candour, and ufe with prudent moderation whatever wellmeant phrases the church of Chrift, especially in its earlier days, hath applied to this subject; to think, on matters, which are both fo myfterious in their nature, and fo hard to be expreffed, with great charity of other perfons: and for ourfelves, to keep close with great care to fo much as is plain and practical. In order to this, I now proceed to lay before you.

II. The peculiar office of the Spirit in the work of our redemption on account of which he is called, in our catechifm, God the Holy Ghost, who fanctified us, and all the elect people of God. For probably he is called the Holy Spirit fo frequently in fcripture, and the Spirit of holiness once *, not merely as being perfectly holy in himself, which the Father and the Son are alfo, but as being the caufe of holiness in believers; who are elected by God to eternal life, on foreseeing that their faith will produce obedience.

To be holy is to be pure from defilement; but particularly, in this cafe, from the defilement of iniquity: and being fanctified is being made holy: to which bleffed change in finful man, the Spirit of God, we are taught, contributes many ways.

In baptifm we are born again of Water and of the Spirit ; restored by him to the ftate of God's children, and endued with the principles of a new, that is the Christian, life. As we grow up, it is through him, that our understandings are enlightened by the knowledge of God's will. He directed the ancient prophets in what they preached and wrote. For boly men of old time pake, as they were moved by the Holy Ghost ‡: which inore especially teftified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that should follow §. Then afterwards, when our Saviour became Man, the Holy Ghoft was upon him, and accompanied him through the whole of his miniftration ||: and after his afcenfion was communicated more fully than before to his apoftles; to teach them all things needful, and bring to their remembrance whatever he had faid to them ¶: fo that in all their difcourfes for the inftruction of mankind, it was not fo much they who joke, as the Spirit of the Father that spoke in VOL. IV.

them.

S s

* Rom. i. 4. † John iii. 3, 5.

2 Pet. i. 21.

SI Pet. i. 11.

Mat. iii. 16. Luke iii. 22. iv, 1. Acis i. 2. x. 38.

John xiv. 26.

them. Nor can we doubt, but he afforded them equal afliftance, at least in what they wrote for the use of all future ages. The fame Spirit was alfo their comforter under every fuffering and, laftly, bore witnefs to the truth of their doctrine and our faith, by a multitude of figns and wonders and fupernatural gifts by which means, and the miniftry of their fucceffors, whom likewise the Holy Ghost made Overfeers over Chrifl's flock ‡, the light of his gospel hath filled the world, and now shines upon us.

:

*:

Nor is it outwardly alone, that he reveals and confirms to us Divine truths: but as the bleffed Jefus promifed, that he fhould dwell in his disciples, and abide with them for ever §; so by his inward operations, the credibility of which I fhall, God willing, prove to you in its proper place, he opens cur hearts | to receive the word of God, influences our affections to delight in it, and excites our wills to ac conformably to it: for which reafons good perfons are faid to be led by the Spirit ¶; and all Christian graces to be the fruits of the Spirit With the wicked he ftrives 4, till they obftinately harden themselves, and then forfakes them. But thofe, who yield to his motions, he renews ‡‡, and firengthens with might in the inner man §§; helps their infirmities, and both directs and animates their prayers, thus making, as it were, inter ceffion || within them. By this one Spirit, being all Chriftians, they are united into one body ¶¶, and made to love each other. By the Holy Ghost also, the love of God is fed abroad in cur hearts ** teaching us to look upon him, not as an auftere Mafter, but a kind Parent; or, in the language of St Paul, to cry, Abba, Father 44. And thus the Spirit bearing witness with our spirit, joins with our confciences to complete the evidence, that we are the fons of God: from whence arifes that joy in the Holy Ghost, which different perfons have in very different degrees: and therefore no one fhould defpond, becaufe he feels but little, or at times perhaps nothing of it, provided he truly honours and ferves God. But

to fome perfons, on fome occafions, the heavenly Comforter youchsafes, both strong affurances of their good state; " (hereby know we, that God abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us *;)" and fuch lively confolations from it, as amount to a pledge and foretafte of happiness to come. Ac cordingly, they are faid to be "fealed with the Holy Spirit of promife, which is the earnest of their inheritance +."

But to prevent wicked perfons of enthusiastic tempers from. mistaking, as they often have done, their own groundless confidence for the inward teftimony of the Divine Spirit, they fhould be carefully reminded, that by our fruits we are known‡, and must know ourselves §; that "the fruit of the Spirit is in all righteousness and truth ||," and only "good men are full of the Holy Ghoft ¶." "For into a malicious foul he will not enter; nor dwell in the body that is fubject unto fin. The Holy Spirit of discipline will flee deceit; and remove from thoughts, that are without understanding; and will not abide, when unrighteousness cometh in

III. The next thing propofed, was to speak of the duties owing to the Holy Ghoft; which, befides the general one of honouring him fuitably to his nature, as God, are, in particular, to be baptized in his name, as I have already mentioned; pray for his graces; for God "giveth grace unto the humble +," and "will give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him ‡‡;" to be heartily thankful for all his good motions, and confcientiously to obey them in every inftance. By this last I do not mean, that we should believe every Spirit §§; follow every strong imagination of our own; or pretence of light from above in others: but adhere fteadily to that rule of life, which the Holy Ghost hath directed the writers of scripture to teach us, and inwardly prompts and difpofes us to obferve. For other inspiration, than this, being now become unnecessary; we have no reafon to expect, but much reason to distrust it. But especially, if we be urged, under colour of fuch authority, to break any one ftanding precept of the gospel, or add to, or take away from, any fingle article of our Creed; though

an angel from heaven* were to require it, we are not to yield; but keep clofe to "the faith and holy commandment, which were once delivered to the faints †," and fhall never be altered.

These then are our duties to the ever-bleffed Spirit. There are likewise mentioned in fcripture,

IV. Sins against him. And one of thefe, not all, as melancholy perfons are apt to imagine, but one alone, is faid by our Saviour to be unpardonable: which is blafphemy against the Holy Ghoftt. Now, that means only, fpeaking reproachful words, deliberately and malicioufly, against the miracles done by the power of the Holy Ghoft, or the supernatural gifts proceeding from him. And the only persons, to whom Chrift declared, that this fhould not be forgiven, were those, who had the teftimony of their own fenfes for the reality of thefe miracles and gifts; and, notwithstanding the fullest evidence of their coming from the Spirit of God, obftinately perfifted in reviling them, and even ascribed them to the devil. Now, there is a plain reason why this fin, under these circumftances, must be unpardonable. The perfons guilty of it had flood out against all the means, which Heaven had provided for the conviction and converfion of mankind: none more powerful remained to bring them to repentance; and, as they could not be forgiven without repenting, there was plainly no way left for their recovery.

But then it is equally plain, that perfons, who were not witneffes to any fuch miraculous powers; but live as we do, many ages after they are ceased; cannot, in this respect, fin to the fame degree of guilt, fince it is not against the same degree of evidence and that as they, who were guilty of it originally, were unbelievers in Chrift, fo indeed no believer in him, continuing fuch, can poffibly defign, whilft his thoughts and words are in his own command, to fpeak evil of the Holy Ghoft, or his mighty works. Nor therefore can he come under the condemnation of thofe, whom the epiftle to the Hebrews defcribes, as "wilfully doing defpite to the Spirit of grace;" and of whom it pronounces, that "there remains for them no more facrifice for fin, but a fearful expectation of judgc

* Gal. i. S.

judgement *." Believers may indeed rafhly and thoughtlessly use profane words concerning the Holy Ghost: but these, though undoubtedly great offences, and too likely to make greater still, are very far from the unpardonable fin. And as for what fome good perfons are often terrified about, the wicked imaginations that come into their minds, and expreffions that come out of their mouths, at times, almost whether they 'will or not; in proportion as they are involuntary, they are not criminal in them, be they in their own nature ever so bad. When therefore poor fcrupulous fouls affright themselves about fuch things as thefe; or when they who have not finned at all against the Spirit, otherwise than as every ill action is a fin against him; or have finned in a quite different manner from the Jews in the gospel, and heartily repented of their fin; when they apprehend, that notwithstanding this they cannot be pardoned; they intirely mistake their own cafe: either through ignorance, or falfe opinions infused into them; or exceffive tenderness of mind; or indeed more commonly by reafon of fome bodily diforder, though perhaps unperceived by , themselves, which depreffes their fpirits, and clouds their understandings, and requires the help of medicine.

Another fin againft the Holy Ghost, mentioned in fcripture, is lying to him: which means there, afferting falfehoods, being confcious that they were fuch, to perfons infpired by him with the knowledge of mens hearts, as did Ananias and Sapphira. But the offences, which we are in danger of committing against him, are refifting ‡ and quenching § his good motions and influences, and grieving him | by corrupt communication, evil thoughts or unholy actions. These things therefore let us diligently avoid; or, if we have fallen into them, fincerely repent of them: the oppofite duties let us confcientiously practife, and ftedfaftly perfevere in them: for fo fhall we "commend ourfelves to God, and to the Spirit of his grace; who is able to build us up, and give us an inheritance amongst them who are fanctified ¶;" to which he of his mercy bring us all, for the fake of our Redeemer Jefus Chrift. Amen.