fluence, by which he seals believ- favor. They may ask for such ers, and prepares them for the kingdom of heaven. 3. It appears that God will give all true believers the sanctifying and sealing influence of his Spirit from the condition upon which he has promised this peculiar favor. He has promised it upon condition of their asking for it. Christ said to his disciples, "Ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you. If a son ask bread of any of you that is a father, will be give him a stone; or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent ? If ye then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him. It is undoubtedly in reference to this promise of the Holy Spirit, that the apostle calls him "that Holy Spirit of promise ;" or that Holy Spirit which Christ promised to give to his sincere followers on a certain condition, which is the same as that upon which he promised to bestow other favors. He said to his disciples, "Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it." God will certainly give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him, at whatever time, and in whatever measure he pleases, if they ask a right. Christians may ask amiss for this, as well as for any other Spiritual an influence as he never bestows upon believers merely as such.-Or they may ask for such an influence as they do not need, nor desire at the time of their asking.--Or they may ask for his influence in the faith of a promise which he has never made. He has never promised his gracious influence to them at any particular times, or under any particular circumstances when they shall pray for it. The Spirit of God exercises the same sovereignty in operating upon the hearts of believers, as he does in operating upon their understandings and consciences. however, that the Spirit of God will fulfil his promise to believers in granting them his sealing influence, according to its true and proper import. It is certain From the promise which God has made of his Spirit to true believers, we may learn how they are led by it. As many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the sons of God. This implies that all the children of God are led by his Spirit. But how christians are led by the Spirit of God, is a question of great practical importance. This question, however, may be easily answered by attending to the kind of influence of the Spirit which is promised: them.This, as we have seen, is not his miraculous, or supernatural, but his sanctifying influence. As the Bible is the only infallible rule of faith and practice, christians do not need the Holy Spirit to reveal new truths to them. But as their the scriptures speak of the Holy Spirit as being in Christians, as abiding in them, and as dwelling in them. These passages have given occasion to many devout practical writers to say much respecting the indwelling of the Spirit in all true believers. But a very large portion of these have run into unjust and unscriptural notions on this subject. Some have represented the Holy Spirit as becoming a living principle of ac"Ition in the souls of saints, and superseding their own voluntary exercises. Others have been more extravagant in their ideas on this subject and supposed that the Holy Spirit has been personally united with believers, so that they have become Goded with God and Christed with Christ. These are certainly very unjust and absurd opinions of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in christians. For, if what has been said be true, the Holy Spirit no more dwells in believers, than God the Father dwells in them, or than Christ dwells in them. God is said to dwell in saints and saints in him. Christ is said to dwell in believers and believers in him. The apostle John says, "God is love, and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God and God in him." And Christ himself says, "If any man love me he will keep my words; and my father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him." God and Christ abide or dwell in believers only by producing holy affections From the subject before us, we may learn what is to be understood by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It is true, indeed, that their love to them. in their hearts, and manifesting persuaded, that the Spirit of God And accord- has borne this infallible witness to ing to what has been said, the their souls, which has given them Holy Spirit abides or dwells in full assurance of their salvation.— believers precisely in the same Many more have supposed, that manner. He never becomes per- the spirit of God has borne witsonally united to them, nor becomes ness to them that they have expea principle of action in them, so rienced a saving change, by bringas to act in their stead, but only ing to view and impressing on their exercises his sealing and guiding minds particular texts of scripture; influence on their hearts, whicn such as "Be of good cheer thy keeps them in the love of God sins are forgiven thee," or other and way of duty. The spirit of passages of a similar consoling naGod may properly be said to abide ture. or dwell in believers by his sealing and guiding influence, because this is not merely an occasional influence, but permanent, lasting through life. The subject which we are now considering teaches us also what we are to understand by the witness of the Spirit. The apostle John says, "He that believeth on the son of God hath the witness in himself." This is supposed to be the witness or evidence, which the Holy Spirit gives to all true believers of their good estate.That all true believers have the witness of the Spirit, respecting their state of grace is generally and justly admitted, by those who are called orthodox christians.-But there is a diversity of opinions among them relative to this subject. Some maintain what they call the immediate witness of the Spirit. Some suppose that he witnesses, by a still internal voice telling them, in so many words, that they are born of God. Not a few individual christians have been Others of a more visionary turn, have supposed that the Spirit has borne witness of their gracious state, by giving them a clear view of the person of Christ smiling upon them and expressing his love to them. These are certainly false and groundless notions of the witness of the Spirit. But we find this subject set in a true and clear light in the eighth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans.— The apostle says to christians, "Ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. And if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ." By our spirit the apostle evidently means the spirit of adoption, or a filial spirit toward God, which is a spirit peculiar to the Sons of God or those who are born of his spirit. The spirit of God by his written word bears witness, that the spirit of adoption is the fruit of his special, gracious, sealing influence, and therefore is an infallible evidence that all who have the spirit of adoption are the sons of God and heirs of heaven. The spirit bears witness to believers, that they are the children of God, by giving them holy and filial af fections toward God. So that the more grace he gives them, the more clearly he bears witness, that they are true believers and entitled to eternal life. Agreeably to this, the apostle John says, "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. And again he says, "Hereby we know that he," that is God, “abideth in us" by the Spirit which he has given us. Another important truth taught us by the subject now under consideration is, that all true believers will persevere in holiness unto eternal life. The apostle represents the sealing of the Spirit which is promised to all true believers, as inseparably connected with their final salvation. Speak ing to those who had trusted in Christ he says, "In whom also, after ye believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession." The sealing influence of the Spirit, which is actually given to true believers, is the earnest, that is, a part of their heavenly inheritance, which renders their future possession of heaven as certain, as if they were now there. He asserts the same inseparable connection between the sealing of the Spirit and final salvation, in another place, where he says, "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." As soon as the Spirit of God converts sinners, and gives them faith in Christ, he exercises his sealing influence on their hearts and continues to exercise the same influence unto the day of redemption, or till they arrive in heaven. The Holy Spirit, in sealing believers, gives them the Spirit of adoption, by which they become the children of God, and heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, and, therefore, it is as certain that they shall persevere in holiness unto salvation, as that Christ shall be rewarded, and see his seed, and be satisfied. On this solid ground, he says to believers, "Because I live, ye shall live also." Again he says, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand. My father which gave them me is greater than all; and none is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.”The doctrine of the final perseverance of the saints is abundantly confirmed by a variety of plain declarations and promises of scripture, some of which shall here be quoted. Paul says to the Romans, "We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.~ For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be con- perisheth, though it be tried with formed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first born among many brethren. More over whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified them he also glorified." After this the same apostle asks, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Nay in all these things, we are more than conquerors, through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." The apostle Peter says in his general epistle to believers, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ which according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us unto a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, fire, might be found unto praise, and honor, and glory at the appearance of Jesus Christ: whom having not seen ye love, in whom though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiv ing the end of your faith even the salvation of your souls." Such is the plain, full, unequivocal evidence which the inspired writers give us of the final perseverance and salvation of all true believers. It is their indispensable duty, therefore, to give all diligence to make their calling and election sure, that they may take hold on the great and precious promises, which God has given them for their support and consolation, in their darkest hours and under their heaviest trials. Messrs. Editors. EPAPHRAS. I send you the following observations in answer to an important question which I noticed in your Magazine for the month of March. The question is this: "Ought a wife to refrain from making a public profession of religion in consequence of being forbidden by her husband?" This is a question of great practical importance. A satisfactory answer cannot but be serviceable to a large number whose trying circumstances give them a deep interest in the subject, and render |