduct of the 
 times. The Common Prayer b^isecr.-KS God to replenish our King imVA //;(,• 
 grace of his Holy Spirit, and 'c c^^diit 'Ac Royal Fanni} rdth the same spirit. 
 Where is the loyally or respect in pietending' to ask lor a blessing', which is 
 treated by these innovators as a clnma-i'a ? The cong-regation is led to ask 
 for the healthful spirit of grace upon tlte Bishops and Clergy, that they may tru- 
 ly please God. Is it not horridly impious to use these words in sound, and 
 to deny them in substance ? Or can any Clergyman think he can truly please 
 God by so bold a duplicity ? The people, immediately after the confession of 
 their sins, are exhorted to beseech God to grant them tme repentance and his 
 Holy Spirit. Are they then to rec[ucst a mere imagination, an unfelt and un- 
 known good, a mere non-entity ? And is not the telling them this, in a dis- 
 course after such a petition and many more of the same kind, a wicked and 
 audacious abuse of their time, patience, and understanding M>ut wiien Je- 
 sus Christ has said, in a very strong juid particular manner, that, vnich more 
 than a father to give good gifts to his cliildren, God is willing to give the 
 Holy Spirit to them that ask him ,- wlio, v, iiat, where are they, that will be so 
 vi'icked ;uid so blasphemous as to assert, that there is no such blessinr to be 
 had, or (what is much the same) no such good to be known .'' — He.ir, hea- 
 vens, andgix-e ear, earth ; for the Lord hath spoken : I kavs notvished cr.d 
 brought up children, and they have refilled against v,". 
 
304 SPIRIT OF PROMISE. 
 
 word, need the Spirit of Promise to apply and explain them ib 
 believing souls ; and that he doth seal this instruction, according 
 to that degree of saving truth which is necessary for them or 
 for others by them, proving himself thereby to be true and very 
 God. And it is an argument which cannot be too much remem- 
 bered and insisted on, that none but God could do this to myriads 
 of creatures atone and the same instant, in various ages, nations, 
 kingdoms, and tongues, and to the whole world of the blest, with- 
 out intermission and without end. 
 
 This Holy Spirit is, therefore, well called the Promise itself; 
 because it was often promised under the law, that he should be 
 fully evidenced and manifested to the people of God upon the ad- 
 vent of the Messiali. Huetius, in his Demojistratio E-vangelica 
 (Prop. ix.c. 149.) has drawn out some of the most remarkable 
 texts of this kind from the Old Testament, and paralleled therii 
 with others from the New, which shew their accomplishment. It 
 would take up too much room to copy the texts at length, as he 
 has done, and therefore it may be sufficient to point only to the 
 places which the reader may consult at his leisure. — Old Tes- 
 tament. Isaiah xxxii. 15. xliv. 3. lix.21. Ezekiel xxxvi. 26, 
 
 27. xxxix. 29. Joel ii. 28, 29. Zach. xii. 10 JVew Testament. 
 
 Luke xxiv. 49. John vii. of, &c. xiv. 16, 8cc. xv.26. xvi. 7, &c. 
 XX. 22. Acts i. 4, Sec. ii. 1, Sec. viii. 15, &c. ix. 17, x. 44, 45- 
 xi. 15, 16, xiii. 2, 3, 4, 9, 52. xv. 7, 8. xix. 2, 6. Romans v. S. 
 1 Cor. iii. 16. Gal. iv. 6. 1 John iv. 13. with several other cor- 
 respondent texts. 
 
 What consolation is held forth in this gracious title of the Spirit 
 for the children ef God. What assurance of happiness doth it 
 contain? What a pledge of life eternal? There is not a pro- 
 mise revealed in the book of God, .but which the believer may 
 look to the Spirit of Promise for the performance of it. He took 
 this name for that end. He is the Spirit in the promise, and be 
 comes inherent with the promise itself, as the very life and es- 
 sence of it; and he is the Spirit of the promise, because he war. 
 a party in the divine mind who gave it, and the person in the di- 
 vine nature who accomplishes it to his people. Looking to him, 
 they can never be disappointed of their hope; for he doth- not 
 make promises, nor give his word, according to the little follies 
 of earthly courts, but pledges himself for the performance of 
 them, that his people may rely on him with strong consolation, 
 and entertain a good hope through grace. None of his creatures 
 tan charge him with breach of promise : he did not make pro- 
 mises to b^^ah them- bv.r to ksefi them. Nor did be make then- 
 
SPIRIT OF PROMISE. S03 
 
 dii 2iny unce7'tainty oi issue ; because no promise v/as ever given 
 out, but according- to tliat everlasting covenant-^ ivkich is ordered 
 in all things and sure. So that the promise stands upon the very 
 Godhead itself, and upon all his attributes of wisdom, love, and 
 power : nor can it fail, till this rock of ages fails, but must endure 
 likiB it for evermore. O what comfort may the troubled wearj 
 mind draw from this unfailing spring I Could it but look cut from 
 itself, and lay fast hold upon the word of promise ; the Spirit of 
 Promise would soon witness to his own word, and give the sweet- 
 ness of it to the hungry soul. But the soul too, too often looks 
 into itself, where it can find nothing but sorrow and sin : It seeks, 
 in this case, the living among the dead. Its hope is risen ; and \t 
 must rise from the sepulchre of self to follow after, where only it 
 can be found. Let the word be read in faith ; and there the Lord 
 of the word will appear. He will appear to bless in reading, and 
 to carry, from the reading some strength and savor into the heart 
 and life. 
 
 "But (says the troubled Christian) I can see no prospect of 
 health in my case. Providence seems shut up to me. All is dark- 
 ness and gloom ; and 1 cannot find one cheerful ray in the whole 
 book to guide me on, nor one argument of comfort to support 
 me from sinking." — How many gracious souls are in this situation \ 
 They would not be in it, were they not gracious. Their aim 
 would be, if they were o/the world, to seek relief in the world; 
 and the heavenly record would have stood unopened as to them % 
 and 'tis one good sign of a truly believing soul, when all afflic- 
 tions or distresses drive it to the Bible, and constrain a longinsj 
 to receive comfort and support from that quarter. Christian I 
 hold fast here. Remember thou art privileged to trust a faith- 
 ful God : and when thy heart droops within thee, cry out ; Lord £ 
 believe ; helfi t hou mine unbelief ! Do, astheFatherof the faithful 
 did ; against hofie^ believe in hope^ according to that which is s/ioken 
 by thy God. Let go the reeds and the rushes, which float about thee 
 in thy tribulation, and catch hold upon the arm which is stretched 
 out for thine aid. That word. Lord, save, or I perish, was 
 never uttered by any one who perished. He will give thee 
 strength for thy temptation, or provide a v,ay for an escape. — ■ 
 And the trial was sent, not for thy distress (for ti.e Lord doth not 
 willingly or causelessly afflict his people,) but to beat thee from 
 thyself, from thy own contrivances, schemes, or power, and to 
 make thee fly for refuge to him. Blessed is that afHiction, which 
 endears God to his people : and blessed are those tongues, which 
 
 yoi,, H, P p 
 
305 SPIRIT OF PROMISE. 
 
 can thank God in the affliction, as well as /or the affliction. Nor is 
 tliis too much for faith, when the Spirit of Promise enlivens it to 
 embrace a promise ; as it appears from the Apostle's case, and 
 from the cases of many others, who rejoiced in irifnilation, know- 
 ing the happy effects of their trial. Rom. v. 3. They did not puz- 
 zle themselves about the mea7ts of deliverance ; but sought Jirs! 
 to glorify God in the present dispensation of his providence ; and 
 then to embrace those occasions of aid Avhich that Providence put 
 in their way. They wrestled with God^ rather than with the 
 world; and, like Jacob, they prevailed. For faith, being of the 
 Spirit, lays hold of the promising Avord, energizes in the strength 
 of the Spirit, and obtains from God the fulfilment of his promise^ 
 and all the happy consequences which result from it. The pro- 
 mises contain full mcRsurc, and over measure; and have in them 
 more than we can ask or think. Were it not for our own weak- 
 ness, nothing in the world could disturb us. Winds make no im- 
 pression upon rocks, but upon loose and unsettled substances. 
 And were we,, or coiUd we, be perfectly fixed upon the rock of 
 ages, as we shall be hereafter; not all the powers of earth or hell 
 could affect or perplex us. Our Avretchedness comes hence, 
 we cannot give up all contentedly or resignedly to God's disposal 
 and management, at the bottom ; and this is the true though secret 
 cause of all our trouble. For could we rest upon God, as w-e 
 are warranted to rest upon him, in spiritual things, without dis- 
 turbing our own minds with those why^ and wherefores, which, for 
 the trial of our faith, are concealed from us ; we should then find 
 him an unshaken foundation, and, in the very act of faith, enough 
 to assure us, that we do not trust him in vain. So, in temporal 
 matters, did we cast all our care, or carefulness, ufion God, ac- 
 cording to his precept, and commit the times and the seasons en- 
 tirely to his own /lower, as they are indeed, and must be whether 
 wc trust him or not ; we should find xnuch smoother work within, 
 and abundantly less perplexity from without. The unhappiness 
 rests here ; we cannot trust God nakedly, without a view or prob- 
 ability oiour own ; and so we carve out to him our own ways of re- 
 lief, instead of following his will into the disposals of his providence. 
 We argue for him, as well as for ourselves ; and hence come all 
 our fallacies and disappointments. If we left it to his wisdom to 
 arrange the argument for us, and only follow, as that led, with 
 our own ; we should find a most happy and invincible conclusion 
 in our behalf, at the sum. To use a familiar phrase ; we want to 
 be masters, when we ought to be journeymen, and are always 
 
SPIRIT OF PROMISE. 307 
 
 setting, up for ourselves, before we have learned our trade : and 
 the consequence is, a temporary bankruptcy. Do we not fre- 
 quently see artificers performing things in their business, which 
 we cannot account for ; and do we dispute their conduct because 
 of our own ignorance ? They cut down, hew, throw about, min- 
 gle, and perplex the various parts of a frame or machine, as it 
 seems to our apprehension ; but yet all goes on with a design in 
 their minds, which we are not masters of. At length, when 
 they have put the several particulai's into their appointed places, 
 and combined all the parts into a complete whole ; we see order, 
 beauty, and use arise out of a very complicated and (to our view) 
 a very confused scene. We could not investigate the artifice ; 
 but we can perceive the end. In like manner, comparing small 
 things with great, God deals with the individuals among his peo- 
 ple, and v/ith his temple the Church'm general. He permits the 
 world (as it appears) to fall into a multitude of cross purposes, 
 strange circumstances, and perplexing events, by which his peo- 
 ple and Church, together with the world, are disordered and af- 
 fected. Private affairs and public concerns may seem confused 
 beyond the skill or power of men to unravel or explain thera. 
 But when the believer shall reach his home, and much more 
 when the end of all things shall appear ; God's design in all will 
 break forth illustrious, and create astonishment, admiration, and 
 praise, at his complications of wisdom and grace, through be- 
 holding worlds. — Learn then, believer, to consider his arrange- 
 ments of providence and mercy in this view ; and then nothing in 
 the short scene of things below will trouble thee much or long. 
 Leave God's secrets to himself, and say with good Salvian, " I do 
 not understand them ; I dare net investigate them ; I even trem- 
 ble to attempt it." The day will soon appear ; and then the sha- 
 dows of the night shall flee away ; while the objects of truth and 
 glory shall arise to view, without number or end. 
 
 " But (says the Christian) hath not God promised the seal of the 
 Spirit, in order to assure me of my salvation ; and may I not ex- 
 pect this ? May I not be deceived, if on the one hand I content 
 myself without it, or if on the other I presume only that I have 
 it ?" God hdXh firomiscd this seal in or upon believing ; and when 
 thou didst believe thou wast sealed ; but not with visions or reve- 
 lations, but with a conviction of the truth of God, and with gra- 
 cious comfort flowing from that conviction. The Spirit of 
 promise applies the word of promise to the soul, acts by that 
 word usually as its medium; gives the believer powtr to rest up- 
 
30d SPIRIT OF PROMISE. 
 
 on it, and in that power conveys a demonstralion of his own pre- 
 sence and of the Christian's title to salvation. The seal, however, 
 is not always in comfort immediately, though always in grace, 
 which connects the heart and life by love, and informs the mind 
 with wisdom. The inscription of this seal, to be known and read 
 of thee and of all men, is, let every one-, that nameth (he name of 
 Christy dejliart/rom inujtiity. Let thy conscience make thy appeal 
 to this, and carefully read this golden legend every day. It is a 
 true phylactery, or inscribed frontlet ; and the plainer it is written, 
 the be.icr. And be assured of this, that if heart, head, and life, 
 be framed according- to the word, and depend upon the truth of 
 God, and wait for the salvation of God ; it is a further proof that 
 the Spirit hath sealed thee to his eternal redemption. Thou art 
 not to go on contented without this testi7non-y ; and much less 
 with a contrary testimony; Por, believe what tiiou wilt, unless 
 this seal be upon thee ; thou has', no proof to thyself of thine own 
 sincerity, nor to others that thou ia-t not an hypocrite. As to 
 visions be contented without them : The prophets, who had them, 
 called them a burden } and thousands who have pretended to have 
 them, have followed their own delusion and enthusiasm, to their 
 cost. Pray Qod to teach thee by his word, and according to his 
 word : Thou wilt find wisdom in safety there^ and more wisdom 
 in depth than in this life tliou fully canst know. And if a ivord^ 
 apparently in season, come home to thy heart ; there is also a rule, 
 by which thou mayest judge wllethcr its application be from the 
 tuition of God, or from the mere elevation of tliy own mind. If 
 the thought humble thee in thy own sight, while it warms thee 
 with love to Christ; and if it fill thee with meekness and submis- 
 sion, as well as complacency and comfort thou mayest be assured, 
 that (as the Devil never deals in tlus way) the Lord is thy he/per. 
 But if the idea excite a swelling (as it were) of the mind, a delight 
 in its own excellence for the thing spoken or conceived, a con- 
 sciousness or desire of superiority in the heart over others, a lan- 
 guid notion of the intervention of God, and especially if it end in 
 high words, and strong passions towards men ; thou mayest just- 
 ly fear, however ingenious or devout *he cogitation may be in 
 show, that it is but the ebullition of the human understanding, 
 unaided and uninfluenced by the grace of God. What God sends 
 to man humbles him in himself and lifts him up in another. What 
 man conceives from within, exalts self, and leaves God out of 
 ;,iglit, If this rule were duly attended to, we should probably 
 
LOVE. SO* 
 
 r.ec fewer presumptions of self-importance, and more real concern 
 for the edification of others, in the professing world. 
 
 Happy, only happy, ai'e they, who wait on the S/iirit of Promise 
 to seal and to accomplish all the promises for their souls ! Hap- 
 py they, who meditate on his word for this end, who love his com- 
 mandments, and delight in his ways. This happiness is the 
 privilege of every believer, the undoubted portion of the children 
 of God. How happy would these be, if they knew their own hap- 
 piness ! How content, if they considered God, as their manager, 
 their friend, their father 1 How satisfied about worldly things, if 
 they duly lived in expectation of Heaven as their home. What- 
 ever was disordered abou( them, t/iey could not be touched ; nor, 
 in worlds of ruin, can these be lost. Their anchor, cast within the 
 veil, cannot fail ; because the /iromise is its hold : Their vessel of 
 grace shall never be wrecked, for the Spirit of promise is at the 
 helm. This Spirit shall preserve them by day and by night, 
 amidst the storms of life, and the loudest horrors of death: He 
 •will carry them safely into the haven of felicity, and give them 
 an inheritance among them, who, from all past ages, do now 
 through faith and fiaticnce inherit the Promises. 
 
 LOVE. 
 
 LOVE, as it exists in human nature, is the inclination or 
 affection of the mind to some object which it conceives to be va- 
 luable in itself or proper for its own welfare : And if sin had 
 brought no darkness or error into the mind, this faculty of love 
 would apply itself only to what is truly valuable and good. 
 
 In rational creatures, this affection should be directed to God as 
 the only fountain of good, and to created good objects, as they re- 
 late to him or may be enjoyed with him. 
 
 With respect to God, there can be no cause of his love beyond 
 himself or out of himself; and therefore this affection or attribute 
 exists, independently of all other objects, within himself; for 
 which reason, he is revealed under the name of Love, being the 
 true essence or source of all that faculty or disposition, which we 
 can strictly comprehend by this term. 
 
 From hence it seems evident, that, as enmity and hatred are 
 diametrically opposite .to this benign character of the divine na- 
 *ijre, they must proceed froift some other cause : And as whate- 
 
510 LOVE, 
 
 ver is thus contrary to God, must be a revolt from him, and a 
 departure from the proper end of its own creation, it is therefore, 
 justly denominated sin^ which, again, being repugnant as well to 
 the good of the creature, as to the source of all good, bears both 
 the name and the nature of evil. Enmity, consequently, as it ap- 
 pears in the creature towards God himself, or to what is of God 
 in other objects, is but another word for evil and sin. 
 
 The revelation of God informs us, how all this depravity came 
 into our nature, which was originally created ufiright. Since that 
 awful event, it is in human experience to say, that the incHnations 
 of the soul have naturally contradicted the mind and will of God, 
 have wandered wide from his love and purity, and so far departed 
 from the pure rectitude of a perfect creature, as to have this cha- 
 racter stamped by unerring truth upon the mind from which they 
 flow, that it is enmitij iiself, enmity in the abstract, against God. 
 Rom. viii. 7. 
 
 God is Love ; pure, perfect, and incorruptible love: But the 
 carnal mind, the mind of every man by nature, the mind which is 
 under the dominion of his ficsh and makes this flesh his only end, 
 is corrupted, debased, and absorbed with enmity. 
 
 From this direct opposition of God and man, which is forcibly 
 expressed by these opposite terms, we may perceive the use and 
 design of the bible ; for the blessed volume describes this oppo- 
 sition in its nature and e^ects^and pohits out from thence both the 
 necessity and the method of reconciliation. 
 
 The Bible describes the nature of this enmity to be rooted in 
 fiin.and this sin to consist in transgression or disobedience of God's 
 ?av/. The Bible also states, that this holy law was communica- 
 !cd to man, both in precep: and sanction. By keeping it, which 
 ^n his perfect state he was easily able to do, he was to live, or (in 
 more extended phrase) to live happy and blessed ; but, in trans- 
 gressing it, he was surely to die, or be cut off from the source 
 of all life and happiness in body and soul. He broke this law, 
 and plunged himself into rebellion: and tnis rebellion (as was 
 before observed) is the principle and ground of all his enmity, or 
 sin, against his Maker. 
 
 The effects of this apostacy are clearly seen in his ruin. As 
 l»e became opposite to the love of God, he became possessed 
 with enmity ; being contrary to the holiness of God, he was fil- 
 led with sin ; repugnant to the goodness of God, he was seized 
 -with evil ; and cut oh from the life of God, he inherited death 
 spiritual, temporal, and eternal. The divine nature could no: 
 
LOVE. 5\\ 
 
 be contaminated by nor bold communion with o sinful nature ; 
 and therefore there ensued a separation of God from man, which, 
 having every dreadful consequence to the latter, is expressed by 
 the wrath, abhorrence, vengeance, judgment, &c. of God — terms 
 adapted to the workings and capacities of the human mind, and 
 used to mark out its entire alienation (with the sad effects of it) 
 from its maker. There is no wrath in God, as wrath ; because 
 he is wholly love : but his separation of man from the participa- 
 tion of his love, with all its various blessings, operates upon the 
 human passions, now defiled with enmity, under the notions and 
 impressions of anger and indignation. Thus God's love, being 
 pure and unapproachable by sin, becomes a most dreadful and 
 even horrible attribute to a sinner ; because, as a sinner, he can 
 never come nigh to God, never hold communion with him, nor 
 receive delight or blessedness from him. And if divine wisdom 
 had not found a method of reconciliation j human nature would 
 and must have sustained whatever can be conceived under the 
 awful idea of damnation, or the state of absolute rejection from 
 the presence of God. 
 
 By these considerations it might appear, were it necessary to 
 extend them, that enmity, sin, wrath, and misery, with other 
 words of the like import, are all correlative terms, which only 
 variously express the nature or effects of man's alienation from 
 God. They are all branches of one baleful tree, the fruit of 
 which is the full completion of human wretchedness and woe. 
 
 On the other hand, the word love is also correlative and en- 
 tirely connected with every other divine attribute and perfection, 
 or with whatever may be called by those names : it has, and can 
 have, no difference from them, however distinguished^ by a mer- 
 ciful condescension, for the better comprehension of our minds. 
 Righteousness, for instance, is only a name for this love in ac:- 
 and exercise : For the love of God in its energies docs only v/hat 
 is right or righteous. Love is the motive of all his action, ac- 
 cording to the scriptures ; and, by commumcating this love, he 
 renders it the essential principle of all righteous action in man 
 John iii. 16. 1 Cor. xiii, 4, Sec. Truth, purity, and the like, are 
 also but love in particular forms, actions, or aspects. In short, 
 all the attributes and perfections of the divine nature, have theii' 
 essence*in love ; and the term love is but a glorious title for the 
 grand assemblage of them, denominating (as the Bible hath) the 
 first and supreme nature. God is Love then, uniting, as in that 
 «ne attribute, all the other predicaments and glories of his ma- 
 
313 LOVE. 
 
 jesty and goodness ; not tier accidcns-, but in essentiality : and 
 with respect to his creatures, there is no grace nor act of right- 
 eousness, but what is an emanation from the same principle, en- 
 livening, invigorating, and making them happy. 
 
 It is hoped, that this kind of deduction will not be thought too 
 metaphysical, as it derives every portion of its weight from the 
 scriptures, and only aims to evince from the nature of all we see 
 and know, in full proof and connection with sacred authority, 
 that divine love is union, and the desire of unity, and can only 
 subsist between objects connatural ; because (according to the 
 Apostle) God or Christ hath 720 concord ivith Belial^ nor his works 
 9X\y fellowshifi with the unfruitful nuorks of darkness. 
 
 Now, man's nature, since the fall, being entirely defiled by sin, 
 and consequently unlike that of his Maker ; there can be no har- 
 mony or communion between them, until the principle ot this 
 disagreement be removed. And if this principle be not removed, 
 the enmity or opposition of the creature to God can end in no- 
 thing but the creature's misery and ruin. Hence appears, for 
 man's sake, the necessity before-mentioned of a new and positive 
 reconciliation. 
 
 If the necessity of this reconciliation be clear, it is of impor- 
 tance to inquire for the method or means by which it may be ob- 
 tained. How then shall this be accomplished? — God cannot 
 change his own nature : and can man expel the sinfulness, which 
 is now intermixed with his ? It is confessedly beyond his powers 
 either of will or wisdom.* He might as soon overcome the force 
 of disease and death, as overcome the cause which produced 
 them. He cannot, he would not, in his present unrenewed con- 
 stitution, exterminate sin. It follows, then, that the enmity must 
 be removed, if removed at all, by a sujierior power. 
 
 But, can any superior created power perform this great opera- 
 tion ? Can any deiienclent being reconcile him, on whom he de- 
 pends for his being, with another creature who is equally depen- 
 dent with himself? Admitting the inclination, where is the abili- 
 ty ? For the obstacles to be removed arc, the sins innumerable of 
 a vast nuiltiiude of human creatures, the natural rebellion of 
 those creatures against God, and their equally natural aversion 
 to righteousness and true holiness : ^And the 7neans to be employ- 
 ed are, the presentation of a complete atonement to God's infi- 
 
 * It is tlie despairing- lang-uage of the famous heathen moralist ; Idem 
 semper de iiobis pronuntiare debebimiia, matos ep;<? nos, malo3 f^iisr.e, inrntti^ 
 ntljician', e' futures c-.te. Sen. de Benef 1 i. c. 10. 
 
riitcaUribute of justice, which mus?, as such, reward ail iniquity 
 with its desert ; the introduction of a perfect righteousness, 
 which might entitle to everlasting reward ; and the transforma- 
 tion of myriads of souls into the image of God and conformity 
 with himv— 'Tis as absurd to suppose, that a creature can accom- 
 plish a work so transcendent, so infinite and everlasting, both itj 
 Itself and its effects ; as to believe, that a fly could impel the stars 
 to move in their courses by the puny efforts of its wing. 
 
 Here appear, in full glory, the wisdom, power, and benevo- 
 lence of Jehovah, as revealed in the gospel. By it alone v/e see, 
 liQW viercy and truth are niet together^ how rig'fiteousness and 
 peace have kissed each other. What man of himself would not 
 do, and what neither he nor all the creatures can do, it hath plea- 
 sed infinite benignity to taite upon itself. It hath performed the 
 whole in a manner so astonishing and gracious, that, unless the 
 same benignity had revealed the plan as well as undertaken the 
 execution, the most refined intellect of man could not have soar- 
 ed to conceive it. 
 
 That Jehovah should appoint a mediator, fitted both by divinity 
 and humanity to interpose between the Godhead and the crea- 
 ture ; that this mediator, as Jehovah, should merit, and impute 
 what he nierited, to the creature's account ; and as man, should 
 suffer, what the creature must otherwise have suffered for its 
 apostacy ;* that so marvellous a constitution should obtain, in 
 which all the attributes and glories of the Godhead are rendered 
 most wonderfully illustrious, while the creature is pardoned, jus- 
 tified, renewed, and saved ; all this appears so much above the 
 size of man's understanding, that eveji to look upon it now it is 
 revealed, and revealed too only in /iart,(l Cor. xiii. 9. 16.) daz- 
 zles with such a splendor of grace and glory, as to command u 
 confession of its divine authority from every enlightened mind. 
 Those, who see not this divine goodness and beauty, may indeed 
 boast of enlarged understandings as loud as they please ; but they 
 must pardon the Christian, if, in believing God rather than man, 
 he concludes, that every mind, which conceives nothing of God's 
 
 * There hath been a man in the world not ashamed to profess, for himself and 
 his party ; Credimus, eiiamsi non semel atque ilerum, sed satis crebro etdisser- 
 tissime scriptum exstaret, Deiim essfi hominem factum, multo satius esse, qxtia 
 h<ec res sit absurda, & sanae raiioni plane contraria, & in Beam blasphema, Mo- 
 dum aliquem diccndi comminisci, quo ista de Deo did possint, quam ista sim- 
 pliciterita itt verba sonant intcUigere. Smalcms ap%ul Wits. JMisc. Vol. 2. p 
 59'J. It would be happy, if the boldness and impiety of these sentiiTie-nt?^ 
 were no more living ihai\ the language in which they are ^rittPii, 
 
 TOi.. II. Q q 
 
314 LOVE. 
 
 liberality in this case, must necessarily be mean, narrow, and dar- 
 Iwcned. Eph. iv. 18. 
 
 In this most interesting way, hath God demonstrated himself to 
 be Love. It is a magnificent attribute of himself, and necessari- 
 ly essential to his nature. His very existence might as well be 
 cltaied, as this super-eminent glory and perfection of it. 
 
 Wc know that God is Love by thp effects : For all the effects 
 proclaim, in their method, magnitude, and extension, that their 
 cause must be God alone. Jn this 'was manifested the love oj 
 God towards us (says St. John,) because that God sent his only be- 
 gotten Son into the world, that we might live through hi?n, 1 John 
 iv.9. Here the mention is made of this love existing in the per- 
 sonality of the Deity; and here, in particular, appears the Love of 
 the Father. In the next instance, the Love of the Son is equally 
 manifest. Herri}!/ (says the same Apostle) fierceive we the love 
 of God, becatise he [God the SonJ laid down his life for us. 1 
 Johniii. 16. Another Apostle also mentions the love of the S/ii^ 
 rit. (Rom. XV. 30.) And in what peculiar office doth this gra- 
 cious agent display his love to the children of men ? The scrip- 
 tures, which he dictated, testify concerning it with full and re- 
 peated evidence. By this Spirit his people are quickened from 
 the death of tresfMsses and sins, and have an access to the 
 Father. By his omnipotent power, they are renewed in the spi- 
 rit of their mind, obtain faith to confide in the great Redeemer, 
 and apply all the work of his salvation to their souls. By his ef- 
 fectual grace, i\\ty bring forth fruit im to God, and hold on and 
 hold out unto the end. In a word, all the fruits of righteousness^ 
 which are (^<»} through Jesus Christ, unto the glory and firaise 
 of God, (Pliil. i. 11.) are the fruit of the Spirit, as the grand agent 
 of the whole. In this way it is, that he witnesseth for Christ vi. 
 his people, and so becomes ihe pledge of their salvation ; and he 
 witnesseth y;:r his people to tiiclr own consciences and to the 
 "world, that indeed they are redeemed from the earth, in being re- 
 deemed from the corruptions that are in it through lust, and 
 (^what is harder still) redeemed from themselves. 
 
 This operation of the Spirit is in perfect concord with the will 
 and work of the Father and the Son, and is also, in all its inten- 
 tions, the result of that everlasting covenant which subsisted be- 
 fore the world began. One and the same love, however diver- 
 sified in their official engagements, actuates the eternal Three ; 
 because they are but one Godhead : And however the manifesta- 
 tions may vary, according to the capacity of creatures to appre- 
 
LOVe. 315 
 
 -fiend them, redemption is but one undivided work, and the con- 
 current energy of the three persons upon the objects of that re- 
 demption, in the several offices of choice, calling, justification, 
 sanctification, and receiving to glory. 
 
 From hence it will appear, that this Holy Spirit, as well as the 
 Son, must be God over alU blessed for ever ; because all his ope- 
 rations appear to be divine and from himself; nay, because they 
 render effectiuil the operations of the other two divine persons, 
 which, without his completion of the gracious ceconomy (for 
 aught we can see,) might be void or in vain.* It was for this rea- 
 son that our blessed Lord himself refers the full explanation and 
 effect of his own mission to the agency of the third person ; vihere 
 he promises to his disciples, that the Comforter^ which is the Ho- 
 ly Ghost, whom the Father (says he) loill send in iny Name, shall 
 teach you all things (John xiv. '^6) ivHl guide tjou into all the truth\ 
 and shall glorify MS,. John xiv. 13, It. Thus Christ L-.sdfied of 
 the S/iirit, as the Father had testified ^i hivi (Matth. iii. 17 : And 
 the Spirit also was to testify, in return, of Christ and the Father ; 
 else, how is that passage to be understood, where the Redeemer 
 says, ALL things that the Father hath, are mine ; therefore said 
 ly that He [the Spirit] shall take of mine and shall shew it unto 
 you ? John xvi. 15. These reciprocal testimonies of the divine 
 persons to each other, prove their intercommunity or oneness of 
 Godhead, for there is but one God ; while, from thence, they de- 
 clare, as plainly as words can declare, the proper divinity of each 
 of the three witnesses, as persons or consubeistences in the God- 
 head. 
 
 The like reciprocity holds good in the experience of the faith- 
 ful; They will own, that they could never have known the Fa^ 
 ther as the Father of mercies, but through the Son : according to 
 the express declaration of Christ himself, neither knoweth amj 
 man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son vMl 
 reveal him. Matth. xi. 27. And again, God [the Father] hath 
 sent forth the Sfiirit of his Son into your hearts, crijing, Abba, Fa- 
 ther. Gal. iv. 6. It would be easy to offer numerous passages of 
 scripture, where these references are made from the office of one 
 divine person to those of the others, and where again the Unity 
 
 * To a similar effect speaks the Czengerlne Confession of Faith, first pub- 
 lished in 1570. Hi tres. Pater, Sermo, et Spiritus swit tmam in adora- 
 
 tione ; sicut enim Deus Pater sine Filio suo et Spiritu Sancto eligere, creare, 
 sanclif.care noii potest ; ita Pater sine Filio et Spiritxc Scmcto Ueus Jehovah 
 adonnuhis esse jum potest. Sjntag. conf. P. i. p. 193. 
 
 t £'5 7ros8"«v r)iv oi^^^stav, i.e. of tj'iines necessary to salvation. 
 
316 LOVE. 
 
 of the Three is equally apparent and undcnialjic. It will be su{' 
 ficient perhaps, only to add in this place, that if to know God re- 
 quires divine teaching, to love God in deed and in truth must ne- 
 cessarily be the effect of divine power. In fact, the ri^lit know- 
 ledge and the true love of God are so much one and the same, 
 that it i» impossible to separate them in Christian experience, or 
 even Christian dix:trine : and it is the saving office of the divine 
 Spirit to lead and guide the redeemed into the possession of both. 
 Upon this ground alone can " the splendid union" of Taste and 
 Truthy in a sense more sublime than the philosophical, be esta- 
 blished from an end the most important of all to man, — his ever- 
 lasting welfare. 
 
 The Holy Spirit is, therefore the grand communicator and ap 
 plier of the love of the (Jodhead to the souls of the redeemed- 
 He prepares their hearts for the reception of this love, and then 
 s?ieds it abroad upon them as they are able to bear it. In doing 
 this, he effectuates the election of the Father unto life, and mani 
 fests it by repeated proofs to the soul. The salvation of the Son 
 also he applies to his people, and seals thein unto the day of re- 
 demfition. And, in the performance of this gracious work in all 
 its branches, he fulfils his own divine ofBce, and proves himself iu 
 the fact to be a person in the ever living and true God. For, ivh^j 
 beside is s2ifficient for these things ? 
 
 It was this divine Spirit, who in the beginning moved upon the 
 face of the waters, to vivify what was creating in this material 
 world ; and it was He, who overskadoiaed the blessed Virgin, to 
 quicken and produce that holy substance, which therefore should 
 be called the Son of God. It is the same Almighty agent, who 
 moves upon the troubled heart of a sumer, and generates l new 
 life in that fallen Spiiit, which before was dead to God, to itself^ 
 and to glory. 
 
 If these premises be true, or, rather, if the holy scriptures be 
 true from which these premises are gathered.; is it possible tc. 
 mistake the author and agent of so much infinite and everlasting 
 love, for a creature^ for an emanatmi^ for a quality ? If the Spirit 
 hath love (and wc read in God's revelation both of the love and the 
 fruits of the Spirit J ; can the love which exists in him, be the 
 finite love of a created beings and yet hz coeval and cooperative 
 with the Father of mercies, in the everlasting salvation of sinners ; 
 iilove be of God, can the love of the Spirit which is everlasting in 
 all its fruits and operalions be any thing else beside that love ot 
 God ? And if God himself be love can the very Spirit of thr^ 
 
tovK. 3ir 
 
 ■ave be less or any thing else than God ? Surely, one should thinks 
 that no man, who credits the Bible, and certainly no man, who in 
 
 the least understands it, can hesitate upon so obvious a matter. 
 An infidel, indeed, escapes the conclusion by denying the premi- 
 ses, yet escapes it by involving himself in the mazes of inextrica- 
 ble doubt and perplexity^ where he can give no clear or just ac- 
 count either of the author or design of his own being. But a pro^ 
 fessor of Christianity, with the Bible in his hand, rejecting the 
 principles of that Bible v/hich connect it as a system of saving 
 truth, and these principles in particular concerning the personali- 
 ty in Jehovah, on which the whole fabric of redemption is raised ; 
 is indeed a most inconsistent creature, and would render the re- 
 velation of his Maker just as incongruous as himself. 'Tis no 
 wonder, that such men rail at divine truth in a system, while their 
 blindness doth not see one, and which not being seen by them- 
 selves, the pride of an unsanctifled understanding will not allow 
 that others shovild be favored to behold it. But Christ hath given 
 the reason of all this, in Matth.xi. 25, Sec. See also Dan. xii. K), 
 And yet, after all, it seems most palpably absurd, that men should 
 study the order, relations and connections of other truth, as a 
 bright and beautiful whole, in all the sciences, and at the same 
 time refuse to the rei>e/ation of the G-cd of truth a character of 
 symmetry, union, and perfection, which they think essential ii^ 
 every ordinary hypothesis.* Blessed be God, however, his wis- 
 dom and truth are perfect ; and the more the eyes of men are en- 
 lightened by his grace, the move of tins perfection and harmonv 
 do they see in all his counsels of salvation. 
 
 The man who hath tasted that the Lord is gracious, and who 
 knows whom he hath believed.)^ hath the ivitness in himself, that 
 
 * A late ingenious philosopher, commenting; upon his favorite Stagirite, 
 bath truly said, tiiat " even negative truths and negative conclusions cannot 
 subsist, but by bringing terms and. propositions toget/ier, so necesaary is ihie 
 iTNiTisR power to xvEUY species of knowiedge." Harrie's Hermes, p. 364. 
 Note. 
 
 1 2 Tim. i. 12. To kno-.v God, or Christ, or the Holy Spirit, in the sense 
 of tile Apostle, is not a theoretic or speculative notion raised in the mind by 
 the powers of reason; but a divine communication and impression, through 
 the means of gi-ace usually, upon the sensitive as well as intellectual facul- 
 ties of the souL Hence the Hebrew word for the wisdom wliich leads to sal 
 vation, is derived from a root Avhich relates to the taste and seiisible percep- 
 tion .• and hence the Apostle, evidently bearing in mind the original idea, 
 mentions the savor of this knowledge, the tasting that the Lord is gracious^ 
 and the handling the word of lile ; which is a manner of speaking that ap- 
 plies to the certainty and demonstration, which the soul obtains concerning- 
 these objects. The consequence of this scriptural reasoning is, that " car- 
 nal men, lacking- the spirit of Christ," whci they talk of betievinc; Gci^ 
 

 31§ LOVrf. 
 
 the S/iirit ia iovc and tlic God of Love. In perfect conformit-> 
 with the revealed word, which this Holy Spirit gave forth in ancient 
 times, he believes in the dignity of his person, and rejoices in 
 the evidence of his power. The voice of the Spirit in the gos- 
 pel and the breathing of the Spirit in his inmost soul, are the 
 flowing love of an infinite cause, and excite his affection, devo- 
 tion, and gratitude, in return. He reasons, and by this gracious 
 preceptor he reasons rightly and from matter of fact, that an agent 
 acting upon him for his translation from darkness to lights over- 
 coming the most rooted and inbred enmity of his heart to the will 
 and ways of God, inducing at the same time a new and lively affec- 
 tion to them, and enabling him to resist the impetuous torrent of 
 temptations from the world, the flesh and the Devil, and to hold 
 fast a hope, which hath very little to expect in this life, and ia 
 ome cases is against all the carnal interests of it, with steadiness 
 o the end; that such an agent as fully, at least, demonstrates 
 himself to be God, as the material universe itself can prove, that 
 the hand, which made it, is divine. 'Tis true, the argument,- 
 drawn from experience, would not be conclusive, if alone ; nor, 
 in that case, could it be expected to silence the opposition of the 
 gainsayer; but when the experimental proof is not only corrobo- 
 rated by the testimony of God's word, but is appealed to by that 
 word, one great purpose of which is to produce and confirm it; 
 then it is no longer a particular argument, confined to individuals, 
 but a genera/ truth, which is consistently to be acknowledged by 
 all those, who profess to receive the outward testimony. We 
 have a chart of the coast of New Zealand, and we have navigators 
 who have landed upon that Island. Would it be thought decent 
 10 say, that their landing proves nothing of tlie reality of that 
 country to others, however it might indentify tlie spot and con- 
 firm the chart to themselves ? the case in divinity stands upon a 
 Stronger foundation than this in nature. God himself hath drasvn 
 the plan of his spiritual kingdom ; and one particular portion oi 
 it is the earnest of his Spirit in the heart ; which, in the plan, is 
 defined to hcrighteoiisncss^ and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. 
 llom.xiv. 17. Will any man acknowledge the truth of the plan, 
 ;vnd yet be so inconsistent as to deny the existence of what the 
 plan delineates I Is it not grossly absurd to admit, that indeed the 
 
 oaiinot be said to kno-w whom they profess to have believed ; but, at most, 
 only to guess, or dream, concerning him. And they, ofall oUiei-s, are le.ist 
 iikely to know any thing of the matter, who are lir.rdy enough to deny 
 the agency of that divine person, by who;n alone all true knowledg-c of tins 
 icind fon be obtained. 
 
LOVE- J 19 
 
 kingdom of God is all this righteousness. Peace and joy, and 
 yet that these are not to be felt, or known ? And is it not equally 
 absurd to allow, that though these do exist by the power of the 
 Holy Ghost, yet that he is neither a /zer«on nor agent, or (if he be) 
 that he is not essentially divine ? All this would be not only wtc- 
 king the word of God of no effect, but would be placing it beneath 
 the mere morality of Heathens, and putting it upon a level with 
 the wildest reveries of impostors— one might add, below even 
 them ; for there might be some shew of consistency in these ; but 
 in the other case, the Bible would be a bundle of contradictions, 
 of promises unfulfilled, of intentions in themselves everlastingly 
 important, never to be performed. 
 
 It may be retorted ; "if the fruit of the Spirit be lo-ve, how is 
 it, that those, who profess to believe in him, have often so little 
 of this love in their hearts and lives ? Why then are there so many 
 sects and divisions among Christians ? And wherefore do they 
 hold such odia theologica, such religious oppositions, amonr^ 
 themselves?" — -This is too much a truth, even though it were 
 spoken hy the accuser of the brethren. But it may be answered, 
 that the profession of a truth by the tongue is one tiling; and 
 the /loseession of that truth in the soul quite another. Theve are 
 thousands, who can give no better account of their name as Chris- 
 tians, than that it is the fashion and religion of the country in which 
 they were born. There are thousands, who never read the Bible 
 through, nor scarce as much as look into it, who still would be 
 offended at the very doubt of their Christianity. There are thou- 
 sands also who only read it to cavil out of it; as though it were a 
 book of arguments, with which they were to dis/iute against all 
 mankind. There are other thousands who have been bred up in 
 a party or persuasion ; and therefore they think themselves bound 
 in honor to maintain it. And there are as many more, who fancy 
 it a point of cleverness and understanding to invent new modes ol 
 difference and distinction, to supply perhaps the place of those 
 which are worn out and almost forgotten in the world. But all 
 the«e litigious and irreligious wits, h.owcyer they may be be- 
 moaned for their own sakes, do not destroy the reality of the 
 gospel, but rather fulfil its predictions. They do not prove, that 
 there arcno fruits of the Sfiirit, but only, that they themselves 
 have not them. Much less can they infer, that there is no S/iirft 
 of Lo-ve, but, at most, that they have not the love of the Spirit . 
 If such cannot be said to knono nvho they have believed ; how cap 
 their ignorance, or ignorance of any kind, affect the truth ? 
 
r 
 
 320 L©VE. 
 
 The jffoiy Spirit h'nxi^eU hnih sufficiently cleared this roattcr. 
 From, whence come tears and Jightin^s \v>v litiga ions of words] 
 among you? Come they not hence^ even of your lusts^ that war 
 in your me7nbers .?— .These things are not tlie fruit of the SfnriC, 
 but of the^feo-A : they are not of God but of 7»u7i. The Spirit of 
 peace is not the author of confusion and discord ; but the restlrss, 
 the pertinacious boldness of the carnal mind. The want of the 
 Spirit of Love, therefore, in particular persons can be no argu- 
 ment against his own personal existence ; but only against his 
 positive operation in some human hearts. Wnerever he comes 
 and dwells, he never fails to bring peace, and to preserve it. 
 He ?}iakfth men to be of one mindir? an house, in the temple, in a 
 kingdom: and whenever they are otherwise minded, we may be 
 sure, that the Spirit of peace is by no means the occasion of it, 
 hui rzthev tha.t the /leace oj" God doth not rule in their hearts.—^ 
 Though the truths of the gospel are to be maintained inviolate 
 from error; yet this is not to be done merely by multiplying par- 
 ties, which have too often much more of the heat of the flesh in 
 them, than the wisdom of the Spirit; but rather m meekness in- 
 structing those that ofi/iose themselves, and perhaps against their 
 own happiness and salvaticn. Luther, magnanimous and zealous 
 as he was in contending for the grand peculiarities of che gospel, 
 would have yielded far more to the idle and nugatory ceremonies 
 of the Romish Church, than any modern Protestant can or pos- 
 sibly ought to do, for the sake of peace. He was rather driven 
 than inclined of himself to that degree of reformation, which he 
 afterwards established. Bat for Protestants to bite and devour, 
 who arc agreed in fundamentals, merely because of some exter- 
 nal and non-essential citcumstances, is matter of triumph nt 
 Rome, and, it may be in Babylon below. One thing, hovvever, 
 appears very certain, amidst this world of brawling and conten- 
 Lion about outward rituals, that it is not man which can render 
 truth prevalent and effectual to the sou!, but God alone. Ht will 
 maintain his own cause, much belter without than with the help 
 ofman's evil tempers and passions, which are too often, like his 
 tongue, (to use the Apostolic language) set on fire cf Hell. 
 
 " Why all this (it may be said) is setting up the act of unifor- 
 mity, and encroaching upon liberty of conscience and the natural 
 rit^^hts of mankind." — There is no pica in all this for human autho- 
 lity, nor yet for opposition to it. The whole of this matter stands 
 upon much higher ground. God's book is the Christian's act of 
 uniformity : and every one, whp is truly a Christians Js a confer- 
 
LOVE. .32 r 
 
 mist in grace, whatever he may be in respects which are not gra- 
 cious. Such a man must own, that God hath but one people, one 
 flock, one family, among men ; and that these have but 07ie Lord, 
 one faith, and one liope of their calling. Here is a uniformity, in 
 which all real Christians are united : And, if they are united here, 
 in the name of religion and common sense, what is the profit or 
 use of all otlier unions or disunions ? 
 
 " But this is Latitudinarianism ?" — Far from it, in the evil sense 
 Qf that long name. It is no broader than that way of truth, tlie 
 gate of which is so strait to human corruption, that no evil man 
 desires to enter within it. There is such a thing as the grace of 
 charity to bear and forbear, as well as the grace of faith to under- 
 stand and believe. And if there be no schism in the natural body, 
 and can be none without disfiguring it ; what man living can point 
 out the use or beauty of schism in that spiritual framcj which is 
 called Christ's body ? Rom. xii. 5. 1 Cor. xii. 27. 
 
 O for more fruit of this Spirit of Love among Christians ! There 
 would not be so much classing into denominations, nor clashing 
 of parties ; but more pure and fervent affection for alL of all par- 
 ties and denominations, iv/io love the Lord Jesus Christ in sinceri- 
 ty.* The measure of love to Christ would appear in the measure 
 of love to his members. It would be no longer the maintenance of 
 this opinion and the other interest in the world, which would en^ 
 gross the chief attention of professors ; but a zealous regard for 
 the reality of godliness, and a general detestation of all hypocrisy 
 and sin. The kingdom of God would then be sought, Avhcre alone 
 it should be sought, 7iot in ivord, but in power : And wherever it 
 was found living and reigning, there would be joy in earth as well 
 as in Heaven over it, even that communion of saints, which (alas !_) 
 in these last days, is but too seldom found out of the creed. 
 
 It is easy to believe that sentiments of this kind will not be too 
 
 * How truly amiable is tlie spirit of tlie famous Ambrose, Risliop of Mi- 
 lan ! and yet no one, who remembers liis faithfulness to the Emperor Theo- 
 dosiub, can suspect him tor a trimmer. Qii undo hie sum [Mediol.] nonjejuno 
 snbbatho, quando Rotiue sum jejuno sabbatho ; et ad qitamciiiujue ecclesium ve- 
 7ieviiiS) ejus morem servate, sipati noii vultis scandalum aiii facere. " When I 
 am at Lilian I do not fast on the Sabbath, but I do the contrary wlien I am 
 at Rome : And so whatever church you come to follow its mode, if you 
 would V'ish neither to suffer distraction and oflence, nor to give any." To 
 the same effect the celebrated Augustine, his friend, justly says ; Sit unaf' 
 den universe ecclesi^e, etiam si ipaajidei unitas quibusdam dlve)'sis observutioni- 
 biis celcbratur, qidbiis nidlo modo quod in fide veruin cat impediiur. Oninis eniht 
 pulchritudo tiliqe regis intrinsecus : illae autum observationes qujz varie cek* 
 braiiUir, in ejus vesie intelliguntur. Unde ibi dicitur ; in fimbriis aureis cir-> 
 cumamicta varieiiate. Sedea quoquc vcsiis ita diversis cc!':ira/i'.in?bi'.s varietur^ 
 lit non adversis cont^ritinnibu-i dis^petur. F.p. 86. 
 
 VOL, II. K r 
 
328 LOVE. 
 
 acceptable to bigots of any party. Such reflections are not calcu- 
 lated to soothe, but to oppose, that sensuality of opinions, "which 
 begin in the flesh, and naturally enough end there. But if they 
 arc agreeable to the mind of the S/iirit of Love^ and raise the least 
 Catholicism, or general afiection, in the heart of the Christian 
 rfeader to his brethren of any or of all denominations ; the censure 
 of a carnal mind, or the support of a carnal interest, where so 
 much glory to God is concerned, cannot deserve a moment's con» 
 'iidevation. 
 
 This branch ot wisdom, as well as all others, will be justified 
 of wisdom's children. To thee, O believer, who walkest in the 
 light and in the love of the Spirit of grace, this experimental 
 truth, were it even more forcibly insisted on, would need no apo- 
 logy. There is something within thee, which hath fellowship with 
 this matter. It bears its own recommendation to thy conscience. 
 If it did not, or if it should appear contrary to the written word, 
 let it pass with the farago of human opinions, and die with the nu- 
 merous sects, whose very names have almost perished with them.. 
 But can it not be appealed to thine inmost soul ; how often thou 
 hast contemplated with delight that happy time, or rather eterni- 
 ty, when thou shalt hold full communion with tlie sfiirits of just 
 Tiien made perfect^ above all the unimportant divisions, which er- 
 ror and corruption have invented below 1 how happy hast thou 
 been in the prospect of that tender, intimate, and sympathetic love, 
 which shall flow from soul to soul, without interruption and with- 
 €>ut end, in the regions of immortality 1 How hath thy soul been 
 almost transported with the promise in view, that thou and all the 
 l^iithful shall be one^ even as the Father is in Christ, and Chrisl 
 iu the Father, and by the power of the Holy Ghost, made in re- 
 spect to communion, one sfiirit loith the Lord I John xvii. 2 1 . 
 1 Cor. vi. 17. O what enlargement of heart have tliese views af, 
 forded thee 1— An enlargement capable of receiving all that the 
 Lord thy God should call I It hath been the wish of thy soul, at 
 such times in particular, that more unity, love and tenderness 
 were exhibited among true believers, and that the household of 
 faith below might more exactly resemble the household of glory 
 ubovc !•— That professor hath tasted but little of the love of Christ, 
 who hath not felt something at least of this love in the Sfiirit (as 
 the Apostle terms it) towards the brethren of Christ. He that 
 dwelleth in love (says another Apostle) divelleth in God, and God 
 in him. The Holy Spirit, dwelling in the heart of the believer,, 
 proves his owr^ divinity and the believer's adoption at once, by 
 
 n 
 
LOVE. 323 
 
 leaching him to love those that belong to God, and enabling him 
 5n this gracious habit to make his own calling and election sure. 
 I Thess. iv. 9. 
 
 This love of God, shed abroad in the heart, implies and includes 
 every other Christian grace and aiFection. 'Tis a general name 
 for God, and the good which proceeds from him. If the love of 
 God be in the heart, holiness and duty will appear in the life.— . 
 And, if one might use the expression, 'tis a Spirit, whose very bo- 
 dy is good works. For as the spirit of a man is known through 
 the body of a man ; so is this Spirit of love discerned by the works 
 and labor of love which it uses. Thus, the body of sin \% des' 
 troijed (for sin hath its body of evil works), that henceforth the 
 Christian should not serve sin. Rom. vi. 6. 
 
 This love also implies knowledge ; because it is impossible to 
 love what is unknown. A man that doth not know God, or is un- 
 known of him, cannot love God. Knowledge and affection, in this 
 case, mutually strengthen each other. And this knowledge (as 
 was said before) is not a matter ef mere speculation, but of taste 
 and enjoyment. So the Apostle states it; 1 John i. 1, 2, &c. — 
 These considerations expose the nakedness of all that empty pro- 
 fession, which treats the gospel as though it were a matter of vi^ 
 sion or theory, but substantiates nothing, and produces nothing 
 irom it. The remark was just, tnat" bold and lifeless (though ever 
 so fine and well-contrived) must those discourses be, that are of 
 an unknown Christ.^' A speculation upon the soil of the moon, 
 cannot be more barren than such disquisi ions as these. 
 
 'Tis a less painful reflection, that at this /iresent time also.: 
 there is a rem7iant according to the election of grace. Roiu. xi. 5. 
 Blessed be God, though too, too many disgrace their holy pro- 
 fession, and give sad occasion for others to blaspheme the holy 
 name by ivhich they are called { yet even now, in these last dregs 
 of time, God hath a chosen generation and a fie culiar fie o file ^ 
 ■whose aim and desire it is to shew forth the fireises of him, ivho 
 hath called them out of darkness into his marvellous light. 1 Pet. 
 ii. 9. O that their number did more abound, and their work of 
 faith were more illustrious, that an ungodly world might be more 
 ashamed than it is, when it attempts falsely to accuse their good 
 conversation in Christ. 
 
 Happy believer, who walkest, and whose delight it is to walk, 
 according to this rule, Peace be on thee and mercy ! The love of 
 the Father, Son, and Spirit, which is stronger than death — stron- 
 ger even than thy death of trespasses and sins— yea, stronger 
 
3:4 LOVE. 
 
 than the death of Christ, for it spared not him for thy sake — i/iis 
 tiumeasurablc love is upon thee and in thee. Thy Lord hath loved 
 thee Avith an everlasting love^ before time began to flow, or sun 
 and stars and earth received their forms; and therefore with lov' 
 ing kindness hath he drawn thee : He \vill love thee with the same 
 everlasting love, subsisting without decline, when the heavenSj 
 the earth, and the elements shall melt away ; and therefore thou 
 art .safe under his wings, and shalt 7iever be confounded nor dis- 
 mayed world without end. O happy, for ever happy soul, how 
 art thou privileged to rejoice, by this Sftirit of Love, in the view 
 and fore-taste of that unabating ardor, with which thy God calls 
 Ihee, and claims thee for his own ! A woman may forget her 
 sucking child, and may have no com/iassion on the son of her 
 ivomb ; there hath been such a monster: but thy God hath decla- 
 red, that He will 7iot forget thee, for thou art-graven fas it were) 
 iifion the palms of his hands. Is. xlix. 15, See. His eyes are ever 
 \jpon thee to do thee good, in the best way, in the best time, and 
 ior the best end. Why tiien shouldcst not thou rejoice, as indeed 
 thou art highly privileged, in thy loving, and faithful Lord ? He 
 hath done and will do, both for thee and in thee, all that is requi- 
 site for his own glory and thy welfare. Remember, Jehovah is 
 the rock, and his work is /infect. If thou hadst more faith in 
 him ; it would certainly shew itself more proportionally in this 
 ^vay of love. The love of the Spirit, shed abroad in thy heart, 
 would cause thee to abound in love towards thy God: And this 
 love would afford thee an increasing measure of humble and holy 
 confidence. This contidence, again, would excite thee to abound 
 in every good word and work, knowing that thou art not acting' 
 as ujicertainly, or as one that beateth the air, but that thy labor 
 is not in vain in the Lord. All these gracious effects, wrought 
 in thy heart by this Spirit of Love, would heighten thy stature 
 and stability as a Christian ; and by his continual supply, thou 
 wouldest increase (as the Apostle speaks) with the increase of 
 God. Instead of a poor, doubting, trembling life; thou would- 
 est attain a hope, which would not suffer thee to be ashamed ; a 
 faith, which would make thee to know whom and what thou hasc 
 believed ; and a joy which the world could neither give nor take 
 away from thy heart. Thou wouklcst enjoy this dignified reli- 
 gion, enabling thee to live superior to the creeping meanness of 
 the world, and ennobling thee with the rank of a citizen of hea-' 
 ven while thou sojournest upon earth. The sense of possessing 
 thij privilege, in thy enlightened iniud, ■would induce epl^rgp 
 
UNDERSTANDING. 325 
 
 ment of heart above every thing that men call by that name, a 
 true liberality of sentimeijit, and a generous freedom of soul, 
 which doth not consist in revolting against human laws, but in so 
 living above them as to make them unnecessary.* This, O Chris- 
 tian, is thy wisdom ; this, thy divine exaltation ; an exaltation, as 
 much above all the littleness of human pride, as heaven is above 
 the earth. O that thou hadst more of this spiritual glory shed 
 down upon thy soul — even this illustrious majesty of a child of 
 God ! Thou wouldest more dearly prize the honors of grace and 
 glory, and shew thyself sensible of thy rank, by living in that 
 spiritual dignity of mind which is agreeable to it. Earthly peers, 
 ■we know, should count it their honor to live above base things, 
 and the princes of this world are anxious to preserve the splen- 
 dor of their crowns ; though all these are in themselves, to the 
 mere philosophic eye, but poor and dying distinctions : And shalt 
 not thou, who art a compeer with the angels in Heaven, who ait 
 a king and a priest to God, and an heir of God through Jesus 
 Christ; shalt not thou, above all others, be solicitous to walk 
 ■worthy of thy high vocation ? — O look up to this Spirit of love 
 and glory, that indeed thou mayest live and act in this superior 
 strain If Depend upon his wisdom and power, and possessing 
 these, thou certainly wilt. And when thy pilgrimage in this vale 
 of tears is ended, when thou " passest out of the vale of the dy- 
 ing into the vale of the dead," O with Avhat ecstasy of joy wilt 
 thou rise up to those blissful regions, where thy sun shall no more 
 ^0 down, but the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the 
 days of thy mourning shall be ended I 
 
 UNDERSTANDING. 
 
 OUR translators have usually rendered the original word 
 for this name, Binah, by the word miderstanding ; but neither 
 this, nor the Latin intelligentia, which signifies, intus legere, to 
 read what is within, nor the Greek o-uveo-/? or ^poviio-ii which 
 import little more than what we mean by prudejice, contain the 
 full sense of the term. The word is derived from a root, which 
 signifies to build ufi, as architects do, the several members of a 
 structure. For, as the intellect frames the idea, and arranges 
 
 • Sapientia sola Ubcrtas est. Sen. Ep. Sr. 
 
 f Jifa^ni animi ^»'. iva^-va contcrnncre. Sen. Ep. 39. 
 
326 UNDERSTANDING. 
 
 the distribution of the several materials for the fabric , so the 
 body subserves that idea, and carries into sensible effect, what 
 the intellect has already conceived. The sense of the term may 
 be referred to those powers of the mind, by which we distribute 
 a subject into its several parts for a close investigation, and then 
 collect or build u/i those parts, when separated, for one grand 
 proposition or principle. Hence, the word n">J3n, which is some- 
 times rendered a atructure, is often as justly rendered model, 
 pattern^ exemplar, tyfie, or similitude ; because every material 
 edifice or frame is truly the copy of that pattern, which before 
 existed in the mind : And, when it is spoken with relation to God, 
 it means the revelation of a tyfie ov fiat tern from his understand- 
 ing. Thus, the whole world was compiled according to the all- 
 wise and all -perfect ideas of Jehovah ; and thus Moses was di- 
 rected to frame all the circumstances of the tabernacle according 
 to those spiritual forms, which had been revealed to him in the 
 jnount. Exod. xxv. 40. Look (said God to Moses,) that thou 
 make (form) all things after their pattern which was shewed thee 
 (which thou wast enabled to see) in the mount. This may serve 
 to shew the radical meaning of the word. We will now attempt 
 to consider that the term Binah is, sometimes, used essentially 
 for the Most High, and that then it is particularly employed as 
 an office-name of Jehovah the Spirit, 
 
 The Old Testament makes great use of this word, and com- 
 monly in conjunction with the word wisdom, which implies a cer- 
 tain knowledge in the mind of a matter ; like that sure ftercefition 
 which we gain of sensible objects by the sense of tasting.* God 
 employs these and other terms, which have relation to our animal 
 and natural faculties, in order to convey by them some necessary 
 information of his own being, and of our relation to him. Did he 
 talk with us upon these subjects, according to the mode of their 
 existence, we should not be able, with our present capacities, to 
 iipderstand him ; because we are so far from having any ideas of 
 spiritual modification, that we have no precise notion of the mode 
 in which any sensible object exists in the world. He speaks, 
 therefore, ad cafitum humanum^^ according to our size and way 
 
 * The Latin word tapere to taste, from whence sapientia wisdoni, comes 
 nearly to the idea of the Hebrew word. 
 
 ■j- It siiould ever be remembered, that it is not from any obscurity in God or 
 the things of God, tiiat we cannot c'omj)rehend them, but from the weak- 
 ness of our faculties. The natural bun, VI hen it shines briglitest, becomes 
 less an object of vision than at other times. The mysteries of God proclaim 
 the igT\orance of man ; for there can be no suck thing as mystery to a }">cr- 
 fect intellection. 
 
UNDERSTANDING. 32T 
 
 of perception ; that we may not be destitute of any saving truth, 
 but be thoroughly furnished (as the Apostle speaks) for e-oery 
 good word and work. In the former volume it was pointed out, 
 that Christy as God, claimed the name of Wisdom. Had he been 
 less than God, Wisdom could not have been his title, as to his es- 
 sence, or nature ; io which form it is ascribed to him ; whatever 
 he might have enjoyed of the communications of Wisdom, as a 
 creature : Between which two forms of possession, there is an in- 
 finite and eternal difference. Wisdom essential is God himself; 
 and all the persons of the Godhead are therefore Wisdom, be- 
 cause they are of and in the essence ; And yet one of those di- 
 vine persons is oeconomically called by this name, and called so in 
 distinction oiten ; because it was his office, as the Word of God, 
 to declare and proclaim the Wisdom of God. God is Wisdom, 
 but Christ is the exhibition of that Wisdom to us : And, there- 
 fore, as He is essentially such, and also the means or channel of 
 our intercourse with it, he is of God unto us Wisdom itself. The 
 same may be said of the word Binah before us. God himself de- 
 clares/am Understanding. Prov. viii. 14. And Christ, who is 
 the Wisdom of God ad extra, or to us, joins in that declaration. 
 But, if the Lord had not so positively claimed this title ; what 
 creature or creatures, could have said, " I am Wisdom : I am 
 Understanding itself: I owe nothing of either to another ?" With 
 respect to the essence ; God the Father is Wisdoin and Under- 
 standing : So is God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. In the 
 Unity of the essence, they are so; and in the Trinity of person 
 they cannot be less ; for diminutions or differences in deity cannot 
 fee supposed without Polytheism or nonsense. But, as the mani- 
 festation or communication of this Wisdom was the personal en- 
 gagement of Christ in the covenant of grace, as it hath been 
 shewed; he, therefore is called Wisdoin : So the manifestation and 
 communication of this Understanding, being the office of the Ho- 
 ly Spirit (as we shall aim to clear) ; he is specially expressed by 
 the name Bijiah, or Understanding : Name and essentiality being 
 but one with God, and, further, as the communication of this Wis- 
 dom and this Understanding are operations of one and the same 
 Jehovah, though referred to distinct persons in him: it proves, by 
 the way, the unity and coessentiality of those persons in the 07ie 
 Jehovah. 
 If God BE Understanding in essence 5 surely, the Spirit, who 
 
32S UNDERSTANDING. 
 
 searcheth his firofound^ can be no other.* He is therefore, called 
 the Sfiiric of Understandings Sec. who was to rest upon Christ, 
 Is. xi. 2. and, at the same time, the Spirit Jehovah ; by which 
 latter name we see his right to the former. If he were not the 
 Understanding of Jehovah himself, he could not spiritually teach 
 all t/n77g3 ; at all times, at one and the same time ; to myriads of 
 different beiiigs, in different states, situations of place, capacity, 
 and existence. Nor yet could lie shew his people things to comsy 
 l\ov glorify Christy nor take of the things of Christ and the Father 
 (John xvi. 11, 15.), unless he were one with Christ and the Father. 
 To say, that the Spirit could take of an infinite Understanding, 
 and exercise it infinitely, without participating or having in him- 
 self that infinite understanding ; would be as great an absurdity as 
 to affirm, that a part contains the whole, that time can measure 
 eternity, or that creatures create themselves. The scriptures 
 speak very differently, and declare, that, however it might be sup- 
 posed that the multitude of years should teach men wisdom) it sure- 
 ly is Nin-nn the Spirit Himsclff in man, and notfj the ins/iiratioTj, 
 if the Almighty^ nvho giveth them understanding, or causcth them 
 to understand. Job xxxii. 8. Agreeable to this the Apostle asks, 
 Who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his 
 counsellor ? intimating plainly, that none but himself: For, as 
 the Prophet speaks, there is no searching of his understanding ; 
 and the Psalmist gives the reason, because his understanding is 
 infinite. But, as the Spirit searcheth all this : it follows, that He 
 must have an infinite Understanding, or rather must be the inf^ 
 r.ite Understanding himself : And, if Hebe this infinite Under- 
 standing, it will necessarily conclude, that He is truly and essen- 
 tially God. There is no avoiding this conclusion but by denyinjj 
 him the attribute of understanding ; in which case, it would be 
 impossible that he should teach any thing. And how this can be 
 reconciled to the express words of scripture, the oppesers of the 
 Spirit's divinity are bound to explain. 
 
 Thus it appears, that understandings in its essence^ is necessa- 
 rily God liimself; and that the Holy S/iirit is this essential under- 
 
 * What a contradiction doth this text (I Cor. ii. 10.) afford to the str.ange 
 assertion of Plotimus, that the first principle, or God, cunnol properly fojew 
 itself P St^e more of this in Cud worth's Ins. Si/ntem. B. i. c. 4. 
 
 f Dr. Cirey, in his edition of SchuUcns's Job, justly says, upon this pas- 
 sag"e : JVon intcUis-o adalutum motumqite prophcticnm, sed ordinarium effectum 
 Spiritus illwnimuuis, sine ciijiis injltixu 7»e§«( Eliliu de nous diviniavel seiitiri, 
 vet lUsputiivi recta, passe. And ihen just attcrwards ; Indmiatur htmeii. veri- 
 tatis, quo Deus meiite collustrat, non esse an?ii!t (illi^atum ; i^ sape, sic volenti^ 
 J)-o. jux-yism da reL't:s divirii'i pivitius i^ suUdius disxrtarc, qnani rrrand(?vo: 
 
UNDERSTANDING. $2f 
 
 ■•standing, because he is a person in the Godhead. From him, in 
 the unity of the divine persons, proceeds every measure of co7k« 
 municable understanding to the creatures, who never could know 
 any thing by themselves, nor beyond the limits assigned them. 
 God is Me intellect, strictly speaking ; and, from him, tlirougii 
 the agency of the Spirit, is supplied all the intellection of other 
 beings, whether in earth or Heaven. He is, at one and the same 
 time, the first cause and the first intellect : and, therefore, the 
 schoolmen and others* did not say amiss, when they asserted, 
 that in Deo idem est inteUigere 'Cf ease, " in God to understand and 
 to be-) is the same;" or, Ifise est scientia sua, et scientia sua est 
 ifisCi " himself is his knowledge, and his knowledge is himself." 
 He knows all things, not because they exists as we know them ; 
 but they exist because of his knowledge, in a manner we cannot 
 know them. He foreknew them, when they had not a sensible 
 existence, or such a being as is the object of created perception ; 
 and he brought them into this mode of existence according to his 
 will. Known unto God are all hia works from the beginning of the 
 world : and so his people are known of him, before they could be 
 positively known of each other, or recognize themselves. He 
 sees through eternity^ at one view, (to speak in the language of 
 men) because he alone is infinite and eternal ; while all the crea- 
 tures, having a finite capacity, can only see to its particular ex- 
 tent, beyond which, let it be more or less, an infinitude will ever 
 remain to be explored and understood. 
 
 These ideas, concerning the Spirit of God, are not Tzew, but as 
 old, at least, as the scriptures. Novatian said truly, Sfiiritus 
 Sanctus non est in evangelio novus, scd nee neve datus i\ " the 
 Holy Spirit is not a being never revealed till the times of the gos- 
 pel, nor yet from that period newly given :" he is one and the 
 same, in his influences upon Patriarchs, Prophets, and Apostles, 
 
 * Thom. Aqtiii). l.quxst. xvi. art. 5. Momaeus rfc -ver. Eel. Christ, c. 13- 
 Maimon. Port. Mus. p. 256. Zanch. de attrib. Del. 1. iii. 9, 10. Gomar. J° 
 «■«. Dei. 251. 
 
 ■}■ Ii was the remark of a Jesuit and no great friend to divine revelation, 
 that a sort ofpeople, who follow the principles oi' Ariatotle, " pretend that 
 God knows no events but after they are come to puss, that what is usually 
 csM^dXhtt future contingent, cannot be known of God, and that what doth 
 not aheady exist, ci^nnot be known at all. The Socinians, (and he mig-ht 
 have added some other names) who make profession of tliis refined philosc- 
 phy, and according to which they regulate iJl religion, are but the disci- 
 ples of the iI;i.honietan doctors" — who attribute all to 'tense, and who believe 
 that God himseii hath tliat kuid of substance, which we term bidv. Sfee 
 F. Simon's i-eniarks upon Dandini's voyage tg Mount Libanus. c- 8. 
 
 T Novt.t. edit. If'dsl.n. p. 110. 
 
 VOL. II S ^i 
 
-iio UNDERSTANDING. 
 
 anil fver suitcil his nivency, accordintij to the times and occasions, 
 appointed in the counsels of" the highest. AcconUngly (as it hath 
 heen shewn, from many authorities, in the introduction to the 
 first volun»e) tlie must learned and rcsnectahle Jews, lonii^belorc 
 and for some tinie after Christ (till tht^ir hatred of Christianity Ictl 
 them to oppose, or torture, all the great truths in the Bible) used 
 this nan»c Binah to express the t/iird person in the Trinity, in 
 whom they professed to l)clieve. The term Jlo/tj iJ>/>m* was, in 
 their idea, the name of a divine person ; and they often used it to 
 express both him and his operations. They had not then learnt, 
 ■\vitlj Arlus and the other disciples of llie too ingenious Origen, 
 to consider him as a inei*e prophetical gift,* an inspimtion, an 
 emanation, a virtue, or some other sort of (/uality. However 
 such an opinion may agree with the dogmas of the Platonic school 
 at Alexandria ; it by no means accords with the revelation of God, 
 who only (as we have in a former essay observed) could imparc 
 any truth concerning his own being. 
 
 As the woMs mercy and truth are often coupled together, 
 vhich are (as hinted in another placet) oflice, characters of Clirist 
 nnd the Spirit ; so we find, and especially in th« book of the Pro- 
 verbs, that the names wiadom and underslandinq- arc frequently 
 conjoined, as being other ollice-titles of the same divine persons. 
 The redeemed have communion with both of them under all these 
 denominations. Thus Christ is the 7t>ii(/o/H of God. 1 Cor. i. 24. 
 and oJ'Gud made unto un ivisdvm. v. 30. And thus the Spiiitis to 
 teach ali things-, to lead and guide into all truth. John xvi. 13. 
 and being sent from the Son, John xv. 56. is that understanding 
 xt'hich is trttey and so said to be givc?t by the Son. I John v. 20. 
 See also John xv. 26. The full assurance, being the gift of grace, 
 must come fronx the S/iirit of grace ; and therefore it is not only 
 an assurance oi hofte, but (as peculiarly characteristic of its divine 
 tx^tiwl) the/nil tissurance o/unders(cndir;g. Col. ii. 3. He is in- 
 separably connected with Christ the wisdom ; and therefore the 
 knowledge qf his vjitl isy in all ivisdom and sfiiritual understand- 
 ing. Col. i. 9. In other words, believers are led to know and en- 
 joy the communion of Christ and the H/iirrt. It is this H/nrit's 
 office to take of the things of Chrht and shew them to his people. 
 John xvi. 15. And when Christ breathed on his disciples, and 
 %ji!v.\y receive yr the Huhj Ghost. John xx. 22. it was an outward 
 sign of that invisible grace, which by his Spirit he bestowed upon 
 
 • So Ab:u-baml, R. Solomon Jarclii, Stc in HvUs. Theol. Jud. p. 20fi, &c. 
 \ Sec Spint of Truth, p. It7- 
 
UNDERSTANDING. 331 
 
 them, in order to ^.ficn their under$tandingf, that they might urt' 
 derttand the tcriftturet. Luke xxiv. 45. This Holy Ghoht illu- 
 minated their minds to apprehend those mysteries of tlie word, 
 concerning which, before iliat operation, they were spiritually 
 blind and ignorant. From the sense of this great truth, the Psalm- 
 ist, in the cxixth Psalm, so often prays for undtirntandint^ from 
 Jehovah, that he might X/icw spiritual things, and once in partic- 
 ular, at v, 144. requests this precious gift, that he might live. — 
 This spiritual grace is indeed the life and action ol the soul ; and 
 therefore it is said, U) another psalm, that a xnasx however high in 
 honor widi respect to other things, if lie spirilttally do not under^ 
 ^tand^ i« like the beojsta that fierish. 
 
 Since the fell, man is naturally without knowledge of God, and 
 without concern for the salvation of his soul : and thouirh the 
 education which he may receive in a Christian Land, and the cus- 
 tomary ideas which he may imbibe from others, may furnish liim 
 with something to say u|>on the t/jpic of a Deity^ or upon any 
 other articles of the Chrimian faith ; yet his understanding ttt 
 jost as darkened with respect to any real apprehension of God, 
 and his heart as much alienated from the life of God, as the hc&!t 
 and undersiandirg of any Mahometan or Pagan. It seems to hie 
 a sad mistake with many, arising from ignorance of the word and 
 power of God, that the having some notion of God and of Christy 
 and of a certain theory deduced from the scripttires, is quite suf- 
 ficient to constitute them real and knowing ( Jiut, if 
 
 they happen to adorn afl lliis speculation by a lo :-ccent aiKl 
 
 yirluouii life ; ttiey arc then (as they suppose) in a very safe stale 
 indeed, and really working out their ov:n salvation. I'here is in- 
 deed so little even of this low kind of knowledge among the gene- 
 rality of men, that with reluctance one would drop a word against 
 it : But when men collect tiiexr principles ;_ 'heir n<otions, 
 
 not only vsUhoui God, 'unx. aga<.nit his re '.. :, U»ere is uq 
 
 tkarity in pronouncing well of a case, that (if God be true) will 
 ucrer stand the test, which one day must be made oi it. Tiicre 
 ci;X.riot be too much goodness, nor even too much of the appear- 
 ance of goodness in the world : aad the tem|>oral liappine£.s of 
 bociety requires every eticouragement to both. But we are ip';ak- 
 ing, in tiiie iostaoce, of man's state with God, by whom all li ings 
 arc understood in a rery diSerect way from the modc:> oi the 
 world, and to whom mere appearances are uothing, atid itidced 
 ^rorse than nothing. Realities or truth, only can be acceptable 
 to bimj who is all ooderstanding to «e;^cb oqt, atid aU trutti k* 
 
332 UNDERSTANDING. 
 
 self to weigh the minds and actions of his creatures. We may 
 deceive others, and ourselves too; but human vanity never yet 
 pretended a power to delude him. The question then, which 
 ■will arise upon these considerations, is ; how shall a man know, 
 that he is not deceived in this most important concern ; and what 
 certainty can he obtain of rectitude in any thing ? 
 
 The solution is easy ; because God hath made it so : and no- 
 thing but extreme corruption and blindness could keep men from 
 :.eeing it. Man feels himself ^feeblt^ ignorajii^ and fallen crea- 
 ture, whether he will o'vjn it or not. In this situation, he is -void 
 of rule^ and, being nvithout strength^ could not walk by one, if 
 even he had wisdom enough left to find out the rule or lay it down. 
 The author of all wisdom, therefore, hath provided this rule, 
 and fitted it for the case of those, for whose benefit he was pleased 
 to grant it. This rule is his revealed word, or will ; and it ap- 
 plies to those objects, for which it was principally needed ; the 
 objects of sfiiritital life and salvation. It meets man upon the 
 ground of his fall, aliencdon and afiostacy from God : and till a 
 man finds himself u}xon that ground, it can be no rule to him, and 
 •will do him no good, respecting those objects of.it just mention- 
 ed. The question then occurs, How is man to be brought upon 
 this ground, with respect to h\?> fierce fition ; for it will appear, 
 that, perceiving it or not, he is certainly upon it?— The rule re 
 vcalcd has furnished an answer. Considering him as dead in sin^ 
 it shews, that the Spirit of God alone can quicken from that 
 death — as depraved and departed from God ; that this Spirit re- 
 stores and gives art access with covfldence through Christ Jesus — 
 as having a wicked and stony heart naturally; that the same gra- 
 cious agent converts and renews it to a heart of flesh-) capable of 
 perceiving and feeling what it never could before- — and (to avoid 
 more particulars at present) this rule treats man, as blind in the 
 boul, darkened in the understanding, and utterly ignorant of God 
 and his glory; and shews that this almighty Spirit alone opens 
 the eyes of the mind, enlightens the understanding, and teachcn 
 all tilings which are necessary to be known. Hence it may be 
 seen, as clearly as the words of this revelation can manifest it, 
 that man, being ignorant, cannot teach himself, and being dead^ 
 cannot recover himself, or attain any understanding of God ; un- 
 less God in m^ixcy first visit him by his gracious Spirit, and teach 
 ium the use of that revelation, respecting his state and condition 
 for time and eternity. God shews man his own darkness, before 
 he admits him to know, or considvjr himself as light in the Lor$, 
 
UNDERSTANDING. 333 
 
 This is the scripture-mode of representing man since the fall ; 
 and, therefore, they who deny it, or attempt to conduct them- 
 selves by any other line, oppose the only strait rule which God 
 ever gave to man, and consequently walk in the crooked paths of 
 spiritual error. 
 
 We are come to the use and necessity of that office of the Ho- 
 ly Spirit, by which he is known to be the Spirit of Understanding. 
 God IS Understanding in himself, and in a mode incommunicable 
 to us : But, in mercy to poor sinners, the Second Person would 
 be known under the name of Wisdo?n, to be communicable wis- 
 dom for them ; and the Holy Spirit, or Third Person, assumed 
 the office name of Understanding, to give them an understanding 
 which is true, and to lead them forward to contemplate, receive, 
 and enjoy Christ, who is the wisdom and power of God. Tho 
 divine persons confer upon believers, according to their state, a 
 due portion of their official influences. Na/i/iy, therefore, is the 
 man, that Jindeth Wisdom, and the man that getteth Understan- 
 ding. It nhall give to his head an ornament of Grace, a crcwn of 
 Glory shall it deliver to hiin ! 
 
 This great and glorious Understanding then descends from 
 Heaven, that those, on whom he descends, may both experimen- 
 tally know* themselves, and know him. From whence it follows, 
 that, without this descent, they can know neither aright. This 
 U7iderstanding is also clothed with fiower : He is not a naked 
 idea or an unfelt notion, which leaves the heart as it was, while it 
 puffs up the mind; but life, light, activity, joy, and immortality, 
 all together. He comes, as God, ivith the power of God, and 
 not only bears down all resistance from without, but turns the 
 heart into so sweet a compliance within, that it yields as much 
 by its own will, as by the will of the Spirit itself, which bears it 
 along. Thus the heart would not resist, if it could. " When 
 the Lord himself (says the amiable Archbishop Leightonf) speaks 
 by his Spirit to a man, selecting and calling him out of the lost 
 world ; he can no more disobey than Abraham did, when the Lord 
 spoke to him, after an extraordinary manner, to depart from his 
 own country and kindred. — There is a secret, but very powerful, 
 virtue in a word or look, or touch of this Spirit upon the soul, 
 by which it is forced, not with a harsh but pleasing violence, and 
 
 * So, to kno-u) -wisdom, Prov. 5. 2. means sensible perception and experi- 
 mental knowledge. The word yyi implies that thorough and certain re- 
 cognition, which gives the mind or senrie full evidence or conviction of & 
 matter. 
 
 I Comm. upon 1 Pet. I ? 
 
534 UNDERSTANDING 
 
 cannot chuse but to follow it ; not wnlike that of Elijah's mantle 
 upon Elisha, 1 Kings xix. 19. How easily did the disciples for- 
 sake their callings and dwellings to follow Christ ?" 
 
 It is this Understanding^ which accompanies his own word 
 ■ivith conviction and demonstration to the souls of his people : 
 Without him, the word, inestimably precious as it is, can only 
 touch the ear, without reaching the heart. It is He, who giveth 
 understanding to the sim^ile, and often by means of a few plain 
 and simple words ; while the rhetoric and other literary embel- 
 lishments of man live only in the sound. These, however inge- 
 nious in themselves, or in human esteem, when they pretend to 
 act in divine things, presently discover their weakness and futili- 
 ty, and, like the momentary ebullitions of froth, are lost in air. 
 How often shall a plain sermon and an unstudied book, where the 
 man himself has not aimed to be seen but only to shew his Lord, 
 be blessed to the conversion, establishment, and happiness of im- 
 mortal souls ; when pompous o;*ations and laboured performan- 
 ces shall evaporate in sound, or (what is much the same) produce 
 no spiritual good ? Or, if they are remembered for a while, they 
 are remembered not for God's glory, but for the praise of those 
 dying creatures who made them. A poor employment this, to 
 speak and write for the breath of worms, which is at first corrupt 
 in itself, and soon vanishes into nothing ! 
 
 This glorious Understanding takes of the things of Jesus and 
 explains them to the mind; inducing both a right apprehension and 
 a true experience at once. He is the great teacher ; not of mere 
 words and barren comments ; not of florid fancies and airy specu- 
 lations : but of things, and of things rich and solid, even grace 
 and glory everlasting. All the understanding, which he commu- 
 Tiicates to the soUl, is to b<;- enjoyed as well as known, to be lived 
 upon in the heart, while it is found sweet to the taste. Without 
 Him, there is neither life noi power in the most just or excellent 
 words ; witness the word of God himself, which is a book sealed^ 
 a book unfelt and unendeared, till the great teacher apply it to the 
 soul. If this gieat Understanding be not present, /ircaching is 
 -joui, and hearing is also vain. Without Him, preachers, how- 
 ever learned or abie in other respects, are but mere pulpiteers; 
 not ministers of Jesus rightly dividing the word of truth; — tin- 
 A-//;z^ cz/77/^fi/a, clear perhaps and fine ; sounding brass, loud, yet 
 only noise and sliev/. Without Him, people also may be profes- 
 sors, towering, old, and esteemed professors, but not Christians in- 
 
UNDERSTANDING. 835 
 
 deed, not perfect,* mild, nor humble followers of a meek and low- 
 ly Saviour. And without Him, it is possible to be members of an 
 outward Church, and of the purest outward Church too in the 
 world ; and yet not members of Christ's mystic body, nor commu- 
 nicants with him the living Head. In a word, ^s tvit/t Him, men 
 become //e?Vs of God and jomt -heirs ivith Christ, both for grace 
 and glory ; so, without Him, they have nothing but spiritual igno- 
 rance, vanity, corruption, and wretchedness without end. 
 
 How often, to convince us of this, doth this Almighty Under- 
 standing work faith and confer knowledge upon many low, despi- 
 sed, and, (in other respects) ignorant souls ; while he leaves the 
 learned and the proud to the wretched ignorance, error, and uncer- 
 tainty of all human knowledge ? And how often, to put the ut- 
 most contempt upon this knowledge, which wholly leaves a man 
 at the grave, doth he suffer the grand deluder of the world to per- 
 plex these wise and great ones in labyrinths of their own making ? 
 What a great profane witt once said, every man out of Christ, 
 whether learned or ignorant, may say too ; Dubius vix-i, incertus 
 viorior : « I lived in doubt, and quite uncertain die." There can 
 be no certainty, but in truth ; and there is no truth, which can 
 profit the soul, but what is discovered in the word of God. If we 
 venture to ground our knowledge in divinity upon any thing but 
 ihe ivritteii testimony, we shall find, to our cost, that the Devil ii 
 an abler logician than the acutest of us all. He not only can im- 
 pose his sophisms upon us for truths, but can corrupt and en- 
 snare the affections, while he puzzles and confounds the mind. 
 He has cheated every one of us ten thousand times : We know, 
 too, that wc have been cheated ; and, yet so well can his artifices 
 soothe and suit our corruptions, that, unless this Spirit of truth 
 restrain, he will deceive us to the end. 'Tis this all-wise teacher 
 alone, who enables his disciples to detect Satan's fallacies, and 
 suffers not the meanest of them to be wholly ig7iora7ic of his dc^- 
 
 * This much-abused word occurs very particularly in J Cor. ii. 6. Eph 
 ill. 5. and in some other places. It by no means implies a perfection de-- 
 yoid of sin, but that manly degi-ee of knowledg'e, which in human capacity 
 is opposed to piieriliii/ and weakness, and in sacred life to those who are 
 babes in Christ. Thus, amon^ the Pythagoreans, the reXetot were those, 
 who, like the a^nn in the Jewisli schools, were distinguished from the novi- 
 ces, or mere learners. And thus in the school of Christ, the rtXeio'y 
 the perfect, or well-established disciples, being arrived to the measure of a 
 perfect moji, become by degrees fathers and old men, who are not to be car- 
 ried about like children or novices, v.>ith cverij luind of doctrins. See sevcra! 
 criticisms upon the word in Leigh's (Jritica Sacra. ' 
 
 t Duke of Buckingham. 
 
33S UNDERSTANDING. 
 
 vices. He graciously exposes the snare, removes erroneous im- 
 pressions, and revives the heart too with a persuasion, which (how- 
 ever languid and obscured at times) shall never finally be baffled 
 pr lost. 
 
 Doih not all this explain to the believer, or enforce the expla- 
 nation, that the source of his spiritual knowledge lies out of himself, 
 and that it flows freely and only from Him, who is all undersian- 
 ding to teach, and all fioiver to preserve those that depend upon 
 liim ? — It is a striking passage (already noticed) in Plutarch, that 
 Pericles, whenever he attempted to address the people, used to 
 pray to the Gods, that no unbecoming word or improper expres- 
 sion might pass his lips : And shall a Heathen to his idols do this, 
 animated only, as Pericles was, with the dying concerns of a mo- 
 ment, and thus put to shame those who know the true God, and 
 profess the hope of living with him through eternity ? Ought not 
 Christians, above all men, in the deepest distrust of their own suf- 
 ficiency, to ask for luisdom at the spring-head of all wisdom, even 
 of God, who giveth liberally ^ and ufibraideth not ? Are they pri- 
 vileged to have a right understanding in all things pertaining to 
 salvation ; and shall they not apply for it to that bountiful Spirit, 
 \vho will deny them nothing for their good ? Alas ! Did this hum- 
 ble, yet wise and safe, frame of mind more obtain among profes- 
 sors ; what a different scene would appear in the church of God 
 below ? What different sort of people would be found in the pro- 
 fessing world ? This at once would dissolve half our parties and 
 divisions, which originated from pride, passion and disappoint- 
 ment on the one hand, and from interest, insolence, and intolerancy 
 of mind, on the other. It would then be seen, that it is the sfiirit 
 of the world which forms and foments divisions, not only from di- 
 vine truth, but from the unity of those brethren in whom the truth 
 resides ; and by no means the Sfiirit of God., who is the author of 
 peace and concord. It is none of his wisdom, which finds out 
 fioint&^^f difference^ nor indeed any true natural wisdom among 
 men ; but a foolish and wicked spirit, which either cannot or will 
 not discern those essential grounds of holiness and peace ; in 
 which all Christians, as Ciu-istians, must be agreed. The Spirit 
 of truth, who is understandings inclines all his people to rejoice in 
 the Truths not only as it appears in the narrow circle of a particu- 
 lar profession, but also wherever it is to be founds and will drav/ 
 the heart of a believer to love another believer for the truth's 
 sakcy though his mode of education, another set of phrases, or a 
 different habit, may have set them at a distance in the opinion of 
 
UNDERSTANDING. S.37 
 
 Jtr.en, if God has vouchsafed his grace and love to a man, whom 
 "-re, as Peter thought of Cornelius, may perhaps have considered 
 as uncleafi ; who are "IVe, that we should withhold our affeclions 
 where God hath bestowed his ? Are we not alarmed with a fear, 
 lest in so doin^, we should withstand God ? — It is however a re- 
 viving fact, that those souls, who have had most true life and spi- 
 rituality, and therefore walked the closest in communion with 
 C'od, have ever been the most gentle, humble, and conciliating-, 
 with respect to their conduct among; men. They feel too much 
 of their own weakness and frailty to venture upon those large 
 strides of presumj.tion, which the wantonly of true understanding 
 and clearness could ever prompt others to mak^, in many a diffi- 
 cult and slippery road. They, who hastily jump, to conclusions^ 
 (as one used to express it) are commonly those, who see but a lit- 
 tle and presume a great deal : Did they see more of the way be- 
 fore them, they would not attempt to run, where the ablest find it 
 a labor to walk. To the grief of soberer minds, how oflcn may 
 they hear some poor talkative professors determining upon the 
 JTOst difficult and sublime topics, with the positive air and aulho? 
 rity of a general council ? And how often do such persons take a 
 great deal of pains to prove, to every intelligent Christian, that 
 really they know nothing of th€ matter \ Bishop Hall names a 
 man of this sort, " a bladder full of wind, a skin full of words, a fool's 
 wonder, and a wise man's fool." It is indeed very different to 
 confess the truth, and to make a profession of it : The one implies^ 
 a previous and certain knowledge ; whereas the other may be 
 proposed without any knowledge at all. The itieanest believer, 
 'tis true, may be called upon at some time or othei*, to speak for 
 his master, and the truths of his gospel ; and, in doing this, for 
 God, he is not to fear the face of man : But he will always remem- 
 ber, or ought to remember, lliat, ii God'& providence has render- 
 ed this a just or necessary duty, God's grace will not leave him to 
 himself, but be his mouth and wisdom, his aid and support, which 
 tlie enemies of truth shall not be able to overthrow. In a word, 
 every believer might take up his word upon such occasions, and 
 address himself to God j 
 
 Whene'er thy laws. 
 Thy truth and cause 
 
 To own, my duty be; 
 From fear of shame. 
 Or love of fame. 
 
 Good Lord deliver me \ 
 ^oh. in T t 
 
oj6 oil or OLADNLSS.. 
 
 Upon the whole ; we may reflect that man hath no spiritual 
 understanding ft'om himstlf, that he cannot procure it but through 
 the internal renewing and operation of the Spirit of understan- 
 ding, and that he cannot even exercise it, when conferred upon 
 him, but by the continual agency of this Holy One. The infe- 
 rence from all which, to the soul of the believer, is, that it is ne 
 cessary for him, never to lean to his own understanding, but 
 simply to depend upon this Lord the Spirit for his instruction in 
 righteousness in the use of his word ; and that, for this reason, he 
 ought ever to pray for the fulfilment of the promise, that this 
 blessed guide may not only be -with him, but dVfell in him, as ? 
 fountain of gra(* and understanding, springing up into everlas 
 ring life. 
 
 OIL OF GLADNESS. 
 
 OIL is one of the three active principles (as the chemists 
 ussert,) which enter into the composition of all animal and vege- 
 table substances, and by which they are enabled both to subsist 
 ;ind grow.* The essential oil lubricating and sheathing all the 
 parts, and forming a vehicle for the essential salt or nitre by 
 being perfectly intermixed, and both these acted upon by the 
 '^ light; is the mean used by tlve wise .creator to put in motion the 
 spirit of the v>'hole animal and vegetable ceconomy, or, in other 
 words, to cause it to live and prosper. When, a tree dies, we 
 perceive an abstraction of this oil from hs substance ; for, when 
 apart of it is placed upon the fire, it will yield no flame, as every 
 substance, which hath oil in it, obviously will. And every body 
 knows that the fatness of animals, which proceeds from the exu 
 berance of this natural oil, is, when proportional to the othc;* 
 parts of the frame, both indicative of their health artd conducive 
 to their beauty. 
 
 * The earth, while itsupplie3thevancusplanlswhicli^owiiponit,is supplied 
 forth:itpurposeverymuchby the dew, which is full of oleaginous particles. 
 " The dews (says our philosophical husb.indman, Mr. TuU) seem to be the 
 richest present the atmosphere gives to the earth ; having-, \\ hen putrified 
 m a vessel, a black sediment like mud at the bottom. This seems to cause 
 the darkish color to the upper part of the ground. And tlie sulphur which 
 is found in the dew, may be the chief ingredient of the cement of the earrh ; 
 sulphur being very glutinous, as nitre is dissolvent. Dew has both these." 
 TwW^ Hmbandry, c.\i.— A lively comment this upon th.at gi-acious promise, 
 Itoillbeus thcdeioimlo'Ji-radi Hos, siy, 5,i. e, the spiritual cause of all 
 ^aoi'^v.':. ftTtihty 
 
OIL OF GLADNESS. 339 
 
 As oil is an essential part of the life, health, strength and beaU' 
 ly of substantial forms ; it hath pleased the divine uisdom to con- 
 stitute it for the emblem of that Holy Oue, who imparts every 
 portion of divine life, vigor, and glory to the spiritual world. 
 Whoever is not acted upon by or is not possessed oi him is dead. 
 according to the scripture, in the most dreadful sense of that term. 
 Whoever doth not enjoy Azw, is so far from being spiritually 
 beautiful, tliat he is as loathsome and abominable in the sight of 
 Jehovah, as a putrid and stinking carcase can be unclean and of- 
 fensive to the natural sense of man. None ought to be offended 
 at the strength of these expressions ; for this very image is em- 
 ployed by God himself to describe his abhorrence of the state of 
 sin, and of those who are in it. Isaiah xxxiv. 3. 
 
 These premises may lead us to the spiritual design, for which 
 the Lord instituted, with so much precision, the ceremony of «?ir- 
 r/o7j under the Jewish dispensation. Not more than the blood of 
 bulls and goats could take away sin^ could oil, as a material sub- 
 stance, either be holy or make holy. It was what the oil signified, 
 and what Jehovah revealed under its emblem, which fulfilled that 
 gracious intention to the heirs of salvation. The true believers 
 tlien, as well as now, were divinely instructed to resolve the 
 parable, and through the agent in nature, or natural object, 
 to behold and to experience the spiritual blessing from the God 
 of grace. Neither Moses, nor any other man, was equal to 
 the comprehension of so much wisdom, as the spiritual eye. 
 sees, in the legal CEconomy, under its various types and sha- 
 >jov/s ; nor could any human ingenuity have contrived mysteries 
 30 nobly prophetic and deeply predicable, as those in the Levitical 
 service, even though previously possessed of the gospel.* A 
 gracious mind sees the hand of God, beyond the power of man, 
 ;n the whole arrangement and design. 
 
 When unction was prepared^ according to the commandment 
 in Exod.xxx. 23, &c. the basis of which was oil'olive, strongly 
 impregnated with three princifial sfiices ; and when this prepara- 
 lion was poured upon the head of Aaron, and of his sons the High- 
 Priests after him; they spiritually beheld the promise, and the 
 mode of its fulfillment, that the Holy Spirit would, in the ful- 
 ness of time, descend upon the great head of the Church, and 
 
 * An Heathen professed, Tradidlt arcano quodcunquc rolumine Moses 
 Juv. Sat. xiv. 1. 102. And to thousands, who would not wish to be thought 
 Heathens, the writ'ngs ofMosss cce as much a vr:'.umf^. nrrqnuv^ us they 
 Tsxre to Juvenal, 
 
340 OIL OF GLADNESS. 
 
 from hitn flow down to all his inembers, that they also nii^ht be 
 an /ial)Uatio7i of God throui^/i the S/iirit. They saw, that he was 
 to be anointed (^whence his name Messiah, Chrhi) -with this Oii 
 of Gladjiess above those, whom in mercy he would call and make 
 hisfelloivs. Ps. xlv. 7i They foresaw in faith, that the Spirit Je- 
 hovah would rent ufion /n7n,(ls. xi. 2.) and be u/ian him, anointing 
 him to preach good tidings {\s.\yi\. \.) and, in a word, to do all 
 that was necessary to be done for his people's salvation.* The 
 fragrance of this sweet unction to the outward smell signified to 
 ihcm the complacency and delight of the Holy One in this gra- 
 cious operation, and the communicated excellency bestowed upon 
 i:l>em, who received this precious treasure into their souls. It 
 might also signify, the internal consolation, life and support which 
 they should feel in themselves under his sacred operation. 
 
 When they beheld the High Priest fully anointed with the holy 
 oil, so as (according to the Psalmist) to run down upon his beard, 
 and to the skirts of his clothing; and, on the other hand, saw 
 that the inferior Priests were only sprinkled with it, and this 
 sprinkling made not without the blood oi the rain of consecration 2 
 they were led to consider, that the Holy Ghost would be poured 
 ivithoiit measure upon the great High Priest of our profession, 
 because of the infinitude of his person and office; but in vieasurt 
 upon those who are spiritual Priests in all ages ; and that these 
 last would need an atonement for their sins, (in contradistinction to 
 the great Messiah) before they could enter upon the holy service 
 of offering up spiritual sacrifices of prayer and thanksgiving to 
 the Most High. 
 
 When they read, that the holy unction was only to be com- 
 pounded for this use, and that it was by no means to be put upon 
 a stranger; they understood, that the Holy Ghost was not only 
 remote from all impurity and the low purpose of this mortal life 
 la himself, but that also he wonXd peculiarlxj apply himself to the 
 true Israel cf God, and, in that application, render them his pe- 
 culiar people too.f 
 
 * The mode of anpintuig a I'riest under the law in the form of the Greek 
 %, fro|ii whence it lias been conjectured luriher, that through the crons of 
 Christ, the blessing- of the spiritual oil was to flow, has been ire.ited of by 
 bome ; bat not being authorised by the written word, it is not insisted upon 
 here. 
 
 f The learned Dean Prideaux, following the llabbins, seems to suppose, 
 that this holy oil was but once made, and that it was afterwards miraculuirj- 
 hj kept in the most lioly place till the destruction of the nr.-^t temple. But 
 AVitsuis, with s'try apparent reason, urges that there is no ground from tlie 
 commund in E$od. sx.x, to suppose, thiU it \\ as to be cojnpoimdedonly oncj 
 
OIL OF GLADNESS. 341 
 
 Thus the ancient believers spiritually beheld the glory of this 
 uivine person, and the nature of his gracious office; and if we, in 
 the present dispensation, are favored \yiih the same anointing, 
 we shall behold these comfortable intentions as they did. "We 
 shall find, that the institutions delivered to them have a voice of 
 grace and truth to us, and preach aloud, that Christ and the 
 Spirit are at once the hope and the means of glory. We shall per- 
 ceive, that ttie New Testament only declares in express words 
 the accomplishment in fact of the predictions of the Old, and that 
 there is an inexpressible harmony and inseparable relation be- 
 tween them both. This unction will also enable us to see, that 
 the faith of God's elect is no novelty, but hath ever been one and 
 the same precious gift, almost from the foundation of the ^^»orld. 
 When the great Messiah was to appear in the flesh for the 
 accomplishment of his people's redemption, that flesh was quali- 
 fied for this office, not only by the hypostatic imion with a person 
 in Jehovah, but by the special endowment and unction of the Ho- 
 ly Ghost ; and for this reason, that, through Christ as the head, 
 the Spirit of grace might have communion with all the members. 
 Accordingly, it was prophesied concerning our Immanuel, that 
 the Sfiirit Jehovah should rest up.on him, &c. (Is. xi. 2. and Ixi. 1.) 
 constituting thereby what is to be understood by the typical unc- 
 tion : Andindeed.ifChi'ist himself as to his divine nature be a 
 person in the Godhead, none but a person of co-equal subsistence 
 could possibly glorify him, as God, in his arduous mission. Nor 
 when the Holy Ghost descended upon Christ at his baptism, by 
 v/hich he was evidently anointed and commissioned as 7Jtan, to 
 proceed on his great work, could any being less than the Al- 
 mighty afford the qualification. If Christ's disciples were bap- 
 tized by the Holy Ghost, in order to endue them ivith power 
 for the discharge of their subordinate commissions ; and if this 
 baptism be that Unction from the Holy One, which enableth the 
 believer to know all things needful for salvation, and is also the 
 Anointing, tuhich tcacheth his people, and is the Truth himself; 
 1 John ii. 20, 27, and, further, if no other than an infinite and almigh- 
 ty agent can possibly extend such blessings to innumerable ob- 
 jects at one and the same moment, and guide, rule, and preserve 
 ihem to everlasting glory : Surely, it is impossible, that the bles- 
 • sed Messiah, who isoefore all things, and by whom all things con? 
 
 V> 
 lor all genejrations, but that it was never to be applied to any profane use 
 after it was compounded. See Pndeuux's Connection, p. 1, B. iii. sect. 5. 
 ■.Vits. J)'i sac^irdotio daronis U C'riiii. Sect, 57, S:o, 
 
34'J OIL OF GLADNESS, 
 
 ■s-isCf should have the unclion of a creature, and a commission from 
 a subord?kcte being, to perform his undertaking. A man must 
 have immense credulity in the possibilities of creatures to ima- 
 jjipe that a divine person can receive accosjioiis of power or dig- 
 nity, cither from a dep.endevt being, or from a mere emanation 
 which cat) scarce be called a being at all. — To ouuh unavoidable 
 absurdities are those driven, uho acUnowIedgiup; the data or truth;, 
 of the scripture, yet venture to deny the conclusions necessarily 
 dcduciblc from them ; and denying them because cpiritual exis- 
 tence cannot be explained by corrupt reason, which, as to the es- 
 sence of even the meanest matter, can fully explain nothing in the 
 >vorid. They scemt«) forget exceedingly, that if finite understand- 
 ing could comprehend God, (speaking with reverence) God 
 would not be infinite ; and that it is a nnost absolute impossibili- 
 ty to know any thing more of the mode of his existence, than what 
 he is pleased to reveal and declare concerning it. It is the wis- 
 dom of man and his best reason, therefore, to believe implicitly 
 the declarations of God : And to doubt him, is tl)at irrational 
 Atheism, which detains the mind in every maze of error and ob 
 scurity. 
 
 From the above considerations, we may perceive with what 
 propriety the Holy Ghost is called the Sfiirit of Christ ( 1 Pet. i. 1 1 .) 
 and the S/iirit of the Son (Gal. iv. 6.) as well as the Sfiirit pror 
 ceeding from the JPetther (John sv. 26.), or the Spirit of God ; 
 because the intercommunion and co-existence of the divine per- 
 sons is such, that whatever is predicable of one of them, as to 
 their nature^ is predicable equally of the others. And from 
 hence also we may understand, when it is said concerning the 
 faithful; God is in thc?n {I Cor. xiv. 25), or Christ is in them 
 (Rom. viii. 10.) or the S/iirit dwellcth in them (Rom. viii. 11. et. 
 al.J ; tlixt such phrases mean, that they are partakers of the Di- 
 ■vine J\'ature (2 Pet. i. 4) in gcneial, by laving communion with, 
 or bybcing/jcrrcAr<?r* of, either of the divine persons in particu- 
 lar. (See Heb. iii, 1 1. vi. 1.) Upon the like account, when either 
 of the divine persons is mentioned in scripture, as the immediate 
 author of grace or fellowship ; it is to be understood that — through 
 the office-character and operation of the person named, the be- 
 liever is to consider himself, in that instance, as brought into 
 communion with the Godhead. This aliHrvaiion seems fully 
 eonhrmed by our Lord himself in his last prayer to the Father ; 
 X in them — this is the nexus, or bond of union between Christ and 
 his people — and thou in me — this is the union of Christ with tho 
 
OIL OF GLADNESS, i^ 
 
 Godhead — and, just beforcj An Thou^ Father ^art in me, and I in 
 z'Af e— -this is the reciprocal fellowship of the divine persons— -?Aar 
 THEY also may be ONU in us — and this implies the union or fel- 
 lowship of believers with the divine persons, as the final object 
 of their salvation. Hence we see the Apoclle's meaninij, where 
 he says, that he that is joined to the Lord is one S/iirit : 1 Cor 
 vi. 17, that believers are members of Christ's body, of his Jlesh^ 
 and of his bones : Eph. v. 30. that both hk that sanctijieth, and 
 THEY nvho are sanctified) are ail of gke ; for nvhich cause Christ 
 is not ashamed to call them brethren : Hcb. ii. 11. And that 
 through him [Christ^ they have ari access by one S/iirit unto fhe 
 Father. (Eph. ii. 18.) These passages of scripture, and several 
 others of the like import, necessarily infer both a uruty and per' 
 sonality in the Godliead, and also the coviminiion of the saints 
 with the unity, by means of the personality. Thus they h'xxc fel- 
 lowship ivith the Father (1 John i. 5.) fellowshi/i with the Son 
 (I Cor. i.9. 1 John i. 3.) ^rA the fellowship of the 5/2 frL' (Phil, ii. 
 1.) : And will any man venture to say, that the faithful have these 
 fellowships, or any one of them, all resulting from one cause, all 
 conducive to one end, without any being less than God ? Will he 
 be bold enough to declare, that the respective communions, thus 
 distinctly marked from the several operations, and clearly leading 
 (as in Eph. ii. 18.) from the office of one to the other, do not ne- 
 cessarily st.3i\.e 3. personality, and in consequence a Trinity in the 
 divine nature ? And will he dare to affirm, while the scripture aS 
 expressly reveals the unity, ^% the personality, that this personali- 
 ty doth not subsist in the uJiity, and only because he cannot com- 
 prehend it ?■— Men have dared to affirm such tenets, though di- 
 rectly opposite to God's own declaration 5 and the worms, who 
 are not able to comprehend the essence of the least thing about 
 them, have been hardy enough to dispute against the triune e::- 
 sence of their Maker, in the very face of his own communication 
 and testimony. This method is only consistent in those,, who put 
 the Bible upon a level with Quintus Curtius, or any other E,o- 
 mance, " And who reason onM'ard, till they doubt of God.'" But 
 the reason or vjisdorn of this world never knew Godj and God 
 hath made foolish the wisdom of this world, and perhaps in no 
 one instance more than when it attempts to define Hinij who hath 
 made it foolish. 
 
 Leaving these to the divine mercy ; of this we may be assured 
 as a truth, that those, who have obtained the fellowship of the 
 diYiae persons, cannot deoy or doubt of their proper divinity, r,or 
 
,344 OIL OF GLADNESg, 
 
 of their unity of nature. Such afe divmely persuaded, that thcT 
 communion with the Spirit is a communion with God, and thatlht^ 
 Holy Ghost is thzt fiersonal Paraclete f or Teacher, who leadeth 
 and guidcth into all the truths, and of course into this as a most 
 important branch of it. They hicw whom they have believed in 
 this case, as well as in all the others. Experience follows and 
 concurs with doctrine in tiie great leading principles of salvation ; 
 and God neither leaves /jzotsc^ without witness, nor yet his people, 
 concerning a matter of such consequence to his own glory. It 
 may be said to them, as it was to the Virt^in Mary ; Blessed are 
 /hey that have believed ; for, there shall be a performance of those 
 things, which have been told thevi from the Lord. The Ploiy 
 Spirit, then, is not only the Oil of Gladness but the sacred Anoin 
 ter too, God cannot be passive, but is always the first great 
 agent, active and acting : And, therefore, whatever perfection 
 h, revealed concerning him, or apprehended of him, it is always 
 <iausative and efficient, not dormant or inert, as in the creatures 
 till acted upon. In this view, he is the hope and the strength of 
 his people, helping their infirmities, correcting their errors, com- 
 forting their hearts, and carrying on the whole work of grace in 
 them for glory To him they are to look up in all circumstances 
 and situations", and to depend upon his blessing, in all times of 
 adversity or of wealth, of sickness or of health, " in the hour of 
 death, and in the day of judgment." With respect to the things 
 of time, they know (to use the words of an ingenious author*) 
 that " if all the [earthly] happiness that is dispersed through the 
 ■\vhole race of mankind in this world were drawn together, and put 
 into the possession of any single man, it would not make a very 
 happy being ;" and, therefore, they are led by this Holy Spirit to 
 seek for happiness out of the modes of the world which can af- 
 ford none, and to find a divine reality of it in him. 
 
 From his outward emblem of oil, they are led to understand 
 some intimations of the manner of his grace in their hearts ; and 
 their souls are confirmed by experience, in whatever their eyes 
 can learn by vision concerning it. To such, the mention of a few 
 instances, may not, however well-known, be altogether unim- 
 portant. 
 
 Oil hath ever had a most distinguished place in the materia 
 Tnedica, and among the ancients in particular, was always held in 
 :he highest estimation as a great antidote against poison, both- 
 
 * Addison. Spect. No. 163. 
 
OIL OF GLADNESS. 54^ 
 
 outwardly and inwardly applied.* Simple olive oil, warmed and 
 applied to the wound made by the bite of serpents, it is well 
 known, hath effected a cure, when the person hath been almost 
 at the point of death. It was for this reason, they frequently 
 anointed themselves to induce health and strength ; and possi- 
 bly the anointing tvith oil in the name of the Lord, mentioned by 
 the Apostle, which has been so miserably distorted to the super= 
 stition of extreme unction among the Papists, signified only that 
 the friends of the sick Christian should use it medically y as a law- 
 ful means under the divine blessing, for his recovery. James Vo 
 
 14. So, in a spiritual view, the believer sees, and is happily 
 
 made to experience, that the Oil of Gladiiess is the only great 
 antidote for the poison of sin, injected by the Old Serpent, and 
 that this alone can effectually resist the malady of a corrupt na- 
 ture, or heal its putrid and destructive wounds. Luke x. 33, Sec. 
 See also Is. i. 6. When, therefore, they see themselves sorely 
 beset, they pray for this unction of strength and wisdoTUj that 
 they may victoriously repel and rightly understand ; and when 
 they feel the contagious sores of iniquity upon their souls, they 
 implore this gracious anointing both to mollify the pain, and to 
 heal up the plague. Nor do they pray and implore in vain. The 
 Holy ^/lirit is given to. them that ask. He descends as the oii 
 from Christ to heal, and becomes the Oil of Gladness in healing- 
 all the maladies and miseries of sin. He will finally make a per- 
 fect cure, and bring them to the regions of everlasting health and 
 joy. There they shall have the beauty of holiness for the ashes 
 of corruption, this Oil of Joy for the mourning of sin, the gar-^ 
 ment of praise for the spirit of heaviness : There they shall be 
 called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that hs 
 might be glorified. As this oil afforded them a cheerful count C" 
 7iance even here below, according to their measure of posses- 
 sion : O how will it gladden their spirits and beautify their souls, 
 ^vhen the possibility of corruption is done away from theni for 
 ever ! 
 
 AVithout oil in the natural body, the springs of life could nei- 
 ther act nor move ; and the whole animal system, through the 
 acrid nature of some juices, and the obstructions arising from the 
 vicidity of others, would soon be exsiccated and become a lump 
 of adust and lifeless matter.-!— The parallel holds good in the spi- 
 ritual system ; for, without the Oil of Gladness, there is no power 
 in the fallen soul of man to think or act for God and hjs own hap^ 
 
 * Com. Salmuth, in Gxw}. Paucir. P. i. tit. 53, 
 VOL. II. LJ r; 
 
o45 OIL OF GLADNESS. 
 
 piness ; but, on the contrary, sin rages in all its faculties, render* 
 them more and more corrupt, and, at length makes his whole sys- 
 tem, like a dry and decayed branch, fit only for everlasting fire. 
 
 Oil, in the vegetable world, maintains the same ceconomy as in 
 the ajiimal. By its penetrating quality, it carries the other neces- 
 sary juices into and through the finest vessels, and sheathes those 
 vessels at the same time from the nitrous and rough particles, 
 which mix and ascend with the sap. It also seems to separate, 
 strain, or prevent from entering into the system, all such gross 
 and terrene atoms, as would, if admitted, choke up the capillary 
 vessels (which arc almost inconceivably minute) and consequent- 
 ly induce disease and death The emblem expresses the case, as 
 
 it obtains in the spiritual life. E^lt for this Holy Oil, the word of 
 God, and the life of God, could find no passage to the heart of 
 man, nor receive a lodgment there. Neither law nor gospel 
 could enter within his soul. And, again, did this ofiiritual oil on- 
 ly carry on the law to a man's spirit, and leave it there by itself to 
 operate with its fiery nature upon him ; in that view, there would 
 soon be an end of all his hope and happiness. He would feel ven- 
 geance within him, corroding with the force of the worm that ne- 
 ver shall die, and of the fire that never can be quenched. But 
 this Holy Spirit, applying the law to the mind, and (preserving 
 our figure) sheathing it with his heavenly grace, renders the law 
 in spiritual experience like nitre in natural operation. As nitre 
 discusses and divides the atoms with which it is intermixed; so 
 the law, in the power of the Spirit, is the preparation for the gos- 
 pel-; and the conviction of sin, Avith which it pierces the soul, dis- 
 poses it to receive with meekness the ingrafted word of salvation. 
 And when the soul is brought to the knowledge and experience of 
 the truth as it is in Jesus : this Oil of Gladness preserves it 
 from being choked up with earthly things; so that neither the 
 cares of the world nor the deceitfulness of riches can operate, a^i 
 they naturally would, to render it unfruitful. Thus this HolJ 
 Lord defendeth the inhabitants o/" [the spiritual] Jerusalem ; so 
 that he that is feeble among them is as David [or the beloved ; i. e. 
 Christ] and the house of David [all the people of Christ] shall be. 
 as God [by being made partakers of the divine nature^ and the 
 Angel Jehovah before them, or Christ in them, and with them, 
 through fuith, the hope of glory. Zcch. xii. 8. 
 
 Were it not for the oil in plants, the action of light or heat up- 
 on their substance would soon exhaust the aqueous and other jui • 
 cesj and consequently would destroy it. On the other hand, the 
 
OIL OF GLADNESS. 547 
 
 Katural oil, by its tenacity, which (as Dr. Quincy assures us) is 
 "a kind of glue or cement to the other principles,"! preserves 
 the frame from the penetrating effects of the frost, and especially 
 where the oil has been matured and duly concocted ; for those 
 late and tender shoots, in which the aqueous parts of the sap pre- 
 dominate, not having had time for the requisite digestion, arc of- 
 ten destroyed by the winter ; when the lower parts of the same 
 branches, and the rest of the tree, have received no injury. — So 
 the oil ofgrace^ communicated by the divine Spirit, preserves his 
 people in all kinds of trial : And the more they possess of his 
 saving power, the better able are they to resist and overcome 
 those things, which entirely overwhelm the rest of , the world. 
 
 One property of oil is to soften and supple what it is applied to 
 in nature for that purpose. — .The effect also in grace of the Oil of 
 Gladness is an inwrought tenderness of spirit and conscience, 
 which enables the Christian to receive with meekness and humi- 
 lity the holy will of God, and to dread the very thought of acting 
 contrary to it. This oil of salvation carries home the new cove- 
 nant., in its promised power, to the Christian ; by taking away his 
 stomj heart, and giving him an an heart ofjlesh in its stead. Ev- 
 ery body knows, that oil is the universal fiabulum or supply of 
 light, and that without the oleaginous particles neither vegetable 
 substances, as wood, nor mineral matter, as coal, would emit a 
 
 ilame, though placed in the strongest fire. Thus, without the 
 
 Oil of Gladness, there can be no reception of Christ, the true 
 Z'ight, no -meetness for •.nm. within the soul. The S/iirlt of life, 
 introduces the light of life ; their personal union is inseparable; 
 and so is their action. JVo man can call Jesus Z ore? [savingly call 
 him his LordJ l^ut by the Holy Ghost j and no man having the 
 Holy Ghost, can do otherwise. This is very plain in the parable 
 of the virgins. The five foolish had indeed the lamps of profes- 
 sion ; but they had no oil within them. When, therefore, the 
 bridegroom came (say, either in death or judgment), they had 
 no light ; because they had not that, which is the concomitant of 
 it within them. In other words, being sensual, not having the 
 Sjiirit, they were noithout Christ, and shut out, in consequence, 
 from his kingdom. — The scripture, likewise, represents the 
 church under the figure of a candlestick with many branches ; but 
 as the candlestick in the holy place had no light in itself, but re- 
 ceived first the holy oil, and then the flame ; so is it with every 
 individual believer, and with the church of God at large. Thej^ 
 
344 OIL OF GLADNESS. 
 
 must receive the quickening power of the Spirit, before liiey can 
 sec their need of Christ, or have tl^c least desire towards him. 
 He prepares their hearts lor that vital flame, which shall never be 
 extinguished to all eternity. And then, as the soul enlighteni: 
 the body for its natural life, by dwelling in and animating it : So 
 the Holy Ghost illuminates and actuates the soul by making it 
 his own habitation. Eph. ii. 22. Hence the ancient Christians call- 
 ed the ordinance of baptism ^vrio-fioi^ or illummation, because it 
 was the outward sign of possessing Christ, t/ie light of the soul : 
 And, for the same reason, they styled the solemn days, appointed 
 for that ordinance, the uay.t of light ; the newly baptized, the new- 
 ly enlightened ; and the tirrie of Christ's own baptism, the light' 
 bringing day j all which terms they employed to denote the 
 spiritual effect of divine mercy, naniely, light to the mind.* Ana- 
 logous to this, the participation of the Spirit is called and prefi- 
 gured by the unctio7t with consecrated oil : And thus the Messiah-^ 
 or Christy or Anointed One^ was anointed with the Oil of Gladness-) 
 in token of being imbued wilh the Holy Spirit ; and his people 
 are called Christicn&^ov anoititt-d, because, in being truly his peo- 
 ple, they have received the same spirit with him, and by him. Of 
 his fitness have all \\\c%Q received^ and grace for grace. John J- 
 16. The Oil of Gladnesx., flowing from him, is that enlivening" 
 and enlighteniug chrism, which makes them CVj?76//a>75,and keeps 
 them so. 
 
 Under the law, there is a positive prescription concerning the 
 use of oil in presenting every rnincha^ or offering of faith and 
 thanksgiving., under several forms and types, before the I^ord, 
 A speciiication of this kind of oblation is made in Lev. ii. and ix 
 And the reader, who wishes to dwell particularly upon the seve- 
 ral distinctions and meanings oi'the legal obligations, may be much 
 gratified in perusing the learned Medefs discourse upon thcm.t 
 It will be sufficient for this purpose of the essay to consider the 
 oil, prescribed in the law, as typical of the Holy Spirit, wiiHiout 
 ■whom no offerings or services can be acceptable to the Lord. AH 
 the institutions of the Law have a voice to those, who have cars to 
 hear: nor is it possible to believe, \viLliout an equal possession 
 of blindness and blasphemy, that the wisdom of God could iiave 
 descended to the minute detail of the several pnris and composi- 
 tions of v/hat should be accepted ofjthovali, unless some spirit- 
 ual doctrines, some sublime and evangelical IrutJis, essential to 
 
 * See the elder Spanl-.eim de huptismo igms. 
 I Mede's Works, Dis9. Ii. p. 2?4, &.g. 
 
OIL OF GLADNESS. 349 
 
 his people's salvation,* were intended under those emblems.— 
 These were the similitudesf of the Old Testament, which con- 
 pealed those 7nijsteries of the kingdom, thai, like the parables of 
 the New Testament, were only to be known by those to w/wm it 
 was given. Matt. xiii. 10, 11. 
 
 This oil, as we have said, typified the Holy Ghost, in whom 
 and by whom all offerings were to be made to Jehovah. Nor did 
 Christ the High Priest of our profession, present the dignified 
 oblation of himself as the sacrifice for his people, without this holy 
 oil : for it is expressly written, through the Eternal S/iirit he offered 
 himself without spot to God. Heb.ix. 14. Thus God was in Christy 
 reconciling the world to himself, 8cc. And thus is spiritually ful- 
 filled the testimony of the Prophet, concerning the people of God; 
 ihe burden [of the enemy] shall be taken away from off" thy shoul- 
 der, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroy* 
 ed because of the anointing -X The same eterrial Sfiirit, by whom 
 Christ offered up himself, descends through him upon his people, 
 enabling them to be conquerors and tnore than conquerors over 
 their enemies and likewise io present their bodies a living sacri" 
 fee, holy and acceptable -unto God. Rom. xii. 1. 
 
 As the oil represented, sometimes, the person of the Spirit ; 
 so, sometimes, it preached the j'racfs of the Spirit. In conde- 
 scension to human capacity, he appears to have taken this com= 
 prehensive emblem; and through the medium of the outward 
 sense, (which is the usual method of the scripture) to affect the 
 intellect of man. 
 
 The ancients made much use of (ji7 to fifaz////]/ their persons. 
 In the Psalms, we read of oil to wake man's face to shine. — 
 Ruth anointed herself for decorationj Ruth iii. 3 ; and the woman 
 
 * The excellent Witslus hath made the like obseiTation. ** The inten- 
 tion of the ceremonies was, that they might be the fgures and shadoius of 
 i.piritual things, and that they might continually exhibit a picture of Chi'ist 
 and of the grace introduced by him. And certainly this was a most happy 
 privilege to the Jews, that, when God delivered all the mysteries of salva- 
 tion by parables and types, they shoidd have these representations of the 
 divine mercy and of the promised Saviour constantly before their eyes. — 
 Especially too, as by Patriarchs, Prophets and other teachers, they were 
 instructed in their spiritual import, after the manner of that dispensation." 
 JEgypt. L. iii. c. 24. 
 
 f Thus the book, the title of which is translated Proverbs, might have 
 been, with perhaps greater propriety, rendered siinilitudes. They aie not 
 an indigested mass of moral precepts only ; but, under the picture of sensi- 
 ble objects, they were intended to convey many rich delineations of spiritual 
 grace to the mind. 
 
 \ Is. X. 27. Literally rendered it if, before the face of the oil. This hath 
 been well expoiuided, and by Jonathan the Chaldee too, " thou shalt be de- 
 livered through Christ, in whom the spint of Jshovah rests^ because h« 
 I^ath anointesl hun," Robert?. The^, jn pv. 
 
SSO OIL OF GLADNESS. 
 
 of Tckoah and the Prophet Daniel omitted the use of oil for the 
 conti'ary reason. 2 Sam. xiv. 3. Dan. x. 3. The custom is also 
 mentioned in Matth. vi. 17. Luke vii. 46. On this account, the 
 holy oil'is the figure of that beauty of holiness, which the Spirit 
 of God puts upon his people, and by which they are enabled to 
 worship him, according to his own will, in s/iirit and in truth. 
 Thus, when the Psalmist prays, that the beauty of the Lord our God 
 might be nfwn the Church, it is as if he had said, "Let the holy 
 cil, whose unction affordeth all the beauty of holiness, endue their 
 souls with his sanctifying power." The oil signified holiness : 
 tlie application of this oil to believers, or the holy Spirit's opera- 
 tion upon them, constitutes the beauty of holiness : and when 
 they have done with the -vile body of sin, they shall be most per- 
 fectly beautified, by a complete transformation into the very image 
 and likeness of Christ Jesus in all things. 
 
 Joy was also denoted under this sacred emblem of ozV: It was 
 therefore, in peculiar reference to this grace of the Spirit, called 
 by the Prophet the oil of joy. Is.lxi. 3, and by the Psalmist the 
 Oil of Gladness. Ps. xlv. 7. The Spirit, as God, is not only joy 
 h'lmseU essejiiially, and so called Ps. xliii. 4. but the cause and 
 comiminicator of it to the redeemed. Thus it is said of believers, 
 that they received the word inmurh [outward] affliction, with joy 
 of the Holy Ghost. 1 Thess. i. 6, and of the first disciples, i\'\2Xthey 
 vuere filled ivithjoyand the Holy Ghost. Actsxiii. 52. The king- 
 dom of God is also said to be joy i?i the Holy Ghost. Rom. xiv. 17. 
 All which demonstrates both the nature of his being, which must 
 be omnipotent thus to influence and reigJi^ and the ki7id of office 
 assumed by him, which is to make glad the city of God, 
 
 This spiritual oil also induceth health and strength. Jv'oiu he 
 (says the Apostle) which stablishcs us with you,in Christ, and hath 
 anointed us, is God. 2 Cor. i. 2 1 . Jehovah the Spirit is the saving 
 .'Strength of his anointed ; and He alone strengthcneth them with 
 strength in their souls. *Tis he who strengthens them with might 
 in the inner ?nan : and surely can such a blessing come from any 
 one less than God ? If God be the strength of his people, surely 
 that Spirit, who quickens them, and in whom they live, and wait^ 
 and walk, and are led, can be none else than that almighty strength 
 in essence, or Jehovah, working upon them, and dividing his 
 gifts severally as he will. 1 Cor. xii. 11. 
 
 We have already considered oz7 as one great mean of all growth, 
 and consequently o? fertility, in the vegetable world. The Lord 
 the Spirit employs the image of oil to intimate the similar effect 
 rf his grace in the ppiritual world. My ivell-bcloved (saith the 
 
OIL OF GLADNESS. 3.51 
 
 Lord, speaking by the Prophet) hath a-vmeyard in a very fruitful 
 hillj or (as it is literally rendered from the Hebrew in the margin)^ 
 in the horn of the son of oil. Our translation has taken the effect^ 
 but omitted to express the cause. Christ's -vineyard, or Church, 
 is upon a hill, yea, the hill of Zion itself; but \X% fertility is from 
 him, who giveth strength to theya?7i;,and supjiUeth every spiritual 
 nutriment, which shall turn to the salvation of his people. Phil.i; 
 19. Everybelieverin Jesus is a fruit-bearing branch of the spiritual 
 vine. He is not like the cypress tree, to which Phocion compar- 
 ed a vain an J wordy orator, having indeed much pomp and beau- 
 ty in its foi'm and appearance, yet bearing no fruit ; but abundant, 
 according to measure, in all the fruits of nghteousneasf which 
 are by Christ Jesus, to the glory of Gad. 
 
 The use of oil, in cleansing the lepers under the law, is ex° 
 tremely significant and remarkable. After the application of the 
 blood of the lamb to the party, in the same places was the oil to 
 be applied and poured on by the Priest, viz. on the right ear, on tiie 
 thumb of the right hand, on the great toe of the right foot, and 
 finally on the head. Here appear the eflects of the gospel in 
 signs. The blood of Christ is applied first to the ear, and thea 
 the living oil, or grace of the Spirit, follows, to render that ear 
 open to receive the word of truth. The next application of both 
 these is to the hand that it may be fiurgedfrom dead works to serve 
 the living God: then to the feci, that they may be swift for obe- 
 dience, as well as cleansed from defilement : and lastly to the 
 head, that the understanding may be Jiurifcd and enlightened, and 
 the whole spirit, as well as body, under the conduct of the divine 
 Spirit, given up to the Father through Christ Jesus. The appli- 
 cation was made to the princi/ial parts of these several members, 
 to denote both that these included the government o( all the rest, 
 and that the Lord should be glorified by the best faculties of his 
 people. ^ 
 
 Oil, and the olive-trees, which produced it, were considerable 
 branches of the nc/jes and agriculture of Judsea. Thus Asher 
 ■was to difi his foot in oil. Deut. xxxiii. 2 1. He was to be rich in 
 027 and olive-trees ; and it literally came to pass. The olive- 
 trees, and cellars of oil, formed some of the riches and temporal 
 blessings of David. I Chron. xxvii.28. And they are called ?rf a- 
 sures in Jeremiah xli. 8. Oil is also stated to be a part of the 
 trade of Judah. Ezek. xxvii. 17. And what are those riches, or 
 (as they are emphatically styled) the exceediiig riches of grace, 
 and glory i and wisdomj and kno%vkdge-i and goodness-, mentioned 
 
352 OIL OF GLADNESS. 
 
 conceining God; but the graces and effusions of the Holy Spirit, 
 the oil of sidvation conferred upon his people's souls ? 'Tis 
 tluough him only and his liberality of flowing, that they become 
 rich in fait h^ and in good ivorks^ preparatory to their enjoyment of 
 the full riches of his salvation. His graces are those hidden riches 
 (as the Prophet is led to style them) by which they know the 
 Lord, Is. xlv. 3, and which the world doth not see, nor can see, 
 because the wisdom, which gave them forth, as well as the wis- 
 dom which is in them, is an hidden •wisdom ordained of God be- 
 fore the nvorld for his fie o file's glory. 1 Cor. ii. 7. All these trea- 
 mres of wisdom and knowledge are hid in Christ ; and, therefore, 
 the Sfiirit taketh of the things of Christ and sheweth them to his 
 redeemed. Col. ii. 3. and John xvi. 15. Thus it is, that believers 
 become rich and wise, at once, unto salvation. 
 
 Under the Jewish dispensation, if not the patriarchal, certain 
 persons and things were consecrated to God by libations of oil. 
 It has been upon good ground believed, that when Jacob anoint- 
 ed the stojie for ^pillar with oil in Bethel, he received the ordi- 
 nance by tradition from the fathers of his faith, as well as of his 
 flesh ; and that the Lafiides Batulii,* or anointed stones, among 
 the Heathen, were only corruptions of a sacred ceremony, the 
 STfieaning of which they had either lost or misapplied. They 
 thought, indeed, that, in consequence of their consecration by oil, 
 a power or virtue took possession of the image or stone ;t but 
 they apprehended nothing more than the invisible power of some 
 of tl>cir Gods, or, at most, some physical virtue from the heavens. 
 Whatever was consecrated to God under the law (as the taberna- 
 tie and all its utensils were) by the solemnity of anointing with 
 oil, could never afterwards be engaged out of his service, without 
 profanation. Lev.x. 7. Exod, xxix. 2, 2 1, 33. — All this plainly in- 
 timates, that those, who are anointed Priests tinto God (as all true 
 believers are) by the Holy Spirit, are like their head Christ Jesus, 
 consecrated for evermore, Heb. vii. 28. The gifts and calling of 
 
 * See enough concerning' these ii\ Stillingfleet's Origines Sacrx. B. iii. c 
 V. §. 10, and vhe authorities he cites in the margin ; with Gale's Court oj 
 tlie Gentiles. Part 1. 
 
 \ Arnobiits, who had been a Gentile philosopher and rhetorician, and was 
 '.ouverted to the Christian faith about the yeai- 300, humbly confesses ; Ve- 
 nerabar fo ccecitas ! J iiuper sirmdachra modo ex fornacibus prcmpta, pictu- 
 ras, veternor.ia in arboribus txnia^: si quando conspexerum lubricatuni lapi- 
 dem ; & ex olivi unguine ornatum, tanquam inesset vis praesens, adiilabar, 
 aJJ'abar, & benejicia poscehum nihil sentient e de trunco. Adv. Gent. L. i. The 
 learned Selden, in the Frolegomeria and first Sijntagma, c. 2. of his Treatise 
 Ds Dijs Syris, hath discussed this subject with his usual ability. 
 
OIL QF GLADNESS. 352 
 
 God are without re/ientanee. Having given to t.he fieirs ofsalvc- 
 xion the earnest of their inheritance^ this gracious and almighty 
 Spirit will not suffer thenn to be wvow^^^ oi the purchased fios- 
 session. The a 'loin ting- oil of Jehovah is tifion them, and thev 
 shall remain in his true tabernacle for ever. 
 
 If these things be so, O Christian ; is not this Holy Spirit rnos:. 
 significantly entitled, The Oil of Gladness ? Doth not the beauti 
 ful name most pointedly describe the bountiful effects of his love ? 
 And hast thou not joyful communion with him, at times, in all 
 these benignities of his office ? Yes ; as surely as thou art a Chris 
 tian, thou hast. Thy very name, as well as the name of thy mas- 
 ter, belongs to thee only for this cause. He was called Christ on 
 account of this unction ; and thou art a Christian, only by parta 
 king of this unction through him. 
 
 If thou hast this Oil of Gladness poured forth upon thy soul, 
 the consequences of it will appear throughout thee. Like the 
 leaven, which our Lord speaks of, it will leaven the whole lump ; 
 and thy whole body, soul, and spirit, will feel its sanctifying pow- 
 er. The corruptions of the outward man shall be subdued and 
 purged ; the affections of the heart shall be purified and guided 
 to their proper object, and the intellection of the mind illumina- 
 ted and extended for a more ample apprehension of God. It will 
 mollify what is hard, even the stone within thee ; it will cleanse 
 v/hat is defiled ; it Avill make hqly, and keep holy, untp life eter 
 nal, thy whole man. 
 
 This sacred oil will smooth the rugged roughness of evii^ 
 which sin hath brought upon thy soul : And though it will not 
 wholly eradicate the harsh tempers of thine earthly frame, till 
 that frame be dissolved ; it will, at least, polish them in a man- 
 ner, which nature can never do.* Rudeness of manners, incivi- 
 lity of disposition, and proneness to murmuring, not only indicate 
 natural unhappiness, but yield too sad a proof, that the Oil of 
 Gladness either hath not been poured forth at all, or in a very low- 
 degree, upon thy soul. The Spirit of God doth not make men 
 boisterous to complain, but patient to endure. 
 
 There is a fragrance in this holy unction, which at once fier^ 
 fumes as well as gladdens the soul. It is not only acceptable to 
 
 * It was the advice of Demo critus, " to have honey witliin, and oil with- 
 out ;" by which the laughing philosopher probably meant, it was necessary 
 for a man's welfare, to have good tempers in the heart and good manner? 
 Ill the life. Christianity says nothing against this ; Ijut, on the contrary, 
 most powerfully iiaducss i*^, yet without " simulation or dissimulation." 
 
 VOL. :i. W w 
 
354 OIL OF GLADNESS. 
 
 the Most High in itself, as coming from him ; but it renders the 
 persons, on whom it is poured, an offering of a siveel smelling sc- 
 ■vaur through Christ Jesus. By it they are enabled to conceivt- 
 holy thoughts, speak holy worcjs, and to perforn> holy deeds ; ncno 
 of which they are able to do by their own power. Their life anc* 
 conversation, in proportion to their enjoyment of the heavenly gifi. 
 phall yield an odour of a siveet s?nell, which, like the box of oint 
 jr.cnt that Mary bestowed upon her Redeemer, shall fill the house 
 of God, and even beyond that house flow out to the sense of the 
 •world. Jll men shall know the disciples of Jesus, by the discove- 
 ry of his spirit of love, actuating their tempers, their language, 
 and their lives. Like the aromatic oil, whicli was poured upon 
 Aaron ; this precio<us Oil of Gladness will diffuse around its sa- 
 cred odours, and not only refresh the sense of him that bears it, 
 but convince the sense of others too, tljal indeed tlie anointing oil 
 of the Lord is nficn him. Lev. x. 7. 
 
 Q how great then is the privilege of those, who are the redeem-' 
 id and the ransomed of Jehovah ; who co^ne and sing^ because 
 they are so, in the height of Zion, nudflom together to the good' 
 fiess of the Lord, for wheats or the bread of life, and for ivifie, or 
 the joy of his salvation, and for oil, to beautify with holiness I — 
 Their soul shall be as a watered garden, and they shall not sorroiv 
 any more at all. Jer, xxxi. 11, 12. 
 
 God often visits with his gladness the souls of men. How ma- 
 ny proofs have we of this truth handed down, by the most credi- 
 ble witnesses ? Witnesses, who, in the hour of death, would not 
 deceive ; and witnesses, wjio, in their holiness of life, could not 
 wish to delude.* Yet, greater evidence than even from these 
 arises from the testimony of God, and from those promises of 
 consolation and joy, which he never could have given forth in 
 vain. But in vain would they have been given, if they had never 
 been experienced (according to their tenor) by gracious souls, at 
 limes, when no earthly thing could have given the shadow of a 
 consolation. O what anirnating expressions of the most fervent 
 happiness h.ave issued forth from lips, quivering under the ago- 
 nies of death, and from tongues tremulous in the struggles of de- 
 parting life I The witnesses for Christ have testified the joy of 
 their Lord under the crudest strokes of their persecutor's rage : 
 
 * See .imong' oUier excellent books, B\ir)iliam'b " Pious Memorials ;" 
 Fleininfj on '•' (iod'u Appearances for Ins Cliurch ," and " The Triumphs of 
 i'Vitli," published at Edinburgh, 1/67- Sec also a very .striking^ account^ 
 which Mr. J'lavel srives of a Christian experience, i.i his admirable " Trea- 
 t'seoftheSoulofMan." T 238, ?cc. 
 
OIL OF GLADNESS, ^5 
 
 And martyrdom hath received half its honoro from Ihc gladness 
 ahd alacrity, with \vhich it was endured. The accounts of these 
 transactions at once astonish and edify the mind. Far unlike the 
 apathy of stoical pride, or the brutality of Indian savageness ; the 
 soldiers of Christ met death as conquei'ors, and not as stocks. No 
 sullen gloom pervaded their spirits, no despair of life ; but the 
 OjVo/'G/ac/ness lifted up their eyes and their hearts beyond the 
 skies, and made them sensible, that the worct malice of men only 
 could send them home the faster to their God. Let infidels af- 
 fect to find parallels to these among infidels as eagerly as they 
 can ; but there is as much difference betweeYi sufferings endured 
 by grace, and sufferings supported only by nature, as there is j^to 
 use the lowest comparison worthy of the subject) between the 
 most vivid hope V/hich can fill, or the most hardened unbelief 
 ■which can stupify the human mind. The expectation of a Chris- 
 tian upon these occasions is di fulness of expectation, and there- 
 fore called the 7r?^t}pe(pcpiaf or full assurance, which possesses and 
 animates almost to real enjoyment his awakened soul ; but, to say 
 the best of the other, it is a mere -vacuity from absolute despair, 
 tvhich (as in the dying Emperor Adrian) can only cause the heart 
 to flutter between a trembling hope and a dismal uncertainty. 
 The partition between t/iese is so thin and feeble, that it totters 
 ■with every blast, and is often crushed by the full weight of the tri- 
 al. Even Socrates himself, who gave the greatest example 
 among the Heathens of a philosophical equanimity in death, rea- 
 sons and concludes before his judges with an apparent doubt upon 
 his mind of a future existence, though certainly there is some- 
 thing dignifi,ed and to be admixed in his courage and conduct which 
 could back him so far in his last extremity. We may deplore 
 *' this Homer of the philosophers" (as Plato called him) and his 
 admirer Cicero, that amidst a world of ingenuity and the honest 
 efforts of reason, they are led rather to an anxious expectation of 
 a future happiness, than to a lively hope or firm persuasion about 
 it. All certainty in this respect, was only to be derived through 
 the gospel.* 
 
 The Christian's joy is a joy Unsfieakable and full of glory. Rea- 
 der, hast thou never found it so ? Hath no rivulet of peace flow- 
 ed into thy heart from the boundless ocean of peace ? Hast thou 
 not known, that the grace of God, which bringeth salvation, hath 
 brought gladness and tranquility too ? — Yes, believer, thou hast 
 
 * Vide Gic. Tu^sc. Qujest. 8i de Senect. jiasCTm. 
 
356 OIL OF GLADNESS. 
 
 found this mercy, and tasted indeed that the Lord is gracious. 
 Though annoyed by distractions, and broken at times by interrupt 
 tions, through the calls or the evils of the body and its outn'ard 
 affairs ; still thy soul pants for the enjoyment of this blessing, and 
 cannot rest without the view or the relish of it within thee. Thou 
 hungerest and thirstest after this fruit of righteousness, though, 
 on earth and in thy earthly tabernacle, thou canst not be fully satis- 
 fied with it. " The highest pleasures (said a good man) of a gra- 
 cious soul in the body, are but the pleasures of an uncentrcd soul, 
 which is still gravitating and striving forward, and consequently 
 can be but low and very imperfect, in comparison with those it 
 enjoys, v/hen it is centred and fixed in its everlasting rest. They 
 differ as the shadow [or cessation^ of the labourer for an hour in 
 the day, from his rest in his bed when his work is ended." And 
 yet, faint and low as all present views and enjoyments of grace 
 are here below, compared v;ith the fulness of joy at God's right- 
 hand; there have been instances, where the communication of di- 
 vine love has been almost too much for nature to sustain. But 
 these have usually been upon some great occasions, either upon 
 leaving the world, or upon suffering for Christ in it, where it has 
 been expedient for the glory of God and the edification of his peo- 
 ple, that such testimonies of his presence should be declared. 
 However, there will be enough of this at aU times to shew the 
 truth of God's promise, that //,5-/^if is soTjnfor the righteous, and 
 gladness for the upright in heart. Ps. xcvii. 11. In other words, 
 that where Christ, that true light, descends upon the soul ; the 
 Holy Spirit will cause to spring up those returns of joy and praise,,, 
 which, like the incense upon the altar, shall ascend for a siveeC 
 smelling savour before the throne of the highest. 
 
 Happy believer; didst thou know thy own privileges, or could- 
 est thou walk in the constant sight and sense of them ; nothing 
 upon this poor earth would much or long perplex thee. Like a 
 traveller near the end of his journey, thou wouldest patiently beat 
 the dust and dirt of the road, upon the view of thine heavenly man- 
 sion, and thy Almighty Father ready to bless thee there- 'Tip 
 this which, by divine aid, hath ever borne up the souls of the 
 faithful in past trials, worse probably than ever will be thine ; and 
 'tis this which must support thee also in the least as well as great- 
 est difficulty, or alike it will be far too much for thee to bear. 
 The realizing views of these things, not the mere speculations 
 upon them, render the heart truly magnanimous in encountering 
 the evils of life or of death ; and the grace, which shews these 
 
OIL OF GLADNESS, 35^ 
 
 things, gives the Christian that nice sense of honor and duty, which 
 would incline him to all that is right, though neither men nor An- 
 gels, nod' even God himself were to behold. 'Tis this Spirit of 
 Faith, dear Christian, which must enable thee to consider thyself, 
 and to act, as a stranger and fiil grim upon earth ; not the hearing 
 ©nly, or the talking only, about it. 'Tis this Oil of Gladness, which ' 
 must anoint thee for a higher profession, than that poor miserable- 
 one, which (Alas I) too often obtains among men, and of which it 
 is difficult to understand, whether it belongs to this world or an- 
 other. O how hard it is rightly to discern in many instances, 
 whether there be any real difference between some who profess 
 the truths of the gospel, and others who, like Gallio., carefornon'^ 
 of these things .' The believer, as Timothy had, should desire to 
 have a goed firofcssion before many "witnesses — the witnesses of 
 his conscience within him, of the world about him, and of God 
 above him. These testimonies he must have, in some measure, 
 before he can enjoy that quietness and assurance of spirit, which 
 are the general and genuine Result of them. A meagre, half- 
 starved soil can yield only wretched and despicable fruits : Nor 
 can the effect of a mean, half-carnal profession rise above itself, 
 or produce aught at best but a pitiable poverty of joy. " Would- 
 est thou have comfort in thy misery (said a very learned and good 
 man,) wouldest thou have joy in all thy sorrows, wouldest thou 
 find rest in the greatest troubles of thy life, wouldest thou enter- 
 tain death as a messenger of joy, wouldest thou welcome the Loid 
 Jesus at his coming ? O labor then to make thy election sure ^ 
 never cease till thou hast gotten the seal and earnest of thy sal- 
 vation ; renounce all kinds of peace, till thou hast found the peace 
 of conscience ; discard all joy, till thou feelest the joy of the Holy 
 Ghost.* O then, pray for vigor of grace ; or that fervency of 
 spirit in serving the Lordy which shall ever draw down v/ith it a 
 glorious superiority over the world, and a sweet approximation 
 of soul to God and the redeemed in glory. In a word, ask to live 
 Mke a Christian ; like a man, who indeed hath the heavenly unction* 
 who is thus akin to Christ and to God, and who both is and feelp 
 himself really to be a citizen of Heaven. -^^Ask and receive^ that thv 
 joy may be full. Thy dear Saviour means nothing but kindness and 
 joy for thee ; and if thy cup were more emptied of other things, it 
 would be made to run over with his love. Thou art privileged 
 not to glean, like Ruth, in the field, or the vintage; but Xo gather 
 the whole ripe shocks and precious fruits of thy Father's bles- 
 
 * Mede Dlac llii. 
 
35S diL OF GLADNESS. 
 
 sing. Why then wilt thou crawl and creep ; when thou niayestj 
 as with tlie vAngs of eagles^ rise up and soar? Why study hard, 
 and labour much, upon a little dirty clod ; when the xtherial man- 
 sions, the whole universe of the blessed-, raaybethy glorious con^ 
 templation and felicity ? O that this wisdom, and dignity of grace, 
 precious soul, may be more and more thine I Canst thou not join 
 in this prayer for thyself, which an unworthy stranger ardently of- 
 fers up for thee I Art thou not willing to mingle this gracious 
 joy with one, whose soul burns that thy soul and his may partici- 
 pate together ( he felicity of God's chosen, and the riches of the 
 glory of his inheritance ! O that heart might thus answer heart, 
 and be more spiritually alive to this grace, that the communion ol 
 Saints below may more perfectly imitate, as well as forerun, the 
 commuuion of Saints above ! 
 
 1. Come, Thou Oil of Gladness, shed 
 
 All thin&-energy divine : 
 Bid each faithful heart and head 
 In thy sacred love combine. 
 
 2. Come, Thou Oil of Gladness, poui- 
 
 Gracious joy on all around ; 
 Make, full fraught with heav'nly lore^ 
 All in heav'nly hope abound. 
 
 3. Come, Thou Oil of Gladneas, come. 
 
 Shed abroad thy reigning' grace ; 
 Fit thy Kings and Priests for horme , 
 Crown thenj with eternal peace. 
 
CONCLUSION. 55d 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 SEVERAL other titles and ascriptions, belonging to th« 
 Holy Spirit, occurred to the author in proof of his divinity j 
 such, for instance, as Witness, Gift, Guide, Spirit of Burning, 
 Spirit of Judgment, Rest, Spirit of Glory, Sec. but the size of the 
 volume will not admit of any further enlargement. It is humbly 
 conceived, however, that the many testimonies, which have been 
 already submitted, under the preceding names, do illustrate, ac- 
 cording to the measure and manner of the human capacity, some 
 of the essential glories of the Eternal S/iirit, both in his divine 
 ■nature, person and offices. Evidence from the scriptures, both 
 positive and collateral, appears as full, clear, and convincing ; as 
 it is possible for the mind of man fairly to require, or his under- 
 standing to receive. Though the point insisted on be not in its 
 essence an object of sense or animal perception, and cannot be such 
 irom the pure spirituality of its nature ; yet it has been shcvrn, 
 ihat God the Spirit has given testimony to this point by some 
 proofs that have even reached the senses, and by circumstances, 
 which might impress them with the most happy and lively de- 
 monstration of his being and presence. He hath indeed left all 
 men, who have this word in their reach, without excuse for unbe- 
 lief concerning himself; and they have no subterfuge in this case 
 from any difficulty in his revelation, which is clear enough here ; 
 but must recur at once to their own corrupt and positive dislike 
 of its authority, or, not being able to overthrow or get rid of this, 
 must take shelter (as too many in all ages hLve done) under some 
 wilful perversions and sophistications of the divine record. But, ad- 
 mitting this record to be true, and permitting it to speak its own 
 genuine sense in harmony and analogy with itself (which is allowed 
 in all other writings) ; the doctiine of its Author's divinity is true 
 also, and from the record is proved to be so. On the other hand, 
 if that book can be demonstrated to he false in principle or autho- 
 rity, and so is an audacious imposition upon the world ; it is rea- 
 dily granted, that there is and can be no ot/ier proof of this subject, 
 and that all the miracles, or sensible evidences of it, and all the 
 internal operations, either promised or received, which are the ex- 
 perimental evidences ; are equally lies, dreams, and delusions. It 
 will be further granted, in that case, that we are exactly in the 
 situation of all the Heathens, ancient and modern ; that there is 
 n.o 3,3surance; or evidence; of any one thing in the ivovld ; lliat we 
 
UovJ CONCLUSION. 
 
 live without present hope, and must die without future end o^ 
 purpose of being. It shall be added too, and must be added, that 
 there is neither sin nor goodness, neither religion nor irreligionj 
 neither Heaven nor Hell ; and that all those, who have declared 
 these things to the world, in the shape of Patriarchs, Prophets, 
 or Apostles, have been impudent mountebanks, who have played 
 upon the hopes and fears of mankind, for the advancement of their 
 own f'esigns. It will be allowed also, in this train of consequen- 
 ces, that Christ and Mahomet are quite upon a level, and equally 
 detestable inapostors ; that Judas Iscariot was an honest felloW} 
 for betraying the former; and that all the people, called martyrs, 
 were a set of stupid and inconsiderate simpletons, for believing 
 and dying in the cause of a crucified malefactor. In one word, it 
 must be acknowledged, in this view of things, that there is no hope 
 in life or in death, that we are bewildered in the chaos of our own 
 imaginations, and that Lucretius and Hobbes, and such like men, 
 were perfectly right, in attempting to banish every trace of reli- 
 gion, as mere mad superstition, from the face of the earth. 
 
 There are many people, who will profess themselves shocked 
 at these consequences, and yet do not see that the principles, on 
 •which they pi'ocecd concerning religion, naturally and necessarily 
 lead lo them.— -They think withoiiC the Bible, in the first instance ; 
 and then, in the next, tliey think agaiyist it. Nor do some people 
 express much concern upon the discovery of this consequence ; 
 but call their method, with a peculiar ease and confidence, libera^ 
 lity of sentiment zs\^ freedom of inquiry. But if those fine words 
 are examined to the bottom, they will be found to merit another 
 title, and will really appear to be only looseness of firinciple and 
 &cefiticisni universal. The first point they begin with in religion 
 is — a cfou/ii? of God's truth in the Bible; forgetting that without 
 this truth there is no religion at all, and that there either must be 
 already such an infallible rule, or there never can be one. If the 
 rule do exist, then it is their wisdom to follow it : But if it do not, 
 then all the men in the world could not agree to compose one j 
 und consequently all their pretended inquiries must end in uncer- 
 tainty ; lithat can be called an endy which is nothing ; or that can 
 be good logic, which has no conc^usjon.— However, this doubt 
 (say they) ought to be satisfied. And nuho is the judge, evidence, 
 and counsel, in the matter ? Their answer is, human rea&on^ which 
 after all, they must own, can judge nothing concerning spiritual 
 existence. And yet the Bible deals chiefly in spiritual existence. 
 If reason were evei; uncorrupt and undepraved, which it is not ; it 
 
CONCLUSION. sei 
 
 copld be no judge in this case, unless it were infinite and eternal } 
 because here the determination is to be upon an infinite being, 
 and upon eternal concerns. Of course, the evidence it can pi'o= 
 duce, or the counsel it might bring, being alike depraved, limitedj 
 and irregular, stand exactly in the same predicament. The falla^ 
 cy of these people is ; they presuppose, that all things are in 
 doubt, and that therefore there is no such matter as truth reveal- 
 ed ; and yet absurdly enough they hold that both these conclusions 
 of their own are to be believed. That principle in man, which 
 doubts, is, according to them, to procure evidence out of itself, 
 in order to convert itself into a believing principle, or rather to 
 frame a believer in nothing beyond it. The sea might just as soon 
 make itself dry, the fire emit a cooling flame, or a man scoop up 
 the ocean with a shell ; as any of these can turn this Ethiopian 
 unbelief into the fair complexion of holy faith. Their itch is to 
 dispute every thing, and to believe nobody but themselves, who 
 own at the same time, that they know nothing with precision.. 
 They are quite sure, that nothing is true, which i§ not agreeable 
 to their own reason ; and yet often this reason doth not agree with 
 ziselfui[iQn the most trifling subjects within its immediate scruti- 
 ny : But it pretends to be very exact, however, in the everlasting 
 concerns above it. Thus our reasoners venture to go on, as 
 though they were omniscient beings, who could see through all 
 •spiritual and abstracted nature, could comprize all that is to be 
 known universally, and could determine upon the whole with per- 
 fect judgment and infallibility. They are sceptics towards God, 
 but the most implicit believers in themselves. In this high sen- 
 timent, they determine upon what angels veil their faces to beholdj 
 with an air of importance and authority, and are not ashamed to 
 conclude, that what they themselves know not, is and must be, 
 therefore unknown. Their sentiments are indeed liberal, and 
 their inquiriesyree ; for they are by no means limited by the strait 
 line of truth, but make copious excursions enough in the regions 
 on either side of it. Truth is too low and fixed a subject for such 
 unfettered speculatists, as disdain to take any settled foundation ; 
 but love to soar above all certain boundaries, and the narrow ap- 
 prehensions of those pitiful mortals, who humbly believe in God :; 
 And so, 
 
 - ■ their sail-broad vans 
 
 They spread for flight, and in the surging smoke 
 . Uplifted spurn the ground ; thence many a league. 
 
 As in a cloudy chair, ascending ride 
 
 Audacious ; but that seat soon failing, mest 
 
 A vast Ti'-aiTT,-— "— .- MiLToy, 
 
 VOL. XT. X :: 
 
36? CONCLUSION. 
 
 But, for people of this order, these imperfect essays were not 
 designed. Written, as they are, for the most part, >vithout any 
 labored attention to method ; they are calculated, principally, for 
 those who receive the Bible as the truth of God, and who wish 
 to be more truly acquainted with it as such ; and for some others 
 likewise, who, not weighing the sense of its words nor that ana- 
 logy of principle which runs through the whole, have been led 
 into perplexities, which the Bible does not contain in itself, but 
 which have been brought to it by the false reasonings of its rea- 
 ders. That book, indeed, is a parable, and (according to Christ's 
 own words) intended to be so : Consequently, it hath its myste- 
 ries, or, (if the world will call it by that name) its obscurities. 
 It is no shallow composition, but contains the words and the mind 
 of God. If men do not perfectly understand these words, it is no 
 ■wonder : They do not understand the most obvious and most or- 
 dinary luorks of God.* And it is the less to be wondered at, be- 
 cause it is expressly said, that none can understand the scripture? 
 but those to nvhom it is given ; and the very Apostles understood 
 them, only according to that dispensation, Luke xxiv. 45. Of 
 course it will follow, that none can understand them farther than 
 it is given. This measure, or bound, also must rest entirely 
 with Him, who imparts this understanding itself, which is a prin- 
 ciple superior to human reason, though working upon and by it. 
 Reason of itself cannot determhie in spiritual things what are 
 truths, but at most conceives only ihtiv connexion and agreement z 
 But the gift of s/iiritzial understanding is imparted, that reason 
 might be informed, and from that information proceed, in a man- 
 ner analogous to its nature, to combine, connect, or conclude, 
 not its own ideas, but ideas from the word of God as the ground 
 on which they are to be raised, and which the Spirit of God, as 
 the agent, alone raises from that ground. The word itself doth 
 not and cannot raise ideas truly spiritual and divine ; as we may- 
 see in thousands who frequently read it, but to whom it is a book 
 sealed impenetrably : Nor does the Spirit act but by the word, or 
 in perfect concord with it. So that here is the strongest fence, 
 on the one hand, against absurd or enthusiastic reveries, because 
 the written word checks all fanciful excursions and all idle opi- 
 nions; as, on the other hand, there is the fullest implication of 
 
 * See this observation proved most demonstrably in that equally iftstruc- 
 
 llve .iiul entertaining work, entitled, An Essay on the frst principles o/JVa- 
 
 tural rUlosophy, by the Rev. William Jones; an autJior to whom the reli- 
 
 " j^ioMs and philosophic world ai'e greatly indebted for labors of muiU ingc- 
 
 »vuity and erudition. 
 
CONCLUSIONf. 363 
 
 the necessity of divine gracej to help the ignorance or check the 
 infidelity of man. This grace is a gift, afforded according to the 
 will of its author, and allotted and diversified with respect to the 
 purposes of glory and salvation, which are to be brought forth 
 in his people. — Proud reason quarrels with this ; and yet without 
 reason. Grace in all its parts or distinctions, whether of holi- 
 ness, knowledge, faith, &c. is the dona(io?i of God, and a free 
 donation, because it could not be earned by a creature. A crea- 
 ture might just as soon earn its own natural life, before it had 
 life. It musters/ live, t/ten act ; and a man must have the grace 
 or faculty for divine knowledge, before he can presume to know 
 the things divine, i Cor. ii. 11, The ground of all human error 
 is in the fall and apostacy of our nature from God : And yet men 
 profess to think and act, as though they were Jiot fallen. They 
 advance upon this mistaken ground ; and, consequently, the far- 
 ther they push their conclusions, or speculations, upon divine 
 subjects ; the wider they are from the truth of God, and, it may 
 be added, from the God of truth. Nor, till they are brought 
 back to see this origin of their error, and are enabled to keep it 
 constantly insight; can they make any excursions, in which they 
 do not stray. 
 
 The scriptures are entirely written upon this great idea of the 
 fall. They keep it ever in view. All the terms, with relation to 
 man, are formed upon this very principle ; the combination of 
 those terms into fuller detail amply expresses it ; and the whole 
 purpose of revelation proves, enforces, a»d answers it as a fact, 
 ■^vhich every one of us may feel within ourselves,, and may see 
 but too many evidences of in the world about us. Our restora= 
 tion to God, and his names revealed to convey the means of that 
 restoration, are increasing demonstration^ of that truth, which it 
 is both our duty to believe, and the way of our happiness to know. 
 All its important evidence, taken together, will be found to gene^ 
 rate this grand conclusion ; That fallen ?}ian can be recovered Jo. 
 God, 07ily through the love of (he Father, the redemjition of 
 the Son, and the poiver of the Holy Ghost ; thhee divine fier^ 
 sons in one and the same godhead. 
 
 This truth is the basis of the Bible and consequently of all 
 Christianity. Remove it ; and they both fall utterly to the ground, 
 God only could plan a work, which should glorify two such es- 
 sential attributes as his own Justice and mercy, in the salvation of 
 sinners. Accordingly we read of an everlasting covenant, and a 
 counsel of the Godhead for this end.— No creature could make 
 
So* CONCLUSION. 
 
 an atonement for his own sin, and much less for the innumerable 
 bins of others: No creature could work out an everlasting righr 
 teousness and bring it in for the justification of even himself, and 
 much less for the justification of others who might need it; since 
 all he could do, it would be his duty to do, without remission, 
 and to the continuance of his being. Having done this, he might 
 justify himself, but not others. In this absence of all created help^ 
 we find, that Jehovah was to reconcile to Jehovah these helpless 
 fallen creatures, that Jehovah became the Redeemer for this ob- 
 ject, and that Ijjwianu-^L, God with us, took that namey because 
 he was to lake our ?iaturej in order to suffer in the behalf of his 
 people, and to fulfil all righteousness for them.— It was impossi- 
 ble, that these creatures who are represented as dead in tres/ias- 
 ses and sins, in respect to s/iiritual life ; and enemies and aliens 
 to God, in respect to their desires after it ; should change them- 
 selves, renew their minds, 7!e'iu-create the frame of their spirits, 
 and transform themselves from darkness to light, either by will, 
 or power, or conception of their own. They were as incapable 
 of all this, as a dead carcase is of restoring itself to life, or o* 
 performing its living functions : And the scriptures describe this 
 to be exactly their case. Upon this very account, it was jieces- 
 bary, that the author of all life should r(?s^ore it ; and, according- 
 ly, it is revealed, that cno^/^er divine person, assuming the name 
 of S/iirit, is the very Spirit of Life for this purpose ; that he tes- 
 tifies concerning Chi'ist, as the mediate cause of removing all im- 
 pediments and glorifying all attributes, in his life and death ; and 
 that he himself is the Comforter, in consequence, to secure eve- 
 vy blessing to the redeemed, by giving them life, grace, holi- 
 ness, and, in a word, by sealing, teaching, guiding, and {irefia- 
 ring them, in the state below, for a sublime and everlasting in- 
 heritance. 
 
 Here we see a perfect accordance between divine revelatio): 
 and the state of men, an unspeakable suitableness between the 
 gracious offices of the divine persons and the wants of sinners, a 
 jUst harmony in all the attributes of the Godhead and the ever- 
 lasting salvation of souls. The whole of it is grounded upon 
 i'acts which we know, and upon necessities which wc feel ; it 
 rests upon evidence, which reason enjoys not, and doth not require, 
 in other cases, even the evidence of good men in all ages; who 
 were eye-witnesses, ear-witnesses and heart-witnesses, of what is 
 delivered to us ; who could have no temptation to impose, but whp 
 »,'ere called to die for their testimony, to convince us, th^t theydiji 
 
CONCLUSION. 365 
 
 hot impose.* And if, after all this, we think the matter to be still 
 & subject oi/ree inquiry, or o( uncertain foundation, like a com- 
 mon speculation ; we become like those fools, who, having a 
 chai't and compass and the testimony of seamen, that have seen 
 what they relate concerning a distant country, very gravely throw 
 them all over-board, and profoundly resolve that these are checks 
 upon their lib<rality of sentiinent m\6. free i?iquiry, and that they 
 will sail on, without these limitations, to explore an unknown 
 world. The next news, we should expect to hear of such able 
 pilots, would be, that they were cast away, or gone to fathom the 
 profound below. 
 
 All the other doctrines of the gospel are links in this chain, 
 and depend in perfect agreement upon each other. If one be 
 taken away, it is no longer a whole ; and its strength is virtually 
 dissolved. The doctrine of the divinity of the Holy Spirit, for 
 instance, is so capital a link, that, let it be once broken, the 
 whole system of Christianity falls to the ground. The Bible will 
 become untrue; and all that is contained in the Bible, a confused 
 mass of idle principles, disjoined fables, and useless narrations. 
 It is no wonder, therefore, that the enemy of souls should mili- 
 tate in all ages, very particularly, against this essential article of 
 truth, and that where he could not absolutely deny, he should at- 
 tempt to perplex, confound, and pollute it; so that, from this 
 very pollution, he might gain a step, in some favorable time, to 
 succeed farther against the article itself. It may not be altogether 
 impertinent or unprofitable, to look back and see, how he has 
 managed this matter in past ages; because it may in part help us 
 to the apostolic lesson of not being ignorant of Satan's devices^ 
 and hence be the means of guarding against them. We will, 
 
 • The reader will find this kind of ar^ment, pursued with equal strength 
 and elegance by a lat-e noble author, who cannot be suspected of indulging 
 ».n enthusiastic credulity. The observations on the conversion of St. Paul, 
 written by \hefrst Lord Lyttleton, contain an admirable defence of this out- 
 work of Christianity. " Is it (says he) on account of the mysteries in the gos- 
 pel that the facts are denied, though supported by evidence which in all other 
 cases would be allowed to contain the clearest conviction, and cannot in this 
 be rejected without reducing the mind to a state of absolute scepticism, and 
 overturning those rules by which we judge of all evidence, and of the truth 
 or credibility of all other facts .? But this is plainly to give up the use of 
 our understanding where we are able to use it most properly, in order to 
 apply it to things of which it is not a competent judge. The motives and 
 reasons, upon which divine wisdom may think proper to act, as well as the 
 manner in which it acts, must often lie out of the reach of our understand- 
 ing." This is reason " taught reason," and approved by divine re^'elation. 
 Ml) thoughts are not -your thoughts, neither are your luays my ways, saith the 
 Lord : for aa the Heavens are higher than tlie earth, so are my ivays higher than 
 your ~,vays, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Is, ly. 8, 9. 
 
366 CONCLUSION. 
 
 therefore, as briefly as possible, iTiention the chief of those dog- 
 matists, who have either set themselves entirely against the Spi- 
 rit's divinity, or treated it in a manner, which, though covertly, 
 yet essentially undermined the doctrine. 
 
 The man, who fancied the Holy Ghost was to be bought for 
 moneys was the first upon record, since the Christian aera, who 
 turned blasphemer against him. A fit instrument was Simon 
 Magus for so foul a deed, and deserves to be placed at the head 
 of the motley corps, who have enlisted themselves into the same 
 service. To mention this poor wretch's assertions is to confute 
 Ihem. The chief of these were ; that Simon himself was the 
 true Messiah or Christ ; that he appeared at Mount Sinai in the 
 person of the Father ; that he came in the reign of Tiberius in the 
 form of the Son, and descended upon the Apostles, as fiery 
 tongues, in the person of the Holy Ghost; that the world was not 
 made by God, but by Anp^els ; that there is no resurrection of 
 the flesh ; and that a promiscuous and unlimited commerce with 
 ^vomen was a noble part of Christian liberty. Licentiousness of 
 this sort is a common point of agreement for many heretical opin- 
 ions. We shall only observe further of him, that he was contem- 
 porary with the Apostles, propagated his opinions in Samaria and 
 Palestine, from whence they had a rapid flow, and that he was 
 the common father of that prolific brood, which under the names 
 of Sabellianism, Antitrinitarianism, Manichaeism, Sec. See. 8cc. 
 for a long time after, disgraced and troubled the Church. He was 
 the first who broached the notion, that the names oi Father^ 5on, 
 and S/ij'ri?, belonged to the same numerical /person, and, of course, 
 that there really is no Trinity. 
 
 From this corrupt progenitor arose, in the next century, among 
 many others who advanced all sorts of opinions and practised all 
 kinds of impurities, Hermogenes and Praxeas. The first denied 
 the Trinity, and asserted that matter was coaeval with God. He 
 was a/mzTi^f r by trade, and a practical Polygamist.*^ This drew 
 
 * It is an obsen'ation made by Jerom, and repeated by many others, that 
 ; he principal Heresies, v.hichever disgraced religion and plagued the world, 
 were begun, carried on, and ended, by the support of women, or for the 
 sake oi" women. From t!ie Nicolaitans in the revelation down to Bernard 
 Ochin, who, soon after the reformation, set up the inexpedient and imprac- 
 ticable (not to say, licentious) cfoctrine of Polygamy ; we might produce 
 but too many instances to justify ihat observation. The mind olman is nat- 
 urally mcllned to pleasvue ; and when it finds no happiness in God, or hath 
 lost its happiness in the things of God, it roves iibroad (hke the unclean 
 <?pirit) after those objects, wh.ch are most adapted to the constitution and 
 temper of iiz owner. It v/illeas Jy find pleas for self-indulgence, and cao even 
 
CONCLUSION. 367 
 
 tipon him the sarcasm of Tertullian (as painting was then reckon- 
 ed an improper profession for Christians), fiingit illicitS, nubit 
 assidue ; " he paints without law, and marries without end."— 
 Praxeas carried on the opinion of Simon Magus, respecting the 
 Trinity, charging all Christians, who worshipped the three per- 
 sons in the Godhead, with the worship of three Gods. To him 
 Tertullian opposed himself, with his uncommon abilities and 
 tartness, and gives us a testimony thereby, that, in his time 
 (which was about the year 190,) the Church expressly worship- 
 ped one God in unity of substance, power, and glory, and the 
 three persons of Father^ Son, and S/iirit, in that unity * Praxeas 
 in fact, seems to have been the immediate parent of what was 
 afterwards called Sabellianism. 
 
 Noetus of Smyrna, however, obtained the infamy of being im- 
 mediate master to Sabellius, (and according to some of Praxeas 
 himself )t and of inculcating the same opinions. He lived about 
 the beginning of the third century. His disciple, Sabellius, being 
 a man of greater talents and capacity, and asserting the same opin- 
 ions, consequently, with more art and address, obtained them to 
 be called after his name. He confounded the distinction of per- 
 sons in the essence, asserting, that they were mere names of one 
 and the same iadividual being, who suffered in the person of 
 Christ, and who appeared in the descent upon the Apostles. — 
 Hence his disciples were called Patripassians, because they 
 maintained, that the Father endui'ed all the agonies upon the cross. 
 They also averred, that God was called the Father in Heaven, 
 upon earth (he Son, and, when he put forth his power in the crea-^ 
 lures, the Holy Ghost.— -We have already given, in the former 
 volume, a short confutation of this error, which has a tendency 
 to subvert every doctrine of the gospel. 
 
 Paul of Samosata, soon after Sabellius, though they differed in 
 other points, agreed with him very nearly, if not entirely, upon the 
 article of the Trinity. They both denied the fiersonality in the 
 Godhead. The principal difference between them was ; Sabel" 
 
 fancy that this indulgence of the flesh is not unacceptable to God ; though 
 God himself hath enjoined the crucifixion of the fiesh, ~<vith its affections anif 
 lusts, and though the indulgence of these hath a natural and dii-ect tenden- 
 cy to draw the heart from God and the thi7igs above, and to fix it on the 
 creatures audon things beneath. See 1 Cor. vii. 29. Gal. v. 24. Rom. xiii. 14. 
 2 Pet. ii. 18. Delicatus es. Christians, si et in sceculo voluptatemconcupiscis ^ 
 immo nimium stultus, si hoc existimas vohiptatem. Tertull. de sped. 
 
 * Blackmore's Summary of Christian Antiq. Vol. i. p, 59. and many other 
 authorities from ancient writers, in Spanli, Theol, oper. Vol iii, p. 1216, &c. 
 
 t Spanli. Mist. Christ, ssjc. iii. p. f48. 
 
G63 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Ihis asserted, that the whole Godhead was in Ciiiist ; and this 
 Paul, that the Saviour was a mere man, neither coeternal nor con- 
 substantial with the Godhead. Both these men, as well as some 
 of their late successors, endeavoured constantly to puzzle the 
 cause, by confounding the persons with the substance^ and by using 
 these different terms for one and the same idea. 
 
 In the next century (i.e. about the year 317 or 320) sprang up 
 the famous Arius, and drew away great multitudes after him. 
 He neither wanted art, learning, nor ambition : And he employed 
 these (as all other men do, who have not grace) to subserve his 
 own views and passions. We need not, however, dwell ufion the 
 man arid his comniunicatio7i ; for this has been treated of by a va- 
 riety of authors : It is sufficient for us to mark his particular er- 
 ror concerning the divinity of the Holy Spirit. As he denied that 
 the Son was of the substance of the Father, or consubstantial with 
 him, but was a creature made out of nothing^ though before all 
 other creatures ; so he asserted, that the Holy Ghost was not 
 God, but created or produced by the Son, and inferior in all re- 
 spects to him, though employed by him in the work of creation. 
 Thus, in his view, the Holy Spirit was the creature of a creature, 
 or, in more modern language, the emanation of an emanation. 
 Consequently, there was a time, when the Son and Holy Spirit 
 had 72 existence, and a time, when, like the merest maggots, they 
 began to exist. Those, who maintained these priuciples, were 
 called (by a wonderful abuse of language) fmre Arians. There 
 were many sects of them, who had the same common parent, 
 but who distinguished themselves, however, from their brethren 
 by a variety of names and opinions in this matter, in which they 
 disagreed as well amongst themselves as with the orthodox- 
 Hence, generally, after the names of their several leaders, they 
 were called Aetians, Eusebians, Eunoihians,* Anomosans, Eudox- 
 ians, Acacians, Semi-arians, and the like. The most prevailing 
 sect of these, and the nearest to the orthodox, were the Senii-ari- 
 ans, who maintained that the Son was einnac-to?, but noto/tiose-ieg, 
 i. e. that he was oi like substance with the Father, but not of the 
 sarne substance ; that he was H/ce the Father also in will and ofie' 
 ration^ but really different from him in nature or essence. The 
 
 * See Eiinomlus's Confession of Faith in Cave's Hist. Lit. In this Confes- 
 sion, he says, " the Father begat the Son, not according to his own substance^ 
 but according to his -vlll, and that, afterwards, tTFctTjirty, he made th« 
 Holy Spirit by his own proper authority, and command, and yet by the ener- 
 gy and active power of the Son." — A little below, he calls the Holy Spirit— 
 ' the first and .^estest of all the ivorks of the only begotten.'' 
 
eONCLUSION. 3G9 
 
 same they believed, for the most part, coDcerning the Spirit. Con- 
 sequently, they must hold, either, that there is but one person in 
 the Godhead, called the Father, and so the Son and Spirit are ab- 
 solutely creatures ; or, that there are three Gods, of three dif- 
 ferent substances, who have only the relation of a likeness to each 
 other. The wit of man cannot devise a medium between these 
 two : And let a man take either of the two, he will be sure of 
 equally contradicting the scriptures, and of finding himself, one 
 time or other, in the wrong. 
 
 Photinus, Bishop of Sirmium, from whom came the Photinians^ 
 asserted (about 20 years after Arius) that Christ was a 7nere man^ 
 without any being till he was produced of the Virgin Mary, and 
 that the Holy Spirit was neither God, nor a person in the God- 
 head. He also asserted, that the names of Father, Son, and Spi- 
 rit, belonged to one and the same individual being, and that the 
 same numerical person took those names only to signify some 
 particular operations. In this opinion, he followed the Sabellianso 
 He wrote elegantly and ably against all heresies but his own, and 
 is said to have been a learned and eloquent man. 
 
 About the same time, lived also Macedonius, patriarch of Con- 
 stantinople ; a worthless character, and fit to oppose that gracious 
 Spirit, whose divinity he denied, and whose influences (to say 
 nothing of his principles,) his whole conduct proved, he never 
 felt. He was one of those worldly priests, who aim at nothing but 
 riches and rank, and who stick at nothing to obtain them. If men 
 ■were to follow Jerom's advice, they would avoid such clerical 
 tradesmen, and scandalous money-hunters, as they would the pes- 
 tilence.* Macedonius was at first a Semi-arian, asserting that 
 
 * J^egotiatorem clericum & ex inope diviiem, ex ig^iobili gloi-los^im, quasi 
 quandam pestem fuge. — Ignominia omnium sacerdotum est, propriis studere di- 
 'Atiif. — Dtlicattis magister est, qui plena ventre de jejuniis disputat. SacerdO' 
 tis Christi os, njens, ntanu^que concordent, Hieron, ad Nepot, — But Chris- 
 tianity is " improved" (say some) since the days of Jerom. Perhaps others 
 will ask, In what ? And, perhaps, others again will take up the complaint, 
 ^ung400 years ago, as not quite inapplicable now : 
 
 A rnaximis ad vmiimutn, 
 
 Vix habet unum Jiliuin 
 
 Religio tarn sacmiin, 
 
 Qui pure propter Dominiim 
 
 Iteligionis Imbitum 
 
 Portare videatur. 
 This 4oggrel, to the extent of 51 stanzas, is entiUed Planctus Bertihardi 
 Westerrodis ; and, if it have no other merit, it has the merit of being a wit- 
 ness for truth in that dark age, the X4th century. It is mentioned by Fl. 
 jUyricus the author of the Catalogjis testium veritatis, and preserved at full 
 Jength by Baselius in his Sutpitivs Belgicus. p. 150, 
 
 VOJ,. n, Y y 
 
570 CONXLUSION. 
 
 the Son was of the like substance, but not of the same substance 
 with the Father, and yet not a creature. When the fiure Arians, 
 ■who advanced him to the chair upon tlie rwmder oi J'aul the ffood, 
 found he was not fiurcly their own ; they drove him Irom it : And 
 then, to draw away disciples after himself, he set up a new heresy, 
 or rather new modelled an old one. Agreeing with the Semi-ari- 
 ans concerning the Son, he opposed himself particularly against 
 the Holy Ghost, and denied him to be God, or a divine person, or 
 even to have any person or substance at all ; maintaining, that 
 the Spirit was a mere created energy, imparted to the Son, and 
 divided among all other animated beings. Hence he and his fol- 
 lowers v/ere called nvevf^eclof^xx"'' J^it^hicrs against the Sjiirit ; 
 for the censure of whom the second general council was convened 
 at Constantinople, in t!ie year 384 ; as the first general council 
 ■was at Nice, 60 years before, for the condemnation of Arius.* 
 
 In the fifth century, another sect was raised against the doc- 
 trine of the Trinity, which proceeded, in a great measure, upon 
 the notion of Sabellius, The professors of it were called Theo- 
 paschitcE, " God sufferers," or Fullonians, from Peter Fullo, Bi- 
 shop of Antioch, their leader. This tribe asserted, that the whole 
 Trinity suffered upon the Cross ; and therefore they addressed 
 the trisagion or doxology to Christ alone, as the representative of 
 the Trinity, or the man in whom the Trinity was. With rcsptx: 
 to the person of Christ, they came very near, if not quite to the 
 Eutychians or Monophysita; who so confounded his two natures, 
 as to represent the hmuan to be absorbed in the divine, and to lossi 
 thereby its own proper existence. 
 
 About the end of the same century, or (according to Cave) yL 
 the very beginning of the next, appeared the celebrated Johannts 
 Grammaticusj called Philoponus from his constant study ; a man- 
 
 I 
 * See tlie Sum of these and other councils, dig'estod byBartliolomew (Jar- 
 ranaz, formerly Archbishop of Toledo. Df his -work, it m:iy be said, thiA: it 
 \v\\\ g-ive a Protestant reader a sufficient idea of the several counciJ.y ; and 
 of the aiilkor, that beinc^ suspected of inchninff to Protestantisni, he was 
 imprisoned by the inquisition, and his arcliiepiscopal revenues were ccnfi' - 
 catcd to the king- of Spam. J5y appealing', iixkcd, to Rome, he save/l his 
 life, but not his see ; for he died many years after in a private statit)n. Thu- 
 nnus says, he knew him ; and that his leaming'j integrity, and the holiness 
 of his converfiation were such, as made liim worthy of his dijjnily. Set blei- 
 tlan'sGom. App. p. 43. Tlie reader, however, should be cautioned of a Ha- 
 gT.-int error, committed in the acts of the L.aodice.an council, c "S. wjvch the 
 Papists have entitled, De his qid anouuis to/m/r, instead of ANcr/yis, and 
 which would otherwise have directly opposed tlicir creature -worship. Car- 
 ••anza lias followed them In his Sum, printeil in 1:j52. Theodore! cxposrd 
 rhis mistake acccrdinsj to Ganar. v. upera. p. 5G5 
 
CONCLUSION. . 371 
 
 ■who for his shining talents as a philosopher was certainly respec- 
 table, hut who, too little like a professor of Christianity, abused 
 those talents to the mean purpose of his own applause. " Tcr- 
 ilullian (says Cave) long ago justly observed, that phildsophers in 
 the Church have, for the most part, been the Patriarchs of here- 
 tics." He had studied Aristotle and Plato ; and, like Origcn with 
 many others, he endeavoured to corrupt the simplicity of divine 
 truth, with the dogmas of the schools and the language of error. 
 Thus, the scholar is as liable to be befooled in divine things by the 
 subtleties and jargon of human science, as the unlettered man by 
 the wrong apprehensions of ignorance. Neither the one nor the 
 other can be safe, one moment, from delusion, but by a wisdom 
 and direction very superior to their own. Philbponus was cheat- 
 ed by his philosophy to believe, that fierson and nature are the 
 samc^ which was the common confusion of the heretical depra» 
 vers of the Trinity ; and he was hardened in that cheat by a con- 
 cern for his own glory, and the pride of not yielding to an adver- 
 sary. His heresy consisted in maintaining, that in the Trinity 
 there ai'e three substances or natures ; and yet he inconsistently 
 enough urged, that there are not three Deities or Gods. But this 
 consequence is unavoidable upon his hypothesis ; and, therefore, 
 he and his abettors were liot unjustly called Tritheists, or main- 
 tainersof the doctrine of three Gods. 
 
 Joachimus of Calabria, an Abbot, who flourished about the year 
 {200, was condemned by the Lateran council, 1215, for accusing; 
 Peter Lombard, the famous master of the sentences, of asserting 
 that there was a quatcrrdty rather than a Trinity in the Godhead ; 
 because, beside the three persons, of whom one begat, the other 
 was begotten, and the third proceeding, he held that there was a 
 commo7i essence^ neither begetting nor begotten, nor proceeding , 
 and so was distinct from the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."* 
 
 Nothing more, respecting the Trinity, appears to have been 
 started in this dark and barbarous age of the world, immersed in 
 Romish superstition and ruled by Papal tyranny ; till Gregory 
 Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica, about the year 1334, was 
 accused of believing in two Gods, because he distinguished be- 
 tween xh& divine essc?ice, and its energy or act. Palamas was a 
 Greek, and hated by some I^atin nlonks, who determined to find, 
 or say, whatever they could against him. Men, thus happily dis- 
 posed, may possibly obtain credit among themselves ; but it must 
 
 '■ Sparai. Hist. CVr-I:jt, ssc x-iii.p. 169", Tarranzs Svi-nmc Cor?r('?, fol. 421. 
 
S72 CONCLUSION. 
 
 be through an excess of liberality indeed, if they gain any thing: 
 better than pity elsewhere. 
 
 With the much-needed reformation Came in a world of errors, 
 some of which arose from the most glaring impiety and licen- 
 tiousness. There seemed an endeavor among many, not only to 
 shake oft' those fetters which had been so long unjustly imposed 
 upon men's consciences, but to shew that men's consciences 
 were to have no bounds at all, and that the word of God himself, 
 instead of being a test for all men, was now to submit to those 
 tribunals of reason or fancy, which every man might presume he 
 had a right to set up for himself. And as most of these judges had 
 a law of their own, or made one for themselves ; it is not at all 
 miraculous, that there have been almost as many determinations, 
 as men, and that, upon this ground, no two men should have 
 thought alike. They not only invented, therefore, a thousand 
 iiev/ opinions, but industriously revived many of the old, which 
 either suited^ or, by lopping off some excrescences, might be 
 made to suit, the genius of the times. The Papists had covered 
 every thing with mystery, and crammed it down by force : In op= 
 position to all this, which was bad and impious enough, there 
 arose a set of men, who, pretending to join with the wise and 
 pious reformers, and taking advantage of the general liberty, en 
 deavored to subvert the Christian religion itself, by laying it down 
 for a principle, that all true religion was not mysterious, or that 
 there ought to be no mystery in religion, or that whatever was 
 mysterious in x'eligion was altogether wrong. This foundation 
 turns the Bible out of its place, and sets up reason, the reason 
 of every man, and consequently the different and jarring rea- 
 sons* of all men, to be the infallible judge in spiritual contro- 
 versies. Under this usurpation of reason, it is no wonder that 
 Ih^ Mosaic account of the creation, the fall of- man, the pro- 
 phetic rites of the Jews (for all their institutions had the voice 
 of prophecy), the doctrine of the trinity, the incarnation oi 
 Christ, the satisfaction and atonement of Christ, the descent of 
 the Holy Ghost, his communion with his people, and the other 
 doctrines cf the gospel dependent upon these, were altogether 
 exploded. Reason could not understand these ihuigs ; " there- 
 lore, says reason, they are false." If faith would urge, " that they 
 aye the things of God, which no man can know but the Spirit cj 
 
 God ;, reason answers," I will take no evidence but what comes 
 > 
 
 * Austin quotes from Varro, that there were no less than 288 different 
 opinions of philosophers upon o7ie single question. «* What is the sximmu-:, 
 bonum^ or ciiief good ?" JDvciii^ Dei. 1. six. c i. 
 
CONCLUSION. 373 
 
 10 my own propei* sense, and will believe the attestation of no 
 man, not even of God himself, unless the same miracles are set 
 before me, as are stated to have happened unto them." Thus 
 reason very modestly proposes that God shall continue to inter- 
 rupt the laws of nature constantly (for every man to the end of 
 time may plead this) for her satisfaction ; and then she will do 
 him the honor to believe that the Almighty can tell no lie ; but, 
 not before. She will upon this condescend to own, that possi- 
 bly He may be right in some other assertions concerning his own 
 divine nature, and that the gospel, though it may be rather mys- 
 terious to her after all, shall have leave to be credited a little in 
 the world. But as God never meant, that his gospel should be a 
 subject of depraved reason^ but of gracious faith ; there is no 
 hope, but that, as it ever hath been, so it ever will be, a stone of 
 stumbling and a rock of offence to thein^ ivho stU7nble at the word, 
 being disobedient, ivhcreunto also theij rjere afifiointed, 1 Pet. ii. 8- 
 — ^" I cannot understand all this," says reason j To which the best 
 answer is ; « it would not be true, if you could. You perfectly 
 vmderstand nothing : How then can you presume to comprehend 
 the Infinite Cause of all things ?"* 
 
 * If it be objected, that this method of disclaiming the agency of reason 
 in religiovis matters, tends to open a door to enthusiasm and all manner ot" 
 nonsense ; it may be answered liberally, that to the religion of Jesus Christ 
 there can propei"ly belong no nonsense, which is a ridiculous repugnance to 
 trruth, nor enthusiasm, which is a serious abuse of it; so that a wild profes- 
 sion is not a true one. And with respect to the use of reason, it bemg a-i 
 excellent gift of God originally periect in our nature, it is to be regardtc!, 
 though now depraved, in all things but those, which are above its powers, 
 as all divine things most certainly are ; and on these therefore it would be 
 irrational to employ it. As this objection is of much importance, it may b'; 
 worth while to give it a short consideration. 
 
 The case o/" Enthusiasm brief y stated. 
 
 That there is an intercourse upon the business of salvation between the Spi= 
 fit of God and the spirits of men, really, powerfully, and eftectually, cannot 
 be doubted or denied by those, who v/ill receive tlie authority of the follow - 
 ing scriptures among many others : 
 
 John iii. 5. vii. 39. Rom. viii. 2, 9, 11, 16, 26. Gal. iii. 14. Eph. ii. 18. 1 Pc. . 
 iv. 14. John xvi. 1-3. Rom. xiv. 17. 1 Cor. vi. 19. Titus iii. 5. 
 
 What these scriptures (which are the wise revelation of God) promise, tei ■ 
 tify, and explain, as the undoubted privilege of all real Christians, canno', 
 therefore be nonsense, nor yet what is usually understood by enthusiasm. This 
 Last term then, in its common evil sense, must be applied to something xeiy 
 different from the ^race of God or (what is the same) tiie operation of his Holj 
 Spirit, enlivening, enliglitening, and enabling the souls of his people ; or, 
 while we pass strictures upon men and their errors, we may extend our cen- 
 sures unwarily to the truth of God itself Tlie real Christian " does not only 
 believe (says Mr. Addison, who will not be suspected tor a fanciful devotee) 
 but feels there is a Deity. He has actual sensations of him ; his experiencf; 
 concurs ■with his reason , h$ sees him more and more in all his intercowses 
 with him, ay.d even in this life alnwct losea his faith in conviaion. Iiv short , 
 
374 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Reason has fled from this humiliating ground, and set up a re- 
 ligion, or rather a variety in religion, of her own. We will only 
 take the chief of those into view, which most nearly relate to the 
 subject of these essays; only premising, that all the sects, we 
 
 the person who has a firm trust on the Supreme Being" is powerful in his 
 power, wise by his wisdom, happy by Ms happiness." Sped. No. 465 and 
 441. Will any man call this enthusiasm ? 
 
 It is riglil to ask then ; What is properly enthusiasm, that dangerous evil, 
 against which we hear so loud an alarm in the world ? 
 
 It cannot be gross vice or immorality ; for, generally, vicious and immo- 
 ral people exclaim vehemently against it. Nor is it carelessness or uncon- 
 cern about salvation ; because the more Indifferent the people are in that 
 respect, the more violent is their outcry upon the matter. Is it then an en- 
 thusiasm in the pursuit of the world's pleasures, riches, and honors .'' In the 
 chace of its gaieties, parade, and professions .' Certainly not ; for this is by 
 no means an enthusiasm condemned, but, if successful especially, admired, 
 followed, and crowned with applause. Nobody puts a stigma upon people 
 v/ith these accomplishments, nor believes them to merit the odious title of 
 entlmslastic creatures, if even life, health, and substance are wholly laid out 
 upon tliese objects. 
 
 On the other hand (as we have seen) the impressions of divine grace, and 
 all their " sober certain' y of waking bliss," must be above the imputation of 
 any ill name; or God and his truth, however impossible in fact, will seem 
 to fall under condemnation. 
 
 Yet this mark of infamy is placed only upon religious professors. 'Tis a 
 something in religion which is thus branded ; and if it deserve the brand. 
 Jet it for ever wear the shame. But it can only deserve this, by being con- 
 trary to the express and written word of God. 
 
 Agreeably to this principle ; the true definition of religious entliuslasm 
 (not regarding the misapplication, but the commonly received sense, of the 
 term) may be somewhat like the following : 
 
 An elevation, conceit, effusion or inflation only of tlie human mind, under 
 t!ie impulse of v,hich it pretends to think or act in I'eligious concerns, with- 
 out having or without regarding tiie proper warrant of God's written word, 
 which, being fixed in its canon and closed in its propliecy, is now the only 
 settled rule, law, and testimony, by which all the circumstances of religion 
 are to be pro\cd and determined. 
 
 If this definition be correct, we shall find the censure of enthusiasm to fal! 
 upon two sorts of persons. First, tliose who pretend to divine inspiration, 
 while they arc only warmed by a deluded fancy, above tlie word of God and 
 keyond its sanctions : And, secondly, those %vho, rejecting- all supernatiu-al 
 aids or (what is tlie same) the particular efficacy and omnipotence of those 
 aids, arc so vain!;/ puffed up by their fleshly mind, as not to hold the head{Chvisi\ 
 for spiritual nonrishmevt or erudition, and by folloiving their o-uin spirits ven- 
 ture to intrude into those things -ivJiich they have not seen ; and therefore pro- 
 ceed -withotU the v/ord and against it. Both of these act upon the same 
 common principle, however diilerent the effect ; their own natural and corrupt 
 ed mind being ruler and guide in both. For, as tiie one sort is borne aloft, 
 by a wild and unbounded imagination, the other blindly follows a corrupt 
 and incapable reason ; which two are different powers indeed, but are how- 
 ever powers alike of the same human understanding. 
 
 Upon this view of the case then, it may appear, that the depraved energy 
 of fallen man, if it attempt divine things without assistance or without rule, 
 js urged by that arrogance or inflation of an undisciplined soul, which de- 
 serves the name, because it bears tiie nature of enthusiasm ; and consequent- 
 ly tliat those are the religious enthusiasts, wlio presume to soar above God's 
 revealed wisdom in hi$ -.vord, or wcteud lo obtain divine knowledge without 
 
CONCLUSION. 373 
 
 shall mention, pretend a regard to the scripture, so far at least as 
 it can be wrested to support their respective opinions. As to 
 those, who are such masters in reason, as to reject the Bible al- 
 together; it would be too foreign to our matter, and require too 
 long a discussion for this place, even if it had not been sufficient- 
 ly done already, which indeed it has been by Dr, Leland and by 
 several others. 
 
 Some of the German Anabaptists, among other points, thought 
 perversely of the Trinity, holding the three fiersons to be three 
 essences^ different from each other in nature, power, and glory, 
 and maintaining that their unity consisted only in that kind oi will 
 and consent of operation, which may subsist between two or three 
 kings, or did subsist among the disciples of Jesus. They also 
 held the same opinions with Marcion, Cerdon, Sec. concerning 
 the person of Christ and respecting the divinity of the Holy Spi- 
 rit. They took their composition from Arianism and the enthu- 
 siasms of some ancient heretics, and wrought it up, with some 
 •wild conceptions of their own, for a new sect or sects, to which 
 they gave a new denomination. It is right, however, to say, that 
 the northern Anabaptists in Germany, and the society called 
 Baptists in England, Avere always people of a different stamp; 
 the latter of whom arc for the most part of the same principles 
 ■with our Congregationalists or Independents, excepting in the 
 article of baptism. 
 
 About the same time with these Anabaptists, the famous Mi- 
 chael Servetus made his appearance, for the trouble and disgrace 
 of the reformation. It is an old remark ; " Where God founds a 
 church, the Devil will build a chapel." It was permitted to be 
 so in this case; and the reason of it maybe seen in 1 Cor. xi. I9> 
 The Devil chuses his instruments, for the most part, with his 
 usual sagacity : and Servetus in respect to the abilities of his 
 mind and to his literary attainments, was qualified to do honor to 
 a better patron. Like his master, he was indefatigable, and is}ent 
 to and fro in the ecrth, and -lualking nfi and down in it. He 
 
 divine teaching', and to act and determine in spiritual things by the .strength 
 of their own weak and incompetent faculties. 
 
 Nothing has been said here of diabolical impressions, because, whatever 
 they may act upon the human mind, tliey so act according to the mode of 
 its corruptions and depravities, that the result can only be the same abuse 
 or contradiction of the revealed will of God, and therefore must merit no 
 other name. 
 
 In confirmation of these sentiments, the reader is requested attentively to 
 compare the following scriptures.— Isa. viii. 20. John viii. 47- 1 John ii. 5. 
 Matth.'xxiv. 25. 1 Cor. ii. 11, &.c. ili, 16 Rph. ii 18. Phil iii .'^. 1 John iv. l'^. 
 Tude 19. Luke xxvi. 45. John xv 5. 
 
sre CONCLUSION^ 
 
 wrote much, as well as travelled much, and took uncommon 
 pains to disseminate his opinions, or rather the opinions of Paul 
 of Samosata, which he improved in their error. He opposed the 
 doctrine of the Trinity with the utmost virulence, and led the 
 way for the Socinians ; upon which account, perhaps, it is, they 
 are so exceedingly zealous to defend his reputation. Spanheim, 
 who at least was as likely to know correctly about him as they, 
 informs us, that he was homo ad omncm imfirobitatevi effictus^ 
 " a man framed for all sorts of wickedness.'** Yet this unhappy 
 man could sit down to correct proofs of a Latin Bible, printed at 
 Lyons, and to write a preface and marginal notes for it, after the 
 declaration of his principles. He went farther: for he entitled 
 one of his books, the Restitution of Christianity ,• though it tends 
 to sap the very foundation of all Christianity. With this conduct 
 he pretended to believe, that the Bible was a divine revelation : 
 and yet he wrote many things in direct contradiction to it. He 
 followed his ov/n ingenuity, which is generally allowed to have 
 been great ; and this seems to have misled him in warping the 
 scriptures to a pre-conccived system, which he maintained with 
 such an intemperance of language and heat of spirit, as certainly 
 could give neither himself nor his opinions any weight or value. 
 He was a metaphysician, and thought to comprehend by rtasow, 
 what on}y is delivered to the Church as an article oi faith. No 
 ■natural mati can endure this hidden wisdom of God (as the Apos 
 tie calls it) ; nor even allow it to be wisdom at all, because hidden 
 from him. Servetus deserves to be placed at the head of modern 
 Anti-trinitarians, and maybe esteemed the wretched martyr of a 
 bad cause. The putting him to death, however, cannot well be 
 justified, if it was adjudged only for his heterodox principles ; 
 and serves to shew in that case, that good men, left to tlie pas- 
 sions of their own corrupt hearts, are capable of doing very ill 
 things. 
 
 Soon after S^ervctus the Spaniard, Valentinus Gentilis an Ita- 
 lian, nevily vamped up the opinion of John Grammaticus or Phi- 
 loponus, and contended, in opposition to the Unitarians, that 
 there were three eternal Spirits, numerically different, and dif- 
 ferent in degree. This was Tritheism, or the opinion of three 
 Gods, wi^h a witness. Yet he found followers, and especially in 
 Poland and Transylvania. These followers, aiming to improve 
 their master's opinions carried their refinements so far, as to rc- 
 
 * C\risc. Sacr. ^nt. Lib. x. col. 1544. See to the same effect, Melch. 
 Aclam. in vit. Calvinj. p. 89 
 
CONCLUSION. sry 
 
 produce the different depjrees of Arianism and Socinianism, which 
 iVom that time to this, have so eminently edified the world in all 
 things but one — the true knowledge of God, by a life of faith and 
 communion with him. But this, according to them^ is a mere 
 error, in religion ; and, on the other hand, according to the Bi- 
 ble, all religion, which does not end in this, is mere delusion. — 
 These are wide extremes ; and the Bible must be cut up and fra- 
 nied anew, before they can be reconciled. 
 
 In this first age also of the reformation, arose the famous 
 Lselius Socinus, an Italian of family at Sienna, and his memora- 
 ble nephew Faustus. The uncle was, according to Spanheimj 
 a consociate with Bernard Ochin, with Gentilis abovementioned, 
 and several others, to the number of forty in the whole, in the 
 Venetian territory. These people being for the most part men 
 of acknowledged abilities with respect to httman attainments, set 
 up and propagated, by combining the old heresies of Paul of Sa- 
 mosata, of Photinus, of Pelagius, and in some degree of Arius, 
 a new and famous heresy, which, from the Socini its principal 
 founders, is now well known by the name of Sociniasism. From 
 their Racovian school in Poland, this error has spread itself, and 
 particularly in the countries professing Protestantism, through 
 all Europe. It is (among the pure Socinians at least) not many 
 removes from Mahomedism ; insomuch, that one Adam Neuser, 
 a German theologist of the Socinian order, openly espoused the 
 Turkish religion, was circumcised at Constantinople, and pres- 
 tsed his example upon his brethren ; which he might, not very 
 inconsistently, do ; the ground-work of the two religions being- 
 pretty much alike. For though (as it hath been observed)* not 
 one example can be produced of a Turk turning Christian^ or to 
 any other religion ; yet for a Socinian, who renounces that distin^ 
 guishing tenet of Christianity, the divinity of Christ and the Spi' 
 rit, to commence Mahometan, is rather an easy than a violent 
 transition. And there have been people among us of the Socinian 
 leaven, who have tacitly acknowledged this, by proposing a for- 
 mal renunciation of the doctrine of the Trinity, in order to win 
 the Turks, " who, (as one pleasantly says) pray five times a day 
 that they may never become Christians." Perhaps some of them 
 ■would think it rather hard, if they were obliged to pray half -so 
 often, that they might never become Turks. 
 
 After the Socini, uncle and nephew, the most considerable 
 abettors of this opinion abroad have been Ostorodfus, Crellius, 
 
 * Ives's Trav?h through Pm^sia, p. 318. 
 VOL. ir. ' Z z 
 
J/B CONCLUSION 
 
 Smalcius, VolkeJius, Conrad Vorstius, Sec. The names at hom& 
 are too numerous to be mentioned ; and it might seem likewise 
 invidious to mention them. Suffice it therefore to add, that these 
 great masters of reason have been very well answered by several 
 English and foreign divines ; among the former of whom Dr. 
 Jonathan Edwards, whose Preservative ag'ainst Socimanism might 
 be recommended to an English reader, was none of the least. 
 
 So mueh has been said about reason'm religion of late years, 
 that one would almost think, its panegyrists had mads a new 
 discovery, or that it was a new creation dropped from the clouds- 
 The whole discourse of some men, in this age, turns entirely in 
 fayouT of rational religion, as though this kind of religion was 
 either a new thing, or (what seems most likely to be the opinion 
 of its advocates) the Christian religion was never found rational 
 before. And so because the doctrines of Grace have been abused 
 by fanatics and hypocrites ; they think it impossible to go too fai' 
 into the opposite extreme: and hence they deny grace and its 
 operations all together. High encomiums are raised therefore, 
 at present, upon people of cool piety-j and moderate devotion ; 
 which terms are not to be quarrelled with, if used in a true sense : 
 but, when they are employed to cover laxness of principle and 
 formality in religion, one cannot help saying, that the piety of 
 such men is cool enough indeed, chilling cold, without warmth 
 of love either to God or man. Their devotioijs will certainly be 
 very moderate upon this ground ; and there is no sort of fear,, that 
 they should happen to be over-strained. Of this reasonable piety 
 of the age, it may be said, without breach of charity, because it is 
 a melancholy truth, that it is not founded upon the word of God, 
 nor supported by the grace of God, nor effected to the glory of 
 God; It is a religion of mere philosophy or ethics, in all respects 
 independent of, and in some contradictory to, the religion of Jesus 
 Christ. Dry and speculative both in form aiwi matter, it has no 
 principle to mend the heart, no power to influence the life. And, 
 as this is evidently, from the sentiments and practice of its pro- 
 fessors, the character of our modern rational religion ; we may 
 well wish for the ancient faith to revive again, and to resume its 
 former credit and operation in the world. 
 
 And what is this reason, of which we hear so much applause, 
 and see so little bejiefit ?— It may not be amiss to consider. 
 
 As God creates only what is good ; so reason, before the fall, 
 waspvire and perfect reason, and adequate to its proper objects, 
 Keason is that faeulty in the intellect of man, which combiiie<-- 
 
CONCLUSION. 379 
 
 i<:Ieas, and, from their combination, concludes their dae result ;: 
 and, if the ideas are certain and conclusive, the deductions will be 
 the same. This faculty in man, at its first creation, had none 
 l>ut right objects for its exercise ; and it had a perfect and true 
 power to form and collect ideas from those objects, and to obtain 
 just conclusions by them. There was then no cloud thrown over 
 the objects, and no darkness in the faculty, which was to be em- 
 ployed about them ; but they perfectly corresponded with each 
 other, and led all the powers of the soul into truth. This happy 
 state of reason consisted, not only in the purity and justness of 
 its formation, but in its constant communion with Him, who is 
 uncreated rectitude, and who carried it on consentaneously with 
 his unerring mind, and pointed it to himself as to its final object 
 or end. 
 
 Upon the fall, this beautiful scene of light, truth, and peace, 
 immediately changed. Reason now flowed from a dark, depra- 
 ved, and agitated intellect ; and, of course, her ratiocinations 
 were no longer carried on, either with God, through God, or to 
 God. Having forfeited communion with him, and, insensible of 
 the greatness of that benefit, boldly owning no assistances from 
 him; it preposterously endeavours to collect bright ideas of 
 spiritual things from a benighted world of matter, and to form 
 certain and exact conclusions of truth without correspondence 
 with the God of truth. It is so blind, that it doth not know, that 
 its faculty has lost its original certainty, and that the mind and 
 every thing about it is shut up in a darkness thai may be felt. It 
 is often at a loss upon the most trifling earthly subjects, about its 
 own powers and existence, and clashes with itself in each individ- 
 ual, and Avith its own operations in other men. All' the debates 
 and controversies in the world prove the weakness and insufficien- 
 cy, and from thence the fall, of reason. In affairs where men 
 have no other guide, and lawfully appeal to reason, they often 
 differ strangely, and rather guess at, than produce, right conclu- 
 sions. In this • humiliating condition, however, reason rejects 
 the very notion of its impotence and depravity, though proved by 
 every circumstance of natural, moral, and intellectual evil ; and 
 ventures to act from itself, concerning divine affairs, in a manner, 
 which it ought not to do, and certainly would not do, if it were 
 not depraved. All the other faculties became partakers of this 
 degeneracy of the mind. The passions and affections fell into 
 disorder, quarrelled at once with the rule of righteousness, and 
 yyith each other. They now had no system but self ; and self wa? 
 
380 CONCLUSION. 
 
 too much at variance to keep up a system. Each appetite of the 
 body, each passion of the soul, no longer adverting to the particu- 
 lar end for which it was created, the good of the whole man and 
 the Creator's glory ; sought its own immediate gratification, and 
 gave rise to those jars and conflicts, which every one feels within 
 him. But, as reason is the appointed natural guide to the attain- 
 ment of v/hatever can be possessed of this world by body or mind ; 
 each a/ifictile or fiassion makes its addresses to reason, and tempts 
 it to become its advocate, wrestles with it to prevail, and promises 
 a truce to the conflict within upon granting its terms. Hence, 
 according to the respective firedominancy of each particular af- 
 fection, enfeebled reason becomes a dupe, and warps all its con- 
 clusions to the service of the reigning tyrant within. — Thus, the 
 man, whose^rs^ appetite is awAzV/o^z, mistaking the object of true 
 and lasting glory, which is God, lays out all the powers of his rea- 
 son to subserve that ambition in the aggrandizement of self. Of 
 this Machiavel's writings give us a monstrous proof, where rea- 
 son is prostituted to work into system all the selfishness and 
 horrors of the most restless ambition. — ^Thus, the man of avo' 
 rice, having lost the knowledge of the true riches, endeavours to 
 gratify his lust of Aveahh, by forming plans to scrape up all the 
 perishing trash within his grasp upon earth. — Thus, the man of 
 shew or /i.ricfc, ignorant of the beauty of holiness or spiritual per- 
 fection, strives to satisfy his passion for ornament and splendor, 
 by devising modes to adorn a poor corruptible body, and by ad- 
 ding his share of support to the same gaudy fashions in the rest 
 of the world. — Thus, the man, whose desire turns upon curiosity 
 or knowledge (laudable as that desire is above most others), yet, 
 having none at all for true erudition or a divine tutor, pursues the 
 shadow of hqroan learning for substantial \1i9dom, and often ima- 
 gines that to be true science, which is all o/i/io.v'/io7i in itself, and 
 ■which at the best is but falsebj so called — Thus, the man of lust, 
 •who is by many degrees nearer the brutes of the creation, forget- 
 ting the chaste affection, which God gave to his nature, for his 
 own comfort, for the comfort of one amiable help-mate endeared 
 by every tie of the most unreserved society, and for the general 
 welfare and increase of mankind ; wanders, in direct opposition to 
 this elegant as well as benevolent harmony, from female to female, 
 for the indulgence of a sensuality, in which ;>oals and dogs are his 
 rivals, and in which he is scarce on a level with them. The same 
 brutal lust will prostitute the wretch'n reason to contend for thisj 
 
CONCLUSION. m 
 
 as it hath done (and with great learning too)* in bot)ks of the vi- 
 lest obscenity ; or if it cannot so far violate reason, through some 
 adventitious checks, as to constrain her, like an audacious strum- 
 pet, to justify indiscriminate or unlimited amours; it will urge 
 her to become advocate at least for some further license, than the 
 marriage oi pairs can allow. Reason may shrink for a while, and 
 plead inexfiedience^ and from thence that the practice cannot be 
 natural^ ^.x\d. then further, that, consequently, it could not be insti- 
 tuted by the God of nature : But strong lust will bring weak rea- 
 son down, and not only so, but turn the Bible itself into a shop for 
 licentious wares, and find drugs in it to provoke and stimulate ap- 
 petites, which God revealed it from Henven to correct and sub- 
 due. In this prostitution of religion, lust will proceed to com- 
 pel reason to urge, from the condemned hardness of some men's 
 heartSf or from an ancient practice which doth not apply to any 
 Christian society in the world, the establishment of a commerce, 
 which would overturn and dissolve all religious, civil, and do- 
 mestic oeconomies, and, from a masked battery, let loose the 
 rakes of the earth, like Romans upon Sabines, to reduce the worth 
 and comfort, or to make a prey of woman-kind.f Lust, the vilest 
 lust, shall be the spur and the spring of these excogitations ; 
 while reason and the scripture shall be dragged forth, like two 
 pimps, to procure for or defend emotions, with which reason (de- 
 praved as she is) has nothing to do, and which the scripture, un- 
 
 tortured, in the very end and design of it, expressly condemns 
 
 Thus, also, the Atheist having lost sight of God, suborns his rea- 
 son to deny his very being, and, like the ostrich hiding his head in 
 
 * The atithor is sorry to stain his page, in evidence of this assertion, with 
 the names of Peter Arctin, Sanchez the Jesuit, and the truly infamous 
 Adrian Beverland ; all men of fine parts and learning, but who abused them 
 (like the wits of Charles the second's court) to tlie most brutal and indecent 
 purposes. 
 
 f Bernard Ochin was the first Protestant, who wrote in defence of Polyga. 
 my, and was well answered by Beza. In the last century, several authors 
 a.ppeared to justify this practice, both in Germany and England, some 
 anonymously, and others under fictitious names, who were answered abroad 
 by the elder Spanheim in his Dubia Evanrr-elica, Vol. II. by Johajines Musxur., 
 in a Latin dissertation ; by Walter Schluter, chaplain to the king of Den- 
 mark, in the German tongue ; and by the learned professor Meyer, in his 
 book de uxore Christiana, which Spanheim the son highly commends in his 
 Theol. Oper. P. ii, col. 1006. Putting religion out of the question, Sallust, 
 an Heatlien historian, lewd as he was, gives, in his concise style, sufficient, 
 argument against the practice from reason alone. Speaking of the Polyga. 
 my, which obtained amongst the ancient Moors and Numidians, he adds. 
 Singuli pro opibus, quisque quamplurimas uxores ; denas alii, alii plures 
 habent ; sed reges eo amplius. Ita animus multitudine distvahiUir • imltarr. 
 pro soda obtjnet : pariter Qmnis w'*" sunt Bclh Jugurth. 
 
382 CONCLUSION. 
 
 a bush, fancies that, because he cannot see his Maker, his Maker 
 doth not behold him. One might enumerate many other particu- 
 lars, in which men argue from or for their vices ; and, because 
 reason is corrupted and employed in their aid, they very correct 
 lycall the clamors of their passions and appetites the voice ol rea- 
 son ilself. — From all \his, we may see what reason is, in our pre- 
 sent fallen state ; that, instead of being luminous as at first, it is 
 «lark and degraded ; and, instead of being free to command all 
 righteousness to the animal frame, it is become a slave to those 
 mean and sordid appetites, which sin corrupted, and which, for 
 sin, must perish in the grave. From hence too we may see one 
 great cause of all human error even upon the natural objects, and 
 ivhat mistakes must necessarily arise, when this principle is suffer- 
 ed to come in, as a rule or criterion in spiritual things. Surely, that, 
 Avhichis now become a false medium for vision, is very ill quali- 
 fied to correct our sight. Who could have believed, but for the 
 existence of the fact, that this glass of reason should have refrac- 
 ted suck different colours as Socinianism, Arianism, Tritheism, 
 Sabeliianism, and Deism, from the same ray of pure and uncor- 
 rupted light? And yet this is the case; as perhaps the following 
 -onsiderations may shew. 
 
 The principal ground, for instance, of the Socinian error con- 
 sists in this one point — the submitting of the Bible to what they 
 suppose to be reason, instead of submitting this reason to the 
 vevelation of God in the Bible. In this respect, they are but one 
 ycmove from the Deists, who, from the pretended dictates of this 
 imperfect and depraved principle, reject all revelation together. 
 The Socinians act a more uncandid and inconsistent part ; for, 
 "ivhile they profess to receive the Bible as the truth of God, they 
 reject those most distinguishing principles, on which the whole oi 
 the Bible stands, and without which it is indeed that composition 
 of absurdities, which it is for the interest of some men that it 
 should be. To say, that the Bible is the truth of God, which 
 must be certitude itself as such, and yet to deny its peculiar doc- 
 trines, because poor fallible worms cannot measure or bring them 
 down to the full comprehension of their faculties ; is a bold con- 
 tradiction in itscif, and just as absurd as the conduct of that man 
 ■would be, who should refuse to receive food as food, merely be- 
 cause he cannot explain how it is so. If reason could explain any 
 one thing in the world, there might be the more pretence for all this 
 ivisdom above what is ivritten : But as no man can unravel the 
 multiform mysteries in nature, and yet allows their existence : 
 
CONCLUSION. 3»3 
 
 it becomes the more inexcusable in any, who receive God's word 
 as suchy to quarrel with its doctrines, only because their little 
 limited reason cannot define them. Their reason.^ in this place, 
 dwindles into ofiinion, because the objects are out of its reach ; and 
 stand in the same predicament with those conjectures of philo- 
 sophers who form kingdoms in the moon, and raise states and 
 empires in all the planetary worlds about them. Christianity ha* 
 indeed but very little obligation to many of those divines, who, 
 "under color of making the religion of Jesus Christ (what they 
 are pleased to term) reasonable, have given up the most essential 
 doctrines of that religion, purely because their reason could not 
 account for them, forgetting, that the objects of faith cannot be the 
 objects of reason, and consequently not subject to reason. One 
 should have thought, that the first question to be asked by these 
 cogent reasoners would have been ; " Hath God said this ? Is 
 this his truth ?" — If it be so (as most of them have conceded) ; 
 there is an end of all controversy, and there should be an end oi 
 all doubt ; because God cannot lie. — If it be not so ; then, again, 
 there is at once an end of the whole matter ; for all the mere rea- 
 sonings in the world cannot prove the Bible to be true, and for thi;5 
 plain reason ; because all the doctrinal parts of it, relating to 
 God and the world of Spirits, are not the invention nor the pre- 
 sent objects of the reasoning faculty. A snail or a fly might ai 
 justly commence mathematician, pretend to writedown the order 
 of things in the universe, and dictate lectures of instruction to the 
 intellect of man. 
 What have been i\\Q effects of this potent reason in the Socinl- 
 
 an world ? A train of doctrines, which invalidate all revelatior. 
 
 They have passed a rubicon (as one expresses it) and may dispute 
 either for the Talmud or Koran.* In the first place, they will 
 not allow, that God has given a true account oi himself, nor o'- 
 Christ, wov oi man, not oi Heaven, nov oi Hell. For, they deny, 
 that there are persons in the Godhead, and assert that othcb 
 beings may properly have the name of Jehovah ; though God sayt; 
 
 * Huls. Tlieol. Jud. in prxf. See also, concerning the Socinian practices 
 avid opinions, Jones's Letter to tlie common People, annexed to his 3d edition 
 of The Catlholic Doctrine of a Tri?iitif ,- a book, which cannot be too much 
 difiased or read by the common people at this time, when all sorts of errors, 
 both religious and political, have been employed, with art and strength 
 united, to overturn the constitution both in Church and State. It is the in- 
 terest even of all so?i7id dissenters to oppose schemes and endeavors, which 
 tire altogether formed against the very foundations of Christianit)-, and, 
 under the pretence of universal liberty, cait only introduce universal lice:.- 
 iioiisness and infidelity. 
 
3«4 CONCLUSION. 
 
 /lis name only is Jehovah, and hath declared a plurality in his es- 
 sence. They maintain, that Christ was a mere man, without any 
 existence before the Virgin Mary ; though Christ himself says^ 
 that he had the glory with the Father before the ivorld was. — ■ 
 From this daring blasphemy against his person arise twenty other 
 impious dogmas concerning his work, which they assert to be 
 merely human, without any satisfaction for sin, without any merit 
 for righteousness, or without any other consequence than as a 
 mere pattern, like the example of any other moral man. Their 
 philosophy too allows the strange opinion, that souls sleep in the 
 dust, perhaps die with the body ; and rise again (if evil) not to be 
 tormented for ever, but for a space of time proportionate to its 
 sin. Thus they have invented a method of quenching what 
 Christ calls unquenchable and everlasting fire, and of putting 
 an end to that gnawing worm, which he declares shall never 
 die. Lastly, they roundly affirm, that the Holy Spirit is no per- 
 son, and consequently not God. Sometimes they inform us, 
 that he is the gosfiel itself, in which they concur with the Antino- 
 mians ; or at best, some accidental gift, or virtue, or emanation 
 from the Deity, for some particular purpose, which being ac- 
 complished, it ceases to be. Those of them, who do allow the 
 Holy Spirit to be a person (for these masters of reason differ 
 wonderfully in their very correct reasonings upon this subject,) 
 affirm however, that he is a mere creature, of a nature hetero- 
 geneous to the divine, a prince of the Angels, or the whole mass 
 of angelic spirits together. How reason discovered all this, it is 
 hard to conceive ; but with some any thing will do, which may 
 degrade the eternal Spirit from his proper divinity. After such 
 elear accounts respecting his person, his offices in the Bible are, 
 without doubt, most exactly handled. Accordingly, they inform 
 as, that original sin and grace, and election and justification, and 
 sanctification, are a parcel of wild chimeras fit only for madmen 
 snd fools. Hence, the comforts of the Spirit, promised in scrip- 
 ture, and many other spiritual blessings to be received even in 
 this world, are all o/dw'Tyes'/afi/es, fit for the entertainment of su- 
 perstitious heads, but by no means of such sagacious and profound 
 reasoners as themselves. In fine, they would reason the word 
 of God out of its own truths, the people of God out of all their 
 hopes and comforts, and themselves out of any claim to Heaven 
 but by their own rational virtues, which they talk a vast deal 
 z^bout, but which neither they nor any body else, by human pow- 
 er, can truly and properly perform. To add no more upon this 
 
CONCLUSION, 38 S 
 
 jiead, tht; whole Socinian hypothesis, both in matter and con- 
 duct, is diametrically opposite to that comprehensive plan, which 
 the Apostle has laid down in the first Epistle to the Corinthians, 
 beginning with the 17th verse of the first chapter, and ending with 
 the last verse of chapter the third. They, who follow Socinus and 
 h.is reasoners, must reject the Apostle ; and they, who credit the 
 Apostle, must give up Socinus and them. — A man, who feels 
 any concern for the salvation of his soul, will not hesitate which 
 to chuse for his company ; and especially when he finds that God, 
 and Christ, Prophets and Apostles, with all the blessed above, 
 are in perfect harmony and conjunction with St. PauL 
 
 It is this pretended light of reason, exercised out of place upon 
 the objects of faith, which has occasioned or revived most of the 
 heresies in the world, and which has misled multitudes of other- 
 wise respectable men into every contrariety of error. The not 
 considering, that our reasoning powers 2CiC fallen fioivers^ degen- 
 erated and corrupt, as the scripture testifies, and as (one would 
 think) the proudest heart must feel; is the grand root of all the 
 confusion. Either our reason is depraved; and so we cannot 
 judge properly upon divine things, as God tells us we cannot, 
 and as X.\\e difference of our judgments proves to a demonstra" 
 tion : or, it is not depraved; and then the whole Bible prO' 
 ceeds upon a false hypothesis, has nothing to do with usj nor we 
 with it. We are then wise for ourselves, and renounce all reve- 
 lation from God. It is of no importance, in the former case, to 
 urge the learning or attainments which our faculties may ac- 
 quire, unless it could be proved, that these advantages can dis- 
 cover to us, without the risque of any important mistake, how we 
 may renew the soul and restore it to its lost perfection; and then 
 likewise we viitually set aside the use and necessity of a divine 
 revelation. But this discovery is beyond the reach of art; for, 
 as it was said by Cicero, there is no opinion so absurd, but which 
 has been espoused by some philosopher; so we can prove, that 
 there is no heresy so blasphemous, no doctrine so mischievous 
 or contradictory, but which has been supported by some learjied 
 man. The higher the cojiccit of knowledge, the greater has 
 been the dangeroiGvvow Men of moderate pans, or attainments, 
 are afraid to venture with those, 
 
 Who nobly take the high Priori road. 
 
 And reason downward till they doubt of God. — Pope. 
 
 Ordinary men, like ordinary horses, are preserved from tnaking; 
 VOL. n, A a n 
 
o86 CONCLUSION. 
 
 buch bold leap^, as risk every thing and gain nothing. The great 
 wits, who soar the highest, are they who meet with the most des- 
 perate falls. Providence seems to have permitted this on pur- 
 pose to sliew the world, that by all its wisdom it never knew God, 
 antlby all its learning it cannot explore the truths of God. And 
 this facts confirms loudly that voice of the scripture, where if 
 declares, that the natural man rccciveth 7iot the things of the 
 S/!irit of God, ^for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he 
 knonv them., because they arc spiritually discerned. — What then 
 can be thought of tliat principle, whicli calls God's wisdom folly 
 and which pretends, therefore, to be its own infallible guide ? — 
 Men may call it reason., if they please, or any thing else ; but, let 
 it be denominated or adorned as it may, certainly it will one day 
 be found to deserve a very different name. 
 
 The Arian gets upon the same reasoning ground with the So- 
 cinian, Lalitudinarian, and Deist, when, instead of implicitly be- 
 lieving the record of God, he begins to argue only from his own 
 understanding upon it. He joins with them to make a demand, 
 iike Nicodemus, How can these things be ? When reason can 
 settle the theory of the 7vind, which is an invisible though matc» 
 rial substance ; it may have advanced a step towards the knovi ~ 
 ledge of something higher; till it does this it must be content to 
 be a learner, even in the masters of Israel. It is not wonderful 
 then, that the Arian, like all other people, cannot conceive, how 
 the three divine persons can be one Godhead or essence, nor how 
 entitled to the same acts of worship, as can be proved to be given 
 them in the Bible, both in doctrine and example. Rather than 
 submit to this evidence, he boldly reasons about it from thing? 
 human to things divine : and, because a human son is inferior to 
 his father, and was begotten by him at a certain point of time, he 
 very positively concludes that it cannot be otherwise with the 
 Godhead. As to the Holy Ghost he is very much at a loss, wha*^ 
 to do with him. Sometimes he is almost ready to think him a 
 sort of a little God, made by the plastic pov.er of the Father, or 
 perhaps by the joint help of the Father and the Son; and some- 
 times he will very roundly insist upon it, that he is nothing bu' 
 the plastic power itself, very handsomely dividing God from his 
 own energy. He gets into his own reason, will see the ground 
 of all things by that faculty, or will believe nothing. God's tes 
 timony. indeed, if it can seem at any rate to chime in with hi^ 
 own notions, will do very well; but set them at variance, which 
 may easily be done, and it will presently be seen that our Ariap 
 
COKXLUSION. 387 
 
 is only a concealed idolater, not worshipping the God of the 
 scriptures, but rather the device or fabrication of his own reason. 
 Can the Arminian be acquitted in this view ; and is not he too 
 far enlisted (perhaps unexpectedly to himself) under the same 
 banner? He may and dolh hold the theory of the Trinity rightly 
 enough ; but if he be examined upon the ej^ect and ofierarions of 
 the second and third persons, he appears, in the mode of its 
 maintenance, too much upon a bottoiu with the Arian. He is 
 speculatively right, and practically wrong. lie will deny, for 
 instance, the fiarticular effect of Christ's redemption, in fierfect' 
 ly atoning for the sins oihis ovjn people, in completcJy investint^ 
 them with his righteousness, and in thus giving them an unalien- 
 able title to glory. And is not this a violation of his divine sovC' 
 reignty as King over Israel ? — He limits also the omnijiotent effi- 
 cacy of the Holy Spirit in those communications of grace, by 
 vhich he is the firsts the so/e, and the sovereign agent vi the re- 
 deemed (as Christ was for the redeemed) and by which he abso- 
 lutely and finally secures them to life everlasting. And doth not 
 this seem an impeachment of his divinity as Lord oveu all?* If 
 it be enquired of him. How he can boldly reject or torture a 
 thousand passages of scripture, which directly speak for these 
 points or naturally proceed from them ; he flies off in a tangent 
 to his reaso7i. He will urge, that he cannot conceive, how God,, 
 consistently with such and such attributes (the ideas of which 
 are the offspring of his own brain) can act in this and that man' 
 iier ; that it is not reasonable to believe so ; and that, therefore^ it 
 i-ftust be otherwise. In doing this he has left tiiC plain testimo- 
 nies of the Bible, and taken up the common rubierfuge of all 
 heretics, human, corru/itedy miserable^ reason. He will wind 
 and turn some texts of the Bible, it maybe, in order to favor his 
 Tational scheme ; but this scheme being already formed, and this 
 
 • The author, wishing to treat this point with the utmost tenderness con- 
 sistently with trutl), would thereRtre beg- any candid Arminian to consider, 
 liow tor the causative svpremacv, inscpai-able from divinity, can be reconci- 
 led with that dependent or consequent activity, which his principles necessa- 
 rily lead him to adopt, respecting the work of the Son and Holy Ghost in 
 ihe salvation, of sinners. He may also reflect, how it is possible that ei- 
 ther of these divine persons can be disappointed in their ofBce of grace, con- 
 .■sistently with their divinitv, and how far the maintenance of such an opinion 
 necessarily derogates from the wisdom and omnipotence, from the truth and 
 faithfulness, of these glorious persons, and from the order, beavty, and con- 
 .-!w?imn«07» of all their works both in grace and n.ature. These things well 
 «ligested may prove, that the charge, severe as it seems in -vordv, is Jiot en- 
 vj'-ely unfounded in very deed. 
 
388 CONCLUSION, 
 
 liypothesis being Jireviuusly laid clown, t/iose autliorilles iiom 
 God are not treated as principals, but only as accidental auxilia- 
 vies to his own natural understanding. He examines the counsels 
 of God by his own rule ; and, tliough the pre-conceived opinions 
 of his o=ivn mind are not to be reconciled with the harmony and 
 general purport of the divine declarations, he persists to follow 
 the one against the other, and to represent the will, power, and 
 covenanted truth of the Almighty, as truckling to the will, pow- 
 er, and contingent inclinations of feeble and sinful creatures.* 
 
 Thus the ground of all errors in divinity, various and contra- 
 dictory as they are and must be among themselves, appears to be 
 in the dcjiravity of reason. People differ upon all subjects, where 
 they employ their reason, to a proverb ; and it will be more ii; 
 vain, under such a guide, to expect universal agreement, than 
 it was by the Emperor diaries V. in his retirement, that his 
 great nu»inber of clocks, which he strove to regulate for that end, 
 should all continue to strike together in the same moment o*^ 
 time. The trutli is, God nicde man iijiright^ but he hath sinzr 
 
 followed, as \,vell as sought out many iiiventions some of hi?. 
 
 own, and some even worse than his own the Devil's. Were 
 
 reason pure, as in its (irst estate; it would be perfect and con 
 cordant in all its conclusions. All men would think alif:e, in such 
 u state of perfeciiorj ; but the difference in the faculty demonstra- 
 bly proves, and upon fact, its own imficrfection. But for the 
 iall, there would have been no occasion for a divine revelation, 
 which is founded upon this grand principle, " that undone mor- 
 
 * It ought to be noted with candor, t]);it there rtve mr.ny good nxn incli- 
 ned to the Arniinian principles, who, as good men, do certainly (thoug-li 
 perhaps not obviously to themselves) live much above them. There arc. 
 f.trange as it may seem, many Arminians m theory, who are perfect Calvinistf; 
 in practice and experience. Iking them upon tlieir knees before God, Ihey 
 will ask, like [lis children, in the deepest confession of their own v.-eakness., 
 helplessness, and wants : Sel diem to speak from their own htorts-, theii 
 voice will be the voice of Jacob : But if their haiub arc to pass examina- 
 tion, they become hunters at once like Es.iu, and wander Ircm the BJbif^ 
 and the blessing into the mazes of reason and opinion. 
 
 On the other liand, it is equally fair to note, that th^^re are Calvinists in 
 principle, denying the liberty of the human will, who yet are seeking no- 
 ihing in the world but the liberty or licentiousness of that will. Such are 
 ^{reewlUers, in the worst sense. In their fietu'x, they understand that grace 
 is free ; but, in their heart.'-, they know not the freedom of grace. 'I'hey will 
 talk soundly oi Christ, .ind the r-i[)irit, and salvation ; und feel, at the same 
 time, no more for their power, tlian if they v.ere fancies or dreams. These 
 are but mere reasouers in their way, and differ only fi-om others in this re- 
 spect, the one speculating tw7A and accorditi^ to the IJible, and the othci 
 ■,i,lthout or contrdry to the Bible. It is a solemn and .iwful truth to add, that 
 Kxich men are farther from the real possaaion of the gospel in its life snd 
 
 Y^iowcr, th.an pe:-UaT')s all the other tribes of rcason^rs put together. 
 , - - •■ 
 
CONCLUSION. 389 
 
 tals are without saving truth, and cannot obtain it by any other 
 channel." The gift of the Bible demonstrates the error of man ; 
 and its light ex plains his darkness. It demonstrates too, that his 
 benighted reason, ignorant and perplexed upon lower objects, 
 can never by arguments drawn from itself, conduct him to those 
 sublime truths which relate to God. All experience justifies this 
 doctrine. The wisest heathens knew nothing truly or certainly 
 of God : they confessed him indeed to be nnknoivn : the best of 
 them lived in perplexity, and all of them died in doubt. It was 
 reserved for the book of God, to enlighten the doctrine of im- 
 mortality, and to give the most convincing evidences for grace 
 and glory thi-ough Jesus Christ. 
 
 Truth, in all things, should be the chief concern of man. In 
 spiritual things, above all, it is of infinite and everlasting impor- 
 tance. And who can comprehend spiiilual things, but he, who is, 
 in some measure spiritual ? And v/ho can enable a man, by na- 
 ture carnal, sold under si/!, to become thus spiritual, but the au- 
 thor and God of spirits himself? God gives to man both discern- 
 -iient and objects to discern. If He speak, He speaks nothing but 
 everlasting truth : And if He give to man the faculty to hear, 
 man v/ill hear nothing from him but this truth. It is the sum- 
 mit of human wisdom then to yield implicit confidence to God. 
 We know, that we ourselves can err and be deceived ; for we err 
 daily. But if God cannot mistake nor delude ; what may that 
 bold creature be called, who rejects the connsel of God against 
 I'nmself, and because he cannot scrutinize the understanding and 
 conduct of the Most High, resolves to fo^llow none but his own ? 
 "" Teach my best reason, reason," was the language of an ingc • 
 nious man ; and it should be the humble language of every man, 
 m his approaches to God, or to the things of God.* The Bible 
 was delivered for this end ; and when a man has grace to under- 
 stand that blessed book, he possesses a demonstration of truth in 
 it, which all the petty sophistries of human wit are unable to puz 
 sle or confound. He has an wider standing, nvhlch is true, and ir. 
 in him,w/io is doth true and the truth itself; and he is led to know 
 eventually according to the promise, that (he doctrine is of God, 
 and that God teacheth it to man. John vii. 17. Is. liv. L". 
 
 If the preceding essays shall be blessed to promote this happv 
 effect in but one believer, or to dispel any of his doubts upon the 
 
 * Idem qui Th£olo^i£ est Axictor, fjuo est objeclum etfuiis cine iiUa cnrsarvm 
 canfusione ; adeo ut Theologix defmiri possit — Sapientia a Deo, de Deo, pc 
 Ileum ad Deum. Ramburtii Tlicscs iii Thes. Sedan Vol. ii p. IT- 
 
390 CONCLUSION. 
 
 glorious subject to which they relate, and much more if they are 
 honored by him, of whose essential glory they treat, to produce 
 any solid benefit to the Church of God ; the author will have at- 
 tained his utmost end. He abhors all earthly advantages in this 
 matter, and believes, it would be almost a sacrilege in him, as a 
 layman, to receive any. Content with his humble station and re- 
 tirement, and satisfied that it is enough for a pi/ffrim and stranger 
 iifion earth ; he possesses no ambition but that, v/hich, he hopes 
 v/ithout pride, is above tlie glare and tinsel of this mortal life, or 
 at least above all sordid means to attain them. He believes, that 
 exalted stations may rather be pitied for their snares, and despi- 
 sed for their aims, than solicited for any real advantages to body 
 or mind.* As for human glory, it will easily be granted, that, 
 rhis is a wrong road to its attainment, if it were truly desirable ; 
 but the author has seen too much of men, cither extremely to va- 
 lue or to wish for it.f Human praise is mere breath in the bcgin- 
 
 " Vv'lio can ix-adtlie inortified declaration of a man, who was raised to the 
 hi(,diest rank lliat a subject can enjoy, without a reflection upon the vanity 
 of human greatness ? After Dr. Tillolson became Archbishop of Canterbury, 
 he left this acknowledgement behind him in his Common-place Book. " I 
 doubt it will prove a melancholy business when a man conses to die, to have 
 made a great noise and bustle in tlie world, and to have been known far and 
 near, but all this wJiile to Iiave been hid and concealed from himself. It 
 is a very odd and fantastical sort of life, for a man to be continuaily from 
 home, and most of all a stranger at his own house. It is surely an uneasy 
 tiling to sit always in a frame, and to be perpetually upon a man's guard, not 
 to be able to speak a careless word, or to use a negligent posture, without 
 observation and censure. Men are apt to think, that they M'ho are iji the 
 highest places, and have the most power, have most liberty to say and do 
 \'.hat tliey please ; but it is quite otherwise, for they have the least liberty, 
 because they arc most observed. It is not mine own observation ; a much 
 wiser man, I mean TuUy, sajs, in maxima quaque fortuna minimum licere . 
 " They, t'nat are in the highest and greatest condition, havf, of all others, 
 the least liberty." To v.hich his biographer adds,, " All these and many 
 mor£ are the evils, wliich attend greatness : but wliat will not mortals un- 
 dergo, and what real goods will tiiey not sacrifice, for the sake of gratifj-ing 
 van'iiv ?" Bio^r. Di.cL\o\. xi. P. 179. To the same effect is the confession 
 :dso of a layman of the higiiest official dignity. Lord Bacon, tlie chancel- 
 lor, declares, that " men in gre.at place are thrice servants : Servants of the 
 sovcrci^i or state, .servants o'i fame, and servants of bunimns. So as they 
 have no freedom, either in tlieir persons, in their uctwris, oi- in their times. It 
 is a strange desire to seek po~irer, and to lose liberti/ : or to seek power over 
 ot/iers, and to lose i»ower over a man's self. Tlie rising into place is hibo- 
 rious ; and by pains men come to greater pains." Essays, s xi. These are 
 not the declarations of mere philosophers, nor the splenetic and sour effu- 
 «ions of disappoiated courtiers, bat tlie sober experience of persons, wlio hatl 
 attained the* summit of Jirabition in their respective professions, and whose 
 underst.'-ndlngs are beyond all question. The late Lord Chesterfield could 
 talk of beir;g " sated with t!:e pompous follies of life ;" but these, with minds 
 of a superior form, seemed perfectly disgusted v.'ith them. 
 
 j SapieJiiia divir.a—7ion pendens ex hmnimm judiciis, animos Ben admovet, 
 cb Qtiempati contiar.elias honestmn est dehonestamentum, & opprobrium splauU- 
 diuc onni hi.mar.a p-loria. Moi.ix.eus dc laud. Thgol f . 35. 
 
CONCLUSION'. 39j 
 
 ning, has but a short date, and then drops into everlasting obli- 
 vion. — To say no more upon so mean a subject as himself, the au- 
 thor will only add, that he believes he can be well satisfied, if he 
 never knows of any profit which God may in this instance vouch-» 
 safe by him to others, or if he be never known himself as the in- 
 strument of it, till the perfect consummation of the just. That 
 knowledge then will not hurt him, through the natural vanity 
 which now cleaves inseparably in this life to all men, but serve 
 only to heighten his gratitude, and wonder, and praise, that, out 
 of the mouths of babes and sucklings, God should have been plea- 
 sed to ordain the least display of his strength. 
 
 And now, reader, upon the close of this work, or of thy peru- 
 sing it, it may not be amiss to ask thyself, " What is the result of 
 all these things ? Are the proofs and authorities collected from 
 the scriptures sufficient to satisfy my mind in this important arti- 
 cle of the Spirit's divinity ? Have I obtained clearer vieius, and been 
 led to a closer ex/ierience of the truth in this matter than ever be- 
 fore ?" If thou hast ; bless God, and pray, that these happy effects 
 may be encreased more and more, to his glory and thy edification. 
 But linot, and yet if it be thy wish only to obtain them ; there is 
 one way in which thou shalt never err, and one mode of study, in 
 which thou shalt never be mistaken. Take the Bible constantly 
 into hand, meditate thereon upon all convenient opportunities, 
 and above all iiray over it, as a poor, blind, and helpless sinner, 
 that God may teach thee his mind and will in that book, and ex- 
 plain to thy understanding all the truths necessary to salvation. 
 If thou hast grace to do this, and grace to persevere in doing it; 
 thy doubts shall gradually vanish, many present difficulties shall be 
 satisfactorily answered, many obscunties happily enlightened, and 
 {what will amount to an argument of fact to thy soul) such com- 
 forts, assistances, and mercies shall flow into thy heart, as shall 
 crown every doctrine of salvation with its own proper experience, 
 and give thee to taste, handle, a7id enjoxj the toord of Ufc Then 
 it will cease to be a barren, naked speculation for the head ; but 
 it will become food, strength, and consolation to thy very souJ- 
 Thou wilt then perceive, that the glorious liberty of the children 
 of God, is neither noise nor nonsense, neither whim nor notion, 
 but a solid inheritance, and a wise as well as most enduring joy. 
 Thou wilt have a sensible and spiritual experience, that the Holy 
 fallacy elsewhere ; is it possible, there should be any here ! Is it 
 
392 CONCLUSION. 
 
 S/urii h indeed God the S/iirit, givincj thee that fulness of tire 
 blessing of the gos/iel of Christ, which no creature can give, and 
 leading thee on to those sure mercies., which by Jehovah only can 
 be enjoyed.* 
 
 On the otlicr hand, if, wiser than the author of all wisdom in 
 thine own conceit, thou canst venture to impeach his veracity, oi' 
 to question his account of his own being, and, in consequence of 
 this, will presume to scan him by thy reason, and to measure his 
 ■\vord by thine own understanding ; thoumayest be left, like thou- 
 sands before thee, to this poor scanty reason and understanding, 
 which never did and never can find out God nor his truths, and 
 mayest wander on as Heathens in all ages have done, without light, 
 without hope, and without certainty in any tiling. A void, an 
 endless void, dark and inscrutable, will always meet thy views; 
 und thou must take, in a short time, a dreadful plunge, into what 
 no air of confidence can make less abhorrent to thy soul. And 
 can it be thought, that a gloom so hateful can proceed from Him, 
 who created all light botli intellectual and natural, and who is light 
 essential in himself? Is this the best conclusion of human reason, 
 (if that can deserve the name of a conclusion which is involved in 
 the deepest doubt,) which leads thee only to the insupportable re- 
 flection, that thou hast a being without knowing any just or cer- 
 tain end of that being ? And doth not all this speak to thy heart, 
 that a principle, which determines in so dark, so horrid a result, 
 must necessarily be abominable in itself, be destitute of all beau- 
 ty, use, or truth, and be wide also from Him, who could not but 
 
 create all things for these sublime purposes ? Admitting only 
 
 for a moment, that the Christian may be mistaken, and that the 
 whole of God's revelation is an empty fable ; is not that a most 
 wonderful delusion, which can impart comfort in all the exigen- 
 cies of life, and animate the throbbing heart with unutterable 
 transports in the extremities of death ? Whatever there be of 
 
 ' Bishop StiUingf.eet excellently says ; " Christ crudfed is the library 
 which triumphant souls will be sludyini? in to all eternity. This is tlie on- 
 ly library, which is the true tetrpetov i/'f;^;?;?, that which cures the soul 
 of all its maladies and distempers : Other knowledge makes men's minds 
 jiddy and flatulent ; this settles, and composes them : Other knowledg'e is 
 apt to swell men into liigli conceits and opinions of themselves , tliis brings 
 them to the truest view of themselves, and tlicreby to humility and sobrie- 
 ty : Other knov. ledge leaves men's hearts, as it found them ; this altera 
 thcni, and makes them better. So transcendent an excellency is there ia 
 the knowledge of Christ cntcijlcd above thi sublhnest ■•'ij'^nih^ti'jm in tU'i 
 ,voi-M!" Origineo fiacvx. Book iti. c. ^. 
 
CONCLUSION. 39j5 
 
 not even sense and enjoyment, which all men desire, and against 
 which there is no arguing ?■— On the contrary, view the bold and 
 t^oasting reasoner. If he think at all upon the subject ; it must 
 be, either to feed his vanity by shewing his talents, or to make 
 himself and others miserable by making this vastly wise and pro- 
 fitable discovery, that nothing can be found at all certain either in 
 life, death, or eternity. A man, who proceeds upon his own pow- 
 ers, has but this object or this conclusion. For the proof of thisj 
 read the writings of such men. They abound in the most labored 
 reasonings on these topics, and are set off with all the force and 
 elegance of composition. They will give the matter an air of 
 plausibility : it shall run very smooth ; and it shall sound incom- 
 parably well ; but there is a dreadful dryness running through the 
 whole, and a coldness, very shining perhaps, but shining like ths 
 moon in a frosty nighty which leaves all things as barren and drea- 
 ry as they were before. No ; God's truth alone can claim the 
 honor of being comfortably true for eter7iity. And that is the 
 kind of truth, which man's nature wantsj or which leads to the pro- 
 per end of man. All atheistical, deistical, and other speculations, 
 founded upon human reason, are not only dark, intricate, and per- 
 plexed, but leave the man just as wfserad^c as they found him- 
 On the other hand, if the Christian is not and cannot be mistaken, 
 in his trust upon God ; if the Bible shall be owned at last for^a 
 divine revelation; if the testimonies of holy men in all ages will 
 at length be proved fully authentic : tvhcre^ it may be asked, shall 
 those bold worms apfiear., who could find out nothing by them- 
 selves that was true ybr etei-nity^ and yet could reject what had 
 every evidence of eternal troth, which 27s nature or their nature 
 could justly demand ; and who destitute of all comfort in the 
 knowledge they pretended to find, renounced the peace of God 
 proposed in his word;; because it surpassed their lovj understand' 
 ing, though it could not have been God's peace if it had not ? If 
 such be their wisdom, is it not a most dangerous wisdom to them" 
 selves, and a most unprofitable one to any beside ? — Either way^ 
 it is certain, the Christian is safe and will be no loser; v/hile the 
 infidel can get nothing before him, if even his notions could be 
 true : whereas, being found false, annihilation will become his de- 
 sirable gain ; if that can be called ,§"orn, which is nothing in itseff 
 and brings a man to nothing. 
 
 But the re';! Ci^.ristian i;: not dragged, like tlie (^y\\ Spirit in tKc 
 
 VOL, TT, R b I^ 
 
'o9A CONCLUSION'. 
 
 gospel, through dry filaccs, seeking rest and finding none : iic 
 is privileged to enjoy the refreshing dew from abovcj and both to 
 believe and know ivhom he hath believed. He credits God's re- 
 velation of /lis divine nature, and lie receives God's testimony con- 
 cerning his own ; and in believing he finds an admirable suitable- 
 7iess between God's declaration and those spiritual wants, for the 
 accommodation of which that declaration was given. He sees, 
 that the word witnesses of the Spirit who gave it ; and he feels, 
 that the Spirit witnesses the truth of his own word. He has a 
 testimony without him. in which thousands of evidences have con' 
 curred ; ai;d a testimony luithin him, which likewise nas been con- 
 firmed by the concurrent experience of thousands, in rUl ages and 
 countries of the world. He sees, he knows, he enjoys, the truth. 
 He does not speculate, like an astronomer gazing after a distant 
 star, which he can never reach; but he perceives a light shining 
 into a dqrkjilace, the datsning of the day, and the rising of the true 
 day'Star, n;- sun of righteousness in his heart. It glimmered 
 first ; then broke forth illubtrious : And his /lath shall shine more 
 find more to the perfect everlasting day in his soul. What joy is 
 it to perceive this, even now, in a body of peryerseness and cor- 
 ruption, in a world of sin and iniquity. But O what shall be the 
 happiness, the rapture>,the transport ; when this dark dull veil shall 
 be removed, and the believer, face to face, shall behold Him, Avhom 
 lie loved, and sought, and hoped for, below ! What a glow of ad- 
 miration and delight shall possess his soul ; when he shall see all, 
 that he is capable of seeing in glory ; when he shall enjoy all that 
 his nc^ture can enjoy, of everlasting bliss ! With what astonish- 
 ment shall he survey the world of spirits ; with what pleasure 
 shall he call them his friends ! Whai wonders of grace, life, har- 
 mony and glory, shall break in upon his enraptured soul on every 
 side I Especially, when he shall behold his dear Bedeemer,crown' 
 cd with ineffable splendor, smiling upon him with love and benig- 
 nity, and bleiising him with the complete participation of his king- 
 dom 1 Then shall the blessed Spirit, who conducted him through 
 the wretchedness of time, pour the full gladness of Heaven into 
 his soul, by giving him such communion with the everlasting and 
 cvcrglorious Trinity, as will excite ineffable adoration to each of 
 X\\Q divine persons iov \ht,\v respective offices, and to the ivholc 
 Godhead for the glorious covenant of salvation, world witjhoitt 
 ond. 
 
CONCLUSION. 395 
 
 To Father, Son, and Spirit, three divine Persons in one ancjl 
 
 the same Jehovah, as to the Trinity in Umtt ; and to the one 
 
 Jehovah, existing in the three Persons of Father, Son, and 
 
 Spirit, as to the Unity in Trinity ; be all Honors Grace, anjl 
 
 Qlory, ascribed, by all Creatures^ through all ages. Amen. 
 
 THE EKT>. 
 

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