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^ PRINCETON, N. J. ^
Division.
Section...
aJ ■■H
The Holy Spirits Divine Ferfon:
OR, THE
DOCTRINE
OF HIS
GODHEAD
Reprefented,
As Evident and ImportIaniI'^^
In feveral PRACTICAL
SERMONS.
On I COR, xii. ii.
CF
m
k %i\
By JOHN GVTSE.ap,
Minifter of the Gofpel. ' ;
LONDON:
Printed for John Clark, at the Bible and
Crown m the Poultrey, near Cheap fide.
M^DCQXXI.
V
"%
s.
Ill
THE
PREFACE,
THE Perfonality afid Operations of
the BLESSED SPIRIT, have fre-
quently been in f fled on with goodSuc
cefs^to the Edification of the Church. Two or
Three valuable Performances I have likemje
feen relating to his Divinity : But as it
appears to nie^ that there is confiderable room
to add to them 5 /. xht Spiritual Gifts, which
the Apoftle exprefsly tells us are the Subject
of this Chapter, ver. i. Now if the Holy
Ghoft is here fpoken of alone, as the God
who is the Author of *em, they are Gifts, as
he freely beftows 'em, and may well be de-
nominated Spiritual from their immediate
Author whofe perfonal Name is the Spirit.
They are Adminiftrations as he deals 'em out
in an agreed OEcononiy, according to the
Gofpel, which is called the MinijlratiGnofthe
Spirky and with refped: to which he is cail'd 3^ ^^^ ^'
■\ the LORD the Spirit; And they are 0/--- t';cyp;«
rations, as he works 'em by his own proper T^•5•;^'
Efficiency as God. And fo, tho' both they7«f-
and their Author bear different Names, yet
they are all the Mamfejlation of the Spirit^
wjio is alfo Lord and God. Or if the Father,
Son, and Holy Ghoft are here fpoken of, as
three Perfons, and yet edentially one God,
who is the Author of thefe Gifts, then ac-
cording to the Chriftian OEconomy, they
are Generations of God the Father through
Jefus Chrift, who as Mediator adminiflers
B 3 thenj
(O
them by the Holy Ghoft; and the Holy
Ghoil: gives them to us as the next imme-
diate Worker of them in us : And fo the
one Energy of the Godhead is put forth by
all the Divine Perfonsto produce them.
In the next Verfe we have the End for
which God vouchfafes his various Gifts, and
that is, that every one who has 'em might
profit others by 'em. They are given not
for the private Ufe of the Perfons who have
'em, much lefs for them or their Partifans to
boaft of, or to make 'em occafions of Strife
and Envy to the troubling and dividing of
f Cor. the Church : But the Manifeftation of the Sprit
li. 7. ts given to every one, or to each one that has it,
to profit others zvithalL As a Proof of this,
the Apoftle in the three following Verfes
ranks the Gifts of the Spirit into feveral
forts, and fpeaks of 'em in fuch a manner as
fhews that He is the Author of 'em all, and
V, 8, 9, defigns 'em for that purpoie. For to one is
ic. given by the Spirit the Word of pf/ifdom ; to ano-
ther the pVord of Knowledge by the fame Spirit :
To another Faith by the fame Spirit : To another
the Gifts of Healing by the fame Spirit : To ano-
ther the luurking of Miracles y to another Prophe-
fy, to another the difcerning of Spirits, to another
divers kinds of Tongties, to another the Inter-
pretation of Tongues. And then in our Text
the Apoffle fums up all together, and afferts
that concerning the whole, which he had
been diilincily declaring concerning each
particular apart. But all thefe worketh that one
and the J elf -fame Spirit, dividing to every Man
ftverally as he will.
In thefe Words we have
I. An Afription of great and god-like Works
to the Holy Ghofi, ai the Cod who performs \m.
Th4
(7)
The Gifts beftow'd are indeed many and
various, and may be calTd by many Names,
as may the Author of them ; But all thefe
ijjorketh4hat one and the felf^fame Spirit : they
have all but one immediate efficient Caufe,
v/hich is the Holy Ghoil:. Jhat the Holy
Ghoft is m;;ant by tiie Spirit in our Text,
is fufficiently plain from the whole current
m the foregoing Context, where this Spirit
is exprefsly called the Spirit of God, and the
Holy GhoRy V. 3. and is all along down to
our Text fpoken of as an ading Perfon. He
is one fingle Spirit^ in oppofition to the M«/-
titude of his Giks^ and to all other Spirits as
the Authors of 'em. And he is the felf-fame
unchangeable Spirit, in oppofition to the
Variety or Diverfity of thofe Gifts. He v^crk-
eth 'em all, not as an inilrumental or fubor-
dinate Caufe, but as the principal Efficient
of 'em. For the Apoille here fpeaks of the
fame manner of Operarion as he fpoke of,
and ufeth the fame emphatick Word to de-
note it, as he ufed when he call'd it the O-
peration of God, "j. 6. There he afcribes
all thefe Gifts to the Energy o^ the fame Godj
* who ivorketh them all in ally i. e. ill all that ^erfp>%
have 'em. And here he afcribes them all to
the fame Energy of the fame Spirit, ivho
t worketh them ally dividing them to every M^f^ -fiy^oy^.
that has them. And this either fhews (ac-
cording to one of the Interpretations that
has been given of the foregoing Context}
that the Energy of the Spirit herein, is his
Energy as God. Or (according to the o-
ther) that God, viz>y the Father, and this
Spirit exert one and the fame Energy, and fo
are in Nature and Operation one and the
ftme God. Hence
'' ' B 4 5. We
( 8 )
2.. We have the God-like manner in which
this Spirit ivorky. Dividing to every Man f eve ^
rally c^ he vjill. Ail the Diver fitiesoi GiftSy
Admimflrations, and Operations -i which were
afcrib'd in the preceding Verfcs to the fame
Spirit, the fame Lord, and the fame God, are
diver [ifjd by this one and the felF-fame Spi-
ritf who makes ail that Difrerencc' that is m
the forts oF thole Gifts^ and in the Diftri-
butions of 'em ieverally. For it feems very
obfervable, that the Word here ufed for
dividing, hath a peculiar reference to thofe
Diverjities before mention'd, and is the
^el>c6/p«y. * Particle from which the f Noun, there
t c?>^/pe three times repeatedj is deriv'd. So- that it :
^^^^' is as ii the Apoilie fliould. fay, v Whatever Di-
verjuies there are of Gifts from the fame Spi-
rit, or of Adminiflrations from the fame Lordy
or of Operations ircm the fame God, one and
the fe If- fa?ne Spirit is the Divider or Diflri-
buter of 'em all ; either as that Lord and
God before mention'd ; or (according to the
other Explication that has been given) as he
adls undividedly with the Father and Son,
and they ad together with and by him. Sup-
pofing that by God and. Lord before men-
tioned, we ftould underftand the Father and
Son; yet, to fecure the Spirit's Equality in
Power and Operation with them, the ac-
count of thtfe V/orks begins and ends with
him as the Giver and VVorker of 'em all ;
and whereas Thy are mention'd but once.
He is mention'd feven tim^s as the acting Per-
fon herein. But if we confider God and
Lord as Denominations of the Holy G hod
(according to the other Suppofiiion) th^ii
Be is clearly Crtli'd God and Lord as well as
the
(9)
the Spirit J that we may know what fort of
Agent he is in thofe Operations. So char,
which ever way we take it, 'tis jplain his
ading herein is the Sovereign and Almighty
Acting of God himfelf.
Hence 'tis added, He divides to every Man
feverally. All and each of thefe excellent
Gifts are his Dircribiitions ; and no Man
had any of 'em but from Hm. Yea, and he
doth this like the fovereign God, cvs he vnlt.
All his dividings of 'em are ads of his own
Pieafure and Authority, as God ; tho, ac-
cording to a voluntary Difpenfation, fuitable
to the Order of his Subfiftence, he performs
'em in fiich a manner that the Godhead, or
the other Perfons of it, perform 'em by him.
On this account, God is faid to bear his Ser-
vants zvitnefs, both with Signs and PVonderSy
and with divers fldiracks and Gifts, or * Di- Htb. 2,
ftributicns, of the Holy Ghofi according to his 4- .
own WilL 'Tis doubtful whether hts_ civn'^ ^;:^^'^'
Will here refers to God, mention'd in the
former part of the Verfe, or to the Holy
Ghofi, mention'd in the next preceding
words : The Grammar of the Sentence will
admit of either. It 'tis refer'd to the Holy
Ghofl, as fccws mod natural, becaufe he is the
nearefl Antecedent, \is as full a Teftimony
as can be to his div^ine Sovereignty in thefe
Diftributions, and well agrees with what is
J'did concernin.<^ it in our Text, And if 'tis
refer'd to God, the fame Sovereignty that
i^ here afcrib'd to God, il in our Text afcrib'd
to the Holy Ghvft in the lame fort of Diftri-
butions, xAdca fliews that his Sovereignty,
and the Sovereignty of God therein:, is all
i)m Sovereignty.
This
( 10 )
This one and the felf-fame Spirit is
Lord of all his Gifts and Operations;
none can oblige him to them^ or controul
him in them. He herein ads like the great
Dan. 4. y.bova/j, who dcth according to his Will in the
^^' Army of Heaveuy and among the Inhabitants of
the Earth: and none can flay his handy or fay
unto him, what do ft thou ? The fame fovereign
fejf-fufficient way of ading is afcrib'd to the
Ifa. 4o« Spirit ; For who hath direBed the Spirit of the
13. Ij)rdy or being his Counfellor, hm taught him ?
He don't behave it in his Operations like a
dependent Being, that waits for Orders be-
fore he ads ; but he manageth according to
the Counfel of his own Will He diflributes
or with-holds his Gifts, when and where, and
to or from whom he pleafes, and in what
manner and to what Degrees feems beft in
his fight. His own Will, under the unerring
Condud of his own infinite Wifdom, Good-
nefs, and Rfghteoufnefs, is his Rule of ad-
ing towards us : He is Debtor to none, and
is obligd by none, and makes a Difference
between fome and others, not according to
their Deferts, but according to his own free
.and fovereign Pleafure. For -who maketh thee
to differ from another} And what hafi thou
that thou did ft not receive ? Now if thou didft
receive it, why do fl thou glory, 05 if tbvu hadft
not received it ? From the Words thus ex-
plained, we may juftly Form this Obferva-
tion to be fpoken to :
7'hat the Holy Spirit u the Sovereign and Al-
mighty God,
Til at the Father is God, none who bear
the Chriftian Name pretend to deny. And
that
(It)
that the Son in his original Nature is efTen-
tialiy the fame only true God with the Fa-
ther, I have fome time ago, 1 hope, fuffici-
ently piov'd. And as we who believe thus
far, do generally profcfs to believe that the
Holy Ghofl is another divine Perfon in the
fame undivided Godhead, we ought to be
concerned for his Honour as much as for
the Father's and Son's. And we need to
have our Faith direded and fettled in this
Point, efpecially in an Age, wherein He
and his Operations are unworthily treated
by fome, and profanely derided by others.
That therefore the Holy Ghofl is one God with
the Fauber and Son, or thai , he together with
them is the ^Soveveign and Almighty God:, i$
what I now intend, by his AfliflancCj to
confider in the moft plain and pradical man-
ner I can to your Advantage. In the Ma-
nagement of this Defign, I fhall attempt
three Things, with their Application, as I did
in my former Difcourfes on Chrift's God-
head.
I. Explain the DoSliine in feveral FkoposI" I.
TIONS.
II. Confirm it, II-
III. Shew the Importance {which ivill he alfo III.
to Jhew the Ufefulnefs) of it.
I. I fliall endeavour to explain the DoElriney I,
viz. 'That the Holy Spirit is the Sovereign and
Almighty God.
By explaining the Doctrine, I don*t mean
an Explanation of the Manner of the Pro-
eeiTion and Subfiftence of the Holy Ghoft
as a difiind Perfon in the adorable God-
Ite^d. This is generally allow'd on all
hands
(13)
hands to be inexplicable. 'Tis only the Rcr
altiy and Neceffity of .hefe things that we are
concerned about, or can be hds^yd in, ac-
cording to the Scripture. Therefore all the
Explication I aim at, is only by orderly
fteps to reprefent witiv Evidence what I
take to be proper to fettle our Thoughts
about the Per/on and Deity of the Holy Ghoil
according to my meaning in the Dodrine,
and to clear our way to a more enlarged
Proof of it. And this i ihall humbly elTay
in the following Propositions. > '
Prop.!, Prop. I. T^he Holy Spirit is a Perfvn,-
Gifts and Graces are not the Spirit of God,
but are diflingui/h'd from him as Effeds
from their Caufe. The Apoflle, fpeaking of
fpiritual Gifts in our Context, reprelcnts the
Holy Ghoft as the Giver and IVorkcr of them.
And therefore, tho he is likewife a Gift, as
Chrift alfo is, who is generally allow'd to
be a Perfon ; yet the Spirit himfelf can't be
the Gifts which he is the Author of :In like
manner the Apoftle giving a fummary ac-
count of Gracesy fpeaks of them as the Frmts
of the Spirit^ and fo diflinguifiierh them
from the Spirit himfelf. The Fruit of the
Gal. 5. Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, 8cc. And the Fruit
J2. oftke Spirit is in all Goodn'efs, Righteoufnefs:,
* ^1^^'^' 9* and Truth. Ordinary Gifts and Graces re-
fide as Qoalities in us, and on that account
are call'd ours ; but the Holy Ghoft is the
Agent in us who produceth thefe Qualities :
He is a Being intirely diilind from us,
and is not call'd our Spirit nor can be fp
call'd, in any other fenfe than that in which
God is call'd our God. We often read of
our Lightj Knowledge, Faith, Hope, Love,
(13)
&c, but never otir Sprity meaning the Holy
Ghoft.
Nor is the Holy Ghoft barely the Virtue
and Power of God exerting it (df in di-
vine Operations, Admitting that^ he is
cali'd the Poiver of the Bzghcju when tlie An-
gel fliid to the Virgin, The Holy Ghoft pallU\keJ.
come upon thee^ and the Power of the Highefi^^'
fiall Gverjhadow thee ; this is no Proof againft
his being a Peribn. For Chn'fl is truly cali'd i Cor. i.
the Wifdom and Power of God ; and *^^^^^^t\s8
ilf.3^^^ "was blafphemoufly cali'd the gyeat ^^^
Power of Gcd ; and yet undoubtedly they
were- both Perfons. The Holy Ghcfl's
coming upon the Virgin, is cali'd the Power
of the Higheft over-fliadowing her, not to
denote that the Power of the Higheft is
his peculiar perfonal Charader, whereby he
is diftinguifli'd from the other Perfons m
the Godhead ; for that was before exprefs'd
by his being cali'd the Hdy Ghofl, But this
additional Charader denotes the efTential
Property of his Being, and the Principle of
his Operation, that it is no other than the
infinite Power of God, or that the Power
he put forth in forming the human Nature of
Chriftj is the Power of the Higheft himfelf.
Accordingly this Power of God by which the
Holy Ghoft ads, is at other times cali'd the
Power of the Holy Ghoft himfelf> which
plainly diftinguifheth him in his Perfonality
from his Power, as his eflential Attribute.
Thus the Apoftle fpeaksof ^teW/>zg 7« -^(^/^jRoir.TS.
through the PozDer of the Holy Ghoji, and of 15, 19.
inighty Signs and JVonders ly the Pozver of the
Spirit of Gcd, and Jefm returned ia the Powrr ^"^^ 4-
of the Spirit into Galilee. Now to fuppcfe*^'
that the Holy Ghoft is only the Power of the
Higheft,
Ci4)
HIghefl, is according to thefe Texts to fay,
that all the things there mention'd, were
done by the Power of the Power of the
Higheft, which is to force a very harlh and
uncouth Interpretation upon them. He
therefore muft needs be a Perfon who puts
forth this Power.
By a Ptrfon I mean a^z underftanding volun-
tary Agent. This is what we ufually appre-
hend by the word Per foriy and this the Scrip-
ture rtprefents the Holy Ghoft to be. What
grounds we have to ufe this Term in this
Cafcr and how his being a Perfon may be
conceived of:, coniifiently with his being One
in Nature or Elfence with the Father and
Son, may be more properly confider'd when
we come to fpeak of that Onmefs. I am
now only to fhew that he is an intelligent vo-
hmtary Agent y which is the Idea intended by
this Word. Therefore
I. He has an Under fl-anding., and fo is an
intelligent Agent. Thus the Apoille clearly
1 Cor. 2,reprefents him : T'he Spirit fearchetk all 'ThingSy
ic, ir, yea the deep Things of God. For what Man
^^' knoweth the "Things of a Man, five the Spirit of
Man which is in him ? Even fo the Things of
God knoweth no Man^ hut the Spirit of God.
Now we have receivedy not the Spirit of the
JVorldy hut the Spirit which is of God, that we
might knoiv the Things that are freely given to m
of God. He fearches and knows divine
Things, and reveals as much of them as is
known to others, as the Spirit of a Man
knows human Things, and difcovers them
to others. He is often faid in an aBive
manner to reveal the Things of God, to
teach, infiruB, and guide us, and to kad m
into all Truths and he who dLCt[\(^\y doth this,
muft
( 15 )
muft be himfelf an intelligent Perfon, know-
ing what he fays, and how to convey it to
others. Hence the Apoflle fpeaks of the Rom. 8.
Mind of the Spirit^ meaning the Holy Ghoft,i7«
which is a Form of Speech proper unto
Perfon s.
2. He has a W'llh and fo is a voluntary A-
gent. This our Text exprefsly afcribes to
him, as to one that divideth to every Manfe-
veraUy oi he IV ILL. 'Tis not by Force or
Conftraint on one hand, nor by NecelTity of
Nature on the other, that he diftnbute* his
Gifts, but according to the Freedom of his
own Will, as was fhewn in the Explication
of the Words. Accordingly many Paflages
relating to his Work, inpurfuance of Chrifts
Exaltation, are properly rendered, He Wtll,
as he WILL reprove the World of Sin; A^Joh. i6.
WIL L lead you mo all Jruthy and he M^ILL% ^5*
Jhew you 'Things to come. And many others
which are rendered he {hally might as well be
render'd/j^* will, and are to be underftood as
denoting Ads of his Will, as well as cer-
tain Futurities and matters of Fromife. Thus
the like Paffages are to be underftood when
they refped the Adings of the Father and
Son, as when Chrift fays. Now is the Son of Job, 13,
Man glorified, God SHALL alfo glorify jt, jz.
him in himfelf, and SHALL firamvay glorify^^y^^*
him : And he S HA L L give you another Com-
forter : and / SHALL Jhew you plainly
of the Father, None can doubt but thefe
ExpreiHons lignify the Ads of their Will ;
and why fhould not the fame Forms of
Speech, when ufed (as they commonly are
in the fame Context) with refped to the
Spirit, fignify the fame in him ? His having
an Underfianding and Will are plainly intima-
ted
ted together, when the Apo files y Elders^ and
Brethveny fpeaking of the Decrees' ^t Jerufa-
A^s n, /^;^2^ {2iid, Itfeemedgood to the Holy Ghofi, and
^^» 2.8. .^^^^ 'j^l^g PIqI^, Qj^Q^j. ^3 there fpoken of
as an unJerftanding voluntary Agent, as
much as the Members of that Adembly them-
felves. Aftd if hs feeming good to them de-
notes that they were Perlons, its feeimvg good
to Him muft denote thift He is a Perfon too,
whofe judgment and Will were the Rule of
their's in thofe critical Determinations.
Hence.
3 . He aBs in a perfonal manner ^ like one who
ha£ an Under Banding and Will, Sometimes
he is faid to co^ne to the T>ikvp\tSy in oppo-
iition to ChriiVs perfonal departing from
Job. 1 6. them. If 1 g^ ^o^ away the Comforter will
7i 8. ^ot come to you ; hut if I depart I will fend him
to you: and when 'he is come,, he will reprove
the World of Siuy . and of Right eotifnefsy and of
Judg7nent. At other times. He is faid to
c^- i4« teac)'} ^, and bring I'hings to our Rei'nembrance.
^J\ Q At other times to fpeak unto us. T'he Spirit
^^f ' SAID to Philipy go near y and join thy felf to
&I2. i.thls Chariot. And as the Prophets in the
2> 4> ' Church at Antioch^ minifrrcd to the Lord and
■ fafledy the Holy G ho ft SAID, feparate me Bar-
nabas and Saul for the zuerk whereunto I have
called them:, and they were fsnt forth by the Holy
Ghoft, What manner of fpeaking and con-
dua can affure us that any one ads as a Per-
fon, if this don't aifure us that the Ho!/
Ghoft ads as a Perfon ? His furnifhing the
OfFicers of the Church with Gifts, which
are fpoken of at large in our Context as
things diftind from himfclf, and freely di-
Rom. 8. fpenfed by himfelf i his bearing Wtnefs with
1(5, z6.' Believer's Spirits, that they are the Children of
God s
C»7)
CeJ ; and his helping their Infirmities y and
?naking Interceffion for them ; together with
multitudes of other Pailapes of the like Per-
fonal Strain, dearly Ipeak the fame Lan-
guage.
I might further urge his Affearances in
vifible Reprefentationsj tho' his own Na-
tute is invifible. Particularly at Chrift's
Baptifm, The Holy Ghofl defccnded in a bodily^^^^ 5-
Shape like a Dove upon him. This dcfcending*^'
like a Dove, may probably refped the Man-
ner of his defcenJing, rather than the Form in ,
which he defcended : A Dove was reckon'd
an Emblem of the Holy Ghoft by the anti-
ent Jewsy and therefore (as-fome have ob-
ferved) in alliifion to that it is faid, the
Holy Ghoft defcended in a bodily Shape y gently
hovering over Chrift, and lighting en himy
CMatt. 3. 16.) juft as a Dove ufeth to do
when itlighteth upon any thing. According-
ly this bodily Shape might be fome Form of
a bright Cloud that overjiadowed ChriCl, as it
did when the Words fpoken from Heaven
together with this Appearance, were re-
peated in his Transfiguration', This Cloud isf^^**'^^'
generally fuppofed to have been like the She-
chinah^ in which the Jehovah of Israel uled
to appear to them of old. With refped to
that, as it appeared to Mofes, it is faid, The
Lord defcended in the Cloud; and with refped
to this Appearance of the Spirit, 'tis faid,
The Holy Ghofl defcended in a bodily or vifibleE^^^-H'
Shape. And by the way, fuppofing that thcfe^'^.^^ u.
Appearances were alike, they carry a {lrong25. '
Intimation that the Spirit who defcended m
this luminous Body upon Chrilf, is (if not
the fame Perfon, yet) elfentially that Jcho"
^vah who defcended in a Cloud of Glory of
C old;
C iS)
old ; becaufe that manner of Appearance
was peculiar to the only Jehovah as the Sym-
bol of his own Prefence. But to return,
this Shape or Form^ in which the Holy Ghoft
appeared, whatever it was, was no more
the Efience of the Holy Ghoft, than that
Shechinah was the Efience of Jehovah, who
defcended in it. But as none doubt, but he
who made that Appearance in the Shechmah
was a Perfon ; fo there is no reafon to doubt,
but the Holy Ghoft, who made this Appear-
ance in a corporeal Shape at Chritt's Bap-
tifm, is a Perfon too. The Holy Ghoft
likewife appeared to the Difciples on the
Day of Pentecoft in the Form, of Cloven
hdisz^l.'jtcnguesy like* as of Fire, and it fate tipon each
of them. The Phrafe here ufed is different
from that, which expreffes the Holy Ghoft's
defending like a Dove, in the PafTage before
^ ftffl-ei recited : There it is like or ^' as a Dove, and
'TTfiTi^v^o 'tis likev/ife expreHed by the Evaiigelifts
tcoV« Matthew and Mark ; but here 'tis \ like as
^yfoi' Q p p-y^ . ^hich difference in the Phrafe
fome Criticks tell us, imports, that this Ap-
pearance was in the Form of Fire ; and that
that was not in the Form of a Dove. By
this Appearance of cloven Tongues, the Holy
Ghoft reprefented vifibly "juithout, what was
the Nature of thofe Gifts, which he then
filled them with by his Operation upon them
•within, as the next words intimate. And they
ver^ 4. "^^^^ ^^^ j'7// is vexed, and
grieved.
r 19 )
grieved. Thefe Expreffions concerning Him
are familiarly known. And Ananun was ^^^ 5-
faid to lye to the Holy Gbofty which is called a ^» ^'
tempting the Spirit of the Lord, becaufe he
thereby made a diftruftful Tryal of his Wis-
dom to difcover the Fraud, when he aded the
Cheat in pretending that the part of the
Price of his Pofle/fion, which he laid at the
Apoflie's Feet, was the whole for which he
fold it ; but there can be no tolerable Senfe
in faying, that he attempted to dtc^iv^ the
Holy Ghoft, or told a Lye to him, i^ the
Holy Ghofl is not a Perfon. To fuppofe
that all thefe things are fpoken of and ap-
ply *d to fomething that is not a Perfon, but
a bare Virtue, Power, or Quality, is to com-
mit the mod: manifell: Violence upon thofe
many Texts which thus fpeak of Hirny and
on the plain fcope of the Contexts, where
feveral of them are found. Yea, his very
Name, viz. the Spirit^ fuppoiingit to be ufed
in a proper Senfe, muft needs import him to
be a Perfon. For where there is a proper
Spirit, there is a proper Perfon, or free in-
telligent Agent. And therefore to fuppofe
that He is not fuch an one, is likewife to
fuppofe that he is not properly a Spirit, not-
withftanding the Frequency and Eminency with
which the Scripture giv^s him that Title.
But Chrift plainly intimates, that he is pro-
perly both a Spirit and a Perfon, v/hen he
calls him the Spirit of 'truth, and at the fame
time fpeaks of him by a ijiafculine Pronoun,
Job. 1 6. 13, 14. And his being call'd the
Comforter, or the Paraclete, befpeaks fuch a
Charafter, and fuch Ads, as can belong to
rone but a Perfon.
C 2 Se-
( 20 )
Several of the Things I have but briefly
hinted, are fuch as can't without the greateft
abfurdity, be apply'd to any but a Perfon :
And tho' fometimes the Scripture may ap-
ply others of them to that which is no Per-
fon ; yet, either the Nature of the Things
themfelvesj or fome other Places fhew, that
in fuch cafes they can be only fpoken in a
figurative Senfe, and fo we are eafily fecur'd
from miftakcs with refped to them. But
thefe Things are conilantly apply'd to the
Holy Ghoft, without any Intimations from
the Nature of the Spirit, or from Scripture-
Interpretation, that they ought to be under-
ftood as figurative Expreffions, fo that we
have no reafon to take them otherwife than
in a proper Senfe, to denote his Perfonality,
And furely ii they were not indeed fo to
be underfrood, we fhould have been fome-
where clearly informed of it, that we might
not be unavoidably led into fuch fatal Mi-
ftakes, as we are by thofe numerous Paffages
of a Perfonal Strain, if he really is not a
Perfon. But this is fo far from being the
Cafe, that on the other hand when any thing
is faid concerning the Spirit, which looks
inconfiflent with his being a Perfon, a Me-
taphor ufually fbews it felf fo obvioufly, that
'tis next to impoflible not to difcern it. Hence
this Evidence of his Perfonality is fo ftrong,
that many of the moft flift' Oppofers of bis
Deity have been forced to own him to be a
Perfon, as feveral of the moft confiderable
among them do at this day. For this rea-
fon I have CDutented my {t\^ with the briefer
Hints upon this Point ; as alfo becaufe mofl
of the Proofs I am to give of his Deity will
be a farther Confirmation of it. And in-
deed
( «I )
deed I am prone to think, that a bare read-
ing of our Text and Context, and feveral
other Paflages of Scripture which fpeak of
Him, are fufEcient to fatisfy an unprejtidi-
ced attentive Mind, that He is ufually fpoken
of under Perfonal Characters, Hence,
Prop. 2. He is a diftinB Perfon from the^top.z,
Fatbsr and Son.
The Spirit, confider'd a6 2, Perfon, is not
the Father, as the Father ; nor the S.on, a^
the Son. Or, the Perfon of the Spirit, is not
the P.rfon of the Father or Son. In what-
ever Senfe thefe three are ene^ they are difiinH
Perfons from each other. The Spirit's Rela-
tionto the Father and Son, and his proceeding
and corning from them, and being Jem by
them, fufficiently prove this. Hence they
are very often mention'd together in fuch a
juanner as (hews, that the Holy GhoR is fpo-
Jken of as a Perfon, as much as the Father
and Son, and is as fuch diftinguifh*d from
them. Thus for Example, Chrifl fays, I will Joh, 14.
• pray the Father^ and he jhall give you another "^^^ I7>
Comforter y that he may abide zvith you for every '
even th$ Spirit of Truth. But the Co/nforter,
which is the Holy Ghof^y whom the Father will
fend in my Name, he jhall teach you all things j &x.
And when Hey the Spirit of Truth is come y Hec\\2iV>,\6.
xu ill guide you into all Truth — All things thati^^iU
the Father hath are mine : therefore faid /, that
He jhall take of miney and jlew it unto you.
And the Apoftle fpeaks of the Grace of the zCor^il.
Lord J if m Chrifly and the Love of Gody viz, M*
the Father, and the Comjnunion of the Holy
Ghofl. And he tells us , that thro him v ^^ j,
(Chrift) we both (Jews and Gentiles) have jg, '
(i]fi an accefs by one Spirit to the Father. Not
C 3 to
:^
(22)
to* mention many other Texts that might be
j^^^^^g quoted, I (liail only add Chrifl's CommliTion
ip. * * to Baptize in the Name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy GhojL Nothing can
be plainer to me, than that in thefe, and
fuch like Places, the Holy GhoR is repre-
fented as one, who has a Subfiitence diilind
from the Father and Son. Hence,
Prop. 3. Prop. 3. His diftinB , Suhfftence from the
Father and Son is by an eternal necefjary fro^
eeeding in an inconceivable manner from them.
Let us confider this Proportion by Parts.
I. 'The Holy G heft's diftiriEl Subjtftence is by
his proceeding in an inconceivable , manner from
the Father and Son.
The manner of his proceeding can t but
be incomptehenfible to us, becaufc 'tis a
Proceeding in an incomprehenfible Nature ;
and wherein it differs from the eternal Ge-
neration of the Son, any farther than as
One is only from the Father, and the other
from the Father and Son, is impclTible for us
to determine, and prefiimptuous ro attempt.
And how the Father, Son, and Spirit fland
originally and internally related to each o*
ther, may poifibly be a Thought too big
ever to be taken in by a finite Mind in its
mofl exalted Enlargement. But as the per-
fonal Property of the Son, denoting his
diilindSubfiftence, is exprefs'd by his being
begotten, fo the perfonal Property of the Holy
Ghoft, whereby his peculiar Subfiflence is
denoted, is exprefs'd by his proceeding. He
Xoh. 15. is the Spirit of Truth, who PROCEEDETH
3K3. from the Father, That which proceeds from
another, mufl be fomc way diilind: from
that, from which it proceeds ; and this Pro-
c:eeding being made 4 perfonal Charader, to
... ;. denot©^
.mm.
(a?)
denote the Relation which the Spirit bears
ad intra to the Father and Son, 'tis apparent
that 'tis by this, that he has his perfonal di-
ftind Subfift-nee from them. He is never
faid to be createdy mads, or produced, as if
he was a divine EffeEi, or was paffive under
divine Operation ; but He is fpoken of
aBively, as proceeding: He proceedeth, fays
Chilli, from the Fatljer.
Tiio it is only faid, h^ proceeds from the Fa-
ther j yet tis not faid he proceeds N LT from
the Father, nor y I conceive is it to be underftood
exclnfive of the Son, who in the fame Verfe
fpeaksof his own fending him^Whom I will fend
to you from the Fat her .Th^ Son's fending the Spi-
rit by gracious Difpenfation has been ufually
allow'd to fuppofe his antecedent eternal Pro-
ceiTion from him ,• even as the Father's fend-
ing the Son at his Incarnation, fuppofes his
being eternally begotten of him. And 'tis
indeed very incongruous to fuppofe that the
Son ihould have the Power of fending the
Spirit, unlefs the Spirit is originally related
to him as his Spirit ; but how he fhould be
fo related any otherwife than by what is
call'd his Proceeding from him, is what I
could never yet learn. The adings of th^
divine Perfons are according to the Order of
their Subfiftence, and their original Relations
to one another are fometimes fhadowed out
by the manner of their actings towards us :J°"*^®'
Accordingly Chrift's breathing on the Dif-
ciples, when he faid to them receive ye the
Holy Ghofiy feems to intimate, among other
things, that as his Breath really proceeded
from him in his human Nature ; fo the Spirit
as reallyy tho' in an infinitely different and
inconceivable manner, proceeds from him
in his divine Nature : Or elfe, that as the
C 4 tem-^
(24)
tempornry EfFufion of the Spirit is from
him, fo IS his eternal Proceeding too. Hence
he is fpoken of as bearing the fame Relation
Eph. g. to the Father and Son. He is the Spirit of
M»^^» the Son, as well as of the Father. Becaufe
^'^ ^ ye are Sons, God hath Jent forth the Spirit of his
Son into yvur Hearts. At other times he is
Fh'l I. cali'd the Spirit of Chrifl ; thus the Apoftle
'^* fpeaks of the fnpply of the Spirit of Chrifl,
And he is cali'd the Spirit of Chrift in fuch
a manner as intimates to us, that 'tis not
barely on the account of Chrifl's having the
Spirit without meafure in his human Nature,
or having the Difpenfations of the Spirit in
his Hands, as Mediator : but on the account
of his eternal Relation to him in his divine
Nature. For he is not only cali'd the Spnh
of the Son, which is a Denomination of Chrift
from his divine Nature, as I have formerly
(hewn ; but he . is likewife call'd his Spirit
before his Incarnation ; for the Apoftle fpea-
king of the Old Teftament Prophets, fays,
1 Pet. I'they fear ch^d what, or lahat manner of 'Timey
*^' the Spirit of Chnfi zvhich vjos in them did ftgnifyy
when it, or he, tejiified beforehand the Sufferings
of Chrift, and the Glory that fiouldf follow.
Chrift, in a Difcourfe about fending the
Spirit to glorify him, fays, All I'hings that
Joh. i6. the Father hath are mine. The Expreflion is
*5* as full and comprehenfive as can be with re-
fpeci: to All that the Father hath. But if this
Spirit is not originally the Spirit of Chrift,
neceffarily and eternally Proceeding from
him as well as from the Father, he
would furely have qualify 'd this Expreflion,
and excepted the Spirit from thofe All 'Things.
But he is fo far from doing this, that on the
ocher hand, he make3 hi§ joint Interefl in
. . ■ aU
(25)
aU that the Father hath, the ground of his
fending the Spirit, which imports that he is
included in thofe all Things, 'Therefore faid /,
that he jhall take of miney and jhall /hew it unto
you; q. d. He fhall come as my Spirit to dif-
play my Glory. Furthermore, Chrift don't
fay all Things that the Father hath zxt given
to me, as if he had them only by Difpenfa-
tion, ox jhaU be mine when I fhall be exalted,
as if they were only the Reward of his
Sufferings : But he fpeaks of them in magni-
ficent Strains like a prefent abfolute Proprie-
tor, and fpeaks of himfelf like a Copartner
with the Father, as one that has the fame
original Right to them and Intereft in them,
as the Faih.r has. And hence the Spirit of
Chrift, and the Spirit of God, are ufed as
Terms of the fame Import, which Ihews at
once, that Chrili is Goa, and that the Spi-
rit is calid his Spirit, on the account of this
Relation to him as God, Te are not in t/jf Rom. S,
Fkjhy hut in the Spirit, if fo he that the SPI-'^'
RIT OF GOD dwell in you. Now if any
Man have not the SPIRIT OF CHRISTy
he is none of his. When he is call'd the Spirit
of God, the Term God in fuch Paffages may
be fometimcs taken Perfon ally for the Father,
or for the F:.ther and Son, as the Circumftan-
ces of the Context dired ; and accordingly
the Spirit of God is a Pcrfonal Charader to
diftineuifh the Holy Ghoft from the Father
and Son, and from all created Spirits, as the
■Son of God is a Peifonal Charader to diftin-
guifh the Logos from the Father, and Holy
Ghoft, and from all mere Creatures. Thus
when we are told the Spirit of God moved upon ^^"» '«
the Face of the Waters, the word God may be ^*
there underftood as denoting both the Fa-
i thei:
(20
ther and Son, iince the Son as well as the
Job. I. Father is the God, i;>y whom all Things were
I, h made that are made. Hence,
2. This Proceeding of the Holy Ghofl from the
Father and Son ts an ETERNAL Erna^
nation.
Tho' the Effafionof the Spirit in his Gifts
, and Graces (which may be call'd his fecon-
dary coming fonhfro?!! the Father and Son)
began in Time ; yet that Proceeding, by
which he has his Si-:S(ift'uice, is never fpoken
of as having any Beginning or End, but as
one continued Emanation, always and un-
changeably the fame. The Old Teftament
aifures us of his Exiftence all along, even
from the firft Creation of all Things. He is
that Spirit of God, wno moved upon the Face
cf the Waters in the Beginning ; and afterwards
fpoke in all the Prophets. And yet, when
in the Fullnefs of Time Chrift came into
this World, he then fpoke of the Spirit's
Proceeding as a continuing Thing. Speaking
'hi? ^^ ^^^ Miflion he iifeth the future Tenfe,
z6\ Whorn I IVI LL fend unto you from the Father,
But fpeaking of his Exiftence, he ufeth the
prefent Tenfe, Even the Spirit of Truth, which
PROCEEDE TH from the Father. This
intimates to us, that the eternal abiding Du-
ration of this Spirit is the fame with that of
the great Jehovah, who defcribes his own
permanent eternal Being, not by any thing
Exod. 5. ^^(^ or Future, but by a frefent I AM. 1
14. Am that I Am, In like manner Chrift fpeak-
ing of the Spirit, don't fay he hath proceeded,
or w/// proceed ; but he proceedeth, or is pro-
ceeding permanently, without Beginning,
Interruption, Alteration, or End.
Hence
(27)
Hence he is exprefly call'd the eternal
Spirit^ by whofe extraordinary Influences,
the Man Cnrift Jefus freely otfer'd himfelf a
Sacrifice^ Vl^ho thro the eternal Spirit offer d^^'^' 9-
himj?''f vohhout fpot to God. It appears very ^^*
evident to me, that by the Spirit is here
meant the Holy GhofJ, For he is diftinguifh'd
from Chrifiy 'who offered himfelf, and from God,
viz. the Father, to wJ.om mofl immediately
that Offering was made ; and the Holy
Ghofl's concernment in thisgreat Tranfadion,
is reprefented by the AiTiilance he gave to the
human Nature ofChrifl therein. ThisPhrafe,
thro the Spirit, is commonly ufed to iignify
thro the Influence or AffiRance of the Holy
Ghofi 3 nor do I know that 'tis ever ufed in
any other Senfe throughout the Scripture.
Thus Believers are faid THRO the Spirit ^om.S.
to mortify the Deeds of the Body ; and T'HRO^'^
the Spirit to wait for the Hope of Righteoufnefs ; , pgt.'il
and to obey the Truth THRO the Spirit. "Tis 22.
obvious at firft fight, that thro the Spirit m
thefe, and feveral other Places which might
be named, fignifies ^^ro the AffiFiance of the
Holy Ghoft. And fo Chrift, coniider'd in his
human Nature, offer'd up himfelf a fpotlefs
Sacrifice to God thro the Spirit, or thro the
nnmeafurahle Influences and Affifiance of the
Spirit, qualifying him for it, exciting him to
it, and aduating every fuitable Grace to the
moft exalted Exercifein it. Now, this Spirit
is ftiled the eternal Spirit ; and I think the
word Eternal, when, 'tis mentioned as the
Property of a Perfon, is never ufed of any but
of God himfelf His Name isfrcm e'verla^-iCa, 5^,
ing, as well as to everlafting ; and therefore li,
eternal or everlafling is made his peculiar Title
to exprefs his permanent Being without Be-
ginning
(28)
ginning or End. No intelligent Being be-
sides him, ever bears this Name. Tho' An-
gels and Saints will have an endlefs never-
ceafing Exiftence, andarefaid to live /or ever;
yet where do we ever read of an everlafting
or eternal Angel, eternal Saint, on eternal Soul y
« ^ or of any eternal Spirit befides this ? And
25, * 'the Word here iifed to exprefs the Eternity
of this Spirit, is the fame as is ufed to exprefs
the Eternity of the only true God, who is
^all'd the everlafting or eternal God.
His very Name, the Spirit of God, inti-
mates his Co-eternal Exiftence with the Fa-
rther and Son. There never was a Time
when it could be faid the Spirit was not ; nor
is there the leaft intimation in Scripture
that he ever began to be i or that God, viz,,
either this Godhead, or the Father, or Son,
ever were without the Spirit. There is no
more account of the Beginning of his Days,
than of the End of his Years ; nor anymore
account of either of them, than there is of
thofe of the Deity it felf, or of either of thp
other adorable Perfons in it ; fo that it may
be faid to him, as well as to each of them,
Vb\»9o»E.venfrom Everlafting to Everlafting thou art
z. God. Hence,
3 . 'This eternal Proceeding of the Spirit is a
NECESSARY Emanation.
His Subfiftence is never fpoken of as the
Effed of the Will of the Father or of the
Son, as all created Beings are. The moft
excellent of thefe Beings owe their All to the
Will of God : For with refpe^i to them 'tis
Pfa.148. faid. He commanded, and they zvere created : He
hath alfo eftai^Iified them for ever and ever : He
hath made a Decree, which jhall not pafs. AH,
that are not God, are under infinite Obli-
gations
(29)
gations to him for all the Being, Excellencies
and BlefTednefs they are poflefs'd of : For
of hhriy thro bim^ and to him are all Things yKow,Jj,
to whom he Glory for ever and ever. This fhews ^^*
they derive from him by a free Ad of his
Will, which might have for ever refufed to
have commanded them out of nothing. But
the Holy Ghoft is never fpoken of as any
way obliged to the Father or Son for his Be-
ing or Subfiilence; and this fhews that His
is as neceffary as Theirs; or, that his Pro-
ceeding from them could no more be avoided,
than they could avoid being what they them-
felves are. Hence he is call'd the Spirit of God:, i Con 2,
by w2Ly of Peculiarity, in aJIufion to the Sp- lu
rit of a Man^ which may denote the Neceifi-
ty of this Spirit to the Godhead, or to the
Father and Son ; as the Spirit of a Man is
neceflary to the Exiftence of a Man. As no
Man can be a Man without the Spirit of a
Man within him i fo, as far as the Scripture
has informed us, and as far as we can con-
ceive according to the Accounts it has given
us, God can't be God without the Spirit,
any more than without the Father or Son ;
and They can no more fubfift without him,
than He without Them.
The Eternity of his Proceeding from them,
is a ftrong Implication of the Neceffity of it ;
for it has hitherto been generally received as
a Maxim of Truth, that what always was^
could not hut Be. If therefore the Holy
Ghoft's Subfiftence is by a Proceeding co-
eternal with the Father's and Son's, as I have
fliewn it is,, it miift needs be as neceflary as
either of Their's. A faint Illuftration of
this we have in co-eval Emanations, fuch as
Heat from Fire^ and Brightnefs troni the Stm^
or
(- 30 y
or from any luminous Body. Thefe have a
necejfary Co-exiflence, and can't be feparated
from one another. Why then fhould not the
co-eternal ProcciTion of the Spirit be as ne-
eeffary too ?
Nor is the Vhluntarinefs of this ProcefHon
any Objedion againft its being NecefTary.
As. both They, from^whom he proceeds, and
He who proceeds from Them, are ail in-
telligent and infinitely excellent Perlbns*
They can't but approve of all that necella-
rily belongs to the Perfedion and Glory of
the Deity ; and therefore that which is in.
this refped voluntary, fully confifts with its
being necefTary. f Thus the Father knows
himfelf necefiarily, and yet voluntarily, that
is, with an infinite approbation of his Will,
tho not by the Power of his Will. All his
Perfe(5i:ions are necejfaryy and yet he is willingly
Perfed ; yea^ he exifts neceffarily, and yet
none can fay but that he exiils m this fenfe
voluntarily. The fame may be faid with
refped to the eternal Generation of the Son,
and Proceffion of the Holy Ghoft. The
Proceeding of the Holy Ghoit from the Fa-
ther and Son, is with the Approbation of their
Will, tho not an Effed produced by the
Power or by any Ad of their Will. Nay, I
think they are never fpoken of as jBive
with refped to the Proceedtng of the Holy
Ghofl himfelf, tho they are with refped to
his Miffion according to Djfpenfation. 'Tis
likewife with the Approbation of the Holy
Job, i5.Ghoft's Will, who is fpoken of adively as
z6.
t Vid. Dr. JFaterlnnd's Vindication of Chrid's Di-
vhiity, jp. ii6, &c.
one
(30
one who froceedeth ; but this is no more incon-
iiftent with the Neceffity of his Proceeding,
than the willing active Subfiftence of the Fa-
ther himfeif is iaconiiftent with the NecefTity
of it. Hence,
Prop. 4. As the Holy Ghofl eternally and?roi^. ^*
neccffarily proceeds from the Father and Sony He
is a divine Per Jo ay one in Nature with them.
Tho the word Perfony as apply'd to finite
Creatures, and according to the Notions our
Acquaintance with them has given us of iu
denotes an individual Being, or One who
has a Subftance of his own, diflind from all
others ; yet when we fpeak of Perfons in an
infinite Nature, we muft regulate our No-
tions of them only by the Scripture, and
underfiand that T^erm in fuch a manner as a-
grees with the Unity of the Godhead, which
Godhead is the undivided Nature or EfTence
of Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft. Thefe
three are on one hand often reprefented as
one divine Being, in the Attributions of the
very fame incommunicable Titles, Perfedions,
Works, and VVorfliip of the Deity, equally
to them all, as is to be prov'd under the
next principal Head : And yet on the other
hand, they arefpoken of under fuch Diftin-
dions from each other, as we ufe to apply
to three diftind Perfons ; and therefore the
word Perfon feems to be the propereft Word
\vc have to exprefs thofe three Diftindions
by. And the Ufe of this Word in this Cafe
is countenanced by the Son's being cali'd, in
his diftindion from the Father, r/>^ exfrefs^-^^'^"
Image of his Perfon. ^*
Howy or inivhat manner thrcQ Perfons can-
di{lin6:ly fubfifl in one uncjivided Nature,
fo
(30
fo as that each of them fhould have the
whole divine Nature in him, is freely allow'd
to be altogether inconceivable by us : t But
this is no more a Proof againft its being Fad,
than the Inconceivablenefsof the manner how
the whole divine Being, and ail its eflential
Attributes are always at once intirely in
Heaven, and on Earth too, is a Proof againft
God's Omniprefence. Tho fuch Omnipte-
fence may feem impoflible to us, yet we muft
allow it to be real, it being the moft mon-
ftrous and abfurd Notion of God to fuppofe,
that only a Part of God, a Part of his Be-
ing, a Part of his Attributes, is in Heaven,
and another Part of God is on Earth. And
if we muft believe the puzling Incomprehen-
fible in one Cafe, why fhould we ftartle at it,
and for that reafon alone rejed it in the o-
ther ? Tho feparate Perfons, (as all finite In-
telligences are) are fo many feparate Beings ;
yet I can't fee any Contradidion in faying,
that three infinite Perfons, who are fo eflen-
tially and undividedly united as not to have
a feparate Exiftence from each ether, are one
Being, becaufe 'tis in difi'erent refpeds that
they are threey and that they are One, Nor
doth this make a Fourth intelligent Agent,
becaufe this one divine intelligent Being has
no other Exiftence, or Intelligence, or Agen-
cy, than what it has in thofe three Perfons.
That the Holy Ghoft is a Perfon diftind
from the Father and Son, has been already^
proved. And that he is a divine Pxrfon, who
is one in Nature with them, feems very plain
'\Vid, Dr, Waterland'j Vindimion^ p. 171, &:g. and
from
from the Eternity and Necefpty of his Procee'^
ding from them. For neceffary and eternal
Exiflence is the firft Notion of the Deity ;
iiothingbut God can havefuchExillcnce, and
whatever has fuch Exiflence cannot but be
God ; For otherwife there would be feme-
thing neceilarily and eternally befides God,
whether he would or no. Somt-thing which
he could not by his abfolute Omnipotence
poiiibly prevent from Being, nor can ever
make ceafe to Be. But toTay this, is both
to Ungod him, and to fet up another God
befides him. Since then the Holy Ghoft is
an eternal neceflary Emanation not from the
Godheady or from the Ncv.uve of God ; but
from the other Vevfons in that Nature, his Na-
ture mufl be the fame with the Father's and
Son's from whom he proceeds, or elfe there
mufl be more proper Divinities, or more
eternally and neceffarily exifling Natures tiian
one : For to fuppofe that his Fevfin is necefla-
ry and eternal, and that his Nature is con-
tingent and temporal, is the firfl-born of all
Gontradidions. And if his Nature is ne-
Cvfiary and eternal, what Nature can that
be, but the one divine Nature ?
The three Perfons of the Godhead can't
\iZ predicated or afErm'd of one another ; that
is, 'the Holy Ghoft can't be call'd the Fath-a,
or the Sony or be defcrib'd by their perfonal
Properties ; nor can the Father or Son be
caird the Holy Ghoft., or be deicrib'd by his
perfonal Property. The Scripture never
thus interchangeth their Names or perfonal
Properties, which fhews that they are diftincl
Perfons. But God can be, and is predicated
of them ail, that is, the ejfential Names and
Properties of God may be call'd the Names
D and
( 34 )
^nd Properties of each of thofe Perfons, and
they are in Scripture apply'd to, and affirm'd
of the Spirit, as well as of the Father and
Son, as is hereafter to be proved. This
Ihews that their Nature or EJfence is one and
the fame : For if their Nature or Eflence was
diftind from. each other, as their Perfons are,
the Names and Properties that belong to the
Eflence of one, could no more be the Names
and Properties of the other, than the perfo-
nal Names and Properties of one, can be the
perfonal Names and Properties of the other.
As a Father and Son can't bear the diflin-
guifhing relative Names and Properties of
each other, but both bear the common Name
Man^ and have the Properties effential to
Man, which (hews their Perfons are diftind,
and yet that they have the fame common Na-
ture. So the perfonal Names and Properties
of Father, Son, and Spirit, being diftinguifti-
ing^ames and Properties of Relation, they
can*t bear them interchangeably, but they all
bear the Name Gody and have the Properties
elTential to God, which fhews their Perfons
are diftind, and yet that they have the' fame
individual Nature of God, fince that Nature
is undividedly One. 'Tis only the famenefs
of Nature (as far as I fee) that can be
the ground of attributing to the Holy Ghoft
thofe Names and Properties which belong
only to that Nature, and are incommunicable
to any other. That thefe are afcrib*d to Him,
will, I hope, fufficiently appear when we
come to the propofed Proof of his Divinity ^
in the Interim, I fhall here only obferve, that
the name jehovahy which I fhall then fhew
belongs to Him, is a Name exprefJive of the
Nature of the only true God, as it iignifies
(3$)
necelfary Exiftcnce, and Bejngk felf. If then
this Name doth indeed belong to tlie Holy
Gholh he can't but be a divine Perfon whofe
Nature is no other than the divine Nature,
becaufe this Name fignifies that Nature^ ■ nci is
on that account the incommunicable Name
of the o-ily true God, and belongs to none
but him, as the Scripture clearly affirms. 7he Hof. it.
Lord {Heb. Jehovah) is his Memonaly and ThQUy pj-^j^ g,^
ivhofe Name ALONE is Jehovah, art the ^2/
mcft High over all the Earth. This is the
Name of the one only Deity ; and therefore
this being the Name of more Perfons than
One, plainly ihews, that that Deity is the ^^^^^ ^^
one Deity of them all : 'Pov the Lord our Cod, .^
is one Lord {H^b. one Jehovah.)
The Holy GhoiVs proceeding from the Fa-
ther and Son doth indeed prove, that he is
fomeway diftincly namely, in Perfonality from
them ; but it don't infer that He is totally j
and in all refpeds diftind, fo as to be of a
different Nature from them. For, fince the
manner of this Proceeding is allow'd by all
to be incomprehenfible, and lince the Pro-
ceedin'g it felf has been fhewn to be necejfary
and eternal, v/ho fiiall pretend to fay, that
fuch a Proceeding denotes any Divifion, Se-
paration, or Difference of his Nature from
that of thofe, from whom He proceeds ?
Even in created Beings, the nature of necef-
fary and coetaneoas, or cotem.poral Emana-
tions, is the fame with that from which they
proceed ^ as in the Sun and its Brightncfs,
which is call'd its Rays. Thefe Rays them-
felves, as far as I can conceive, are of the
fame Nature with the Sun it felf, and are fo
effential to it, that it can't be a Sun without
them, tho' it may without their being ex-
D 2 tended
■( 3^ )
tended to this lower World. Now, tlio the
Proceeding of the Holy Ghoft is in a man-
ner too high and impenetrably fecret for us
to conceive of by the help of this or any o-
ther of the imperfed Iliuflrations, which
Creatures afford us ; yet i£ the Rays, which
proceed from the Sun, are undividedly the
fame in Nature with the Sun it fclf. Why
fbould not the Holy Ghoft, who necejfarily
and eternally Proceeds from the Father ana
Son, be undividedly of the fame Nature
with them.
T\\o proceeding from the Father and Son i$
his diil:inguifhing fsrfonal Property ; yet to
fhew that He is not a different^ Being from
them, and that He don't iubfift out of the
Godhead any more than they do, He is re-
prefented as being in God as the Spirit of
Man is in Man : Otherwife I can't fee the
Force of the Apoftle's wry of arguing, when
he illuftrates the Knowledge which the Spirit
of God has of the T'hings of Cody by the Know-
ledge that the Spirit of Man^ tvhich is IN
HIM, has of the T'hings of a Man, (i Cor.
2. II.) The Spirit of Man which is in him,
is certainly of the EfTence of Man ; and
therefore, as far as divine Things can be re-
prefented by Human, we are hereby taught
to believe, that the Spirit of God that is in
Him, is of the Eflence of God, and con-
fequently that He is one God with the
Father and Son.
SERMON
(S7)
S E R M O N II,
I COR. xii. II.
But all theje worketh that one and the
felf-fame Spirit^ dividing to every
Mm feverally as he wilU
HAVING already infiflcd on four
Propdtions, to fet the Divinity of
the Holy Ghoft in fuch a plain and
fcripturalLignt as may be ufeful, by the Blef-
fing of God, to remove fome Difficulties ob-
jeded againft it, and to adjuft o-ir Thoughts
about Him, I now, in Purfiait of the fame
Deixgn, proceed to a fifth. Therefore,
Prop. 5. The Holy Ghofiy ly an intirely^^^^^S^
free^ and voluntary Difpenfatwn, fuitable to the
Order of his Stihftflence, is fent and comes in
fuch a 7nanner to aB from the Father and Son
towards m^ that all his ABings are likewife their
ABings by and together with Hi^-
This Propofition confifts of three Parts,
which *twill be prqpei: to confider diftindl-,
ly-
I. I'he fending of the Holy Ghofi, and hs
coming to aB from the Father and Son towards
D3 «^
(, 38 )
fU) is by an intirely free and voluntary D iff en-*
fation.
This fending of the Holy Glioft, and his
coming to us, is the Language of Difpenfatjony
and has a peculiar Reference to his commu-
nicating fpiritual Gifts and Graces in the
OEconomy of Salvation. Accordingly, the
Gifts or Graces of the Spirit are fometimes
meant, when the Holy Ghoft is faid to be gi^
A as 8. ti}gj2 to m, and pourd out upon us, and when
ch* 2 ^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^ bci^'tiz>ed with him. But his
jy* * coming upon us for Ipecial Operations, is
ch, I. 5. altogether with hs own concurring free and
unconitrained Confenr. He was as v/illing
to be the Seut m his Turn, as the Father and
Son wtre to be the Ser.dtts. Hence he is
fpoken of as co-ming-^ like a free Agent, and
his AtliUgs from the Father and Son are re-
prcfwUtcd in as frjee and unconilrain'd a man-
ner, as their fending him i^. For all thofe
Paflages relating to his Works, which are
render'd, He SHALL comey-^teach^ — i^ftify
of Chrifly^'^gkrify him:, — receive ef his "Things ^^^
and Jbewthe?n unto my — and the hke, may (as
has been already obferv'd) be as well ren«
der'd. He WILL come, d>cc. they being /^r^x
of the future Tenfe ; and fo they denote not
only the certainty of thofe Operations, but
likewife the gracious Condefcenfion and Free-'
dom of the Spirit in them : Accordingly in
forae Places the fame Forms of Speech in the
Toh 1 6 ^^^'^^ ^^^ render'd He will, as He WILL re^
8, I^ * {yove the World of Sin j and He WILL guide
you into all Truth,
His Aciings from the Father and Son are
A^s of Choicey and not of Duty ; Ads of
gracious Conde [cent ion to uSy and not of due
Qbedience unto themo They proceed from his
own
r39)
own free Concurrence with the Father and
Son in this OEconomy, and not from Obli-
gation or Neceliity, any farther than his
perfect Agreement with them in Nature and
Will may be faid to put a NecefHty upon
Him. Hence He is calfd God's /rf-^ Spirit^
with regard to his gracious Operations. Uf- ^^^^' 5^*
hold m2y fays Dav'idy imth thy free Spirit, And
it feems to me very remarkable, that tho'
He is ofcen fpoken ofasfent by the Father and
Son ; yet He is never fpoken of as receiving
>any Command from them, nor as acting in
Obedience to them. Chrifl, confider'd in hisr
human Nature, and Office-Capacity there-
in, is faid to receive a Command from his Fa*
ther, Qoh. lo. i8) and to become obedient ^
(Phil. 2. 8.) But nothing like this is ever
faid of the Spirit. The obvious Reafon of
this dilferfeiice in fp^aking of Chrift and the
Spirit is, that C/;r.y2 having an inferior Na-
ture in perfonal Union with the Divine, in
that inferior Nature became God's Servant^
(as he is calfd Matt. 12. 18.) and was ca-
pable of receiving a Command from his Father,
and of paying Obedience unto Him. Whereas
the Holy Ghofty being merely and in all re-
fpeds a divine Perfon, and having no other
than his original divine Nature, was unca-
pable of being a Servant y or of receiving any
Commandsy or of paying any Obedience ; and
therefore is never fpoken of in that Lan-
guage. And confequently whatever He did
muft be by an unconflrained and originally
unobliged Voluntarinefs> and by as free ^
Condefcenfion to us, as either the Father oir
Son ad by.
The only Place that occurs to myThoughts,
which looks like the Spirit's coming and
P 4 adin^
(40)
afting by a Command, is his coming in
Joh. 14. ChrilFs Name, whom the Father will jendi
^^* fays Chrift, in my name. But how harfh and
unfuitabie to the whole Tenor of the Con-
text is it to fiippofe, tiiat Chrift ihould fay.
The Father will ftnd the Holy GhofI: by my
commanding Authority^ which mull be the Senfe
of the Expreff on, if by Name we here under-
{land a comma,Jiing Authority. Therefore by
his coming in the Name cf Chrift, 'tis moft
natural to iindtrftand, either his coming and
iac^ting by fpecial Difpenfition from Chrift,
and as it wcxq perfonating Him, by fupplying
his Abfence, and teaching them the fame
Things, as Chrift had taught them, and
would ll:ill have taught them, had he been
to continue perfonally among them. In this
Mat. 24.Scnfe of the Expreffion Chrift fays, Many
5« JhalJ come in my Name, perfonating me, /'zji;^^
I am Chrift, Or rather it may be underiiood
of the Spirit's coming in the Virtue or Merit
of Chrift's Death, on which his coming de-
pends. In this Stnfe of the Expi-criion,
Job. 14. Chrift lay s* in the fame Chapter, Whatfot'ver
^li H* yejhall ask in my nmne, that I will do, that the
Father may he glorified in the Son. If ye fall
ask any thing in my name, I will do it. This
meaning of the Phrafe well agrees wiih
Chrift's Difcourfe about the coming of the
Jch. 16. Spirit ; For he fpeaks of his fending the
7- Holy Ghoft upon his Departure to fupply
^^4* his Ablence, and of his graying the Father^
^ ' that as the Fruit of his Death, He would
give them, another Comforter.
Nor is the fending of the Spirit h the Father
and Son any more a Proof of his coming by
a Command, than his being fent in Chrift*s
N^m^ is. Fof one Perfon's being fent by ^^
nother,
(41)
nother, merely on the foot of an agreed
Difpcnfation, and not by any antecedent
Obligation, m^y very well confift with his
original Equ.ilny in Nature and Power with
the Perlon from whom He is fent. Nothing is
more common than for Pcrfons equal in
Nature, Power, and Interefi, to fort them-
felves into ditferent Ranks ot- Acting, ac-
cording as they think the Reafons of Things
direct. This is plain in the Cafe of Joira-
Partnerjhip, in which feveral Pcrfons, equally
Principal, take to themfelvcs difrerent Parts
to ad in. One Partner may chiefly form.
Schemes of Bufinefs, and enter into Engage-
ments about fuch Things as concern the
common Intereft of the Partners, and may
fend another Partner to execute thofe
Schemes, and make good thofe Engagements,
according to the Order of ading fix'd upon
as moll agreeable among themfelves. Kence,
2. 7);^ Holy Ghojt's ABings in this Difpenfa-
tion are ftii table to the Order of his Subfijience.
His being a d jlinEl Perfon in the God-
headj makes Him capable of acting in a
perfonal manner fomeway diftindly, tho'
nevf-T feparately from the Father and Son.
And the Order of his Subfiftence, as the
third Perfon, makes it appear very congru-
ous that, in the Operations of God ad extra^
or toward the Creature, and particularly in
the OEconomy ot Sahation, He fhould
bear the finifhing Part, and fliou'd be the
mbfc immediate Agent therein. Hence the
Scripture reprefents the Order of the three
Perfons working according to the Order of
their Subfiflence. The firfl Contrivance and
Def.gnation of all is ufually afcrib'd mod im-
mediately to the Father ; the procuring or
ptir-^
C 40
puYchafing all,^ to the Son ; and the effediial
Application of alJ, to the Holy Ghoft. Thus
they are reprefented all together, when the
t Pet. 2, Apoftle Peter fpeaks of the EleH according to
the Foreknowledge of God the Father, thro Saur
Bification of the Spirit unto Obedience, and f prink-
ling of the Blood of Jefi^ Chrifl. The Apoftle
Taul abounds in Reprefentations of the fame
fort throughout his Epiflles, of which I fhall
Eph. T. recite but this one. Blejfed be the God and
m with all fpiritual Blejjings in heavenly Places
in Chrifl : According c^ he bath chofen m in him^
before the Foundation of the World ; that lue
fiould be Holy, and withotu blame before hhn, in
Love, Having predeflinated ^;5 unto the Adoption
of Children by Jefm Chrifl to himfelf, according
to the good Fleafure of his WdL — In whom
(Jefus Chrifl:) iJne have Redemption thro his
Blood, the Forgivenefs of Sins, In whom
alfo, after that ye believed, ye were fealed with
the Holy Spirit of Promife, which is the Earnefl
of our Inheritance, &c.
This Account of the feveral Parts, in which
thefe adorable Perfons ad, is evidently moli
agreeable to the Order of their Subfiftence.
The F/Vy^Perfon bears the leading Part in this
great and glorious Enterprife ; the Second,
who is eternally Begotten of him, comes
from him to open the way, and to do what
was neceiTary for an honourable Accornplifh-
ment of it ; and the "Third, who eternally
proceeds from them both, comes from both
to bring the whole to a bleffed and effedual
IfTue. Hence the Father and Son having al-
ready performed the principal Parts of their
peculiar Work, the Holy Ghofl: in purfuance
?:hereLinto, is fent and comes to perform the
prin-
(43)
principal Part of his Work that peculiarly
belongs to him. I teU you the "Truths (fays Job, i5.
Chrift) it is expedient for you that I go away ;7>B*
for if I go not away, the Coinforter will not come
unto you, hut if 1 depart, I will fend him to you.
And when he is come, he will reprove the World
of Sin, and Righteoufnefs, and Judgment, &c.
And yet,
3. All the AElings of the Holy Ghoft in this
Difpenfation are likewife the ABings of the Fa--
ther and Son by and together with him. •
When the Holy Ghoft comes, and dive lis in
Believers, the Father and Son come and dwell
in them by and together with him. Hence
when Chrid faid to his Difciples, J will p-ay ch. r^,
the Father, and he fb all give you another Com- i<^> T7>
forter, that he may abide with you for ever, even ^^j^-g,
the Spirit of Truths He dwelleth in you, and
Jhall be in you. He immediately adds, I will
not leave you Comfortlefs, I will co?ne unto you» ■
And, If any Man love me, he will keep my
Words, and my Father will love him, and zve
will come to him, and make our abode with him.
The Spirit can't come to us and abide with
us feparately from the Father and Son ; be-
caufe the peculiar Prefence of the Spirit with
us, is the peculiar gracioufly-operating Pre-
fence of the Divine Nature^ which is equally
the Nature of them all. Accordingly we are
faid to be the Habitation of God thro (Gr. in Eph. 2;
or by) the Spirit, 'Tis God, confider'd in ^2.
the Perfon of the Holy Gholl, that moft im-
mediately refides by fpecial Relation and gra-
cious Operation in us, and 'tis mediately by
him, that the Father and Son fo refide and
operate.
Hence thofe Operations, for the doing of
which the Spirit i$ faid to befent and to come
(44)
to US, are frequently afcrib'd to the Father
and Son, as their own proper Ads, as well as
to him, as his. Thus the Things fpoken of
in our Text and Context, are faid to be per-
formed by the fame Energy of all the three
Perfons, ii (according to xht mod: common
Interpretation) we underfl-and thofe Perfons
iCor.tz. tQ '^^ diftindly meant by the oneGod, one
^'^» *^^' Lord, and one Spirit, there mentioned. A.nd
at the beginning of that Chapter, the Apoille
^. 5. tells us, No Man can fay that Jejki is the Lardy
kit by the Holy Ghoft. And yet Chrill fpeaks
of this as his Father's Aft, when upon Peter's
Matth. faying, T'hQU art Chrift the Son of the living
16.16,17 God^ J^'f^ anfwered and faid unto hiniy Bleffed
art thou Simon Bar-Jona ; for Flefi and Blood
bath not revealed it to thee, hut mj Father luhich
is in Heaven. And at another time this is
fpoken of, as Chrift's own Ad. We knowy
I Job. 5. fays the Apoflle, that the Son of God is comey
zo. and hath given m an underflanding that we may
know him thai is true • and we are in him that is
true, even in his Son ^Jefm Chrift, Thus the
very fame Ads are afcrib'd difiindly to all
the three Perfons as their own proper Ads,
which fhews that whichever of them they are
afcrib'd to, 'tis the one Energy of the Deity
that performs them, and all the three Perfons
concur in putting forth that Energy.
Tho' the Holy Ghoft is the moft imme-
diate ading Perfon in puting forth the
efftntial Power of the Godhead in his pecu-
liar Operations ; yet as that Power is the
only Principle by which they are perform'd,
and is equally the Power of all the three Per-
fons, it feems as if the Father and Son can t
but concur with the Spirit therein ,• and the
jnoft natural Order of that Concurrence isy
' tha^
C40
that according to the Order of Subfiftencei
they, a5 diflinB Perfonsy fliould apply that
Power unto thofe Operations mediately by
the Spirit. Tho we can't pretend to fay that
thjs Order of their working is abfoliitely ne-
ceifary, btcaufe (for what we know) the
Father might moft immediately exert the
Power of the Deity, and the Son and Spirit
mediately by him • yet it appears very
plain from their eflential Union, or undivided
Samenels of Nature with one another, that
the Father or Son can no more ad feparately
from the Spirit, than he can from them ; or
that, neither of them can aft excliifively of
the other two ,• excepting merely perfonal
and relative Ads among themfelves, the im-
mediate Principle and manner of which, we
neither have, nor it may be ever fhali have
any Notions of
Hence I conceive it is faid. When Hey the]o\\. 16*
Sfirit of 'Truth is coniBy He ivill guide you into ^33 ^5-
allTruthy or into nothing but what is Truth,
and into all neceflary Truth ; For he jball not
fpeak of himfelf ; hut zvhatfoever he Jhall hear
that {Imll he fpeak. All Things that the Fa-
ther hath are mine, therefore faid /, He f: all take
of miney and [hall Jhew it unto you. His not ^
fpeaking f of himfelf y may denote that he^^?>*^
don*t fpeak feparately from or exdufwely ot^'^''"^^*
the Father and Son. In this Senfe Chriil
ufeth this Phrafe, when in the foregoing
Chapter he fays, the Branch cannot hear Fruit ^^* ^U
* of it felf, that is, feparate from the Vine ;i' ,
or, as he explains it in the next woras, ^^^^P 'zclvt^*
it ahide in the Vine. And in the Application
of this Metaphor, to ilkiilratc the Union
that is between Him and tht Church, he
fays, the^' could do nothing feparate from
Him.
Him. / a?n the Vine^ ye are the Branches :
i), §. He that abideth in me^ and, I in himy the fame
f X«f''^ hrini^rh forth much Fruit ; for f without me ^ or
*l^* feparate from me, ye can do nothing. Now as
the Holy Ghoft is moft intimately and infe-
parably one in Being and Operation with
the Father and Son, he could fay nothing of
himfelf, or a-part from them ; and nothing
but what they faid together with and by
him. And its being added. Whatever he pall
heary that pall he [peaky may denote that his
Relation to the Father and Son, as their
Spirit, is To intimate, that whatever he fliould
fay frould be in full Concert and perfed
Harmony with them, and therefore mud be
entertained with the fame Regards' of Faith,
Thankfulnefs, and Obedience, as i^ either
of them had immediately fpoke it. And it
may farther import, that his intimate Ac-
quaintance with the deep Things of God, as
the Spirit of God, who by his own Confci-
oufnefs is privy to all his Secrets, particularly
about the OEconomy of Salvation, fhould
be the Rule and Meafure of what he fhould
fpeak. For hearingy when apply 'd to God,
fignifies, among other things, his infinite
J ^^'**^^' Knowledge. Thus fays God, / have heard
all thj BlafphemieSy which thou hafi fpken a-
Hof. i^,gain[i the Mountains of Ifael. And, / have
^' heard arid o!feYvedhi7ny (peaking of Ephra^?^^
And fo this hearing or knoiving of the Spirit
well agrees with what is added. He jimll take
of the Things of the Father and Son, and/j^xy
them to you. They are not jkewn to him by
Revelation ; but he is originally acquainted
with them, as he is the Spirit of God, and
fo the Spirit of Truth, who is capable of re-
vealing them to others. And 'tis impoilible
that
(47)
tliat he fiiourd have any thing to reveal,
which is not the Father s and the Son's too, or
which they could not have reveal'd, becaufe
his Nature, Perfedions, and Knowledge are
the fame with their's, and they are at perfed
Agreement with one another in all things.
Or elfe, all thefe Expreffions may be con-
iider'd as the Language of Difpepfation. And
fo we may underfland Chrill as faying. The
Spirit of Truth yZ>^// /iof /peak of bifnjelfy but
according to agreed OEconomy. And,
fpeaking after the manner of Men in fuch
Cafes, iVinitfoever he jJjall hear, or find to be
his part to reveal in purfuance of my Afcen-
fion, that jhall he [peaky taking fuch things of
mine2i\\d the Father Sy as belong'to that Branch
of the Difpenfation, and Jbeiving them unto
you. Hence,
Prop. 6» All that the Holy Ghofi doth from P^^op. 6,
the Father and Son are divine Works proper to
the Godhead) and are performed by him in fuch
Almighty and Sovereign Manner y a5 can agree to
none but the only true God.
The Evidence of this Propofition may ap-
pear by confidering three Things with regard
to thefe Works of the Spirit.
I. His Works of Application^ and the other
Performances which are peculiarly afcrib'd to him^
are m great and divine, as any of thof Works y
which are more peculiarly afcrib\i to the Father
er Son in the OEconomy of Salvation,
This will fufficiently fpeak for it {t\U when
we come to confider thofe Works which are
moft peculiarly afcrib'd to him, as Proofs of
his Divinity. In the mean while, I fhall only
obferve, that He who can do the great
Things, which we fhall hereafter fee the Spi«
ric
(48)
rit doth, could (if it had been Co order'd
in the divine OEconomy) as eafily have
donethofe Works which are moft pecuharly
afcrib'd to the Rather or Son; unlefs we Oiould
fiippofe that there arefome, the Spirit's doing
of which would be repugnant to the eternally
neceiTary Relations of the divine Perfons a-
mong themfelv^s. The Contrivance of a way
of Salvation for lolt Sinners, and the chujing
of Heirs of Glory, which are ufually fpoken
of as the Fathci's peculiar Works, could nor
be Enterprifts too big for the Holy Ghoft^
I Cor. 2. £]p^^g /^j> kiiOivs the deep 'Things of God^ as the
Ra ^^ Spirit of a NLm kntws thu "things of a Man,
5j/ * ' Tho all Creatures are excluded from this
Privilege, yet he, as a divine Perfon, from
everlafting knew the Mind of the Lord, and
was his CounfelloYy joining in Concert with
him therein. And he had an original Right
to elc6t or appoint Perfons to Glory, fince
f Pet, 4 he is the Spirit of Glory ^ who by his own free
1^. ' * Agency fits 'em all for it, and lands 'em fafe
in it, as may be fhewn hereafter.
And if he could do the Thmgs peculiarly
afcrib'd to the Father, there is no juil: room
to doubt, but he could have done thofe
Things that are peculiarly afcrib'd to the
Son, in cafe divine Wifdom had feen fit to
order that he Ihould have aifum'd our Nature
into perfonal Union with himfelf, for that
Purpofe. For, fuice he qualify'd Jcfm of
Ndz>areth, as Man^ for his Office- Work, he
could furely have given the fame Abilities to
the human Nature to go thro its Difficulties,
had it been perfonally United to himfelf, as
he did, when it was perfonally united to the
Son. There is no ddctt of Dignity orPov/er
in the Spirit for this Work. He, on fuppo-^
fition
C49>
(Tcion of fuch Perfonal Union, was fufficfeac
of himfelf to hav: done it to the full Satis-
faction of Juftice, without the more imme-
diate Influence ot any other Perfon in the
Godhead. Mor is this to afcribe more Suffi-
ciency to the Spirit than the Son himfelf had :
For, had it been agreeable to the Order of
the divine Pcrfbns Working, He, as the eter-
nal Logos:,could have communicated all need-
ful Influence to his human Nature in the moft
immediate Manner by himfelf, as well as
mediately by the Spirit. But admitting that
thus it might have been, yet infinite Wifdom
order'd it to be otherwife for the peculiar
Honour of the Spirit, and for the Beauty of
the divine OEconomy. Hence,
2. All the great and god-like Works of the
Holy Ghoji are uorongbt by his own Ahnighty
Tower,
He is never fpoken of as receiving Ability,
or being qualify d for his Operations by the
Father or Son 5 He is never reprefented as
Anointedy or as indued with Power to enable
Him to ad as He doth. But on the other
hand, is reprefented as the divine Perfon
who moft immediately doth thefe to others,
and even to Chrift himfelf, confider'd in his
human Nature, as may be fecn hereafter.
And what is this manner of Ading, but that
of the felf-fufficient Jehovah ? Of whom, but
of the on]y true God, can it be faid, that he
Ads after this fort ? Surely, if the Power by
v/hich the Spirit performs his mighty Deeds
was not originally his own ; If God by any
free Vouch fafements furnifh'd Him with the
iinmenfe Capacities He has of furnifhing d-
thers, and of Ading the part or God to-
wards others> it would be fomewhere inti-
E mated
( 50 )
mated to us. But nothing like this occurs in
the Scripture. Nay, on the other hand, to
fatisfy us that his Power is not derived to
liim for an Office-Performance, but is by
Nature originally his own^ what he doth,
both with refped to Gifts and Gracey is ex-
prefsly aflerted to be done by his own Pow-
Rons.Tj.er. Now the God of HopCy fays the Apoftle,
'S, ip, fill you ivith all Joy and Peace in helievingy
that ye may abound in Hope thro the P WE R
OFT'HE HOLT GHOST. And he af-
terwards fpeaks of Mighty Signs and Wonders
ly the POWER of the Spirit of God. The
Power is denominated from the Holy Ghoft
to fhew that 'tis his own, and God is faid
to work by this Power to fhew that 'tis no o-
ther than the Power of God himfelf. For
what Power doth God put forth and work
by but his own ?
How contrary is this Language concerning
the bleffed Spirit, to that which is ufed con-
cerning the miniflerial Intereft of Creatures
in divine Operations ? They are faid to re-
Lulce 24. ceix^e Power from on high for them. 'Tarry ye
45^' in the City of JerufaJemy faid Chrift to his Jyi^"
ciplQS, tint i I ye be indued with Poiver from on High.
And this Power was put forth upon them,
and thro them, by the Holy Ghoft, as Chrift
Ads I. g, explains it when he fays, Tejhall receive Pow^
& 2. A, er after that the Holy Ghofl is come upon yoUy and
accordingly they were all filled with the Holj
Ghofly and began to [peak with ether T'ongues^ a^
the Spirit gave them utterance. Who can fay
thefe were not God-like Works ? And yet
the Power of the Holy Ghoft is fpoken of
as the proper efficient Caufe of them all.
There is no fcruple made of calling them the
EfFeds of his Power ,• and yet the utmoft
Cautioii
(51)
Caution was ufed to prevent all Apprehen-
(ions as if the Apoftles wrought any divine
Works by their own Power. Thus when a
notable Miracle had been perform'd by the
Apoitle Peter y he utterly difclaim'd any KOi-
iwgs of his own Power therein, faying, Te s^p^^ ^^
Men of Ifrael why 7naYvel ye at this ? Or why 12,
look ye fo earnefily on m^ as tho by our own Power
t))' HoUnefs zve had made this Man ivalk '^ And
fo did the Apoftle Paul on a like occafion,
A^s 14. 14, 15. But thcfc mighty Signs and
tVonders were wrought by the Power of the
Spirit of God in oppofition to the Apoftles
own Power, as we are told in the Place juft
now quoted from the Romans. Now what
can be the Reafon of this different Language
about the Pov/er by which thefe Works were
performed ? I can conceive no other that
looks natural, or that can fecure the Honour
of God, but what I take to be the only true
one, and that is, that the Power the Holy
Ghoft put forth therein is indeed his own
Power as God. Hence,
3 . He manageth all his grand omnipotent Per-
formances in afovereign Manner.
As he \s infinitely able of himfelf to effect
them, fo he, like the great Jehovah, like an
abfolute Lord of his own Gifts, beftows or
with-holds them as he pleafeth. The mod:
excellent Creatures ad as Servants to God.
The holy Angels are his Minifters that do his pfa.ic^
Pleafurey hearkning to the Voice of his word. And 2c, 2.1.
Chrift himfelf as Man was God's Servant,
devoted to his Pleafure, faying not my Wilh
hut thine he done. But the Holy Ghoft doth
all Things with a divine Sovereignty accord-
ing to the Counfel of his own IVtU, which is
fpoken of as the fole Prerogative of God
E 2 him-
himfelf, Eph.i. ii. Sovereignty is the Jewel
of God's Crown. 'Tis one o( the moft ex-
alted Ideas we can have of the Majefty of
his Being. Heil give ur> this Prerogative to
none, nor fliffer any to ftiare Witn him in it.
All fliall be for ever accountable to him, who
Job 53. giveth not account of any of his matters. But
^>« the bleffed Spirit is never fpoken of as owing
any thing to God, or as accountable to him
for any thing he doth. Such leffening Gha*
raders are never put upon him, but he fpeaks,
and his Condud is fpoken of, in fuch mag-
nificent lofty Strains, as fhew that he exerci-
feth the Sovereignty of the great Jehovah
himfelf.
God's Sovereignty fometimes denotes his
Imperial Abfoiute Dominion, or that he has
a fupreme and abfoiute Right in himfelf to
command or do whatever lie pleafeth for his
own Glory. And this Sovereignty the Holy
Gholl evidently claim'd, and exerted in a
mou remarkable Manner, when in a very
momentous Affair, that dix^dly concern'd
God's Glory, he with a fupreme Authority,
like an abfoiute Lord, commanded it in his
own Name to be done to his own Honour,
A^s il, faying^ Separate unto ME Barnabas and Saul
for the Work lohereunto I have called them. How
Gould the eternal Father himfelf haveaflerted
his own Sovereignty iw llronger Terms than
thefe ?
Ac other times, GoA's Sovereignty denotes
his freely difWbuting undeferved Favours to
fome, and not to others, according to the
Foil 9 ^<>^^ Pleafure of Yiis'<^i\\i who faith to MofeSy
^l '* ' / vjiil have Mercy on whom I will have Mercy p
and I will haveCompaffion on whom I wiU have
OmpajVirn. And the' Holy Spirit's Diflribu-
tions
( 53 )
tjons of Gifts and Graces is in the fame fo-
yereign Strain. Whacever he diflributcs, and
to whomfoever he makes the Diftributions,
'tis not according to the Will or Deferts of
thofe that receive 'em ; but according to the
fovereign Pleafure of the Spirit who beflows
them. AS theje (faith our Text) one as well
as another, worketh that one and the felf-famei
Spirit^ dividing to every Man, whoever he is
that has any of them, feverally as he will.
What can more fully exprefs the Sovereignty
of the Spirit in his free Vouchfafements !
Accordingly Chrift, fpeaking of this Spirit's
fpecial diftinguifliing Work of Renewing
Grace, represents it as a fovereign Ad of
his Will. The JVnd blows where it liflethy — ^ Job. J.
fo is every one that is born of the Spirit. The 8,
unconftrain'd Motion of the Wind is 2l lively
Emblem of Sovereignty ; and its being faid
.to blow where it lifieth, adds Strength and
Beauty to the Reprefentation. The Hfiing
or willing of the Wind is plainly Metaphori*
caly and can't be otherwife : But its Applica-
tion to the Spirit is proper j as all Metaphors
are in their Application, as far as the Nature
of Things admits ; and it admits of fuch
Application here, becaufe, as has been fliewn,
the Holy Ghoft has in a proper Senfe,a Will.
If therefore we are to learn any thing by Me-
taphors, This plainly teacheth us, among or
ther things, that Regeneration, or the New
Pirch is the Effed of an unconftrain'd free
and undeferved Ad of the Holy Ghoft's
Will. 'Tis here afcrib'd to his Will with the
fame Air of Sovereignty as 'tis to the Will of
God, when we are faid to be born, not qfch. 7,
Bloodi nor of the Will of the Fleihi nor of the iJ*
E J ' mil
( 54 )
!• Will of Many hut of God-, who of his own Will
begat m with the Word of 'Truth, Hence,
. 7. Prop. 7. The Holy Ghofi together with the
Father and Son is the one Sovereign and Almighty
God.
He is not the only true God exclufive of
the Father and Son, but incliifive of them ;
and together with them, to the Excluiion of
all others. Tho Father, Son, and Spirit are
three Perfonsy yet they are not three Gods ;
becaufe the fame individual Deity is the
Deity of them all, and is the one Principle
of divine Operation exerted by them feveral-
ly, according to the different manner of their
Subfiuing in it. And therefore whatever in-
conceivable Difference there may be be-
tween thefe three adorable Perfons with re-
fpcct to the Order and Manner of their Sub-
liftences and Operations, yet with refpeft to
EJfence, and with refped to the Self-Jufficient
-principle of Operation, they are, as tar as
I apprehend, ail alike, and all together, one
no more than another, the Sovereign and
Almighty God.
The Holy Ghoil's proceeding is not to be
conceived of as an effential Property of his
Nature^ exprefling what that is ; but merely
as a perfonal Property, exprefling his peculiar
Manner of having the fame divine Nature,
which the Father and Son have in a differing
Manner. And therefore I can't fee-how any
Subordination of the Holy Ghoft can on this
account be admitted of, that is inconfifient
with his effential Equality with them. Hence
if we confider Independency and Self-origination,
not as relating to the Grder of the Firft Per-
fon*s Suhfifttng ^ and alfolute Supre?nacy^ not as
re-
Ms)
relating to the Order of the Firft Perfon's
luorking ; but if we confider all thefe, as
ejfential Charaders, relating to the abfolutely
perfed and neceffary Exiftence and Suprema-
cy of the Godhead^ it feems very plain, that
the Holy Ghoft can be no more inferior to
the Father or Son in thefe^ than in any other
eifential Perfedions oi the Deity. As one
and the fame divine Nature neceffarily and
infeparably Qx\{ks in Him and in the Father
and Son, the Nature itfelf can't be different
in them, tho there is an inconceivable Dif^
ference in the Manner of their having it. And
if the Eternal Spirit has the fame Nature,
He muft have all the fame Perfedions that
are ejfential to it, or elfe 'tis not the Jhne Na-
ture. And on this Suppofition of Samenefs
of Nature (which I have endeavour'd to
eftablifh in fome of the foregoing Propofi-
tions) we muft either fay, thar Self-origina--
tion. Independency^ 2Xid abfolute Supremacy y are
to be coniider'd only as perfonal Properties^,
which don't belong to the divine Nature
merely as fuch ; or elfe, we muft unavoid-
ably allow that thefe, as well as all other
effential Perfections, are equally in the Holy
Ghoft as in the Father and Son, which is the
fame as to allow that He is one and the
fame God in Nature, effential Perfedionsj
and Glory with them.
To conclude. If the Holy Ghoft is a di-
vine Perfon, whofe Nature or Eifence is the
one divine Nature, and who by his own
Power and Will performs divine Works ia
an Almighty and Sovcreii^ii Manner, accor-
ding to the preceding Propofitions, then He
muft needs be the true and fovereign God,
becaufe none but the true God can be fuch
E 4 '
(56)
a divine Perfon. And if He is the true and
fovereign God, He muft be the one true
God, becaufe rhere can be no more true an4
fovereign Gods than one. And for the fame
Reafons, if the Father and Son are hkewife
Divine, Almighty and Sovereign Perfons as
well as the Holy Ghoft, thefe three Perfons
can be together in Nature, Being, or ElTcnce^
but one true Almighty and Sovereign God.
And in this Light we may very naturally un-=
derftand that contefted P^iiage jn Jof.ii:, wkh-
out putting the Icafl Force upon any one
1 Job. $.Word in it. Inhere are Three that bear Record
^" in Heaven^ the Father^ the JVordy and the Holy
Chofly and th^Jc three are cue,
APPLICATION.
Ufe I. This Explication of the Do(^rinc
may furnifh us with fair, audi hope fatisfy-
ing, Anfwers to the moft confiderable Oi^-
jeBiom againft the PerfomlHy and Deity of the
HoIyGhof):.
1. Is kohjeEied^ That the Holy Ghoft is
only the Name of fome divine Qualities that
are form'd and do refide in us? The Anfwer
is. The Scripture afcribes fuch perfonal Cha-
raders and A(5ts to Him, as can't agree to
any fuch Qualities ,- and He is plainly diflin-
guijb'd from them as the Author of them.
2. Is it oljeEled, That He is the Power of
God, and therefore not a Perfon ? Anfwer.y
If He is call'd the Power of God, 'tis not
to exprefs his peculiar Charader, in diftin-
dion from the Father and Son ; but only tQ
denote his eifential Property, and the Prin-
ciple of his Operation. The Power of God
is indeed put forth by the Holy Ghoft in hv4
Works :
/ (57)
Works ; and yet 'tis call'd the Power of the
Holy Ghoft himfelf, which diftinguifheth his
Perfon from the Power, and at the fame time
fhews him to be God, His own Power being
the Power of God. Ch'riji alfo is calfd the
Poiver of God ; and yet there is no reafonable
doubt but He is a Perfon.
3. Is it objeBedy That He is the Gift of
God ? Anfw. This relates in a fpecial Man-
ner to the Difpenfation of the Spirit for ex-
traordinary and gracious Operations, and is
no objedion againft his being a Perfon, fince
He IS fuch a Gitt as beftows Ciks^ and fince
Chrift is alfo the Gtft of God, and yet allow'd
to be a Perion. Nor is it an objedion againfi:
his Deity ^ fince God may be faid to give Him-
felf in his Covenant, to be the Portion of
his People.
4. Is it objeBedy That we are baptiz ed with
the Holy Ghoft, which feems to be the
greateft Impropriety, if He is a Perfon ?
Anfcj, This is to be underftood with refped
to his Gifts or Graces^ which he beftows upon
us ; and fo denotes a being baptized with
them by Him. And accordingly^ that Form
of Expreflion might be rendered by the Holy
Ghoft, as it is, when it*s faid, BT one Spirit^ ^or,
are we all baph^ed into one Body, * ^, * 5-
5. Is it objeBedy That He is only a diffe-
rent Denomination of Gody and is really the
fame Ferfon with the Father and Son ? Anfw,
The Scripi'ure fpeaks of Him under fuch per^
final Charaders and Adings to diftinguijfi
Him from the Father and Son, and under
fuch Relations to them, as are utterly incon-
fiftent with his being one and the fame Ver*
fon with them.
^ 6. Is
C5§)
6. Is It ohjeEled, That He proceeds from the
Father and Son;, and therefore is a diiferent
Being from them, and inferior to them >
Anfw. His proceeding is necejjary and eternal^
not from the iV^i'^^/r^,* but from the Perfons o£
the Father and Son in the fame undivided
Nature ; and therefore whatever may be the
Inferiority of Order with refped to this his
Charader, yet his ProcelTion b.eing eternal^
necejfary, and vjithout Divifion or Separation,
it implies no Difference or Inferiority, but
Samenefs and Equality in Nature with the Fa-
ther and Son.
7. Is it objeSledy That His proceeding
from the Father and Son denotes Derivation
from them, and therefore He can't, be the
Self -originate God, as the Father is ^ Anfw,
If Self-origination is confider d as a perfonal
Character, rel]:)e(5ting the manner of having
the divine Nature or Efff^nce, fo it peculiarly
belongs to the Perfon of the Father. But
confidering it, as an effential Charader, re-
fpeding the abfolutely perfed and neceffary
exiftent divine Nature it felf, in which the
Holy Ghoft has his perfonal Subfiftence by
an inconceivable and unavoidable ProceiTion
from the Father and Son, in that refped it i$
the effential Charader of the Holy Ghofl, as
well as of the Father and Son, the one un-
divided Deity being the only Nature or Ef-
fence of them all.
8. Is it objeSledy That He is call'd the Spt^
rit of God, and therefore is not himfelf God?
Anfu). He is call'd the Spirit of God in allufion
to the Spirit of Man ; and none doubt but
the Spirit of Man is of the Effence of Man.
He may therefore be call'd the Spirit of God
to diftinguifli his Perfon from the Father and
Son,
( 59)
Son, and from a!l created Spirits, and yet
may be by Nati;re thit Spirit,' which God is
hid to be, when 'd> zfdxmd that Cod is ^Joh. 4,
Spirit. 24,
9. Is it ohjeEled, That He can't be an /«-
finite Perfon, btxaufe He co^^/^^^i to v^s and
withdraws froi^i -us, which feem inconfifient
with Omniprcience ? Anjw. His coming or
wither:: wing relates not to hiseflential Pre-
fence, but to his applying or not applying
himfeh: to us in his ipiritual and gracious
Operations upon us. Moreover, Jehovah
was faid to go dewa to fee the City and Yozuer o/Gqu. it,
Eal^el ; and the Father himfelf is laid to come ^^ ,
to us and to make his abode with us ; and^°'^' ''^'
yet few are hardy enough to difpute againft
hi^ being the omnipr-efenr God.
/lo. Is it objeEled^ That the Holy Ghoft
can't be the Almighty and Sovereign God toge-
ther with the FjtthtT and Son, becaufe He is
fent by them, and comes from them. Anfw.
His being fent, and his coming from the Fa-
ther and Son, are according to OEconomy
fix'd by mutual free Agreement among them-
felves, and not injoin'd on him hy a Com-
mand, nor fubmitted to by him as an Act of
Obedience. And therefore fuch fending, ia
which he comes with as unconflrain'd a Li-
berty as he isfent^ is very confiftent with his
being by Nature equal to the Father and Son,
and the one Sovereign Almighty God toge-
ther with them. And he accordingly Ads
as the great Jehovah, with all his /Power and
Sovereignty, in all that he doth in purfuance
of his being fent.
II. Is it objeEledy That 'tis inconceivable
that He fliould have the whole Epnce of
God, and yet the Father and Son fhould
have
(6o)
luve it too ? Anfw. 'Tis as inconceivable
that God fhould be elTentially every where
and always prefent ; or that the whole God-
head, with all its eiTential Perfedions and
Glory, fhould be in Heaven, and at the fame
time on Earth too. And yet both Scripture
and Reafon afTure us he is To. But why
fhould we wonder that there are Inconcei-
ables in God / 'Twould be indeed incon-
ceivable that he fhould be the infinite God,
if there were not in him numberlefs Deeps
of Excellencies inconceivable to us.
1 2. Is it ohjeEiedy That Being and Verfonzxt
Terms of the fame Import, when apply'd to
intelligent Agents, and therefore the Holy
Ghoft mufl be the fame Perforiy or he can't
be the fame Being with the Father and Son?
Anfvj, Tho' an intelligent Being and Perfoii
are indeed Terms of the fame Import, when
apply'd to finite Creatures of limited Natures,
and when ipoken of, according to the No-
tions of Pcrfons, taken from what we fee
and obferve concerning thofe that we are
acquainted with ; yet they are not Terms
of the fame Import, when apply'd to the
infinite Deity in a manner fuitable to its
Unity, and when fpoken of according to
the Notions we take up of them from the
Scripture, which is the only Rule we have
to fettle and adjufl our Thoughts about the
divine Being and Perfons.
13. Is itobjeBedy That if the Father, Son,
and Spirit are three Perfons in the Godhead,
the Godhead is sl fourth Perfon, becaufe it
is an exiflent intelligent Agent. Anfw. All
rhe Exiftence, Intelligence and Agency of
^he Godhead is only in the Father, Son, an4
Spirit y and therefore, it being no Qtherwife
ex-
( 6i )
exiftent, intelligent, or adive but in them,
it is no diftinct Perfon from them. Accor-
dingly, when God's doing any thing is fpo-
ken of abfolutely, without reftridion to any
one Perfon in the Godhead, the meaning is,
that the Deity Ads in all thePerfons, or that
they all put forth its Energy.
Thus from the Principles that have been
laid down and vindicated, a plain and fami-
liar Anfwermay bereturn'd tothefe and fuch
like OhjeElions. Others have been confider'd,
as 1 met with them under the foregoing Pro-
politions, which to fave time I forbear to re-
peat J and more fhalJ be taken Notice of, as
they may occur to my Thoughts n\ dK-
cuffing what farther lies before us.
Vje II. /foxy great muft the SALVATION
hey in which all the divine Perfons are moft a^-
tarently and remarkably concern d}
The Greatnefs of an Effed is to be efteem'd
by the fignal Appearances of God in »pro-
ducing it. The greater Shew he makes of
himfelf in it, and the greater Solemnity he
ufeth about it, the more noble and excellent
that Effed muft be accounted by us.
When God created the World, there feemU
to be a more than ordinary Confult about
making Man. Man was to be the Mafter-
piece of this lower Creation. He was to
be conftituted of an immortal Soul, as well
as of an earthy and provifionally immortal
Body. He was likewife to be created^' in the
moral Image of God, and to have Dominion
over the inferior Works of his Hands. And.
therefore the common Ftat feem'd not So-
lemn enough for the ProdudioU' of this
nobleft Piece of his Work manfji in. But all the
(62)
divine Perfons reprefent themfelves^ as if
they were in-Confult about him, faying,
Gen. T. Let US make M'ln in OUR Image^ after
^^- OUR Likemfs. Not but that 'twas as eafy
to God to make Man, as to make the moil:
inferior of his Creatures ; but he hereby put
a peculiar Mark of Honour upon him, and
ftew'd him to be a far more excellent Pro-
dud of his VVifdom, Power, and Goodnefs,
than the reft of this vifibJe Syftem.
But Man having tum*d Apoftate from,
and Rebel againft his Maker, I'he Crown is
fallen from his Head, He hereby loft the holy
Image of God, forfeited the Dominion he
gave him, made his Body mortal, and fub-
jeded his immortal Soul to endlefs Difgrace,
Confufion, and Agonies. The Order of this
lower World was hereby difconcerted, its
Beauty defaced, its Peace and Harmony funk
into Jarring and miferable Difcord. The
vil^k Contempt was put upon God, and the
blackeft Slur was caft on the Glory of his
Name, which before difplay*d its regular
Beauties in all his Works.
To retrieve the difmal Lofs of God's Glo-
ry and Man's Happinefs was the- Work of
God. A Work exceeding all that had gone
before it, becaufe of the active Oppofition
that lay againft it, not only from the rebel-
lious Race of Men, headed by the Powers of
Darknefs, but likcwife from God's own vin-
didive Juftice, unfpotted Holinefs, and ftri-
dly righteous and violated Law. Hence all
the divine Perfons agreed to fliew themfelveS
in the moft explicite, aftonifhing, and in-
dearing Manner^ beyond all that they had
ever done before 5 hot only to make the moft
ample Difplay of the Glory of the Deity in
ge-
general, but likewife of each Pcrfon in lU
Father, Son, and Holy Ghofl:, *in particular,
according to the Order of their Subiiflences,
that they might be diftindly and unitedly
Adored on this Account, with the Joudeit
Acclamations of Saints and Angels to all
Eternity.
And who can conceive the Greatnefs of
that Salivation, which is the EfFed of thefe
their confulted Operations ! Was there ever
any Work in which God open'd himfelf ac
fuch a Rate as He has done in this! In which
He has proceeded with the Appearance of fo
much Counfel and Concern, with fo much
Condefcenfion to us, and I. had almofl faid,
with fo much Vidory over himfelf^ with re-
fped to thofe juft Refentments, which the
Righteoufnefs and Purity of his Nature had
awaken d againll the moft contemptible In-
grates ! And among all his other grand Per-
formances, where has he fo fully and uni-
tedly difplay'd the Glory o£ all the Perfe-
dions of his Nature, and fo clearly difcover'd
himfelf to be fome way Three in One, to-
gether with the Order of this Three's Sub-
(iftence and Operation ! Had it not been for
this Work, it may be, the ftupendious Myfte-
ry of the for ever to be Adored Trinity, had
never been reveal'd with fuch Evidence and
Advantage as now it is to Men and Angels :
But here it fhines with fuch tranfcendent
Luftre as forbids our Curiofity, and com-
mands our Adoration. Surely the Salvation
that has drawn oat fuch fweet and aggran-
dizing Difcoveries of God as thefe, raiifl
needs be reckon'd among the chief of his
Works.
Yea,
( ^4 )
iTca, fpcaking after the Manner of Merii
this feeras te* have been a Work in which
there are fuch Kinds of Difficulties, that
(with the utmoft Reverence be it fpoken)
it could not be effected by one divme Per-
fon alone, in a way becomiiig the great and
hoJy Jehovah. Not that there is any dtfcd:
of Power m any of thofe infinite Penbns for
any part of this Work ; but the Nature of
the Work it feif feem'd to require the Ad-
ings of one Perfon in the Godhead towards
another, that it might be brought to ah ho-
nourable Iflue. There is no other Work, that
we know of, which in the Nature of it re-
quires the diftind Adings of more divine
Perfons than One, any farther than as They
all work when any one of them is the moft
immediate Worker. But according to the
OEconomy- of Salvation, thro and on the
Account of an infinite SatvsfaBion to the
Law and Juftice for Sin, it feem'd neceffary
that there fhould be One Perfon to receive,
and Another to make fuch Satisfaction ; it be-^
ingvery incongruous that any one Perfon in
the Godhead fI::ould, in the moft immediate
Manner, fuftain the formal Charaders, and
Act the Parts both of paying and accenting it.
Hence, according to the Order of Subfift-
ence, the Father Ads the Part of Lawgiver,
in demanding and receiving the Sadsfadioii
due to God ; and the Son becomes Man, that
he might Ad for Men, and have fomething
to offer to God in the Perfon of the Father,
for them. And tho' it may be fuppofed,
that either of thofe Perfons might, confift-
ently enough with their other Charaders and
Works, have apply'd the Benefits obtained
by
by the accepted Atonement ; yet 'tis very
proper, and tends to inhaiince the magnifi-
cence of this Work, that, fince there is a
third Perfon in the undivided Godhead, he
likewife fhould have the Honour of bear-
ing his peculiar Part in it, and of diftind-
ly making himfelf known thereby. And ac-
cordingly the Application of all is underta-
ken and perform'd in a fpecial and mofl
immediate Manner by the Holy Ghofl.
A bare Confideration of this diilind and
remarkable Agency of all thefe adorable Per-
fons in this grand Affair, is fufficient to
make us think and fay with melting Afto-
nifhment, What hath God _ IVr ought ! JVhat Vfzl.S.
is Man that he JJjould in fuch an unexampled4«
manner h mindful of him ! What a preg-
nant Salvation hath he provided ! What vafl:
and endlefs Bleflednefs has he laid up /orpf^jj^ ^j^
them that fear himy and wrought for them thati^,
trufi in him ! The Happinefs of the firft
Creation, in all its Innocence and Glory,
was not equal to this. And all the Plea-
fures of this World, in its prefent finful and
exhaufted State, are IVant and Mifery it felf,
compar'd with Salvation-Felicities. Surely
the blefled Prefence of God, which is re-
ftor'd to obnoxious Mifcreants by all the
three Perfons ading their agreed Parts in the
OEconomy of Salvation, mufl be an En/oy-
ment full of the moft ravifiiing Delights ;
and it can be no Wonder to a confidering
Mind, that in that Prefence fhould be FulInefi?Ca], i5,
of Joy — and P leaf tires for ever?7iore, ^ * •
SERMON
(«)
SERMON III.
I COR. xii. II.
But all thefe worketh that one and the
felf^fame Spirit^ dimding to ewry
Man fever ally as he wilL
THAT which lies next before us isy
To frove the Divinity of the Holy
Ghoft : Or, T'hat ^according to the
foregoing Explication) He is the So-
verign and Almighty God,
The Explication we have gone through,
hath removed fome Diificulties that might
be urged againft the fupreme Deity of the
Holy Ghoft I and has likewife in an orderly
Procefs co^atributed towards a Confirmation
of it. Evidence was therein offer'd to jfhew,
that He is a diftind Perfon from the Father
and Son, who necejfarily and eternally proceeds
from them, fo as to be one in Nature with
them, and under no Qhligations to them ; and
that He ads from them and together with
them, according to a voluntaryy free and un-
conftrained Difpenfation, in fiich a Sove-
reign and Almighty Manner by his ov^n Pow-
€ry as can agree to none but the only true
God,
C
confirmed in its feveral Parts by Scripture-
Light, may be look'd on as no fmall Proof,
that he, together with the Father and Son,
is the Sovereign and Almighty God, and con-
fequently the only true God.
But as a farther eftablifhing this Point
may be needful to many, and will naturally
carry our Thoughts to feveral other Truths,
which are exceeding Ufeful for Faith and
Pradice, I fhall proceed to a more dired
Confirmation of it. Therefore,
Firft, Some 'Things, which it is nf parent none A^^» t*
hut the only true and fovereign Jehovah f poke in
his own Name, or was perfonated ly the Prophets
as fpeakingy are in other Places interpreted of the
Holy Ghofi, CIS that Jehovah who fpoke^ or was
perfonated as /peaking thern.
What I now intend refpeds not fuch
Things as were fpoken barely by the Infpi-
ration of the Holy Ghoft, which belong to
another Head of Argument; but fuch in
which God alone was perfonated by the Pro-
phets as fpeaking, or in which he himfelf
immediately fpoke. Such fort of fpeaking
as this, is applyM to the Holy Ghoft as the
Speaker, which Ihews him to be that fpeaking
God.
I fhall a little infift on an Inftance of each
of thefe.
The Firfi is taken from the Pfahns, v/here
the great Jehovah himfelf is perfonated as
faying, To Day if ye will hear his Voice y Ha-i^den Vh\. g^.
not your Hearts, as in the Provocation, and as /;2 7>*~-ii.
the Day of Temptation in the IVildernefs ; when
your Fathers tempted me, proved me, andfaw my
Works, Forty Tears long was I grieved with
this Generation^ and /aid it is a People that do err
F a in
(^8)
in their Hearty and they have not known my
ways. Unto ivhom I fwear in my Wrathy that
they fhoiild not enter into my Reft. For the
clearer UnderFtanding of thefe Verfes to our
prefent Purpofcj 'tis proper to obferve, that
in the foregoing Words the Ffalmifi fpeaks
to Ifraely to join with him in the moft fo-
*-'• 0, 7> \Q,xcin kdi of Worfhip, faying, O come let m
worjhjp, and loin down ^ Let m kneel before the
Lord our Maker. For he is our God, and we
are the People of his Paflure, and the Sheep of
his Hand. Thefe are the Pfalmift's Words
fpeaking in his own Perfon under divine In-
fpiration. But becaufe too many were either
backward to, or hypocritical in this Wor-
ftiip, therefore to inforce w~hat he had faid,
God himfelf is brought in as faying to Ifrael
in the next Words, Jo Day if ye wiU hear his
Voice, &c. And there I conceive the 8th
Verfe fhould begin ; for thefe Words relate
to thofe that immediately follow, as appears
by the Citations of theiti together in the
New Teftament : And fo they begin a Dif-
courfe, in which God himfelf is brought in
as the fpeaking Perfon. \
That 'tis the great Jehovah himfelf, who
fpeaks thefe and the following Words, is
very evident at firft fight. For He who
fpeaks them fays. Your Fathers tempted me^
proved me, and faw my Works, with whom
/ was grieved, and to whom / fware in my
Wrath they fliould not enter into my Reft.
And that this can be no other than Jfrael's
Jehovah, farther appears from the Place to
Num.14, which thefe Paffages manifeftly refer. The
20, 12, Lordfaid becaufe of thefe Men, which have
^^' 'feenmy Glory and my Miracles, which 1 did in
E'Zyt^y ^'^^ ^^ ^^•'^ IVildernefs^ and have tempted
me
(69)
9ne new thefe ten times ^ and lynve not hearkened to
my Voice ; furely they jh all not fee the Land, which
I/ware to their Fat hers ^ neither [hall any of them
that provoked me fee it.
Now the Words in the Pfalmsy (which are
thus apparently reprefented as fpoken by
God hitnfelf in his own Name, or as the
Words of God, and of no other) are in the
Neiv j'efiament exprefsly faid to be fpoken by
the Holy Ghofi as his own Words ; which is
a plain Interpretation that He is that Jeho-
vah who fpoke them. Wherefore as the Holy ^'^\* ^'
ijhoft faith. To Day if ye will hear his Voice i, *?*
harden not your Hearts y as in toe Provocationy tn
the Day of T'emptation in the Wilder nefs ; when
your Fathers (fays the Holy- Ghoft) tempted
ME, proved me, and faw my Works Forty Tears i
wherefore i wa6 grieved with that Generation,
and faid they do always err in their Hearts, and
they have not known my ways. So i fware in
MY Wrathy they Jhall not enter into my Refi,
Thefe are all recited as the Words of the
Holy Ghoft himfelf, fpeaking in his own Name,
juft in the fame manner as they were repre-^
iented in the Pfalms, as the Words of IfraeTs
Jehovah fpeaking in his own Name, which
thews that the Holy Ghoft is that Jehovah.
And that thefe Words are applicable to
Him, as the God that fpoke them, appears
from his being in other Places reprefented
after the manner of Men, as vexed, rebeWd
againfty and refifted by the People in the Wil-
dernefs, which are E^^preifions of the fame
Import with their temptingy proving, and
grieving the God, who fpoke thefe Words,
Thus 'tis faid, 'They rebeffdy and vexd his Holy Ifa. 6^^
Spirit, And Stepheny fpeaking to the Jews, ^^^
faid, Te do always reftfi the Hqlj Ghofi 7 as your ^^^^ ^*
F 3 Fathers
(, 70 )
Fathers did Jo do ye. He therefore is the God,
who wa.s tempted and grieved by Ifrael in the
Wildernefs, and as fuch might well fpeak
the Words that have been infilled on.
The other Inftance I have in my Eye is in
the Prophefy of Jfaiah, where the Lord of
ira.6. 9. Hofts fpealung to the Prophet, faid, Go, and
'°* tell this Peopky Hear ye indeed, but underftand
not 'y and fee ye indted, but perceive not. Make
the Heart of this People fat, and make their Ears
heavy, and /hut their Eyes, leji they fee with their
Eyes, and hear with their Ears, and underftand
with their Heart, and convert, and be healed*.
It appears with the ftrongell: Evidence from
the foregoing Verfes, that He who fpoke
thefe Words is the great and fovereign God,
whofe Glory appeared to the Prophet, and
^ whom the Seraphiras adored, Crymg one to
another, and faying. Holy, Holy, Holy, is the
J^ord of Hofls, the whole Earth is full of his
Olory, 'Twas the Voice 0/ this great Jehovah,
or Lord of Hofts, which the Prophet heard
faying. Whom jhall I fend, and luho will go for
m ^ "then faid the Prophet here am I, fnd me.
And hereupon He (this Jehovah whofe Voice
he heard) faid, Go, and tell this People, &c.
Now thefe Words which were fpoken by
Jehovah himfelf, are cited verbatim in the
New Teftament, according to the LXX.
And he, who fpoke them, is afErmed to be
^as i8. the Holy Ghofl. Well fpake the Holy Ghoft by
is, 25, Efaioi the Prophet unto our Fathers, faying. Go
^1^ unto this People and fay^ Hearing ye jhall hear,
andjkall not underftand; and feeing ye Jljall fee,
and not perceive. For the Heart of this People
is waxed grofs, and their Ears are dull of hear-
ing ; and their Eyes have they clofed, left they
Jhould fee with their Eyes^ and hear .with their
Earsg
r70
Ear^, and tmderfiand with their Hearty and
Jhould he converted, and I jhould heal them.
That which makes this Inflance very perti-
nent to our Purpofe, is, that there is no
pther Speaker reprefented in the Vifion to
the Prophet Ifaiah, but Jehovah himfelf; and
yet this fpeaking Jehovah is here in the AEls
exprefsly declared to be the Holy Ghoft,
Some PafTages in Ifaiah's Context are in-
deed in another Place apply'd to Chrifl, and
interpreted of him, as the God whofe Glory
Ifaiah faw in this Vifion -, and by Confequence
who fpoke thefe Words : For t hefe things f aid ]o^- 1^*
Ifaiasy when he faw his (Chrift's) Glory, and^^"
fpoke of him. But this is no Objedion againft
the Holy Ghoft's being the God who fpoke
them too ; fince Chrift, confider'd in his o-
riginal Nature, and the Holy Ghoft, are one
God. It is the divine Being fome way per-
fonalized that fpeaks, which-ever Perfon of
the Godhead is the moft immediate Speaker.
This Being is equally the Being of all the
three Perfons ; and therefore, when one of
them fpeaks, the other Perfons may be faid
to fpeak too, and the Words fpoken may
properly be call'd the Words of all or of either
of them. Thus the Words which Chrift:
himfelf appear d as mofl; immediately fpeak-
ing, are reprefented as the Words, which
the Spirit, as well as He, then fpoke to the
Seven Churches of AJia : He that hath an Ear ^-^' 2.
hthi-mhear (fays Chrift) what the Sprit faith l'^^'^'^'
to the Churches. & 5.6,
The Argument drawn from the Applica- 13, n?
tion of the Words in Ifaiah to the Holy Ghoft
as the Speaker, is not that he fpoke them ex-
clufive of the Father and Son, but that nei-
ther of them fpoke 'em exclujSve of the Holy
F 4 Qhofti
C 72 )
Ghoft ; or, that the Holy Ghoft, together
with the Father and Son, is the one great
God, who appeared and (poke thefe Words
in this Vifion ,• or, that this fpeaking muft
be apply'd to him as that God, as well as to
the Father or Son. For if He was not that
God, it could not be faid that He fpoke thefe
Words, becaufe 'tis plain from the Place
where they are firft recorded as fpoken, that
none but that God himfelf fpoke them. And,
fo this Text, confider'd in the Light of in-
fallible Interpretation in the NewTeflament,
is an eminent Proof that this one God is the
Son and Holy Ghoft, as well as- the Father ;
and that tho' they are diftind Perfons, yet
they are all the one Jehovah to whom the
Glory difplay'd to the Prophet did effcnially
belong.
And this Plurality of Perfons in the one
divine Effence, feems to be intimated in
Ifaiah's Context^ where God fpeaks of him-
felf both in the faigtdar and phral Number.
In the Jingular, relating to the EJfence and
Glory, it being but one Glory and o?ie Lord
Ifa. 6.i,gffenj;ially confider'd, that appear'd, fayingy
• IVhomjhaU I fend ^ And in the plural^ rela-
ting to the diftind Perfons, who were one in
thatEflence and Glory, faying, M'^ho will go
for vs> How ftrongly doth this intimate^
that tho* he is bat one God in Effence; yet
that this one God is in another Confidera-
tion, more Perjons than one. And poiTibly
the Seraphims might have a Regard to the
Trinity of Perfons in three times repeating
the ^oidHoly in their Adoration of the great
v» 5» Jehovah, faying. Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord
of Hojis, This trinal Repetition of Holy is
no where ufed but in this Place and one more,
which
(75)
which manifeflly refers to this, where th
Wour Beafls are faid to refl not Day and Nighty R^^« 4-
faying. Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty : '
And even that is underftood by divers t ju-
dicious Expofitors, as an Addrefs to God
effentially confider'd, inchifive of all the Per-
ions of the Trinity. 'Tis furely very re-
piarkable, that this Form of Adoration is
ufed no where elfe^ and iince there are fa
many Circumftances in the Place where 'tis
firft ufed to intimate that *tis applicable to
each divine Perfon, it can't but be worth
confidering, whether the Myftery of the Tri-
nity is not hinted to us thereby.
The only remaining ObjeBlon, as far as lObj,
know, againft the Application of the Text
before us to the Holy Ghoft, as the God that
fpoke itj is, that in the New Teflament 'tis
faid, the Holy Ghoft fpoke thefe Words l^y
the Prophet Ifaiah ; whereas in the Prophefy
of Ifaiah 'tis to be underftood, that the Lord
fpoke them to him , which fome may think
intimates, as if the Holy Ghoft was con-
cern'd therein only as the Infpirer of the Pro-
phet, to enable him to hear what God faid
to him, and to declare it unto others.
But to fay this, is to fay that the Holy Anfvr.
Ghoft did not fpeak thefe Words at all, but
only influenced the Prophet to hear and fpeak
'em ; which is diredly contrary to the ex-
prefs Teftimony of the Apoftle, who fays
the Holy Ghoft did fpeak thefe very Words,
which were faid to be fpoken by God himfelf,
and no other. 'Tis not exprefsly faid in
Jfaiah tp whom they were fpoken, but this
•]' Vid, Pifcator, P^rew, and Poll's Synopfis in Loc.
very
C74)
very Form and Manner of Spieech is in a-
iiother Cafe call'd God's fpeaking l?y this
Ifa. 20. Prophet. At the fame time /pake the Lord BT
^' Ifaias the Son of Amos, faying. Go, and loofe
the Sackcloth from off thyiLoms, and put off thy
Shoe from thy Foot, and he did fo. And if
God's fpeaking fiich things to the Prophet as
only concern'd his own Con dud, which
ftiould carry prophetick Inftrudions to others^
is caird his fpeaking by him • much more his
telling him what he fhouldfpeak in his Name,
as his Meflenger to Ifrael, might be call'd
his fpeaking hy him. His fpeaking immedi-
ately to the Prophet was his fpeaking medi-
ately by him to the People ; juft as a Prince's
telling his Secretary what he fhall write or
fay, and bidding him fpeak it in his Name
to others, is his fpeaking by him to thofe p-
thers. And that this was the Cafe in what
God faid to Ifaiah, in the Text we are con-
fidering, appears from the foregoing Words.
V.8. Whom (fays the Lord) jhaUIfend} and who
will go for m ? The Prophet anfwers, Here
am I, fend me. And then the Lord put thefe
Words into his Mouth with a Commiffion to
v.p, fpeak 'em, faying. Go, and tell this People, hear
ye indeed, and under ft and not. See. 'Tis very
plain, that God here fpoke to Ifrael by the
Prophet Ifaiah ; and therefore the Apoftle's
Form of Quotation was very proper to de-
note the God that fpoke thefe Words, whei>
he faid. Well [pake the Holy Ghofl by Efaioi the
Prophet to our Fathers. The Holy Ghofl: fpake
immediately to the Prophet, faying. Go unta
this People, and fay ; and he fpoke medi-
ately by him to the People in what he com-
manded him to fay, viz. Hearing ye jhall hear ^
and jhaU not tmderftand) dec,
Hence^
(75)
Hence, fpeaking to and ly the Prophets
feem to be promifcuoufly put for one ano-
ther, when either Jehovah or the Spirit is
mention'd as the Speaker. Thus, on one
hand, the Holy Spirit is faid to fpeak to the
Prophets as well as by them. The Spirit ^^ek. ^.
(fays Ez^ekiei) fpake with me, and faid UNTO 24.
me^ Go, JJjut thy Jelf within thy Houfe But v. z7-
when I fpeak with thee I will open thy Mouthy
and thou jhalt fay to them, thm faith the Lord,
&c. And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, cii. if.
and faid UNTO ■ me, fpeak, thm faith the Lord, ^'
&c. And on the other hand, God is fre-
quently faid to fpeak by the Prophets as well ^
as to them. He fpake B T the Hand of his i Kings
Servant yioksy and He fpake BT Samuel, ^'g^^'
But what need I recite particular Inftances, ^3 i-j
fince, when the Prophets in general are men^
tion d, 'tis faid God fpoke by them ? The z Kings
Lord fpake BT his Servants nhe Prophets faying, z^* 10,
— Thm faith the Lord God of Ifrael, 3cc. And J/-
God at fundry times and in divers manners fpake ^ ^ • ^^
in times pafl unto the Fathers B T the Prophets,
AndGodJhewd BT the Mouth of all his Prophets,
that Chrifi fiould fuffer whom the Heaven hd:s 5,
mufi receive until the Times of Reflitution of all 18, 21.
Things, which God hath fpoken BT the Mouth
of all his holy Prophets fince the World began.
Hence, its being faid, that the Holy Ghoft
fpoke by the Prophet Ifaiah, is no more an
Objection againft his being the God that
fpoke to him, than its being faid, that God
fpoke by the Prophets, is an Objedion againft
his having fpoke therein to them. Accor-
dingly the very fame Form of ExprefHon is
ufed when a Text is quoted as God's fpeak-
ing, or as the Holy Ghoft s fpeaking by
the
(76)
Acls I. the Prophets. This Scnfture mujl needs have
*^* been fulfilled (fays Peter) which the Holy Ghofl
BY T'HE MOUTH of David ffake before
chap. 4. concerning Juda^, And Lord (faid the Dif^
H» ^^* ciples) thou art God, which haft made Heaveni
and Earthy and the Sea, and all that in them isy
•who BT The mouth of thy Servant
David haft faid, why do the Heathen rage, &c.
Thus, the Objedioii being remov^ed, it
appears with a good deal of Evidence, that
fhe Words fpoken by Jehovah himfelf in his
Own Name to and by Ifaiah, are the Words
which the Holy Ghoft then fpoke to and by
him : And fince the only Speaker of them
was the only true God, the Holy Ghoft muft
needs be that God, not exclufive of the Fa-
ther and Son, but inclufive of them, as the
one God with them,
-^rg. 2. Secondly, The fame diflinguiflnng NAMES
and Titles cu- are proper and peculiar to the
only Sovereign and Almighty Gody do in a proper
Senfe belong to the Holy Ghoft.
'Tis generally allowed that God is a Spirit.
But I don't find that he is exprefsly calfd
fo more than once in Scripture, where Chrift
Jch. 4. fays, God is a Spirity and they that worjhip himy
*4* muft worjhip him in Spirit and in Truth. One;
Reafon why this is no oftner mentioned, may
be fuppofed to be, becaufe 'tis eafily proved
that God is a Spirit by clear deduction from
natural Principles, and from what is faid
concerning him in Scripture. But this Rea-
fon would equally lye againft the Scripture'^
infifting on many other things concerning
God, particularly his Almighty Power, which
is neverthelefs very often allerted. May we
not therefore rather fuppofe, that God is fa
fparingly call'd a Spirit, becaufe the Spiritual
(77)
lity of his Being is fufficiently exprefs'd by
the Name of the third Perfon in the God-
head, who is ufually call'd the Spirit abfokite-
]y, and the Spirit of God.
And i^y for this Reafon, God fpoken of
abfolutely is but once call'd a Spirit^ the Spi-
rit, for a like Reafon, may be but feldom
exprefsly call'd God, For the very Name of
the Spirit^ fo emphatically put, as it is in
Scripture, when apply'd to the Holy Ghofl,
muft needs import that He is God, becaufe
there is but one eminently Spiritual Being,
and that is frequently call'd God. And who
Ibould be call'd the Spirit of God, as the Soul
of Man is call'd the Spirit of. Many but He
who is himfelf God ? Tho Angels are SpiritSy
who derive their Beings from God, and are
employ'd in honourable Offices, and fent
forth from God as minillring Spirits too ;
yet they, not partaking of the one Divine^
Nature, are, I think, never call'd the Spirits of
God, but ufualJy the Angels or MefTengers.
Minifters, and Servants of God. . And if the
Holy Ghoft was a created Spirit, or was but
a miniftring Spirit, or was a Servant of God,
'tis ftrange that He fhould never be once
call'd by any of thefe Names -, but fhould on
the other hand be commonly QdiWd withftrong
and peculiar Emphafis, the Spirit, and the
Spirit of God, efpecially confidering that there
is infinitely more danger of miftaking Him
for God by reafon of thofe Names, if He
really was not God, than there would be of
miftaking the Angels for Gods, ii they were
call'd the Spirits of God.
God is frequently call'd the God of all
Creatures, yea, and of Chrift himfelf con-
fider'd
C 78 )
Matth. fider*d in his human Nature. Mj Gody my
Gen^^* ^^^^ ^^^^ Chrift, -why haft thou forfaken me ?
^^ * '^' And He is filled the Lordy the God of Heaven y
Luke 2. and zhe God of the Earth. And frequently the
Jf ?• Lord and God of Hofts ; a principal Pare of
f^^ • ^^* which isy that Heavenly Ho ft ^\\o praifed Gody
iSu.n. frying? G^o>7 to God in the Hghefty 3cc, He
i6. 2z, is f/?^' Father of Sprits y and ^/?e God of the Spi-
rits of all Flejh, But He is never faid to be
the God of the Spirity or the Spirit s God. Tho
God, confider'd in fome other Perfon of the
Godhead, fometimes fpeaking of the Holy
Ghoft, calls him my Spirit; as a Man fpeak-
ing of his Soul, fays my Soul ; and as God,
fpeaking of himfelh after the manner of Men,
often fays 7ny Soul ; yet the Holy Ghoft,
fpeaking of the Father, or Son, or oi God
under any Confideration of him, never fays
my God, This fhews that whatever Diftin-
dion there is between the Father, and Son,
and Him, they are not a God to Him, nor
are they as God diftinguifh'd from Him, and
confequently that his being call'd the Spirit
abfolutely, and the Spirit of God by way of
Eminence, is fully confident with his being
God, and that thofe Denominations of him
do indeed denote his Godhead, in oppofiti-
on to all Creatures, which are excluded from
bearing rhefe Names.
Tho' rhefe Names cLVCperfonal Appellations
of the Holy Ghoft, to diftinguifh him from
the Perjons of the Father and Son ; y^t they
don't diflinguifh his Naturey Being, or Ef-
fence from theirs, as they do from all Crea-
tures ; but they are to be confider'd as Names
which are agreeable to and have a Founda-
tion in his Nature ,* and fo He is that God,
who, together with the Father and Son from
whom
(79)
whom He proceeds, is in the higheft Emi-
nence a Spirit. Accordingly there are feveral
Texts of Scripture that fpeak of him under
fuch Names, as are pecuh'ar to the one only
great and foverei^n God.
The Names Lord, God, and ^ehovah^ are
the moft proper Appellations of the fupreme
Being ; and the two laft of thefe efpecially,
when ufed in an abfolute and proper Senfe,
are certainly peculiar to the infinite Majefty ,-
of Heaven and Earth. Vox He is God, ^nd^l'^^^'
there is none elf q. Before hi?n there was no God at,, lo^
formed, neither fhall be after him. And His Pf'^l. 85,
Name alone is Jehovah, And yet thefe Names '^*
are us'd in an abfolute and proper Senfe, as
Denominations of the Holy Ghofb.
I. The Name Lord doth in an abfolute and
proper Senfe belong to the Holy Ghoft.
'Tis of Him that the Apodle feems to
fpeak, when after a long Difcourfe about
the Spirit, he fays, f Novi the Lord is that i Ccr. |,
Sprit ', and at the clofe of the next Verfe, ^7> i3,
which is rendered the Spirit of the Lord, the
moft grammatical Conftrudion is * the Lord"^ Kvfa
the Spirit. This Spirit feems likewife to be^^5u\<«&'
meant by the Lord, in diil:in(5tion from the'*^*
Father and Son, when the Apoftle fays. The ^ xhef.
Lord dire^y our Hearts into the Love of God, and ). s-
into the patient waiting for Chrifl, Here is a
diftindion of the Lord from God, viz.. the
Father, and from Chrift. And the Work
here afcrib'd to this Lord is the fpecial Work
-\ See an elaborate Comment on this Text and Con-
text, to prove that the Holy Giiol]: is the Lord here
mention'd, by Mr. Nelfon's Friend in his Scripture^
Dodrine of the Trinity, p. i^z, and continued, p. 270.
of
(8o)
Cfal. 5. of the Holy Ghoft> iince not only Loiie^ but
2'^>2'S. jikewife F^/>/j, Long-fuffering^ and Meeknefsy
which make up this Patience, are fpoken of
as the Fruits of the Spirit. Or, ii by direEi-
ing cur Hearts into the Love of God^ we un-
derftand an acquainting and afFeding our
Hearts with a fweet and affuring Senfe of
his Love to us, this is likewife the Work of
Rom. $. the Holy Ghoft, who Jheds abroad the Love of
5« God in our Hearts. But ftill more plainly the
Holy Ghoft is ftifd the Lord, in the Apoftle's
iThef.j.Prayer for the 7^^^/o;2f^72x, iVbiu God him-
' '» I i| felf and (or even) our Father, and our Lord
^* y^f^ Chrifl direB our way to you. And the
Lord make you to increafe and abound in Love
me towards another, and towards all Men, even
as we do toward you , To the End He may eflah-
lijh your Hearts unblameable in Holinefs before
Cod, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord
Jefm Chrifl with all his Saints. Here the Fa-
ther and Son are diftindly fpoken of under
perfonal Charaders, God our Father, and our
Lord Jefm Chrifl -, and thereupon another Per-
fon is mentioned after them, in diftindioR
from them, And the Lord make you to increafe
and abound in Love : And who can we fo na-
turally fuppofe this Lord to be, as the Holy
Ghoft, whofe fpecial Work it is to make m
increafe and abound in Love one towards another j
Col. I, hence 'tis call'd our Love in the Spirit, And
then in the next Words, He is again diftin-
guifh'd from the Father and Son, where the
Apoftle prays that He might eflabUjh their
Hearts unblameable in Holinefs. This He plain-
ly refers to one of the three laft mentioned
Perfons : But not to the Father ; for he was
to eftablifh their Hearts before God, even the
Father ; nor to the Son i for he was to eftab-
lifh
8.
( $1 )
Hfli their Hearts at the coming of our Lofd Jefm
ChrJfl ; and (o the Father and Son are ftiU
diilingiiifli'd from this Perfon, who was to
eflablijh them ; And therefore He moll: evi-
dently refers to the next preceding Antece^
dent, who was call'd the Lord, and perfo-
nally diflingui/h'd by that Tide from the
Father and Son. And if this Lord was nei-
ther the Father nor Son, he can be no other
than the Holy Ghoft^ whofe peculiar Work it
is, as the Holy Spirit, to eflablijh cur Hearts
unblameahle in, Holinefs. Thus underftanding
the Words, all appears natural, eafy, and
genuine ; whereas any other Conftru(5^ion
puts a Force upon them, and-flings the Mind
into Confufion about the determinate mean-
ing of the words. Lord, and He,
2. The Name God is likewife apply'd in
art abfolute and proper Senfe to the Holy
Ghoft.
According to one Explication that was
given of our Context, he is there exprefsly
calfd the fame Lord, and thQ fame God, whd i Cof.
is call'd the fame Spirit ; which I have fhewn rz. 5^6^
is the Holy Ghoft. His being call'd God 7-
might be argued from thofe Places, which
caft a Light upon one another, by affirming
fuch things to be of the Spirit^ which are in
other Places faid to be of God. Thus what
is call'd a being bom of God, is afterwards Job. r,
call'd a being bom of the Spirit, which fhewsi^
that this Spirit is the God, who is the Au-^^*^-^»
thor of the New Birth. And thofe whom i Cor. 3,
the Apoftle calls the Temple of God at one 16, 17.
time, he calls the Temple of the Holy Ghofi at ^ Q^'"- ^^
another ; which fhews, that he is the God ^^*
tvho dwells in Believers as his Temple. And
who but God can be faid to dwell in us as
G his
(80
his Temple, fince a 'Temple \s always relative
to God} and he that by way of Eminence
dwells therein, is the fupreme God? As
Mat.23.Chrifl: intimates when he fays, iVhofoeverJhall
21.
fwear by the Temple^ fweareth by ity and by Him
(meaning the only true God) that dwelleth
therein. And when the Apoftle tells us his
1 Cox^i, pYeaching wa^ not ivith enticing Words of Mans
^» ^' Wifdom ; but in Demonfiration of the Spirit and
of Power ; he adds in the next Words, that
your Faith Jhould not fland in the Wifdom of Men y
but in the Power of God, Which fhews that
this Spirit is that God, in or by whofe Pow-
er the Apoftle preach'd, and they believed.
But we fhall have occafion to confider thefe
Things farther, under fome following Heads
of Argument.
The Holy Ghoft is ftill more direftly fil-
led Godi when he is fpoken of as that God
A£ls s. to whom Ananias lyed. Peter faidy Ananias y
5> 4» iiohy hath Satan filled thy Heart to lye to the
Holy Ghofl ? "Thou haft not lyed to Meny but
to God, That which is calfd hy\v\^ to the
Holy Ghofl is call'd a Lying to God, to fhew the
Dignity of the Holy Ghoft, and to aggravate
Ananias's Sin in lying unto him ; inafmuch
as the Objed againft whom that Sin was
moft diredly committed was God : And this
^' 9» is afterward calfd a tempting the Spirit of the
Lordy agreeable to a like Phrafe of this A-
ch. 15. poftle's, who on another occafion cautions a-
'°* gainft tempting God,
The Holy GhoRy and Gody are indeed dif-
ferent Expreflions, and yet may well denote
one and the fame Perfon ; for the Holy Ghoft,
- and the Spirit of the Lord, ufed in the fame
Difcourfe arc difi'erent Terms too, and yet
there is no room to doubt but the fame Per-
fon
C 83 )
fon is meant by both : That Holy Ghoft
to whom Ananias lyed, is that Spirit of the
Lord whom he tempted. His lying to him
was his tempting him, as it was an unbe-
lieving wicked Experiment whether he could
difcover and would refent the facrilegious
Hypocrify of that Lye: And therefore it
feems very abfurd to fiippofe that the Hc^y
Ghoft was tempted, and yet is not the God
to whom Ananias lyed, when by that Lye he
tempted him.
If it is faid, that lying to the Holy Ghoft Obj.
was lying to God, becaufe the Holy Ghoft
afted thro the Apoftles in the Name and by
the Authority of God. It may be anfwer'd, Anfw,
that this Reafon will make the Lye o^ Ana-
nias to be againft the Apoftles themfelves,
as well as againft the Holy Ghoft : and the
Sin of that Lye would have been as proper-
ly aggravated by faying it was committed
againft them as againft him ,* for they like-
wife fpoke and aded in the Nams, and by
the Authority of God; and this Authority
(if it is proper fo to fpeak) was lyed unto
and affronted in them, as really, and more
vifibly than in him. Hence it would have
b^en as true, in the fame Senfe of the Phrafe,
that Ananias lyed not to the Holy Ghoft, as
that he lyed not to Men ; and *twould have
been no more true that he lyed to the Holy
Ghoft, than that he lyed to Men. But the
Apoftle affirms that he did lye to the Holy Ghoft i
and explaining the Senfe of that Expreflion,
calls it his lyingmtto Men^ but to God,
If the Holy Ghoft is not God, 'twould
have been more natural and agreeable to the
Apoftle's defign to have faid, He bed not to
Men, nor to the Holy Ghofly but to Cod; or ra-
G 2 ther
C 84 )
ther It feems to me, that there was no Oc-
eafion to have mentioned Mett at all in the
Explication of his meaning. For nothing
had been faid about lying to Men ; and
therefore it feem'd to be an improper Expli-
cation and Aggravation of that Sin to fay,
'fhou haft not lyed to Men, unlefs the Apoftle
defign'd thereby tofhew that the Holy Ghoft,
to whom it had been faid Ananias lyed,
was infinitely greater than Men, even God
himfelf. But admitting that the Holy Ghofl
is God, nothing could be more apt and
forcible to flrike Ananias's Confcience with
Horror at the daring Guilt of that Lye to
the Holy Ghofl, than to remind him plainly
that 'twas not a common Lying to Men, but
diredly to God himfelf. On the other hand,
it having been faid that Ananias lyed to the
Holy Ghofl, if the Holy Ghofl is not God,
(and yet the Apoflle, to exaggerate the Crime
committed againft Hhn, would call it a Lying
to God) it feem'd very heceffary, both to
anfwer the Defign of aggravating the Sin,
and to prevent Miflakes, that he fhould havcSt
faid, Thou haft not lyed to the Holy Ghoft ^ hut
to God. This way of fpeaking is the conilant
Ufage of Scripture on like Occafions, when
'twould diflinguifh God from Perfons, who
are affronted or injur'd, as ading in his
Name, and by his Authority. Thus Mofes
and Aaron, having fpoken of IfraeVs Mur-
muring againfl the Lord and them, explained
themfeives, and aggravated that People's
lixod. Sin, by faying, Tour Murmurings are not againft
\6,'j,^.m, but againft the Lord, When Ifrael rejeded
Samuel and his Sons, whom he had made
1 Sam.B. Juciges over them. The Lord faid to Samuel—
'*'~^* They have not rejeBed tlee^ lut they have re-
jeHed
(8s)
jeBed me. And the Apoftle fpeaklng of thofe
that defpifed his Miniflrations, faid. He that i "^^^^^
defpifethy defpifeth not Men^ kit God, Ac- /i' ^'
cordingly, it the Holy Ghoft is not God,
but only aded in i^c Name and Authority
of God, the Place he bears with refped to
Ananias's Lye required that it fhould have
been faid to Ananias, Thou lyed'ji not to the
Holy Ghoft, but to God. But inftead of this,
the Apoftle firft alferts that he lyedto the Holy
Ghofty and then in the Explication and Ag-
gravation of that Sin, he makes no diftin-
dion between the Holy Ghoft and God, but
only between Men and God, as the Objed:
of it. The Holy Ghoft therefore muft be
one of thefe ; and as it can't be pretended
that he is meant by Meuy he muft needs be
meant by God, who is fpoken of as lyed uii-»
to, in oppofition to Men.
3. The Name jfj'.^O'z^/z^ is likewife apply'd
in an abfolute and proper Senfe to the Holy
Ghoft.
The word Lord in the Nev} Teftament,
which I have fhewn is fometimes apply'd to
him, anfwers to Jehovah in the Old, and is
the fame Word in the Greek by which the
Seventy ufually cranflated Jehovah in the
Hebrevj. And the Inftances I have given of
Scripture-Interpretation, by which the Holy
Ghoft is fhewn to be the Jehovah, and Jeho-
vah or Lord of Hofts who fpoke in the
Pfalms, and to the Prophet Ifaiah, are good
Proofs of his bearing thofe Names. But
befides all this, he in other Places, fpeaking
in ihis own Name, calls what he faith, the
fayings of Jehovah, and fo gives himfelf that
Pengmination. The Spirit (faith the Pro-
G 3 phet;
(86 )
Ezck. ^ phet Ez>ekiel) enter d into tney and fet me on
i4i 2.^, jfiy Fcety and /pake with me, andfaidto me. Go
^^* fii-ut thyfelf within thine Houfe,-^' - and I will
make thy 'Tongue cleave to the Roof of thy Mouth.
"—^But when I [peak with thee, 1 will open thy
Mouth, and thou Jh ah fay unto them, thm faith
the Lord God, he that heareth, let hi?n hear ;
and he that forkareth, let him forbear. And the
Spirit of the Lord fell upon 7ne, and f aid unto
me, fpeakj thm faith the Lord, thm have ye f aid
O Houfe of Ifrael, Te jh all fall hy the Sword, I
imll judge you in the Border of Ifrael, and ye [ball
know that I am the Lord, The Holy Ghoft
is the only Speaker in all thefe and the inter-
mediate Verfes ; and there is no Appearance
but that he fptaks in his own Name, and
calls himfelf the Jehovah, whofe WOrds the
Prophet was to fpeak to the People.
The Phrafe, thm faith the Lord, as 'tis ufed
in thefe Places, don't, I conceive, intimate
as if the Spirit fpoke in the Name of the
Lord to the Prophet, as the Prophets ufed to
do to the People ; for it appears very plain
to me, that in thefe Difcourfes, thm faith the
Lord, is not to be underftood as the Words
of the Spirit fpeaking in the Nt.me of God,
and fhewing his Commiflion to the Prophet,'
but as the Words which He, afftrting Him-
felf to be the Lord, put into the Prophet's
Mouth to fpeak to the People. Hereby He
(as God ufually did) gave due Weight to
his Meflage as coming from the Lord or Je-
hovah himfelf, who fpoke thefe Words to the
Prophet, and gave him a Charge to fpeak
them to the People. For in one of thefe
Vlzcts the Spirit faid to the Prophet, l^hou
fhalt fay unto them, thm faith the Lord Cod;
&nd in the other, fjeaky thm faith the Lord,
And
And the Place which the Spirit bears herein,
may receive Light from a like Speech of
God to the Prophet Ifaiah. I'hen faid the Ifa. 7.
Lord unto If at ah y go forth now to meet Ahazy-^ 5> 4> 7'
and fay unto him take heed, and be quiet , fear
not, neither be faint-hearted. "Thit^ faith the
JLord God it fiaH not ftand, neither fijall it come
to pafs. If the Lord, who here fpeaks, is
the Spirit (as feems very likely, becaufe fuch
fpeaking is often afcribed unto him) thea
\is undeniable that he is called Jehovah, be-
caufe 'tis exprefsly faid the Lord, or Jehovah
fpoke to Ifaiah, Or, if the Lord, 01 Jeho-
vah, is here confidered as the Denomina-
tion of God abfolutely, or, of any other
Perfon in the Godhead, then this Jehovah'^
faying to the Prophet, fay unto Ahazy—^thm
faith the Lord, anfwers the Objedion taken
from the like Form of Speech, ufed by the
Holy Ghoft in his fpeaking to the Prophet
Ez,ekiely and /hews that he fpoke of himfelf,
as the Jehovah whofe Words the Prophet
fhould deliver with a thm faith the Lord. But
this and feme of the foregoing Texts have
been farther illuftrated and vindicated by a
better Hand f, and therefore I have the lefs
infifted on feveral of them.
Thus the Holy Ghoft is reprefented under
thofe Names, that are proper and peculiar to
the only Great and Sovereign God, fome of
which Names are expreffive of the Nature
pf God. And therefore i^ Names fignify
any thing, as they certainly dp, they being
t See the Scripture-DoHrine of the Trinity by Mfo
Nelfon's Frieud, ^, 115, &c. and continued, /. 226,
G ^ ^n^
C 88 )
Intended to be the Signs of Things, He
whofe Name is emphatically the Spirity the
Lovdy Gody and Jehovahy can t but be the
infinitely Great and Almighty God.
APPLICAT'ION.
Ufe I. We may hereby fee the great Advan-
tage of cornparing one Scripture with another.
This, under the Guidance of the divine
Spirit, is the likelieft way of coming at the
Knowledge of the Truth as it is in JefuSo
We can't realonably exped that every Branch
of facred Truth fhould be always deliver-
ed in plain and irrefiflably evident Propo-
fitions, diredly afferting it in fo many
Words. This would leave no room for Di-
ligence in our Inquiries, or for Dependence
on the Spirit of Truth to guide us in our
Searches after Truth. And yet all things of
Importance are fo clearly reveal'd, that what
feems obfcure in fome Places^ is made very
evident by comparing them with others.
Many Inftances of this kind may be eafily
obferv'd by comparing fome Places in the
Old and New Teftament refpedtively, and in a
very remarkable manner by comparing fome
in the Old with others in the Ni^vj. Some
Old'T'ejiament Texts confider'd by themfelves
are very obfcure, but become very plain by^
confidenng them in the Light of New-fefia-^
went Explications, which can't but be infal-
libly true^ becaufe they are God V own Com-
jHenrs upon his own Words. '
The moral Law it fclf is better underflood
by Chrifl's Explanation of it in the New
feftament, than ever it was before. Many
typical Tranfadions and Infiitutioiis of Wor-
^ ' ftip
(89)
fiiip under the Old Teflament Difpenfatioiv
were hard to be underftood in their Refe-
rence to the DoBrinesy Duties^ and Privileges^
which were to be brought in, or to befet in
a fuller Light by the Goipel-Difpenfation, till
by this Difpenfation they were explain d i
And yet they had the fame meaning then as
they have now, as the Apoftle remarks with
refpe(^ to fome of them, when he tells us
what they fignified during the Ti^ie of their
Inftitution and Oblervance. 'The Holy Ghoft ^^^' 9»
this SIGNIFY I NGy that the laay into the^^
Holieft of all ivas not yet made manifefiy WHILE
CIS the firfl Tabernacle was yet /landing. The
Incarnationy Sufferings y and Mediatorial Glory
of Chrift, tho' very plainly fpoken of i\\
fome Places of the Old Teftament, were ne-
verthelefs fo obfcurely hinted in others,
that 'twas difficult to know whether fome of
them had any reference to Chrift or no, till
the New Teftament interpreted them of him.
This is very obfervable with refpect to many
Texts in the Pfalms and Prophets, But tho'
they were not then fo well underdood in
their Reference to Chrift as now, yet their
real Meaning was the fame then as now.
For the Prophets frophefying of the Grace that ^^^^' *•
Jhould come to Hiy fearch'divhaty or what manner ' '
of time the Spirit of Chrifl which was in the7n
DID SIGNIFTy WHEN tt teflfyd
BEFOREHAND the Suffer ings of Chrifl,
and the Glory that Jhculd follow. So in like
manner, tho' there are feveral Oid Tefta-
raent Texts, which fpeak very plainly of all
the divine Perfons in the Godhead, yet there
are others, which appear lefs clear and de-
terminate, till they are underftood in the
tight of the New Tefta^le^tJ and then
' ' ' ''' "■ ^' they
(90)
they fpeak with convincing Evidence. Bu|
the explain'd Senfe of thofe Texts was air
ways really the fame as now, and was capable
of being known then, tho 'twas not equally
pbviousj nor fo well underftood as now.
As the fame Spirit is the Author both of
the Old and New Teftament, which are
together our perfed Rule of Faith and Pra-
dicc;; the common Juftice due to other Au-
thors, of determining their Meaning in more
doubtful or lefs evident Places, by what they
more plainly fay on the fame Subjeds in o-
thers, is more abundantly due to the Holy
Ghoft ; becaufe he is infallible in all that he
fays, and is always of one Mind. A com-
^ paring therefore Scripture with Scripture
jnuft be a profitable, fafe, and unexceptionable
^ule of Interpretation ; a Rule which the'
Holy Ghoft himfelf has recommended to us,
by his direding and influencing the infpir'd
Penmen themfelves to fpeak and argue about
I Cor. 2. divine Things, not in the Words which Mans
^3- Wtfdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghoft te^ich^
ethy CO ikf P A RING ffiritual Things with
fpirituaL ' '
Vfell. We may he^reby fee the GRACE
of the Gofpel Difpenfatigny and the DJJi'T it
lays upon m.
His Grace appears, as in many other In-
Hances, fome of which may be confider'd
hereafter, fo in God's condefcendingto make
a more clear familiar and inlarged Revelation
of Himfelf to us Gentiles^ as well as to the
'Jewsy than He did to the Old Teftament
Church. We once had nothing to do with
the Sacred Oracles, but now have their laft
and beft Edition, with fuch Additions as
Ijiake up the fulleft Dxfcovery of God's Min4
an4
( 91 )
and Will, that ever was defign*d for the In-
flru(5iion of his Church in this lower World.
How highly are we favoured of the Lord,
who fpoke in times fafl to the Fathers by the Pro-- Heb. u
fhetsy but hath in thefe laft Days fyoken to m i» 2*
hy his Son, And that which at the firfl hegan to * V ^!
be fpoken hy the Lordy was confirm d to m hy them
that heard him; God alfo bearing them witnefsy
both with Signs and Wonders^ and with divers
Miracles y and Gifts of the Holy G ho fly according
to his own JVilh The Veil which formerly
covered the deep Things of God> is now
taken off, that we may behold them with
open Face in the Glafs of the Gofpel. And
that which in other Ages was not plainly made ^ Cor. 3.
known to the Sons of Meriy is now more iiiily 4?*
reveal'd to his holy Apofiles and ProphetSy andr^^^
thro their means to us, by the Spirit, The
great and glorious Things thus made known,
are worthy of the Study of Angels, Things
which they dejtre to look, into. And the Re- ^ ^^^' '•
velation which God has made of them to *
the Church is fo clear and abundant, that it
improves the Knowledge even of the heavenly
Hoft : He revealing them to this Intenty a-
mong others, that now unto the Principalities -^^ih^ -^
and Powers in heavenly Places, might be known ic,
by the Church the manifold JVifdom of God. O
what an infinitely great and gracious Stoop
is this in God to us, that He fhould g\vQ us
Angels Fot)d, and teach us the Myfteries of
his Will more full and plainly than he had
ever taught, even thofe Attendants of his
Throne, before !
The Light and Grace of this Difpenfatioti
increafe our Obligations to Duty. The:
clearer this Light isy the more ftrongly are we
bound to believe in the mo/l lledfaft and
( 92 )
explicite Manner what God hath therein
reveal'd of himfelf ; and the more abundant
this Grace is, which appears in giving us this
increafed Light, the higher ^re our Obliga-
tions to bring forth the Fruits of Holinefs
and Obedience unto God. How thankful
Pfal, i6.fiiould we be, that our Line^ are fallen in plea^
<5- fant Places^ that we live in Gofpel-days, and
in a Proteftant Gofpel-Land ! And how
ajhamd, that we live no more according to
Gofpel-Light ; that it has no better Effeds
upon us ; but that our Faith is fo weak, and
Qwi Obedience fo defedive ^s they are !
mr * i> yy< T i tf iii
SERMON
(93)
SERMON IV.
I COR. xii. II,
But all thefe worketh that one and the
felf^fame Spiritj dividing to every
Man fever ally as he will.
WE have gone thro two Heads of
Argument to prove that the
Holy Ghofl is the Sovereign and AU
mighty God^ and now proceed to
a third.
Thirdly, T^he divine Nature^ and ejfential Kig. ?«
incommunicable Properties of the Great and So^
vereign God^ are fpoken of in Scripturey as the
Nature and Properties of the Holy Ghoft,
Tho the Names appropriated in Scripture
to the only true God, are a fufficient Evi-
dence that He to whom the Scripture applies
them is indeed that God ,• and this being
the Cafe (as has been fhewn) with refpeft to
the Holy Ghofl, we are thereby afTured that
He is that God : Yet 'twill tend ftill farther
to fettle and fatisfy us, i( we find according
to Scripture Evidence, that He likewife hath
the true Nature and effential Properties of that
infinitely blelled God, who is fet out to us
(94)
by thofe Names. Yea, this alione, one would
think, might be fufficient to determine the
Point, even tho He had not been call'd by
thofe Names ; for this would effectually in-
title Him to them ; and who would fcruple
to call Him what He really is ?
I ihall therefore proceed to confider fuch
an Account of God in his Nature and ejfen^
t'tal Properties as the Scripture defcribes him
by, to diftinguifh Him from all other Be-
ings ; and jQiall fhew that the fame infallible
Scripture defcribes the Holy Ghoft by them
in its Application of them to Him. In pur-
fuitof this Dciign, I /hall go thro the fame
plain familiar Defcription of God, which
was confider'd in my Difcourfe on Chrift's
Deity, as 'tis gathered out of the Scriptures
by the Ajjemhly of Divines in their Catechifm ;
and Ihall endeavour to Ihew, that all its
Parts agree to the Holy Ghoft; or that He
is that Gody who i^ a Spirit y infinite, eternal^
and unchangeable^ in his Being, Wifdom, Power ^
Holinefs, Juf^ice, Goodnefs, and Truth, That
this is a Jcriptural Defcription of God, and
fuch a Defcription of Him in his Nature and
ejfential Properties y as is fufficient to diftinguifh
the one only true God from all other Beings,
is fo evident of it felf, that 'twould be fuper-
fluous to fay much upon it.
The three iirft Properties, mentlon'd in
this Account of God, are incommunicable , or
fuch as, according to all our Notions of
God or Creatures, taken from Scripture or
Reafon, can't in a proper Senfe be convey 'd
to a Creature; it being a Contradidion m
Terms to fpeak of a Creature, who is pro*
perly infinite, eternal, or unchangeable, that
iSi in other Words, an infinitely perfect and
ne-
( 95 )
neceflarily exiftent Creature without any Be--
ginning, poffibility of Change, or End, Who
ever dreamt of fuch a Creature as this ! And
tho there are fome Shadows of Refemblance
in fome Creatures of the reft of the Proper-
ties or Perfedions contained in this Defcrip-
tion of God, yet confidering Thofe as clothed
with infinite^ eternal^ and unchangeable y in that
Confideration of 'em, they are equally in-
communicable too. For 'tis impoffible that
any but the infinite God fhould have them
in that infinite, eternal, and unchangeable
Manner ; fince infinity^ eternity^ and unchanged
ablenefs join'd with thofe Perfedions, make
up the mofl exalted and diftinguifhing Idea
we can have of the only true God.
If the Holy Ghoft is proved to be infinite,
eternal, and unchangeable in his Beings that
alone is fufficient to prove that He is fo in all
the ejfential Attributes of his Being. For his
Beingy and ejfential Attributes are, as far as
we know, the fame Thing differently con-
ceived of by us ; Or at leaft, it muft be al-
low'd that the Being which is infinite, eter-
nal, and unchangeable, muft be fo in all the
ejfential Attributes that fhali be proved to be-
long to it ; For 'twould be a Contradidion
to talk of an infinite, eternal, unchangeable
Being, and of finite, temporal, and change-
able ejfential Attributes of that Being. And
on the other hand, if it is proved that the
Holy Ghoft is infinite, eternal, and unchan-
geable in but one Attribute, that is a fuffici-
ent Proof that He is fo in all his eflential
Attributes, and in his Being too ; becaufe
'tis likewife a manifeftContradidion to talk
of an infinite Attribute in a finite Being of
finite
( 90
finite Attributes. Once more, if it is pt6^
ved that the Holy Ghoft is pofTefs^d of God's
cflcntial Perfedions, that is a Proof that his
Nature is the divine Nature, and that He is
the only true God ; becaufe fuch Perfedions
can't be fuppos'd to exift without their pro-
per Nature ; and becaufe 'tis by thejH that
God is what He is, in diflindion from all
other Beings. So that a Proof that any one
Part of this Defcription of God belongs
properly to the Holy Ghoft, is in efFed a
Proof of the whole ; and confequently a
Proof of each Part, is of it k\f a diftind Ar-
gument for the Reality of his Godhead;
and a Proof of all its Parts, is a complicated?
and to me unanfwerable , Proof oi the
fame.
Having premifed thefe things, I am now
to fhew that this fcriptural Defcription of
God in his divine Nature and effenrial Pro-
perties, or Attributes, is the Defcription
which the Scripture gives of the Holy
Ghoft.
'Tis altogether needlefs to infift on Proofs
that He is a Spirit^ or that He is a Spiritual
Being, becaufe all the Names by vvhich He
is known, aloud proclaim it. His common
Titles are the Spirit^ the Spirit of God, and the
HolyGhofi, and the like, as every one knows
that has ever heard any thing ot Him. And
tho thefe are apply'd to Him as perfonal
Charaders, they neverthelefs allure us, that
He is fuch a Perfon as is a Spirit ; and ac^
cordingly none that I know of, who own
Him to be a Perfon, deny Him to be pro-
perly a Spirit. This therefore being an a-
greed and evidently determin'd Point, I
fhall confider his divine Properties in order.
I. the
(57)
1. rhe Holy, GhoR is INFINITE in hi$
Being, or He is an infinite Spirit,
He is not confin'd to any Place, or limi-
ted within any Bounds j but like the infinite
God is in all Places at once. 'Tis by Him
that our afcended Redeemer fills all Things ; fph. a.
All Ordinances, Officers, and Members ofio-
Chrift are fill'd with Energy, Gitts, arid Gra-
ces by the Holy Ghofl, according to Chrift's
many Promifes of lending Him to thofc
Purpofes. Hence the moft remarkable////w^
we ever read of in purfuance of Chriil's Af-
cenfion, is declar'd to be by the Holy Ghoft. '' ';:
'Twas He that on the Day of Pentecoft fill'd
the Difciples, and the Houfe where they
were fitting, to the Amazement of all the
Audience that crouded thither on that Oc-
cafion ; and He fill'd the Apollles preaching
with Efficacy, and a great Multitude of the
Hearers Hearts with Grace. An Account
of which you have at large Acis 2. Chapter
throughout, He ftill fills the Officers of the
Church with ordinary Giks, and their holy
Adminiftrations with all the Power and Suc-
cefs that attend them in all the Aflemblies
of his People, (as may be hereafter fhewn)
and therefore He mnft be every where prefent
at once, to fill them all according as he willi
wherever they are widely fcatter*d Abroad
on the Face of the Earth. He is in Heaven,
being one of the Three, who bear Record ihtv^ ; 1 Joh. 5=
and yet the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain 7*
him ; as is raid of Ifrael's Jehovah ; for He ^^^'^f
is likewife upon Earth filling all Things y and
having his Dwelling-Place in his Church and
People as his Temple here. Tour Eodyy fays
the Apoftle, is the Teniple of the Holy Ghoft,^ Cor. 6*
vjhich is IN you. And iince there can be no*9»
H im-
( 98 )
immediate Operation without the Prefencc
of that which Operates, every Impreffion
that He himfelf makes upon any Heart, in
a way of common or fpecial Influence, is a
Proof of his Omniprefence.
That He is at once prefent in Heaven and
Earth, appears to me with fatisfying Evi-
dence. For I fuppofe none will fay that
Chrifl: was totally deftitute of the Spirit when
he went to be baptized, and yet the Spirit is.
fpoken of as coming down from Heaven in
a vifible Appearance at his Baptifm. . I'he
Mat, 5. HE AVEN S ivere open to him, and he faw
16. * the Spirit of God D E SC EN D I NG Uke a
Joii. I, Y)Qfue^ and lighting upon him. And John hare
^^- record faying, I faw the Spirit DESCENDING
FROM HEAVEN like a Dove, and it
abode upon him. This muft neceifarily fup-
pofe that the Spirit was in Heaven at the
fame time that he was by fome lower Mea-
fures of Operation in Chriil's human Nature
on Earth, antecedent to and at the Time of
that moft remarkable Defcent from. Heaven
upon Him. And after Chrift was fiird with
the Spirit above Meafuret frill that Spirit was
ch. 16. ^^ Heaven : For when Chrifl was with his
T.'&is'. Difciples he told them, that unlefs he de-
i6. parted, the Spirit would not come • but he
would go to Heaven, and fend him from the
Father to them, as one that was prefent
with him ; which fhews that this Spirit ilill
abode with the Father in Heaven after he
was given without Meafure to Chrifl confi-
der'd in his human Nature on Earth. Ac-
cordingly after Chrifl's Afcenfion, this Spi-
Acls2.2.rit came like a Sound jrom Heaven upon the
Difciples on the Day of Pentecofl ; and yet
this Spirit was with tliem, in fome low De-
grees
r 99)
grees of Influence, with refped to the Gifts
and Grace they had before this plentiful
Undion. Hence faid Chrift to his Difciples
before this Effufion, He (the Spirit of Truth)
dwelleth in you, as well as fiallle in you, Thejoh. I4»
giving of this Spirit according to an 2gr^^<^/fa' ,,
Difpenfation is call'd a pouring him upon ^15,*
from on HIGH ; and yet, notwithftanding
he is pour'd from on High upon us, He is
fpoken of asftill continuing in Heaven, be-
ing reprefented with refped to his manifold
Operations, as the [even Spirits luhich are before^^^* '^
God'sy viz, the FathQv's Throne ; which may'*'
hereafter be fhewn to be meant of this Spirit,
who is but one Spirit, tho his Gifts and O-
perations are many. All this makes up a
convincing Evidence, that the Spirit's moft
eminent Refidence is in Heaven, as God's is
ufually reprefented to be ; and yet that, he
hath a conftant Being and Operation on
Earth, diverfifying that Operation according
to his PJeafure on the Hearts of thofe in
whom He dwells. With refped to thefe O-
perations. He is faid to come unto us as
often as He renews them upon us : But this
(as "has been obferv'd) is no more a Proof
of any Removal of his eflenrial Prefencc, as
if he left Heaven when he comes to us, than
it was of fuch Removal of God's effential
Prefence when he was faid to l^ozo the Hea-^^^^» 10.
vens and coine doivn, and to go and return to his^ ^
Place, or when Jehovah, 3.t the Building of^/
Bahel, was faid to come down to fee the City andOtn. li,
Toiver, which the Children of Men builded, and^y 7«
to go deivn and there confound their Language.
i^Ior is the Spirit's b^ing fent fl'om Heaven any
more a Proof that he leaves Heaven when he
€omes to us, than 'tis that God's Mercy and
H 3 hi^
( ICO )
his Truth leave Heaven, when he is faid to
rtal. $7 'fend them from Heaven to fave m.
^^ It has been urged by fome, that Satan
may be faid to be Omniprefent as well as the
Holy Ghoft, becaiife he operates in many
Places at once, as appears from his being
call'd the Spirit that Worketh in the Children
of Difobedience, at one and the fame time
wherever they are ; and the Devil who leads
them Captive at his Will. But this Obj'edion
will have little force, if we confider that as
there are innumerable Devils, fo wdien we
read of Satany the Devily and the unclean
Spirit, we may underftand thefe Terms as
Names of Multitude y including more evil Spi-
rits than one. Many Devils are fometimes
fpoken of coiledively in the fingular Num-
ber, as i^ they were all but one Devil, be-
caufe they make all but one Kingdom, are
united like a Body Politick, and agree in one
Intereft and Defign. Or if we fuppofe the
Chief or Prince of Devils, to be fometimes
meant by thefe Names, yet his Adlings may
be underilood as including the Adings of
lefler Devils, that are under his Dominion,
and obferve his Orders. Thus by Satan
Chrift means more Devils than one, when he
fays. If Sar.n cafi out Satan, that is, if one or
Matth. T^oxQ. Devils call out others, he is divided a-
12. 7.6, gainfl himfelfy that is, the Kingdom or Body
Politick of Devils is divided againft it {qK,
as the next Words explain it. How jhall then
his Kingdom ft and} And in the following
Verfes this caflin'g oat of Satan is call'd a
V. 27,28. cafting out of Devils. In like manner the
M.rk 5. Demoniack that met Chrift out of the Tombs,
2. is calfd a Man ivith an unclean Spirit ; and
Chrift fpoke to this Spirit as to one fingle
Pcrfon,
( lOI )
Perfon, Come out of the Man, thou unclean Spi- v. 8.
rit. And yet this Spirit fays of himfelf, A4y
Name is Legion ; for we are many. Now 'tis^ 9»
obvious that the Devil, coniider'd as inclu-
five of many EviJ Spirits, may be in many .
Places at once ,• and yet no one of thofe Spi-
rits can be fo. But the Holy Ghoft is ex-
prefsly faid in our Text and Context, to be
but one and the fame fingle Spirit^ tho his Gihs
and Operations in different Perfons and
Places at once are many. This neceffarily
fuppofes that this one Spirit is at once in all
thofc Places where he Works by his own im-
mediate Agtncyy and confequently that He
is Omnipreftnt.
Hence the Pfalmifly fpeaki-ng of the Om-
niprefence of God, reprefents that of the
Spirit as equal to it, and even the fame
with it. Whither Poall I go from thy Spirit .^*Pfi-i?9.
or whither jhaU I fly from thy Prefence ? If /J' ^»^»
afcend up into Heaven, 'Thou art there i if I ^
make my Bed in HeU, behold, Thou art there ;
if I take the M^tngs of the Morning, and dwell
in the uttermofl Parts of the Sea ; even there Jhall
thy Hand lead me, and thy right Hand /hall hold
me. Some by God's Prefence underftand the
Son, who is call'd the Angel of his Prefence ',i^^^ ^
and fo this Text is a. Teftimony to the Om-p. '
niprefence of all the Perfons of the Trinity,
with refpeft to Being and Opcrati/Dn. How-
ever, the Spirit is exprefsly mention'd, by his
proper diiHnguifhing Title, under the Cha-
racter of fuch Omniprefence, that 'tis im-
polTible to fly froni it : Whither fiaU I go from
thy Spirit'^ And to Ihew that the Omnipre-
fence of the Spirit is the Omniprefence of
God himfelf, the Pfalmifi in the next Verfe
H 3 argues
( IC2 )
armies from that to thuy exprelTing his Ap-
prehenfions on that account of the ImpoiTi-
bility of finding any Place in Heaven, Earth,
or Hell, where God is not. If I afcend up
into Heaven^ T'hou an there^ dec. To fuppofe
that this Name, thy Spirit, is a Poetical
Flight, fignifying, not the Holy Ghoft, but
fome Property of God, is a very bold and
dangerous Straining of proper and diftin-
guilhing ExprefHons into loofe and indeter-
minate Metaphors, and is a Violation of all
juft Laws of Interpretation, when the Nature
of the Things fpoken of admits of a pro-
per Senfe, as we have fecn it doth in this
Cafe, by what has been faid concerning the
Omniprefence of the Holy Ghofl, who ufu-
ally bears the Title of the Spirit of God.
2. He is a Spirit who is ETERNAL in
his Being.
He is exprefsly call'd the eternal Spint, in
diftindion from the Father and Son, when
Chriil: is (aid thro the eternal Spirit to have
Heb. 9. offer d himfelf without Spot to God. He was be-
*4» fore all Things, becaufe the Maker of them,
as may be fhewn hereafter. He always was
the Spirit of God, there behig no account
of any Beginning he ever ha
fearching, when fpoken of as God's Ad, de-
notes the mod: intimate and perfed Know-
ledge of Things that lie beyond the Percep-
tion of others, as is plain when he fays, /
the Lord SEARCH the Heart, in oppofiti-
on to itsUnfearchablenefs by others. And
jhall not God SEARCH this out ^ For he]^r. ij.
knowetb the Secrets of the Heart. Hence faid ^'
David, Lord thou haft SEARCHED ??^^^^ "^^^
and known me ; 'Thou knoweft my down-fitting pf»i.
and mine upriftngy thou tmderftandeji my 'Thoughts i^p* i»
afar off, &c. Such Knowledge is too wonderful^* ^^^»
for me. Now the Spirit's thus fearching a//^'
l*bings, is a very full Expreilion of Omnifci-
ence. But left we fhould confine it to created
Things, 'tis farther added, jy^-^, the deep Things
of God, To know the deep Things of God
can be nothing fhort of infinite Knowledge;
For he that knows the infinite Depths of
God's Being, Counfels, and Operations,
muft have an infinitely knowing Capacity, or
be as infinitely knowing as the God he knows.
And the Spirit has not this by Infpiration or
Revelation from God,- but by Nature as
the Spirit of God, who of himfelf is fuffici-
ent for it, as appears from the Illuftration of
it in the next Words, by the Spirit of a Man's
knowing the Things of a Man, which it is
acquainted with by its own eflential Power
of Intuition and Principle of Reafon inhe-^
rent in itfelf For 'what Man [G^r. * who of i Cor, 2.
Men] knoweth the Things of a Man fave the n.
Spirit of a Man zvhich is in him ? Even fo the Ttitlv-
Things of God knoweth no Man C^^'- 1 none] 7^};j^;
to the Spirit of God. Others know fome-
thing of 'em by Revelation, but none but
the Spirit, together with the Father and Son,
know^
( ic8 )
knows 'em originally of himfelf. The Fa-
ther and Son can't be excluded from this
Knowledge, becaufe they, tho different Per-
fons, are the fame God with the Spirit ; but
ail that are not God, are excluded from it.
This Account of the Spirit's Knowledge ex-
aftly anfwers Chrifl's Expreilions about his
own and his Father's original perfect Know-
ledge of each other ; which is likewife to be
underftood inclurfive of this Spirit to the ex-
Mat.ii.clufion of all that are not God. No Man
i^: ft , [Gr. I none] knows the Son but the Father, net-
^' ther knoweth any Man the Father fave the Son^
and he to ivho?nfoever the Son will reveal him.
And yet the Father and Son certainly know
themfelves, and the Text we are upon fhews
that the Spirit knows them too. Thefe Texts
caft fuch a Light upon one another, as fliews
that the Knowledge of the Spirit is the fame
with that of the Father and Son, to the ut-
ter exclufion of all others from fuch fort of
Job II. Knowledge. For Canfi thou by feanhing find
7. out God ? Canfl thou find out the Almighty td
PerfeBion ?
If the Spirit's knowing the deep 'Things of God
ffiould be underftood as relating only to the
Secrets of God's Counfels and TViH, and that
the Spirit of God, and none but He, is ac-
quainted with them, as the Spirit of a Man
is with the Secrets of his own Bofom, to the
exclufion of all others ; this ftill maintains the
Argument for his infiniteGod-likeKnowledge,
fince none but the great God himfelf can by
his own natural AbiHty know thcCc.For who
R.oin.ii. hath known the Mind of the Lord, or who hath been
3'4 his Counfeller ? This Interrogation excludes all
others, but the Lord himfelf, from knowing
the Secrets of his Mind ; and yet we ar^ told
thq
( IC9 )
the Spirit fe an bet h or knows thefe, and there-
fore He muft be excepted from the Rank of
all Creaturesy and be included in that God
himfelf, who knows his own Mind and his
own deep Things. Hence the Knowledge
of the Spirit is defcrib'd in likeCharadcrsof
Self-fufficiency as the Knowledge of God isy
fVI)0 hath direBedthe Spirit of the Lord^ or le-^^^^'^^'
ing his Connfella hath taught him ? With whom * ^'
took he Counfely and ujho JnfiruEied hint, and
taught him in the Path of Judgment , and taught
him Knowledge, andjhewed to him the way of
Underflanding ? Accordingly, when. Chrift
fpoke of the Day of Judgment, Alark 15. 32.
and excluded a/l Men, and the Angels in
Heaven, and himfelf AS Man, he did not ex-
clude the Holy Ghofi from the Knowledge of
it. And tho the Evangelift Matthew repre-
fents Chrift as faying, Of that Day and Hour Mzt.i^,
knoweth no Man, no not the Angels of Heaven, ^ •
but my Father only ; that is to be underflood
of his Father inclufive of the Spirit, as well
as of himfelf confider'd in his original Na-
ture, to the excluHon of all Creatures (and
particularly of Chrift's human Nature^ and
of Men and Angels) as appears from the
foregoing Inftances of like neceffary Inter-
pretation, which we have juft now taken
Notice of Since Chrift mentions the high-
eft Intelligences next to the only true God,
and excludes 'em all from this Knowledge,
we can't reafonably fuppofe but he would
havemention'd the Holy Ghoft, and excluded
him from it, in cafe he really is not God,
and did not know the Day o^ Judgment. .
And as his Knowledge reacheth to the Se-
crets of God's Heart, io it doth to the Se-
crets of ours. How elfe could he reveal
God's
Clio)
God's Secrets to them by inward and im-
preiTive Illumination, and that in the mofi:
feafonable Times and Circumftances, when
our Confciences tell us, and he knows, they
are moft critically fuited to our inmoft Exi-
Eph. I. gencies ? Hence he is call'd the Spr/t of
17,18. Ij/ifdom and Revelation in the Knowledge of
.. ; Chrifi) the Eyes of our Under/landings being in^
Ifa. II. lightened by him. And again, 77?^ Spirit of
*• IVifdom and Counfel to guide us in the moft in-
tricate Paths of Life. And how could He
Rom. 8. /y^ip Q^y Souls Infirmities^ and dired and aflift
* * us how to pray, and what to pray for per-
tinently, unlefs he knew our Hearts, and
was fully acquainted with all the Principles,
Defires, Hopes and Fears, Straits and Con-
^idiSy that fecretly work in them } If he
dwells in all Believers at once, he can't but
be acquainted with his own Habitation ,• he
can't be a Stranger to his own Home, or be
ignorant of what is tranfaded there. Yea,
the Apoftle appeals to him, as to the Sear-
Rom. 9. cherandKnowerofhisHeart, I fay the T'nitb
'• in Chrift:, I lye not) my Confcience alfo bearing
meWitnefsin the Holy Ghoft. This Know-
ledge which the Holy Ghoft has of our
Hearts, can be no other than the infinite
Knowledge of God ; fince he claims it as
Jer. 17. his Peculiar, I the Lord fearch the Heart. And
10' I'hou, (zys Solomon y even Thou ONLTknovjeft
^ ^^"S' the Hearts of all the Children of Men.
' ' To conclude, The Omniprefence of the
Holy Ghoft bears into our Minds an unan-
fwerable Proof of his Omnifcience ; for he
can't but know every thing if he is every
where prefent, as an infinite intelligent Spirit.
Accordingly he is reprefented, as if he was
^^^' 5* all Eye, when he is calfd the Eyesfeven of the
Lambx
( III )
Lamb, which are the f even Spirits of God,
fent forth into all the Earth, A Defcription
that bears fome Analogy with that which is
gitren of the Omnifcience ef God. T'he Lord's Pfal. ii.
Throne is in the Heavens ^ his Eyes be hold ^ his A*
Eye-lids try the Children of Men,
5. He is infinite in POWER.
He is call'd the Spirit of Mighty to denote ifa. n^
the All-powerful Energy of his Operations.!.'
And the mighty Signs and Wonders, which
were wrought in Confirmation of the Gof-
pel, and carry 'd the moft unqueftionable
Charaders of Divinity upon them, were per-
form'd by the Power (f the Spirit of God, Hence Rom.rj«
he is fpoken of as the Finger of God. /, ^^'
faysChrift, by the Finger of God cafi out D^-^^'^^"*
vils ; and this is interpreted by another Evan- Mat, 12,
gelift, as his cafting out Devils by the Spirit ofzS,
God, At other times he is call'd the Hand o£
the Lord. T'he Hand of the Lord, fays Ez.e-^ Ezek, 8.
kiely fell upon me, And he put forth the Foi-mii 5,
of an Hand, and took me by a Lock of mine Head,
and the SP I RiT lifted me up betzveen the
Earth and the Heaven, The Finger and Hand
of the Lordj fpeaking after the manner of
Men, are Reprefenrations of God as exert-
ing his Almighty Pozuer in his various Ope-
rations. And becaufe this is done by the
Holy Ghofl; as the moft immediate ading
Perfon in the Godhead, therefore he is fpo-
ken of under thefe Metaphors. But how
the Holy Ghoftfhould put forth the Almighty
Power of God, unlefs he himfelf is Almighty^
furpaffes all my Conceptions. Nor do thefe
Metaphors import that he is fomething diffe-
rent from God, or that the Power he puts
forth is not his own: For as the Finger or
Hand of a Man is a part of the Man him-
felf,
fcir, fo, tho God has no Parts, but is one
undivided Being, yet the Holy Ghoft's being
caird the Finger of God, and the Hand of
the Lord, may intimate to us, that he is f6
his ..Finger and Hand, as to be one in Na-
ture wuii him, and to put forth the infinite
Power oi-' the Deity as his own Power in all
his Operations.
Hence as the Fir^ger and Hand of the Lord
are fometimes ufed as Denominations of the
Ho'y Ghoft, fo at other times they are made
the Denominations of God's Almighty Pow-
er put forth in divine Operation, which
fliews that the Power of this Spirit is the
infinite Power of God himfelf. Thus when
he wrought Miracles by Mofes beyond the
Imitation of the JE^>^^/^;:^-Magicians, they
acknowledging the Power of Gad therein,
Zxod.S.f^-^ to Phara^hy^ T'hu n the FINGER F
'^* GOD, And at another time 'tis call'd his
Exod. J.Hand, /, faid God, . will firetch out MT
^^* HANDy and fmite Egypt ivith aH mj Won-
ders, Accordingly the Prophet fpeaking of
If'a. $9. God's Omnipotence fays. Behold the Lord's
Handy or Power, is not Jljortened, that it can-
not fave.- And the fame fort of Language is
ufed of the Spirit to fhew his inexhauftibJe
Mic. 2. Omnipotence, O thott that art named the Houfe
7* of Jacob, is the Spirit of the Lord ftraitend ^
When the Men of Cypm and Cyrene — fpake to
the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jefm, we are
A£ls II. told, the Hand of the Lord wm with them^
**• and a great Number believed, a^nd turned to the
Lord, This Hand of the Lord, I conceive^
may be here underftood either of God's ex-
ceeding great Power, or of the Holy Spi-^
rit, who put forth that Power. And tho it
feems that the Power of tie Holy Ghojl is not
ufed
ufed as aperfcml Chara(5ler of the Holy Ghoft,
yet to iliew that the Power he puts forth is
the infinite Power of God, His coming upon
the Virgin to form Chrift's Body of her Sub-
fl;ance,is call'd the Pow^r of the Highe/fs coming ^^j^g ^^
upon her for that Purpofe. This Divine 55.
Power is the Principle of his Operation, and
what can that be lefs than Infinite ? But the
Omnipotence of the Spirit will farther ap-
pear when we come to fpeak of his diving
JVorks,
6. He is Infinite in HOLINESS.
His moil ufual Titles are the Holy Ghofl^
and the Holy Spirit^ as all know who know .
any thing of him. T'ake not thy HO LT ^'^ ' '^^*
Spirit from me, fays David. And the Co'm- iCouj"^,
munion of the HOLT Ghojl he loith yen allyi^.
fays the Apofile. But *tis needlefs to repeat
any more of the numerous well-known Tefti-
monies of this fort. And tho Holy^ when
made an Epithet of the Spirit, may have a
fpecial Relation to his peculiar Work in the
OEconomy of Salvation, as he is the Author
of all the Holinefs of the Church; yet this is
fo far from being an Objedtion againil the
infinite Holinefs of his Ndture^ that it carries
great Evidence of it. For the Nature of a
Caufe is beft known by its moft conllant
genuine and remarkable Effeds. Voluntary
Agents ad fuitable to their own Naiure ;
and the higheft Evidence of their moral
Principles lies in their uniform Ads with re-
fped to Things of a morai Confideradon.
We therefore can'c fuppofe that the blefled
Spirit fhouid be the free and continual
Worker of all Holinefs in numberlefs Num-
bers of others, and not be altogether Holy
himfelf. How could he fill the human Na-
I ture
("4)
ture of Chrift with all the Holinefs 'twas
inrich'd with beyond Meafurey and fpread
Holinefs far and wide among all the Mem-
bers of his myflical Body, unkfs he had in-
finite Capacities of doing it, and an infinite
Pleafurc in doing it ? He can't but be Him-
felf perfectly Holy, fince 'tis hischofen Work
and Delight to promote and diffufe Holi-
nefs.
God's infinite Holinefs is fpoken of as
the Ground of his Sandifying his People,
and demanding that they ihould be Holy.
Lev. 21. Hence he was ufually call'd the Holy One of
8. Jfrael, and faid to them, / the Lord ivhich
^.^^*^* ^' SanBify yoih cim Holy ; and Be ye Holy^ for I
^ * am Holy. If thefe Things are Proofs of his
infinite Holinefs, as they are generally thought
to be, why fhould we not think the fame
with refped to the Holy Ghofi, fince all the
Holinefs that is found in every true Ifraelite,
z Thef. 1^ j.j_j^ SanBification of the Spirit ; and he,
Eph!*4. fptaking after the manner of Men, is grievdy
29, \q\ when his holy Work is counter- acted by us.
?!• This is fufficient to afTure us, that he is not a
Pfa-1. 4. Qq^ ^Ij^^ fj^.fj Pleafure in iVakednef, but is
Hab. I. of purer Eyes than to behold Iniquity without the
15. utmoft Adhorrence of it, as is faid of the
only true God. Accordingly we find him
equally concern'd with the Father and Son,
Ifi. ^. ^^ ^^^^ triple foiemn Acclamation, Holy, Holy^
3» * ' Holyy Lord God of Hofts ! which has been
fhewn by feveral Circumflances of the Con-
text to relate to the Holy Ghoft, who is
thereby proclaimed and acknowledg'd to be
originally, effentially, and equally Holy with
the Father and Son, he being in Nature or
Efience the fame infinitely holy God with
iJiem.
7. He
r 115)
7. He is Infinite in JUSTICE,
This Spirit will not ahmys firive iv:th Man. Gen. 5,
Tho in a way of commcm Operation he bears >*
in Light and C.onvitftions to Sinners Confci-
ences, to awaken within them lively Appre-
henfions of their Sin and Danger, to check
the Madnefs of their Hearts againft God,
to fhew them the way of Recovery by Jefns
Chnft, and to make them fenfible of the Ne-
cellity and Advantage of a Return to God
thro him : And tho he bears long with them,
and renews good Imprcil^ons after many Re-
pulfes from them ; yet if they continue wil-
fully to lliuc their Eyes againfi the Light/ to
ftifle Convictions, to harden their Hearts a-
gainft them, and to go on obftinately in their
old Ways of Sin, he will not -always wreftle
with them, but in his righteous Judgment
give them up to their own Blindne's and
Hardnefs of Heart, till they fhali be pad all
Hope of ever being reclaim'd ; according to
thofe awful Words of the Apoflle to the
gain-faying Jews: Well fpake the HO LTAds iS,
G HOST by Ijaiah the Prophet unto our Fa-^S,i6^
thers, faying, Go unto this People and fay, hear-^"^'
ing ye [ball hear, and jhall not underfland, and
feeing ye Jhall fee^ and not perceive : For the
Heart of this People is waxed grof, and their
Ears are dull of hearing, and thetr Eyes have
they clofed ; le[l they jhould fee with their Eyev,
and hear with their Ears, and underfland with
their Heart, and jhould he converted, and \jhonld
heal them. What a tremendous Indance is
this of the infinite Juftice of the Holy Ghoft
in this difmal righteous Judgment on har-
den'dand refolute Sinners.
He likewife difplays his Rig'iteoufnefs in
convincing Sinners of the exceeding Stridtnefs
I 2 of
of divine Juflice, of its high Demands upon
them, and of their Obnoxioufnefs to its vin-
dictive Refentments ; and in leading them
to truft in the perfed Righteoufnefs of Chrift,
and in nothing fhort of that, to anAver for
them. He furthermore afferts his Juflice in
appearing for his People to refcoe them from
cruel Opprcflbis, and in executing righteous
Judgments on his and their Enemies. Hence
ITa. 59. f^y^ j.|^g Prophet, H^?en the Enemy jlmll come
'^^ m like a Fkod, the SPIRIT of the LordJJmll
lift Tip a Standard againft him. And when
God's People of old were unjuftly opprefs'd
by their Enemies. 'The Spirit vf tie Lord a-
nointed Rulers with Wifdcm, Strength, and
Courage to avenge them on their infulting
Foes. Several Accounts of which v.re have at
Judg. 3. large in the Book of ^iidgesy particularly in
'^•^' the Cafes of Othnid zxiA Jsphtha,
* * • ^^* 8. He IS infinite in GO'ODNES S.
Matt.ip. There is none good, fays Chrift, hut One, that
*7* is God. But thy Spirit is good, fays the Pfalmift,
I/^' juft in the fame manner as he on a like Oc«
2,/ 8. cafion faid, Good, and Upright ts the Lord. He is
Neh.9. caird by way of Eminence the good Spirit, and
20. at other times the Spirit of Grace. He is the
^^\^^' Author of all Grace and Goodnefs in us, and
Heb. 10 ^^^ therein with infinite Love and Kindnefs
fcp, ' " to us. And as this is an Argument to prove
God's infinite Goodnefs, fo 'tis of confide-
rable weight to prove the infinite Good-
nefs of the Spirit, to whom we may fay>
Yfa.iip. -figp^ art God and dofi good. But this Property
"^* of the Holy Ghoft will appear more at
Length, when we come tp (peak of his gra"
ciom Operatiqns.
p. He
(117)
p. He is Infinite inTRVTH.
He is often call'd the Sfirit of Truth -^ and Job. r^j.
is faid to be Truth it felf, 'T/'j- f^.- Spirit that '7-
beareth fVanefs, becatifs the Spirit is T'rutb ^ and ^^ \'^^*
hereupon he is join VI in the next Verfe with^ ^*
the Father and Son, as an authentick Wit-
nefs, of original Veracity, equal to them.
For there are three that hear Record in Heaven^
the Father, the IVordy and th^ Huly Ghoft, and
thefe three are one. As *tis faid of God, that
He cant ly^^ and abides faithful^ and cant -deny ji^ j ^
himjelf : fo it may be faid of this Spirit of i Tim.'i!
T'rutb ; his being /o, aflures us he cant lye, or 45.
fay any thing but Truth ; for that would be
to deny himfelf, as he is Truth, and the Spirit
of Truth. Accordingly the Apoftle John^
fpeaking of the Anointing which Believers
receive from Chrift by his Spirit, fays, 'tis
Truth, and is no Lye. We may depend on all i Joli.z.
that he fays in his Word, and on all that he ^7-
fpeaks to our Hearts, which is always ac-
cording to his Word. He is infallible in his
fpeaking, and all that he fpeaks muft have
an infallible Accomplifhment according to
his Intent therein. Hence faid the Apofde Ads r>
Peter, Men and Brethren, this Scripture MUST^^*
NEEDS have been fulfilled, ivhicb the HOLT
G HOST by the Mouth of David fpake before
concerning Judas, And the Neceffity of many-
Things being doing with refpect to Chrift>
is often laid on what the Holy Chofi had faid
in the Scripture of him. Ail the Infallibility
of the Prophets and Apoilks was deriv'S
fi-om this Spirit. We never read of his bet-
ing infpir'd to make him infallible; but his
own Infallibility and Authority, whenever
he fpoke in and by the Prophets, was fuSi-
Qent tp feciire the Truth of all that thcv
I 3 faid
(ii8) .
faid under hislnfpiration ; and therefore 'tis
often repeated^ He that hath an Ear, let him
hear what the Sf hit faith to the Churches. Rev.
Chapters 2d and 3d. And what is this but
to refer us to the fupreme Authority and
abfolute Infallibility of the Spirit, for the
Truth and Obligation of what is fpoken ?
Thus we fee that all the Parts of this De-
scription of God in his Nature and ellential
Properties belong by Scripture- Application
to the Holy Ghoji ; which fufficiently fhews
that He is indeed the Almighty True and
Sovereign Go4. And in what refpeds 6V/f-
origination, Indepndmcy, and ahfokite Supre-
macy are contain'd in this Defcription, was
t See condder'd in my Sermons on Chrift's God-
P-90- head, t
A P P L I C A 7' I N.
life I. This fhews us the Honour ^ Safety,
and Bleffedmfs of thofe in whom the Holy Ghofl
dwells by fpecial Relation and graciom Opera-
tion.
The higher the Dignity or Excellence of
any Perfon is-, the greater is the Honour of
having his Company. How do Perfons of
low Degree think themfelves honoured, i£
they are admitted into the Prefence of
Nobles, Princes, and Kings of the Earth ;
and how much more if thofe grand Perfo-
nages condefcend to come to them, to dwell
and converfe familiarly with them, and to
' employ their Wifdom, Power, and Treafure
for their Comfort and Safety ? But what is
this to the Holy Ghojfs coming to us, cout
verling with us, and dwelling in us as his
Temples and fettled Refidence, and employ*
ing
(119)
Ing his AU-fufEciency for our Safety and
Blcifednefs, fince He is the great Jehovah
who has all divine Perfedions in Himfelf,
yea, and fince with Him, the Father, and Son
come likewife to us, and take up their A-
bode with us. And yet this Honour have all
the Saints. If when Araunah fa ^v King David
come to him, he cry'd out with W^onder,
Wherefore is my Lord the King come unto his z Sam.
Servant ? How much more may we wonder 2'4« 2-1-
that the Lord the Spirit fhould come to us,
ihould fearch and find us out, and come to
make his Abode with us ; with L7j-, who are
nothing Abjeds, and were before the Habi-
tation of Devils, and of every \ale AfFedion !
If Solomon was ftruck with Amazement, that
he a great King fhould be employed in build-
ing an Houfe for the Lord, faying, Who am 2. Chron.
/, that IJhouId build him an Houje ? How afto- ^- ^•
nifhing muft it be to us, that we our felves
fhould be his Houfe, and fhould be filfd with
that Glory by him,which the vifible Glory that
appear'd in Solomons Temple was but an
Emblem of? What are we wretched Diiil
and Afhes, that this great and blefled Spirit
fhould appropriate us to himfelf, for a Ha-
bitation where he will dwell, and difplay a
divine Glory 1 We may well fay to him, as
the Difciples did to Chrift, Lord, hoiu is ^'^ joj,, ^,
that 'thou wilt manifefl thy f elf to m, and not 2,1,
unto the iVorld ?
And where this divine Perfon dwells,
there can't but be the utmoft Sjfety, and the
bed Kind cf Blejjednefs ; Blelfednefs in its
fure Beginnings here, and Bkflednefs to be
en/oy'd without Defed or Allay in the hea-
venly Manfions for ever hereafter. He is
Infinite in Wifdgm to guide us in all our
■'•14 »ark^
( 120 )
Parknefs, and to Co mfel us in all our Diffi-
culties. Infinite in Power to defeat Satan
in his Attempts upon as ; to fubdue our Ini-
quities in us> and to captivate our Hearts
to the Obedience ot Faith ; to ilrengthen us
for all Duties to which we may be cail'd in
doing or fufFering the Will of God ; and to
work all our V*/orks in us and for us. Infi-
nite in Holinefs to change us into the Image
of God, to fandify os throughout in Body,
Soul, and Spirit, and to prelervT us blame-
lefs to the coming of Chrifl. Infinite in
yuflke to take away the Captives of the
Mighty, and to deliver the Prey of the Ter-
rible, to refcue the Redeemed from the U-
furpations and Tyranny cf Satan, and to
confound the Rage of his and their Enemies,
and over-rule it to his Glory and their Good.
Infinite in Goodnejs to help our Infirmities, to
be our Comforter in all Tribulations, to Hied
God's Love abroad in our Hearts, and to
enable us to cry Abba Fathe-^ . Infinite m
I'ruth to apply the great and precious Promi-
fes to us, and to deal with us according to
them. And He is Eternal and Unchangeable
in all thefe Perfcdions, and in his Love and
Care to exert them for the Safety and B.'ef-
fedncfs of the Heirs of Glory. O with
what Majcfty and Sweetnefs iriuft the Spirit's
Applications of his Word come unto our
Hearts, fince He therein ads as God, who
has all Sufficiency in himfelf to make entry
into theie Hearts, and then to fecure his
Habitation from Ruin, and to furnifii it
wirh all the Beauties and Delights \i$ ca-
pable of receiving !
( "I >
XJfe 11. Let m take heed bozo we treat the
Holy Gh'ifti cr behave it toward Hm.
His Name is ^jehouuhy and He is by Na-
ture what He is call'd, Jehovah^ Lord, and
God. With what awful Reverence then flioukl
we ^^.Iways think and fpeak of hisPerfon and
Operations, never daring to pour C ontempt
on one, or to difregard or refift the other ?
Some of his Operations are with all-con-
quering Efficacy to mader the Scubbornnefs
and Diibbcdience of our Hearts, and to
difpoliefs the Prince of Darknefs from them.
And O how fhould we long for thefe, if we
have not yet been favour'd with them ! And
how thankful fhould we be, if we have felt
any thing of them ! But there are others
which thro inobfervance on one hand, or
thro rebellious Oppoficion againft them on
the other, may, and alas ! too often do pafs
off ^vithout any faving Effeft. 'Twas God's
Co.xiplaint of his profefTmg People of old,
that they Ysbell'd and vex d his hAy Spirit-, ^^^^Ifa. 65.
therefore- he wa^ turnd to be their Enemy ^ and ic.
fought againfi them. They in Defiance of all
his great and kind Appearances for them,
wickedly rebell'd and turn d againft him, till
he righteoufly turn'd his Difpcnfations, and
fought againft them in their Spiritual as well
as Civil Concerns j for, among other Judg-
ments, He fent Leannefs into their Souls. I /*^."^
pray God the like Complaint may not lie ^
againfi any of you, and that the like tremen-
dous Judgments may not befall you. Suffer
me to expoflulate the Cafe a little both with
unrenewed and renew'd Perfons about their
Behaviour toward the Holy Ghoft, as it
C 122 )
may aSed their Spiritual Interefls refpec-
tively.
I . Let unregenerate Sinners take heed how they
behave it toward him.
Has not this good Spirit fometimes touch'd
your Hearts by fome flidden Impreflions be-
fore you were aware ; Has he not drawn
near to your Spirits in the hearing or read-
ing of his Word, or in Meditation, or Pray-
er ? And yet you have not ferioufly regarded
it. Has he not fometimes awaken'd your
Confciences, and rouzed them out of their
carnal Security, gall'd and wounded them
as a Spirit of Bondage, bringing your Sins
to your Remembrance, and making you a-
fraid to perlift in your former finful Doings?
And yet you have fought againft thofe Mo-
tions by Stubbornnefs and Rebellion of
Heart, or diverted and ftifled them by Com-
pany, Bufinefs, or Pleafure, till they have
worn off as i^ they had never been. Has he
not at fome feafons, when you have been a-
lone by Day or by Night in your Retire-
ments or on your Beds, in the Watches of the
Night or Dawnings of the Morning, rea-
fon'd with your Hearts to leave your old in-
fnaring Companions, Practices, Profits, or
Pleafures, to ceafe to do evil, and learn to do
well, to abandon your Courfe of Sin, and
particularly fome firft Rate. Sins, fpr which
your Confciences more efpecially witnefs'd
againft you, and to feek out after God and
Chrift and eternal Life ? Yea, has not the
Power of thefe ImprefTions been fo ftrong on
fome of you, that you have been even forced
to refolve to fet about believing and turn-
ing to God without Delay ? And yet youj,
like FeltXy have put it off to another Seafon,
hav9
( J23 )
have fallen in with the next Temptation to
Vanity, and fo have loft all again, and no-
thing has been effedually done.
I appeal to your Confciences, whether
fomething of this fort has not at one Time
or other paft within your Bofoms ; and it
may be fome farther Inlightings have been
fhed in fome of your Minds : And yet you
have fhut your Eyes againft 'em, and now
either dare nOc look back upon them^ or dare
to live contentedly without them ; or, which
is worft of all, dare to think and fpeak of
them with a profane Gallantry, as if you
are Wifer and better without them than you
were with them. All this is rebelling a-
gainft and refifting the Holy Ghoft. And
'tis exceeding dangerous to treat him in this
bafe and unworthy manner ; He is not to
be trifled with and affronted at this rate.
He will not always ftrive with the Soul, that
always maintains its Contempt of him and
Oppofition againft him. He is God, and
can giv€ thee up as foon as he pleafes ; and
if once he takes the Provocation wholly to
abandon thee, thou art inevitably loft, and
paft all Hope of ever being brought to fa-
vin^ Repentance.
O then, if thou valueft thy immortal Soul,
reverence him in every Impreflion he makes
upon thee ; be glad of every Hint and Mo-
tion from him ; don't be afraid of it, but
thankfully accept it as aKindnefs,and efteem
it thy Duty and Advantage to embrace and
improve it. Dread the thoughts of lofing
it : Take Heed of doing any thing to ftifle
it, and labour to yield up thy felf to it, and
to follow its guidance, with an Eye to him
to
( 124)
to overcome all the Stupidity, Carelefnefe
Vanity, Hardnefs, and Enmity of thy Hearts
by fuch vidorioLis Operations, as fhall make
an efFedual Change upon it, that thou mayft
pj. J feel and be fully reconcil'd to the Day
^^ * ' 0/ his Power J, and fo be one of his vjilling
People,
2. Let the Believer, tuho is favour d with the
Indivellings of this Spirity take Care how he car-
ries it to him.
Don't thou griere this bJefled Spirit by
thy Carelefnefs or Negle.5i: on one hand, or
by any unholy Pradices on the other, left he
withdraw his quickning, ftrengthning, and
^ph. 4. comforting Influences from thee. Grieve not
50* the holy Spirit of Gody whereby ye are fealed to
' the Day of Redemption, But obferve the way
he takes with thee, watch for his Gales
upon thy Heart, and when thou perceivcft
the Wind ferves, take that Opportunity to
haften as far as thoa canft Heaven-ward. '
O how much Lofs doft thou daily fufter for
want of this Obfervance ! Confider who it
is that dwells in that Heart of thine, and
what becomes thee to do in his Prefence, and
under his Eye. Lament thy unrighteous
Offences againft him, and his righteous
Withdrawings from thee, as one that ha^
been ungratefully grieved by thee ; and let
it grieve thee to thy Heart, that thou fhouldft
grieve fuch a Great and Good and Holy
One as he is. Lament after him for his
Returns, and when he gracioufiy appears tO
and for thee again, labour to entertain him
. d3 G"o^, with 'all the Hopour, • Reverence^
• Af-
( 125 )
Affe<5lion, and Obedience that is due to
him as fuch. And be very Cautious that
you don't give him frefh Provocations ; yea,
beg of him, and truft in him, to keep your
Heart right with him, that you may be en-^^^
abled to walk in the Spirit^ and never again i6
fullfil the Lufls of the Fiefi,
SERMON
(I2«)
S E R M O N V.
I COR. xii. II.
But all theje worketh that one and the
ftlf^fame Spirit^ dividing to every
Man fever ally ojs he will.
WE are confidering fome Heads of
Evidence that the Holy Ghoft is
the Sovereign Almighty God. There-
fore,
Arg. 4. Fourthly, Thofe divine WORKS, which
the Scripture, and fometimes Reafon it [elf, af-
fares m are peculiar to the one Sovereign and Al-
mighty God, are in a proper Senje afcrihed in
Scripture to the Holy Ghoft.
His divine Names are not pompous empty
Titles ; his divine Nature is not a ufelefs un-
adive Principle ; but according to his glo-
rious Names and Nature, he afts in a God-
like manner, -as the proper Efficient of
Things peculiar to God, which none but
the only true God can do. Thefe may be
reduced to two general Heads, (i.) T'he
Works of Nature. (2.) 'The Works of fpecial
OEconomy in our Salvation.
All
( 127 )
All the Operations of the Spirit both in
the Works of Nature and fpecial O Economy,
are according; to the Order of his Subfiflence.
He being that Perfon in the Trinity, who
neceffarily and eternally proceeds from the
Father and Son, the moft natural Order of
Operation is, that they fhould work by him,
as well as together with him : or, that the
Deity fhould put forth its Power in pro-
ducing its EffetSis by the Holy Ghofl as the
moft immediate Worker. And therefore,
tho what the Spirit doth in the Operations
I am going to 'confider, God is fometimes
faid to do by him ; yet that is no Objedion
againll: his being one God with the Father
and Son, or againft his doing thofe things as
God together with them. -For the Term
God in thofe Paflages is to be underftood ei-
ther as a Denomination of the Father, or o£
the Son, or o^ both • or q\(c as a Denomina-
tion of the divine Nature, according as the
Circumftances of their feveral Contexts guide
us. And fo God's ading by the Holy Ghoft,
is not to beunderftooa as if he was an Agent
of an inferior Nature to God ; but as deno-
ting the Order of the divine Perfons Work-
ing, or as denoting the Perfcn by whom the
divine Nature moft immediately puts forth
its Almighty Energy.
Yea, to fay that the Spirit is not God, or
that his Operation as fuch is not the Ope-
ration of God, becaufe God works ^^ him ,*
is indeed to fay that God himfcif don*c im-
mediately do any Works, but only commjili-
ons and Influences fome inferior Being , to do
them, and on that Account only is laid himfelf
to do them. And according to this way of
(peaking, thofe Things which are done by
the
C 128 )
the Spirit are no more done by God himfelf,
than every good EfFed that is wrought by
an Angel, a Magiftrate, a Minifter, or a
good Man, is God's own doing it, bccaufe
they do thofe Things by Commijiion and
Inflaence from him. But tho God is cer-
tainly the firft and principal Caufe of all the
good EfFeds that are produced by any of his
Creatures, yet that Perfon mufi furely have
a very odd Turn of Mind, who can read the
Scripture-account of what God is faid to
do by his Spirit, and think that the Ads
of his Spirit therein, are not more properly
God's own Ads, than the Ads of Angels or
Men are : Or, that God don't more imme-
diately ad by hiwy than he doth by them.
And that which puts this Matter out of
doubt v/ith me is, that the SVorks I am go-
ing to in/ift on, are fucb as in their proper
Efficiercy are peculiar to God only ; and
fome of them fuch as God is faid to do by
himfelf, and yet they are wrought by the
proper EjEciency of the Spirit.
'Tis not pretended that the Spirit doth
thefe Things exclufive of the Father and Son,
but *tis infided on that they don't do 'em
exclufive of Him ; or, that they ail ad by
one Energy and joint Concurrence in pro-
ducing them. Accordingly, the following
Arguments taken from the Spirit's Works,
fuppofe the Order of his Operations ; and
the Force of thofe Arguments lies in the
Nature of the Works themfelves, which the
Holy Ghoft is the proper Efficient of by his
own Power, and which are fuch as both the
Scripture, and the Reafon of Things afliire
ixsy can be done by none but the One Great
and Sovereign God> or by no PovvtT ihort
of
( 129 )
of his ; which Power the Holy Ghoft
could rot put forth unkfs he Himfeif is
God. Therefore,
I, T'pe Holy Spirit performs thofe Works ^f
NATURE, zuhich are peculiar to the only
true and Almighty God, Creation and Provi-
dence take in all the Works oF this fort,
and both thefe are afcrib'd to the Hoty
Ghoft.
(i .) The Work of CREATION is afcriFd
to him.
This is 2L Work which the great Jehovah
is faid to do alone, to the Exclufion of_^all
that are not God ; and i>y hiinfelf, to the Ex-
clufion of all fecond Caufes or inf<^rior A-
gents. / am the Lord that ?naketh all Thmgs,^^^' 44-
that ftretcheth forth 4be Heavens alone\ that^^"
fpreadeth abroad the Earth by my filf. There
was no Partner with him, or fubordinate
Agent ufed by him, in framing the Heavens
and the Earth. And yet the Holy Ghoft is
exprefsly fpoken of as an acting Perfon in
the Oreation of the World. Which ftiews
that he is not excluded from, but included
in that God, who created It alone and by^
himfeif. Thus in the Mo fuck Account of
the Creation, we are told, tha|^ the Spirit of Gem i^
God moved with a formative Power on the'^'
Face of the Waters.
That this Spirit of God was not the Air
or Wind moving upon the Face o the Wa-
ters is^ plain, becaufe this Spirit is not recko-
ned among the created Things^ and is men-
tion'd before there was any Separation of
any Parts of the Chaos into their proper
Forms. The firft diftindion of Things fol-
low'd the Spirit's moving ; and the Creation
of the Air is generally referr'd to the Work
K of
( 130 )
of the Second Day.'^ Nor is there any Rea-
fon to fuppofe that any immaterial intelli-
gent Agent different from the Holy Ghoft is
meant, becaufe he isofteuy and none but he
is ever call'd the Spirit of God in the Scrip-
ture.
The ABion of this Spirit was fuch a mov-
ing on the indigefled Matter, as became an
effedual Influence to fhape it into its divers
defigned Forms, as they are afterwards re-
lated thro the refl of the Chapter. For the
Word here tranflated moved |, denotes a
Motion like that of Birds, when they fit on
their NePtS with vital or cherifhing Heat over
their Eggs or Young; and accordingly 'tis
Deut.32.yfeJ fQ exprefs an Eagles fluttering over her
^^' Toung ; and fo it iignilies the moft powerful
Energy and Adion of the Holy Spirit, com-
municating Being, Life, and Motion to all
Things.
Kow this effe^ual formative Work of the
Gen. I. Spirit of God, upon that which wad without
*• Form and void, is in all the following Ac-
counts of the Creation as f^^^rdsly call'd
God's own immediate Work, as the firft
Forming of the Chaos it felf. It was God
that all along faid. Let it kfo, and it was foy
V. 3, ^i and God mUde and created all the different
*«» H» Creatures there fpecify'd. And confidering
2/ &c the unaptnefs of the firft confufed Mafs to
' "" yield this excellent Variety of feveral Ranks
of Creatures, this has been ufually look'd
upon as an Ad of equal Power wieh that
of creating the firfl Mafs it felf. 'Tis parti-
*■ ViL Ainfworth and '^WXtVs Hix.iphi in Loc,
t ^rr\ ^^^^^ Q\ii^'i%^iQ}ainmat. iacr.i, p. 5i4> 11 §.
cularly
r/3i )
cularly with refped to this part tf the
Work of Creation, that God fpcaks fo mag-
nificently of it, as the mofl grand and un-
anfwerabie Proof of his infinite M.j'elly and
Greatnefs. The Stretching forth the Hea^vens^^r^
and Spreading abroad the Earthy which God,.^
fpeaks of as done alone and by hi7rifelfy be-
longs to this part of his Work. And when
he aggrandizes his creating Power in the
moll exalted Strains, to flrike the Mind with
a folemn Awe at the Thoughts of his infinite
Being, he principally infills on the fitiijud
Works of his Hands, and recites, among
many other particulars, his beautifying the
Heavens with the luminous Bodies he has
placed in them, 3^0^ chap. 38. throughout.
This is a Work God claims to himfelf, and
is too great for any but himfelf to do ; and
yet "This is exprefsly declar'd to be done by
his Spirit as the immediate Agent therein.
By his Spirit he hath garnijhed the Hea'uenSy ; r^s ,5^
his Hand hath formed the crooked Serpent; b) !?•
which fome underftand the Cehfiial Spheres^
and others the Via LaEl?a, What is faid to
be done by his Spirit in the former part o£
the Verfe, is in the latter call'd the Work of
his Hand; which fhews that the Spirit's A-
gency herein was the A6ling of God's in-
finite Power in and by him. And may not
this help us to underftand the Pfalmifl:, when
he fays. By the Word of the Lord were the Hea-
vens made, and all the Hoft of them by the Breathy y'^^' ^ ^*
or Spirit of his Mouth : q. d. The Word of"
the Lord commanded, and the Spirit put
forth the Power by which that Word com-
manded them into Being. Hence the Ope-
ration of the Spirit in this Work is repre-
fenced not in the manner of a dependent or
K 2 Tub-
( 132 )
fubord^nate Agent, but of the fupreme and
Ifa. ^o. Almighty God. For, Who hath meafured the
ii> '3' Waters in the Hollow of his Hand ? And meted
out the Heaven ivith the Sfan, &c ? iVho hath
direEied the Spirit of the Lord, or being his Coun-
feller ha^ taught him ?
Yea, the Creation of Man, who has an
immaterial Scul as well as an earthy Body,
Job 33. is afcrib'd to the Holy Ghoft. I'he Sfirit of
4* God hath made me^ fays Rlihu^ and the Breath
of the Almighty has given me Life. He is here
fpoken of not as an Inftrument by which
God works, but as the principal efficient
Caufe j He himfelf by his own Ad made
Elihu, and by confequence all others. The
Spirit of God, and the Breath of God, may
be confider'd as meaning the fame thing i
the Breath of God, as the Metaphorical, and
the Spirit of God, as the proper Denomina-
tion of the third Perfon in the Godhead.
And perhaps he is caird the Breath of the
Almighty in allufion to the manner of his
Zee, ^'^'fgymingthe Spirit of Man zvithin him, which is
Gen. 2. teprefented by breathing into him the Breath
7. of Life. And this Expreifion, ^r^rtf/?/??^, when
apply'd to God, is commonly ufed with a
regard to the Operation of the Spirit -, and
fo the Spirit was the immediate Creator of
the Soul as well as of the Body of Man,
Heb. 12. ^^^ may very properly be call'd the Father
9. of Spirits, and the God of the Spirits of all
'N^m.iC.Flefi ; which are the diftinguifhing Chara-
^^- ^ ders of the only true God. And fince 'tis
^■^^ ^ ' the fpecial Work of the Holy Spirit to re-
new the Image of God in fallen Man, 'tis
moll natural to fuppofe that He at firft made
the Soul, with all its concreated Holinefs,
and
( 133 )
andnfo was the Author of Man's original
ReElitudey as well as of his reafonable Na-
ture.
Now how could the Spirit be thus con-
cern'd, and ad together with the Father and
Son in Creation Work, unlefs he is the only
true God together with them ; fince we are
exprefsly told that God alone is that Creator?
Or how could God make all things by his
Spirit, unlefs his Spirit was Himfelf c{{<:nti2i\\y
confider'd ; fince we are told he made them
alone by himfelfy which excludes all Inftru-
ments or inferior Cau fes from any Efficien-
cy therein ? The Holy Ghoft therefore can*t
be an inferior inftrumental Agent in this
Work^ but mud be, inclufive of the Father
and Son, the God himfelf that perform'd it.
And thus confidering the Spirit as the one
true God, together with the Father and Son,
God's making all Things by Him, is a ma-
king them alone and by himfelf xo the Exclu-
fion of all that are not God. The Creation
of the World is an irrciiftable Evidence of
the Being of a God. The Variety, Order,
and Magnificence of this Work, has been
always rcckon'dan unanfwerable Demonftra-
tion that none but God could be the Au-
thor of it. Atheifm could never hold up
its head againft this fingle Argument. Now,
fince feveral Scriptures declare that the Holy
Ghofl: is the efHcient Caufe of that Work,
thofe Scriptures turn the whole Force of
that Argument into a Demonflration that
He is God.
The Heathens could have no Notions of a
God fuperior to the Creator of the World ;
and the ApoRle fpeaks of the Creation, as
the higheft Demonftration to them, and tp
K3 al!
2.0
( 134 )
all Men, of the fupreme Deity of Him that
Rom. 1. made it. For the hivifible 'Things of him from
the Cr tat ion of the World are ckarly feen^ being
underftood ly the T'hings that are made, even hts
eternal Poiver and Godhead. And therefore,
fince Revelation affiiresus that the Holy Spi-
rit was the immediate Agent therein. He
really mull be included as a divine Perfon in
that fupreme Godhead, and muft be that
God vvhofe Being is demonftrated by the
Creation. Accordingly k hath been a com-
mon Obfervation of the Learned, that God
fpoke of himfelf as more than one Perfony
when he faid. Let US make Man. And very
often when God is fpoken of as our Maker
or Creator, the Word in the Hebrew is put
in the plural Number. Thus for Example,
None faith ivhere is God my Maker ? [_Heb,
Makers.] Remember now thy Creator, \_Heb.
Creators. J And. 'Thy Maker \_Heb. Makers]
is thine Husband. The Perfons ading in our
Creation according to the Order of their
Subfiftence are more than one, and there-
fore fpoken of in the Pliival ; but the Nature
or Godhead is but one, and therefore 'tis not
more Gods than one, but the one only living
and true God, Father, Son, and Spirit, that
made us all.
/2.) The fVhrk of PROVIDENCE is
afcrib^d to the Holy GhofL
The Pfalmifl:, fpeaking of the Continuance
Fral.ro4 o^' God's manifold Works, fays, Thoa fendefi
3o. forth thy Spirit, they are created. The continu-
al fupport of the Creature in Being is ex-
prefs'd by creating, becaufe a conftant EfRux
of the fame Almighty Power and Goodnefs
that made the World, maintains a dependent
World in Being ; And the Spirit of God is
here
Gen
. I
z6.
Job
>5
Ir.
Eccl
. I
I.
Ifa.
54
s.
C'35)
here averted to be the Author of this con-
ftant Recruit. God's fending forth his Spi-
rit for this Purpofe, don't denote that his
Spirit is a diltind Being, of an inferior Na-
ture to himfelf, or is employed as an under-
Agent to him ; but only imports, that God
applies his effential Power and Goodnefs to
this Operation, by that Perfon in the God-
head who is cali'd his Spirit. For the Spi-
rit's afting herein is not God's putting the
Operation into another's Hand, and influ-
encing him to it; but is God's own Ope-
rating, as 'tis explain'd in the next Words,
T^hou remzvefi the Face of the Earth. Accor-
dingly this holy Pcnmau fpeaks of God's
fending forth his Mercy ^ Truth y and Pozver.
He P) all fend from Heaven and fave me. God^h\, 57,
fhall fend forth his MERC T and his TRUT'HJ- &
And fend T HT HAND from above, &c/^^*7.
But furely thefe ExprelTions don't imply that
thefe Perfedions of God's Nature hereby in-
timated are fomething different from him-
ftlf, but only that he exerts them in fuitable
Operations, which is cali'd his fending them
forth. Accordingly the Spirit being the moft
immediate ading Perfon in the Godhead,
the exerting divine Perfedions by him in
recruiting Operations, is cali'd God's fend-
ing him forth for them, in fuch a manner
that he himfelf is faid to do them.
On the other hand, the Decay of Nature
is reprefented as the Etfed of God's Spirit's
blowing upon it, in allu/ion to the withering
Effcd of a blading Wind. All Flefh is Grafs, I^^- 4^^*
and all the Goodlinefs thereof as the Flower of * "^^
the Field : 'The Grafs withereth, the Flower
fadethy becaufe the Spirit of the Lord hloweth
fipon it. And this anfwers to that Work,
K 4 which
which is appropriated to God, where 'tis
Pfa. lo^.faid, Thou hideji thy Face^ they are troubled:
2-9- "thou takeft away their Breath, they dye, and
return to their Duft.'
And as the whole Frame of Nature de-
pends on the Agency of the Spirit as the
God of Nature, fo the Government of the
World is manag'd by him, particularly as
its Affairs are intermingled with, and relate
to the Interefts of the Church. He is never
faid to be ruled, or governed, or fubjed to
God's Dominion, as ail Creatures are, and
can't but be ; but on the other hand, he is
fpoken of as ading the Governing Part in
the OEconomy of the World. 'Tishethat
over-ruled things by his Providence, to give
Ifrael Reft in the Wildernefs, while they were
furrounded with formidable Enerr.ies. The
Ifa.63. ^jjiyjf; of the Lord caufed him to reji, fo didfl
^* thou lead thy Feofle to make thy felf a ghncm
Name. 'Tis he that guarded them arainft
their envious Foes, and crufh*d the Powers
I*a. 59. ^.j^^j. ^Q{;igxi(^ to deftroy them. iVhen tie Ener-
my fh all come in like a Flood, the Sprit of the
Lordlhall lift up a Standard againfl him. 'Tis
J d.g.ioHe that influenced Judges and Kings to ad-
&^- M- minifter Juftice, and manage the Affairs of
& n!z5.*^^^'^l Government, as is recorded with re-
& iSam. fped to Othniel, Gideon, Jefhthah, Sumfon,
I • 13, Saul, 'And David.
'^' This Work of God's Spirit, fitting Kings
for Government, and flirring them up to
righteous Adminiftrations, was fignify'd by
Anointing them for their Office. With refped:
thereto, God wis faid to anoint and gtr4
ITa. /|5, Cjrm, or to incline his Heart, and enable
him to overthrow the Bahylonifh Tyranny,
and to open a way iotlfrael's Return to their
own
I. 5
C'37)
own Land, and for their Rebuilding the
Temple which Nehuchadnez.z,ar had deflroy'd.
On this Account God faid of Cyrmy He is jf^^ ..
my Shepherd y and jhall perform all my PkafareyzS,
even faymg to yerufalemy Thou jh alt be built y and
to the 'Temple y thy Foundation Jh all be laid. And
we are told, "Ihe Lord fJirred up the Spirit of^^"^^^'
Cyrm Ktng of Perjta, that he made a Pvodama- ^ J '
tion — faying The Lord God of Heaven — hath
chargd me to butld him an Houfe in 'Jerujalem
which is in Judah, Who is there among you of
all his People} His God be with him, and let
hijn go up to Jerufalem, which is in ^udahy and
build the Houfe of the Lord God of Ifrael, &c.
Hereupon allthofe whofe Spirit God had raifed
to go upy to build the Houfe of the Lord, ga-
thei'd together from the feveral Parts of
Balylon, and return'd under their principal
Leader Zerubbabely whofe Bahylonijh Kame
was Shethbazzary as may be feen by compa-
ring Ezrai. 8, ii. with Chap. 2. i, 2.
Now all the great Things that God did
by Cyrm's means in order to the Rebuilding
of the Temple, are declar d to be done by
the Spirit of the Lord, who by his fecret In-
fluence ftirr'd up Cyrmy and all otht rs con-
cerned, and made all Oppolition fail before
them. For, with refpect to this great Event,
This wa5 the Word of the Lord to Zeurbbabely ^^^* 4*
fayingy not by Might nor by Power y that is, not '
by any Counfels or Arrays of Ifaely but by
my Spirit y faith the Lord of Hofis, Who art thouy
O great Mountain ? before Zeruhhahel thou fbalt
become a Plain. Who can reflect on this ftu-
pendious Turn of Providence, which is de-
clared to be brought about by the Spirit of
the Lord, who over-ruled the Tempers,
Counfels, and A<5tions of Men to accom-
plift
C »=t8 )
Pfal. $8. plifii It, and not be forced' to fay. What hath
!*• God wrought ? and, ^venly he is a God, inclu-
iive of his Spirit, that judgeth in the Earth,
Once more. The Spirit is reprefented as
guiding all the Motions of Providence, in
EzeLefs Vifion of the Living Creatures and
Ezek. I. the Wheels. I'hey (the living Creatures) went
li, 19, every one jlreight forward; whither the Spirit
^°* wa5 to go they went, and they turned not when
they went. And when the living Creatures wenty
the Wheels went by them ; and when the living
Creatures were lift up from the Earthy the Wheels
were lift up. Whitherfoever the Spirit was to go,
they wenty thither was their Spirit to go, and the
Wheels were lifted up over againft them ; For
the Spirit of the living Creature \^Heb. f Spirit
of Life] wen in the Wheels. This is gene-
rally ailow'd to be an emblematical Repre-
fentation of the Providence of God, which
over-rules and orders all Affairs for his Glory
and his Church's good. The living Creatures^
who are afterwards calfd the Cherubims, are
cK 10. ufually fuppofed to mean the Angels, who
*5' are Minifters of God's Will ; and the Wheels
to mean iHU more inferior Caufes. But there
was a higher Spirit, different from the Spi-
rit of the living Creatures, who order'd
them ', and this can be no other than the
Spirit of God, who, as the firftfupreme Caufe,
quickened, over-ruled and guided all their
Motions ; fo that they became fteddy and
harmonious to anfwer his Ends , how-
ever many of them might feem to run coun-
ter to thofe Ends. Surely then He muft be
t n^nnnn
( 139 )
the great and fovereign God, fince hk King-
dom ruleth over ail.
2. The Holy Spirit performs many Works- in the
OEconomy of Salvation^ which are peculiar to
the only Sovereign and Almighty God.
The Works of the Holy Ghofl, which in
this OEconomy are by fpecial voluntary Dif-
penfation committed to him, may be reduced
to three Heads, (i.) Thofe which refped
Chrift himfelfy confiderd in his human Nature^
and Qfjce-Capaclty. (2.) Thofe which refped
the Church in general. And, (3.) Thofe which
refped each Member of Chrifi's my fti cat Body in
particular. And all the Works 01 the Spirit,
which are peculiarly afcrib'd to Him with
regard to thefe feverally, are fuch as are pe-
culiar to the only true God, and which none
but he can do.
(i ) He perform d thofe Works 'with refpeB to
CHRIS Ts HUMAN NATURE " AND
OFFICE-CAP AC Il'Yy which are peculiar
to the great and only true God.
What I am about to offer with refpcd to
the Holy Ghoft's Operations towards and
by Chrift's human Nature, is not to be un-
derflood as if Chrill, confidcr'd in his di-
vine Nature, was infufficient for, or was
really unadive in, any of thefe Works. For
as the Spirit is the Spirit of the Son^ as well
as of the Father, fo both he and the Father
put forth thofe Operations jointly with and
by the Spirit. The human Nature of- Chrift
is it felf a Creature, tho in perfonal Union
with the divine ; and therefore the Adingsof
the Spirit on and by that Nature, are like-
wife the Adings of the Father and Son to-
gether with him, as all his Operations to-
ward the Creature are. Hence fome of thofe
Works
( 140 )
Works are exprefsly afcrib'd fometimes to
the Father, fometimes to the Son himfeJfj
and at other times to the Holy Ghoft, as
may hereafter appear with refpedt to Chrift's
RefurreBion.
The perfonal Union of the Logos with the
human Nature, gave an infinite Dignity to
Chrift's Ad:s, they being thereby the Ads
of a divine Perfon; and by virtue of this
Union, there is a conftant neceffary Influx of
one Kind or other, from the Logos by the
Spirit on the human Nature, tho the Kinds
and Degrees of that Influx are variable ac-
cording to Difpenfarion. Conlidcring the
Man Chrift Jefm as one Per/on with the etet-r
nal IVord, all divine Flowings into him are
peculiarly his own Ads in one Nature, upon
himfelf in his other Nature. And confider-
ing him 2lS fenti and put into Office by the
Father, they are peculiarly the Father's Ads
towards him. But ftill the Holy Ghoft is
that Perfon in the Godhead, by whom I
conceive the Father and Son put Ibrth their
Power, and who moft immediately applies
the one Energy of the Godhead in its Oper
rations on and by Chrift's human Nature.
Hence the Adings of the Holy Ghoft widi
refped to thofe things that are done towards
and by Chrift, as confider'd in his human
Nature, are no more a Proof of the Quief-
cence of the Logos therein, than they are of
the Qjuefcence of the Father himfelf; becaufe
He as wd\ as the Son ads by his Spirit in all
thefe Things. The God-like Ads which
Chrift performed in his human Nature, were
managed in fuch a grand and fovereign Man-
ner, as /hew'd himfelf to be the ading God
that wrought them by his own Power : and
yet
( HI )
yet I humbly think that he, as the /-cot^^ Per-
fon in the Godh ad, put forth this Power
thro his human Nature together with and
by the Holy Spirit. And there is no incon-
(iftence in this, fince his original Nature is
likewife the Nature of the Holy Ghoft, and
is the one undivided Principle of his own
and of the Spirit's Operations in their pro-
sper Order, and according to agreed OEc-
onomy. Upon this foot, whatever one doth
in things of this fort, the other can't but
concur in, and do jikewife. As Chrifl laid
with refped to the Father and himfelf, con-
fider'd as the Son, My Father vjorketh hitherto, Tq|^^
and I worky not as di&rent Caufes, one fub- 17.
ordinate or inferior to the other, but as co-
equal Workers in their proper Order, and
ejjentially one Caufe ; For ivhat things foevery, 19.
he doth, thefe alfo doth the Son L IKEM^ISF.
So it may be faid in like manner with refped
to the Holy Ghoft, and the Father, and Son,
the Reafon of the Thing being the fame ;
and Afcriptions of the fame Works being
in many Places of Scripture made in the
fame Sovereign Manner to him, as is in o-
thers to them. Having premifed thefe Con-
fiderations to prevent Mi^akes, 1 now pro-
ceed to confider fome Ads of the Holy Ghoft
with refped: to Chrift's human Nature and
Office-Capacity therein, which are peculiar
to God only.
(i.) He formed the human Nature of Chrifl in
a miractclcm God-like Aianner.
This was a Vv^'ork for the Manner of iu
wholly aDove the Power of Nature, and is
prophefy'd of as a creating Ad, which is
peculiar to God only. Thus, in prophetick
Stile, which fometimes fpeaks of things fu-
ture
Ci40
tare as if they were alrerdy part, \i^ faid,
-, Jer. 51. ^he Lord hath C RE A "TE D a new Thing in
^i* the Earthy viz. A Woman [hall compafs a Man.
This very well harmonizes with the Account
of that ft upend iouSxS'/^/^ of God's Covenant-
Faithfuhiefs, which he aflur'd his People he
himfelf would giv^e them. Behold a Virgin
Ifa. 7. jImU conceive f and bear a Sony and call hk Name
M- IMMANVEL, This feems plainly to
be the New 'things of miraculous Birth, that
God would C RE AT' E in the Earth, or
Jer. 51. Land of Canaan: For in the former Part of
4, $,&c. the Chapter, God comforted Ifrae I with
Promifes of a Reftoration to their own Land,
and thereupon ufed Arguments with them
to ftir them up to return to it. Nov what
could moreeft'edually fweeten thefe Promifes,
and incline their Hearts to this Return, than
an Affurance that in that Land God would
create this New I'hingy viz,. That a Virgin
jhould conceive their Mefftah ? And then in the
following Parts' of the Chapter, he adds
many more exceeding great and precious
Promifes of fpiritual Bleflings that fhould be
brought to them in the MeiTiah's Days : And
what was fo proper to introduce the Profpeds
of that Scate, as a Prophefy of the Birch of
that Meffiah? Yea, ftill farther to intimate
that the New 'Thing here mentioned relates to
him, the Murder of the Infants at Chrift's
Birth is join'd with this Prophefy of him.
▼' ^ 5- Thm faith the Lord, a Voice was heard in Ra-
mah, Lamentation and bitter Weepingy Rachel
weeping for her Children, refufed to be comforted
for her Children, becaufe they were not. And
Herod's flayi?ig all the Children that were in
Bethlehem, and in all the Coafts thereof (which
took in Ramab) is cxprefsly call'd d> fulfilling
that
( 143)
that which was here fphn by the Prophet Jere- Matth.
myy faying^ In Ramah wui there a Voice heard y ^' ^^^
&c. ^ ''
Now this forming of Chrifl's human Na-
ture in the Womb^of the Virgin, is call'd
God's creating a new Thing, which is the
very fame f \\^ord that is ufed to exprefs his
creating the World. In the Beginning God
CREATED the Heavens and the Earth.
And this is at another time call'd a Formingi[^, ^p,
him. from the IVemb to be his Servant. And tlie 5.
^ Word here ufed is thac by which the Crea-
tion of Man is exprefs'd : The Lord God^tn. 2.
FORME D Man of the Duft of the Ground. 7-
As God form'd Man of the Dull: of the
Ground (which, as has been fhewn> is to be
underftood of God inclufive of the Spirit)
fo the Holy Ghoft by a creating Power form'd
Chnft's Body of the Subftance of the Vir-
gin, he being made of a Woman, Gal.^,
This great and god- like Work is exprefsly 4-
afcrib'd to the Holy Gholl: as the immediate
proper Efficient of it. When the Virgin
Mary was firft faluted by the Angel, and was^^^'l^^'*
aifured from God that fhe fhould conceive ^"*^^^'
and bring forth Jefpuy fhe knew that m her
then prefentCircumflances there was a natural
Impoffibility of it, and therefore doubted
concerning it. But the Angel anfwerd and
faid unto her. The Holy Ghoft [ball come upon^- ^5«
theey and the Power of the Highefl Jlall over-
Jhadow thee. The Holy Ghoft's acting herein
was a putting forth the Power of the Higheft :
which fhews 'twas a Work peculiar to God,
and wrought by his immediate Power, and
yet
( u+ )
yet the Holy Ghoft himfelf was the Doer of
it ; 'twas he that apply'd this Power, or put
it forth to produce this grand Effed, fo as
to be himfelf the immediate proper Author
of it. Hence we are told the Virgin -luas
which wa6 conceived in her^ -was of the Holy
Chofi,
(2.) He furnifl^ed Chriffs human Nature with
all Grace and Gifts to qualfy him for, and to
enable him to go thrOj his Office-work upon
Earth.
That human Nature which was fo extra-
ordinarily form'd by the divine Power of the
Holy Ghoft, was form'd with all itscongenite
Principles of Grace and Holinefs ; and there-
fore in its very Conception and Birth 'tis
Luke i.call'd that holy Thing that Jhould he born of the
35. Virgin. And as Chrift in his human Nature
advanced in Years, the Holy Ghoft was with
him, making him to increafe as Man in Wif-
dom as well as Stature. "The Child grew^ and
waxed ftrong in Spirit ; or, as it might be
render'd, by the Spirit, filfd with Wfdom^ and
the Grace of God was with him, [Gr. upon him J
fo that zvhen he was twelve Years old^ " all that
heard him were aflonijhed at his Underfianding
and Anfwers, And Jefm increafed in IVifdom^
Ai^'i^^^^^ 6'r^/?«?'f5 and in Favour with God and Man.
5i' ^ ' He by the Spirit had a gradual Increafe of
Illuminations, Gihs, and Graces, according
to his human Capacity of receiving them, as
he grew up toManhood. And when he was
to enter on his publick Miniftry, the Holy
Ghoft came upon him in much greater A-
bundance of Operations, Gifts, and Graces*
to inrich him with a thorough-Furniture for
the Office-work th^t lay before him. He
was
C U5 >
was baptized In the moft remarkable Man-
ner with the Holy Ghoil: ; "The Spirit then Luke ?.
defending like a Dove upon him. Hereupon ^?-
he IS rcprefented, as full of the Holy Ghofi ;^^-4-i>
and as ading in the Power of the Spirit ; and
as having an unmearurable EfFufion of him
upon his human Nature! for God gave not]o\\.x.
the Spirit by meafure to him, 'Twas by thisM*
Spirit that he was mofl immediately qualify'd
as God's Servant lo }i:.e"jj Judgment to the Gen-Miit.ij,
tihi. And 'twas thro the Holy Chvfl that he "^^r
gave commandments to the Jpujiles,
Thus was Chrift. as Man, anointed with
the Holy GhofI:, according to his own Ap-
plication of an old Teftament Text relatnig
to himfelf. The Spirit of the Lord U upon me^ Luke 4,
becaufe he hath anointed me to preach the Go [pel 18, — 21.
to the Poor, — ^And he began to fay to them, this
Day is this Scripture fulfilled in your Ears. The
Father \s indeed reprefented as anointing
him with the Spirit for the Work to which
he had call'd him ; and as Chrift came on his
Father's Bulinefs (the Father being ufually
fpoken of as the fender of Chrill, and as the
•firft Mover and Ordererof 2^ Things rela-
ting to our Salvation) 'twas very tit that,
according to this OEconomy, he fhould hir-
nifh Chrift's human Nature with all Endow-
ments neceffary for his Work. But ftill the
Father's qualifying him was by the Holy
Ghoft. And he, as well as the Father, aded
the Power of God in the Collation of all
Gifts, Graces, and Abilities on the Man
Chrift Jefus, according to that Prophefy of
him, The Spirit of the Lord jhall reji upon him,\^^> il.
the Spirit ofWijdom aud Under/landing. the Spirit ^ •
of Counjel and Might, the Spirit cf Kno-iuledge
and of the Fear of the Lord. 'Twas he tb^at
L hi I'd
■ (, 146 )
fiird him with the Power whereby he went
A^ls ic. about doing good. For God anointed ^efm of
38. Dlaz-areth with the Holy Ghoft and with Powevy
IV ho went about doing good, and healing all that
were opprejfed of the Devil ; for God wa^ with
him. ChrilFs being fill'd with Povjer for
thefe Vv^orks, was by his being fill'd with the
Holy Ghoft ; and the Power which the Holy
Ghoft put forth upon and by him, was the
Toiver of God 5 for 'tis added on the Account
of what the Holy Ghoft did therein, that
Cod iva6 with him. And accordingly the
Things here mentioned, which Chrill; did by
the Power thvat the Holy Ghoft put forth by
him, are at another time reprefented by the
fame iVpoftle as Things which God himfeJf
cb, i. did by Chrift : For, fays he, "Jefmof Nax^a-^
22. rethw^s a Man approved of God among you, by
MiyacieSy and iVonders, and Signs, which God
did by him in the midft of you. But how this
Power put forth by the Holy Ghoft can in
ftridnefs of Speech be calfd Gods being
\vith Chrift, and God's doing thofe Things
which that Power did by Chrift, is, I con-
(ek, very har^ for me to uoderftand, unlefs
the Holy Ghoft is God, and put forth that
Power as God.
It is certain that the Man Jefus could not do
^''^' fuch Miracles as he did, except God wa5 with him 3
that is, except the Power of God, was put
P^al. 72,. forth thro him ; for *tis the Godof Jfrael, who
*^- ONLY doth fuch wondrom T'hings. And yet
the Holy Ghoft is fpoken of as that Perlon
in the Godhead, who moft immediately did
put forth that Power ; the Father and Son,
as God, ading therein by and together with
Lukeii.him. Hence Chrift tells us. He caft out De-
20. vtli by the Finger^ or Pov/er^ of God ; and to
fliew
C H7 )
fhew us which Perfoii in the Godhead moft
immediately aded that Power, he at anorher
time tells us^ he did it l^y the Spirit of GW. ^^^^•'^»
And becaufe the Power of the Spirit was^
the Power by which Chrift performed his
mighty Works, therefore blafpheming thofe
Works was calJ'd Blafphemy againft the Holy^'- 5t,
Ghofi, and a /peaking againft him, ^^*
Yea, it was thro the eternal Spirit (which I
have fhewn is meant of the Holy Ghofl)
that Chrift offered himfeH ivithout Spot to God, ^f '^' ^*
His human Nature was not fufficient of it^''*'
felf^ without fpecial Ailiilance from the di-
njine, to bear jLip under the infinite V/eight
that lay upon it, when he bare our Sms in i Pet. ?,
his own Body on the "Tree ; and toexercife every z\,
Grace in fuch an eminent manner as the Cir-
cumflances of his Cafe then requir'd. And
as Chriil in his original Nature ads by the
Spirit toward every thing that is out of that
Nature • fo I apprehend it was by his Spirit,
that he communicated his divine Ini^uences
to his human Nature, to fupport and carry
it thro that laft and ^reateft of ail its DiiH-
culties, with all that Faith, Love, Readinefs,
Patience, and Submiflion that were neceflary
to make his Sacrifice a jreey and fo an ac-
ceptable Oifering. So that the Affiflance
Chrift's human Nature found to carry it thro
the Hour and Power of Darknefs, v/as an
immediate and unmeafurable Flow from the
Holy Ghoft, And furely this was Afiillance
too great for any but God himfelf to %\\^ in
the moft immediate manner to him, and 'tis
accordingly fpoken of as God's own kdc.
For the Lord God, fays Chrift with refpect to
this Cafe, will help me, therefore [hall I not heY^, -q^
L 2 con- 7-
C 148 )
con founded ; therefore have I fet my Face as a
Flinty and I know that Ijhall not he ajhamed.
[3.] T'he Holy Choft raijed Chrifi from the
Bead.
The Apoille Paul leads our Thoughts this
way, when fpeaking of the Refurredion of
Rom. 8. (^j^j.-(^ ^j^j q£ Believers, he fays, If the Sprit
of him that raifed up 'Jefrnfrom the Dead dwell
in yoUy he that raifed up Chrifl from the Dead
[ball alfo quicken your mortal Bodies by his Spirit
that dwelleth in you. The Refurredion of
Chrift is here fpoken of as the Pattern of
ours. The Quickening of the Head and
Members, was and willbe by the fame Pow-
er ; as he was quickened, fo alfo we fhall be ;
and therefore as ours is to be . by the Spirit,
His was fo too, or elfe we fhall not be quick-
ened as He was. Accordingly He was faid
T M. 3. to be put to death in the Flejh ; b7^t quickened by
^^' the Spirit. By the Spirit in this Place, fome
underftand the divine Nature of Chrift, be-
caufe 'tis oppofed to his human Nature,
which is cali'd the Flefi ; and for that Rea-
fon I formerly was inclined to take it in that
Senfe. But 'tis more ufually underftood to
mean the Holy Ghoft -, and I own that, upon
s a clofer Review, it feems more immediately
to refped Him, not only becaufe the Article
is prefixed to Spirit, but principally becaufe
V 1910.0^ what immediately follows^ ^j iuA'/c/; (Spi-
rit) alfo he went and preached to the Spirits in
Prifon, which fometime were difohedient in
the Days of Noah. This mahifeftly referrs
to the Holy Ghoft's Pleadings with the old
World by the Preaching of Noah, and by in-
ward Checks of Confcience, which they de-
fpifed to their own Perdition ; with refped
Gen,6.^to which God faid, My Spirit fhall not always
firive
( H9 )
ftrive with Man- And yet thefe Adings of
the Spirit toward the iinccdiiuvian World,
were Chrift's own Adings in his pr^-exiftent
divine Nature by Him: for He (Chnil) weijtj
and preaclod by the Spirit to them that difobey'd
his Preaching in the Days of Njah, and were,
at the writing of this Epiftie, in the Prifon
of Hell for th^t their Dilbbedience. So in
like manner tho. Spirit's raifiiig Chnil's Body
from the Dead, was Chrift's own Ad in his
divine Nature, by his Spirit upon his human '
Nature. Hence Chrift fpoke of it as what
he himfelf would do, / will raife it up, fpeak-
ing of the T'emple of his Body. And, / lay joh. 2.
down my Life that I might take it again : I have ?9, 2,1.
Power to lay it down, and I have. Power to take it ^ '°*
again. And at other times we are told, that ^ds i'^
Gody viz,, the Father, raifed him from the 30,
Dead,
Thus the Refurredion of Chrift is afcrib'd
to all the three Perfons as ading in their pro-
per Order i but ftill 'twas the Spirit that
moft immediately put forth that divine E-
nergy by which Chrift's Body was raifed
from the Dead, the Father and Son putting
it forth by him. This Energy could be no
\c{s than the immediate Power of God^whofe
fole Prerogative it is to raife the Doad, And A£Isi5»
how the Spirit fhoiild immediately put forth ^*
that Power to produce this grand EfFcd, is
inconceivable to me, on any other Suppoft-
tion than that of his being God., whofe Power
and Energy are the fame with the Father's
and Son's.
Ia.'] the Holy Ghofl glorifies Chrifi.
The Glory of Chrift's mediatorial Exalta-
tion, whereby he was enabled in the moft -r ^^^ -
^eminent Manner to glorify the Father, con-{^ *
L 3 ' ^ lifts
( 150 )
fifts in great Meafure in his receiving the
Promife of the Father, Viz>. the Holy Ghofi,
that lie might in his Office-Capacity Ihed
hiiii forth abundantly to his own and his Fa-.
ther's Glory. Thus the Apofde Peter repre-
A^si. fents it^ laying, Jhtrcfore being by the right'
3^. Hand of God exahedy and having reteinjed oj the
Father the Promife of the Holy Ghofty he hath
[bed forth this y lijhichye now jee and hear, .And
hereupon he adds, as a Dedudion from this,
V. 56. "Therefore kt all the Houfe of Ifrael know affured-
ly^ that God hath made the fame Jefm whom ye
have cntcifiedy both Lord and Chyifl. *Tis in-
deed, according to OEconomy, the Father's
A61 principally to exa't the Mediator, and
put a Glory upon ium ■; but he doth this by
the Holy Gholl. who is the moft immediate
Agent in filling him with that Glory in Hea-
ven, and difplaying the Evidences of it here
upon Earth. For, as one great Part of
Chrid's mediatorial Glory in Heaven, con-
iiils in his having the Spirit by Difpenfation
in fuch a manner, that He, as Mediator,
may convey all Bleffings to the Church by
him ; fo his mediatorial Glory on Earth con-
fiils in this Spirit's coining from him to deal
out thofe Bleilings, and to give the mcfl glo-
rious Teftimonics to Him. Hence fays
Chrift, He foall glorify rne ,• for he jhall receive
^^^'^^' of mine y and f/^all jhew it timo' you. He difco-
vers what is known of Chnft to us ; He
bears Vv/itnefs to Plim as the Son of God, and
only Saviour of Sinners ; and He opens our
Hearts to know and receive Him as fuch 5-
for no Man can fay in Faith that Jefm is the
iCor Ai. lord, but by the Holy Ghoft. And yet this is
Ma't.K^ fpoken of, as a Work which the Father him-
17. * ""feif is faid to do. BlefJ'sd art tlm^ faid Chrift
"to
C 151 )
to Peter y upon his believing Confeffion of
him as the Son of y God and Meffiah, For
Flefi and Blood bath not ' revealed it unto thee^
but my Father which is in Heaven,
, Thus the Adings of the Ho^y Ghoft,
with refpect to ChrilVs human Nature and
Oifice-Capacity, aie fo exceeding great and
many ; fo apparently divine in their own
Nature, and fo appropriarcd to God in Scrip-
ture, that I can't fee how the Evidence they
give to his Divinity can be fairly evaded ;
Since (as has been before obferv'd) his Act-
ing herein from the Father and Son, and their
Ading by him, is no juil: Objedion againft
the Holy Ghoft's Ading therein by his own
Power as Gody and by as proper and free Ef-
ficiency as either the Father ot Son ad by, it
feems to me that this Part of the Argument
muft have confiderable Weight. Its remain-
ing Parts fhall be deferr'd, to make way for
a little ferious Refledion.
APPLICATION.
What has been fuggefted concerning the
Holy Ghoft's Work in reference to Chnfl,
naturally leads our Thoughts to the following
pradical Remarks.
Ufel. How ESSENTIAL is CH FUST
to all our Religion and Happinefs.
All the Agency of the Holy Ghoft with
refped to Chrift, has been to qualify him for
his Office-Work, and to glorify him in the
Difcharge of it. And in all that this bleffed
Spirit doth for the Propagation of true Re-
ligion in the World to the Glory of God,
and the Salvation of our Sou^s, his great
Defign is to glorify Chrift, as the Foundati-
L 4 01^
( 152 )
on of that Religion, as the Perfon by whom
the Glory of God is advanced, and Salva-
tion is obtain'd for finful Men. What then
is all our Religion wiriio'iir Chrift ? It is a
Building without a Foundation, and rhere-
I Cor, 3. fore will fink of it felf : For other Foundation
II. cai2 no Alan lay, than that which is iaidy which
is 'Ji'fm Chrijh God is not really glorify'd
without the moft exalted Regards to Chrift :
John. 5. por He that homureth not the Son, ho7JOureth not
^^' the Father which hath fent htm. He will ac-
cept no Worfhip from us but in Chrift ; and
we can have no comfortable Accefs to him,
c ap. i^.^^^t; |-|-jj^Q Chrift: For I, fays Chrift, am the
Way-i the T/ruthy and the Life ; no, Man cometh
unto the Father but by me. And confequently
all our Religion will deceive us, and leave us
. n for ever miferable, without Chrift. Neither
j^^ ^' is their Salvation in any other ; for there is none
other Name under Heaven given among Men
whereby we mufl be. faved. A Chrifllefs Reli-
gion is but a yewijh or Pagan Religion^ a Re-
ligion that the Spirit of God has no hand in,
and will not breathe in. And what can fuch
a Religion profit us ?
Ufe II. How Jhculd zve endeavour to G LO*
RIFT CHRIST' in all our Religion ?
If 'tis the De/ign of the Holy Spirit to glo-
rify him, it can't but be a noble Defign in us
to endeavour under his Influence to do fo
too. It is our Duty to fall in with the Holy
Ghoft's Defign herein. -V/e fiiould keep up
the moft honourable Thoughts of Chrift, ex-
alt him in our 'ofneft Praifes, and fliew forth
his Praife in all the Beauties of a holy Con-
verfation. We fhould afcribe unto him the
■ Glory due to his Name ,• the Glory of his
Deity ^ the Glory of his Oftice-Undcrta-
kings
( 153)
kings and Performances ; the Glory of his
infinitely perfed Righteoufnefs which he has
wroLignt out for iis, and the Glory of his
Grace which he communicates to us. In all
our Attempts to glorify the Father^ we fliould
take Care to do it in fuch a manner, that
he may be glorify 'd in the Son, and the Son
together with him. And in all our Attempts
to glorify the Spirit y we fnould labour to
g!oriry Chrifl together with him, and thro
his gracious Influences upon us.
The Spirit ads like the Spirit of Chnjh
fuitable to the near Relation he bears to him,
in his glorifying him. And if we pretend
to Relation to Chrift, we fhould make it our
Bufiuvfs to glorify him too. Do we bear the
Name of Chrift ? and are we'caU'd Chrifiians ^I°'^* 9-
from Him? we fhould abide in the DoBrinecf ^}^ 5-
Chrifi I He fhould dwell in our Hearts by Faith ; ^ Xim.i.
and ev^yy one that nameth his Name jhotild de- 19.
part from all Iniquity. Do we pretend to be^^'o^ti.
Chnft's Members ? we fhould honour our Head. ^' /J*
Do we pretend to be his Spoufe } we fhould ^f *
bcfubjeti to bim. Do we pretend to be his i^.^-
deemed ? we fhould give him the Claims of his
Redemption, and glonfy him in our Bodies and \ Cor. 6.
Spirits which are his. He diA not redeem us '^^'
to live in Sin ; but gave him f elf for m^ that
he ?night redeem m from all Iniquity^ and purify j.
unto himfdf a peculiar People^ z.ealom of good
Works. Do we pretend to be his SubjeHs ? '
we fliould chearfuUy pay all dutiful Obedience
and religious Homage to him. He is thy pp^
Lord, and worfiip thou him. Do we pretend n."
to be his Difciples .<" we iLould learn ail Me'^y^-^^att.ii.
nefs and Lowlinefs of Heart of him, and call nol^'^'^^"
Man Mafier^ but him. Do we pretend to be V*^'
( 154 )
partakers of the fame Spirit with him ? we
G^l. $. fhould walk in the Spirit, and according to
*^- the Genius of that Spirit, fludy to glorify
Chrift, whom that Spirit comes to glorify in
us and by us. Thus lliall we ad like thofe
V, 25. ^^^^ ^^"^^ '^ if^^ Spirit ; thus fhall we bring in
fome Tributes of Glory to Chrifl j and thus
/hall we recommend him and his Religion to
others, that they may not filfly aatfe our good
\6,^i^ ^^^^"^^^f-^f^on in thrift ; but beholding our good
^/i2. IVorks, by the Efficacy of his Grace uponuSj
t^ay glorify God in ths Day of Fifitation.
SERMON
(IS!)
SERMON VI.
1 COR. xii. i I,
But all thefe worketb that one and the
ft If ^ fame Sprit ^ dividing to every
Man fever ally oa he will.
I Am infilling on a Kounh Head of Argu-
ment to prove, that the Holy Ghofl is the
Sovereign and ^hnighty God. This Ar-^
gument is drawn from the Divine
Works, which are peculiar to the only true
Gody and are afcribed in a proper Senfe to the
Holy GhoJL
I have already confider'd the Works of
NATURE, in CREATION, and PRO-
VIDENCE. And am confidering the
Works that are peculiarly afcrib'd to the Holy
Ghoji in the OECONOMT OF SAL-
VATION. Thofe which refped Chrift's
human Nature and Office-Capacity, have been
fpoken to -, and we now proceed to a fecond
Sort, which are comprehended under this
Head :
(2.} T'he Holy Ghoft performs thofe Works with
refp^atothe CHURCH IN GBNERAU
which-
( '50
vjh'jch are proper to the Sovereign and Almighty
God, and which none hut he can do.
Thefe are of tv:o Sorts, [2.] Such as re-
late to the holy Scripture. And, [2.] Such as
relate to the Mimftry. ^
[i.] Let us confider a little the PVork of the
Hoh Ghoji with regard to the HOLT SCRIP-
'I'URE.'
iTim.i. Ail Scrpittire is given by Injptration of God.
iC>. It bears the Stamp of his Authority, and is
1 Ihef. call'd the Word of Gcdy becaufe he is the Au-
^ *^* thor of it. What the Prophets fpoke of old,
was not from themfelves, as their Own pri-
vate Thoughts, but from God himfelf, who
is faid to fpeak not only^o chtm,' but alfo by
them, as has been obferv'4 before. Hence
'tis often faid, T'he Word of the Lord came to
ihem ; and they frequently prefaced what
they delivered with, This is the M^ord of the
Lord^ or "Thm faith the Lord ; which i$ 3. very
dear Evidence that none but the true Jehovah
is the Author of the Scripture. And yet we
are abundantly affur'd, that He whofe Words
they fpoke, and who fpoke in and by
them, is the Holy Ghofl. 'Twas the Spirit of
I Pet. I. Chrifi, who wa6 in the Prophets, that did
*'* J^g^fy ^"^ f^Pfy ^y them the Sufferings of
Chrifiy &c. And this fpeaking of the Spirit
in and by them, is oppofed to the private
Fancy or Judgment of the Prophets them-
felves. K flowing this frfl, that no Prophcfy of
2 Pet. I. the Scripture is of any private Interpretation j
20, 21. p^^ ^j^g Prophefy came not in old time by the
Will of Man ; but holy Men of God [pake as
they were moved by the Holy Ghoft. Accordingly
the Sence of Scripture is fpoken of as the
Sence of the "Holy GhoU, or a"^ that which
h^ ffgnifed by ki Heb. p, 11. The Holy Ghofl
this
C M7 )
this SIGNIFYING, And certainly He,
whofe Meaning is fignified in Scripture, and
is the Rule of our Underft:nding it aright,
muft, in ftridnefs of Speech, be the proper
Author of it. Hence the very fame Phrales
are ufed to exprcfs the Agency or the Spirit,
as are ufed to ey.prefs t'he Agency of the great
and only true God with refped to the Scrip-
ture. Sometimes God, and at other times the'
Holy Ghoft, is faid to fpeak to and by the Pro-
phets, as has been already fhewn in feveral
Inftances And that which is call'd God's
fpeaking by the Mouth of David in one Place, ^-'^^^ 4-
is cali'd the Holy Gho/t's fpeaking by the Mouth^^^^ ^^*
(?/ David in another. God and the Holy Ghoft ^^^
are mention'd in thefe Paflages as alike Pvin-
cipaly and David as the Inftrumrdt in fuch
fpeaking. And tho God 'may be faid to
fpeak by the Spirit, as that Perfon in the
Godhead w^ho moft immediately fpoke by
David ; yet we can no more argue from
thence that the Spirit therein aded as a fub-
ordmate Inftrument to God, than that he
aded as a fubordinate Inftrument to David.
For David himfilf [aid BT the Holy Ghoft, theMivkiz,
Lord I aid to my Lord, fit thou on my right Hand. ^^"
Subordination, Equality, or Superfority are
fully confiftent with this Form of Speech ;
2ir\d. fpeaking by the Holy Ghoft, in the Cafes be-
fore us, feenis principally to denote, that the
Spirit is, tho in different Refpeds, the moft
immediate Principle both of God's fpeaking,
and of David's fpeaking as an infpir'd Pro-
phet. The Rank which the Spuit bears
herein muft be gather'd from other Places ;
and that (as we have ken) is juft the fame as
is affign'd to God himfelf. Accordingly
when fome Texts of Scripture are cited in
Other Places, the Form of Qnptation is
fomc*
C 158 )
z;Cori<5.fometimes, As God hath [aid, and Godfpake;
^^- and at other times, As the Holy Ghofl faithy
f '^' and the Holy Ghoftfpake. All this intimates to
Heb. ;. US, that the Intereft of God and of the Spi-
7- rit in the Scripture is one and the fame; or,
Adts 2,8. |.j^^|. |.[-,g Spirit is that God, who h the Author
^^' of it; or, that the A^ing of the Holy Gl oft
in inditing it was the Ading of God him-
' felf.
In like manner, whatever God reveal'd to,
or fpoke by the Apoftles, and other holy
Writers in the New Tei^ament, was reveafd
and fpoken by the Holy Ghofl. They fpake
tCoTA^^Myfteries in the Spirit^ or by his Suggeftion.
^' God himfelf is faid to reveal the Myfteries
of the Gofpiil to them, and yet that is call'd
a Revelation by the Spirit ; w^hich fhews that
the Spirit's revealing, is God's own revealing
them. Thus faith the Apoftle, If ye have
^pb, ?. heard of the Difpenfation of the Grace of G OD^
^> 5, '^. which is given me to yon-ward ; How that by
Revelation HE made known to me the Myftery
of his Wilh—'^hkh in ether Ages was not made
knovjn to the Sons of Men 06 'tis now reveaVd to
his holy Apoflles and Prophets by the SPIRIT.
This Revelation of Gofpel-Triiths, which
were to be the Dodrine of the New Tefta-
ment, is here afcrib'd as fully to the Holy
Ghofi in one Pailage as 'tis to ^God in the o-
ther. Accordingly the Revelations from
God are calfd the Holy Ghoft's fpeaking t
which fiicws that He is the God, who taught
the holy Men of God, and fpoke by them.
t Tim. T/?^ Spirit [peaks exprefsly -, which feems to re-
^. r. late to fome New Teftament Prophefies de-
liver'd by the Apoftles concerning the latter
Times, And God's fpeaking in the Scripture
Hev. z is call'd the Spirit s fpeaking to the Churches.
&5.ch. "^ "" Tis
( 159 )
'Tis Ilkewife the Holy Ghcfty who has im-
prefs'd on the Scripture all the Marks it bears
o^ divine Author itjy and has given it all the
Credentials by which it is certainly known to
be from 6'o^ only. If we confider th^ Sub-
limenejs and Purtty of its Dosflrincs ; they are
the Dodrines which the Holy Ghoil: has re- ^
veal'd : For zvhat Man knoiuetb the things of a\^^'^*
Man^ fave the Spirit of Man ivhich is in him ?
Even fo the things of God knoweth no Many but
the Spirit of God, which is in him, partaking of
his Nature and Knowledge, and who^, as a
diflind Perfonfrom the Father and Son^comes
from them to reveal thefe Things to us ; for
we have received the Spirit which is of Gvd,'^' '^
that we might know the 'Things that are freely
given m of God, If we confider the Majefy of
the Scripture's Stile ; it is the Stile of the
HolyGhoft, being not the Words which MansJ^^^^"^
Wifdom teachethy but which the Holy Ghoft teach-
eth. If we confider the exad Harmony of all
its Parts ; 'tis the Wifdom of the Holy Ghofl
that has fo fram'd them, that their full A-
greement appears by comparing fpiritual Things
with fpiritual. If we confider the certain Ac-
complijhmmt of its Prophejies • that proceeds
from the infallible Forefight and Veracity of
the Holy Ghoft ; becaufe He fpoke them, they
7nufi needs be fulfilled. If we confider tlic Com- Acls u
firmation of its Doclrines by Miracles ; 'tis the^'
Holy Ghoil who gave them that Confirma-
tion ; thofe mighty Signs and Wonders being
wrought for that Purpofe by the Pozuer of the^^^'-^^*
Spirit of God. If we confider the vafl and^'"^'
fnrprifing Succefs of the Gofpel in the firPc
Ages of its Promulgation, without human
Arti Force, or Encouragement ; yea, againfl
the Wifdom, Power, and rooted Prejudices
of
( i6c )
cf the World, and againft the united Oppo-
fition of ail the Powers of Darknefs, of all
Secular Inrercfts, and of all the cornipc and
natural Principles of all Men's Hearts : It is
2 Cor ^^^ ^^^y Ghod that gave it all that Succefs,
2^ it bcin^tbe Mini (Irat ion of the Spirit, And
if we confider the fweet and powerful God^
hke Effects it has upon our own Souls ; it is
becaufe it comes to us not in Word only^ but
I Thef. alfo in Power ^ and in the Holy Ghofly and fo /"«
I. 5. much Ajjurance.
Thefe are ufually reckoned the moft grand
convictive Proofs, that God has given us^, of
the divine Authority of the Scripture, to af-
fure us that He, and He only^, is the Author
of it. Thefe are his unexceptionable Attei-
tations that He is fo. And yet all thefe are
wrought immediately by the Holy Ghoft,
whofe own Wifdom, Power, and Grace have
put thefe unqueftionable C.haraderifticks of
divine Authority on his own Word, and
given thefe higheft Teflimonials to it.
1 2.] We may confider the Holy Ghofl's
Work with regard to the Mmiftry.
The Miniflry is an Ordinance of God*s
own Inftitution; he appoints Perfons to it,
fits 'em for it, and claims their Service in it*
I Cor. For God hath Jet fome in the Churchy firft A^
iL. 28, pofilesy fecondarily ProphetSythirdly Teachersyikc.
Tit. I.I. Hence they are call'd Servants of God, and
^^^^*^' Minifters of Gcd, and are faid to Minifler as
I* Pet. 4 ^/ t^^^ Ability y which Godgiveth. And yet all
II. this Work is exprefsly afcrib'd to the Holy
GhofJ, and is managed in his own Name
like the felf-fufficient fovereign and indepen-
dent God.
He fends his Servants to their Work, and
gives them Authority for it. Even Chrift
him-
( 1«I )
himfelf, confider'd as a Man and a Minifter,
was fent by Him. T'he Lord God, faith he, I^a» 48,
and his Spirit^ hath fent me> The Context ^^*
leads us tounderftandthefeas Chrid's Wordsj
but ii any fhould take 'em for the Prophet's,
the Spirit is reprefented as ading Supreme
Authority equally and jointly with him, who
is call'd T^he Lord God ; which Cn^ws that his
Authority in fending, is the fame with any
other Perfon's in the Godhead. According-
ly at another time he takes the w^hole Mat-
ter upon himfelf, and manages it in his own
Name, with all the Marks of Divine Supre- . n
macy. T'he Holy G ho (if aid, Separate me (Gr.^. ^^*
* to me) Barnabas and Saul, for the IVork"^' elf^oet-
whereunto I have called them. He afted in this <^75 fw^
Aifair not like a Servant, or- inferior fubor-
dinate Agent, clothed with Minifterial Au-
thority to feparate them to the Service of
God, but like the Great and Sovereign God,
who is both the Author and End of their
Commiffion. He called them to the Mini-
flry, and demanded their Service in it ; and
accordingly they were fent forth by the Holy
Ghcfl, as the Perfon from whom all their Au-
thority was derived to them, thro' the mi-
nifterial Adings of the Prophets and Teach-
ers, according to his Appointment and Com-
mand. IVhen they had fa fie d and pray d, and ^^^* hi'
laid their Hands on them, they fent them aucay.
So they (by this means) being fent forth by the
Holy Ghost, departed. The Part that the
Holy Ghoft a(5ted herein, was that of the
Lord of the Harvefl, who fent forth thefe La- Mat. 9*
bowers into his Harveft, Whatever Hand fome^^*
Men may have in conveying OiEce-Power
to others, 'tis not derived from them, but
thro' them from the Holy Ghoit as the ?>/«-
cipali by whom both the Ordainers and the
M Ordained
( l62 )
OrdainedatQ authorrifed to admjandin purfu-
ance of fuch Separation to the Miniltry.Hence
faith the Apoftle to ordinary ftated Paftors,
Ads 20. T^ake heed to your fehes^ and to all the Flock over
z8. ivhich the HOLT GHOST hath made you Overfeers.
As He puts his Servants into the Miniftry,
fo He orders all their Stations or Places
where they fhall exercife their Minillry, and
difcharge the Triift they received from him.
This remarkably appeared with regard to ex-
traordinary Officers, who were not fixed in
any particular Church, as their peculiar
Charge. Where the Holy Ghoft bid them
go, they went ; and where he forbid th-wm to
go, they refrained going ; while He himfelf
was under no fuch Orders or Refiraints ; but
behaved himfelf like the abfolute Lord both
of them and of all their Services. When the
A(^s8. Eunuch was returning from Jerufalemy the
^9' SPIRIT faid to Philip, Go near y and join thy
felf to this Chariot, And when Peter had a
Vilion relating to his Preaching to Cornelia,
Ch. 10. The SPIRIT faid tmto h:my (Peter) Behold
'P, 2.0, three Men feek thee; arife therefore^ and get thee
down, and go with theiiiy doubting nothing ; foY
I have fent them. The Spirit is faid to fend
them, as he gave Orders to Cornelim to fend
Men to ^oppa, and call for Simony whofe Sur-
name is Peter y ver. 5. And therefore the
Spirit muft be either the Angel of God that
appeared to Cornelim^ ver. 3. or God who
fent that Angel to him. But 'tis plain to
me, that the Spirit was not the Angel that fent
them, becaufe I cannot find that the Scrip-
ture ever calls him an Angel, or that he ever
appeared in human Shape as this Angel did ;
A Man:, or an Angel in the Form of a Man,
ver. 50. fays Cornelius y flood before me in bright Clothing,
The
r 163 )
The Spirit therefore, when he fays to Peter,
I have fent tbemy evidently means, that he is
the God who warned Cornelius by an holy An-ver.zz.
gel to fend them for him. At other rimes he
forbid the Apoftles, and wou'd not ftiffer'em
to go to Places according to their own pri-
vate Inclinations. T'hey were forbidden of the A(fls t5.
Holy Ghoti to f reach the Word in Afia ; and^> 7»
afterward, they effayed to go into Bithynia ; but
the Spirit fufered them not. What a fovereign
Difpofal was this of them and their Labours !
And what could God do more, or ho v could
he ad with greater Demonftrations of his
abfolute Authority and Dominion over them,
in ordering all their Motions for the exercife
of their Miniflry ?
He likewife qualified them for the Work to
which he call'd 'em, and gave them all the
Affiflance in k^ which the mofl difficult Cir-
cumllances of their Adminiftrations required.
All their Minifterial Gifts and Abilities were
from the Holy Ghoft, who divided them to r Cor.
every one feverally as he willed, in themoft^^,. 7.
' Sovereign and Almighty Manner ; and the
J^anifeflation of the Spirit was given to every^'^"^' ^°'
one of them to profit withal He gave 'em
divers kinds of 'Tongues, that they might be
capable of Preaching the Gofpel in all Lan-
guages, as there might be Occafion. Ac-
cordingly they [poke with other Tongues, than
thofe which they had by Education, as the
Spirit gave them Utterance, AEls 2. 4. Who
could givt *em thefe divers kinds of Tongues
but he that made the firft Diverfities of
them ? This is exprefsly faid to be Jehovah
himfelf The Lord did confound the Language of
all the Earth, Gen. 11. 9. And that the Spi-
rit is included in this Jehovah, may be fairly
M 2 ' gather'd
gathered from his faying. Let VS go down ajfd
conjound then Language^, ver 7. 'Tis beneath
the Majefty of the great Jehovah to fpeak
after this fort to any created Being ; for this
is plainly the Language of an Equal to an
Equal, and imports the fame kind of De-
fcendingy and Operation to produce an Efied,
which is above the Power of all Creatures,
and is never afcrib'd fo much as inil:rumen-
tally to any of them;, but wholly and immedi*
ately (ver. 9.) to Jehovah himfelf Hence 'tis
exceeding natural to underiland this after
the manner of Men, as the fpeaking of one
Perfon in the Godhead to others who are
Jehovah equally with himfelf And the Spi-
rit's fovereign Power over divers kinds of
Tongues, in miraculoufly conveying 'em to
the Apofllcs, fhews, that he is one of the a-
dorable Perfons included in that Jehovah.
As he enabled 'em to fpeak all Languages,
fo he furnifhed 'em .with Minifterial Abilities
to manage their Work in the feveral Lan-
guages they might have occafion to ufe. He
^ -.. became unto them not the Spirit of Fear ; kit
^ ' 'of Power, and of Love, and of a found Mind,
~ induing them with Wildom to manage all
their holy Miniftrations ; engaging their
Hearts in their Work ; and fpiriting them up
to a holy Bravery, and religious Greatnefs
of Soul, in a faithful difcharge of their Truft,
without Fear or Shame, in the Face of all
Contradiction, Danger, and Derifton, from
the moil polite and powerful Ranks of Men.
Thus he animated the Prophets of old ; 7ru-
Mic3.8. /y, fays one of 'em, lam full of Power hy the
Spirit of the Lord, and of Judgment, and of
Might, to declare tmto Jai^ob his T'ranfgreffwn,
and
( 1^5 )
and to Jfrael his Sin, And Chrifl told his
'Difciplcs zhis Spirit would fill them with the
like Magnanimity, and leach tnem how to
behave, when they (hoiiid ftand in tlie moil
diknayiiig Circumftances before the greaceft
Names of Men. Te, fays he, jhall be ^^r ought ^^^^ ^^^
before Governors and Kings for my fake ^ j or ^*'i8, ip,
TeihmO'dy againft them and the Gentiles : But^o,
lu/jen they deliver you upy take no Thought how or
luhat ye [hall [peak ; for it jhall be given you in
that fame hoiit xuhat ye jJjall fpeak : For it is not
ye that /peak, but the Spirit of your Father which
fpeaketh rn you. Accordingly when the Apo-
ftle Peter was in fuch Circumftances, with
what a remarkable aflonifhing Courage did
he comport himfelf, even to the filencing and
co'ifo'indin^^ of his haughty Adverfaries ?
When they hadfet Peter and John in the midfly
they asked by what Pawer or by what Name
have ve done this ? Then Peter, FILLED ^^^ .
IVITH the holt ghost, faid unto them.-j^ 8, To,
Te Rulers of the Peopky and Elders of Ifrael,ii, n.
Be it known to you all, and to the People of
Ifrael, that by the Name of Jefus Chrifl of 1<^3,'
zareth, zvhom YE crucified, whom God hath
raifed from the Dead^ even by him doth this Man
Band before you zvhole : This is the Stone which
was fet at nought of you Builder Sy which is be^
come the Head of the Corner : Neither is there
Salvation in any other, &c. What a ^!o(e and
cutting Speech was this to fuch an Audi-
ence ? They marvelled 2Lt the Wifdom and^*'3)M«
Boldnefs with which 'twas delivered, and could
fay nothing againft it. And who can forbear
pbferving the Difference between Peter filhi
with the Holy Ghofl, and Feter left to himfelf?
When left to himfelf y he meanly betray 'd all
jhe Cowardice of the moll pufiilanimous
Mat.i6.^ind, trembling at the ilighteft Accufations
<^9.~~74' of having been with Chrift, and in the bafeft
manner denying his Lord : But when filled
ivith the Holy Ghofly he dared to confront the
moft powerful and inveterate of Chrift's
Adverfaries, and, at the Peril of his Life, and
to bear an undaunted TefUmony to him, a-
gainil them all.
Yea, the whole Company of Difciples
(meaning, I fuppofe, the 1 20 mentioned in
A^s 4. ^^^ ^' ^5-) "^^^^^ ^^^ fi^^^ '^^^^ ^^^ ^^h Ghofli
51. * andfpaketheWordofGod-xithBoldnfs, The
Servants of God were carried thro' all their
Tryals, and obtained Salvation at the End
Phil, I. of them, thro" the Supply of the Spirit of Je-
^9* fus Chrift. And when they came to make their
laft Defence, and to lay down their Lives in
the Caufe of Chrift, their Enemies ii^ere not
able to refifl the Wtfdom and the Spirit by which
they fpake ; as is obferved of Stephen juft be-
fore his Martyrdom, JBs 6. 10. And that
by the Spirit in this Place is meant the Holy
Ghoft, appears from Verfes 2, 3, 5. where
the Twelve Apoftles fpoke. to the Multitude of
the Difciples y and faid, ■ * ■' *i g '- " Brethren, look
ye out among youy [even Alen of honeft Report,
' full of the HOLT GHOST and Wifdom ;
and they chofe, among others, Stephen, a Man
full of Faith, and of the HOLT GHOST', And
vtT.'S^.- He being full of the HOLT GHOST',
*~-faw the Glory of God, and faid. Be-
hold I fee the Heavens opend, &cc. Surely this
blefied Spirit, who thus furni(hed his Servants
for, and imboldened them in his Work, Li-
ving and Dying, can be no Ms than the Al-
mighty God ; and the Power they felt, they,
doubtlefs, believed to be the Power of God
himfelf
Oiice
C 1^7 )
Once more, 'Tis the Holy Ghofl that
crowns all Goipel-Miniftrations with Succefs.
He who ordered Peter to go, and preach the
Gofpel to Cornelius^ accompanied that Preach-
ing with his Power ; For while Peter yet [pake
the Dodrine of Remifiion of Sins, thro' the
Name of Chrift, to them that believe in
him, the HOLT GHOST fell on aU them which ^^s lo.
heard the IVord. And the Apoftle, /peaking 44'
of the Succefs of tne Gofpel upon the TheJJa-
loniansy tells them. Our Gofpel came not ««^oiTheCi»
you in Word onlyy but alfo in Power ^ and in the 5> "•
HOLT GHOST, and in much Affurance :
And ye became Followers of the Lor d, having
received the fi^ord with joy of the HOLTGHOST.
Hence he tells the Corinthians, My Speech and
my Preaching was not with enticing Words of i Cor.:j.
Mans Wifdom, but in Demonftration of the ^^ 5»
SPIRIT, and of Power, that your Faith Jhould
not fland in the Wifdom of Men, but in the
Power of GOD. This fairly intimates that
the Power of the Spirit, whereby the Gof-
pel became effedual to their Believing, was
no other than the Power of God, For thefe
Weapons of Warfare became mighty thro' God ; 2. Cor,
and accordingly, the Gofpel i$ call'd the Power ^^^"J* ^^
of God to Salvation, to every one that believes, j^^
Thus the bleffed Spirit has a Supreme and
God-like Concern in the Miniftry of the
Gofpel. The Authority, Qualifications, Af-
fiftance, and Succefs of Minifters, are from
him, and all their Labours are at his Dif-
pofe. All this fhews that he is, jointly with
the Father and Son, the Author and Owner
of their Miniftry, and confequently that he
is the one true God, equal in Power and Au-
thority wit;bthem.
M 4 Thil
(168)
This leads us to confider a third fort of
Works afcribed to the Holy Ghoit in the
O Economy of Salvation, Therefore,
(3.) He performs thofe Works ^ with refjpeSi to
each Member of Chriji's Myflical Body in parti-
culavy ivhich are proper to th^ only Great and SO'
*vereign Gody and which none but he can do.
[i.] The Work of REGENERATION is
afcribed to the Holy Ghofl as the proper Efficient
Caufe of it.
This is a Work above the Power of Nature ;
Job 14. For who can bring a clean Thing out of an Un-
4« clean} Not one. And Chrift himfelf has told
John 6. ^^^' ^^^^^ ^^ Af^» can come to Him, except thQ
^4. Father draw him. The Work of renewing
Grace, is fpoken of in fuch grand magnifi-
cent Terms, as fhew that none but God can
be the Author of it. It is call'd a begetting
us again ^ and a being born again, in alJufion
to our natural Birth ; and God is faid to be-
get us, and we are faid to be born of God^
to the Exclufion of all other Efficient Cau-
I Pet. I. fes, Bleffed be the God and Father of our Lord
^' Jefm Chrift, who according to his abundant Mercy
Jam. I. has begotten us again to a lively Hope. And of
J 8. his own vjill begat he us with the Word of Truth,
^ , And Believers are faid to be born not of Bloody
\-^ ' nor of the WiU of tbe Flejh, nor of the Will of
Mm, but OF GOD. At other times, to fhew
the exceeding Greatnefs of Divine Power,
which is neceffary to make this Change upon
Epn. 2. j^jg^ Q^^ J5 ^2J^ J.Q qj^i(^f^Qyi flj^yyl ffj^f r^gyQ ^g^d
* * in Trefpaffes and Sins ; and they^re his Work-
manjliip created in Chrift Jefus unto good Works,
Hence He claims it as his Prerogative, and
graciouHy promifes it in his Covenant, as
what
( 1^9 )
what he himfelf will do ; A new Heart w'lU
I give ydii, fays God, and anew Spirit iu/^ /Ezek,56.
fut within yotiy and I will take away the Bony ^^'
Heart out of your Fle/h, and I will give you an
Heart of Fie/b, And Chrift has aflur'd us,
that none but God himfelf can eftedually turn
Men's Hearts from this World, fo as to make
them value a Ireafure in Heaven above it ;
for with refped to this very Thing he faid to
his Difciples, With Men this is impoffible^ i. e. Mat, 19,
all moral Suafion and human Endeavours ^^*
can never effed it ,• but with God all Things are
plfthle : He alone can do it.
Now this Work, that is with fuch Peculi-
arity and Eminence afcrib'd to God alone,
and call'd a being hrn of God, is in other
Places afcrib'd peculiarly to the Holy Ghofty
as the proper Efficient of it, and is call'd a
being horn of the Spirit, Except a Man, fays
Chrift, he horn of the Spirit , he cannot en* r^^^ ,^
ter into the Kingdom of God. ' ^ And that 5,5/*
ivhich is horn of the Spirit, is Spirit. The pro-
ducing Spirit is the Ho/y Ghoji, and the pre-
duced Spirit is the New Creature, which con-
fifts in a Change of Principles in the Heart,
and of Actions in the Life. For if any Man ^ q^^
be in Chrifl, he is a New Creature ; old Things jy.
are pafl away ; behold, all Things are become
New, And to fliew that this New Creature
is a Creature of the Holy Ghoft, the Apoftle
calls it a being in the Spirit • which depends
on the Spirit of God's dwelling in m ; Sind
thereupon adds, If any Man have not the Spi- Rom. 8.
rit of Chrrfi, he is none of his. The Spirit of 9-
Chrift muit make a Man fpiritual, or muft
give him a fpiritual Being in himfelf, or elfe
he is none of Chrift's. He is call'd the ^/;/-Rom. 8,
rit of Lifey as he is the Author of all fpiricual ^•
Life
C 170 )
Life to us ; Hence fays Chrift, The Words I
John 6. [peak unto you, they are Spirit y and fo they are
^\\ Life I and fairh the Apoftie, the Spirit g-iveth
2 Cor. 3. r/. -p,, . e • -^ fL 1
^ Life. Ihis Spirit mutt renew us unto the
Life of God, i^ ever we are renewed at all,
Tir.3. j.and tht^refore 'tis call'd the wajbing of Regene^
rat ion y and the renewing of the Holy Ghofi.
'Tis tn.e Holy Ghoft that etfc(5lually works
true Fiitio in our Hearts. This is reckoned
Gal. J. among his Fruits ^ I'he Fruit of the Spirit is--*
^^' Fath.On this account theApoftle calls him the
Spirit of Faith both to Old and New Tefta-
zCor. 4. "^^^'^t Saints .* IVe having the fame Spirit of
13. Faith, or Faith wrought both in them and
us by one and the fame Spirit. According-
A6ls II. ly Barnabas was faid to be a good Man, and
H' full of the Holy Ghofi, and of Faith, to /hew
that the Holy Ghoft was the Author of all
the Faith that was in him. And we are ex-
Jude 20. hortt;d to hu/lj up our fehes on our mofl holy
Faith, praying in the Holy GhoB ^ which inti-
mates that all the Succefs of fuch building
depends on him. And yet all this Faith is
Col. 1. called the Faith of the Operation of God him-
z^Thef. f^^^' ^^^ ^^^ '^^^^ ^f P^i^^^ ^-^'^'^^^ Power ; which
I, II.* (hews that the HoJy Ghoft*s Ads in this
Work are the Ads of God himfelf, and that
He puts forth the mighty Power of God in
them.
He is like wife the Worker of true Repentance
in us. When ^ohn the Baptifl came to preach
the Dodrine of Repentance, all the Efficacy
of his Preaching to turn the Hearts of the
Jews to the Lord their God, is laid upon his
being filled with the HolyGhoR, and coming
in the Spirit and Power of Elijah for that
Purpofe. He^ fays the Angel Gabriel, fiall
be
Ci7i )
he filled with the Holy GhoB from his Mothers
Womb ', and many of the Children of Ifrael foaU Luke i.
he turn to the Lord their God ; and he Jhall go ' ^> '^>
before htm (viz. Chrift> the Lord their God) in^''
the Spirit and Power of EliaSy to turn the Hearts
of the Fathers to the Children, and the Difobedi"
ent to the Wifdom of the JuR^ John the Bap-
tiB did not come with the Power of work-
ing Miracles, as Elijah did i for John did no John lo.
Miracle: But he came in the Power of the'^^'
Holy Gholl ,• and fo in the Spirit of Elijah^
to turn the Hearts of the People to the Lord
their God, as Elijah did after their Revolt
to Idolatry ix\ the Days of Ahab. That Ef-
fect upon their Hearts was the work of the
great Jehovahy as appears by Elijah's Prayer
to him, faying, Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that , Kings
this People may know that thou art the Lord God, iS, 37,
and that thou haR turnd their Heart back again.
And yet they were turn'd by the Power of
the Holy Ghoft ; for John the Baptifl came
to turn the Children by the Power of the fame
Spirit that their Fathers were turn'd by in
Elijah's Days. Accordingly when the Apo-
ftle fpeaks of taking away the Vail from Ifrael's
Heart, and of their turning to the Lord, he
lays it upon the Efficacy of the Gofpel, as
'tis the MiniRration of the Spirit, who by means
of that Gofpel, delivers the Mind from its
natural Blindnefs, and the Heart from its na*
tural Hardnefs ; fo that with regard to the
Power that Sin had over them in rhofe Re-
fpeds ; where the Spirit of the Lord is, there ii
Liberty, 2 Cor. 3. 8, i 5, 1(5, 17. When Peter
preach'd to Comelim and his Family, the Holy
GhoR fell on them ,• and his Operation on their
Hearts to turn them to God was fuch, that
the believing Jews were forced to acknow-
ledge.
( ^72 )
ledge, that God then granted the Gentiles Re^
^^^ V'fentance tinto Life, And when the Gofpel came
iTheV i. ^^ ^^^ ThefTalonians, not in fVord onljy but rJfo .
S, <5, 9, ^ft Power, and in the Holy Ghofi, they became
Followers of the Lord, and turned to God from
Idols y to ferve the living and f/ue God,
^Thusthe whole V/ork of renewing Grace,
all the Efficiency of which is fo clearly averr*d
to be of God, is afcrib a to the Holy Ghost,
who by. his own Almighty Power cife6lually
works it in us. He coming according to an
agreed voluntary Difpenfation, in purfuance
of ChtilVs Exaltation, doth more of this
Work than ever was done before. This is
the Difpenfarion in which the Power of his
Godhead is to be evinced, and therefore 'tis
in a fpecial Manner left to him to convince
John 16. ^^^ World of Sin, and of Right eoufriefsy and of
8, ' Judgment, which takes in the whole of con-
verting Work, or of turning Sinners thro'
Chriil to God.
[2.] theWorkof SANCT^IFICATION
is afcrtbed to the Holy GhoH.
This confiilsin the Confirmation, Increafe,
and Exercife of thofe Principles of Grace
and Holinefs, which were begotten in us in
our Regeneration. Hereby Sin is more and
more fubdued, and holy Conformity to God
in Heart and Life, is more and more efta-
Phil. I. blilhed and increafed ; and he that has begun
^. the good work in any of us, will perform it un-
til the Day of Jefm Chrifl. The Work of
Sandification is appropriated unto God : He
Lev. 20. claims it as his fole Prerogative, faying, I am
2^ the Lord which fanBfy you. This may refped
an inward Work of Holinefs, as well as a fo-
lemn Separation to holy Ufe and Service ; J
C 173 )
take this to be do<5trinally fignificative of that.
And furely God means internal real Holinefs,
fignify^d by outwaid Rites, when he fays, / ^
'U)iU ffrinkle clean Water upon you y and 'ye jhall^'^^^'l^-
be clean ; from all your Filrhinefs, and from all^^'
your Idols, will I cleanfe you. And there is no
doubt but the Apofile means this, when he
fays, 77;^ "jery God vf Peace (or f the God of t tfWj 5
Peace hmfelf, denoting his own proper Effi- ®«^^
cicncy, asthisPhrafe fignifies, and is ulually
tranflated) fan El if y you wholly ; and I fray GodiT^^tU").
your whole Spirit t and Souk and Body^ be fre-'^U ^4*
ferved blamelefs unto the coming of our Lord Je-
fm Chnf? : Faithful is he that calieth youy who
alfo will do it.
Now this peculiar Work of God, which
he himfelf doth as his own proper Ad, is
afcrib'd to the Holy Ghost, as that Pvrfon
in the Godhead, who moft immediately puts
forth the divine Power on our Hearts to ac-
complifh it in us. Hence he is fo frequently
calfd the Holy Ghoft with fpecial Relation to
his Work of making us holy. All our Holi-
nefs is from Him as the proper Efficient of ir,
and is therefore call'd the SanBification of the 2 Thef.
Spirit y and the SanBification of the Spirit unt$^- I^
Obedience, ] ^''^' ^'
'Tis thro' the Spirit, thro' his fpecial etfcc- ^.^^^ ^^^
tual Influences upon our Hearts, in Excitati-
ons of his own Work there, that we are ena-
bled to purify our Souls in obeying the Truth,
unto unfeigned Love of the Brethren. All our
Attempts againft remaining Corruptions
wou d be ineffcdual to fubdue and mortify
them in us, without the fpecial Agency of
the Spirit, to carry thofe Attempts unto Vic-
tory. Hence the privative Caufe of Perfons
being
Ci74)
being fenfualy is exprefs'd by having not the
Jude 19. Spirit, All a Man's Senfuality is from him-
fcif ; but 'tis fo deeply rooted in his deba-
fed Nature, that where the Spirit is not in-
fluentially prefent to expel it, there it reigns
in one Form or another. But on the other
hand, the Apoille fpeaking of thofe that
have the Spirit oj Chrift^ tells them they muft
Rom. Z,tbro the SPIRIT mortify the Deeds of the
9, IS. Body.
'Tis He likewife that forms us more and
more after the Image of God, that we may
be progreffive in our holy Refemblances of
Him : For we all with open Face beholding (U in
2 Cor. 5. a Glafs the Glory of the Lordy are changed into
18. the famt Image ^ from Glory to Glory ^ even iis by
the SP I RlT of the Lord, or, the Lord the
Spirit. And 'tis He that enableth us to live
in all holy Obedience unto God : For fays
God, / wili put my Spirit within you, and caufe
Ez^.k.l6.you to walk in my Statutes, and ye fiall keep my
^-J' • Judgments, and do the?n. It is the Spirit that
iifioft immediately puts forth divine Energy
to caufe us to walk in God's Statutes ,♦ and
yet that Energy is put fordi by God himfelf ;
for he caufeth us to walk in bis Statutes, as
well as puts his Spirit within us ; which may
intimate to us, that the Spirit exerts the E-
ftergy of the Deity ,• and the other Divine
Perfons exert the fame by him ; at leaft, there
is nothing in this Text to prove the contra-
ry ; and it fufficiently proves what I quoted
it for J namely, that this Spirit puts forth
that powerfel Influence upon us, whereby we
are enabled to live to God. And hence the
Apoftle tells us, the Sons of God are led by the
llom. ^.Spirit of God; and, fpeaking of feveral Gra-
'4* CCS, and Works of Holinefs, in Oppofition
to
( 175 )
to the Works of the Fiefh, he calls them all
the Fruits of the Spirit, and calls our living in ^^I. 5.
the Exercife and Pradice oFthem, a living^^^ ^5»
and walking in the Spirit, Thefe Expreflions ^'
naturally uiggeii: to our Minds, that what
the Apolile faid of God in another Cafe, may
be faid of the Spirit in this, that in Hm lue A«^s 17,
live, and move, and have our being.
f3.J The Work of C N SOLAT 10 N is
nfcribed to the Holy Ghoft,
The great Jehovah afferts it as his own
Prerogative, to givQ Peace and Comfort to
his People. /, even ly mn he that comprteth \[^^ ^j^
you. And, / create the Fruit of the Lips, Peace ; 12.
Peace to him that is afar off^ and to him timt is ^ 57*i9«
near, faith the Lord, Hence God in Chrift '\%
called the Father of Mercies, and the God of aU^ Cor.i.
Comfort, who comfort eth m in all our iLrihulati- ^' ^'
on ; and God that comforteth thofe that are cafl 8c 7. 5,
dozun.
And yet this Work that lies in the Hand of
God, by which He moft fweetly recommends
his indearing Mercy and Kindnefs to us, is
in a fpecial manner the Work of the Holy
Ghost. He is the proper Efficient Caufe of
all the true Peace and Confolation which at
any time we are partakers of Hence He is
frequently called the Comforter, who ac-
cording to the OEconomy of Salvation,coines
to fill us with all that Joy and Comfort
which are prepared in the Counfels of the
Father, and in the Purchafe of the Son for
us. Tho' he comes from the Father and Son
to give us all the Joys of Faith and Hope,
yet he doth it by his own God-like Power.
Hence fays the Apoltle, l^he God of Hope //^Roin.i$,
you with all Joy and Peace in believing, that ye i^^,
may
( t76 )
may abound in Hope thro\ or by, the POIVER
OF THE HOLY GHOSf, 'Tis the Work of
the God of Hope ; and yet it is the Work
which He pcrtorms moft immediately by the
Perfon of the Koly Ghoft : and not only by
Him, but by ha Power , which fhews that
He, as well as the Father and Son, is the
God, who by his own Divine Power inrich-
eth us with the unutterable Confoiations that
attend the aboundings of Faith and Hope,
which he begets within us. Accordingly our
fpiritual Joys and Comforts are denominated
from Him as the Author of them. They
are the Comforty and Joy of the Holy GV;o/?,
JlSis p. 2 1 . Rom. 1 4. 1 7. I jThef/l . 6.
'Tis the Holy Ghost, who relieves our
Rom. 8. Groanings, and helps our Infirmities^ that we
^^* may pour out our Hearts in all fpiritual melt-
ing AifeAions reward God. 'Tis He that
Chap. s,Jheds abroad God's Love in ctir Hearts^ difcover-
5* ing the exceeding Riches and Greatnefs of it
to us, and affeding our Souls with it, to the
Confirmation of our Hopes. 'Tis He that
gives us Freedom of Approach to God thro'
Chrift, that we may have Communion with
him here, and live in the joyful Expedati-
ons of eternally dwelling with him hereaf-
Eph. 2, ter. For thro' Him (Chrifl) v^e hoth (Jews
*^- and Gentiles) have an Accefs by ONE SVI-
Gal.5. ^.Rl't unto the Father, And we l^HRO' THE
SPIRIT wait for the Hope of Right eonfnefs by
Faith, 'Tis the Holy Ghofl that frees us
from all that Bondage of Spirit we are fub-
jed to on the account of Sin, and in the fear-
ful Apprehenfion« of a condemning curfing
Law, and of Death and Hell as Executions
Rom, 8. c>f the Curfe. For ye have not received the Spi^
1 5. rit of Bondage again to fear ^ but ye have received
the
C »77 )
the Spirit oj Adoption, luherehy xue cry, Ahha^
Father, Yea, 'tis this blefTed Spirit that gives
Us all the AJfurance we have of Heaven, and
all the abounding Confolation which fuch
Aflurance raifes within iis. For the Spirit it^i^Q^^ 3^
felf beareth ivitnefs with our Spirit, that zue are 15^ i^.
the Children of Cod. And if Children, then Heirs,
Heirs of God, and Joint- Heirs zvith Chrifl. Ac-
cordingly the Ephefians, after they believed, j..
were fealed with the holy Spirit of Promife, who j^^ j^^ '
is the Earneft of our Inheritance ; and the Apo- 18.
file hereupon pray'd that they might have
i^iW more of the Spirit of Wifdom and Revela-
tion,-'--'-'^*^ that the Eyes of their UnderflandingS
being inlightned, they might know what is the hope
of his Calling, and what the Riches of the Glory
of his Inheritance in the Saints. Thus all the
Comforts that the Father and Son favour Be-
lievers with, are the Comforts of the Holy
Ghoft, which he beflows upon 'em as their
proper and moft immediate Comforter.
And furely thefe Confolations of God are
not fo fmall, as to make us think that any
but God himfelf deals *em Out unto us.
[4.] rhe Work of STRENG'THNING and
GUIDING m^ and making m per fever e in out
Way to Heaven, is afcrihed to the Holy Ghoft.
We are often at a Lofs by reafon of Dark-
nefs, how to fleer our Courfe in a Way of
Duty and Safety ; and are utterly unable, by
reafon of Weaknefs and Diforder of Soul, to
keep our felves in God's Way, and to hold
on therein. And none but the great God
himfelf is fufEcient to be our Strength and
Counfellor in all our Dangers and Perplexi-
ties. Hence the Pfalmift trufled in him for
them. Thou, fays he, Jhalt guids me with thy
N ' Counfdt
( 178 )
Counfel) and afterwards receive me to Glory. -'-"^
ITal. 11' My Flejf) and my Heart faileth ; but God is the
^^' ^ ' Strength of my Heart, and my Portion for ever.
And God frequently fpeaks of it as his pecu-
liar Work, to leady guide:, teach zndfirengthen
his People, as appears in his many gracious
Promifes fo to do. And yet 'tis very well
known, that all thefe are ufually afcrib'd in
Scripture to the blejfed Spirit, And He being
Ifa.ii.i.the Spirit of Wifdom, Counfel and Might, can't
but be every way fufEcient of Himfelf to di-
ved: us in the beft Manner, and to carry us
fafe thro' this World of Snrres and Trou-
bles.
Deut.32. 'Twas the Lcrd, or Jehovah, ALONE that
12. did lead Ifrael in the Wildernefs, and there uas
no flrange God with him. But the Holy Ghoft
is included in this Jehovah that, led Ifrael -,
Ifa. 63. For the Spirit of the Lord caufed him to refi ;
'4' fc, fays the Prophet, didfl thou lead thy People
to make thy f elf a gloriom Name. 'Tis Jikewife
God himfelf that leads his People in the way
to ev^erlafling Bleflednefs. Hence fays Da-
Pfa 1^9* vid. Search me, God, and know my Heart ',
^ly ^^' , and lead me in the way everlafting. But
the Spirit is included in this God , for He
v/as fpoken of in the former part of the
ver. 7. Pfalm as Omnifcient and Omniprefent^ and
accordingly at another time David particu-
larly regards this Spirit as his Leader. T'each
Pfa. 145. me to do thy Will • thy Spirit is good ; lead me^
'°* or, as the Septuagint and Ainfworth render it,,
thy good Spirit fhall, or will, lead me into the
Land of Upright nefs. All our fpiritual Strength
for walking before God in a way of Faith
and Obedience, to the defeating of Satan,
EpVi. 6. and all our Soul's Enemies, lies in the Power
I"- of God's Mighty or in the Power by which he
mightily
/ m )
mightily Works in us ; and we are keft by the
Power of God thro Faith unto Salvation. But i Pet^ i,
ftill 'tis God inclufiveof the Holy Ghofl, or 5-
his Power put forth by the Spirit, that thus
keeps and ftrengthens us ; Hence was the
Apoftle's Prayer, 'that he would grant usy ac- Epb. j^
cording to the Riches of his Glory, to be ftrength- ^^*
ned with Might, BY HIS SPIRIT in the inner
Man ; which Ihews that the Spirit herein ex-
erts God's Might ; and how he fhou d do
fo, unlefs He is God, I am yet to learn.
[5.] The Work of Raijlng the Bodies of Be-
lievers to a bleffed Irnmortality, is afcrib^d to the
Holy Ghofl,
'Tis in the Nature of the Thing incredible - n >
that any but God jhouldraife the Dead. No- 3^ ^ °
thing lefs than a full Convidion of his infi-
nite Power, to make good the Scripture -Do-
drine of the Refurredion, can mafter our
Prejudices againft it, as Chrift intimated
when he laid the Error of the Sadduces in de-
nying it, on their not knowing the Scriptures, ^^f* 22^
nor the POWER OF GOD. Accordingly the ^^•
Confideration of God, as performing this
Work, is often fpoken of as the firmeft
Ground of Faith in his Omnipotence, and as
its greateft Relief in Cafes of the utmoft un-
likely hood and appearing Impoffibility. Thus
Abraham believed God, who quicknetb the Dead, Rom. ^,
that he (hould have a Son according to chc *7j 18^
Promife, notwithftanding the natural Impro-
babilities of the Cafe were fuch, that 'twas
a believing in Hope againft Hope. And
when he had received this Son of the Pro-
mife, and was r.fterwards calfd to offer him Gen. u,
for a Burnt- offering, which had the nioft ^*
fhocking Appearance of defeating the Pro-
N a mife
( .80 )
miTe of what that Son ihoud be, he never-*
thelefs readily attempted it at God's Com-
mand ; and the only Ground his Faith refted
on, with refped: to the Promife, was. That
Heb* II. ^^^ "^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^fi ^^^ ^^P^ ^'^^^ /yow/ the Dead.
19. And when the Apoftle Pauly and others with
him, had the Sentence of Death in themfehesy and
cou'd fee no way of efcape, they trufted in
z Cor, I. God who raifeth the Deady as infinitely able to
^* deliver them. This was one of the mofl ex-
alted Apprehenfions they had of his divine
Power, and therefore their Faith improved
this Confideration of him unto the fullefl
Afluranee they cou'd have, that nothing was
too hard for him to do.
And yet this- Work, which is fuch a fatfs-
fying Demonftration of the divine Omnifo^
tence of him that doth it, is reprefented in
Scripture as done by the Koly Ghost, if
Rom. 8. thrift be in youy fays the ApolHe, the Body k
TO, II. dead becaitfe of Sin ; but the Spirit is Ltfe, he-^
caiife of Righteoiifn'efs, But if the Spirit of him
that raifed Chrift from the deady dwell in you *y he
that raifed up Chrift from the deady Jhall aifo quic^
ken your mortal Bodiesy by his Spirit that dweUeth
in you. Some underiland the firfl of thefe
Verfes thus : " If Chrift by his Spirit h in
" youjyour Bodies are indeed Mortal becaufe .
" of Sin ; but the Spirit of Chrift will give
*^ them Life by raifing them unto eternal
" Life, becaufe of the Righteoufnefs which
*^ Chrift hath brought in for Juftification to
'' Life." ^This feems to be a very juft Senfe
of thofe VVords, and fo they are a ftrong Proof
that the Refurre6tion of the Bodies of Be-
lievers is the Work of theHolyGhoft. How-
ever, the following Words undeniably fpeak
of his Efficiency tlierein, as the Perfon by
whom
(ISO
^vhom the divine Power wiil be exerted to
raife them, even hy his Spirit that dwelleth in
you. This Spirit being God, eflentially one
with the Father and Son, they ad: herein by
Him, and He ads together with them, by as
proper an Efficiency as they do. Hence the
Apoftle tells us, that hethatfoweth to the Spi-Gzl/.S.
rity Ihall of the Spirit ^ as the proper Author
and Giver of it, reap Life euerlafling ; which
muft include his raifing them up to that ever-
lafting L'li^Q. Accordingly he is call'd the
Spirit of Glory, as well as the Father is call'd i Pet. 4.
the Father of Glory , and the Son the Lord of Glo- y{*
ry : Which /hews, that Glory is originally ^P"* '•
hisy and is at his D/fpofe as well as theirs. And , Cq^. 2.
therefore, when Believers are faid to beholds,
the Glory of the Lor d, and to be changed into the 2 Cor. 5.
fame Image from Glory to Glory ; that is^ either J ; ,
from his Glory derived to us, that we may g. ^^
be like him, or from the Beginnings of Glory
here, to the Perfedion of it in Heaven, we
are told it is by the Spirit of the Lord, as the
moO: immediate Agent herein.
Now who can furvey thefe great and God-
like Works, which the Holy Ghoft performs
in a fovereign Manner by his own Power,
and not believe him to be the Almighty and
Sovereign God ? The Works themfelves, we
have feen, are infinitely too great forany but
God himfelf to do : We have likewife feen
that his doing them by his Spirit, is of the
fame import with his doing them by himfelf^
becaufe his Spirit is effentially himfelf And
therefore, all thefe Texts thatfpeak of God's
doing *em by his Spirit, are in juft Conftru-
dion, by what is faid in other Places of the
Spirit and his Working, as fair Proofs of his
N 3 D.eity,^
( i80
Deity, as if he was always (as he is often)
fpoken of abfplutely as the Doer of them.
APPLICATION.
From what has been ofFer'd to prove the
Godhead of the Holy Ghoft from his Works
in the OEconomy of Salvation, we may in-
fer both the Neceffity of his Operations up-
on us, and the great Incouragement we have
to feek and hope for 'em.
Vit I. Use I. We may infer our ahfolute need of
the gracious effeBnal Operations of -the Spirit unto
our Salvation.
The Work of Regeneration is often repre-
fented in Scripture as indifpenfably Neceffary
to Salvation. And this NeceiTity refpeds that
Regeneration which is denominated from the
John 3, Spirit as the Author of it. Verily y^vertlyy faid
5* Chrift, / fay unto thee. Except a Man be born
* ' of the SPIRIT^, he cannot ^nter into the
Kingdom of God. We muft be born of the Spi-
rit, if ever we are born again, and if ever we
partake of the Bleflings of God's Kingdom,
t John And when we have paffed from Death to Life^
3« '4- or are Partakers of fpiritual Life, by being
^y^^^^ l^ornof God, the Continuance, Support, Afti-
Chap. 4. vity, and Comfort of that Life, depend 01^
7. the Holy Ghoft, or on what he doth from
the Father and Son in and upon us. The Ap-
plication of all Salvation to us, is only by him.
In vain we hope for Salvation from the Elec-
tion of the Father, or from the Redemption
of the Son, without the Application of the
Holy Ghoft. We can no more be faved
without his work;, than we can without theirs :
( «83 )
'tis this that makes all efFedual to us; and what
Intereft we have, or ever may have, in what
the Father and Son have done about our Sal-
vation, is all an Uncertainty, as to us, till
'tis applied and manifefted to us by the fpeci-
al Work of the Spirit in us. Hereby, and
hereby only, we may know that the Father
meant us in his eternal Counfels of Grace,
or that we were chofen from cverlafting by
him ; and that Chriil meant us fof his peculi-
ar People, when in the Fulnefs of Time /;^ Mat. 20.
gave his Life a Ranfomfor many. Hereby, and^®*
not otherwife, we may know that God is our
Father in Chrift, that we are Heirs of Hea-
ven, and that all the Riches of the Glory of
that Inheritance are (dikly laid up in Chrift
for us, and that when he [fjdll ^Tf/^^^zr again,Col.3.4.
we alfo Jhall appear with him in Glory,
The Work of the Holy Ghoft upon us, is
neceifary to fit us for every Duty, to fupport
us under every Trial of Life, and Agony of
Death, and to prepare us for an Enjoyment
of eternal BlelTednefs after it. This will make
us live holily, and dye comfortably ; this will
help us to improve both Ordinances and
Providences unto fpiritual faving Purpofes,
and will make us fafe and happy, whatever
elfe may befall us. If any Man have not the Rom, 8,
Spirit of Chrift, he is none of his. But if this9> io«
Spirit dwells in us, tho* our Bodies will dye
becaufe of Sin, yet he will raife us up to a
blelled Immortality, becaufe of Chrift's per-
fect Righteoufnefs wrought out for us, and
imputed to us, thro' Faith of the Operation
of this Spirit.
N 4 Use
Use II. Wc may infer that we have the
greateft Incouragemem to feek and hofefor the ef-
feBual Operations of this Spirit.
While Perfons are at Eafe in the Ways of
Sin, they have very flight Apprehenfions of
theNeceflity of the HoFy Spirit's Operations
upon their Hearts ; but when their Confci-
ences are awaken'd to fee their Sin and
Danger, they ufually feel, and are forced to
own that NecefFxty. And very commonly at
fuch Seafons their Apprehenfions of their
own Unworthinefs, Guilt, and Provocations
on one hand, make them afraid that this
holy Spirit will never concern himfelf with
them ; and their Apprehenfions of Hardnefs
of Heart, and addidednefs to Sin,, are fome-
times fo llrong on the other, that they are
ready to think it impolTible they fhould evet
be eftedually turn'd from Sin to God. v> ;;
But what we have heard concerning the
Spirit and his Work, may be bf ufe to re4
lieve fuch difcouraged Souls, and to raife
their Hopes in feeking after his effedual 0-'
perations. He is God that raifeth the Dead ;
and nothing can be too hard for him to do.
He can eafily remove the greatefl Mountains
that lie in his way, and make 'em all a.
Plain. He is the Sovereign God, who works
when and where he lifteth ; and therefore
tho' thou art mofl Unworthy, and it may be
haft long fought for his gracious Influences
without Any difcernable Succefs ; yet 'tis fit
tmni fhould'il flill continue waiting upon him.
for themt and for ought thou knov/efl his
Time is jud at hand, and he may effedually
reach tiiy Heart before thou art aware. H^
is ijidced the IL.'i)' Spirit^ and as fuch can't
but
( i8s )
but abhor all Sin : But He is likewife that
Holy Spirit, whofe fpecial Work it is to renew
unholy Souls, and to purify them from their
Sins ; and therefore his Hatred of thy Sins
jfeou'd make thee hate 'em too, andftrengthen
thy Pleas that He wou'd not fuffer fuch hate-
ful Evils to abide with thee. He is the good
Spirit of God ; Goodnefs is his Nature, and
Goodnefs runs thro' all the Operations by
which He is mofl eminently known. *Twas
in his infinite Goodnefs to Sinners, that He
form'd and furnifh'd Chrift's Human Nature,
that Chrift in that Nature might redeem,
them. 'Tjs in the fame Goodnefs that He
indited the Scriptures, and maintains a Gof-
pel-Miniftry, to make known that bleffed
Redeemer to them ; and by thefe Means he
loves to relieve diftreffed Souls, to raife fpi-
ritual Breathings within them, and to help
their Infirmities when they can but groan.
Yea, He, confider'd with refped to his gra-
cious Operations, is the great Promife of the
Gofpel-Difpenfation, which is calfd the Mi-
niflration of the Spirit ; and his great Defign
is to glorify Chrift by revealing him to Sin-
ners, and by bringing over their Hearts to
him. And to fhew the Pleafure he has in
this Work, he has already come upon Thou-
fands with faving Efficacy, who were once
(barring the Sin againft the Holy Ghoft) as
unworthy and guilty, and as full of Fears and
Difcouragements in themfelves, as thou can'ft
be. Many fuch are flill Mwing upon Earth,
and many more are already got fafe to Hea-
ven ; and there are the fame Grounds of
Hope for thee now, as there formerly were
for them.
Either
Ct86) '
Either thou, O Sinner, art defirous of
this Spirit's Operations on thy Heart, or thou
art not. If thou art noty the greater is thy
Sin and Danger, for defpifing fuch a great
and holy one as He is ; and if He never
works effedually on thee, thou haft no Rea-
fon to complain ; for with what Juftice wilt
thou complain that thou hadft not f^^f which
thou didft not defire to have. I do not fay
there is no Hope for fuch, becaufe this fove-
reign Spirit begets Defires where there were
none before, and ufuaily bleifeth the Means
of Grace for that Purpofe ; but the Confide-
rations I have fuggefted, are not defign'd to
incourage fuch Perfons Hopes while they con-
tinue in their prefent ftupid Circumftances ;
For as this would be very <^/zw^^ro^,fo 'twould
be really tricing in ferious Things, to talk of
incouraging Perfons Hopes with refped to
an Affair which they have no concern of Mind
about.
^ But if thou haft any Defires after this Spi-
rit's gracious Influences, what has been of-
fer'd may help to animate thofe Defires with
Hopes that in due Time they fiiall be fatis-
fy'd. For He is ftill the fame in his Power
and Grace as ever ; He has ftill the fame
bleffed Defigns of faving Mercy to carry on
as ever ; and the Gofpel-Difpenfation is ftill
the Miniftration of the Sjpirity with refped to
his gracious Operations, as much as ever ;
Thou therefore oughteft not to fay or think,
that he will not renew and fave thee : But go
thou on in the good ways of God ; diligent-
ly ufe all Means of Grace with watchful Ex-
pedations of this Spirit's Movings on thy
Heart ,* and if thou canft not be fatisfied with
Duties and Ordinances without an Experi-
ence
(187)
ence of his effedual Operations in and by
them, thou needefl not fear a Mifcarriage ;
for thou haft already the Tokens of this Spi-
rit's Prefence with thee, and the moft hope-
ful Intimations that he has begun the good
Work, Hnd will carry it on to Vidory.
And is there any among you under the
Withdra wings of this Spirit, after you have
had fome Experience of his renewing,ftrength-
ning and comforting Influences ? Haft thou
loft tiiefe again ? And is this the concern of
thy Htart ? He has not utterly forfaken thee.
There is ftili fomething left in that Heart of
thine, to fhew that he defigns a fmiling Re-
turn again unto thee. Thy very Fears that
he will not return, fhew that thou haft a Va-
lue for his Prefence, and that he ftill conti-
nues to move upon thy Soul. And all the
Conliderations that have been fuggefted con-
cerning him, are fo many Arguments to raife
thy Hopes above thy Fears, and to make thee
plead the Promife with Faith, that thy ^/x-I-^k. u,
•venly Father will give the holy Spirit to them that^^'
ask him. Go thou therefore to God in Chrift,
upon the Ground of thefe Incouragements,
and fay unto him as David did ; Refiore unto^^al' Si«
me the Joy of thy Salvation^ and uphold me ivitb *^*
thy free Spirit.
SERMON
( i88)
SERMON VII.
I COR. xii, II.
But aU thefe worketh that one and the
felf-fame Spirit^ dimding to everj
Man fever ally ojs he will.
I Have gone thro' fotir Heads of Argu--
ment, to prove that the Holy Ghofl is the
Sovereign and Almighty God ; and now
proceed to a fifth,
Arg. 5. Fifthly, That DIVINE WORSHIP, which
the Scripture appropriates to the only Sovereign
and Almighty Gody is by Scripture-IVarr ant given
to the Holy Ghofl.
That the only true God is the alone Objed
of divine Worfhip, or that it muft be paid
to none but Him, is (o clearly the Dodrine
of the Scripture, that he that runs may read
it. We are fully affured of this by Multitude's
of Teftimonies, and from the Mouth of
Chrift himfelf, who aflertcd the Scripture-
Mat. 9. Do(5trine in thefe Words ; Thcujhalt worJJjtp'
to. the Lord thy Gody and him N LT fialt thou
prve. This fingle Text (peaks home to this
Point
( i89 )
Point, and cuts off all Diftinftions of Su-
preme and Inferior, or of Abfolute and Relatwe
Worfhip y as if one of thefe Sorts might be
paid to a Creature, and the other only to
God.* The Worfiiip demanded by Satan, ^^^^ ^^
was that which is call'd the inferior and rela- compar'd
tive fort; and yet that ySis well as all other, was with
refufed him upon this eternal and unchange- ^^^^ 4'
able Ground, that we muft IVorjhip the Lord *
otir God, and him ONLT muft we ferve.
The holy Angels are the moft likely of all
Creatures to be worfhipp'd, becaufe of the
Excellence of their Beings, and becaufe of
* their conftant, tho' invifible, Afpoaches to
perform the kindeft Offices to us. But the
Angel that was vifibly prefent with the Apo-^^^* ^-*
file John, and aded in an exalted Character ' ^*
toward him, refufed to accept of any Wor-
fhip from him. And all Worfhipping of An-
gels is forbidden, whatever may be the Pre-
tences of Humility or Advantage in it. Let
no Man, fays the Apoftle, beguile you of your ^^^'^*
Reward, in a voluntary Humility, and TVOR-^ *
SHIPPING OF ANGELS. The infinite
Being and PerfeBions of God, are the origi-
nal Ground of all the Worfhip that is paid
him ; and therefore to offer any divine Wor-
fhip to one who has not that Being and thofe
Perfedions, is to be gnilty of Idolatry : For
otherwife, we might worfhip Angels with-
out Idolatry, provided we confider them only
as excellent and benificent Creatures, and
don*t pretend to afcribe that Supreme Glory
to them which belongs to God alone. But
* See D/-. W^XttUnd^'s Vindication, p. ij6,&c.
thefe
C I90 )
thefe Things have been formerly dlfcufsM a^
fome Length, to which I refer for farther Sa-*
ti^fadion about 'em. f
If therefore the Scripture affures us, that
any one Ad: of divine Worfhip is to be paid
to the Holy Gholl? that is a convincing Proof
that He is the only true God ; becaufe, as
we have heard, no fuch A(5t muft be per-
form'd to any Being whatever, but to that
God only.
The blefled Spirit is indeed moft ufually
reprefented in theChriftianOEconomy as that
John 14.^^^^^" ^^ ^^^ Godhead, who moft immedi-
17. ately dwells and works within us, and by gra-
Rom. 8. eious Affiflance, excites and enables us to of*
5^' "*^'fer up all our Worlhip in a fpiritual a^nd ac-*
14. 'ceptable Manner. Hence He is call'd the
Zee. iz. Spirit of Graccy and of Supplications ; and is
10. faid to help our Infirmities y when io^ know not
Rom. 8. ^^1^^^ ^^ Jhould pray for as we ought. And we
Jude 20. ^^ exhorted to pray in the Holy GJooft, and
Eph. 6. "^"'^^ ^^^ Prayer and Supplication I N I'M E
18.* * SPIRIT, Accordingly we are faid to /7^i;^
Chap. z. accefs thro" Chrifi by ONE SPIRIT to the Fa-
'8. ther. Now, confidering what part the Holy
Gholl peculiarly bears in this Scheme of
Worfliip, as *tis fuited to the OEconomy
of Salvation, 'tis not to be expeded that he,
in his perfonal Charader, fliou'd be fo often
diftindly mention'd as the ObjeB of it, as the
Father or Son is. Worfhip is an Addrefs to
God ivithout us, and is generally direded ta
Him coniider'd as dwelling in Heaven, rather
than as dwelling in our Hearts : Thus Chrift
Mat. 6. taught us in our Prayers to fay. Oar Father^
9-
t See Sermons on Chrifi 's Godhead*
'Whkh
( m )
xvhkh art IN HEAVEN. And tho' Chrifl
was worfhipp'd when he was on Earth, yet
even then he was confider'd as an Objed
without the Worfhippers ; and now he is in
his human as well as divine Nature in Hea-
ven, He, on the account of his divine Na-
ture, is more frequently reprefented as the
Objed of Worfhip together with the Father,
than the Holy Ghofl: is.
Tho' the Father and Son are moft com-
monly fpoken of as Objeds without us, and
as fet before us, yet they likewife really
dwell and work in us .' For, fays Chrift, If
any Man love me, he will keep my IVords ; ^'^^Johm^.
my Father will love himy and WE will comezi.
unto himy and make OUR ABODE with him.
And on the other hand, tho' the Holy Ghoft
is moft commonly fpoken of as an Agent
within us 'y yet he is likewife undoubtedly in
Heaveny and has a real Exiftence without us,
as appears hy what has been faid concerning
the Infinity of his Being, Hence as the Fa-
ther's and Son's dwelling in us, or abiding
with us, is no Objection againft our Wor-
(hipping them, fo the Spirit's dwelhng in us
is none againft our Worfliipping him. But
as neither the Father nor Son is propofed to
us, as the Objed of Wor/hip, under the
Coniideration of their dwelling in us ; fo
'tis not reafonable to fuppofe that the Holy
Ghoft fliou'd be ufually, tho' he is fometimes,
fpoken of as fuch an Objed, iince the Part
he bears in the OEconomy of Salvation, re-
quired that he fhou'd be commonly mention'd
under indwelling Charaders.
When we conlider the Holy Ghoft with
regard to his fpecial Work, as he i^ fent by
the Father and Son, to ad within us> we arc
( 1^2 )
to worfhip by Uis Afliftance ; but wheh Wt
confider what he is in his ejfential Excellen-
cies, which are the fame with the Father's
and Son's, we may as fafely worfhip him as
them, becaufe thefe Excellencies are the ori-
ginal Ground of all Wdrfhip. The Worfhip
we pay to the Father, thro' the Son, as Me-
diator, by the AfTiflance of the Holy Spirit,
is not, I conceive, paid to the Father merely
as the Father, or on the Account of that his
perfonal Character, as if that was the origi-
nal Ground of our Worfhip ^ but 'tis paid to
Him as God, or on the account of his divine
Nature and effential Attributes : And fo by
jufl Implication this Worfhip is paid to the
other two Perfons together with him, be-
caufe they all are one God, and partake of
the fame undivided Nature and effential Pro-
perties, which are the formal Reafon of that
Worfhip.
Hence, whichever divine Perfon is mofl
diredly apply 'd to at any time in our Wor-
Ihip;, the other Two are not excluded from
being the Objed of it, becaufe we therein
worfhip the one Deity of them all. And
whenever our Worfhip is order'd to be paid,
or is recorded as paid, not to any particular
Perfon in the Godhead, but to God fpoken
of abfolutely, or under fome eflential Cha-
rader, (as it very often is) in fuch Cafes I
conceive the Objed of Worfhip is to be un-
derilood as meaning the Father, Son, and
Holy Ghoft, if the Circumftancesof the Con-
text don't determine otherwife. And when
God is fpoken of as worfhipM under fuch
Characters of his Workings, as are ufually
afcrib'd in the mofl immediate manner to
the Holy Ghoft, there we may reckon that
He
C 193 )
He is more efpecially to be regarded as the
Objcd of that Worlhip.
Bat that I may lead you to nearer and
more direfl Proofs, that religious or divide
lJA)rjhip is by Scripture-lVarrant to be given to
the Holy Ghoft^ I fhall proceed by the follow-
ing Steps, which may be look'd on as fo ma-
ny Arguments for his God-Head.
I . God has no inhere FORBID our IVorJIji^^
ing the Holy Ghofl.
I find God is exceeding jealous of the Ho-
nour of his Worfhip, frequently calling him-
id^ 3. jeakpu God on that account. I find heEj^od.
ftri6tly forbids our Worfhiping any but him- 34' ^^
felf, faying, Aly Glory will I not give to another. l^i*^2,,3,
I find many exprefs Prohibitions againft Wor-
fhiping any of the Gods of the Heathen^ and
againft Worfhiping any Men or Angels :
But I can no where find in all the Scripture,
any thing that looks like fo much as a Caution
againft Worfhiping the Holy Ghofl, No
Checks or Difcouragements are put upon
this ; The whole Tenour of the Scripture
lies in Favour of it ^ and nothing that I
can perceive is ever fuggefted againft it.
But certainly ii the Holy Ghoft was not
to be worfhip'd, we fhou'd have had fome
Intimations of it, confidering how likely he
is above all Creatures whatever to have di-
vine Worfhip paid to him, on the account
of his fupcrior Charaders of Greatnefs and
Goodnefs, of Prefence with us, and gracious
Benificence towards \\s^ under which he is
commonly reprefented to us. The more ad-
vanced his Excellencies and Lovelinefs are,
the greater is the Danger of our making an
Idol of him, in Cafe he really is not God
O Hence,
( t94 )
Hence it is altogether improbable that God
fhould fiiew no Jealoufy about giving his
Glory to the Holy Ghoft, if it is not his
due ; fince he has exprefs'd his Indignation
wiih (o much Terror as he has, againft its
beinc; given to any other. Can we fuppofe
that God fhould (o flridly forbid our paying
any divine Honours to thofe Idol-gods,
which have no Pretences to Divinity, and
not give us the leaft Caution againft doing
the like to the blefled Spirit, who undeniably
has the moil fpecious Appearances of Divir-
nity, and to whom, to fay the leaft, God
has given us very ftrong Intimations that we
ihould pay them ? If a King fliould ftridly
forbid his Subjeds paying Royal Honours to
any but himfelf, and fhould particularly men-
tion the moft dcfpicable Competitors of his
Crown, and charge 'em not to pay fuch Ho-
nours to them, he would certainly make the
like Prohibitions againft doing it to one, if
there was any fuch, that had higher and
more likely Pretenfions to it, and bid fairer
for it. In like manner, if the Holy Ghoft
i^ not to be worfhipM, the great and jealous
God would furely have forbid our paying
any divine Honours to him, as he has to the
Gods of the Heathen.
01/3. I can't think it fufficient to fay, that God
difdains the Difgrace that is put upon him
in VVorfhiping fuch contemptible Things as
the Gods of Mens Invention are, and there-
fore he fo ftridly forbids theWorfhiping them :
Anfw ^^^ ^h^^ ^^ ^^ fuppofe that God can bear with
2. great but not with a Ihtk Idol ; whereas
He indeed as much difdains to be taken for
the highefli as for the meanefi of his Creatures,
or that they fl:ould be taken for him ; be-
caufe
( ^95 )
Ca.ufe He is infinitely, and fo equally above
them all. Yea, fince many Idol-worfiiipers
never took their Gods for proper Deities,
much left for the only true God, and fince
Chriflian-worfhipers take the Holy Ghoft
to be the only true God, and worfhip him as
flich ; if he is not indeed that God, the
Difiionour done to God is fo much the great-
er on that Account, becaufe on this Suppofi-
tion the only true God is infinitely debafed
in our Thoughts, and leveli'd with a Crea-
ture. And therefore the VVorfhiping of the
Spirit, with Apprehenfions of his being God,
needed moft of all to be ftridly guarded a-
gainft, if in Truth he is not God.
If it is farther faid, that God forefaw how ^^-
nddiBed Mankind would be to worfhip the
Iti&iS ot the Heathen, and therefore he fo
explicitly and feverely forbid it. It may be
ahfwer a^ That he as certainly forefaw that Anfv/*
the Chriftian Church would generally wor-
fhip the Holy Ghoft j and yet has laid in no
Prohibition againft their doing (o. And we
can't fuppofe that God is lefs concerned a-
bout his own Honour in the Worfhip of the
Chriftian Church, than in any other Wor-
fhip : And therefore, if religious Worfhip
was not to be paid to the Holy Ghoft, he
would furely have faid fomething to pre-
vent it.
2 . T*he hlejfeci Spirit is never fpoken of or re^
frefented oi a JVO RS fJ IP ERy or as faying
any divine Honours to God,
Every Creature, I mean all intelligent Crea-
ture^, are undoubtedly oblig'd to Worfhip
God. Their Relation to him, and Depen-
ds ilce on him, areconflant Obligations upon
them to do Homaee to him. And the more
"O a Noble
Noble and Excellent their Beings and Endow"
ments are, the higher their Obhgations rife,
the more capable they are of Adoring him ;
and if they are as good as they are great, the
more prompt and active they will be in pay-
ing that Homage to him. Accordingly the
Scripture frequently reprefents the whole
Creation by a Figure^ and Angels and Men
in z proper Senfe as praiiing and adoring God.
Pfa. T05. j5/^y} f/jg Lordy fays David, ye Ins Angels that
2-0.1 1, 2z ^^(^Qiiyi jiYi^yigi^jj^ — ^/^y} fjjQ i^ord all ye his Ho ft s^,
ye Minijiers of his that do his Pleafure. Blefs
the Lord all hii IVorks in all Places of his D (.mi-
ni on ; Blefs the Lord, Q my Soul. The like
Strain of fummoning all the Creation to praife
the Lord runs thro Pfalm 148, And the A-
Rev. $. poftle yohn, relating his Vifions, fays, / le-
* '* ^^* heldy and I heard the Voice of many Angels round
about the I'hrone, and the Beafls, and the El-
dersy and every Creature which is in Heaven^
and on the Earthy and tinder the Earthy andfuch
as are in the Sea, and all that are in themy
heard 1 faying, Bleffingy and Honoury and Gloryy
and Powery be unto Him that Jit teth upon the
T'hroney and unto the Lamb for ever. But nei-
ther in thefe, nor in any other Places, is
there the lead Intimation that the Spirit of
God join'd as a Worfliiper, or that he ever
performed any Ad of Worfliip. He is in-
John 16. deed faid to glorify Chrift : But every one
14. may eafily fee that the Senfe of that Ex-
preffion, as there ufed, has no Relation to
the Spirit''s worfhip'ing him. The Father
Ch. 17. likcwik glorifies the Sony and glorifies his own
I. 8c iz. ]^ame ; but I fuppofe none will fay that he
' worfliipeth the Son or himfelf.
Obj, The only Places I can think of that look
with any Appearance of the Spirit s wor-
jQiiping
( 197 )
fiiiping are, where we are told at one time,
the Spirit and the Bride fay, come ; and at anc- ^^v. 22*
ther, T^he Spirit helpetb our Infivmitles ; for we [J* ^
knoiv not inuat we jboiild pray for as we ought ; ^^ ^.^
but the Spirit it felf maketh Imerceffion for m
with Groanings which cant h utter d. And hs
that fearcheth the Hearts^ knoweth v^hat is the
Mind of the spirit, becaufe he maketh Inter cejji on
for the Saint ^^ according to the Will of God. But
I conceive nothing can be concluded to this
Purpofe from the firfl of thefe Texts : For
this come may be CQnfider'd not as 2l Prayer
direded to thrift, but as an Invitation di--
reded to Men^ to whom the Spirit fpeaks in
the Word and in their Hearts to cqme to
Chrift: for Life, as the latter Part of the
Verfe explains it. And whofoever willy let him
take the Water of Life freely. But i^ it is fup-
pos'd to relate to Chrijfs coming again, this
ExpreiHon, come, may he taken in very diffe-
rent Senfes according to the different Con-
dition of the Perfon that fpeaks, and the
different Manner of his fpeaking it. It may
be an Injunction from a Superior,- a b2iVQlVifi,
Advice.orCounfel, or Notification ofJVtlh froni
an Equal ; and a Prayer as well as a Wifh from
an Inferior. Now as the Spirit is by Nature
equal toChn^i as God, and fuperior to. him as
Man; fo, if he fays, comey it may beconfider'd
as an ExprelTion after the manner of Men,
fignifying his IViIl that Chrift fhould come to.
Judgment, together with the Pleafure he has
therein ; and may refpecl either his inward
Purpofe and Delight, or what he has faid in
Scripture, and particularly in this Book of
the Revelations, concerning it. Or, if we
underftand this Expreffion as a Prayer, the
Spirit's faying, coine, may dgnlfy what he
Q 3 ' %^
( 198 )
fays in th2 Hearts of his People, as he dic-
tates that Prayer to them, and as he raifes
up their holy fervent Defires for Chrift's
coming. According to the two Firfl of thefe
Senfes, there is nothing like Worfhip paid by
the Holy Ghoft to Chrift. And according to
the laft^ the Worfhip is paid not by any Ad-
drefs of the Spirit himfell, as an Inferior to
Chrift ; but by the Church's Addrefs to
Chriftj according to the Spirit's didates, and
under the Spirit's fupcrior Influence. And
this (as Parem obferves on the Place) is by
a Metalepfis call'd the Spirit s fayingy co7ne^
becaufe he excites her Defires, iand enables
her to pray with the ftrongeft Anhelations of
Soul for it. And fo this Text may be ex-
plained by a Confideration of the true Mean-
ing of the other, which fpeaks of His makwg
Interceffion for m imh GYoanings that cant b^
~ utter d.
This Work of the Spirit relates not to his
Interceding for \is, as an Advocate or Me-
diator to God ; for that is the peculiar Office
of Chrift our great High Prieft, and is men-
tion'd V. 34. It is Chnfl that died^^—who alfo
maketh Inter cejJhyifoY m ; and we are affiir'd
that there \s but one Mediator between God and
I Ijim. j^j^^^^ ^j^^ j^^^^ Chrrft Jefpii, But the Inter-
ceflion, which the Spirit makes for us, con-
fifts in his Work ivithin us, helping our Infir-
mities ^ aiFifting, exciting, and direQing us
/70TU to pray, as to the Manner, with inward
Groanings of fpiritual Defires beyond what
we canexprefs ; and what to pray for, as to
the Matter, agreeable or according to the IVill
of Gody and fo doing that for us, to enable
ps to pray Spiritually, which we could not
4o for our (elves. The Inten^effion here fpo-
kca
2. 5
ken of is fafd to be with Groanings that cant
be utter d. But 'tis wholly inconiident with
the Felicity and Sufficiency of the Spirit to
fuppofe that he himfelf fhould be theSub/ed
of fiK^h uniitterabie Groanings ; and 'tis al-
together unintelligible how any unknown In-
terceilion of the Spirit apart from us, fhould
awaken fuch patherick Emotions in our
Hearts : And therefore his Interceding with
Groanings for us, can only denote his rai-
fing thofe Groanings or '\:iO\y Breakings of Soul ^^^-'^^9*
within us, as Htdwelletb in m^ and is a ^P^'^^^^ 3
rit of Grace and Supplications to .us. . The^ n".
Holy Ghoft's Agency in our Addreffes to
God is call'd HIS making Iraercejjton, be- ^^^' ^^'
caufe 'tis by his gracious Suggeftions to, and '°'
Influences on our Hearts, that we are enabled
to plead fo earneflly with him. Thus when
the Apoftles fLould be call'd to plead the
Caufe oF Chrift before Governours and KingSy
Chrifl: told them, It ftjould he given them /»Mat.io.
that fame Hour what theyjfjouJdfpeak; and be- 18, i9>
caufe this was to be given them by the Sug-^^*
geftion of the Holy Spirit, he adds. It is
not ye that [peak, but the Spirit of your Father
that fpeaketh in you. Or, as another -E^^^^- Luke 12.
^^-Z/y? explains it, The Hcly Ghcfi jhall TEACHiz.
you in the fune Hour what ye ought to fay; which
(hews that the Spirit's y/'^.'7^/>i'^ in them, and
his teaching them what they (houldfpeak, .mean
one and the fame thing. And with refped
to our dealings with God, He is faid to
fend forth the Spirit of his Son into our Hearts, ^ ,
crying Abba, Father, becaufe it is byhisSpi-^^
rit's working in us, as the Spirit of Adop-
tion, that we are enabled to fpeak to God
in Faiths and call him Father. Thus the
Apoftle explains it when he fays, W^ha^js^^^^ 3^
O 4 ye-i'^.
( 200 )
yeceived the Spirit of Adopiony whereby WE cry
Ahbay Father.
Tho the Spirit of Grace and Supplication
enables Believers to offer up all the accept-
able Worfhipthey pay toGod; yet what he
doth herein are not properly his Ads tovoard
Gody as the Object of them ; but his Ads
towards my whereby we become true Wor-
fhipers of him. As Ads of Worfhip are
didated to us, and excited in us, they are
the Spirit's Ads ; but as they are put forth
[?y us, and terminate on Gody they are our
own Ads * As a Parent may be fuppofed not
to pray himfelf, when he isdidating a Prayer
to his Child to (ly it after him. And as a
Magiflrate don't fwear himfelf, when he
didates an Oath to others, who are to re-
peat it after him : So the Holy Ghoft dic-
tates our Prayers to us, when he fuggefts what
we fhall pray for, without praying himfelf.
The Agency of the Spirit in our Wor-
Ihip, don't fet him in the Place of a Wor-
fhiper, but in the Place of God, who teach-
Jer. 52. eth us to pray, and puts Ins Fear into our
^^' HeartSy and arcumcifes them to love him,
^f""^'^^- Hence God may as w^ell be call'd a Wor-.
fhiper of himfelf, becaufe by his Influences
upon us, we are direded, excited, and af-^
lifted to worfhip him, as the Holy Ghoft
may be call'd a VVorfliiper of him on thefe
Accounts.
Chriji having an /V/f^mr Nature, 'twas very
iit that in his humbled State, He, as Many
fnould pay religious Worfhip to God ; and
accordingly we are told, that m the Days of
Heb. 5.7, his Flejhy he offer d up Prayers and Supplications
Mai. ii'with ftYong crying and T'earSy and that he gave
*^* l^hanks unto his Father. But the Holy Ghufi
having
( 201 )
having only his original divine Nature, for
which he was under no Obligations to any
Perfon in the Godhead, it is inconfiftenc
with his infinite Dignity in every Confidera-
tion of him, that he fhould pay any Worfhip
at all; and accordingly he is never repre-
fented as applying to God in a way o^ Prayer
or Praifey for any Favour relating to hirafelf
or others.
But farely if this blefied Spirit owes any
religious Worfhip to God, he is fo good
and holy as to pay it ; and if he ever paid, or
is to pay any, methinks we muft have had
fome Hint of it in Scripture, lefl his infi-
nitely exalted Charader fhould make us mif-
take him for God, if he really is not fo. But
if he doth not owe religious Worfhip to
God, and never pays any, he mufl needs be
the God to whom fuch Worfhip mufl be paid.
For to fuppofe a Perfon to be neither a
JVorj'hJpery nor an Objeci of Worfhip, is to
fuppofe him to be neither a Dependent, nor
an Independent Being ; one that is not obliged
to Godi and yet one that is mt God; one that is
too big to be a Worfhiper, and yet too little to
bs worfhiped, which are all Suppofitions the
moft fhocking that can well be imagin'd. Since
therefore He is not a Worjhiper^ he mufl himfelf
be the Object of Worfhip, and confequently
inuft be by Nature that God, to whom
alone all religious Worfhip is due. .
3 . 'tbe Holy Spirit is the OhjcB againfl vjhojn
S I N IS committed.
As Ifraers Sin againfl God was calfd their »
fYOvokwgy rebelling, and ^r/>w;^ him, fo 'tis^^^'^
call'd their rebelling, and ^uexing his holy Spi-^L 1.2.
ytt ; which llicws chat he is included in the&<5Mc.
God,
( 202 )
God, whom they ought to have obey'cl.
Their Difobedience to him was a relifting
his Authority in his Word, and in the mira-
culous Signs he wrought to confirm it, as Ste-
Ads 7 P^^^ ^-^^^ ^^ ^^^ y^'^^ ' ^^ fiiff-necked and un-
51, 52 ' ciraimcifed m Heart and Ears, ye do alwap re^
53. fifi the Holy Ghoji ; as your Fathers did, fo do ye.
iVhich of the Prophets have not your Fathers per-
fecuted /* and they havejlatn them, which fiewed
before of the coming of the jufl One, of iv horn ye
have been now the Betrayers and Murderers, who
have received the Law by the Difpo/it?on of An-
gels, and have not kept it. The Fore-fathers
of thefe Jews rejifted the Holy Ghoft, as he
fpoke to them by the Prophets, and fiewed
before-hand of the coming of Chrifi, and as He
was included in that God who gaye 'em
the Law in the mid'/i of attending Angels.
Their Difobedience to this Law, and their
Perfecming and flaying the Prophets, and fo
rejeding what the Spirit faid by them, was
a refiling not of Men, but of the Holy Ghoft
himfelf, as the God that fpoke by them.
They refijled the Holy Ghoft juft in the fame
manner as Ananias lye d to him, andfo finnVi
^ ^' againft Him, which was call'd a lying not to
' ^* Men, but to God, becaufe the Holy Ghoft was
the God, who fpoke and aded in and by
the Apoftles. Accordingly this was call'd a
veT.9 tempting the Spirit of the Lord, juft in the
i7%8* ^^"^^ manner as ifraeTs finning againfl God
41! * \v2is c^Wd a, tempting Him.
Hence we likewife read of doing Defpiteto
the Spirit of Grace, and of committing Blaf-
phemy againft Him, which are reprefented as
Sins of the deepeft Guilt and moft fatal Con-
Heb ic f<^^uence. He that defpifed MofesV Law, dyed
xp. * ' xvithotu mercy Of how much forer Punilhmem,
C 203 )
fiippofe ysy JJjall he be thought zvorthy, who hath
trodden under joot the Son vj God, and hath
dene DESPITE rtO "THE SPIRIT
OF GRACE, And all manmr of Sin and Mat, f 2,
Blafphemjy lays Chrift, jhall Oe forgiven unto ^ly 32*
Men, but the BLASPHEMY AGAINST
THE HOLT GHOST fhall not be for-
given unto Men; — whoever fpeaketh AGAINST
The holy GHOST, it Jhall not be for-
given him. Tho this Defpite done to the Spi-
rit, and this BLifphcmy againft Him, may
be fuppofed to relate to fome of his fpecial
Works j yet the Holy Ghoft is plainly fpo-
ken of as the divine Agent, that was the
Author of thofe Works, in oppofition to
Feelz^ebub the Prince of the Devils to whom they
were maiicioufly imputed : -and fo the Perfon
of the Holy .Ghoft was blafphem'd by the
malicious Turn that was given to his Works.
And the unparallel'd Guilt of this Blafphemy
againft him intimates that He is God^ who
ought to be attended to with Reverence,
and not delpitefuliy treated in thofe Works ;
for otherwiie it could not be fo highly Cri-
minal to fin againft Him in them. Shall
blafpheming the Works of a Creature be fiip-
pofed to be more Criminal than blafpheming
the Works of God himfelf? Or can we rea-
fonably think that all other Sins againft God
are pardonable, and this againft the Holy
Ghoft is unpardonable, and yet that the Holy
Ghoft is not God ? This feems to befpeak
too high a Reverence for Him, and to de-
mand a religious Regard to his Works, upon
a Penalty too fev^re, whatever thofe Works
may be, unlefs He really is God, and ads in
them with the Majefty of God. But if we
iii^ofe thefe Works to be Cod's own Works,
which
( 204 )
which the Holy Ghoft, as God, performs
with the fulleft Evidence of divine Energy,
and as the laft and moft condefcending
Means of Convidion, and that thefe are
blafphem'd, reviled, and malicioufly oppo-
fed, inftead of being entertain'd with Faith,
Love, and Reverence, it is no wonder that
fuch a Sin, fo defperate, refoliite, and ma-
lignant, conimitted againft fnch an infinitely
great and divine Agent, fhould of all others
be irremiflible.
Now the Objed of Sin and Dnty, of 0-
hedience and Difohedience, of Blafpbemy and r^'-
ligiom Regards, is the fame. As God only
is the Objed of all religious Worfiiip, fo He
only is the Objed againfi; whom Sin, as Sin,
Oea»?9. is committed. Hence faid J.ofeph; How can
9. / do this great Wickednefs , and fin aga'm^
GOD? And Again ft T'hee, faid David to
Vh.su God, thee ONLY have I finned. If there-
4- fore the Holy Ghoft is the Objed againft
whom Sin is committed. He is likewife the
Objed to whom Duty or Worfiiip ought to
be performed. Religious Fear and Ohedi-
encey which include all Worfhip, are the di-
red Oppofites to Contempt of God and Dif-
tbedience unto him, which are the Height of
Atheifm and Impiety. Apd therefore as
Defpite and Rebellion are committed againft
the Spirit, fo a religious Fear of offending
Him, and religious Worfhip of Him or O-
bedience to Him are his Due. Hence is the
Epb. 4. Apoftle's Charge, Grieve not the Holy Spirit
^^' of God, ivhereby ye are fealed unto the Day oj
Redemption. And we are commanded to
Rev. 2. ^^^^^ IV hat the Spirit faith to the Churches. Sure-
7. ' ly then the Spirit muft be the God who is the
Objed of our Worfhip, fince He is the God^
who-
( 205 )
who in a proper Senfe is finn'd againft, as
really as rhe Father and Son.
4. Believers are the I'EMP L E of the Holy
Cboft.
This the Apoftle ftrongly afferts when he
fays, Know je noty that your Body is the Temple * Cor. 6,
of the Holy Ghofi, ivhich is in you ? A Temple '^'
in the very Notion Oi it relates to God. It
is dedicated or devoted wholly to him, and
to no other. The devoting it to God for
his Honour and Service, is it felf an Ad of
Religion j and all the Worfhip perform'd in
it, is to be perform'd only to that God,
whofe Temple it is, as the proper Object of
it. This was undeniably the Cafe with re-
fpeft to the Temple of old, which was built j j^j^^g
to the Name of the Lord ; and was folemnly 5. 5.
dedicated unto him, that he might be wor- Chap. 8.
fhiped therein. That Temple was typical ^^^^ugh-
of the Gofpel Church, as well as of the hu- ^^^*
man Nature of Chrift. And that the A-
poftle had his Eye on the facred Relation and
Dedication of Believers to God, when he
caird them the Temple of the Holy Ghoft, ap-
pears from what he adds in the next Words,
j^nd ye are not your own, for ye are bought with ^ Cor. 6.
a Price ; therefore G LOR I FT God in your ^^' ^°*
Body and in your Spirit, which are God's, They
in all the Powers of their Souls, and Mem-
bers of their Bodies, are to be devoted to
him whofe Temple they are, that they may
worfhip and glorify him, Cleanfing themfelves ^Cor. 6.
from all Fthhinefs of FleJJ) and Spirit, per feEiing.^^' s/-
Holinefs in the Fear of God -^ as ihe Apollle j. ' ^'
fpoke at another time upon his mentioning
God's dwelling in them, as in his Temple, And
hence he expoftulates the Cafe with them,
ur-
C20O
Ufgihg tfiem to the ftridePc Purity in Dodri'rfd
t Cor.2. and Pradice on this Account. Enow ye nbt
i<5, 17, that ye are the Temple of God, and that the Spi-
rit of God dwelkth in you ? If any Man defile
the Temple of Cody him jhall God defiroy ; for
the Temple of God is Holy^ which Temple ye
are.
Now then it being faid that Beliei^ers are
the Temple of the Holy Ghoft, and this Temple
having fuch a Relation to God as intimates
that all the divine Worfhip ofFer'd in it, mull:
be refer*d to him, whofe Temple it is, as
the proper Objed: of it; the Holy Ghoft,
together with the Father and Son, muft
needs be the Objed of all the Worfhip we
are able to pay, in the utmoft Devotednefs
of our felves to his Service, and in all our
religious Adings purfuant thereunto.
Or fuppofing that by the Temple of the Holy
Ghofl is meant the Church of Chrift at Corinth,
confider'd as a fpiritual Society form'd for
religious Worfhip-; then that Church, and by
confequence all other Gofpel-Churches, are
thereby reprefented as conftituted for the
Honour of the Holy Ghoft; and all their
Worfhip i\\ their Aflemblings together is to
be Worfhip paid to Him, as well as to the
Father and Son.
5. MINISTERS are folemnly fet a-
part, or SEP A RAT ED for their minifies
rial Work, TO the Holy Ghoft.
This is clear from the Inflances of Paul
and Barnabas, with refped to whom the Holy
Kd:s i-^,' Ghofl faid, feparate me (Gr. to me) Barnabas
*• and Saul, for the Work whereunto I have
called them. The Holy Ghoft is here re-
^ prefented as the Ol^jeB to whom they were
fe-
( 307 )
feparated , as well as the Author of that
Separation of them to his Service. The Se-
parating them to him, in Obedience to his
Authority, and at his Command, was it
felf a very evident Adt of fupreme Honour
paid to him ; and all the Hmploymtnt of
Paul and BarnabciSi which lay in Ads of
Worfhip confequent to that Separation mufl
be refer'd to Him as the ObjeB of them, iince
they were feparated for that Employment to
Him. Yea, all the Worfhip of the Church
perform'd by their Diredions and Miniftra-
tions, was to be Worfhip paid to the Holy
Ghoft, fince Paul and Bar nab a< w^vq feparated
to him, that he might be ferv'd by and have
the Honour of all their Miniftrations, and
of all the Religion which fhould be promoted
by them. And what is here faid of extra-
ordinary Officers, holds equally true with
refped to ordinary Paftors, who are likewife
fet apart to their Work by the Authority and
Influence of the Holy Ghoft, in the Methods
which Heprelcribesii! the Scriptures. Hence
the Apollle Paul fpeaking to fuch, fays, 'I^ike A5s 20.
heed to your felves, and to all the Flock, over the ^^*
Tjhich the HOLT G HOSt hath made you
Cverfeers. He who by his own Authority
gives hisServantsCommiffon for their Work,
muft be the Objcci: to whom they are devo-
ted in it, and to whofe Honour and Glory all
their religious Performances muft be refer'd.
That Authority intitles Him to that Ho-
nour ; and therefore the Holy Gholt who
exercifeth that Authority in the moll: fove-
reign Manner, muft needs have a Claim to
that Honour. But 'tis furely the higheil
Aifront that can be ctfer'd to God, to lup-
pofe
C 208 )
pofe, that the whole Miniftry fhould be fe-*
parated or devoted for religious Worfiiip to
the Holy Ghoft, if he is not the great and
fovereign God.
6. We are BAPTIZED in the Name
of the Holy Gbofi EQJJALLT and together
"With the Name of the Father and Son.
Goy fays Chrift, and teach all Nations^ lap--
Mat. 28. ti%,ing them in the Name of the Father ^ and of
'^- the Sony and of the Holy Ghofl. Here the
Holy Ghoft is put in the fame Rank with the
Father and Son ; we are as much and in the
fame manner baptized by his Authority, and
to his Honour, or in his Name, as in theirs.
The Form of ExprefTion relating to Him
and Them is one and the fame : there is no
Appearance of its being taken in a different
Senfe in its Application to them refpedively,
and being baptized in the Namey and not iw,
the Names of thefe three Perfons, may de-
note that their Authority is one. All the
Mmhers of the vifible Church are devoted
for religious Worfhip to the Holy Ghoft, by
their being baptiz,ed in his Name ; as the
Miniflers of it are, by their being f Parated
to Him, and by his Authority, for all the
religious Adminiftrations that belong to
their holy Fundion.
To be baptized in the Name of the Holy
Ghofty equally with the Father's and Son's,
is it feif a very folemn Ad of Worflnp ; the
Perfons fo baptized are thereby dedicated to
Him as Gody and are obliged to refer all the
following Ads of their Religion to Him
equally with them. 'Tis an acknowledg-
ment that the Holy Ghoft is their Covenant-
God,
C 2C9 )
t^odi, every way fufficient to feal the Bleilings
of the Covenant to them, and to enable
them to reftipuiate unto Him. 'Tis a de-
clared Submillion to his divine Authority over
them, and a folemn Profeilion that they owe
and come under Covenant-Obligations to
yield all Faith, M/brfbip, and Obedience unto
Him; and if they ad according to their
baptifmal Engagements, they muft pay all
After-aBs of Worfhip to Him equally with
the Father and Son. Hence we are told, i Pet. ?,
that the Thing iignify'd by Baptifm is the^l.
AnfweYy or, as (ome render it, thef Siipula-y^'^-?''^'
tion, of a goodConfcience toward God. And to '"^'
what God fhoiild Confcience anfwer or fli-
pulate, in Covenant-Tranfadions with Him,
according to baptifmal Obligations, but to
that God in whofe Name we are baptized ^
And that- is as much the Holy Ghoft, as the
Father or Son. ¥ov t[\^ Father in this fo-
lemn Ad of Worfhip is diftinguifh'd from
the Son and Spirit, not by his effential, but
by his/'-r/W/^/Name ; which fhews that the
Son and Spirit are not diftinguifh'd from
God, but only from the firfl Per/on in the
Godhead, and that they all together are the
One God to whom we ftand-obliged by our
Baptifm.
Who can think that God and Creatures
fliould be equally joih'd in fuch a folemn com-
plicated Ad of Worfhip ? *Tis certainly a
moft urging Afiront to God, to fuppofe that
we (hould be equally devoted to Him and to
Creatures, and be thereby bound as much
to the Faith, Worfhip, and Obedience of
one, as of the other ,• and ytt this muft be
fuppofed, if we fuppofe the Holy Ghoft not
to be God. But fince this is too fliockinga
P S p-
( 210 )
Suppofitiion to admit of, and fince in Bap-
tifm we are really devoted for all religious
Worfhip to the Holy Ghoft equally with the
Father and Son, we may be aHar'd that He
is God together with them, and muft be
worfhip'd as fuch.
Furthermore, as there is but one Faith, and
one Baptifnh by which we profefs, and are
oblig'd to have, that Faith ; To there is but
one Lord, in whofe Name we are baptized,
and in whom we are thereby bound to be-
lieve, Eph. ^. 5. Now, tho in this Place,
the Son is ferfonally diftinguifh'd from the
Father and Holy Ghof}, by ihe Title of one
Lord ; yet the Father and Holy Ghoft muft
be eJJentiaUy the one Lord as well as the Son ;
becaufe the one Baptifrn is in their Name as
well as His, and we are thereby oblig'd to
believe in them together with Him. Hence,
as all allow that our being baptized in the
Name of the Father fuppofes Him to be ef-
fentially the one Lord, 'tis very harfli and in-
congruous to fuppofe that the Holy Ghoft is
not fo too, fince we are baptized in /;/iName
equally with the Father's, and this Baptifm is
but one.
This is fuch a* piece of religious Homage,
the Honour of it is fo grand and compre-
henfive, that it can belong to none but the
only true God. Hence when there were
Party Contentions among the Corinthians a^
bout feveral Miniilers, the Apoftle Paul w^s
thankful that the Providence of God had fo
order'd it, that, fince they were fo fond of
the Names of Men, and of his among o-
thers, he had baptized but few among them,
left any ^fl]Ould have thought, orinvidioufly
fiiggefted, that he baptized in his own Name,
and
r 211 )
and To engaged them to pay religious Ho-
nour to himjAf. Now this I fay, that every one i Cor. i,
ofyoufaithy 1 am ed unto Mofes in the Cloud. But why i,
may not this PafTage be underftood as ligni-
fying, that they were baptized by Mofes, or
by or among his Adminiftrations j fince the
Prepojttion here ufed is the fame that is rea-
der'd by the Difpoficion or Adminiiiration of AcIs 7
Angels, when it is faid, they received the^^.
Law * by the Difpoftion of Angels .<* However, * «V
fuppofing the VVords are to be underilood as'^'*^>'^V
they lie in our Tranflation, yet to be bap-
tiz.ed unto or into Mofes, and into the Name of
Mofes, are very different ExpreiTions. Mofes
is fometimes put for the Docinne taught by
Mofes ; thus 'tis evidently to be taken when
'tis faid, They have Mofes and the Prophets ; Luk, 16.
and // they hear not Mofes and the Prophets, ^9, ^i.
neither will they be per f 'jaded tho one rofe from the ^ ^^*
Dead ; and Mofes of old time hath in every
City them that preach him, being read in the Sy^
nagogues every Sabbath-day. And fo to be
baptized into Mofes, is only to be baptized
into a ProfefTion and Belief of the DoSirine
taught by him ; the whole Tenor of which
Doctrine was, to dired all our Worfhip and
Obedience to God alone. Hear O IfraeJ,
the Lord our God is one Lord, and thou fbalt love
the Lord thy God with all thine Heart, and with '■^^'^*
all thy Soul, and with all thy Might; and thefe i'^,^/
P 2 words :^,
C 212 )
"ciords ivhich I command thee this day, {hall he
in thy Heart. ^^^'^^T'hou fJjalt fear the Lord th^
God, and f ewe him, and fialt fwear by his Name,
Te Jhall not go after other Gods, &c. Hence
the Ifraelites are never faid to be baptized
into the Name of Mofes, as we are into the
Name of the Holy Ghofi ; nor are God and
Mofes join'd together in that Baptifm, as if
his and Mofes's Authority were equal, as the
Father, Son, and Holy Ghofi are join'd iti the
Inftitution of Chriflian Baptifm.to denote the
Equality of their joint Authority therein;
Furthermore, the Baptifm of Mofes, refer'd
to by the Apoflle, is not fpoken of as an In-
flituted Rite of the Covenant^ or as an Ordi-
nance of Worfliip ; for I don't find that any
fuch Ordinance was then InfricuteJ, or that
the extraordinary Baptifm mentioh'd by the
Apoilie was fuch an Inflitution. But the A-
poflle fpeaks of it allufively to, or as an oc-
cafional Type and Figure of that Baptifm,
which was become an Inftitution of Worfhip
when he wrote this Epiflle. And fo confi-
dering that as a Typical Baptifm, and Mofes
as a "Typical Mediator, the Dodrine taught
by Baptifm into Mofes, was Baptifm into
Qhrip:.
This naturally leads ws to obferve that, as
the "Jevis principally objeded againft ChrifFs
being that Mejftah, who is the Son of God^
the Apodles, fpeaking to them, ufually men-
tibn'd only Chri/i's Name, tho not to the ex-
cluiion of the Father's and Holy Ghofi 's, as
that Name into which they were baptized.,
Whereas, when the Inflitution of Baptifm is
fpoken of as refpeding the Gentile-World^
who were to be introduced and bound there-
by to the Faith and acknowledgment of the
true
( a'3 )
true God, according to the Revelation of
him in the Scripture, all the Perfons of the
Godhead are exprefsly mentioned, as the
one God of reveal'd Religion, whom they
were to own and believe in, and in whole
Name they were to be baptized, to the Ex^
clufion of all others. And this Dodrine be-
ing put into the initiating Rite of all our
Religion, it kerns to be the Bajts of it ; and
its being j'oin'd with the Preaching of the
Gofpel in all Nations^ is an Intimation, that
the Godhead of all the three Perfons, and
the Worfliip that is to be paid to them, is to
be preach'd and entertain'd as the common
Dodrine of the Church; and accordingly fo
it has generally proved. This brings us to
the laft Head of Evidence, that Worfliip is
due to the Holy Ghoft. Therefore,
J. We have fever al INST'ANCESy or
Examples in Scripture of divine iVvrjhip paid to
the Holy Ghoft.
What has been offer'd under the two laft
Heads furniQieth us with Inftances of this
fort. The Prophets and "Teachers in the Church
at Antioch evidently paid divine Worfliip to
the Holy Ghoft, when, in Obedience to his
Command, they in a religious Manner zu/>/?
Prayer and Fajiing feparatedBavnab3.s and Saul
to him, for the IVork to which he calfd them.
Ads 13. 152,3. And as they did this in
Obedience to his Authority, and for his
Honour and Glory, we can't reafonably fup-
pofe but they apply'd to him, as well as to
the Father and Son, as the Objed of their
Prayers on that folemn Occafion. Ads of
Worfliip were likewife perform'd to him, as
often as any were baptized in the Name of
' P 3 thQ
( 214 )
the Father, Son, and Holy Ghofi, according
to Chrift's CommilTion : And, (as Dr.lVater-^
land has obierv'd, Serm. 8.) " We have fuf-
" ficient Proof from Church-Writers all a-
*^ long, and as high as "Juftin Martyr, who
" liv d in or near the Apoirolick Age, and
'^ zvrote within forty Years of it, that it was
" then the conllant Praclice of the Church
" to baptize in this Form, puriuaut to our
" Lord's Commifllon; and there is no juffc
'' Reafon to (ufped, but that Baptifm had
" been conftantly adminifter'd in that very
«« Form, from, and in, the Times of the
" Apoftles."
Bf-iides thefelnPcances of Wo.rfhip paid to
the Holy Ghoft, which have been already
infifted on, we may obferve feveral others.
He together with the Father and Son may
be conlider'd as the Obje<5l of that folemri
Ifa. 6. 5. Adoration of the Seraphims, M/ ho cried one to
another (as we do when we iing the Fraifes
of God together, Col. 5. 16.) and/aid, HOLT^
HOLT, HOLY, is the Lord of Hofls ; which
feems to relate to each Perfon of the adorable
Tnnity dijli net ly, as has been before obferv*d
from the Context. And why may not the
Acclamation, Grace, Grace, at the Re-build-
ing of the Temple, peculiarly refped the
Holy Ghofc? It was He that had in much
Grace and Favour enabled Zenibbahel to
hrihg forth the Head-flone, ac<;ording to the
'^■ic./!^.6.TVord of the Lord, faying. Not hy Might nor by
Power, but by MY SPIRIT': And iince
this gave the Occafion to thofe Shoutings,
ver. 7. GRACE, GRACE, unto it, methinks we
are naturally led to consider chcfe Shoutings as
an extatick Admiration of, and' Fraifes for
ihe Grace which that Spirit had (hewn them
therein ;
C 515 ) .
therein : and as an Application to him with
the utmofl Fervour for a continuance of his
Grace and Favour to it.
He is particularly reprefented as the Ob-
jed of the Church's Prayer, when fhe deno-
minated Him from his Workings, and faid,
Aivake North Wind, and come thou Souths llovj ^^"^' 4*
upon 7ny Gard-my that the Spices thereof may fioiv
out. The-Srile of this Book of Solomon s Songy
is generally allow'd to be Figurati've. Spiri-
tual Things are all along reprefented in Al-
legorical Strains. But there is a Dodrinal
Meaning in the Allegories fuitable to their
refpective Natures ; and fpiritual Tranfac-
tions between Chrift and the Church are as
really intimated thereby, as if they were ex-
prefs'd in proper Terms. Now according
to the Genim of this Book,' the Church is
often reprefented as a Garden, and her Gra-
ces as Flowers zxid Spices; and agreeably the
Holy Ghoft is here reprefented as thQfFind,2Ls
He likewife is in other Parts of Scripture,
And under this Confideration of Him, with
refped to his peculiar Work, the Church
prays unto Him, that, like the North W/nd,
He would l^low upon her Garden with puri-
fying Influence to blaft her indwelling Cor-
ruptions, which anfwer to his Work as He is
a Spirit of Judgment and of Burni}ig to refine l^^* ^- 4^
us, and to confume our Iniqdities. And fhe
prays to Him that, like the Sotuh jViud^ He
would refrejj) her Garden, and cherifh his Gra-
ces planted in her, that they might thrive and
flozvout into every fuitable and acceptable Ex-
ercife, in all the Goodnef, Faith, Love, Joy,
Peace, and every other Grace, which are
the Fruits of the Spirit. The Metaphor fuits q^i^ ^^
the Holy Spirit and his Work: I can think ii/zj'
P 4 pf
of nothing that it can be apyly*d to fo agree-
ably as to him; and the Things here defire4
are fuch as peculiarly belong to him to be-
llow. He therefore is the Objed of this
Addrefs, and is diredly apply'd to by the
Church, in a way of Prayer, to work thefe
his fpecial Works by his e&Ciual Gales upon
her.
*Tis to this Spirit (as has be^n fhewn)
that the Apoflle direded his Prayer for the
*theJJalonians ; He being diftinguifhed from
the Father and Son, as the Lord, to whom
the Apoftle apply 'd for gracious and efFedu-
2-Thef.3.^^ Influences. The LorddireEi your Hearts mto
5, the Loue of God, and into the patient waiting for
Chrift. And at another Time, he mention'd
the Holy Ghoft under the Title of the Lord,
and apply'd for Bleffings in the fame manner
to Him, as he did to the Father and Son.
jjjjgf^^^iVbxi; God himfelf and our Father, and the Lord
It, ! z, J^c/^ Chrift, direU our vcaj to you ; and (fpeak-
f 3' ing of a third Perfon diftind from them) the
Lord make yon to increafe and abound in Love
one towards another, and towards all Men, even
Oi Vie do towards you ; to the end he may eftahlijh
your Llearts unhlameable in Holinefs before God,
even our Father, at the coming of our Lord ^efm
Chrifl zvith all his Saints. This is one Continued
ExprefTion of \}is Heart's Defire to God for
them, and the Lord here mentioned has been
fhewn to be the Holy Ghoft, as Perfonally di-
ftinguifhed from the Father, and from the
Lord Jefus Chrift. And he is mentioned as
the Objed of this Prayer, in the fame man-r
ner as the Father and Son are, fince one part
of it is as diredly addrefs'd to him as the o-
ther is to them,
AccQrd"^^
( 217 )
Accordingly the Apoftle hlejfed the Church
in the Name of the Holy Ghoft, as the Per-
Ibn from whom he ask'd Bieffings, as well as
from the Father and Son : "The Grace of the zCota^.
Lord Jefiis Chri/i, and the Love of Cod-, (vix,.^^*
the Father, as 'tis exprefs'd Gal. 1.3.2 T'tm,
I. 5. and T/>. i. 4.) and the Communion of the
Holy G.'oftjf be with you all^ Amen. In whofe
Name fhould Perfons be blefs'd, but in the
Name of God only ? And yet we are blefs'd
in the Name of the Holy Ghoft equally with
the Father and Son. The Apoftolical Blef-
lings fucceed and anfwer to thofe that were
ufed by the Priells of old, and were called
their putting the Name of Jehovah on the
Children of Ifrael. Thefe BlefFings feem to
me to have been of a ?«/V^ Nature: In their
Forrn^ an Application to the People ; but in
their Intention, an Application to God him-
felf to blefs them. On this xvife, faith God, NumK
ye fiall blefs the Children of Ifrael, f^y^*^^ ^^^^^ ^* ^'
them. The Lord blefs thee, and keep thee; the'^^^~^^''
Lord make his Face jhine upon thee, and he gra-
ciom unto thee ; the Lord lift up his Countenance
upon thee, and give thee Peace ; and they Jhall
put my Name on the Children of Ifrael, and I
will blefs them, Tho' they herein fpoke to
the People, yet 'twas in the Name of God,
that he might blefs them ; and in another
Place, their bleffing them is call'd their Prayer ;
which fhews that their Hearts afcended in a
way of Prayer to that God, in whofe Name
they blefs'd the People, that he would blefs
them indeed, "ihen the Priefls the Levites arofe, ^ Clion,
and BLESS'D the People, and their Voice was ^^' ^^^
heard, and their PRATER came up to his holy
Dwelling-place, even unto Heaven. The Man-
ner of their Bleffing was the fame with the
Apa-
( 3l8 )
Apoftle's ; and fince their's included Prayer
to Him in whofe Name they blefs'd, why
lliou'd not we think the Time oF the Apo-
ilie's.^ The Prieiis of Old blefs'd in the
Name of the Lord thnce repeated^ which the
Hebrew Dodors obferve was with a diffe-
rent Accent ^ and which Ainjvjonh fays deno-
ted the Myftery of T^hree Perfons in the
Godheads who are one 'Jeho'uah, whofe Name
is otie.-f Accordingly the Apoftle biefs'd in
the Name of the fame Jehovah as perfonali-
zed in the Father, Son and Holy Ghoft. Now
I dare appeal to the common Senfeof Man-
kind, whether there is not the moll manifeil:
Face of divine Worfhip paid to Jehovah in
the Priefls Bleffing Ifrael in his Name : And
as the Apoflle's Bleffing the C hiirch in the
Name of the Holy Ghofl, together with the
Father and Son, is exadly the fame kind of
religious Act, it feems to me that nothing
but a Defign to ferve an Hjpothefisy could
make any one doubt whether divine Wor--
fhip is therein paid to the Holy Ghoft. Yea,
whenever a good Man ferioufly, and in a re-
ligiciis Manner, willieth or defires that God
would be with, and blefs his Friend, there
is in the Nature of fuch Delires an afpiration
of Soul toward God, that he would blefs
""em ; as there apparently v^as in Jacoby who
Gen. 48. meaning Chrift, faid, 'The Angel that redeemed
^ * me from all evil, blefs the Lads. And we can't
fuppofe but this was the way of the Apo-
ftle's Heart, in his mofifolemn Defires of Blef-
fings from the Holy Ghoft, in the fame man-
ner as from the Father and Son ; and fo 'twas
f See Jbifwonh on Numl\ 6, za.
( 219 )
an evident paying divine Worfhip in a way
of Prayer equally to them all.
•In like manner the Apoille John invoked
the Holy Ghoft, as well as the Father and
Son, for Grace and Peace to the Churches :
Grace he to you^ and Peace from hhn whkh ?>, and Rev. i,
which zuaSy and which is to come, and from the 4, s»
feveri Spirits^ which are before his 'Throne ; and
from Je'.m c'hrifly dec. The f even Spirits denote
the Holy Ghoft, who by this ExprcfTion is
reprefented under the Variety and PerfeElion
of his Gitts and Operations, tho' in himfelf
he is but one Perfon, as is fhewn at large in
our Text and Context. Accordingly Chrift
is faid to have thefeven Spirits ; which anfwers Chap, 5.
to his having the Spirit not by Meafure. And J*
:the feven Spirits of God are faid to be fiJeni"^^^ " ^'
' Lamps of FIRE burning before the Throne ; Rev. 4„
which plainly anfwers to the Gifts of this 5.
Spirit to the Apoftles on the Day of Pente-
cofti when there appeared to them cloven Toyigiies Acts 2.
CIS of FIREy and fat on each of them, they be- 5, 4*
ing filed with the Holy Ghofl. Thefeven Spirits
are but once more mentioned, and then are
fpoken of zs feven Eyes, and feven Horns, de- i^cv. 5,
noting IVfdom and Power, and ace called the ^•
feven Spirits of God fent forth, as fufficient for
all inlightning and powerful Operations, into
all the Earth : And this exadly anfwers to the
Holy Ghoft's being cali'd the Spirit of God,
and to his being fent for fuch Operations.
So that 'tis exceeding plain to me, that the
feven Spirits can denote no other than the one
Spirit of God, who is reprefented in the
Fulnefs of his Gifts and Operations, by the
myftical Number Seven, and that particularly
with a regard to the SEVEN Churches of A-
iia, to which this Apoflk wrote, and for alj
of
( 220 )
of which this Spirit was as fiifficient, as if
there had been feven all-fufficient Spirits, that
each Church might have had one wholly and
alone to it felf. He is here mentioned be-
tween the Father and Son, which fhews that
his being mentioned lafl: in other Places, is
no Argument for his Inferiority, in Nature
or ejfenttal Glory, to them. And he is as di^
reElly apply'd to, or regarded, in this Prayer,
as the Fountain of Grace and Peace, in the
fame manner as they are ; which fhews that
He is the Objed of our Worfhip equalh with
them. And thck feven Spirits are never men-
tioned as Worjhipping among the Saints, An-
gels, and the whole Creation, in any part
of this Book, where alone this Expreffion is
to be found. From all this we may conclude,
that the Holy Ghoft is invoked equally with
the Father and Son, and fo is the Objed of
Rom.to.our Faith together with them ; for how jhall
i^. we call on him in zvhom we have not believed.
Once more, a folemn Oath or Jpfeal to God
as the Witnefs of our Hearts, who knows
the Truth or Falfhood of what we fay, is an
Ad of religious Worfhip ; And the Apoftle
paid this Worfhip to the Holy Ghofl. / fay
Rom. 9. ^^^^ Truth in Chrifi, fays he, / lye not, my Con-
!• fcience alfo bearing me Witnefs in the Holy Ghofl :
/. e. I fay the Truth as in the Prefence of
Chrift, and in the Prefence of the Holy
Ghofl, whom I call upon to Witnefs with my
Confcience that I lye not, and to whom I ap-
peal for the Truth of what I fay. TKis is
fuch an Ad of Worfhip paid to the Holy
Ghoft, as imports that he knows the Secrets
of the Heart, and \s the Avenger of Falfhood.
The manner of this Appeal \s much the fame
as this Apoftle at other Times ufed to the
only
( 221 )
only true and all-knowing God, faying, God Rom. i,
26 my !4^itnefs, and God is my Record. And ^-
this is elfewhere fpoken of as his calling God ^ Qqj\j]
for a Record on his Soul ; which fhews it is of i 5.
the Nature of a religious Oath, and confe-
quently is fuch an Ad of Worfhip as is pecu-
liar to the only true God ; For thou Jl a It fear Deut, 6;
the Lord thy Gody and /halt fwear by his i5«
Name.
If any fhould Objed, That fuch kind of
Worfhip as this, was paid to the holy Angels,
when the Apoftle charged Timothy before God, 1 Tim.j
and the Lord Jefus Chrifl, and the eleB Angels y ^*-
to obferve his Inflrudions : It may be an-
fwer'd, That there is a manifeft Difference in
thefe Cafes. The Apoftle delivered his Charge
in the Prefence of the Angels, not as Judges of
the Truth of what he was faying, nor as A-
njengers of Faljhood, in cafe he he had been
guilty of it j but as TVttneJfes of external A&Sy
and particularly of that folemn Charge he
was then giving to Timothy. The holy An-
gels, by their daily Attendances on the Heirs Heb, i.
of Salvation, are Spe(51:ators of their outward ^^'
Ads, and are critical Obfervers of what they
fay and do in religious Worfhip. Hence the
Apoftle urges Women to a decent Behaviour
in Publick Worfhip, hecaufe of the Angels ; i. i Cor,
e. becaufe they are prefent at the Worfhip of ^'* *^'
the Church, the manifold Wfdom of God be- Eph. ^
ing made known ftill more and more to them ^^*
thereby. The Angels therefore were proper
Witnejfes of this Charge of the Apoftle to Ti-
mothy ; and he might mention them its fuch,
to remind him that they would obferve how
he fhould behave according to it, and would
be prefent too, when that Behaviour fhould
be brought into Judgment. So that the A-
poftie*s
C 222 )
Hies charging "Timothy in the Prefence of God
and the holy Angels, is to be underftood much
after the fame manner, as we fhould have un-
derllood him, if he had been at that Time
in an Aflcmbly of Chriftians, and had faid, /
charge you in the Prejence of Gody and of this
JJJembly.
But the Cafe is quite different in the other
Inftance : For that 'is a {olcmn Protejlation
with refpe^i: to the Tnah of what the Apoftle
was then fpsaking, in an Appeal to the Ho-
ly Ghoft, as the Witnefs of it, and as one
who knew the ApoFtle's Confcience^ and would
give Judgment upon what he laid, according
to his Sincerity or Prevarication therein.
And this was an Ad of fuch divine Worfhip
paid to Him, as is fo peculiar to the Heart-
fearching God, that \would be mere Imper-
tinence to pretend to pay it to any other; be-
caufe no other can be a proper capable Judge
of the Sincerity of fuch an Appeal. Thus
upon the whole, it appears, that the Holy
Ghoil: is the Objed of divine Worlliip, as
well as, and together with, the Father and
Son ; and therefore he mufl needs be the on-
ly true Sovereign and Almighty God toge*^
thcr with them.
APPLICATION.
This may be of \\(^ to direB us in our U^or*
ffjip.
Wc are to condder the Father, Son and
Spirit, as the one God,who is thtObjedofour
Worfhip ; and when we moft particularly ad-
drefs any one Perfon in the Godhead, it
fiiould not be to the Exclusion of the other
Two,
( 325 )
Two, but incliifive of them all. For the
formal Reafon of the VVorfhip we pay to ei-
ther of them, is not, I humbly conceive, their
perfonal and relative Properties, but the ^Z-
vine Nature and ejjential Properties of it, which
all thofe Perfons are equally pofiefTed of Wc
are therefore to worfhip each and every one
of them as God, and to manage our Wor-
fhip in fuch a Manner as becomes finful fallen
Creatures in their Approaches to God. We
muft never think to ferve God fpiritually but
by the Spirit, nor acceptably but thro' Jcfus
Chrift ; and therefore our Addreffes are or-
dinarily to be made to God, or to the God-
head, con(ider'd in the Perfon of the Father,
thro' the Mediation of Jefus Chrift, by the
Afliftance of the Holy Ghoft.. And yet, as
the Reafons of Things fuggeft, and as we
find our Hearts influenc'd according to them,
we may addrefs our felves direclly to the
Son, or to the Holy Ghoft, and fo to the God-
head as perfonalized in them ; and that ef-
pecially when we are feeking for thofe things
which are by Difpenfation their peculiar
Work to do for us or in us. And which
ever Perfon we moft directly apply to, as the
Object of Worfliip, on the account of his di-
vine Nature and Perfedions, ftill the Media-
tor iat Office of Chrift mull: be kept in our
Eye, as the Medium of Accefs, and as the
Ground o^ Acceptance ; ana all our Pleas and
Expeftations are to be only on that account.
SERMON
( 224 )
SERMON VIII.
1 COR. xii. 11.
But all thefe worketb thai one and the
felf^fame Spirit^ dividing to everj
Man fever ally as he will.
I Have gone thro' feveial Heads of Argu-
ment to evince that the Holy Ghoft is the
Sovereign and Almighty God : And fhall
now fhut up that part of my Defign by ad-
ding,
Ar^. 6 Sixthly, A VRACl'ICAL Proof taken from
EXPERIENCE,
Experience is a convincing Evidence to>
them that have it. When it is clear and
plain, there is no difputing againft it : And
fo far as the Perfons that have it are to be
credited iii their Report, and fo far as the
Effcds of what they declare to be their Ex-
perience appears to others, it ought to have
its Weight with them. God did many things
to and for his People of old, that they by
their own Experience might know that he is
indeed the Lord. Thus, fpeaking of tlie
Taber-
C 225 )
Tabernacle, Hefaid, There mil I meet withth^
Children of Ifrael, and the T'abernade jhall /^fc-Exod-zp
fanEiified by my Glory, and I vjill dwell a- 4^>— 4^«
mong the Children of Ifraely and will be their
God ; and they jhall KNOW I'M AT I AM
THE LORD THEIR GOD. The like may
eaiily be obferved in feveraJ other Piacesjand
on other Occafions. Hence He appealed to
his Peoples own Experience to prove that he
is what he has declar'd himfelf to be, the So-
vereign and Almighty God. For the Lord [ball
judge his People, and repent himfelf for his 6V-Deut.u.
'vantSy when he feeth that their Power is gone. >'^' ^7-
^ And he Jhall fay. Where are their Gods, ^^' '
their R?ck in whom they trufled.' SEE
now that /, even I am he, and there is no God
with me ; / kill, and 1 make alive ; / wounds
and I heal ; neither is there any 'that can deliver
out of my Hand, Sec. And by their Experi-
ence of what He did among them. He gain'd
the fulleft Teftimony within their own Bo-
foras unto his only true Deity. Hear me, O
Lord, faid Elijah^ hear me, that this People may ^ xirgs
KNOW that thou art the Lord God, and that »8. 57,
thou hafi turned their Heart back again, T'hen^^^^ 19-
the Fire of the Lord fell, and confumed the Burnt-
offering, and the Wood, and the Stones, and
the Duft, and licked up the Waiter that was in the
Trench, And when all the 'cople faw it, they
fell on their Faces, and faid, THE LORD HE
IS THE GOD, T'HE LORD HE IS THE
GOD.
Something of the like way of arguing may
be ufed to prove the fupreme Deity of the
Holy Ghoft. His almighty, gracious and
effectual Influences on his Peoples Hearts,
are living and abiding Credentials of his
Godhead. Every one of them are fo many
Q. {land-
( 2^6 )
•{landing Proofs of divine Grace, to the
endlefs'Praife of its glorious Author. Inflead
I^a. $S- QJ fjjQ q'hoYH jhali come tip the Fir-tree, and in-
^^' fiend of the Brier fl)all come up the Mp'tk-tree^
and it fljall be to the Lord for a Namey for an
everlafiing Sign, that jh all not be cut off. The
Way that the Gofptl has made in the World
under tiie blcfTed Spirit's victorious Agency,
and the fupernatural divine Effeds, which he
has wrought in all Ages by it, are ftrong
Tcftimonials to his Deity. When we behold
or refled on thefe, as his peculiar Operati-
ons, we have Evidence fufficient tojuft.fy the
Acclamation, if, meaning Hmy we fay, T'he
Lord J He ts the God. But that which I here
intend, is fomething more peculiar to the
feeling Obfervaiion of fuch as ktiow the Grace
of God in Truth.
When they experience the inlightning,
quickning and renewing Operations of the
Spirit, they feel his Power as the Power of
God. The eflPedual Changelic makes by his
Word upon their Hearts and Lives, con-
vinces them that He is God. The Li^ht He
conveys to their dark Mmds to give them the
Knowledge of themfelvesand of Chrift ; the
fweet and powerful Turn He gives to their
perverfe and oblHnate IVil/sy which before
were fixedly bent againil: God and Godli-
nefs, and would not be prevail'd on by any
Means, to yield to Him ; the happy Altera-
tion He makes upon their depraved JffeBions,
to bring them off from Sin, Self, and the
World, and to fet 'em upon God, and Chrift,
and heavenly and holy Things ; the Peace
He fpeaks to their diftrefs'd Souls fometimes
in a Moment ; the Hope and Joy He raifes
within them, to expel their guilty Fears and
over-
r 227 )
overwhelming Sorrows; and the Strength and
Vigour He infpires them with, for Newnefs
of hifi: and Converfation, to walk humbly
and holily with God, to fiibdue remaininf:^
Corruptions, to defeat the Temptations that
always iifed to be too hard for them, to
break the Snares that always iifed to intangle
them, and to do and fuffer the Will of God
with Patience and Delight, in the mod diili-
GUit felf-denying Inftances of SubmiiTion and
Obedience, even to the Lois of all Things
pertaining to the Body, and of Life it felf :
Thefe are a Cloud of 'VitneiTes, and fo ma-
ny Dcmonftrations to a Man's own Confci*
ence of the divine Power and Authority of
the Holy Ghoft. Thefe are Operations which
are in Scripture ufually afcnbed peculiarly to
Him, and are look'd upon 3.$' His, by the
happy Subjeds of them ; and the Light and
Energy, with which they are feen and felt,
carry fuch Evidence of a Day of Power upon
their Hearts, that they can't but think that
the blefled Spirit, who doth all thefe, muil:
needs be the great and fovereign God.
Many Perfons have felt the Power of the
Spirit, in the Adminiflrations of Gofpel-
Ordinances, as the Power of God ; fo that,
from their own Feeling, they have been even
forced to fall down, and fay. Surely God is
in this Place ; as the Apoftle fpeaks on occa-
fion of the Power of the Holy Ghoft put
forth on the Heart by the Preaching of the
Gofpel. If all Prophefyy and there cometh //^iCor.?4,
one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is^^* ^^'
convimed of all, he is judged of all : And thm
the Secrets of his Heart are made jyianifeft, and fo
falling down on his Face, he willworjhip God, and
Q__ a report
C 228 )
report that God is in you of a Truth, The A-
poflle fpeaks of this as an EfFed wrought by
yi^2insoi Propbefjing or Preaching, in Oppo-
fition to a miraculous (peaking with l^ongues.
Now it has been {hewn, that all the Power of
the Miniftry on the Heart, is properly the
Power of the Holy Ghoft : And accordingly
that Work upon the Heart, which convinced
them that God was there, was peculiarly his
]oh. 1 6 W^oi^k w.ho convinces the World of Sin, and
Righteotifnejs, and Judgment, It was from the
Alteration they felt within themfelves, that
they concluded God was in fuch AfTemblieSa
they being convinced that nont but God
himfelf could make fuch Difcoveries of their
Hearts, and work in fuch a transforming
manner upon them. And fince the convert-
ed Heathens immediately knew, by thefe
Operations on their Hearts, that God was
with the Miniilration of his Word, they who
are acquainted with the plain Dodrine of
the Scripture, which evidently reprefents the
Holy Spirit as the moft immediate Operator
on our Hearts, can't but be thereby aiTured
in themfelves that He is God. Or i^ any
fhould underftand this Conviction of the
Heathens to be by fome miraculous Effeds,
which they might behold inChriftian Ailem-
blies ; (lill, as the Spirit was the immediate
Worker of them. He mufi: be the God, who
they were convinced by thofe Works was in
that Place j becaufe that Convidion arofe
from Apprehenfions, that he who wrought
fuch Works cou'd be no other than the moft
high God.
The more we live under this Spirit's Influ-
ences, and the more we feel and are experi-
mentally acquainted with his efficacious O-
perations.
(359)
peratjons, the more firmly perfiiaded and
fettled we ordinarily are in our own Minds
about his Deity : And the \q(s Experience
we have of lively, fpiritual, and holy Exerci-
{qs of Heart by the gracious Prefence of this
Spirit with us, the more apt we many times
are to be Oiaken in oar Belief of his Godhead.
I think I am not miftaken in this Point of
Experience; and I dare appeal to the inward
Senfe of your own Hearts, tf fo be ye haie^ Pet. 2,
tafled that the Lord is gracious, whether you have ^*
not the mod: high and honourable Thoughts
of the God-like Power of the Holy Ghqi^i
when you are moll: fenfibly favoured with nis
gracious AifAanccs. Do you then think Him
to be only a Minifter, an Angel, or a Mejfen-
ger from God ? Do you then think Him to
be a Creature ? Do you then think the happy
Alteration you find in the Senfations and
Actings of your Souls is wrou|hc by any but
God, or that the Power ypu itt\ is any lefs
than that of the Great and Almighty God
himfelf? Do you not at fuch Seafons enter-
tain and regard him as God^ or as a divine
Perfon, who in his workings on your Hearts
puts forth the infinite Power of God ? And
if this is the moft prevailing Judgment you
have of Him when you are under his mod
prevailing Operations, I dare farther appeal
to you, whether you don't really think that
this is the Judgment you ought to abide by,
and that this is far more likely to be true,
than any Notions contrary to this, which
may at other times arife in your Mu:ids, ei-
ther thro' fome unaccountable Temptation,
or thro' the Intanglements of fubtile Dif-
putes, when you are not under fuch a maqi-
feft Condud of this Spirit, teaching you the
0^3 Things
( 230 )
Things concerning himfelf, by and according
to his Word.
As far as I am acquainted with my felf or
others, I am perfuadtd that I have the Ver-
did of the Conlciences of the Generality of
Chriftians at their beft Seafons, for the Divi-
nity of the Holy Ghoil:. And can it be fup-
pofed that the Sprnt of T^ruthy v^ho is Truth
it fclJF, and is employed in teaching Truth, and
can teach us nothrag but Truths fhoiild by his
inlightning and impreffive Operations upon
opr Minds and Hearts, ufually lead us into
iinijlakeU) and even blafphemous Notions con-
cerning Himfelf ? Can it be imagined, that '
when we are moft under his Influences, we
lliould be moft mifguided by theni ? God for-
bid that we fhould have fo unworthy Ap-
prehenfions of the Integrity of this blefled Spi*
tit. Yea, on^^the other hand, fince at fuch
times we are moft apt to believe his God-
head, 'tis mofi natural and.juil: to fuppofe
that, if He is not really God, He would
then more efpecially take Care to undeceive
us, as the Apoftles did the People, when they
took them for Gods, becaufeof the wonder-
ful Works that were wrought by their
V n Means. When Paul and Barnabas were at
8 1^, 3. L>y?^^7j ^nd a Cripple was miraculoufly heal-
* ed at the Apoftle's Word, and the People on
that account thought the Gocls were come down
to them in the Ltkenefs of Men, and thereupon
attempted to offer them divine Honours, they
rent their Clothesy and ran in among the People^
^"^ crying out, and faying. Sirs, why do ye thefe
things ? we affo are Men of like Paffons with
you, and preach unto you that ye jhould turn from
thefe Vanities unto the living God, And when
the
ver. I
15-
C 251 )
the Apoflle John feem'd to be mifled by the
Granduie oi: an Angel's Appearance to him,ReV' ip«
fo as to oft-'er him religious Worfliip, the An-*^*
gel immediately undeceived him, and faid.
See thou do it not ; / a?n thy Ftilow-fervanty
auJ of thy Brethrerij that have the lejiirnony of
Jefns ; vjoYjbip God. How much more may
we fuppofe the good Spirit of God would
take fome Methods with our Hearts, to turn
off our Apprehenfionsof tiis being God, on
the account of his powerful Workings within
us, i^ He really was not that God, which
by means of thefe Operations we are com-
monly induced to apprehend Him to
be.
And fince all the Tnlightnings and Impref-
fions, which the Holy Ghoft makes upon
our Hearts, are by and according to the
Scripture, none of them being ever contrary
to, nor ordinarily without the u(q of the
written Word, it appears very plain to me,
that the Doctrine of the Sprnts Gcdheady
taught 4nd confirmed by thefe inward Illumi-
nations and Impreliicns, is the very Dochim
of the Scripture y which was indited by the
fame Spirit, and by Means of which he work$
in this manner upon our Hearts.
The Power of this /'n/f?/t:^/ Argument i$
fo ftrong, that you may take it for a general
Rule, coniirm*d by inconteftible Fact, that
they, who moft believe the Necefftty and Effi-
cacy of the Spirit's Operations? univerfally
believe his Deity ; and they, who deny his
Deity, ufually think and fpeak but 77ieanly of
the NeceiTity and EfHcacy of his Operations,
■and too many of them profanely deride 'em
as Enthiifiajmy and exclude 'em from Chri-
ftian Religion. But if any of you can't be
Q^ ^ con-
( 230
contented with a Religion, that is not ani-
mated by the Spirit of God ; and if the Im-
preiTions you have from Him lead your
Hearts to receive and regard Him as G(?^,that
Experience is a living Witnefs to your Con-
sciences of his Godhead ; and you may as
well fufpedt that 'tis al/ a Delufion, as that
He, who perfuades you of his Deity by it,
is not God. This brings us to the third ge-
neral Head concerning the Importance of this
Dod:rine, to which I fhall proceed, after I
have made one fhorc Improvement of this
pradical Argument, and that is this ;
APPLICATION.
Let m labour after an EXPERIENCE of the,
Holy Spirit's GRACIOUS and EFFECtUAL
Operations on cur Hearts,
Without thefe Operations upon us, what-
ever Notions we ha-.e of the Spirit, or what-
ever we believe concerning Him, 'twill not
Job. 3.5. favingly profit us. For except a Man he BORN
'OF T'HE SPIRIT, he cannot enter tnta
the Kingdom of God, And if ever we are fa-
ved, it mufl: be accord? ng to God's Mercy, or
free Grace in Chrift, ly the wafiing of Regene-
rn,l,^, ration, and RENEWING OF THE HOLT
GHOST. It is not Notions of the Spirit in
our Heads, but the Work of the Spirit in our
Hearts, to inlighten them with the Know-
ledge of Chrift, and to turn them to God
thro' Him, that will prove effedtual to Salva-
tion at laft. If we have a Heart-acquaint-
ance with his efficacious Workings by his
Word, This will fecure our Souls for Eterni-
ty ; and while we are in the way. This will
cut fliort all Pifputcs in our felves about the
P^eahtj
( 233 )
Reality oF his Godhead, at leaft fo long as
we are ut-dtr his moft remarkable InHuen-
ces. Whiie others weary themfelves with
critical Difputes about the Deity or' the Ho-
ly Ghoit, the humble ferious Chriftian, who
lives and walks in the Spirit, will be moft at
Reft in his own Bofom about it. It is a good Heb. i^.
thing that the Heart be eftablijhed with Grace, as 9»
a Prefervative againft being carried about with
divers and grange DoElrines,
Let none therefore take up with Spiritlefs
Notions about the Spirit, nor with flight and
ineffedual Touches on their Affedions : But
look to it, that you have a real Experience,
and as evidential as may be, of a thorow
Change in Heart and Life ; and, under a
Senfe of your own utter Infufficiency to make
this Change upon your felves, look to the
Holy Spirit to make it upon you. Prefs after
this Change, and after him to work it in
thee, as well as thou can'fl, and as far as
thou findeft thy felf ftrengthned fo to do.
Don't reft contented without his Renewings;
but fettle it as a fure Conclufion, That un- Rom. 8.
lej's you have the Spirit of Chrifi for this Pur- 9»
pofe, you are none of his.
I now proceed to the Uft general Head, and
that is to confider,
'The great IMPORTANCE of the DoEirine III.
of the Deity of the Holy Ghofl,
Having proved his Perfmality at the Be-
ginning of thefe Difcouries, I (hall moftly
take that for granted now, and fuppofing him
to be a Perfon, fhall reprefent the Importance
pf the Doftrin^ of his Godhead.
This,
( 2-34 )
This is not a Point of Indifference, in
which we may as wcW believe one way as
the other ; bat 'tis a Point that runs thro' our
Religion^ ana gives a vafrly diftcrent Turn
to it:^ accoiaing as this is received on one
hand, or rejected on the other. It can't but
be of exceeding great Moment, whether the
Spirit ot Gpd is to have a continuing Hand
in our Religion or no ; and if he is, whether
He is really the great and fovereignGod, and
is to be regarded and treated as fuch by us or
no. I fhall therefore, by his Afliitance, en-
deavour to fet out the Import ance of the Doc-r
trine of his Divinity in feveral Refpeds, in
the moft plain and ufeful Manner I can.
Firll, 'T/J of great Importance with refpeB to
the ONLTT'RUE GOD in general
I. If the Holy Ghoil: is not, together with
the Father and Son, the only Sovereign and
Almighty God, there muft be more Gods than
vne.
I hope it has been. fairly proved, that all
that is ejjential to our Notions of God, and
fufftcient to diftinguifli Him from all that are
not God, is afcrib'd in Scripture to the Holy
Ghoft ; and what is this but to prove Hini
to be truly God i* To fay that, notwithftand-
ing all the divine Peculiars which are afcrib'd
to Him, He is not really God at all, is to
abufe Mankind with equivocal Sounds,
to renounce the common Meaning of the
pi aineft Words and Propofitions, and to fling
all our Ideas of God and Creatures into the
iitmofl: Confufion. For who can be faid to
be God, ii: He is not God, who is defcrib'd
in Scripture by thofe very Names^ 'titles^ At-
trihuteh
( 335 )
tributes. Works y and Worjhip, which are the
Scripttire'Def:r'ption of the only true God, and
are abfokitely incompatible with the mofl ex-
alted Notions of a Creature, and are accord-
ingly deny VI to belong to any but God ? And
this has been fhewn to be the Scripture-De-
fcnpaon of the Holy Ghoft. Moreover, it
has likewif^ been fhewn, that God, in no
Confideration ot Him, is ever faid to be the
Cod of the Holy Ghoft-, and if the Holy Ghoft
has not a God, He himfclf muft be the true
and fovereign God : For no Abfurdity can
be greater, than to fuppofe that any Creature
i]]Ould be fo exalted as to have no God ; or
that any but the Supreme God himfelf can be
faid not to have a Sovereign God.
TheHoIy Ghoft therefore mu ftbe either the
one true God^or anotkerxxutGod ditlerent from
the only true One. To fay that He, together
with the Father and Son, is the one true God,
is to own what has been hambly pleaded for.
And to fay that He is a true God, and not
the only trtie God, is (befides the Contradidi-
on in Terms) to aflert a Plurality of true
Gods : Or, to fay that He is the true God^
and not the fame God with the Father and
Son, is either to fay that neither of them is
God, or elfe that there really are feveral
Gods ; neither of which- is, in a ftri6t and
proper Senfe, a God to the other. But as a
Suppofition of more real or true Gods than
one, is infinitely dijhomurahle to the one So-
vereign God ; fo 'tis diredly contrary to the
plaineft Principles of Reafon, and to the cur-
rent Do6trine of the Scriptures, in which the
great Jehovah abundantly allures us there is,
np God befides himfelf. /, fays the Lord,
am
( 236 )
•45' am he ; before me there vj as no God formed, neit
. ther [ball there he after me. And, / am the
^* ' fir fly and lam the lafl^ and befides me there w no
God. ^— Is there a God befides 7ne ? Tea^ there
is no God ; I know not, any.
But if the Holy Ghoft is God of the fame
undivided Effence, Power and Glory, with the
Father and Son, the U^ity of the Godhead a-
bides, and all thefe three Perfons are toge-
ther but one divine Being, which is the fanie as
to fay, they are but one God, and there is none
befides Him. Butfome Thoughts of this fort
t P.T67 were purfued at greater Length, when I dif-
— 171. ' cours'd on Chrtft's Godhead-t
2. If the Holy Gholl; is not God; God is a
very different Being from what the Scripture repre*
(ems Him to be.
That the one God revealed ih Scripture is
the Father, Son and Holy Ghoft, appears
very plain, in that (as has been frewn) the
very fame divine Names, Nature, Profertiesy
IVorksyZnAWorjlip, are in the fame proper
Senfe afcribed to them all -, and what is faid
abfolutely of the One God in fome Places, is
in the fame Senfe of the Expreflion apply'd
in others, fometimes to one, and fometimes
to another of thefe Perfons, as that God of
whom they were firft fpoken.
This Trinity of Perfons appears by Scrip-
ture-account to be as neceffary to the very
Being of God, as any Perfection that can be
named ; for all the Exiftence of the Godhead
is only and equally in thefe Perfons. Nor is
it fuppofable that it can exift in any other
manner than it doth, and confequently any
otherwife than in them. Hence to alter the
Scripture-account of God, to the Exclufion
of
C 2?7 )
of any of thefe adorable Perfons from the
Godhead, is to make a bold Alteration in the
revealed Idea of God, and is to fay that the
Deity has not fuch an Exiftence as Revelati-
on fays it has. This is to refufe to believe
God's own Teilimony concerning what He
is, and to fet up our natural Notions of him
againft it. And how infinitely great muft the
Affront be to him, thus to renounce his Au-
thority, and to take up Notions of him con-
trary to thofe which that Authority binds
upon us ; becaufe what he hys of himfelf is
too fublime to comport with the fcanty Mea-
fures of our Reafon ? And how provoking
muft it be to Ungod him in one or more of
the incomprehenlible Subfiftences, which are
fo neceifary to his Being ? But thefe Things
were alfo farther urged on a like Occafion,
with refped to Chnfi's Godheadf t P* '^^5
3. If the Holy Ghoft is not God, a great
part of God's own peculiar Glory is given, and
is in danger of being given, to one that is not
God.
The "Titlesy Attribtites, Works, and WorJIjip,
which have been fhewn to belong to the Ho-
ly Ghoft by Scriptural-attributions of them
to him, are too grand and ftately to be gi-
ven to the moft exalted Creature. They
would fet him too much upon a Level with
the only true God, and indanger our giving
that Glory to another, which is due to the
great God alone, and which he has declar'd
his utmoft Jealoufy about, as it infinitely be-
came him to do. /, C^ys He, am the Lord, ira.42.8.
that is ?ny Name, and my Glory will I not give
to ANOTHER, neither my Fraife to graven /-
C 33§ )
mages. And I'hou Jhalt worjhip no other God }
tyiod.^for the Lord whofe Name is Jeakusy is a jealoia
M- Cod,
Nowfuppofing theHolyGhoflnottobeGod,
can it be thought that this jealous God fhou'd
convey fuch Characters of his Godhead to
him, as fhould make him vie with himfelf in
any Perfedions ot his Nature, and fhould
render him as uncapable of being alter'd by
God, as God himfelf is of being alter'd by
him ? Can it be for God's Glory, that any
other Being fhould be dignify 'd at fuch an
immenfe rate, and made fo like to God, that
none but the mofl: fubtile Heads can diftin-
guifh him from God himfelf j and yet the ge-
nerality of ferious Chriftians fhould be led by
the Magnificence of his divine Charaders to
pay divine Honours to him as God ? The
more excellent a Being the Holy Ghoft is,
the more likely we are to be drawn into the
moft religious Obfcrvances of Him, as the
Church in Fail has generally been m all Ages
down to this Day. But whatever are the ex-
alted Excellencies and Dignities of his Be*
ing, yet if he really is not God, we ought
no more to pay divine Honours to him than
to the moil defpicable Objed m the whole
Creation ; becaufe God has declared^ and
the eternal Reafons of Things require, that
none fhould have fuch Honours paid him but
H'nnfelf. Hence all the divine Honour that
is paid to the Holy Ghoft, in Cafe he is not
the trueGodjis a Robbery of that God,and a
giving his peculiar Glory to one who is not
God. And fince there is fuch prevailing Evi-
dence in Scripture, as we have heard, /or/
and no Intimations againfl oar paying religi-
ous Honour to the bleffed Spirit, God certain-
( 239 )
ly has not fufficiently guarded the peculiar
Honour of his own Name, according to his
unyielding Jealoufy tor it, if the Holy Ghoft
is not to have it paid to him as God.
But if he is, together with the Father and
Son, the only great and fovereign God, what-
ever Glory he has in himfelf, and whatever
divine Honours we pay him on that account,
'tis not a giving the only true God's Glory
to another, but a centering it all wholly and
alone in that God himielf, On this Suppo-
fition all the Holy Ghofl's Glory is in the
propereft Senfe the Glory of the only true
God, and all our religious Acknowledgments
of it, and Actings toward him according to
it, are fo many Ads of divine Honour paid
to God himfelf alone.
And as to the Glory of God in our Salva-
tion, (which he feems to take themoflcom*
placential Delight in, of all the Glory he
ever has difplay'd) if the Holy Ghoft is not
God, a great part of that Glory is given to
another. For the Glory of applying to us all
that the Father and Son have done for us,
that is, the Glory of making all that they
have done about our Salvation effeBual unto
us, or of making us Partakers of it, doth in
a very peculiar manner belong to the Holy
Ghoft. This is a Glory too indeanng, and
too great to be given away from God, or to
be fhared in by any other. This part of Sal-
vation-Work is mentioned as peculiar to
God, and as defign'd by him to illaftrate the
Praifes of his Grace towards us. God, who £p|- ^^
is rich in Mercy, for his great Love where-d^ith he 4, 5, 7,
loved m, even when we ivere dead in Sins, hath
quicken d tis together with Chrift ; (Jjy Grace ye are
Javed) ' ihat in the Ages to come, be might
pew
C 240 )
Jhexv the exceeding Riches of his Grace in his
Kindnefs towards us^ thro Jefm Chrift. Arid
yet this quickening Work, which is to recom-
mend Gcd to us in the exceeding Riches of
his Grace and Kindnefs towards us, is moft
immediately the Work of the Holy Ghoft as
Joh» 6. the proper Efficient of it. For the Words I
^S* Speak unto you, fays Chrift, they are Spirit, or
are accompany'd by orfill'd with the Energy
of the Spirit, and fo they are Life.
How fweet and engaging a Work of God
is it, to apply himfeif in a way of Grace to
us, to quicken dead Souls, inlighten dark
Minds, gently and effedtually draw ftubborn
rebellious Wills, to melt frozen Affedions,
and to fill us with divine Confolaiigns ? How
dear is God to us, in and for his working
thefe Things within us? And what high and
valuing Thoughts have we of the Holy Ghoft
on fuch Occalions as tJie Sovereign Worker
of them in us, according to the Scripture ?
It can't be f:iir!y dcny'd but all thefe Things
depend on his Agency upon us ; and, consi-
dering the God-like manner m which it has
been fhewn he works 'em, he can't but fliare
in the Glory of them. Bat furely, i^ he is
not God, this is to make him /hare with the
only true God in a moft exalted and tender
Point of Honour, in a Point too high and
valuable for God to futfer any Partners in it
with himfeif.
But it the Holy Ghoft is God, the Glory
of his Work, as well as of the Father's and
Son's, is the undivided Glory of the one on-
ly true God. Whatever Glory he dify\2iys in
the Work of Salvation, it is God himfeif that
difplaysif, and accordingly whatever Glory
belongs or is given to him on that account,
it
C 241 )
it belongs and is given to God himfelf. For
God elTentiaJIy confider'd, is as diredly and
immediately glonfy'd in the Spirit's Glory,
as in the Father's and Son's Glory. And to
upon the Foot of the Godhead of the Holy
Ghoft, the intire Glory of Salvation-works
from Firft to Laft, from the Foundation to
the Top-ftone, is Glory redounding wholly
and alone to God, (to the Exclufion of all
Creatures from any ftiare in it) v/ith Shoutings^
Grace, Grace.
If therefore we value the Glory of God, and
would be tenderly concern'd for it : If we
would have the Glory of his Being, and
of all Salvation-work referved intirely and
peculiarly unto him only, the Doctrine of the
true Deity of the Holy Ghoft muft needs be
of great Importance in our Account.
Secondly, 'Tis of great Importance with
reffeEi to CHRIST in {articular,
I. If the Holy Ghoft is not God, we fiall
loje the Godhead of Chrifl.
There are either T/^r^^ Perfons in the God-
head, or theie is but One, This is, I think,
generally infifted on, on all Hands. They
who" deny the Deity of the Holy Ghoft, ufu-
ally contend that there is but One divine Per-
fin ; and they who alTert his Deity, maintain
that there are Three. And where any Plura-
lity of Perfons in the undivided Godhead is
allow'd of, they are commonly own'd to be
Three. If therefore there are no more Per-^
fons in the Godhead than One, /. e. it there
are no more divine Subfiftents than one, who
have one and the fame undivided Godhead>
and yet diftindly bear perfonal Characters,
R and
( 240
and fland in perfonal Relations to each o-
ther, then the Son is excluded from being
God, as well as the Holy Ghofl. But if there
are more fuch divine Subfiftents in the undi-
vided Godhead than one, then all the Argu-
ments that prove the Holy Gholt to be one
of thofe Subiiftents, are fo many Proofs that
the Son is another, and confequently that the
Son as well as the Spirit is one God with the
Father. Yea, if the Spirit is God, the Son
can't but be fo too, bccaufe he is the Spirit
of t\\tSony who eternally proceeds from him,
and is in an agreed Difpenfationy^T?^ by him
as well as by the Father ^ which could not
be, if the Spirit is God, and the Son is not
God likewife.
On the other hand, the fame fort of j^rgu-
ments that fupport the Godhead of thrifty
fupport the Godhead of the Spirit. And
many of the fame OhjeHions that are urged
againft one, are likewife urged againft the
other. So that the Doctrines of both (land
or fall together ; and if we lofeone, we fhall
"find it exceeding difficult to maintain our
Faith in the other. Hence all the Importance
of the Dodrine of Chrift's Godhead, and of
the Godhead of the Spirit, are mutually
wrought into, and interwoven with one ano-
ther ; and therefore i^ there is any in that^
there muft be reduclively the fame in this, fo
far as the Divinity of both thefe Perfons is
infeparable from each other. And furely it
can't be a fmall matter in your account, whe-
ther Chrift, )Our Saviour^ is God, or no.
2. If the Holy Ghoft is not God, Chrifly
as Mau^ is khvlden to a Creature for his Human
Nature^
C 243 )
Naturey and Ojfice- Qualifications in that Na-
ture.
That the Holy Ghoft was the next imme-
diate Former of Chnft's Human Nature, and
of all its hoJy Furniture of" Gifts and Graces
for his Office- Work, has been already fhewn.
'Twas he that did by his own Power and moft
immediate 'l'o.W^^7 Agency, n^^ke that Man
which the eternal IVord aflum'd into Perfonal
Union with himfelf; and 'twas he that by
the fame fort of Agency throughly qualified
that Man for the Work to which, in his Per-
fonal Union with the Son of God, he was
call'd. The Father and Son in his Original
Nature, aded therein by the Holy Ghoff, and
together with him ; but the Energy that pro-
duced thefe Effetts, was as much hu as their s^
and He exerted it, tho' in a different man-
ner inconceivable to us, ytt with the lame
proper Efficiency and divine Sovereignty
with themfelves ; and therefore Chnfl, as
Man, was as much obliged to Him for thofe
Operations, as to either the Father, or him-
felf, confider'd in his Divine Nature.
The Virgin Mary was paffive in the Pro-
dudion of Chrift's Human Nature. His Bo-
dy was form'd of her Subflance, it being made Gsl.4. u
of a Woman ; but her Will did nothing to
produce the Eifecl:, tho' it approved of it. She
was infinitely obliged to him as God, that
he would affume a Body of her Subftance
into fuch an exalted Union with himfelf^ but
he was no more beholden to her for his Bo-
dy, than Adajn v/as to the Dufl of the Earth
out of which his Body was lorm'd. All ihe
Obligation was to the God that form'd it. The
holy Angels mini(ierd to Ghrifl: at the End of .^
his Conflicts with Satan : Then the Devil lea*
R 2 ii(th
( =44 )
Mat. 4. veth him^ and heboid ANGELS came and MI-
**• NISTRED unto him. They probably brought
fome Food to him in the WiJdernefs ; for,
ver. z. having fafled forty Days and forty Nights^ he
was hungry. An Angel was likewife laid to
ftrengthen him, while he was in his Agony,
praying to his Father in the Garden, and fay-
ing^ Father^ if thou be willing, let this Cup
Luk, iz.p^fi f'om me ; neverthekjs not my Will hut thine
iji, /{I, he done. And, hereupon, there appeared to him
an Angel from Heaven ftrengthening him. At
this Seafon the divine Nature withheld its
comforting Influences from the Human ;
Chrift thereupon felt the moft inexprellible
Dolors in apprehenfions of the terrible Death
that lay before him. In this Diftrefs he
pour'd out his Soul to God for Relief; and
in anfwer to his Prayer, an Angel was dif-
patch'd from Heaven, and probably brought
fome Meilage to Chrift, relating to Affift-
ance in, and glorious Iffues of his Sufferings,
which encouraged him to go thro' them, how
tremendous foever they might prove. But
thefe Angels apparently aded in the Quality
oi Servants, as they are often declared to be :
And tho' Chrift fo deeply humbled himfelf
for our Sakes, as to be made for a Seafon,
with refped to his Human Nature, a little
B^'^'^^l' lower than the Angels, and fo by Difpenfatioii
that Nature needed their Ailiftance : yet he
was not fo much obliged to them for what
they did to him, as an abfolute Lord is to
his Servants for what they do to him : For
Chrift, on the account of his Original Na-
ture, has a more hill and abfolute Power o-
ver the Angels, and a higher Right to all
their Service, than the greateft ^ian upon
Earth
( ?45)
Earth c^n have to the Service of his meaneft
Slave.
But the Holy Ghofl is never fpoken of as
a Si'vvant either to the Father or to the Son ;
but is reprefented as ading, with refped to
the Man Jefus, like the Sovereign God by his
own Power and Will : iVnd therefore, Chrift's
HiiinanNature was really under infinite Obli-
gations to him ; It owed its al/, except /^r-
fonal uniting, to him. How far the Holy
Spirit might be concerned in uniting Chrift's
two Natures;, we can't pretend to determine :
But it feems as i^ affuming the Human Nature
into Perfonal Union with the Divine, which
I take to be the uniting Ad,- was a perfonal
Ad of the Son himfelf toward himfelf in his
original Nature, an Ad which immediately
refpeded only his own divine Perfon, and
therefore was moft immediately and emi-
nently exerted by the Son himfelf Hence
we are told that, Forafmuch as the Children Utb.z,
are partakers of Flejh and Blood, He (Chrift) 14, 16.
alfo himfelf took part of the fame, ■ ■ «* » . For
n)erily he took not on him the Nature of Angels,
but he took on him, or * laid hold upon, the H^^a^-
Seed of Abraham. The Ad of Affuming is^^^t'^Tw/*
hereby afcribed to the Son himfelf • but whe-
ther this was done without the intermediate
Agency of the Spirit, I dare not be pofitive.
But fetting afide this, Chrift's Human Na-
ture moft immediately owed its Formation
and Endowments to the Spirit, as the proper
and moft immediate Author of them.
Now it don't look very confiftent with the
Honour of fo great an Qne, as Chrift is, to
fuppofe that he was under fuch infinite Ob liga-'
tions to the Holy Ghoft, with refped to his
Human Nature and Office-Qjjalilication's,
.0.5 and
(240
and AiTiftance, if the Holy Ghofl is but a
Creature. It feems to be altogether unwor-
thy of the infinite Dignity of Chrift's divine
Nature, to fufi'er his other Nature, which is
perfonally his own, to be fo highly indebted
to any but God himfelf. Nor doth it feem
to comport with the vaft Dignity which his
Human Nature it felf was raifed to, in the
firft Moment of its Union with the Divine,
to be obliged to any but God, for all its e-
minent Qualifications and Affiflance. But if
the Holy Ghofl is God, and adcd as fuch
toward the Human Nature, the Father and
Son ading therein by and together with him,
all the Obligations of the Man ,Chrifl Jefus
were Obligations wholly and only unto God.
And it can be no Difhonour to the Human
Nature of Chrift, nor any way unbecoming
its perfonal Union with the eternal Logosy
to be under fuch infinite Obligations to
Cod.
3. If the Holy Ghofl is not God, the Glo-
ry of Chriji in this World lies in infufficient
Hands.
Chrift is indeed capable of making his
own Glory appear with the utmoft Lufter,
His infinite Deity is of it {d£ fufEcient for
this : But what he doth herein, he doth by
his Spirit ; for this Work is by Difpenfation
committed moft immediately and peculiarly
Joh. i5. unto him. When he, the Spirit of Truth, is
sh 14- come, fays Chrift, HE SHALL GLORIFT
ME ; for he jhall receive of mine, and Jhall jhew
it unto you. But if tlje Holy Spirit is not Gody
every where prefent, and knowing all Things,
he can't be capable o£ glorifying Chriji in num-
berlefs and diftant Places of the World, and
in
( 247 )
5n the Hearts of his People, as they are fcat-
ter'd over the Face of the Earth, at one and
the fame Time, as is hereafter to be fhewn.
If he himfelf is not God, he can't difcover
Chrift's God-like Glory, nor the Glory of
his Mediation before our Minds ; He can't
fecure his Honour in the Churches , in
their Prefervation, Increafe and Edification,
and in the Hearts and Lives of the Profef-
fors of his Name, and that in defiance of all
the Intrsagues, Infiilts and Defamations of
his inward and outward implacable Enemies.
The Glory of Chrift would (oon depart from
this World, not one Monument of it would
be feen long on Earth, it the Spirit was not
God to fjpport it by his divine Agency a-
mong us.
But can we think that Chrift, after all his
deep Abaferaent and exquiiite Sufferings,
would leave that Honour, which is the Fruit
and Reward of thofe Sufferings, in uncertain
and infufficient Hands ? God forbid. But
if the Spirit is God, he is as capable of fe-
curing Chrift's Glory in the World, as either
the Perfon of the Father or Son are, were
they to ad in the mod: immediate Manner to
fecure it. They could put forth no other
Power* than he can for this Purpofe, be-
caufe his Power is efl'entially the fame with
their's.
4. If the Holy Ghofl is not God, the Love
and Care of Chriji to his Church in fending him^
is inconceivably hfs than 'tis generally taken to
le.
When Chrift was going to Heaven, he
comforted his Difciples with AfTurances thac
he'd fend the Spirit to fupply, and more than
R 4 make
(n8)
make amends for, his corporal Abfence from
Job. t6. them. Now^ fays he, I go myrcay to him that
5> 0, 7. j^y^i; ;^g.^ „- Becaufe I have faid thefe Things to
you. Sorrow hath filled your Heart ; neverthelefsy
1 tell you the T/uth, Jt is expedient FOR TOU
that J go away ; for if I go not away, the Com-'
forter will not come unto you *, but if I depart, I
will fend him unto you. This was indeed a
wondrous and afFeding Inftance of hisKind-
nefs and Grace, of his tender indearing
CompafTions to them, and of his abiding ef-
fedual Care of them. But this Love and
Care recommend themfelvts to us in propor-
tion to the Dignity and *S'/^Jz67>;29'-of the Com-
forter whom he fent.
If the Holy Ghoft thus promifed, and fent
according to the Promife, is not God, his
coming to them did not make up the Lofs of
Chrift's perfonal Prefence with them. It is
true, the FaEl is otherwife ; but that is be-
caufe the Spirit is God. But in Cafe he is
not God, but only a Meffenger fent from
Chriil, the Prefence of the Servant could not
be fo good and honourable as the Prefence of
the Lord himfelf : Nor could the Holy Ghoft
on this debafingSuppofition be thro'ly capable
of that great and needful Work he was and is
to do fromChrift for us.But if he is indeed the
true God, equally with the Father and Son,
what a bleffed Promife is that offending him >
Who can ever think high enough of the Love
and Grace of Chrift, in taking effeflual Care,
that God himfelf fhould be our Co?nforter ',x.\\2it
he in the moit intimate and abiding Manner
fhould dwell with us, and that we fliould live
under his Condud and Influence till we get
fafe to Glory»
Thus,
( 249 )
Thus, if we value the Godhead oi Chrifl^
and are concern'd for his Glory in the World ;
If we woald entertain the moft honourable
Thoughts of his Perforiy and of his Love and
Care towards us ; The Dodrine of che Holy
Ghoft's Godhead, in which ail thefe are near-
ly interefled, can't but be of very confidera-
ble Moment in our account.
APPLICArtlON.
What has been faid concerning the Impor-
tance of this Doctrine with refpect to Gods
calls us to adore him as Incomprebenjible.
How fublime is the Scripture-account of
God ? It fets before us but one divine Being,
which exifts in three diftinft Perfons, with-
out Confujion or Separation^ Father, Son, and
Holy Ghoft. No wonder all our Attempts
are baffled when we pretend to reafon out
the vaft Idea, as i^ infinite Thoughts in
their fuUeft Stretch could be grafp'd by finite
Minds. And why fhould we attempt it, or
think hard that we cannot do it ? Is there no
Room for Adoration and Ailonifhment in
our Thoughts of God ? Is there nothing a-
bove our reach, nothing too deep for us to
fathom, and nothing too intricate for us to
adjuft, relating to his infinite Majefly ? Sure-
ly it can't be otherwife. The more we find
out the Truth concerning God, according-
to the Revelation he has made of himfelf,
the more we find him to be unfearchable. The
very Thought that he is God^ is a Thought
that he is abfolutely perfect beyond alt
Thought. This fhould make us flirink as it
were into nothingj in our Opinion of oui^
felves.
( 250 )
(elves, and of our own fhallow Capacities.
This fhould make lis willing to quit our own
dctcdiivc and fallible Reafonings for his un-
erring Didates concerning himfelf This
fhould difpofe us to fall down before him
with the humbleft Confcioufnefs of our own
Darknefs, with the moft thankful Acknow-
ledgments of what he hasreveal'd of himfelf
to us, and with the moft ardent Supplicati-
ons for his Spirit to lead us into ftill farther
Acquaintance with him. And this fhould
command the mod facred Veneration and
ftedfaft Belief of what he fays he is, beyond
what we csinckarly and diftinEily ^onceiv^ hinj
to be.
There is certainly a noble Pleafur'e in adr
miring thofe Accounts of God, which, as far
as we are acquainted with 'cm, reprefent hin;
in the moll lofty and excellent Strains, and
which appear before us as containing farther
Excellencies infinitely beyond the Reach of
our Underflandings. As when there is a,
delightful boundlefs Landskip before our
Eyes, the more we can ken of its beautiful
Varieties, the more admiring Apprehenli-
ons we have of what lies beyond the Com-
mand of critical Obfcrvation ; and thofe
Apprehenfions, mix'd with the diftant Views
we have, increafe the Pleafure of the Prof-
pCiS:. So, when the boundkls Perfections of
God lie before our Minds, the more we
difcover of their tranfcendent Glories, the
more admiring Apprehenfions we have of
fomething that we fee beyond clear and di-^
ftinEi Perception, and this gives us the more
affecting Pleafure in the unfearchable Prof-
pe(^. 'Tis happy lofing our felves in an ami-
able Ocean of all Agreablcs ; this is a be-
ing
C 351 )
ing ingulfd in Pleafure that has no Shore or
Bounds.
Hence when we meet with infinite Depths
and Breadths in God, which we can neither
plumb nor fpan^ relating to the Doclrine of
the Trinity, and particularly to the Sublic-
ence of the Holy Ghoft in the one only God-
head ; let us turn them into the fublime En-
tertainments of melting Aftonilhment, like
the bleffed Spirits above, who are fwallow*d
up in God. The more Incomprehenfible we
find him to be in thefe Reprefentations of
him, the more awful adoring Apprehenfions
we fhould have of him, mixing holy Admi-
ration with our imperfeft. Praifes of him,
who, when we and Angels have faid and
thought all that we can, is infinitely exalted ^^^-9*^^
in himfelf aLove all Bh[fmg and Praife,
SERMON
( 252 )
SERMON IX.
I COR. xii. IK
But aU theje worketb that one and the
felf^fame Sfirit^ dividing to every
Man feverally as he will.
WE are confideritig the great Importance
of the Doctrine of the Godhead of
the Holy Ghoft, which I have reprefented
with refped to the only true God in general,
and with refped unro Chrifl^ in particular ;
and now proceed to confider it.
Thirdly, With refpeB to the HOLY GHOSt
Himfelf ; and that with regard to his Per/on^
and to his Lovey and Grace,
I. 'Tis of great Importance zvith refpeB to
his own PERSON.
If he is not God, we fhall be at an utter
Lofs what to determine concerning Him ,•
and whatever elfe we think or fay of Him,
is very diflionourable and injurious to Him.
Some fay he is only a different Appellation
of God ; and that Father, Son, and Spirit,
are but three Names, fignifying one and the
fame
( 253 )
fame Perfon. But as this is diredly contrary
to the manifeil: DijlinElions I have fhewn the
Scripture puts between them ; fo it makes
the Holy Ghoft (and indeed the Father and
Son too, as diftinguifti'd from each other) to
be only a Chimera. It deftroys his real Ex-
iflence as the Holy Ghoft, and reprefents
him to be only a Notion, or an external Deno-
mination ; which is in effed to fay. He is
really nothing at all.
Others fay. He is only the Power of God,
which fome of *em call a created Power ; O-
thers fay, He is a divine Qiiality form'd by
God within us ; Others, the Gifts of God be-
ftow'd upon us ; and others, the Gofpel fent
from Heaven unto us. 'Tis hard to find out
certainly what they mean by the Holy Ghoft.
But all thefe Accounts of him deftroy his
Perfonality, and fo at once run counter to all
that I have fhewn the Scripture clearly repre-
fents concerning his being a Perfon ; and at
the fame time rob him of all his Bkjfednefs.
For if he is not an intelligent Perfon, he is not
capable of Pleafure in enjoying himfelf, or any
thing elfe, or in doing any thing for the di-
vine Glory, or for the good of others .* Nor
can he poffibly enjoy any kind of Bleffed-
nefs, fince only intelligent Perfons are capable
of enjoying.
Others fay. He is a Creature, fome way
m.3.dt or produced by the Son, they know not
how nor when. Others fay. He is a created
. Power -mini firing to the Son, as the An eels
do ; but that he is in all Things, by a JDi-
• vifion of himfelf every where in Infinitum :
And fo they feem to be in Sufpenfe, whe-
ther they fhall allow him to be a Perfon, or
no. And others fay, He is a Perfon of great
Power
C=54)
Power and Dignityy but of a Nature totally
different from the Father's and Son's, and
that he is in all refpeds inferior to them, ex-
cept that he was fuperior to Chrift's Human
Nature, during his State of Humiliation.
But how the Holy Ghoft came by his Being,
whether he was created or no, or when he
began to be ; or whether he is God or a
Creature, or any inconfiftent unimaginable
Thing between both, they have not thought
fit to tell us. So that according to thefe
Accounts we know not what to make of him.
The Windings and Turnings of Error are
endiefs ; and when a Man raiffeth the Truth,
which is but One^ he often knows not where
to reft, or what to fix on.
And how highly foever fome of thefe may
feem to fpeak of the Perfon of the Holy
Ghoft ; yet if he is not really, together with
the Father and Son, the only Sovereign and
Almighty God, he is infinitely lefs than that
God. To fet him but one ftep below the
Deity, is to fet him infinitely below it, there
being an abfolutely infinite Difproportion
between the higheft Being that can be ima-
gin'dj or that can be produced by the only^
true God, and that God himfelf. Yea, if
the Holy Ghoft is not God, he is but of
Tef^erday, corapar'd with God's eternal Ex-
jftence. For if we fuppofe God to be one
Moment in being before he gave Exiftence
to his Spirit, that Suppofition makes him to
have exifted an infinite Eternity before him.
For any thing that comes into Being after
the eternal unbeginning Exiftence of God,*
had a Beginning. And whatever had a Be-
$^inning, muft be Younger by an antecedent
Eternity, than that God who had no Begin-
ning,
( 355)
nfng, it being all one and the fame Thing,
with refped to God's foregoing Eternity,
whether any Thing was made numberlefs
Millions of Ages before this World, or at
the Date of this Creation ; becaufe he was
as infinitely before one as before the other,
if he was infinitely before either of em.
And if the Holy Ghoft is a being produ-
ced by God ever fo early, he is, according
to all the Notions I can have of Things, in
Reality a Creature, and nothing more ; there
being no middle Nature or Perfon between
that of God and Creatures, which is neither
one nor the other. And if he is a Crea-
ture, he is a mere Dependent on God, as all
Creatures are without Exception ; And.fo
he riiight never have been at all ; and, fetting
afide a Decree to the contrary, he might have
been thrown back into nothing long before
now, and may flill be deftroy'd as eafily as
any of the meancft of God's Creatures : Or
another Perfon may be produced equal, yea,
fuperior to him, as fome fuppofe the Son to
be ; and fo another might, for what we know,
be ftill advanced above them hth : For who
fhall pretend to fay that the infinite God has
already done his utmofl in producing or exalt-
ing a Creature ? Hence the moft magnificent
Reprefentations of the Holy Ghofl, which
fall (hortof his proper and eternal Godhead,
are merely paffing a Complement upon him,
which under all its pompous fhew really
means that he is as nothing, and Vanity it
felf, compar'd with the only true God, on
whom he as intirely depends as any of his
other Creatures do ; as 1 have fhew'd more
at large with refpeift to the Son^ in Cafe he is ,
not God.t f.^,'.'-
Now
C 2sO
Now what an infinite Indignity is this to
the Holy Ghoft, thus to fink him into Vani^
/^with the reft of the Creation ; thus to un-
god him, and, comparatively fpeaking, to
make nothing of him, in defiance of all the
infinite God-like Things which the Scripture
fays concerning him ? Surely it can't but be a
high Ad of Rebellion againfl him, thus dif-
gracefuUy to dethrone and deny him. And,
fpeaking after the Manner of Men, he can't
but be exceedingly provoked, and grieved,
to be treated at this injurious rate. This
feems to be an Affront too great for him to
take at our Hands without the.fevereft Re-
fentments of it. May we not therefore juft-
ly, fear that a contemptuous fpreading Op-
pofition againft if/V, together with Chriffs^
Deity on one Hand ; and a too prevailing
Indifi^erence about afferting it on the other,
Wq, at the Root of thofe remarkable With-
drawings of the Spirit, which are fadly felt
and lam.ented by fome wakeful Souls, and
may too eafily be difcerned in the Stupidity,
Senfuality and Unfruitfulnefs, not to fay A-
poftacy of others, in this irreligious fceptick
Age. And unlefs he in Jealoufy for his own
an'd Chrift's Honour, and in Mercy to us,
comes again to revive and bring us back to
the Light and Grace of the Gofpel, we have
11 ill more awful Things to fear. But to re-
turn;
2. TheDodrineof the Holy Ghofl's God-
head is of great Importance zuith refjpeB to
his LOVE AND GRACE to m.
This bleifed Spirit is known by the Cha-
Heb. iQ.rader of the Spirit of Grace. As this Title
*p. refpeds his being the Author of all Grace m
us>
C 257 )
US, it may denote that in his free Favoiif to*
wards us, he beftows it upon us ; for Grace in
us is called by that Name, becaufe it pro-
ceeds from the free and bounteous Grace of
him that works it in us. Such a free and
gracious Agent is the Holy Ghoft, who with
refpe^: to Grace, as well as fpiritual Gifts,
diftributes as he will. For as the JVmd blow^ joh. ^8.
eth where it lifieth, — fo is every one that is
born of the Spirit. Hence David, praying for
the Supports of the Holy Ghoft in his graci-
ous Operations, calls him God's free Spirit ^Pfal. 51.
and at another time fays, "Thy Spirit is GOOD j H;
let him lead me to the Land of Uprightnefs, as it ^|^^•^4^
might be rendered. And the Word here u-
fed is the fame by which God's Goodnefs is
exprefs'd, when he is fpoken of in his Acts
of fpecial Grace and Favour to us. ForthuuVU 2^6,
Lord art GOOD, and ready to forgive, andplen- 5«
tectis in Mercy to all them that call upon thee.
Hence the Apoftle fpeaks of the Love of the
Spirit. / befeech you Brethren, for the Lord^^^'^-^^*
Jefm Chrtli's^fake, and for the LOFE OF THE ^^'
SPIRIT, that ye firive together with me in your
Prayers to God for me. By this Love tf the Spi-
rit, fome underftand the Grace of Love, of
which he is the Author, and of which he is
the ObjeB, as it terminates on him. And
taking it in this Senfe, our Love to him, for
his working Grace in us, muft rife in Propor-
tion to the account we make of him. Bjt it
feems moft agreeable to the Apoftk'5 Scope^
to underftand it of that Love which is in the
Spirit himfelf to the Church : For the Apo-
ftle here befeecheth the Brethren by the Love
of the Spirit, in the fame manner as he doth
by the Lord Jcf^ Chrijl, or, as it might be
rendered, FOR THE SAKE of the Love of
S the
( 2s8)
the Spirit, as well as FOR I'HE SAKE of
the Lord Jefus Chrifi, the Form of Expref-
fion in both being juft the fame in the Greek^,
And as his befeeching them for the fake of
Chnft is an Argument taken from Ghrift's
Love, and his great Expreffions of it to them;
fo his befeeching them for the fake of the Love
of the Spirit, may be molT: properly confider'd
as an Argument of the like fort, taken from
the holy Spirit's Love, and his great Expref-
fions of it toward them. And fo it exadly
anfwers to a like Form of Speech, urging
them by an Argument drawn from the Mer-
Ch.fi.T.^^^^ of God; I befeech you Brethren by, or for
the fake of, the Mercies of God, that ye pre-
fent your Bodies a living Sacrifice, holy, acceptU"
ble to God.
All the Holy Spirit's Works of Grace in
us are from his own, as well as from the Fa-
ther's and Son's Kindnefs, Love and Friend-
fhip towards us. It can't bur be an Ad of
Rom. 5. Love in the Spirit himfelf, to fied abroad the
5* Love of God m our Hearts, that we may fee
how all the adorable Perfons in the Godhead
love us, and have in their Love concerned
themfelves about us. Hereby he makes us
I Cor. z. kmiu the things that are freely given to us of
tz> God ; and feals us to the Day of Redemption,
And to fhew that what he doth herein is in
his great Love and Kindnefs to us, the Apo-
ftle, fpeaking of him after the manner of
Men, cautions us 2L^2iin{i grieving him with
Eph. ij. refped unto that Work : Grieve not the Holy
^o. Spirit of Godj whereby ye are fcafdunto the Day
J^ A/et 78 KutU y^fwv 'l«(rtf Xe what Chrift himfelf
fpoke, merely as a Alauy and as a Mtnifler
or Prophet fent from God, is faid to be the
Words of God, becaufe he was therein un-
der the mod immediate Condud of the Holy
Ghoft. He whom God hath ftnt, ffeaketh the t^^
Words of God ; for God giveth not the Spirit l^y ^/
meafure unto him.
Thefe Things of God, which Chrift, the
Apoftles, and Prophets, fpoke as they were
moved by the Holy Ghoft, make up that holy
Scripture, which is the only Rule of our Faith
and Pradice. And the committing thefe
Things to Writing, that they might be con-
tinued thro' all Generations for the ftanding
Ufe of the Church, was under the unerring
Guidance and Influence of the fame Spirit.
Hence the Apoftle Peter, fpeaking of thefe
Sacred Writings, which he calls iht fureWordi Pet.i,
of Prophefy, fays. No Prophefy of the SCRIP- i9y 2-0,
lURE is of any private Interpretation, or ac-'^'*
cording to the private Suggeftions of the
Minds of the Writers themfelves : For the
Prophefy came not in old time by the Will of Man,
hut holy M^'n of God fpake, either in the Scrip-
ture, or according to what is recorded in the
Scripture, as they were 7noved by the Holy Ghoft,
And accordingly when fome Places of Scrip-
ture are quoted in others, they are often al-
ledg'd as the Sayings of the Holy Ghoft, or as
the Holy Ghoft's fpeaking by the Prophets, in
whofe Writings thefe Texts are to be found.
And the Apoftle acknowledges this ^^/^to^
of the Spirit in the Scriptures of the New
T'ejlament, which he and other infpir'd Pen-
men wrote under the fame Infpiration, when
he fays, Which things alfo we fpeak, not in the j Col 2 .
WORDS which Mans Wtfdom teacheth, but i^,,
S 4 which
C 264 )
which the HOLT GHOST' teacbeth ; cdmfaring
fpiritual "things imth fpiritual. Moft of the
Things here briefly hinted, have been alrea-
dy infilled on more largely in a fomewhat
different Light.
Thus the Holy Ghoft 'is the immediate
afting Perfon of the Godhead in inditing the
Scripture, yea, and in confirming its divine
Authority by all the miraculous Signs and
Wonders, by v/hich they were proved to be
own'dofGod, and to come from him. The
Father and Son are ufually reprefented as ad-
ing herein only by him, and together with
him, in fuch a manner as is fully confiftent
with his own [overeign Right and original Abi-
lity to fay whatever he pieafed. For to fup-
pofe that they fpoke by him as an Under-
Agent, who deriv'd his Authority from them,
and was influenced by them, is to place him
in an inferior Rank, like that which the in-
fpir'd Pen-meir bare, in that Work. But this
can never comport with the fuperior God-
like Manner in which he behaved it:, influ-
encing them, and fpeaking by them accor-
ding to his own Will. He was not guided
John 1 6. into Truth, but is the Spirit of truth that
Jv guided them into all truth. He was not a-
nointed for this Work ; but is Truth it felf,
I Job. 2. and became an UnBion to oxho-vsy teaching
^7. them all that they fliould fay. And his/peak-
^^ " ing not of hi mf elf, but whatever he hears, (which
by the way relates only to what enfued on
Chrift's Afcention) has been before fhown to
Gonfift very well both with his Effential One-
nefs with the Father and Son, and with his
ading by voluntary Difpcnfation in fuch a
Manner as is no Impeachment of bis original
Knowledge as God, nor of his original Right,
as fuch, tp reveal tl^em. That which is now
( a65 )
infifted on to pur prefent Purpofe (and which
I hope has been fufficiendy proved in this
and fome foregoing Pares of thefe Difcourfes)
is. That the authoritative dilating of the
whole Scripture, was irioft immediately and
feculiarly his proper Work, and was mana-
ged by him according to his own Sovereign
Will andPleafure j fo that the Scripture comes
to us upon the Credit of the Holy Ghoft as
the proper Authqr of it ; yea, and of all
thofe Teftimonials by which it comes attefted
to us as divine Truth.
Now to fuppofe that the Hply Ghoft is
the proper Author Qf the Bible, fo as to
didate it by his own Wifdom, and command
it to be fpoken or written by his own Autho-
rity ; and yet that he is not the true God,
is a Suppofition that overthrows the divine
Authority of the Scripture, inafmuch as it
maintains^ That the Scripture came from one,
and at the fovereign Will and Pleafure of
one, who is not God. He might indeed, if
he was not God, have been employed as an
Under-Agent to convey the Mind of God to
the facred Writers, ^s they were to convey
it to others. But then, on this Suppofition,
thofe Writers were only under the Guidance
and Influence of a Creature ^ for 'tis not pre-
tended by any that I know of,that God influ-
enced them any otherwife than by the Agency
of the Holy Ghoft upon them. And if the Ho-
ly Ghofl: is but a CreaUire,he could not beab-
fplutely Infallible in his Guidance of them,
unlefs, like thpfe that were infpir'd by him,he
himfelf alfo had been infpir'd,or qualify 'd and
influenced, byGod's free and immediate Agen-
cy upon him, or by fome other intermediate
Agent between God and him,whom Godim-
incdiately influenced to dired: and move him
when
C »«« )
when and what to fpeak to them. But as
- we never read of any fuch divine and quali-
fying Influeuces upon him, to fecure the In-
fallibility of his Influences upon them : So
on the other hand, He in a fovereign de-
fpotick Manner taught and order'd them by
ills own Wifdom, and according to his own
Will, to fpeak or write the holy Scriptures, as
theRule of the Church's Faith and Obedience,
If therefore he is not (3od, he muft either
never have fpoken to apd by the infpir'd Pen-
men, the Words of his own Wifdom and
Will, what and when he pleafed, as it has
been fhewn he did ; or elfe, in fuch Cafes,
we ought not to have regarded his Words,
as the abfolutely unerring Words of God,
bound upon our Confciences with the fame
fupreme Authority, as if God himfelf fppke
them. For upon this Bottom, the Scripture
delivered to the Churches of the Old and New
Teftament by the Prophets and Apollles,were
the private Interpretations or Suggeftions of
one who is not God : And thisis to reduce the
the Dodrines of the Scripture to the private
Sentiments of a Creature j2is really as if they had
been the private Sentiments of thofe Writers ;
only this Creature is fuppofed to be Superior
to them in Underflanding and Goodnefs, and
io lefs likely to be miftaken in his Apprehen-
(ions about God's Mind and Will on one
hand, or to put a defign'd Cheat upon us on
the other. So that, according to this State
pf the Cafe, the Meaning of what the Apo-
ftle Peter fays about the divine Authority of
the Scripture is no more than this ; No Pro-
% Vet,i,P^^fy ^f ^^'^ Scripture is of any private Interpret
20, 21. tatioyiy i.e. of any private Suggeftion of the
Prophets own Spirits^ but only of the pri-
vate
C 2^7)
vate Suggeftion of a fuperior created Spirit,
viz,, the Holy Ghoft ; For the Prophefy came
not in old time by the iVtU of Man ; but holy Men
of God /pake as they were moved by the Holy
Ghofly according as that more excellent and
knowing Creature will'd. For the Antithejis
between the JVtll of Man, and the Holy Ghoft' s
moving the holy Men of Gody plainly imports,
that the Will of the Holy Ghoft, or his moving
them according to his Will, is oppofed to the
Will of Man, as the Principle and Ruleo( what
the holy Men of God fpokein the Scripture.
And is not this to fhock the divine Authority
of the Scripture, and to refolve it into the
Wifdoin and Will of a Creature, i^ the Holy
Ghoft himfelf is but a Creature ? How then
can Confcience reft with full Satisfaction and
affured Confidence on his Authority, Wif-
dom and Veracity in his Word ? Or how can
our Faith in that Word be, ftridly and pro-
perly fpeaking, a divine Faith ? No mere
Creature can be abfolutely infallible ; and
therefore 'tis not the Wifdom and Authority
of an Angel, or of the moft exalted Creaturey
any more than of a Man, that can warrant a
divine Faith in his Teftimony. Hence the
Apoftle puts them on a Level, in this Confi-
deration of them, when he fays, l^ho'* vjsy or ^ ,
an Angel from Heaven, preach any other Gofpel ^ '** '
unto ycu, — -~- let him be acctirfed.
But if the Holy Ghoft is the Sovereign
and Almighty God, then all that he has faid
by the holy Men of God in Scripture, are the
Sayings of God himfelf, in 2ls proper and im-
mediate a Manner, as if the eternal Father
had immediately fpoke unto them, and mo-
ved and guided them to fpeak from him,
what he by them has faid to us. This Con-
fide ration
( 268 )
fideration of the Divinity oF the Spirit puts
a Stamp of divine Authority on his Word,
and abfolutely fecures the Infallibility and
Veracity of it. Upon this Foot there is no
room for Fear or Hefitancy about the Truth
and Obligation of the Scripture that he in-
dited .• But v/e may fafely receive and de-
pend upon it, as a perfect and abfolutely
certain Rule of Faith and Pradice, bound
upon our Confciences by the undoubted Au-
thority of that God, who is Truth it felf,
and cannot lye, and who hath a right to re-
veal to us, and command from us, whatever
he pleafes.
To fay the leaft, it appears to me with
undeniable Evidence, that the divine Au-
thority of the Scripture is moft effectually fe-
cured by the Deity of the Holy Ghoft. For
if this is allow'd, there is an End of all Doubt
or Difpute about the Truth and Obligation
of what he fays in the Scripture; but if this
is deny'd, a Door is opened for Diftruft and
Jealoufy about it, and for a very free and
contemptuous Treatment of the Sacred Wri-
tings. And fince thefe are the Standard of
all Moral and Chriftian Truth and Good-
nefs ; of the Jaftnefs of our religious Hopes
and Fears ; of God's gracious Regards to
us, and of our Obligations to him ; and fince
our bed and eternal Interefls are all imbarkt
upon this fingle Bottom ; fo that if this holds,
we are fafe in our Venture upon it ; but i£
this fails, v/e are like to be Ship-wreck'd,
and never make the Port we are bound for ,•
certainly it behoves us to take the fafefl
Courfe to fecure a Veneration of their di-
vine Authority and Obligation on our Con-
fciences. And Tiiice the Godhead of th^ Ho-
(269)
\y Ghofl is (o nearly interefted herein, it
furely muft be a Point of very tender and
momentous Confequence.
Fifthly, This Dodrlne is of great Impor-
tance with refpeB to the Believer's UNION and
COMMUNION with Chrift, and with God in
him,
That there is a noble intimate and vital
Union of true Believers with Chrift, as God-
Man, Mediator and Head of the Church,
and with God confider d in him, which is
fundamental to all our Communion with him
here, and Enjoyment of him in his Glory
hereafter, is fo plainly the Doctrine of the
Scripture, that one would think an unpre-
judiced Mind can^t but obferve it. This fa-
cred Truth is neverthelefs treated with Deri-
fion by feme ; and it being prepofterous to
talk of the Importance of our Dodrine with
refpeift to this Union, if this Union it felf
is a Nullity, I hope I fhall be excufed if I en-
large a little on the Evidence which the Srip-
ture gives us of its Nature and Reality,
At one time 'tis call'd, Chyift's dwelling in ^P^- 1-
our Hearts by Faith ; at others, his living in ^^'
us: Ilivey fays the Apoftle, fpeaking of his
fpiritual Life, yet not I, but Chrift liveth in me,^^^- ^•
and the Life which I now live in the Flejh^ I live ^°'
by the Faith of the Son of God. At other times
'tis called our living by Chrift, as we do by
the Food that is incorporated with our Bo-
dies, and his dwelling in us, and our dwel-
ing in him. My Flefh, fays he, is Meat indeed, John 6.
and my Blood ts Drink indeed. He that eateth 5 5? 5^>
my Flefi and drinketh my Blood, dwelleth in me, ^
and I in him. As the living Father hath fent
7nej and I live by the Father ; fo he that eateth
C 37° )
mcy even he JhallUve by me. This can't relate
to a proper corporeal eating and drinking the
real Subflance of Chrift's Flefh and Blood ; for
this is deteftably inhuman ; and *tis altoge-
ther brutifh to imagine that fuch a Cannibal^
Feaft frould be of any fpiritual Advantage to
an immortal Soul. Nor can it relate to eat-
ing and drinking in a corporeal manner the
inftituted Signs of Chrift's Body and Blood
in the Lord's Supper : For this Ordinance was
not inflituted till a Year or more after Chrift
fpoke thefe Words i And fince the Inftituti-
on, a bare eating the Bvead and drinking the
lVineyC3.nt profit to eternal Life, where there
is not the Faith in Chrift crucify'd, which is
fignify'd thereby : and thisFaith profits to eter-
nal Life.tho' Chrifl's Flefh and Blood have not
bttr\facramentallyYQCciv*d.For however incum-
bent a Duty it is on true Believers to partake
of the Lord's Supperjin Obedience toChrifl's
Command, and as a Means of nourifhing
them up to eternal Life ; yet it mufl be a
prodigious Excefs of Charity on one hand, to
iiippofe that all the vile Wretches that ever
unduly received it, have found it a PafTport
to eternal Life : And it muft be a Cenfure a-
bominably rigid on the other, to fuppofethat
every ferious Chriftian, who has true Faith
in the Blood of Chrift, is certainly damn'd
^fj ithoutf acramental Eating. It therefore can •
not be this eating and drinking the Fle/h
and Blood of Chrift, which he lays fuch an
infinite Strefs upon. But Chrift*s Flejh and
Blood here fpoken of^ is evidently Chrift con-
lider'd as crucified, together with all the Life-
giving Virtue and Efficacy of his Death,and h
of the fame import with his being the living
Bread, which affords all fpiritual l^i^^ and
Nourlfti-
( 271 )
Nourifliment to thofe who in ^fpmtualm^in-'
ner receive it. Thus Chrift himfelf explains
it, when he fays, I am the Uv'rng Breads "^'^^^^ ver, we are one. I IN THEM, and thou IN
MEi that they may be made ferfeH in one. But
becaufe
( i72 )
becaiife thefe heavenly Things are too fubliMe
for our Underftandingsto conceive of as they
are, and becaufe thefe exalted Reprefentati-
ons carry Ideas of fomething excellent and in-
timate in this Union, beyond the Grafp of
our narrow Minds ; therefore *tis at other
times taught us in a more familiar manner, by
• the moft excellent Unions that are to be found
among earthly Things, and which we our
felves are acquainted with. ^
'Tis fometimes reprefented by a Vine and
its Branches^ which are vitally united, and live
by a Participation of the fame Sap diffufing
John 1 5.^^" ^^^^ ^^^^' them. Al^ide in me^ fays Chrift,
4, 5. * and I in you. As the Branch cannot hear Fruit of
it felfy except it abide in the Vine ; no more can
yey except ye abide in me. I am the Vme, ye are
the Branches : He that abideth in me, and I in
him, the fame bringeth forth much Fruit ; for
without me ye can do nothing. And at other
times 'tis reprefented by the Head and Mem-
bers of a natural Body, which are animated
by the fame Soul, and in which the fame vi-
tal Spirits defcend from the Head to invigo-
rate and actuate every Part. Thus the Apo-
Eph. 4. ^^^ fpeaks of growing up into him in all things y
15, 16. which is the Heady even Chrifl : From whojn the
whole • Body fitly joined together y and compared by
that which every joint fuppliethy according to the
effeElual working m the meajitre of every party
maketh increafe of the Body, unto the edifying it
felf in Love, And at another time he
calls Chrift the Head, from which all the Body
Col. i. yy Joints and Bands y having NOURISHMENT^
*^* mini fir edy aud knit together y Jticreafeth with the
increafe of God.
This
C 273 )
This vital Union, in which the united
Things are enliv^en'd and aifluated by one
and the fame Spirit, or by one Principle of
Life common to them all, is the moil noble
and intimate of all that we are acquainted
with. A Union by Adhefion of Parts, how
clofe and compad: foever, is not to be com-
pared with this. For tho' the Parts of Maffy
Gold, and of fome precious Stones, are
thruft and fettered together in a much clofer
manner than the Head and its Members, or
the Vine and its Branches ; yet they have no
fuch Advantage by their Union, as the Mem-
bers have by their Union with their Headj
and the Branches with their Vine. The Na-
ture and peculiar Excellence of this Union,
don't confift in the clojenefs of the Pofition of
Parts, but in every Part's being animated by
one common Principle. Hence the moft dX-
ftant Members from the Head are as really
united with it, and the remotell: Branches
are as really united with the Vine, as the
neareft, while they are as efFedually enliven'd
by vital Influx from the Head and Root ."
But \£ any of the Members have the Numb--
Palfy, or any of the Branches dye, tho' they
Hill cohere with the other Parts of the Body
or Vine, yti^ not partaking of the fame vi-
tal Influx from the Head and Root, as the
other Members and Branches do, they are
not properly, and in fo noble and beneficial
a Senfe, united with the Head and Vine, as
thofe other Members and Branches are.
Now in that excellent Union between
Chrift and Believers, (which the Scripture
illuflrates by thefe noblefi: Unions in Nature)
the vital quickening, and aduating Spirit-,
which dwells, m.oves and operates in him as
T Head
( 274 )
Head of the Church, and in them as the
Members of his myftical Body, is the Holy
Ghofl, He is, as it were, the Life and Soul
of this Union betwixt Chrift and them, as
he influentially dwells both in him and them.
Hence fays the Apoftle, fpeaking of Chrift
myftical^ in the Word immediately following
iCor.u, our Text; As the Body is ONE, and hathma*
«i> I^ ny Members ^ and all the Members of that one
Body, being many, are ONE BODY ; fo alfo is
Chrift. For by ONE SPIRIT are ive all bap-
tiz^ed into one Body, whether we be Jews or Gen-'
tiles, whether we be bond or free ; and have been
all made to drink into ONE SPIRIT. As all
the Members of the Natural Body are one
Body, they being all animated by one Soul
or Spirit ,- fo all the Members of Chrift'sMy-
fiical Body are one Body, they being all
quickened and united to one another, and to
Chrift their Head, by that one Spirit, which
they receive from him. This Spirit dwells
principaily and moft eminently in Chrift, fil-
ling his Human Nature with Gifts and Grace
John 3. without Meafure. For Godgiveth nottheSpt-
34- rit by MEASURE unto him. And, It pleafed the
^''^' ^- Father that in him fhotild all FULNESS dwell.
And this fame Spirit defcends from Chrift un-
to his Members, filling them with like Gihs
Eph.4.7.and Grace, according to the MEASURE of the
Gtft of Chrift. Accordingly he promifed to
John i^'f^^d his Spirit, upon his Departure, to dwell
compir'd^*"'^ ^^/^e With his Difcipks/c>ir e'ver ; and all
with Beliei^ers are faid to receive of HIS Fulnefs,
L.[).iC\j. Grace for Grace. Hence as Chrift wzs bapti-
John I. ^j ^^.jj.]^ tl^^ Holy Ghoft, he baprizeththem
' ' With the fiime, according to John's Record at
Chap. I. his BnptKm, faying, I faw the Spirit DESCEN-
Ji, 35. DING from Heaven like a Dove, and it abode
upon
( 275 )
tipon him. * ' The fame is he zvhich BAPTl-
ZETH zvith the Holy Ghojl. And by recei-
ving this Spirit from Chrill: as the Head, all
his Members are made to DRINK into one
Spirit, hz bemg that/m>z^ Water which Chriftcj^^p
gives them to drinL If any Man thrift , fays lo.
he, let him come unto me and drink. He that J^hn 7.
helieveth on mey as the Scripture hath faid, out ^^' ^^>
of his Belly fiallfloiu Rivers of LIVING F/A-^^'
TER. But this fpake he of the SPIRIT, which
they that believe on him fooiild receive. Accor-
dingly, the Rock from which Ifraelv72LS flip-
ply'd with Water in the VVildernefs, was a
Type of Chriftj with refpect to the flowing
of his Spirit from him in the Virtue of his
Blood, as well as to the flowing of his Blood
in its pardoning Efficacy unto us. They did
all drink the fame SPIRlfUAL Drink ; for they i Cor.
drank of that fpintual Reck that follow d them : 10. 4*
And that ROCK WAS CHRIST.
Still farther to fhew that by this Spirit
Believers are mofl: intimately and vitally u-
nited toChrift, their Conjunftion withChrift
is call'd their being one Spirit with him : He , CorA
that is joined to the Lor d, is ONE SPIRIT. 17*
And that this is meant of the indwelling of
one and the fame Spirit in Chrift as the Head,
and in Believers as his Members, appears
from what the Apoftle fays in the fame Con-
text, where he calls their Bodies the MEM-vtr. 15,
BERSof Chrift ; and, fpeaking of them un-
der that Confideration, fays, Wmt know ye ver. 19,
not that yottr Body is the Temple of the HOLT
GHOST which is IN you ? If we are true
Members of Chrifl:, vitally united to ■ im,
the Holy Ghoft is in us, and fo we are one Spi-
rit , or are partakers of, and quickened by one
T 2 ■ Spirit,
Rom. 8
II.
C 276 )
Spirit, with him. Accordingly we are toldj
Rom. 8. that if any Man have not the Spirit of Chrift, he
9' is none of his, by a living Union with Him.
ver 10. Hereupon the Apoftle adds, If Chrift he in
youy viz. by his Spirit, the Body is dead becaufe
of Sin ; hilt the Spirit is Life, becaufe of Right e-
oufnefs^ i. e, the Body dies becaufe of Sin ;
Chap. 5. for Death enter d. into the World by Sin : But the
'^* Spirit of Chrift is a Principle of Life to it,
to raife it again to eternal Lik, becaufe of
Chrift's perfed Righteoufnefs, through which
ver. 21. Grace reigns to eternal Life. They being in
Chrift as his Members, juftified by his Righ-
I Cor. teoufnefs. Death hath no Sting to them, and
J^5. S^^ th^ Grave no ViBory over them. But if the
Spirit of him, faith the Apoftle, that raifed up
^efm from the Dead, dwell in you ; he that rai"
fed up Chrifi from the Dead, Jkall alfo quicken
your mortal Bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in
you. So that Head and Members quickened
from the Dead by one and the fame Spirit,
as a common Principle of Life to both.
From all this it abundantly appears. That
this excellent Union of Chrift and Believers,
principally coniifts in their partaking of, and
being influenced and aduated by the fame
Spirit with him : Or, that 'tis the Holy
Ghoft's dwelling in the Human Nature of
Chrift, and in them, as a common Principle
of fpiritual hiic and Grace to both, that
makes up the moft valuable Part of this im-
portant Union between them.
The Manner of this Union, and of the
Spirit's ading from Chrift upon us therein, is
inconceivable to us, as the Manner o^ 2l\\ vi-
till Unions, and of all adings of invifible
Powers upon us are : But, as 'tis a Unioa
between Chrift and rational Creatures, whofc
Per-
( 377 )
Perfons remain diflinB from his, and from
each other's, we may conceive thus much of
it, according to what the Scripture has faid
about it, viz.. That Chrift by the firfl effec-
tual Communication of his Spirit to us, be-
gets an inherent Principle of fpiritual Life
within us ; and the firft genuine Ads of this
Principle are reflexive back again in a way of I^^- '♦
Faith to Chrift, as it receives and trufts in him. |^^' ^ j
Hereby the Union between him and us be- i^, '
comes reciprocal 'y He ading by his Spirit to-
wards us, and we re-ading by Faith under
the continuing Influences of the fame Spirit
toward him. Hence he is faid not only to
dwell in us by his Spirit, but J ike wife by that
Faith which his Spirit begets in us, and which
by the Power of his Spirit abiding in us, we
exert in receiving him, and in applying to
him for all the farther Communications we
are to receive by his Spirit from him. This
the Apoftle plainly leads our Thoughts to,
in his Prayer to the Father of our Lord Jefm Chap. 3,
Chrifiy -^'"^T'hat he vjould grant m, according to H» *^»
the Riches of his Glory , to be ftrengthened luith '' ^'
Might BT HIS SPIRIT in the inner Man, that
Chrifl may dwell in our Hearts BT FAITH, — -^
that vje might be filled vjich all the FiUnefs of
Cod.
Thro' this Union, which we have by the
Holy Ghoft with Chrifl, as Mediator and
Head of the Church, we have like wife a blef-
fed Union wjth God in him. For as Chrift,
with whom we are united, is himfeU God,
he is eflfentially in the Father, and the Father ^o\i-^:^
in him : And therefore, by our vital Union ic,
with Chrift, we have likewife a vital Union
with the Father, or with God confider'd as
;he divine Being, who influenceth our Hearts
Tj by J
(278)
by the Spirit thro' Chrifl as Mediator. Hence
ver. 19, fays Chrift, Becaufe I live, ye jhall live aJfo.
zo, z^ j^f i-fj^f Day ye pmll know that I am IN MT
FA'tHER, andyiu IN ME, and I IN YOU.
« — -> Jfany Man love me, he will keep my Words y
and my Father will love him, and WE will come
unto him., and make our abode with him. Ac-
cordingly the Apoflle fpeaks of God's dwel-
ling in us, and our dwelling in him. If we
I ]o\i,^, love one another, God DWELLS, CH IN US.
iz, 13, 'Hereby know we th(tt we DWELL IN
i$> i^. HIM, and he IN US, becaufe he has given us of
his Spirit. — Whofoever jhall ccnfefs that
Jefm is the Son of God, God DWELLETH
IN HIM, and he IN GOD. And we have
known and believed the Love that God hath to m.
Cod is Love ; and he that dwelleth in Love,
DWELLETH IN GOD, and God IN HIM.
And this indwelling of God in us, is by the
Eph 2 Holy Ghojft. For we are an Habitation of God
II, ' * THRO' THE SPIRIT.
Now if the Koly Ghoft is not the infinite
God, every where prefent in Heaven and
Earth, in every true Believer's Heart at once,
he cannot be the uniting Spirit between Chrift
the vital Head in Heaven, and all his living
Members on Earth. He camrot be in Chrift
and them, without a Divlfion of himfelf i as
he muft be, if he is in them at all, becaufe he
is but one indivifible Spirit, tho' he divides
his Gifts and Graces as he pleafes ? Hence
j:ph.4.il,the Apoftle tells us, that as there is but one
myftical Body, fo there is \i\xlone Spirit, to a-
nimate that Body in all its locally- di ft ant Parts.
A finite created Spirit may indeed be eafily
enough a Principle of Life to the Head, and
^11 its Members, in a Natural Body, becaufe
they
< ^^19 )
they are locally united by a Contiguity of
Parts, and by Nerves and Mufcles, Arteries
and Veins, which are adapted to receive and
convey the Blood and Spirits thro' every Part.
By means of this orderly Contexture of ^
Things, the Soul can exert its Energy for Life
and Motion in the animal OEconomy. Or if
any fhould fuppofe that the Soul it felfispre-
fent at once \\\ every Part of the Body ,• yet
a finite Soul would befufficient for that, be-
caufe 'tis but a finite circumfcrib'd Body m
which it dwells. But if any Parts of the Bo-
dy are diflever'd from the refl, or if there is
a total Obftrudion in the Veilels that lead to
them, the Soul has no farther Power to influ-
ence or move them ; Much lefs can it ani-
mate, and fo move or ad upon any other Bo-
dies at a diftance from its own. How theq
can the Holy Spirit, \i he is not infinite,
and fo every where prefent, be a Principle of
Life and Adion, and intimoufly dwell in
Chrifl's Human Nature above, and at the
fame time in his Members here below ? How
can he by his own Prefence operate, like a
common Principle, both in him and them,
as they are widely fcatter'd abroad at vafl
pittances of Place from him, and from one
another, over the Face of the Earth ? This
invaluable Unipn muft be loft, fo far as it
depends on this Spirit, unlefs he is an infi"
ntte Spirit. And to fuppofe that any but Gq^
is fo, is to confound all our Notions of God
and other Spirits, taken from Reafon or Re-
velation. For he fpeaks of this by way of
Eminence as his Peculiar ,• Am I a God at
handy faith the Lor d^ and not a God afar o^'?— • jer. 22.
Do not I fill Heavm and Earthy faith the Lord ? i ? , 2^.
J 4 But
( a8o )
But if the Holy Ghoft is God, all the Dif-
ficulties of the Cafe are removed : 'Tis then
very obvious, that he may be a uniting Spi-
rit betwixt Chrift and all his Members. For
what fhould hinder his being fo wherefoever
he pleafes ^ If he is indeed God, iilling all
Places, and every where prefent at once, 'tis
as eafy for him to operate in a fpecial graci-
ous manner in, and to be a quickening Spirit
to Millions of Perfons, at the greateft Diflan"
ces of Place from one another, as to be fo to
any one of them. If therefore we think there
is any Value in our UmOi2 with Chrift, and
with God in him ; if that is a Bleffing of
Importance to us, as I think it is to the laft
JDegree, The Deity of the Holy Ghoft, on
which it depends, can't but be fo too.
The fame may be faid with refped to that
Communion with Chrift, and with God in
j him, which flows from this Uriion with them.
Our Communion with them confifts in mu-
tual Tranfaclings of a fpiritual fort, wherein
they gracioufly and evidentially communicate
faving Bleflings to us ; and we chearfully re-
turn all Love, Obedience and Praife to them,
together with all holy Confidence and De-
light in them. This Communion of the Fa-
ther and Son is vouchfafed to us by the Ho-
ly Ghoft, as the ading Perfon therein be-
tween them and us ; He filling us with their
Rom, 5. Light, and fiedding abroad their Love in our
5- Hearts ; and we having Accefs to them, to
^^' ^* Chrift immediately, and to the Father thro'
him, in a way of Faith and Love by one Spi-'
rit. Hence our Communion with God is
zCoM?.^^jl»^ ?/;(? Communion of the HOLT GHOST,
Y^i\,i^.,2^iK^the Fdh'wjhi} of the SPIRIT, as well as
C 28f )
FeUoiujhip ivith the FaiheY, and i^ith his Sou i John
Jefm Chrifty becaufe 'tis by the Holy Ghoft *• '^•
that we have all the fvveet and holy Fellow-
fhip, which they gracioufly condefcend to
allow us to have with themfelves. But more
of this will fall in with fome Things that are
farther to be offer'd.
In the mean while it may net be amifs to Obj.
obviate an ObjiHion againil the Importance of
the Dodrine of the Holy Ghoil s Godhead,
as if we might be fafely ignorant of that
Dodrine ; and that is. That the Apoflle Paul
found fome of Johns Difciples who believed^ ^^^ ,p^
and yet had not fo much as heard zohet her there z.
be any Holy Ghoft. In Anfwer to this it may Aiif.
be faid. That Perfons might be more fafely
ignorant of fome Things then than now,
becaufe there was not fo clear a Revelation of
^em then, as there is now. However, 'tis
extremely evident, that the HolyGhofi in this
Place fignifies not the Perfony but the extra-
ordinary Gifts and Operations of the Holy
Ghoft, particularly as a Spirit of Prophefy. This
appears from the Apoftle 's Qiieftion in the
former part of the Verfe ; Have ye received the
Holy Gbofl ? Compared with the manner in
which they afterwards received him, ver. 6,
'the Holy Ghofl came on thcm^ and th^yfpake with
Tongues, and Prophefy d. The Spirit of Pro-
phefy had departed from Ifrael for feveral
Hundred Years ; the want of this was one
of the five Things, fay fome ; fix, fay others,
with refped to which the Jews complained
that the Glory of the fecond Temple was Ms
than that of the firft. For tho' there was
fomething of the Spirit of Prophefy left in the
Prophets Haggaiy Zechariah, and Malachi, who
liv'd after the fecond Temple v/as built ; yet
on
( 382 )
on their Death, which (fay the Rahhim) hap-
ned all in one Year, the prophetick Spirit
•j- See wholly ceafed from among them f. Now
Prideaux thefe Difciples having been abroad at great
Connedl. Dfftances from Jenifalemy had not heard of
P^i^p. ^^^ Return of the Spirit, as a Spirit of Pro-
phefy, infpiring holy Men again. But as the
Spirit was frequently fpokcn of in the Old
Teftament, and as the Lofs of the Gift of
Prophefy from this Spirit, was a common
Lamentation among the People, 'tis not fup-
pofable that thofe Difciples, who were Jews^
could be ignorant that there was fuch a
JPerfon.
SERMON
(jSj)
SERMON X.
I COR. xii. II,
But aU thefe worketh that one and the
felf-fame Spirit^ dtmding to every
Man fever ally as he will,
I Have two or three Things ftill farther to
propofe unto Confideration, relating to
the IMPORTA NCR of the DoBrme
of the Holy Ghoffs Godhead, Therefore,
Sixthly^ 'Tis of great Importance with re-
fpeB to our WO R S HIP, And this may be
confider'd, (i.) With regard to its OhjeB ^
and, (2.) With regard ro the Ghry and Effi-
cacy of Its Ordinances.
I. If the Holy Ghofi is not Cod, there is a very
great Alteration made in the BJ ECT' of om'
iVorjhip J and the Church of God in all Ages has
been guilty of ididatrous Mifiakes about it.
How very dtferent is the Objed of our
Worfhip, if we confider it as one divine Be-
ing, inclufive of Father, Son,and Holy GhoU,
to wliat it is, if we exclude the Son and Spi-
rit, and confine it only to the Father 5 or if
we
( =84)
we exclude the Spirit^ and confine it to the
Father and Son ? They who pay divine Ho-
nour to God, under thefe different Appre-
henlionsof him, worfhip a VQvy dif event God :
And if the Objed of one fort of thefe V/or- ,
fbippers is the true God, the Objed of the
other mud be a falfe God ; or at beft, the
true God under fuch a falfe Notion of him,
as either compounds, or divides him, and fo
in great meafure ungods him. Either one of
thefe forts worfhip Ofie, if not two, Perfons for
God, who by Nature are not fo ; Or the o-
ther for p exclude 0/2^, ifnot^iuo, Perfons from
their Worfhip, who really are the fame God
in Nature with the Father, and ought to have
divine Homage paid to them as fuch. If the
Holy Ghoft is God, we ought moff certainly
to worfhip him, and are guilty of Irreligion
^nd Atbeifm, with refped to him, in not do-
ing fo. And if he is not God, we certainly
ought not to worfhip him, and are guilty of
idolatry in offering it to him. What a vaft
Alteration then doth the admitting or deny-
ing the Holy Ghofl to be God, apparently
make in the Ol^jeci of our Worfhip.
That the Son and Spirit have been worr
Ihipp'd as God, together with the Father, in
all Ages of the Chriflian Church fron^ the
Beginning down to this Day, has been often
maintain'd by proper Evidence, from the befl
Ancient Writers of Ecdefiaftkal Affairs ; and
is allow'd to be Fad, with refped to moftpf
thofe Ages, even by thofe who pretend the
Fad was otherwife in the two or three firfl
Centuries, The Proof of this Point againft
thofe Pretences, is fallen into very good
Hands ; and 'till what they have quoted from
'Ju[iin Martyr i Clemens Akxandrinm, and o-
thers^
(285)
thers, is fairly difproved, I fhall beg leave to
fuppofe it to be true, with refpect to thofe,
as well as after Ages. If therefore the Ho-
ly Ghoft is not God, what have we and the
Churches of Chrid: in all Ages been doing,
in paying divine Honour to that Deity, which
includes Father, Son, and Holy Ghoic ? And
how melancholy is the Thought, that God's
People fhould be generally left to the Foi/y
Siud Impiety of Worihipping the Son and Spi-
rit as God, if the Father only is tiie true God ?
On this Suppofition, all their Worlhip has
been Mockery and Delujion, an Affront to God,
and a Cheat upon themfelves ; and the In[crip' ^o^^ ,7,
tion, 10 rHE UNKNOH^N GOD, which 23.
was found on an Altar at Athens, mufl be
written-. on the Devotions of the Chriftiaii
Church, as well as of the Heathen World.
But can it be thought, that after the true
God has been fo plainly declar'd, as he has
been in the Scripture, the Church (Lould ne-
verthelefs live in fuchSuperflition, Ignorance
and Idolatry, as to worfhip an unknoivn God
ftill, or to worfliip fuch for God, who i^y Na- Gal.4.8.
ture are not God, which was the very Ido-
latry of the Heathen ? Can we imagine that
that Gofpel, which was fpread among the
Gentiles to banifh their Polytheifm out of the i xhef.
World, and to bring them to know 2LV\dferve i. 9.
the living and true God, fhould be fram'd at^ ^^^
fuch a rate by the only wife God, v/ho is jea- ^"^^ '^"
lous of his Glory, as to lead his People,lcarn'd
and unlearn'd, thro' all fucceeding Genera-
tions, into an idolatrous Worfhip of fuch for
God, as are not by Nature God ? Can we
fuppofe that God fhould never once Caution
them againft this Inftance of it ; but fhould
Countenance them with his gracious Pre-
fcncej
fence, even while they live in the conftant
Pradice of fiich a flagrant Sin } Or can we
think fo very diihonourably of the Holy Ghoft as
tofuppofe, that the Church fiiould be brought
by his Condud and Influence to pay divine.
Worihip to himfelf, and that moji of all, when
they are mofl: remarkably under his Influence,
and yet that he really is not the God to
whom it is due ? Thefe are all Suppofitions
fo foully refleding on, and injurious to the
only true Jeho'vah, to the Per/on and Office of
I Tim. I. the Holy Ghofl:, to the glorious G off el of the
V' , yiejf^(i ^^'^y ^^'^^ to the Generation of his Chil-
j[^*^^' dren ; Suppofitions fo contrary to the Faith-
fulnefs,Care and Loi'^e of Chrifl: to the Church,
fo contrary to the Integrity and Goodnefs of
the Holy Spirit^ and fo contrary to the many
exceeding great and precious Promifes of the
Gofpcl, in reference to the Church's Prefer-
vation and Guidance in Thingsof the great-
eft Moment, that nothing Ihort of the clear-
eft Demonftration fhould make us give them
the leaft Entertainment.
But if the Holy Ghoft is God, all thefe
(Locking Suppofitions are at once removed :
And it will then appear, that the Care and
Rindnefs of God to his Church, has kept it
from fetting up any other God b^/ides him-
felf ; that the Gofpel has anfwer'd its de-
fign'd End, in turning us to the only living
and true God; that the blefled Spirit has aded
the part of the Spirit of Truths in leading the
Church to worfhiphimfelf, together with the
Father and Son, as the one God of whom
that Gofpel is the Revelation to us> and that
Pf.14. 5. (^Oii ^-f ^^ tl^^ Generation of the Right eom. Upon
this Foot only we are fiife, and may be at reft
in
( 287 )
in our felves, with refped to the adorable
Objed whom we worfhip.
2. If the Holy Ghoji is not God, we lofe thi
EFFICACY AND CLORTofth^ ORDINAN-
CES of Gofpel-J/Vorfljip,
All Ordinances ot Worfhip are appointed
of God, not only for his Honour in the World,
but likewife as the Means of Grace, for
Vouchfafements of his fpecial Prefence to his
People, that in them they may commune with
him, and enjoy him here, 'till he fhall take
them up to the neareft Communion with him,
and fulleft Enjoyments of him, in his Glory
hereafter. This Prefence of God with them
is by his Spirit ; and the Prefence of that
Spirit is the Prefence of God himfelf Thus
his People always efteem it ,• as fuch they long
and pray for it; as fuch they value it, when
thay are favcur'd with it ; as fuch they la-
ment the Lofs of it, when it withdraws from
them ; and as fuch Chrift reprefented it, when
he fpoke of his Spirit's dwelling in his Difci-
pies, and thereupon added, that his Father Jch. 14,
and himfelf would make their abode with them. i^> X7»
When the Spirit is prefent with us, the Fa-^5«
ther and Son being the fame God with him,
are prefent with us too. Tho' one of thofe
divine Perfons may more immediately ope-
rate in an Ordinance than another, and the
bleffed Spirit is ufually reprefented as doing
fo ; yctt\\Qiv Nature or Eflence being they/2;w£',
they can't be divided or feparated in Prefence
or Operation. Hence, when we are called
the Temple of God in whom he dwells, the
Apoftle interprets it by his Spirit's dwelling
in us, which intimates that the Spirit's dwel-
ling is God's own dwelling in us. Know ye i Cor, ?.
not that ye ars the Temple of God, and that the i<5.
Spirit
C 288 )
Spirit of God dwelleth in you ? Accordingly Be^
Chap. 6.iievers are called the Temple of the Holy Ghofi^
^' as well as of God. They are alfo faid to be the
^p 1. 2. jj^^i^^^fiQyif^j- Qf^^^jy^^g'^Q^ ]^Y^ the Spirit I And
2 Cor. 6. this is call'd God's own dwelling among them.
*6. But if the Holy Ghoft is not God, his
dwelling in the Church, and filling the Or-
dinances of it with his Prefence, could not
be the Prefence of God himfelf. The Ordi-
nances themfelves might as well be call'd God's
Prefence^ becaufe they are his Appointments^
and the Means of enjoying him ; his Mini^
(iers might as well be call'd God's Prefence^ be-
caufe he has fent them, and promifed to be
prefent with them in their holy Miniflrations,
as the holy Spirit s Prefence is call'd Go^'i Pre-
fence^ if he is not God, but only a Creature,
whom God fends, with whom he is prefentj
and thro' or by whom he conveys his Grace
to us, and communes with us. At this rate
of thinking there are no Tranfadions between
God himfelf and our Hearts, in any Ordi-
nancesof Worfliip ; there is no fpecial Prefence
of God himfelf with his People in them : But
he himfelf is ftill a God afar off, as to his own
gracious Workings upon us ; 'only he fends a
Creature to fill his Ordinances, and his Peo-
ples hearts by means of them,with all thePow-
er and Efficacy that is felt or enjoy 'd in them.
If God himfelf is not fpecially prefent by
his gracions Operations among his People,
the Glory of New Te(lament^Worfoip falls vaft-
ly fnort of that of the Old, For it was the
great Jehovah of Ifrael himfelf that was re-
j'jj.^ .^ markably prefent, and appear'd in his otun
3^, '^s.Di^p^^ys of Glory among them. It was he
I'KirtcrS.that by hiso:i;;^ Operation filled the Tahrna-
lo, Ti. cle and Temple with his Glory, and thereby
fiiew'd
C 289 )
fhew'd Himfelf to be gracioufly prefent there.'
And he condefcended in a gracious manner
to meet with, and dwell among the Children £xo. 29.
of Ifrael. But if the Spirit is not God, and 43, 45.
God is now fpecially prefent with his Church
in their Worfhip only as his Spirit is fo, we
have loft the Glory of our Worfliip ; and the
Gofpel-Adminiftration is not fo excellent above
the Old "Tejlament Adminifir at ioHy as the Apo*
ftle reprefents it, when he fays. That even z Cor. ^
that which was made glorious, had no Glory in\^*
this refpeSi, by reafnn of the Glory that excelleth.
For what is the Prefence of the moft glorious
Creature among us, to the grand Appearan-
ces and gracioufly operating.PrefenCe of the
glorious Jehovah himfelf/^ Or what are Ma-
nifeftations made by the moft exalted Mini-
Jler, to be compared with thofe of the infi-
nitely blefled 6*0^ himfelf? But if the Spirit
is God, then his dwelling by fpecial Relati-
on, and gracious Operation among his Peo-
ple, is God's own peculiar abode among them,
according to his Promife in the New Tefta-
ment, anfwering to that which he made of
his dwelling among his People in the Old,
faying, / will dwell in them, and walk in them, 2 Cor, 6,
and I will be their God, and they fhall be my Peo- *^ •
fie. And as this Spirit, who is God, is more
eminently prefent in a way of internal Ope-
ration on Believer's Hearts in Gofpel-Admi-
niftrations, than he was in Old Teftament
Ordinances, the Glory of our Worfhip is
ptoportionably greater than that of the Old
Teftament. And this Glory rifes in propor-
tion to the Degrees of the Spirit's Prefence
with us. Hence the Apoftle, fpeaking of New
Teftament Worfhip, favs, Be not drunk with Eph. 5,
U Wine, 18.
( 090 )
iVme, ivberein is excefs ; but be filled with the
Spirit.
If there is no Communion between God
himfelf and our Souls, in his Worihip ; no
Imprefs of his own immediate Authority on
our Conlciences ; no Intimations from Him^
felf of his Love and Favour in Chrifl to us ;
no effedual Workings of his own Power upon
our Hearts, all the Apprehenfions his People
have had of that fort, have been delufive I-
maginations, and all their a(3:ingsof Faith
and Love to him, and Defire after him, which
they have been direded and influenced unto
by thofe Apprehenfions, have been founded
upon Enthiijtafm. And yet fuch Enthufiafts
they have always been, and can't but defire
.ftill more and more to be, let others call
them by what odious Names they pleafe.
Should we feparate this gracious Prefence of
God himfelf from his Worfliip, how low
■would this fink the Glory of it ? And how
fenfibly would it abate that holy Awe and
Re'verence on one hand, and that Admiration^
Love and Praife on the other, which we pay
as to God himfelf, working on our Hearts
therein ?
Our Communion with God in Ordinan-
ces hercj is a Prelibation and Earneft of what
we are to have with him in Hea-jen hereafter.
The Nature of the Enjoyment is the fn7ne,
tho' the manner of it is very different. Hence
Pfal. 7g. fays the Pfaimifiy Whom have I in Hewuen but
^5; i^. T^HEEy and there is none upon Earth that 'I de-
fire befides 'T'HEE, Mj Flejh and my Heart
faileth ; but GOD is thi Strength of my Hearty
and my Portion for ever. Surely 'tis God him-
felf that is to be enjoy'd in Heaven ; 'tis he
that makes up the full Felicities of that glo-
rious
r 39' )
rious State ; and his Prefence in his Ordinan-
ces here, is a fort oF Heaven began upon
Earth ; and therefore the Pfalmift adds. It is
good for me to D R AW NE AR 1^0 GOD, ver, 28.
Accordingly David vents his prefling Defires
after Communion with God himfelf in his
Worfliip, when he fays, As the Hart panteth ^^^^' 4*»
after the Water-brooksy jo panteth my Soul after '^^ ^'
THEEy God. My Soul thirftethfor GODjor
the living Ged : When Jhall I come and appear
before God,
This is the common Language of truly
gracious Souls. 'Tis God himfelf that they
thirft after an Enjoyment of in his V/orfliip ;
and nothing fhort of himfelf can fatisfy them.
They vahie his Ordinances, as they are di-
vine Appointments for his Glory and their
Soul's Advantage. But 'tis his own Prefence,
which they reckon tnt Crown and Glory oi
all Ordinances ; for 'tis only in the Enjoy-
ment of him, that they are enabled to glori*
^Y him, or to profit in his ways. They don't
take up their Reft in the Prefence of any Be-
ing that is not God, or of any M/nifter, Mef-
fenger, or Servant of God, under whatever
Character he is fent forth from him. But they
are fully fatisiied with the Prefence of the
Holy Ghofl, becaufe they take that to be the
Prefence of God hirnfelf They receive him
under the Charader of that Spirit of Gody
who is one in Being with the Father and Son,
and can't be feparated from them ; and there-
fore they reckon that, whenever he comes to
commune with their Hearts in the appointed
Ordinances of Worfhip, the Father and Son
are likewife prefent together with him, and
that they have Communion with them all.
They expert all the Efficacy of Ordinances
U z moft
( 290
moft immediately from the Holy Ghoft ;
they look for him to enable them to pray
jpirituallyy to hear pofitably^ and to ufe the
Seals of the Covenant fiduceally. But the
original Ground of all their Expedations of
this kind, is the Deity of the Holy Ghoft>
as he is that Perfon in the Godhead, who
moft immediately exerts its gracious Energy
to make the Adminiftrations of Gofpel Or-
dinances effedual to them. The Gofpel is
I Cor.5. called the glorious Mimftration of the Sfirity
6. B. which Spirit giveth Life, And as it comes to
1 Qo\, z,ns in Demonftration of the Spirit^ fo, and fo
4' only, it comes vvith Power : But this Power
of the Spirit, with which it comes, is in the
next Words called the Power of God ; I'hat
ver. 5. jQ^Y Faith Jhould not fiand in the Wtfdom of
Men, but in the Power of God. And at ano-
Rom. i.j-i^ej; timt 'tis called the Power of God to Saha-
tion, to every one that believes. Yea, the Apo-
flle, fpeaking of Gofpel-Miniftrations, af-
fures us that all the Increafe of fpiritual Fruits
produced thereby, is wholly of God, as the
only efficient Caufe of it. Who then is Pauh
I Cor.^ Qy r^jfjQ j^ Apolloy but Minifters by whom ye belie-
^ ' '* ved, even as the Lord gave to every Man ? I
have planted^ Apollo watered ; but God gave the
Increafe, So then neither is he that plahteth any
things neither he that watereth ; but God that
giveth the Increafe. And therefore, when the
Power of the Holy Ghoft is felt in the Ordi-
nances of Worihip, to an Increafe of Con-
verts, or of Light and Grace in them who
are converted, the Soul that feels it, reckons
the bleffed Effed is wrought by the Spirit ;
Ch*i4. not as a Creature, but as God ; It falling
2S« downy will worjhip Gody and report that God is
among that People of a "f rut k.
( 293 )
If the Holy Ghoft is God, there is iiQ
Doubt but he can fill all Ordinances with a
Glory, and can commune with our Hearts to
the moft valuable Purpofes, wherever we are
attending on them ; and his Prefence with us
therein may, in the propereft Senfe, becaird
the Prefence of God himfelf with us. And
O what an Honour is this to Duft and A-
{h^s, that God himklfwil/ indeed dwell on Earth 'Kin. 8.
among them ! But if the Spirit is not God/^'
his People in vain expeft that his Prefence
can be with them in their feveral AfTemblings
together, and in their private Retirements at
numberlefs different Places for religious Wor-
Ihip. And if they had his Prefence, yet, in
cafe he is not God, they would but amufe
themfelves with pleafant Dreams, if they
fhould take that to be the Prefencaof God
himfelf. And if the Prefence of the Spirit is
not God*s own Prefence with them, they muft
never exped to have God's own gracious
Prefence in his Worfhip at all, becaufe his
gracioufly operating Prefence with his Peo-
ple is no otherwife than by his Spirit, as he
moves upon their Hearts. What a vaft Al-
teration muft this different State of the Cafe
make in the Glory, Efficacy and Delight of Qof -
pel- Ordinances >
When God was difpleafed with Ifrael for
their Idolatry in worftiipping the Golden Calfy
he refufed to go up with them to the Land
of Canaan by his own glorious Appearances
among them ,• but inftead of that, he told
'em he would fend an Angel, evidently mean-
ing a created Angel, to go before them. /,
fays Jehovah, will fend an Angel before thee, Exo. ;?,
"* unto a Land flowing with Milk and Ho- ^> 3> 4'
fiey : For I will not go up in the midjl of thee ;for
U 3 thou
( 294 )
thQU an a fliff-neclied People, lefl I conjmne thee
in the way. And when the People heard thefe e-
vil 'Tidings y they mourn d. Stiff-necked as they
were, they could not be fatisfied with the
Prefenceof a created Angel inflead of God's
own Prefence w.tb them. This, together
with other Things that were fpoken againft
them, was a jull: Caufe of their Mourning
And Mofes was fo fenfibly touch'd and affed-
ed with this part of the e^^il 'Tidingi^ that he
coa d not reft without eitncftly interceding
with the Lord to rev^erie it. And Mojes fad
\\ii,j $,unto tie Lordy See, thoufayeft unto me, bring up
this People, and thou hafi not let me know whom
thou wilt fend with t/^c'.— •««— if jTHT PRE-
SENCE go not witk) me, Larry us not up hence.
Such (ort of me!:incholy Tidings God's Peo-
ple would take diem o be, if they were to
be told from God, that he himfelf would
withdraw from them in his Ordinances of
Worfhip, but yet would fend a moft excellent
Spirit, whom he had created on purpofe to
be with them in his own iflt ad. O how would
Ter. 3. 4. they I'everally /row that time cry unto him. My
Father, thou art the Guide of my Teuth ? Let me
have thine own blelfed Prefence, tho' I have
none but thine. That alone is fuiScient to
fatisfy me ; but without that, all the Crea-
tures which thou haft made cannot content
me. As the Prefence of no Creature, how
excellent foever, could fatisiy Mofes ; fo the
Prefence of the holy Spirit would not fatisfy
true Believers, if they really thought that he
is not God, and that they fhould have no o-
ther fpecial Prefence of God with them, than
what conftfts in the Prefence of chat Spirit.
Surely then the Doctrine of the Godhead of
the
C 295 )
the Holy Ghofl miift be of great Importance
on this account.
Seventhhy This Dodrine is of great Im-
portance with refpeH to the POWER OF GOD-
LINESSy or to all true Jpiritucil ReUgion m Heart
and Lije,
All true Religion begins in the Heart, and
•from thence fpreads and diffufeth it felf thro'
the whole Life and Converfation. Outward
Pretences to it;, how fpecicas foever they may
appear, are little worth, unlefs they proceed
from truly fpiritual and gracious Principles
within. 'Tis the hidden Man of the Heart*' j Pet.?.
which is in the fight of God of great Price. And, 4.
^ a Man thinks in his Hearty fo is he. Hence Pfov,i>
what Chrift fays with r^fpedto Dodrines, is ^'
like wife applicable unto Practice. Either make j^iat. 12.
the Tree good, and his Fruit good ; or elfe make 5S.
the T'ree corrupt, and his Fruit corrupt ; for the
T^ree is known by his Fruit. And, Do Men ga- Chap. 7.
ther Grapes of 1 horns y or Figs of T'hi files ? Even ^^» ^"'
fo every good Tree i^ringeth forth good Fruit ; but
a corrupt Tire bringeth forth evil Fruit. The
Mind muft be in fome meafnre inlightened in Eph. i.
the Knowledge of Cbrifty to underftand the way ^1^ ^^•
of Peace, Comfort and Holinefsby him; for
that the Soul be without Knowledge y it is not goody
pr, as it might be rendered, without Know- ^^^'^-'^9'
ledge the Soul is not good. Accordingly the^*
faving Work of God's Grace upon us begins
in opening the Eyes of our Minds, and turning ^^-^ ^,5.
^ from Darknefs to Light. The Heart mull
alfo be brought over to what we know, fo
as to approve of it, and to chufe to ad accor-
ding to it. Andthisy fays the Apoftle, I pray Phil.1.9
that your Love may abound yet 7nore and more in ^^> ^*'
Knowledge^ and in all Judgment^ that ye may
U 4 approve
( 596 )
approve things that are excellent^ that ye may he
f.ncere^ and viithout offenccy till the Day ofChrift ;
being filled with the Fruits of Righteoufnefsy which
are by Jefm Chrifi, unto the Glory and Praife of
Cal.5.6. ^od. Faith zvorkmg by Love, muft be the Prin-
ciple of all our Holinefs and Obedience .* For
in Chrifi Jefm neither Circumcijion availeth any
thing, nor Uncircumcifion ; but Faith which work-
eth by Love. The Glory of God muft be our
^ higheft &i in it : Whether ye eat or drink, or
^,^ ' 'whatever ye doy do all to the Glory of God. The
Power by which we perform all holy Duties,
muft be derived from Chrift, by Virtue of
Joh. 15. our Union with him, without whom we can do
S' nothing in a fpiritual manner ; and the Accep-
tablenefs of the Performance muft be looked
I Pet 2 ^^^ ^ y ^^ Chrift : To zvhom coming as to a li-
4, 5/ '^i^g Stone, di fallowed indeed of Men, but chofen
ofGody and preciousy ye alfo m lively Stones are
built up a fpiritual Houfe, an holy Prieflhood, to
offer up fpiritual Sacrifices y acceptable to God by
' Jefm Chrift. And the Rule of all this is the
written U/ord of God, to which all Notions
and Praftices, that concern our living to God,
muft be reduced, as to their proper Stan-
Ifa. 8. dard. To the Lawy and to the 'Teflmony ; if
^o» they fpeak not according to this Wordy it is becaufe
there is no Light in them. This is the plain Ac-
count that the Scripture gives of true Holinefj^
and Obedience. This is real pradical and
fpiritual Religion ; and the more we abound
in Obfervances of thefe Things, the more .
the Power of Godlinefs prevails in Heart and
Life.
The whole of this Work is begun and car-
ry 'd on in us by the Holy Ghoft, by his fpecial
Agency in us, and efFedual Influences upon
us. Whatever of this fort is found in any of
us,
( 297 )
us, or truly praflifed by us, is the Fruit of
the Spirit, as the Apoftle reprefents in many
Inftances of it. 7^/je Fruit of the Spirit is Love, Gal. 5.
Joy, Peace, Long'fufferirig,Gentlenefs,Goodnef,'^^y^l-
Faith, Meeknefs, "Temperance, And, The Fruit £ h o
of the Spirit is tn all Goodnefs, and Righteoufnefi, ^
and Truth. Accordingly the whole of a Chri-
ftian's Life and Walk in Holinefs before
God, is called a living and walking in the Spi- Gal. 5.
rit. And 'tis made the Defcription of the ^5.
Life of true Believers, that they mind or fa- Rom. 8,
vour the things of the Spirit ; and walk not after 4, 5.
the Flejh, but after the Spirit, or according to
his Dictates to them, and Influences upon
them.
But if the Holy Ghoft is not God, how can
he be every where prefent thus to didate to,
and influence the Hearts of Believers, in all
Places at one and the fame Time, fince none
but God is Omniprefent? If he is not God,
how can he know our Hearts, and find out
all the Deceitfulnefs of them, that he may fet
'em to rights, and influence them unto fpi-
ritual and holy Exercifes,fince God only knows j Kiu^ys
the Hearts of the Children of Men, and finceS. 59.
none but he canfearch out their Deceitfulnefs,
and deal with them, either in a way of Mer- ^^^' ^^'
cy or Judgment, according to their IJ^orks ?^'
Hence David appeal'd to God, as the only
Omnifcient Being, to fearch his Heart, in or- ppa.rjp.
der to cure the evil of it, and to lead him in z?,'24/
the ivay everlafiing. If the Holy Gholf is not
God, how can he mafl:er all the Difficulties
that lie in the way of his Work, and carry
it on to Vidory and Triumph, in Defiance
of all the ftrong and united Oppofition of
the World, the Flefh, and the Devil, that
lies againfl it ? A little Obfervation of our
own
( '98 )
own Experience, and of the Scripture-account
of the manifold Difficulties that muft be over-
come, before our Hearts can be effedually
brought over to God, and thorowly engaged
to live a right unto him, may convince us
that, unlefs the Spirit is God^ this Work muft
needs mifcarry ni his Hands, as it depends
on him.
Such is thc/tnfal Darknefs and Error of our
Minds, their Ignorance of fpirituai Things,
their grofs Miftakes about *em, and proud
Reafonings againfl 'em, that none but the
infinite God himfelf can fill us with faving
Light, and filence all our Cavils. Accord-
ly the Apoftle fpeaks of it as his peculiar
2 Cor. 4. Work, when he fays, GOD who 'commanded
^r the Light to fiine out of Darknefs, hath [hined in
our Hearts, to give the Light of the Knowledge
of the Glory of God in the Face of Jefm Chrift.
Ch. 10. And, 'The l4^eapons of our War] are are mighty
1» 5* THKO' GOD to the pulling down offirpng Holds ;
cafling down Imaginations^ and every high thing
that exalteth it felf againfl the Knozuledge of God^
and bringing into Captivity every "Thought to the
Obedience of Chnfl, Such is our natural Infi^
delity, with refped to all that God fays in his
Word, efpecially concerning the way of Life
and Salvation alone by Jefus Chrifl, and fuch
is our Inability to believe to the favingof our
Souls, that nothing lefs than the revealing
God's own Almighty Arm, can work up our
Hearts to an effedual Faith in the Lord Je-
Ifa.§3.i.fus. Hence fays the Prophet, Who hath belie*
ved our Report ? And to whom is the Arm of the
Job. 6. Lord revealed ? And, No Man can come to me^
44- fays Chrift, except the Father, which hath feni
?ne, draw him. Such is our Enmity and Re-
bellion of Heart againft God and Godlinefs,
that
( ^99 )
that none but God himfclf can fubdue them,
and make them throughly willing to yield ta
him. T'hy People [hall be willing in the Day o/^ Pfa, i j.o».
tHT POWER, Such is the natural Madnefs 5-
of our Hearts in the way of Sin, fo defpe-
t2i.tc\y fet in its to do evil, fo confirmed in the
Love and Practice of it by long continued
Cuflom, zndio fi:ifi--neLkedj ftiibborn:, 2i\\a har^
dendy are they againft the Fear of God, in
Defiance of ail his Methods of Mercy and
Judgment towards us, that none but God can
tame and turn them to himfelf. Ephrahns
(sid. Experience of this, made him apply to
God alone ibr a Recovery, asonefenfible that
none but he could do it. -I have ftirely heard ]^' i*»
Ephraifn bemoaning himfelf tlms ; 'Thou hafl
chafiifed me^ and I was chafiifedy oi n Bullock
unacciiflomed to the Yoke : Ttirn THOU me^ and
I ]hall be turned ; for thou an the Lord my God,
Such is the Difordcr ofourAffeBions ; their Self
ijhnefs and Carnality ; their AddiBsdnefs to
Things of Flefh and Senfe ; their infatiable
Appetites and eager Purfuits after them, that
none but God himfelf can t rn their Byafs ;
make us ready to deny our feives ; and, when
the Circum (lances of Things require it, to
forfake all and follow him. IVitb Men this is Mar. lo.
i?npofftblcy but not voith God ; for with God all^l'
Things are poffible, as Chrifl argued with re-
fped to this very Work. Such are the S}7ares
and Allurements of this prefent evil World, to
intangle our Minds, Hearts, and Affections,
to feed our fenfual and irregular Appetites,
to bribe us into the way of Sin by its deceit-
ful flattering Pleafures, and to imboldcn us
therein by its numerous Examples of the
V/icked, who profper in their way ; and
fucb
( 3CO )
fuch is the Artifice^ Powery and Vigilance of
the Devih to play the World upon our Paf-
fions, in all its Terrors on one hand, and de-
lufive Charms on the other, to blind our
Minds, flrengthen our Prejudices againft God
and his Ways, and to blow up our Corrup-
tions ; that nothing kfs than the Power of
God himfelf can difintangle us from all thefe
Snares, and burft thefe Cords afunder, by
which the ftrong Man arm'd, as well as our
own perverfe and fenfual Hearts, bind us
down in the ways of Sin. Hence the Apo-
flle fpeaks of it as the Work of God himfelf
Col I. ^o deliver m from the POWER of Darknefsy
13/ and tranjlate us into the Kingdom of his dear
Son,
Now fince all this Work requires Omni-
potence to effed it, and fince (as appears
from this and fome preceding Difcourfes) that
Omnipotence is never apply 'd for this Pur-
pofe, unlefs the Holy Ghoft exerts it, I don't
fee how we can exped it from him, an^ con^
fequently how we can expect it at all, if he
is not God. For how can he put forth the
Almighty Power of God upon us, unlefs he
is himfelf God ? How can he fpeak in the
Majefty and Authority of God to our Hearts
and Confciences, and make 'em melt, and
tremble, and fall down in Subjectipn before
him ? How can he do that in us eifedually
in a Moment, which no Argumens taken from
God's Love or IVrath, Heaven or Hell^ Duty
or Interejl, tho' frequently urged with the ut-
moft Skill and Pathos^ could ever make any
thing of before *, yea, and which neither the
clofeft Conftderation we could bring our Minds
to on one hand, nor the mofl: moving Eocpo^
Jlulations of one fenc from the Dead, on the
other^
( 901 )
other, could ever work within us ? For if^e
hear not Mofes and the ProphttSy neither will we Luk. i5.
l?e perfwadedy tho one ro[e from the Dead. Surely ^ '•
if the blefl'ed Spirit is not God, we in vain
exped fuch God-like Operations horn him to
make us Ifraelhes indeed, and to advance true
fpiritual Religion in our Hearts and Lives.
As far as I fee, we mud either fay, that fuch
divine and effedual Operations are not to be
expeded from him, or elfe that he is God.
To fay fuch Operations are not to be exped-
ed from him, is in effect to fay they are not
to be expected at all, fince (as has been fhewn)
i£ we are partakers of them. He is their pro-
per and moft immediate Author. And to fay
they are not to be expeded at all, is to con-
tradid the Current of Scripture, to take off om
Dependence on God, to turn our Prayers in-
to a Mockery of him, and to take up with a
Religion that will bring no Honour to God,
or Advantage to our own Souls. If there-
fore we deny that the Holy Ghoft is God, we
muft fet our Wits on work either to deny,
or to explain away the proper Meaning of all
the Texts on which our Expectations of di-
i)ine Influence are founded, and muft drudge
on in Religion without any Hopes of effectual
Ailiftance ; or elfe muft wholly abandon all
Attempts of being truly fpiritual and holy,
according to Gofpel-Principles, in the Prac-
tice of it.
But if the Holy Ghoft is God, he can ea-
fily rule, influence, and make ImprefTions
upon our Hearts, as hepleafes^ for he- is
Ornnifcientj Ornniprefenty and Omnipotent, as
God, and fo every way ftifficient for this
Work, how great foever the Difficulties and
Oppofi-
C 302 )
Oppofition may be that lie againft it. This
lottv Apprehenfion of him frees our Minds
from ail Perplexity la afcribing it unto him ;
and emboldens a holy Confidence, that our
Dependences on him, and Expedations from
him, are not in vain, while we look for his
divine Operations to promote the Power of
Godlinefs in us, according to the Promifes.
Hereby we may be fu'ly aifured, that there
is an All-fuffuuncy in his gracious Agency to
keep Religion pure and lively within, and to
enable us to difplay its Beauties luithouty in
all manner of holy Converfation and Godli-
nefs. Hence,
Eighthly^ This Dodrine is of great Impor-
tance ivith refpeB to the HAPPT ISSUES of aH
our Religion-, unto our frefent Comfort ^ and eter-
nal Bleffednefs.
This evidently follows from feveral of the
foregoing Particulars. For if the Godhead
of the Holy Ghoft is of great Importance
with refpect to the divine Authority of the Scrip-
ttire-i with refpect to our Union and Communion
with Chrift, and with God in him, with re-
fpect to the ObjeEi of Worfhip, and Efficacy of
its Ordinances, and with refped to all true
fpiritual Religion in Heart and Life, it can't
but be of the like Importance with refped to
our prefent Comfort in the Ways of God, to
our PerfeveraHce therein, and to the/*«^/blef-
fed ifiliesof our walking in them. The Re-
ligion that ftands on /j^te Foundations, that
leaves us at a Diflance and Eftrangement from
God in Chrift, that is idolatrom in its Objed,
iveak and jnefeBual in its Ordinances, dt{ii''
tute of inzvard gracious Principles of fpecial
Faith
( 3^5 )
Faith and Love, and not exemplify d in Acts
of Gofpel Obedience in our Lives and Con-
verfation, can never withftand the Force of
Temptation, afford true folid Peace in the
Profeffion of it, nor have any comfortable
Iffues in the Day of Death or Judgment. This
is not the Religion of the Gofpel ^ this is not
the Religion that comes from God, or will
be own d and accepted of him ; nor i-s, it a
Religion that an awaken'd Confcience can reft
fatisfy'd with • and therefore not a Religion
that will favingly profit us.
And yet \i the Holy Ghoft is not God,
this, as far as 1 fee, is all the Religion we
can hope to attain to. And this is indeed
all that many aim at, who -deny the Deity of
the blefled Spirit, and thereupon look on his
Operations as ufelefs, and treat all Notions
of 'em with Derilion. But there '\% furcly too
much Reafon to fear, that to deny the Deity '
and divine Operations of the Spirit, with
profane Banter and Revilings of both, h to
do define to the Spirit of Grace, And this the
Apoftle fpeaks of as a Sin that expofes a
Perfon to the fevereft Vengeance of God : Het[d\ ic,
that defpifed Mofess Law, died without A 6, ?•
the Cafe of Unbelievers, with refpect to their "^ ^* '^•
believing and turning to God in Chrifl. For
a free and fpecial Influence, tho' of different
Confideration, is as neceflary to one, as to
;he Other. But the Promife rcfpeding the
X 4 Matter
Matter of the Command takes off th^ Diffi-
culty in both Cafes, and makes all con/iftent.
Hence is the Apoftle's Exhortation and Ar-
Phil. 1. giiment to enforce it .• Work out your o-uiaSal-'.
ii> '3- uatim ivith Fear and Tremlplifig, For it is God
^vho zvorketh in you, both to. 'will and to do of bts
good Pkafure. Hence,
Use II. Let the Confideration of the Ne-
ceffity of the Spirit*s Operations caution Sinners
againfi PRESUMPTION.
What has been faid in anfwer to the fore-
going Objedion, fhews, that there is no
room for any of you to defpair of. the graci-
ous and effedual Help of the bleffed Spirit
in the ufe of the Means of Grace ; For there
is enough in him, and in the free Promifes
of the Gofpel, with refped to his Operati-
ons, to take off all Difcouragements that
may arife in our felves under a Senfe of our
own nability and Unworthinefs. But the
greateft Danger of Sinners lies in Prefiimpti-
on. 'Tis this li\2.x. (lays its Ten Thojifands ; *tisi
this that, like an epidemical Difeafe, fweeps
away the Multitude, and is the moft com-
mon Ruin of thofe that live in a Chriftian
Nation. And this principally rifes from flight
Apprehenfans oi the Neceffity of the Spirit's;
Work upon their Hearts, and from too high
an Opinion of their ovjn Power, They fecret-?
\y flatter themfelves that they can believe,
repent, and turn to. God, v/hen they pleafe ;
and accordingly, when Confcience reminds
■em of the great Concerns of another World,
they filence it with Promifes, that hereafter
they will take Care of their Souls, and do all
that is needful to fecure theii: eternal Inter
reftsj
( 313 )
refts ; that when they have enjoyed them-*
felves a little longer, got thro' the Hurries ot
Bufinefs, gain'd comfortable Circumftances
in the World, arrived to Tome propofed num-
ber of Years, or to be fure before they die,
they'll fet about Religion in earneft, and
they don't doubt but God will accept their
Repentance, and have Mercy upon them
then. Their vain Conceits, that a little will
do to carry 'em to Heaven, and that they
are able at any time to do that little, make
'em ftifie Convictions, put off the vaftly Mo-
mentous Affairs of their immortal Souls, and
go on prefumptuoufly in the Ways of Sin,
till God either righteoiifly gives 'cm up to a
judicial Hardnefs of Heart, or (uddenly cuts
'em oft', and fends 'eni down to Hell before "
they are aware.
But did you duly confider, that Faith and
Repentance, or believing in Chrifl; wtth theKom,to,,
Heart unto Right eoufne[s, and turning from fin^^*
and felf unto God in him, is a Work infi-
nitely above your own Power and Will, and
can be wrought only by the Power of God
himfelf, put forth by his free Spirit upon you;
and that this is not ordinarily to be exped-
ed, but in the Ways of his Appointments ;
certainly you cou'd not dare to negled this
great Salvation now, and prefume upon fu-
ture Happinefs, as you do. You would be
afraid to let prefent Opportunities flip, in
which you may have any Hopes-of meeting
with this bleffed Spirit, left fuch Opportuni-
ties fliould never return again : And you
cou'd not but be defirous to fall in with, and
purfue all prefent Convidions, Inlightnings,
gnd Impr^flionsj left they fhqu'd we^r off a-
gaio^
C 3H )
gain, and that fovereign and holy Spirit
Ihoird be To provok'd by your Negkds, as
never to renew them more.
Use III. Is the Godhead of the Holy
Ghoft of great Importance with refped to
the Glory and Efficacy of Gofpel Ordinances ?
^hen let us look for his Prefence inthem^ as the
Prefence of GOD himfelfy to make us frofit by
them.
A bare Attendance upon Ordinances will
not avail us, unlefs we meet with God, and
have Heart-Tranfadings with him, through
Chrift in them. T^ke heed therefore of reil-
ing in an external Performance of the Duty,
as too many do, who make it a fort of Atone-
ment for former Sins, and a fort of Difpenfa-
tion for time to come. But reckon the Op-
portunity loft, if you have no Accefs to God,
nor gracious Communications from him in it j
no divine Inlightenings in your Minds, nor
Renewings in your Wills, nor Quickenings in
your Affedions : no Exercife of jp^/>/;, Lovey
yoyy Repentance, Humility ^ Reverence , or godly
Fear -.^no Intimations of God *s Favour in Chrift,
no ImpreJJions from him, and no Conformity to
him, no Strength againft Sin, nor Enlivenings
unto Holinefs. None but God himfelf pre-
fent in his Ordinances by his Spirit, who is.
God, can convey thefe Bleffings to you, or
excite thefe fpiritual Exercifes of Heart in
your Approaches to him ; Let therefore God
himfelf be the Objed of your Aims and
Hopes, and let nothing fatisfy in your Wor-
fhip fliorc of him. When you pray, feek an
Eph. 2. Accefs to the Father by the one divine Spirit^
iS. thro' the one Mediator. When you hear^ let
it;
(315)
it be with this View, that you may hearv^hat
Godfiallfpeak unto you by his Spirit according Pr.85.8,
to his Word. When you fing his Praifes, let
it be with an Eye to God, that he may ena-
ble you to do it with Grace in your Hearts. CoL 3,
And when you celebrate the Ordinance of >^*
the Lord's Supper, feek Communion with
Chrift, and with God in him, by the blefled
Spirit ,• and that he as God may feal you to the Eph. 4.
Day of Redemption. Look for the Prefence of 5c. "
this Spirit as the Prefence of God, in every
Ordinance, that you may have the grea-
ter Reverence, Admiration and Efleem
of him, the greater Confidence in him,
the greater Value for his gracious Influ-
ences, «nd the greater Satisfadion and
Advantage in your holy Fellowfhip with him.
And when you are partakers of the FeJloivjhip Phihz.i.
of the Spirit, look upon it as God's own con-
defcending to commune with you ; fo that
you may warrantably fay on that account,
"Truly our FelJoxvJhip is nx>ith the Father, and with i Joh. i,
his Son Jefus Chrift. 5.
Use IV. Upon the whole that has been
faid on this Important Subjed, Let m HOLD
FAST the Docirtne of the Godhead of the Holy
Ghofl.
We have abundant Grounds to believe it
from what the Scripture fays concerning him,
tho* we can't comprehend all that it fays a-
bout him. For what can he be but the infi-
nitely great and only true God, fince the Scrip-
ture affures us fuch Things are fpoken and
done by him, which are in other Places ^/'/j-o-
priated to the only true God ? How can we
believe him to be any thing lefs than, or dif.
ferent
(gi6)
ferent from, the one great and fovereign God.>
lince (as has been fhewn) he bears the Names
that zvQpeculiar unto God, and are expreiTive
of the Nature of God, and fince fuch ^^ht
bmesy Wovksy and IVorJhipy are afcrib'd to him,
as can agree to none but the only true God ?
His divine Attributes C3,nt be feparated from
the divine EJfe nee : His divine Operations are
the Ads of his divine Attributes ; and the di-
vine jVorJhip paid to him, is an Acknowledg-
ment of thofe Attrihutesy as they are difplay'd
in his divine ^r^j-. Why then fhou'd we
doubt but that fuch an one, reprefented un-
der fuch infinite and magnificent Charader^,
is the great and fovereign God ? Why fliou'd
we depart from the common Faith of the
Cant. I. Churches, i?.ndforfake the ancient Footfieps of
^' the Flocky and quit a Truth that is built on
fuch folid Scriptural Grounds ? Certainly the
Evidence on the other fide ought to be irre-
fiftible, (which can't be expeded in the Face
of (o much Light to the contrary) before we
• give up a Point fo well eitablifh'd, and recei-
ved on the Foot of a divine Revelation, as
this is.
If 'twas a Matter of mere Speculationy th^t
did not affed the Truthy Power y and Glory, of
Chriflian Faith and PraBice, we might be the
lefs follicitous about it. Bur,confidering how
important a Point of Faith it is, with refpeft
to the true God in general, with refped to
Chrifiy and the Spirit himfelf in particular;
with refped to our Union and Communion with
Chrifl, and with God in him ; with refped to
the divine Authority of the Scripture, and our
Gofpel-M^orfldip, and Obedience according to it;
^nd -with refped to all our dearefl 4ixd eteiv
pal
C 317)
nal Intereftsy we ought to be concern'd about
it. If therefore we value the Honour of
Gody the Interefl of true and fpiritual Rel'gi^
on, the prejent Profperity, and eternal Bleffed-
nefs of our own Souls, we fhou'd be very ten-
der of admitting this part of the Wifdom of
Ood to be overthro\vn by the Wifdom of this
World. A yielding up our Faith in this Point,
will be very fatal (as it has generally prov'd)
with refped unto many others : And there-
fore we fhould keep clofe to the ^iKin M^ords
and Meaning of the Scripture, that in its
Light we may continue grounded and fettled in Col. i,
this Faith, left at length we ihoxxdh^ inoved'^^*
n-uiayfrom the Hope of the GoffeL
FINIS.
f/n t'cn cfTi cn'i ctf> OP Ci7> , CiP c£r> ci?* C/T> cp^ C(?"i <"zP . ciT* CJ^ CfP cJ* i:^ (vp cvj*
Lately Printed for John Clark.
TiHE Dodrine of the ever blefled Trinity Stated
and Defended: By fome Z,oWo« Minifters. [The
Introdudion, by the Reverend Mr. Tong. Ghap. I.
By the Reverend Mr. Robinson. Chap. II. By the
Reverend Mr. Smith. Chap. III. By the Reverend
Mr.REYNOLDS.] Thefecond Edit. Pr. is. 6d.
The Pfalms of Davidy imitated in the Language
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A Colledion of Tunes, fuited to the various Me-
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feveral Tunes never before publifhed. Pr. ix.
A Vindication of the Di (Tenters ; in Anfwer to
Dr. Nichols's Defence of the Doctrine and Difci-
pline of the Church of England : In Three Parts.
I. Containing the Hiftory of Non-conformity. 2.
Concerning the Dodrinc of the Church of England.
3. Concerning Difcipline and Modes of Worfhip.
By the Reverend Mr. James Peirce. The Second
Edition. 8vo.
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viour : In Anfwer to Mr. Emlyn. By the Reverend
Mr. Joseph Boyse of Dublin. The Third Edit.
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impartial Account of the Civil and Ecclefiaftical Af-
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Country: And an Appendix, containing their pre-
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Muni-
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^^ PRINCETON, N. J. ^
Division.
Section...
r ■ r>*^