O God of all grace, to trust and not be afraid; for thou art faithful: thy word and thy promises give us full security to trust in the Lord at all times; because in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength; and blessed are all they who put their trust in him.

But by what ways and means shall these arguments and encouragements have their full effect? This is the main point, and it is settled beyond dispute upon Scripture authority. The same Spirit who revealed the promises, is also the fulfiller of them: and he is almighty. The blessing on the use of the means is entirely from him: it is he who teacheth man knowledge; and from him we are to seek it in prayer. With all our reading, hearing, studying, meditating upon the Scriptures, we must look up to him for his divine teaching. If any of you, believers, lack wisdom, let him ask it of God, who giveth to all askers liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him; but let him ask in faith. Here is a command and a promise. When we lack wisdom, which we always do, as much as we want breath, we are to ask it of the Spirit of wisdom, and it shall be given us. He will make us wise unto salvation. He will keep us in the use of means, dependent on his leading us into all useful truth, and of his revealing to us the things which are freely given to us of God, to show them to us as realities, and to put us into the enjoyment of them as blessings. In this dependence on him, we live, and move, and have our being. Our spiritual life and faculties, and the exercise of them, and the improvement of them, are entirely from his influence. For the apostle, mentioning the several

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gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit, says, "All these worketh that one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man his own gifts, according to his own will." To him then we are to look for every good gift, and every perfect gift. Whenever we open the Bible, we should ask his light and his teaching. He is the chief commentator. He only can put the Scriptures into our inward parts, and write them upon our hearts, so that we may experience them to be the power of God unto our own salvation. Our first reformers were of this sentiment, exhorting us to pray, that "by the holy inspiration of God's Spirit, we may think those things that be good, and by his merciful guiding may perform the same.' "Grant to us, Lord, we beseech thee, the Spirit, to think and do always such things as be rightful; that we who cannot do any thing that is good without thee, may by thee be enabled to live according to thy will, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." Ninth Sunday after Trinity.

As they prayed, so they sang: for we meet with two hymns, inserted by the reformers in the Common Prayer Book, appointed to be sung at the ordaining of priests, and at the consecration of bishops. The first begins with these words

Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire,
And lighten with celestial fire, &c.

Out of the second I quote some verses, not for any excellency of the poetry, but for the soundness of the divinity expressed in these lines—

Come, Holy Ghost, eternal God,
Proceeding from above,

Both from the Father and the Son,

The God of peace and love:

Visit our minds, and into us
Thy heavenly grace inspire,
That in all truth and godliness
We may have true desire.

Thou in thy gifts art manifold,
Whereby Christ's church doth stand,
In faithful hearts writing thy law,
The finger of God's hand.

According to thy promise made,
Thou givest speech of grace,

That through thy help, the praise of God
May stand in every place.

O Holy Ghost, into our souls
Send down thy heavenly light,
Kindle our heart with fervent love,
To serve God day and night.

Strengthen and stablish our weakness,

So feeble and so frail,

That neither devil, world, nor flesh,

Against us may prevail.

Grant us, O Lord, through thee to know

The Father most of might,

That of his dear beloved Son,
We may attain the sight.

And that with perfect faith also,
We may acknowledge thee,
The Spirit of them both always,
One God in persons three.

From these authorities, it appears to be the doctrine of the Scriptures, and of our reformers in har

mony with them, That spiritual life, and knowledge, and faith in Christ, and hope in him that maketh not ashamed, and holy love, with every godly motion of the heart, come from the holy inspiration of God the Spirit. It is from him that we understand the Scriptures, in the mind of the Spirit: it is from his grace that we grow in Scripture knowledge, and persevere in the use of means, and, at the same time, in a constant dependence on his presence in them, for the furtherance and joy of our faith. He begins, he carries on, and he perfects, our learning in his revealed word and will. O that he O that he may make us and keep us good scholars, in an abiding sense of the necessity of his divine teaching; that the Spirit and the word may go together in our Bible studies, and Bible experience; so that this may be the daily prayer of our faith :—

And

O thou Spirit of wisdom and revelation, who hast taught us that secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children for ever; open the eyes of our understanding to understand what is revealed in the Scriptures for our use. Dispose us to hear them, read them, and meditate on them with profit. help us to mix more faith with them, that they may become more precious. In every day's reading, grant that we may find them to be the ingrafted word, and that we are really branches grafted into the tree of life, and, by the rain and shining of heaven, enabled to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit abundantly. For all these blessings keep us ever dependent on thy divine teaching, that our fruits may grow richer and riper-we may be more humble in our hearts, and

more thankful in our lives; and so we, who can learn nothing as we ought without thee, may, by thy grace, be made wise unto eternal salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus-To whom, with Thee, O Father, and Thee, O Holy Spirit, be equal honour and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

CHAPTER III.

The Believer's Triumph in the Lord his Righteousness.

THE object of his rejoicing is always one and the same, yesterday, to-day, and for ever, without any variableness, or shadow of turning. It is Christ, God in Christ, concerning whom the commandment runs-Rejoice in the Lord Jesus always, and again, I say, rejoice; there being in him a fountain of joy, springing up into everlasting life. What he is in his own wonderful person-what is revealed of his gracious works and ways, in his dealings with the sinners of mankind-what he did for them in the days of his flesh-what he does in them by his Spirit in time what he has promised to give them in eternity in every possible view that can be taken of him, a believer may and ought to rejoice always, and that with a fulness of joy: for thus the apostle offers up his praise" Now thanks be to God, who always causeth us to triumph in Christ." For he has in his person every possible subject of triumphant joy. He is true and very God; and he is true and very man-God and man in one Christ. The prophet