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III.

are commanded to do it for that veryS ER M reason, because God has given us the Power both of Willing and performing it. As every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own Luft, and enticed; and yet at the fame time all Sin is afcribed to the Temptations of the Devil, because the Devil is the Head of Apoftacy, and delights in the Sins of Men, and lays before them opportunities of being enticed and drawn away by their own Luft and Wickednefs, without which he could otherwife have no Power over them; fo, because God is the original Author of all good, and the Giver of all the Powers by which we do good, and incourages and affifts us. in the performance of it; therefore most justly in Scripture is all the good we do, afcribed to Him; and yet, because without our own Care and Concurrence to put them in Action, all thefe Powers and A fistances are in vain; it is therefore very reasonably urged as a Duty incumbent upon Ourselves, to grow in grace, 2 Pet. iii. 18; and it is required of us by an indifpenfable Obligation, that We bring forth the Fruits of the Spirit. And This

SERM. is implied to us in the very Form of

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of

Baptifm: For when we are baptized in the Name of the Holy Ghost, into what is it that we are fo baptized, but into the expectation of the Affiftance of the Holy Spirit, and into a folemn Promife of fubmitting ourselves accordingly to his holy Guidance and Direction? As, being baptized in the Name of the Father, is declaring our Affurance of Reconciliation and Return to his Favour, who had been justly offended with us; and a folemn Dedication of ourselves to his Service for the future, as the One fupreme Governour and Lord of the Universe And being baptized in the Name of the Son, is being baptized into the Remiffion of Sins by his Blood, and into a folemn Obligation, on our own part, of dying with him, unto Sin, and rifing again unto Newness of Life: So, being baptized in the Name of the Holy Ghoft, is at the fame time a folemn Declaration both of our Hoping for his Guidance, and of our Refolving to obey it.

2. I HAVE been the longer upon This firft Head concerning the Gifts of the Spirit,

.III.

Spirit, because it is a Doctrine of the SER M. Higheft Importance to us, and of great Moment in Practice.

mains in the 2d place,

That which re-
concerning the
Holy Spirit, be-

Nature and Offices of the
ing more fpeculative, I fhall explain very
briefly in few words. As to the proper
Nature of this divine Spirit, the Vanity
and Pride of learned men has often con-
founded their Understandings, while they
have prefumed to be wife above what is
written, intruding into things which they
have not seen, and attempting to explain
what God has not revealed. The Effence
and inmoft nature of the fmallest Body,
we cannot fully understand: The Life of
the meanest Animal, is beyond all our Phi-
lofophy to explain: The Nature of the
Soul of Man, is ftill a more unfearchable
Mystery; The Nature and Effence of An-
gels, is yet far more unfathomable than
any of These :
How then should vain
man prefume to fearch out the Nature
of the Spirit of God? the Nature of the
only begotten Son of God? the Nature of
the Father himself, the incomprehenfible
God and Father of all things? What the

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SER M. Scripture expreflly declares to us, is all

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we can ever know concerning these Matters; and This the meaneft Chriftian is as capable of understanding, as the learnedest Difputers in the World. Concerning the Nature of the Holy Spirit therefore, That which the Scripture teaches us, is This only; That He is a Divine Perfon, in an ineffable manner deriving his Being, proceeding from, or being fent forth from, the Father; whereby he is, and upon which account he is ftiled, in a fingular and peculiar manner, The Spirit of God. And because after the Ascension of Christ, the Gifts diftributed by the fame Spirit, were, according to the Promife of the Father, poured forth in much greater plenty and abundance than before; therefore he is fre quently stiled likewise, The Spirit of Chrift: And before that Jefus was glorified, it is affirmed therefore of the fame Spirit in the Gofpel, (comparatively to that much larger Effufion which was to follow after,) that he was not yet given at all, St Job. vii. 39; In which Paffage it is very remarkable, that the words in the Original are, The Holy Ghoft was not yet; meaning, was not

yet

yet given; just as in the Text the Dif-SER M. ciples are faid not to have heard whether III. there was any Holy Ghost; meaning, that they had not heard whether he was yet given. There have been Some, both in Antient and Modern times, who have taught that the Holy Ghoft was nothing but a mere Power, and Operation or Action of the Father: But though it is True, that Powers are indeed fometimes in Scripture, according to the nature of the Jewish Language, fpoken of figuratively as Perfons; yet in the prefent cafe it is plain on the contrary, that the Person of the Holy Spirit is often reprefented and spoken of as the Power of the Father, only becaufe By Him it is that the Father works all Miracles and bestows all Gifts. Nor can thofe Texts be understood any otherwife, than of a real Perfon; in which it is expreffed that He, (in the original it is, That Perfon,) the Spirit of Truth is come, Joh. xvi. 13; that he maketh interceffion for us, Rom. viii. 26; that he divideth fpiritual Gifts, to every one feverally as he willeth, I Cor. xii. II; and that he shall not speak of himself, but what he shall hear, or re

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