__________________________________________________________________ Title: Pneumatologia Creator(s): Owen, John (1616-1683) Print Basis: The Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh, 1965, 1967. CCEL Subjects: All; Theology; Classic; __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ PNEUMATOLOGIA or, a discourse concerning the Holy Spirit wherein an account is given of his name, nature, personality, operations, and effects; his whole work in the old and new creation is explained; the doctrine concerning it vindicated from oppositions and reproaches. The nature and necessity of Gospel holiness; the differences between grace and morality, or a spiritual life unto God in evangelical obedience and a course of moral virtues, are stated and declared. __________________________________________________________________ Search the Scriptures, etc. -- John v. 39. Ek ton theion graphan theologoumen, kai thelosin hoi echthroi, kai me. -- Chrysostom. __________________________________________________________________ London: 1674. __________________________________________________________________ Prefatory note. The year 1674 saw issuing from the press some of the most elaborate productions of our author. Besides his own share in the Communion controversy, he published in the course of that year the second volume of his Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews, and another folio of equal extent and importance, the first part of his work on the Holy Spirit; for what is generally known under the title of "Owen on the Holy Spirit," is but the first half of a treatise on that subject. The treatise was completed in successive publications:-- "The Reason of Faith," in 1677; "The Causes, Ways, and Means of Understanding the Mind of God," etc., in 1678; "The Work of the Holy Spirit in Prayer," in 1682; and, in 1693, two posthumous discourses appeared, "On the Work of the Spirit as a Comforter, and as he is the Author of Spiritual Gifts." From the statements of Owen himself, in various parts of these works, as well as on the authority of Nathaniel Mather, who wrote the preface to the last of them, we learn that they were all included in one design, and must be regarded as one entire and uniform work. In Owen's preface to the "Reason of Faith," he expressly states, "About three years since I published a book about the dispensation and operations of the Spirit of God. That book was one part only of what I designed on that subject. The consideration of the work of the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of illumination, of supplication, of consolation, and as the immediate author of all spiritual offices and gifts, extraordinary and ordinary, is designed unto the second part of it." Uncertain, as he advanced in years, whether he should be spared to finish it, Owen was induced to issue separately the treatises belonging to the second part, according as he was able, under the pressure of other duties, to overtake the preparation and completion of them. They are now for the first time collected, and arranged into the order which, it is believed, the author would have made them assume, had he lived to publish an edition comprehending all his treatises on the Holy Spirit in the form and under the title of one work. No other liberty, however, is taken with the treatises than simply to number the four of them which were published separately, and which are contained in the next volume, as so many additional books, continuing and completing the discussion of the subject which had been begun and so far prosecuted in the five previous books embraced in this volume. To all of them the general designation pneumatologia is equally applicable. Thus arranged and seen in its full proportions, the work amply vindicates the commendation bestowed on it, as the most complete exhibition of the doctrine of Scripture on the person and agency of the Spirit "to be found in any language." As no author had previously attempted to treat "of the whole economy of the Holy Spirit, with all his adjuncts, operations, and effects," Owen urges the circumstance in extenuation of any want of system and lucid order in his work. If such an attempt had never previously been made, it is equally true that no successor has been found in this walk of theology who has ventured to compete with Owen in the fall and systematic discussion of this great theme. Treatises of eminent ability and value have appeared on separate departments of it; but in the wide range embraced in this work of Owen, as well as in the power, depth, and resources conspicuous in every chapter, it is not merely first, but single and alone in all our religious literature. The work, as we may gather from various allusions in it, was written in opposition to the rationalism of the early Socinians, especially as represented by Crellius; to the mysticism of the Quakers, a sect which had grown into notoriety within thirty years before the publication of this work; and to the irreligion of a time when the derision of all true piety was the passport to royal favour. That, during the religious fervours of the commonwealth, fanaticism of various kinds should appear, is no more strange than that when genuine coin is in circulation, attempts should be made to utter what is counterfeit and base. Against such fanaticism it was natural that a reaction should ensue, and certain divines pandered to the blind prejudice of the times succeeding the Restoration, by sarcastic invective against all that was evangelical in the creed of the Puritans and vital in personal godliness. Samuel Parker, in his infamous subserviency to the malice of the Court against dissent, and even against the common interests of Protestantism, distinguished himself in this assault upon the doctrines of grace and the distinctive principles of the Christian faith. Owen accordingly administers to him a rebuke in terms as severe as the calm dignity of his temper ever allowed him to employ in controversy; but the prominent aim in his whole work is to discriminate the gracious operations of the Spirit in the hearts of believers from the excesses of fanaticism on the one hand, whether as it appeared in the ruder sects of the age, or in the more genial mysticism of the Quaker, elevating his subjective experience of a spiritual light to co-ordinate authority with the objective revelation of God in the word; and, on the other hand, from the morality which, springing from no gracious principle, scarcely brooked an appeal to the only divine code for the regulation of human conduct. This comprehensive treatise abounds in more than Owen's usual prolixity; -- a feature of the work which may, perhaps, be explained by the consciousness under which the author seems always to labour that he is prosecuting an argument with opponents, rather than dealing with the conscience in a treatise on practical religion. He moves heavily, as if he were panoplied for conflict rather than girt for useful work. As he proceeds, however, the interest deepens; weighty questions receive clear elucidation; practical difficulties are judiciously resolved; and momentous distinctions, such as those between gospel holiness and common morality, and between natural and moral inability, are skilfully given. Indeed, many points which he brings out with sufficient precision, when stripped of the wordiness which encumbers them, are found to be identical with certain modes in the presentation of divine truth which have been deemed the discoveries and improvements of a later theology. No work of the author supplies better evidence of his pre-eminent skill in what may be termed spiritual ethics, -- in tracing the effect of religious truth on the conscience, and the varied phases of human feeling as modified by divine grace and tested by the divine word; and his reasonings would have been reputed highly philosophical if they had not been so very scriptural. It is in reference to the following work that Cecil, an acute and rather severe judge of books and authors, has observed, "Owen stands at the head of his class of divines. His scholars will be more profound and enlarged, and better furnished, than those of most other writers. His work on the Spirit has been my treasure-house, and one of my very first-rate books." A good abridgment of it by the Rev. G. Burder has appeared in more than one edition. In 1678, Dr Clagett, preacher to the Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, and one of his Majesty's chaplains in ordinary, in "A Discourse concerning the Operation of the Holy Spirit," etc., attempted "a confutation of some part of Dr Owen's work on that subject." Mr John Humfrey, in his "Peaceable Disquisitions," having animadverted on the spirit in which Clagett had dealt with Owen, Clagett published another volume, and promised a third on the opinions of the Fathers respecting the points at issue. The manuscript of this last volume was lost in a fire which consumed the house of a friend with whom it had been lodged. Henry Stebbing published, in 1719, an abridgment of the first two volumes. The principles of the work are not evangelical; a tone of cold pedantry pervades it; and the author seems as much influenced by a desire to differ from Owen as to discover the truth in regard to the points on which they differed. __________________________________________________________________ Analysis. The first book of the treatise is devoted to considerations of a general and preliminary nature. The promise of spiritual gifts contained in Scripture is examined; and occasion is hence taken to illustrate the importance of sound views on the doctrine of the Spirit, from the place it holds in Scripture; from the abuses practised under his name; from certain pretences that were urged to inward light, inconsistent with the claims of the Spirit of God; from many dangerous opinions which had become prevalent respecting his work and influence; and from the opposition directly offered to the Spirit and his work in the world, chap. i. The name and titles of the Holy Spirit are next considered, ii. The evidence of his divine nature and personality follows, from the formula of our initiation into the covenant, Matt. xxviii. 19; from the visible sign of his personal existence, Matt. iii. 16; from the personal properties ascribed to him; from the personal acts he performs; and from those acts towards him on the part of men which imply his personality. A short proof of his Godhead, from the divine names he receives, and the divine properties ascribed to him, is appended to the argument in illustration of his personality, iii. The work of the Spirit in the old creation, in reference to the heavens, to the earth, to man, and to the continued sustentation of the universe, is fully explained, iv. The dispensation of the Spirit is illustrated in reference to the Father as giving, sending him, etc., and in reference to his own voluntary and personal agency as proceeding, coming, etc., v. In the second book, the peculiar operations of the Holy Spirit under the old testament, and in preparation for the new, are considered, such as prophecy, inspiration, miracles, and other gifts, i. The importance of the Holy Spirit in the new creation is proved by the fact that he is the subject of the great promise in sacred Scripture respecting new testament times, ii. His work in reference to Christ is unfolded under a twofold aspect, -- 1. As it bore on himself, in framing his human nature, iii.; sanctifying it in the instant of conception, filling it with the needful grace, anointing it with extraordinary gifts, conveying to it miraculous powers, guiding, comforting, and supporting Christ, enabling him to offer himself without spot unto God, preserving his human nature in the state of the dead, raising it from the grave, and finally glorifying it; and, 2. As he secures, throughout successive ages, a sound and explicit testimony to the person and work of Christ, iv. General considerations are urged regarding the work of the Spirit in the new creation, as it relates to the mystical body of Christ, -- all believers, v. The third book is occupied with the subject of regeneration as the especial work of the Spirit; it is shown not to consist in baptism merely, or external reformation, or enthusiastic raptures, i. The operations of the Spirit preparatory to regeneration are exhibited, such as illumination, conviction, etc., ii. Two important chapters of a digressive character follow, in which the condition of man by nature is stated, as spiritually blind and impotent, iii., and as spiritually dead, iv. The true nature of regeneration is next illustrated, -- first negatively, under which head it is proved not to consist in any result of moral suasion, moral suasion being defined, and the extent of its efficacy being fixed. No change which it can effect can be viewed as tantamount to regeneration, because, -- 1. It leaves the will undetermined; 2. Imparts no supernatural strength; 3. Is not all we pray for when we pray for efficient grace; 4. And does not actually produce regeneration or conversion. Regeneration is then considered positively, as implying all the moral operation which means can effect, and not only a moral but a physical immediate operation of the Spirit, and the irresistibility of this internal efficiency on the minds of men. After explanations to the effect that the Holy Ghost in regeneration acts according to our mental nature, does not act upon us by an influence such as inspiration, and offers no violence to the will, three arguments in support of this view of regeneration are given, -- from the collation of faith by the power of God, from the victorious efficacy of internal grace as attested by Scripture, and from the nature of the work itself as described in various terms of Scripture, "quickening," "regeneration," etc., and also from the terms in which the effect of grace on the different faculties of the soul is represented, v. The manner of conversion is then explained in the instance of Augustine, the account by that eminent father of his own conversion being selected to illustrate both the outward means of conversion, and the various degrees and effects of spiritual influence on the human mind, vi. The fourth book discusses the doctrine of sanctification, which is exhibited as the process completing what the act of regeneration has begun. A general view is then given of the nature of sanctification, as consisting, 1. In external dedication; and, 2. In internal purification, i. Its progressive character is unfolded, ii.; and that it is a gracious process, extending to believers only, is proved, iii. Sanctification, so far as it relates to the removal of spiritual defilement, is illustrated; and that man cannot purge himself from his natural pravity is proved, iv. It is shown how the Spirit and blood of Christ are effectual to the purgation of the heart and conscience, the Spirit efficaciously, the blood of Christ meritoriously, faith as the instrumental cause, and afflictions as a subordinate instrumentality, v. The positive work of sanctification follows, embracing evidence of two propositions: 1. That the Spirit implants a supernatural habit and principle enabling believers to obey the divine will, and differing from all natural habits, intellectual or moral; and, 2. That grace is requisite for every act of acceptable obedience. Under the first proposition four things are considered, -- the reality of the principle asserted; its nature in inclining the will; the power as well as the inclination it imparts; and, lastly, its specific difference from all other habits, vi. Under the second proposition the acts and duties of holiness are reviewed, and proof supplied of the necessity of grace for them, vii. The nature of the mortification of sin, as a special part of sanctification, is considered; directions for this spiritual exercise are given; particular means for the mortification of sin are specified; and certain errors respecting this duty corrected, viii. The fifth book simply contains arguments for the necessity of holiness, -- from the nature of God, i.; from eternal election, ii.; from the divine commands, iii.; from the mission of Christ, iv.; and from our condition in this world, v.-- Ed. __________________________________________________________________ To the readers. An account in general of the nature and design of the ensuing discourse, with the reasons why it is made public at this time, being given in the first chapter of the treatise itself, I shall not long detain the readers here at the entrance of it. But some few things it is necessary they should be acquainted withal, and that both as to the matter contained in it and as to the manner of its handling. The subject-matter of the whole, as the title and almost every page of the book declare, is, the Holy Spirit of God and his operations. And two things there are which, either of them, are sufficient to render any subject either difficult on the one hand, or unpleasant on the other, to be treated of in this way, both which we have herein to conflict withal: for where the matter itself is abstruse and mysterious, the handling of it cannot be without its difficulties; and where it is fallen, by any means whatever, under public contempt and scorn, there is an abatement of satisfaction in the consideration and defence of it. Now, all the concernments of the Holy Spirit are an eminent part of the "mystery" or "deep things of God;" for as the knowledge of them doth wholly depend on and is regulated by divine revelation, so are they in their own nature divine and heavenly, -- distant and remote from all things that the heart of man, in the mere exercise of its own reason or understanding, can rise up unto. But yet, on the other hand, there is nothing in the world that is more generally despised as foolish and contemptible than the things that are spoken of and ascribed unto the Spirit of God. He needs no furtherance in the forfeiture of his reputation with many, as a person fanatical, estranged from the conduct of reason, and all generous principles of conversation, who dares avow an interest in His work, or take upon him the defence thereof. Wherefore, these things must be a little spoken unto, if only to manifest whence relief may be had against the discouragements wherewith they are attended. For the first thing proposed, it must be granted that the things here treated of are in themselves mysterious and abstruse. But yet, the way whereby we may endeavour an acquaintance with them, "according to the measure of the gift of Christ unto every one," is made plain in the Scriptures of truth. If this way be neglected or despised, all other ways of attempting the same end, be they never so vigorous or promising, will prove ineffectual. What belongs unto it as to the inward frame and disposition of mind in them who search after understanding in these things, what unto the outward use of means, what unto the performance of spiritual duties, what unto conformity in the whole soul unto each discovery of truth that is attained, is not my present work to declare, nor shall I divert thereunto. If God give an opportunity to treat concerning the work of the Holy Spirit, enabling us to understand the Scriptures, or the mind of God in them, the whole of this way will be at large declared. At present, it may suffice to observe, that God, who in himself is the eternal original spring and fountain of all truth, is also the only sovereign cause and author of its revelation unto us. And whereas that truth, which originally is one in him, is of various sorts and kinds, according to the variety of the things which it respects in its communication unto us, the ways and means of that communication are suited unto the distinct nature of each truth in particular. So the truth of things natural is made known from God by the exercise of reason, or the due application of the understanding that is in man unto their investigation; for "the things of a man knoweth the spirit of a man that is in him." Neither, ordinarily, is there any thing more required unto that degree of certainty of knowledge in things of that nature whereof our minds are capable, but the diligent application of the faculties of our souls, in the due use of proper means, unto the attainment thereof. Yet is there a secret work of the Spirit of God herein, even in the communication of skill and ability in things natural, as also in things civil, moral, political, and artificial; as in our ensuing discourse is fully manifested. But whereas these things belong unto the work of the old creation and the preservation thereof, or the rule and government of mankind in this world merely as rational creatures, there is no use of means, no communication of aids, spiritual or supernatural, absolutely necessary to be exercised or granted about them. Wherefore, knowledge and wisdom in things of this nature are distributed promiscuously among all sorts of persons, according to the foundation of their natural abilities, and a superstruction thereon in their diligent exercise, without any peculiar application to God for especial grace or assistance, reserving still a liberty unto the sovereignty of divine Providence in the disposal of all men and their concerns. But as to things supernatural, the knowledge and truth of them, the teachings of God are of another nature; and, in like manner, a peculiar application of ourselves unto him for instruction is required of us. In these things also there are degrees, according as they approach, on the one hand, unto the infinite abyss of the divine essence and existence, -- as the eternal generation and incarnation of the Son, the procession and mission of the Holy Spirit, -- or, on the other, unto those divine effects which are produced in our souls, whereof we have experience. According unto these degrees, as the divine condescension is exerted in their revelation, so ought our attention, in the exercise of faith, humility, and prayer, to be increased in our inquiries into them. For although all that diligence, in the use of outward means, necessary to the attainment of the knowledge of any other useful truth, be indispensably required in the pursuit of an acquaintance with these things also, yet if, moreover, there be not an addition of spiritual ways and means, suited in their own nature, and appointed of God, unto the receiving of supernatural light and the understanding of the deep things of God, our labour about them will in a great measure be but fruitless and unprofitable: for although the letter of the Scripture and the sense of the propositions are equally exposed to the reason of all mankind, yet the real spiritual knowledge of the things themselves is not communicated unto any but by the especial operation of the Holy Spirit. Nor is any considerable degree of insight into the doctrine of the mysteries of them attainable but by a due waiting on Him who alone giveth "the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of them;" for "the things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God," and they to whom by him they are revealed. Neither can the Scriptures be interpreted aright but by the aid of that Spirit by which they were indited; as Hierom affirms, and as I shall afterward fully prove. But in the use of the means mentioned we need not despond but that, seeing these things themselves are revealed that we may know God in a due manner and live unto him as we ought, we may attain such a measure of spiritual understanding in them as is useful unto our own and others' edification. They may, I say, do so who are not slothful in hearing or learning, but "by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." Wherefore, the subject of the ensuing discourses being entirely things of this nature, in their several degrees of access unto God or ourselves, I shall give no account of any particular endeavours in my inquiries into them, but leave the judgment thereof unto the evidence of the effects produced thereby: only, whereas I know not any who ever went before me in this design of representing the whole economy of the Holy Spirit, with all his adjuncts, operations, and effects, whereof this is the first part (the attempt of Crellius in this kind being only to corrupt the truth in some few instances), as the difficulty of my work was increased thereby, so it may plead my excuse if any thing be found not to answer so regular a projection or just a method as the nature of the subject requireth and as was aimed at. In the first part of the whole work, which concerneth the name, divine nature, personality, and mission of the Holy Spirit, I do but declare and defend the faith of the catholic church against the Socinians; with what advantage, with what contribution of light or evidence, strength or order, unto what hath been pleaded before by others, is left unto the learned readers to judge and determine. And in what concerns the adjuncts and properties of His mission and operation, some may, and I hope do, judge themselves not unbeholden unto me for administering an occasion unto them of deeper and better thoughts about them. The second part of our endeavour concerneth the work of the Holy Spirit in the old creation, both in its production, preservation, and rule. And whereas I had not therein the advantage of any one ancient or modern author to beat out the paths of truth before me, I have confined myself to express testimonies of Scripture, with such expositions of them as sufficiently evidence their own truth; though also they want not such a suffrage from others as may give them the reputation of some authority. The like may be said of what succeeds in the next place, concerning His work under the New Testament, preparatory for the new creation, in the communication of all sorts of gifts, ordinary and extraordinary, all kind of skill and ability in things spiritual, natural, moral, artificial, and political, with the instances whereby these operations of this are confirmed. All these things, many whereof are handled by others separately and apart, are here proposed in their order with respect unto their proper end and design. For what concerns His work on the head of the new creation, or the human nature in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, I have been careful to keep severely under the bounds of sobriety, and not to indulge unto any curious or unwarrantable speculations. I have, therefore, therein not only diligently attended unto the doctrine of the Scripture, our only infallible rule and guide, but also expressly considered what was taught and believed in the ancient church in this matter, from which I know that I have not departed. More I shall not add as to the first difficulty wherewith an endeavour of this kind is attended, arising from the nature of the subject treated of. The other, concerning the contempt that is cast by many on all these things, must yet be farther spoken unto. In all the dispensations of God towards his people under the Old Testament, there was nothing of good communicated unto them, nothing of worth or excellency wrought in them or by them, but it is expressly assigned unto the Holy Spirit as the author and cause of it. But yet, of all the promises given unto them concerning a better and more glorious state of the church to be afterward introduced, next unto that of the coming of the Son of God in the flesh, those are the most eminent which concern an enlargement and more full communication of the Spirit, beyond what they were or could in their imperfect state be made partakers of. Accordingly, we find in the New Testament, that whatever concerns the conversion of the elect, the edification of the church, the sanctification and consolation of believers, the performance of those duties of obedience which we owe unto God, with our conduct in all the ways thereof, is, in general and particular instances, so appropriated unto him, as that it is withal declared that nothing of it in any kind can be enjoyed or performed without his especial operation, aid, and assistance; so careful was God fully to instruct and to secure the faith of the church in this matter, according as he knew its eternal concernments to lie therein. Yet, notwithstanding all the evidence given hereunto, the church of God in most ages hath been exercised with oppositions either to his person, or his work, or the manner of it, contrary unto what is promised and declared concerning them in the word of truth; nor doth it yet cease so to be. Yea, though the contradictions of some in former ages have been fierce and clamorous, yet all that hath fallen out of that kind hath been exceeding short of what is come to pass in the days wherein we live; for, not to mention the Socinians, who have gathered into one head, or rather ulcerous imposthume, all the virulent oppositions made unto His deity or grace by the Photinians, Macedonians, and Pelagians of old, there are others, who, professing no enmity unto his divine person, yea, admitting and owning the doctrine of the church concerning it, are yet ready on all occasions to despise and reproach that whole work for which he was promised under the Old Testament, and which is expressly assigned unto him in the New. Hence is it grown amongst many a matter of reproach and scorn for any one to make mention of his grace, or to profess an interest in that work of his, as his, without which no man shall see God, if the Scripture be a faithful testimony; and some have taken pains to prove that sundry things which are expressly assigned unto him in the gospel as effects of his power and grace are only filthy enthusiasms, or at least weak imaginations of distempered minds. Neither is there any end of calumnious imputations on them by whom his work is avowed and his grace professed. Yea, the deportment of many herein is such as that, if it were not known how effectual the efforts of profaneness are upon the corrupted minds of men, it would rather seem ridiculous and [to] be despised than to deserve any serious notice: for let any avow or plead for the known work of the Spirit of God, and it is immediately apprehended a sufficient ground to charge them with leaving the rule of the word to attend unto revelations and inspirations, as also to forego all thoughts of the necessity of the duties of obedience; whereas no other work of his is pleaded for, but that only without which no man can either attend unto the rule of the Scripture as he ought, or perform any one duty of obedience unto God in a due manner. And there are none of this conspiracy so weak or unlearned but are able to scoff at the mention of him, and to cast the very naming of him on others as a reproach. Yea, it is well if some begin not to deal in like manner with the person of Christ himself; for error and profaneness, if once countenanced, are at all times fruitful and progressive, and will be so whilst, darkness and corruption abiding on the minds of men, the great adversary is able, by his subtle malice, to make impressions on them. But in these things not a few do please themselves, despise others, and would count themselves injured if their Christianity should be called in question. But what value is there in that name or title, where the whole mystery of the gospel is excluded out of our religion? Take away the dispensation of the Spirit, and his effectual operations in all the intercourse that is between God and man; be ashamed to avow or profess the work attributed unto him in the gospel, -- and Christianity is plucked up by the roots. Yea, this practical contempt of the work of the Holy Spirit being grown the only plausible defiance of religion, is so also to be the most pernicious, beyond all notional mistakes and errors about the same things, being constantly accompanied with profaneness, and commonly issuing in atheism. The sense I intend is fully expressed in the ensuing complaint of a learned person, published many years ago: " In seculo hodie tam perverso prorsus immersi vivimus miseri, in quo Spiritus Sanctus omnino ferme pro ludibrio habetur: imo in quo etiam sunt qui non tantum corde toto eum repudient ut factis negent, sed quoque adeo blasphemi in eum exsurgant ut penitus eundem ex orbe expulsum aut exulatum cupiant, quum illi nullam in operationibus suis relinquant efficaciam; ac propriis vanorum habituum suorum viribus, ac rationis profanæ libertati carnalitatique suæ omnem ascribant sapientiam, et fortitudinem in rebus agendis. Unde tanta malignitas externæ proterviæ apud mortales cernitur. Ideoque pernicies nostra nos jam ante fores expectat," etc. Herein lies the rise and spring of that stated apostasy from the power of evangelical truth, wherein the world takes its liberty to immerge itself in all licentiousness of life and conversation; the end whereof many cannot but expect with dread and terror. To obviate these evils in any measure; to vindicate the truth and reality of divine spiritual operations in the church; to avow what is believed and taught by them concerning the Holy Spirit and his work who are most charged and reflected on for their profession thereof, and thereby to evince the iniquity of those calumnies under the darkness and shades whereof some seek to countenance themselves in their profane scoffing at his whole dispensation; to manifest in all instances that what is ascribed unto him is not only consistent with religion, but also that without which religion cannot consist, nor the power of it be preserved, -- is the principal design of the ensuing discourses. Now, whereas the effectual operation of the blessed Spirit in the regeneration or conversion of sinners is, of all other parts of this work, most violently opposed, and hath of late been virulently traduced, I have the more largely insisted thereon. And because it can neither be well understood nor duly explained without the consideration of the state of lapsed or corrupted nature, I have taken in that also at large, as judging it necessary so to do; for whereas the knowledge of it lies at the bottom of all our obedience unto God by Christ, it hath always been the design of some, and yet continueth so to be, either wholly to deny it, or to extenuate it unto the depression and almost annihilation of the grace of the gospel, whereby alone our nature can be repaired. Designing, therefore, to treat expressly of the reparation of our nature by grace, it was on all accounts necessary that we should treat of its depravation by sin also. Moreover, what is discoursed on these things is suited unto the edification of them that do believe, and directed unto their furtherance in true spiritual obedience and holiness, or the obedience of faith. Hence, it may be, some will judge that our discourses on these subjects are drawn out into a greater length than was needful or convenient, by that continual intermixture of practical applications which runs along in them all. But if they shall be pleased to consider that my design was, not to handle these things in a way of controversy, but, declaring and confirming the truth concerning them, to accommodate the doctrines treated of unto practice, and that I dare not treat of things of this nature in any other way but such as may promote the edification of the generality of believers, they will either be of my mind, or, it may be, without much difficulty admit of my excuse. However, if these things are neglected or despised by some, yea, be they never so many, there are yet others who will judge their principal concernment to lie in such discourses as may direct and encourage them in the holy practice of their duty. And whereas the way, manner, and method of the Holy Spirit, in his operations as to this work of translating sinners from death unto life, from a state of nature unto that of grace, have been variously handled by some, and severely reflected on with scorn by others, I have endeavoured so to declare and assert what the Scripture manifestly teacheth concerning them, confirming it with the testimonies of some of the ancient writers of the church, as I no way doubt but it is suited unto the experience of them who have in their own souls been made partakers of that blessed work of the Holy Ghost. And whilst, in the substance of what is delivered, I have the plain testimonies of the Scripture, the suffrage of the ancient church, and the experience of them who do sincerely believe, to rest upon, I shall not be greatly moved with the censures and opposition of those who are otherwise minded. I shall add no more on this head but that, whereas the only inconvenience wherewith our doctrine is pressed is the pretended difficulty in reconciling the nature and necessity of our duty with the efficacy of the grace of the Spirit, I have been so far from waiving the consideration of it, as that I have embraced every opportunity to examine it in all particular instances wherein it may be urged with most appearance of probability. And it is, I hope, at length made to appear, that not only the necessity of our duty is consistent with the efficacy of God's grace, but also, that as, on the one hand, we can perform no duty to God as we ought without its aid and assistance, nor have any encouragement to attempt a course of obedience without a just expectation thereof, so, on the other, that the work of grace itself is no way effectual but in our compliance with it in a way of duty: only, with the leave of some persons, or whether they will or no, we give the pre-eminence in all unto grace, and not unto ourselves. The command of God is the measure and rule of our industry and diligence in a way of duty; and why anyone should be discouraged from the exercise of that industry which God requires of him by the consideration of the aid and assistance which he hath promised unto him, I cannot understand. The work of obedience is difficult and of the highest importance; so that if anyone can be negligent therein because God will help and assist him, it is because he hates it, he likes it not. Let others do what they please, I shall endeavour to comply with the apostle's advice upon the enforcement which he gives unto it: "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his own good pleasure." These things, with sundry of the like nature, falling unavoidably under consideration, have drawn out these discourses unto a length much beyond my first design; which is also the occasion why I have forborne the present adding unto them those other parts of the work of the Holy Spirit, in prayer or supplication, in illumination with respect unto the belief of the Scriptures and right understanding of the mind of God in them, in the communication of gifts unto the church, and in the consolation of believers; which must now wait for another opportunity, if God in his goodness and patience shall be pleased to grant it unto us. Another part of the work of the Holy Spirit consisteth in our sanctification, whereon our evangelical obedience or holiness doth depend. How much all his operations herein also are by some despised, what endeavours there have been to debase the nature of gospel-obedience, yea, to cast it out of the hearts and lives of Christians, and to substitute a heathenish honesty at best in the room thereof, is not unknown to any who think it their duty to inquire into these things. Hence I thought it not unnecessary, on the occasion of treating concerning the work of the Holy Spirit in our sanctification, to make a diligent and full inquiry into the true nature of evangelical holiness, and that spiritual life unto God which all believers are created unto in Christ Jesus. And herein, following the conduct of the Scriptures from first to last, the difference that is between them and that exercise of moral virtue which some plead for in their stead did so evidently manifest itself, as that it needs no great endeavour to represent it unto any impartial judgment. Only, in the handling of these things, I thought meet to pursue my former method and design, and principally to respect the reducing of the doctrines insisted on unto the practice and improvement of holiness; which also hath occasioned the lengthening of these discourses. I doubt not but all these things will be by some despised; they are so in themselves, and their declaration by me will not recommend them unto a better acceptation. But let them please themselves whilst they see good in their own imaginations; whilst the Scripture is admitted to be an infallible declaration of the will of God and the nature of spiritual things, and there are Christians remaining in the world who endeavour to live to God, and to come to the enjoyment of him by Jesus Christ, there will not want sufficient testimony against that putid figment of moral virtue being all our gospel holiness, or that the reparation of our natures and life unto God doth consist therein alone. In the last place succeeds a discourse concerning the necessity of holiness and obedience. Some regard, I confess, I had therein, though not much, unto the ridiculous clamours of malevolent and ignorant persons, charging those who plead for the efficacy of the grace of God and the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, as though thereby they took away the necessity of a holy life; for who would much trouble himself about an accusation which is laden with as many convictions of its forgery as there are persons who sincerely believe those doctrines, and which common light gives testimony against in the conversations of them by whom they are received, and by whom they are despised? It was the importance of the thing itself, made peculiarly seasonable by the manifold temptations of the days wherein we live, which occasioned that addition unto what was delivered about the nature of evangelical holiness; seeing "if we know these things, happy are we if we do them." But yet, the principal arguments and demonstrations of that necessity being drawn from those doctrines of the gospel which some traduce as casting no good aspect thereon, the calumnies mentioned are therein also obviated. And thus far have we proceeded in the declaration and vindication of the despised work of the Spirit of God under the New Testament, referring the remaining instances above mentioned unto another occasion. The oppositions unto all that we believe and maintain herein are of two sorts:-- First, Such as consist in particular exceptions against and objections unto each particular work of the Spirit, whether in the communication of gifts or the operation of grace. Secondly, Such as consist in reflections cast on the whole work ascribed unto him in general. Those of the first sort will all of them fall under consideration in their proper places, where we treat of those especial actings of the Spirit whereunto they are opposed. The other sort, at least the principal of them, wherewith some make the greatest noise in the world, may be here briefly spoken unto:-- The first and chief pretence of this nature is, that all those who plead for the effectual operations of the Holy Spirit in the illumination of the minds of men, the reparation of their natures, the sanctification of their persons, and their endowment with spiritual gifts, are therein and thereby enemies to reason, and impugn the use of it in religion, or at least allow it not that place and exercise therein which is its due. Hence, some of those who are otherwise minded affirm that it is cast on them as a reproach that they are rational divines; although, so far as I can discern, if it be so, it is as Hierom was beaten by an angel for being a Ciceronian (in the judgment of some), very undeservedly. But the grounds whereon this charge should be made good have not as yet been made to appear; neither hath it been evinced that any thing is ascribed by us unto the efficacy of God's grace in the least derogatory unto reason, its use, or any duty of man depending thereon. I suppose we are agreed herein, that the reason of man, in the state wherein we are, is not sufficient in itself to find out or frame a religion whereby we may please God and be accepted with him; or if we are not agreed herein, yet I shall not admit it as a part of our present controversy, wherein we suppose a religion proceeding from and resolved into supernatural revelation. Neither is it, that I know of, as yet pleaded by any that reason is able to comprehend all the things in their nature and being, or to search them out unto perfection, which are revealed unto us; for we do not directly deal with them by whom the principal mysteries of the gospel are rejected, because they cannot comprehend them, under a pretence that what is above reason is against it. And it may be it will be granted, moreover, that natural reason cannot enable the mind of a man unto a saving perception of spiritual things, as revealed, without the especial aid of the Spirit of God in illumination. If this be denied by any, as we acknowledge our dissent from them, so we know that we do no injury to reason thereby, and will rather suffer under the imputation of so doing than, by renouncing of the Scripture, to turn infidels, that we may be esteemed rational. But we cannot conceive how reason should be prejudiced by the advancement of the rational faculties of our souls, with respect unto their exercise towards their proper objects, -- which is all we assign unto the work of the Holy Spirit in this matter; and there are none in the world more free to grant than we are, that unto us our reason is the only judge of the sense and truth of propositions drawn from the Scripture or proposed therein, and do wish that all men might be left peaceable under that determination, where we know they must abide, whether they will or no. But the inquiry in this matter is, what reasonableness appears in the mysteries of our religion when revealed unto our reason, and what ability we have to receive, believe, and obey them as such. The latter part of this inquiry is so fully spoken unto in the ensuing discourses as that I shall not here again insist upon it; the former may in a few words be spoken unto. It cannot be, it is not, that I know of, denied by any that Christian religion is highly reasonable; for it is the effect of the infinite reason, understanding, and wisdom of God. But the question is not, what it is in itself? but what it is in relation to our reason, or how it appears thereunto? And there is no doubt but everything in Christian religion appears highly reasonable unto reason enlightened, or the mind of man affected with that work of grace, in its renovation, which is so expressly ascribed unto the Holy Spirit in the Scripture; for as there is a suitableness between an enlightened mind and spiritual mysteries as revealed, so seeing them in their proper light, it finds by experience their necessity, use, goodness, and benefit, with respect unto our chiefest good and supreme end. It remains, therefore, only that we inquire how reasonable the mysteries of Christian religion are unto the minds of men as corrupted; for that they are so by the entrance of sin, as we believe, so we have proved in the ensuing treatise. And it is in vain to dispute with any about the reasonableness of evangelical faith and obedience until the state and condition of our reason be agreed [on]. Wherefore, to speak plainly in the case, as we do acknowledge that reason, in its corrupted state, is all that any man hath in that state whereby to understand and to judge of the sense and truth of doctrines revealed in the Scripture, and, in the use of such aids and means as it is capable to improve, is more and better unto him than any judge or interpreter that should impose a sense upon him not suited thereunto; so, as to the spiritual things themselves of the gospel, in their own nature, it is enmity against them, and they are foolishness unto it. If, therefore, it be a crime, if it be to the impeachment and disadvantage of reason, to affirm that our minds stand in need of the renovation of the Holy Ghost, to enable them to understand spiritual things in a spiritual manner, we do acknowledge ourselves guilty thereof. But otherwise, that by asserting the efficacious operations of the Spirit of God, and the necessity of them unto the discharge of every spiritual duty towards God in an acceptable manner, we do deny that use and exercise of our own reason in things religious and spiritual whereof in any state it is capable, and whereunto of God it is appointed, is unduly charged on us, as will afterward be fully manifested. But it is moreover pretended, that by the operations we ascribe unto the Holy Spirit, we expose men to be deceived by satanical delusions, [and] open a door to enthusiasms, directing them to the guidance of unaccountable impulses and revelations; so making way unto all folly and villainy. By what means this charge can be fixed on them who professedly avow that nothing is good, nothing duty unto us, nothing acceptable unto God, but what is warranted by the Scripture, directed unto thereby, and suited thereunto, which is the alone perfect rule of all that God requires of us in the way of obedience, but only [by] ungrounded clamours, hath not yet been attempted to be made manifest; for all things of this nature are not only condemned by them, but all things which they teach concerning the Holy Spirit of God are the principal ways and means to secure us from the danger of them. It is true, there have been of old, and haply do still continue among some, satanical delusions, diabolical suggestions, and foul enthusiasms, which have been pretended to proceed from the Spirit of God, and to be of a divine original; for so it is plainly affirmed in the Scripture, both under the Old Testament and the New, directions being therein added for their discovery and disprovement. But if we must therefore reject the true and real operations of the Spirit of God, the principal preservative against our being deceived by them, we may as well reject the owning of God himself, because the devil hath imposed himself on mankind as the object of their worship. Wherefore, as to enthusiasms of any kind, which might possibly give countenance unto any diabolical suggestions, we are so far from affirming any operations of the Holy Ghost to consist in them, or in any thing like unto them, that we allow no pretence of them to be consistent therewithal. And we have a sure rule to try all these things by; which as we are bound in all such cases precisely to attend unto, so hath God promised the assistance of his Spirit, that they be not deceived, unto them who do it in sincerity. What some men intend by impulses, I know not. If it be especial aids, assistances, and inclinations unto duties, acknowledged to be such, and the duties of persons so assisted and inclined, and these peculiarly incumbent on them in their present circumstances, it requires no small caution that, under an invidious name, we reject not those supplies of grace which are promised unto us, and which we are bound to pray for; but if irrational impressions, or violent inclinations unto things or actions which are not acknowledged duties in themselves, evidenced by the word of truth, and so unto the persons so affected in their present condition and circumstances, are thus expressed, as we utterly abandon them, so no pretence is given unto them from any thing which we believe concerning the Holy Spirit and his operations: for the whole work which we assign unto him is nothing but that whereby we are enabled to perform that obedience unto God which is required in the Scripture, in the way and manner wherein it is required; and it is probably more out of enmity unto him than us where the contrary is pretended. The same may be said concerning revelations. They are of two sorts, -- objective and subjective. Those of the former sort, whether they contain doctrines contrary unto that of the Scripture, or additional thereunto, or seemingly confirmatory thereof, they are all universally to be rejected, the former being absolutely false, the latter useless. Neither have any of the operations of the Spirit pleaded for the least respect unto them; for he having finished the whole work of external revelation, and closed it in the Scripture, his whole internal spiritual work is suited and commensurate thereunto. By subjective revelations, nothing is intended but that work of spiritual illumination whereby we are enabled to discern and understand the mind of God in the Scripture; which the apostle prays for in the behalf of all believers, Eph. i. 16-19, and whose nature, God assisting, shall be fully explained hereafter. So little pretence, therefore, there is for this charge on them by whom the efficacious operations of the Spirit of God are asserted, as that without them we have no absolute security that we shall be preserved from being imposed on by them or some of them. But, it may be, it will be said at last that our whole labour, in declaring the work of the Spirit of God in us and towards us, as well as what we have now briefly spoken in the vindication of it from these or the like imputations, is altogether vain, seeing all we do or say herein is nothing but canting with unintelligible expressions. So some affirm, indeed, before they have produced their charter wherein they are constituted the sole judges of what words, what expressions, what way of teaching, are proper in things of this nature. But, by any thing that yet appears, they seem to be as unmeet for the exercise of that dictatorship herein which they pretend unto, as any sort of men that ever undertook the declaration of things sacred and spiritual. Wherefore, unless they come with better authority than as yet they can pretend unto, and give a better example of their own way and manner of teaching such things than as yet they have done, we shall continue to make Scripture phraseology our rule and pattern in the declaration of spiritual things, and endeavour an accommodation of all our expressions thereunto, whether to them intelligible or not, and that for reasons so easy to be conceived as that they need not here be pleaded. __________________________________________________________________ Discourse concerning the Holy Spirit __________________________________________________________________ Book I. __________________________________________________________________ Chapter I. General principles concerning the Holy Spirit and his work. 1 Cor. xii. 1 opened -- Pneumatika, spiritual gifts -- Their grant unto, use and abuse in, that church -- Jesus, how called "anathema" -- Impiety of the Jews -- How called "Lord" --The foundation of church order and worship -- In what sense we are enabled by the Spirit to call Jesus "Lord" -- The Holy Spirit the author of all gifts -- why called "God," and "The Lord" -- General distribution of spiritual gifts -- Proper end of their communication -- Nine sorts of gifts -- Abuse of them in the church -- Their tendency unto peace and order -- General design of the ensuing discourse concerning the Spirit and his dispensation -- Importance of the doctrine concerning the Spirit of God and his operations -- Reasons hereof -- Promise of the Spirit to supply the absence of Christ, as to his human nature -- Concernment thereof -- Work of the Spirit in the ministration of the gospel -- All saving good communicated unto us and wrought in us by him -- Sin against the Holy Ghost irremissible -- False pretences unto the Spirit dangerous -- Pretences unto the spirit of prophecy under the Old Testament -- Two sorts of false prophets: the first; the second sort -- Pretenders under the New Testament -- The rule for the trial of such pretenders, 1 John iv. 1-3 -- Rules to this purpose under the Old and New Testaments compared -- A false spirit, set up against the Spirit of God, examined -- False and noxious opinions concerning the Spirit, and how to be obviated --Reproaches of the Spirit and his work -- Principles and occasions of the apostasy of churches under the law and gospel -- Dispensation of the Spirit not confined to the first ages of the church -- The great necessity of a diligent inquiry into the things taught concerning the Spirit of God and his work. The apostle Paul, in the 12th chapter of his First Epistle to the Corinthians, directs their exercise of spiritual gifts, concerning which, amongst other things and emergencies, they had made inquiry of him. This the fast words wherewith he prefaceth his whole discourse declare: Verse 1, "Now, concerning spiritual gifts," -- Peri de ton pneumatikon; that is charismaton as his ensuing declaration doth evince. And the imagination of some, concerning spiritual persons to be here intended, contrary to the sense of all the ancients, is inconsistent with the context: [1] for as it was about spiritual gifts and their exercise that the church had consulted with him, so the whole series of his ensuing discourse is directive therein; and, therefore, in the close of it, contracting the design of the whole, he doth it in that advice, Zeloute de ta charismata ta kreittona, -- "Covet earnestly the best gifts," -- namely, among those which he proposed to treat of, and had done so accordingly, verse 31. The ta pneumatika of verse 1 are the ta charismata of verse 31; as it is expressed, chap. xiv. 1, Zeloute de ta pneumatika -- that is, charismata, -- "Desire spiritual gifts,' whose nature and use you are now instructed in, as it first was proposed." Of these that church had received an abundant measure, especially of those that were extraordinary, and tended to the conviction of unbelievers: for the Lord having "much people in that city," whom he intended to call to the faith, Acts xviii. 9, 10, not only encouraged our apostle, against all fears and dangers, to begin and carry on the work of preaching there, wherein he continued "a year and six months," verse 11, but also furnished the first converts with such eminent, and some of them such miraculous gifts, as might be a prevalent means to the conversion of many others; for he will never be wanting to provide instruments and suitable means for the effectual attaining of any end that he aimeth at. In the use, exercise, and management of these "spiritual gifts," that church, or sundry of the principal members of it, had fallen into manifold disorders, and abused them unto the matter of emulation and ambition, whereon other evils did ensue; [2] as the best of God's gifts may be abused by the lusts of men, and the purest water may be tainted by the earthen vessels whereinto it is poured. Upon the information of some who, loving truth, peace, and order, were troubled at these miscarriages, 1 Cor. i. 11, and in answer unto a letter of the whole church, written unto him about these and other occurrences, chap. vii. 1, he gives them counsel and advice for the rectifying of these abuses. And, first, to prepare them aright with humility and thankfulness, becoming them who were intrusted with such excellent privileges as they had abused, and without which they could not receive the instruction which he intended them, he mindeth them of their former state and condition before their calling and conversion to Christ, chap. xii. 2, "Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away with dumb idols, even as ye were led;" os an egesthe apagomenoi, -- hurried with violent impressions from the devil into the service of idols. This he mentions not to reproach them, but to let them know what frame of mind and what fruit of life might be justly expected from them who had received such an alteration in their condition. [3] Particularly, as he elsewhere tells them, if they had not made themselves to differ from others, if they had nothing but what they had received, -- they should not boast nor exalt themselves above others, as though they had not received, chap. iv. 7; for it is a vain thing for a man to boast in himself of what he hath freely received of another, and never deserved so to receive it, as it is with all who have received either gifts or grace from God. This alteration of their state and condition he farther declares unto them by the effects and author of it: chap. xii. 3, "Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." The great difference which was then in the world was concerning Jesus, who was preached unto them all. Unbelievers, who were still carried with an impetus of mind and affections after "dumb idols," being led and acted therein by the spirit of the devil, blasphemed, and said Jesus was anathema, or one accursed. They looked on him as a person to be detested and abominated as the common odium of their gods and men. Hence, on the mention of him they used to say, "Jesus anathema," "He is," or, "Let him be, accursed," detested, destroyed. And in this blasphemy do the Jews continue to this day, hiding their cursed sentiments under a corrupt pronunciation of his name: for instead of ysv?, they write and call him ysv?, the initial letters of ymch smv vzkrv?, -- that is, "Let his name and memory be blotted out;" the same with "Jesus anathema" And this blasphemy of pronouncing Jesus accursed was that wherewith the first persecutors of the church tried the faith of Christians, as Pliny in his epistle to Trajan, and Justin Martyr, with other apologists, agree; and as the apostle says, those who did thus did not so "by the Spirit of God," so he intends that they did it by the acting and instigation of the devil, the unclean spirit, which ruled in those children of disobedience. And this was the condition of those Corinthians themselves to whom he wrote, whilst they also were carried away after "dumb idols" On the other side, those that believed called Jesus "Lord," or professed that he was the Lord; and thereby avowed their faith in him and obedience unto him. Principally, they owned him to be Jehovah, the Lord over all, God blessed forever; for the name yhvh? is everywhere in the New Testament expressed by Kurios, here used. He who thus professeth Jesus to be the Lord, in the first place acknowledgeth him to be the true God. And then they professed him therewithal to be their Lord, the Lord of their souls and consciences, unto whom they owed all subjection and performed all obedience; as Thomas did in his great confession, "My Lord and my God," John xx. 28. Now, as he had before intimated that those who disowned him and called him "accursed" did speak by the instinct and instigation of the devil, by whom they were acted, so he lets them know, on the other hand, that no man can thus own and confess Jesus to be the "Lord" but by the Holy Ghost. But it may be said that some acted by the unclean spirit confessed Christ to be the Lord. So did the man in the synagogue, who cried out, "I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God," Mark i. 23, 24; and verse 34, he "suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him." And the damsel possessed with a spirit of divination cried after the apostle and his companions, saying, "These men are the servants of the most high God," Acts xvi. 17. So also did the man who abode in the tombs, possessed with an unclean spirit, who cried out unto him, "What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God," Mark v. 7. And other testimonies to the like purpose among the heathen, and from their oracles, might be produced. Ans. 1. Our apostle speaks of such a saying of Jesus to be Lord as is accompanied with faith in him and subjection of soul unto him; which is from the Holy Ghost alone. Thus none acted by the unclean spirit can call him Lord. 2. These acknowledgments were either (1.) wrested from the devil, and were no small part of his punishment and torment; or (2.) were designed by him with an intention to prejudice the glory of Christ by his testimony, who was a liar from the beginning; and "Malus bonum cum simulat, tunc est pessimus." These things, therefore, can have here no place. [4] Hereby, then, the apostle informs them wherein the foundation of all church relation, order, and worship, did consist: for whereas they had all respect unto the Lordship of Christ and their acknowledgment thereof, this was not from themselves, but was a pure effect of the operation of the Holy Ghost in them and towards them. And any thing of the like kind which doth not proceed from the same cause and fountain is of no use to the glory of God, nor of any advantage unto the souls of men. Some think that this saying of Jesus to be the Lord is to be restrained unto the manner of speaking afterward insisted on; [5] for the apostle in the following verses treateth of those extraordinary gifts which many in that church were then endowed withal. None can," saith he, "say Jesus is the Lord,' in an extraordinary manner, with divers tongues, and in prophecy, but by the Holy Ghost;" -- without his especial assistance, none can eminently and miraculously declare him so to be. And if this be so, it is likely that those before intended, who said Jesus was accursed, were some persons pretending to be acted, or really acted, by an extraordinary spirit, which the apostle declares not to be the Spirit of God; and so Chrysostom interprets those words of them who were visibly and violently acted by the devil. Many such instruments of his malice did Satan stir up in those days, to preserve, if it were possible, his tottering kingdom from ruin. But there is no necessity thus to restrain the words, or to affix this sense unto them; yea, it seems to me to be inconsistent with the design of the apostle and scope of the place: for intending to instruct the Corinthians, as was said, in the nature, use, and exercise of spiritual gifts, he first lays down the spring and fountain of all saving profession of the gospel, which those gifts were designed to the furtherance and improvement of. Hereupon, having minded them of their heathen state and condition before, he lets them know by what means they were brought into the profession of the gospel, and owning of Jesus to be the Lord, in opposition unto the dumb idols whom they had served; and this was by the Author of those gifts, unto whose consideration he was now addressing himself. The great change wrought in them, as to their religion and profession, was by the Holy Ghost; for no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, which is the sum and substance of our Christian profession, but by him, though some think he hath little or no concern at all in this matter. But to say Christ is the Lord includes two things:-- First, Faith in him as Lord and Saviour. So was he declared and preached by the angels, Luke ii. 11, "A Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." And this word "Lord" includes, as the dignity of his person, so his investiture with those offices which for our good this Lord did exercise and discharge. Secondly, The profession of that faith. Which two, where they are sincere, do always accompany each other, Rom. x. 10; for as the saying of Jesus to be anathema did comprise an open disclaimer and abrenunciation of him, so the calling of him Lord expresseth the profession of our faith in him, and subjection unto him. And both these are here intended to be sincere and saving: for that faith and profession are intended whereby the church is built upon the rock; the same with that of Peter, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," Matt. xvi. 16. And that these are the works of the Holy Ghost, which none of themselves are sufficient for, shall, God assisting, be afterward abundantly declared. Having thus stated the original and foundation of the church, in its faith, profession, order, and worship, he farther acquaints them that the same Spirit is likewise the author of all those gifts whereby it was to be built up and established, and whereby the profession of it might be enlarged: 1 Cor. xii. 4, "Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit." These are the things which he intendeth to discourse upon, wherein he enlargeth himself in the whole ensuing chapter. Now, became the particulars here insisted on by him in the beginning of his discourse will all of them occur unto us and be called over again in their proper places, I shall only point unto the heads of the discourse in the verses preceding the 11th, which we principally aim at. Treating, therefore, peri ton pneumatikon, of these spiritual things or gifts in the church, he first declares their author, from whom they come, and by whom they are wrought and bestowed. Him he calls the "Spirit," verse 4; the "Lord," verse 5; "God," verse 6; and to denote the oneness of their author, notwithstanding the diversify of the things themselves, he calls him the same Spirit, the same Lord, the same God. The words may be understood two ways: First, That the whole Trinity, and each person distinctly, should be intended in them; -- for consider the immediate operator of these gifts, and it is the "Spirit" or the Holy Ghost, verse 4; consider them as to their procurement and immediate authoritative collation, and so they are from Christ, the Son, the "Lord," verse 5; but as to their first original and fountain, they are from "God," even the Father, verse 6: and all these are one and the same. But rather the Spirit alone is intended, and hath this threefold denomination given unto him; for as he is particularly denoted by the name of the "Spirit," which he useth that we may know whom it is that eminently he intendeth, so he calls him both "Lord" and "God," as to manifest his sovereign authority in all his works and administrations, so to ingenerate a due reverence in their hearts towards him with whom they had to do in this matter. And no more is intended in these three verses but what is summed up, verse 11, "But all these worketh that one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will." Secondly, With respect unto their general nature, the apostle distributes them into "gift," charismata, verse 4; "administrations," diakoniai, verse 5; "operations," energemata, verse 6; -- which division, with the reasons of it, will in our progress be farther cleared. Thirdly, He declares the general end of the Spirit of God in the communication of them, and the use of them in the church: Verse 7, "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal." Phanerosis tou Pneumatos; Syr., nlyn' drvchh?, -- "the revelation of the Spirit;" that is, the gifts whereby and in whose exercise he manifests and reveals his own presence, power, and effectual operation. And the Spirit of God hath no other aim in granting these his enlightening gifts, wherein he manifests his care of the church, and declares the things of the gospel unto any man, but that they should be used to the profit, advantage, and edification of others. They are not bestowed on men to make their secular gain or advantage by them, in riches, honour, or reputation, -- for which ends Simon the magician would have purchased them with his money, Acts viii. 18, 19, -- no, nor yet merely for the good and benefit of the souls of them that do receive them; but for the edification of the church, and the furtherance of faith and profession in others: Pros to sumpheron; "Ad id quod expedit, prodest;" "For that which is expedient, useful, profitable," -- namely, to the church, 1 Cor. vi. 12, x. 23; 2 Cor. viii. 10. Thus was the foundation of the first churches of the gospel laid by the Holy Ghost, and thus was the work of their building unto perfection carried on by him. How far present churches do or ought to stand on the same bottom, how far they are carried on upon the same principles, is worth our inquiry, and will in its proper place fall under our consideration. Fourthly, The apostle distributes the spiritual gifts then bestowed on the church, or some members of it, into nine particular heads or instances: as, -- 1. Wisdom; 2. Knowledge, 1 Cor. xii. 8, or the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge; 3. Faith; 4. Healing, verse 9; 5. Working of miracles; 6. Prophecy; 7. Discerning of spirits; 8. Kinds of tongues; 9. Interpretation of tongues, verse 10. And all these were extraordinary gifts, in the manner of the communication and exercise, which related unto the then present state of the church. What is yet continued analogous unto them, or holding proportion with them, must be farther inquired into, when also their especial nature will be unfolded. But now if there be that great diversity of gifts in the church, [6] if so much difference in their administrations, how can it possibly be prevented but that differences and divisions will arise amongst them on whom they are bestowed and those amongst whom they are exercised? It is true, this may so fall out, and sometimes doth so; and, de facto, it did so in this church of Corinth. One admired one gift, a second another of a different kind, and so the third. Accordingly, among those who had received them, one boasted of this or that particular gift and ability, and would be continually in its exercise, to the exclusion and contempt of others, bestowed no less for the edification of the church than his own. And so far were they transported with vain-glory and a desire of self-advancement, as that they preferred the use of those gifts in the church which tended principally to beget astonishment and admiration in them which heard or beheld them, before those which were peculiarly useful unto the edification of the church itself; which evil, in particular, the apostle rebukes at large, chap. 14. By this means the church came to be divided in itself, and almost to be broken in pieces, chap. i. 11, 12. So foolish ofttimes are the minds of men, so liable to be imposed upon, so common is it for their lusts, seduced and principled by the craft of Satan, to turn judgment into wormwood, and to abuse the most useful effects of divine grace and bounty! To prevent all these evils for the future, and to manifest how perfect a harmony there is in all these divers gifts and different administrations, at what an agreement they are among themselves in their tendency unto the same ends of the union and edification of the church, from what fountain of wisdom they do proceed, and with what care they ought to be used and improved, the apostle declares unto them both the author of them and the rule he proceedeth by in their dispensation, chap. xii. 11. "All these," saith he, [7] "worketh that one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will." I shall not at present farther open or insist upon these words. Frequent recourse must be had unto them in our progress, wherein they will be fully explicated as to what concerns the person of the Spirit, his will, and his operations, which are all asserted in them; for my purpose is, through the permission and assistance of God, to treat from hence of the name, nature, existence, and whole work of the Holy Spirit, with the grace of God through Jesus Christ in the communication of him unto the sons of men: a work in itself too great and difficult for me to undertake, and beyond my ability to manage unto the glory of God or the edification of the souls of them that do believe, for "who is sufficient for these things?" but yet I dare not utterly faint in it nor under it, whilst I look unto Him whose work it is, who giveth wisdom to them that lack it, and upbraideth them not, James i. 5. Our eyes, therefore, are unto him alone, who both supplieth seed to the sower, and when he hath done, blesseth it with an increase. The present necessity, importance, and usefulness of this work, are the things which alone have engaged me into the undertaking of it. These, therefore, I shall briefly represent in some general considerations, before I insist on the things themselves whose especial explanation is designed. First, then, we may consider, That the doctrine of the Spirit of God, his work and grace, is the second great head or principle of those gospel truths wherein the glory of God and the good of the souls of men are most eminently concerned. And such also it is, that without it, -- without the knowledge of it in its truth, and the improvement of it in its power, -- the other will be useless unto those ends. For when God designed the great and glorious work of recovering fallen man and the saving of sinners, to the praise of the glory of his grace, he appointed, in his infinite wisdom, two great means thereof. The one was the giving of his Son for them, and the other was the giving of his Spirit unto them. And hereby was way made for the manifestation of the glory of the whole blessed Trinity; which is the utmost end of all the works of God. Hereby were the love, grace, and wisdom of the Father, in the design and projection of the whole; the love, grace, and condescension of the Son, in the execution, purchase, and procurement of grace and salvation for sinners; with the love, grace, and power of the Holy Spirit, in the effectual application of all unto the souls of men, -- made gloriously conspicuous. Hence, from the first entrance of sin, there were two general heads of the promise of God unto men, concerning the means of their recovery and salvation. The one was that concerning the sending of his Son to be incarnate, to take our nature upon him, and to suffer for us therein; the other, concerning the giving of his Spirit, to make the effects and fruits of the incarnation, obedience, and suffering of his Son, effectual in us and towards us. To these heads may all the promises of God be reduced. Now, because the former was to be the foundation of the latter, that was first to be laid down and most insisted on until it was actually accomplished. Hence, the great promise of the Old Testament, the principal object of the faith, hope, and expectation of believers, was that concerning the coming of the Son of God in the flesh, and the work which he was to perform. Yet was this also, as we shall see in our progress, accompanied with a great intermixture of promises concerning the Holy Spirit, to render his coming and work effectual unto us. But when once that first work was fully accomplished, when the Son of God was come, and had destroyed the works of the devil, the principal remaining promise of the New Testament, the spring of all the rest, concerneth the sending of the Holy Spirit unto the accomplishment of his part of that great work which God had designed. Hence, the Holy Ghost, the doctrine concerning his person, his work, his grace, is the most peculiar and principal subject of the Scriptures of the New Testament, and a most eminent immediate object of the faith of them that do believe; and this must be farther cleared, seeing we have to deal with some who will scarce allow him to be of any consideration in these matters at all. But I shall be brief in these previous testimonies hereunto, because the whole ensuing discourse is designed to the demonstration of the truth of this assertion. 1. It is of great moment, and sufficient of itself to maintain the cause as proposed, that when our Lord Jesus Christ was to leave the world, he promised to send his Holy Spirit unto his disciples to supply his absence. Of what use the presence of Christ was unto his disciples we may in some measure conceive. They knew full well whose hearts were filled with sorrow upon the mention of his leaving of them, John xvi. 5, 6. Designing to relieve them in this great distress, -- which drew out the highest expressions of love, tenderness, compassion, and care towards them, -- he doth it principally by this promise; which he assures them shall be to their greater advantage than any they could receive by the continuance of his bodily presence amongst them. And to secure them hereof, as also to inform them of its great importance, he repeats it frequently unto them, and inculcates it upon them. Consider somewhat of what he says to this purpose in his last discourse with them: John xiv. 16-18, "I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you;" that is, in and by this Holy Spirit. And verses 25-27, "These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you," etc. And chap. xv. 26, "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me." And chap. xvi. 5-15, "Now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you." [8] This was the great legacy which our Lord Jesus Christ, departing out of this world, bequeathed unto his sorrowful disciples. This he promiseth unto them as a sufficient relief against all their troubles, and a faithful guide in all their ways. And because of the importance of it unto them, he frequently repeats it, and enlargeth upon the benefits that they should receive thereby, giving them a particular account why it would be more advantageous unto them than his own bodily presence; and, therefore, after his resurrection he minds them again of this promise, commanding them to act nothing towards the building of the church until it was accomplished towards them, Acts i. 4, 5, 8. They would have been again embracing his human nature, and rejoicing in it; but as he said unto Mary, "Touch me not," John xx. 17, to wean her from any carnal consideration of him, so he instructs them all now to look after and trust unto the promise of the Holy Ghost. Hence is that of our apostle, "Though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more," 2 Cor. v. 16; for although it was a great privilege to have known Christ in this world after the flesh, yet it was much greater to enjoy him in the dispensation of the Spirit. And this was spoken by the apostle, as the ancients judge, to rebuke the boasting of some about their seeing the Lord in the flesh, who were thereon called desposunoi, whom he directs unto a more excellent knowledge of him. It is in vain pretended that it was the apostles only, and it may be some of the primitive Christians, who were concerned in this promise, for although the Holy Ghost was bestowed on them in a peculiar manner and for especial ends, yet the promise in general belongs unto all believers unto the end of the world; [9] for as to what concerns his gracious operations, whatever the Lord Christ prayed for them, and so promised unto them (as the Spirit was procured for them on his prayer, John xiv. 16, 17), he "prayed not for it for them alone, but for them also which should believe on him through their word," chap. xvii. 20. And his promise is, to be "with his alway, even unto the end of the world," Matt. xxviii. 20; as also, that "wherever two or three are gathered together in his name, there he would be in the midst of them," chap. xviii. 20; -- which he is no otherwise but by his Spirit; for as for his human nature, "the heaven must receive him until the times of restitution of all things, Acts iii. 21. And this one consideration is sufficient to evince the importance of the doctrine and things which concern the Holy Spirit; for is it possible that any Christian should be so supinely negligent and careless, so unconcerned in the things whereon his present comforts and future happiness do absolutely depend, as not to think it his duty to inquire with the greatest care and diligence into what our Lord Jesus Christ hath left unto us, to supply his absence, and at length to bring us unto himself? He by whom these things are despised hath neither part nor lot in Christ himself; for "if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his," Rom. viii. 9. 2. The great work of the Holy Ghost in the dispensation and ministration of the gospel, unto all the ends of it, is another evidence unto the same purpose. [10] Hence, the gospel itself is called "The ministration of the Spirit," 2 Cor. iii. 8, in opposition to that of the law, which is called the ministration of the letter and of condemnation. Diakonia tou Pneumatos, the "ministry of the Spirit," is either that ministry which the Spirit makes effectual, or that ministry whereby the Spirit in his gifts and graces is communicated unto men. And this is that which gives unto the ministry of the gospel both its glory and its efficacy. Take away the Spirit from the gospel and you render it a dead letter, and leave the New Testament of no more use unto Christians than the Old Testament is of unto the Jews. It is therefore a mischievous imagination, proceeding from ignorance, blindness, and unbelief, that there is no more in the gospel but what is contained under any other doctrine or declaration of truth, -- that it is nothing but a book for men to exercise their reason in and upon, and to improve the things of it by the same faculty: for this is to separate the Spirit, or the dispensation of the Spirit, from it, which is in truth to destroy it; and therewith is the covenant of God rejected, which is, that his word and Spirit shall go together, Isa. lix. 21. We shall, therefore, God assisting, manifest in our progress that the whole ministry of the gospel, the whole use and efficacy of it, do depend on that ministration of the Spirit wherewith, according to the promise of God, it is accompanied. If, therefore, we have any concernment in, or have ever received any benefit by, the gospel, or the ministration of it, we have a signal duty lying before us in the matter in hand. 3. There is not any spiritual or saving good from first to last communicated unto us, or that we are from and by the grace of God made partakers of, but it is revealed to us and bestowed on us by the Holy Ghost. He who hath not an immediate and especial work of the Spirit of God upon him and towards him did never receive any especial love, grace, or mercy, from God. For how should he do so? Whatever God works in us and upon us, he doth it by his Spirit; he, therefore, who hath no work of the Spirit of God upon his heart did never receive either mercy or grace from God, for God giveth them not but by his Spirit. A disclaimer, therefore, of any work of the Spirit of God in us or upon us is a disclaimer of all interest in his grace and mercy; and they may do well to consider it with whom the work of the Spirit of God is a reproach. When they can tell us of any other way whereby a man may be made partaker of mercy and grace, we will attend unto it; in the meantime we shall prove from the Scripture this to be the way of God. 4. There is not any thing done in us or by us that is holy and acceptable unto God, but it is an effect of the Holy Spirit; it is of his operation in us and by us. Without him we can do nothing; for without Christ we cannot, John xv. 5, and by him alone is the grace of Christ communicated unto us and wrought in us. By him we are regenerated; [11] by him we are sanctified; by him we are cleansed; by him are we assisted in and unto every good work. Particular instances to this purpose will be afterward insisted on and proved. And it is our unquestionable concernment to inquire into the cause and spring of all that is good in us, wherein also we shall have a true discovery of the spring and cause of all that is evil, without a competent knowledge of both which we can do nothing as we ought. 5. God lets us know that the only peculiarly remediless sin and way of sinning under the gospel is to sin in an especial manner against the Holy Ghost. And this of itself is sufficient to convince us how needful it is for us to be well instructed in what concerns him; for there is somewhat that doth so, which is accompanied with irrecoverable and eternal ruin; and so is nothing else in the world. So Mark iii. 28, 29, "All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: but he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness." Or, "Whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come," Matt. xii. 32. There remains nothing for him who doth despite to the Spirit of grace but a "certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries," Heb. x. 27, 29. This is that "sin unto death" whose remission is not to be prayed for, John v. 16: for he having taken upon him to make effectual unto us the great remedy provided in the blood of Christ for the pardon of our sins, if he in the prosecution of that work be despised, blasphemed, despitefully used, there neither is relief nor can there be pardon for that sin. For whence, in that case, should they arise or spring? As God hath not another Son to offer another sacrifice for sin, -- so that he by whom his sacrifice is despised can have none remaining for him, -- no more hath he another Spirit to make that sacrifice effectual unto us, if the Holy Ghost in his work be despised and rejected. This, therefore, is a tender place. [12] We cannot use too much holy diligence in our inquiries after what God hath revealed in his word concerning his Spirit and his work, seeing there may be so fatal a miscarriage in an opposition unto him as the nature of man is incapable of in any other instance. And these considerations belong unto the first head of reasons of the importance, use, and necessity, of the doctrine proposed to be inquired into. They are enough to manifest what is the concernment of all believers herein; for on the account of these things the Scripture plainly declares, as we observed before, that "he who hath not the Spirit of Christ is none of his," -- their portion is not in him, they shall have no benefit by his mediation. Men may please themselves with a profession of being Christians and owning the gospel, whilst they despise the Spirit of God, both name and thing. Their condition we shall examine and judge by the Scripture before we come to the end of this discourse. And for the Scripture itself, whoever reads the books of the New Testament, besides the great and precious promises that are given concerning him in the Old, will find and conclude, unless he be prepossessed with prejudice, that the whole of what is declared in those writings turns on this only hinge. Remove from them the consideration of the Spirit of God and his work, and it will be hard to find out what they aim at or tend unto. Secondly, The great deceit and abuse that hath been, in all ages of the church, under the pretence of the name and work of the Spirit make the thorough consideration of what we are taught concerning them exceeding necessary. Had not these things been excellent in themselves, and so acknowledged by all Christians, they would never have been by so many falsely pretended unto. Men do not seek to adorn themselves with rags, or to boast of what, on its own account, is under just contempt. And according to the worth of things, so are they liable to abuse; and the more excellent any thing is, the more vile and pernicious is an undue pretence unto it. Such have been the false pretences of some in all ages unto the Spirit of God and his work, whose real excellencies in themselves have made those pretences abominable and unspeakably dangerous; for the better the things are which are counterfeited, the worse always are the ends they are employed unto. In the whole world there is nothing so vile as that which pretendeth to be God, and is not; nor is any other thing capable of so pernicious an abuse. Some instances hereof I shall give, both out of the Old Testament and the New. The most signal gift of the Spirit of God, for the use of the church under the Old Testament, was that of prophecy. This, therefore, was deservedly in honour and reputation, as having a great impression of the authority of God upon it, and in it of his nearness unto man. Besides, those in whom it was had justly the conduct of the minds and consciences of others given up unto them: for they spake in the name of God, and had his warranty for what they proposed; which is the highest security of obedience. And these things caused many to pretend unto this gift who were, indeed, never inspired by the Holy Spirit; but were rather, on the contrary, acted by a spirit of lying and uncleanness: for it is very probable that when men falsely and in mere pretence took upon them to be prophets divinely inspired, without any antecedent diabolical enthusiasm, that the devil made use of them to compass his own designs Being given up, by the righteous judgment of God, unto all delusions, for belying his Spirit and holy inspirations, they were quickly possessed with a spirit of lying and unclean divination. So the false prophets of Ahab, who encouraged him to go up unto Ramoth-gilead, foretelling his prosperous success, 1 Kings xxii. 6, seemed only to have complied deceitfully with the inclinations of their master, and to have out-acted his other courtiers in flattery by gilding it with a pretence of prophecy; but when Micaiah came to lay open the mystery of their iniquity, it appeared that a lying spirit, by the permission of God, had possessed their minds, and gave them impressions, which being supernatural, they were deceived as well as they did deceive, verses 19-23. This they were justly given up unto, pretending falsely unto the inspiration of that Holy Spirit which they had not received. And no otherwise hath it fallen out with some in our days, whom we have seen visibly acted by an extraordinary power. Unduly pretending unto supernatural agitations from God, they were really acted by the devil; a thing they neither desired nor looked after, but, being surprised by it, were pleased with it for a while: as it was with sundry of the Quakers at their first appearance. Now, these false prophets of old were of two sorts, both mentioned, Deut. xviii. 20:-- First, Such as professedly served other gods, directing all their prophetic actings unto the promotion of their worship. Such were the prophets of Baal, in whose name expressly they prophesied, and whose assistance they invocated: "They called on the name of Baal, saying, O Baal, hear us," 1 Kings xviii. 26-29. Many of these were slain by Elijah, and the whole race of them afterward extirpated by Jehu, 2 Kings x. 18-28. This put an end to his deity, for it is said, "he destroyed Baal out of Israel," false gods having no existence but in the deceived minds of their worshippers. It may be asked why these are called "prophets?" and so, in general, of all the false prophets mentioned in the Scripture. Was it because they merely pretended and counterfeited a spirit of prophecy, or had they really any such? I answer, that I no way doubt but that they were of both sorts. These prophets of Baal were such as worshipped the sun, after the manner of the Tyrians. Herein they invented many hellish mysteries, ceremonies, and sacrifices; these they taught the people by whom they were hired. Being thus engaged in the service of the devil, he actually possessed their minds "as a spirit of divination," and enabled them to declare things unknown unto other men. They, in the meantime, really finding themselves acted by a power superior to them, took and owned that to be the power of their god; and thereby became immediate worshippers of the devil. This our apostle declares, 1 Cor. x. 20. Whatever those who left the true God aimed at to worship, the devil interposed himself between that and them, as the object of their adoration. Hereby he became the "god of this world," 2 Cor. iv. 4, -- he whom in all their idols they worshipped and adored. With a spirit of divination from him were many of the false prophets acted, which they thought to be the spirit of their god; for they found themselves acted by a superior power, which they could neither excuse nor resist. [13] Others of them were mere pretenders and counterfeits, that deceived the foolish multitude with vain, false predictions. Of these more will be spoken afterward. Secondly, Others there were who spake in the name, and, as they falsely professed, by the inspiration of the Spirit, of the holy God. With this sort of men Jeremiah had great contests; for in that apostatizing age of the church, they had got such an interest and reputation among the rulers and people as not only to confront his prophecies with contrary predictions, chap. xxviii. 1-4, but also to traduce him as a false prophet, and to urge his punishment according to the law, chap. xxix. 25-27. And with the like confidence did Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah carry it towards Micaiah, 1 Kings xxii. 24; for he scornfully asks him, "Which way went the Spirit of the Lord from me to speak unto thee?" that is, "Whereas assuredly he speaketh in me, how came he to inspire thee with a contrary revelation?" Ezekiel, at the same time with Jeremiah, was exercised and perplexed with them, chap. xiii. and xiv.; for this sort of persons, -- namely, false pretenders unto divine extraordinary revelations, -- did of old usually abound in times of danger and approaching desolations. The devil stirred them up to fill men with vain hopes, to keep them in sin and security, that destruction might seize upon them at unawares: and whoever take the same course in the time of deserved, threatened, impendent judgments, though they use not the same means, yet they also do the work of the devil; for whatever encourageth men to be secure in their sins is a false divination, Jer. v. 30, 31. And this sort of men is characterized by the prophet chap. xxiii., from verse 9 to 33; where anyone may read their sin and judgment. And yet this false pretending unto the spirit of prophecy was very far from casting any contempt on the real gift of the Holy Ghost therein; nay, it gave it the greater glory and lustre. God never more honoured his true prophets than when there were most false ones; neither shall ever any false pretence to the Spirit of grace render him less dear unto those that are partakers of him, or his gifts of less use unto the church. It was thus also under the New Testament, at the first preaching of the gospel. The doctrine of it at first was declared from the immediate revelation of the Spirit, preached by the assistance of the Spirit, made effectual by his work and power, [and] was accompanied in many by outward miraculous works and effects of the Spirit; whence the whole of what peculiarly belonged unto it, in opposition to the law, was called "The ministration of the Spirit." These things being owned and acknowledged by all, those who had any false opinions or dotages of their own to broach, or any other deceit to put upon Christians, could think of no more expedite means for the compassing of their ends than by pretending to immediate revelations of the Spirit; for without some kind of credibility given them from hence, they knew that their fond imaginations would not be taken into the least consideration. Hence the apostle Peter, having treated concerning the revelation of God by his Spirit in prophecy, under the Old Testament and the New, 2 Epist., chap. i. 19-21, adds, as an inference from that discourse, a comparison between the false prophets that were under the Old Testament and the false teachers under the New, chap. ii. 1: "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you." And the reason of it is, because that as they pretended to the Spirit of the Lord in their prophecies, saying, "Thus saith the Lord," when he sent them not, so these ascribed all their abominable heresies to the inspiration of the Spirit, by whom they were not assisted. Hence is that blessed caution and rule given us by the apostle John, who lived to see much mischief done in the church by this pretence: 1 Epist. chap. iv. 1-3, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God." A twofold direction doth the apostle here give unto all believers; the first by the way of caution, that they would not believe every spirit, -- that is, not receive or give credit to every doctrine that was proposed unto them as of immediate revelation and inspiration of the Spirit. He intends the same with the apostle Paul, Eph. iv. 14, who would not have us "carried about with every wind of doctrine," like vessels at sea without anchors or helms, by the "sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;" for the crafts and sleights intended are such as men use when they cast a mist, as it were, before the eyes of others whom they intend to cheat and defraud. So dealt false teachers with their disciples, by their pretences of immediate revelations. His next direction informs us how we may observe this caution unto our advantage; and this is, by trying the spirits themselves. This is the duty of all believers on any such pretences. They are to try these spirits, and examine whether they are of God or no. For the observation of this rule and discharge of this duty, the church of Ephesus is commended by our Lord Jesus Christ: Rev. ii. 2, "Thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars;" for those who said they were apostles pretended therewithal to apostolical authority and infallibility, on the account of the immediate inspirations which they received by the Holy Ghost. In trying them, they tried the spirits that came unto them; and by this warrant may we try the spirit of the church of Rome, which in like manner pretends unto apostolical authority and infallibility. Unto these two directions the apostle subjoins the reason of the present watchfulness required unto the discharge of this duty: "Because," saith he, "many false prophets are gone out into the world." It is "false teachers," as Peter calls them, "bringing in damnable heresies," concerning whom he speaks. And he calleth them "false prophets," partly in an allusion unto the false prophets under the Old Testament, with whom they are ranked and compared by Peter, and partly because, as they fathered their prejudices on divine revelation, so these falsely ascribed their doctrines unto immediate divine inspiration. And on this account also he calleth them spirits: "Try the spirits;" for as they pretended unto the Spirit of God, so indeed for the most part they were acted by a spirit of error, lying, and delusion, -- that is, the devil himself. And therefore I no way doubt but that mostly those who made use of this plea, that they had their doctrines which they taught by immediate inspiration, did also effect other extraordinary operations or undiscoverable appearances of them, as lying miracles, by the power of that spirit whereby they were acted, as Matt. xxiv. 24. Hence the apostle doth not direct us to try their pretensions unto inspiration by putting them on other extraordinary works for their confirmation, for these also they made a show and appearance of, and that in such a manner as that they were not to be detected by the generality of Christians; but he gives unto all a blessed stable rule, which will never fail them in this case who diligently attend unto it; and this is, to try them by the doctrine that they teach,1 John iv. 2, 3. Let their doctrine be examined by the Scriptures, and if it be found consonant thereunto, it may be received without danger unto the hearers, whatever corrupt affections the teachers may be influenced by; but if it be not consonant thereunto, if it keep not up a harmony in the analogy of faith, whatever inspiration or revelation be pleaded in its justification, it is to be rejected, as they also are by whom it is declared. This rule the apostle Paul confirms by the highest instance imaginable: Gal. i. 8, "Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." And the apostle shows that, for our advantage in this trial we are to make of spirits, it is good to have a clear conviction of, and a constant adherence unto, some fundamental principles, especially such as we have reason to think will be the most cunningly attacked by seducers. Thus, because in those days the principal design of Satan was, to broach strange, false imaginations about the person and mediation of Christ, endeavouring thereby to overthrow both the one and the other, the apostle adviseth believers to try the spirits by this one fundamental principle of truth, namely, that "Jesus Christ is come in the flesh;" which contains a confession both of his person and mediation. This, therefore, believers were to demand of all new teachers and pretenders unto spiritual revelations in the first place, "Do you confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh?" and if they immediately made not this confession, they never stood to consider their other pretences, but turned from them, not bidding them God speed,2 John 7, 10, 11. And I could easily manifest how many pernicious heresies were obviated in those days by this short confession of faith. For some of late (as Grotius, following Socinus and Schlichtingius) interpreting this coming of Christ in the flesh of his outward mean estate and condition, and not in the pomp and glory of an earthly king, do openly corrupt the text. His coming in the flesh is the same with the "Word's being made flesh," John i. 14; or "God being manifest in the flesh," 1 Tim. iii. 16, -- that is, the Son of God being made "partaker of flesh and blood," Heb. ii. 14; or "taking on him the seed of Abraham," verse 16, -- that is, his being "made of a woman," Gal. iv. 4; or his being "made of the seed of David according to the flesh," Rom. i. 3; or his "being of the fathers as to the flesh," Rom. ix. 5. And this was directly opposed unto those heresies which were then risen, whose broachers contended that Jesus Christ was but a fantasy, an appearance, a manifestation of divine love and power, denying that the Son of God was really incarnate, as the ancients generally testify. And well had it been for many in our days had they attended unto such rules as this; but through a neglect of it, accompanied with an ungrounded boldness and curiosity, they have hearkened in other things to deceiving spirits, and have been engaged beyond a recovery before they have considered that by their cogging deceits they have been cheated of all the principal articles of their faith; by which if at first they had steadily tried and examined them, they might have been preserved from their snares. The Jews say well that there was a double trial of prophets under the Old Testament, -- the one by their doctrine, the other by their predictions. That by their doctrine, -- namely, whether they seduced men from the worship of the true God unto idolatry, -- belonged unto all individual persons of the church. Direction for this is given, Deut. xiii. 1-3, "If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee" (effect any thing by a seeming presence of an extraordinary power), saying, "Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams." Let his signs and wonders be what they would, the people were to try them by what they taught. The judgment upon predictions was left unto the sanhedrim, for which directions are given, Deut. xviii. 20-22; and by virtue hereof they falsely and cruelly endeavoured to take away the life of Jeremiah, because he foretold the ruin of them and their city, chap. xxvi. 11. In the first place, though his sign, wonder, or prediction came to pass, yet the doctrine he sought to confirm by it being false, he was to be rejected. In the latter, the fulfilling of his sign acquitted him, because he taught with it nothing in point of doctrine that was false. The first kind of trial of the spirits of prophets is the duty of all believers under the gospel; and those who would deprive them of this liberty would make brutes of them instead of Christians, -- unless to believe a man knows not what, and to obey he knows not why, be the properties of Christians. See Rom. xii. 2; Eph. v. 8-12; Phil. i. 10; 1 Thess. v. 21. The other, so far as was needful to preserve the church in truth and peace, was provided for in those primitive times, whilst there was a real communication of extraordinary gifts of the Spirit (and so more occasion given to the false pretence of them, and more danger in being deceived by them), by a peculiar gift of discerning them, bestowed on some amongst them. 1 Cor. xii. 10, "Discerning of spirits" is reckoned among the gifts of the Spirit. So had the Lord graciously provided for his churches, that some among them should be enabled in an extraordinary manner to discern and judge of them who pretended unto extraordinary actings of the Spirit. And upon the ceasing of extraordinary gifts really given from God, the gift also of discerning spirits ceased, and we are left unto the word alone for the trial of any that shall pretend unto them. Now, this kind of pretence was so common in those days, that the apostle Paul, writing to the Thessalonians to caution them that they suffered not themselves to be deceived in their expectation and computations about the time of the coming of Christ, in the first place warns them not to be moved in it "by spirit," 2 Thess. ii. 2; that is, persons pretending unto spiritual revelations. Something, also, of this nature hath continued, and broken out in succeeding ages, and that in instances abominable and dreadful. And the more eminent in any season are the real effusions of the Holy Spirit upon the ministers of the gospel and disciples of Christ, the more diligence and watchfulness against these delusions are necessary; for on such opportunities it is, when the use and reputation of spiritual gifts is eminent, that Satan doth lay hold to intrude under the colour of them his own deceitful suggestions. In the dark times of the Papacy, all stories are full of satanical delusions, in fantastical apparitions, horrors, spectrums, and the like effects of darkness. It was seldom or never that any falsely pretended to the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit; for these things were then of little use or request in the world. But when God was pleased to renew really a fresh communication of spiritual gifts and graces unto men, in and upon the Reformation, the old dreads and terrors, nightly appearances, tending unto deeds of darkness, vanished, and everywhere, by Satan's instigation, arose false pretenders to the Spirit of God; in which way of delusion he will still be more active and industrious, as God shall increase the gifts and graces of his Spirit in his churches; though as yet, in these latter ages, he hath not attained what he was arrived unto in the primitive times of the gospel. A full and clear declaration from the Scripture of the nature of the Holy Spirit and his operations may, through the blessing of God, be of use to fortify the minds of professors against satanical delusions counterfeiting his actings and inspirations; for directions unto this purpose are given us by the holy apostle, who lived to see great havoc made in the churches by deluding spirits. Knowledge of the truth, trying of spirits that go abroad by the doctrines of the Scriptures, dependence on the Holy Spirit for his teachings according to the word, are the things which to this purpose he commends unto us. Thirdly, There is in the days wherein we live an anti-spirit set up and advanced against the Spirit of God, in his being and all his operations, in his whole work and use towards the church of God; for this new spirit takes upon him whatever is promised to be effected by the "good Spirit of God." This is that which some men call "the light within them," though indeed it be nothing but a dark product of Satan upon their own imaginations, or at best the natural light of conscience; which some of the heathens also call "a spirit." [14] But hereunto do they trust, as to that which doth all for them, leaving no room for the "promise of the Spirit of God," nor any thing for him to do. This teacheth them, instructs them, enlightens them; to this they attend as the Samaritans to Simon Magus, and, as they say, yield obedience unto it; and from hence, with the fruits of it, do they expect acceptation with God, justification and blessedness hereafter. And one of these two things these deluded souls must fix upon, -- namely, that this light whereof they speak is either the Holy Spirit of God, or it is not. If they say it is the Spirit, it will be easy to demonstrate how by their so saying they utterly destroy the very nature and being of the Holy Ghost, as will evidently appear in our explication of them. And if they say that it is not the Holy Spirit of God which they intend thereby, it will be no less manifest that they utterly exclude him, on the other side, from his whole work, and substitute another, yea, an enemy, in his room: for another God is a false god; another Christ is a false Christ; and another Spirit is a false spirit, -- the spirit of antichrist. Now, because this is a growing evil amongst us, many being led away and seduced, our duty unto Jesus Christ and compassion for the souls of men do require that our utmost endeavour, in the ways of Christ's appointment, should be used to obviate this evil, which eateth as doth a canker; which also is propagated by profane and vain babblings, increasing still unto more ungodliness. Some, I confess, do unduly rage against the persons of those who have imbibed these imaginations, falling upon them with violence and fury, as they do also on others; -- the Lord lay it not unto their charge! Yet this hinders not but that, by those "weapons of our warfare which are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down such like imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought unto the obedience of Christ," we ought to attempt the destruction of their errors and the breaking of the snares of Satan, by whom they are taken captive alive at his pleasure. The course, indeed, of opposing errors and false spirits by praying, preaching, and writing, is despised by them in whose furious and haughty minds ure, seca, occide, "burn, cut, and kill," are alone of any signification, -- that think, "Arise, Peter, kill and eat," to be a precept of more use and advantage unto them than all the commands of Jesus Christ besides; but the way proposed unto us by the Lord Jesus Christ himself, walked in by his holy apostles, and all the ancient, holy, learned writers of the church, is that which, in these matters, we must and shall attend unto: and that course which is particularly suited to obviate the evil mentioned, is, to give a full, plain, evident declaration from the Scripture of the nature and operations of the Holy Spirit of God. Hence it will be undeniably manifest what a stranger this pretended light is unto the true Spirit of Christ; how far it is from being of any real use to the souls of men; yea, how it is set up in opposition unto him and his work, by whom and by which alone we become accepted with God, and are brought unto the enjoyment of him. Fourthly, There are, moreover, many hurtful and noxious opinions concerning the Holy Ghost gone abroad in the world, and entertained by many, to the subversion of the faith which they have professed. [15] Such are those whereby his deity and personality are denied. About these there have been many contests in the world: some endeavouring with diligence and subtlety to promote the perverse opinions mentioned; others "contending," according to their duty, "for the faith once delivered unto the saints." But these disputations are for the most part so managed, that although the truth be in some of them strenuously vindicated, yet the minds of believers generally are but little edified by them; for the most are unacquainted with the ways and terms of arguing, which are suited to convince or "stop the mouths of gainsayers," rather than to direct the faith of others. Besides, our knowledge of things is more by their operations and proper effects than from their own nature and formal reason. Especially is it so in divine things, and particularly with respect unto God himself. In his own glorious being he dwelleth in light, whereunto no creature can approach. In the revelation that he hath made of himself by the effects of his will, in his word and works, are we to seek after him. By them are the otherwise invisible things of God made known, his attributes declared, and we come to a better acquaintance with him than any we can attain by our most diligent speculations about his nature itself immediately. So is it with the Holy Ghost and his personality. He is in the Scripture [16] proposed unto us to be known by his properties and works, adjuncts and operations; by our duty towards him and our offences against him. The due consideration of these things is that which will lead us into that assured knowledge of his being and subsistence which is necessary for the guidance of our faith and obedience; which is the end of all these inquiries, Col. ii. 2. Wherefore, although I shall by the way explain, confirm, and vindicate the testimonies that are given in the Scripture, or some of them, unto his deity and personality, yet the principal means that I shall insist on for the establishing of our faith in him is the due and just exposition and declaration of the administrations and operations that are ascribed unto him in the Scriptures; which also will give great light into the whole mystery and economy of God in the work of our salvation by Jesus Christ. Fifthly, The principal cause and occasion of our present undertaking is, the open and horrible opposition that is made unto the Spirit of God and his work in the world. There is no concernment of his that is not by many derided, exploded, and blasphemed. The very name of the Spirit is grown to be a reproach; nor do some think they can more despitefully expose any to scorn than by ascribing to them a "concern in the Spirit of God." This, indeed, is a thing which I have often wondered at, and do continue still so to do: for whereas in the gospel everything that is good, holy, praiseworthy in any man, is expressly assigned to the Spirit, as the immediate efficient cause and operator of it; and whereas the condition of men without him, not made partakers of him, is described to be reprobate or rejected of God, and foreign unto any interest in Christ; yet many pretending unto the belief and profession of the gospel are so far from owning or desiring a participation of this Spirit in their own persons, as that they deride and contemn them who dare plead or avow any concern in him or his works. Only, I must grant that herein they have had some that have gone before them, -- namely, the old scoffing heathens; for so doth Lucian, in his Philopatris [18], speak in imitation of a Christian by way of scorn, Lege, para tou Pneumatos dunamin tou logou labon; -- "Speak out now, receiving power or ability of speaking from the Spirit," or "by the Spirit." Certainly an attendance to the old caution. Si non castè, tamen cautè, had been needful for some in this matter. Could they not bring their own hearts unto a due reverence of the Spirit of God, and an endeavour after the participation of his fruits and effects, yet the things that are spoken concerning him and his work in the whole New Testament, and also in places almost innumerable in the Old, might have put a check to their public contemptuous reproaches and scornful mockings, whilst they owned those writings to be of God; -- but such was his entertainment in the world upon his first effusion, Acts ii. 13. Many pretences, I know, will be pleaded to give countenance unto this abomination; for, first, they will say, "It is not the Spirit of God himself and his works, but the pretence of others unto him and them, which they so reproach and scorn." I fear this plea or excuse will prove too short and narrow to make a covering unto their profaneness. It is dangerous venturing with rudeness and petulancy upon holy things, and then framing of excuses. But in reproaches of the Lord Christ and his Spirit men will not want their pretences, John x. 32, 33. And the things of the Spirit of God, which they thus reproach and scorn in any, are either such as are truly and really ascribed unto him and wrought by him in the disciples of Jesus Christ, or they are not. If they are such as indeed are no effects of the Spirit of grace, such as he is not promised for, nor attested to work in them that do believe, as vain enthusiasms, ecstatical raptures and revelations, certainly it more became Christians, men professing, or at least pretending, a reverence unto God, his Spirit, and his word, to manifest to and convince those of whom they treat that such things are not "fruits of the Spirit," but imaginations of their own, than to deride them under the name of the Spirit, or his gifts and operations. Do men consider with whom and what they make bold in these things? But if they be things that are real effects of the Spirit of Christ in them that believe, or such as are undeniably assigned unto him in the Scripture, which they despise, what remains to give countenance unto this daring profaneness? Yea, but they say, secondly, "It is not the real true operations of the Spirit themselves, but the false pretensions of others unto them, which they traduce and expose." But will this warrant the course which it is manifest they steer in matter and manner? The same persons pretend to believe in Christ and the gospel, and to be made partakers of the benefits of his mediation; and yet, if they have not the Spirit of Christ, they have no saving interest in these things; for "if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." If it be, then, only their false pretending unto the Spirit of God and his works which these persons so revile and scorn, why do they not deal with them in like manner with respect unto Christ and the profession of the gospel? why do they not say unto them, "You believe in Christ, you believe in the gospel," and thereon expose them to derision? So plainly dealt the Jews with our Lord Jesus Christ, Ps. xxii. 7, 8; Matt. xxi. 38, 39. It is, therefore, the things themselves, and not the pretences pretended, that are the objects of this contempt and reproach. Besides, suppose those whom at present on other occasions they hate or despise are not partakers of the Spirit of God, but are really strangers unto the things which hypocritically they profess, -- will they grant and allow that any other Christians in the world do so really partake of him as to be led, guided, directed by him; to be quickened, sanctified, purified by him; to be enabled unto communion with God, and all duties of holy obedience by him, with those other effects and operations for which he is promised by Jesus Christ unto his disciples? If they will grant these things to be really effected and accomplished in any, let them not be offended with them who desire that they should be so in themselves, and declare themselves to that purpose; and men would have more charity for them under their petulant scoffing than otherwise they are able to exercise. It will, thirdly, yet be pleaded, "That they grant as fully as any the being of the Holy Ghost, the promise of him and his real operations; only, they differ from others as to the sense and exposition of those phrases and expressions that are used concerning these things in the Scripture, which those others abuse in an unintelligible manner, as making them proper which indeed are metaphorical." But is this the way which they like and choose to express their notions and apprehensions, -- namely, openly to revile and scorn the very naming and asserting the work of the Spirit of God, in the words which himself hath taught? A boldness this is, which, as whereof the former ages have not given us a precedent, so we hope the future will not afford an instance of any to follow the example. For their sense and apprehension of these things, they shall afterward be examined, so far as they have dared to discover them. In the meantime, we know that the Socinians acknowledge a Trinity, the sacrifice of Christ, the expiation of sin made thereby, and yet we have some differences with them about these things; and so we have with these men about the Spirit of God and his dispensation under the gospel, though, like them, they would grant the things spoken of them to be true, as metaphorically to be interpreted. But of these things we must treat more fully hereafter. I say it is so come to pass, amongst many who profess they believe the gospel to be true, that the name or naming of the Spirit of God is become a reproach; so also is his whole work. And the promise of him made by Jesus Christ unto his church is rendered useless and frustrated. It was the main, and upon the matter the only, supportment which he left unto it in his bodily absence, the only means of rendering the work of his mediation effectual in them and among them; for without him all others, as the word, ministry, and ordinances of worship, are lifeless and useless. God is not glorified by them, nor the souls of men advantaged. But it is now uncertain with some of what use he is unto the church; yea, as far as I can discern, whether he be of any or no. Some have not trembled to say and contend, that some things as plainly ascribed unto him in the Scripture as words can make an assignation of any thing, are the cause of all the troubles and confusions in the world! Let them have the word or tradition outwardly revealing the will of God, and what it is that he would have them do (as the Jews have both to this day); these being made use of by their own reason, and improved by their natural abilities, they make up the whole of man, all that is required to render the persons or duties of any accepted with God! Of what use, then, is the Spirit of God in these things? Of none at all, it may be, nor the doctrine concerning him, "but only to fill the world with a buzz and noise, and to trouble the minds of men with unintelligible notions." Had not these things been spoken, they should not have been repeated; for death lieth at the door in them. So, then, men may pray without him, and preach without him, and turn to God without him, and perform all their duties without him well enough; for if anyone shall plead the necessity of his assistance for the due performance of these things, and ascribe unto him all that is good and well done in them, he shall hardly escape from being notably derided. Yet all this while we would be esteemed Christians! And what do such persons think of the prayers of the ancient church and Christians unto him for the working of all good in them, and their ascriptions of every good thing unto him? [17] And wherein have we any advantage of the Jews, or wherein consists the pre-eminence of the gospel? They have the word of God, that part of it which was committed unto their church, and which in its kind is sufficient to direct their faith and obedience; for so is the "sure word of prophecy," if diligently attended unto, 2 Pet. i. 19. And if traditions be of any use, they can outvie all the world. Neither doth this sort of men want their wits and the exercise of them. Those who converse with them in the things of this world do not use to say they are all fools. And for their diligence in the consideration of the letter of the Scripture, and inquiring into it according to the best of their understanding, none will question it but those unto whom they and their concernments are unknown. And yet after all this, they are Jews still. If we have the New Testament no otherwise than they have the Old, -- have only the letter of it to philosophize upon, according to the best of our reasons and understandings, without any dispensation of the Spirit of God accompanying it to give us a saving light into the mystery of it, and to make it effectual unto our souls, -- I shall not fear to say, but that as they call themselves "Jews and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan," Rev. ii. 9, so we who pretend ourselves to be Christians, as to all the saving ends of the gospel, shall not be found in a better condition. And yet it were to be wished that even here bounds might be fixed unto the fierceness of some men's spirits. But they will not suffer themselves to be so confined. In many places they are transported with rage and fury, so as to stir up persecution against such as are really anointed with the Spirit of Christ, and that for no other reason but because they are so, Gal. iv. 29. Other things, indeed, are pretended by them, but all the world may see that they are not of such importance as to give countenance unto their wrath. This is the latent cause which stirs it up, and is oftentimes openly expressed. These things at present are charged only as the miscarriages of private persons. When they are received in churches, they are the cause of and an entrance into a fatal defection and apostasy. From the foundation of the world, the principal revelation that God made of himself was in the oneness of his nature and his monarchy over all. And herein the person of the Father was immediately represented with his power and authority; for he is the fountain and original of the Deity, the other persons as to their subsistence being of him: only, he did withal give out promises concerning the peculiar exhibition of the Son in the flesh in an appointed season, as also of the Holy Spirit, to be given by him in an especial manner. Hereby were their persons to be signally glorified in this world, it being the will of God that all "men should honour the Son as they honoured the Father," and the Holy Spirit in like manner. In this state of things, the only apostasy of the church could be polytheism and idolatry. Accordingly, so it came to pass. The church of Israel was continually prone to these abominations, so that scarcely a generation passed, or very few, wherein the body of the people did not more or less defile themselves with them. To wean and recover them from this sin was the principal end of the preaching of those prophets which God from time to time sent unto them, 2 Kings xvii. 13. And this also was the cause of all the calamities which befell them, and of all the judgments which God inflicted on them, as is testified in all the historical books of the Old Testament, and confirmed by instances innumerable. To put an end hereunto, God at length brought a total desolation upon the whole church, and caused the people to be carried into captivity out of their own land; and hereby it was so far effected that, upon their return, whatever other sins they fell into, yet they kept themselves from idols and idolatry, Ezek. xvi. 41-43, xxiii. 27, 48. And the reason hereof was, because the time was now drawing nigh wherein they were to be tried with another dispensation of God; -- the Son of God was to be sent unto them in the flesh. To receive and obey him was now to be the principal instance and trial of their faith and obedience. They were no longer to be tried merely by their faith, whether they would own only the God of Israel, in opposition unto all false gods and idols, for that ground God had now absolutely won upon them; but now all is to turn on this hinge, whether they would receive the Son of God coming in the flesh, according to the promise. Here the generality of that church and people fell by their unbelief, apostatized from God, and became thereby neither church nor people, John viii. 24. They being rejected, the Son of God calls and gathers another church, founding it on his own person with faith, and the profession of it therein, Matt. xvi. 18, 19. In this new church, therefore, this foundation is fixed, and this ground made good, that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is to be owned and honoured as we honour the Father, 1 Cor. iii. 11; John v. 23. And herein all that are duly called Christians do agree, as the church of Israel did in one God after their return from the captivity of Babylon. But now the Lord Jesus Christ being ascended unto his Father, hath committed his whole affairs in the church and in the world unto the Holy Spirit, John xvi. 7-11. And it is on this design of God that the person of the Spirit may be singularly exalted in the church; unto whom they were so in the dark before, that some (none of the worst of them) professed they had not so much as heard whether there were any Holy Ghost or no, Acts xix. 2, -- that is, at least, as unto the peculiar dispensation of him then introduced in the church. Wherefore, the duty of the church now immediately respects the Spirit of God, who acts towards it in the name of the Father and of the Son; and with respect unto him it is that the church in its present state is capable of an apostasy from God. And whatever is found of this nature amongst any, here it hath its beginning; for the sin of despising his person and rejecting his work now is of the same nature with idolatry of old, and the Jews' rejection of the person of the Son. And whereas there was a relief provided against these sins, because there was a new dispensation of the grace of God to ensue, in the evangelical work of the Holy Ghost, if men sin against him and his operations, containing the perfection and complement of God's revelation of himself unto them, their condition is deplorable. It may be some will say and plead, that whatever is spoken of the Holy Ghost, his graces, gifts, and operations, did entirely belong unto the first times of the gospel, wherein they were manifested by visible and wonderful effects, -- to those times they were confined; and, consequently, that we have no other interest or concern in them but as in a recorded testimony given of old unto the truth of the gospel. This is so, indeed, as unto his extraordinary and miraculous operations, but to confine his whole work thereunto is plainly to deny the truth of the promises of Christ, and to overthrow his church; for we shall make it undeniably evident that none can believe in Jesus Christ, or yield obedience unto him, or worship God in him, but by the Holy Ghost. And, therefore, if the whole dispensation of him and his communications unto the souls of men do cease, so doth all faith in Christ and Christianity also. On these and the like considerations it is that I have thought it necessary for myself, and unto the church of God, that the Scripture should be diligently searched in and concerning this great matter; for none can deny but that the glory of God, the honour of the gospel, the faith and obedience of the church, with the everlasting welfare of our own souls, are deeply concerned herein. The apostle Peter, treating about the great things of the gospel, taught by himself and the rest of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, tells those to whom he wrote that in what was so preached unto them they had not "followed cunningly-devised fables," 2 Pet. i. 16; for so were the "power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" then reported to be in the world. What was preached concerning them was looked on as "cunningly-devised" and artificially-framed "fables," to inveigle and allure the people. This the apostle gives his testimony against, and withal appeals unto the divine assurance which they had of the holy truths delivered unto them, verses 17-21. In like manner, our Lord Jesus Christ himself having preached the doctrine of regeneration unto Nicodemus, he calls it into question, as a thing incredible or unintelligible, John iii. 4; for whose instruction and the rebuke of his ignorance, he lets him know that he spake nothing but what he brought with him from heaven, -- from the eternal Fountain of goodness and truth, verses 11-13. It is fallen out not much otherwise in this matter. The doctrine concerning the Spirit of God, and his work on the souls of men, hath been preached in the world. What he doth in convincing men of sin; what in working godly sorrow and humiliation in them; what is the exceeding greatness of his power, which he puts forth in the regeneration and sanctification of the souls of men; what are the supplies of grace which he bestows on them that do believe; what assistance he gives unto them as the Spirit of grace and supplications, -- hath been preached, taught, and pressed on the minds of them that attend unto the dispensation of the word of the gospel. Answerable hereunto, men have been urged to try, search, examine themselves, as to what of this work of the Holy Ghost they have found, observed, or had experience to have been effectually accomplished in or upon their own souls. And hereon they have been taught that the great concernments of their peace, comfort, and assurance, of their communion among themselves as the saints of God, with many other ends of their holy conversation, do depend. Nay, it is, and hath been constantly, taught them that if there be not an effectual work of the Holy Ghost upon their hearts, they "cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Now, these things, and whatever is spoken in the explication of them, are by some called in question, if not utterly rejected; yea, some look on them as "cunningly-devised fables," -- things that some not long since invented, and others have propagated for their advantage. Others say that what is delivered concerning them is hardly, if at all, to be understood by rational men, being only empty speculations about things wherein Christian religion is little or not at all concerned. Whereas, therefore, many, very many, have received these things as sacred truths, and are persuaded that they have found them realized in their own souls, so that into their experience of the work of the Holy Spirit of God in them and upon them, according as it is declared in the word, all their consolation and peace with God is for the most part resolved, as that which gives them the best evidence of their interest in him who is their peace; and whereas, for the present, they do believe that unless these things are so in and with them, they have no foundation to build a hope of eternal life upon, -- it cannot but be of indispensable necessity unto them to examine and search the Scripture diligently whether these things be so or no. For if there be no such work of the Spirit of God upon the hearts of men, and that indispensably necessary to their salvation; if there are no such assistances and supplies of grace needful unto every good duty as wherein they have been instructed, -- then in the whole course of their profession they have only been seduced by "cunningly-devised fables," their deceived hearts have fed upon ashes, and they are yet in their sins. It is, then, of no less consideration and importance than the eternal welfare of their souls immediately concerned therein can render it, that they diligently try, examine, and search into these things, by the safe and infallible touchstone and rule of the word, whereon they may, must, and ought, to venture their eternal condition. I know, indeed, that most believers are so far satisfied in the truth of these things and their own experience of them, that they will not be moved in the least by the oppositions which are made unto them and the scorn that is cast upon them; for "he that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself," 1 John v. 10: but yet, as Luke wrote his Gospel to Theophilus "that he might know the certainty of those things wherein he had been instructed," Luke i. 4, -- that is, to confirm him in the truth, by an addition of new degrees of assurance unto him, -- so it is our duty to be so far excited by the clamorous oppositions that are made unto the truths which we profess, and in whose being such, we are as much concerned as our souls are worth, to compare them diligently with the Scripture, that we may be the more fully confirmed and established in them. And, upon the examination of the whole matter, I shall leave them to their option, as Elijah did of old: "If Jehovah be God, follow him; but if Baal be God, follow him." If the things which the generality of professors do believe and acknowledge concerning the Spirit of God and his work on their hearts, his gifts and graces in the church, with the manner of their communication, be for the substance of them (wherein they all generally agree) according to the Scripture, taught and revealed therein, on the same terms as by them received, then may they abide in the holy profession of them, and rejoice in the consolations they have received by them; but if these things, with those others which, in the application of them to the souls of men, are directly and necessarily deduced, and to be deduced from them, are all but vain and useless imaginations, it is high time the minds of men were disburdened of them. __________________________________________________________________ [1] Pneumatika ta semeia kalon, hoti tauta erga tou pneumatos monou, ouden anthropines epeispherouses spoudes, eis to ta toiauta thaumatourgein. -- Chrysost. in loc. So also Ambros. and Theophylact. in loc. [2] Charismata de heichon, hoi men elattona, hoi de pleio; kai touto aition schismatos autois egeneto, ou para ten oikeian phusin, alla para agnomosunen ton eilephoton; hoite gar ta meizona echontes eperonto kata ton ta elattona kektemenon; outoi de au palin elgoun, kai tois ta meizona echousin ephthonoun. -- Chrysost. in loc. [3] "Spiritualia illis traditurus, exemplum prioris conversationis memorat; ut sicut simulacrorum fuerunt formâ colentes idola, et ducebantur duce voluntate dæmoniorum; ita et colentes deum sint formâ legis dominicæ." -- Ambros. in loc. [4] Ti oun oudeis daimon onomazei ton Theon? ouchi hoi daimonizomenoi elegon oidamen se tis hei ho huios tou Theou? ouchi Paulo elegon, houtoi hoi anthropoi douloi tou Theou tou hupsistou eisin? alla mastizomenoi, all' anankazomenoi, hekontes de kai me mastigoumenoi, oudamnou. -- Chrysost. in loc. [5] Crel. de Spir. Sanc., Prolegom., pp. 29-31. [6] "Ex hoc capite et proximo licet conjicere quæ fuerint dotes illius veteris ecclesiæ Christianæ, priusquam tot ceremoniis, opibus, imperiis, copiis, bellis aliisque id genus esset onerata. Nunc fere tot præclara munia ad unam Potestatem redacta sunt: h. e., Christi titulo palliatam Tyrannidem. Quid enim aliud est potestas nisi adsit animus apostolicus?" -- Erasm. Annot. ad v. 4. [7] Apostelletai men oikonomikos, energei de autexousios. -- Basil. Homil. xv. de Fide. [8] "Spiritus Sanctus ad hoc missus a Christo, ad hoc postulatus de Patre ut esset doctor veritatis, Christi vicarius." -- Tertul. advers. Hæret. cap. xxviii."Quoniam Dominus in cælos esset abiturus, Paracletum discipulis necessario dabat, ne illos quodammodo pupillos, quod minimè decebat, relinqueret; et sine advocato et quodam tutore desereret. Hic est enim qui ipsorum animos mentesque firmavit, qui in ipsis illuminator rerum divinarum fuit; quo confirmati, pro nomine Domini nec carceres nec vincula timuerunt: quin imo ipsas seculi potestates et tormenta calcaverunt, armati jam scilicet per ipsum atque firmati, habentes in se dona quæ hic idem Spiritus ecclesiæ Christi sponsæ, quasi quædam ornamenta distribuit et dirigit." -- Novat. de Trinitat."Totum ex Spiritus Sancti constat ducatu, quod devii diriguntur, quod impii convertuntur, quod debiles contirmantur. Spiritus rectus, Spiritus Sanctus, Spiritus principalis regit, componit, consummat et perficit, nostras inhabitat mentes, et corda quæ possidet; nec errare patitur, nec corrumpi, nec vinci quos docuerit, quos possederit, quos gladio potentissimæ veritatis accinxerit." -- Cypr. de Spir. Sanc. [9] "Præsentia spirituali cum eis erat ubique futurus post ascensionem suam, et cum tota ecclesia sua in hoc mundo usque in consummationem seculi: neque enim de solis apostolis potest intelligi, sicut dedisti ei potestatem omnis carnis, ut onme quod dedisti ei det eis vitam æternam;' sed ubique de omnibus quibus in eum credentibus vita æterna datur." -- Aug. Tractat. 106, in Evangel. Johan."Munus hoc quod in Christo est, -- in consummationem seculi nobiscum; hoc expectationis nostræ solatium, hoc in donorum operationibus futuræ spei pignus est; hoc mentium lumen, hic splendour animorum est." -- Hilar, lib. ii. 35, de Trinitat. [10] "Hic est qui prophetas in ecclesia constituit, magistros erudit, linguas dirigit, vertutes et sanctitates facit, opera mirabilia gerit, discretiones spirituum porrigit, gubernationes contribuit, consilia suggerit, quæque alia sunt charismatum dona componit et digerit; et ideo ecclesiam Domino undique et in omnibus consummatam et perfectam facit." -- Tertul. [11] "Hic est qui operatur ex aquis secundam nativitatem, semen quoddam divini generis, et consecrator cælestis nativitatis; pignus promissæ hæreditatis et quasi chirographum quoddam æternæ salutis; qui nos Dei faciat templum et nos efficiat domum, qui interpellat divinas aures pro nobis gemitibus ineloquacibus, advocationis officia, et defensionis exhibens munera, inhabitator corporibus nostris ductus, et sanctitatis effector; hic est qui inexplebiles cupiditates coercet," etc. -- Novat. de Trinitat. [12] "Omnibus quidem quæ divina sunt cum reverentia et vehementi cura opertet intendere, maxime autem his quæ de Spiritus Sancti divinitate dicuntur, præsertim cum blasphemia in eum sine venia sit; ita ut blasphemantis poena tendatur non solum in omne præsens seculum, sed etiam in futurum. Ait quippe Salvator, blasphemanti in Spiritum Sanctum non esse remissionem, neque in isto seculo neque in futuro:' unde magis ac magis intendere oportet quæ Scripturarum de eo relatio sit: ne in aliquem, saltem per ignorantiam, blasphemiæ error obrepat." -- Didym, de Spir. Sanc. lib. i., Interpret. Hieron.[Didymus, from whom Owen quotes so copiously in the following pages, was a professor of theology in Alexandria, and died A.D. 396 at the age of eighty-five. He became blind when only four years old, and yet contrived to acquire great distinction for his knowledge of all the sciences of the age, and especially of theology. His treatise on the Holy Spirit was translated by Jerome into Latin, and appears among the works of that father. -- Ed.] [13] Epeidan gar teletais tisi kai manganeiais katedese daimona tis eis anthropon, kai emanteueto ekeinos, kai manteuomenos erhripteto, kai esparatteto, kai enenkein tou daimonos ten hornen ouk edunato all' emelle diaspomenos houtos apollusthai, tois ta toiauta manganeuousi phesi.Lusate loipon anakta, brotos Theon ouk eti chorei. -- Chrysost. in 1 Cor. xii. [14] "Ita dico, Lucili, sacer intra nos spiritus sedet, malorum bonorumque nostrorum observator et custos: hic prout a nobis tractatus est, ita nos ipse tractat." -- Senec. Ep. xli. [15] "Quoniam quidam temeritate potius quam recta via etiam in superna eriguntur, et hæc de Spiritu Sancto jactitant, quæ neque in Scripturis lecta, nec a quoquam ecclesiasticorum veterum usurpata sunt, compulsi sumus creberrimæ exhortationi fratrum cedere, quæque sit nostra de eo opinio etiam Scripturarum testimoniis comprobare; ne imperitiâ tanti dogmatis, hi qui contraria opponunt decipiant eos qui sine discussione sollicita in adversariorum sententiam statim pertrahuntur." -- Didym. De Spir. Sanc. lib. i. [16] "Appellatio Spiritus Sancti, et ea quæ monstratur ex ipsa appellatione substantia, penitus ab his ignoratur, qui extra sacram Scripturam philosophantur: solummodo enim in nostratibus literis et notio ejus et vocabulum refertur tam in nobis quam in veteribus." -- Didym. de Spir. Sanc. lib. i. [17] "Adesto Sancte Spiritus, et paraclesin tuam expectantibus illabere cælitus, sanctifica templum corporis nostri et consecra in habitaculum tuum; desiderantes te animas tua præsentiâ lætifica, dignam te habitatore domum compone; adorna thalamum tuum, et quietis tuæ reclinatorium circumda varietatibus virtutum; sterne pavimenta pigmentis; niteat mansio tua carbunculis flammeis, et gemmarum splendoribus; et omnium Chrismatum intrinsecus spirent odoramenta; affatim balsami liquor fragrantiâ sua cubiculum suum imbuat; et abigens inde quicquid tabidum est, quicquid corruptelæ seminarium, stabile et perpetuum hoc facias gaudium nostrum, et creationis tuæ renovationem in decore immarcessibili solides in æternum." -- Cypr., de Spir. Sanc. __________________________________________________________________ Chapter II. The name and titles of the Holy Spirit. Of the name of the Holy Spirit -- Various uses of the words rvch? and pneuma -- rvch? for the wind or any thing invisible with a sensible agitation, Amos iv. 13 -- Mistakes of the ancients rectified by Hierom -- rvch? metaphorically for vanity, metonymically for the part or quarter of any thing; for our vital breath, the rational soul, the affections, angels good and bad -- Ambiguity from the use of the word, how to be removed -- Rules concerning the Holy Spirit -- The name "Spirit," how peculiar and appropriate unto him -- Why he is called the "Holy Spirit" -- Whence called the "Good Spirit," the "Spirit of God," the "Spirit of the Son" -- Acts ii. 33, 1 Pet. i. 10, 11, explained -- 1 John iv. 3, vindicated. Before we engage into the consideration of the things themselves concerning which we are to treat, it will be necessary to speak something unto the name whereby the third person in the Trinity is commonly known and peculiarly called in the Scripture. This is the "Spirit," or the "Holy Spirit," or the "Holy Ghost," as we usually speak. And this I shall do that we be not deceived with the homonymy of the word, nor be at a loss in the intention of those places of Scripture where it is used unto other purposes: for it is so that the name of the second person, ho Logos, "the Word," and of the third to Pneuma, "the Spirit," are often applied to signify other things; I mean, those words are so. And some make their advantages of the ambiguous use of them. But the Scripture is able of itself to manifest its own intention and meaning unto humble and diligent inquirers into it. It is, then, acknowledged that the use of the words rvch? and pneuma in the Old Testament and New is very various; yet are they the words whereby alone the Holy Spirit of God is denoted. Their peculiar signification, therefore, in particular places is to be collected and determined from the subject-matter treated of in them, and other especial circumstances of them. This was first attempted by the most learned Didymus of Alexandria, whose words, therefore, I have set down at large, and shall cast his observations into a more perspicuous method, with such additions as are needful for the farther clearing of the whole matter. [18] First, In general, rvch? and pneuma signify a wind or spirit, -- that is, any thing which moves and is not seen. So the air in a violent agitation is called rvch?: Gen. viii. 1, vyvr 'lhym rvch lh'rts?; -- "And God made a wind," or "spirit," that is, a strong and mighty wind, "to pass over the earth," for the driving and removal of the waters. So pneuma is used, John iii. 8, To pneuma hopou thelei pnei k.t.l., -- "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth;" which is a proper description of this first signification of the word. It is an agitation of the air which is unseen. So Ps. i. 4. And in this sense, sometimes it signifies a "great and strong wind," -- that is, rvch ndvlh vchzq?, 1 Kings xix. 11; and sometimes a cool and soft wind, or a light easy agitation of the air, such as often ariseth in the evenings of the spring or summer. So Gen. iii. 8, "God walked in the garden" lrvch hyvm?, "in the cool of the day;" that is, when the evening air began to breathe gently, and moderate the heat of the day. So in the poet, -- "Solis ad occasum, quum frigidus aëra vespe Temperat." Virg. Geor.iii. 336. "At the going down of the sun, when the cold evening tempers the heat of the air." And some think this to be the sense of that place, Ps. civ. 4, "Who maketh his angels rvchvt?, spirits," -- swift, agile, powerful as mighty winds. But the reader may consult our Exposition on Heb. i. 7. This is one signification of the word rvch?, or this is one thing denoted by it in the Scripture. So, among many other places, expressly Amos iv. 13, "For, lo," yvtsr hrym vvr' rvch?, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the spirit," that is, "the wind." The LXX. render this place, Stereon bronten kai ktizon pneuma; -- "Who establisheth the thunder, and createth the spirit;" though some copies read, ta ore, "the mountains." And the next words in the text, vmgyd l'dm mhsychv?, [19] -- "And declareth unto man what is his thought," they render, Kai apangellon eis anthropous ton Christon autou, -- "And declareth unto men his Christ," or his Anointed, or his Messiah; for they took mhsychv? for msychv? by inadvertency, and not for want of points or vowels as some imagine, seeing the mistake consists in the casting out of a letter itself. And thence the old Latin translation renders the words, "Firmans tonitruum, et creans Spiritum, et annuncians in homines Christum suum;" which Hierom rectified into "Formans montes, et creans ventum, et annuntians homini eloquium suum," discovering in his comment the mistake of the LXX. But it is certain that, from the ambiguity of the word rvch? in this place, with the corrupt translations making mention of Christ in the next words, some who of old denied the deity of the Holy Spirit mightily insisted on it to prove him a creature; as may be seen in Didymus, Ambrose, Hierom, Hilary, and the ancients generally. But the context determines the signification of the word beyond all just exceptions. It is the power of God in making and disposing of things here below, whether dreadful for their greatness and height, as the mountains; or mighty and effectual in their operations, as the wind; or secret in their conceptions, as the thoughts of men; or stable in their continuance, as the night and day, the evening and morning, without the least respect to Christ or the Spirit, that it treateth of. And I cannot but observe from hence the great necessity there is of searching the original text in the interpretation of the Scriptures, as it might be evidenced by a thousand other instances; but one we may take from two great and learned men, who were contemporaries in the Latin church, in their thoughts on this place. The one is Ambrose, who, interpreting these words in his second book, De Spiritu Sancto, lib. ii. cap. 6, being deceived by the corrupt translation mentioned, "Annuncians in homines Christum suum," is forced to give a very strained exposition of that which, in truth, is not in the text, and to relieve himself also with another corruption in the same place, where "forming the mountains" is rendered by "establishing the thunder;" and yet, when he hath done all, he can scarce free himself of the objection about the creation of the Spirit, which he designs to answer. His words are, "Siquis propheticum dictum, ideo derivandum putet ad interpretationem Spiritus Sancti; quia habet, annuncians in homines Christum suum,' is ad incarnationis Dominicæ mysteria dictum facilius derivabit. Nam si te movet quia Spiritum dixit, et hoc non putas derivandum ad mysterium assumptionis humanæ; prosequere scripturas et invenies optime congruere de Christo, de quo bene convenit æstimari, quia firmavit tonitrua adventu suo; vim videlicet et sonum coelestium scripturarum; quarum velut quodam tonitru mentes nostræ redduntur attonitæ, ut timere discamus, et reverntiam coelestibus deferamus oraculis. Denique, in Evangelio fratres Domini filii tonitru dicebantur. Et cum vox Patris facta esset dicentis ad Filium, Et honorificavi te, et iterum honorificabo,' Judæi dicebant, Tonitruum factum est illi.'?" And hereon, with some observations to the same purpose, he adds, "Ergo tonitrua ad sermones Domini retulit, quorum in omnem terram exivit sonus; Spiritum autem hoc loco animam, quam suscepit rationabilem et perfectam intelligimus." The substance of his discourse is, that treating of Christ (who indeed is neither mentioned nor intended in the text), he speaks of "confirming the thunder" (which nowhere here appears), by which the sound of the Scriptures and preaching of the word is intended; the spirit that was created being the human soul of Jesus Christ. Nor was he alone in this interpretation. Didym. lib. 2 de Spiritu Sancto, Athanas. ad Serapion, Basil. lib. 4. contra Eunom., amongst the Grecians, are in like manner entangled with this corruption of the text; as was also Concil. Sardicen. in Socrat. lib. 2 cap. 20. The other person intended is Hierom, who, consulting the original, as he was well able to do, first translated the words, "Quia ecce formans montes, et creans ventum, et annuncians homini eloquium suum," declares the mistake of the LXX. and the occasion of it:-- "Pro montibus qui Hebraicè dicuntur hrym?; soli LXX. bronten, id est, tontitruum, verterunt. Cur autem illi Spiritum et nos dixerimus ventum, qui Hebraice rvch? vocatur, causa manifesta est: quodque sequitur, Annuncians homini eloquium suum,' LXX. transtulerunt, Apangellon eis anthropous ton Christon autou, verbi similitudine, et ambiguitate decepti." So he shows that it is not msychv? in the text, but mhsychv?; -- that is, saith he, "juxta Aquilam, homilian autou; Symmachum, to phonema autou; juxta Theodotionem, ton logon autou; juxta quintam editionem, ten adoleschian autou. And as sych?, whence the word is, signifies both to meditate and to speak, so the word itself intends a conceived thought, to be spoken afterward. And that v? here is reciprocal, not relative. And to this purpose is his ensuing exposition, "Qui confirmat montes, ad cujus vocem coelorum cardines et terræ fundamenta quatiuntur. Ipse qui creat spiritum, quem in hoc loco non Spiritum Sanctum, ut hæretici suspicantur, sed ventum intelligimus, sive spiritum hominis, annuncians homini eloquium ejus, qui cogitationum secreta cognoscit," Hieron. in loc. Secondly, Because the wind, on the account of its unaccountable variation, inconstancy, and changes, is esteemed vain, not to be observed or trusted unto, -- whence the wise man tells us that "he that observeth the wind shall not sow," Eccles. xi. 4, -- the word is used metaphorically to signify vanity: Eccles. v. 16, "What profit hath he that hath laboured lrvch?, for the wind?" So Mic. ii. 11, "If a man walk" vsqr?; rvch?, "with the wind and falsehood;" -- that is, in vanity, pretending to a spirit of prophecy; and falsehood, vainly, foolishly, falsely boasting. So Job xv. 2, "Should a wise man utter" dt rvch? "knowledge of wind?" vain words, with a pretence of knowledge and wisdom; and he calls them dvry rvch?, "words of wind," chap. xvi. 3. So also Jer. v. 13, "And the prophets shall become lrvch?, wind," or be vain, foolish, uncertain, and false, in their predictions. But pneuma is not used thus metaphorically in the New Testament. Thirdly, By a metonymy, also, it signifies any part or quarter, as we say, of the world from whence the wind blows; as also a part of any thing divided into four sides or quarters. So Jer. lii. 23, "There were ninety and six pomegranates rvchh?, towards a wind;" that is, on the one side of the chapiter that was above the pillars in the temple. Ezek. v. 12, "I will scatter a third part" lkl rvch?, "into all the winds," or all parts of the earth. Hence, the "four quarters" of a thing lying to the four parts of the world are called its four winds, 'rb rvchvt?, 1 Chron. ix. 24; whence are the tessares anemoi, "the four winds," in the New Testament, Matt. xxiv. 31. This is the use of the word in general with respect unto things natural and inanimate, and every place where it is so used gives it [a] determinate sense. Again, [Fourthly], These words are used for any thing that cannot be seen or touched, be it in itself martial and corporeal, or absolutely spiritual and immaterial. So the vital breath which we and other living creatures breathe is called: Everything wherein was nsmtrvch chyym?, "the breath of the spirit of life," Gen. vii. 22, -- that vital breath which our lives are maintained by in respiration. So Ps. cxxxv. 17; Job xix. 17; which is a thing material or corporeal. But most frequently it denotes things purely spiritual and immaterial, as in finite substances it signifies the rational soul of man: Ps. xxxi. 5, "Into thine hand I commit" rvchy?, that is, "my spirit." They are the words whereby our Saviour committed his departing soul into the hands of his Father, Luke xxiii. 46, to pneuma mou. So Ps. cxlvi. 4, tts' rvchv?, -- "His breath," say we, "goeth forth; he returneth to his earth." It is his soul and its departure from the body that is intended. This is rvch bny h'dm?, that "spirit of the sons of man that goeth upward," when the "spirit of a beast goeth downward to the earth," or turneth to corruption, Eccles. iii. 21: see chap. viii. 8, xii. 7. Hence, -- Fifthly, By a metonymy also, it is taken for the affections of the mind or soul of man, and that whether they be good or evil: Gen. xlv. 27, "The spirit of Jacob revived;" he began to take heart and be of good courage. Ezek. xiii. 3, "The prophets that walk" 'chr rvchm?, "after their own spirit" -- that is, their own desires and inclinations, -- when, indeed, they had no vision, but spake what they had a mind unto. Num. xiv. 24, Caleb is said to have "another spirit" than the murmuring people, -- another mind, will, purpose, or resolution. It is taken for prudence, Josh. v. 1; anger, or the irascible faculty, Eccles. vii. 9 fury, Zech. vi. 8. "He shall cut off the spirit of princes" [Ps. lxxvi. 12]; that is, their pride, insolency, and contempt of others. Pneuma in the New Testament frequently intends the intellectual part of the mind or soul, and that as it is active, or in action, Luke i. 47; Rom. i. 9; -- and ofttimes is taken for the mind in all its inclinations, in its whole habitual bent and design, 1 Thess. v. 23. [Sixthly], Angels also are called spirits:-- good angels, Ps. civ. 4; (and it may be an angel is intended, 1 Kings xviii. 12;) and evil angels or devils, 1 Kings xxii. 21, 22; for that spirit who appeared before the Lord, and offered himself to be a lying spirit in the mouths of Ahab's prophets, was no other but he who appeared before God, Job i. 6, who is called "Satan." These in the New Testament are called "unclean spirits," Matt. x. 1; and the observation of the ancients, that Satan is not called a spirit absolutely, but with an addition or mark of distinction, holds only in the New Testament. [20] And because evil spirits are wont to torment the minds and bodies of men, therefore evil thoughts, disorders of mind, wicked purposes, disquieting and vexing the soul, arising from or much furthered by melancholy distempers, are called, it may be, sometimes "an evil spirit." The case of Saul shall be afterward considered. In such variety are these words used and applied in the Scripture, because of some very general notions wherein the things intended do agree. For the most part, there is no great difficulty in discovering the especial meaning of them, or what it is they signify in the several places where they occur. Their design and circumstances as to the subject-matter treated of determine the signification. And notwithstanding the ambiguous use of these words in the Old and New Testament, there are two things clear and evident unto our purpose:-- First, That there is in the holy Scriptures a full, distinct revelation or declaration of the Spirit, or the Spirit of God, [21] as one singular, and every way distinct from everything else that is occasionally or constantly signified or denoted by that word "Spirit." And this not only a multitude of particular places gives testimony unto, but also the whole course of the Scripture supposeth, as that without an acknowledgment whereof nothing else contained in it can be understood or is of any use at all; for we shall find this doctrine to be the very life and soul which quickens the whole from first to last. Take away the work and powerful efficacy of the Holy Spirit from the administration of it, and it will prove but a dead letter, of no saving advantage to the souls of men; and take away the doctrine concerning him from the writing of it, and the whole will be unintelligible and useless. Secondly, That whatever is affirmed of this Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, it all relates either to his person or his operations, and these operations of his being various, are sometimes, by a metonymy, called "spirit;" whereof afterward. I shall not, therefore, need to prove that there is a Holy Spirit distinct from all other spirits whatever, and from everything else that on several occasions is signified by that name; for this is acknowledged by all that acknowledge the Scriptures, yea, it is so by Jews and Mohammedans, as well as all sorts of Christians. And, indeed, all those false apprehensions concerning him which have at this day any countenance given unto them may be referred unto two heads:-- 1. That of the modern Jews, who affirm the Holy Ghost to be the influential power of God; which conceit is entertained and diligently promoted by the Socinians. 2. That of the Mohammedans, who make him an eminent angel, and sometimes say it is Gabriel; which, being traduced from the Macedonians of old, hath found some defenders and promoters in our days. This, then, being the name of him concerning whom we treat, some things concerning it and the use of it, as peculiarly applied unto him, are to be premised: [22] for sometimes he is called the "Spirit" absolutely; sometimes the "Holy Spirit," or, as we speak, the "Holy Ghost;" sometimes the "Spirit of God," the "good Spirit of God," the "Spirit of truth" and "holiness;" sometimes the "Spirit of Christ" or "of the Son." The first absolutely used denotes his person; the additions express his properties and relation unto the other persons. In the name Spirit two things are included:-- First, His nature or essence, -- namely, that he is a pure, spiritual, or immaterial substance; for neither the Hebrews nor the Greeks can express such a being in its subsistence but by rvch? and pneuma, a spirit. Nor is this name, firstly, given unto the Holy Spirit in allusion unto the wind in its subtlety, agility, and efficacy; [23] for these things have respect only unto his operations, wherein, from some general appearances, his works and effects are likened unto the wind and its effects, John iii. 8. But it is his substance or being which is first intended in this name. [24] So it is said of God, chap. iv. 24, Pneuma ho Theos; -- "God is a Spirit;" that is, he is of a pure, spiritual, immaterial nature, not confined unto any place, and so not regarding one more than another in his worship; as is the design of the place to evince. It will therefore be said, that on this account the name of "Spirit" is not peculiar unto the third person, seeing it contains the description of that nature which is the same in them all; for whereas it is said, "God is a Spirit," it is not spoken of this or that person, but of the nature of God abstractedly. I grant that so it is; [25] and therefore the name "Spirit" is not, in the first place, characteristical of the third person in the Trinity, but denotes that nature whereof each person is partaker. But, moreover, as it is peculiarly and constantly ascribed unto him, it declares his especial manner and order of existence; so that wherever there is mention of the "Holy Spirit," his relation unto the Father and Son is included therein; for he is the Spirit of God. And herein there is an allusion to somewhat created, -- not, as I said, to the wind in general, unto whose agility and invisibility he is compared in his operations, but unto the breath of man; for as the vital breath of a man hath a continual emanation from him, and yet is never separated utterly from his person or forsaketh him, so doth the Spirit of the Father and the Son proceed from them by a continual divine emanation, still abiding one with them: for all those allusions are weak and imperfect wherein substantial things are compared with accidental, infinite things with finite, and those that are eternal with those that are temporary. Hence, their disagreement is infinitely more than their agreement; yet such allusions doth our weakness need instruction from and by. Thus he is called rvch pyv?, Ps. xxxiii. 6, "The Spirit" or "breath of the mouth of the Lord," or "of his nostrils;" as Ps. xviii. 15, wherein there is an eminent allusion unto the breath of a man. Of the manner of this proceeding and emanation of the Spirit from the Father and the Son, so far as it is revealed, and as we are capable of a useful apprehension of it, I have treated elsewhere. And from hence, or the subsistence of the Holy Spirit in an eternal emanation from the Father and Son, as the breath of God, did our Saviour signify his communication of his gifts unto his disciples by breathing on them: John xx. 22, Enephusese; and because in our first creation it is said of Adam that God ypch b'phyv nsmt chyym?, "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life," Gen. ii. 7. He hath the same appellation with respect unto God, Ps. xviii. 15. Thus is he called the "Spirit." And because, as we observed before, the word pneuma is variously used, Didymus, de Spiritu Sancto, lib. iii., supposeth that the prefixing of the article to doth distinguish the signification, and confine it to the Holy Ghost in the New Testament. Ofttimes no doubt it doth so, but not always, as is manifest from John iii. 8, where to is joined with pneuma, and yet only signifies "the wind." But the subject treated of, and what is affirmed of him, will sufficiently determine the signification of the word, where he is called absolutely "The Spirit." Again; He is called, by way of eminency, the Holy Spirit, or the Holy Ghost. [26] This is the most usual appellation of him in the New Testament; and it is derived from the Old: Ps. li., rvch qdsk?, "The Spirit of thy Holiness," or "Thy Holy Spirit" Isa. lxiii. 10, 11, rvch qdsv?, "The Spirit of his Holiness," or "His Holy Spirit." Hence are rvch hqdvs? and rvch hqds?, "The Holy Spirit," and "The Spirit of Holiness," in common use among the Jews. In the New Testament he is to Pneuma to Hagion, "That Holy Spirit." And we must inquire into the special reasons of this adjunct. Some suppose it is only from his peculiar work of sanctifying us, or making us holy: for this effect of sanctification is his peculiar work, and that of what sort soever it be; whether it consist in a separation from things profane and common, unto holy uses and services, or whether it be the real infusion and operation of holiness in men, it is from him in an especial manner. And this also manifesteth him to be God, for it is God alone who sanctifieth his people: Lev. xx. 8, "I am Jehovah which sanctify you." And God in that work ascribes unto himself the title of Holy in an especial manner, and as such would have us to consider him: chap. xxi. 8, "I the Lord, which sanctify you, am holy." And this may be one reason of the frequent use of this property with reference unto the Spirit. But this is not the whole reason of this name and appellation: for where he is first so mentioned, he is called "The Spirit of God's Holiness," Ps. li. 11, Isa. lxiii. 10, 11; and in the New Testament absolutely "The Spirit of Holiness," Rom. i. 4 And this respects his nature, in the first place, and not merely his operations. [27] As God, then, absolutely is called "Holy," "The Holy One," and "The Holy One of Israel," being therein described by that glorious property of his nature whereby he is "glorious in holiness," Exod. xv. 11, and whereby he is distinguished from all false gods, ("Who is like unto thee, O Jehovah, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness?") so is the Spirit called "Holy" to denote the holiness of his nature. And on this account is the opposition made between him and the unholy or unclean spirit: Mark iii. 29, 30, "He that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness: because they said, He hath an unclean spirit." And herein first his personality is asserted; for the unclean spirit is a person, and if the Spirit of God were only a quality or accident, as some fancy and dream, there could no comparative opposition be made between him and this unclean spirit, -- that is, the devil. So also are they opposed with respect unto their natures. His nature is holy, whereas that of the unclean spirit is evil and perverse. This is the foundation of his being called "Holy," even the eternal glorious holiness of his nature. And on this account he is so styled also with respect unto all his operations; for it is not only with regard unto the particular work of regeneration and sanctification, or making of us holy, but unto all his works and operations, that he is so termed: for he being the immediate operator of all divine works that outwardly are of God, and they being in themselves all holy, be they of what kind soever, he is called the "Holy Spirit." Yea, he is so called to attest and witness that all his works, all the works of God, are holy, although they may be great and terrible, and such as to corrupt reason may have another appearance; in all which we are to acquiesce in this, that the "Holy One in the midst of us will do no iniquity," [Hos. xi. 9], Zeph. iii. 5. The Spirit of God, then, is thus frequently and almost constantly called "Holy," to attest that all the works of God, whereof he is the immediate operator, are holy: for it is the work of the Spirit to harden and blind obstinate sinners, as well as to sanctify the elect; and his acting in the one is no less holy than in the other, although holiness be not the effect of it in the objects. So, when he came to declare his dreadful work of the final hardening and rejection of the Jews, -- one of the most tremendous effects of divine Providence, a work which, for the strangeness of it, men "would in no wise believe though it were declared unto them," Acts xiii. 41, -- he was signally proclaimed Holy by the seraphims that attended his throne, Isa. vi. 3, 9-12; John xii. 40; Acts xxviii. 25, 26. There are, indeed, some actions on men and in the world that are wrought, by God's permission and in his righteous judgment, by evil spirits; whose persons and actings are placed in opposition to the Spirit of God. So 1 Sam. xvi. 14, 15, "The Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee." So also verse 23, "The evil spirit from God was upon Saul." So chap. xviii. 10, xix. 9. This spirit is called, rvch'lhym rh?, -- an evil spirit of God," chap. xvi. 15; and absolutely rvch'lchym? -- "a spirit of God," verse 23, where we have supplied "evil" in the translation. But these expressions are to be regulated and explained by verse 14, where he is called rvchrh m't yhvh?, -- "an evil spirit from the Lord;" that is, appointed and commissioned by him for the punishing and terrifying of Saul: for as the Spirit of the Lord departed from him, by withdrawing his assistance and influential operations, whereby he had wrought in him those gifts and abilities of mind which fitted him unto the discharge of his kingly office, upon the first impressions whereof he was "turned into another man" from what he was in his private condition, chap. x. 6-9; so the evil spirit came upon him to excite out of his own adust melancholy, discontents, fears, a sense of guilt, as also to impress terrifying thoughts and apprehensions on his imagination; for so it is said," An evil spirit from the Lord" vchtv?, chap. xvi. 14, "terrified him," frightened him with dreadful agitations of mind. And, that we may touch a little on this by the way, the foundation of this trouble and distress of Saul lay in himself: for as I do grant that he was sometimes under an immediate agitation of body and mind from the powerful impressions of the devil upon him, -- for under them it is said he "prophesied in the midst of the house," 1 Sam. xviii. 10, which argues an extraordinary and involuntary effect upon him, -- yet principally he wrought by the excitation and provocation of his personal distempers, moral and natural; for these have in themselves a great efficacy in cruciating the minds of guilty persons. So Tacitus observes out of Plato, Annal. lib. vi. 6, "Neque frustra præstantissimus sapientiæ firmare solitus est, si recludantur tyrannorum mentes, posse aspici laniatus et ictus; quando, ut corpora verberibus, ita sævitia, libidine, malis consultis, animus dilaceretur;" -- "The most eminent wise man was not wont in vain to affirm, that if the minds of tyrants were laid open and discovered, it would be seen how they were cruciated and punished; seeing that as the body is rent and torn by stripes, so is the mind by cruelty, lusts, evil counsels and undertakings." So he, as I suppose from Plato de Repub. lib. ix., where Socrates disputes sundry things to that purpose. And another Roman historian gives us a signal instance hereof in Jugurtha, after he had contracted the guilt of many horrible wickednesses. [28] And yet this work in itself is of the same kind with what God sometimes employs holy angels about, because it is the execution of his righteous judgments. So it was a "watcher and an holy one" that in such a case smote Nebuchadnezzar with a sudden madness and frenzy, Dan. iv. 13-17 To return; As he is called the Holy, so he is the Good Spirit of God: Ps. cxliii. 10, rvchk tvvh tnchny?; -- "Thy Spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness;" so ours:-- rather, "Thy good Spirit shall lead me;" or, as Junius, "Spiritu tuo bone deduc me," -- "Lead me by thy good Spirit." The Chaldee here adds qvdsk?, -- "The good Spirit of thy holiness" or "Thy holy good Spirit." Didymus, lib. ii. de Spir. Sanc., says that some copies here read to hagion, a remembrance whereof is in the ms. of Thecla, and not elsewhere. So Neh. ix. 20, "Thou gavest them" rvchk htvvh?, "thy good Spirit to instruct them." And he is called so principally from his nature, which is essentially good, as "there is none good but one, that is, God," Matt. xix. 17; as also from his operations, which are all good as they are holy; and unto them that believe are full of goodness in their effects. Crell. Prolegom., p. 7, distinguisheth between this good Spirit and the Holy Spirit, or the Holy Ghost; for this good Spirit he would confine unto the Old Testament, making it the author or cause of those gifts of wisdom, courage, prudence, and government, that were granted unto many of the people of old. So it is said of Bezaleel, that he was "filled with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and understanding, and in knowledge," Exod. xxxi. 3; so xxxv. 31; -- "That is," saith he, "with this good Spirit of God.'" So also, it is pretended, in all those places where the Spirit of God is said to "come on" men to enable them unto some great and extraordinary work, as Judges iii. 10. But this is plainly to contradict the apostle, who tells us that there are, indeed, various operations, but one Spirit; and that the one and self-same Spirit worketh all these things as he pleaseth, 1 Cor. xii. 6, 11. And if from every different or distinct effect of the Spirit of God we must multiply spirits, and assign every one of them to a distinct spirit, no man will know what to make of the Spirit of God at last. [29] Probably, we shall have so many feigned spirits as to lose the only true one. As to this particular instance, David prays that God would "lead him by his good Spirit," Ps. cxliii. 10. Now, certainly, this was no other but that Holy Spirit which he prays in another place that the Lord would not take from him: Ps. li. 11, "Take not thy Holy Spirit from me;" which is confessed to be the Holy Ghost. This he also mentions, 2 Sam. xxiii. 2, "The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue." And what Spirit this was Peter declares, 2 Epist. i. 21, "Holy men of God spake in old time as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." So vain is this pretence. Again; He is commonly called the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of the Lord; so, in the first mention of him, Gen. i. 2, rvch 'lhym?, "The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." And I doubt not but that the name 'lhym?, "Elohim," which includes a plurality in the same nature, is used in the creation and the whole description of it to intimate the distinction of the divine persons; for presently upon it the name Jehovah is mentioned also, chap. ii. 4, but so as Elohim is joined with it. But that name is not used in the account given us of the work of creation, because it hath respect only unto the unity of the essence of God. Now, the Spirit is called the "Spirit of God" originally and principally, as the Son is called the "Son of God;" for the name of "God" in those enunciations is taken personally for the Father, -- that is, God the Father, the Father of Christ, and our Father, John xx. 17. And he is thus termed hupostatikos, upon the account of the order and nature of personal subsistence and distinction in the holy Trinity. The person of the Father being "fons et origo Trinitatis," the Son is from him by eternal generation, and is therefore his Son, the Son of God; whose denomination as the Father is originally from hence, even the eternal generation of the Son. So is the person of the Holy Spirit from him by eternal procession or emanation. Hence is that relation of his to God even the Father, whence he is called the "Spirit of God." And he is not only called Pneuma tou Theou, the "Spirit of God," but Pneuma to ek tou Theou, "the Spirit that is of God," which proceedeth from him as a distinct person. [30] This, therefore, arising from and consisting in his proceeding from him, he is called, metaphorically, "The breath of his mouth," as proceeding from him by an eternal spiration. On this foundation and supposition he is also called, secondly, "The Spirit of God" diakritikos, to difference him from all other spirits whatever; as, thirdly, also, because he is promised, given, and sent of God, for the accomplishment of his whole will and pleasure towards us. The instances hereof will be afterward considered. But these appellations of him have their foundation in his eternal relation unto the Father, before mentioned. On the same account originally, he is also called the Spirit of the Son: "God hath sent forth the Spirit of the Son into your hearts," Gal. iv. 6; -- and the Spirit of Christ: "What time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify," 1 Pet. i. 11. So Rom. viii. 9, "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." [31] The Spirit, therefore, of God and the Spirit of Christ are one and the same; for that hypothetical proposition, "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his," is an inference taken from the words foregoing, "If so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you." And this Spirit of Christ, verse 11, is said to be the "Spirit of him that raised up Christ from the dead." Look, then, in what sense he is said to be the Spirit of God, -- that is, of the Father, -- in the same he is said to be the Spirit of the Son. And this is because he proceedeth from the Son also; and for no other reason can he be so called, at least not without the original and formal reason of that appellation. Secondarily, I confess he is called the "Spirit of Christ" because promised by him, sent by him, and that to make effectual and accomplish his work towards the church. But this he could not be unless he had antecedently been the Spirit of the Son by his proceeding from him also: for the order of the dispensation of the divine persons towards us ariseth from the order of their own subsistence in the same divine essence; and if the Spirit did proceed only from the person of the Father, he could not be promised, sent, or given by the Son. Consider, therefore, the human nature of Christ in itself and abstractedly, and the Spirit cannot be said to be the Spirit of Christ; for it was anointed and endowed with gifts and graces by him, as we shall show. And if from hence he may be said to be the Spirit of Christ, without respect unto his proceeding from him as the Son of God, then he may be also said to be the Spirit of every believer who hath received the unction, of is anointed with his gifts and graces; for although believers are so, as to measure and degree, unspeakably beneath what Christ was, who received not the Spirit by measure, yet as he is the head and they are the members of the same mystical body, their unction by the Spirit is of the same kind. But now the Spirit of God may not be said to be the Spirit of this or that man who hath received of his gifts and graces. David prays, "Take not thy Holy Spirit from me," -- not "my Holy Spirit." And he is distinguished from our spirits even as they are sanctified by him: Rom. viii. 16, "The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit." No more, then, can he be said to be the Spirit of Christ merely upon the account of his communications unto him, although in a degree above all others inconceivably excellent; for with respect hereunto he is still called the Spirit of God or the Father, who sent him, and anointed the human nature of Christ with him. It will be said, perhaps, that he is called the "Spirit of Christ" because he is promised, given, and poured out by him. So Peter speaks, Acts ii. 33, "Having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear." But in this regard, namely, as given by Christ the mediator, he is expressly called the Spirit of the Father; he was given as the promise of the Father: for so he is introduced speaking, verse 17, "It shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit on all flesh." And so our Saviour tells his disciples that he would "pray the Father, and he should give them another Comforter, even the Spirit of truth," John xiv. 16, 17. Nor is he otherwise the Spirit of Christ, originally and formally, but as he is the Spirit of God, -- that is, as Christ is God also. On this supposition I grant, as before, that he may consequently be called the "Spirit of Christ," because promised and sent by him, because doing his work, and communicating his grace, image, and likeness to the elect. And this is yet more plain, 1 Pet. i. 10, 11, "Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify." And this Spirit is said absolutely to be the "Holy Ghost," 2 Pet. i. 21. So, then, the Spirit that was in the prophets of old, in all ages since the world began, before the incarnation of the Son of God, is called the "Spirit of Christ," -- that is, of him who is so. Now, this could not be because he was anointed by that Spirit, or because he gave it afterward to his disciples; for his human nature did not exist in the time of their prophesying. Those, indeed, who receive him after the unction of the human nature of Christ may be said in some sense to receive the Spirit of Christ, because they are made partakers of the same Spirit with him, to the same ends and purposes, according to their measure; but this cannot be so with respect unto them who lived and prophesied by him, and died long before his incarnation. Wherefore, it is pleaded by those who oppose both the deity of Christ and the Spirit, which are undeniably here attested unto, that the Spirit here, whereby they cannot deny the Holy Ghost to be intended, is called the "Spirit of Christ," because the prophets of old, who spake by him, did principally prophesy concerning Christ and his grace, and delivered great mysteries concerning them. So Christ is made in this place the object of the Spirit's teaching, and not the author of his sending! So Crell. Prolegom., pp. 13, 14. But why, then, is he not called the "Spirit of God" also on this reason, because the prophets that spake by him treated wholly of God, the things and the will of God? This they will not say, for they acknowledge him to be the "virtue and power of God, inherent in him and proceeding from him." But, then, whereas God even the Father is a person, and Christ is a person, and the Spirit is said to be the "Spirit of God" and the" Spirit of Christ," whence doth it appear that the same expression must have different interpretations, and that the Spirit is called the "Spirit of God" because he is so, and proceedeth from him, but the "Spirit of Christ" because he is not so, but only treateth of him? The answer is ready, -- namely, "Because the Father is God, but Christ is not, and therefore could not give the Spirit when he was not." This is an easy answer, -- namely, to deny a fundamental truth, and to set up that denial in an opposition unto a clear testimony given unto it. But the truth is, this pretended sense leaves no sense at all in the words: for if the Spirit which was in the prophets be called the "Spirit of Christ" only because he did beforehand declare the things of Christ, -- that is, his "sufferings and the glory that did follow," -- and that be the sole reason of that denomination, then the sense or importance of the words is this, "Searching what or what manner of time the Spirit -- which did signify when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ' -- which was in them did signify when he testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ;" for according to this interpretation, the Spirit of Christ is nothing but the Spirit as testifying beforehand of him, and thence alone is he so called, -- the absurdity whereof is apparent unto all. But countenance is endeavoured unto this wresting of the Scripture from 1 John iv. 3, "Every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world;" -- for say some, "The spirit of antichrist is said to be in the world, when antichrist was not as yet come." But the spirit here intended is not called the spirit of antichrist because it declared and foretold the things of antichrist before his coming; on which account alone they allow the Spirit of God in the prophets of old to be called the "Spirit of Christ:" they have, therefore, no countenance from this place, which fails them in the principal thing they would prove by it. Again, supposing these words, "Whereof ye have heard that it should come, and even now already is it in the world," are to be interpreted of the spirit mentioned, and not of antichrist himself, yet no more can be intended but that the false teachers and seducers which were then in the world acted with the same spirit as antichrist should do at his coming; and so there is no conformity between these expressions. Besides, the spirit of antichrist was then in the world, as was antichrist himself. So far as his spirit was then in the world, so far was he so also; for antichrist and his spirit cannot be separated. Both he and it were then in the world in their forerunners, who opposed the truth of the gospel about the incarnation of the Son of God and his sufferings. And, indeed, the spirit of antichrist in this place is no more but his doctrine, -- antichristian doctrine, which is to be tried and rejected. Neither is any singular person intended by antichrist, but a mysterious opposition unto Christ and the gospel, signally headed by a series of men in the latter days. He, therefore, and his spirit began to be together in the world in the apostles' days, when the "mystery of iniquity" began to "work," 2 Thess. ii. 7. There is, therefore, no countenance to be taken from these words unto the perverting and wresting of that other expression concerning the Spirit of Christ in the prophets of old. This, therefore, is the formal reason of this appellation: The Holy Spirit is called the "Spirit of the Son," and the "Spirit of Christ," upon the account of his procession or emanation from his person also. Without respect hereunto he could not be called properly the "Spirit of Christ;" but on that supposition he may be. He is so denominated from that various relation and respect that he hath unto him in his work and operations. Thus is the Spirit called in the Scripture, these are the names whereby the essence and subsistence of the third person in the Holy Trinity are declared. How he is called on the account of his offices and operations will be manifested in our progress. __________________________________________________________________ [18] "Quia vero Spiritus vocabulum multa significat, enumerandum est breviter quibus rebus nomen ejus aptetur. Vocatur spiritus et ventus, sicut in Ezechiele cap. v.: Tertiam partem disperges in spiritum; hoc est, in ventum. Quod si volueris secundum historiam illud sentire, quod scriptum est, In spiritu violento conteres naves Tharcis, non aliud ibi spiritus quam ventus accipitur. Nec non Salomon inter multa hoc quoque munus a Deo accepit ut sciret violentias spirituum; non aliud in hoc se accepisse demonstrans, quam scire rapidos ventorum flatus, et quibus causis eorum natura subsistat. Vocatur et anima spiritus, ut in Jacobi epistola, Quomodo corpus tuum sine spiritu mortuum est. Manifestissime enim spiritus hic nihil aliud nisi anima nuncupatur. Juxta quam intelligentiam Stephanus animam suam spiritum vocans: Domine, inquit, Jesu, suscipe spiritum meum, Acts vii. Illud quoque quod in Ecclesiaste dicitur, Quis scit an spiritus hominis ascendat sursum, et spiritus jumenti descendat deorsum? Eccl. iii. Considerandum utrumnam et pecudum animæ spiritus appellentur. Dicitur etiam excepta anima, et excepto spiritu nostro, spiritus alius quis esse in homine, de quo Paulus scribit: Quis enim scit hominum ea quæ sunt hominis, nisi spiritus hominis qui in eo est? 1 Cor. ii. 11 ... Sed et in alio loco idem apostolus a nostro spiritu Spiritum Dei secernens ait, Ipse Spiritus testimonium perhibet spiritui nostro, Rom. viii.; hoc significans, quod Spiritus Dei, id est, Spiritus Sanctus, testimonium spiritui nostro præbeat, quem nunc diximus esse spiritum hominis. Ad Thessalonicenses quoque, Integer, inquit, spiritus vester et anima et corpus, 1 Thess. v.:-- Appellantur quoque supernæ rationabilesque virtutes, quas solet Scriptura angelos et fortitudines nominare, vocabulo spiritus ut ibi, Qui facis angelos tuos spiritus; et alibi, Nonne omnes sunt administratores spiritus? Heb. i. ... Rationales quoque aliæ creaturæ, et de bono in malum sponte propria profluentes, spiritus pessimi et spiritus appellantur immundi; sicut ibi, Cum autem spiritus immundus exierit ab homine, Matt. xii., et in consequentibus, assumit septem alios spiritus nequiores se. Spiritus quoque dæmones in Evangeliis appellantur: sed et hoc notandum, nunquam simpliciter spiritum sed cum aliquo additamento spiritum significari contrarium, ut spiritus immundus et spiritus dæmonis; hi vero qui sancti sunt spiritus absque ullo additamento spiritus simpliciter appellantur. Sciendum quoque quod nomen spiritus et voluntatem hominis et animi sententiam sonet. Volens quippe apostolus virginem non solum corpore sed et mente sanctam esse, id est, non tantum corpore, sed et motu cordis interno, ait, Ut sit sancta corpore et spiritu, 1 Cor. vii., voluntatem spiritu, et corpore opera, significans. Considera utrum hoc ipsum in Esaia sonet quod scriptum est, Et scient qui spiritu errant intellectum, Isa. xxix. 24 ... Et super omnia vocabulum spiritus, altiorem et mysticum in Scripturis sanctis significat intellectum; ut ibi, Litera occidit, spiritus autem vivificat, 2 Cor. iii. -- Hæc juxta possibilitatem nostri ingenii, quot res spiritus significet, attigimus. -- Nonnunquam autem spiritus et Dominus noster Jesus Christus, id est, Dei Filius, appellatur: Dominus autem spiritus est, ut ante diximus: ubi etiam illud adjunximus, spiritus Deus est, non juxta nominis communionem, sed juxta naturæ substantiæque consortium. -- Porro ad hæc necessario devoluti sumus, ut quia frequenter appellatio spiritus, in Scripturis est respersa divinis, non labamur in nomine sed unumquodque secundum locorum varietates et intelligentias accipiamus. Omni itaque studio ac diligentia vocabulum Spiritus, ubi et quomodo appellatum sit contemplantes, sophismata eorum et fraudulentas decipulas conteramus, qui Spiritum Sanctum asserunt creaturam. Legentes enim in propheta, Ego sum firmans tonitruum, et creans spiritum, Amos iv. 13, ignorantia multiplicis in hac parte sermonis putaverunt Spiritum Sanctum ex hoc vocabulo demonstrari; cum in præsentiarum spiritus nomen ventum sonet ... Ergo ut prælocuti sumus, quomodo unumquodque dictum sit, consideremus ne forte per ignorantiam in barathrum decidamus erroris." -- Didym. de Spir. Sanc. lib. iii. [19] So the word is constantly given by Owen. The y? is uniformly elided from modern editions of the Hebrew Scriptures, and the word stands thus mhschv?. The origin of the mistake to which Owen refers is more apparent from the way in which the word is printed, but the insertion of the y? seems without authority. -- Ed. [20] "Discant (homines) Scripturæ sanctæ consuetudinem, nunquam spiritum perversum absolute, sed cum additamento aliquo spiritum nuncupari: sicut ibi, Spiritu fornicationis seducti sunt; et in Evangelio, Cum autem spiritus immundus exierit de homine; et cætera his similia." -- Hieron. Comment. in Hab. cap. ii. [21] "Qui Spiritum negavit, et Deum Patrem negavit et Filium; quoniam idem est Spiritus Dei, qui Spiritus Christi est," cap. 3. "Unum autem esse Spiritum nemo dubitaverit; etsi de uno Deo plerique dubitaverunt," cap. 4. -- Ambros. de Spir. Sanc. lib. i. [22] Onoma autou pneuma hagion, pneuma aletheias, pneuma tou Theou, pneuma kuriou, pneuma tou Patros, pneuma Christou, kai houto kalei auton he graphe. Mallon de auto heauto kai pneuma Theou, kai pneuma to ek tou Theou. -- Chrysost. de Adorand. Spir. [23] Crell. Prolegom. [24] "Sanctificationis bonitatisque vocabulum, et ad Patrem, et ad Filium, et ad Spiritum Sanctum æquè refertur; sicut ipsa quoque appellatio Spiritus. Nam et Pater Spiritus dicitur ut ibi, Spiritus est Deus, Joan. iv. 24. Et Filius Spiritus, Dominus, inquit, Spiritus ejus, 2 Cor. iii. 17. Spiritus autem Sanctus semper Spiritus Sancti appellatione censetur; non quod ex consortio tantum nominis Spiritus cum Patre ponatur et Filio, sed quod una natura unum possideat et nomen." -- Didym. de Spir. Sanc. lib. iii. [25] "Multa sunt testimonia, quibus hoc evidenter ostenditur, et Patris et Filii ipsum esse Spiritum, qui in Trinitate dicitur Spiritus Sanctus. Nec ob aliud existimo ipsum proprie vocari Spiritum, cum etiam si de singulis interrogemur, non possimus non Patrem et Filium Spiritum dicere; quoniam Spiritus est Deus, id est, non Corpus est Deus sed Spiritus; hoc proprie vocari oportuit eum, qui non est unus eorum, sed in quo communitas apparet amborum." -- August. Tractat. xcix. in Johan. [26] Anothen para Theou katiousa epi tous andras hagious dorea, hen pneuma hagion onomazousin hoi hieroi prophetai. -- Justin Mart. [27] Legetai toinun pneuma hagion. Haute gar estin he kuria kai prote prosegoria he emphantikoteran echousa ten dianoian, kai peristasa tou hagiou pneumatos ten phusin. -- Chrysost. ub. Sup. [28] "Neque post id locorum Jugurthæ dies aut nox ulla quieta fuere: neque loco, neque mortali cuiquam, aut tempori, satis credere: civis, hostis, juxta metuere: circumspectare omnia, et omni strepitu pavescere: alio atque alio loco, sæpe contra decus regium requiescere: interdum, somno excitus arreptis armis tumultum facere: ita formidine, quasi vecordia, agitari." -- Bell. Jugur. lxxii. [29] "Nemo suspicetur alium Spiritum Sanctum fuisse in Sanctis, nimirum ante adventum Domini, et alium in apostolis cæterisque discipulis, et quasi homonymum in differentibus esse substantiis; possumus quidem testimonia de divinis literis exhibere, quia idem Spiritus et in apostolis et in prophetis fuerit. Paulus in epistola quam ad Hebræos scribit, de Psalmorum volumine testimonium proferens, a Spiritu Sancto id dictum esse commemorat." -- Didym. de Spir. Sanc. lib. i. [30] Hina mepote akousantes hemeis pneuma Theou, nomisomen de oikeioteta legesthai pneuma Theou, eisagei he graphe to pneuma to hagion, kai prostithesi tou Theou, to ek Theou. Allo de to tou Theou, kai allo to ek Theou. Theou men gar ouranos kai ge hos per auto pepoiemena. Ek Theou de ouden legetai, ei me ho ek tes ousias esti. -- Chrysost. de Spir. Sanc. [31] Eiper pneuma Theou oikei en humin, -- ide pneuma Theou. Ei de tis pneuma Christou ouk echei, -- kai men echren eipein, ei de tis pneuma Theou ouk echei, all' heipe pneuma Christou. Eipe Theou pneuma kai, epegage to pneuma tou Christou. Ei de tis pneuma Christou ouk echei, houtos ouk estin autou, alla touto heipen, hina deixe hoti en pneuma, kai ison estin eipein pneuma Theou, kai pneuma Christou. -- Ibid. __________________________________________________________________ Chapter III. Divine nature and personality of the Holy Spirit proved and vindicated. Ends of our consideration of the dispensation of the Spirit -- Principles premised thereunto -- The nature of God the foundation of all religion -- Divine revelation gives the rule and measure of religious worship -- God hath revealed himself as three in one -- Distinct actings and operations ascribed unto these distinct person; therefore the Holy Spirit a divine distinct person -- Double opposition to the Holy Spirit -- By some his personality granted and his deity denied -- His personality denied by the Socinians -- Proved against them -- The open vanity of their pretences -- Matt. xxviii. 19, pleaded -- Appearance of the Spirit under the shape of a dove explained and improved -- His appearance as fire opened -- His personal subsistence proved -- Personal properties assigned unto him -- Understanding -- Argument from hence pleaded and vindicated -- A will -- John iii. 8, James iii. 4, cleared -- Exceptions removed -- Power -- Other personal ascriptions to him, with testimonies of them, vindicated and explained. We shall now proceed to the matter itself designed unto consideration, -- namely, the dispensation of the Spirit of God unto the church; and I shall endeavour to fix what I have to offer upon its proper principles, and from them to educe the whole doctrine concerning it. And this must be so done as to manifest the interest of our faith, obedience, and holy worship, in the whole and each part of it; for these are the immediate ends of all divine revelations, according to that holy maxim of our blessed Saviour, "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." To this end the ensuing principles are to be observed:-- First, The nature and being of God is the foundation of all true religion and holy religious worship in the world. The great end for which we were made, for which we were brought forth by the power of God into this world, is to worship him and to give glory unto him; for he "made all things for himself," or his own glory, Prov. xvi. 4, to be rendered unto him according to the abilities and capacities that he hath furnished them withal, Rev. iv. 11. And that which makes this worship indispensably necessary unto us, and from whence it is holy or religious, is the nature and being of God himself. There are, indeed, many parts or acts of religious worship which immediately respect (as their reason and motive) what God is unto us, or what he hath done and doth for us; but the principal and adequate reason of all divine worship, and that which makes it such, is what God is in himself. Because he is, -- that is, an infinitely glorious, good, wise, holy, powerful, righteous, self-subsisting, self-sufficient, all-sufficient Being, the fountain, cause, and author of life and being to all things, and of all that is good in every kind, the first cause, last end, and absolutely sovereign Lord of all, the rest and all-satisfactory reward of all other beings, -- therefore is he by us to be adored and worshipped with divine and religious worship. Hence are we in our hearts, minds, and souls, to admire, adore, and love him; his praises are we to celebrate; him [are we] to trust and fear, and so to resign ourselves and all our concernments unto his will and disposal; to regard him with all the acts of our minds and persons, answerably to the holy properties and excellencies of his nature. This it is to glorify him as God; for seeing "of him, and through him, and to him are all things," to him must be "glory for ever," Rom. xi. 36. "Believing that God thus is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him," is the ground of all coming unto God in his worship, Heb. xi. 6. And herein lies the sin of men, that the "invisible things of God being manifest unto them, even his eternal power and Godhead," yet "they glorify him not as God," Rom. i. 19-21. This is to honour, worship, fear God for himself; that is, on the account of what he is himself. Where the divine nature is, there is the true, proper, formal object of religious worship; and where that is not, it is idolatry to ascribe it to or exercise it towards any. And this God instructs us in, in all those places where he proclaims his name and describes his eternal excellencies, and that either absolutely or in comparison with other things. All is, that we may know him to be such a one as is to be worshipped and glorified for himself, or his own sake. Secondly, The revelation that God is pleased to make of himself unto us gives the rule and measure of all religious worship and obedience. His being, absolutely considered, as comprehending in it all infinite, divine perfections, is the formal reason of our worship; but this worship is to be directed, guided, regulated, by the revelation he makes of that being and of those excellencies unto us. This is the end of divine revelation, -- namely, to direct us in paying that homage which is due unto the divine nature. I speak not now only of positive institutions, which are the free effects of the will of God, depending originally and solely on revelation, and which, therefore, have been various and actually changed; but this is that which I intend:-- Look, what way soever God manifesteth his being and properties unto us, by his works or his word, our worship consisteth in a due application of our souls unto him according to that manifestation of himself. Thirdly, God hath revealed or manifested himself as three in one, and, therefore, as such is to be worshipped and glorified by us; -- that is, as three distinct persons, subsisting in the same infinitely holy, one, undivided essence. This principle might be, and, had not that labour been obviated, ought to have been, here at large confirmed; it being that which the whole ensuing discourse doth presuppose and lean upon. And, in truth, I fear that the failing of some men's profession begins with their relinquishment of this foundation. It is now evident unto all that here hath been the fatal miscarriage of those poor deluded souls amongst us whom they call Quakers; and it is altogether in vain to deal with them about other particulars, whilst they are carried away with infidelity from this foundation. Convince any of them of the doctrine of the Trinity, and all the rest of their imaginations vanish into smoke. And I wish it were so with them only. There are others, and those not a few, who either reject the doctrine of it as false, or despise it as unintelligible, or neglect it as useless, or of no great importance. I know this ulcer lies hid in the minds of many, and cannot but expect when it will break out, and cover the whole body with its defilements whereof they are members But these things are left to the care of Jesus Christ. The reason why I shall not in this place insist professedly on the confirmation and vindication of this fundamental truth is, because I have done it elsewhere, as having more than once publicly cast my mite into this sanctuary of the Lord; for which and the like services, wherein I stand indebted unto the gospel, I have met with that reward which I did always expect. For the present I shall only say, that on this supposition, that God hath revealed himself as three in one, he is in all our worship of him so to be considered. And, therefore, in our initiation into the profession and practice of the worship of God, according to the gospel, we are in our baptism engaged to it, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," Matt. xxviii. 19. This is the foundation of our doing all the things that Christ commands us, as verse 20. Unto this service we are solemnly dedicated, namely, of God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; as they are each of them equally participant of the same divine nature. Fourthly, These persons are so distinct in their peculiar subsistence that distinct actings and operations are ascribed unto them. And these actings are of two sorts:-- 1. Ad intra, which are those internal acts in one person whereof another person is the object. And these acts ad invicem, or intra, are natural and necessary, inseparable from the being and existence of God. So the Father knows the Son and loveth him, and the Son seeth, knoweth, and loveth the Father. In these mutual actings, one person is the object of the knowledge and love of the other: John iii. 35, "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand." Chap. v. 20, "The Father loveth the Son." Matt. xi. 27, "No man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son." John vi. 46, "None hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father." This mutual knowledge and love of Father and Son is expressed at large, Prov. viii. 22-31; which place I have opened and vindicated elsewhere. And they are absolute, infinite, natural, and necessary unto the being and blessedness of God. So the Spirit is the mutual love of the Father and the Son, knowing them as he is known, and "searching the deep things of God." And in these mutual, internal, eternal actings of themselves, consists much of the infinite blessedness of the holy God. Again, 2. There are distinct actings of the several persons ad extra; which are voluntary, or effects of will and choice, and not natural or necessary. And these are of two sorts:-- (1.) Such as respect one another; for there are external acts of one person towards another: but then the person that is the object of these actings is not considered absolutely as a divine person, but with respect unto some peculiar dispensation and condescension. So the Father gives, sends, commands the Son, as he had condescended to take our nature upon him, and to be the mediator between God and man. So the Father and the Son do send the Spirit, as he condescends in an especial manner to the office of being the sanctifier and comforter of the church. Now, these are free and voluntary acts, depending upon the sovereign will, counsel, and pleasure of God, and might not have been, without the least diminution of his eternal blessedness. (2.) There are especial acts, ad extra, towards the creatures. [32] This the whole Scripture testifieth unto, so that it is altogether needless to confirm it with particular instances. None who have learned the first principles of the doctrine of Christ, but can tell you what works are ascribed peculiarly to the Father, what to the Son, and what to the Holy Ghost. Besides, this will be manifested afterward in all the distinct actings of the Spirit; which is sufficient for our purpose. Fifthly, Hence it follows unavoidably that this Spirit of whom we treat is in himself a distinct, living, powerful, intelligent, divine person; for none other can be the author of those internal and external divine acts and operations which are ascribed unto him. But here I must stay a little, and confirm that foundation which we build upon; for we are in the investigation of those things which that one and self-same Spirit distributeth according to his own will. And it is indispensably necessary unto our present design that we inquire who and what that one and selfsame Spirit is, seeing on him and his will all these things do depend. And we do know, likewise, that if men prevail in the opposition they make unto his person, it is to no great purpose to concern ourselves in his operations; for the foundation of any fabric being taken away, the superstructure will be of no use nor abide. The opposition that is made in the world against the Spirit of God doctrinally may be reduced unto two heads; for some there are who grant his personality, or that he is a distinct self-subsisting person, but they deny his deity, deny him to be a participant of the divine nature, or will not allow him to be God. A created finite spirit they say he is, but the chiefest of all spirits that were created, and the head of all the good angels. Such a spirit they say there is, and that he is called the "Spirit of God," or the "Holy Ghost," upon the account of the work wherein he is employed. This way went the Macedonian heretics of old, and they are now followed by the Mohammedans; and some of late among ourselves have attempted to revive the same frenzy. But we shall not need to trouble ourselves about this notion. The folly of it is so evident that it is almost by all utterly deserted; for such things are affirmed of the Holy Ghost in the Scripture as that to assert his personality and deny his deity is the utmost madness that anyone can fall into in spiritual things. Wherefore, the Socinians, the present great enemies of the doctrine of the holy Trinity, and who would be thought to go soberly about the work of destroying the church of God, do utterly reject this plea and pretence. But that which they advance in the room of it is of no less pernicious nature and consequence: for, granting the things assigned to him to be the effects of divine power, they deny his personality, and assert that what is called by the name of the "Spirit of God," or the "Holy Spirit," is nothing but a quality in the divine nature, or the power that God puts forth for such and such purposes; which yet is no new invention of theirs. [33] I do not design here professedly to contend with them about all the concernments of this difference; for there is nothing of importance in all their pretences or exceptions, but it will in one place or other occur unto consideration in our progress. I shall only at present confirm the divine personality of the Holy Ghost with one argument; which I will not say is such as no man can return the show of an answer unto, -- for what is it that the serpentine wits of men will not pretend an answer unto, or an exception against, if their lusts and prejudices require them so to do? -- but I will boldly say it is such as that the gates of hell shall never prevail against it in the hearts of true believers, the strengthening of whose faith is all that in it I do aim at. And if it do not unto all unprejudiced persons evince the truth and reality of the divine personality of the Holy Ghost, it must certainly convince all men that nothing which is taught or delivered in the Scripture can possibly be understood. One consideration, which hath in part been before proposed, I shall premise, to free the subject of our argument from ambiguity; and this is, that this word or name "Spirit" is used sometimes to denote the Spirit of God [34] himself, and sometimes his gifts and graces, the effects of his operations on the souls of men. And this our adversaries in this cause are forced to confess, and thereon in all their writings distinguish between the Holy Spirit and his effects. This alone being supposed, I say, it is impossible to prove the Father to be a person, or the Son to be so (both which are acknowledged), any other way than we may and do prove the Holy Ghost to be so; for he to whom all personal properties, attributes, adjuncts, acts, and operations, are ascribed, and unto whom they do belong, and to whom nothing is or can be truly and properly ascribed but what may and doth belong unto a person, is a person, and him are we taught to believe so to be. So know we the Father to be a person, as also the Son; for our knowledge of things is more by their properties and operations than by their essential forms. Especially is this so with respect to the nature, being, and existence of God, which are in themselves absolutely incomprehensible. Now, I shall not confirm the assumption of this argument with reference unto the Holy Ghost from this or that particular testimony, nor from the assignation of any single personal property unto him, but from the constant, uniform tenor of the Scripture in ascribing all these properties unto him. And we may add hereunto, that things are so ordered, in the wisdom of God, that there is no personal property that may be found in an infinite divine nature but it is in one place or other ascribed unto him. There is no exception can be laid against the force of this argument, but only that some things, on the one hand, are ascribed unto the Spirit which belong not unto a person, nor can be spoken of him who is so; and, on the other, that sundry things that properly belong to persons are in the Scripture figuratively ascribed unto such things as are not so. Thus, as to the first head of this exception, the Holy Spirit is said to be "poured out," to be "shed abroad," to be "an unction," or the like; of all which expressions we shall treat afterward. What then? shall we say that he is not a person, but only the power of God? Will this render those expressions concerning him proper? How can the virtue of God, or the power of God, be said to be poured out, to be shed abroad, and the like? Wherefore, both they and we acknowledge that these expressions are figurative, as many things are so expressed of God in the Scripture, and that frequently; and what is the meaning of them under their figurative colours we shall afterward declare. This, therefore, doth not in the least impeach our argument, unless this assertion were true generally, that whatever is spoken of figuratively in the Scripture is no person; which would leave no one in heaven or earth. On the other side, it is confessed that there are things peculiar unto rational subsistents or persons, which are ascribed sometimes unto those that are not so. Many things of this nature, as to "hope," to "believe," to "bear," are ascribed unto charity, 1 Cor. xiii. 7. But everyone presently apprehends that this expression is figurative, the abstract being put for the concrete by a metalepsis, and charity is said to do that which a man endued with that grace will do. So the Scripture is said to "see," to "foresee," to "speak," and to "judge," which are personal actings; but who doth not see and grant that a metonymy is and must be allowed in such assignations, that being ascribed unto the effect, the Scripture, which is proper to the cause, the Spirit of God speaking in it? So the heavens and the earth are said to "hear," and the fields, with the trees of the forest, to "sing" and "clap their hands," by a prosopopoeia. Now, concerning these things there is no danger of mistake. The light of reason and their own nature therein do give us a sufficient understanding of them; and such figurative expressions as are used concerning them are common in all good authors. Besides, the Scripture itself, in other places innumerable, doth so teach and declare what they are, as that its plain and direct proper assertions do sufficiently expound its own figurative enunciations: for these and such like ascriptions are only occasional; the direct description of the things themselves is given us in other places. But now with respect unto the Spirit of God all things are otherwise. The constant uniform expressions concerning him are such as declare him to be a person endowed with all personal properties, no description being anywhere given of him inconsistent with their proper application to him. If a sober, wise, and honest man should come and tell you that in such a country, where he hath been, there is one who is the governor of it, that doth well discharge his office, -- that he heareth causes, discerneth right, distributes justice, relieves the poor, comforts them that are in distress; supposing you gave him that credit which honesty, wisdom, and sobriety do deserve, would you not believe that he intended a righteous, wise, diligent, intelligent person, discharging the office of a governor? What else could any man living imagine? But now suppose that another unknown person, or, so far as he is known, justly suspected of deceit and forgery, should come unto you and tell you that all which the other informed you and acquainted you withal was indeed true, but that the words which he spake have quite another intention; for it was not a man or any person that he intended, but it was the sun or the wind that he meant by all which he spake of him: for whereas the sun by his benign influences doth make a country fruitful and temperate, suited to the relief and comfort of all that dwell therein, and disposeth the minds of the inhabitants unto mutual kindness and benignity, he described these things figuratively unto you, under the notion of a righteous governor and his actions, although he never gave you the least intimation of any such intention; -- must you not now believe that either the first person, whom you know to be a wise, sober, and honest man, was a notorious trifler, and designed your ruin, if you were to order any of your occasions according to his reports, or that your latter informer, whom you have just reason to suspect of falsehood and deceit in other things, hath endeavoured to abuse both him and you, to render his veracity suspected, and to spoil all your designs grounded thereon? One of these you must certainly conclude upon. And it is no otherwise in this case. The Scripture informs us that the Holy Ghost rules in and over the church of God, appointing overseers of it under him; that he discerns and judgeth all things; that he comforteth them that are faint, strengthens them that are weak, is grieved with them and provoked by them who sin; and that in all these, and in other things of the like nature innumerable, he worketh, ordereth, and disposeth all "according to the counsel of his own will." Hereupon it directeth us so to order our conversation towards God that we do not grieve him nor displease him, telling us thereon what great things he will do for us; on which we lay the stress of our obedience and salvation. Can any man possibly, that gives credit to the testimony thus proposed in the Scripture, conceive any otherwise of this Spirit but as of a holy, wise, intelligent person? Now, whilst we are under the power of these apprehensions, there come unto us some men, Socinians or Quakers, whom we have just cause on many other accounts to suspect, at least, of deceit and falsehood; and they confidently tell us that what the Scripture speaks concerning the Holy Spirit is indeed true, but that in and by all the expressions which it useth concerning him, it intendeth no such person as it seems to do, but "an accident, a quality, an effect, or influence of the power of God," which figuratively doth all the things mentioned, -- namely, that hath a will figuratively, and understanding figuratively, discerneth and judgeth figuratively, is sinned against figuratively, and so of all that is said of him. Can any man that is not forsaken of all natural reason as well as spiritual light choose now but determine that either the Scripture designed to draw him into errors and mistakes about the principal concernments of his soul, and so to ruin him eternally; or that these persons, who would impose such a sense upon it, are indeed corrupt seducers, that seek to overthrow his faith and comforts? Such will they at last appear to be. I shall now proceed to confirm the argument proposed:-- 1. All things necessary to this purpose are comprised in the solemn form of our initiation into covenant with God. Matt. xxviii. 19, our Lord Jesus Christ commands his apostles to "disciple all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" This is the foundation we lay of all our obedience and profession, which are to be regulated by this initial engagement. Now, no man will or doth deny but that the Father and the Son are distinct persons. Some, indeed, there are who deny the Son to be God; but none are so mad as to deny him to be a person, though they would have him only to be a man; -- all grant him, whether God and man, or only man, to be a distinct person from the Father. Now, what confusion must this needs introduce, to add to them, and to join equally with them, as to all the concerns of our faith and obedience, the Holy Ghost, if he be not a divine person even as they! If, as some fancy, he be a person indeed, but not one that is divine, but a creature, then here is openly the same honour assigned unto him who is no more as unto God himself. This elsewhere the Scripture declares to be idolatry to be detested, Gal. iv. 8, Rom. i. 25. And if he be not a person, but a virtue and quality in God, and emanation of power from him, concerning which our adversaries teratologousi, speak things portentous and unintelligible, what sense can any man apprehend in the words? Besides, whatever is ascribed unto the other persons, either with respect unto themselves or our duty towards them, is equally ascribed unto the Holy Ghost; for whatsoever is intended by the "name" of the Father and of the Son, he is equally with them concerned therein. It is not the name "Father," and the name "Son," but the name of "God," that is, of them both, that is intended. It is a name common to them all, and distinctly applied unto them all; but they have not in this sense distinct or diverse names. And by the "name" of God either his being or his authority is signified; for other intention of it none have been able to invent. Take the "name" here in either sense, and it is sufficient as to what we intend: for if it be used in the first way, then the being of the Spirit must be acknowledged to be the same with that of the Father; if in the latter, he hath the same divine authority with him. He who hath the nature and authority of God is God, -- is a divine person. Our argument, then, from hence is not merely from his being joined with the Father and the Son, for so, as to some ends and purposes, any creatures may be joined with them (this our adversaries prove from Acts xx. 32, Eph. vi. 10, Phil. iii. 10, 2 Thess. i. 9, and might do it from other places innumerable, although the first of these will not confirm what it is produced to give countenance unto, -- Schlichting. de Trinitat. ad Meisner., p. 605); but it is from the manner and end of his being conjoined with the Father and the Son, wherein their "name," -- that is, their divine nature and authority, -- is ascribed unto him, that we argue. Again; We are said to be baptized eis to onoma, "into his name." And no sense can be affixed unto these words but what doth unavoidably include his personality; for two things they may and do intend, nor any thing else but what may be reduced unto them:-- First, Our religious owning the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, in all our divine worship, faith, and obedience. Now, as we own and avow the one, so we do the other; for we are alike baptized into their name, [35] equally submitting to their authority, and equally taking the profession of their name upon us. If, then, we avow and own the Father as a distinct person, so we do the Holy Ghost. Again; by being baptized into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, we are sacredly initiated and consecrated, or dedicated, unto the service and worship of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. This we take upon us in our baptism. Herein lies the foundation of all our faith and profession, with that engagement of ourselves unto God which constitutes our Christianity. This is the pledge of our entrance into covenant with God, and of our giving up ourselves unto him in the solemn bond of religion. Herein to conceive that anyone who is not God as the Father is, who is not a person as he is also, and the Son likewise, is joined with them for the ends and in the manner mentioned, without the least note of difference as to deity or personality, is a strange fondness, destructive of all religion, and leading the minds of men towards polytheism. And as we engage into all religious obedience unto the Father and Son herein, to believe in them, trust, fear, honour, and serve them, so we do the same with respect unto the Holy Ghost; which how we can do, if he be not as they are, no man can understand. We do not, then, in this case, from hence merely plead our being baptized into the "Holy Ghost," as some pretend; nor, indeed, are we said so to be. Men may figuratively be said to be baptized into a doctrine, when their baptism is a pledge and token of their profession of it. So the disciples whom the apostle Paul met with at Ephesus, Acts xix. 3, are said to be baptized eis to Ioannou baptisma, "into the baptism of John," -- that is, the doctrine of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, whereof his baptism was a pledge. So also the Israelites are said to be baptized eis Mousen, "into Moses," 1 Cor. x. 2, because he led and conducted them through the sea, when they were sprinkled with the waves of it as a token of their initiation into the rites and ceremonies which he was to deliver unto them. But we are said to be baptized into his "name;" which is the same with that of the Father and Son. And certainly this proposal of God as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, to be the object of all our faith and worship, and our engagement hereunto required as the foundation of all our present religion and future hopes, being made unto us, and that under one and the same name; if the doctrine of a Trinity of persons, subsisting in the same undivided essence, be not taught and declared in these words, we may justly despair of ever having any divine mystery manifested unto us. 2. His appearance in and under a visible sign argues his personal existence. This is related, Matt. iii. 16; Luke iii. 22; John i. 32. Luke speaks first in general that he descended en eidei somatiko, "in a bodily shape" or appearance; and they all agree that it was the shape of a dove under which he appeared. The words in Matthew are, Heide to Pneuma tou Theou katabainon hosei peristeran kai erchomenon ep' auton; -- "He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting" (or rather coming) "upon him." "He," that is John the Baptist, not Christ himself. The relative, autos, refers in this place to the more remote antecedent; for although "he," that is Christ himself, also saw the descending of the Holy Spirit, yet I suppose this relates unto that token which was to be given of him unto John, whereby he should know him, John i. 32, 33. The following words are ambiguous: for that expression, "like a dove," may refer to the manner of his descending, -- descending (in a bodily shape) as a dove descends; or they may respect the manner of his appearance, -- he appeared like a dove descending. And this sense is determined in the other evangelists to the bodily shape wherein he descended. He took the form or shape of a dove to make a visible representation of himself by; for a visible pledge was to be given of the coming of the Holy Ghost on the Messiah, according to the promise, and thereby did God direct his great forerunner to the knowledge of him. Now, this was no real dove. That would not have been a thing so miraculous as this appearance of the Holy Ghost is represented to be. And the text will not bear any such apprehension, though it was entertained by some of the ancients; for it is evident that this shape of a dove came out of heaven. He saw the heavens opened and the dove descending; that is, out of heaven, which was opened to make way, as it were, for him. Moreover, the expression of the opening of the heavens is not used but with respect unto some appearance or manifestation of God himself. And so (or which is the same) the bowing of the heavens is often used: Ps. cxliv. 5, "Bow thy heavens, O Lord, and come down;" 2 Sam. xxii. 10; Isa. lxiv. 1; Ezek. i. 1, "The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God;" so Acts vii. 56. God used not this sign but in some manifestation of himself; and had not this been an appearance of God, there had been no need of bowing or opening the heavens for it. And it is plainly said that it was not a dove, but the shape or representation of a dove. It was heidos somatikon, "a bodily shape;" and that peristeras, "of a dove." As, then, at the beginning of the old creation, the Spirit of God mrchpht?, "incubabat," came and fell on the waters, cherishing the whole, and communicating a prolific and vivific quality unto it, as a fowl or dove in particular gently moves itself upon its eggs, until, with and by its generative warmth, it hath communicated vital heat unto them; so now, at the entrance of the new creation, he comes as a dove upon him who was the immediate author of it, and virtually comprised it in himself, carrying it on by virtue of his presence with him. And so this is applied in the Syriac ritual of baptism, composed by Severinus, in the account given of the baptism of Christ: vrvch' dqvds' vdmvt yvn' phrcht nchtt vl rys' dvr' sknt vl my' rhpht?; -- "And the Spirit of Holiness descended, flying in the likeness of a dove, and rested upon him, and moved on the waters." And in the assumption of this form there may be some respect unto the dove that brought tidings to Noah of the ceasing of the flood of waters, and of the ending of the wrath of God, who thereon said that he would curse the earth no more, Gen. viii. 11, 21, for herein also was there a significant representation of him who visited poor, lost mankind in their cursed condition, and proclaimed peace unto them that would return to God by him, the great peace-maker, Eph. ii. 14-17. And this work he immediately engaged into on the resting of this dove upon him. Besides, there is a natural aptness in that creature to represent the Spirit that rested on the Lord Jesus; for the known nature and course of a dove is such as is meet to mind us of purity and harmless innocency. Hence is that direction, "Be harmless as doves," Matt. x. 16. So also the sharpness of its sight or eyes, as Cant. i. 15, iv. 1, is fixed on to represent a quick and discerning understanding, such as was in Christ from the resting of the Spirit upon him, Isa. xi. 2-4. The shape thereof that appeared was that of a dove, but the substance itself, I judge, was of a fiery nature, an ethereal substance, shaped into the form or resemblance of a dove. It had the shape of a dove, but not the appearance of feathers, colours, or the like. This also rendered the appearance the more visible, conspicuous, heavenly, and glorious. And the Holy Ghost is often compared to fire, because he was of old typified or represented thereby; for on the first solemn offering of sacrifices there came fire from the Lord for the kindling of them. Hence Theodotion of old rendered vys yhvh?, Gen. iv. 4, "The Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his offering," by Enepurisen ho Theos, "God fired the offering of Abel;" sent down fire that kindled his sacrifice as a token of his acceptance. However, it is certain that at the first erection of the altar in the wilderness, upon the first sacrifices, "fire came out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt-offering and the fat; which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces," Lev. ix. 24. And the fire kindled hereby was to be perpetuated on the altar, so that none was ever to be used in sacrifice but what was traduced from it. For a neglect of this intimation of the mind of God were Nadab and Abihu consumed, chap. x. 1, 2. So was it also upon the dedication of the altar in the temple of Solomon: "Fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt-offering and the sacrifices," 2 Chron. vii. 1; and a fire thence kindled was always kept burning on the altar. And in like manner God bare testimony to the ministry of Elijah, 1 Kings xviii. 38, 39. God by all these signified that no sacrifices were accepted with him where faith was not kindled in the heart of the offerer by the Holy Ghost, represented by the fire that kindled the sacrifices on the altar. And in answer hereunto is our Lord Jesus Christ said to offer himself "through the eternal Spirit," Heb. ix. 14. It was, therefore, most probably a fiery appearance that was made. And in the next bodily shape which he assumed it is expressly said that it was fiery: Acts ii. 3, "There appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire;" which was the visible token of the coming of the Holy Ghost upon them. And he chose, then, that figure of tongues to denote the assistance which, by the miraculous gift of speaking with divers tongues, together with wisdom and utterance, he furnished them withal for the publication of the gospel. And thus, also, the Lord Christ is said to "baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire," Matt. iii. 11. Not two things are intended, but the latter words, "and with fire," are added exegetikos, and the expression is hen dia duoin, -- with the Holy Ghost, who is a spiritual, divine, eternal fire. So God absolutely is said to be a "consuming fire," Heb. xii. 29, Deut. iv. 24. And as in these words, "He shall baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire," there is a prospect unto what came to pass afterward, when the apostles received the Holy Ghost with a visible pledge of fiery tongues, so there seems to be a retrospect, by way of allusion unto what is recorded, Isa. vi. 6, 7; for a living or "fiery coal from the altar," where the fire represented the Holy Ghost, or his work and grace, having touched the lips of his prophet, his sin was taken away, both as to the guilt and filth of it. And this is the work of the Holy Ghost, who not only sanctifieth us, but, by ingenerating faith in us, and the application of the promise unto us, is the cause and means of our justification also, 1 Cor. vi. 11, Tit. iii. 4-7, whereby our sins on both accounts are taken away. So also his efficacy in other places is compared unto fire and burning: Isa. iv. 4, 5, "When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof, by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning." He is compared both to fire and water, with respect unto the same cleansing virtue in both. So also Mal. iii. 2. Hence, as this is expressed by "the Holy Ghost and fire" in two evangelists, Matt. iii. 11, Luke iii. 16; so in the other two there is mention only of the "Holy Ghost," Mark i. 8, John i. 33, the same thing being intended. I have added these things a little to clear the manner of this divine appearance, which also belongs unto the economy of the Spirit. Now, I say that this appearance of the Holy Ghost in a bodily shape, wherein he was represented by that which is a substance and hath a subsistence of its own, doth manifest that he himself is a substance and hath a subsistence of his own; for if he be no such thing, but a mere influential effect of the power of God, we are not taught right apprehensions of him but mere mistakes by this appearance, for of such an accident there can be no substantial figure or resemblance made but what is monstrous. It is excepted by our adversaries (Crell. de Natur. Spir. Sanc.), "That a dove is no person, because not endued with an understanding, which is essentially required unto the constitution of a person; and therefore," they say, "no argument can thence be taken for the personality of the Holy Ghost" But it is enough that he was represented by a subsisting substance; which if they will grant him to be, we shall quickly evince that he is endued with a divine understanding, and so is completely a person. And whereas they farther object, "That if the Holy Ghost in the appearance intended to manifest himself to be a divine person, he would have appeared as a man, who is a person, for so God, or an angel in his name, appeared under the Old Testament," it is of no more importance than the preceding exception. The Holy Ghost did manifest himself as it seemed good unto him; and some reasons for the instructive use of the shape of a fiery dove we have before declared. Neither did God of old appear only in a human shape. He did so sometimes in a burning fiery bush, Exod. iii. 2, 4; sometimes in a pillar of fire or a cloud, chap. xiv. 24. Moreover, the appearances of God, as I have elsewhere demonstrated, under the Old Testament, were all of them of the second person; and he assumed a human shape as a preludium unto, and a signification of, his future personal assumption of our nature. No such thing being intended by the Holy Ghost, he might represent himself under what shape he pleased. Yea, the representation of himself under a human shape had been dangerous and unsafe for us; for it would have taken off the use of those instructive appearances under the Old Testament teaching the incarnation of the Son of God. And also, that sole reason of such appearances being removed, -- namely, that they had all respect unto the incarnation of the second person, -- as they would have been by the like appearance of the third, there would have been danger of giving a false idea of the Deity unto the minds of men; for some might from thence have conceived that God had a bodily shape like unto us, when none could ever be so fond as to imagine him to be like a dove. And these, with the like testimonies in general, are given unto the divine personality of the Holy Spirit. I shall next consider those personal properties which are particularly and distinctly ascribed unto him. First, Understanding or wisdom, which is the first inseparable property of an intelligent subsistence, is so ascribed unto him in the acts and effects of it: 1 Cor. ii. 10, "The Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." What Spirit it is that is intended is declared expressly, verse 12, "Now we have not received to pneuma tou kosmou, the spirit of the world," are not acted by the evil spirit; alla to Pneuma to ek tou Theou, "but the Spirit which is of God," -- a signal description of the Holy Ghost. So he is called "His Spirit," verse 10, "God hath revealed these things unto us by his Spirit." Now, to search is an act of understanding; and the Spirit is said to search, because he knoweth: Verse 11, "What man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?" -- which is intimate unto all its own thoughts and counsels; "even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God." And by him are they revealed unto us, for by him "we know the things that are freely given to us of God," verse 12. These things cannot be spoken of any but a person endued with understanding. And he thus "searcheth ta bathe tou Theou, the deep things of God," -- that is, the mysteries of his will, counsel, and grace; -- and is, therefore, a divine person that hath an infinite understanding; as it is said of God, 'yn chqr lchvvntv?, Isa. xl. 28, There is no end," measure, or investigation, "of his understanding;" Ps. cxlvii. 5, there is "no number of his understanding," -- it is endless, boundless, infinite. It is excepted (Schlichting. de Trinitat., p. 605) "That the Spirit is not here taken for the Spirit himself, nor doth the apostle express what the Spirit himself doth, but what by the assistance of the Holy Ghost men are enabled to do. By that believers are helped to search into the deep counsels of God." But as this exception is directly against the words of the text, so the context will by no means admit of it; for the apostle giveth an account how the wisdom, counsels, and deep things of God, which the world could not understand, were now preached and declared unto the church. "God," saith he, "hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit." But how cometh the Spirit himself, the author of these revelations, to be acquainted with these things? This he hath from his own nature, whereby he knoweth or "searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." It is, therefore, the revelation made by the Spirit unto the apostles and penmen of the scripture of the New Testament, -- who were acted by the Holy Ghost in like manner as were the holy men of old, 2 Pet. i. 21, -- which the apostle intendeth, and not the illumination and teaching of believers in the knowledge of the mysteries by them revealed, whereof the apostle treateth in these words. But who is this Spirit? The same apostle tells us that the "judgments of God are unsearchable, and his ways past finding out," Rom. xi. 33; and asketh, "Who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?" verse 34. And yet this Spirit is said to "search all things, yea, the deep things of God;" such as to all creatures are absolutely unsearchable and past finding out. This, then, is the Spirit of God himself, who is God also; for so it is in the prophet from whence these words are taken, "Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him?" Isa. xl. 13. It will not relieve the adversaries of the Holy Ghost, though it be pleaded by them that he is compared with and opposed unto the "spirit of a man," 1 Cor. ii. 11, which, they say, is no person; for no comparisons hold in all circumstances. The spirit of a man is his rational soul, endued with understanding and knowledge. This is an individual intelligent substance, capable of a subsistence in a separate condition. Grant the Spirit of God to be so far a person, and all their pretences fall to the ground. And whereas it is affirmed by one among ourselves, though otherwise asserting "the deity of the Holy Ghost" (Goodwin, p. 175), "That this expression, of searching the things of God,' cannot be applied directly to the Spirit, but must intend his enabling us to search into them, because to search includes imperfection, and the use of means to come to the knowledge of any thing," it is not of weight in this matter; for such acts are ascribed unto God with respect unto their effects. And searching being with us the means of attaining the perfect knowledge of any thing, the perfection of the knowledge of God is expressed thereby. So David prays that God would "search him, and know his heart," Ps. cxxxix. 23. And he is often said to "search the hearts of men," whereby his infinite wisdom is intimated, whereunto all things are open and naked. So is his Spirit said to "search the deep things of God," because of his infinite understanding and the perfection of his knowledge, before which they lie open. And as things are here spoken of the Spirit in reference unto God the Father, so are they spoken of him in reference unto the Spirit: Rom. viii. 27, "He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit." Add hereunto that this Spirit is the author of wisdom and understanding in and unto others, and therefore he must have them in himself; and that not virtually or casually only, but formally also. 1 Cor. xii. 8, wisdom and knowledge are reckoned among the gifts bestowed by him. For those of faith and tongues, it is enough that they are in him virtually; but wisdom and understanding, they cannot be given by any but he that is wise and understandeth what he doth; and hence is he called expressly a "Spirit of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and knowledge," Isa. xi. 2. I might confirm this by other testimonies, where other effects of understanding are ascribed unto him, as 1 Tim. iv. 1; 1 Pet. i. 11; 2 Pet. i. 21; but what hath been spoken is sufficient unto our purpose. Secondly, A will is ascribed unto him. This is the most eminently distinguishing character and property of a person. Whatever is endued with an intelligent will is a person; and it cannot by any fiction, with any tolerable congruity, be ascribed unto any thing else, unless the reason of the metaphor be plain and obvious. So when our Saviour says of the wind that it bloweth hopou thelei, "as it willeth," or listeth, John iii. 8, the abuse of the word is evident. All intended is, that the wind, as unto us, is anupeuthunos, and not at all at our disposal, acts not by our guidance or direction. And no man is so foolish as not to apprehend the meaning of it, or once to inquire whether our Saviour doth properly ascribe a will to the wind or no. So James iii. 4. The words rendered by us, "Turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth," are in the original, Hopou an he horme tou euthunontos bouletai; in which the act of willing is ascribed to the horme, the impetus or inclination of the governor, which yet hath not a will. But the horme in that place is not the prote kinesis of the philosophers, the motus primo-primus, or the first agitation or inclination of the mind; but it is the will itself under an earnest inclination, such as is usual with them who govern ships by the helms in storms. Hereunto the act of willing is properly ascribed, and he in whom it is proved to be is a person. Thus, a will acting with understanding and choice, as the principle and cause of his outward actions, is ascribed unto the Holy Ghost: 1 Cor. xii. 11, "All these worketh that one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will." He had before asserted that he was the author and donor of all the spiritual gifts which he had been discoursing about, verses 4-6. These gifts he declares to be various, as he manifests in nine instances, and all variously disposed of by him, verses 8-10. If now it be inquired what is the rule of this his distribution of them, he tells us that it is his own will, his choice and pleasure. What can be spoken more fully and plainly to describe an intelligent person, acting voluntarily with freedom and by choice, I know not. We may consider what is excepted hereunto. They say (Schlichting. p. 610) "That the Holy Ghost is here introduced as a person by a prosopopoeia, -- that the distribution of the gifts mentioned is ascribed unto him by a metaphor; and by the same or another metaphor he is said to have a will, or to act as he will." But is it not evident that if this course of interpreting, or rather of perverting, Scripture may be allowed, nothing of any certainty will be left unto us therein? It is but saying this or that is a metaphor, and if one will not serve the turn, to bring in two or three, one on the neck of another, and the work is done; -- the sense intended is quite changed and lost. Allow this liberty or bold licentiousness, and you may overthrow the being of God himself and the mediation of Christ, as to any testimony given unto them in the Scripture. But the words are plain, "He divideth to every man severally as he will." And for the confirmation of his deity, though that be out of question on the supposition of his personality, I shall only add from this place, that he who hath the sovereign disposal of all spiritual gifts, having only his own will, which is infinitely wise and holy, for his rule, he is "over all, God blessed for ever." Thirdly, Another property of a living person is power. A power whereby anyone is able to act according to the guidance of his understanding and the determinations of his will, declares him to be a person. It is not the mere ascription of power absolutely, or ability unto any thing, that I intend; for they may signify no more but the efficacy wherewith such things are attended in their proper places, as instruments of the effects whereunto they are applied. In this sense power is ascribed to the word of God, when it is said to be "able to save our souls," James i. 21; and Acts xx. 32, "the word of God's grace" is said to be "able to build us up, and to give us an inheritance among all them which are sanctified," if that place intend the word written or preached (whereinto I have made inquiry elsewhere): but these things are clearly interpreted in other places. The word is said to be "able," yea, to be the "power of God unto salvation," Rom. i. 16, because God is pleased to use it and make it effectual by his grace unto that end. But where power, divine power, is absolutely ascribed unto anyone, and that declared to be put forth and exercised by the understanding and according to the will of him to whom it is so ascribed, it doth undeniably prove him to be a divine person; for when we say the Holy Ghost is so, we intend no more but that he is one who by his own divine understanding puts forth his own divine power. So is it in this case: Job xxxiii. 4, "The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life." Creation is an act of divine power, the highest we are capable to receive any notion of; and it is also an effect of the wisdom and will of him that createth, as being a voluntary act, and designed unto a certain end. All these, therefore, are here ascribed to the Spirit of God. It is excepted (Schlichting. pp. 613-615) "That by the Spirit of God' here mentioned no more is intended but our own vital spirits, whereby we are quickened, called the Spirit of God' because he gave it." But this is too much confidence. The words are, rvch'l stny vnsmt sdy tchyny?. There were two distinct divine operations in and about the creation of man. The first was the forming of his body out of the dust of the earth; this is expressed by sh?, and ytsr?; -- "he made," "he formed." And secondly, the infusion of a living or quickening soul into him, called nsmt chyym?, or "the breath of life." Both these are here distinctly mentioned; the first ascribed to the Spirit of God, the other to his breath, -- that is, the same Spirit considered in a peculiar way of operation in the infusion of the rational soul. Such is the sense of these figurative and enigmatical words, "God breathed into man the breath of life," -- that is, by his Spirit he effected a principle of life in him; as we shall see afterward. Isa. xi. 2, As he is called a "Spirit of wisdom and understanding," so is he also of "might" or power. And although it may be granted that the things there mentioned are rather effects of his operations than adjuncts of his nature, yet he who affecteth wisdom and power in others must first have them himself. To this purpose also is that demand, Mic. ii. 7, "Is the Spirit of the Lord straitened," or shortened? that is, in his power; that he cannot work and operate in the prophets and his church as in former days; and the same prophet, chap. iii. 8, affirms that he is "full of power, and of judgment, and of might, by the Spirit of the Lord." These things were wrought in him by his power, as the apostle speaks to the same purpose, Eph. iii. 16. Those by whom this truth is opposed do lay out all their strength and skill in exceptions, I may say cavils, against some of these particular testimonies and some expressions in them; but as to the whole argument, taken from the consideration of the design and scope of the Scripture in them all, they have nothing to except. To complete this argument, I shall add the consideration of those works and operations of all sorts which are ascribed to the Spirit of God; which we shall find to be such as are not capable of an assignation unto him with the least congruity of speech or design of speaking intelligibly, unless he be a distinct, singular subsistent or person, endued with divine power and understanding. And here what we desired formerly might be observed must be again repeated. It is not from a single instance of every one of the works which we shall mention that we draw and confirm our argument; for some of them, singly considered, may perhaps sometimes be metaphorically ascribed unto other causes, which doth not prove that therefore they are persons also, -- which contains the force of all the exceptions of our adversaries against these testimonies; -- but as some of them, at least, never are nor can be assigned unto any but a divine person, so we take our argument from their joint consideration, or the uniform, constant assignation of them all unto him in the Scriptures: which renders it irrefragable. For the things themselves, I shall not insist upon them, because their particular nature must be afterward unfolded. First, He is said to teach us: Luke xii. 12, "The Holy Ghost shall teach you what ye ought to say." John xiv. 26, "The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance." 1 John ii. 27, He is the "anointing which teacheth us all things;" how and whence he is so called shall be afterward declared. He is the great Teacher of the church, unto whom the accomplishment of that great promise is committed, "And they shall be all taught of God," John vi. 45. It is sad with the church of God when her teachers are removed into a corner, and her eyes see them not; but better lose all other teachers, and that utterly, than to lose this great Teacher only: for although he is pleased to make use of them, he can teach effectually and savingly without them where they are removed and taken away; but they cannot teach without him unto the least spiritual advantage. And those who pretend to be teachers of others, and yet despise his teaching assistance, will one day find that they undertook a work which was none of theirs. But as unto our use of this assertion, it is excepted "That the apostle affirms that nature also teaches us: 1 Cor. xi. 14, Doth not even nature itself teach you?' now, nature is not a person." This is the way and manner of them with whom we have to do. If any word in a testimony produced by us have been anywhere used metaphorically, though it be never so evident that it is so used in that place, instantly it must have the same figurative application in the testimony excepted against, although they can give no reason why it should so signify! And if this course of excepting be allowed, there will be nothing left intelligible in the Scripture, nor in any other author, nor in common conversation in the world; for there is scarce any word or name of [a] thing but, one where or other, is or hath been abused or used metaphorically. In particular, nature in this place of the apostle is said to teach us objectively, as the heavens and earth teach us in what we learn from them; for it is said to teach us what we may learn from the customs and actings of them who live, proceed, and act, according to the principles, dictates, and inclinations of it. Everyone sees that here is no intimation of an active teaching by instruction, or a real communication of knowledge, but it is said figuratively to do what we do with respect unto it. And not only in several places, but in the same sentence, a word may be used properly with respect unto one thing and abusively with respect unto another; as in that saying of the poet, -- "Disce, puer, virtutem ex me, verumque laborem; Fortunam ex aliis:" [Æn. xii. 435.] for virtue and industry are to be learned properly, but fortune, as they called it, or prosperous events, are not so. These things, therefore, are very different, and their difference is obvious unto all. But we insist not merely on this or that particular instance. Let any man not absolutely prepossessed with prejudice read over that discourse of our Saviour unto his disciples, wherein he purposely instructs them in the nature and work of the Spirit of God, on whom, as it were, he then devolved the care of them and the gospel, according unto the promise, John xiv., xv., xvi., and he will need no farther instruction or confirmation in this matter. He is there frequently called "The Comforter," the name of a person, and that vested with an office, with respect unto the work that he would do; and "Another Comforter," in answer and conformity unto the Lord Christ, who was one Comforter and a person, as all grant, chap. xiv. 16, 26. If he be not so, the intention of this expression with these circumstances must be to deceive us, and not instruct us. He tells them, moreover, that he is one whom the world neither sees nor knows, but who abideth with and dwelleth in believers, verse 17; one whom the Father would send, and who would come accordingly, and that to teach them, to lead and guide them and to bring things to their remembrance, verse 26; a Comforter that should come and testify or bear witness unto him, chap. xv. 26; one that should be sent of him, "to reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment," chap. xvi. 7, 8, and to abide with his disciples, to supply his own bodily absence. So is he said to "speak," "guide," "teach," "hear," to "receive of Christ's and to show it unto others," chap. xiv. 26, xvi. 13, 14, with sundry other things of the same nature and importance. And these things are not spoken of him occasionally or in transitu, but in a direct continued discourse, designed on purpose by our Lord Jesus Christ to acquaint his disciples who he was, and what he would do for them. And if there were nothing spoken of him in the whole Scripture but what is here declared by our Saviour, all unprejudiced men must and would acknowledge him to be a divine person. And it is a confidence swelling above all bounds of modesty, to suppose that because one or other of these things is or may be metaphorically or metaleptically ascribed unto this or that thing which are not persons, when the figurativeness of such an ascription is plain and open, that therefore they are all of them in like manner so ascribed unto the Holy Ghost in that discourse of our Saviour unto his disciples, wherein he designed the instruction of them, as above declared. Of the same nature is that which we discoursed before concerning his searching of all things, from 1 Cor. ii. 10; which as it proves him to be an understanding agent, so it undeniably denotes a personal action. Such also are the things mentioned, Rom. viii. 16, 26: He "helpeth our infirmities," he "maketh intercession for us," he himself "beareth witness with our spirit;" the particular meaning of all which expressions shall be afterward inquired into. Here the only refuge of our adversaries is to cry up a prosopopoeia (Schlichting. p. 627) But how do they prove it? Only by saying that "these things belong properly to a person, which the Spirit is not." Now, this is nothing but to set up their own false hypothesis against our arguments, and, not being able to contend with the premises, to deny the conclusion. There are two other places of this nature, both to the same purpose, sufficient of themselves to confirm our faith in the truth pleaded for; and these are, Acts xiii. 2, 4, "As they ministered unto the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed." The other is chap. xx. 28, "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers." These places hold a good correspondence; and what is reported in an extraordinary case, as matter of fact, in the first, is doctrinally applied unto ordinary cases in the latter. And two things are remarkable in the first place:-- 1. The Holy Ghost's designation of himself as the person unto whom and whose work Barnabas and Saul were to be separated and dedicated. Saith he, Aphorisate de moi, not "Separate me," as in our translation, making the Spirit only the author of the command, but "Separate unto me;" which proposeth him also as the object of the duty required, and the person whose work was to be attended. Who or what, then, is intended by that pronoun "me?" Some person is directed unto and signified thereby; nor can any instance be given where it is so much as figuratively used, unless it be in a professed parable. That remains, therefore, to be inquired into, Who is intended in that word "me?" And the words are the words of the Holy Ghost: "The Holy Ghost said, Separate unto me;" he, therefore, alone is intended. All the answer which the wit and diligence of our adversaries can invent is, that "these words are ascribed unto the Holy Ghost because the prophets that were in the church of Antioch spake therein by his instinct and inspiration." But in this evasion there is no regard unto the force of our argument; for we do not argue merely from his being said to speak, but from what is spoken by him, "Separate unto me," and do inquire whether the prophets be intended by that word or no? If so, which of them? for they were many by whom the Holy Ghost spake the same thing, and some one must be intended in common by them all; and to say that this was any of the prophets is foolish, indeed blasphemous. 2. The close of the second verse confirms this application of the word, "For the work whereunto I have called them." This confessedly is the Holy Ghost. Now, to call men to the ministry is a free act of authority, choice, and wisdom; which are properties of a person, and none other. Nor is either the Father or the Son in the Scripture introduced more directly clothed with personal properties than the Holy Ghost is in these places. And the whole is confirmed, verse 4, "So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed." He called them, by furnishing them with ability and authority for their work; he commanded them to be set apart by the church, that they might be blessed and owned in their work; and he sent them forth, by an impression of his authority on their minds, given them by those former acts of his. And if a divine person be not hereby described, I know not how he may so be. The other text speaks unto the same purpose. Acts xx. 28, it is expressly said that the Holy Ghost made the elders of the church the overseers of it. The same act of wisdom and authority is here again assigned unto him. And here is no room left for the evasion insisted on; for these words were not spoken in a way of prophecy, nor in the name of the Holy Ghost, but concerning him. And they are explicatory of the other; for he must be meant in these expressions, "Separate unto me those whom I have called," by whom they are made ministers. Now, this was the Holy Ghost; for he makes the overseers of the church. And we may do well to take notice, that if he did so then, he doth so now; for they were not persons extraordinarily inspired or called that the apostle intends, but the ordinary officers of the church. And if persons are not called and constituted officers, as at the first, in ordinary cases, the church is not the same as it was. And it is the concernment of those who take this work and office upon them to consider what there is in their whole undertaking that they can ascribe unto the Holy Ghost. Persons furnished with no spiritual gifts or abilities, entering into the ministry in the pursuit of secular advantages, will not easily satisfy themselves in this inquiry when they shall be willing, or be forced, at the last to make it. There remains yet one sort of testimonies to the same purpose, which must briefly be passed through: and they are those where he is spoken of as the object of such actings and actions of men as none but a person can be; for let them be applied unto any other object, and their inconsistency will quickly appear. Thus he is said to be tempted of them that sin: "How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord," Acts v. 9. In what sense soever this word is used, -- whether in that which is indifferent, to try, as God is said to tempt Abraham, or in that which is evil, to provoke or induce to sin, -- it never is, it never can be, used but with respect unto a person. How can a quality, an accident, an emanation of power from God, be tempted? None can possibly be so but he that hath an understanding to consider what is proposed unto him, and a will to determine upon the proposal made. So Satan tempted our first parents; so men are tempted by their own lusts; so are we said to tempt God when we provoke him by our unbelief, or when we unwarrantably make experiments of his power; -- so did they "tempt the Holy Ghost" who sinfully ventured on his omniscience, as if he would not or could not discover their sin; or on his holiness, that he would patronize their deceit. In like manner, Ananias is said to "lie to the Holy Ghost," verse 3; and none is capable of lying unto any other but such an one as is capable of hearing and receiving a testimony, for a lie is a false testimony given unto that which is spoken or uttered in it. This he that is lied unto must be capable of judging and determining upon; which without personal properties of will and understanding none can be. And the Holy Ghost is here so declared to be a person as that he is declared to be one that is also divine; for so the apostle Peter declares in the exposition of the words, verse 4, "Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God." These things are so plain and positive that the faith of believers will not be concerned in the sophistical evasions of our adversaries. In like manner, he is said to be resisted, Acts vii. 51; which is the moral reaction or opposition of one person unto another. So also is he said to he grieved, or we are commanded not to grieve him, Eph. iv. 30; as they of old were said to have "rebelled and vexed the Holy Spirit of God," Isa. lxiii. 10. A figurative expression is allowed in these words. Properly, the Spirit of God cannot be grieved or vexed; for these things include such imperfections as are incompetent unto the divine nature. But as God is said to "repent" and to be "grieved at his heart," Gen. vi. 6, when he would do things correspondent unto those which men will do or judge fit to be done on such provocations, and when he would declare what effects they would produce in a nature capable of such perturbations; so on the same reason is the Spirit of God said to be grieved and vexed. But this can no way be spoken of him if he be not one whose respect unto sin may, from the analogy unto human persons, be represented by this figurative expression. To talk of grieving a virtue or an actual emanation of power, is to speak that which no man can understand the meaning or intention of. Surely he that is thus tempted, resisted, and grieved by sin and sinners, is one that can understand, judge, and determine concerning them; and these things being elsewhere absolutely spoken concerning God, it declares that he is so with respect unto whom they are mentioned in particular. The whole of the truth contended for is yet more evident in that discourse of our Saviour, Matt. xii. 24. The Pharisees said, "He doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub, the prince of devils." And Jesus answered, verse 28, "If I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you." Verses 31, 32, "Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him." To the same purpose, see Luke xii. 8-10. The Spirit is here expressly distinguished from the Son, as one person from another. They are both spoken of with respect unto the same things in the same manner, and the things mentioned are spoken concerning them universally in the same sense. Now, if the Holy Ghost were only the virtue and power of God, then present with Jesus Christ in all that he did, Christ and that power could not be distinctly spoken against, for they were but one and the same. The Pharisees blasphemed, saying, that "he cast out devils by Beelzebub, the prince of devils." A person they intended, and so expressed him by his name, nature, and office. To which our Saviour replies, that he cast them out by the Spirit of God, -- a divine person, opposed to him who is diabolical. Hereunto he immediately subjoins his instruction and caution, that they should take heed how they blasphemed that Holy Spirit, by assigning his effects and works to the prince of devils. And blasphemy against him directly manifests both what and who he is, especially such a peculiar blasphemy as carrieth an aggravation of guilt along with it above all that human nature in any other instance is capable of. It is supposed that blasphemy may be against the person of the Father: so was it in him who "blasphemed the name of Jehovah and cursed" by it, Lev. xxiv. 11. The Son, as to his distinct person, may be blasphemed; so it is said here expressly; -- and thereon it is added that the Holy Ghost also may be distinctly blasphemed, or be the immediate object of that sin which is declared to be inexpiable. To suppose now that this Holy Ghost is not a divine person is for men to dream whilst they seem to be awake. I suppose by all these testimonies we have fully confirmed what was designed to be proved by them, -- namely, that the Holy Spirit is not a quality, as some speak, residing in the divine nature; not a mere emanation of virtue and power from God; not the acting of the power of God in and unto our sanctification; but a holy intelligent subsistent or person. And in our passage many instances have been given, whence it is undeniably evident that he is a divine, self-sufficient, self-subsisting person, together with the Father and the Son equally participant of the divine nature. Nor is this distinctly much disputed by them with whom we have to do; for they confess that such things are ascribed unto him as none but God can effect: wherefore, denying him so to be, they lay up all their hopes of success in denying him to be a person. But yet, because the subject we are upon doth require it, and it may be useful to the faith of some, I will call over a few testimonies given expressly unto his deity also. First, he is expressly called God; and having the name of God properly and directly given unto him, with respect unto spiritual things, or things peculiar unto God, he must have the nature of God also. Acts v. 3, Ananias is said to "lie to the Holy Ghost." This is repeated and interpreted, verse 4, "Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God." The declaration of the person intended by the "Holy Ghost" is added for the aggravation of the sin, for he is "God." The same person, the same object of the sin of Ananias, is expressed in both places; and, therefore, the Holy Ghost is God. The word for lying is the same in both places, pseudomai, only it is used in a various construction. Verse 3, it hath the accusative case joined unto it: Pseusasthai se to Pneuma to hagion, -- that "thou shouldst deceive," or think to deceive, or attempt to deceive, "the Holy Ghost." How? By lying unto him, in making a profession in the church wherein he presides of that which is false. This is explained, verse 4, by epseuso to Theo, "thou hast lied unto God;" the nature of his sin being principally intended in the first place, and the object in the latter. Wherefore, in the progress of his discourse, the apostle calls the same sin, a "tempting of the Spirit of the Lord," verse 9; it was the Spirit of the Lord that he lied unto, when he lied unto God. These three expressions, "The Holy Ghost," "God," "The Spirit of the Lord," do denote the same thing and person, or there is no coherence in the discourse. It is excepted "That what is done against the Spirit is done against God, because he is sent by God." It is true, as he is sent by the Father, what is done against him is morally and as to the guilt of it done against the Father. And so our Saviour tells us with respect unto what was done against himself; for saith he, He that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me." But directly and immediately, both Christ and the Spirit were sinned against in their own persons. He is God [who is] here provoked. So also he is called "Lord," in a sense appropriate unto God alone: 2 Cor. iii. 17, 18, "Now the Lord is that Spirit;" and, "We are changed from glory to glory," apo Kuriou Pneumatos, "by the Lord the Spirit," or the Spirit of the Lord; where also divine operations are ascribed unto him. What is affirmed to this purpose, 1 Cor. xii. 6-8, hath been observed in the opening of the beginning of that chapter at the beginning of our discourse. The same, also, is drawn by just consequence from the comparing of Scriptures together, wherein what is spoken of God absolutely in one place is applied directly and immediately unto the Holy Ghost in another. To instance in one or two particulars: Lev. xxvi. 11, 12, "I will," saith God, "set my tabernacle among you; and I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people." The accomplishment of this promise the apostle declares, 2 Cor. vi. 16, "Ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." How and by whom is this done? 1 Cor. iii. 16, 17, "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which ye are." If it were, then, God who of old promised to dwell in his people, and to make them his temple thereby, then is the Holy Spirit God; for he it is who, according to that promise, thus dwelleth in them. So Deut. xxxii. 12, speaking of the people in the wilderness, he saith, "The Lord alone did lead him;" and yet, speaking of the same people, at the same time, it is said, that "the Spirit of the Lord did lead them, and caused them to rest," Isa. lxiii. 14. "The Spirit of the Lord," therefore, is Jehovah, or Jehovah alone did not lead them. That, also, which is called in the same people their "sinning against God, and provoking the Most High in the wilderness," Ps. lxxviii. 17, 18, is termed their "rebelling against and vexing the Holy Spirit," Isa. lxiii. 10, 11. And many other instances of an alike nature have been pleaded and vindicated by others. Add hereunto, in the last place, that divine properties are assigned unto him, as eternity, Heb. ix. 14, he is the "eternal Spirit;" -- immensity, Ps. cxxxix. 7, "Whither shall I go from thy Spirit?" -- omnipotency, Mic. ii. 7, "The Spirit of the Lord is not straitened," compared with Isa. xl. 28; "The power of the Spirit of God," Rom. xv. 19; -- prescience, Acts i. 16, This scripture must be fulfilled, "which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas;" -- omniscience, 1 Cor. ii. 10, 11, "The Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God;" -- sovereign authority over the church, Acts xiii. 2, 4, xx. 28. The divine works, also, which are assigned unto him are usually, and to good purpose, pleaded in the vindication of the same truth; but these in the progress of our discourse I shall have occasion distinctly to consider and inquire into, and, therefore, shall not in this place insist upon them. What hath been proposed, cleared, and confirmed, may suffice as unto our present purpose, that we may know who he is concerning whom, -- his works and grace, -- we do design to treat. I have but one thing more to add concerning the being and personality of the Holy Spirit; and this is, that in the order of subsistence, he is the third person in the holy Trinity. So it is expressed in the solemn numeration of them, where their order gives great direction unto gospel worship and obedience: Matt. xxviii. 19, "Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." This order, I confess, in their numeration, because of the equality of the persons in the same nature, is sometimes varied. So, Rev. i. 4, 5, "Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; and from Jesus Christ." The Holy Spirit, under the name of the seven Spirits before the throne of God, because of his various and perfect operations in and towards the church, is reckoned up in order before the Son, Jesus Christ. And so in Paul's euctical conclusion unto his epistles, the Son is placed before the Father: 2 Cor. xiii. 14, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all." And some think that the Holy Ghost is mentioned in the first place, Col. ii. 2, "The acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ." In this expression of them, therefore, we may use our liberty, they being all one, "God over all, blessed for ever." But in their true and natural order of subsistence, and consequently of operation, the Holy Spirit is the third person; for as to his personal subsistence, he "proceedeth from the Father and the Son," being equally the Spirit of them both, as hath been declared. This constitutes the natural order between the persons, which is unalterable. On this depends the order of his operation; for his working is a consequent of the order of his subsistence. Thus the Father is said to send him, and so is the Son also, John xiv. 16, 26, xvi. 7. And he is thus said to be sent by the Father and the Son, because he is the Spirit of the Father and Son, proceeding from both, and is the next cause in the application of the Trinity unto external works. But as he is thus sent, so his own will is equally in and unto the work for which he is sent; as the Father is said to send the Son, and yet it was also his own love and grace to come unto us and to save us. And this ariseth from hence, that in the whole economy of the Trinity, as to the works that outwardly are of God, especially the works of grace, the order of the subsistence of the persons in the same nature is represented unto us, and they have the same dependence on each other in their operations as they have in their subsistence. The Father is the fountain of all, as in being and existence, so in operation. The Son is of the Father, begotten of him, and, therefore, as unto his work, is sent by him; but his own will is in and unto what he is sent about. The Holy Spirit proceedeth from the Father and the Son, and, therefore, is sent and given by them as to all the works which he immediately effecteth; but yet his own will is the direct principle of all that he doth, -- he divideth unto every one according to his own will. And thus much may suffice to be spoken about the being of the Holy Spirit, and the order of his subsistence in the blessed Trinity. __________________________________________________________________ [32] "In hac divini magisterii schola, Pater est qui docet et instruit; Filius qui arcana Dei nobis revelat et aperit; Spiritus Sanctus qui nos replet et imbuit. A Patre potentiam, a Filio sapientiam, a Spiritu Sancto accipimus innocentiam. Pater eligit, Filius diligit, Spiritus Sanctus conjungit et unit." -- Cypr. de Baptismo Christi. [33] "?Hæc autem omnia operatur unus atque idem Spiritus, dividens singulis prout vult;' unde dicentes operatricem, et ut ita dicam, distributricem naturam Spiritus Sancti, non abducamur ab his qui dicunt, operationem et non substantiam Dei esse Spiritum Sanctum. Et ex aliis quoque plurimis locis subsistens natura demonstratur Spiritus Sancti." -- Didym. de Spir. Sanc. lib. ii. [34] Epeideper to doroumenon to pneuma to hagion esti, kaleitai kai to doron homonumos to charismati. -- Chrysost."Nec existimare debemus Spiritum Sanctum secundum substantias esse divisum quia multitudo bonorum dicatur, -- impassibilis enim et indivisibilis atque immutabilis est, sed juxta differentes efficientias et intellectus multis bonorum vocabulis nuncupatur; quia participes suos, non juxta unam eandemque virtutem communione sui donet, quippe cum ad utilitatem uniuscujusque aptus sit." -- Didym. lib. i. [35] "Baptizate gentes in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. In nomine dixit, non in nominibus. Non ergo aliud nomen Patris, aliud nomen Filii, aliud nomen Spiritus Sancti, quam unus Deus." -- Ambros. de Spir. Sanc. lib. i. cap. 4. __________________________________________________________________ Chapter IV. Peculiar works of the Holy Spirit in the first or old creation. Things to be observed in divine operations -- The works of God, how ascribed absolutely unto God, and how distinctly to each person -- The reason hereof -- Perfecting acts in divine works ascribed unto the Holy Spirit, and why -- Peculiar works of the Spirit with respect unto the old creation -- The parts of the old creation -- Heaven and its host -- What the host of heaven -- The host of the earth -- The host of heaven completed by the Spirit -- And of the earth -- His moving on the old creation, Ps. civ. 30 -- The creation of man; the work of the Spirit therein -- The work of the Spirit in the preservation of all things when created, natural and moral -- Farther instances thereof, in and out of the church -- Work of the Spirit of God in the old creation, why sparingly delivered. Intending to treat of the operations of the Holy Ghost, or those which are peculiar unto him, some things must be premised concerning the operation of the Godhead in general, and the manner thereof; and they are such as are needful to guide us in many passages of the Scripture, and to direct us aright in the things in particular which now lie before us. I say, then, -- 1. That all divine operations are usually ascribed unto God absolutely. So it is said God made all things; and so of all other works, whether in nature or in grace. And the reason hereof is, because the several persons are undivided in their operations, acting all by the same will, the same wisdom, the same power. Every person, therefore, is the author of every work of God, because each person is God, and the divine nature is the same undivided principle of all divine operations; [36] and this ariseth from the unity of the persons in the same essence. But as to the manner of subsistence therein, there is distinction, relation, and order between and among them; and hence there is no divine work but is distinctly assigned unto each person, and eminently unto one. So is it in the works of the old creation, and so in the new, and in all particulars of them. Thus, the creation of the world is distinctly ascribed to the Father as his work, Acts iv. 24; and to the Son as his, John i. 3; and also to the Holy Spirit, Job xxxiii. 4; but by the way of eminence to the Father, and absolutely to God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The reason, therefore, why the works of God are thus distinctly ascribed unto each person is because, in the undivided operation of the divine nature, each person doth the same work in the order of their subsistence; not one as the instrument of the other, or merely employed by the other, but as one common principle of authority, wisdom, love, and power. How come they, then, eminently to be assigned one to one person, another to another? as unto the Father are assigned opera naturæ, the works of nature, or the old creation; to the Son, opera gratiæ procuratæ, all divine operations that belong unto the recovery of mankind by grace; and unto the Spirit, opera gratiæ applicatcæ, the works of God whereby grace is made effectual unto us. And this is done, -- (1.) When [37] any especial impression is made of the especial property of any person on any work; then is that work assigned peculiarly to that person. So there is of the power and authority of the Father on the old creation, and of the grace and wisdom of the Son on the new. (2.) Where there is a peculiar condescension of any person unto a work, wherein the others have no concurrence but by approbation and consent. Such was the susception of the human nature by the Son, and all that he did therein; and such was the condescension of the Holy Ghost also unto his office, which entitles him peculiarly and by way of eminence unto his own immediate works. 2. Whereas the order [38] of operation among the distinct persons depends on the order of their subsistence in the blessed Trinity, in every great work of God, the concluding, completing, perfecting acts are ascribed unto the Holy Ghost. [39] This we shall find in all the instances of them that will fall under our consideration. Hence, the immediate actings of the Spirit are the most hidden, curious, and mysterious, as those which contain the perfecting part of the works of God. Some seem willing to exclude all thoughts or mention of him from the works of God; but, indeed, without him no part of any work of God is perfect or complete. [40] The beginning of divine operations is assigned unto the Father, as he is fons et origo Deitatis, -- "the fountain of the Deity itself:" "Of him, and through him, and to him, are all things," Rom. xi. 36. The subsisting, establishing, and "upholding of all things," is ascribed unto the Son: "He is before all things, and by him all things consist," Col. i. 17. As he made all things with the Father, so he gives them a consistency, a permanency, in a peculiar manner, as he is the power and wisdom of the Father. He "upholdeth all things by the word of his power," Heb. i. 3. And the finishing and perfecting of all these works is ascribed to the Holy Spirit, as we shall see. I say not this as though one person succeeded unto another in their operation, or as though where one ceased and gave over a work, the other took it up and carried it on; for every divine work, and every part of every divine work, is the work of God, that is, of the whole Trinity, inseparably and undividedly: but on those divine works which outwardly are of God there is an especial impression of the order of the operation of each person, with respect unto their natural and necessary subsistence, as also with regard unto their internal characteristical properties, whereby we are distinctly taught to know them and adore them. And the due consideration of this order of things will direct us in the right understanding of the proposals that are made unto our faith concerning God in his works and word. These things being premised, we proceed to consider what are the peculiar operations of the Holy Spirit, as revealed unto us in the Scripture. Now, all the works of God may be referred unto two heads:-- 1. Those of nature; 2. Those of grace; -- or the works of the old and new creation. And we must inquire what are the especial operations of the Holy Spirit in and about these works, which shall be distinctly explained. The work of the old creation had two parts:-- 1. That which concerned the inanimate part of it in general, with the influence it had into the production of animated or living but brute creatures. 2. The rational or intelligent part of it, with the law of its obedience unto God, [and] the especial uses and ends for which it was made. In both these sorts we shall inquire after and consider the especial works of the Holy Spirit. The general parts of the creation are the heavens and the earth: Gen. i. 1, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." And what belongs unto them is called their "host:" chap. ii. 1, "The heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them." The host of heaven is the sun, moon, and stars, and the angels themselves. So are they called, 1 Kings xxii. 19, "I saw the Lord sitting on his throne" vkltsv' hsmym?, "and all the host of heaven standing by him, on his right hand and on his left;" -- that is, all the holy angels, as Dan. vii. 10; 2 Chron. xviii. 18. And the host of God: Gen. xxxii. 1, 2, "And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host." mchnh?, the word he useth, signifieth a host encamped. Stratia ouranios, Luke ii. 13, "The heavenly host," or army. The sun, moon, and stars, are also called the host of heaven: Deut. iv. 19, "Lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven." So Isa. xxxiv. 4; Jer. xxxiii. 22. This was that host of heaven which the Jews idolatrously worshipped: chap. viii. 2, "They shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped." The expressions are multiplied, to show that they used all ways of ascribing that divine honour unto them which was due to God alone, whom only they ought to have loved, to have served, to have walked after, to have sought and worshipped. So Jer. xix. 13. This they called mlkt hsmym?, the "queen of heaven," chap. xliv. 17, because of its beauty and adornings. The "host of the earth" is men and beasts, with all other creatures that either grow out of it or live upon it, and are nourished by it. And these things are called the host of heaven and earth upon a double account:-- 1. Because of their order and beautiful disposition. A host properly is a number of men put into a certain order, for some certain end or purpose; and all their strength and power, all their terror and beauty, consisteth in and ariseth from that order. Without this they are but a confused multitude. But a host or army with banners is beautiful and terrible, Cant. vi. 10. Before things were cast into this order, the universe was, as it were, full of confusion; it had no beauty nor glory, for the "earth was without form and void," Gen. i. 2. Hence the Vulgar Latin in this place renders the word by "ornatus eorum," all their beauty and adorning; for the creation and beautiful disposal of these hosts gave them beauty and ornament: and thence do the Greeks call the world kosmos, -- that is, an adorned thing. 2. Because all creatures in heaven and earth are God's armies, to accomplish his irresistible will and pleasure. Hence he often styles himself "The Lord of hosts," -- of both these hosts, that above, of the heavens, the holy angels and the celestial bodies, and that of all creatures beneath in the earth; for all these he useth and applieth at his pleasure, to do his will and execute his judgments. Thus, one of those angels slew a whole host of men in one night, Isa. xxxvii. 36. And it is said that the "stars in their courses fought against Sisera," Judges v. 20. God overruled the influences of heaven against him, though it may be angels also are here intended. And among the meanest creatures of the earth, he calls locusts and caterpillars, when he sends them to destroy a country for sin, his host or "army," Joel ii. 11. This by the way. Now, the forming and perfecting of this host of heaven and earth is that which is assigned peculiarly to the Spirit of God; and hereby the work of creation was completed and finished. First, for the heavens: Job xxvi. 13, "By his Spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent;" -- or rather, "his Spirit hath garnished;" for sphrh? agrees with rvch?, [41] the "Spirit," and not with "he;" and the word signifies to "adorn," to make fair, to render beautiful to the eye. Thus the heavens were garnished by the Spirit of God, when, by the creation and disposal of the aspectable host of them, he rendered them so glorious and beautiful as we behold. So the Targum, "His Spirit beautified the face of the heavens," or gave them that comely beauty and order wherein their face appeareth unto us. Hence the heavens, as adorned with the moon and stars, are said to be the "work of God's fingers," Ps. viii. 3, -- that is, not only those which were powerfully made, but also curiously wrought and adorned by the Spirit of God; for by the finger or fingers of God the Spirit of God is in an especial manner intended. Hence those words of our Saviour, Luke xi. 20, "But if I with the finger of God cast out devils," are, Matt. xii. 28, "If I cast out devils by the Spirit of God." By him were the heavens, as it were, curiously wrought, adorned, garnished, rendered beautiful and glorious, to show forth the praise of his power and wisdom, Ps. xix. 1. And by the "crooked serpent," which is added to the "garnishing of the heavens," the Hebrews understand the galaxy or milky way; which to the eye represents the moving or writhing of a serpent in the water. This, then, is peculiarly assigned to the Spirit with respect to the heavens and their host: The completing, finishing work is ascribed unto him; which we must understand by the rules before mentioned, and not exclusively to the other persons. And thus was it also in the earth. God first out of nothing created the earth, which comprised the whole inferior globe, which afterward divided itself into seas and dry land, as the heavens contain in that expression of their creation all that is above and over it. The whole material mass of earth and water, wherewith probably the more solid and firm substance was covered, and as it were overwhelmed, is intended by that "earth" which was first created; for immediately there is mention made of the "deep" and the "waters," without any intimation of their production but what is contained in that of the creation of the earth, Gen. i. 2. This mass being thus framed and mixed, the "Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters;" not taken distinctly, but as containing that radical humour which was the material principle of life and being unto all creatures: vrvch 'lhym mrchpht lphny hmym?. The word merachepheth signifies an easy, gentle motion, such as a dove, or other fowl, useth over its nest or young ones, either to communicate vital heat unto its eggs, or to cherish and defend its young. And this will no way consist with that exposition which some would give in this place of rvch 'lhym?. "Ruah, they say, "here signifies the wind,' as it doth sometimes; and it is called the wind of God,' because it was great and mighty: for this phrase of speech is usual in the sacred language to set out the greatness and singular eminency of any thing. So a great trembling is called a trembling of God,' 1 Sam. xiv. 15; great cedars, the cedars of God,' Ps. lxxx. 10; and the like." But, -- 1. When was this wind created? The meteors were not made before the fourth day, with the firmament, the place of their residence. And whence or what this wind should be is not to be discovered. 2. The word here used signifies such an "easy and gentle motion" as is in birds when they move themselves upon their nests. And it is but three times used in the Scripture, -- in this place, and Deut. xxxii. 11, Jer. xxiii. 9. In Deuteronomy it is expressly applied unto the motion of an eagle over her young, for their safety, protection, and growth: yrchph yphrs knphyv?, "As an eagle fluttereth, spreading her wings over her young." And in the other place we render it "shake:" "All my bones shake," -- that is, are in a trembling motion, like the feathers of a fowl over her nest. No such great and violent wind, therefore, as from thence should be called a wind of God, can be intended in this place; but it is the Spirit of God himself and his work that is expressed. This, therefore, was the work of the Holy Spirit of God in reference unto the earth and the host thereof: The whole matter being created out of which all living creatures were to be educed, and of which they were to be made, he takes upon him the cherishing and preservation of it; that as it had its subsistence by the power of the Word of God, it might be carried on towards that form, order, beauty, and perfection, that it was designed unto. To this purpose he communicated unto it a quickening and prolific virtue, inlaying it with the seeds of animal life unto all kinds of things. Hence, upon the command of God, it brought forth all sorts of creatures in abundance, according to the seeds and principles of life which were communicated unto the rude, inform chaos, by the cherishing motion of the Holy Spirit. Without him all was a dead sea, a confused deep, with darkness upon it, able to bring forth nothing, nor more prepared to bring forth any one thing than another; but by the moving of the Spirit of God upon it, the principles of all those kinds, sorts, and forms of things, which, in an inconceivable variety, make up its host and ornament, were communicated unto it. And this is a better account of the original of all things, in their several kinds, than any [that] is given by ancient or modern philosophers. And hence was the old tradition of all things being formed of water, which the apostle alludes unto, 2 Pet. iii. 5. The whole is declared by Cyprian, whose words I have, therefore, transcribed at large. [42] And as at the first creation, so in the course of providence, this work of cherishing and nourishing the creatures is assigned in an especial manner unto the Spirit: Ps. civ. 30, "Thou sendest forth thy Spirit, they are created; and thou renewest the face of the earth." The making or creation of things here intended is not the first great work of the creation of all, but the daily production of creatures in and according to their kind; for in the verse foregoing the Psalmist treats of the decay of all sorts of creatures in the world, by a providential cutting off and finishing of their lives: Verse 29, "Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust." That, under this continual decay and dying of all sorts of creatures, the world doth not come to emptiness and desolation, the only reason is, because the Spirit of God, whose office and work it is to uphold and preserve all things continually, produceth by his power a new supply of creatures in the room of them that fall off like leaves from the trees, and return to their dust everyday. And whereas the earth itself, the common nurse of them all, seems in the revolution of every year to be at an end of its use and work, having death brought upon the face of it, and ofttimes entering deep into its bowels, the Spirit of God, by its influential concurrence, renews it again, causing everything afresh to bring forth fruit according unto its kind, whereby its face receiveth a new beauty and adorning. And this is the substance of what the Scripture expressly asserts concerning the work of the Spirit of God towards the inanimate part of the creation. His actings in reference unto man, and that obedience which he owed to God, according to the law and covenant of his creation, is nextly to be considered. Man in his creation falleth under a twofold notion; for he may be considered either merely naturally, as to the essentially constitutive parts of his being, or morally also, with reference unto his principles of obedience, the law given unto him, and the end proposed as his reward. And these things are distinctly proposed unto our contemplation in the Scripture. The first is expressed, Gen. ii. 7, "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." 1. There is the matter whereof he was formed; 2. The quickening principle added thereunto; and, 3. The effect of their conjunction and union. For the matter he was made of, it is said he was formed phr mnch'dmh?, [of] "dust of the ground," or dust gathered together on a heap from and upon the ground: r's phrvt tvl?, Prov. viii. 26. So is God, the great demiourgos, the universal framer of all, represented as an artificer, who first prepares his matter, and then forms it as it seemeth good unto him. And this is mentioned for two ends:-- First, To set forth the excellency, power, and wisdom of God, who out of such vile, contemptible matter as a heap of dust, swept as it were together on the ground, could and did make so excellent, curious, and glorious a fabric as is the body of man, or as was the body of Adam before the fall. Secondly, To mind man of his original, that he might be kept humble and in a meet dependence on the wisdom and bounty of his Creator; for thence it was, and not from the original matter whereof he was made, that he became so excellent. Hereof Abraham makes his solemn acknowledgment before the Lord: Gen. xviii. 27, "Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes." He abaseth himself with the remembrance of his original And this, as it were, God reproacheth Adam withal upon his sin and transgression: Gen. iii. 19, "Thou shalt return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." He lets him know that he had now, by sin, lost that immortality which he was made in a condition to have enjoyed; and that his body, according to his nature and constitution, should return again into its first principles, or the dust of the earth. Into this formed dust, secondly, God breathed nsmt chyym?, the "breath of life;" divinæ auræ particulam, "a vital immortal spirit." This God breathed into him, as giving him something of himself, somewhat immediately of his own, not made out of any procreated matter. This is the rational soul, or intelligent spirit. Thus man became a middle creature between the angels above and the sensitive animals below. His body was formed, as the beasts, from the matter made the first day, and digested into dry land on the third day; his soul was an immediate production of and emanation from the divine power, as the angels were. So when, in the works of the new creation, our blessed Saviour bestowed the Holy Ghost on his disciples, he breathed on them, as a sign that he gave them something of his own. This celestial spirit, this heavenly breath, was unto man a quickening principle; for, thirdly, the effect hereof is, that man became lnphs chych?, a "living soul." His body was hereby animated, and capable of all vital acts. Hence he could move, eat, see, hear, etc.; for the natural effects of this breath of life are only intended in this expression. Thus the "first man Adam was made a living soul," 1 Cor. xv. 45. This was the creation of man, as unto the essentially constituting principles of his nature. With respect unto his moral condition and principle of obedience unto God, it is expressed, Gen. i. 26, 27, "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion," etc. "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him." He made him "upright," Eccles. vii. 29, perfect in his condition, every way complete, -- fit, disposed, and able to and for the obedience required of him; without weakness, distemper, disease, contrariety of principles, inclinations, or reasonings. A universal rectitude of nature, consisting in light, power, and order, in his understanding, mind, and affections, was the principal part of this image of God wherein he was created. And this appears, as from the nature of the thing itself, so from the description which the apostle giveth us of the renovation of that image in us by the grace of Christ, Eph. iv. 24, Col. iii. 10. And under both these considerations we may weigh the especial operations of the Spirit of God:-- First, As to the essential principles of the nature of man, it is not for nothing that God expresseth his communication of a spirit of life by his breathing into him: "God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life." The Spirit of God and the breath of God are the same, only, the one expression is proper, the other metaphorical; wherefore, this breathing is the especial acting of the Spirit of God. The creation of the human soul, a vital immortal principle and being, is the immediate work of the Spirit of God: Job xxxiii. 4, "The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life." Here, indeed, the creation and production of both the essential parts of human nature, body and soul, are ascribed unto the same author; for the Spirit of God and the breath of God are the same, but several effects being mentioned causeth a repetition of the same cause under several names. This Spirit of God first made man, or formed his body of the dust, and then gave him that breath of life whereby he became a "living soul." So, then, under this first consideration, the creation of man is assigned unto the Holy Spirit, for man was the perfection of the inferior creation; and in order unto the glory of God, by him were all other things created. Here, therefore, are his operations distinctly declared, to whom the perfecting and completing of all divine works is peculiarly committed. Secondly, We may consider the moral state and condition of man, with the furniture of his mind and soul, in reference unto his obedience to God and his enjoyment of him. This was the principal part of that image of God wherein he was created. Three things were required to render man idoneous, or fit unto that life to God for which he was made:-- First, An ability to discern the mind and will of God with respect unto all the duty and obedience that God required of him; as also so far to know the nature and properties of God as to believe him the only proper object of all acts and duties of religious obedience, and an all-sufficient satisfaction and reward in this world and to eternity. Secondly, A free, uncontrolled, unentangled disposition to every duty of the law of his creation, in order unto living unto God. Thirdly, An ability of mind and will, with a readiness of compliance in his affections, for a due regular performance of all duties, and abstinence from all sin. These things belonged unto the integrity of his nature, with the uprightness of the state and condition wherein he was made. And all these things were the peculiar effects of the immediate operation of the Holy Ghost; for although this rectitude of his nature be distinguishable and separable from the faculties of the soul of man, yet in his first creation they were not actually distinguished from them, nor superadded, or infused into them when created, but were concreated with them, -- that is, his soul was made meet and able to live to God, as his sovereign lord, chiefest good, and last end. And so they were all from the Holy Ghost, from whom the soul was, as hath been declared. Yea, suppose these abilities to be superadded unto man's natural faculties, as gifts supernatural (which yet is not so), they must be acknowledged in a peculiar manner to be from the Holy Spirit; for in the restoration of these abilities unto our minds, in our renovation unto the image of God in the gospel, it is plainly asserted that the Holy Ghost is the immediate operator of them. And he doth thereby restore his own work, and not take the work of another out of his hand: for in the new creation the Father, in the way of authority, designs it, and brings all things unto a head in Christ, Eph. i. 10, which retrieved his original peculiar work; and the Son gave unto all things a new consistency, which belonged unto him from the beginning, Col. i. 17. So also the Holy Spirit renews in us the image of God, the original implantation whereof was his peculiar work. And thus Adam may be said to have had the Spirit of God in his innocency. He had him in these peculiar effects of his power and goodness; and he had him according to the tenor of that covenant whereby it was possible that he should utterly lose him, as accordingly it came to pass. He had him not by especial inhabitation, for the whole world was then the temple of God. In the covenant of grace, founded in the person and on the mediation of Christ, it is otherwise. On whomsoever the Spirit of God is bestowed for the renovation of the image of God in him, he abides with him forever. But in all men, from first to last, all goodness, righteousness, and truth, are the "fruits of the Spirit," Eph. v. 9. The works of God being thus finished, and the whole frame of nature set upon its wheels, it is not deserted by the Spirit of God; for as the preservation, continuance, and acting of all things in the universe, according to their especial nature and mutual application of one unto another, are all from the powerful and efficacious influences of divine Providence, so there are particular operations of the Holy Spirit in and about all things, whether merely natural and animal, or also rational and moral. An instance in each kind may suffice. For the first (as we have showed), the propagation of the succeeding generations of creatures and the annual renovation of the face of the earth are ascribed unto him, Ps. civ. 30; for as we would own the due and just powers and operations of second causes, so we abhor that atheism which ascribes unto them an original and independent efficacy and causality, without a previous acting in, by, and upon them of the power of God. And this is here ascribed unto the Spirit, whom God sendeth forth unto that end and purpose. As to rational and moral actions, such as the great affairs of the world do consist in and are disposed of by, he hath in them also a peculiar efficiency. Thus those great virtues of wisdom, courage, and fortitude, which have been used for the producing of great effects in the world, are of his especial operation. So when God stirred up men to rule and govern his people of old, to fight against and to subdue their enemies, it is said the Spirit of God came upon them: Judges iii. 10, "The Spirit of the Lord came upon Othniel, and he judged Israel, and went out to war." The Spirit of God endued him with wisdom for government, and with courage and skill in conduct for war. So chap. vi. 34. And although instances hereof are given us principally among the people of God, yet wherever men in the world have been raised up to do great and wonderful things, whereby God executeth his judgments, [and] fulfilleth any of his promises or his threatenings, even they also have received of the especial gifts and assistances of the Holy Spirit of God. For this reason is Cyrus expressly called "God's anointed," Isa. xlv. 1. Cyrus had, by God's designation, a great and mighty work to effect. He was utterly to ruin and destroyeth great, ancient, Babylonian monarchy. God had a concern herein as to the avenging of the quarrel of his people, and therein the accomplishment of many promises and threatenings. The work itself was great, arduous, and insuperable to ordinary human abilities. Wherefore God "sends his Spirit" to fill Cyrus with wisdom, courage, skill in all military affairs, that he might go through with the work whereunto, in the providence of God, he was designed. Hence is he called "God's anointed," because the unction of kings of old was an instituted sign of the communication of the gifts of the Holy Ghost for government unto them. See verses 1-4; and other instances of the like kind might be given. Thus, when the church was to have a blessed restoration of the worship of God, after the return of the people from their captivity, Zerubbabel is, in an especial manner, called to begin and carry on this work in the building of the temple. But the difficulties he had to conflict withal were great, and appeared insuperable. The people were few and poor, and the oppositions made unto them and their work great and many, especially what arose from the power of the Persian monarchy, under whose rule and oppression they were; for although they had permission and encouragement from Cyrus for their work, yet immediately upon his death they were oppressed again, and their "work caused to cease." This power they could no way conflict withal; yet God tells them that all this opposition shall be removed and conquered. "Who art thou," saith he, "O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain," Zech. iv. 7; -- "All the hinderance that arose from that great mountain of the Persian empire shall be removed out of the way, and the progress of Zerubbabel in his work shall be made smooth, plain, and easy." But how shall this be effected and brought about? "Not by an army or by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts,'?" verse 6; -- "You would suppose that it must be done by armies and open force, which you are altogether insufficient for; but this is not the way I will take in this matter. My Spirit shall work in their hearts, minds, and counsels, that, contrary to your fears, they shall themselves further that work which hitherto they have impeded; and he shall work in the minds and counsels of others, to oppose them and entangle them where they would hinder it, until they are destroyed, and that great mountain be fully removed;" -- as in the event it came to pass. So that the providential alterations that are wrought in the world are effects of his power and efficacy also. And thus have we taken a short view of the dispensation and works of the Spirit of God in the first creation. But the effect hereof being a state of things that quickly passed away, and being of no advantage to the church after the entrance of sin, what belonged unto it is but sparingly delivered in the Scriptures, the true sense of what is so delivered depending much on the analogy of the following works of God in man's renovation and recovery. But as to the new creation (which falls under our consideration in the next place, as that alone which is directly intended by us), the foundation, building up, and finishing the church of God therein, being the things whereon depends the principal manifestation of the glory of God, and wherein the great concerns of all the elect do lie, they are more fully and directly declared in the Scripture; and in reference unto them we shall find a full, distinct declaration of the whole dispensation and work of the Spirit of God. __________________________________________________________________ [36] Mia ara kai ek touton, he tes Triados energeia deiknuati. Ou gar hos par' ekasotu diaphora, kai dieremena ta didomena semainei ho apostolos. All' hoti ta didomena en Triadi didotai, kai ta panta ex henos Theou esti. -- Athanas. Epistol. [i. 31] ad Serapionem.Mian energeian horomen patros kai huiou, kai hagiou pneumatos. Basil. Homil. xvii., in Sanctum Baptisma. Hon hai autai energeiai touton kai ousia mia, energeia de huiou kai patros mia hos to; poiesomen anthropon. Kai palin; ha gar an ho pater poie tauta kai ho huios homoios poiei. Ara kai ousia mia patros kai huiou. -- Idem advers. Eunom., lib. iv."Quicquid de Spiritu Sancto diximus hoc similiter de Patre et Filio communiter et indivise volumus intelligi; quia sancta et inseparabilis Trinitas nunquam aliquid se sigillatim operari noverit." -- Ambros. in Symbol Apost. cap. ix. [37] Panta ta theoprepos legomena epi tes huperousiou triados kath' hekastes ton trion hupostaseon exidioutai kai enarmottetai plen ha ten proagogen touton, egoun ten hupostasiken gnorisin empoiountai. -- Arethas, in Apocal. Commentar. cap. 1. [38] "Hoc non est inæqualitas substantiæ, sed ordo naturæ; non quod alter esset prior altero, sed quod alter esset ex altero." -- Aug. lib. iii. contra Maxentium, cap. 14. [39] Pasa energeia he theothen epi ten ktisin diekousa, kai kata tas polutropous ennoias onomazomene ek patros aphormatai, kai dia tou huiou proeisi, kai en to pneumati to hagio teleioutai. -- Gregor. Nyssen. ad Ablabium En de te touton (angelon) ktisei, ennoeson moi ten prokatarktiken aitian ton genomenon ton patera, ten demiourgiken ton huion, ten teleiotiken to pneuma. -- Basil. de Spir. Sanc. cap. xvi. [40] Kai gar dia men tes palaias hos prokatarktikon ton holon ho pater protos keruttetai. Kai deuteros de ho huios hos demiourgikon aition emphanizetai. Kai tritos hos teleiotikon to pneuma to hagion. Ta teleiotika gar to telei pheronumos anaphainetai, te prokope kai auxesei ton pragmaton kai ton chronon hoia stephanos anarrheseos epi tois athletikois hidrosi kata to telos enarmozomenos. Dia kai ton anthropon plasas ho Theos proton heita telei enephusesen eis to prosopon autou pneuma zoes. -- Jobius apud Photium, lib. cxxii. cap. 18. [41] This word in the original is brvchv?. To make it agree with sphrh?, Owen must have adopted the opinion of Aben Ezra, that b? in the former word is redundant. Eminent critics demur to this conclusion; Simonis and others rendering the clause, "By his Spirit the heavens [are] beauty." -- Ed. [42] "Hic Spiritus Sanctus ab ipso mundi initio aquis legitur superfusus; non materialibus aquis quasi vehiculo egens, quasi potius ipse ferebat, et complectentibus firmamentum dabat congruum motum et limitem præfinitum. Hujus sempiterna virtus et divinitas, cum in propria natura ab inquisitoribus mundi antiquis philosophis proprie investigari non posset, subtilissimis tamen intuiti sunt conjecturis compositionem mundi; compositis et distinctis elementorum affectibus presentem omnibus animam affuisse, quæ secundum genus et ordinem singulorum vitam præberet et motum, et intransgressibiles figeret metas, et stabilitatem assignaret et usum. Hanc vitam, hunc motum, hanc rerum essentiam, animam mundi philosophi vocaverunt, putantes coelestia corpora, solem dico lunam et stellas ipsumque firmamentum hujus animæ virtute moveri et regi, et aquas, et terram, et aërem hujus semine imprægnari. Qui si spiritum et dominum, et creatorem, et vivificatorem, et nutritorem crederent onmium quæ sub ipso sunt, convenientem haberent ad vitam accessum. Sed abscondita est a sapientibus, et prudentibus tantæ rei majestas; nec potuit humani fastus ingenii secretis interesse coelestibus, et penetrare ad superessentialis naturæ altitudinem; et licet intelligerent, quod vere esset creatrix et gubernatrix rerum Divinitas, distinguere tamen nullo modo potuerunt quæ esset Deitatis Trinitas, vel quæ unitas vel quæ personarum proprietas. Hic est Spiritus vitæ cujus vivificus calor animat omnia et fovet et provehit et fecundat. Hic omnium viventium anima, ita largitate sua se omnibus abundanter infundit, ut habeant omnia rationabilia et irrationabilia secundum genus suum ex eo quod sunt, et quod in suo ordine suæ naturæ competentia agunt; non quod ipse sit substantialis anima singulis, sed in se singulariter marens, de plenitudine sua distributor magnificus proprias efficientias singulis dividit et largitur; et quasi sol omnia calefaciens subjecta, onmia nutrit, et absque ulla sui diminutione, integritatem suam de inexhausta abundantia quod satis est et sufficit omnibus commodat et impartit." -- Cypr. Lib. de Spir. Sanc. __________________________________________________________________ Chapter V. Way and manner of the divine dispensation of the Holy Spirit. Dispensation of the Spirit to be learned from the Scripture only -- General adjuncts thereof -- The administration of the Spirit and his own application of himself to his work, how expressed -- The Spirit, how and in what sense given and received -- What is included in the giving of the Spirit -- What in receiving of him -- Privilege and advantage in receiving the Spirit -- How God is said to send the Spirit -- What is included in sending -- How God ministers the Spirit -- How God is said to put his Spirit on us -- What is included in that expression -- The Spirit, how poured out -- What is included and intended herein -- The ways of the Spirit's application of himself unto his work -- His proceeding from Father and Son explained -- How he cometh unto us -- His falling on men -- His resting -- How and in what sense he is said to depart from any person -- Of the distributions of the Holy Ghost, Heb. ii. 4 -- Exposition of them vindicated. Before we treat of the especial operations, works, and effects of the Holy Ghost in and on the new creation, the order of things requires that we should first speak somewhat of the general nature of God's dispensation of him, and of his own application of himself unto his actings and workings in this matter; for this is the foundation of all that he doth, and this, for our edification, we are instructed in by the Scriptures. Unto them in this whole discourse we must diligently attend; for we are exercised in such a subject as wherein we have no rule, nor guide, nor any thing to give us assistance but pure revelation. And what I have to offer concerning these things consists upon the matter solely in the explication of those places of Scripture wherein they are revealed. We must, therefore, consider, -- 1. What we are taught on the part of God the Father with respect unto the Holy Spirit and his work; and, 2. What relates immediately unto himself. I. God's disposal of the Spirit unto his work is five ways expressed in the Scripture: for he is said, -- 1. To give or bestow him; 2. To send him; 3. To minister him; 4. To pour him out; 5. To put him on us. And his own application of himself unto his work is likewise five ways expressed: for he is said, -- 1. To proceed; 2. To come, or come upon; 3. To fall on men; 4. To rest; and, 5. To depart. These things, containing the general manner of his administration and dispensation, must be first spoken unto. First, He is said to be given of God; that is, of God the Father, who is said to give him in an especial manner: Luke xi. 13, "Your heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him;" John iii. 34. 1 John iii. 24, "He hath given the Spirit unto us." John xiv. 16, "The Father shall give you another Comforter;" "which is the Holy Ghost," verse 26. And in answer unto this act of God, those on whom he is bestowed are said to receive him: John vii. 39, "This he spake of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive." 1 Cor. ii. 12, "We have received the Spirit which is of God." 2 Cor. xi. 4, "If ye receive another Spirit, which ye have not received;" where the receiving of the Spirit is made a matter common unto all believers. So Gal. iii. 2; Acts viii. 15, 19; John xiv. 17, xx. 22. For these two, giving and receiving, are related, the one supposing the other. And this expression of the dispensation of the Holy Ghost is irreconcilable unto the opinion before rejected, -- namely, that he is nothing but a transient accident, or an occasional emanation of the power of God; for how or in what sense can an act of the power of God be given by him or be received by us? It can, indeed, in no sense be either the object of God's giving or of our receiving, especially as this is explained in those other expressions of the same thing before laid down, and afterward considered. It must be somewhat that hath a subsistence of its own that is thus given and received. So the Lord Christ is frequently said to be given of God and received by us. It is true, we may be said, in another sense, to "receive the grace of God;" which is the exception of the Socinians unto this consideration, and the constant practice they use to evade plain testimonies of the Scripture: for if they can find any words in them used elsewhere in another sense, they suppose it sufficient to contradict their plain design and proper meaning in another place. Thus we are exhorted "not to receive the grace of God in vain," 2 Cor. vi. 1. I answer, The grace of God may be considered two ways:-- 1. Objectively, for the revelation or doctrine of grace; as Tit. ii. 11, 12. So we are said to receive it when we believe and profess it, in opposition unto them by whom it is opposed and rejected. And this is the same with our receiving the word preached, so often mentioned in the Scripture, Acts ii. 41, James i. 21; which is by faith to give it entertainment in our hearts: which is the meaning of the word in this place, 2 Cor. vi. 1. Having taken the profession of the doctrine of grace, that is, of the gospel, upon us, we ought to express its power in holiness and suitable obedience, without which it will be of no use or benefit unto us. And the grace of God is sometimes, -- 2. Taken subjectively, for the grace which God is pleased to communicate unto us, or gracious qualities that he works in our souls by his Spirit. In this sense, also, we are sometimes said to receive it: 1 Cor. iv. 7, "Who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive?" where the apostle speaketh both of the gifts and graces of the Spirit. And the reason hereof is, because in the communication of internal grace unto us, we contribute nothing to the procurement of it, but are merely capable recipient subjects. And this grace is a quality or spiritual habit, permanent and abiding in the soul. But in neither of these senses can we be said to receive the Spirit of God, nor God to give him, if he be only the power of God making an impression on our minds and spirits, -- no more than a man can be said to receive the sunbeams, which cause heat in him by their natural efficacy, falling on him: much less can the giving and receiving of the Spirit be so interpreted, considering what is said of his being sent and his own coming, with the like declarations of God's dispensation of him; whereof afterward. Now, this giving of the Spirit, as it is the act of him by whom he is given, denotes authority, freedom, and bounty; and, on the part of them that receive him, privilege and advantage. 1. Authority. He that gives any thing hath authority to dispose of it. None can give but of his own, and that which in some sense he hath in his power. Now, the Father is said to give the Spirit, and that upon our request, as Luke xi. 13. This, I acknowledge, wants not some difficulty in its explication; for if the Holy Ghost be God himself, as hath been declared, how can he be said to be given by the Father, as it were in a way of authority? But keeping ourselves to the sacred rule of truth, we may solve this difficulty without curiosity or danger. Wherefore, -- (1.) The order of the subsistence of the three persons in the divine nature is regarded herein; for the Father, as hath been showed, is the fountain and original of the Trinity, the Son being of him, and the Spirit of them both. Hence, he is to be considered as the principal author and cause of all those works which are immediately wrought by either of them; for of whom the Son and Spirit have their essence, as to their personality, from him have they life and power of operation, John v. 19, 26. Therefore, when the Holy Spirit comes unto any, the Father is said to give him, for he is the Spirit of the Father. And this authority of the Father doth immediately respect the work itself, and not the person working; but the person is said to be given for the work's sake. (2.) The economy of the blessed Trinity in the work of our redemption and salvation is respected in this order of things. The fountain hereof lies in the love, wisdom, grace, and counsel of the Father. Whatever is done in the pursuit hereof is originally the gift of the Father, because it is designed unto no other end but to make his grace effectual. Hence is he said to send and give his Son also. And the whole work of the Holy Ghost, as our sanctifier, guide, comforter, and advocate, is to make the love of the Father effectual unto us, John xvi. 13, 14. [43] As this, out of his own love and care, he hath condescended unto, so the fountain of it being in the love and purpose of the Father, and that also, or the making them effectual, being their end, he is rightly said to be given of him. (3.) In the whole communication of the Spirit, respect is had unto his effects, or the ends for which he is given. What they are shall be afterward declared. Now, the authority of this giving respects principally his gifts and graces, which depend on the authority of the Father. 2. This expression denotes freedom. What is given might be withheld. This is the "gift of God" (as he is called, John iv. 10), not the purchase of our endeavours, nor the reward of our desert. Some men delight to talk of their purchasing grace and glory; but the one and the other are to be "bought without money and without price." Even "eternal life" itself, the end of all our obedience, is the "gift of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord," Rom. vi. 23. The Scripture knows of no earnings that men can make of themselves but death; for as Austin says, "Quicquid tuum est peccatum est:" and the wages of sin is death. To what end or purpose soever the Spirit is bestowed upon us, whether it be for the communication of grace or the distribution of gifts, or for consolation and refreshment, it is of the mere gift of God, from his absolute and sovereign freedom. In answer hereunto they are said to receive him, on whom as a gift he is bestowed; as in the testimonies before mentioned. And in receiving, two things are implied:-- 1. That we contribute nothing thereunto which should take off from the thing received as a gift. Receiving answers giving, and that implies freedom in the giver. 2. That it is their privilege and advantage; for what a man receives, he doth it for his own good. First, then, we have him freely as a gift of God; for to receive him in general is to be made partaker of him, as unto those ends for which he is given of God. Be those ends what they will, in respect of them they are said to receive him who are made partakers of him. Two things may be pleaded to take off the freedom of this gift and of our reception, and to cast it on something necessary and required on our part; for, -- (1.) Our Saviour tells us "that the world cannot receive him, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him," John xiv. 17. Now, if the "world" cannot receive him, there is required an ability and preparation in them that do so, that are "not of the world;" and so the gift and communication of the Spirit depends on that qualification in us. But all men are naturally alike the world and of it. No one man by nature hath more ability or strength in spiritual things than another; for all are equally "dead in trespasses and sins," all equally "children of wrath." It must, therefore, be inquired how some come to have this ability and power to receive the Spirit of God, which others have not. Now this, as I shall fully manifest afterward, is merely from the Holy Ghost himself and his grace, respect being had herein only unto the order of his operations in us, some being preparatory for and dispositive unto others, one being instituted as the means of obtaining another, the whole being the effect of the free gift of God; for we do not make ourselves to differ from others, nor have we any thing that we have not received, 1 Cor. iv. 7. Wherefore, the receiving of the Holy Ghost intended in that expression of our Saviour, with respect whereunto some are able to receive him, some are not, is not absolute, but with respect unto some certain work and end; and this, as is plain in the context, is the receiving of him as a comforter and a guide in spiritual truth. Hereunto faith in Christ Jesus, which also is an effect and fruit of the same Spirit, is antecedently required. In this sense, therefore, believers alone can receive him, and are enabled so to do by the grace which they have received from him in their first conversion unto God. But, (2.) It will be said that we are bound to pray for him before we receive him, and therefore the bestowing of him depends on a condition to be by us fulfilled; for the promise is, that "our heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him," Luke xi. 13. But this doth not prove the bestowing and receiving of him not to be absolutely free. Nay, it proves the contrary. It is gratia indebita, "undeserved grace," that is the proper object of prayer. And God, by these encouraging promises, doth not abridge the liberty of his own will, nor derogate from the freedom of his gifts and grace, but only directs us into the way whereby we may be made partakers of them, unto his glory and our own advantage. And this also belongs unto the order of the communication of the grace of the Spirit unto us. This very praying for the Spirit is a duty which we cannot perform without his assistance; for "no man can call Jesus Lord, but by the Holy Ghost," 1 Cor. xii. 3. He helps us, as a Spirit of grace and supplication, to pray for him as a Spirit of joy and consolation. 3. This is such a gift as in God proceeds from bounty; for God is said to give him unto us "richly," Tit. iii. 6. This will be spoken unto in the fourth way of his communication: only I say at present, the greatness of a gift, the free mind of the giver, and want of desert or merit in the receiver, are that which declare bounty to be the spring and fountain of it; and all these concur to the height in God's giving of the Holy Ghost. Again; On the part of them who receive this gift, privilege and advantage are intimated. They receive a gift, and that from God, and that a great and singular gift, from divine bounty. Some, indeed, receive him in a sort, as to some ends and purposes, without any advantage finally unto their own souls. So do they who "prophesy" and "cast out devils" by his power, in the name of Christ, and yet, continuing "workers of iniquity," are rejected at the last day, Matt. vii. 22, 23. Thus it is with all who receive his gifts only, without his grace to sanctify their persons and their gifts; and this whether they be ordinary or extraordinary: but this is only by accident. There is no gift of the Holy Ghost but is good in its own nature, tending to a good end, and is proper for the good and advantage of them by whom it is received. And although the direct end of some of them be not the spiritual good of them on whom they are bestowed, but the edification of others, -- for "the manifestation of the Spirit is given unto every man to profit withal," 1 Cor. xii. 7, -- yet there is that excellency and worth in them, and that use may be made of them, as to turn greatly to the advantage of them that receive them; for although they are not grace, yet they serve to stir up and give an edge unto grace, and to draw it out unto exercise, whereby it is strengthened and increased. And they have an influence into glory; for it is by the abilities which they give that some are made wise and effectual instruments for the "turning of many to righteousness," who "shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and as the stars for ever and ever," Dan. xii. 3. But the unbelief, ingratitude, and lusts of men can spoil these, and any other good things whatever. And these things will afterward in particular fall under our consideration. In general, to be made partaker of the Holy Ghost is an inestimable privilege and advantage, and as such is proposed by our Saviour, John xiv. 17. Secondly, God is said to send him: Ps. civ. 30, "Thou sendest forth thy Spirit;" John xiv. 26, "The Father will send the Holy Ghost in my name." This is also spoken of the Son: "I will send unto you the Comforter from the Father," chap. xv. 26, xvi. 7. And in the accomplishment of that promise, it is said he "shed him forth," Acts ii. 33; Gal. iv. 6, "God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts;" and in other places the same expression is used. Now, this, upon the matter, is the same with the former, of giving him, arguing the same authority, the same freedom, the same bounty. Only, the word naturally includes in its signification a respect unto a local motion. He which is sent removeth from the place where he was, from whence he is sent, unto a place where he was not, whither he was sent. Now, this cannot properly be spoken of the Holy Ghost; for he being God by nature is naturally omnipresent, and an omnipresence is inconsistent with a local mutation. So the Psalmist expressly: Ps. cxxxix. 7, 8, "Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven," etc. There must, therefore, a metaphor be allowed in this expression, but such a one as the Scripture, by the frequent use of it, hath rendered familiar unto us. Thus God is said to "come out of his place," to "bow the heavens and come down;" to "come down and see what is done in the earth," Isa. xxvi. 21; Ps. cxliv. 5; Gen. xviii. 21. That these things are not spoken properly of God, who is immense, all men acknowledge. But when God begins to work in any place, in any kind, where before he did not do so, he is said to come thither; for so must we do, -- we must come to a place before we can work in it. Thus, the sending of the Holy Ghost includeth two things as added unto his being given:-- 1. That he was not before in or with that person, or amongst those persons, for that especial work and end which he is sent for. He may be in them and with them in one respect, and be afterward said to be sent unto them in another. So our Lord Jesus Christ promiseth to send the Holy Ghost unto his disciples as a comforter, whom they had received before as a sanctifier. "I will," saith he, "send him unto you; and ye know him, for he dwelleth with you," John xiv. 17, xvi. 7. He did so as a sanctifier before he came unto them as a comforter. But in every coming of his, he is sent for one especial work or another; and this sufficiently manifests that in his gifts and graces he is not common unto all. A supposition thereof would leave no place for this especial act of sending him, which is done by choice and distinction of the object. Much less is he a light which is always in all men, and which all men may be in if they please; for this neither is nor can be absent in any sense from anyone at any time. 2. It denotes an especial work there or on them, where and on whom there was none before of that kind. For this cause is he said to be sent of the Father. [44] No local motion, then, is intended in this expression, only there is an allusion thereunto; for as a creature cannot produce any effects where it is not, until it either be sent thither or go thither of its own accord, so the Holy Ghost produceth not the blessed effects of his power and grace but in and towards them unto whom he is given and sent by the Father. How, in answer hereunto, he is said himself to come, shall be afterward declared. And it is the person of the Spirit which is said to be thus sent; for this belongs unto that holy dispensation of the several persons of the Trinity in the work of our salvation. And herein the Spirit, in all his operations, is considered as sent of the Father, for the reasons before often intimated. Thirdly, God is said to minister the Spirit: Gal. iii. 5, "He that ministereth to you the Spirit." Ho oun epichoregion humin to Pneuma; -- "He that giveth you continual or abundant supplies of the Spirit." Choregeo is "to give a sufficiency of any thing;" and choregia and choregema are dimensum, "a sufficiency of provision." An addition thereunto is epichoregia, whereby the communication of the Spirit is expressed: Phil. i. 19," For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayers," kai epichoregias tou Pneumatos Iesou Christou, "and the additional supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ." That Spirit and its assistance he had before received, but he yet stood in need of a daily farther supply. So is the word used constantly for the adding of one thing to another, or one degree of the same thing unto another: 2 Pet. i. 5, Epichoregesate en te pistei humon ten areten; -- "Add to your faith virtue;" or, "In your faith make an increase of virtue." When, therefore, God is thus said to "minister the Spirit," it is his continual giving out of additional supplies of his grace by his Spirit which is intended; for the Holy Spirit is a voluntary agent, and distributes unto everyone as he will. When, therefore, he is given and sent unto any, his operations are limited by his own will and the will of him that sends him; and therefore do we stand in need of supplies of him and from him; which are the principal subject-matter of our prayers in this world. Fourthly, God is said to put his Spirit in or upon men; and this also belongeth unto the manner of his dispensation: Isa. xlii. 1, "Behold my servant, whom I uphold; I have put my Spirit upon him." The word there, indeed, is nchty?, "I have given my Spirit upon him;" but because lyv?, "upon him," is joined to it, it is by ours rendered by "put." As also Ezek. xxxvii. 14, where vkm?, "in you," is added; -- "Put my Spirit in you." The same is plainly intended with that, Isa. lxiii. 11, hsm bqrbv 'trvch qdsv? -- "That put his Holy Spirit in the midst of them." Hence, ntty?, "I have given," or "I will give," Isa. xlii. 1, is rendered by theso, Matt. xii. 18: Theso to Pneuma mou ep' auton, -- "I will put my Spirit upon him." The word nchn?, then, used in this sense, doth not denote the granting or donation of any thing, but its actual bestowing, as svm? doth. And it is the effectual acting of God in this matter that is intended. He doth not only give and send his Spirit unto them to whom he designs so great a benefit and privilege, but he actually collates and bestows him upon them. [45] He doth not send him unto them, and leave it in their wills and power whether they will receive him or no, but he so effectually collates and puts him in them or upon them as that they shall be actually made partakers of him. He efficaciously endows their hearts and minds with him, for the work and end which he is designed unto. So Exod. xxxi. 6, "I have put wisdom," is as much as, "I have filled them with wisdom," verse 2. So, then, where God intendeth unto any the benefit of his Spirit, he will actually and effectually collate him upon them. He doth not, indeed, always do this in the same manner. Sometimes he doth it, as it were, by a surprisal, when those who receive him are neither aware of it nor do desire it. So the Spirit of the Lord, as a Spirit of prophecy, came upon Saul, when his mind was remote and estranged from any such thoughts. In like manner, the Spirit of God came upon Eldad and Medad in the camp, when the other elders went forth unto the tabernacle to receive him, Num. xi. 27. And so the Spirit of prophecy came upon most of the prophets of old, without either expectation or preparation on their parts. So Amos giveth an account of his call unto his office, chap. vii. 14, 15. "I was," saith he, "no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit: and the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said unto me, Go, prophesy." He was not brought up with any expectation of receiving this gift, he had no preparation for it; but God surprised him with his call and gift as he followed the flock. Such, also, was the call of Jeremiah, chap. i. 5-7. So vain is the discourse of Maimonides on this subject, prescribing various natural and moral preparations for the receiving of this gift. But these things were extraordinary. Yet I no way doubt but that God doth yet continue to work grace in many by such unexpected surprisals; the manner whereof shall be afterward inquired into. But sometimes, as to some gifts and graces, God doth bestow his Spirit where there is some preparation and cooperation on our part; but wherever he designs to put or place him, he doth it effectually. Fifthly, God is said to pour him out, and that frequently: Prov. i. 23, hnh 'byh lkm rvchy?, -- "Behold, I will pour out my Spirit unto you." nv? signifies "ebullire more scaturiginis," -- "to bubble up as a fountain." [46] Hence, the words are rendered by Theodotion, Anabluso humin Pneuma mou, -- "Scaturire faciam," -- "I will cause my Spirit to spring out unto you as a fountain." And it is frequently applied unto speaking, when it signifies "eloqui aut proferre verba more scaturiginis." See Ps. lxxviii. 2, cxlv. 7. And bh?, also, which some take to be the root of, 'byh?, Prov. i. 23, hath the same signification. And the word hath a double lively metaphor: for the proceeding of the Spirit from the Father is compared to the continual rising of the waters of a living spring; and his communication unto us to the overflowing of those waters, yet guided by the will and wisdom of God: Isa. xxxii. 15, "Until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field," -- ryrh lynv rvch mmrvm?. rh? is, indeed, sometimes "to pour out," but more properly and more commonly "to uncover," "to make bare," "to reveal;" -- "Until the Spirit be revealed from on high." There shall be such a plentiful communication of the Spirit as that he and his work shall be made open, revealed, and plain; or, the Spirit shall be bared, as God is said to make his arm bare when he will work mightily and effectually, chap. lii. 10. Chap. xliv. 3, "I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring." ytsq?, the word here, is so to pour a thing out as that it cleaveth unto and abideth on that which it is poured out upon; as the Spirit of God abides with them unto whom he is communicated. Ezek. xxxix. 29, "I have poured out my Spirit upon the house of Israel," -- sphkty?, another word: this is properly to pour out, and that in a plentiful manner, [and is] the same word that is used in that great promise, Joel ii. 28, which is rendered, Acts ii. 17, by ekcheo, "effundam," -- "I will pour out my Spirit;" and the same thing is again expressed by the same word, chap. x. 45, "On the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost." Let us, then, briefly consider the importance of this expression. And one or two things may be observed concerning it in general; as, -- 1. Wherever it is used, it hath direct respect unto the times of the gospel. Either it is a part of the promises concerning it, or of the story of their accomplishment under it. But wherever it is mentioned, the time, state, and grace of the gospel are intended in it: for the Lord Christ was "in all things to have the pre-eminence," Col. i. 18; and, therefore, although God gave his Spirit in some measure before, yet he poured him not out until he was first anointed with his fullness. 2. There is a tacit comparison in it with some other time and season, or some other act of God, wherein or whereby God gave his Spirit before, but not in the way and manner that he intended now to bestow him. A larger measure of the Spirit to be now given than was before, or is signified by any other expressions of the same gift, is intended in this word. Three things are therefore comprised in this expression:-- 1. An eminent act of divine bounty. Pouring forth is the way whereby bounty from an all-sufficing fullness is expressed; as "The clouds, filled with a moist vapour, pour down rain," Job xxxvi. 27, until "it water the ridges of the earth abundantly, settling the furrows thereof, and making it soft with showers," as Ps. lxv. 10; which, with the things following in that place, verses 11-13, are spoken allegorically of this pouring out of the Spirit of God from above. Hence, God is said to do this richly: Tit. iii. 6, "The renewing of the Holy Ghost," hou execheen eph' hemas plousios, "which he hath poured on us richly," -- that is, on all believers who are converted unto God; -- for the apostle discourseth not of the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost, which were then given forth in a plentiful manner, but of that grace of the Holy Ghost whereby all that believe are regenerated, renewed, and converted unto God; for so were men converted of old by a rich participation of the Holy Ghost, and so they must be still, whatever some pretend, or die in their sins. And by the same word is the bounty of God in other things expressed: "The living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy," 1 Tim. vi. 17. 2. This pouring out hath respect unto the gifts and graces of the Spirit, and not unto his person: for where he is given, he is given absolutely, and as to himself not more or less; but his gifts and graces may be more plentifully and abundantly given at one time than at another, to some persons than to others. Wherefore this expression is metonymical, that being spoken of the cause which is proper to the effect; the Spirit being said to be poured forth, because his graces are so. 3. Respect is had herein unto some especial works of the Spirit. Such are the purifying or sanctifying, and the comforting or refreshing [of] them on whom he is poured. With respect unto the first of these effects, he is compared both unto fire and water; for both fire and water have purifying qualities in them, though towards different objects, and working in a different manner. So, by fire are metals purified and purged from their dross and mixtures; and by water are all other unclean and defiled things cleansed and purified. Hence, the Lord Jesus Christ, in his work by his Spirit, is at once compared unto a "refiner's fire" and to "fullers' soap," Mal. iii. 2, 3, because of the purging, purifying qualities that are in fire and water. And the Holy Ghost is expressly called a "Spirit of burning," Isa. iv. 4; for by him are the vessels of the house of God that are of gold and silver refined and purged, as those that are but of wood and stone are consumed. And when it is said of our Lord Jesus that he should "baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire," Luke iii. 16, it is but hen dia duoin, the same thing doubly expressed; and, therefore, mention is made only of the "Holy Ghost," John i. 33. But the Holy Ghost was, in his dispensation, to purify and cleanse them as fire doth gold and silver. And on the same account is he compared to water, Ezek. xxxvi. 25, "I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean;" which is expounded, verse 26, by "A new spirit will I put within you;" which God calls his Spirit, verse 27. So our Saviour calls him "rivers of water," John vii. 38, 39: see Isa. xliv. 3. And it is with regard unto his purifying, cleansing, and sanctifying our natures that he is thus called. With respect, therefore, in an especial manner, hereunto is he said to be poured out. So our apostle expressly declares, Tit. iii. 4-6. Again, it respects his comforting and refreshing them on whom he is poured. Hence is he said to be poured down from above as rain that descends on the earth: Isa. xliv. 3, "I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground," -- that is, "I will pour my Spirit on thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring; and they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses," verse 4; see chap. xxxv. 6, 7. He comes upon the dry, parched, barren ground of the hearts of men, with his refreshing, fructifying virtue and blessing, causing them to spring and bring forth fruits in holiness and righteousness to God, Heb. vi. 7. And in respect unto his communication of his Spirit is the Lord Christ said to "come down like rain upon the mown grass, as showers that water the earth," Ps. lxxii. 6. The good Lord give us always of these waters and refreshing showers! And these are the ways, in general, whereby the dispensation of the Spirit from God, for what end or purpose soever it be, is expressed. II. We come nextly to consider what is ascribed unto the Spirit himself in a way of compliance with these acts of God whereby he is given and administered. Now, these are such things or actions as manifest him to be a voluntary agent, and that not only as to what he acts or doth in men, but also as to the manner of his coming forth from God, and his application of himself unto his work. And these we must consider as they are declared unto us in the Scripture. The first and most general expression hereof is, that he proceedeth from the Father; and being the Spirit of the Son, he proceedeth from him also in like manner: John xv. 26, "The Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me." There is a twofold ekporeusis or "procession" of the Holy Ghost. The one is phusike or hupostatike, "natural" or "personal." This expresseth his eternal relation to the persons of the Father and the Son. He is of them by an eternal emanation or procession. [47] The manner hereof unto us, in this life, is incomprehensible; therefore it is rejected by some, who will believe no more than they can put their hands into the sides of. And yet are they forced, in things under their eyes, to admit of many things which they cannot perfectly comprehend! But we live by faith, and not by sight. [48] This is enough unto us, that we admit nothing in this great mystery but what is revealed. And nothing is revealed unto us that is inconsistent with the being and subsistence of God; for this procession or emanation includes no separation or division in or of the divine nature, but only expresseth a distinction in subsistence, by a property peculiar to the Holy Spirit. But this is not that which at present I intend. The consideration of it belongeth unto the doctrine of the Trinity in general, and hath been handled elsewhere. Secondly, There is an ekporeusis or "procession" of the Spirit, which is oikonomike or "dispensatory." This is the egress of the Spirit in his application of himself unto his work. A voluntary act it is of his will, and not a necessary property of his person. And he is said thus to proceed from the Father, because he goeth forth or proceedeth in the pursuit of the counsels and purposes of the Father, and, as sent by him, to put them into execution, or to make them effectual. And in like manner he proceedeth from the Son, sent by him for the application of his grace unto the souls of his elect, John xv. 26. It is true, this proves his eternal relation to the Father and the Son, as he proceeds from them, or receives his peculiar personal subsistence from them, for that is the ground of this order of operation; but it is his own personal voluntary acting that is intended in the expression. And this is the general notation of the original of the Spirit's acting in all that he doth:-- He proceedeth or cometh forth from the Father. Had it been only said that he was given and sent, it could not have been known that there was any thing of his own will in what he did, whereas he is said to "divide unto every man as he will;" but in that ekporeuetai, he proceedeth of his own accord unto his work, his own will and condescension are also asserted. And this his proceeding from the Father is in compliance with his sending of him to accomplish and make effectual the purposes of his will and the counsels of his grace. Secondly, To the same purpose he is said to come : John xv. 26, "When the Comforter is come." John xvi. 7, "If I go not away, the Comforter will not come." Verse 8, "And when he is come." So is he said to come upon persons. We so express it, 1 Chron. xii. 18, "The Spirit came upon Amasai," -- vrvch lvsh 'tmsy?. "And the Spirit clothed Amasai," possessed his mind as a man's clothes cleave unto him. Acts xix. 6, "The Holy Ghost came on them, and they prophesied," elthe. Erchomai, "to come," is, as it were, the terminus ad quem of ekporeuomai, "going forth" or "proceeding;" for there is in these expressions an allusion unto a local motion, whereof these two words denote the beginning and the end. The first intendeth his voluntary application of himself to his work, the other his progress in it; such condescensions doth God make use of in the declaration of his divine actings, to accommodate them unto our understandings, and to give us some kind of apprehension of them. He proceedeth from the Father, as given by him; and cometh unto us, as sent by him. The meaning of both is, that the Holy Ghost, by his own will and consent, worketh, in the pursuit of the will of the Father, there and that, where and what, he did not work before. [49] And as there is no local motion to be thought of in these things, so they can in no tolerable sense be reconciled to the imagination of his being only the inherent virtue or an actual emanation and influence of the power of God. And hereby are our faith and obedience regulated in our dealing with God about him: for we may both pray the Father that he would give and send him unto us, according to his promise; and we may pray to him to come unto us to sanctify and comfort us, according to the work and office that he hath undertaken. This is that which we are taught hereby; for these revelations of God are for our instruction in the obedience of faith. Thirdly, He is said to fall on men: Acts x. 44, "While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word." So chap. xi. 15, where Peter, repeating the same matter, says, "The Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning," -- that is, Acts ii. 4. A greatness and suddenness in a surprisal is intended in this word; as, when the fire fell down from heaven (which was a type of him) upon the altar and sacrifice of Elijah, the people that saw it were amazed, and falling on their faces, cried out, "The Lord he is the God!" 1 Kings xviii. 38, 39. When men are no way in expectation of such a gift, or when they have an expectation in general, but are suddenly surprised as to the particular season, it is thus declared. But wherever this word is used, some extraordinary effects evidencing his presence and power do immediately ensue, Acts x. 44-46; and so it was at the beginning of his effusion under the New Testament, chap. ii. 4, viii. 16. Fourthly, Being come, he is said to rest on the persons to whom he is given and sent: Isa. xi. 2, "And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him." This is interpreted by "abiding" and "remaining," John i. 32, 33. Num. xi. 25, 26, "The Spirit of the Lord rested upon the elders." So the "spirit of Elijah rested on Elisha," 2 Kings ii. 15. 1 Pet. iv. 14, "The Spirit of glory and of God resteth on you." Two things are included herein:-- 1. Complacency; 2. Permanency. First, He is well pleased in his work wherein he rests. So where God is said to "rest in his love," he doth it with "joy" and "singing," Zeph. iii. 17. So doth the Spirit rejoice where he rests. Secondly, He abides where he rests. Under this notion is this acting of the Spirit promised by our Saviour: "He shall abide with you for ever," John xiv. 16. He came only on some men by a sudden surprisal, to act in them and by them some peculiar work and duty; to this end he only transiently affected their minds with his power; -- but where he is said to rest, as in the works of sanctification and consolation, there he abides and continues with complacency and delight. Fifthly, He is said to depart from some persons. So it is said of Saul, 1 Sam. xvi. 14, "The Spirit of the Lord departed from him." And David prays that God would not "take his Holy Spirit from him," Ps. li. 11. And this is to be understood answerably unto what we have discoursed before about his coming and his being sent. As he is said to come, so is he said to depart; and as he is said to be sent, so is he said to be taken away. His departure from men, therefore, is his ceasing to work in them and on them as formerly; and as far as this is penal, he is said to be taken away. So he departed and was taken away from Saul, when he no more helped him with that ability for kingly government which before he had by his assistance. And this departure of the Holy Ghost from any is either total or partial only. Some on whom he hath been bestowed, for the working of sundry gifts for the good of others, with manifold convictions, by light and general assistance unto the performance of duties, he utterly deserts, and gives them up unto themselves and their own hearts' lusts. Examples hereof are common in the world. Men who have been made partakers of many "gifts of the Holy Ghost," and been in an especial manner enlightened, and, under the power of their convictions, carried out unto the profession of the gospel and the performance of many duties of religion, yet, being entangled by temptations, and overcome by the power of their lusts, relinquish all their beginnings and engagements, and turn wholly unto sin and folly. From such persons the Holy Ghost utterly departs, all their gifts dry up and wither, their light goeth out, and they have darkness instead of a vision. The case of such is deplorable; for "it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them," 2 Pet. ii. 21. And some of these add despite and contempt of that whole work of the Spirit of God, whereof themselves were made partakers, unto their apostasy. And the condition of such profligate sinners is, for the most part, irrecoverable, Heb. vi. 4-6, x. 26-30. From some he withdraweth and departeth partially only, and that mostly but for a season; and this departure respects the grace, light, and consolation which he administers unto believers, as to the degrees of them, and the sense of them in their own souls. On whom he is bestowed to work these things in a saving way, from them he never utterly or totally departs. This our blessed Saviour plainly promiseth and asserteth: John iv. 14, "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." That this well of "living water" is his sanctifying Spirit himself declares, chap. vii. 37-39. He who hath received him shall never have a thirst of total want and indigence anymore. Besides, he is given unto this end by virtue of the covenant of grace; and the promise is express therein that he shall "never depart from them" to whom he is given, Isa. lix. 21; Jer. xxxi. 33, xxxii. 39, 40; Ezek. xi. 19, 20. But now, as to the degrees and sensible effects of these operations, he may depart and withdraw from believers for a season. Hence they may be left unto many spiritual decays and much weakness, the things of grace that remain in them being as it were "ready to die," Rev. iii. 2; and they may apprehend themselves deserted and forsaken of God, -- so did Zion, Isa. xl. 27, xlix. 14: for therein doth God "hide himself," or "forsake his people for a small moment," chap. liv. 7, 8. He "hideth himself, and is wroth," chap. lvii. 17. These are the things which David so often and so bitterly complaineth of, and which with so much earnestness he contendeth and wrestleth with God to be delivered from. These are those spiritual desertions which some of late have laden with reproach, contempt, and scorn. All the apprehensions and complaints of the people of God about them, they would represent as nothing but the idle imaginations of distempered brains, or the effects of some disorder in their blood and animal spirits. I could, indeed, easily allow that men should despise and laugh at what is declared as the experience of professors at present, -- their prejudice against their persons will not allow them to entertain any thoughts of them but what are suited unto folly and hypocrisy; -- but at this I acknowledge I stand amazed, that whereas these things are so plainly, so fully, and frequently declared in the Scriptures, both as to the actings of God and his Holy Spirit in them, and as to the sense of those concerned about them; whereas the whole of God's dealings, and believers' application of themselves to him in this matter, are so graphically exemplified in sundry of the holy saints of old, as Job, David, Heman, and others; and great and plentiful provision is made in the Scripture for the direction, recovery, healing, and consolation of souls in such a condition; yet men professing themselves to be Christians, and to believe the word of God at least not to be a fable, should dare to cast such opprobrious reproaches on the ways and works of God. The end of these attempts can be no other but to decry all real intercourse between God and the souls of men, leaving only an outside form or shape of religion, not one jot better than atheism. Neither is it only what concerns spiritual desertions, whose nature, causes, and remedies, are professedly and at large handled by all the casuistical divines, even of the Roman church, but the whole work of the Spirit of God upon the hearts of men, with all the effects produced in them with respect unto sin and grace, that some men, by their odious and scurrilous expressions, endeavour to expose to contempt and scorn, S. P., [50] pp. 339-342. Whatever trouble befalls the minds of men upon the account of a sense of the guilt of sin; whatever darkness and disconsolation they may undergo through the displeasure of God, and his withdrawing of the wonted influences of his grace, love, and favour towards them; whatever peace, comfort, or joy, they may be made partakers of, by a sense of the love of God shed abroad in their hearts by the Holy Ghost, -- it is all ascribed, in most opprobrious language, unto melancholy reeks and vapours, whereof a certain and mechanical account may be given by them who understand the anatomy of the brain. To such a height of profane atheism is the daring pride and ignorance of some in our days arrived! There remaineth yet one general adjunct of the dispensation and work of the Holy Ghost, which gives a farther description of the manner of it, which I have left unto a single consideration. This is that which is mentioned, Heb. ii. 4, "God bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles," kai Pneumatos Hagiou merismois, "and gifts," say we, "of the Holy Ghost." But merismoi are "distributions" or "partitions;" and hence advantage is taken by some to argue against his very being. So Crellius contends that the Holy Ghost here is taken passively, or that the expression Pneumatos Hagiou is genetivus materiæ. Wherefore, he supposes that it followeth that the Holy Ghost himself may be divided into parts, so that one may have one part and parcel of him, and another may have another part. How inconsistent this is with the truth of his being and personality is apparent. But yet neither can he give any tolerable account of the division and partition of that power of God which he calls the "Holy Ghost," unless he will make the Holy Spirit to be a quality in us and not in the divine nature, as Justin Martyr affirms Plato to have done, and so to be divided. [51] And the interpretation he useth of the words is wrested, perverse, and foolish; for the contexture of them requires that the Holy Ghost be here taken actively, as the author of the distribution mentioned. He gives out of his gifts and powers unto men in many parts, not all to one, not all at once, not all in one way; but some to one, some to another, some at one time, some at another, and that in great variety. The apostle, therefore, in this place declares that the Holy Spirit gave out various gifts unto the first preachers of the gospel, for the confirmation of their doctrine, according to the promise of our Saviour, John xv. 26, 27. Of these he mentions in particular, first, Semeia, "signs;" that is, miraculous works, wrought to signify the presence of God by his power with them that wrought them, so giving out his approbation of the doctrine which they taught. Secondly, Terata, "prodigies" or "wonders," works beyond the power of nature or energy of natural causes, wrought to fill men with wonder and admiration, manifesting to theion, and surprising men with a sense of the presence of God. Thirdly, Dunameis, "mighty works" of several sorts, such as opening of the eyes of the blind, raising the dead, and the like. These being mentioned, there is added in general merismoi Pneumatos Hagiou, that is, mtnvt hrvch chqdvs?, "gifts of the Holy Ghost;" for these and other like things did the Holy Ghost work and effect to the end mentioned. And these distributions are from him as the signs and wonders were, -- that is, effects of his power: only there is added an intimation how they are all wrought by him; which is, by giving them a power for their operation, variously dividing them amongst those on whom they were bestowed, and that, as it is added, kata ten hautou thelesin, "according unto his own will." And this place is so directly and fully expounded, 1 Cor. xii. 7-11, that there is no room of exception left unto the most obstinate; and that place having been opened before, in the entrance of this discourse, I shall not here call it over again. These merismoi, therefore, are his gifts; which, as parts and parcels of his work, he giveth out in great variety. [52] To the same purpose are his operations described, Isa. xi. 2, 3, "The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord." He is first called "The Spirit of the Lord," to express his being and nature; and then he is termed "The Spirit of wisdom and of counsel," etc., -- that is, he who is the author of wisdom and counsel, and the rest of the graces mentioned, who divides and distributes them according to his own will. That variety of gifts and graces wherewith believers are endowed and adorned are these merismoi, or "distributions," of the Holy Spirit. Hence, the principal respect that we have unto him immediately, in our worship of him under the New Testament, is as he is the author of these various gifts and graces. So John, saluting the churches of Asia, prayeth for grace for them from God the Father, and from "the seven Spirits which are before his throne," Rev. i. 4; that is, from the Holy Spirit of God considered in his care of the church and his yielding supplies unto it, as the author of that perfection of gifts and graces which are, and are to be, bestowed upon it. So doth the number of "seven" denote. And, therefore, whereas our Lord Jesus Christ, as the foundation of his church, was anointed with all the gifts and graces of the Spirit in their perfection, it is said that upon that one stone should be "seven eyes," Zech. iii. 9, -- all the gifts of the seven Spirits of God, or of that Holy Spirit which is the author of them all. All, therefore, that is pleaded for the division of the Holy Ghost from this place is built on the supposition that we have before rejected, -- namely, that he is not a divine person, but an arbitrary emanation of divine power. And yet neither so can the division of the Holy Ghost pleaded for be with any tolerable sense maintained. Crellius says, indeed, "That all divine inspirations may be considered as one whole, as many waters make up one sea. In this respect the Holy Ghost is one, -- that is, one universal made up of many species;" This is totum logicum. And so he may be divided into his subordinate species! But what ground or colour is there for any such notions in the Scripture? Where is it said that all the gifts of the Holy Ghost do constitute or make up one Holy Ghost? or the Holy Ghost is one in general, because many effects are ascribed unto him? or that the several gifts of the Spirit are so many distinct kinds of it? The contrary unto all these is expressly taught, -- namely, that the one Holy Spirit worketh all these things as he pleaseth; so that they are all of them external acts of his will and power. And it is to as little purpose pleaded by the same author, "That he is divided as a natural whole into its parts, because there is mention of a measure and portion of him: so God is said not to give him to Jesus Christ by measure,' John iii. 34; and to every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ,' Eph. iv. 7;" -- as though one measure of him were granted unto one, and another measure to another! But this "measure" is plainly of his gifts and graces. These were bestowed on the Lord Christ in all their fullness, without any limitation, either as to kinds or degrees; they were poured into him according unto the utmost extent and capacity of human nature, and that under an inconceivable advancement by its union unto the Son of God. Others receive his gifts and graces in a limited proportion, both as to their kinds and degrees. To turn this into a division of the Spirit himself is the greatest madness. And casting aside prejudices, there is no difficulty in the understanding of that saying of God to Moses, Num. xi. 17, "I will take of the Spirit which is upon thee, and I will put it upon the elders;" for it is evidently of the gifts of the Spirit, enabling men for rule and government, that God speaketh, and not of the Spirit himself. Without any diminution of that Spirit in him, -- that is, of the gifts that he had received, -- God gave unto them, as lighting their candle by his. And so, also, the "double portion of the spirit of Elijah," which Elisha requested for himself, was only a large and peculiar measure of prophetical light, above what other prophets which he left behind him had received, 2 Kings ii. 9. He asked pysnym?, "os duorum" or "duplex;" to diploun meros. Or ta dipla This expression is first used, Deut. xxi. 17, where the double portion of the first-born is intended; so that probably it was such a portion among the other prophets as the first-born had among the brethren of the same family which he desired: and so it came to pass; whence, also, he had the rule and government of them. __________________________________________________________________ [43] Apostelletai men to pneuma to hagion oikonomikos, energei de autexousios. -- Basil. Hom. xv. de Fide. [44] "Etenim si de loco procedit Spiritus et ad locum transit, et ipse Pater in loco invenietur et Filius: si de loco exit quem Pater mittit aut Filius, utique de loco transiens Spiritus et progediens, et Patrem sicut corpus secundum impias interpretationes relinquere videtur et Filium. Hoc secundum eos loquor qui dicunt quod habeat Spiritus descensorium motum ... Venit non de loco in locum, sed de dispositione constitutionis in salutem redemptionis." -- Ambros. de Spir. Sanc. lib. i. cap. 11. [45] "Quid igitur Spiritus Sancti operatione divinius, cum etiam benedictionum suarum præsulem Spiritum Deus ipse testetur, dicens, Ponam Spiritum meum super semen tuum, et benedictiones meas super filios tuos. Nulla enim potest esse plena benedictio nisi per infusionem Spiritus Sancti." -- Ambros. de Spir. Sanc. lib. i. cap. 7. [46] "Significat autem effusionis verbum largam et divitem muneris abundantiam; itaque cum unus quis alicubi aut duo Spiritum Sanctum accipiant non dicitur, Effundam de Spiritu meo,' sed tunc quando in universas gentes munus Spiritus Sancti redundaverit." -- Didym. de Spir. Sanc. lib. i. [47] "Spiritus Sanctus qui a Patre et Filio procedit, nec ipse coepit; quia processio ejus continua est, et ab eo qui non coepit." -- Ambros. in Symbol. Apostol., cap. 3."Spiritus quidem Sanctus nec ingenitus est nec genitus alicubi dicitur, ne si ingenitus diceretur sicut Pater, duo Patres in Sancta Trinitate intelligerentur; aut si genitus diceretur sicut Filius, duo itidem Filii in eadem estimarentur esse Sancta Trinitate: sed tantummodo procedere de Patre et Filio salva fide dicendum est. Qui tamen non de Patre procedit in Filium, et de Filio procedit ad sanctificandam creaturam, sicut quidam male intelligentes credendum esse putabant, sed simul de utroque procedit. Quia Pater talem genuit Filium, ut quemadmodum de se, ita et de illo quoque procedat Spiritus Sanctus." -- Aug. Serm. xxxviii. de Tempore. [48] Ou gar epeidan pampan akatalepton to Theion dia touto pou pantos medolos zetein peri autou proseken, all' en rastone ton tou biou katanaliskein chronon; kata de to metron to merithen ekasto para tou kuriou, tes gnoseos ten exetasin philoponos poieisthai; hoti men akatalepton akribos pepeismenous; eph' hoson de choroumen dia tes theorias, heautous ekeino sunaptontas. -- Justin. Martyr. Expositio Fidei de rectâ Confess. [49] "Nullus sine Deo, neque ullus non in Deo locus est. In coelis est, in inferno est, ultra maria est. Inest interior, excedit exterior. Itaque cum habet atque habetur, neque in aliquo ipse, neque non in omnibus est." -- Hilar. lib. i. de Trinitat. [50] These initials refer to Samuel Parker, in whose "Defence and Continuation of the Ecclesiastical Polity," 1671, the sentiments to which Owen objects will be found. For an account of Parker, see vol. xiii., p. 344 of Owen's works. -- Ed. [51] Tauta, oimai, saphos para ton propheton peri tou hagiou pneumatos memathekos Platon eis to tes aretes onoma metapheron phainetai. Homoios gar hosper hoi hieroi prophetai to hen kai to auto pneuma eis hepta pneumata merizesthai phasin, houto kai autos mian kai ten auten onomazon areten, tauten eis tessaras aretas merizesthai legei. -- Justin. Martyr. ad Græc. Cohortat., [cap. xxxii.]Aliter statuit Cyprianus seu quisquis fuit author lib. de Spir. Sanc. inter opera Cypriani. "Hic est Spiritus Sanctus quem Magi in Ægypto tertii signi ostensione convicti, cum sua defecisse præstigia faterentur, Dei digitum appellabant, et antiquis philosophis ejus intimarunt præsentiam defuisse. Et licet de Patre et Filio aliqua sensissent Platonici, Spiritus tamen tumidus et humani appetitor favoris santificationem mentis divinæ mereri non potuit, et ubi ad profunditatem sacramentorum deventum est, omnis eorum caligavit subtilitas, nec potuit infidelitas sanctitudini propinquare" -- Cypr. de Spir. Sanc. [52] Ton tou hagiou; pneumatos axioumenon esti diaphora, pleion e elatton lambanonton toi hagiou pneumatos ton pisteuonton. -- Origen. Comment. in Matthæum. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Book II. __________________________________________________________________ Chapter I. Peculiar operations of the Holy Spirit under the Old Testament preparatory for the New. The work of the Spirit of God in the new creation; by some despised -- Works under the Old Testament preparatory to the new creation -- Distribution of the works of the Spirit -- The gift of prophecy; the nature, use, and end of it -- The beginning of prophecy -- The Holy Spirit the only author of it -- The name of a "prophet;" its signification, and his work -- Prophecy by inspiration; whence so called -- Prophets, how acted by the Holy Ghost -- The adjuncts of prophecy, or distinct ways of its communication -- Of articulate voices -- Dreams -- Visions -- Accidental adjuncts of prophecy -- Symbolical actions -- Local mutations -- Whether unsanctified persons might have the gift of prophecy -- The case of Balaam answered -- Of writing the Scriptures -- Three things required thereunto -- Of miracles -- Works of the Spirit of God in the improvement of the natural faculties of the minds of men in things political -- In things moral -- In things corporeal -- In things intellectual and artificial -- In preaching of the word. Having passed through these general things, which are of a necessary previous consideration unto the especial works of the Holy Ghost, I now proceed unto that which is the principal subject of our present design; and this is, the dispensation and work of the Holy Spirit of God with respect unto the new creation, and the recovery of mankind or the church of God thereby. A matter this is of the highest importance unto them that sincerely believe, but most violently, and of late virulently, opposed by all the enemies of the grace of God and our Lord Jesus Christ. The weight and concernment of the doctrine hereof have in part been spoken unto before. I shall at present add no farther considerations to the same purpose, but leave all that fear the name of God to make a judgment of it by what is revealed concerning it in the Scriptures, and the uses whereunto it is in them directed. Many, we know, will not receive these things; but whilst we keep ourselves, in the handling of them, unto that word whereby one day both we and they must either stand or fall, we need not be moved at their ignorance or pride, nor at the fruits and effects of them, in reproaches, contempt, and scorn: for echei Theos endikon omma. Now, the works of the Spirit, in reference unto the new creation, are of two sorts:-- First, Such as were preparatory unto it, under the Old Testament; for I reckon that the state of the old creation, as unto our living unto God, ended with the entrance of sin and giving the first promise. Whatever ensued thereon, in a way of grace, was preparatory for and unto the new. Secondly, Such as were actually wrought about it under the new. Those acts and workings of his which are common to both states of the church, -- as is his effectual dispensation of sanctifying grace towards the elect of God, -- I shall handle in common under the second head. Under the first, I shall only reckon up those that were peculiar unto that state. To make way hereunto I shall premise two general positions:-- 1. There is nothing excellent amongst men, whether it be absolutely extraordinary, and every way above the production of natural principles, or whether it consist in an eminent and peculiar improvement of those principles and abilities, but it is ascribed unto the Holy Spirit of God, as the immediate operator and efficient cause of it. This we shall afterward confirm by instances. Of old he was all; now, some would have him nothing. 2. Whatever the Holy Spirit wrought in an eminent manner under the Old Testament, it had generally and for the most part, if not absolutely and always, a respect unto our Lord Jesus Christ and the gospel; and so was preparatory unto the completing of the great work of the new creation in and by him. And these works of the Holy Spirit may be referred unto the two sorts mentioned, namely, -- 1. Such as were extraordinary, and exceeding the whole compass of the abilities of nature, however improved and advanced; and, 2. Those which consist in the improving and exaltation of those abilities, to answer the occasions of life and use of the church. Those of the first sort may be reduced unto three heads:-- 1. Prophecy. 2. Inditing of the Scripture. 3. Miracles. Those of the other sort we shall find:-- 1. In things political, as skill for government and rule amongst men. 2. In things moral, as fortitude and courage. 3. In things natural, as increase of bodily strength. 4. In gifts intellectual, -- (1.) For things sacred, as to preach the word of God; (2.) In things artificial, as in Bezaleel and Aholiab. The work of grace on the hearts of men being more fully revealed under the New Testament than before, and of the same kind and nature in every state of the church since the fall, I shall treat of it once for all in its most proper place. I. 1. The first eminent gift and work of the Holy Ghost under the Old Testament, and which had the most direct and immediate respect unto Jesus Christ, was that of prophecy: for the chief and principal end hereof in the church was to foresignify him, his sufferings, and the glory that should ensue, or to appoint such things to be observed in divine worship as might be types and representations of him; for the chiefest privilege of the church of old was but to hear tidings of the things which we enjoy, Isa. xxxiii. 17. As Moses on the top of Pisgah saw the land of Canaan, and in spirit, the beauties of holiness to be erected therein, which was his highest attainment; so the best of those saints was to contemplate the King of saints in the land that was yet very far from them, or Christ in the flesh. And this prospect, which by faith they obtained, was their chiefest joy and glory, John viii. 56; yet they all ended their days as Moses did, with respect unto the type of the gospel state, Deut. iii. 24, 25. So did they, Luke x. 23, 24; "God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect," Heb. xi. 40. That this was the principal end of the gift of prophecy Peter declares, 1 Epist. i. 9-12: "Receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you." Some of the ancients apprehended that some things were spoken obscurely by the prophets, and not to be understood without great search, especially such as concerned the rejection of the Jews, lest they should have been provoked to abolish the Scripture itself; [53] but the sum and substance of the prophetical work under the Old Testament, with the light, design, and ministry of the prophets themselves, are declared in those words. The work was, to give testimony unto the truth of God in the first promise, concerning the coming of the blessed Seed. This was God's method:-- First, he gave himself immediately that promise which was the foundation of the church, Gen. iii. 15; then by revelation unto the prophets he confirmed that promise; after all which the Lord Christ was sent to make them all good unto the church, Rom. xv. 8. Herewithal they received fresh revelations concerning his person and his sufferings, with the glory that was to ensue thereon, and the grace which was to come thereby unto the church. Whilst they were thus employed and acted by the Holy Ghost, or the Spirit of Christ, they diligently endeavoured to come to an acquaintance with the things themselves, in their nature and efficacy, which were revealed unto them; [54] yet so as considering that not themselves, but some succeeding generations, should enjoy them in their actual exhibition. And whilst they were intent on these things, they searched also, as far as intimation was given thereof by the Spirit, after the time wherein all these things should be accomplished; both when it should be, and what manner of time it should be, or what would be the state and condition of the people of God in those days. This was the principal end of the gift of prophecy, and this the principal work and employment of the prophets: The first promise was given by God in the person of the Son, as I have proved elsewhere, Gen. iii. 15; but the whole explication, confirmation, and declaration of it, was carried on by the gift of prophecy. The communication of this gift began betimes in the world, and continued, without any known interruption, in the possession of someone or more in the church at all times, during its preparatory or subservient estate. After the finishing of the canon of the Old Testament, it ceased in the Judaical church until it had a revival in John the Baptist; who was therefore greater than any prophet that went before, because he made the nearest approach unto and the clearest discovery of the Lord Jesus Christ, the end of all prophecies. Thus God "spake by the mouth of his holy prophets," ton ap' aionos, "which have been since the world began," Luke i. 70. Adam himself had many things revealed unto him, without which he could not have worshipped God aright in that state and condition whereinto he was come; for although his natural light was sufficient to direct him unto all religious services required by the law of creation, yet was it not so unto all duties of that state whereinto he was brought by the giving of the promise after the entrance of sin. So was he guided unto the observance of such ordinances of worship as were needful for him and accepted with God, -- as were sacrifices. The prophecy of Enoch is not only remembered, but called over and recorded, Jude 14, 15. And it is a matter neither curious nor difficult to demonstrate, that all the patriarchs of old, before the flood, were guided by a prophetical spirit in the imposition of names on those children who were to succeed them in the sacred line. Concerning Abraham, God expressly saith himself that he was a prophet, Gen. xx. 7, -- that is, one who used to receive divine revelations. Now, this gift of prophecy was always the immediate effect of the operation of the Holy Spirit. So it is both affirmed in general and in all the particular instances of it. In the first way, we have the illustrious testimony of the apostle Peter: 2 Epist. i. 20, 21, "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." This is a principle among believers, this they grant and allow in the first place, as that which they resolve their faith into, -- namely, that the "sure word of prophecy," which they in all things take heed unto, verse 19, was not a fruit of any men's private conceptions, nor was subject to the wills of men, so as to attain it or exercise it by their own ability; [55] but it was given by "inspiration of God," 2 Tim. iii. 16: for the Holy Ghost, by acting, moving, guiding the minds of holy men, enabled them thereunto. This was the sole fountain and cause of all true divine prophecy that ever was given or granted to the use of the church. And, in particular, the coming of the Spirit of God upon the prophets, enabling them unto their work, is frequently mentioned. Micah declares in his own instance how it was with them all: Chap. iii. 8, "But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin." It was from the Spirit of God alone that he had all his ability for the discharge of that prophetical office whereunto he was called. And when God would endow seventy elders with a gift of prophecy, he tells Moses that he would "take of the Spirit that was upon him," and give unto them for that purpose; that is, he would communicate of the same Spirit unto them as was in him. And where it is said at any time that God spake by the prophets, or that the word of God came to them, or God spake to them, it is always intended that this was the immediate work of the Holy Ghost. So says David of himself, "The Spirit of the Lord spake by me," or in me, "and his word was in my tongue," 2 Sam. xxiii. 2. Hence our apostle, repeating his words, ascribes them directly to the Holy Ghost: Heb. iii. 7, "Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith, To-day if ye will hear his voice;" and chap. iv. 7, "Saying in David." So the words which are ascribed unto the "Lord of hosts," Isa. vi. 9, 10, are asserted to be the words of the Holy Ghost, Acts xxviii. 25-27. He spake to them, or in them, by his holy inspirations; and he spake by them in his effectual infallible guidance of them, to utter, declare, and write what they received from him, without mistake or variation. And this prophecy, as to its exercise, is considered two ways:-- First, precisely for the prediction or foretelling things to come; as the Greek word, and the Latin traduced from thence, do signify. So prophecy is a divine prediction of future things, proceeding from divine revelation. But the Hebrew nk'?, -- whence are nvy'?, "a prophet," and nvv'h?, "prophecy," -- is not confined unto any such signification, although predictions from supernatural revelation are constantly expressed by it. But in general, secondly, the word signifies no more but to speak out, interpret, and declare the mind or words of another. So God tells Moses that he would "make him a god unto Pharaoh," -- one that should deal with him in the name, stead, and power of God; and "Aaron his brother should be his prophet," Exod. vii. 1, -- that is, one that should interpret his meaning and declare his words unto Pharaoh, Moses having complained of the defect of his own utterance. So prophets are the "interpreters," the declarers of the word, will, mind, or oracles of God unto others. Such a one is described, Job xxxiii. 23. Hence, those who expounded the Scripture unto the church under the New Testament were called "prophets," and their work "prophecy," Rom. xii. 6, 1 Cor. xiv. 31, 32; and under the Old Testament those that celebrated the praises of God with singing in the temple, according to the institution of David, are said therein to "prophesy," 1 Chron. xxv. 2. And this name, nky'?, a "prophet," was of ancient use; for so God termed Abraham, Gen. xx. 7. Afterward, in common use, a prophet was called r'h? and chzh?, "a seer," because of their divine visions (and this was occasioned from those words of God concerning Moses, Num. xii. 6-8; and this being the ordinary way of his revealing himself, -- namely, by dreams and visions, -- prophets in those days, even from the death of Moses, were commonly called seers, which continued in use until the days of Samuel, 1 Sam. ix. 9); and 'ys'lhym?, "a man of God," 1 Sam. ii. 27; which name Paul gives to the preachers of the gospel, 1 Tim. vi. 11, 2 Tim. iii. 17. And it is not altogether unworthy of observation what Kimchi notes, that the verb nv'? is most frequently used in the passive conjugation niphal, because it denotes a receiving of that from God by way of revelation which is spoken unto others in a way of prophecy. And as it lies before us as an extraordinary gift of the Holy Ghost, it is neither to be confined to the strict notion of prediction and foretelling, nor to be extended to every true declaration of the mind of God, but only to that which is obtained by immediate revelation. This peculiar gift, therefore, of the Holy Spirit we may a little distinctly inquire into; and two things concerning it may be considered:-- First, Its general nature; Secondly, The particular ways whereby especial revelation was granted unto any. First, For its nature in general, it consisted in inspiration. [56] So the apostle speaks of the prophecies recorded in the Scripture, 2 Tim. iii. 16: theopneustia, divine inspiration, was the original and cause of it. And the acting of the Holy Ghost in communicating his mind unto the prophets was called "inspiration" on a double account:-- First, In answer unto his name and nature. The name whereby he is revealed unto us signifieth "breath;" and he is called the "breath of God," whereby his essential relation to the Father and Son, with his eternal natural emanation from them, is expressed. And, therefore, when our Saviour gave him unto his disciples, as a proper instructive emblem of what he gave, he breathed upon them, John xx. 22. So also in the great work of the infusion of the reasonable soul into the body of man, it is said, God "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life," Gen. ii. 7. From hence, I say, it is, -- namely, from the nature and name of the Holy Spirit, -- that his immediate actings on the minds of men, in the supernatural communication of divine revelations unto them, is called "inspiration" or inbreathing. And the unclean spirit, counterfeiting his actings, did inspire his worshippers with a preternatural afflatus, by ways suited unto his own filthy vileness. Secondly, This holy work of the Spirit of God, as it is expressed suitably to his name and nature, so the meekness, gentleness, facility wherewith he works is intended hereby. He did, as it were, gently and softly breathe into them the knowledge and comprehension of holy things. It is an especial and immediate work, wherein he acts suitably unto his nature as a spirit, the spirit or breath of God, and suitably unto his peculiar, personal properties of meekness, gentleness, and peace. So his acting is inspiration, whereby he came within the faculties of the souls of men, acting them with a power that was not their own. It is true, when he had thus inspired any with the mind of God, they had no rest, nor could have, unless they declared it in its proper way and season: Jer. xx. 9, "Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name: but his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay." But this disturbance was from a moral sense of their duty, and not from any violent agitations of his upon their natures. And whereas sometimes trouble and consternation of spirit did befall some of the prophets in and under the revelations they received from him, it was on a double account:-- First, Of the dreadful representations of things that were made unto them in visions. Things of great dread and terror were represented unto their fancies and imaginations. Secondly, Of the greatness and dread of the things themselves revealed, which sometimes were terrible and destructive, Dan. vii. 15, 28, viii. 27; Hab. iii. 16; Isa. xxi. 2-4. But his inspirations were gentle and placid. Secondly, The immediate effects of this inspiration were, that those inspired were moved or acted by the Holy Ghost: "Holy men of God spake," hupo Pneumatos Hagiou pheromenoi, 2 Pet. i. 21, -- "moved" or acted "by the Holy Ghost." And two things are intended hereby:-- First, The preparation and elevation of their intellectual faculties, their minds and understandings, wherein his revelations were to be received. He prepared them for to receive the impressions he made upon them, and confirmed their memories to retain them. He did not, indeed, so enlighten and raise their minds as to give them a distinct understanding and full comprehension of all the things themselves that were declared unto them; there was more in their inspirations than they could search into the bottom of. [57] Hence, although the prophets under the Old Testament were made use of to communicate the clearest revelations and predictions concerning Jesus Christ, yet in the knowledge and understanding of the meaning of them they were all inferior to John Baptist, as he was in this matter to the meanest believer, or "least in the kingdom of heaven." Therefore, for their own illumination and edification did they diligently inquire, by the ordinary means of prayer and meditation, into the meaning of the Spirit of God in those prophecies which themselves received by extraordinary revelation, 1 Pet. i. 10, 11. Nor did Daniel, who had those express representations and glorious visions concerning the monarchies of the world, and the providential alterations which should be wrought in them, understand what and how things would be in their accomplishment. That account he doth give of himself in the close of his visions, chap. xii. 8, 9. But he so raised and prepared their minds as that they might be capable to receive and retain those impressions of things which he communicated unto them. So a man tunes the strings of an instrument, that it may in a due manner receive the impressions of his finger, and give out the sound he intends. He did not speak in them or by them, and leave it unto the use of their natural faculties, their minds, or memories, to understand and remember the things spoken by him, and so declare them to others; but he himself acted their faculties, making use of them to express his words, not their own conceptions. And herein, besides other things, consists the difference between the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and those so called of the devil. The utmost that Satan can do, is to make strong impressions on the imaginations of men, or influence their faculties, by possessing, wresting, distorting the organs of the body and spirits of the blood. The Holy Spirit is in the faculties, and useth them as his organs. And this he did, secondly, with that light and evidence of himself, of his power, truth, and holiness, as left them liable to no suspicion whether their minds were under his conduct and influence or no. Men are subject to fall so far under the power of their own imaginations, through the prevalency of a corrupt distempered fancy, as to suppose them supernatural revelations; and Satan may, and did of old, and perhaps doth so still, impose on the minds of some, and communicate unto them such a conception of his insinuations, as that they shall for awhile think them to be from God himself. But in the inspirations of the Holy Spirit, and his actings of the minds of the holy men of old, he gave them infallible assurance that it was himself alone by whom they were acted, Jer. xxiii. 28. If any shall ask by what tekmeria, or infallible tokens, they might know assuredly the inspirations of the Holy Spirit, and be satisfied, with such a persuasion as was not liable to mistake, that they were not imposed upon, I must say plainly that I cannot tell, for these are things whereof we have no experience; nor is any thing of this nature, whatever some falsely and foolishly impute unto them who profess and avow an interest in the ordinary gracious workings of the Holy Ghost, pretended unto. What some frenetical persons, in their distempers or under their delusions, have boasted of, no sober or wise man esteems worthy of any sedate consideration. But this I say, it was the design of the Holy Ghost to give those whom he did thus extraordinarily inspire an assurance, sufficient to bear them out in the discharge of their duty, that they were acted by himself alone; for in the pursuit of their work, which they were by him called unto, they were to encounter various dangers, and some of them to lay down their lives for a testimony unto the truth of the message delivered by them. This they could not be engaged into without as full an evidence of his acting them as the nature of man in such cases is capable of. The case of Abraham fully confirms it. And it is impossible but that in those extraordinary workings there was, such an impression of himself, his holiness, and authority, left on their minds, as did secure them from all fear of delusion. Even upon the word, as delivered by them unto others, he put those characters of divine truth, holiness, and power, as rendered it axiopiston, "worthy to be believed," and not to be rejected without the highest sin by them unto whom it came. Much more was there such an evidence in it unto them who enjoyed its original inspiration. Secondly, He acted and guided them as to the very organs of their bodies whereby they expressed the revelation which they had received by inspiration from him. They spake as they were acted by the Holy Ghost. He guided their tongues in the declaration of his revelations, as the mind of a man guideth his hand in writing to express its conceptions. Hence David, having received revelations from him, or being inspired by him, affirms, in his expression of them, that "his tongue was the pen of a ready writer," Ps. xlv. 1; that is, it was so guided by the Spirit of God to express the conceptions received from him. And on this account God is said to speak by their mouths: "As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets," Luke i. 70; -- all of whom had but one mouth on the account of their absolute consent and agreement in the same predictions; for this is the meaning of "one voice" or "one mouth" in a multitude. "The Holy Ghost spake by the mouth of David," Acts i. 16. For whatever they received by revelation, they were but the pipes through which the waters of it were conveyed, without the least mixture with any alloy from their frailties or infirmities. So, when David had received the pattern of the temple, and the manner of the whole worship of God therein by the Spirit, 1 Chron. xxviii. 12, he says, "All this the Lord made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern," [58] verse 19. The Spirit of God not only revealed it unto him, but so guided him in the writing of it down as that he might understand the mind of God out of what himself had written; or, he gave it him so plainly and evidently as if every particular had been expressed in writing by the finger of God. (1.) It remaineth that, as unto this first extraordinary work and gift of the Holy Ghost, we consider those especial ways and means which he made use of in the communication of his mind unto the prophets, with some other accidental adjuncts of prophecy. Some, following Maimonides in his "More Nebuchim," have, from the several ways of the communication of divine revelations, distinguished the degrees of prophecy or of the gifts of it, preferring one above another. This I have elsewhere disproved, "Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews," chap. 1. Neither, indeed, is there, either hence or from any other ground, the least occasion to feign those eleven degrees of prophecy which he thought he had found out; much less may the spirit or gift of prophecy be attained by the ways he prescribes, and with Tatianus seems to give countenance unto. [59] The distinct outward manners and ways of revelation mentioned in the Scriptures may be reduced unto three heads:-- 1. Voices; 2. Dreams; 3. Visions. And the accidental adjuncts of it are two:-- 1. Symbolical actions; 2. Local mutations. The schoolmen, after Aquinas, 22. q. 174, a. 1, do commonly reduce the means of revelation unto three heads. For whereas there are three ways whereby we come to know any thing, -- 1. By our external senses; 2. By impressions on the fantasy or imagination; 3. By pure acts of the understanding: so God by three ways revealed his will unto the prophets, -- 1. By objects of their senses, as by audible voices; 2. By impressions on the imagination in dreams and visions; 3. By illustration or enlightening of their minds. But as this last way expresseth divine inspiration, I cannot acknowledge it as a distinct way of revelation by itself, for it was that which was absolutely necessary to give an infallible assurance of mind in the other ways also; and setting that aside, there is none of them but is obnoxious to delusion. First, God sometimes made use of an articulate voice, speaking out those things which he did intend to declare in words significant of them. So he revealed himself or his mind unto Moses, when he "spake unto him face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend," Exod. xxxiii. 11; Num. xii. 8. And as far as I can observe, the whole revelation made unto Moses was by outward, audible, articulate voices, whose sense was impressed on his mind by the Holy Spirit; for an external voice without an inward elevation and disposition of mind is not sufficient to give security and assurance of truth unto him that doth receive it. So God spake to Elijah, 1 Kings xix. 12-18, as also to Samuel and Jeremiah, and it may be to all the rest of the prophets at their first calling and entrance into their ministry; for words formed miraculously by God, and conveyed sensibly unto the outward ears of men, carry a great majesty and authority with them. This was not the usual way of God's revealing his mind, nor is it signified by that phrase of speech, "The word of the Lord came unto me;" whereby no more is intended but an immediate revelation, by what way or means soever it was granted. Mostly this was by that secret effectual impression on their minds which we have before described. And these voices were either immediately created by God himself, as when he spake unto Moses, -- wherein the eminency of the revelation made unto him principally consisted, -- or the ministry of angels was used in the formation and pronunciation of them. But, as we observed before, the divine certainty of their minds to whom they were spoken, with their abilities infallibly to declare them unto others, was from an immediate internal work of the Spirit of God upon them. Without this the prophets might have been imposed on by external audible voices, nor would they by themselves give their minds an infallible assurance. Secondly, Dreams were made use of under the Old Testament to the same purpose, and unto them also I refer all those visions which they had in their sleep, though not called dreams; [60] and these, in this case, were the immediate operation of the Holy Ghost, as to the divine and infallible impressions they conveyed to the minds of men. Hence, in the promise of the plentiful pouring out of the Spirit, or communication of his gifts, mention is made of dreams: Acts ii. 17, "I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams." Not that God intended much to make use of this way of dreams and nocturnal visions under the New Testament; but the intention of the words is, to show that there should be a plentiful effusion of that Spirit which acted by these various ways and means then under the Old. Only, as to some particular directions God did sometimes continue his intimations by visions in the rest of the night. Such a vision had Paul, Acts xvi. 10. But of old this was more frequent. So God made a signal revelation unto Abraham, when the "deep sleep fell upon him, and horror of great darkness," Gen. xv. 12-16; and Daniel "heard the voice of the words" of him that spake unto him "when he was in a deep sleep," Dan. x. 9. But this sleep of theirs I look not on as natural, but as that which God sent and cast them into, that therein he might represent the image of things unto their imaginations. So of old he caused a "deep sleep to fall upon Adam," Gen. ii. 21. The Jews distinguish between dreams and those visions in sleep, as they may be distinctly considered; but I cast them together under one head, of revelation in sleep. And this way of revelation was so common, that one who pretended to prophesy would cry out, chlmty chlmty?, "I have dreamed, I have dreamed," Jer. xxiii. 25. And by the devil's imitation of God's dealing with his church, this became a way of vaticination among the heathen also: Hom. i. 63, Kai gar t' onar ek Dios estin, -- "A dream is from Jupiter." And when the reprobate Jews were deserted as to all divine revelations, they pretended unto a singular skill in the interpretation of dreams; on the account of their deceit wherein they were sufficiently infamous. "Qualiacumque voles Judaei somia vendunt." [Juv., vi. 546.] Thirdly, God revealed himself in and by visions or representations of things to the in ward or outward senses of the prophets. And this way was so frequent that it bare the name for a season of all prophetical revelations; for so we observed before, that a prophet of old time was called a "seer," and that because in their receiving of their prophecies they saw visions also. So Isaiah terms his whole glorious prophecy, chzvn 'sr chzh?, "The vision which he saw," chap. i. 1; partly from the especial representations of things that were made unto him, chap. vi. 1-4; and partly, it may be, from the evidence of the things revealed unto him, which were cleared as fully to his mind as if he had had an ocular inspection of them. So, from the matter of them, prophecies began in common to be called "The burden of the Lord;" for he burdened their consciences with his word, and their persons with its execution. But when false prophets began to make frequent use and to serve themselves of this expression, it was forbidden, Jer. xxiii. 33, 36; and yet we find that there is mention hereof about the same time, it may be, by Hab. i. 1; as also after the return from the captivity, Zech. ix. 1, Mal. i. 1. Either, therefore, this respected that only season wherein false prophets abounded, whom God would thus deprive of their pretence; or, indeed, the people, by contempt and scorn, did use that expression as that which was familiar unto the prophets in their denunciation of God's judgments against them, which God here rebukes them for and threatens to revenge. But none of the prophets had all their revelations by visions; nor doth this concern the communication of the gift of prophecy, but its exercise. And their visions are particularly recorded. Such were those of Isa. vi.; Jer. i. 11-16; Ezek. i., and the like. Now, these visions were of two sorts: [61] -- 1. Outward representations of things unto the bodily eyes of the prophets; 2. Inward representations unto their minds. 1. There were sometimes appearances of persons or things made to their outward senses; and herein God made use of the ministry of angels. Thus three men appeared unto Abraham, Gen. xviii. 1, 2; one whereof was the Son of God himself; the other two, ministering angels; as hath been proved elsewhere. So was the burning bush which Moses saw, Exod. iii. 2; the appearances without similitude of any living thing on mount Sinai at the giving of the law, Exod. xix.; the man that Joshua saw at the siege of Jericho, chap. v. 13, 14. Such were the seething-pot and almond-rod seen by Jeremiah, chap. i. 11, 13, as also his baskets of figs, [chap. xiv. 1-3;] and many more of the like kind might be instanced in. In these cases God made representations of things unto their outward senses. 2. They were made sometimes only to their minds. So it is said expressly that when Peter saw his vision of a sheet knit at the four comers, and let down from heaven to earth, he was in a "trance:" Epepesen ep' auton ekstasis, Acts x. 10. An "ecstasy seized on him," whereby for a season he was deprived of the use of his bodily senses. And to this head I refer Daniel's and the apocalyptical visions. Especially I do so [refer] all those wherein a representation was made of God himself and his glorious throne; such as that of Micaiah, 1 Kings xxii. 19-22; and Isa. vi.; and Ezek. i. It is evident that in all these there was no use of the bodily senses of the prophets, but only their minds were affected with the ideas and representation of things; but this was so effectual as that they understood not but that they also made use of their visive faculty. Hence Peter, when he was actually delivered out of prison, thought a good while that he had only "seen a vision," Acts xii. 9; for he knew how powerfully the mind was wont to be affected by them. Now, these visions of both sorts were granted unto the prophets to confirm their minds in the apprehension of the things communicated unto them for the instruction of others; for hereby they were deeply affected with them, whereunto a clear idea and representation of things doth effectually tend. But yet two things were required to render these visions direct and complete parts of divine revelation:-- 1. That the minds of the prophets were acted, guided, and raised in a due manner by the Holy Spirit for the receiving of them. This gave them their assurance that their visions were from God. 2. His enabling them faithfully to retain, and infallibly to declare, what was so represented unto them. For instance, Ezekiel receiveth a vision, by way of representation unto his mind of a glorious fabric of a temple, to instruct the church in the spiritual glory and beauty of gospel-worship which was to be introduced, chap. xli.-xlvi. It seems utterly impossible for the mind of man to conceive and retain at once all the harmonious structure, dimensions, and laws of the fabric represented. This was the peculiar work of the Holy Ghost, -- namely, to implant and preserve the idea presented unto him on his mind, and to enable him accurately and infallibly to declare it. So David affirms that the Spirit of God made him to understand the pattern of the temple built by Solomon, "in writing by his hand upon him." (2.) There were some accidental adjuncts of prophecy, which at some times accompanied it:-- First, In the revelation of the will of God to the prophets, they were sometimes enjoined symbolical actions. So Isaiah was commanded to "walk naked and bare-foot," chap. xx. 1-3; Jeremiah, to dispose of a "linen girdle," chap. xiii. 1-5; Ezekiel, to "lie in the siege," chap. iv. 1-3, and to remove the "stuff of his house," chap. xii. 3, 4; Hosea, to take "a wife of whoredoms, and children of whoredoms," chap. i. 2. I shall be brief in what is frequently spoken unto. Some of these things, as Isaiah's going naked, and Hosea's taking a wife of whoredoms, contain things in them against the light of nature and the express law of God, and of evil example unto others. None of these, therefore, can be granted to have been actually done; only these things were represented unto them in visions, to take the deeper impression upon them. And what they saw or did in vision they speak positively of their so seeing or doing: see Ezek. viii. For the other instances, I know nothing but that the things reported might be really performed, and not in vision only. And it is plain that Ezekiel was commanded to do the things he did in the sight of the people, for their more evident conviction, chap. xii. 4-6; and on the sight whereof they made inquiry what those things belonged unto them, chap. xxiv. 19. Secondly, Their revelations were accompanied with local mutations, or rather being carried and transported from one place unto another. So was it with chap. viii. 3, xi. 24. And it is expressly said that it was "in the visions of God." Falling, by divine dispensation, into a trance or ecstasy, wherein their outward senses were suspended [in] their operation, their minds and understandings were, unto their own apprehension, carried in a holy rapture from one place unto another: which was effected only by a divine and efficacious representation of the things unto them which were done in the places from whence they were really absent. And these are some of those accidents of prophetical revelations which are recorded in the Scripture; and it is possible that some other instances of the like nature may be observed. And all these belong to the polutropia tes theias epiluseos, or manifold variety of divine revelations, mentioned Heb. i. 1. But here a doubt of no small difficulty nor of less importance presents itself unto us, -- namely, whether the Holy Ghost did ever grant the holy inspirations, and the gift of prophecy thereby, unto men wicked and unsanctified; [62] for the apostle Peter tells us that "holy men spake of old as they were moved by the Holy Ghost," 2 Pet. i. 21, which seems to intimate that all those who were inspired and moved by him, as to this gift of prophecy, were holy men of God. [63] And yet, on the other hand, we shall find that true prophecies have been given out by men seeming utterly void of all sanctifying grace. And, to increase the difficulty, it is certain that great predictions, and those with respect unto Christ himself, have been given and made by men guided and acted for the most part by the devil. So was it with Balaam, who was a sorcerer that gave himself to diabolical enchantments and divinations; and, as such an one, was destroyed by God's appointment. Yea, at or about the same time wherein he uttered a most glorious prophecy concerning the Messiah, the Star of Jacob, being left unto his own spirit and inclination, he gave cursed advice and counsel for the drawing of the people of God into destructive and judgment-procuring sins, Num. xxxi. 16. And in the whole of his enterprise he thought to have satisfied his covetousness with a reward for cursing them by his enchantments. And yet this man not only professeth of himself that he "heard the words of God," and "saw the vision of the Almighty," Num. xxiv. 4, but did actually foretell and prophesy glorious things concerning Christ and his kingdom. Shall we, then, think that the Holy Spirit of God will immix his own holy inspirations with the wicked suggestions of the devil in a soothsayer? or shall we suppose that the devil was the author of those predictions, whereas God reproacheth false gods, and their prophets acted by them, that they could not declare the things that should happen, nor show the things that were to come afterward? Isa. xli. 22, 23. So, also, it is said of Saul that "the Spirit of the Lord departed from him, and an evil spirit terrified him," 1 Sam. xvi. 14; and yet, afterward, that the "Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied," chap. xix. 23. The old prophet at Bethel who lied unto the prophet that came from Judah, and that in the name of the Lord, seducing him unto sin and destruction, and probably defiled with the idolatry and false worship of Jeroboam, was yet esteemed a prophet, and did foretell what came to pass, 1 Kings xiii. 11-29. Sundry things may be offered for the solution of this difficulty; for, -- 1. As to that place of the apostle Peter, (1.) It may not be taken universally that all who prophesied at any time were personally holy, but only that for the most part so they were. (2.) He seems to speak particularly of them only who were penmen of the Scripture, and of those prophecies which remain therein for the instruction of the church; concerning whom I no way doubt but that they were all sanctified and holy. (3.) It may be that he understandeth not real inherent holiness, but only a separation and dedication unto God by especial office; which is a thing of another nature. 2. The gift of prophecy is granted not to be in itself and its own nature a sanctifying grace, nor is the inspiration so whereby it is wrought; for whereas it consists in an affecting of the mind with a transient irradiation of light in hidden things, it neither did nor could of itself produce faith, love, or holiness in the heart. Another work of the Holy Ghost was necessary hereunto. 3. There is, therefore, no inconsistency in this matter, that God should grant an immediate inspiration unto some that were not really sanctified. And yet I would not grant this to have been actually done without a just limitation; for whereas some were established to be prophets unto the church in the whole course of their lives, after their first call from God, as Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah, and the rest of the prophets mentioned in the Scripture, in like manner I no way doubt but they were all of them really sanctified by the Holy Spirit of God. But others there were who had only some occasional discoveries of hidden or future things made unto them, or fell into some ecstasies or raptures, with a supernatural agitation of their minds (as it is twice said of Saul), for a short season. And I see no reason why we may not grant, -- yea, from Scripture testimonies we must grant, -- that many such persons may be so acted by the Holy Spirit of God. So was it with wicked Caiaphas, who is said to "prophesy," John xi. 51; and a great prophecy indeed it was which his words expressed, greater than which there is none in the Scripture. But the wretch himself knew nothing of the importance of what was uttered by him. A sudden impression of the Spirit of God caused him, against his intention, to utter a sacred truth, and that because he was high priest; whose words were of great reputation with the people. [64] And as Balaam was overruled to prophesy and speak good of Israel, when he really designed and desired to curse them; so this Caiaphas, designing the destruction of Jesus Christ, brought forth those words which expressed the salvation of the world by his death. 4. For the difficulty about Balaam himself, who was a sorcerer, and the devil's prophet, I acknowledge it is of importance. But sundry things may be offered for the removal of it. Some do contend that Balaam was a prophet of God only; that indeed he gave himself unto judicial astrology, and the conjecture of future events from natural causes, but as to his prophecies, they were all divine; and the light of them, affecting only the speculative part of his mind, had no influence upon his will, heart, and affections, which were still corrupt. This Tostatus pleadeth for. But as it is expressly said that he "sought for enchantments," Num. xxiv. 1, so the whole description of his course and end gives him up as a cursed sorcerer: and he is expressly called hqvsm?, "the soothsayer," Josh. xiii. 22; which word though we have once rendered by "prudent," -- that is, one who prudently conjectureth at future events according unto present appearing causes, Isa. iii. 2, -- yet it is mostly used for a diabolical diviner or soothsayer. And for what he said of himself, that he "heard the words of God," and "saw the vision of the Almighty," it might be only his own boasting to procure veneration to his diabolical incantations. But in reputation we find he was in those days in the world; and supposed he was to utter divine oracles unto men. This God in his providence made use of to give out a testimony to the nations concerning the coming of the Messiah, the report whereof was then almost lost amongst men. In this condition it may be granted that the good Spirit of God, without the least reflection on the majesty and purity of his own holiness, did overrule the power of the devil, cast out his suggestions from the man's mind, and gave such an impression of sacred truths in the room of them as he could not but utter and declare: for that instant he did, as it were, take the instrument out of the hand of Satan, and, by his impression on it, caused it to give a sound according to his mind; which when he had done, he left it again unto his possession. And I know not but that he might do so sometimes with others among the Gentiles who were professedly given up to receive and give out the oracles of the devil. So he made the damsel possessed with a spirit of divination and soothsaying to acknowledge Paul and his companions to be "servants of the most high God," to "show to men the way of salvation," Acts xvi. 16, 17. And this must be acknowledged by them who suppose that the sibyls gave out predictions concerning Jesus Christ, seeing the whole strain of their prophetical oracles were expressly diabolical. And no conspiracy of men or devils shall cause him to forego his sovereignty over them, and the using of them to his own glory. 5. The case of Saul is plain. The Spirit of the Lord who departed from him was the Spirit of wisdom, moderation, and courage, to fit him for rule and government, -- that is, the gifts of the Holy Ghost unto that purpose, which he withdrew from him; and the evil spirit that was upon him proceeded no farther but to the stirring up vexatious and disquieting affections of mind. And notwithstanding this molestation and punishment inflicted on him, the Spirit of God might at a season fall upon him, so as to cast him into a rapture or ecstasy, wherein his mind was acted and exercised in an extraordinary manner, and himself transported into actions that were not at all according unto his own inclinations. So is this case well resolved by Augustine. [65] And [as] for the old prophet at Bethel, 1 Kings xiii. 11-32, although he appears to have been an evil man, yet he was one whom God made use of to reveal his mind sometimes to that people; nor is it probable that he was under satanical delusions, like the prophets of Baal, for he is absolutely called a prophet, and the word of the Lord did really come unto him, verses 20-22. 2. The writing of the Scripture was another effect of the Holy Ghost, which had its beginning under the Old Testament. I reckon this as a distinct gift from prophecy in general, or rather, a distinct species or kind of prophecy: for many prophets there were divinely inspired who yet never wrote any of their prophecies, nor any thing else for the use of the church; and many penmen of the Scripture were no prophets, in the strict sense of that name. And the apostle tells us that the graphe, the scripture or writing itself, was by "inspiration of God," 2 Tim. iii. 16; as David affirms that he had the pattern of the temple from the Spirit of God in writing, because of his guidance of him in putting its description into writing, 1 Chron. xxviii. 19. Now, this ministry was first committed unto Moses, who, besides the five books of the Law, probably also wrote the story of Job. Many prophets there were before him, but he was the first who committed the will of God to writing after God himself, who wrote the law in tables of stone; which was the beginning and pattern of the Scriptures. The writers of the historical books of the Old Testament before the captivity are unknown. The Jews call them nvy'ym r'svnym?, "the first" or "former prophets." Who they were in particular is not known; but certain it is that they were of the number of those holy men of God who of old wrote and spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Hence are they called "prophets;" for although they wrote in an historical manner, as did Moses also, concerning things past and gone in their days, or it may be presently acted in their own times, yet they did not write them either from their own memory nor from tradition, nor from the rolls or records of time (although they might be furnished with and skilled in these things), but by the inspiration, guidance, and direction of the Holy Ghost. Hence are they called "prophets," in such a latitude as the word may be used in to signify any that are divinely inspired, or receive immediate revelations from God. And thus was it with all the penmen of the holy Scripture. As their minds were under that full assurance of divine inspiration which we before described, so their words which they wrote were under the especial care of the same Spirit; and were of his suggestion or inditing. There were, therefore, three things concurring in this work:-- First, The inspiration of the minds of these prophets with the knowledge and apprehension of the things communicated unto them. Secondly, The suggestion of words unto them to express what their minds conceived. Thirdly, The guidance of their hands in setting down the words suggested, or of their tongues in uttering them unto those by whom they were committed to writing, as Baruch wrote the prophecy of Jeremiah from his mouth, Jer. xxxvi. 4, 18. If either of these were wanting, the Scripture could not be absolutely and every way divine and infallible; for if the penmen of it were left unto themselves in any thing wherein that writing was concerned, who can secure us that nihil humani, no human imperfection, mixed itself therewithal? I know some think that the matter and substance of things only was communicated unto them, but as for the words whereby it was to be expressed, that was left unto themselves and their own abilities: and this they suppose is evident from that variety of style which, according to their various capacities, education, and abilities, is found amongst them. "This argues," as they say, "that the wording of their revelations was left unto themselves, and was the product of their natural abilities." This, in general, I have spoken unto elsewhere, and manifested what mistakes sundry have run into about the style of the holy penmen of the Scripture. Here I shall not take up what hath been argued and evinced in another place. I only say that the variety intended ariseth mostly from the variety of the subject-matters treated of; nor is it such as will give any countenance to the profaneness of this opinion, for the Holy Ghost in his work on the minds of men doth not put a force upon them, nor act them any otherwise than they are in their own natures, and with their present endowments and qualifications, meet to be acted and used. He leads and conducts them in such paths as wherein they are able to walk. The words, therefore, which he suggests unto them are such as they are accustomed unto, and he causeth them to make use of such expressions as were familiar unto themselves. So he that useth diverse seals maketh different impressions, though the guidance of them all be equal and the same; and he that toucheth skilfully several musical instruments, variously tuned, maketh several notes of music. We may also grant, and do, that they used their own abilities of mind and understanding in the choice of words and expressions: so the Preacher "sought to find out acceptable words," Eccles. xii. 10. But the Holy Spirit, who is more intimate unto the minds and skill of men than they are themselves, did so guide, act, and operate in them, as that the words they fixed upon were as directly and certainly from him as if they had been spoken to them by an audible voice. Hence "that which was written was upright, even words of truth," as in that place. This must be so, or they could not speak as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, nor could their writing be said to be of divine inspiration. Hence, ofttimes, in the original, great senses and significations depend on a single letter; as, for instance, in the change of the name of Abraham: and our Saviour affirms that every apex and iota of the law is under the care of God, as that which was given by inspiration from himself, Matt. v. 18. But I have on other occasions treated of these things, and shall not, therefore, here enlarge upon them. [66] 3. The third sort of the immediate extraordinary operations of the Holy Ghost, absolutely exceeding the actings and compliance of human faculties, are miracles of all sorts, which were frequent under the Old Testament. Such were many things wrought by Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, with some others; those by Moses exceeding, if the Jews fail not in their computation, all the rest that are recorded in the Scripture. Now, these were all the immediate effects of the divine power of the Holy Ghost. He is the sole author of all real miraculous operations; for by "miracles" we understand such effects as are really beyond and above the power of natural causes, however applied unto operation. Now, it is said expressly that our Lord Jesus Christ wrought miracles (for instance, the casting out of devils from persons possessed) by the Holy Ghost; and if their immediate production were by him in the human nature of Jesus Christ, personally united unto the Son of God, how much more must it be granted that it was he alone by whose power they were wrought in those who had no such relation unto the divine nature! And, therefore, where they are said to be wrought by the "hand" or "finger of God," it is the person of the Holy Spirit which is precisely intended, as we have declared before. And the persons by whom they were wrought were never the real subjects of the power whereby they were wrought, as though it should be inherent and residing in them as a quality, Acts iii. 12, 16; only, they were infallibly directed by the Holy Ghost by word or action to pre-signify their operation. So was it with Joshua when he commanded the sun and moon to stand still, chap. x. 12. There was no power in Joshua, no, not [even] extraordinarily communicated to him, to have such a real influence upon the whole frame of nature as to effect so great an alteration therein: only, he had a divine warranty to speak that which God himself would effect; whence it is said that therein "the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man," verse 14. It is a vanity of the greatest magnitude in some of the Jews, as Maimonides, ("More Nebuch.," page 2, cap. xxxv.,) Levi B. Gerson on the place, and others, who deny any fixation of the sun and moon, and judge that it is only the speed of Joshua in subduing his enemies before the close of that day which is intended. This they contend for, lest Joshua should be thought to have wrought a greater miracle than Moses! But as the prophet Habakkuk is express to the contrary, chap. iii. 11, and their own Sirachides, cap. xlv., xlvi., so it is no small prevarication in some Christians to give countenance unto such a putid fiction. See Grot. in loc. It is so in all other miraculous operations, even where the parts of the bodies of men were made instrumental of the miracle itself, as in the gift of tongues. They who had that gift did not so speak from any skill or ability residing in them, but they were merely organs of the Holy Ghost, which he moved at his pleasure. Now, the end of all these miraculous operations was, to give reputation to the persons, and to confirm the ministry of them by whom they were wrought; for as at first they were the occasion of wonder and astonishment, so upon their consideration they evidenced the respect and regard of God unto such persons and their work. So when God sent Moses to declare his will in an extraordinary manner unto the people of Israel, he commands him to work several miracles or signs before them, that they might believe that he was sent of God, Exod. iv. 8, 9. And such works were called signs, because they were tokens and pledges of the presence of the Spirit of God with them by whom they were wrought. Nor was this gift ever bestowed on any man alone, or for its own sake; but it was always subordinate unto the work of revealing or declaring the mind of God. And these are the general heads of the extraordinary operations of the Holy Spirit of God in works exceeding all human or natural abilities, in their whole kind. II. The next sort of the operations of the Holy Ghost under the Old Testament, whose explanation was designed, is of those whereby he improved, through immediate impressions of his own power, the natural faculties and abilities of the minds of men; and these, as was intimated, have respect to things political, moral, natural, and intellectual, with some of a mixed nature:-- 1. He had in them respect unto things political. Such were his gifts whereby he enabled sundry persons unto rule and civil government amongst men. Government, or supreme rule, is of great concernment unto the glory of God in the world, and of the highest usefulness unto mankind. Without it the whole world would be filled with violence, and become a stage for all wickedness visibly and openly to act itself upon in disorder and confusion. And all men confess that unto a due management hereof unto its proper ends, sundry peculiar gifts and abilities of mind are required in them and needful for them who are called thereunto. These are they themselves to endeavour after, and sedulously to improve the measures which they have attained of them, -- and where this is by any neglected, the world and themselves will quickly feed on the fruits of that negligence; -- but yet, because the utmost of what men may of this kind obtain by their ordinary endeavours, and an ordinary blessing thereon, is not sufficient for some especial ends which God aimed at in and by their rule and government, the Holy Ghost did oftentimes give an especial improvement unto their abilities of mind by his own immediate and extraordinary operation; and in some cases he manifested the effects of his power herein by some external, visible signs of his coming on them in whom he so wrought. So, in the first institution of the sanhedrim, or court of seventy elders, to bear together with Moses the burden of the people in their rule and government, the Lord is said to "put his Spirit upon them;" and [it is said] that "the Spirit rested on them:" Num. xi. 16, 17, "And the Lord said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them. And I will take of the Spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee." Verse 25, "And the Lord took of the Spirit that was upon Moses, and gave it unto the seventy elders, and the Spirit rested upon them." That which these elders were called unto was a share in the supreme role and government of the people, which was before entirely in the hand of Moses. This the occasion of their call declares, verses 11-15. And they were strym?, "inferior officers" before, such as they had in Egypt, who influenced the people by their counsel and arbitration, Exod. iii. 16, v. 6, xxiv. 1, 9. Now they had a supreme power in judgment committed to them, and were thence called 'lhym?, or "gods;" for these were they "unto whom the word of God came," who were thence called gods, John x. 34-36, Ps. lxxxii. 6, and not the prophets, who had neither power nor rule. And on them the Spirit of God that was in Moses rested; that is, wrought the same abilities for government in them as he had received, -- that is, wisdom, righteousness, diligence, courage, and the like, that they might judge the people wisely, and look to the execution of the law impartially. Now, when the Spirit of God thus rested on them, it is said "They prophesied, and did not cease," Num. xi. 25, 26; that is, they sang or spake forth the praises of God in such a way and manner as made it evident unto all that they were extraordinarily acted by the Holy Ghost. So is that word used, 1 Sam. x. 10, and elsewhere. But this gift and work of prophecy was not the especial end for which they were endowed by the Spirit, for they were now called, as hath been declared, unto rule and government; but because their authority and rule was new among the people, God gave that visible sign and pledge of his calling them to their office, that they might have a due veneration of their persons, and acquiesce in their authority. And hence, from the ambiguity of that word vl' ysphv?, which we render "And did not cease," -- "They prophesied, and did not cease," verse 25, -- which may signify to "add" as well as to "cease," many of the Jews affirm that they so prophesied no more but that day only: "They prophesied then, and added not," -- that is, to do so anymore. So when God would erect a kingdom amongst them, which was a new kind of government unto them, and designed Saul to be the person that should reign, it is said that he "gave him another heart," 1 Sam. x. 9, -- that is, "the Spirit of God came upon him," as it is elsewhere expressed, to endow him with that wisdom and magnanimity that might make him meet for kingly rule. And because he was new called from a low condition unto royal dignity, the communication of the Spirit of God unto him was accompanied with a visible sign and token, that the people might acquiesce in his government, who were ready to despise his person; for he had also an extraordinary afflatus of the Spirit, expressing itself in a "visible rapture," verses 10, 11. And in like manner he dealt with others. For this cause, also, he instituted the ceremony of anointing at their inauguration; for it was a token of the communication of the gifts of the Holy Ghost unto them, though respect was had therein to Jesus Christ, who was to be anointed with all his fullness, of whom they were types unto that people. Now, these gifts for government are natural and moral abilities of the minds of men; such as are prudence, righteousness, courage, zeal, clemency, and the like. And when the Holy Ghost fell upon any persons to enable them for political rule and the administration of the civil power, he did not communicate gifts and abilities unto them quite of another kind, but only gave them an extraordinary improvement of their own ordinary abilities. And, indeed, so great is the burden wherewith a just and useful government is attended, so great and many are the temptations which power and a confluence of earthly things will invite and draw towards them, that without some especial assistance of the Holy Spirit of God, men cannot choose but either sink under the weight of it, or wretchedly miscarry in its exercise and management. This made Solomon, when God, in the beginning of his reign, gave him his option of all earthly desirable thing, to prefer wisdom and knowledge for rule before them all, 2 Chron. i. 7-12; and this he received from him who is the "Spirit of wisdom and understanding," Isa. xi. 2. And if the rulers of the earth would follow this example, and be earnest with God for such supplies of his Spirit as might enable them unto a holy, righteous discharge of their office, it would, in many places, be better with them and the world than it is or can be where is the state of things described Hos. vii. 3-5. Now, God of old did carry this dispensation out of the pale of the church, for the effecting of some especial ends of his own; and I no way question but that he continueth still so to do. Thus he anointed Cyrus, and calls him his "anointed" accordingly, Isa. xlv. 1; for Cyrus had a double work to do for God, in both parts whereof he stood in need of his especial assistance. He was to execute his judgments and vengeance on Babylon, as also to deliver his people, that they might re-edify the temple. For both these he stood in need of, and did receive, especial aid from the Spirit of God, though he was in himself but a "ravenous bird" of prey, chap. xlvi. 11: for the gifts of this Holy One in this kind wrought no real holiness in them on whom they were bestowed; they were only given them for the good and benefit of others, with their own success in what they attempted unto that purpose. Yea, and many on whom they are bestowed never consider the author of them, but sacrifice to their own nets and drags, and look on themselves as the springs of their own wisdom and ability. But it is no wonder that all regard unto the gifts of the Holy Ghost in the government of the world is despised, when his whole work in and towards the church itself is openly derided. 2. We may add hereunto those especial endowments with some moral virtues, which he granted unto sundry persons for the accomplishment of some especial design. So he came upon Gideon and upon Jephthah, to anoint them unto the work of delivering the people from their adversaries in battle, Judges vi. 34, xi. 29. It is said before of them both that they were "men of valour," chap. vi. 12, xi. 1. This coming, therefore, of the Spirit of God upon them, and clothing of them, was his especial excitation of their courage, and his fortifying of their minds against those dangers they were to conflict withal. And this he did by such an efficacious impression of his power upon them as that both themselves received thereby a confirmation of their call, and others might discern the presence of God with them. Hence it is said that the "Spirit of the Lord clothed them," they being warmed in themselves and known to others by his gifts to and actings of them. 3. There are sundry instances of his adding unto the gifts of the mind, whereby he qualified persons for their duties, even bodily strength, when that also was needful for the work whereunto he called them. Such was his gift unto Samson. His bodily strength was supernatural, a mere effect of the power of the Spirit of God; and, therefore, when he put it forth in his calling, it is said that "the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him," Judges xiv. 6, xv. 14, or wrought powerfully in him. And he gave him this strength in the way of an ordinance, appointing the growing of his hair to be the sign and pledge of it; the care whereof being violated by him, he lost for a season the gift itself. 4. He also communicated gifts intellectual, to be exercised in and about things natural and artificial. So he endowed Bezaleel and Aholiab with wisdom and skill in all manner of curious workmanship, about all sorts of things, for the building and beautifying of the tabernacle, Exod. xxxi. 2, 3. Whether Bezaleel was a man that had before given himself unto the acquisition of those arts and sciences is altogether uncertain; but certain it is that his present endowments were extraordinary. The Spirit of God heightened, and improved, and strengthened the natural faculties of his mind to a perception and understanding of all the curious works mentioned in that place, and unto a skill how to contrive and dispose of them into the order designed by God himself. And, therefore, although the skill and wisdom mentioned differed not in the kind of it from that which others attained by industry, yet he received it by an immediate afflatus or inspiration of the Holy Ghost, as to that degree, at least, which he was made partaker of. Lastly, The assistance given unto holy men for the publishing and preaching of the word of God to others, -- as to Noah, who was "a preacher of righteousness," 2 Pet. ii. 5, for the conviction of the world and conversion of the elect, wherein the Spirit of God strove with men, Gen. vi. 3, and preached unto them that were disobedient, 1 Pet. iii. 19, 20, -- might here also be considered, but that the explanation of his whole work in that particular will occur unto us in a more proper place. And thus I have briefly passed through the dispensation of the Spirit of God under the Old Testament. Nor have I aimed therein to gather up his whole work and all his actings, for then everything that is praise-worthy in the church must have been inquired into; for all without him is death, and darkness, and sin. All life, light, and power are from him alone. And the instances of things expressly assigned unto him which we have insisted on are sufficient to manifest that the whole being and welfare of the church depended solely on his will and his operations. And this will yet be more evident when we have also considered those other effects and operations of his, which being common to both states of the church, under the Old Testament and the New, are purposely here omitted, because the nature of them is more fully cleared in the gospel, wherein also their exemplifications are more illustrious. From him, therefore, was the word of promise and the gift of prophecy, whereon the church was founded and whereby it was built; from him was the revelation and institution of all the ordinances of religious worship; from him was that communication of gifts and gracious abilities which any persons received for the edification, rule, protection, and deliverance of the church. All these things were wrought by "that one and the self-same Spirit, which divideth to every man severally as he will." And if this were the state of things under the Old Testament, a judgment may thence be made how it is under the New. The principal advantage of the present state above that which is past, next unto the coming of Christ in the flesh, consists in the pouring out of the Holy Ghost upon the disciples of Christ in a larger manner than formerly; and yet I know not how it is come to pass that some men think that neither he nor his work is of any great use unto us. And whereas we find everything that is good, even under the Old Testament, assigned unto him as the sole immediate author of it, it is hard to persuade, with many, that he continues now to do almost any good at all; and what he is allowed to have any hand in, it is sure to be so stated as that the principal praise of it may redound unto ourselves. So diverse, yea, so adverse, are the thoughts of God and men in these things, where our thoughts are not captivated unto the obedience of faith! But we must shut up this discourse. It is a common saying among the Jewish masters that the gift of the Holy Ghost ceased under the second temple, or after the finishing of it. Their meaning must be, that it did so as to the gifts of ministerial prophecy, of miracles, and of writing the mind of God by inspiration for the use of the church. Otherwise there is no truth in their observation; for there were afterward especial revelations of the Holy Ghost granted unto many, as unto Simeon and Anna, Luke ii. 25-38; and others constantly receive of his gifts and graces, to enable them unto obedience, and fit them for their employments; for without a continuance of these supplies the church itself must absolutely cease. __________________________________________________________________ [53] Semeiose d' hos tina men eiretai di' ainigmaton, tina di phaneroteron. Ta men houn di' epikrupseos hegoumai ton ek peritomes heneka kekallummenos apodedosthai, dia ta thespizomena kat' auton skuthropa. Di' haper eikos en kai aphanisai autous ten graphen, ei ek tou prophanous ten eschaten auton apobolen esemainen -- Euseb. Demonst. Evangel. lib. vi. Prooem. [54] "Omnes prophetæ illa tantummodo sciebant quæ illis fuissent a Domino revelata. Unde et rex Hieremiam dubio interrogat, Si in ea hora qua cum illo loquebatur apud eum sermo Domini haberetur. Sed et Eliseus dicit, Quomodo hæc Dominus abscondit a me; et Elias præter se esse alios qui Deum colerent ignoravit." -- Hieron. Comment. in Epist. ad Roman. cap. ii. [55] Ohi de tou Theou anthropoi pneumatophoroi pneumatos hagiou, kai prophetai genomenoi hup' autou tou Theou empneusthentes kai sophisthentes egenonto theodidaktoi, kai hosioi kai dikaioi. -- Theophil. ad Autolycum. lib. ii."Prophetæ voces itemque virtutes ad fidem divinitatis edebant." -- Tertul. Apol. cap. xviii.Oud' andros touto poiein, e sophou tinos kai theiou? e theos an echoi phaie tis an, touto to geras. Kai gar ou tou manteos, to dioti, alla to hoti monon eipou. -- Plotin. Ennead. iii. lib. 3. [56] "Sed et hoc notandum ex eo quod dixerat; ut videam quid loquatur, in me; prophetiam visionem et eloquium Dei non extrinsecus ad prophetas fieri, sed intrinsecus et interiori homini respondere. Unde et Zacharias, et angelus inquit, qui loquebatur in me." -- Hieron. Comment. in Hab. cap. ii. [57] And whereas the ancients contend, against the Ebionites, Marcionites, and Montanists, (as Epiphanius, Advers. Hæres. lib. ii. tom. 1; Hæres. xlviii.; Hieron. Prooem. Comment. in Isa.,) that the prophets were not used ecstatically, but understood the things that were spoken to them, they did not intend that they had, by virtue of their inspiration, a full comprehension of the whole sense of the revelations made unto them, but only that they were not in or by prophecy deprived of the use of their intellectual faculties, as it befell satanical enthusiasts. Tauta gar alethos propheton en hagio pneumati, erromenen echonton ten dianoian kai ten didaskalian kai ten dialogian, as Epiphanius speaks. Wherefore, upon these words of Austin, "Per quosdam scientes, per quosdam nescientes, id quod ex adventu Christi usque nunc et deinceps agitur prænunciaretur esse venturum," de Civitat. Dei, lib. vii. cap. 32, one well adds, "Prophetæ nec omnes sua vaticinia intelligebant, nec qui intelligebant omnia intelligebant; non enim ex se loquebantur sed ex superiore Dei afflatu; cujus consilia non onmia eis erant manifesta; utebaturque Deus illis non velut consultis futurorum, sed instrumentis quibus homines alloqueretur." [58] "Nec aer voce pulsatus ad aures eorum perveniebat, sed Deus loquebatur in animo prophetarum." -- Hieron. Prooem., in lib. i. Comment. in Isa. [59] Pneuma de tou Theou pata pasin men ouk estin. Para de tisi tois dikaiois politeuomenois katagomenon, kai sumplekomenon te psuche, dia proagoreuseon tais loipais psuchais to kekrummenon anengeile. -- Tatian. Assyr. Contra. Græcos. [60] "Sunt autem multa genera prophetandi, quorum unum est somniorum quale fuit in Daniele." -- Hieron. in Hieremian, cap. 23. [61] "Propheta Deum, qui corporaliter invisibilis est, non corporaliter sed spiritualiter videt. Nam multa genera visionis in Scripturis sanctis inveniuntur. Unum secundum oculos corporis, sicut vidit Abraham tres viros sub ilice Mambre; alterum secundum quod imaginamur ea quæ per corpus sentimus. Nam et pars ipsa nostra cum Divinitus assumitur, multa revelantur non per oculos corperis, aut aures, aliumve sensum carnalem, sed tamen his similia, sicut vidit Petrus discum illum submitti a coelo cum variis animalibus. Tertium autem genus visionis est secundum mentis intuitum quo intellectu conspiciuntur veritas et sapientia; sine quo genere illa duo quæ prius posui vel infructuosa sunt vel etiam in errorem mittunt." -- August. contra Adamantum, cap. xxviii. [62] "Prophetæ erant Baal, et prophetæ confusionis, et alii offensionum, et quoscunque vitiosos prophetas Scriptura commemorat." -- Hieron. Comment. in Epist. ad Titum. cap. i. [63] Zeteseis de ei pantes, ei tis propheteuei, ek pneumatos hagiou propheteuei? pos de ou zeteseos axion estin, eige Dabid meta ten epi tou Ouriou hamartian eulaboumenos aphairethenai ap' autou to hagion pneuma phesi. To pneuma to hagion sou me antaneles ap' emou ... Houto de zeteseos axion esti to peri tou agiou pneumatos ei dunatai heinai kai en amartolo psuche -- Origen. Commentar. in Johan. tom. 30."Prophetiæ mysterio usi sunt etiam qui exorbitaverant a vera religione, quia et illis dedit Deus verbum suum ut mysteria futura pronunciarent hominibus." -- Hieron. Comment. in Job. cap. xxxiii."Nam et prophetare et dæmonia excludere et virtutes magnas in terris facere sublimis utique et admirabilis res est, non tamen regnum coeleste consequitur quisquis in his omnibus invenitur, nisi recti et justi itineris observatione gradiatur." -- Cyprian. de Unitat. Ecclesiæ. [64] Ei tis men oun Prophetes esti pantos propheteuei; ei de tis propheteuei ou pantos esti Prophetes ... Ek de ton peri ton Kaiaphan anagegrammenon, propheteusanta peri tou soteros, estin hoti kai mochthera psuche epidechetai tote to propheteuein. --Origen. Comment. in Johan. sect. 30. [65] "Saul invidiæ stimulo suscitatus et malo spiritu sæpe arreptus, cum David occidere vellet, et ipse David tunc cum Samuele et cæterorum prophetarum cuneo prophetaret, misit Saul nuncios et ipsum interficiendum de medio prophetarum rapere jubet. -- Sed et ipse cum inter prophetas venerat prophetabat. -- Quoniam Spiritus Sancti verba non dicentium merito pensantur, sed ipsius voluntate ubicunque voluerit proferuntur. At vero quidam in hoc loco æstimant quod Saul non Divino Spiritu sed malo illo quo sæpe arripiebatur per totum illum diem prophetaret ... Sed qualiter hoc sentiri potest cum ita scribitur; et factus est super eum Spiritus Domini et ambulans prophetabat? nisi forte sic in hoc loco accipitur Spiritus Domini quomodo et alio loco Spiritus Domini malus Saul arripiebat. Verumtamen ubicunque sine additamento Spiritus Dei vel Spiritus Domini vel Spiritus Christi in Scripturis sanctis invenitur, Spiritus Sanctus esse a nullo sano sensu dubitatur. Ubicunque vero cum additamento Spiritus Domini malus dicitur esse, intelligitur diabolus esse, qui Domini propter ministerium, malus propter vitium dictus videtur." -- August. de Mirabil. Scripturæ, lib. ii. cap. 10. [66] See his treatises on "The Divine Original of the Scriptures," "Vindication of Greek and Hebrew Texts," and "Exercitationes adversus Fanaticos," vol. xvi. of his works. -- Ed. __________________________________________________________________ Chapter II. General dispensation of the Holy Spirit with respect unto the new creation. The work of the Spirit of God in the new creation proposed to consideration -- The importance of the doctrine hereof -- The plentiful effusion of the Spirit the great promise respecting the times of the New Testament -- Ministry of the gospel founded on the promise of the Spirit -- How this promise is made unto all believers -- Injunction to all to pray for the Spirit of God -- The solemn promise of Christ to send his Spirit when he left the world -- The ends for which he promised him -- The work of the new creation the principal means of the revelation of God and his glory -- How this revelation is made in particular herein. We are now arrived at that part of our work which was principally intended in the whole, and that because our faith and obedience are principally therein concerned; -- this is, the dispensation and work of the Holy Ghost with respect to the gospel, or the new creation of all things in and by Jesus Christ. And this, if any thing in the Scripture, is worthy of our most diligent inquiry and meditation; nor is there any more important principle and head of that religion which we do profess. The doctrine of the being and unity of the divine nature is common to us with the rest of mankind, and hath been so from the foundation of the world, however some, "like brute beasts," have herein also "corrupted themselves." The doctrine of the Trinity, or the subsistence of three persons in the one divine nature or being, was known to all who enjoyed divine revelation, even under the Old Testament, though to us it be manifested with more light and convincing evidence. The incarnation of the Son of God was promised and expected from the first entrance of sin, and received its actual accomplishment in the fullness of time, during the continuance of the Mosaical pedagogy. But this dispensation of the Holy Ghost whereof we now proceed to treat is so peculiar unto the New Testament, that the evangelist speaking of it says, "The Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified," John vii. 39; and they who were instructed in the doctrine of John the Baptist only, knew not "whether there were any Holy Ghost," Acts xix. 2. Both which sayings concerned his dispensation under the New Testament; for his eternal being and existence they were not ignorant of, nor did he then first begin to be, as we have fully manifested in our foregoing discourses. To stir us up, therefore, unto diligence in this inquiry, unto what was in general laid down before I shall add some considerations evidencing the greatness and necessity of this duty, and then proceed to the matter itself that we have proposed to handle and explain:-- 1. The plentiful effusion of the Spirit is that which was principally prophesied of and foretold as the great privilege and pre-eminence of the gospel church-state; this was that good wine which was kept until the last. This all the prophets bear witness unto: see Isa. xxxv. 7, xliv. 3; Joel ii. 28; Ezek. xi. 19, xxxvi. 27, with other places innumerable. The great promise of the Old Testament was that concerning the coming of Christ in the flesh. But he was so to come as to put an end unto that whole church-state wherein his coming was expected. To prove this was the principal design of the apostle in his Epistle to the Hebrews. But this promise of the Spirit, whose accomplishment was reserved for the times of the gospel, was to be the foundation of another church-state, and the means of its continuance. If, therefore, we have any interest in the gospel itself, or desire to have; if we have either part or lot in this matter, or desire to be made partakers of the benefits which attend thereon, -- which are no less than our acceptation with God here and our salvation hereafter, -- it is our duty to search the Scriptures, and inquire diligently into these things. And let no man deceive us with vain words, as though the things spoken concerning the Spirit of God and his work towards them that do believe were fanatical and unintelligible by rational men; for because of this contempt of him, the wrath of God will come on the children of disobedience. And if the "world in wisdom," and their reason, "know him not," nor can "receive him," yet they who believe do know him; for "he dwelleth with them, and shall be in them," John xiv. 17. And the present practice of the world, in despising and slighting the Spirit of God and his work, gives light and evidence into those words of our Saviour, that "the world cannot receive him;" and it cannot do so, because it "neither seeth him nor knoweth him," or hath no experience of his work in them, or of his power and grace. Accordingly [so] doth it, [so] is it come to pass. Wherefore, not to avow the Spirit of God in his work, is to be ashamed of the gospel and of the promise of Christ, as if it were a thing not to be owned in the world. 2. The ministry of the gospel, whereby we are begotten again, that we should be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures unto God, is from his promised presence with it and work in it, called the ministry of the Spirit, even of the Spirit that giveth life, 2 Cor. iii. 8; and it is so in opposition to the "ministration of the law," wherein yet there were a multitude of ordinances of worship and glorious ceremonies. And he who knows no more of the ministry of the gospel but what consists in an attendance unto the letter of institutions and the manner of their performance knows nothing of it. Nor yet is there any extraordinary afflatus or inspiration now intended or attended unto, as we are slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we pretend; but there is that presence of the Spirit of God with the ministry of the gospel, in his authority, assistance, communication of gifts and abilities, guidance, and direction, as without which it will be useless and unprofitable in and unto all that take the work thereof upon them. This will be more fully declared afterward; for, -- 3. The promise and gift of the Spirit under the gospel is not made nor granted unto any peculiar sort of persons only, but unto all believers, as their conditions and occasions do require. They are not, therefore, the especial interest of a few, but the common concern of all Christians. The Papists grant that this promise is continued; but they would confine it to their pope or their councils, things nowhere mentioned in the Scripture, nor the object of any one gospel promise whatever. It is all believers in their places and stations, churches in their order, and ministers in their office, unto whom the promise of him is made, and towards whom it is accomplished, as shall be shown. Others, also, grant the continuance of this gift, but understand no more by it but an ordinary blessing upon men's rational endeavours, common and exposed unto all alike. This is no less than to overthrow his whole work, to take his sovereignty out of his hand, and to deprive the church of all especial interest in the promise of Christ concerning him. In this inquiry, therefore, we look after what at present belongs unto ourselves, if so be we are disciples of Christ, and do expect the fulfilling of his promises; for whatever men may pretend, unto this day, "if they have not the Spirit of Christ, they are none of his," Rom. viii. 9: for our Lord Jesus Christ hath promised him as a comforter, to abide with his disciples forever, John xiv. 16, and by him it is that he is present with them and among them to the end of the world, Matt. xxviii. 20, xviii. 20; -- that we speak not as yet of his sanctifying work, whereby we are enabled to believe, and are made partakers of that holiness without which no man shall see God. Wherefore, without him all religion is but a body without a soul, a carcass without an animating spirit. It is true, in the continuation of his work he ceaseth from putting forth those extraordinary effects of his power which were needful for the laying the foundation of the church in the world; but the whole work of his grace, according to the promise of the covenant, is no less truly and really carried on at this day, in and towards all the elect of God, than it was on the day of Pentecost and onwards; and so is his communication of gifts necessary for the edification of the church, Eph. iv. 11-13. The owning, therefore, and avowing the work of the Holy Ghost in the hearts and on the minds of men, according to the tenor of the covenant of grace, is the principal part of that profession which at this day all believers are called unto. 4. We are taught in an especial manner to pray that God would give his Holy Spirit unto us, that through his aid and assistance we may live unto God in that holy obedience which he requires at our hands, Luke xi. 9-13. Our Saviour, enjoining an importunity in our supplications, verses 9, 10, and giving us encouragement that we shall succeed in our requests, verses 11, 12, makes the subject-matter of them to be the Holy Spirit: "Your heavenly Father shall give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him," verse 13; which in the other evangelist is "good things," Matt. vii. 11, because he is the author of them all in us and to us, nor doth God bestow any good thing on us but by his Spirit. Hence, the promise of bestowing the Spirit is accompanied with a prescription of duty unto us, that we should ask him or pray for him; which is included in every promise where his sending, giving, or bestowing is mentioned. He, therefore, is the great subject-matter of all our prayers. And that signal promise of our blessed Saviour, to send him as a comforter, to abide with us forever, is a directory for the prayers of the church in all generations. Nor is there any church in the world fallen under such a total degeneracy but that, in their public offices, there are testimonies of their ancient faith and practice, in praying for the coming of the Spirit unto them, according to this promise of Christ. And therefore our apostle, in all his most solemn prayers for the churches in his days, makes this the chief petition of them, that God would give unto them, and increase in them, the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit, with the Spirit himself, for sundry especial effects and operations whereof they stood in need, Eph. i. 17, iii. 16; Col. ii. 2. And this is a full conviction of what importance the consideration of the Spirit of God and his work is unto us. We must deal in this matter with that confidence which the truth instructs us unto, and therefore say, that he who prayeth not constantly and diligently for the Spirit of God, that he may be made partaker of him for the ends for which he is promised, is a stranger from Christ and his gospel. This we are to attend unto, as that whereon our eternal happiness doth depend. God knows our state and condition, and we may better learn our wants from his prescription of what we ought to pray for than from our sense and experience; for we are in the dark unto our own spiritual concerns, through the power of our corruptions and temptations, and "know not what we should pray for as we ought," Rom. viii. 26. But our heavenly Father knows perfectly what we stand in need of; and, therefore, whatever be our present apprehensions concerning ourselves, which are to be examined by the word, our prayers are to be regulated by what God hath enjoined us to ask and what he hath promised to bestow. 5. What was before mentioned may here be called over again and farther improved, yea, it is necessary that so it should be. This is, the solemn promise of Jesus Christ when he was [about] to leave this world by death, [John xiv. 15-17.] And whereas he therein made and confirmed his testament, Heb. ix. 15-17, he bequeathed his Spirit as his great legacy unto his disciples; and this he gave unto them as the great pledge of their future inheritance, 2 Cor. i. 22, which they were to live upon in this world. All other good things he hath, indeed, bequeathed unto believers, as he speaks of peace with God in particular: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you," John xiv. 27. But he gives particular graces and mercies for particular ends and purposes. The Holy Spirit he bequeaths to supply his own absence, John xvi. 13; that is, for all the ends of spiritual and eternal life. Let us, therefore, consider this gift of the Spirit either formally, under this notion that he was the principal legacy left unto the church by our dying Saviour, or materially, as to the ends and purposes for which he is so bequeathed, and it will be evident what valuation we ought to have of him and his work. How would some rejoice if they could possess any relic of any thing that belonged unto our Saviour in the days of his flesh, though of no use or benefit unto them! Yea, how great a part of men called Christians do boast in some pretended parcels of the tree whereon he suffered! Love abused by superstition lies at the bottom of this vanity; for they would embrace any thing left them by their dying Saviour. But he left them no such things, nor did ever bless and sanctify them unto any holy or sacred ends; and therefore hath the abuse of them been punished with blindness and idolatry. But this [gift of the Spirit] is openly testified unto in the gospel. Then when his heart was overflowing with love unto his disciples and care for them, when he took a holy prospect of what would be their condition, their work, duty, and temptations in the world, and thereon made provision of all that they could stand in need of, he promiseth to leave and give unto them his Holy Spirit to abide with them forever, directing us to look unto him for all our comforts and supplies. According, therefore, unto our valuation and esteem of him, to our satisfaction and acquiescency in him, is our regard to the love, care, and wisdom of our blessed Saviour to be measured. And, indeed, it is only in his word and Spirit wherein we can either honour or despise him in this world; in his own person he is exalted at the right hand of God, far above all principalities and powers, so that nothing of ours can immediately reach him or affect him. But it is in our regard to these that he makes a trial of our faith, love, and obedience. And it is a matter of lamentation to consider the contempt and scorn that, on various pretences, is cast upon this Holy Spirit, and the work whereunto he is sent by God the Father and by Jesus Christ; for there is included therein a contempt of them also. Nor will a pretence of honouring God in their own way secure such persons as shall contract the guilt of this abomination; for it is an idol, -- and not the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, -- who doth not work effectually in the elect by the Holy Ghost, according to the Scriptures. And if we consider this promise of the Spirit to be given unto us, as to the ends of it, then, -- 6. He is promised and given as the sole cause and author of all the good that in this world we are or can be made partakers of; [67] for, (1.) there is no good communicated unto us from God, but it is bestowed on us or wrought in us by the Holy Ghost. No gift, no grace, no mercy, no privilege, no consolation, do we receive, possess, or use, but it is wrought in us, collated on us, or manifested unto us, by him alone. Nor, (2.) is there any good in us towards God, any faith, love, duty, obedience, but what is effectually wrought in us by him, by him alone; for "in us, that is, in our flesh" (and by nature we are but flesh), "there dwelleth no good thing." All these things are from him and by him, as shall, God assisting, be made to appear by instances of all sorts in our ensuing discourse. And these considerations I thought meet to premise unto our entrance into that work which now lieth before us. (1.) The great work whereby God designed to glorify himself ultimately in this world was that of the new creation, or of the recovery and restoration of all things by Jesus Christ, Heb. i. 1-3; Eph. i. 10. And as this is in general confessed by all Christians, so I have elsewhere insisted on the demonstration of it. (2.) That which God ordereth and designeth as the principal means for the manifestation of his glory must contain the most perfect and absolute revelation and declaration of himself, his nature, his being, his existence, and excellencies; for from their discovery and manifestation, with the duties which as known they require from rational creatures, doth the glory of God arise, and no otherwise. (3.) This, therefore, was to be done in this great work; and it was done accordingly. Hence is the Lord Christ, in his work of mediation, said to be "The image of the invisible God," Col. i. 15; "The brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person," Heb. i. 3; in whose face the knowledge of the glory of God shineth forth unto us, 2 Cor. iv. 6; -- because in and by him, in his work of the new creation, all the glorious properties of the nature of God are manifested and displayed incomparably above what they were in the creation of all things in the beginning. I say, therefore, in the contrivance, projection, production, carrying on, disposal, and accomplishment of this great work, God hath made the most eminent and glorious discovery of himself unto angels and men, Eph. iii. 8-10, 1 Pet. i. 10-12; that we may know, love, trust, honour, and obey him in all things as God, and according to his will. (4.) In particular, in this new creation he hath revealed himself in an especial manner as three in one. There was no one more glorious mystery brought to light in and by Jesus Christ than that of the holy Trinity, or the subsistence of the three persons in the unity of the same divine nature. And this was done not so much in express propositions or verbal testimonies unto that purpose, -- which yet is done also, as by the declaration of the mutual, divine, internal acts of the persons towards one another, and the distinct, immediate, divine, external actings of each person in the work which they did and do perform, -- for God revealeth not himself unto us merely doctrinally and dogmatically, but by the declaration of what he doth for us, in us, and towards us, in the accomplishment of "the counsel of his own will;" see Eph. i. 4-12. And this revelation is made unto us, not that our minds might be possessed with the notions of it, but that we may know aright how to place our trust in him, how to obey him and live unto him, how to obtain and exercise communion with him, until we come to the enjoyment of him. We may make application of these things unto, and exemplify them yet farther in, the work under consideration. Three things in general are in it proposed unto our faith:-- 1. The supreme purpose, design, contrivance, and disposal of it. 2. The purchasing and procuring cause and means of the effects of that design, with its accomplishment in itself and with respect unto God. 3. The application of the supreme design and actual accomplishment of it, to make it effectual unto us. The first of these is absolutely in the Scripture assigned unto the Father, and that uniformly and everywhere. His will, his counsel, his love, his grace, his authority, his purpose, his design, are constantly proposed as the foundation of the whole work, as those which were to be pursued, effected, accomplished: see Isa. xlii. 1-4; Ps. xl. 6-8; John iii. 16; Isa. liii. 10-12; Eph. i. 4-12, and other places innumerable. And on this account, because the Son undertook to effect whatever the Father had so designed and purposed, there were many acts of the will of the Father towards the Son, -- [as] in sending, giving, appointing of him; in preparing him a body; in comforting and supporting him; in rewarding and giving a people unto him, -- which belong unto the Father, on the account of the authority, love, and wisdom, that were in them, their actual operation belonging particularly unto another person. And in these things is the person of the Father in the divine being proposed unto us to be known and adored. Secondly, The Son condescendeth, consenteth, and engageth to do and accomplish in his own person the whole work which, in the authority, counsel, and wisdom of the Father, was appointed for him, Phil. ii. 5-8. And in these divine operations is the person of the Son revealed unto us to be "honoured even as we honour the Father." Thirdly, The Holy Ghost doth immediately work and effect whatever was to be done in reference unto the person of the Son or the sons of men, for the perfecting and accomplishment of the Father's counsel and the Son's work, in an especial application of both unto their especial effects and ends. Hereby is he made known unto us, and hereby our faith concerning him and in him is directed. And thus, in this great work of the new creation by Jesus Christ, doth God cause all his glory to pass before us, that we may both know him and worship him in a due manner. And what is the peculiar work of the Holy Ghost herein we shall now declare. __________________________________________________________________ [67] "Gratias ago tibi clementissime Deus, quis quod quæsivi mane prior ipse donasti." -- Cypr. de Baptism. Christi. __________________________________________________________________ Chapter III. Work of the Holy Spirit with respect unto the head of the new creation - the human nature of Christ. The especial works of the Holy Spirit in the new creation -- His work on the human nature of Christ -- How this work could be, considering the union of the human nature unto and in the person of the Son of God -- Assumption of the human nature into union, the only act of the person of the Son towards it -- Personal union the only necessary consequent of this assumption -- All other actings of the person of the Son in and on the human nature voluntary -- The Holy Spirit the immediate efficient cause of all divine operations -- -He is the Spirit of the Son or of the Father -- How all the works of the Trinity are undivided -- The body of Christ formed in the womb by the Holy Ghost, but of the substance of the blessed Virgin; why this was necessary -- Christ not hence the Son of the Holy Ghost according to the human nature -- Difference between the assumption of the human nature by the Son and the creation of it by the Holy Ghost -- The conception of Christ, how ascribed to the Holy Ghost, and how to the blessed Virgin -- Reasons of the espousal of the blessed Virgin to Joseph before the conception of Christ -- The actual purity and holiness of the soul and body of Christ from his miraculous conception. The dispensation and work of the Holy Ghost in this new creation respect, first, The Head of the church, the Lord Jesus Christ, in his human nature, as it was to be, and was, united unto the person of the Son of God. Secondly, It concerns the members of that mystical body in all that belongs unto them as such. And under these two heads we shall consider them. First, therefore, we are to inquire what are the operations of the Holy Ghost in reference unto Jesus Christ, the Head of the church. And these were of two sorts:-- 1. Such as whereof the person of Christ in his human nature was the immediate object. 2. Such as he performs towards others on his behalf; that is, with direct respect unto his person and office. I. But yet, before we enter upon the first sort of his works which we shall begin withal, an objection of seeming weight and difficulty must be removed out of our way; which I shall the rather do because our answer unto it will make the whole matter treated of the more plain and familiar unto us. It may, therefore, be, and it is objected, "That whereas the human nature of Christ is assigned as the immediate object of these operations of the Holy Ghost, and that nature was immediately, inseparably, and undividedly united unto the person of the Son of God, there doth not seem to be any need, nor indeed room, for any such operations of the Spirit; for could not the Son of God himself, in his own person, perform all things requisite both for the forming, supporting, sanctifying, and preserving of his own nature, without the especial assistance of the Holy Ghost? nor is it easy to be understood how an immediate work of the Holy Ghost should be interposed, in the same person, between the one nature and the other." And this seeming difficulty is vehemently pressed by the Socinians, who think to entangle our whole doctrine of the blessed Trinity and incarnation of the Son of God thereby. But express testimonies of Scripture, with the clear and evident analogy of faith, will carry us easily and safely through this seeming difficulty. To which end we may observe, that, -- 1. The only singular immediate act of the person of the Son on the human nature was the assumption of it into subsistence with himself. Herein the Father and the Spirit had no interest nor concurrence, ei me kat' eudokian kai boulesin, "but by approbation and consent," as Damascen speaks: for the Father did not assume the human nature, he was not incarnate; neither did the Holy Spirit do so; but this was the peculiar act and work of the Son. See John i. 14; Rom. i. 3; Gal. iv. 4; Phil. ii. 6, 7; Heb. ii. 14, 16; which places, with many others to the same purpose, I have elsewhere expounded, and vindicated from the exceptions of the Socinians. 2. That the only necessary consequent of this assumption of the human nature, or the incarnation of the Son of God, is the personal union of Christ, or the inseparable subsistence of the assumed nature in the person of the Son. This was necessary and indissoluble, so that it was not impeached nor shaken in the least by the temporary dissolution of that nature by the separation of the soul and body: for the union of the soul and body in Christ did not constitute him a person, that the dissolution of them should destroy his personality; but he was a person by the uniting of both unto the Son of God. 3. That all other actings of God in the person of the Son towards the human nature were voluntary, and did not necessarily ensue on the union mentioned; for there was no transfusion of the properties of one nature into the other, nor real physical communication of divine essential excellencies unto the humanity. Those who seem to contend for any such thing resolve all at last into a true assignation by way of predication, as necessary on the union mentioned, but contend not for a real transfusion of the properties of one nature into the other. But these communications were voluntary. Hence were those temporary dispensations, when, under his great trial, the human nature complained of its desertion and dereliction by the divine, Matt. xxvii. 46; for this forsaking was not as to personal union, or necessary subsistence and supportment, but as to voluntary communications of light and consolation. Hence himself declares that the human nature was not the residential subject of omnisciency; for so he speaks, Mark xiii. 32, "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father." For the exposition given by some of the ancients, that the Lord Christ speaks not this absolutely, but only "that he knew it not to declare it unto them," is unworthy of him; for no more did the Father so know it, seeing he hath not declared it. But this was the opinion only of some of them; the more advised were otherwise minded. He [68] speaks of himself with respect unto his human nature only, and thereunto all communications were voluntary. So after his ascension, God gave him that revelation that he made to the apostle, Rev. i. 1. The human nature, therefore, however inconceivably advanced, is not the subject of infinite, essentially divine properties; and the actings of the Son of God towards it, consequential unto its assumption, and that indissoluble subsistence in its union which ensued thereon, are voluntary. 4. The Holy Ghost, as we have proved before, is the immediate, peculiar, efficient cause of all external divine operations: for God worketh by his Spirit, or in him immediately applies the power and efficacy of the divine excellencies unto their operation; whence the same work is equally the work of each person. 5. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Son, no less than the Spirit of the Father. He proceedeth from the Son, as from the Father. He is the "Spirit of the Son," Gal. iv. 6. And hence is he the immediate operator of all divine acts of the Son himself, even on his own human nature. Whatever the Son of God wrought in, by, or upon the human nature, he did it by the Holy Ghost, who is his Spirit, as he is the Spirit of the Father. 6. To clear the whole matter, it must be yet farther observed that the immediate actings of the Holy Ghost are not spoken of him absolutely, nor ascribed unto him exclusively, as unto the other persons and their concurrence in them. It is a saying generally admitted, that Opera Trinitatis ad extra sunt indivisa. There is no such division in the external operations of God that any one of them should be the act of one person, without the concurrence of the others; and the reason of it is, because the nature of God, which is the principle of all divine operations, is one and the same, undivided in them all. Whereas, therefore, they are the effects of divine power, and that power is essentially the same in each person, the works themselves belong equally unto them: as, if it were possible that three men might see by the same eye, the act of seeing would be but one, and it would be equally the act of all three. But the things we insist on are ascribed eminently unto the Holy Ghost, on the account of the order of his subsistence in the holy Trinity, as he is the Spirit of the Father and the Son; whence, in every divine act, the authority of the Father, the love and wisdom of the Son, with the immediate efficacy and power of the Holy Ghost, are to be considered. Yea, and there is such a distinction in their operations, that one divine act may produce a peculiar respect and relation unto one person, and not unto another; as the assumption of the human nature did to the Son, for he only was incarnate. And such are the especial actings of the Holy Ghost towards the head of the church, our Lord Jesus Christ, in this work of the new creation, as we shall demonstrate in sundry instances:-- First, The framing, forming, and miraculous conception of the body of Christ in the womb of the blessed Virgin was the peculiar and especial work of the Holy Ghost. [69] This work, I acknowledge, in respect of designation, and the authoritative disposal of things, is ascribed unto the Father; for so the Lord Christ speaketh unto him: "A body hast thou prepared me," Heb. x. 5. But this preparation does not signify the actual forming and making ready of that body, but the eternal designation of it: it was prepared in the counsel and love of the Father. As to voluntary assumption, it is ascribed to the Son himself: chap. ii. 14, "Forasmuch as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same;" he took upon him a body and soul, entire human nature, as the children, or all believers, have the same, synecdochically expressed by "flesh and blood." Verse 16, "He took on him the seed of Abraham." But the immediate divine efficiency in this matter was the peculiar work of the Holy Ghost: Matt. i. 18, "When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost." Verse 20, "That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost." Luke i. 35, "The angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." 1. The person working is the Holy Ghost. He is the wonderful operator in this glorious work. And therein the power of the Most High was exerted; for "The power of the Highest" is neither explicatory of the former expression, "The Holy Ghost," as though he were only the power of the Most High, nor is it the adjoining of a distinct agent or cause unto him, as though the Holy Ghost and the power of the Most High were different agents in this matter. Only the manner of his effecting this wonderful matter, concerning which the blessed Virgin had made that inquiry, verse 34, "How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?" is expressed. "The Holy Ghost," saith the angel, "acting the power of the Most High," or in the infinite power of God, "shall accomplish it." 2. For his access unto his work, it is expressed by his "coming upon her." The importance of this expression, and what is signified thereby, hath been declared before. And it is often used to declare his actings with reference unto the production of miraculous works: Acts i. 8, "Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you;" -- "He will so come upon you as to put forth the power of the Most High in you and by you, in gifts and operations miraculous;" for he is said to come, with respect unto his beginning of any marvellous operation, where before he did not work to the like purpose. 3. The act of the Holy Ghost in this matter was a creating act; not, indeed, like the first creating act, which produced the matter and substance of all things out of nothing, causing that to be which was not before, neither in matter, nor form, nor passive disposition; but like those subsequent acts of creation, whereby, out of matter before made and prepared, things were made that which before they were not, and which of themselves they had no active disposition unto nor concurrence in. So man was created or formed of the dust of the earth, and woman of a rib taken from man. There was a previous matter unto their creation, but such as gave no assistance nor had any active disposition to the production of that particular kind of creature whereinto they were formed by the creating power of God. Such was this act of the Holy Ghost in forming the body of our Lord Jesus Christ; for although it was effected by an act of infinite creating power, yet it was formed or made of the substance of the blessed Virgin. That it should be so was absolutely necessary, -- (1.) For the accomplishment of the promises made unto Abraham and David, that the Messiah should be of their seed, and proceed from their loins. (2.) So was it also on the account of the first original promise, that the "seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head:" for the Word was to be "made flesh," John i. 14; to be "made of a woman," Gal. iv. 4; or "made of the seed of David according to the flesh," Rom. i. 3; and to take upon him "the seed of Abraham," Heb. ii. 16. (3.) To confirm the truth hereof is his genealogy according to the flesh given us by two of the evangelists; which were neither to the purpose nor true if he were not made of the substance or flesh of the blessed Virgin. (4.) Besides, all our cognation and alliance unto him, whence he was meet to be our Saviour, suffering in the same nature wherein we have sinned, do depend hereon, Heb. ii. 14; for if he had not been made like us in all things, sin only excepted, if he had not been partaker of our nature, there had been no foundation for the imputing that unto us which he did, suffered, and wrought, Rom. viii. 3, 4. And hence these things are accounted unto us, and cannot be so unto angels, whose nature he did not take upon him, Heb. ii. 16. This, therefore, was the work of the Holy Ghost in reference unto the human nature of Christ in the womb of his mother: By his omnipotent power he formed it of the substance of the body of the holy Virgin, -- that is, as unto his body. And hence sundry things do ensue:-- 1. That the Lord Christ could not on this account, no, not with respect unto his human nature only, be said to be the Son of the Holy Ghost, although he supplied the place and virtue of a natural father in generation; for the relation of filiation dependeth only on and ariseth from a perfect generation, and not on every effect of an efficient cause. When one fire is kindled by another, we do not say that it is the son of that other, unless it be very improperly; much less when a man builds a house do we say that it is his son. There was, therefore, no other relation between the person of the Holy Ghost and the human nature of Christ but that of a creator and a creature. And the Lord Christ is, and is called, "The Son of God' with respect only unto the Father and his eternal, ineffable generation, communicating being and subsistence unto him, as the fountain and original of the Trinity. Filiation, therefore, is a personal adjunct, and belongs unto Christ as he was a divine person, and not with respect unto his human nature. But that nature being assumed, whole Christ was the Son of God. 2. That this act of the Holy Ghost, in forming of the body of Christ, differs from the act of the Son in assuming the human nature into personal union with himself: for this act of the Son was not a creating act, producing a being out of nothing, or making any thing by the same power to be what in its own nature it was not; but it was an ineffable act of love and wisdom, taking the nature so formed by the Holy Ghost, so prepared for him, to be his own in the instant of its formation, and thereby preventing the singular and individual subsistence of that nature in and by itself. So, then, as the creating act of the Holy Ghost, in forming the body of our Lord Jesus Christ in the womb, doth not denominate him to be his father, no, not according to the human nature, but he is the Son of God upon the account of his eternal generation only; so it doth not denote an assumption of that nature into union with himself, nor was he incarnate. He made the human nature of Christ, body and soul, with, in, and unto a subsistence in the second person of the Trinity, not [in] his own. 3. It hence also follows that the conception of Christ in the womb, being the effect of a creating act, was not accomplished successively and in process of time, but was perfected in an instant; [70] for although the creating acts of infinite power, where the works effected have distinct parts, may have a process or duration of time allotted unto them, as the world was created in six days, yet every part of it that was the object of an especial creating act was instantaneously produced. So was the forming of the body of Christ, with the infusion of a rational soul to quicken it, though it increased afterwards in the womb unto the birth. And as it is probable that this conception was immediate upon the angelical salutation, so it was necessary that nothing of the human nature of Christ should exist of itself antecedently unto its union with the Son of God: for in the very instant of its formation, and therein, was the "Word made flesh," John i. 14; and the Son of God was "made of a woman," Gal. iv. 4; so that the whole essence of his nature was created in the same instant. Thus far the Scriptures go before, and herein it is necessary to assert the forming of the body and soul of Christ by the Holy Spirit. The curious inquiries of some of the schoolmen and others are to be left unto themselves, or rather, to be condemned in them; for what was farther in this miraculous operation of the Holy Ghost, it seems purposely to be hid from us in that expression, Dunamis Hupsistou episkiasei soi, -- "The power of the Most High shall overshadow thee." Under the secret, glorious covert hereof we may learn to adore that holy work here, which we hope to rejoice in and bless God for unto eternity. And I suppose, also, that there is in the word an allusion unto the expression of the original acting of the Holy Spirit towards the newly-produced mass of the old creation, whereof we spake before. Then it is said of him that he was mrchpht?, as it were "hovering" and "moving" over it for the formation and production of all things living; for both the words include in them an allusion unto a covering like that of a fowl over its eggs, communicating, by its cognate warmth and heat, a principle of life unto their seminal virtue. It remaineth only that we consider how the same work of the conception of Christ is assigned unto the Holy Ghost and to the blessed Virgin; for of her it is said expressly in prophecy, hlmh hrh?, Isa. vii. 14, "A virgin shall conceive," -- the same word that is used to express the conception of any other woman, Gen. iv. 1. Hence she is termed by the ancients Theotokos and Dei genetrix; which last, at least, I wish had been forborne. Compare it with the Scripture, and there will appear an unwarrantable kainophonia in it. So Luke i. 31. The words of the angel to her are, Sullepse en gastri, kai texe huion, -- "Thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son;" where her conception of him is distinguished from her bringing of him forth. And yet in the ancient creed commonly called the Apostles', and generally received by all Christians as a summary of religion, it is said he was "conceived by the Holy Ghost," and only "born of the Virgin Mary." Ans. The same work is assigned to both as causes of a different kind, -- unto the Holy Spirit as the active, efficient cause, who by his almighty power produced the effect. And the disputes managed by some of the ancients about "de Spiritu Sancto" and "ex Spiritu Sancto" were altogether needless; for it is his creating efficiency that is intended. And his conceiving is ascribed unto the holy Virgin as the passive, material cause; for his body was formed of her substance, as was before declared. And this conception of Christ was after her solemn espousals unto Joseph, and that for sundry reasons; for, -- 1. Under the covering of her marriage to him she was to receive a protection of her spotless innocency. And besides, 2. God provided one that should take care of her and her child in his infancy. And, 3. Hereby, also, was our blessed Saviour freed from the imputation of an illegitimate birth, until by his own miraculous operations he should give testimony unto his miraculous conception; concerning which before his mother could not have been believed. 4. That he might have one on whose account his genealogy might be recorded, to manifest the accomplishment of the promise unto Abraham and David; for the line of a genealogy was not legally continued by the mother only. Hence Matthew gives us his genealogy by Joseph, to whom his mother was legally espoused. And although Luke gives us the true, natural line of his descent, by the progenitors of the blessed Virgin, yet he nameth her not; only mentioning her espousals, he begins with Heli, who was her father, chap. iii. 23. And this is the first thing ascribed peculiarly to the Holy Spirit with respect unto the head of the church, Christ Jesus. From this miraculous creation of the body of Christ, by the immediate power of the Holy Ghost, did it become a meet habitation for his holy soul, every way ready and complying with all actings of grace and virtue. We have not only the depravation of our natures in general, but the obliquity of our particular constitutions, to conflict withal. Hence it is that one is disposed to passion, wrath, and anger; another, to vanity and lightness; a third, to sensuality and fleshly pleasures; and so others to sloth and idleness. And although this disposition, so far as it is the result of our especial constitutions and complexion, is not sin in itself, yet it dwells at the next door unto it, and, as it is excited by the moral pravity of our natures, a continual occasion of it. But the body of Christ being formed pure and exact by the Holy Ghost, there was no disposition or tendency in his constitution to the least deviation from perfect holiness in any kind. The exquisite harmony of his natural temperature made love, meekness, gentleness, patience, benignity, and goodness, natural and cognate unto him, as having an incapacity of such motions as should be subservient unto or compliant with any thing different from them. Hence, secondly, also, although he took on him those infirmities which belong unto our human nature as such, and are inseparable from it until it be glorified, yet he took none of our particular infirmities which cleave unto our persons, occasioned either by the vice of our constitutions or irregularity in the use of our bodies. Those natural passions of our minds which are capable of being the means of affliction and trouble, as grief, sorrow, and the like, he took upon him; as also those infirmities of nature which are troublesome to the body, as hunger, thirst, weariness, and pain, -- yea, the purity of his holy constitution made him more highly sensible of these things than any of the children of men; -- but as to our bodily diseases and distempers, which personally adhere unto us, upon the disorder and vice of our constitutions, he was absolutely free from [them]. __________________________________________________________________ [68] Delon estin hoti kai ten tou pantos telous horan hos men logos ginoskei, hos de anthropos agnoei. Anthropou gar idion to agnoein, kai malista tauta. Alla kai touto tes philanthropias idion tou soteros. Epeide gar gegonen anthropos, ouk epeschuneto dia ten sarka ten agnoousan eipein, ouk hoida. Hina deixe hoti eidos hos theos agnoei sarkikos. -- Athanas. Orat. iv. ad Arian.Agnoei toinun kata to schema tes anthropotetos, ho ginoskon ta panta kata ten dunamin tes theotetos. -- Chrysost. tom. vii. serm. 117.Plen isteon, hoti hoi polloi ton pateron, schedon de pantes, phainontai legontes auton agnoein. Ei gar kata panta legetai hemin homoousios, agnooumen de kai hemeis, delon hoti kai autos egnoei. -- Leontius Byzantinus, de Sectis. [69] "Maximum in totâ creaturâ testimonium de divinitate Spiritus Sancti corpus Domini est; quod ex Spiritu Sancto esse creditur secundum evangelistam, Matt. i., sicut angelus ad Josephum dicit, Quod in ea natum est de Spiritu Sancto est." -- Athanas. de Fid. Un. et Trin."Creatrix virtus altissimi, superveniente Spiritu Sancto in virginem Mariam, Christi corpus fabricavit; quo ille usus templo sine viri natus est semine" -- Didym. de Spir. Sanc. lib. ii. [70] Ei tis legei proton peplasthai to soma tou kuriou hemon Iesou Christou en te metra tes hagias parthenou, kai meta tauta henothenai hauto ton Theon logon, kai ten psuchen hos prouparxasan, anathema esto. -- Concil. Constantinop. ad Origenistas. __________________________________________________________________ Chapter IV. Work of the Holy Spirit in and on the human nature of Christ. The actual sanctification of the human nature of Christ by the Holy Ghost -- On what ground spotless and free from sin -- Positively endowed with all grace -- Original holiness and sanctification in Christ, how carried on by the Spirit -- Exercise of grace in Christ by the rational faculties of his soul -- Their improvement -- Wisdom and knowledge, how increased objectively in the human nature of Christ -- The anointing of Christ by the Holy Spirit with power and gifts -- Collated eminently on him at his baptism -- John iii. 34 explained and vindicated -- Miraculous works wrought in Christ by the Holy Ghost -- Christ guided, conducted, and supported by the Spirit in his whole work -- Mark i. 12 opened -- How the Lord Christ offered himself unto God through the eternal Spirit -- His sanctification thereunto -- Graces acting eminently therein -- Love, zeal, submission, faith, and truth, all exercised therein -- The work of the Spirit of God towards Christ whilst he was in the state of the dead; in his resurrection and glorification -- The office of the Spirit to bear witness unto Christ, and its discharge -- The true way and means of coming unto the knowledge of Christ, with the necessity thereof -- Danger of mistakes herein -- What it is to love Christ as we ought. Secondly, The human nature of Christ being thus formed in the womb by a creating act of the Holy Spirit, was in the instant of its conception sanctified, and filled with grace according to the measure of its receptivity. Being not begotten by natural generation, it derived no taint of original sin or corruption from Adam, that being the only way and means of its propagation; and being not in the loins of Adam morally before the fall, the promise of his incarnation being not given until afterward, the sin of Adam could on no account be imputed unto him. All sin was charged on him as our mediator and surety of the covenant; but on his own account he was obnoxious to no charge of sin, original or actual. His nature, therefore, as miraculously created in the manner described, was absolutely innocent, spotless, and free from sin, as was Adam in the day wherein he was created. But this was not all; it was by the Holy Spirit positively endowed with all grace. And hereof it was afterward only capable of farther degrees as to actual exercise, but not of any new kind of grace. And this work of sanctification, or the original infusion of all grace into the human nature of Christ, was the immediate work of the Holy Spirit; which was necessary unto him: for let the natural faculties of the soul, the mind, will, and affections, be created pure, innocent, undefiled, -- as they cannot be otherwise immediately created of God, -- yet there is not enough to enable any rational creature to live to God; much less was it all that was in Jesus Christ. There is, moreover, required hereunto supernatural endowments of grace, superadded unto the natural faculties of our souls. If we live unto God, there must be a principle of spiritual life in us, as well [as] of life natural. This was the image of God in Adam, and was wrought in Christ by the Holy Spirit: Isa. xi. 1-3, "There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; and shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord." It is granted that the following work of the Spirit in and upon the Lord Christ, in the execution of his office as the king and head of the church, is included in these words; but his first sanctifying work in the womb is principally intended: for these expressions, "A rod out of the stem of Jesse," and "A Branch out of his roots," with respect whereunto the Spirit is said to be communicated unto him, do plainly regard his incarnation; and the soul of Christ, from the first moment of its infusion, was a subject capable of a fullness of grace, as unto its habitual residence and in-being, though the actual exercise of it was suspended for a while, until the organs of the body were fitted for it. This, therefore, it received by this first unction of the Spirit. Hence, from his conception, he was "holy," as well as "harmless" and "undefiled," Heb. vii. 26; a "holy thing," Luke i. 35; radically filled with a perfection of grace and wisdom, inasmuch as the Father "gave him not the Spirit by measure," John iii. 34. See to this purpose our commentary on Heb. i. 1; see also John i. 14-17. Thirdly, The Spirit carried on that work whose foundation he had thus laid. And two things are to be here diligently observed:-- 1. That the Lord Christ, as man, did and was to exercise all grace by the rational faculties and powers of his soul, his understanding, will, and affections; for he acted grace as a man, "made of a woman, made under the law." His divine nature was not unto him in the place of a soul, nor did immediately operate the things which he performed, as some of old vainly imagined; but being a perfect man, his rational soul was in him the immediate principle of all his moral operations, even as ours are in us. Now, in the improvement and exercise of these faculties and powers of his soul, he had and made a progress after the manner of other men; for he was made like unto us "in all things," yet without sin. In their increase, enlargement, and exercise, there was required a progression in grace also; and this he had continually by the Holy Ghost: Luke ii. 40, "The child grew, and waxed strong in spirit." The first clause refers to his body, which grew and increased after the manner of other men; as verse 52, he "increased in stature." The other respects the confirmation of the faculties of his mind, -- he "waxed strong in spirit." So, verse 52, he is said to "increase in wisdom and stature." [71] He was pleroumenos sophias, continually "filling and filled" with new degrees "of wisdom," as to its exercise, according as the rational faculties of his mind were capable thereof; an increase in these things accompanied his years, verse 52. And what is here recorded by the evangelist contains a description of the accomplishment of the prophecy before mentioned, Isa. xi. 1-3. And this growth in grace and wisdom was the peculiar work of the Holy Spirit; for as the faculties of his mind were enlarged by degrees and strengthened, so the Holy Spirit filled them up with grace for actual obedience. 2. The human nature of Christ was capable of having new objects proposed to its mind and understanding, whereof before it had a simple nescience. And this is an inseparable adjunct of human nature as such, as it is to be weary or hungry, and no vice or blamable defect. Some have made a great outcry about the ascribing of ignorance by some protestant divines unto the human soul of Christ: Bellarm. de Anim. Christi. Take" ignorance" for that which is a moral defect in any kind, or an unacquaintedness with that which anyone ought to know, or is necessary unto him as to the perfection of his condition or his duty, and it is false that ever any of them ascribed it unto him. Take it merely for a nescience of some things, and there is no more in it but a denial of infinite omniscience, -- nothing inconsistent with the highest holiness and purity of human nature. So the Lord Christ says of himself that he knew not the day and hour of the end of all things, [Mark xiii. 32]; and our apostle of him, that he "learned obedience by the things that he suffered," Heb. v. 8. In the representation, then, of things anew to the human nature of Christ, the wisdom and knowledge of it was objectively increased, and in new trials and temptations he experimentally learned the new exercise of grace. And this was the constant work of the Holy Spirit in the human nature of Christ. He dwelt in him in fullness; for he received him not by measure. And continually, upon all occasions, he gave out of his unsearchable treasures grace for exercise in all duties and instances of it. From hence was he habitually holy, and from hence did he exercise holiness entirely and universally in all things. Fourthly, The Holy Spirit, in a peculiar manner, anointed him with all those extraordinary powers and gifts which were necessary for the exercise and discharging of his office on the earth: [72] Isa. lxi. 1, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound." It is the prophetical office of Christ, and his discharge thereof in his ministry on the earth, which is intended. And he applies these words unto himself with respect unto his preaching of the gospel, Luke iv. 18, 19; for this was that office which he principally attended unto here in the world, as that whereby he instructed men in the nature and use of his other offices. For his kingly power, in his human nature on the earth, he exercised it but sparingly. Thereunto, indeed, belonged his sending forth of apostles and evangelists to preach with authority. And towards the end of his ministry he instituted ordinances of gospel worship, and appointed the order of his church in the foundation and building of it up; which were acts of kingly power. Nor did he perform any act of his sacerdotal office but only at his death, when he "gave himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour," Eph. v. 2; wherein God "smelled a savour of rest," and was appeased towards us. But the whole course of his life and ministry was the discharge of his prophetical office unto the Jews, Rom. xv. 8; which he was to do according to the great promise, Deut. xviii. 18, 19: and on the acceptance or refusal of him herein depended the life and death of the church of Israel, verse 19; Acts iii. 23; Heb. ii. 3; John viii. 24. Hereunto was he fitted by this unction of the Spirit. And here, also, is a distinction between the "Spirit that was upon him," and his being "anointed to preach," which contains the communication of the gifts of that Spirit unto him; as it is said, Isa. xi. 2, 3, "The Spirit rested upon him as a Spirit of wisdom," to make him "of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord." Now, this was in a singular manner and in a measure inexpressible, whence he is said to be "anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows," or those who were partakers of the same Spirit with him, Ps. xlv. 7; Heb. i. 8, 9; although I acknowledge that there was in that expression a peculiar respect unto his glorious exaltation, which afterward ensued, as hath been declared on that place. And this collation of extraordinary gifts for the discharge of his prophetical office was at his baptism, Matt. iii. 17. They were not bestowed on the Head of the church, nor are any gifts of the same nature in general bestowed on any of his members, but for use, exercise, and improvement. And that they were then collated appears; for, -- 1. Then did he receive the visible pledge which confirmed him in, and testified unto others his calling of God to, the exercise of his office; for then "the Spirit of God descended like a dove, and lighted upon him: and lo a voice came from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," Matt. iii. 16, 17. Hereby was he "sealed of God the Father," John vi. 27, in that visible pledge of his vocation, setting the great seal of heaven to his commission. And this also was to be a testimony unto others, that they might own him in his office, now he had undertaken to discharge it, chap. i. 33. 2. He now entered on his public ministry, and wholly gave himself up unto his work; for before, he did only occasionally manifest the presence of God with him, somewhat to prepare the minds of men to attend unto his ministry, as when he filled them with astonishment at his discourses with the doctors in the temple, Luke ii. 46, 47. And although it is probable that he might be acted by the Spirit in and unto many such extraordinary actions during his course of a private life, yet the fullness of gifts for his work he received not until the time of his baptism, and, therefore, before that he gave not himself up wholly unto his public ministry. 3. Immediately hereon it is said that he was "full of the Holy Ghost," Luke iv. 1. Before, he was said to "wax strong in spirit," pleroumenos sophias, chap. ii. 40, "continually filling;" but now he is pleres Pneumatos Hagiou, "full of the Holy Ghost." He was actually possessed of and furnished with all that fullness of spiritual gifts which were any way needful for him or useful unto him, or which human nature is capable of receiving. With respect hereunto doth the evangelist [baptist?] use that expression, Ou gar ek metrou didosin ho Theos to Pneuma, John iii. 34, -- "For God giveth not the Spirit by measure." That it is the Lord Jesus Christ who is here intended, unto whom the Spirit is thus given, is evident from the context, although it be not express[ed] in the text. He is spoken of, and is the subject of the whole discourse: Verse 31, "He that cometh from above is above all: he that cometh from heaven is above all." None doubts but that this is a description of the person of Christ. And in the beginning of this verse, "He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God;" which is the usual periphrasis of the Lord Christ, used at least twenty times in this Gospel. Of him this account is given, that he "testifieth what he hath seen and heard," verse 32; and that he "speaketh the words of God," verse 34. Different events are also marked upon his testimony, for many refused it, verse 32, but some received it, who therein "set to their seal that God is true," verse 33; for he that "believeth not the record that he gave of his Son hath made him a liar," 1 John v. 10. As a reason of all this, it is added that "God gave not the Spirit by measure unto him;" so that he was fully enabled to "speak the words of God," and those by whom his testimony was rejected were justly liable to "wrath," verse 36. Vain, therefore, is the attempt of Crellius, de Spir. Sanc., followed by Schlichtingius in his comment on this place, who would exclude the Lord Christ from being intended in these words; for they would have them signify no more but only in general that God is not bound up to measures in the dispensation of the Spirit, but gives to one according unto one measure, and to another according to another. But as this gloss overthrows the coherence of the words, disturbing the context, so it contradicts the text itself: for God's not giving the Spirit ek metrou, "by measure," is his giving of him ametros, "immeasurably," without known bounds or limits, and so the Spirit was given unto the Lord Christ only; for "unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ," Eph. iv. 7, -- that is, in what measure he pleaseth to communicate and distribute it. But the effects of this giving of the Spirit unto the Lord Christ not by measure belonged unto that fullness from whence we "receive grace for grace," John i. 16; for hereby the Father accomplished his will, when "it pleased him that in him should all fullness dwell," that "in all things he might have the pre-eminence," Col. i. 18, 19. Nor can any difficulty of weight be cast on this interpretation from the use of the word in the present tense, which is by Crellius insisted on, -- didosi, "he giveth:" "For Christ," they say, "had before received the Spirit, for this is spoken of him after his baptism. If, therefore, he had been intended, it should rather have been, he hath given,' or he hath not given unto him by measure.'" But, -- (1.) This was immediately on his baptism, and therefore the collation of the fullness of the Spirit might be spoken of as a thing present, being but newly past; which is an ordinary kind of speech on all occasions. Besides, (2.) The collation of the Spirit is a continued act, in that he was given him to abide with him, to rest upon him, wherein there was a continuance of the love of God towards and his care over him in his work. Hence the Lord Christ saith of himself, or the prophet in his person, that the Spirit sent him: "Now the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me," Isa. xlviii. 16. The same work in sending of Christ is ascribed unto the "Lord God," that is, the Father, and to the "Spirit," but in a different manner. He was sent by the Father authoritatively; and the furniture he received by the Spirit, of gifts for his work and office, is called his sending of him; as the same work is assigned unto different persons in the Trinity on different accounts. Fifthly, It was in an especial manner by the power of the Holy Spirit he wrought those great and miraculous works whereby his ministry was attested unto and confirmed. Hence it is said that God wrought miracles by him: Acts ii. 22, "Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him;" for they are all immediate effects of divine power. So when he cast out devils with a word of command, he affirms that he did it by the "finger of God," Luke xi. 20, -- that is, by the infinite divine power of God. But the power of God acted in an especial manner by the Holy Spirit, as is expressly declared in the other evangelist, Matt. xii. 28; and, therefore, on the ascription of his mighty works unto Beelzebub, the prince of devils, he lets the Jews know that therein they blasphemed the Holy Spirit, whose works indeed they were, verses 31, 32. Hence these mighty works are called dunameis, "powers," because of the power of the Spirit of God put forth for their working and effecting: see Mark vi. 5, ix. 39; Luke iv. 36, v. 17, vi. 19, viii. 46, ix. 1. And in the exercise of this power consisted the testimony given unto him by the Spirit that he was the Son of God; for this was necessary unto the conviction of the Jews, to whom he was sent, John x. 37, 38. Sixthly, By him was he guided, directed, comforted, supported, in the whole course of his ministry, temptations, obedience, and sufferings. Some few instances on this head may suffice. Presently after his baptism, when he was full of the Holy Ghost, he was "led by the Spirit into the wilderness," Luke iv. 1. 1. The Holy Spirit guided him to begin his contest and conquest with the devil. Hereby he made an entrance into his ministry; and it teacheth us all what we must look for if we solemnly engage ourselves to follow him in the work of preaching the gospel. The word used in Mark to this purpose hath occasioned some doubt what spirit is intended in these words, To pneuma auton ekballei eis ten eremon, chap. i. 12, "The spirit driveth him into the wilderness." It is evident that the same spirit and the same act are intended in all the evangelists, here, and Matt. iv. 1, Luke iv. 1. But how the Holy Spirit should be said ekballein, to "drive him," is not so easy to be apprehended. But the word in Luke is egeto, which denotes a guiding and rational conduct; and this cannot be ascribed unto any other spirit, with respect unto our Lord Jesus, but only the Spirit of God. Matthew expresseth the same effect by anechthe, chap. iv. 1, -- he was "carried," or "carried up," or "taken away," from the midst of the people. And this was hupo tou Pneumatos, "of that Spirit," -- namely, which descended on him and rested on him immediately before, chap. iii. 16. And the continuation of the discourse in Luke will not admit that any other spirit be intended: "And Jesus being full of the Holy Spirit returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness," -- namely, by that Spirit which he was full of. By ekballei, therefore, in Mark, no more is intended but the sending of him forth by a high and strong impression of the Holy Spirit on his mind. Hence the same word is used with respect unto the sending of others, by the powerful impression of the Spirit of God on their hearts, unto the work of preaching the gospel: Matt. ix. 38, "Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest," hopos ekballe ergalle ergatas eis ton therismon hautou, "that he would thrust forth labourers into his harvest," -- namely, by furnishing them with the gifts of his Spirit, and by the power of his grace constraining them to their duty. So also Luke x. 2. So did he enter upon his preparation unto his work under his conduct; and it were well if others would endeavour after a conformity unto him within the rules of their calling. 2. By his assistance was he carried triumphantly through the course of his temptations unto a perfect conquest of his adversary as to the present conflict, wherein he sought to divert him from his work; which afterward he endeavoured by all ways and means to oppose and hinder. 3. The temptation being finished, he returned again out of the wilderness, to preach the gospel "in the power of the Spirit," chap. iv. 14. He returned en te dunamei tou Pneumatos, "in the power of the Spirit" into Galilee, -- that is, powerfully enabled by the Holy Spirit unto the discharge of his work; and hence, in his first sermon at Nazareth, he took these words of the prophet for his text, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor," verse 18. The issue was, that they "all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth," verse 22. And as he thus began his ministry in the power of the Spirit, so, having received him not by measure, he continually on all occasions put forth his wisdom, power, grace, and knowledge, to the astonishment of all, and the stopping of the mouths of his adversaries, shutting them up in their rage and unbelief. 4. By him was he directed, strengthened, and comforted, in his whole course, -- in all his temptations, troubles, and sufferings, from first to last; for we know that there was a confluence of all these upon him in his whole way and work, a great part of that whereunto he humbled himself for our sakes consisting in these things. In and under them he stood in need of mighty supportment and strong consolation. This God promised unto him, and this he expected, Isa. xlii. 4, 6, xlix. 5-8, l. 7, 8. Now, all the voluntary communications of the divine nature unto the human were, as we have showed, by the Holy Spirit. Seventhly, He offered himself up unto God through the eternal Spirit, Heb. ix. 14. I know many learned men do judge that by the "eternal Spirit" in that place, not the third person is intended, but the divine nature of the Son himself; and there is no doubt but that also may properly be called the eternal Spirit. There is also a reason in the words themselves strongly inclining unto that sense and acceptation of them: for the apostle doth show whence it was that the sacrifice of the Lord Christ had an efficacy beyond and above the sacrifices of the law, and whence it would certainly produce that great effect of "purging our consciences from dead works;" and this was, from the dignity of his person, on the account of his divine nature. It arose, I say, from the dignity of his person, his deity giving sustentation unto his human nature in the sacrifice of himself; for by reason of the indissoluble union of both his natures, his person became the principle of all his mediatory acts, and from thence had they their dignity and efficacy. Nor will I oppose this exposition of the words. But, on the other side, many learned persons, both of the ancient and modern divines, do judge that it is the person of the Holy Spirit that is intended. And because this is a matter of great importance, -- namely, how the Lord Christ offered up himself unto God as a sacrifice by the eternal Spirit, -- I shall farther explain it, though but briefly. Those who look only on the outward part of the death of Christ can see nothing but suffering in it. The Jews took him, and they with the soldiers both scourged and slew him, hanging him on the tree. But the principal consideration of it is his own offering himself a sacrifice unto God, as the great high priest of the church, to make atonement and reconciliation for sinners, which was hid from the world by those outward acts of violence which were upon him; and this he did by the eternal Spirit, wherein we may take notice of the ensuing instances:-- 1. He sanctified, consecrated, or dedicated himself unto God for to be an offering or sacrifice: John xvii. 19, "For their sakes," -- that is, the elect, -- "I sanctify myself." The Lord Christ was before this perfectly sanctified as to all inherent holiness, so that he could not speak of sanctifying himself afresh in that sense. Neither was it the consecration of himself unto his office of a priest; for this was the act of him who called him: "He glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son," Heb. v. 5. He made him a priest by his death, "after the power of an endless life," chap. vii. 16, 20, 21. Wherefore, he consecrated himself to be a sacrifice, as the beast to be sacrificed of old was first devoted unto that purpose. Therefore it is said that he thus sanctified or consecrated himself that we might be sanctified. Now, "we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all," Heb. x. 10. This was his first sacerdotal act. He dedicated himself to be an offering to God; and this he did through the effectual operation of the eternal Spirit in him. 2. He went voluntarily and of his own accord to the garden; which answered the adduction or bringing of the beast to be sacrificed unto the door of the tabernacle, according to the law: for there he did not only give up himself into the hands of those who were to shed his blood, but also actually entered upon the offering up of himself unto God in his agony, when he "offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears," Heb. v. 7; which declares not the matter, but the manner of his offering. 3. In all that ensued, all that followed hereon, unto his giving up the ghost, he offered himself to God in and by those actings of the grace of the Holy Spirit in him, which accompanied him to the last. And these are diligently to be considered, because on them depend the efficacy of the death of Christ as to atonement and merit, as they were enhanced and rendered excellent by the worth and dignity of his person; for it is not the death of Christ, merely as it was penal and undergone by the way of suffering, that is the means of our deliverance, but the obedience of Christ therein, which consisted in his offering of himself through the eternal Spirit unto God, that gave efficacy and success unto it. We may, therefore, inquire what were those principal graces of the Spirit which he acted in this offering of himself unto God; and they were, -- (1.) Love to mankind, and compassion towards sinners. This the holy soul of the Lord Jesus was then in the highest and most inconceivable exercise of. This, therefore, is frequently expressed where mention is made of this offering of Christ: Gal. ii. 20, "Who loved me, and gave himself for me." Rev. i. 5, "Who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood." And compassion is the first grace required in a high priest or sacrificer, Heb. v. 2. God being now upon a design of love (for it was in the pursuit of eternal love that Christ was sent into the world, John iii. 16; Tit. iii. 4-6), this love, that was now in its most inconceivable advancement in the heart of Christ, was most grateful and acceptable unto him. And this intenseness of love did also support the mind of Christ under all his sufferings; as Jacob, through the greatness of his love unto Rachel, made light of the seven years' service that he endured for her, Gen. xxix. 20. And so did the Lord Christ "endure the cross and despise the shame for the joy" of saving his elect "which was set before him," Heb. xii. 2. And this was one grace of the eternal Spirit whereby he offered himself unto God. (2.) That which principally acted him in the whole was his unspeakable zeal for, and ardency of affection unto, the glory of God. These were the coals which with a vehement flame, as it were, consumed the sacrifice. And there were two things that he aimed at with respect unto the glory of God:-- [1.] The manifestation of his righteousness, holiness, and severity against sin. His design was, to repair the glory of God, wherein it had seemed to suffer by sin. Ps. xl. 6-8, Heb. x. 5-7, He came to do that, with full desire of soul, (expressed in these words, "Lo, I come,") which legal sacrifices could not do, -- namely, to make satisfaction to the justice of God for sin, to be "a propitiation, to declare his righteousness," Rom. iii. 25. And this he doth, as to the manner of it, with inexpressible ardency of zeal and affections: Ps. xl. 8, "I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is in the midst of my bowels." He doubles the expression of the intenseness of his mind hereon. And, therefore, when he was to prepare himself in his last passover for his suffering, he expresseth the highest engagement of heart and affections unto it: Luke xxii. 15, "With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer;" as with respect unto the same work he had before expressed it, "I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straitened," or pained, "till it be accomplished!" chap. xii. 50. His zeal to advance the glory of God, in the manifestation of his righteousness and holiness, by the offering up of himself as a sin-offering to make atonement, gave him no rest and ease until he was engaged in it, whence it wrought unto the utmost. [2.] The exercise of his grace and love. This he knew was the way to open the treasures of grace and love, that they might be poured out on sinners, to the everlasting glory of God; for this was the design of God in the whole, Rom. iii. 24-26. This zeal and affection unto the glory of God's righteousness, faithfulness, and grace, which was wrought in the heart of Christ by the eternal Spirit, was that wherein principally he offered up himself unto God. (3.) His holy submission and obedience unto the wilt of God, which were now in the height of their exercise, and grace advanced unto the utmost in them, was another especial part of this his offering up of himself. That this was wrought in him by the holy or eternal Spirit was before declared. And it is frequently expressed as that which had an especial influence into the efficacy and merit of his sacrifice: Phil. ii. 8, "He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." And when he "offered up prayers and supplications, though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered," Heb. v. 7, 8; that is, he experienced obedience in suffering. It is true that the Lord Christ, in the whole course of his life, yielded obedience unto God, as he was "made of a woman, made under the law," Gal. iv. 4; but now he came to the great trial of it, with respect unto the especial command of the Father "to lay down his life," and to "make his soul an offering for sin," Isa. liii. 10. This was the highest act of obedience unto God that ever was, or ever shall be to all eternity; and therefore doth God so express his satisfaction therein and acceptance of it, Isa. liii. 11, 12; Phil. ii. 9, 10. This was wrought in him, this he was wrought unto, by the Holy Spirit; and therefore by him he offered himself unto God. (4.) There belongs also hereunto that faith and trust in God which, with fervent prayers, cries, and supplications, he now acted on God and his promises, both with respect unto himself and to the covenant which he was sealing with his blood. This our apostle represents as an especial work of his, testified unto in the Old Testament: Heb. ii. 13, "I will put my trust in him." And, [1.] This respected himself, namely, that he should be supported, assisted, and carried through the work he had undertaken unto a blessed issue. Herein, I confess, he was horribly assaulted, until he cried out, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Ps. xxii. 1; but yet, after and through all his dreadful trial, his faith and trust in God were victorious. This he expressed in the depth and extremity of his trials, verses 9-11; and made such an open profession of it that his enemies, when they supposed him lost and defeated, reproached him with it, verse 8; Matt. xxvii. 43. To this purpose he declares himself at large, Isa. l. 7-9. So his faith and trust in God, as to his own supportment and deliverance, with the accomplishment of all the promises that were made unto him upon his engagement into the work of mediation, were victorious. [2.] This respected the covenant, and all the benefits that the church of the elect was to be made partaker of thereby. The blood that he now shed was the "blood of the covenant," and it was shed for his church, namely, that the blessings of the covenant, might be communicated unto them, Gal. iii. 13, 14. With respect hereunto did he also exercise faith in God, as appears fully in his prayer which he made when he entered on his oblation, John xvii. Now, concerning these instances we may observe three things to our present purpose:-- (1.) These and the like gracious actings of the soul of Christ were the ways and means whereby, in his death and blood-shedding, -- which was violent and by force inflicted on him as to the outward instruments, and was penal as to the sentence of the law, -- he voluntarily and freely offered up himself a sacrifice unto God for to make atonement; and these were the things which, from the dignity of his person, became efficacious and victorious. Without these his death and blood-shedding had been no oblation. (2.) These were the things which rendered his offering of himself a "sacrifice to God of a sweet-smelling savour," Eph. v. 2. God was so absolutely delighted and pleased with these high and glorious acts of grace and obedience in Jesus Christ that he smelled, as it were, a "savour of rest" towards mankind, or those for whom he offered himself, so that he would be angry with them no more, curse them no more, as it is said of the type of it in the sacrifice of Noah, Gen. viii. 20, 21. God was more pleased with the obedience of Christ than he was displeased with the sin and disobedience of Adam, Rom. v. 17-21. It was not, then, [by] the outward suffering of a violent and bloody death, which was inflicted on him by the most horrible wickedness that ever human nature brake forth into, that God was atoned, Acts ii. 23; nor yet was it merely his enduring the penalty of the law that was the means of our deliverance; but the voluntary giving up of himself to be a sacrifice in these holy acts of obedience was that upon which, in an especial manner, God was reconciled unto us. (3.) All these things being wrought in the human nature by the Holy Ghost, who, in the time of his offering, acted all his graces unto the utmost, he is said thereon to "offer himself unto God through the eternal Spirit," by whom, as our high priest, he was consecrated, spirited, and acted thereunto. Eighthly, There was a peculiar work of the Holy Spirit towards the Lord Christ whilst he was in the state of the dead; for here our preceding rule must be remembered, -- namely, that notwithstanding the union of the human nature of Christ with the divine person of the Son, yet the communications of God unto it, beyond subsistence, were voluntary. Thus in his death the union of his natures in his person was not in the least impeached; but yet for his soul or spirit, he commends that in an especial manner into the hands of God his Father, -- Ps. xxxi. 5, Luke xxiii. 46, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit," -- for the Father had engaged himself in an eternal covenant to take care of him, to preserve and protect him even in death, and to show him again the "way and path of life," Ps. xvi. 11. Notwithstanding, then, the union of his person, his soul in its separate state was in an especial manner under the care, protection, and power of the Father, preserved in his love until the hour came wherein he showed him again the path of life. His holy body in the grave continued under the especial care of the Spirit of God; and hereby was accomplished that great promise, that "his soul should not be left in hell, nor the Holy One see corruption," Ps. xvi. 10; Acts ii. 31. It is the body of Christ which is here called "The Holy One," as it was made a "holy thing" by the conception of it in the womb by the power of the Holy Ghost. And it is here spoken of in contradistinction unto his soul, and opposed by Peter unto the body of David, which when it died saw corruption, Acts ii. 29. This pure and holy substance was preserved in its integrity by the overshadowing power of the Holy Spirit, without any of those accidents of change which attend the dead bodies of others. I deny not but there was use made of the ministry of angels about the dead body of Christ whilst it was in the grave, even those which were seen sitting afterward in the place where he lay, John xx. 12; by these was it preserved from all outward force and violation; -- but this also was under the peculiar care of the Spirit of God, who how he worketh by angels hath been before declared. Ninthly, There was a peculiar work of the Holy Spirit in his resurrection, this being the completing act in laying the foundation of the church, whereby Christ entered into his rest, -- the great testimony given unto the finishing of the work of redemption, with the satisfaction of God therein, and his acceptation of the person of the Redeemer. It is, on various accounts, assigned distinctly to each person in the Trinity; and this not only as all the external works of God are undivided, each person being equally concerned in their operation, but also upon the account of their especial respect unto and interest in the work of redemption, in the manner before declared. Unto the Father it is ascribed, on the account of his authority, and the declaration therein of Christ's perfect accomplishment of the work committed unto him: Acts ii. 24, "Him hath God raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it." It is the Father who is spoken of, and he is said, as in other places, to raise Christ from the dead; but this he doth with respect unto "his loosing the pains of death," -- lusas tas odinas tou thanatou. These are the chvlymvt?, which, with a little alteration of one vowel, [73] signify the "sorrows of death," or the "cords of death;" for chvlymvt?, are the "sorrows of death," and chvlymvt?, are the "cords of death." See Ps. xviii. 4, cxvi. 3. And the "sorrows of death" here intended were the "cords" of it, -- that is, the power it had to bind the Lord Christ for a season under it; for the "pains of death," that is, the odines, "tormenting pains," ended in his death itself. But the consequents of them are here reckoned unto them, or the continuance under the power of death, according unto the sentence of the law. These God loosed, when, the law being fully satisfied, the sentence of it was taken off, and the Lord Christ was acquitted from its whole charge. This was the act of God the Father, as the supreme rector and judge of all. Hence he is said to "raise him from the dead," as the judge by his order delivereth an acquitted prisoner or one who hath answered the law. The same work he also takes unto himself: John x. 17, 18, "I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again." For although men by violence took away his life, when "with wicked hands they crucified and slew him," Acts ii. 23, iii. 15, yet because they had neither authority nor ability so to do without his own consent, he saith no man did, or could, take away his life, -- that is, against his will, by power over him, as the lives of other men are taken away; for this neither angels nor men could do. So, also, although the Father is said to raise him from the dead by taking off the sentence of the law, which he had answered, yet he himself also took his life again by an act of the love, care, and power of his divine nature, his living again being an act of his person, although the human nature only died. But the peculiar efficiency in the reuniting of his most holy soul and body was an effect of the power of the Holy Spirit: 1 Pet. iii. 18, "He was put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit;" zoopoietheis de to Pneumati, -- "he was restored to life by the Spirit." And this was that Spirit whereby he preached unto them that were disobedient in the days of Noah, verses 19, 20; or that Spirit of Christ which was in the prophets from the foundation of the world, chap. i. 11; by which he preached in Noah unto that disobedient generation, 2 Pet. ii. 5, whereby the Spirit of God strove for a season with those inhabitants of the old world, Gen. vi. 3; -- that is, the Holy Spirit of God. To the same purpose we are instructed by our apostle: Rom. viii. 11, "If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you;" -- "God shall quicken our mortal bodies also by the same Spirit whereby he raised Christ from the dead;" for so the relation of the one work to the other requires the words to be understood. And he asserts again the same expressly, Eph. i. 17-20. He prays that God would give his Holy Spirit unto them as a Spirit of wisdom and revelation, verse 17. The effects thereof in them and upon them are described, verse 18. And this he desires that they may so be made partakers of as that, by the work of the Spirit of God in themselves, renewing and quickening them, they might have an experience of that exceeding greatness of his power which he put forth in the Lord Christ when he raised him from the dead. And the evidence or testimony given unto his being the Son of God, by his resurrection from the dead, is said to be "according to the Spirit of holiness," or the Holy Spirit, Rom. i. 4. He was positively declared to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead, en dunamei kata Pneuma hagiosunes, -- that is, by the "powerful working of the Holy Spirit." This, also, is the intendment of that expression, 1 Tim. iii. 16, "Justified in the Spirit." God was "manifest in the flesh," by his incarnation and passion therein; and "justified in the Spirit," by a declaration of his acquitment from the sentence of death and all the evils which he underwent, with the reproaches wherewith he was contemptuously used, by his quickening and resurrection from the dead, through the mighty and effectual working of the Spirit of God. Tenthly, It was the Holy Spirit that glorified the human nature [of Christ], and made it every way meet for its eternal residence at the right hand of God, and a pattern of the glorification of the bodies of them that believe on him. He who first made his nature holy, now made it glorious. And as we are made conformable unto him in our souls here, his image being renewed in us by the Spirit, so he is in his body, now glorified by the effectual operation of the same Spirit, the exemplar and pattern of that glory which in our mortal bodies we shall receive by the same Spirit; for "when he shall appear, we shall be like him," 1 John iii. 2, seeing he will "change our vile bodies, that they may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself," Phil. iii. 21. And these are some of the principal instances of the operation of the Holy Spirit on the human nature of the Head of the church. The whole of them all, I confess, is a work that we can look but little into; only what is plainly revealed we desire to receive and embrace, considering that if we are his, we are predestinated to be made conformable in all things unto him, and that by the powerful and effectual operation of that Spirit which thus wrought all things in him, to the glory of God. And as it is a matter of unspeakable consolation unto us to consider what hath been done in and upon our nature by the application of the love and grace of God through his Spirit unto it; so it is of great advantage, in that it directs our faith and supplications in our endeavours after conformity with him, which is our next end, under the enjoyment of God in glory. What, therefore, in these matters we apprehend, we embrace; and for the depth of them, they are the objects of our admiration and praise. II. There is yet another work of the Holy Spirit, not immediately in and upon the person of the Lord Christ, but towards him, and on his behalf, with respect unto his work and office; and it compriseth the head and fountain of the whole office of the Holy Spirit towards the church. This was his witness-bearing unto the Lord Christ, -- namely, that he was the Son of God, the true Messiah, and that the work which he performed in the world was committed unto him by God the Father to accomplish. And this same work he continueth to attend unto unto this day, and will do so to the consummation of all things. It is known how the Lord Christ was reproached whilst he was in this world, and how ignominiously he was sent out of it by death. Hereon a great contest ensued amongst mankind, wherein heaven and hell were deeply engaged. The greatest part of the world, the princes, rulers, and wise men of it, affirmed that he was an impostor, a seducer, a malefactor, justly punished for his evil deeds. He, on the other side, chose twelve apostles to bear testimony unto the holiness of his life, the truth and purity of his doctrine, the accomplishment of the prophecies of the Old Testament in his birth, life, work, and death; and, in especial, unto his resurrection from the dead, whereby he was justified and acquitted from all the reproaches of hell and the world, and their calumnies refelled. But what could the testimony of twelve poor men, though never so honest, prevail against the confronting suffrage of the world? Wherefore, this work of bearing witness unto the Lord Christ was committed unto Him who is above and over all, who knoweth how, and is able, to make his testimony prevalent: John xv. 26, "When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me." Accordingly, the apostles plead his concurring testimony: Acts v. 32, "We are his witnesses of these things; and so also is the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him." And how he thus gave his testimony our apostle declares, Heb. ii. 4, "God also bearing witness with them" (that is, the apostles), "both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will." The first principal end why God gave the Holy Spirit to work all those miraculous effects in them that believed in Jesus, was, to bear witness unto his person that he was indeed the Son of God, owned and exalted by him; for no man not utterly forsaken of all reason and understanding, not utterly blinded, would once imagine that the Holy Spirit of God would work such marvellous operations in and by them who believed on him, if he designed not to justify his person, work, and doctrine thereby. And this in a short time, together with that effectual power which he put forth in and by the preaching of the word, carried not only his vindication against all the machinations of Satan and his instruments throughout the world, but also subdued the generality of mankind unto faith in him and obedience unto him, 2 Cor. x. 4, 5. And upon this testimony it is that there is real faith in him yet maintained in the world. This is that which he promised unto his disciples whilst he was yet with them in the world, when their hearts were solicitous how they should bear up against their adversaries upon his absence. "I will," saith he, "send the Comforter unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged," John xvi. 7-11. The reason why the world believed not on Christ was, because they believed not that he was sent of God, chap. ix. 29. By his testimony the Spirit was to reprove the world of their infidelity, and to convince them of it by evidencing the truth of his mission; for hereon the whole issue of the controversy between him and the world did depend. Whether he were righteous or a deceiver was to be determined by his being sent or not sent of God; and, consequently, God's acceptance or disapprobation of him. That he was so sent, so approved, the Holy Spirit convinced the world by his testimony, manifesting that he "went to the Father," and was exalted by him; for it was upon his ascension and exaltation that he received and poured out the promise of the Spirit to this purpose, Acts ii. 33. Moreover, whilst he was in the world there was an unrighteous judgment, by the instigation of Satan, passed upon him. On this testimony of the Spirit, that judgment was to be reversed, and a contrary sentence passed on the author of it, the prince of this world; for by the gospel so testified unto was he discovered, convicted, judged, condemned, and cast out of that power and rule in the world which, by the darkness of the minds of men within and idolatry without, he had obtained and exercised. And that the Holy Spirit continueth to do the same work, though not absolutely by the same means, unto this very day, shall be afterward declared. And by these considerations may we be led into that knowledge of and acquaintance with our Lord Jesus Christ, which is so necessary, so useful, and so much recommended unto us in the Scripture. And the utter neglect of learning the knowledge of Christ, and of the truth as it is in him, is not more pernicious unto the souls of men than is the learning of it by undue means, whereby false and mischievous ideas or representations of him are infused into the minds of men. The Papists would learn and teach him by images, the work of men's hands, and teachers of lies: for besides that they are forbidden by God himself to be used unto any such purposes, and therefore cursed with barrenness and uselessness, as to any end of faith or holiness, they are in themselves suited only to ingenerate low and carnal thoughts in depraved superstitious minds; for as the worshippers of such images know not what is the proper cause nor the proper object of that reverence and those affections they find in themselves, when they approach unto them and adore before them, so the apprehensions which they can have hereby tend but to the "knowing after the flesh," which the apostle looked on as no part of his duty, 2 Cor. v. 16. But the glory of the human nature, as united unto the person of the Son of God, and engaged in the discharge of his office of mediator, consists alone in these eminent, peculiar, ineffable communications of the Spirit of God unto him, and his powerful operations in him; this is represented unto us in the glass of the gospel, which we beholding by faith, are changed into the same image by the same Spirit, 2 Cor. iii. 18. Our Lord Christ himself did foretell us that there would be great inquiries after him, and that great deceits would be immixed therewithal. "If," saith he, "they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert, go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers, believe it not," Matt. xxiv. 26. It is not a wilderness, low, persecuted, inglorious, and invisible condition, as to outward profession, that our Saviour here intendeth: for himself foretold that his church should be driven into the wilderness, and nourished there, and that for a long season, Rev. xii. 6; and where his church is, there is Christ, for his promise is, to be with them and among them unto the end of the world, Matt. xxviii. 20. Nor by "secret chambers" doth he intend those private places of meeting for security which all his disciples, for some hundreds of years, were compelled unto and did make use of, after his apostles, who met sometimes in an upper room, sometimes in the night, for fear of the Jews; and such, it is notorious, were all the meetings of the primitive Christians. But our Saviour here foretells the false ways that some would pretend he is taught by and found in; for, first, some would say he was en te eremo, "in the desert" or wilderness, and if men would go forth thither, there they would see him and find him. And there is nothing intended hereby but the ancient superstitious monks, who, under a pretence of religion, retired themselves into deserts and solitary places; for there they pretended great intercourse with Christ, great visions and appearances of him, being variously deluded and imposed on by Satan and their own imaginations. It is ridiculous on the one hand, and deplorable on the other, to consider the woeful follies, delusions, and superstitions this sort of men fell into; yet was in those days nothing more common than to say that Christ was in the desert, conversing with the monks and anchorites. "Go not forth unto them," saith our Lord Christ; "for in so doing ye will be deceived." And again saith he, "If they say unto you, He is en tois tameiois, in the secret chambers, believe it not." There is, or I am much deceived, a deep and mysterious instruction in these words. Tameia signifies those secret places in a house where bread and wine and cates [74] of all sorts are laid up and stored. This is the proper signification and use of the word. What pretence, then, could there be for any to say that Christ was in such a place? Why, there ensued so great a pretence hereof, and so horrible a superstition thereon, that it was of divine wisdom to foresee it, and of divine goodness to forewarn us of it; for it is nothing but the popish figment of transubstantiation that is intended. Christ must be in the secret places where their wafer and wine were deposited, -- that is, en tois tameiois. Concerning this, saith our Saviour, "Believe them not." All crafts, and frauds, and bloody violences, will be used to compel you to believe a Christ in the pix and repository; but, if you would not be seduced, "believe them not." Such are the false ways whereby some have pretended to teach Christ and to learn him, which have led them from him into hurtful snares and perdition. The consideration that we have insisted on will guide us, if attended to, unto a spiritual and saving knowledge of him. And we are to learn thus to know him, -- First, That we may love him with a pure unmixed love. It is true, it is the person of Christ as God and man that is the proper and ultimate object of our love towards him; but a clear distinct consideration of his natures and their excellencies is effectual to stir up and draw forth our love towards him. So the spouse in the Canticles, rendering a reason of her intense affections towards him, says that "he is white and ruddy, the chiefest of ten thousand;" that is, perfect in the beauty of the graces of the Holy Spirit, which rendered him exceeding amiable. So also Ps. xlv. 2. Would you, therefore, propose Christ unto your affections, so as that your love unto him may be sincere and without corruption, as it is required to be, Eph. vi. 24, that you may not lavish away the actings of your souls upon a false object, and think you love Christ, when you love only the imaginations of your own breasts? -- consider his human nature, as it was rendered beautiful and lovely by the work of the Spirit of God upon it, before described. Do you love him because he was and is so full of grace, so full of holiness, because in him there was an all-fullness of the graces of the Spirit of God? Consider aright what hath been delivered concerning him, and if you can and do, on the account thereof, delight in him and love him, your love is genuine and spiritual; but if your love be merely out of an apprehension of his being now glorious in heaven, and there able to do you good or evil, it differs not much from that of the Papists, whose love is much regulated in its actings by the good or bad painting of the images whereby they represent him. You are often pressed to direct your love unto the person of Christ, and it is that which is your principal duty in this world; but this you cannot do without a distinct notion and knowledge of him. There are, therefore, three things in general that you are to consider to this purpose:-- 1. The blessed union of his two natures in the same person. Herein he is singular, God having taken that especial state on him, which in no other thing or way had any consideration. This, therefore, is to have a speciality in our divine love to the person of Christ. 2. The uncreated glories of the divine nature, whence our love hath the same object with that which we owe unto God absolutely. 3. That perfection and fullness of grace which dwelt in his human nature, as communicated unto him by the Holy Spirit, whereof we have treated. If we love the person of Christ, it must be on these considerations; which whilst some have neglected, they have doted on their own imaginations, and whilst they have thought themselves even sick of love for Christ, they have only languished in their own fancies. Secondly, We are to know Christ so as to labour after conformity unto him. And this conformity consists only in a participation of those graces whose fullness dwells in him. We can, therefore, no other way regularly press after it, but by an acquaintance with and due consideration of the work of the Spirit of God upon his human nature; which is therefore worthy of our most diligent inquiry into. And so have we given a brief delineation of the dispensation and work of the Holy Spirit in and towards the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, the head of the church. His preparation of a mystical body for him, in his powerful gracious work on the elect of God, doth nextly ensue. __________________________________________________________________ [71] "Quomodo proficiebat sapientiâ Dei? doceat te ordo verborum. Profectus est ætatis, profectus est sapientiæ, sed humanæ. Ideo ætatem ante præmisit, ut secundum homines crederes dictum; ætas enim non divinitatis sed corporis est. Ergo si proficiebat ætate hominis proficiebat sapientiâ hominis. Sapientia autem sensu proficit, quia a sensu sapientia." -- Ambros. de Incarnat. Dom. Mysterio, chap. vii."Nam et Dominus homo accepit communicationem Spiritus Sancti; sicut in evangeliis legitur, Jesus ergo repletus Spiritu Sancto, regressus est a Iordane.' Hæc autem absque ullâ calumniâ de dominico homine, qui totus Christus, unus est Jesus Filius Dei, sensu debemus pietatis accipere, non quod alter et alter sit, sed quod de uno atque eodem quasi de altero, secundum naturam Dei, et hominis disputatur." -- Didym. de Spir. Sanc. lib. ii. [72] Ei poinun he sarx he despotike, to kuriakon plasma, ho xenos anthropos, ho ouranios, to neon blastema, to apo tes xenes hodinos anthesan houtos lambanei to pneuma hagion, etc. -- Chrysost. Homil. de Spir. Sanc. [73] Our author must allude to a difference in the vowel-points; chvl? as in Isa. lxvi. 7, signifying pains, and chvl?, with the seghol instead of the tsere, being translated cord or rope. The word occurs also in composition with b? under the meaning of "cords," or "fetters," as in Job xxxvi. 8, bchvlyny?. -- Ed. [74] Cates, viands. -- Ed. __________________________________________________________________ Chapter V. The general work of the Holy Spirit in the new creation with respect unto the members of that body whereof Christ is the head. Christ the head of the new creation -- Things premised in general unto the remaining work of the Spirit -- Things presupposed unto the work of the Spirit towards the church -- The love and grace of Father and Son -- The whole work of the building of the church committed to the Holy Spirit -- Acts ii. 33 opened -- The foundation of the church in the promise of the Spirit, and its building by him alone -- -Christ present with his church only by his Spirit -- Matt. xxviii. 19, 20; Acts i. 9, 10, iii. 21; Matt. xviii. 19, 20; 2 Cor. vi. 16; 1 Cor. iii. 16, compared -- The Holy Spirit works the work of Christ -- John xvi. 13-15 opened -- The Holy Spirit the peculiar author of all grace -- The Holy Spirit worketh all this according to his own will -- 1. His will and pleasure is in all his works -- 2. He works variously as to the kinds and degrees of his operations -- How he may be resisted, how not -- How the same work is ascribed unto the Spirit distinctly, and to others with him -- The general heads of his operations towards the church. We have considered the work of the Spirit of God in his laying the foundation of the church of the New Testament, by his dispensations towards the head of it, our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the foundation-stone of this building, with seven eyes engraven on him, or filled with an absolute perfection of all the gifts and graces of the Spirit, Zech. iii. 9, which when he is exalted also as "the headstone of the corner," there are shoutings in heaven and earth, crying, "Grace, grace unto him!" chap. iv. 7. As upon the laying of the foundation and placing of the corner-stone of the earth in the old creation, "the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy," Job xxxviii. 6, 7; so upon the laying of this foundation, and placing of this corner-stone in the new creation, all things sing together and cry, "Grace, grace unto it!" The same hand which laid this foundation doth also finish the building. The same Spirit which was given unto him, "not by measure," John iii. 34, giveth grace unto every one of us, "according to the measure of the gift of Christ," Eph. iv. 7. And this falleth now under our consideration, -- namely, the perfecting the work of the new creation by the effectual operation and distributions of the Spirit of God. And this belongs unto the establishment of our faith, that he who prepared, sanctified, and glorified the human nature, the natural body of Jesus Christ, the head of the church, hath undertaken to prepare, sanctify, and glorify his mystical body, or all the elect given unto him of the Father. Concerning which, before we come to consider particular instances, some things in general must be premised, which are these that follow:-- First, Unto the work of the Holy Spirit towards the church some things are supposed, from whence it proceeds, which it is built upon and resolved into. It is not an original but a perfecting work. Some things it supposeth, and bringeth all things to perfection; and these are, -- 1. The love, grace, counsel, and eternal purpose of the Father; 2. The whole work of the mediation of Jesus Christ, (which things I have handled elsewhere;) -- for it is the peculiar work of the Holy Spirit to make those things of the Father and Son effectual unto the souls of the elect, to the praise of the glory of the grace of God. God doth all things for himself, and his supreme end is the manifestation of his own glory. And in the old or first creation, he seems principally, or firstly, to intend the demonstration and exaltation of the glorious essential properties of his nature, his goodness, power, wisdom, and the like, as Ps. xix. 1-4, Rom. i. 19-21, Acts xiv. 15-17, xvii. 24-28; leaving only on the works of his hands some obscure impressions of the distinction of persons, subsisting in the unity of that Being whose properties he had displayed and glorified. But in the work of the new creation, God firstly and principally intends the especial revelation of each person of the whole Trinity distinctly, in their peculiar distinct operations; all which tend ultimately to the manifestation of the glory of his nature also. And herein consists the principal advantage of the New Testament above the Old; for although the work of the new creation was begun and carried on secretly and virtually under the Old Testament, yet they had not a full discovery of the economy of the holy Trinity therein, which was not evidently manifest until the whole work was illustriously brought to light by the gospel. Hence, although there appear a vigorous acting of faith and ardency of affection in the approaches of the saints unto God under the Old Testament, yet as unto a clear access to the Father through the Son by the Spirit, as Eph. ii. 18, wherein the life and comfort of our communion with God do consist, we hear nothing of it. Herein, therefore, God plainly declares that the foundation of the whole was laid in the counsel, will, and grace of the Father, chap. i. 3-6; then that the making way for the accomplishing of that counsel of his, so that it might be brought forth to the praise of his glory, is by the mediation of the Son, God having designed in this work to bring things so about, that "all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father," John v. 23. There yet remains the actual application of all to the souls of men, that they may be partakers of the grace designed in the counsel of the Father, and prepared in the mediation of the Son; and herein is the Holy Spirit to be manifested and glorified, that he also, together with the Father and the Son, may be known, adored, worshipped, according unto his own will. This is the work that he hath undertaken. And hereon, upon the solemn initiation of any person into the covenant of God, in answer unto this design and work, he is baptized into "the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," Matt. xxviii. 19. And these things have been discoursed of before, though necessarily here called over again. Secondly, From the nature and order of this work of God it is, that after the Son was actually exhibited in the flesh, according to the promise, and had fulfilled what he had taken upon him to do in his own person, the great promise of carrying on and finishing the whole work of the grace of God in our salvation concerns the sending of the Holy Spirit to do and perform what he also had undertaken. [75] Thus, when our Lord Jesus Christ was ascended into heaven, and began conspicuously and gloriously to carry on the building of his church upon himself, the rock and foundation of it, it is said, that, "being by the right hand of God exalted, he received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit," Acts ii. 33; which must be a little opened:-- 1. Before he departed from his disciples, as hath been mentioned on several occasions, he comforted and cheered their drooping spirits with the promise of sending him unto them, which he often repeated and inculcated on their minds, John xiv. 15-17. And, 2. When he was actually leaving them, after his resurrection, he gives them order to sit still, and not to engage in the public work of building the church, whereunto he had designed them, until that promise were actually accomplished towards them: Acts i. 4, "Being assembled together with them, he commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father;" and verse 8, "Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the utmost part of the earth." He would have them look neither for assistance in their work, nor success unto it, but from the promised Spirit alone; and lets them know, also, that by his aid they should be enabled to carry their testimony of him to the uttermost parts of the earth. And herein lay, and herein doth lie, the foundation of the ministry of the church, as also its continuance and efficacy. The kingdom of Christ is spiritual, and, in the animating principles of it, invisible. If we fix our minds only on outward order, we lose the rise and power of the whole. It is not an outward visible ordination by men, -- though that be necessary, by rule and precept, -- but Christ's communication of that Spirit, the everlasting promise whereof he received of the Father, that gives being, life, usefulness, and success, to the ministry. Wherefore, also, 3. Upon his ascension, in the accomplishment of the great promises given unto the church under the Old Testament, Isa. xliv. 3, Joel ii. 28, 29, as also of his own, newly given unto his disciples, he poured forth his Spirit on them. This the apostle Peter declares in this place: "Being exalted by the right hand of God, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he shed forth what they then saw and heard," in the miraculous operations and effects of it. And he is said then to receive the promise of the Father, because he then received the thing promised. The promise was not then first given unto him, nor did he then receive it for himself; for as the promise was given long before, so in his own person he had received the fullness of the Spirit from his incarnation, as hath been declared: but now he had power given him actually to fulfil and accomplish the promise in the collation of the thing promised, and is thence said to receive the promise. So Heb. xi. 13, 39, it is said of all believers under the Old Testament, that they "died in faith, not having received the promise;" that is, the thing promised was not actually exhibited in their days, though they had the promise of it, as it is expressly said of Abraham, chap. vii. 6. The promise, therefore, itself was given unto the Lord Christ, and actually received by him in the covenant of the mediator, when he undertook the great work of the restoration of all things, to the glory of God; for herein had he the engagement of the Father that the Holy Spirit should be poured out on the sons of men, to make effectual unto their souls the whole work of his mediation: wherefore, he is said now to "receive this promise," because on his account, and by him as exalted, it was now solemnly accomplished in and towards the church. In the same manner the same thing is described, Ps. lxviii. 18, "Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive; thou hast received gifts for men;" which is rendered, Eph. iv. 8, "Thou hast given gifts unto men:" for he received the promise at this time only to give out the Spirit and his gifts unto men. And if any are so fond as to expect strength and assistance in the work of the ministry without him, or such success in their labours as shall find acceptance with God, they do but deceive their own souls and others. Here lay the foundation of the Christian church: The Lord Christ had called his apostles to the great work of building his church, and the propagation of his gospel in the world. Of themselves, they were plainly and openly defective in all qualifications and abilities that might contribute any thing thereunto. But whatever is wanting in themselves, whether light, wisdom, authority, knowledge, utterance, or courage, he promiseth to supply them withal. And this he would not do, nor did, any otherwise but by sending the Holy Spirit unto them; on whose presence and assistance alone depended the whole success of their ministry in the world. It was "through the Holy Ghost that he gave commandments unto them," Acts i. 2. Those commandments concern the whole work in preaching the gospel and founding of the church; and these he gives unto them through the actings of divine wisdom in the human nature by the Holy Ghost. And on their part, without his assistance he forbids them to attempt any thing, verses 4, 8. In this promise, then, the Lord Christ founded the church itself, and by it he built it up. And this is the hinge whereon the whole weight of it doth turn and depend unto this day. Take it away, suppose it to cease as unto a continual accomplishment, and there will be an absolute end of the church of Christ in this world; -- no dispensation of the Spirit, no church. He that would utterly separate the Spirit from the word had as good burn his Bible. The bare letter of the New Testament will no more ingenerate faith and obedience in the souls of men, no more constitute a church-state among them who enjoy it, than the letter of the Old Testament doth so at this day among the Jews, 2 Cor. iii. 6, 8. But blessed be God, who hath knit these things together towards his elect, in the bond of an everlasting covenant! Isa. lix. 21. Let men, therefore, cast themselves into what order they please, institute what forms of government and religious worship they think good; let them do it either by an attendance according unto the best of their understandings unto the letter of the Scripture, or else in an exercise of their own wills, wisdom, and invention, -- if the work of the Spirit of God be disowned or disclaimed by them, if there be not in them and upon them such a work of his as he is promised [for] by our Lord Jesus Christ, there is no church-state amongst them, nor as such is it to be owned or esteemed. And on the ministry and the church do all ordinary communications of grace from God depend. Thirdly, It is the Holy Spirit who supplies the bodily absence of Christ, and by him doth he accomplish all his promises to the church. Hence, some of the ancients call him "Vicarium Christi," "The vicar of Christ," or him who represents his person, and dischargeth his promised work: Operam navat Christo vicariam. When our Lord Jesus was leaving the world, he gave his disciples command to "preach the gospel," Mark xvi. 15, and to "disciple all nations" into the faith and profession thereof, Matt. xxviii. 19. For their encouragement herein, he promiseth his own presence with them in their whole work, wherever any of them should be called unto it, and that whilst he would have the gospel preached on the earth. So saith he, "I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world," or the consummation of all things, verse 20. Immediately after he had thus spoken unto them, "while they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight," and they "looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up," Acts i. 9, 10. Where now is the accomplishment of his promise that he would be with them unto the end of all things, which was the sole encouragement he gave them unto their great undertaking? It may be that after this his triumphant ascension into heaven, to take possession of his kingdom and glory, he came again unto them, and made his abode with them. "No," saith Peter; "the heaven must receive him until the times of restitution of all things," Acts iii. 21. How, then, is this promise of his made good, which had such a peculiar respect unto the ministry and ministers of the gospel, that without it none can ever honestly or conscientiously engage in the dispensation of it, or expect the least success upon their so doing? Besides, he had promised unto the church itself, that "wherever two or three were gathered together in his name, that he would be in the midst of them," Matt. xviii. 19, 20. Hereon do all their comforts and all their acceptance with God depend. I say, all these promises are perfectly fulfilled by his sending of the Holy Spirit. In and by him he is present with his disciples in their ministry and their assemblies. And whenever Christ leaves the world, the church must do so too; for it is his presence alone which puts men into that condition, or invests them with that privilege: for so he saith, "I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people," 2 Cor. vi. 16; Lev. xxvi. 12. Their being the "people of God," so as therewithal to be "the temple of the living God," -- that is, to be brought into a sacred church-state for his worship, -- depends on his "dwelling in them and walking in them." And this he doth by his Spirit alone; for, "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" 1 Cor. iii. 16. He, therefore, so far represents the person, and supplies the bodily absence of Christ, that on his presence the being of the church, the success of the ministry, and the edification of the whole, do absolutely depend. And this, if any thing in the whole gospel, deserves our serious consideration; for, -- 1. The Lord Jesus hath told us that his presence with us by his Spirit is better and more expedient for us than the continuance of his bodily presence. Now, who is there that hath any affection for Christ but thinks that the carnal presence of the human nature of Christ would be of unspeakable advantage unto him? And so, no doubt, it would, had any such thing been designed or appointed in the wisdom and love of God. But so it is not; and, on the other side, we are commanded to look for more advantage and benefit by his spiritual presence with us, or his presence with us by the Holy Ghost. It is, therefore, certainly incumbent on us to inquire diligently what valuation we have hereof, and what benefit we have hereby; for if we find not that we really receive grace, assistance, and consolation, from this presence of Christ with us, we have no benefit at all by him nor from him, for he is now no otherwise for these ends with any but by his Spirit. And this they will one day find whose profession is made up of such a sottish contradiction as to avow an honour for Jesus Christ, and yet blaspheme his Spirit in all his holy operations. 2. The Lord Christ having expressly promised to be present with us to the end of all things, there are great inquiries how that promise is accomplished. Some say he is present with us by his ministers and ordinances; but how, then, is he present with those ministers themselves, unto whom the promise of his presence is made in an especial manner? The Papists would have him carnally and bodily present in the sacrament; but he himself hath told us that "the flesh," in such a sense, "profiteth nothing," John vi. 63, and that it is the "Spirit alone that quickeneth." The Lutherans fancy an omnipresence, or ubiquity of his human nature, by virtue of its personal union; but this is destructive of that nature itself, which being made to be everywhere, as such a nature, is truly nowhere; and the most learned among them are ashamed of this imagination. The words of Schmidt on Eph. iv. 10, Hina plerose ta panta, are worthy of consideration:-- "Per ta panta, aliqui intelligunt totum mundum, seu totum universum hoc, exponuntque ut omnipræsentia sua omnibus in mundo locis adesset, loca omnia implendo: et hi verbum plerose de physicâ et crassâ impletione accipiunt; quam tamen talis plerosis seu impletio locorum in mundo omnium quæ vel expansionem corpoream in quantitate continuâ, vel multiplicationem, imo infinitam multitudinem unius ejusdemque corperis in discreta præsupponit, et ex humana speculatione orta est, falsoque nostris ecclesiis affingitur" (wherein yet he confesseth that it is taught); "ne cogitanda quidem sit pio homini; sed potius omnipræsentia Christi hominis -- uti promissa est, modo nobis ineffabili credi, et multo certius aliunde sciri possit ex ipsius promissione," Matt. xxviii. 20. This way, as we say with the Scripture, is by his Spirit, the perfect manner of whose presence and operation is ineffable. Fourthly, As he represents the person and supplies the room and place of Jesus Chest, so he worketh and effecteth whatever the Lord Christ hath taken upon himself to work and effect towards his disciples. Wherefore, as the work of the Son was not his own work, but rather the "work of the Father who sent him," and in whose name he performed it, so the work of the Holy Spirit is not his own work, but rather the work of the Son, by whom he is sent, and in whose name he doth accomplish it: John xvi. 13-15, "Howbeit when the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you." He comes to reveal and communicate truth and grace to the disciples of Christ; and in his so doing he "speaks not of himself," that is, of himself only. He comes not with any absolute new dispensation of truth or grace, distinct or different from that which is in and by the Lord Christ, and which they had heard from him. The Holy Spirit being promised unto the disciples, and all their work and duty being suspended on the accomplishment of that promise, whereas he is God, they might suppose that he would come with some absolute new dispensation of truth, so that what they had learned and received from Christ should pass away and be of no use unto them. To prevent any such apprehension, he lets them know that the work he had to do was only to carry on and build on the foundation which was laid in his person or doctrine, or the truth which he had revealed from the bosom of the Father. And, -- 1. This I take to be the meaning of that expression, "He shall not speak of himself;" -- "He shall reveal no other truth, communicate no other grace, but what is in, from, and by myself." This was the Holy Spirit to do; and this he did. And hereby may we try every spirit whether it be of God. That spirit which revealeth any thing, or pretendeth to reveal any thing, any doctrine, any grace, any truth, that is contrary unto, that is not consonant to, yea, that is not the doctrine, grace, or truth of Christ, as now revealed in the word, that brings any thing new, his own, or of himself, that spirit is not of God. So it is added, -- 2. "Whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak." This which he hears is the whole counsel of the Father and the Son concerning the salvation of the church. And how is he said to "hear" it? which word, in its proper signification, hath no place in the mutual internal actings of the divine persons of the holy Trinity. Being the Spirit of the Father and the Son, proceeding from both, he is equally participant of their counsels. So the outward act of hearing is mentioned as the sign of his infinite knowledge of the eternal counsels of the Father and Son; he is no stranger unto them. And this is a general rule, -- That those words which, with respect unto us, express the means of any thing, as applied unto God, intend no more but the signs of it. Hearing is the means whereby we come to know the mind of another who is distinct from us; and when God is said to hearken or hear, it is a sign of his knowledge, not the means of it. So is the Holy Spirit said to "hear" those things, because he knows them; as he is also on the same account said to "search the deep things of God." Add hereunto that the counsel of these things is originally peculiar to the Father, and unto him it is everywhere peculiarly ascribed; therefore is the participation of the Spirit therein as a distinct person called his hearing. Hereunto, 3. His great work is subjoined: "He," saith Christ, "shall glorify me." This is the design that he is sent upon, this is the work that he comes to do; even as it was the design and work of Jesus Christ to glorify the Father, by whom he was sent. And this are they always to bear in mind who stand in need of or pray for his assistance in their work or office in the church of God: He is given unto them, that through him they may give and bring glory to Jesus Christ. And, 4. How the Holy Spirit doth glorify the Lord Christ is also declared: "He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you." The communication of spiritual things from Christ by the Spirit is here called "his receiving" of them; as the communication of the Spirit from the Father by the Lord Christ to his disciples is called "his receiving of the promise." The Spirit cannot receive any thing subjectively which he had not, as an addition unto him; it is therefore the economy of these things that is here intended. He is not said to receive them, as though before he had them not; for what can he who is God so receive? Only, when he begins to give them unto us, because they are peculiarly the things of Christ, he is said to receive them; for we can give nothing of another's but what we receive of him. Good things are given unto us from Christ by the Spirit; for so it is added, "And shall show them unto you;" -- "He shall make them known unto you; so declare them, and manifestly evidence them to you and in you, that ye shall understand and have experience of them in yourselves; show them by revelation, instructing you in them, by communication imparting them to you." And what are those things that he shall so declare? They are ta ema, "my things," saith our Saviour. The things of Christ may be referred unto two heads, -- his truth and his grace, John i. 17. The first he shows by revelation, the latter by effectual communication. His truth he showed unto them by revelation, as we have declared him to be the immediate author of all divine revelations. This he did unto the apostles by his inspirations, enabling them infallibly to receive, understand, and declare the whole counsel of God in Christ; for so, according unto the promise, he led them into all truth. And his grace he showed unto them in his pouring out both of his sanctifying graces and extraordinary gifts upon them in an abundant measure. And so he still continues to show the truth and grace of Christ unto all believers, though not in the same manner as unto the former, nor unto the same degree as unto the latter: for he shows unto us the "truth of Christ," or the truth that "came by Jesus Christ," by the word as written and preached, instructing us in it, and enlightening our minds spiritually and savingly to understand the mind of God therein; and of his grace he imparts unto us in our sanctification, consolation, and communication of spiritual gifts, according unto the measure of the gift of Christ unto every one of us, as the present use of the church doth require; -- which things must be afterward declared. 5. And the reason of the assertion is added in the last place: "All things that the Father hath are mine; therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you." Two things may be observed in these words:-- (1.) The extent of the things of Christ, which are to be showed unto believers by the Spirit; and they are, "All the things that the Father hath." "They are mine," saith our Saviour. And these "all things" may be taken either absolutely and personally, or with a restriction unto office. [1.] All things that the Father hath absolutely were the Son's also; for, receiving his personality from the Father, by the communication of the whole entire divine nature, all the things of the Father must needs be his. Thus, "as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given unto the Son to have life in himself," John v. 26. And the like may be said of all other essential properties of the Godhead. [2.] But these seem not to be the "all things" here intended. They are not the "all things" of the divine nature, which he had by eternal generation, but the "all things" of spiritual grace and power, which he had by voluntary donation, Matt. xi. 27; John iii. 35, "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand." That is, all the effects of the love, grace, and will of the Father, whatever he had purposed in himself from eternity, and whatever his infinite power and goodness would produce in the pursuit thereof, were all given and committed unto Jesus Christ. So all things that the Father hath were his. (2.) That these things may be rightly understood and apprehended, we must consider a twofold operation of God as three in one. The first hereof is absolute in all divine works whatever; the other respects the economy of the operations of God in our salvation. In those of the first sort, both the working and the work do in common and undividedly belong unto and proceed from each person. And the reason hereof is, because they are all effects of the essential properties of the same divine nature, which is in them all, or rather, which is the one nature of them all. But yet as they have one nature, so there is an order of subsistence in that nature, and the distinct persons work in the order of their subsistence: John v. 19, 20, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise." The Father doth not first work in order of time, and then the Son, seeing of it, work another work like unto it; but the Son doth the same work that the Father doth. This is absolutely necessary, because of their union in nature. But yet in the order of their subsistence, the person of the Father is the original of all divine works, in the principle and beginning of them, and that in order of nature antecedently unto the operation of the Son. Hence he is said to "see" what the Father doth; which, according unto our former rule in the exposition of such expressions, when ascribed unto the divine nature, is the sign and evidence, and not the means, of his knowledge. He sees what the Father doth, as he is his eternal Wisdom. The like must be said of the Holy Spirit, with respect both unto the Father and Son. And this order of operation in the Holy Trinity is not voluntary, but natural and necessary from the one essence and distinct subsistences thereof. Secondly, There are those operations which, with respect unto our salvation, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit do graciously condescend unto, which are those treated of in this place. Now, though the designing of this work was absolutely voluntary, yet, upon a supposition thereof, the order of its accomplishment was made necessary from the order of the subsistence of the distinct persons in the Deity; and that is here declared. Thus, [1.] The things to be declared unto us and bestowed on us are originally the Father's things. He is the peculiar fountain of them all. His love, his grace, his wisdom, his goodness, his counsel, his will, are their supreme cause and spring. Hence are they said to be the "things that the Father hath." [2.] They are made the things of the Son, -- that is, they are given and granted in and unto his disposal, -- on the account of his mediation; for thereby they were to be prepared for us and given out unto us, to the glory of God. Answerable hereunto, as the Lord Christ is mediator, all the things of grace are originally the Father's, and then given unto him. [3.] They are actually communicated unto us by the Holy Spirit: "Therefore said I, he shall take of mine and shall show it unto you." He doth not communicate them unto us immediately from the Father. We do not so receive any grace from God, -- that is, the Father; nor do we so make any return of praise or obedience unto God. We have nothing to do with the person of the Father immediately. It is the Son alone by whom we have an access unto him, and by the Son alone that he gives out of his grace and bounty unto us. He that hath not the Son hath not the Father. With him, as the great treasurer of heavenly things, are all grace and mercy intrusted. The Holy Spirit, therefore, shows them unto us, works them in us, bestows them on us, as they are the fruits of the mediation of Christ, and not merely as effects of the divine love and bounty of the Father; and this is required from the order of subsistence before mentioned. Thus the Holy Spirit supplies the bodily absence of Jesus Christ, and effects what he hath to do and accomplish towards his [people] in the world; so that whatever is done by him, it is the same as if it were wrought immediately by the Lord Christ himself in his own person, whereby all his holy promises are fully accomplished towards them that believe. And this instructs us in the way and manner of that communion which we have with God by the gospel; for herein the life, power, and freedom of our evangelical state do consist, and an acquaintance herewith gives us our translation "out of darkness into the marvellous light of God." The person of the Father, in his wisdom, will, and love, is the original of all grace and glory. But nothing hereof is communicated immediately unto us from him. It is from the Son, whom he loves, and hath given all things into his hand. He hath made way for the communication of these things unto us, unto the glory of God; and he doth it immediately by the Spirit, as hath been declared. Hereby are all our returns unto God to be regulated. The Father, who is the original of all grace and glory, is ultimately intended by us in our faith, thankfulness, and obedience; yet not so but that the Son and Spirit are considered as one God with him. But we cannot address ourselves with any of them immediately unto him. "There is no going to the Father," saith Christ, "but by me," John xiv. 6. "By him we believe in God," 1 Pet. i. 21. But yet neither can we do so unless we are enabled thereunto by the Spirit, the author in us of faith, prayer, praise, obedience, and whatever our souls tend unto God by. As the descending of God towards us in love and grace issues or ends in the work of the Spirit in us and on us, so all our ascending towards him begins therein; and as the first instance of the proceeding of grace and love towards us from the Father is in and by the Son, so the first step that we take towards God, even the Father, is in and by the Son. And these things ought to be explicitly attended unto by us, if we intend our faith, and love, and duties of obedience should be evangelical. Take an instance of the prayers of wicked men under their convictions, or their fears, troubles, and dangers, and the prayers of believers. The former is merely vox naturæ clamantis ad Dominum naturæ, -- an outcry that distressed nature makes to the God of it, -- and as such alone it considers him. But the other is vox Spiritus adoptionis clamantis per Christum, Abba, Pater; it is the voice of the Spirit of adoption addressing itself in the hearts of believers unto God as a Father. And a due attendance unto this order of things gives life and spirit unto all that we have to do with God. Woe to professors of the gospel who shall be seduced to believe that all they have to do with God consists in their attendance unto moral virtue! It is fit for them so to do who, being weary of Christianity, have a mind to turn Pagans. But "our fellowship is," in the way described, "with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." It is, therefore, of the highest importance unto us to inquire into and secure unto ourselves the promised workings of the Holy Spirit; for by them alone are the love of the Father and the fruits of the mediation of the Son communicated unto us, without which we have no interest in them, and by them alone are we enabled to make any acceptable returns of obedience unto God. It is sottish ignorance and infidelity to suppose that, under the gospel, there is no communication between God and us but what is, on his part, in laws, commands, and promises; and on ours, by obedience performed in our strength, and upon our convictions unto them. To exclude hence the real internal operations of the Holy Ghost, is to destroy the gospel. And, as we shall see farther afterward, this is the true ground and reason why there is a sin against the Holy Spirit that is irremissible: for he coming unto us to make application of the love of the Father and grace of the Son unto our souls, in the contempt of him there is a contempt of the whole actings of God towards us in a way of grace; for which there can be no remedy. Fifthly, Whereas the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of grace, and the immediate efficient cause of all grace and gracious effects in men, wherever there is mention made of them or any fruits of them, it is to be looked on as a part of his work, though he be not expressly named, or it be not particularly attributed unto him. I know not well, or do not well understand, what some men begin to talk about moral virtue. Something they seem to aim at (if they would once leave the old Pelagian ambiguous expressions, and learn to speak clearly and intelligibly) that is in their own power, and so, consequently, [in the power] of all other men; at least, it is so with an ordinary blessing upon their own endeavours: which things we must afterward inquire into. But for grace, I think all men will grant that, as to our participation of it, it is of the Holy Spirit, and of him alone. Now, grace is taken two ways in the Scripture:-- 1. For the gracious free love and favour of God towards us; and, 2. For gracious, free, effectual operations in us and upon us. In both senses the Holy Spirit is the author of it as unto us: in the first, as to its manifestation and application; in the latter, as to the operation itself. For although he be not the principal cause nor procurer of grace in the first sense, which is the free act of the Father, yet the knowledge, sense, comfort, and all the fruits of it, are by him alone communicated unto us, as we shall see afterward; and the latter is his proper and peculiar work. This, therefore, must be taken for granted, that wherever any gracious actings of God in or towards men are mentioned, it is the Holy Spirit who is peculiarly and principally intended. Sixthly, It must be duly considered, with reference unto the whole work of the Holy Spirit, that in whatever he doth, he acts, works, and distributes according to his own will. This our apostle expressly affirmeth. And sundry things of great moment do depend hereon in our walking before God; as, -- 1. That the will and pleasure of the Holy Spirit is in all the goodness, grace, love, and power, that he either communicates unto us or worketh in us. He is not as a mere instrument or servant, disposing of the things wherein he hath no concern, or over which he hath no power; but in all things he worketh towards us according to his own will. We are, therefore, in what we receive from him and by him, no less to acknowledge his love, kindness, and sovereign grace, than we do those of the Father and the Son. 2. That he doth not work, as a natural agent, ad ultimum virium, to the utmost of his power, as though in all he did he came and did what he could. He moderates all his operations by his will and wisdom. And, therefore, whereas some are said to "resist the Holy Ghost," Acts vii. 51, and so to frustrate his work towards them, it is not because they can do so absolutely, but only they can do so as to some way, kind, or degree of his operations. Men may resist some sort or kind of means that he useth, as to some certain end and purpose, but they cannot resist him as to his purpose and the end he aims at; for he is God, and "who hath resisted his will?" Rom. ix. 19. Wherefore, in any work of his, two things are to be considered:-- (1.) What the means he maketh use of tend unto in their own nature; and, (2.) What he intends by it. The first may be resisted and frustrated, but the latter cannot be so. Sometimes in and by that word which in its own nature tends to the conversion of sinners, he intendeth by it only their hardening, Isa. vi. 9, 10; John xii. 40, 41; Acts xxviii. 26, 27; Rom. xi. 8; and he can, when he pleaseth, exert that power and efficacy in working as shall take away all resistance. Sometimes he will only take order for the preaching and dispensation of the word unto men; for this also is his work, Acts xiii. 2. Herein men may resist his work, and reject his counsel concerning themselves; but when he will put forth his power, in and by the word, to the creating of a new heart in men and the opening of the eyes of them that are blind, he doth therein so take away the principle of resistance, that he is not, that he cannot be, resisted. 3. Hence, also, it follows that his works may be of various kinds, and that those which are of the same kind may yet be carried on unequally as to degrees. It is so in the operations of all voluntary agents, who work by choice and judgment. They are not confined to one sort of works, nor to the production of the same kind of effects; and where they design so to do, they moderate them as to degrees, according to their power and pleasure. Thus we shall find some of the works of the Holy Spirit to be such as may be perfect in their kind, and men may be made partakers of the whole end and intention of them, and yet no saving grace be wrought in them; such are his works of illumination, conviction, and sundry others. Men, I say, may have a work of the Holy Spirit on their hearts and minds, and yet not be sanctified and converted unto God; for the nature and kind of his works are regulated by his own will and purpose. If he intend no more but their conviction and illumination, no more shall be effected; for he works not by a necessity of nature, so that all his operations should be of the same kind, and have their especial form from his nature, and not from his will. So, also, where he doth work the same effect in the souls of men, I mean the same in the kind of it, as in their regeneration he doth, yet he doth it by sundry means, and carrieth it on to a great inequality, as to the strengthening of its principle, and increase of its fruits unto holiness; and hence is that great difference as to light, holiness, and fruitfulness, which we find among believers, although all alike partakers of the same grace for the kind thereof. The Holy Spirit worketh in all these things according to his own will, whereof there neither is nor can be any other rule but his own infinite wisdom. And this is that which the apostle minds the Corinthians of, to take away all emulation and envy about spiritual gifts, that everyone should orderly make use of what he had received to the profit and edification of others. "They are," saith he, "given and distributed by the same Spirit, according to his own will, to one after one manner, unto another after another; so that it is an unreasonable thing for any to contend about them." But it may be said, "That if not only the working of grace in us, but also the effects and fruits of it, in all its variety of degrees, is to be ascribed unto the Holy Spirit and his operations in us according to his own will, then do we signify nothing ourselves; nor is there any need that we should either use our endeavours and diligence, or at all take any care about the furtherance or growth of holiness in us, or attend unto any duties of obedience. To what end and purpose, then, serve all the commands, threatenings, promises, and exhortations of the Scripture, which are openly designed to excite and draw forth our own endeavours?" And this is indeed the principal difficulty wherewith some men seek to entangle and perplex the grace of God. But I answer, -- 1. Let men imagine what absurd consequences they please thereon, yet that the Spirit of God is the author and worker of all grace in us, and of all the degrees of it, of all that is spiritually good in us, is a truth which we must not forego, unless we intend to part with our Bibles also: for in them we are taught "that in us, that is, in our flesh, dwelleth no good thing," Rom. vii. 18; that "we are not sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God," 2 Cor. iii. 5, "who is able to make all grace abound toward us, that we may always have all sufficiency in all things, abounding to every good work," chap. ix. 8; that "without Christ we can do nothing," John xv. 5, "for it is God which worketh in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure," Phil. ii. 13. To grant, therefore, that there is any spiritual good in us, or any degree of it, that is not wrought in us by the Spirit of God, both overthrows the grace of the gospel and denies God to be the only, first, supreme, and chiefest good, as also the immediate cause of what is so; which is to deny his very being. It is therefore certain, whatever any pretend, that nothing can hence ensue but what is true and good, and useful to the souls of men; for from truth, especially such great and important truths, nothing else will follow. 2. It is brutish ignorance in any to argue in the things of God, from the effectual operations of the Spirit, unto a sloth and negligence of our own duty. He that doth not know that God hath promised to "work in us" in a way of grace what he requires from us in a way of duty, hath either never read the Bible or doth not believe it, either never prayed or never took notice of what he prayed for. He is a heathen, he hath nothing of the Christian in him, who doth not pray that God would work in him what he requires of him. This we know, that what God commands and prescribes unto us, what he encourageth us unto, we ought with all diligence and earnestness, as we value our souls and their eternal welfare, to attend unto and comply withal. And we do know that whatever God hath promised he will do himself in us, towards us, and upon us, it is our duty to believe that he will so do. And to fancy an inconsistency between these things is to charge God foolishly. 3. If there be an opposition between these things, it is either because the nature of man is not meet to be commanded, or because it needs not to be assisted. But that both these are false and vain suppositions shall be afterward declared. The Holy Spirit so worketh in us as that he worketh by us, and what he doth in us is done by us. Our duty it is to apply ourselves unto his commands, according to the conviction of our minds; and his work it is to enable us to perform them. 4. He that will indulge, or can do so, unto sloth and negligence in himself, on the account of the promised working of the Spirit of grace, may look upon it as an evidence that he hath no interest or concern therein; for he ordinarily giveth not out his aids and assistances anywhere but where he prepares the soul with diligence in duty. And whereas he acts us no otherwise but in and by the faculties of our own minds, it is ridiculous, and implies a contradiction, for a man to say he will do nothing, because the Spirit of God doth all; for where he doth nothing, the Spirit of God doth nothing, unless it be merely in the infusion of the first habit or principle of grace, whereof we shall treat afterward. 5. For degrees of grace and holiness which are inquired after, they are peculiar unto believers. Now, these are furnished with an ability and power to attend unto and perform those duties whereon the increase of grace and holiness doth depend; for although there is no grace nor degree of grace or holiness in believers but what is wrought in them by the Spirit of God, yet, ordinarily and regularly, the increase and growth of grace, and their thriving in holiness and righteousness, depend upon the use and improvement of grace received, in a diligent attendance unto all those duties of obedience which are required of us, 2 Pet. i. 5-7. And methinks it is the most unreasonable and sottish thing in the world, for a man to be slothful and negligent in attending unto those duties which God requireth of him, which all his spiritual growth depends upon, which the eternal welfare of his soul is concerned in, on pretence of the efficacious aids of the Spirit, without which he can do nothing, and which he neither hath nor can have whilst he doth nothing. Here lies the ground and foundation of our exercising faith in particular towards him, and of our acting of it in supplications and thanksgivings. His participation of the divine nature is the formal reason of our yielding unto him divine and religious worship in general; but his acting towards us according to the sovereignty of his own will is the especial reason of our particular addresses unto him in the exercise of grace, for we are baptized into his name also. Seventhly, We may observe that, in the actings and works of the Holy Spirit, some things are distinctly and separately ascribed unto him, although some things be of the same kind wrought by the person in and by whom he acts; or, he is said at the same time to do the same thing distinctly by himself, and in and by others. So John xv. 26, 27: "I will," saith our Saviour, "send the Spirit of truth, and he shall testify of me, and ye also shall bear witness." The witness of the Spirit unto Christ is proposed as distinct and separate from the witness given by the apostles: "He shall testify of me, and ye also shall bear witness." And yet they also were enabled to give their witness by him alone. So it is expressly declared, Acts i. 8, "Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me." Their witnessing unto Christ was the effect of the power of the Holy Spirit upon them, and the effect of his work in them; and he himself gave no other testimony but in and by them. What, then, is the distinct testimony that is ascribed unto him? It must be somewhat that, in or by whomsoever it was wrought, did of its own nature discover its relation unto him as his work. So it was in this matter; for it was no other but those signs and wonders, or miraculous effects, which he wrought in the confirmation of the testimony given by the apostles, all which clearly evidenced their own original. So our apostle, Heb. ii. 3, 4. The word was "confirmed, sunepimarturountos tou Theou semeiois te kai terasi," -- "God co-witnessing by signs and wonders." He enabled the apostles to bear witness unto Christ by their preaching, sufferings, holiness, and constant testimony which they gave unto his resurrection. But in this he appeared not, he evidenced not himself unto the world, though he did so in and by them in whom he wrought. But, moreover, he wrought such visible, miraculous works by them as evidenced themselves to be effects of his power, and were his distinct witness to Christ. So our apostle tells us, Rom. viii. 16, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." The witness which our own spirits do give unto our adoption is the work and effect of the Holy Spirit in us. If it were not, it would be false, and not confirmed by the testimony of the Spirit himself, who is the Spirit of truth; and none "knoweth the things of God but the Spirit of God," 1 Cor. ii. 11. If he declare not our sonship in us and to us, we cannot know it. How, then, doth he bear witness with our spirits? what is his distinct testimony in this matter? It must be some such act of his as evidenceth itself to be from him immediately unto them that are concerned in it, -- that is, those unto whom it is given. What this is in particular, and wherein it doth consist, we shall afterward inquire. So Rev. xxii. 17, "The Spirit and the bride say, Come." The bride is the church, and she prayeth for the coming of Christ. This she doth by his aid and assistance who is the Spirit of grace and supplications. And yet distinctly and separately the Spirit saith, "Come;" that is, he puts forth such earnest and fervent desires as have upon them an impression of his immediate efficiency. So verse 20 carrieth the sense of the place, -- namely, that it is Christ himself unto whom she says "Come;" or they pray for the hastening of his coming. Or they say "Come" unto others, in their invitation of them unto Christ, as the end of verse 17 seems to apply it: then is it the prayers and preaching of the church for the conversion of souls that is intended; and with both the Spirit works eminently to make them effectual. Or it may be, in this place, "the Spirit" is taken for the Spirit in the guides and leaders of the church. They, praying by his especial guidance and assistance, say, "Come;" or preachers say unto others, "Come;" and "the bride," or the body of the church, acted by the same Spirit, joins with them in this great request and supplication. And thereunto all believers are invited in the following words: "And let him that heareth say, Come." All these things were necessary to be premised in general, as giving some insight into the nature of the operations of the Holy Spirit in us and towards us; and hereby we have made our way plain to the consideration of his especial works, in the calling, building, and carrying on the church unto perfection. Now, all his works of this kind may be reduced unto three heads:-- 1. Of sanctifying grace; 2. Of especial gifts; 3. Of peculiar evangelical privileges. Only, we must observe that these things are not so distinguished as to be negatively contradistinct to each other; for the same thing, under several considerations, may be all these, -- a grace, a gift, and a privilege. All that I intend is to reduce the operations of the Holy Spirit unto these heads, casting each of them under that which it is most eminent in, and as which it is most directly proposed unto us; and I shall begin with his work of grace. __________________________________________________________________ [75] Kai malista ge to apolauein tous anaplasthentas tou hagiasmou kai diamenein en te anaplasei, tes tou panagiou pneumatos esti demourgias te kai sunoches. -- Jobius apud. Photium. lib. cxxii. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Book III. __________________________________________________________________ Chapter I. Work of the Holy Spirit in the new creation by regeneration. The new creation completed -- Regeneration the especial work of the Holy Spirit -- Wrought under the Old Testament, but clearly revealed in the New; and is of the same kind in all that are regenerate, the causes and way of it being the same in all -- It consisteth not in baptism alone, nor in a moral reformation of life; but a new creature is formed in it, whose nature is declared, and farther explained -- Denial of the original depravation of nature the cause of many noxious opinions -- Regeneration consisteth not in enthusiastic raptures; their nature and danger -- The whole doctrine necessary, despised, corrupted, vindicated. We have formerly declared the work of the Holy Spirit in preparing and forming the natural body of Christ. This was the beginning of the new creation, the foundation of the gospel state and church. But this was not the whole of the work he had to do. As he had provided and prepared the natural body of Christ, so he was to prepare his mystical body also. And hereby the work of the new creation was to be completed and perfected. And as it was with respect unto him and his work in the old creation, so was it also in the new. All things in their first production had darkness and death upon them; for "the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep," Gen. i. 2. Neither was there any thing that had either life in it, or principle of life, or any disposition thereunto. In this condition he moved on the prepared matter, preserving and cherishing of it, and communicating unto all things a principle of life, whereby they were animated, as we have declared. It was no otherwise in the new creation. There was a spiritual darkness and death came by sin on all mankind; neither was there in any man living the least principle of spiritual life, or any disposition thereunto. In this state of things, the Holy Spirit undertaketh to create a new world, new heavens and a new earth, wherein righteousness should dwell. And this, in the first place, was by his effectual communication of a new principle of spiritual life unto the souls of God's elect, who were the matter designed of God for this work to be wrought upon. This he doth in their regeneration, as we shall now manifest. First, Regeneration in Scripture is everywhere assigned to be the proper and peculiar work of the Holy Spirit: John iii. 3-6, "Jesus answered and said unto Nicodemus, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." It was an ancient knowing teacher of the church of the Jews, a "master in Israel," whom our blessed Saviour here discourseth withal and instructs; for on the consideration of his miracles he concluded that "God was with him," and came to inquire of him about the kingdom of God. Our Saviour knowing how all our faith and obedience to God, and all our acceptance with him, depend on our regeneration, or being born again, acquaints him with the necessity of it; wherewith he is at first surprised. Wherefore he proceeds to instruct him in the nature of the work whose necessity he had declared; and this he describes both by the cause and the effect of it. For the cause of it, he tells him it is wrought by "water and the Spirit;" -- by the Spirit, as the principal efficient cause; and by water, as the pledge, sign, and token [76] of it, in the initial seal of the covenant, the doctrine whereof was then preached amongst them by John the Baptist: or, the same thing is intended in a redoubled expression, the Spirit being signified by the water also, under which notion he is often promised. Hereof, then, or of this work, the Holy Spirit is the principal efficient cause; whence he in whom it is wrought is said to be "born of the Spirit:" Verse 8, "So is every one that is born of the Spirit." And this is the same with what is delivered, chap. i. 13, "Who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." The natural and carnal means of blood, flesh, and the will of man, are rejected wholly in this matter, and the whole efficiency of the new birth is ascribed unto God alone. His work answers whatever contribution there is unto natural generation from the will and nature of man; for these things are here compared, and from its analogy unto natural generation is this work of the Spirit called "regeneration." So in this place is the allusion and opposition between these things expressed by our Saviour: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit," chap. iii. 6. And herein also we have a farther description of this work of the Holy Spirit by its effect, or the product of it; it is "spirit," -- a new spiritual being, creature, nature, life, as shall be declared. And because there is in it a communication of a new spiritual life, it is called a "vivification" or "quickening," with respect unto the state wherein all men are before this work is wrought in them and on them, Eph. ii. 1, 5; which is the work of the Spirit alone, for "it is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing," John vi. 63. See Rom. viii. 9, 10; Tit. iii. 4-6, where the same truth is declared and asserted: "But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit; which he shed on us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour." What we have frequently mentioned occurreth here expressly, -- namely, the whole blessed Trinity, and each person therein, acting distinctly in the work of our salvation. The spring or fountain of the whole lieth in the kindness and love of God, even the Father. Thereunto it is everywhere ascribed in the Scripture. See John iii. 16; Eph. i. 3-6. Whatever is done in the accomplishment of this work, it is so in the pursuit of his will, purpose, and counsel, and is an effect of his love and grace. The procuring cause of the application of the love and kindness of God unto us is Jesus Christ our Saviour, in the whole work of his mediation, verse 6. And the immediate efficient cause in the communication of the love and kindness of the Father, through the mediation of the Son, unto us, is the Holy Spirit. And this he doth in the renovation of our natures, by the washing of regeneration, wherein we are purged from our sins, and sanctified unto God. More testimonies unto this purpose need not be insisted on. This truth, of the Holy Spirit being the author of our regeneration, which the ancients esteemed a cogent argument to prove his deity, even from the greatness and dignity of the work, [77] is, in words at least, so far as I know, granted by all who pretend to sobriety in Christianity. That by some others it hath been derided and exploded is the occasion of this vindication of it. It must not be expected that I should here handle the whole doctrine of regeneration practically, as it may be educed by inferences from the Scripture, according to the analogy of faith and the experiences of them that believe; it hath been done already by others. My present aim is only to confirm the fundamental principles of truth concerning those operations of the Holy Spirit, which at this day are opposed with violence and virulence. And what I shall offer on the present subject may be reduced unto the ensuing heads:-- First, Although the work of regeneration by the Holy Spirit was wrought under the Old Testament, even from the foundation of the world, and the doctrine of it was recorded in the Scriptures, yet the revelation of it was but obscure in comparison of that light and evidence which it is brought forth into by the gospel. This is evident from the discourse which our blessed Saviour had with Nicodemus on this subject; for when he acquainted him clearly with the doctrine of it, he was surprised, and fell into that inquiry, which argued some amazement, "How can these things be?" But yet the reply of our Saviour manifests that he might have attained a better acquaintance with it out of the Scripture than he had done: "Art thou," saith he, "a master in Israel, and knowest not these things?" -- "Dost thou take upon thee to teach others what is their state and condition, and what is their duty towards God, and art ignorant thyself of so great and fundamental a doctrine, which thou mightst have learned from the Scripture?" For if he might not so have done, there would have been no just cause of the reproof given him by our Saviour; for it was neither crime nor negligence in him to be ignorant of what God had not revealed. This doctrine, therefore, -- namely, that everyone who will enter into the kingdom of God must be born again of the Holy Spirit, -- was contained in the writings of the Old Testament. It was so in the promises, that God would circumcise the hearts of his people, -- that he would take away their heart of stone, and give them a heart of flesh, with his law written in it, and other ways, as shall be afterward proved. But yet we see that it was so obscurely declared that the principal masters and teachers of the people knew little or nothing of it. Some, indeed, would have this regeneration, if they knew what they would have, or as to what may be gathered of their minds out of their "great swelling words of vanity," to be nothing but reformation of life, according to the rules of the Scripture. But Nicodemus knew the necessity of reformation of life well enough, if he had ever read either Moses or the Prophets; and to suppose that our Lord Jesus Christ proposed unto him the thing which he knew perfectly well, only under a new name or notion, which he had never heard of before, so to take an advantage of charging him of being ignorant of what indeed he full well knew and understood, is a blasphemous imagination. How they can free themselves from the guilt hereof who look on "regeneration" as no more but a metaphorical expression of amendment of life, I know not. And if it be so, if there be no more in it but, as they love to speak, becoming a new moral man, -- a thing which all the world, Jews and Gentiles, understood, -- our Lord Jesus was so far from bringing it forth into more light and giving it more perspicuity, by what he teacheth concerning regeneration, the nature, manner, causes, and effects of it, that he cast it thereby into more darkness and obscurity than ever it was delivered in, either by Jewish masters or Gentile philosophy; for although the gospel do really teach all duties of morality with more exactness and clearness, and press unto the observance of them on motives incomparably more cogent, than any thing that otherwise ever befell the mind of man to think or apprehend, yet if it must be supposed to intend nothing else in its doctrine of the new birth or regeneration but those moral duties and their observance, it is dark and unintelligible. I say, if there be not a secret, mysterious work of the Spirit of God in and upon the souls of men intended in the writings of the New Testament, but only a reformation of life, and the improvement of men's natural abilities in the exercise of moral virtue, through the application of outward means unto their minds and understandings, conducting and persuading thereunto, they must be granted to be obscure beyond those of any other writers whatsoever, as some have not feared already to publish unto the world concerning the epistles of Paul. But so long as we can obtain an acknowledgment from men that they are true, and in any sense the word of God, we doubt not but to evince that the things intended in them are clearly and properly expressed, so as they ought to be, and so as they are capable to be expressed; the difficulties which seem to be in them arising from the mysterious nature of the things themselves contained in them, and the weakness of our minds in apprehending such things, and not from any obscurity or intricacy in the declaration of them. And herein, indeed, consists the main contest whereinto things with the most are reduced. Some judge that all things are so expressed in the Scripture, with a condescension unto our capacity, as that there is still to be conceived an inexpressible grandeur in many of them, beyond our comprehension; others judge, on the other hand, that under a grandeur of words and hyperbolical expressions, things of a meaner and a lower sense are intended and to be understood. Some judge the things of the gospel to be deep and mysterious, the words and expressions of it to be plain and proper; others think the words and expressions of it to be mystical and figurative, but the things intended to be ordinary and obvious to the natural reason of every man. But to return. Both regeneration and the doctrine of it were under the Old Testament. All the elect of God, in their several generations, were regenerate by the Spirit of God. But in that ampliation and enlargement of truth and grace under the gospel which came by Jesus Christ, who brought life and immortality to light, as more persons than of old were to be made partakers of the mercy of it, so the nature of the work itself is far more clearly, evidently, and distinctly revealed and declared. And because this is the principal and internal remedy of that disease which the Lord Christ came to cure and take away, one of the first things that he preached was the doctrine of it. All things of this nature before, even "from the beginning of the world, lay hid in God," Eph. iii. 9. Some intimations were given of them, in "parables" and "dark sayings," chydvt mnyqdm?, Ps. lxxviii. 2, in types, shadows, and ceremonies, so as the nature of the grace in them was not clearly to be discerned. But now, when the great Physician of our souls came, who was to heal the wound of our natures, whence we "were dead in trespasses and sins," he lays naked the disease itself, declares the greatness of it, the ruin we were under from it; that we might know and be thankful for its reparation. Hence, no doctrine is more fully and plainly declared in the gospel than this of our regeneration by the effectual and ineffable operation of the Holy Spirit; and it is a consequent and fruit of the depravation of our nature, that, against the full light and evidence of truth, now clearly manifested, this great and holy work is opposed and despised. Few, indeed, have yet the confidence in plain and intelligible words to deny it absolutely; but many tread in the steps of him who first in the church of God undertook to undermine it. [78] This was Pelagius, whose principal artifice, which he used in the introduction of his heresy, was in the clouding of his intentions with general and ambiguous expressions, as some would by making use of his very words and phrases. Hence, for a long time, when he was justly charged with his sacrilegious errors, he made no defence of them, but reviled his adversaries as corrupting his mind, and not understanding his expressions. And by this means, as he got himself acquitted in the judgment of some, less experienced in the sleights and cunning craftiness of them who lie in wait to deceive, and [79] juridically freed in an assembly of bishops; so in all probability he had suddenly infected the whole church with the poison of those opinions, which the proud and corrupted nature of man is so apt to receive and embrace, if God had not stirred up some few holy and learned persons, Austin especially, to discover his frauds, to repel his calumnies, and to confute his sophisms; which they did with indefatigable industry and good success. But yet these tares, being once sown by the envious one, found such a suitable and fruitful soil in the darkened minds and proud hearts of men, that from that day to this they could never be fully extirpated; but the same bitter root hath still sprung up, unto the defiling of many, though various new colours have been put upon its leaves and fruit. And although those who at present amongst us have undertaken the same cause with Pelagius do not equal him either in learning or diligence, or an appearance of piety and devotion, yet do they exactly imitate him in declaring their minds in cloudy, ambiguous expressions, capable of various constructions until they are fully examined, and thereon reproaching (as he did) those that oppose them as not aright representing their sentiments, when they judge it their advantage so to do; as the scurrilous, clamorous writings of S. P. [80] do sufficiently manifest. Secondly, Regeneration by the Holy Spirit is the same work, for the kind of it, and wrought by the same power of the Spirit in all that are regenerate, or ever were, or shall be so, from the beginning of the world unto the end thereof. Great variety there is in the application of the outward means which the Holy Spirit is pleased to use and make effectual towards the accomplishment of this great work; nor can the ways and manner hereof be reduced unto any certain order, for the Spirit worketh how and when he pleaseth, following the sole rule of his own will and wisdom. Mostly, God makes use of the preaching of the word; thence called "the ingrafted word, which is able to save our souls," James i. 21; and the "incorruptible seed," by which we are "born again," 1 Pet. i. 23. Sometimes it is wrought without it; as in all those who are regenerate before they come to the use of reason, or in their infancy. Sometimes men are called, and so regenerate, in an extraordinary manner; as was Paul. But mostly they are so in and by the use of ordinary means, instituted, blessed, and sanctified of God to that end and purpose. And great variety there is, also, in the perception and understanding of the work itself in them in whom it is wrought, for in itself it is secret and hidden, and is no other ways discoverable but in its causes and effects; for as "the wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth, so is every one that is born of the Spirit," John iii. 8. In the minds and consciences of some, this is made known by infallible signs and tokens. Paul knew that Christ was formed and revealed in himself, Gal. i. 15, 16. So he declared that whoever is in Christ Jesus "is a new creature," 2 Cor. v. 17, -- that is, is born again, -- whether they know themselves so to be or no. And many are in the dark as to their own condition in this matter all their days; for they "fear the Lord, and obey the voice of his servant" (Christ Jesus), and yet "walk in darkness, and have no light," Isa. l. 10. They are "children of light," Luke xvi. 8, John xii. 36, Eph. v. 8, 1 Thess. v. 5; and yet "walk in darkness, and have no light:" which expressions have been well used and improved by some, and by others of late derided and blasphemed. And there is great variety in the carrying on of this work towards perfection, -- in the growth of the new creature, or the increase of grace implanted in our natures by it: for some, through the supplies of the Spirit, make a great and speedy progress towards perfection, others thrive slowly and bring forth little fruit; the causes and occasions whereof are not here to be enumerated. But notwithstanding all differences in previous dispositions, in the application of outward means, in the manner of it, ordinary or extraordinary, in the consequents of much or less fruit, the work itself in its own nature is of the same kind, one and the same. The elect of God were not regenerate one way, by one kind of operation of the Holy Spirit, under the Old Testament, and those under the New Testament [by] another. They who were miraculously converted, as Paul, or who upon their conversion had miraculous gifts bestowed on them, as had multitudes of the primitive Christians, were no otherwise regenerate, nor by any other internal efficiency of the Holy Spirit, than everyone is at this day who is really made partaker of this grace and privilege. Neither were those miraculous operations of the Holy Spirit which were visible unto others any part of the work of regeneration, nor did they belong necessarily unto it; for many were the subjects of them, and received miraculous gifts by them, who were never regenerate, and many were regenerate who were never partakers of them. And it is a fruit of the highest ignorance and unacquaintedness imaginable with these things, to affirm that in the work of regeneration the Holy Spirit wrought of old miraculously, in and by outwardly visible operations, but now only in a human and rational way, leading our understanding by the rules of reason, unless the mere external mode and sign of his operation be intended: for all ever were, and ever shall be, regenerate by the same kind of operation, and the same effect of the Holy Spirit on the faculties of their souls; which will be farther manifest if we consider, -- 1. That the condition of all men, as unregenerate, is absolutely the same. One is not by nature more unregenerate than another. All men since the fall, and the corruption of our nature by sin, are in the same state and condition towards God. They are all alike alienated from him, and all alike under his curse, Ps. li. 5; John iii. 5, 36; Rom. iii. 19, v. 15-18; Eph. ii. 3; Tit. iii. 3, 4. There are degrees of wickedness in them that are unregenerate, but there is no difference as to state and condition between them, -- all are unregenerate alike; as amongst those who are regenerate there are different degrees of holiness and righteousness, one, it may be, far exceeding another, yet there is between them no difference of state and condition, -- they are all equally regenerate. Yea, some may be in a greater forwardness and preparation for the work itself, and thereby in a greater nearness to the state of it than others; but the state itself is incapable of such degrees. Now, it must be the same work, for the kind and nature of it, which relieves and translates men out of the same state and condition. That which gives the formal reason of the change of their state, of their translation from death to life, is and must be the same in all. If you can fix on any man, from the foundation of the world, who was not equally born in sin, and by nature dead in trespasses and sins, with all other men, the man Christ Jesus only excepted, I would grant that he might have another kind of regeneration than others have, but that I know he would stand in need of none at all. 2. The state whereinto men are brought by regeneration is the same. Nor is it, in its essence or nature, capable of degrees, so that one should be more regenerate than another. Everyone that is born of God is equally so, though one may be more beautiful than another, as having the image of his heavenly Father more evidently impressed on him, though not more truly. Men may be more or less holy, more or less sanctified, but they cannot be more or less regenerate. All children that are born into the world are equally born, though some quickly outstrip others in the perfections and accomplishments of nature; and all born of God are equally so, though some speedily outgo others in the accomplishments and perfections of grace. There was, then, never but one kind of regeneration in this world, the essential form of it being specifically the same in all. 3. That the efficient cause of this work, the grace and power whereby it is wrought, with the internal manner of the communication of that grace, are the same, shall be afterward declared. To this standard, then, all must come. Men may bear themselves high, and despise this whole work of the Spirit of God, or set up an imagination of their own in the room thereof; but whether they will or no, they must be tried by it, and no less depends on their interest in it than their admission into the kingdom of God. And let them pretend what they please, the true reason why any despise the new birth is, because they hate a new life. He that cannot endure to live to God will as little endure to hear of being born of God. But we shall by the Scripture inquire what we are taught concerning it, and declare both what it is not, of things which falsely pretend thereunto, and then what it is indeed. First, Regeneration doth not consist in a participation of the ordinance of baptism and a profession of the doctrine of repentance. This is all that some will allow unto it, to the utter rejection and overthrow of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: for the dispute in this matter is not, whether the ordinances of the gospel, as baptism, do really communicate internal grace unto them that are, as to the outward manner of their administration, duly made partakers of them, whether ex opere operato, as the Papists speak, or as a federal means of the conveyance and communication of that grace which they betoken and are the pledges of; but, whether the outward susception of the ordinance, joined with a profession of repentance in them that are adult, be not the whole of what is called regeneration. The vanity of this presumptuous folly, destructive of all the grace of the gospel, invented to countenance men in their sins, and to hide from them the necessity of being born again, and therein of turning unto God, will be laid open in our declaration of the nature of the work itself. For the present, the ensuing reasons will serve to remove it out of our way:-- 1. Regeneration doth not consist in these things, which are only outward signs and tokens of it, or at most instituted means of effecting it; for the nature of things is different and distinct from the means and evidences or pledges of them: but such only is baptism, with the profession of the doctrine of it, as is acknowledged by all who have treated of the nature of that sacrament. 2. The apostle really states this case, 1 Pet. iii. 21, "In answer whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), by the resurrection of Jesus Christ." The outward administration of this ordinance, considered materially, reacheth no farther but to the washing away of "the filth of the flesh;" but more is signified thereby. There is denoted in it the restipulation of a "good conscience toward God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ" from the dead, or a "conscience purged from dead works to serve the living God," Heb. ix. 14, and quickened by virtue of his resurrection unto holy obedience. See Rom. vi. 3-7. 3. The apostle Paul doth plainly distinguish between the outward ordinances, with what belongs unto a due participation of them, and the work of regeneration itself: Gal. vi. 15, "In Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature;" -- for as by "circumcision" the whole system of Mosaical ordinances is intended, so the state of "uncircumcision," as then it was in the professing Gentiles, supposed a participation of all the ordinances of the gospel; but from them all he distinguisheth the new creation, as that which they may be without, and which being so, they are not available in Christ Jesus. 4. If this were so, then all that are duly baptized, and do thereon make profession of the doctrine of it, -- that is, of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, -- must of necessity be regenerate. But this we know to be otherwise. For instance, Simon the magician was rightly and duly baptized, for he was so by Philip the evangelist; which he could not be without a profession of faith and repentance. Accordingly, it is said that he "believed," Acts viii. 13, -- that is, made a profession of his faith in the gospel. Yet he was not regenerate; for at the same time he had "neither part nor lot in that matter," his "heart not being right in the sight of God," but was "in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity," verses 21, 23; which is not the description of a person newly regenerate and born again. Hence the cabalistical Jews, who grope in darkness after the old notions of truth that were among their forefathers, do say, that at the same instant wherein a man is made "a proselyte of righteousness," there comes a new soul into him from heaven, his old pagan soul vanishing or being taken away. The introduction of a new spiritual principle to be that unto the soul which the soul is unto the body naturally is that which they understand; or they choose thus to express the reiterated promise of taking away the "heart of stone," and giving a "heart of flesh" in the place of it. Secondly, Regeneration doth not consist in a moral reformation of life and conversation. Let us suppose such a reformation, to be extensive unto all known instances. Suppose a man be changed from sensuality unto temperance, from rapine to righteousness, from pride and the dominion of irregular passions unto humility and moderation, with all instances of the like nature which we can imagine, or are prescribed in the rules of the strictest moralists; suppose this change be laboured, exact, and accurate, and so of great use in the world; suppose, also, that a man hath been brought and persuaded unto it through the preaching of the gospel, so "escaping the pollutions that are in the world through lust, even by the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ," or the directions of his doctrine delivered in the gospel; -- yet I say, all this, and all this added unto baptism, accompanied with a profession of faith and repentance, is not regeneration, nor do they comprise it in them. And I have extended this assertion beyond what some among us, so far as I can see, do so much as pretend unto in their confused notions and sophistical expressions about morality, when they make it the same with grace. But whatever there may be of actual righteousness in these things, they do not express an inherent, habitual righteousness; which whosoever denies overthrows the gospel, and all the whole work of the Spirit of God, and of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. But we must stay a while. This assertion of ours is by some not only denied but derided. Neither is that all; but whoever maintains it is exposed as an enemy to morality, righteousness, and reformation of life. All virtue, they say, is hereby excluded, to introduce I know not what imaginary godliness. But whether we oppose or exclude moral virtue or no, by the doctrine of regeneration, or any other, God and Christ will in due time judge and declare. Yea, were the confession of the truth consistent with their interests, the decision of this doubt might be referred unto their own consciences. But being not free to commit any thing to that tribunal, unless we had better security of its freedom from corrupt principles and prejudices than we have, we shall at present leave all the world to judge of our doctrine, with respect unto virtue and morality, by the fruits of it, compared with theirs by whom it is denied. In the meantime, we affirm that we design nothing in virtue and morality but to improve them, by fixing them on a proper foundation, or ingrafting them into that stock whereon alone they will thrive and grow, to the glory of God and the good of the souls of men. Neither shall we be moved in this design by the clamorous or calumnious outcries of ignorant or profligate persons. And for the assertion laid down, I desire that those who despise and reproach it would attempt an answer unto the ensuing arguments whereby it is confirmed, with those others which shall be insisted on in our description of the nature of the work of regeneration itself, and that upon such grounds and principles as are not destructive of Christian religion nor introductive of atheism, before they are too confident of their success. If there be in and required unto regeneration, the [81] infusion of a new, real, spiritual principle into the soul and its faculties, of spiritual life, light, holiness, and righteousness, disposed unto and suited for the destruction or expulsion of a contrary, inbred, habitual principle of sin and enmity against God, enabling unto all acts of holy obedience, and so in order of nature antecedent unto them, then it doth not consist in a mere reformation of life and moral virtue, be they never so exact or accurate. Three things are to be observed for the clearing of this assertion, before we come to the proof and confirmation of it; as, -- 1. That this reformation of life, which we say is not regeneration, or that regeneration doth not consist therein, is a necessary duty, indispensably required of all men; for we shall take it here for the whole course of actual obedience unto God, and that according to the gospel. Those, indeed, by whom it is urged and pressed in the room of regeneration, or as that wherein regeneration doth consist, do give such an account and description of it as that it is, or at least may be, foreign unto true gospel-obedience, and so not contain in it one acceptable duty unto God, as shall afterward be declared; but here I shall take it, in our present inquiry, for that whole course of duties which, in obedience towards God, are prescribed unto us. 2. That the principle before described, wherein regeneration as passively considered, or as wrought in us, consists, doth always certainly and infallibly produce the reformation of life in tended. In some it doth it more completely, in others more imperfectly, in all sincerely; for the same grace in nature and kind is communicated unto several persons in various degrees, and is by them used and improved with more or less care and diligence. In those, therefore, that are adult, these things are inseparable. Therefore, 3. The difference in this matter cometh unto this head: We say and believe that regeneration consists in spirituali renovatione naturæ, -- "in a spiritual renovation of our nature;" our modem Socinians, that it doth so in morali reformatione vitæ, -- "in a moral reformation of life." Now, as we grant that this spiritual renovation of nature will infallibly produce a moral reformation of life; so if they will grant that this moral reformation of life doth proceed from a spiritual renovation of our nature, this difference will be at an end. And this is that which the ancients intend by first receiving the Holy Ghost, and then all graces with him. [82] However, if they only design to speak ambiguously, improperly, and unscripturally, confounding effects and their causes, habits and actions, faculties or powers and occasional acts, infused principles and acquired habits, spiritual and moral, grace and nature, that they may take an opportunity to rail at others for want of better advantage, I shall not contend with them; for allow a new spiritual principle, an infused habit of grace, or gracious abilities, to be required in and unto regeneration, or to be the product or the work of the Spirit therein, that which is "born of the Spirit being spirit," and this part of the nature of this work is sufficiently cleared. Now, this the Scripture abundantly testifieth unto. 2 Cor. v. 17, "If any man be in Christ he is a new creature." This new creature is that which is intended, that which was before described, which being born of the Spirit is spirit. This is produced in the souls of men by a creating act of the power of God, [83] or it is not a creature. And it is superinduced into the essential faculties of our souls, or it is not a new creature; for whatever is in the soul of power, disposition, ability, or inclination unto God, or for any moral actions, by nature, it belongs unto the old creation, it is no new creature. And it must be somewhat that hath a being and subsistence of its own in the soul, or it can be neither new nor a creature. And by our apostle it is opposed to all outward privileges, Gal. v. 6, vi. 15. That the production of it also is by a creating act of almighty power the Scripture testifieth, Ps. li. 10; Eph. ii. 10; and this can denote nothing but a new spiritual principle or nature wrought in us by the Spirit of God. "No," say some; "a new creature is no more but a changed man." It is true; but then this change is internal also. "Yes, in the purposes, designs, and inclinations of the mind." But is it by a real infusion of a new principle of spiritual life and holiness? "No; it denotes no more but a new course of conversation, only the expression is metaphorical. A new creature is a moral man that hath changed his course and way; for if he were always a moral man, that he was never in any vicious way or course, as it was with him, Matt. xix. 16-22, then he was always a new creature." This is good gospel, at once overthrowing original sin and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ! This doctrine, I am sure, was not learned from the fathers, whereof some used to boast; nay, it is much more fulsome than any thing ever taught by Pelagius himself, who, indeed, ascribed more unto grace than these men do, although he denied this creation of a new principle of grace in us antecedent unto acts of obedience. [84] And this turning all Scripture expressions of spiritual things into metaphors is but a way to turn the whole into a fable, or at least to render the gospel the most obscure and improper way of teaching the truth of things that ever was made use of in the world. This new creature, therefore, doth not consist in a new course of actions, but in renewed faculties, with new dispositions, power, or ability to them and for them. Hence it is called the "divine nature:" 2 Pet. i. 4, "He hath given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature." This theia phusis, this "divine nature," is not the nature of God, whereof in our own persons we are not subjectively partakers; and yet a nature it is which is a principle of operation, and that divine or spiritual, -- namely, an habitual holy principle, wrought in us by God, and bearing his image. By the "promises," therefore, we are made partakers of a divine, supernatural principle of spiritual actions and operations; which is what we contend for. So the whole of what we intend is declared, Eph. iv. 22-24, "Put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." It is the work of regeneration, with respect both to its foundation and progress, that is here described. 1. The foundation of the whole is laid in our being "renewed in the spirit of our mind;" which the same apostle elsewhere calls being "transformed in the renovation of our minds," Rom. xii. 2. That this consists in the participation of a new, saving, supernatural light, to enable the mind unto spiritual actings, and to guide it therein, shall be afterward declared. Herein consists our "renovation in knowledge, after the image of him who created us," Col. iii. 10. And, 2. The principle itself infused into us, created in us, is called the "new man," Eph. iv. 24, -- that is, the new creature before mentioned; and it is called the "new man," because it consists in the universal change of the whole soul, as it is the principle of all spiritual and moral action. And, (1.) It is opposed unto the "old man," "Put off the old man, and put on the new man," verses 22, 24. Now, this "old man" is the corruption of our nature, as that nature is the principle of all religious, spiritual, and moral actions, as is evident, Rom. vi. 6. It is not a corrupt conversation, but the principle and root of it; for it is distinguished both from the conversation of men, and those corrupt lusts which are exercised therein, as to that exercise. And, (2.) It is called the "new man," because it is the effect and product of God's creating power, and that in a way of "a new creation," see Eph. i. 19; Col. ii. 12, 13; 2 Thess. i. 11; and it is here said to be "created after God," Eph. iv. 24. Now, the object of a creating act is an instantaneous production. Whatever preparations there may be for it and dispositions unto it, the bringing forth of a new form and being by creation is in an instant. This, therefore, cannot consist in a mere reformation of life. So are we said herein to be the "workmanship of God, created in Christ Jesus unto good works," chap. ii. 10. There is a work of God in us preceding all our good works towards him; for before we can work any of them, in order of nature, we must be the workmanship of God, created unto them, or enabled spiritually for the performance of them. Again: This new man, whereby we are born again, is said to be created in righteousness and true holiness. That there is a respect unto man created in innocency, wherein he was made in the image of God, I suppose will not be denied. It is also expressed Col. iii. 10, "Ye have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him." Look, then, what was, or wherein consisted, the image of God in the first man, thereunto answers this new man which is created of God. Now, this did not consist in reformation of life, no, nor in a course of virtuous actions; for he was created in the image of God before he had done anyone good thing at all, or was capable of so doing. But this image of God consisted principally, as we have evinced elsewhere, in the uprightness, rectitude, and ability of his whole soul, his mind, will, and affections, in, unto, and for the obedience that God required of him. This he was endowed withal antecedently unto all voluntary actions whereby he was to live to God. Such, therefore, must be our regeneration, or the creation of this new man in us. It is the begetting, infusing, creating, of a new saving principle of spiritual life, light, and power in the soul, antecedent unto true evangelical reformation of life, in [the] order of nature, [and] enabling men thereunto, according unto the mind of God. Hereunto accords that of our Saviour, Luke vi. 43, "A good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit, neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit;" compared with Matt. vii. 18. The fruit followeth the nature of the tree; and there is no way to change the nature of the fruit, but by changing the nature of the tree which brings it forth. Now, all amendment of life in reformation is but fruit, chap. iii. 10; but the changing of our nature is antecedent hereunto. This is the constant course and tenor of the Scripture, to distinguish between the grace of regeneration, which it declares to be an immediate supernatural work of God in us and upon us, and all that obedience, holiness, righteousness, virtue, or whatever is good in us, which is the consequent, product, and effect of it. Yea, God hath declared this expressly in his covenant, Ezek. xxxvi. 25-27; Jer. xxxi. 33, xxxii. 39, 40. The method of God's proceeding with us in his covenant is, that he first washeth and cleanseth our natures, takes away the heart of stone, gives a heart of flesh, writes his law in our hearts, puts his Spirit in us; wherein, as shall be evidenced, the grace of regeneration doth consist. The effect and consequent hereof is, that we shall walk in his statutes, keep his judgments and do them, -- that is, reform our lives, and yield all holy obedience unto God. Wherefore these things are distinguished as causes and effects. See to the same purpose, Rom. vi. 3-6; Col. iii. 1-5; Eph. ii. 10, iv. 23-25. This I insist upon still, on supposition that by "reformation of life" all actual obedience is intended; for as to that kind of life which is properly called a moral course of life, in opposition to open debaucheries and unrighteousness, which doth not proceed from an internal principle of saving grace, it is so far from being regeneration or grace, as that it is a thing of no acceptation with God absolutely, whatever use or reputation it may be of in the world. And yet farther: This work is described to consist in the sanctification of the whole spirit, soul, and body, 1 Thess. v. 23. And if this be that which some men intend by "reformation of life" and "moral virtue," they must needs win much esteem for their clearness and perspicuity in teaching spiritual things; for who would not admire them for such a definition of morality, -- namely, that it is the principal sanctification of the whole spirit, soul, and body, of a believer, by the Holy Ghost? But not to dwell longer on this subject, there is no description of the work of regeneration in the Scripture, in its nature, causes, or effects, no name given unto it, no promise made of it, nothing spoken of the ways, means, or power, by which it is wrought, but is inconsistent with this bold Pelagian figment, which is destructive of the grace of Jesus Christ. The ground of this imagination, that regeneration consists in a moral reformation of life, ariseth from a denial of original sin, or an inherent, habitual corruption of nature; for the masters unto the men of this persuasion tell us that whatever is of vice or defilement in us, it is contracted by a custom of sinning only. And their conceptions hereof do regulate their opinions about regeneration; for if man be not originally corrupted and polluted, if his nature be not depraved, if it be not possessed by, and under the power of, evil dispositions and inclinations, it is certain that he stands in no need of an inward spiritual renovation of it. It is enough for such an one that, by change of life, he renounce a custom of sinning, and reform his conversation according to the gospel; which in himself he hath power to do. But as it hath been in part already manifested, and will fully, God assisting, be evinced afterward, that in our regeneration the native ignorance, darkness, and blindness of our minds are dispelled, saving and spiritual light being introduced by the power of God's grace into them; that the pravity and stubbornness of our wills are removed and taken away, a new principle of spiritual life and righteousness being bestowed on them; and that the disorder and rebellion of our affections are cured by the infusion of the love of God into our souls: so the corrupt imagination of the contrary opinion, directly opposite to the doctrine of the Scriptures, the faith of the ancient church, and the experience of all sincere believers, hath amongst us of late nothing but ignorance and ready confidence produced to give countenance unto it. Thirdly, The work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration doth not consist, in enthusiastical raptures, ecstasies, voices, or any thing of the like kind. It may be some such things have been, by some deluded persons, apprehended or pretended unto; but the countenancing of any such imaginations is falsely and injuriously charged on them who maintain the powerful and effectual work of the Holy Spirit in our regeneration. And this some are prone to do; wherein whether they discover more of their ignorance or of their malice I know not, but nothing is more common with them. All whom in this matter they dissent from, so far as they know what they say or whereof they affirm, do teach men to look after enthusiastic inspirations or unaccountable raptures, and to esteem them for conversion unto God, although, in the meantime, they live in a neglect of holiness and righteousness of conversation. I answer, If there be those who do so, we doubt not but that, without their repentance, the wrath of God will come upon them, as upon other children of disobedience. And yet, in the meantime, we cannot but call aloud that others would discover their diligence in attendance unto these things, who, as far as I can discern, do cry up the names of virtue and righteousness in opposition to the grace of Jesus Christ, and that holiness which is a fruit thereof. But for the reproach now under consideration, it is, as applied, no other but a calumny and false accusation; and that it is so, the writings and preachings of those who have most diligently laboured in the declaration of the work of the Holy Spirit in our regeneration will bear testimony at the great day of the Lord. We may, therefore, as unto this negative principle, observe three things:-- 1. That the Holy Spirit in this work doth ordinarily put forth his power in and by the use of means. He worketh also on men suitably unto their natures, even as the faculties of their souls, their minds, wills, and affections, are meet to be affected and wrought upon. He doth not come upon them with involuntary raptures, using their faculties and powers as the evil spirit wrests the bodies of them whom he possesseth. His whole work, therefore, is rationally to be accounted for by and unto them who believe the Scripture, and have received the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive. The formal efficiency of the Spirit, indeed, in the putting forth the exceeding greatness of his power in our quickening, -- which the ancient church constantly calleth his "inspiration of grace," both in private writing and canons of councils, -- is no otherwise to be comprehended by us than any other creating act of divine power; for as we hear the wind, but know not whence it cometh, and whither it goeth, "so is every one that is born of the Spirit." Yet these two things are certain herein:-- (1.) That he worketh nothing, nor any other way, nor by any other means, than what are determined and declared in the word. By that, therefore, may and must everything really belonging, or pretended to belong, unto this work of regeneration, be tried and examined. (2.) That he acts nothing contrary unto, puts no force upon, any of the faculties of our souls, but works in them and by them suitably to their natures; and being more intimate unto them, as Austin speaks, than they are unto themselves, by an almighty facility he produceth the effect which he intendeth. This great work, therefore, neither in part nor whole consists in raptures, ecstasies, visions, enthusiastic inspirations, but in the effect of the power of the Spirit of God on the souls of men, by and according to his word, both of the law and the gospel. And those who charge these things on them who have asserted, declared, and preached it according to the Scriptures, do it, probably, to countenance themselves in their hatred of them and of the work itself. Wherefore, -- 2. Where, by reason of distempers of mind, disorder of fancy, or long continuance of distressing fears and sorrows, in and under such preparatory works of the Spirit, which sometimes cut men to their hearts in the sense of their sin, and sinful, lost condition, any do fall into apprehensions or imaginations of any thing extraordinary in the ways before mentioned, if it be not quickly and strictly brought unto the rule, and discarded thereby, it may be of great danger unto their souls, and is never of any solid use or advantage. Such apprehensions, for the most part, are either conceptions of distempered minds and discomposed fancies, or delusions of Satan transforming himself into an angel of light, which the doctrine of regeneration ought not to be accountable for. Yet I must say, -- 3. That so it is come to pass, that many of those who have been really made partakers of this gracious work of the Holy Spirit have been looked on in the world, which knows them not, as mad, enthusiastic, and fanatical. So the captains of the host esteemed the prophet that came to anoint Jehu, 2 Kings ix. 11. And the kindred of our Saviour, when he began to preach the gospel, said he was "beside himself," or ecstatical, Mark iii. 21, and "they went out to lay hold on him." So Festus judged of Paul, Acts xxvi. 24, 25. And the author of the Book of Wisdom gives us an account what acknowledgments some will make when it shall be too late, as to their own advantage: Chapter v. 3-5, "They shall say, crying out, because of the trouble of their minds, This is he whom we accounted a scorn, and a common reproach. We fools esteemed his life madness, and his latter end to have been shameful, but how is he reckoned among the sons of God, and his lot is among the holy ones!" From what hath been spoken it appears, -- Fourthly, That the work of the Spirit of God in regenerating the souls of men is diligently to be inquired into by the preachers of the gospel, and all to whom the word is dispensed. For the former sort, there is a peculiar reason for their attendance unto this duty; for they are used and employed in the work itself by the Spirit of God, and are by him made instrumental for the effecting of this new birth and life. So the apostle Paul styles himself the father of them who were converted to God or regenerated through the word of his ministry: 1 Cor. iv. 15, "Though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel." He was used in the ministry of the word for their regeneration, and therefore was their spiritual father, and he only, though the work was afterward carried on by others. And if men are fathers in the gospel to no more than are converted unto God by their personal ministry, it will be no advantage unto any one day to have assumed that title, when it hath had no foundation in that work as to its effectual success. So, speaking of Onesimus, who was converted by him in prison, he calls him "his son, whom he had begotten in his bonds," Philem. 10. And this he declared to have been prescribed unto him as the principal end of his ministry, in the commission he had for preaching the gospel, Acts xxvi. 17, 18. Christ said unto him, "I send thee unto the Gentiles, to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God;" which is a description of the work under consideration. And this is the principal end of our ministry also. Now, certainly it is the duty of ministers to understand the work about which they are employed, as far as they are able, that they may not work in the dark and fight uncertainly, as men beating the air. What the Scripture hath revealed concerning it, as to its nature and the manner of its operation, as to its causes, effects, fruits, evidences, they ought diligently to inquire into. To be spiritually skilled therein is one of the principal furnishments of any for the work of the ministry, without which they will never be able to divide the word aright, nor show themselves workmen that need not be ashamed. Yet it is scarcely imaginable with what rage and perversity of spirit, with what scornful expressions, this whole work is traduced and exposed to contempt. Those who have laboured herein are said "to prescribe long and tedious trains of conversion, to set down nice and subtile processes of regeneration, to fill people's heads with innumerable swarms of superstitious fears and scruples about the due degrees of godly sorrow, and the certain symptoms of a thorough humiliation," [85] pp. 306, 307. Could any mistake be charged on particular persons in these things, or the prescribing of rules about conversion to God and regeneration that are not warranted by the word of truth, it were not amiss to reflect upon them and refute them; but the intention of these expressions is evident, and the reproach in them is cast upon the work of God itself: and I must profess that I believe the degeneracy from the truth and power of Christian religion, the ignorance of the principal doctrines of the gospel, and that scorn which is cast, in these and the like expressions, on the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, by such as not only profess themselves to be ministers, but of a higher degree than ordinary, will be sadly ominous unto the whole state of the reformed church amongst us, if not timely repressed and corrected. But what at present I affirm in this matter is, -- 1. That it is a duty indispensably incumbent on all ministers of the gospel to acquaint themselves thoroughly with the nature of this work, that they may be able to comply with the will of God and grace of the Spirit in the effecting and accomplishment of it upon the souls of them unto whom they dispense the word. Neither, without some competent knowledge hereof, can they discharge any one part of their duty and office in a right manner. If all that hear them are born dead in trespasses and sins, if they are appointed of God to be the instruments of their regeneration, it is a madness, which must one day be accounted for, to neglect a sedulous inquiry into the nature of this work, and the means whereby it is wrought. And the ignorance hereof or negligence herein, with the want of an experience of the power of this work in their own souls, is one great cause of that lifeless and unprofitable ministry which is among us. 2. It is likewise the duty of all to whom the word is preached to inquire also into it. It is unto such to whom the apostle speaks, 2 Cor. xiii. 5, "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?" It is the concernment of all individual Christians, or professors of Christian religion, to try and examine themselves what work of the Spirit of God there hath been upon their hearts; and none will deter them from it but those who have a design to hoodwink them to perdition. And, -- (1.) The doctrine of it is revealed and taught us; for "secret things belong unto the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of the law," Deut. xxix. 29. And we speak not of curious inquiries into or after hidden things, or the secret, veiled actions of the Holy Spirit; but only of an upright endeavour to search into and comprehend the doctrine concerning this work, to this very end, that we might understand it. (2.) It is of such importance unto all our duties and all our comforts to have a due apprehension of the nature of this work, and of our own concernment therein, that an inquiry into the one and the other cannot be neglected without the greatest folly and madness. Whereunto we may add, (3.) The danger that there is of men being deceived in this matter, which is the hinge whereon their eternal state and condition doth absolutely turn and depend. And certain it is that very many in the world do deceive themselves herein: for they evidently live under one of these pernicious mistakes, -- namely, either, [1.] That men may go to heaven, or "enter into the kingdom of God," and not be "born again," contrary to that of our Saviour, John iii. 5; or, [2.] That men may be "born again," and yet live in sin, contrary to 1 John iii. 9. __________________________________________________________________ [76] "Si in gratiâ, non ex naturâ aquæ, sed ex præsentiâ est Spiritus Sancti: numquid in aquâ vivimus, sicut in Spiritu? numquid in aquâ signamur sicut in Spiritu?" -- Ambros. de Spir. Sanc. lib. i. cap. 6. [77] "Similiter ex Spiritu secundum gratiam nos renasci, Dominus ipse testatur dicens, Quod natum est ex carne, caro est, quia de carne natum est; et quod natum est de Spiritu, Spiritus est, quia Spiritus Deus est. Claret igitur spiritualis quoque generationis authorem esse Spiritum Sanctum, quia secundum Deum creamur et Filii Dei sumus. Ergo cum ille nos in regnum suum per adoptionem sacræ regenerationis assumpserit, nos ei quod suum est denegamus? ille nos supernæ generationis hæredes fecit, nos hæreditatem vindicamus, refutamus authorem; sed non potest manere beneficium cum author excluditur, nec author sine munere, nec sine authore munus. Si vindicas gratiam, crede potentiam; si refutas potentiam, gratiam ne requiras. Sancti igitur Spiritus opus est regeneratio ista præstantior, et novi hujus hominis qui creatur ad imaginem Dei author est Spiritus, quem utique meliorem hoe exteriori esse nostro homine nemo dubitaverit." -- Ambros. de Spir. Sanc lib. ii. cap. 9. [78] "Denique quomodo respondeat advertite, et videte latebras ambiguitatis falsitati præparare refugia, ita ut etiam nos cum primum ea legimus, recta vel correcta propemodum gauderemus." -- August. de Peccat. Orig., cap. 18."Mihi pene persuaserat hanc illam gratiam de qua quæstio est confiteri; quominus in multis ejus opusculi locis sibi ipsi contradicere videretur. Sed cum in manus meas et alia venissent quæ posterius latiusque scripsit, vidi quemadmodum etiam illic gratiam nominare sed ambigua generalitate quid sentiret abscondens, gratiæ tamen vocabulo frangens invidiam, offensionemque declinans." -- Id. de Grat. Christ., lib. i. cap. 37.Vid. August. lib. i. cont. Julianum, cap. 5, lib. iii., cap. 1, Lib. de Gest.; Pelag., cap. 30, Epist. 95, ad Innocent.; Epist. Innocent. ad August."Negant etiam quam ad sacram Christi virginem Nemehiadem in oriente conscripsimus, et noverint nos ita hominis laudare naturam ut Dei semper addamus auxilium (verba Pelagii quibus respondet Augustinus), istam sane lege, mihique pene persuaserat, hanc illam gratiam de qua quæstio est confiteri." -- Id. ubi supra. [79] "Fefellit judicium Palæstinum, propterea ibi videtur purgatus; Romanam vero ecclesiam, ubi eum esse notissimum scitis fallere usque quaque non potuit, quamvis et hoc fuerit utrumque conatus. Tanto judices fefellit occultius, quanto exponit ista versutius." -- August. Lib. de Peccat. Orig. cap. 16. [80] Samuel Parker; see page 121 of this vol. -- Ed. [81] "Per inhærentem justitiam intelligimus supernaturale donum gratiæ sanctificantis, oppositum originali peccato, et in singulis animæ facultatibus reparans et renovans illam Dei imaginem, quæ per peccatum originale foedata ac disspata fuit. Origlnale peccatum mentem tenebris implevit, hæc infusa gratia lumine coelesti collustrat. Istud cor humanum obstinatione et odio Dei ac divinæ legis maculavit, hæc infusa justitia cor emollit et amore boni accendit et inflammat. Postremo illud affectus omnes atque ipsum appetitum rebellione infecit; hæc renovata sanctitas in ordinem cogit perturbatas affectiones, et ipsam rebellem concupiscentiam dominio spoliat, et quasi sub jugum mittit." -- Davenant. de Justit. Habit. cap. iii."Fides tanquam radix imbre suscepto hæret in animæ solo; ut cum per legem Dei excoli coeperit surgant in ea rami qui fructus operum ferant. Non ergo ex operibus radix justitiæ, sed ex radice justitiæ fructus operum crescit." -- Origen. lib. iv. in Epist. ad Roman. [82] "Is qui Spiritus Sancti particeps efficitur, per communionem ejus fit spiritualis pariter et sanctus." -- Didym. lib. i. de Spir. Sanc., p. 218, inter opera Hieronymi."Qui Spiritu Sancto plenus est statim universis donationibus Dei repletur, sapientia, scientia, fide, cæterisque virtutibus." -- Id. ibid."Nunquam enim accipit quisquam spirituales benedictiones Dei, nisi præcesserit Spiritus Sanctus; qui enim habet Spiritum Sanctum consequenter habebit benedictiones." -- Idem, p. 220. [83] "Sicut in nativitate carnali omnem nascentis hominis voluntatem præcedit operis divini formatio, sic in spirituali nativitate qua veterem hominem deponere incipimus."-- Fulgent. de Incarnat. et Grat. Christ. cap. 29."Forma præcessit in carne Christi, quam in nostra fide spiritualiter agnoscamus; nam Christus Filius Dei, secundum carnem de Spiritu Sancto conceptus et natus est: carnem autem illam nec concipere virgo posset nec parere, nisi ejus carnis Spiritus Sanctus operetur exordium. Sic etiam in hominis corde nec concipi fides potuit nec augeri, nisi eam Spiritus Sanctus effundat et nutriat. Ex eodem namque Spiritu renati sumus, ex quo Christus natus est." -- Idem, cap. xx. [84] "Adjuvat nos Deus" (the words of Pelagius), "per doctrinam et revelationem suam, dum cordis nostri oculos aperit, dum nobis, ne præsentibus occupemur, futura demonstrat, dum diaboli pandit insidias, dum nos multiformi et ineffabili dono gratiæ cælestis illuminat." -- August. Lib. de Grat. cont. Pelag. et Cælest. cap. vii. [85] Our author quotes from Parker's "Defence and Continuation of the Eccleaiastical Polity," etc. See page 121 of this volume. -- Ed. __________________________________________________________________ Chapter II. Works of the Holy Spirit preparatory unto regeneration. Sundry things preparatory to the work of conversion -- Material and formal dispositions, with their difference -- Things in the power of our natural abilities required of us in a way of duty -- Internal, spiritual effects wrought in the souls of men by the word -- Illumination -- Conviction of sin -- Consequents thereof -- These things variously taught -- Power of the word and energy of the Spirit distinct -- Subject of this work; mind, affections, and conscience -- Nature of this whole work, and difference from saving conversion farther declared. First, in reference unto the work of regeneration itself, positively considered, we may observe, that ordinarily there are certain previous and preparatory works, or workings in and upon the souls of men, that are antecedent and dispositive unto it. But yet regeneration doth not consist in them, nor can it be educed out of them. This is, for the substance of it, the position of the divines of the church of England at the synod of Dort, two whereof died bishops, and others of them were dignified in the hierarchy. I mention it, that those by whom these things are despised may a little consider whose ashes they trample on and scorn. Lawful, doubtless, it is for any man, on just grounds, to dissent from their judgments and determinations; [86] but to do it with an imputation of folly, with derision, contempt, scorn, and scoffing, at what they believed and taught, becometh only a generation of new divines amongst us. But to return; I speak in this position only of them that are adult, and not converted until they have made use of the means of grace in and by their own reasons and understandings; and the dispositions I intend are only materially so, not such as contain grace of the same nature as is regeneration itself. A material disposition is that which disposeth and some way maketh a subject fit for the reception of that which shall be communicated, added, or infused into it as its form. So wood by dryness and a due composure is made fit and ready to admit of firing, or continual fire. A formal disposition is where one degree of the same kind disposeth the subject unto farther degrees of it; as the morning light, which is of the same kind, disposeth the air to the reception of the full light of the sun. The former we allow here, not the latter. Thus, in natural generation there are sundry dispositions of the matter before the form is introduced. So the body of Adam was formed before the rational soul was breathed into it; and Ezekiel's bones came together with a noise and shaking before the breath of life entered into them. I shall in this place give only a summary account of this preparatory work, because in the close of these discourses I shall handle it practically and more at large. Wherefore what I have here to offer concerning it shall be reduced unto the ensuing observations:-- First, There are some things required of us in a way of duty in order unto our regeneration, which are so in the power of our own natural abilities as that nothing but corrupt prejudices and stubbornness in sinning do keep or hinder men from the performance of them. And these we may reduce unto two heads:-- 1. An outward attendance unto the dispensation of the word of God, with those other external means of grace which accompany it or are appointed therein. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God," Rom. x. 17; that is, it is hearing the word of God which is the ordinary means of ingenerating faith in the souls of men. This is required of all to whom the gospel doth come; and this they are able of themselves to do, as well as any other natural or civil action. And where men do it not, where they despise the word at a distance, yea, where they do it not with diligence and choice, it is merely from supine negligence of spiritual things, carnal security, and contempt of God; which they must answer for. 2. A diligent intension of mind, in attendance on the means of grace, to understand and receive the things revealed and declared as the mind and will of God. For this end hath God given men their reasons and understandings, that they may use and exercise them about their duty towards him, according to the revelation of his mind and will. To this purpose he calls upon them to remember that they are men, and to turn unto him. And there is nothing herein but what is in the liberty and power of the rational faculties of our souls, assisted with those common aids which God affords unto all men in general. And great advantages both may be and are daily attained hereby. Persons, I say, who diligently apply their rational abilities in and about spiritual things, as externally revealed in the word and the preaching of it, do usually attain great advantages by it, and excel their equals in other things; as Paul did when he was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel. Would men be but as intent and diligent in their endeavours after knowledge in spiritual things, as revealed in a way suited unto our capacities and understandings, as they are to get skill in crafts, sciences, and other mysteries of life, it would be much otherwise with many than it is. A neglect herein also is the fruit of sensuality, spiritual sloth, love of sin, and contempt of God; all which are the voluntary frames and actings of the minds of men. These things are required of us in order unto our regeneration, and it is in the power of our own wills to comply with them. And we may observe concerning them that, -- 1. The omission of them, the neglect of men in them, is the principal occasion, and cause of the eternal ruin of the souls of the generality of them to whom or amongst whom the gospel is preached: "This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil," John iii. 19. The generality of men know full well that they do in this matter no more what they are able than what they should. All pleadable pretences of inability and weakness are far from them. They cannot but know here, and they shall be forced to confess hereafter, that it was merely from their own cursed sloth, with love of the world and sin, that they were diverted from a diligent attendance on the means of conversion and the sedulous exercise of their minds about them. Complaints hereof against themselves will make up a great part of their last dreadful cry. 2. In the most diligent use of outward means, men are not able of themselves to attain unto regeneration, or complete conversion to God, without an especial, effectual, internal work of the Holy Spirit of grace on their whole souls. This containing the substance of what is principally proposed unto confirmation in the ensuing discourses, need not here be insisted on. 3. Ordinarily, God, in the effectual dispensation of his grace, meeteth with them who attend with diligence on the outward administration of the means of it. He doth so, I say, ordinarily, in comparison of them who are despisers and neglecters of them. Sometimes, indeed, he goeth, as it were, out of the way to meet with and bring home unto himself a persecuting Saul, taking of him in, and taking him off from, a course of open sin and rebellion; but ordinarily he dispenseth his peculiar especial grace among them who attend unto the common means of it: for he will both glorify his word thereby, and give out pledges of his approbation of our obedience unto his commands and institutions. Secondly, There are certain internal spiritual effects wrought in and upon the souls of men, whereof the word preached is the immediate instrumental cause, which ordinarily do precede the work of regeneration, or real conversion unto God. And they are reducible unto three heads:-- 1. Illumination; 2. Conviction; 3. Reformation. The first of these respects the mind only; the second, the mind, conscience, and affections; and the third, the life and conversation:-- 1. The first is illumination, of whose nature and causes we must afterward treat distinctly. At present, I shall only consider it as it is ordinarily previous unto regeneration, and materially disposing the mind thereunto. Now, all the light which by any means we attain unto, or knowledge that we have in or about spiritual things, things of supernatural revelation, come under this denomination of illumination. And hereof there are three degrees:-- (1.) That which ariseth merely from an industrious application of the rational faculties of our souls to know, perceive, and understand the doctrines of truth as revealed unto us; for hereby much knowledge of divine truth may be obtained, which others, through their negligence, sloth, and pride, are unacquainted with. And this knowledge I refer unto illumination, -- that is, a light superadded to the innate conceptions of men's minds, and beyond what of themselves they can extend unto, -- because it is concerning such things as the heart of man could never of itself conceive, but the very knowledge of them is communicated by their revelation, 1 Cor. ii. 9, 11. And the reason why so very few do exercise themselves to the attaining of this knowledge, according to their abilities, is because of the enmity which is in the carnal minds of all men by nature unto the things themselves that are revealed. And within the compass of this degree I comprise all knowledge of spiritual things that is merely natural. (2.) There is an illumination which is an especial effect of the Holy Ghost by the word on the minds of men. With respect hereunto, some who fall totally from God and perish eternally are said to have been "once enlightened," Heb. vi. 4. This light variously affects the mind, and makes a great addition unto what is purely natural, or attainable by the mere exercise of our natural abilities. For, [1.] It adds perspicuity unto it, making the things discerned in it more clear and perspicuous to the mind. Hence men endowed with it are said to "know the way of righteousness," 2 Pet. ii. 21, -- clearly and distinctly to apprehend the doctrine of the gospel as the way of righteousness. They know it not only or merely as true, but as a way of righteousness, -- namely, the way of God's righteousness, which is therein "revealed from faith to faith," Rom. i. 17, and the way of righteousness for sinners in the sight of God, chap. x. 3, 4. [2.] It adds a greater assent unto the truth of the things revealed than mere natural reason can rise up unto. Hence those thus illuminated are frequently said to "believe," their faith being only the naked assent of their minds unto the truth revealed to them. So it is said of Simon the magician, Acts viii. 13, and of sundry of the Jews, John ii. 23, xii. 42. [3.] It adds unto them some kind of evanid joy. These "receive the word with joy," and yet have "no root in themselves," Luke viii. 13. They "rejoice in the light" of it, at least "for a season," John v. 35. Persons that are thus enlightened will be variously affected with the word, so as they are not whose natural faculties are not spiritually excited. [4.] It adds ofttimes gifts also, whereof this spiritual light is, as it were, the common matter, which in exercise is formed and fashioned in great variety. I say, this kind of spiritual light, the effect of this illumination, is the subject-matter, and contains in it the substance, of all spiritual gifts. One sort of gift it is when put forth and exercised in one way, or one kind of duty, and another as in another. And where it is improved into gifts, which principally it is by exercise, there it wonderfully affects the mind, and raiseth its apprehensions in and of spiritual things. Now, concerning this degree of illumination, I say, first, That it is not regeneration, nor doth it consist therein, nor doth necessarily or infallibly ensue upon it. A third degree is required thereunto, which we shall afterward explain. Many, therefore, may be thus enlightened, and yet never be converted. Secondly, That in order of nature it is previous unto a full and real conversion to God, and is materially preparatory and dispositive thereunto; for saving grace enters into the soul by light. As it is therefore a gift of God, so it is the duty of all men to labour after a participation of it, however by many it be abused. 2. Conviction of sin is another effect of the preaching of the word antecedaneous unto real conversion to God. This in general the apostle describes, 1 Cor. xiv. 24, 25, "If all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, he is convinced of all: and thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God." And sundry things are included herein, or do accompany it; as, -- (1.) A disquieting sense of the guilt of sin with respect unto the law of God, with his threatenings and future judgment. Things that before were slighted and made a mock of do now become the soul's burden and constant disquietment. "Fools make a mock of sin;" they traverse their ways, and snuff up the wind like the wild ass; but in their month, when conviction hath burdened them, you may find them. And hereby are the minds of men variously affected with fears and anguish, in various degrees, [87] according as impressions are made upon them by the word. And these degrees are not prescribed as necessary duties unto persons under their convictions, but only described as they usually fall out, to the relief and direction of such as are concerned in them; -- as a man going to give directions unto another how to guide his course in a voyage at sea, he tells him that in such a place he will meet with rocks and shelves, storms and cross winds, so that if he steer not very heedfully he will be in danger to miscarry and to be cast away; he doth not prescribe it unto him as his duty to go among such rocks and into such storms, but only directs him how to guide himself in them where he doth meet with them, as assuredly he will, if he miss not his proper course. (2.) Sorrow or grief for sin committed, because past and irrecoverable; which is the formal reason of this condemning sorrow. This the Scripture calls "sorrow of the world," 2 Cor. vii. 10; divines, usually, legal sorrow, as that which, in conjunction with the sense of the guilt of sin mentioned, brings men into bondage under fear, Rom. viii. 15. (3.) Humiliation for sin, which is the exercise or working of sorrow and fear in outward acts of confession, fasting, praying, and the like. This is the true nature of legal humiliation, 1 Kings xxi. 29. (4.) Unless by these things the soul be swallowed up in despair, it cannot be but that it will be filled with thoughts, desires, inquiries, and contrivances about a deliverance out of that state and condition wherein it is; as Acts ii. 37, xvi. 30. 3. Oftentimes a great reformation of life and change in affections doth ensue hereon; as Matt. xiii. 20; 2 Pet. ii. 20; Matt. xii. 44. All these things may be wrought in the minds of men by the dispensation of the word, and yet the work of regeneration be never perfected in them. Yea, although they are good in themselves, and fruits of the kindness of God towards us, they may not only be lost as unto any spiritual advantage, but also be abused unto our great disadvantage. And this comes not to pass but by our own sin, whereby we contract a new guilt upon our souls. And it commonly so falls out one of these three ways; for, -- 1. Some are no way careful or wise to improve this light and conviction unto the end whereunto they tend and are designed. Their message is, to turn the minds of men, and to take them off from their self-confidence, and to direct them unto Christ. Where this is not attended unto, where they are not used and improved unto the pursuit of this end, they insensibly wither, decay, and come to nothing. 2. In some they are overborne by the power and violence of their lusts, the love of sin, and efficacy of temptation. They are sinned away everyday, and leave the soul in ten times a worse condition than they found it. 3. Some rest in these things, as though they comprised the whole work of God towards them, and guided them in all the duties required of them. This is the state of many where they extend their power, in the last instance, unto any considerable reformation of life, and attendance unto duties of religious worship. But this, as was said, falls out through the abuse which the carnal minds of men, retaining their enmity against God, do put these things unto. In their own nature they are good, useful, and material preparations unto regeneration, disposing the mind unto the reception of the grace of God. And the doctrine concerning these things hath been variously handled, distinguished, and applied, by many learned divines and faithful ministers of the gospel. Unto that light which they received into them from the infallible word of truth, they joined those experiences which they had observed in their own hearts and the consciences of others with whom they had to do, which were suitable thereunto; and in the dispensation of this truth, according to the "measure of the gift of the grace of Christ," which they severally received, they had a useful and fruitful ministry in the world, to the converting of many unto God. But we have lived to see all these things decried and rejected. And the way which some have taken therein is as strange and uncouth as the thing itself; for they go not about once to disprove by Scripture or reason what hath been taught or delivered by any sober persons to this purpose, nor do they endeavour themselves to declare from or by the Scriptures what is the work of regeneration, what are the causes and effects of it, in opposition thereunto. These and such like ways, made use of by all that have treated of spiritual things from the foundation of Christianity, are despised and rejected; but horrible and contemptuous reproaches are cast upon the things themselves, in words heaped together on purpose to expose them unto scorn among persons ignorant of the gospel and themselves. Those that teach them are "ecstatical and illiterate;" and those that receive them are "superstitious, giddy, and fanatical." All conviction, sense of and sorrow for sin; all fear of the curse and wrath due unto sin; all troubles and distresses of mind by reason of these things, -- are "foolish imaginations, the effects of bodily diseases and distempers, enthusiastic notions, arising from the disorders of men's brains," and I know not what untoward "humours in their complexions and constitutions." The same or the like account is also given concerning all spiritual desertions, or joys and refreshments; and the whole doctrine concerning these things is branded with novelty, and hopes expressed of its sudden vanishing out of the world. This contempt and scorn of the gospel have we lived to see, whereof, it may be, other ages and places have not had experience; for as all these things are plentifully taught by some of the ancients in their expositions of the scriptures wherein they are expressed, especially by Austin, who had occasion particularly to inquire into them, so the doctrine concerning them is in a great measure retained in the church of Rome itself. Only some amongst ourselves are weary of them; who, being no way able to oppose the principles and foundations whereon they are built, nor to disprove them by Scripture or reason, betake themselves to these revilings and reproaches; and, as if it were not enough for them to proclaim their own ignorance and personal unacquaintance with those things which inseparably accompany that conviction of sin, righteousness, and judgment which our Lord Jesus Christ hath promised to send the Holy Spirit to work in all that should believe, they make the reproaching of it in others a principal effect of that religion which they profess. "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, The Lord knoweth them that are his." But we must return to our purpose. Thirdly, All the things mentioned as wrought instrumentally by the word are effects of the power of the Spirit of God. The word itself, under a bare proposal to the minds of men, will not so affect them. We need go no farther for the confirmation hereof than merely to consider the preaching (with the effects which it had towards many) of the prophets of old, Isa. xlix. 4, Jer. xv. 20, Ezek. xxxiii. 31, 32; of Jesus Christ himself, John viii. 59; and of the apostles, Acts xiii. 41, 45, 46. Hence to this day, the Jews, who enjoy the letter of the Old Testament, without the administration of the Spirit, are as full of blindness, hardness, and obstinacy, as any in the world who are utterly deprived of it. Many amongst ourselves sit all their days under the preaching of the word, and yet have none of the effects mentioned wrought upon them, when others, their associates in hearing, are really affected, convinced, and converted. It is, therefore, the ministration of the Spirit, in and by the word, which produceth all or any of these effects on the minds of men; he is the fountain of all illumination. Hence, they that are "enlightened" are said to be made "partakers of the Holy Spirit," Heb. vi. 4. And he is promised by our Saviour "to convince the world of sin," John xvi. 8; which, although in that place it respects only one kind of sin, yet it is sufficient to establish a general rule, that all conviction of sin is from and by him. And no wonder if men live securely in their sins, to whom the light which he gives and the convictions which he worketh are a scorn and reproach. There is, indeed, an objection of some moment against the ascription of this work unto the energy of the Holy Spirit; for "whereas it is granted that all these things may be wrought in the minds and souls of men, and yet they may come short of the saving grace of God, how can he be thought to be the author of such a work? Shall we say that he designs only a weak and imperfect work upon the hearts of men? or that he deserts and gives over the work of grace which he hath undertaken towards them, as not able to accomplish it?" Ans. 1. In many persons, it may be in the most, who are thus affected, real conversion unto God doth ensue, the Holy Spirit by these preparatory actings making way for the introduction of the new spiritual life into the soul: so they belong unto a work that is perfect in its kind. 2. Wherever they fail and come short of what in their own nature they have a tendency unto, it is not from any weakness and imperfection in themselves, but from the sins of them in whom they are wrought. For instance, even common illumination and conviction of sin have, in their own nature, a tendency unto sincere conversion. They have so in the same kind as the law hath to bring us unto Christ. Where this end is not attained, it is always from the interposition of an act of wilfulness and stubbornness in those enlightened and convicted. They do not sincerely improve what they have received, and faint not merely for want of strength to proceed, but, by a free act of their own wills, they refuse the grace which is farther tendered unto them in the gospel. This will, and its actual resistance unto the work of the Spirit, God is pleased in some to take away. It is, therefore, of sovereign grace when and where it is removed. But the sin of men and their guilt is in it where it is continued; for no more is required hereunto but that it be voluntary. It is will, and not power, that gives rectitude or obliquity unto moral actions. 3. As we observed before, the Holy Spirit in his whole work is a voluntary agent. He worketh what, when, and how he pleaseth. No more is required unto his operations, that they may be such as become him, but these two things:-- First, That in themselves they be good and holy. Secondly, That they be effectual as unto the ends whereunto by him they are designed. That he should always design them to the utmost length of what they have a moral tendency towards, though no real efficiency for, is not required. And these things are found in these operations of the Holy Spirit. They are in their own nature good and holy. Illumination is so; so is conviction and sorrow for sin, with a subsequent change of affections and amendment of life. Again: What he worketh in any of these effectually and infallibly accomplisheth the end aimed at; which is no more but that men be enlightened, convinced, humbled, and reformed, wherein he faileth not. In these things he is pleased to take on him the management of the law, so to bring the soul into bondage thereby, that it may be stirred up to seek after deliverance; and he is thence actively called the "Spirit of bondage unto fear," Rom. viii. 15. And this work is that which constitutes the third ground in our Saviour's parable of the sower. It receives the seed and springs up hopefully, until, by cares of the world, temptations, and occasions of life, it is choked and lost, Matt. xiii. 22. Now, because it oftentimes maketh a great appearance and resemblance of regeneration itself, or of real conversion to God, so that neither the world nor the church is able to distinguish between them, it is of great concernment unto all professors of the gospel to inquire diligently whether they have in their own souls been made partakers of any other work of the Spirit of God or no; for although this be a good work, and doth lie in a good subserviency unto regeneration, yet if men attain no more, if they proceed no farther, they will perish, and that eternally. And multitudes do herein actually deceive themselves, speaking peace unto their souls on the effects of this work; whereby it is not only insufficient to save them, as it is to all persons at all times, but also becomes a means of their present security and future destruction. I shall, therefore, give some few instances of what this work, in the conjunction of all the parts of it, and in its utmost improvement, cannot effect; whereby men may make a judgment how things stand in their own souls in respect unto it:-- 1. It may be observed, that we have placed all the effects of this work in the mind, conscience, affections, and conversation. Hence it follows, notwithstanding all that is or may be spoken of it, that the will is neither really changed nor internally renewed by it. Now, the will is the ruling, governing faculty of the soul, as the mind is the guiding and leading. Whilst this abides unchanged, unrenewed, the power and reign of sin continue in the soul, though not undisturbed yet unruined. It is true, there are many checks and controls, from the light of the mind and reflections of conscience, cast in this state upon the actings of the will, so that it cannot put itself forth in and towards sin with that freedom, security, and licentiousness as it was wont to do. Its fierceness and rage, rushing into sin as the horse into the battle, running on God and the thick bosses of his buckler, may be broken and abated by those hedges of thorns which it finds set in its way, and those buffetings it meets withal from light and convictions; its delight and greediness in sinning may be calmed and quieted by those frequent representations of the terror of the Lord on the one hand, and the pleasure of eternal rest on the other, which are made unto it: but yet still, setting aside all considerations foreign unto its own principle, the bent and inclination of the will itself is to sin and evil always and continually. The will of sinning may be restrained upon a thousand considerations, which light and convictions will administer, but it is not taken away. And this discovers itself when the very first motions of the soul towards sinful objects have a sensible complacency, until they are controlled by light and fear. This argues an unrenewed will, if it be constant and universal. 2. The effects of this work on the mind, which is the first subject affected with it, proceeds not so far as to give it delight, complacency, and satisfaction in the lively spiritual nature and excellencies of the things revealed unto it. The true nature of saving illumination consists in this, that it gives the mind such a direct intuitive insight and prospect into spiritual things as that, in their own spiritual nature, they suit, please, and satisfy it, so that it is transformed into them, cast into the mould of them, and rests in them, Rom. vi. 17, xii. 2; 1 Cor. ii. 13-15; 2 Cor. iii. 18, iv. 6. This the work we have insisted on reacheth not unto; for, notwithstanding any discovery that is made therein of spiritual things unto the mind, it finds not an immediate, direct, spiritual excellency in them, but only with respect unto some benefit or advantage which is to be attained by means thereof. It will not give such a. spiritual insight into the mystery of God's grace by Jesus Christ, called "his glory shining in the face of Jesus Christ," 2 Cor. iv. 6, as that the soul, in its first direct view of it, should, for what it is in itself, admire it, delight in it, approve it, and find spiritual solace with refreshment in it. But such a light, such a knowledge it communicates, as that a man may like it well in its effects, as a way of mercy and salvation. 3. This work extends itself to the conscience also; but yet it doth not purge the conscience from dead works, that we should serve the living God. This is the effect of a real application of the blood of Christ by faith unto our souls, Heb. ix. 14. Two things it effects upon the conscience:-- (1.) It renders it more ready, quick, and sharp in the reproving and condemning of all sin than it was before. To condemn sin, according unto its light and guidance, is natural unto and inseparable from the conscience of man; but its readiness and ability to exercise this condemning power may, by custom and course of sinning in the world, be variously weakened and impeded. But when conscience is brought under the power of this work, having its directing light augmented, whereby it sees more of the evil of sin than formerly, and having its self-reflections sharpened and multiplied, it is more ready and quick in putting forth its judging and condemning power than it was. (2.) Conscience is assisted and directed hereby to condemn many things in sin which before it approved of; for its judging power is still commensurate unto its light, and many things are thereby now discovered to be sinful which were not so by the mere natural guidance under which before it was. But yet, notwithstanding all this, it doth not purge the conscience from dead works; that is, conscience is not hereby wrought unto such an abhorrency of sin for itself as continually to direct the soul unto an application to the blood of Christ for the cleansing of itself and the purging of it out. It contents itself to keep all things in a tumult, disorder, and confusion, by its constant condemning both sin and sinners. 4. This work operates greatly on the affections. We have given instances in the fear, sorrow, joy, and delight about spiritual things that are stirred up and acted thereby. But yet it comes short in two things of a thorough work upon the affections themselves: for, (1.) it doth not fix them; and, (2.) it doth not fill them. (1.) It is required that our affections be fixed on heavenly and spiritual things, and true grace will effect it: Col. iii. 1, 2, "If ye be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above." The joys, the fears, the hopes, the sorrows, with reference unto spiritual and eternal things, which the work before mentioned doth produce, are evanid, uncertain, unstable, not only as to the degrees, but as to the very being of them. Sometimes they are as a river ready to overflow its banks, -- men cannot but be pouring them out on all occasions; and sometimes as waters that fail, -- no drop comes from them. Sometimes they are hot, and sometimes cold; sometimes up, and sometimes down; sometimes all heaven, and sometimes all world; without equality, without stability. But true grace fixeth the affections on spiritual things. As to the degrees of their exercise, there may be and is in them great variety, according as they may be excited, aided, assisted, by grace and the means of it, or obstructed and impeded by the interposition of temptations and diversions. But the constant bent and inclination of renewed affections is unto spiritual things, as the Scripture everywhere testifieth and experience doth confirm. (2.) The forementioned work doth not fill the affections, however it may serve to take them up and pacify them. It comes like many strangers to an inn to lodge, which take up a great deal of room, and make an appearance as if none were in the house but themselves; and yet they turn not out the family which dwelleth there, but there they make their abode still. Light and conviction, with all their train and attendants, come into the mind and affections as if they would fill them, and possess them for themselves alone; but yet, when they have done all, they leave the quiet places of the house for the world, and sin, and self. They do not thrust them out of the affections, and fill up their places with spiritual things. But saving grace fills up the affections with spiritual things, fills the soul with spiritual love, joy, and delight, and exerciseth all other affections about their proper objects. It denies not a room to any other things, relations, possessions, enjoyments, merely as they are natural, and are content to be subordinate unto God and spiritual things; but if they would be carnal, disorderly, or predominant, it casts them out. 5. This work is oftentimes carried on very far in reformation of life and conversation, so that it will express the whole form of godliness therein. But herein, also, it is subject unto a threefold defect and imperfection; for, -- (1.) It will consist with and allow of raging and reigning sins of ignorance. The conducting light in this work not leading unto the abhorrency of all sin as sin, nor into a pursuit of holiness out of a design to be universally conformable unto Christ, but being gathered up from this and that particular command, it ofttimes leaves behind it great sins unregarded. So it left persecution in Paul before his conversion; and so it leaves hatred and a desire of persecution in many at this day. And other sins of the like nature may escape its utmost search, to the ruin of the soul. (2.) Its reformation of the conversation is seldom universal as to all known sins, unless it be for a season, whilst the soul is under a flagrant pursuit of self-righteousness. Paul in that condition had preserved himself so as that, according to the law, he was blameless; and the young man thought he had kept all the commandments from his youth. But setting aside this consideration, notwithstanding the utmost that this work can attain unto, after the efficacy of its first impressions begin to abate, lust will reserve some peculiar way of venting and discovering itself; which is much spoken unto. (3.) The conversations of persons who live and abide under the power of this work only is assuredly fading and decaying. Coldness, sloth, negligence, love of the world, carnal wisdom, and security, do everyday get ground upon them. Hence, although by a long course of abstinence from open sensual sins, and stating of a contrary interest, they are not given up unto them, yet, by the decays of the power of their convictions, and the ground that sin gets upon them, they become walking and talking skeletons in religion, -- dry, sapless, useless, worldlings. But where the soul is inlaid with real saving grace, it is in a state of thriving continually. Such an one will go on from strength to strength, from grace to grace, from glory to glory, and will be fat and flourishing in old age. By these things may we learn to distinguish in ourselves between the preparatory work mentioned, and that of real saving conversion unto God. And these are some of the heads of those operations of the Holy Spirit on the minds of men, which oftentimes are preparatory unto a real conversion unto God; and sometimes, [by] their contempt and rejection, a great aggravation of the sin and misery of them in whom they were wrought. And these things, as they are clearly laid down in the Scripture and exemplified in sundry instances, so, for the substance of them, they have been acknowledged (till of late) by all Christians; only some of the Papists have carried them so far as to make them formally dispositive unto justification, and to have a congruous merit thereof. But this the ancients denied, who would not allow that either any such preparation or any moral virtues did capacitate men for real conversion, observing that others were often called before those who were so qualified. [88] And in them there are goads and nails, which have been fastened by wise and experienced masters of the assemblies, to the great advantage of the souls of men; for, observing the usual ways and means whereby these effects are wrought in the minds of the hearers of the word, with their consequences, in sorrow, troubles, fear, and humiliations, and the courses which they take to improve them, or to extricate themselves from the perplexity of them, they have managed the rules of Scripture with their own and others' experience suitable thereunto, to the great benefit of the church of God. That these things are now despised and laughed to scorn is no part of the happiness of the age wherein we live, as the event will manifest. And in the meantime, if any suppose that we will forego these truths and doctrines, which are so plainly revealed in the Scripture, the knowledge whereof is so useful unto the souls of men, and whose publication in preaching hath been of so great advantage to the church of God, merely because they understand them not, and therefore reproach them, they will be greatly mistaken. Let them lay aside that unchristian way of treating about these things which they have engaged in, and plainly prove that men need not be convinced of sin, that they ought not to be humbled for it, nor affected with sorrow with respect unto it; that they ought not to seek for a remedy or deliverance from it; that all men are not born in a state of sin; that our nature is not depraved by the fall; that we are able to do all that is required of us, without the internal aids and assistances of the Spirit of God, -- and they shall be diligently attended unto. __________________________________________________________________ [86] "Sunt quædam opera externa, ab hominibus ordinariè requisita, priusquam ad statum regenerationis, aut conversionis perducantur, quæ ab iisdem quandoque libere fieri, quandoque liberè omitti solent; ut adire ecclesiam, audire verbi præconium, et id genus alia."Sunt quædam effecta interna ad conversionem sive regenerationem prævia, quæ virtute verbi, spiritusque in nondum regeneratorum cordibus excitantur; qualia sunt notitia voluntatis divinæ, sensus peccati, timor poenæ; cogitatio de liberatione, spes aliqua veniæ." -- Synod. Dordrec. Sententia Theolog. Britan. ad Artic. quartum, thes. 1, 2, p. 139. [87] "Heu miserum, nimisque miserum quem torquet conscientia sua, quam fugere non potest; nimis miserum quem expectat damnatio sua quam vitare non potest, nisi Deus eripiat. Nimis est infelix cui mors æterna est sensibilis; nimis ærumnosus quem terrent continui de sua infelicitate horrores." -- August. de Contritione Cordis. [88] "Nonne advertimus multos fideles nostros ambulantes viam Dei, ex nulla parte ingenio comparari, non dicam quorundam hæreticorum, sed etiam minorum? Item nonne videmus quosdam homines utriusque sexus in conjugali castitate viventes sine querela, et tamen vel hæreticos vel Paganos, vel etiam in vera fide et vera ecclesia sic tepidos, ut eos miremur meretricum et histrionum subito conversorum, non solum sapientiâ et temperantiâ sed etiam fide, spe et charitate superari." -- August. lib. ii. Quæs. ad Simplician. q. 2. __________________________________________________________________ Chapter III. Corruption or depravation of the mind by sin. Contempt and corruption of the doctrine of regeneration -- All men in the world regenerate or unregenerate -- General description of corrupted nature -- Depravation of the mind -- Darkness upon it -- The nature of spiritual darkness -- Reduced unto two heads -- Of darkness objective; how removed -- Of darkness subjective; its nature and power proved -- Eph. iv. 17, 18, opened and applied -- The mind "alienated from the life of God" -- The" life of God," what it is -- The power of the mind with respect unto spiritual things examined -- 1 Cor. ii. 14 opened -- Psuchikos anthropos, or the "natural man," who -- Spiritual things, what they are -- How the natural man cannot know or receive spiritual things -- Difference between understanding doctrines and receiving of things -- A twofold power and ability of mind with respect unto spiritual things explained -- Reasons why a natural man cannot discern spiritual things -- How and wherefore spiritual things are foolishness to natural men -- Why natural men cannot receive the things of God -- A double impotency in the mind of man by nature -- 1 Cor. ii. 14 farther vindicated -- Power of darkness in persons unregenerate -- The mind filled with wills or lusts, and enmity thereby -- The power and efficacy of spiritual darkness at large declared. We have, I hope, made our way plain for the due consideration of the great work of the Spirit in the regeneration of the souls of God's elect. This is that whereby he forms the members of the mystical body of Christ, and prepares living stones for the building of a temple wherein the living God will dwell. Now, that we may not only declare the truth in this matter, but also vindicate it from those corruptions wherewith some have endeavoured to debauch it, I shall premise a description lately given of it, with confidence enough, and it may be not without too much authority; and it is in these words: "What is it to be born again, and to have a new spiritual life in Christ, but to become sincere proselytes to the gospel, to renounce all vicious customs and practices, and to give an upright and uniform obedience to all the laws of Christ. And, therefore, if they are all but precepts of moral virtue, to be born again, and to have a new spiritual life, is only to become a new moral man. But their account" (speaking of Nonconformist ministers) "of this article is so wild and fantastic, that had I nothing else to make good my charge against them, that alone would be more than enough to expose the prodigious folly of their spiritual divinity," pp. 343, 344. [89] I confess these are the words of one who seems not much to consider what he says, so as that it may serve his present turn in reviling and reproaching other men; for he considers not that, by this description of it, he utterly excludes the baptismal regeneration of infants, which is so plainly professed by the church wherein he is dignified. But this is publicly declared, avowed, and vended, as allowed doctrine amongst us, and therefore deserves to be noticed, though the person that gives it out be at irreconcilable feuds with himself and his church. Of morality and grace an account shall be given elsewhere. At present, the work of regeneration is that which is under our consideration. And concerning this, those so severely treated teach no other doctrine but what, for the substance of it, is received in all the reformed churches in Europe, and which so many learned divines of the church of England confirmed with their suffrage at the synod of Dort. Whether this deserve all the scorn which this haughty person pours upon it by his swelling words of vanity will, to indifferent persons, be made appear in the ensuing discourse; as also what is to be thought of the description of it given by that author, which, whether it savour more of ignorance and folly, or of pride and fulsome errors, is hard to determine. I know some words in it are used with the old Pelagian trick of ambiguity, so as to be capable of having another sense and interpretation put upon them than their present use and design will admit of; but that artifice will be immediately rendered useless. There is a twofold state of men with respect unto God, which is comprehensive of all individuals in the world; for all men are either unregenerate or regenerate. There being an affirmation and a negation concerning the state of regeneration in the Scripture, one of them may be used concerning every capable subject; every man living is so, or he is not so. And herein, as I suppose, there is a general consent of Christians. Again, it is evident in the Scripture, and we have proved it in our way, that all men are born in an unregenerate condition. This is so positively declared by our Saviour that there is no rising up against it, John iii. 3-8. Now, regeneration being the delivery of men (or the means of it) from that state and condition wherein they are born or are by nature, we cannot discover wherein it doth consist without a declaration of that state which it gives us deliverance from. And this, in the first place, we shall insist upon at large, giving an account of the state of lapsed nature under a loss of the original grace of God. And these things I shall handle practically, for the edification of all sorts of believers, and not in the way and method of the schools; which yet shall be done elsewhere. In the declaration of the state of corrupted nature after the fall, and before the reparation of it by the grace of Jesus Christ, -- that is, the effectual operation of the Holy Spirit, -- the Scripture principally insists on three things: [90] -- 1. The corruption and depravation of the mind; which it calls by the name of darkness and blindness, with the consequents of vanity, ignorance, and folly. 2. The depravation of the will and affections; which it expresseth several ways, as by weakness or impotency, and stubbornness or obstinacy. 3. By the general name of death, extended to the condition of the whole soul. And these have various effects and consequences, as in our explanation of them will appear. All men by nature, not enlightened, not renewed in their minds by the saving, effectual operation of the Holy Spirit, are in a state of darkness and blindness with respect unto God and spiritual things, with the way of pleasing him and living unto him. Be men otherwise and in other things never so wise, knowing, learned, and skilful, in spiritual things they are dark, blind, ignorant, unless they are renewed in the spirit of their minds by the Holy Ghost. This is a matter which the world cannot endure to hear of, and it is ready to fall into a tumult upon its mention. They think it but an artifice which some weak men have got up, to reflect on and condemn them who are wiser than themselves On the like occasion did the Pharisees ask of our Saviour that question with pride and scorn, "Are we blind also?" John ix. 40. But as he lets them know that their presumption of light and knowledge would serve only to aggravate their sin and condemnation, verse 41; so he plainly tells them, that notwithstanding all their boasting, "they had neither heard the voice of God at any time, nor seen his shape," chap. v. 37. Some at present talk much about the power of the intellectual faculties of our souls, as though they were neither debased, corrupted, impaired, nor depraved. All that disadvantage which is befallen our nature by the entrance of sin is but in "the disorder of the affections and the inferior sensitive parts of the soul, which are apt to tumultuate and rebel against that pure untainted light which is in the mind!" And this they speak of it without respect unto its renovation by the Holy Spirit; for if they include that also, they are in their discourses most notorious confused triflers. Indeed, some of them write as if they had never deigned once to consult with the Scriptures, and others are plainly gone over into the tents of the Pelagians. But, setting aside their modern artifices of confident boasting, contemptuous reproaches, and scurrilous railings, it is no difficult undertaking so to demonstrate the depravation of the minds of men by nature, and their impotency thence to discern spiritual things in a spiritual manner, [91] without a saving, effectual work of the Holy Spirit in their renovation, as that the proudest and most petulant of them shall not be able to return any thing of a solid answer thereunto. And herein we plead for nothing but the known doctrine of the ancient catholic church, declared in the writings of the most learned fathers and determinations of councils against the Pelagians, whose errors and heresies are again revived among us by a crew of Socinianized Arminians. We may to this purpose first consider the testimonies given in the Scripture unto the assertion as laid down in general: Matt. iv. 16; "The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up." Of what kind this darkness was in particular shall be afterward declared. For the present it answers what is proposed, -- that before the illumination given them by the preaching of the gospel, the people mentioned "sat in darkness," or lived under the power of it. And such as was the light whereby they were relieved, of the same kind was the darkness under which they were detained. And in the same sense, when Christ preached the gospel, "the light shined in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not," John i. 5, -- gave not place to the light of the truth declared by him, that it might be received in the souls of men. The commission which he gave to Paul the apostle, when he sent him to preach the gospel, was, "To open the eyes of men, and to turn them from darkness to light," Acts xxvi. 18; -- not to a light within them; for internal light is the eye or seeing of the soul, but the darkness was such as consisted in their blindness, in not having their eyes open: "To open their eyes, and turn them from darkness." Eph. v. 8, "Ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord." What is the change and alteration made in the minds of men intended in this expression will afterward appear; but that a great change is proposed none can doubt. Col. i. 13, "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness;" as also 1 Pet. ii. 9, "Who hath called us out of darkness into his marvellous light." And the darkness which is in these testimonies ascribed unto persons in an unregenerate condition is by Paul compared to that which was at the beginning, before the creation of light: Gen. i. 2, "Darkness was upon the face of the deep." There was no creature that had a visive faculty; there was darkness subjectively in all; and there was no light to see by, but all was objectively wrapped up in darkness. In this state of things, God by an almighty act of his power created light: Verse 3, "God said, Let there be light: and there was light." And no otherwise is it in this new creation: "God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, shines in the hearts of men, to give them the light of the knowledge of his glory in the face of Jesus Christ," 2 Cor. iv. 6. Spiritual darkness is in and upon all men, until God, by an almighty and effectual work of the Spirit, shine into them, or create light in them. And this darkness is that light within which some boast to be in themselves and others! To clear our way in this matter, we must consider, -- first, the nature of this spiritual darkness, what it is, and wherein it doth consist; and then, secondly, show its efficacy and power in and on the minds of men, and how they are corrupted by it. First, The term "darkness" in this case is metaphorical, and borrowed from that which is natural. What natural darkness is, and wherein it consists, all men know; if they know it not in its cause and reason, yet they know it by its effects. They know it is that which hinders men from all regular operations which are to be guided by the outward senses. And it is twofold:-- 1. When men have not light to see by, or when the usual light, the only external medium for the discovery of distant objects, is taken from them. So was it with the Egyptians during the three days' darkness that was on their land. They could not see for want of light; they had their visive faculty continued unto them, yet having "no light," they "saw not one another, neither arose any from his place," Exod. x. 23: for God, probably, to augment the terror of his judgment, restrained the virtue of artificial light, as well as he did that which was natural. 2. There is darkness unto men when they are blind, either born so or made so: Ps. lxix. 23, "Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not." So the angels smote the Sodomites with blindness, Gen. xix. 11; and Paul the sorcerer, Acts xiii. 11. However the sun shineth, it is all one perpetual night unto them that are blind. Answerable hereunto, spiritual darkness may be referred unto two heads; for there is an objective darkness, a darkness that is on men, and a subjective darkness, a darkness that is in them. The first consists in the want of those means whereby alone they may be enlightened in the knowledge of God and spiritual things. This is intended, Matt. iv. 16. This means is the word of God, and the preaching of it. Hence it is called a "light," Ps. cxix. 105, and is said to "enlighten," Ps. xix. 8, or to be "a light shining in a dark place," 2 Pet. i. 19; and it is so termed, because it is the outward means of communicating the light of the knowledge of God unto the minds of men. What the sun is unto the world as unto things natural, that is the word and the preaching of it unto men as to things spiritual; and hence our apostle applies what is said of the sun in the firmament, as to the enlightening of the world, Ps. xix. 1-4, unto the gospel and the preaching of it, Rom. x. 15, 18. And this darkness is upon many in the world, even all unto whom the gospel is not declared, or by whom it is not received, where it is or hath been so. Some, I know, have entertained a vain imagination about a saving revelation of the knowledge of God by the works of creation and providence, objected [92] to the rational faculties of the minds of men. It is not my purpose here to divert unto the confutation of that fancy. Were it so, it were easy to demonstrate that there is no saving revelation of the knowledge of God unto sinners, but as he is in Christ reconciling the world unto himself; and that so he is not made known but by the word of reconciliation committed unto the dispensers of the gospel. Whatever knowledge, therefore, of God may be attained by the means mentioned, as he is the God of nature ruling over men, and requiring obedience from them according to the covenant and law of their creation, yet the knowledge of him as a God in Christ pardoning sin and saving sinners is attainable by the gospel only. But this I have proved and confirmed elsewhere. [93] It is the work of the Holy Spirit to remove and take away this darkness; which until it is done no man can see the kingdom of God, or enter into it. And this he doth by sending the word of the gospel into any nation, country, place, or city, as he pleaseth. The gospel does not get ground in any place, nor is restrained from any place or people, by accident, or by the endeavours of men; but it is sent and disposed of according to the sovereign will and pleasure of the Spirit of God. He gifteth, calls, and sends men unto the work of preaching it, Acts xiii. 2, 4, and disposeth them unto the places where they shall declare it, either by express revelation, as of old, chap. xvi. 6-10, or guides them by the secret operations of his providence. Thus the dispensation of the "light of the gospel," as to times, places, and persons, depends on his sovereign pleasure, Ps. cxlvii. 19, 20. Wherefore, although we are to take care and pray much about the continuance of the dispensation of the gospel in any place, and its propagation in others, yet need we not to be over-solicitous about it. This work and care the Holy Ghost hath taken on himself, and will carry it on according to the counsel of God and his purposes concerning the kingdom of Jesus Christ in this world. And thus far the dispensation of the gospel is only a causa sine quâ non of the regeneration of men, and the granting of it depends solely on the will of the Spirit of God. It is subjective darkness which is of more direct and immediate consideration in this matter, the nature whereof, with what it doth respect, and the influence of it on the minds of men, must be declared, before we can rightly apprehend the work of the Holy Spirit in its removal by regeneration. This is that whereby the Scripture expresseth the natural depravation and corruption of the minds of men, with respect unto spiritual things and the duty that we owe to God, according to the tenor of the covenant. And two things must be premised to our consideration of it; as, -- 1. That I shall not treat of the depravation or corruption of the mind of man by the fall, with respect unto things natural, civil, political, or moral, but merely with regard to things spiritual, heavenly, and evangelical. It were easy to evince, not only by testimonies of the Scripture, but by the experience of all mankind, built on reason and the observation of instances innumerable, that the whole rational soul of man since the fall, and by the entrance of sin, is weakened, impaired, vitiated, in all its faculties and all their operations about their proper and natural objects. Neither is there any relief against these evils, with all those unavoidable perturbations wherewith it is possessed and actually disordered in all its workings, but by some secret and hidden operation of the Spirit of God, such as he continually exerts in the rule and government of the world. But it is concerning the impotency, defect, depravation, and perversity of the mind with respect unto spiritual things alone, that we shall treat at present. I say, then, -- 2. That, by reason of that vice, corruption, or depravation of the minds of all unregenerate men, which the Scripture calls darkness and blindness, they are not able of themselves, by their own reasons and understandings, however exercised and improved, to discern, receive, understand, or believe savingly, spiritual things, or the mystery of the gospel, when and as they are outwardly revealed unto them, without an effectual, powerful work of the Holy Spirit, creating, or by his almighty power inducing, a new saving light into them. [94] Let it be supposed that the mind of a man be no way hurt or impaired by any natural defect, such as doth not attend the whole race of mankind, but is personal only and accidental; suppose it free from contracted habits of vice or voluntary prejudices, -- yet upon the proposal of the doctrine and mysteries of the gospel, let it be done by the most skilful masters of the assemblies, with the greatest evidence and demonstration of the truth, it is not able of itself, spiritually and savingly, to receive, understand, and assent unto them, without the especial aid and assistance and operation of the Holy Spirit. [95] To evince this truth, we may consider, in one instance, the description given us in the Scripture of the mind itself, and its operations with respect unto spiritual things. This we have, Eph. iv. 17, 18, "This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart." It is of the Gentiles that the apostle speaks, but the apostle speaks of them on the account of that which is common unto all men by nature; for he treats of their condition with respect unto the faculties of their minds and souls, wherein there is, as unto the life of God, or spiritual things, no difference naturally among men. And their operations and effects are, for the substance of them, the same. Some, indeed, give such an account of this text as if the apostle had said, "Do not ye live after the manner of the heathens, in the vileness of those practices, and in their idol-worship. That long course of sin having blinded their understandings, so that they see not that which by the light of nature they are enabled to see, and, by that gross ignorance and obduration of heart, run into all impiety, [they] are far removed from that life which God and nature require of them." It is supposed in this exposition, -- (1.) That the apostle hath respect, in the first place, to the practice of the Gentiles, not to their state and condition. (2.) That this practice concerns only their idolatry and idol-worship. (3.) That what is here ascribed unto them came upon them by a long course of sinning. (4.) That the darkness mentioned consists in a not discerning of what might be seen by the light of nature. (5.) That their alienation from the life of God consisted in running into that impiety which was distant or removed from the life that God and nature require. But all these sentiments are so far from being contained in the text as that they are expressly contrary unto it; for, -- (1.) Although the apostle doth carry on his description of this state of the Gentiles unto the vile practices that ensued thereon, verse 19, yet it is their state by nature, with respect unto the "life of God," which is first intended by him. This is apparent from what he prescribes unto Christians in opposition thereunto, -- namely, "The new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness," verse 24. (2.) The "vanity" mentioned is subjective in their minds, and so hath no respect to idol-worship, but as it was an effect thereof. The "vanity of their minds" is the principle whereof this walking, be what it will, was the effect and consequent. (3.) Here is no mention nor intimation of any long course of sinning, much less that it should be the cause of the other things ascribed to the Gentiles; whereof, indeed, it was the effect. The description given is that of the state of all men by nature, as is plain from chap. ii. 1-3. (4.) The "darkness" here mentioned is opposed unto being "light in the Lord," chap. v. 8; which is not mere natural light, nor can any by that light alone discern spiritual things, or the things that belong to the life of God. (5.) The life of God here is not that life which God and nature require, but that life which God reveals in, requires, and communicates by, the gospel, through Jesus Christ, as all learned expositors acknowledge. Wherefore the apostle treateth here of the state of men by nature with respect unto spiritual and supernatural things. And three heads he reduceth all things in man unto:-- 1. He mentions ton noun, the "mind;" 2. Ten dianoian, the "understanding;" and, 3. Ten kardian, the "heart." And all these are one entire principle of all our moral and spiritual operations, and are all affected with the darkness and ignorance whereof we treat. 1. There is ho nous, the "mind." This is the to hegemonikon, the leading and ruling faculty of the soul. It is that in us which looketh out after proper objects for the will and affections to receive and embrace. Hereby we have our first apprehensions of all things, whence deductions are made to our practice. And hereunto is ascribed mataiotes, "vanity:" "They walk in the vanity of their mind." Things in the Scripture are said to be vain which are useless and fruitless. Mataios, "vain," is from maten, "to no purpose," Matt. xv. 9. Hence the apostle calls the idols of the Gentiles, and the rites used in their worship, mataia, "vain things," Acts xiv. 15. So he expresseth the Hebrew, hvlysv'?, Jonah ii. 8, "lying vanities," or 'vn?; which is as much as anopheles, a thing altogether useless and unprofitable, according to the description given of them, 1 Sam. xii. 21, hthv 'sr l'yvylv vl' ytsylv kythv hmh?, -- "Vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain." There is no profit in nor use of that which is vain. As the mind is said to be vain, or under the power of vanity, two things are intended:-- (1.) Its natural inclination unto things that are vain, -- that is, such as are not a proper nor useful object unto the soul and its affections. It seeks about to lead the soul to rest and satisfaction, but always unto vain things, and that in great variety. Sin, the world, pleasures, the satisfaction of the flesh, with pride of life, are the things which it naturally pursues. And in actings of this nature a vain mind abounds; it multiplies vain imaginations, like the sand on the seashore. These are called "The figments of the hearts of men," Gen. vi. 5, which are found to be only "evil continually." These it feigns and frames, abundantly bringing them forth, as the earth doth grass, or as a cloud pours out drops of water. And herein, (2.) It is unstable; for that which is vain is various, inconstant, unfixed, light, as a natural mind is, so that it is like hell itself for confusion and disorder, or the whorish woman described by Solomon, Prov. vii. 11, 12. And this hath befallen it by the loss of that fixed regularity which it was created in. There was the same cogitative or imaginative faculty in us in the state of innocency as there remains under the power of sin; but then all the actings of it were orderly and regular, -- the mind was able to direct them all unto the end for which we were made. God was, and would have been, the principal object of them, and all other things in order unto him. But now, being turned off from him, the mind in them engageth in all manner of confusion; and they all end in vanity or disappointment. They offer, as it were, their service unto the soul, to bring it in satisfaction. And although they are rejected one after another, as not answering what they pretend unto, yet they constantly arise under the same notion, and keep the whole soul under everlasting disappointments. And from hence it is that the mind cannot assent unto the common principles of religion in a due manner, which yet it cannot deny. This will be farther cleared afterward. Hereon in conversion unto God, we are said to have our minds renewed, Rom. xii. 2, and to be "renewed in the spirit of our mind," Eph. iv. 23. By the "mind" the faculty itself is intended, the rational principle in us of apprehension, of thinking, discoursing, and assenting. This is renewed by grace, or brought into another habitude and frame, by the implantation of a ruling, guiding, spiritual light in it. The "spirit" of the mind, is the inclination and disposition in the actings of it; these also must be regulated by grace. 2. There is the danoia, the "understanding." This is the to diakritikon, the directive, discerning, judging faculty of the soul, that leads it unto practice. It guides the soul in the choice of the notions which it receives by the mind. And this is more corrupt than the mind itself; for the nearer things come to practice, the more prevalent in them is the power of sin. This, therefore, is said to be "darkened;" and being so, it is wholly in vain to pretend a sufficiency in it to discern spiritual things without a supernatural illumination. Light, in the dispensation of the gospel, shines, or casts out some rays of itself, into this darkened understanding of men, but that receives it not, John i. 5. 3. There is kardia, the "heart." This in Scripture is to praktikon in the soul, the practical principle of operation, and so includes the will also. It is the actual compliance of the will and affections with the mind and understanding, with respect unto the objects proposed by them. Light is received by the mind, applied by the understanding, used by the heart. Upon this, saith the apostle, there is porosis, "blindness." It is not a mere ignorance or incomprehensiveness of the notions of truth that is intended, but a stubborn resistance of light and conviction. An obstinate and obdurate hardness is upon the heart, whence it rejects all the impressions that come upon it from notions of truth. And on these considerations men themselves before conversion are said to be "darkness," Eph. v. 8. There may be degrees in a moral privation, but when it is expressed in the abstract, it is a sign that it is at its height, that it is total and absolute. And this is spoken with respect unto spiritual and saving light only, or a saving apprehension of spiritual truths. There is not in such persons so much as any disposition remaining to receive saving knowledge, any more than there is a disposition in darkness itself to receive light. The mind, indeed, remains a capable subject to receive it, but hath no active power nor disposition in itself towards it; and, therefore, when God is pleased to give us a new ability to understand and perceive spiritual things in a due manner, he is said to give us a new faculty, because of the utter disability of our minds naturally to receive them, 1 John v. 20. Let vain men boast whilst they please of the perfection and ability of their rational faculties with respect unto religion and the things of God, this is the state of them by nature, upon His judgment that must stand forever. And, by the way, it may not be amiss to divert here a little unto the consideration of that exposition which the whole world and all things in it give unto this text and testimony concerning the minds of natural men being under the power of vanity, for this is the spring and inexhaustible fountain of all that vanity which the world is filled with. There is, indeed, a vanity which is penal, -- namely, that vexation and disappointment which men finally meet withal in the pursuit of perishing things, whereof the wise man treats at large in his Ecclesiastes; but I intend that sinful vanity which the mind itself produces, and that in all sorts of persons, ages, sexes, and conditions in the world. This some of the heathens saw, complained of, reproved, and derided, but yet could never reach to the cause of it, nor free themselves from being under the power of the same vanity, though in a way peculiar and distinct from the common sort, as might easily be demonstrated. But the thing is apparent; almost all that our eyes see or our ears hear of in the world is altogether vain. All that which makes such a noise, such a business, such an appearance and show among men, may be reduced unto two heads:-- (1.) The vanity that they bring into the things that are, and that are either good in themselves and of some use, or at least indifferent. So men do variously corrupt their buildings and habitations, their trading, their conversation, their power, their wealth, their relations. They join innumerable vanities with them, which render them loathsome and contemptible, and the meanest condition to be the most suitable to rational satisfaction. (2.) Men find out, and as it were create, things to be mere supporters, countenancers, and nourishers of vanity. Such, in religion, are carnal, pompous ceremonies, like those of the church of Rome, which have no end but to bring in some kind of provision for the satisfaction of vain minds; stage-players, mimics, with innumerable other things of the same nature, which are nothing but theatres for vanity to act itself upon. It were endless but to mention the common effects of vanity in the world. And men are mightily divided about these things. Those engaged in them think it strange that others run not out into the "same compass of excess and riot with themselves, speaking evil of them," 1 Pet. iv. 4. They wonder at the perverse, stubborn, and froward humour which befalls some men, that they delight not in, that they approve not of, those things and ways wherein they find so great a suitableness unto their own minds. Others, again, are ready to admire whence it is that the world is mad on such vain and foolish things as it is almost wholly given up unto. The consideration we have insisted on gives us a satisfactory account of the grounds and reasons hereof. The mind of man by nature is wholly vain, under the power of vanity, and is an endless, fruitful womb of all monstrous births. The world is now growing towards six thousand years old, and yet is no nearer the bottom of the springs of its vanity, or the drawing out of its supplies, than it was the first day that sin entered into it. New sins, new vices, new vanities, break forth continually; and all is from hence, that the mind of man by nature is altogether vain. Nor is there any way or means for putting a stop hereunto in persons, families, cities, nations, but so far as the minds of men are cured and renewed by the Holy Ghost. The world may alter its shape and the outward appearances of things, it may change its scenes, and act its part in new habits and dresses, but it will still be altogether vain so long as natural uncured vanity is predominant in the minds of men; and this will sufficiently secure them from attaining any saving acquaintance with spiritual things. Again: It is one of the principal duties incumbent on us, to be acquainted with, and diligently to watch over, the remainders of this vanity in our own minds. The sinful distempers of our natures are not presently cured at once, but the healing and removing of them is carried on by degrees unto the consummation of the course of our obedience in this world. And there are three effects of this natural vanity of the mind in its depraved condition to be found among believers themselves:-- (1.) An instability in holy duties, as meditation, prayer, and hearing of the word. How ready is the mind to wander in them, and to give entertainment unto vain and fond imaginations, at least unto thoughts and apprehensions of things unsuited to the duties wherein we are engaged! How difficult is it to keep it up unto an even, fixed, stable frame of acting spiritually in spiritual things! How is it ready at every breath to unbend and let down its intension! All we experience or complain of in this kind is from the uncured relics of this vanity. (2.) This is that which inclines and leads men towards a conformity with and unto a vain world, in its customs, habits, and ordinary converse; which are all vain and foolish. And so prevalent is it herein, and such arguments hath it possessed itself withal to give it countenance, that in many instances of vanity it is hard to give a distinction between them and the whole world that lies under the power of it. Professors, it may be, will not comply with the world in the things before mentioned, that have no other use nor end but merely to support, act, and nourish vanity; but from other things, which, being indifferent in themselves, are yet filled with vanity in their use, how ready are many for a compliance with the course of the world, which lieth in evil and passeth away! (3.) It acts itself in fond and foolish imaginations, whereby it secretly makes provision for the flesh and the lusts thereof; for they all generally lead unto self-exaltation and satisfaction. And these, if not carefully checked, will proceed to such an excess as greatly to taint the whole soul. And in these things lie the principal cause and occasion of all other sins and miscarriages. We have, therefore, no more important duty incumbent on us than mightily to oppose this radical distemper. It is so, also, to attend diligently unto the remedy of it; and this consists, (1.) In a holy fixedness of mind, and an habitual inclination unto things spiritual; which is communicated unto us by the Holy Ghost, as shall be afterward declared, Eph. iv. 23, 24. (2.) In the due and constant improvement of that gracious principle, -- [1.] By constant watchfulness against the mind's acting itself in vain, foolish, unprofitable imaginations, so far at least [as] that vain thoughts may not lodge in us; [2.] By exercising it continually unto holy spiritual meditations, "minding always the things that are above," Col. iii. 2; [3.] By a constant, conscientious humbling of our souls, for all the vain actings of our minds that we do observe; -- all which might be usefully enlarged on, but that we must return. [Secondly], The minds of men unregenerate being thus depraved and corrupted, being thus affected with darkness, and thereby being brought under the power of vanity, we may yet farther consider what other effects and consequents are on the same account ascribed unto it. And the mind of man in this state may be considered, either, -- 1. As to its dispositions and inclinations; [or], 2. As to its power and actings, with respect unto spiritual, supernatural things:-- 1. As to its dispositions, it is (from the darkness described) perverse and depraved, whereby men are" alienated from the life of God," Eph. iv. 18; for this alienation of men from the divine life is from the depravation of their minds. Hence are they said to be "alienated and enemies in their mind by wicked works," or by their mind in wicked works, being fixed on them and under the power of them, Col. i. 21. And that we may the better understand what is intended hereby, we may consider both what is this "life of God," and how the unregenerate mind is alienated from it:-- (1.) All life is from God. The life which we have in common with all other living creatures is from him, Acts xvii. 28; Ps. civ. 30. And, (2.) That peculiar vital life which we have by the union of the rational soul with the body is from God also, and that in an especial manner, Gen. ii. 7; Job x. 12. But neither of these is anywhere called the "life of God." But it is an especial life unto God which is intended; and sundry things belong thereunto, or sundry things are applied unto the description of it:-- (1.) It is the life which God requireth of us, that we may please him here and come to the enjoyment of him hereafter; the life of faith and spiritual obedience by Jesus Christ, Rom. i. 17; Gal. ii. 20, "I live by the faith of the Son of God;" Rom. vi., vii. (2.) It is that life which God worketh in us, not naturally by his power, but spiritually by his grace; and that both as to the principle and all the vital acts of it, Eph. ii. 1, 5; Phil. ii. 13. (3.) It is that life whereby God liveth in us, that is, in and by his Spirit through Jesus Christ: Gal. ii. 20, "Christ liveth in me." And where the Son is, there is the Father; whence, also, this life is said to be "hid with him in God," Col. iii. 3. (4.) It is the life whereby we live to God, Rom. vi., vii., whereof God is the supreme and absolute end, as he is the principal efficient cause of it. And two things are contained herein:-- [1.] That we do all things to his glory. This is the proper end of all the acts and actings of this life, Rom. xiv. 7, 8. [2.] That we design in and by it to come unto the eternal enjoyment of him as our blessedness and reward, Gen. xv. 1. (5.) It is the life whereof the gospel is the law and rule, John vi. 68; Acts v. 20. (6.) A life all whose fruits are holiness and spiritual, evangelical obedience, Rom. vi. 22; Phil. i. 11. Lastly, It is a life that dieth not, that is not obnoxious unto death, "eternal life," John xvii. 3. These things contain the chief concerns of that peculiar spiritual, heavenly life, which is called the "life of God." The carnal mind is alienated from this life. It hath no liking of it, no inclination to it, but carrieth away the whole soul with an aversation from it. And this alienation or aversation appears in two things:-- (1.) In its unreadiness and unaptness to receive instruction in and about the concernments of it. Hence are men dull and "slow of heart to believe," Luke xxiv. 25; nothroi tais akoais, Heb. v. 11, 12, "heavy in hearing;" and slow in the apprehension of what they hear. So are all men towards what they do not like, but have an aversation from. This God complains of in his people of old: "My people are foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge," Jer. iv. 22. (2.) In the choice and preferring of any other life before it. The first choice a natural mind makes is of a life in sin and pleasure; which is but a death, a death to God, 1 Tim. v. 6, James v. 5, -- a life without the law, and before it comes, Rom. vii. 9. This is the life which is suited to the carnal mind, which it desires, delights in, and which willingly it would never depart from. Again, if, by afflictions or convictions, it be in part or wholly forced to forsake and give up this life, it will choose, magnify, and extol a moral life, a life in, by, and under the law; though at the last it will stand it in no more stead than the life of sin and pleasure which it hath been forced to forego, Rom. ix. 32, x. 3. The thoughts of this spiritual life, this "life of God," it cannot away with. The notions of it are uncouth, the description of it is unintelligible, and the practice of it either odious folly or needless superstition. This is the disposition and inclination of the mind towards spiritual things, as it is corrupt and depraved. 2. The power also of the mind with respect unto its actings towards spiritual things may be considered; and this, in short, is none at all, in the sense which shall be explained immediately, chap. v. 6. For this is that which we shall prove concerning the mind of a natural man, or of a man in the state of nature: However it may be excited and improved under those advantages of education and parts which it may have received, yet [it] is not able, hath not a power of its own, spiritually and savingly, or in a due manner, to receive, embrace, and assent unto spiritual things, when proposed unto it in the dispensation and preaching of the gospel, unless it be renewed, enlightened, and acted by the Holy Ghost. This the apostle plainly asserts, 1 Cor. ii. 14, "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1.) The subject spoken of is psuchikos anthropos, "animalis homo," the "natural man," he who is a natural man. This epithet is in the Scripture opposed unto pneumatikos, "spiritual," 1 Cor. xv. 44, Jude 19, where psuchikoi are described by pneuma me echontes, such as have not the Spirit of God. The foundation of this distinction, and the distribution of men into these two sorts thereby, is laid in that of our apostle, 1 Cor. xv. 45, Egeneto ho protos anthropos Adam eis psuchen zosan; ho eschatos Adam eis pneuma zoopoioun; -- "The first Adam was made a living soul." Hence every man who hath no more but what is traduced from him is called psuchikos, -- he is a "living soul," as was the first Adam. And, "The last Adam was made a quickening spirit." Hence he that is of him, partaker of his nature, that derives from him, is pneumstikos, a "spiritual man." The person, therefore, here spoken of, or psuchikos, is one that hath all that is or can be derived from the first Adam, one endowed with a "rational soul," and who hath the use and exercise of all its rational faculties. Some who look upon themselves almost so near to advancements as to countenance them in magisterial dictates and scornful reflections upon others, tell us that by this "natural man," "a man given up to his pleasures, and guided by brutish affections," and no other, is intended, -- "one that gives himself up to the government of his inferior faculties;" but no rational man, no one that will attend unto the dictates of reason, is at all concerned in this assertion. But how is this proved? If we are not content with bare affirmations, we must at length be satisfied with railing and lying, and all sorts of reproaches. But the apostle in this chapter distributes all men living into pneumatikoi and psuchikoi, "spiritual" and "natural." He who is not a spiritual man, be he who and what he will, be he as rational as some either presume themselves to be or would beg of the world to believe that they are, is a natural man. The supposition of a middle state of men is absolutely destructive of the whole discourse of the apostle as to its proper design. Besides, this of psuchikos is the best and softest term that is given in the Scripture to unregenerate men, with respect unto the things of God; and there is no reason why it should be thought only to express the worst sort of them thereby. The Scripture terms not men peculiarly captivated unto brutish affections, anthropous psuchikous, "natural men," but rather alogs zoa phusika, 2 Pet. ii. 12, "natural brute beasts." And Austin gives us a better account of this expression, Tractat. 98, in Johan:-- "Animalis homo, i.e., qui secundum hominem sapit, animalis dictus ab anima, carnalis a carne, quia ex anima et carne constat omnis homo, non percipit ea quæ sunt Spiritus Dei, i.e., quid gratiæ credentibus conferat crux Christi." And another: "Carnales dicimur, quando totos nos voluptatibus damus; spirituales, quando Spiritum Sanctum prævium sequimur; id est, cum ipso sapimus instruente, ipso ducimur auctore. Animales reor esse philosophos qui proprios cogitatus putant esse sapientiam, de quibus recte dicitur, animalis autem homo non recipit ea quæ sunt Spiritus, stultitia quippe est ei," Hieronym. Comment. in Epist. ad Galatians cap. v. And another: Psuchikos estin ho to pan tois logismois tes psuches [96] didous, kai me nomizon anothen tinos deisthai boetheias, hoper estin anoias, kai gar edoken auten ho Theos ina manthane, kai dechetai to par' autou, ouch hina heaute auten arkein nomize. Kai gar hoi ophthalmoi kaloi kai chresimoi, all' ean boulontai choris photos horan, ouden autous to kallos oninesin, oude he oikeia ischus, alla kai parablapei. Houto toinun he psuge hean boulethe choris pneumatos blepein, kai empodon heaute ginetai, Chrysost. in 1 Cor. ii. 15; -- "The natural man is he who ascribes all things to the power of the reasonings of the mind, and doth not think that he stands in need of aid from above: which is madness; for God hath given the soul that it should learn and receive what he bestows, what is from him, and not suppose that it is sufficient of itself or to itself. Eyes are beautiful and profitable; but if they would see without light, this beauty and power will not profit but hurt them. And the mind, if it would see" (spiritual things) "without the Spirit of God, it doth but ensnare itself." And it is a sottish supposition, that there is a sort of unregenerate, rational men who are not under the power of corrupt affections in and about spiritual things, seeing the "carnal mind is enmity against God." This, therefore, is the subject of the apostle's proposition, -- namely, "a natural man," everyone that is so, that is no more but so, that is, everyone who is not "a spiritual man," is one who hath not received the Spirit of God, verses 11, 12, one that hath [only] the spirit of a man, enabling him to search and know the things of a man, or to attain wisdom in things natural, civil, or political. (2.) There is in the words a supposition of the proposal of some things unto the mind of this "natural man;" for the apostle speaks with respect unto the dispensation and preaching of the gospel, whereby that proposal is made, verses 4-7. And these things are ta tou Pneumatos tou Theou, "the things of the Spirit of God;" which are variously expressed in this chapter. Verse 2, they are called "Jesus Christ, and him crucified;" verse 7, the "wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God hath ordained;" verse 12, "the things that are freely given to us of God;" verse 16, "the mind of Christ;" and sundry other ways to the same purpose. There are in the gospel, and belong to the preaching of it, precepts innumerable concerning moral duties to be observed towards God, ourselves, and other men; and all these have a coincidence with and a suitableness unto the inbred light of nature, because the principles of them all are indelibly ingrafted therein. These things being in some sense the "things of a man," may be known by the "spirit of a man that is in him," verse 11: howbeit they cannot be observed and practised according to the mind of God without the aid and assistance of the Holy Ghost. But these are not the things peculiarly here intended, but the mysteries, which depend on mere sovereign supernatural revelation, and that wholly; things that "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man" to conceive, verse 9; things of God's sovereign counsel, whereof there were no impressions in the mind of man in his first creation: see Eph. iii. 8-11. (3.) That which is affirmed of the natural man with respect unto these spiritual things is doubly expressed:-- [1.] By ou dechetai, -- "He receiveth them not;" [2.] By ou dunatai gnonai, -- "He cannot know them." In this double assertion, -- 1st. A power of receiving spiritual things is denied: "He cannot know them; he cannot receive them;" as Rom. viii. 7, "The carnal mind is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." And the reason hereof is subjoined: "Because they are spiritually discerned;" a thing which such a person hath no power to effect. 2dly. A will of rejecting them is implied: "He receiveth them not;" and the reason hereof is, "For they are foolishness unto him." They are represented unto him under such a notion as that he will have nothing to do with them. 3dly. Actually (and that both because he cannot and because he will not), he receives them not. The natural man neither can, nor will, nor doth, receive the things of the Spirit of God; -- is altogether incapable of giving them admission in the sense to be explained. To clear and free this assertion from objections, it must be observed, -- (1.) That it is not the mere literal sere of doctrines or propositions of truth that is intended. [97] For instance, "That Jesus Christ was crucified," mentioned by the apostle, 1 Cor. ii. 2, is a proposition whose sense and importance any natural man may understand, and assent unto its truth, and so be said to receive it. And all the doctrines of the gospel may be taught and declared in propositions and discourses, the sense and meaning whereof a natural man may understand. And in the due investigation of this sense, and judging thereon concerning truth and falsehood, lies that use of reason in religious things which some would ignorantly confound with an ability of discerning spiritual things in themselves and their own proper nature. This, therefore, is granted; but it is denied that a natural man can receive the things themselves. There is a wide difference between the mind's receiving doctrines notionally, and its receiving the things taught in them really. The first a natural man can do. It is done by all who, by the use of outward means, do know the doctrine of the Scripture, in distinction from ignorance, falsehood, and error. Hence, men unregenerate are said to "know the way of righteousness," 2 Pet. ii. 21, -- that is, notionally and doctrinally; for really, saith our apostle, they cannot. Hereon "they profess that they know God," -- that is, the things which they are taught concerning him and his will, -- whilst "in works they deny him, being abominable and disobedient," Tit. i. 16; Rom. ii. 23, 24. In the latter way they only receive spiritual things in whose minds they are so implanted as to produce their real and proper effects, Rom. xii. 2; Eph. iv. 22-24. And there are two things required unto the receiving of spiritual things really and as they are in themselves:-- [1.] That we discern, assent unto them, and receive them, under an apprehension of their conformity and agreeableness to the wisdom, holiness, and righteousness of God, 1 Cor. i. 23, 24. The reason why men receive not Christ crucified, as preached in the gospel, is because they see not a consonancy in it unto the divine perfections of the nature of God. Neither can any receive it until they see in it an expression of divine power and wisdom. This, therefore, is required unto our receiving the things of the Spirit of God in a due manner, -- namely, that we spiritually see and discern their answerableness unto the wisdom, goodness, and holiness of God; wherein lies the principal rest and satisfaction of them that really believe. This a natural man cannot do. [2.] That we discern their suitableness unto the great ends for which they are proposed as the means of accomplishing. Unless we see this clearly and distinctly, we cannot but judge them weakness and foolishness. These ends being the glory of God in Christ, with our deliverance from a state of sin and misery, with a translation into a state of grace and glory, unless we are acquainted with these things, and the aptness, and fitness, and power of the things of the Spirit of God to effect them, we cannot receive them as we ought; and this a natural man cannot do. And from these considerations, unto which sundry others of the like nature might be added, it appears how and whence it is that a natural man is not capable of receiving the things of the Spirit of God. (2.) It must be observed that there is, or may be, a twofold capacity or ability of receiving, knowing, or understanding spiritual things in the mind of a man:-- [1.] There is a natural power, consisting in the suitableness and proportionableness of the faculties of the soul to receive spiritual things in the way that they are proposed unto us. This is supposed in all the exhortations, promises, precepts, and threatenings of the gospel; for in vain would they be proposed unto us had we not rational minds and understandings to apprehend their sense, use, and importance, and [were we not] also meet subjects for the faith, grace, and obedience which are required of us. None pretend that men are, in their conversion to God, like stocks and stones, or brute beasts, that have no understanding; for although the work of our conversion is called a "turning of stones into children of Abraham," because of the greatness of the change, and because of ourselves we contribute nothing thereunto, yet if we were every way as such as to the capacity of our natures, it would not become the wisdom of God to apply the means mentioned for effecting of that work. God is said, indeed, herein to "give us an understanding," 1 John v. 20; but the natural faculty of the understanding is not thereby intended, but only the renovation of it by grace, and the actual exercise of that grace in apprehending spiritual things. There are two adjuncts of the commands of God:-- 1st. That they are equal; 2dly. That they are easy, or not grievous. The former they have from the nature of the things commanded, and the fitness of our minds to receive such commands, Ezek. xviii. 25; the latter they have from the dispensation of the Spirit and grace of Christ, which renders them not only possible unto us, but easy for us. Some pretend that whatever is required of us or prescribed unto us in a way of duty, we have a power in and of ourselves to perform. [98] If by this power they intend no more but that our minds, and the other rational faculties of our souls, are fit and meet, as to their natural capacity, for and unto such acts as wherein those duties do consist, it is freely granted; for God requires nothing of us but what must be acted in our minds and wills, and which they are naturally meet and suited for. But if they intend such an active power and ability as, being excited by the motives proposed unto us, can of itself answer the commands of God in a due manner, they deny the corruption of our nature by the entrance of sin, and render the grace of Christ useless, as shall be demonstrated. [2.] There is, or may be, a power in the mind to discern spiritual things, whereby it is so able to do it as that it can immediately exercise that power in the spiritual discerning of them upon their due proposal unto it, that is, spiritually; as a man that hath the visive faculty sound and entire, upon the due proposal of visible objects unto him can discern and see them. This power must be spiritual and supernatural; for whereas to receive spiritual things spiritually is so to receive them as really to believe them with faith divine and supernatural, to love them with divine love, to conform the whole soul and affections unto them, Rom. vi. 17, 2 Cor. iii. 18, no natural man hath power so to do: this is that which is denied in this place by the apostle. Wherefore, between the natural capacity of the mind and the act of spiritual discerning there must be an interposition of an effectual work of the Holy Ghost enabling it thereunto, 1 John v. 20; 2 Cor. iv. 6. Of the assertion thus laid down and explained the apostle gives a double reason: the first taken from the nature of the things to be known, with respect unto the mind and understanding of a natural man; the other from the way or manner whereby alone spiritual things may be acceptably discerned:-- (1.) The first reason, taken from the nature of the things themselves, with respect unto the mind, is, that "they are foolishness." In themselves they are the "wisdom of God," 1 Cor. ii. 7; -- effects of the wisdom of God, and those which have the impress of the wisdom of God upon them. And when the dispensation of them was said to be "foolishness," the apostle contends not about it, but tells them, however, it is the "foolishness of God," chap. i. 25; which he doth to cast contempt on all the wisdom of men, whereby the gospel is despised. And they are the "hidden wisdom" of God; such an effect of divine wisdom as no creature could make any discovery of, Eph. iii. 9, 10; Job xxviii. 20-22. And they are the "wisdom of God in a mystery," or full of deep, mysterious wisdom. But to the natural man they are "foolishness," not only although they are the wisdom of God, but peculiarly because they are so, and as they are so; for "the carnal mind is enmity against God." Now, that is esteemed foolishness which is looked on either as weak and impertinent, or as that which contains or expresseth means and ends disproportionate, or as that which is undesirable in comparison of what may be set up in competition with it, or is on any other consideration not eligible or to be complied with on the terms whereon it is proposed. And for one or other or all of these reasons are spiritual things, -- namely, those here intended, wherein the wisdom of God in the mystery of the gospel doth consist, -- foolishness unto a natural man; which we shall demonstrate by some instances:-- [1.] That they were so unto the learned philosophers of old, both our apostle doth testify and the known experience of the first ages of the church makes evident, 1 Cor. i. 22, 23, 26-28. Had spiritual things been suited unto the minds or reasons of natural men, it could not be but that those who had most improved their minds, and were raised unto the highest exercise of their reasons, must much more readily have received and embraced the mysteries of the gospel than those who were poor, illiterate, and came many degrees behind them in the exercise and improvement thereof. So we see it is as to the reception of any thing in nature or morality which, being of any worth, is proposed unto the minds of men; it is embraced soonest by them that are wisest and know most. But here things fell out quite otherwise. They were the wise, the knowing, the rational, the learned men of the world, that made the greatest and longest opposition unto spiritual things, and that expressly and avowedly because they were "foolishness unto them," and that on all the accounts before mentioned; and their opposition unto them they managed with pride, scorn, and contempt, as they thought "foolish things" ought to be handled. The profound ignorance and confidence whence it is that some of late are not ashamed to preach and print that it was the learned, rational, wise part of mankind, as they were esteemed or professed of themselves, the philosophers, and such as under their conduct pretended unto a life according to the dictates of reason, who first embraced the gospel, as being more disposed unto its reception than others, cannot be sufficiently admired or despised. Had they once considered what is spoken unto this purpose in the New Testament, or known any thing of the entrance, growth, or progress of Christian religion in the world, they would themselves be ashamed of this folly. But every day in this matter, "prodeunt oratores novi, stulti adolescentuli," who talk confidently, whilst they know neither what they say nor whereof they do affirm. [2.] The principal mysteries of the gospel, or the spiritual things intended, are by many looked on and rejected as foolish, because false and untrue; though, indeed, they have no reason to think them false, but because they suppose them foolish. And they fix upon charging them with falsity to countenance themselves in judging them to be folly. Whatever concerns the incarnation of the Son of God, the satisfaction that he made for sin and sinners, the imputation of his righteousness unto them that believe, the effectual working of his grace in the conversion of the souls of men, -- which, with what belongs unto them, comprise the greatest part of the spiritual things of the gospel, -- are not received by many because they are false, as they judge; and that which induceth them so to determine is, because they look on them as foolish, and unsuited unto the rational principles of their minds. [3.] Many plainly scoff at them, and despise them as the most contemptible notions that mankind can exercise their reasons about. Such were of old prophesied concerning, 2 Pet. iii. 3, 4; and things at this day are come to that pass. The world swarms with scoffers at spiritual things, as those which are unfit for rational, noble, generous spirits to come under a sense or power of, because they are so foolish. But these things were we foretold of, that when they came to pass we should not be troubled or shaken in our minds; yea, the atheism of some is made a means to confirm the faith of others! [4.] It is not much otherwise with some, who yet dare not engage into an open opposition to the gospel with them before mentioned; for they profess the faith of it, and avow a subjection to the rules and laws of it. But the things declared in the gospel may be reduced unto two heads, as was before observed:-- 1st. Such as consist in the confirmation, direction, and improvement of the moral principles and precepts of the law of nature. 2dly. Such as flow immediately from the sovereign will and wisdom of God, being no way communicated unto us but by supernatural revelation only. Such are all the effects of the wisdom and grace of God, as he was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself; the offices of Christ, his administration of them, and dispensation of the Spirit; with the especial, evangelical, supernatural graces and duties which are required in us with respect thereunto. The first sort of these things many will greatly praise and highly extol; and they will declare how consonant they are to reason, and what expressions suitable unto them may be found in the ancient philosophers. But it is evident, that herein also they fall under a double inconvenience: for, -- 1st. Mostly, they visibly transgress what they boast of as their rule, and that above others; for where shall we meet with any, at least with many, of this sort of men, who in any measure comply with that modesty, humility, meekness, patience, self-denial, abstinence, temperance, contempt of the world, love of mankind, charity, and purity, which the gospel requires under this head of duties? Pride, ambition, insatiable desires after earthly advantages and promotions, scoffing, scorn and contempt of others, vanity of converse, envy, wrath, revenge, railing, are none of the moral duties required in the gospel. And, -- 2dly. No pretence of an esteem for any one part of the gospel will shelter men from the punishment due to the rejection of the whole by whom any essential part of it is refused. And this is the condition of many. The things which most properly belong to the mysteries of the gospel, or the unsearchable riches of the grace of God in Christ Jesus, are foolishness unto them; and the preaching of them is called "canting and folly." And some of these, although they go not so far as the friar at Rome, who said that "St Paul fell into great excesses in these things," yet they have dared to accuse his writings of darkness and obscurity; for no other reason, so far as I can understand, but because he insists on the declaration of these spiritual mysteries: and it is not easy to express what contempt and reproach is cast by some preachers on them. But it is not amiss that some have proclaimed their own shame herein, and have left it on record, to the abhorrency of posterity. [5.] The event of the dispensation of the gospel manifesteth that the spiritual things of it are foolishness to the most; for as such are they rejected by them, Isa. liii. 1-3. Suppose a man of good reputation for wisdom and sobriety should go unto others, and inform them, and that with earnestness, evidence of love to them, and care for them, with all kinds of motives to beget a belief of what he proposeth, that by such ways as he prescribeth they may exceedingly increase their substance in this world, until they exceed the wealth of kings, -- a thing that the minds of men in their contrivances and designs are intent upon; -- if in this case they follow not his advice, it can be for no other reason but because they judge the things proposed by him to be no way suited or expedient unto the ends promised, -- that is, to be foolish things. And this is the state of things with respect unto the mysteries of the gospel. Men are informed, in and by the ways of God's appointment, how great and glorious they are, and what blessed consequents there will be of a spiritual reception of them. The beauty and excellency of Christ, the inestimable privilege of divine adoption, the great and precious promises made unto them that do believe, the glory of the world to come the necessity and excellency of holiness and gospel obedience unto the attaining of everlasting blessedness, are preached unto men, and pressed on them with arguments and motives filled with divine authority and wisdom; yet after all this, we see how few eventually do apply themselves with any industry to receive them, or at least actually do receive them: for "many are called, but few are chosen." And the reason is, because, indeed, unto their darkened minds these things are foolishness, whatsoever they pretend unto the contrary. (2.) As the instance foregoing compriseth the reasons why a natural man will never receive the things of the Spirit of God, so the apostle adds a reason why he cannot; and that is taken from the manner whereby alone they may be usefully and savingly received, which he cannot attain unto, "Because they are spiritually discerned." In this whole chapter he insists on an opposition between a natural and a spiritual man, natural things and spiritual things, natural light and knowledge and spiritual. The natural man, he informs us, will, by a natural light, discern natural things: "The things of a man knoweth the spirit of a man." And the spiritual man, by a spiritual light received from Jesus Christ, discerneth spiritual things; for "none knoweth the things of God, but the Spirit of God, and he to whom he will reveal them." This ability the apostle denies unto a natural man; and this he proves, -- [1.] Because it is the work of the Spirit of God to endow the minds of men with that ability, which there were no need of in case men had it of themselves by nature; and, [2.] (as he shows plentifully elsewhere), The light itself whereby alone spiritual things can be spiritually discerned is wrought, effected, created in us, by an almighty act of the power of God, 2 Cor. iv. 6. From these things premised, it is evident that there is a twofold impotency in the minds of men with respect unto spiritual things:-- (1.) That which immediately affects the mind, a natural impotency, whence it cannot receive them for want of light in itself. (2.) That which affects the mind by the will and affections, a moral impotency, whereby it cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God, because unalterably it will not; and that because, from the unsuitableness of the objects unto its will and affections, and to the mind by them, they are foolishness unto it. (1.) There is in unregenerate men a natural impotency, through the immediate depravation of the faculties of the mind or understanding, whereby a natural man is absolutely unable, without an especial renovation by the Holy Ghost, to discern spiritual things in a saving manner. [99] Neither is this impotency, although absolutely and naturally insuperable, and although it have in it also the nature of a punishment, any excuse or alleviation of the sin of men when they receive not spiritual things as proposed unto them; for although it be our misery, it is our sin; -- it is the misery of our persons, and the sin of our natures. As by it there is an unconformity in our minds to the mind of God, it is our sin; as it is a consequent of the corruption of our nature by the fall, it is an effect of sin; and as it exposeth us unto all the ensuing evil of sin and unbelief, it is both the punishment and cause of sin. And no man can plead his sin or fault as an excuse of another sin in any kind. This impotency is natural, because it consists in the deprivation of the light and power that were originally in the faculties of our minds or understandings, and because it can never be taken away or cured but by an immediate communication of a new spiritual power and ability unto the mind itself by the Holy Ghost in its renovation, so curing the depravation of the faculty itself. And this is consistent with what was before declared [concerning] the natural power of the mind to receive spiritual things: for that power respects the natural capacity of the faculties of our minds; this impotency, the depravation of them with respect unto spiritual things. (2.) There is in the minds of unregenerate persons a moral impotency, which is reflected on them greatly from the will and affections, whence the mind never will receive spiritual things, -- that is, it will always and unchangeably reject and refuse them, -- and that because of various lusts, corruptions, and prejudices invincibly fixed in them, causing them to look on them as foolishness. Hence it will come to pass that no man shall be judged and perish at the last day merely on the account of his natural impotency. Everyone to whom the gospel hath been preached, and by whom it is refused, shall be convinced of positive actings in their minds, rejecting the gospel from the love of self, sin, and the world. Thus our Saviour tells the Jews that "no man can come unto him, except the Father draw him," John vi. 44. Such is their natural impotency that they cannot. Nor is it to be cured but by an immediate divine instruction or illumination; as it is written, "They shall be all taught of God," verse 45. But this is not all; he tells them elsewhere, "Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life," chap. v. 40. The present thing in question was not the power or impotency of their minds, but the obstinacy of their wills and affections, which men shall principally be judged upon at the last day; for "this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil," chap. iii. 19. Hence it follows, -- That the will and affections being more corrupted than the understanding, -- as is evident from their opposition unto and defeating of its manifold convictions, -- no man doth actually apply his mind to the receiving of the things of the Spirit of God to the utmost of that ability which he hath; for all unregenerate men are invincibly impeded therein by the corrupt stubbornness and perverseness of their wills and affections. There is not in any of them a due improvement of the capacity of their natural faculties, in the use of means, for the discharge of their duty towards God herein. And what hath been pleaded may suffice for the vindication of this divine testimony concerning the disability of the mind of man in the state of nature to understand and receive the things of the Spirit of God in a spiritual and saving manner, however they are proposed unto it; which those who are otherwise minded may despise whilst they please, but are no way able to answer or evade. And hence we may judge of that paraphrase and exposition of this place which one hath given of late: "But such things as these, they that are led only by the light of human reason, the learned philosophers, etc., do absolutely despise, and so hearken not after the doctrine of the gospel; for it seems folly to them. Nor can they, by any study of their own, come to the knowledge of them; for they are only to be had by understanding the prophecies of the Scripture, and other such means, which depend on divine revelation, the voice from heaven, descent of the Holy Ghost, miracles," etc. (1.) The natural man is here allowed to be the rational man, the learned philosopher, one walking by the light of human reason; which complies not with their exception to this testimony who would have only such an one as is sensual and given up unto brutish affections to be intended. But yet neither is there any ground (though some countenance be given to it by Hierom) to fix this interpretation unto that expression. If the apostle may be allowed to declare his own mind, he tells us that he intends everyone, of what sort and condition soever, "who hath not received the Spirit of Christ." (2.) Ou dechetai is paraphrased by, "Doth absolutely despise;" which neither the word here, nor elsewhere, nor its disposal in the present connection, will allow of or give countenance unto. The apostle in the whole discourse gives an account why so few received the gospel, especially of those who seemed most likely so to do, being wise and learned men, and the gospel being no less than the wisdom of God; and the reason hereof he gives from their disability to receive the things of God, and their hatred of them, or opposition to them, neither of which can be cured but by the Spirit of Christ. (3.) The apostle treats not of what men could find out by any study of their own, but of what they did and would do, and could do no otherwise, when the gospel was proposed, declared, and preached unto them. They did not, they could not, receive, give assent unto, or believe, the spiritual mysteries therein revealed. (4.) This preaching of the gospel unto them was accompanied with and managed by those evidences mentioned, -- namely, the testimonies of the prophecies of Scripture, miracles, and the like, -- in the same way and manner, and unto the same degree, as it was towards them by whom it was received and believed. In the outward means of revelation and its proposition there was no difference. (5.) The proper meaning of ou dechetai, "receiveth not," is given us in the ensuing reason and explanation of it: Ou dunatai gnonai, "He cannot know them," -- that is, unless he be spiritually enabled thereunto by the Holy Ghost. And this is farther confirmed in the reason subjoined, "Because they are spiritually discerned." And to wrest this unto the outward means of revelation, which is directly designed to express the internal manner of the mind's reception of things revealed, is to wrest the Scripture at pleasure. How much better doth the description given by Chrysostom of a natural and spiritual man give light unto and determine the sense of this place: Psuchikos anthropos, ho dia sarka zon, kai mepo photistheis ton noun dia Pneumatos, alla monen ten emphuton kai anthropinen sunesin echon, hen ton hapanton psuchais emballei ho Demiourgos; -- "A natural man is he who lives in or by the flesh, and hath not his mind as yet enlightened by the Spirit, but only hath that inbred human understanding which the Creator hath endued the minds of all men with." And, Ho pneumatikos, ho dia Pneuma zon, photistheis ton noun dia pneumatos, ou monen ten emphuton kai anthropinen sunesin echon, alla mallon ten charistheisan pneumatiken, hen ton piston psuchais emballei to Hagion Pneuma; -- "The spiritual man is he who liveth by the Spirit, having his mind enlightened by him; having not only an inbred human understanding, but rather a spiritual understanding, bestowed on him graciously, which the Holy Ghost endues the minds of believers withal" But we proceed. 3. Having cleared the impotency to discern spiritual things spiritually that is in the minds of natural men, by reason of their spiritual blindness, or that darkness which is in them, it remains that we consider what is the power and efficacy of this darkness to keep them in a constant and unconquerable aversion from God and the gospel. To this purpose, some testimonies of Scripture must be also considered; for notwithstanding all other notions and disputes in this matter, for the most part compliant with the inclinations and affections of corrupted nature, by them must our judgments be determined, and into them is our faith to be resolved. I say, then, that this spiritual darkness hath a power over the minds of men to alienate them from God; that is, this which the Scripture so calleth is not a mere privation, with an impotency in the faculty ensuing thereon, but a depraved habit, which powerfully, and, as unto them in whom it is, unavoidably, influenceth their wills and affections into an opposition unto spiritual things, the effects whereof the world is visibly filled withal at this day. And this I shall manifest, first in general, and then in particular instances. And by the whole it will be made to appear that not only the act of believing and turning unto God is the sole work and effect of grace, -- which the Pelagians did not openly deny, and the semi-Pelagians did openly grant, -- but also that all power and ability for it, properly so called, is from grace also. (1.) Col. i. 13, We are said to be delivered ek tes exousias tou skotous, from "the power of darkness." The word signifies such a power as consists in authority or rule, that bears sway, and commands them who are obnoxious unto it. Hence the sins of men, especially those of a greater guilt than ordinary, are called "works of darkness," Eph. v. 11; not only such as are usually perpetrated in the dark, but such as the darkness also of men's minds doth incline them unto and naturally produce. That, also, which is here called "the power of darkness" is called "the power of Satan," Acts xxvi. 18; for I acknowledge that it is not only or merely the internal darkness or blindness of the minds of men in the state of nature that is here intended, but the whole state of darkness, with what is contributed thereunto by Satan and the world. This the prophet speaks of, Isa. lx. 2, "Behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee." Such a darkness it is, as nothing can dispel but the light of the Lord arising on and in the souls of men. But all is resolved into internal darkness: for Satan hath no power in men, nor authority over them, but what he hath by means of this darkness; for by this alone doth that "prince of the power of the air" work effectually in "the children of disobedience," Eph. ii. 2. Hereby doth he seduce, pervert, and corrupt them; nor hath he any way to fortify and confirm their minds against the gospel but by increasing this blindness or darkness in them, 2 Cor. iv. 4. An evidence of the power and efficacy of this darkness we may find in the devil himself. The apostle Peter tells us that the angels who sinned are "reserved unto judgment" under "chains of darkness," 2 Pet. ii. 4. It is plain that there is an allusion in the words unto the dealing of men with stubborn and heinous malefactors. They do not presently execute them upon their offences, nor when they are first apprehended; they must be kept unto a solemn day of trial and judgment. But yet, to secure them that they make no escape, they are bound with chains which they cannot deliver themselves from. Thus God deals with fallen angels; for although yet they "go to and fro in the earth, and walk up and down in it," as also in the air, in a seeming liberty and at their pleasure, yet are they under such chains as shall securely hold them unto the great day of their judgment and execution. That they may not escape their appointed doom, they are held in "chains of darkness." They are always so absolutely and universally under the power of God as that they are not capable of the vanity of a thought for the subducting themselves from under it. But whence is it that, in all their wisdom, experience, and the long-continued prospect which they have had of their future eternal misery, none of them ever have attempted, nor ever will, a mitigation of their punishment or deliverance from it, by repentance and compliance with the will of God? This is alone from their own darkness, in the chains whereof they are so bound that although they believe their own everlasting ruin, and tremble at the vengeance of God therein, yet they cannot but continue in their course of mischief, disobedience, and rebellion. And although natural men are not under the same obdurateness with them, as having a way of escape and deliverance provided for them and proposed unto them, which they have not; yet this darkness is no less effectual to bind them in a state of sin, without the powerful illumination of the Holy Ghost, than it is in the devils themselves. And this may be farther manifested by the consideration of the instances wherein it puts forth its efficacy in them:-- (1.) It fills the mind with enmity against God, and all the things of God: Col. i. 21, "Ye were enemies in your mind." Rom. viii. 7, "The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." And the carnal mind there intended is that which is in every man who hath not received, who is not made partaker of, the Spirit of God, in a peculiar saving manner, as is at large declared in the whole discourse of the apostle, verses 5, 6, 9-11; so that the pretence is vain, and directly contradictory to the apostle, that it is only one sort of fleshly, sensual, unregenerate men, whom he intends. This confidence, not only in perverting, but openly opposing, the Scripture, is but of a late date, and that which few of the ancient enemies of the grace of God did rise up unto. Now God in himself is infinitely good and desirable. "How great is his goodness and how great is his beauty!" Zech. ix. 17. There is nothing in him but what is suited to draw out, to answer, and fill the affections of the soul. Unto them that know him, he is the only delight, rest, and satisfaction. Whence, then, doth it come to pass that the minds of men should be filled and possessed with enmity against him? Enmity against and hatred of him who is absolute and infinite goodness seem incompatible unto our human affections; but they arise from this darkness, which is the corruption and depravation of our nature, by the ways that shall be declared. It is pretended and pleaded by some in these days, that upon an apprehension of the goodness of the nature of God, as manifested in the works and light of nature, men may, without any other advantages, love him above all, and be accepted with him. But as this would render Christ and the gospel, as objectively proposed, if not useless, yet not indispensably necessary, so I desire to know how this enmity against God, which the minds of all natural men are filled withal, if we may believe the apostle, comes to be removed and taken away, so as that they should love him above all, seeing these things are absolute extremes and utterly irreconcilable? This must be either by the power of the mind itself upon the proposal of God's goodness unto it, or by the effectual operation in it and upon it of the Spirit of God. Any other way is not pretended unto; and the latter is that which we contend for. And as to the former, the apostle supposeth the goodness of God, and the proposal of this goodness of God unto the minds of men, not only as revealed in the works of nature, but also in the law and gospel, and yet affirms that "the carnal mind," which is in every man, "is enmity against him;" and in enmity there is neither disposition nor inclination to love. In such persons there can be no more true love of God than is consistent with enmity to him and against him. All discourses, therefore, about the acceptance they shall find with God who love him above all for his goodness, without any farther communications of Christ or the Holy Spirit unto them, are vain and empty, seeing there never was, nor ever will be, any one dram of such love unto God in the world; for, whatever men may fancy concerning the love of God, where this enmity arising from darkness is unremoved by the Spirit of grace and love, it is but a self-pleasing with those false notions of God which this darkness suggests unto them. With these they either please themselves or are terrified, as they represent things to their corrupt reason and fancies. Men in this state, destitute of divine revelation, did of old seek after God, Acts xvii. 27, as men groping in the dark; and although they did in some measure find him and know him, so far as that from the things that were made they came to be acquainted with "his eternal power and Godhead," Rom. i. 20, yet he was still absolutely unto them "the unknown God," Acts xvii. 23, whom they "ignorantly worshipped," -- that is, they directed some worship to him in the dedication of their altars, but knew him not: Hon agnoountes eusebeite. And that they entertained all of them false notions of God is from hence evident, that none of them either, by virtue of their knowledge of him, did free themselves from gross idolatry, which is the greatest enmity unto him, or did not countenance themselves in many impieties or sins from those notions they had received of God and his goodness, Rom. i. 20, 21. The issue of their disquisitions after the nature of God was, that "they glorified him not, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish hearts were darkened." Upon the common principles of the first Being and the chiefest good, their fancy or imaginations raised such notions of God as pleased and delighted them, and drew out their affections; which was not, indeed, unto God and his goodness, but unto the effect and product of their own imaginations. And hence it was that those that had the most raised apprehensions concerning the nature, being, and goodness of God, with the highest expressions of a constant admiration of him and love unto him, when by any means the true God indeed was declared unto them as he hath revealed himself and as he will be known, these great admirers and lovers of divine goodness were constantly the greatest opposers of him and enemies unto him. And an uncontrollable evidence this is that the love of divine goodness, which some do fancy in persons destitute of supernatural revelation and other aids of grace, was, in the best of them, placed on the products of their own imaginations, and not on God himself. But omitting them, we may consider the effects of this darkness working by enmity in the minds of them who have the word preached unto them. Even in these, until effectually prevailed on by victorious grace, either closely or openly, it exerts itself. And however they may be doctrinally instructed in true notions concerning God and his attributes, yet in the application of them unto themselves, or in the consideration of their own concernment in them, they "always err in their hearts." All the practical notions they have of God tend to alienate their hearts from him, and that either by contempt or by an undue dread and terror; for some apprehend him slow and regardless of what they do, at least one that is not so severely displeased with them as that it should be necessary for them to seek a change of their state and condition. They think that God is such an one as themselves, Ps. l. 21; at least, that he doth approve them, and will accept them, although they should continue in their sins. Now, this is a fruit of the highest enmity against God, though palliated with the pretence of the most raised notions and apprehensions of his goodness; for as it is a heinous crime to imagine an outward shape of the divine nature, and that God is like to men or beasts, -- the height of the sin of the most gross idolaters, Rom. i. 23, Ps. cvi. 20, -- so it is a sin of a higher provocation to conceive him so far like unto bestial men as to approve and accept of them in their sins. Yet this false notion of God, even when his nature and will are objectively revealed in the word, this darkness doth and will maintain in the minds of men, whereby they are made obstinate in their sin to the uttermost. And where this fails, it will on the other hand represent God all fire and fury, inexorable and untractable. See Mic. vi. 6, 7; Isa. xxxiii. 14; Gen. iv. 13. Moreover, this darkness fills the mind with enmity against all the ways of God; for as "the carnal mind is enmity against God," so "it is not subject unto his law, neither indeed can be." So the apostle informs us that men are "alienated from the life of God," or dislike the whole way and work of living unto him, by reason of the ignorance and blindness that is in them, Eph. iv. 18; and it esteems the whole rule and measure of it to be "foolishness," 1 Cor. i. 18, 21. But I must not too long insist on particulars, although in these days, wherein some are so apt to boast in proud swelling words of vanity concerning the power and sufficiency of the mind, even with respect unto religion and spiritual things, it cannot be unseasonable to declare what is the judgment of the Holy Ghost, plainly expressed in the Scriptures, in this matter; and one testimony thereof will be of more weight with the disciples of Jesus Christ than a thousand declamations to the contrary. (2.) This darkness fills the mind with wills or perverse lusts that are directly contrary to the will of God, Eph. ii. 3. There are thelemata dianoion, the wills or "lusts of the mind," -- that is, the habitual inclinations of the mind unto sensual objects; it "minds earthly things," Phil. iii. 19. And hence the mind itself is said to be "fleshly," Col. ii. 18. As unto spiritual things, it is "born of the flesh," and "is flesh." It likes, savours, approves of nothing but what is carnal, sensual, and vain. Nothing is suited unto it but what is either curious, or needless, or superstitious, or sensual and earthly. And therefore are men said to "walk in the vanity of their minds." In the whole course of their lives they are influenced by a predominant principle of vanity. And in this state the thoughts and imaginations of the mind are always set on work to provide sensual objects for this vain and fleshly frame; hence are they said to be "evil continually," Gen. vi. 5. This is the course of a darkened mind. Its vain frame or inclination, the fleshly will of it, stirs up vain thoughts and imaginations; it "minds the things of the flesh," Rom. viii. 5. These thoughts fix on and represent unto the mind objects suited unto the satisfaction of its vanity and lust. With these the mind committeth folly and lewdness, and the fleshly habit thereof is thereby heightened and confirmed, and this multiplies imaginations of its own kind, whereby men "inflame themselves," Isa. lvii. 5, waxing worse and worse. And the particular bent of these imaginations doth answer the predominancy of any especial lust in the heart or mind. It will be objected, "That although these things are so in many, especially in persons that are become profligate in sin, yet, proceeding from their wills and corrupt, sensual affections, they argue not an impotency in the mind to discern and receive spiritual things, but, notwithstanding these enormities of some, the faculty of the mind is still endued with a power of discerning, judging, and believing spiritual things in a due manner." Ans. 1. We do not now discourse concerning the weakness and disability of the mind in and about these things, which is as it were a natural impotency, like blindness in the eyes, which hath been both explained and confirmed before; but it is a moral disability, and that as unto all the powers of nature invincible, as unto the right receiving of spiritual things, which ensues on that corrupt depravation of the mind in the state of nature, that the Scripture calls "darkness" or "blindness," which we intend. 2. Our present testimonies have sufficiently confirmed that all the instances mentioned do proceed from the depravation of the mind. And whereas this is common unto and equal in all unregenerate men, if it produce not in all effects to the same degree of enormity, it is from some beams of light and secret convictions from the Holy Spirit, as we shall afterward declare. 3. Our only aim is, to prove the indispensable necessity of a saving work of illumination on the mind, to enable it to receive spiritual things spiritually; which appears sufficiently from the efficacy of this darkness, whence a man hath no ability to disentangle or save himself; for, also, -- (3.) It fills the mind with prejudices against spiritual things, as proposed unto it in the gospel; and from these prejudices it hath neither light nor power to extricate itself. No small part of its depravation consists in its readiness to embrace them, and pertinacious adherence unto them. Some few of these prejudices may be instanced:-- [1.] The mind, from the darkness that is in it, apprehends that spiritual things, the things of the gospel, as they are proposed, have an utter inconsistency with true contentment and satisfaction. These are the things which all men, by various ways, do seek after. This is the scent and chase which they so eagerly pursue, in different tracks and paths innumerable. Something they would attain or arrive unto which should satisfy their minds and fill their desires; and this commonly, before they have had any great consideration of the proposals of the gospel, they suppose themselves in the way at least unto, by those little tastes of satisfaction unto their lusts which they have obtained in the ways of the world. And these hopeful beginnings they will not forego: Isa. lvii. 10, "Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; yet saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast not grieved." They are ready ofttimes to faint in the pursuit of their lusts, because of the disappointments which they find in them or the evils that attend them; for, which way soever they turn themselves in their course, they cannot but see or shrewdly suspect that the end of them is, or will be, vanity and vexation of spirit. But yet they give not over the pursuit wherein they are engaged; they say not, "There is no hope." And the reason hereof is, because they "find the life of their hand." Something or other comes in daily, either from the work that they do, or the company they keep, or the expectation they have, which preserves their hope alive, and makes them unwilling to forego their present condition. They find it to be none of the best, but do not think there can be a better; and, therefore, their only design is to improve or to thrive in it. If they might obtain more mirth, more wealth, more strength and health, more assurance of their lives, more power, more honour, more suitable objects unto their sensual desires, then they suppose it would be better than it is; but as for any thing which differeth from these in the whole kind, they can entertain no respect for it. In this state and condition, spiritual things, the spiritual, mysterious things of the gospel, are proposed unto them. At first view they judge that these things will not assist them in the pursuit or improvement of their carnal satisfactions. And so far they are in the right; they judge not amiss. The things of the gospel will give neither countenance nor help to the lusts of men. Nay, it is no hard matter for them to come to a discovery that the gospel, being admitted in the power of it, will crucify and mortify those corrupt affections which hitherto they have been given up to the pursuit of; for this it plainly declares, Col. iii. 1-5; Tit. ii. 11, 12. There are but two things wherein men seeking after contentment and satisfaction are concerned:-- first, the objects of their lusts or desires, and then those lusts and desires themselves. The former may be considered in their own nature, as they are indifferent, or as they are capable of being abused to corrupt and sinful ends. In the first way, as the gospel condemns them not, so it adds nothing to them unto those by whom it is received. It gives not men more riches, wealth, or honour, than they had before in the world. It promises no such thing unto them that do receive it, but rather the contrary. The latter consideration of them it condemns and takes away. And for the desires of men themselves, the avowed work of the gospel is, to mortify them. And hereby the naturally corrupt relation which is between these desires and their objects is broken and dissolved. The gospel leaves men, unless upon extraordinary occasions, their names, their reputations, their wealth, their honours, if lawfully obtained and possessed; but the league that is between the mind and these things in all natural men must be broken. They must no more be looked on as the chiefest good, or in the place thereof, nor as the matter of satisfaction, but must give place to spiritual, unseen, eternal things. This secretly alienates the carnal mind, and a prejudice is raised against it, as that which would deprive the soul of all its present satisfactions, and offer nothing in the room of them that is suitable to any of its desires or affections; for, by reason of the darkness that it is under the power of, it can neither discern the excellency of the spiritual and heavenly things which are proposed unto it, nor have any affections whereunto they are proper and suited, so that the soul should go forth after them. Hereby this prejudice becomes invincible in their souls. They neither do, nor can, nor will admit of those things which are utterly inconsistent with all things wherein they hope or look for satisfaction. And men do but please themselves with dreams and fancies, who talk of such a reasonableness and excellency in gospel truths as that the mind of a natural man will discern such a suitableness in them unto itself, as thereon to receive and embrace them; nor do any, for the most part, give a greater evidence of the prevalency of the darkness and enmity that are in carnal minds against the spiritual things of the gospel, as to their life and power, than those who most pride and please themselves in such discourses. [2.] The mind by this darkness is filled with prejudices against the mystery of the gospel in a peculiar manner. The hidden spiritual wisdom of God in it, as natural men cannot receive, so they do despise it, and all the parts of its declaration they look upon as empty and unintelligible notions. And this is that prejudice whereby this darkness prevails in the minds of men, otherwise knowing and learned. It hath done so in all ages, and in none more effectually than in that which is present. But there is a sacred, mysterious, spiritual wisdom in the gospel and the doctrine of it. This is fanatical, chimerical, and foolish to the wisest in the world, whilst they are under the power of this darkness. To demonstrate the truth hereof is the design of the apostle Paul, 1 Cor. i., ii.: for he directly affirms that the doctrine of the gospel is the wisdom of God in a mystery; that this wisdom cannot be discerned nor understood by the wise and learned men of the world, who have not received the Spirit of Christ, and, therefore, that the things of it are weakness and foolishness unto them. And that which is foolish is to be despised, yea, folly is the only object of contempt. And hence we see that some, with the greatest pride, scorn, and contempt imaginable, do despise the purity, simplicity, and whole mystery of the gospel, who yet profess they believe it. But to clear the whole nature of this prejudice, some few things may be distinctly observed:-- There are two sorts of things declared in the gospel:-- 1st. Such as are absolutely its own, that are proper and peculiar unto it, -- such as have no footsteps in the law or in the light of nature, but are of pure revelation, peculiar to the gospel. Of this nature are all things concerning the love and will of God in Christ Jesus. The mystery of his incarnation, of his offices and whole mediation, of the dispensation of the Spirit, and our participation thereof, and our union with Christ thereby, our adoption, justification, and effectual sanctification, thence proceeding, in brief, everything that belongs unto the purchase and application of saving grace, is of this sort. These things are purely and properly evangelical, peculiar to the gospel alone. Hence the apostle Paul, unto whom the dispensation of it was committed, puts that eminency upon them, that, in comparison, he resolved to insist on nothing else in his preaching, 1 Cor. ii. 2; and to that purpose doth he describe his ministry, Eph. iii. 7-11. 2dly. There are such things declared and enjoined in the gospel as have their foundation in the law and light of nature. Such are all the moral duties which are taught therein. And two things may be observed concerning them:-- (1st.) That they are in some measure known unto men aliunde from other principles. The inbred concreated light of nature doth, though obscurely, teach and confirm them. So the apostle, speaking of mankind in general, saith, To gnoston tou Theou phaneron estin en autois, Rom. i. 19; -- "That which may be known of God is manifested in themselves." The essential properties of God, rendering our moral duty to him necessary, are known by the light of nature; and by the same light are men able to make a judgment of their actions whether they be good or evil, Rom. ii. 14, 15. And this is all the light which some boast of, as they will one day find to their disappointment. (2dly.) There is on all men an obligation unto obedience answerable to their light concerning these things. The same law and light which discovereth these things doth also enjoin their observance. Thus is it with all men antecedently unto the preaching of the gospel unto them. In this estate the gospel superadds two things unto the minds of men:-- (1st.) It directs us unto a right performance of these things, from a right principle, by a right rule, and to a right end and purpose; so that they, and we in them, may obtain acceptance with God. Hereby it gives them a new nature, and turns moral duties into evangelical obedience. (2dly.) By a communication of that Spirit which is annexed unto its dispensation, it supplies us with strength for their performance in the manner it prescribes. Hence it follows that this is the method of the gospel:-- first, it proposeth and declareth things which are properly and peculiarly its own. So the apostle sets down the constant entrance of his preaching, 1 Cor. xv. 3. It reveals its own mysteries, to lay them as the foundation of faith and obedience. It inlays them in the mind, and thereby conforms the whole soul unto them. See Rom. vi. 17; Gal. iv. 19; Tit. ii. 11, 12; 1 Cor. iii. 11; 2 Cor. iii. 18. This foundation being laid, -- without which it hath, as it were, nothing to do with the souls of men, nor will proceed unto any other thing with them by whom this its first work is refused, -- it then grafts all duties of moral obedience on this stock of faith in Christ Jesus. This is the method of the gospel, which the apostle Paul observeth in all his epistles: first, he declares the mysteries of faith that are peculiar to the gospel, and then descends unto those moral duties which are regulated thereby. But the prejudice we mentioned inverts the order of these things. Those who are under the power of it, when, on various accounts, they give admittance unto the gospel in general, yet fix their minds, firstly and principally, on the things which have their foundation in the law and light of nature. These they know and have some acquaintance with in themselves, and therefore cry them up, although not in their proper place, nor to their proper end. These they make the foundation, according to the place which they held in the law of nature and covenant of works, whereas the gospel allows them to be only necessary superstructions on the foundation. But resolving to give unto moral duties the pre-eminence in their minds, they consider afterward the peculiar doctrines of the gospel, with one or other of these effects; for, first, Some in a manner wholly despise them, reproaching those by whom they are singularly professed. What is contained in them is of no importance, in their judgment, compared with the more necessary duties of morality, which they pretend to embrace; and, to acquit themselves of the trouble of a search into them, they reject them as unintelligible or unnecessary. Or, secondly, They will, by forced interpretations, enervating the spirit and perverting the mystery of them, square and fit them to their own low and carnal apprehensions. They would reduce the gospel and all the mysteries of it to their own light, as some; to reason, as others; to philosophy, as the rest; -- and let them who comply not with their weak and carnal notions of things expect all the contemptuous reproaches which the proud pretenders unto science and wisdom of old cast upon the apostles and first preachers of the gospel. Hereby advancing morality above the mystery and grace of the gospel, they at once reject the gospel and destroy morality also; for, taking it off from its proper foundation, it falls into the dirt, -- whereof the conversation of the men of this persuasion is no small evidence. From this prejudice it is that the spiritual things of the gospel are by many despised and condemned. So God spake of Ephraim, Hos. viii. 12, "I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing." The things intended were tvrty? [tby? Keri] rby?, -- the "great, manifold, various things of the law." That which the law was then unto that people, such is the gospel now unto us. The "torah" was the entire means of God's communicating his mind and will unto them, as his whole counsel is revealed unto us by the gospel. These things he wrote unto them, or made them in themselves and their revelation plain and perspicuous. But when all was done, they were esteemed by them kmvzr?, as is also the gospel, "a thing foreign" and alien unto the minds of men, which they intend not to concern themselves in. They will heed the things that are cognate unto the principles of their nature, things morally good or evil; but for the hidden wisdom of God in the mystery of the gospel, it is esteemed by them as "a strange thing." And innumerable other prejudices of the same nature doth this darkness fill the minds of men withal, whereby they are powerfully, and, as unto any light or strength of their own, invincibly, kept off from receiving of spiritual things in a spiritual manner. 4. Again; the power and efficacy of this darkness in and upon the souls of unregenerate men will be farther evidenced by the consideration of its especial subject, or the nature and use of that faculty which is affected with it. This is the mind or understanding. Light and knowledge are intellectual virtues or perfections of the mind, and that in every kind whatever, whether in things natural, moral, or spiritual. The darkness whereof we treat is the privation of spiritual light, or the want of it; and therefore are they opposed unto one another: "Ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord," Eph. v. 8. It is, therefore, the mind or understanding which is affected with this darkness, which is vitiated and depraved by it. Now, the mind may be considered two ways:-- (1.) As it is theoretical or contemplative, discerning and judging of things proposed unto it. So it is its office to find out, consider, discern, and apprehend the truth of things. In the case before us, it is the duty of the mind to apprehend, understand, and receive, the truths of the gospel as they are proposed unto it, in the manner of and unto the end of their proposal. This, as we have manifested, by reason of its depravation, it neither doth nor is able to do, John i. 5; 1 Cor. ii. 14. (2.) It may be considered as it is practical, as to the power it hath to direct the whole soul, and determine the will unto actual operation, according to its light. I shall not inquire at present whether the will, as to the specification of its acts, do necessarily follow the determination of the mind or practical understanding. I aim at no more but that it is the directive faculty of the soul as unto all moral and spiritual operations. Hence it follows:-- (1.) That nothing in the soul, nor the will and affections, can will, desire, or cleave unto any good, but what is presented unto them by the mind, and as it is presented. That good, whatever it be, which the mind cannot discover, the will cannot choose nor the affections cleave unto. All their actings about and concerning them are not such as answer their duty. This our Saviour directs us to the consideration of, Matt. vi. 22, 23, "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!" As the eye is naturally the light of the body, or the means thereof, so is the mind unto the soul. And if darkness be in the eye, not only the eye but the whole body is in darkness, because in the eye alone is the light of the whole; so if the mind be under darkness, the whole soul is so also, because it hath no light but by the mind. And hence both is illumination sometimes taken for the whole work of conversion unto God, and the spiritual actings of the mind, by the renovation of the Holy Ghost, are constantly proposed as those which precede any gracious actings in the will, heart, and life; as we shall show afterward. (2.) As the soul can no way, by any other of its faculties, receive, embrace, or adhere unto that good in a saving manner which the mind doth not savingly apprehend; so where the mind is practically deceived, or any way captivated under the power of prejudices, the will and the affections can no way free themselves from entertaining that evil which the mind hath perversely assented unto. Thus, where the mind is reprobate or void of a sound judgment, so as to call good evil, and evil good, the heart, affections, and conversation will be conformable thereunto, Rom. i. 28-32. And in the Scripture the deceit of the mind is commonly laid down as the principle of all sin whatever, 1 Tim. ii. 14; Heb. iii. 12, 13; 2 Cor. xi. 3. And this is a brief delineation of the state of the mind of man whilst unregenerate, with respect unto spiritual things. And from what hath been spoken, we do conclude that the mind in the state of nature is so depraved, vitiated, and corrupted, that it is not able, upon the proposal of spiritual things unto it in the dispensation and preaching of the gospel, to understand, receive, and embrace them in a spiritual and saving manner, so as to have the sanctifying power of them thereby brought into and fixed in the soul, without an internal, especial, immediate, supernatural, effectual, enlightening act of the Holy Ghost; which what it is, and wherein it doth consist, shall be declared. __________________________________________________________________ [89] See Samuel Parker's "Defence and Continuation of the Ecclesiastical Polity." -- Ed. [90] "Dico veterem Nativitatem atque adeo omnes vires naturæ, quæ naturali propagatione transfunduntur in sobolem in scriptura damnari; maledictam cordis nostri imaginationem, rationem, os, manus, pedes peccato et tenebris involuta in nobis omnia." -- Johan. Ferus in Evang. Joh. cap. i. v. 23. "Fide perdita, spe relicta, intelligentia obcæcata, voluntate captiva, homo quo in se reparetur non invenit." -- De Vocat. Gent. lib. vii. cap. 3. [91] "Si quis per naturæ vigorem evangelizanti predicationi nos consentire posse confirmet absque illuminatione Spiritus Sancti; hæretico fallitur spiritu." -- Conc. Arausic. ii. can. 7. [92] In the sense of "placed before," "presented." -- Ed. [93] See treatise, "Communion with God," and his "Vindication" of it in reply to Dr Sherlock, vol ii. -- Ed. [94] "Quomodo nempe lux incassum circumfundit oculos cæcos vel clausos, ita animalis homo non percipit ea quæ sunt Spiritus Dei." -- 1 Cor. ii. 14; Bernard. Ser. i. sup. Cantic. [95] "Si quis per naturæ vigorem bonum aliquod quod ad salutem pertinet vitæ æternæ, cogitare ut expedit, aut eligere, sive salutari, id est, Evangelicæ prædicationi consentire posse confirmat, absque illuminatione et inspiratione Spiritus Sancti, qui dat omnibus suavitatem consentiendo et credendo veritati, hæretico fallitur spiritu." -- Conc. Arausic. ii. can. 7."Ideo dictum est quia nullus hominum illuminatur nisi illo lumine veritatis quod Deus est; ne quisquam putaret ab eo se illuminari, a quo aliquid audit ut discat, non dico si quenquam magnum hominem, sed nec si angelum ei contingat habere doctorem. Adhibetur enim sermo veritatis extrinsecus vocis ministerio corporali; verumtamen neque qui plantat est aliquid, neque qui rigat, sed qui incrementum dat Deus. Audit quippe homo dicentem vel hominem vel angelum, sed ut sentiat et cognoscat verum esse quod dicitur, illo lumine mens ejus intus aspergitur, quod æternum manet, quod etiam in tenebris lucet." -- August. de Peccat. Meritis et Remissione, lib. i. cap. 25. [96] Tois psuchrois, ex editione Parisiensi, 1733. -- Ed. [97] "Firmissime tene et nullatenus dubites, posse quidem hominem, quem nec ignorantia literarum, neque aliqua prohibet imbecillitas vel adversitas, verba sanctæ legis et evangelii sive legere sive ex ore cujusquam prædicatoris audire; sed divinis mandatis obedire neminem posse, nisi quem Deus gratiâ suâ prævenerit, ut quod audit corpore, etiam corde percipiat et æcepta divinitus bonâ voluntate atque virtute, mandata Dei facere et velit et possit." -- August. de Fide ad Petrum, cap. 34. [98] "Magnum aliquid Pelagiani se scire putant quando dicunt, non juberet Deus quod sciat non posse ab homine fieri; quis hoc nesciat? sed ideo jubet aliqua quæ non possumus ut noverimus quid ab illo petere debeamus. Ipsa enim est quæ orando impetrat, quod lex imperat." -- August. de Grat. et Lib. Arbit. cap. 19."Mandando impossibilia non prævaricatores homines fecit, sed humiles; ut omne os obstruatur; et subditus fiat omnis mundus Deo; quia ex operibus legis non justificatibur omnis caro coram illo. Accipientes quippe mandatum, sentientes defectum, clamabimus in coelum, et miserebitur nostri Deus." -- Bernard. Serm. 50, in Cantic. [99] "In nullo gloriandum, quia nihil nostrum est." -- Cypr. lib. 3. ad Quirin."Fide perdita, spe relicta, intelligentia obcæcata, voluntate captiva, homo qua in se reparetur non invenit." -- Prosp. de Vocat. Gent. lib. i. cap. 7."Quicunque tribuit sibi bonum quod facit, etiamsi nihil videtur mali manibus operari, jam cordis innocentiam perdidit, in quo se largitori bonorum prætulit." -- Hieron. in Prov. cap. xvi. __________________________________________________________________ Chapter IV. Life and death, natural and spiritual, compared. Of death in sin -- All unregenerate men spiritually dead -- Spiritual death twofold: legal; metaphorical -- Life natural, what it is, and wherein it consists -- Death natural, with its necessary consequents -- The supernatural life of Adam in innocency, in its principle, acts, and power -- Differences between it and our spiritual life in Christ -- Death spiritual a privation of the life we had in Adam; a negation of the life of Christ -- Privation of a principle of all life to God -- Spiritual impotency therein -- Differences between death natural and spiritual -- The use of precepts, promises, and threatenings -- No man perisheth merely for want of power -- No vital acts in an state of death -- The way of the communication of spiritual life -- Of what nature are the best works of persons unregenerate -- No disposition unto spiritual life under the power of spiritual death. Another description that the Scripture gives of unregenerate men, as to their state and condition, is, that they are spiritually dead; and hence, in like manner, it follows that there is a necessity of an internal, powerful, effectual work of the Holy Ghost on the souls of men, to deliver them out of this state and condition by regeneration. And this principally respects their wills and affections, as the darkness and blindness before described doth their minds and understandings. There is a spiritual life whereby men live unto God; this they being strangers unto and alienated from, are spiritually dead. And this the Scripture declares concerning all unregenerate persons, partly in direct words, and partly in other assertions of the same importance. Of the first sort the testimonies are many and express: Eph. ii. 1, "Ye were dead in trespasses and sins;" Verse 5, "When we were dead in sins;" Col. ii. 13, "And ye being dead in your sins, and the uncircumcision of your flesh;" 2 Cor. v. 14, "If one died for all, then were all dead;" Rom. v. 15, "Through the offence of one many are dead;" Verse 12, "Death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." And the same is asserted in the second way, where the recovery and restoration of men by the grace of Christ is called their "quickening," or the bestowing of a new life upon them: for this supposeth that they were dead, or destitute of that life which in this revivification is communicated unto them; for that alone can be said to be quickened which was dead before. See Eph. ii. 5; John v. 21, vi. 63. This death that unregenerate persons are under is twofold:-- 1. Legal, with reference unto the sentence of the law. The sanction of the law was, that upon sin man should die: "In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt die the death," Gen. ii. 17. Upon this sentence Adam and all his posterity became dead in law, morally dead, or obnoxious unto death penally, and adjudged unto it. This death is intended in some of the places before mentioned; as Rom. v. 12, and it may be also, 2 Cor. v. 14: for as Christ died, so were all dead. He died penally under the sentence of the law, and all were obnoxious unto death, or dead on that account. But this is not the death which I intend, neither are we delivered from it by regeneration, but by justification, Rom. viii. 1. 2. There is in them a spiritual death, called so metaphorically, from the analogy and proportion that it bears unto death natural. Of great importance it is to know the true nature hereof, and how by reason thereof unregenerate men are utterly disabled from doing any thing that is spiritually good, until they are quickened by the almighty power and irresistible efficacy of the Holy Ghost. Wherefore, to declare this aright, we must consider the nature of life and death natural, in allusion whereunto the spiritual estate of unregenerate men is thus described. Life in general, or the life of a living creature, is "Actus vivificantis in vivificatum [100] per unionem utriusque;" -- "The act of a quickening principle on a subject to be quickened, by virtue of their union." And three things are to be considered in it:-- 1. The principle of life itself; and this in man is the rational, living soul, called nsmt chyym? : Gen. ii. 7, "God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul." Having formed the body of man of the dust of the earth, he designed him a principle of life superior unto that of brute creatures, which is but the exurgency and spirit of their temperature and composition, though peculiarly educed by the formative virtue and power of the Holy Ghost, as hath been before declared. He creates for him, therefore, a separate, distinct, animating soul, and infuseth it into the matter prepared for its reception. And as he did thus in the beginning of the creation of the species or kind of the human race, in its first individuals, so he continueth to do the same in the ordinary course of the works of his providence for the continuation of it; for having ordained the preparation of the body by generation, he immediately infuseth into it the "living soul," the "breath of life." 2. There is the "actus primus," or the quickening act of this principle on the principle quickened, in and by virtue of union. Hereby the whole man becomes nphs chyh?, -- a "living soul;" psuchikos anthropos, -- a person quickened by a vital principle, and enabled for all naturally vital actions. 3. There are the acts of this life itself; and they are of two sorts:-- (1.) Such as flow from life as life. (2.) Such as proceed from it as such a life, from the principle of a rational soul. Those of the first sort are natural and necessary, as are all the actings and energies of the senses, and of the locomotive faculty, as also what belongs unto the receiving and improving of nutriment. These are acts of life, whence the psalmist proves idols to be dead things from the want of them; so far are they from having a divine life, as that they have no life at all, Ps. cxv. 4-7. These are acts of life as life, inseparable from it; and their end is, to preserve the union of the whole between the quickening and quickened principles. (3.) There are such acts of life as proceed from the especial nature of this quickening principle. Such are all the elicit [101] and imperate [102] acts of our understandings and wills; all actions that are voluntary, rational, and peculiarly human. These proceed from that special kind of life which is given by the especial quickening principle of a rational soul. Hence it is evident wherein death natural doth consist; and three things may be considered in it:-- 1. The separation of the soul from the body. Hereby the act of infusing the living soul ceaseth unto all its ends; for as a principle of life unto the whole, it operates only by virtue of its union with the subject to be quickened by it. 2. A cessation of all vital actings in the quickened subject; for that union from whence they should proceed is dissolved. 3. As a consequent of these, there is in the body an impotency for and an ineptitude unto all vital operations. Not only do all operations of life actually cease, but the body is no more able to effect them. There remains in it, indeed, "potentia obedientialis," a "passive power" to receive life again, if communicated unto it by an external efficient cause, -- so the body of Lazarus being dead had a receptive power of a living soul, -- but an active power to dispose itself unto life or vital actions it hath not. From these things we may, by a just analogy, collect wherein life and death spiritual do consist. And to that end some things must be previously observed; as, -- 1. That Adam in the state of innocency, besides his natural life, whereby he was a living soul, had likewise a supernatural life with respect unto its end, whereby he lived unto God. This is called the "life of God," Eph. iv. 18, which men now in the state of nature are alienated from; -- the life which God requires, and which hath God for its object and end. And this life was in him supernatural: for although it was concreated in and with the rational soul, as a perfection due unto it, in the state wherein and with respect unto the end for which it was made, yet it did not naturally flow from the principles of the rational soul; nor were the principles, faculties, or abilities of it, inseparable from those of the soul itself, being only accidental perfections of them, inlaid in them by especial grace. This life was necessary unto him with respect unto the state wherein and the end for which he was made. He was made to live unto the living God, and that in a peculiar manner; -- to live unto his glory in this world, by the discharge of the rational and moral obedience required of him; and to live afterward in his glory and the eternal enjoyment of him, as his chiefest good and highest reward. That whereby he was enabled hereunto was that life of God, which we are alienated from in the state of nature. 2. In this life, as in life in general, three things are to be considered:-- (1.) Its principle; (2.) Its operation; (3.) Its virtue; or habit, act, and power. (1.) There was a quickening principle belonging unto it; for every life is an act of a quickening principle. This in Adam was the image of God, or an habitual conformity unto God, his mind and will, wherein the holiness and righteousness of God himself was represented, Gen. i. 26, 27. In this image he was created, or it was concreated with him, as a perfection due to his nature in the condition wherein he was made. This gave him an habitual disposition unto all duties of that obedience that was required of him; it was the rectitude of all the faculties of his soul with respect unto his supernatural end, Eccles. vii. 29. (2.) There belonged unto it continual actions from, or by virtue of, and suitable unto, this principle. All the acts of Adam's life should have been subordinate unto his great moral end. In all that he did he should have lived unto God, according unto the law of that covenant wherein he walked before him. And an acting in all things suitably unto the light in his mind, unto the righteousness and holiness in his will and affections, that uprightness, or integrity, or order, that was in his soul, was his living unto God. (3.) He had herewithal power or ability to continue the principle of life in suitable acts of it, with respect unto the whole obedience required of him; that is, he had a sufficiency of ability for the performance of any duty, or of all, that the covenant required. And in these three [things] did the supernatural life of Adam in innocency consist; and it is that which the life whereunto we are restored by Christ doth answer. It answers unto it, I say, and supplies its absence with respect unto the end of living unto God according unto the new covenant that we are taken into; for neither would the life of Adam be sufficient for us to live unto God according to the terms of the new covenant, nor is the life of grace we now enjoy suited to the covenant wherein Adam stood before God. Wherefore, some differences there are between them, the principal whereof may be reduced into two heads:-- 1. The principle of this life was wholly and entirely in man himself. It was the effect of another cause, of that which was without him, -- namely, the good-will and power of God; but it was left to grow on no other root but what was in man himself. It was wholly implanted in his nature, and therein did its springs lie. Actual excitations, by influence of power from God, it should have had; for no principle of operation can subsist in an independence of God, nor apply itself unto operation without his concurrence. But in the life whereunto we are renewed by Jesus Christ, the fountain and principle of it is not in ourselves, but in him, as one common head unto all that are made partakers of him. He is "our life;" and our life (as to the spring and fountain of it) is hid with him in God, Col. iii. 3, 4; for he quickeneth us by his Spirit, Rom. viii. 11. And our spiritual life, as in us, consists in the vital actings of this Spirit of his in us; for "without him we can do nothing," John xv. 5. By virtue hereof we "walk in newness of life," Rom. vi. 4. We live, therefore, hereby; yet not so much we, as "Christ liveth in us," Gal. ii. 20. 2. There is a difference between these lives with respect unto the object of their vital acts, for the life which we now lead by the faith of the Son of God hath sundry objects of its actings which the other had not; for whereas all the actings of our faith and love, -- that is, all our obedience, -- doth respect the revelation that God makes of himself and his will unto us, there are now new revelations of God in Christ, and consequently new duties of obedience required of us; as will afterward appear. And other such differences there are between them. The life which we had in Adam and that which we are renewed unto in Christ Jesus are so far of the same nature and kind, as our apostle manifests in sundry places, Eph. iv. 23, 24, Col. iii. 10, as that they serve to the same end and purpose. There being, therefore, this twofold spiritual life, or ability of living unto God, that which we had in Adam and that which we have in Christ, we must inquire with reference unto which of these it is that unregenerate men are said to be spiritually dead, or dead in trespasses and sins. Now this, in the first place, hath respect unto the life we had in Adam; for the deprivation of that life was in the sanction of the law, "Thou shalt die the death." This spiritual death is comprised therein, and that in the privation of that spiritual life, or life unto God, which unregenerate men never had, neither de facto nor de jure, in any state or condition. Wherefore, with respect hereunto they are dead only negatively, -- they have it not; but with respect unto the life we had in Adam, they are dead privatively, -- they have lost that power of living unto God which they had. From what hath been discoursed, we may discover the nature of this spiritual death, under the power whereof all unregenerate persons do abide: for there are three things in it: 1. A privation of a principle of spiritual life enabling us to live unto God; 2. A negation of all spiritual, vital acts, -- that is, of all acts and duties of holy obedience, acceptable unto God, and tending to the enjoyment of him; 3. A total defect and want of power for any such acts whatever. All these are in that death which is a privation of life, such as this is. First, There is in it a privation of a principle of spiritual life, namely, of that which we had before the entrance of sin, or a power of living unto God according to the covenant of works; and a negation of that which we have by Christ, or a power of living unto God according to the tenor of the covenant of grace. Those, therefore, who are thus dead have no principle or first power of living unto God, or for the performance of any duty to be accepted with him, in order to the enjoyment of him, according to either covenant. It is with them, as to all the acts and ends of life spiritual, as it is with the body, as to the acts and ends of life natural, when the soul is departed from it. Why else are they said to be dead? It is objected "That there is a wide difference between death natural and spiritual. In death natural, the soul itself is utterly removed and taken from the body; but in death spiritual it continues. A man is still, notwithstanding this spiritual death, endowed with an understanding, will, and affections; and by these are men enabled to perform their duty unto God, and yield the obedience required of them." Ans. 1. In life spiritual the soul is unto the principle of it as the body is unto the soul in life natural; for in life natural the soul is the quickening principle, and the body is the principle quickened. When the soul departs, it leaves the body with all its own natural properties, but utterly deprived of them which it had by virtue of its union with the soul. So in life spiritual, the soul is not, in and by its essential properties, the quickening principle of it, but it is the principle that is quickened. And when the quickening principle of spiritual life departs, it leaves the soul with all its natural properties entire as to their essence, though morally corrupted; but of all the power and abilities which it had by virtue of its union with a quickening principle of spiritual life, it is deprived. And to deny such a quickening principle of spiritual life, superadded unto us by the grace of Christ, distinct and separate from the natural faculties of the soul, is, upon the matter, to renounce the whole gospel It is all one as to deny that Adam was created in the image of God which he lost, and that we are renewed unto the image of God by Jesus Christ. Hence, 2. Whatever the soul acts in spiritual things by its understanding, will, and affections, as deprived of or not quickened by this principle of spiritual life, it doth it naturally, not spiritually, as shall be instantly made to appear. There is, therefore, in the first place, a disability or impotency unto all spiritual things to be performed in a spiritual manner, in all persons not born again by the Spirit; because they are spiritually dead. Whatever they can do, or however men may call what they do, unless they are endowed with a quickening principle of grace, they can perform no act spiritually vital, no act of life whereby we live to God, or that is absolutely accepted with him. Hence it is said, "The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be," Rom. viii. 7. "So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God," verse 8. Men may cavil whilst they please about this carnal mind, and contend that it is only the sensitive part of the soul, or the affections, as corrupted by prejudices and [by] depraved habits of vice, two things are plain in the text; first, That this carnal mind is in all mankind, whoever they be, who are not partakers of the Spirit of God and his quickening power; secondly, That where it is, there is a disability of doing any thing that should please God: which is the sum of what we contend for, and which men may with as little a disparagement of their modesty deny as reject the authority of the apostle. So our Saviour, as to one instance, tells us that "no man can come to him except the Father draw him," John vi. 44. And so is it figuratively expressed where, all men being by nature compared unto evil trees, it is affirmed of them that they cannot bring forth good fruit unless their nature be changed, Matt. vii. 18, xii. 33. And this disability as to good is also compared by the prophet unto such effects as lie under a natural impossibility of accomplishment, Jer. xiii. 23. We contend not about expressions. This is that which the Scripture abundantly instructeth us in: There is no power in men by nature whereby they are of themselves, -- upon the mere proposal of their duty in spiritual obedience, and exhortations from the word of God unto the performance of it, accompanied with all the motives which are meet and suited to prevail with them thereunto, -- [able] to perceive, know, will, or do any thing in such a way or manner as that it should be accepted with God, with respect unto our spiritual life unto him, according to his will, and future enjoyment of him, without the efficacious infusion into them, or creation in them, of a new gracious principle or habit enabling them thereunto; and that this is accordingly wrought in all that believe by the Holy Ghost, we shall afterward declare. But it will be objected, and hath against this doctrine been ever so since the days of Pelagius, "That a supposition hereof renders all exhortations, commands, promises, and threatenings, -- which comprise the whole way of the external communication of the will of God unto us, -- vain and useless; for to what purpose is it to exhort blind men to see or dead men to live, or to promise rewards unto them upon their so doing? Should men thus deal with stones, would it not be vain and ludicrous, and that because of their impotency to comply with any such proposals of our mind unto them; and the same is here supposed in men as to any ability in spiritual things." Ans. 1. There is nothing, in the highest wisdom, required in the application of any means to the producing of an effect, but that in their own nature they are suited thereunto, and that the subject to be wrought upon by them is capable of being affected according as their nature requires. [103] And thus exhortations, with promises and threatenings, are in their kind, as moral instruments, suited and proper to produce the effects of faith and obedience in the minds of men. And the faculties of their souls, their understandings, wills, and affections, axe meet to be wrought upon by them unto that end; for by men's rational abilities they are able to discern their nature and judge of their tendency. And because these faculties are the principle and subject of all actual obedience, it is granted that there is in man a natural, remote, passive power to yield obedience unto God, which yet can never actually put forth itself without the effectual working of the grace of God, not only enabling but working in them to will and to do. 2. Exhortations, promises, and threatenings respect not primarily our present ability, but our duty. Their end is, to declare unto us, not what we can do, but what we ought to do; and this is done fully in them. On the other hand, make a general rule, that what God commands or exhorts us unto, with promises made unto our obedience, and threatenings annexed unto a supposition of disobedience, we have power in and of ourselves to do, or we are of ourselves able to do, and you quite evacuate the grace of God, or at least make it only useful for the more easy discharge of our duty, not necessary unto the very being of duty itself; which is the Pelagianism anathematized by so many councils of old. But in the church it hath hitherto been believed that the command directs our duty, but the promise gives strength for the performance of it. 3. God is pleased to make these exhortations and promises to be "vehicula gratiæ," -- the means of communicating spiritual life and strength unto men; and he hath appointed them unto this end, because, considering the moral and intellectual faculties of the minds of men, they are suited thereunto. Hence, these effects are ascribed unto the word, which really are wrought by the grace communicated thereby, James i. 18; 1 Pet. i. 23. And this, in their dispensation under the covenant of grace, is their proper end. God may, therefore, wisely make use of them, and command them to be used towards men, notwithstanding all their own disability savingly to comply with them, seeing he can, will, and doth himself make them effectual unto the end aimed at. But it will be farther objected, "That if men are thus utterly devoid of a principle of spiritual life, of all power to live unto God, -- that is, to repent, believe, and yield obedience, -- is it righteous that they should perish eternally merely for their disability, or their not doing that which they are not able to do? This would be to require brick and to give no straw, yea, to require much where nothing is given. But the Scripture everywhere chargeth the destruction of men upon their wilful sin, not their weakness or disability." Ans. 1. Men's disability to live to God is their sin. Whatever, therefore, ensues thereon may be justly charged on them. It is that which came on us by the sin of our nature in our first parents, all whose consequents are our sin and our misery, Rom. v. 12. Had it befallen us without a guilt truly our own, according to the law of our creation and covenant of our obedience, the case would have been otherwise; but on this supposition (sufficiently confirmed elsewhere), those who perish do but feed on the fruit of their own ways. 2. In the transactions between God and the souls of men, with respect unto their obedience and salvation, there is none of them but hath a power in sundry things, as to some degrees and measures of them, to comply with his mind and will, which they voluntarily neglect; and this of itself is sufficient to bear the charge of their eternal ruin. But, -- 3. No man is so unable to live unto God, to do any thing for him, but that withal he is able to do any thing against him. There is in all men by nature a depraved, vicious habit of mind, wherein they are alienated from the life of God; and there is no command given unto men for evangelical faith or obedience, but they can and do put forth a free positive act of their wills in the rejection of it, either directly or interpretatively, in preferring somewhat else before it. As "they cannot come to Christ except the Father draw them," so "they will not come that they may have life;" wherefore their destruction is just and of themselves. This is the description which the Scripture giveth us concerning the power, ability, or disability, of men in the state of nature, as unto the performance of spiritual things. By some it is traduced as fanatical and senseless; which the Lord Christ must answer for, not we, for we do nothing but plainly represent what he hath expressed in his word; and if it be "foolishness" unto any, the day will determine where the blame must lie. Secondly, There is in this death an actual cessation of all vital acts. From this defect of power, or the want of a principle of spiritual life, it is that men in the state of nature can perform no vital act of spiritual obedience, -- nothing that is spiritually good, or saving, or acceptable with God, according to the tenor of the new covenant; which we shall, in the second place, a little explain. The whole course of our obedience to God in Christ is the "life of God," Eph. iv. 18, -- that life which is from him in a peculiar manner, whereof he is the especial author, and whereby we live unto him, -- which is our end. And the gospel, which is the rule of our obedience, is called "The words of this life," Acts v. 20, -- that which guides and directs us how to live to God. Hence all the duties of this life are vital acts, spiritually vital acts, acts of that life whereby we live to God. Where, therefore, this life is not, all the works of men are dead works. Where persons are dead in sin, their works are "dead works." They are so all of them, either in their own nature, or with respect unto them by whom they are performed, Heb. ix. 14. They are dead works because they proceed not from a principle of life, are unprofitable as dead things, Eph. v. 11, and end in death eternal, James i. 15. We may, then, consider how this spiritual life, which enableth us unto these vital acts, is derived and communicated unto us:-- 1. The original spring and fountain of this life is with God: Ps. xxxvi. 9, "With thee is the fountain of life." The sole spring of our spiritual life is in an especial way and manner in God. And hence our life is said to be "hid with Christ in God," Col. iii. 3; that is, as to its internal producing and preserving cause. But it is thus also with respect unto all life whatever. God is the "living God." All other things are in themselves but dead things; their life, whatever it be, is in him efficiently and eminently, and in them it is purely derivative. Wherefore, -- 2. Our spiritual life, as unto the especial nature of it, is specificated and discerned from a life of any other kind, in that the fulness of it is communicated unto the Lord Christ as mediator, Col. i. 19; and from his fullness we do receive it, John i. 16. There is a principle of spiritual life communicated unto us from his fullness thereof, whence he quickeneth whom he pleaseth. Hence he is said to be "our life," Col. iii. 4. And in our life, it is not so much we who live, as "Christ that liveth in us," Gal. ii. 20; because we act nothing but as we are acted by virtue and power from him, 1 Cor. xv. 10. 3. The fountain of this life being in God, and the fullness of it being laid up in Christ for us, he communicates the power and principle of it unto us by the Holy Ghost, Rom. viii. 11. That he is the immediate efficient cause hereof, we shall afterward fully evince and declare. But yet he doth it so as to derive it unto us from Jesus Christ, Eph. iv. 15, 16; for he is "the life," and "without him," or power communicated from him, "we can do nothing," John xv. 5. 4. This spiritual life is communicated unto us by the Holy Ghost, according unto and in order for the ends of the new covenant: for this is the promise of it, That God will first write his law in our hearts, and then we shall walk in his statutes; that is, the principle of life must precede all vital acts. From this principle of life, thus derived and conveyed unto us, are all those vital acts whereby we live to God. Where this is not, -- as it is not in any that are "dead in sins," for from the want hereof are they denominated "dead," -- no act of obedience unto God can so be performed as that it should be an act of the "life of God;" and this is the way whereby the Scripture doth express it. The same thing is intended when we say in other words, that without an infused habit of internal inherent grace, received from Christ by an efficacious work of the Spirit, no man can believe or obey God, or perform any duty in a saving manner, so as it should be accepted with him. And if we abide not in this principle, we let in the whole poisonous flood of Pelagianism into the church. To say that we have a sufficiency in ourselves so much as to think a good thought, or to do any thing as we ought, any power, any ability that is our own, or in us by nature, however externally excited and guided by motives, directions, reasons, encouragements, of what sort soever, to believe or obey the gospel savingly in any one instance, is to overthrow the gospel and the faith of the catholic church in all ages. But it may be objected, "That whereas many unregenerate persons may and do perform many duties of religious obedience, if there be nothing of spiritual life in them then are they all sins, and so differ not from the worst things they do in this world, which are but sins; and if so, unto what end should they take pains about them? Were it not as good for them to indulge unto their lusts and pleasures, seeing all comes to one end? It is all sin, and nothing else. Why do the dispensers of the gospel press any duties on such as they know to be in that estate? What advantage shall they have by a compliance with them? Were it not better to leave them to themselves, and wait for their conversion, than to spend time and labour about them to no purpose?" Ans. 1. It must be granted that all the duties of such persons are in some sense sins. It was the saying of Austin, [104] that the virtues of unbelievers are splendida peccata. This some are now displeased with; but it is easier to censure him than to confute him. Two things attend in every duty that is properly so:-- (1.) That it is accepted with God; and, (2.) That it is sanctified in them that do it. But neither of these is in the duties of unregenerate men; for they have not faith, and "without faith it is impossible to please God," Heb. xi. 6. And the apostle also assures us that unto the defiled and unbelieving, -- that is, all unsanctified persons, not purified by the Spirit of grace, -- all things are unclean, because their consciences and minds are defiled, Tit. i. 15. So their praying is said to be an "abomination," and their plowing "sin." It doth not, therefore, appear what is otherwise in them or to them. But as there are good duties which have sin adhering to them, Isa. lxiv. 6, so there are sins which have good in them; for bonum oritur ex integris, malum ex quocunque defectu. Such are the duties of men unregenerate. Formally, and unto them, they are sin; materially, and in themselves, they are good. This gives them a difference from, and a preference above, such sins as are every way sinful. As they are duties, they are good; as they are the duties of such persons, they are evil, because necessarily defective in what should preserve them from being so. And on this ground they ought to attend unto them, and may be pressed thereunto. 2. That which is good materially and in itself, though vitiated from the relation which it hath to the person by whom it is performed, is approved, and hath its acceptation in its proper place; for duties may be performed two ways:-- (1.) In hypocrisy and pretence. So they are utterly abhorred of God, in matter and manner. That is such a poisonous ingredient as vitiates the whole, Isa. i. 11-15; Hos. i. 4. (2.) In integrity, according unto present light and conviction; which, for the substance of them, are approved. And no man is to be exhorted to do any thing in hypocrisy: see Matt. x. 26. And on this account also, that the duties themselves are acceptable, men may be pressed to them. But, -- 3. It must be granted that the same duty, for the substance of it in general, and performed according to the same rule as to the outward manner of it, may be accepted in or from one and rejected in or from another. So was it with the sacrifices of Cain and Abel. And not only so, but the same rejected duty may have degrees of evil for which it is rejected, and be more sinful in and unto one than unto another. But we must observe, that the difference doth not relate merely unto the different states of the persons by whom such are performed, -- as, because one is in the state of grace, whose duties are accepted, and another in the state of nature, whose duties are rejected, as their persons are: for although the acceptation of our persons be a necessary condition for the acceptation of our duties, as God first had respect unto Abel, and then unto his offering, yet there is always a real specifical difference between the duties themselves whereof one is accepted and the other rejected, although, it may be, unto us it be every way imperceptible; as in the offerings of Cain and Abel, that of Abel was offered in faith, the defect whereof in the other caused it to be refused. Suppose duties, therefore, to be every way the same, as to the principles, rule, and ends, or whatever is necessary to render them good in their kind, and they would be all equally accepted with God, by whomsoever they are performed, for he is "no respecter of persons." But this cannot be but where those that perform them are partakers of the same grace. It is, therefore, the wills of men only that vitiate their duties, which are required of them as good; and if so, they may justly be required of them. The defect is not immediately in their state, but in their wills and their perversity. 4. The will of God is the rule of all men's obedience. This they are all bound to attend unto; and if what they do, through their own defect, prove eventually sin unto them, yet the commandment is just and holy, and the observance of it justly prescribed unto them. The law is the moral cause of the performance of the duties it requires, but not of the sinful manner of their performance; and God hath not lost his right of commanding men, because they by their sin have lost their power to fulfil his command. And if the equity of the command doth arise from the proportioning of strength that men have to answer it, he that contracts the highest moral disability that depraved habits of mind can introduce or a course of sinning produce in him, is freed from owing obedience unto any of God's commands, seeing all confess that such a habit of sin may be contracted as will deprive them in whom it is of all power of obedience! Wherefore, -- 5. Preachers of the gospel and others have sufficient warrant to press upon all men the duties of faith, repentance, and obedience, although they know that in themselves they have not a sufficiency of ability for their due performance; for, -- (1.) It is the will and command of God that so they should do, and that is the rule of all our duties. They are not to consider what man can do or will do, but what God requires. To make a judgment of men's ability, and to accommodate the commands of God unto them accordingly, is not committed unto any of the sons of men. (2.) They have a double end in pressing on men the observance of duties, with a supposition of the state of impotency described:-- [1.] To prevent them from such courses of sin as would harden them, and so render their conversion more difficult, if not desperate. [2.] To exercise a means appointed of God for their conversion, or the communication of saving grace unto them. Such are God's commands, and such are the duties required in them. In and by them God doth use to communicate of his grace unto the souls of men; not with respect unto them as their duties, but as they are ways appointed and sanctified by him unto such ends. And hence it follows that even such duties as are vitiated in their performance, yet are of advantage unto them by whom they are performed; for, -- 1st. By attendance unto them they are preserved from many sins. 2d. In an especial manner from the great sin of despising God, which ends commonly in that which is unpardonable. 3d. They are hereby made useful unto others, and many ends of God's glory in the world. 4th. They are kept in God's way, wherein they may gradually be brought over unto a real conversion unto him. Thirdly, In this state of spiritual death there is not, in them who are under the power of it, any disposition active and inclining unto life spiritual. There is not so in a dead carcase unto life natural. It is a subject meet for an external power to introduce a living principle into. So the dead body of Lazarus was quickened and animated again by the introduction of his soul; but in itself it had not the least active disposition nor inclination thereunto. And no otherwise is it with a soul dead in trespasses and sins. There is in it potentia obedientialis, a power rendering it meet to receive the communications of grace and spiritual life; but a disposition thereunto of its own it hath not. There is in it a remote power, in the nature of its faculties, meet to be wrought upon by the Spirit and grace of God; but an immediate power, disposing and enabling it unto spiritual acts, it hath not. And the reason is, because natural corruption cleaves unto it as an invincible, unmovable habit, constantly inducing unto evil, wherewith the least disposition unto spiritual good is not consistent. There is in the soul, in the Scripture language (which some call "canting"), "the body of the sins of the flesh," Col. ii. 11; which unless it be taken away by spiritual circumcision, through the virtue of the death of Christ, it will lie dead into eternity. There is, therefore, in us that which may be quickened and saved; and this is all we have to boast of by nature. Though man by sin be made like the beasts that perish, being brutish and foolish in his mind and affections, yet he is not so absolutely; he retains that living soul, those intellectual faculties, which were the subject of original righteousness, and are meet to receive again the renovation of the image of God by Jesus Christ. But this also seems obnoxious to an objection from the instances that are given in the Scripture, and whereof we have experience, concerning sundry good duties performed by men unregenerate, and that in a tendency unto living unto God, which argues a disposition to spiritual good. So Balaam desired to "die the death of the righteous;" and Herod "heard John the Baptist gladly, doing many things willingly;" and great endeavours after conversion unto God we find in many who never attain thereunto. So that to say there is no disposition unto spiritual life in any unregenerate person is to make them all equal, which is contrary to experience. Ans. 1. There is no doubt but that unregenerate men may perform many external duties which are good in themselves, and lie in the order of the outward disposal of the means of conversion; nor is it questioned but they may have real designs, desires, and endeavours after that which is presented unto them as their chiefest good; -- but so far as these desires or actings are merely natural, there is no disposition in them unto spiritual life, or that which is spiritually good. So far as they are supernatural, they are not of themselves; for, -- 2. Although there are no preparatory inclinations in men, yet there are preparatory works upon them. Those who have not the word, yet may have convictions of good and evil, from the authority of God in their consciences, Rom. ii. 14, 15. And the law, in the dispensation of it, may work men unto many duties of obedience, much more may the gospel so do; but whatever effects are hereby produced, they are wrought by the power of God, exerted in the dispensation of the word. They are not educed out of the natural faculties of the minds of men, but are effects of the power of God in them and upon them, for we know that "in the flesh there dwelleth no good thing;" and all unregenerate men are no more, for "that which is born of the flesh is flesh." 3. The actings thus effected and produced in men unregenerate are neither fruits of, nor dispositions unto spiritual life. Men that are spiritually dead may have designs and desires to free themselves from dying eternally, but such a desire to be saved is no saving disposition unto life. __________________________________________________________________ [100] Vivificandum? according to the translation. -- Ed. [101] Elicit, brought into actual existence. -- Ed. [102] Imperate, done by the direction of the mind. -- Ed. [103] "Magnum aliquid Pelagiani se scire putant quando dicunt, non juberet Deus quod scit non posse ab homine fieri, quis hoc nesciat? sed ideo jubet aliqua quæ non possumus ut noverimus quid ab illo petere debeamus. Ipsa enim est fides quæ orando impetrat, quod lex imperat." -- August. de Grat. et Lib. Arbit. cap. xvi."O homo cognosce in præceptione quid debeas habere; in corruptione cognosce tuo te vitio non habere; in oratione cognosce unde accipias quod vis habere." -- Idem, de Corrupt. et Grat. cap. iii."Mandando impossibilia, non prevaricatores homines fecit, sed humiles; ut omne os obstruatur; et subditus fiat omnis mundus Deo. Accipientes nempe mandatum, sentientes defectum, clamabimus in coelum." -- Bernard. Serm. 50 in Cant."Quamvis dicamus Dei donum esse obedientiam, tamen homines exhortamur ad eam: sed illis qui veritatis exhortationem obedienter audiunt, ipsum donum Dei datum est, hoc est, obedienter audire; illis autem qui non sic audiunt, non est datum." August. de Dono Perseverant. cap. xiv. [104] "Manifestissimè patet in impiorum animis nullam habitare virtutem; sed omnia opera eorum immunda esse atque polluta, habentium sapientiam non spiritualem sed animalem, non coelestem sed terrenam." -- Prosper. ad Collat. cap. xiii. "Omne etenim probitatis opus nisi semine veræ Exoritur fidei, peccatum est, inque reatum Vertitur, et sterilis cumulat sibi gloria poenam." Prosper. de Ingratis. cap. xvi. 407-409."Multa laudabilia atque miranda possunt in homine reperiri, quæ sine charitatis medullis habent quidem pietatis similitudinem, sed non habent veritatem." -- Idem, ad Rufin. de Lib. Arbit. __________________________________________________________________ Chapter V. The nature, causes, and means of regeneration. Description of the state of nature necessary unto a right understanding of the work of the Spirit in regeneration -- No possibility of salvation unto persons living and dying in a state of sin -- Deliverance from it by regeneration only -- The Holy Ghost the peculiar author of this work -- Differences about the manner and nature of it -- Way of the ancients in explaining the doctrine of grace -- The present method proposed -- Conversion not wrought by moral suasion only -- The nature and efficacy of moral suasion, wherein they consist -- Illumination preparatory unto conversion -- The nature of grace morally effective only, opened; not sufficient for conversion -- The first argument, disproving the working of grace in conversion to be by moral suasion only -- The second -- The third -- The fourth -- Wherein the work of the Spirit in regeneration positively doth consist -- The use and end of outward means -- Real internal efficiency of the Spirit in this work -- Grace victorious and irresistible -- The nature of it explained; proved -- The manner of God's working by grace on our wills farther explained -- Testimonies concerning the actual collation of faith by the power of God -- Victorious efficacy of internal grace proved by sundry testimonies of Scripture -- From the nature of the work wrought by it, in vivification and regeneration -- Regeneration considered with respect unto the distinct faculties of the soul; the mind, the will, the affections. Unto the description we are to give of the work of regeneration, the precedent account of the subject of it, or the state and condition of them that are to be regenerated, was necessarily to be premised; for upon the knowledge thereof doth a due apprehension of the nature of that work depend. And the occasion of all the mistakes and errors that have been about it, either of old or of late, hath been a misunderstanding of the true state of men in their lapsed condition, or of nature as depraved. Yea, and those by whom this whole work is derided do now countenance themselves therein by their ignorance of that state, which they will not learn either from the Scripture or experience; for, "natura sic apparet vitiata ut hoc majoris vitii sit non videre," as Austin speaks. It is an evidence of the corruption of nature, that it disenables the minds of men to discern their own corruption. We have previously discharged this work so far as it is necessary unto our present purpose. Many other things might be added in the explication of it, were that our direct design. Particularly, having confined myself to treat only concerning the depravation of the mind and will, I have not insisted on that of the affections, which yet is effectual to retain unregenerate men under the power of sin; though it be far enough from truth that the whole corruption of nature consists therein, as some weakly and atheologically have imagined. Much less have I treated concerning that increase and heightening of the depravation of nature which is contracted by a custom of sinning, as unto all the perverse ends of it. Yet this also the Scripture much insists upon, as that which naturally and necessarily ensues in all in whom it is not prevented by the effectual transforming grace of the Spirit of God; and it is that which seals up the impossibility of their turning themselves to God, Jer. xiii. 23; Rom. iii. 10-19. But that the whole difficulty of conversion should arise from men's contracting a habit or custom of sinning is false, and openly contradictory to the Scripture. These things are personal evils, and befall individuals, through their own default, in various degrees. And we see that amongst men, under the same use of means, some are converted unto God who have been deeply immersed in an habitual course of open sins, whilst others, kept from them by the influence of their education upon their inclinations and affections, remain unconverted. So was it of old between the publicans and harlots on the one hand, and the Pharisees on the other. But my design was only to mention that which is common unto all, or wherein all men universally are equally concerned, who are partakers of the same human nature in its lapsed condition. And what we have herein declared from the Scriptures will guide us in our inquiry after the work of the Holy Spirit of grace in our deliverance from it. It is evident, and needs no farther confirmation, that persons living and dying in this estate cannot be saved. This hitherto hath been allowed by all that are called Christians; nor are we to be moved that some who call themselves so do begin to laugh at the disease, and despise the remedy of our nature. Among those who lay any serious and real claim unto Christianity, there is nothing more certain nor more acknowledged than that there is no deliverance from a state of misery for those who are not delivered from a state of sin. And he who denies the necessary perishing of all that live and die in the state of corrupted nature, denies all the use of the incarnation and mediation of the Son of God: for if we may be saved without the renovation of our natures, there was no need nor use of the new creation of all things by Jesus Christ, which principally consists therein; and if men may be saved under all the evils that came upon us by the fall, then did Christ die in vain. Besides, it is frequently expressed that men in that state are "enemies to God," "alienated from him," "children of wrath," "under the curse;" and if such may be saved, so may devils also. In brief, it is not consistent with the nature of God, his holiness, righteousness, or truth, with the law or gospel, nor possible in the nature of the thing itself, that such persons should enter into or be made possessors of glory and rest with God. A deliverance, therefore, out of and from this condition is indispensably necessary to make us meet for the inheritance of the saints in light. This deliverance must be and is by regeneration. The determination of our Saviour is positive, both in this and the necessity of it, before asserted: John iii. 3, "Except a man be born again," or from above, "he cannot see the kingdom of God." Whatever sense the "kingdom of God" is taken in, either for that of grace here or of glory hereafter, it is all the same as unto our present purpose. There is no interest in it to be obtained, no participation of the benefits of it, unless a man be born again, unless he be regenerate. And this determination of our Saviour, as it is absolute and decretory, so it is applicable unto and equally compriseth every individual of mankind. And the work intended by their regeneration, or in being born again, which is the spiritual conversion and quickening of the souls of men, is everywhere ascribed unto them that shall be saved. And although men may have, through their ignorance and prejudices, false apprehensions about regeneration and the nature of it, or wherein it doth consist, yet, so far as I know, all Christians are agreed that it is the way and means of our deliverance from the state of sin or corrupted nature, or rather our deliverance itself; for this both express testimonies of Scripture and the nature of the thing itself put beyond contradiction, Tit. iii. 3-5. And those by whom it is exposed unto scorn, who esteem it a ridiculous thing for any one to inquire whether he be regenerate or no, will one day understand the necessity of it, although, it may be, not before it is too late to obtain any advantage thereby. The Holy Ghost is the immediate author and cause of this work of regeneration. And herein again, as I suppose, we have in general the consent of all. Nothing is more in words acknowledged than that all the elect of God are sanctified by the Holy Ghost. And this regeneration is the head, fountain, or beginning of our sanctification, virtually comprising the whole in itself, as will afterward appear. However, that it is a part thereof is not to be denied. Besides, as I suppose, it is equally confessed to be an effect or work of grace, the actual dispensation whereof is solely in the hand of the Holy Spirit. This, I say, is in words acknowledged by all, although I know not how some can reconcile this profession unto other notions and sentiments which they declare concerning it; for setting aside what men do herein themselves, and others do towards them in the ministry of the word, I cannot see what remains, as they express their loose imaginations, to be ascribed unto the Spirit of God. But at present we shall make use of this general concession, that regeneration is the work of the Holy Ghost, or an effect of his grace. Not that we have any need so to do, but that we may avoid contesting about those things wherein men may shroud their false opinions under general, ambiguous expressions; which was the constant practice of Pelagius and those who followed him of old. But the Scripture is express in testimonies to our purpose. What our Saviour calls being "born again," John iii. 3, he calls being "born of the Spirit," verses 5, 6, because he is the sole, principal, efficient cause of this new birth; for "it is the Spirit that quickeneth," John vi. 63; Rom. viii. 11. And God saveth us "according to his mercy, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost," Tit. iii. 5. Whereas, therefore, we are said to be "born of God," or to be "begotten again of his own will," John i. 13, James i. 18, 1 John iii. 9, it is with respect unto the especial and peculiar operation of the Holy Spirit. These things are thus far confessed, even by the Pelagians themselves, both those of old and those at present, at least in general; nor hath any as yet been so hardy as to deny regeneration to be the work of the Holy Spirit in us, unless we must except those deluded souls who deny both him and his work. Our sole inquiry, therefore, must be after the manner and nature of this work; for the nature of it depends on the manner of the working of the Spirit of God herein. This, I acknowledge, was variously contended about of old; and the truth concerning it hath scarce escaped an open opposition in any age of the church. And at present this is the great ball of contention between the Jesuits and the Jansenists; the latter keeping close to the doctrine of the principal ancient writers of the church; the former, under new notions, expressions, and distinctions, endeavouring the re-enforcement of Pelagianism, whereunto some of the elder schoolmen led the way, of whom our Bradwardine so long ago complained. But never was it with so much impudence and ignorance traduced and reviled as it is by some among ourselves; for a sort of men we have who, by stories of wandering Jews, rhetorical declamations, pert cavillings, and proud revilings of those who dissent from them, think to scorn and banish truth out of the world, though they never yet durst attempt to deal openly and plainly with any one argument that is pleaded in its defence and confirmation. The ancient writers of the church, who looked into these things with most diligence, and laboured in them with most success, as Austin, Hilary, Prosper, and Fulgentius, do represent the whole work of the Spirit of God towards the souls of men under certain heads or distinctions of grace; and herein were they followed by many of the more sober schoolmen, and others of late without number. Frequent mention we find in them of grace, as "preparing, preventing, working, co-working, and confirming." Under these heads do they handle the whole work of our regeneration or conversion unto God. And although there may be some alteration in method and ways of expression, -- which may be varied as they are found to be of advantage unto them that are to be instructed, -- yet, for the substance of the doctrine, they taught the same which hath been preached amongst us since the Reformation, which some have ignorantly traduced as novel. And the whole of it is nobly and elegantly exemplified by Austin in his Confessions; wherein he gives us the experience of the truth he had taught in his own soul. And I might follow their footsteps herein, and perhaps should for some reasons have chosen so to have done, but that there have been so many differences raised about the explication and application of these terms and distinctions, and the declaration of the nature of the acts and effects of the spirit of grace intended in them, as that to carry the truth through the intricate perplexities which under these notions have been cast upon it, would be a longer work than I shall here engage into, and too much divert me from my principal intention. I shall, therefore, in general, refer the whole work of the Spirit of God with respect unto the regeneration of sinners unto two heads:-- First, That which is preparatory for it; and, secondly, That which is effective of it. That which is preparatory for it is the conviction of sin; this is the work of the Holy Spirit, John xvi. 8. And this also may be distinctly referred unto three heads:-- 1. A discovery of the true nature of sin by the ministry of the law, Rom. vii. 7. 2. An application of that discovery made in the mind or understanding unto the conscience of the sinner. 3. The excitation of affections suitable unto that discovery and application, Acts ii. 37. But these things, so far as they belong unto our present design, have been before insisted on. Our principal inquiry at present is after the work itself, or the nature and manner of the working of the Spirit of God in and on the souls of men in their regeneration; and this must be both negatively and positively declared:-- First, The work of the Spirit of God in the regeneration of sinners, or the quickening of them who are dead in trespasses and sins, or in their first saving conversion to God, doth not consist in a moral suasion only. By suasion we intend such a persuasion as may or may not be effectual; so absolutely we call that only persuasion whereby a man is actually persuaded. Concerning this we must consider, -- 1. What it is that is intended by that expression, and wherein its efficacy doth consist; and, 2. Prove that the whole work of the Spirit of God in the conversion of sinners doth not consist therein. And I shall handle this matter under this notion, as that which is known unto those who are conversant in these things from the writings of the ancient and modern divines; for it is to no purpose to endeavour the reducing of the extravagant, confused discourses of some present writers unto a certain and determinate stating of the things in difference among us. That which they seem to aim at and conclude may be reduced unto these heads:-- (1.) That God administers grace unto all in the declaration of the doctrine of the law and gospel. (2.) That the reception of this doctrine, the belief and practice of it, is enforced by promises and threatenings. (3.) That the things revealed, taught, and commanded, are not only good in themselves, but so suited unto the reason and interest of mankind as that the mind cannot but be disposed and inclined to receive and obey them, unless overpowered by prejudices and a course of sin. (4.) That the consideration of the promises and threatenings of the gospel is sufficient to remove these prejudices and reform that course. (5.) That upon a compliance with the doctrine of the gospel and obedience thereunto, men are made partakers of the Spirit, with other privileges of the New Testament, and have a right unto all the promises of the present and future life. Now, this being a perfect system of Pelagianism, condemned in the ancient church as absolutely exclusive of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, will be fully removed out of our way in our present discourse, though the loose, confused expressions of some be not considered in particular; for if the work of our regeneration do not consist in a moral suasion, -- which, as we shall see, contains all that these men will allow to grace, -- their whole fabric falls to the ground of its own accord:-- 1. As to the nature of this moral suasion, two things may be considered:-- (1.) The means, instrument, and matter of it, and this is the word of God; the word of God, or the Scripture, in the doctrinal instructions, precepts, promises, and threatenings of it. This is that, and this is that alone, whereby we are commanded, pressed, persuaded, to turn ourselves and live to God. And herein we comprise the whole, both the law and the gospel, with all the divine truths contained in them, as severally respecting the especial ends where-unto they are designed; for although they are distinctly and peculiarly suited to produce distinct effects on the minds of men, yet they all jointly tend unto the general end of guiding men how to live unto God, and to obtain the enjoyment of him. As for those documents and instructions which men have concerning the will of God, and the obedience which he requires of them from the light of nature, with the works of creation and providence, I shall not here take them into consideration: for either they are solitary, or without any superaddition of instructive light by revelation, and then I utterly deny them to be a sufficient outward means of the conversion of any one soul; or they may be considered as improved by the written word as dispensed unto men, and so they are comprised under it, and need not to be considered apart. We will, therefore, suppose that those unto whom the word is declared have antecedaneously there-unto all the help which the light of nature will afford. (2.) The principal way of the application of this means to produce its effect on the souls of men is the ministry of the church. God hath appointed the ministry for the application of the word unto the minds and consciences of men for their instruction and conversion. And concerning this we may observe two things:-- [1.] That the word of God, thus dispensed by the ministry of the church, is the only ordinary outward means which the Holy Ghost maketh use of in the regeneration of the adult unto whom it is preached. [2.] That it is every way sufficient in its own kind, -- that is, as an outward means; for the revelation which is made of God and his mind thereby is sufficient to teach men all that is needful for them to believe and do that they may be converted unto God, and yield him the obedience that he requires. Hence two things do ensue:-- 1st. That the use of those means unto men in the state of sin, if they are not complied withal, is sufficient, on the grounds before laid down, to leave them by whom they are rejected inexcusable: so Isa. v. 3-5; Prov. xxix. 1; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 14-16. 2d. That the effect of regeneration or conversion unto God is assigned unto the preaching of the word, because of its efficacy there-unto in its own kind and way, as the outward means thereof, 1 Cor. iv. 15; James i. 18; 1 Pet. i. 23. 2. We may consider what is the nature and wherein the efficacy of this moral work doth consist. To which purpose we may observe, -- (1.) That in the use of this means for the conversion of men, there is, preparatory unto that wherein this moral persuasion doth consist, an instruction of the mind in the knowledge of the will of God and its duty towards him. The first regard unto men in the dispensation of the word unto them is their darkness and ignorance, whereby they are alienated from the life of God. This, therefore, is the first end of divine revelation, -- namely, to make known the counsel and will of God unto us: see Matt. iv. 15, 16; Luke iv. 18, 19; Acts xxvi. 16-18, xx. 20, 21, 26, 27. By the preaching of the law and the gospel, men are instructed in the whole counsel of God and what he requires of them; and in their apprehension hereof doth the illumination of their minds consist, whereof we must treat distinctly afterward. Without a supposition of this illumination there is no use of the persuasive power of the word; for it consists in affecting the mind with its concernment in the things that it knows, or wherein it is instructed. Wherefore we suppose in this case that a man is taught by the word both the necessity of regeneration, and what is required of himself thereunto. (2.) On this supposition, that a man is instructed in the knowledge of the will of God, as revealed in the law and the gospel, there is accompanying the word of God, in the dispensation of it, a powerful persuasive efficacy unto a compliance with it and observance of it. For instance, suppose a man to be convinced by the word of God of the nature of sin; of his own sinful condition, of his danger from thence with respect unto the sin of nature, on which account he is a child of wrath; and of his actual sin, which farther renders him obnoxious unto the curse of the law and the indignation of God; of his duty hereon to turn unto God, and the way whereby he may so do, -- there are in the precepts, exhortations, expostulations, promises, and threatenings of the word, especially as dispensed in the ministry of the church, powerful motives to affect, and arguments to prevail with, the mind and will of such a man to endeavour his own regeneration or conversion unto God, rational and cogent above all that can be objected unto the contrary. On some it is acknowledged that these things have no effect; they are not moved by them, they care not for them, they do despise them, and live and die in rebellion against the light of them, "having their eyes blinded by the god of this world." But this is no argument that they are not powerful in themselves, although, indeed, it is that they are not so towards us of themselves, but only as the Holy Spirit is pleased to act them towards us. But in these motives, reasons, and arguments, whereby men are, in and from the word and the ministry of it, urged and pressed unto conversion to God, doth this moral persuasion whereof we speak consist. And the efficacy of it unto the end proposed ariseth from the things ensuing, which are all resolved into God himself:-- [1.] From an evidence of the truth of the things from whence these motives and arguments were taken. The foundation of all the efficacy of the dispensation of the gospel lies in an evidence that the things proposed in it are not " cunningly-devised fables," 2 Pet. i. 16. Where this is not admitted, where it is not firmly assented unto, there can be no persuasive efficacy in it; but where there is, namely, a prevalent persuasion of the truth of the things proposed, there the mind is under a disposition unto the things whereunto it is persuaded. And hereon the whole efficacy of the word in and upon the souls of men is resolved into the truth and veracity of God; for the things contained in the Scripture are not proposed unto us merely as true, but as divine truths, as immediate revelations from God, which require not only a rational but a sacred religious respect unto them. They are things that the "mouth of the Lord hath spoken." [2.] There is a proposal unto the wills and affections of men in the things so assented unto, on the one hand as good, amiable, and excellent, wherein the chiefest good, happiness, and utmost end of our natures are comprised, to be pursued and attained; and on the other of things evil and terrible, the utmost evil that our nature is obnoxious unto, to be avoided: for this is urged on them, that to comply with the will of God in the proposals of the gospel, to conform thereunto, to do what he requires, to turn from sin unto him, is good unto men, best for them, -- assuredly attended with present satisfaction and future glory. And therein is also proposed the most noble object for our affections, even God himself, as a friend, as reconciled unto us in Christ; and that in a way suited unto his holiness, righteousness, wisdom, and goodness, which we have nothing to oppose unto nor to lay in the balance against. The way, also, of the reconciliation of sinners unto God by Jesus Christ is set out as that which hath such an impress of divine wisdom and goodness upon it, as that it can be refused by none but out of a direct enmity against God himself. Unto the enforcing of these things on the minds of men, the Scripture abounds with reasons, motives, and arguments; the rendering whereof effectual is the principal end of the ministry. On the other hand, it is declared and evidenced that sin is the great debasement of our natures, -- the ruin of our souls, the only evil in the world, in its guilt and punishment; and that a continuance in a state of it, with a rejection of the invitation of the gospel unto conversion to God, is a thing foolish, unworthy of a rational creature, and that which will be everlastingly pernicious. Whereas, therefore, in the judgment of every rational creature, spiritual things are to be preferred before natural, eternal things before temporal, and these things are thus disposed of in infinite goodness, love, and wisdom, they must needs be apt to affect the wills and take the affections of men. And herein the efficacy of the word on the minds and consciences of men is resolved into the authority of God. These precepts, these promises, these threatenings are his, who hath right to give them and power to execute them. And with his authority, his glorious greatness and his infinite power come under consideration; so also doth his goodness and love in an especial manner, with many other things, even all the known properties of his holy nature; -- all which concur in giving weight, power, and efficacy unto these motives and arguments. (3.) Great power and efficacy is added hereunto from the management of these motives in the preaching of the word. Herein with some the rhetorical faculty of them by whom it is dispensed is of great consideration; for hereby are they able to prevail very much on the minds of men. Being acquainted with the inclinations and dispositions of all sorts of persons, the nature of their affections and prejudices, with the topics or kinds and heads of arguments meet to affect them and prevail with them, as also the ways of insinuating persuasive motives into their minds, they express the whole in words elegant, proper, expressive, and suited to allure, draw, and engage them unto the ways and duties proposed unto them. [105] Herein do some place the principal use and efficacy of the ministry in the dispensation of the word; with me it is of no consideration, for our apostle rejects it utterly from any place in his ministry: 1 Cor. ii. 4. "My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power." Some of late have put in faint and weak exceptions unto the latter clause, as though not an evidence of the powerful presence of the Spirit of God in the dispensation of the gospel were intended therein, but the power of working miracles, contrary to the whole scope of the place and consent of the best expositors; but that, by the first clause, the persuasive art of human oratory is excluded from use and efficacy in the preaching of the gospel, none as yet hath had the impudence to deny. But let this also be esteemed to be as useful and efficacious in this work, as to the end of preaching in the conversion of the souls of men, as any can imagine, it shall be granted; only I shall take leave to resolve the efficacy of preaching into two other causes:-- [1.] The institution of God. He hath appointed the preaching of the word to be the means, the only outward ordinary means, for the conversion of the souls of men, 1 Cor. i. 17-20; Mark xvi. 15, 16; Rom. i. 16. And the power or efficacy of any thing that is used unto an end in spiritual matters depends solely on its divine appointment unto that end. [2.] The especial gifts that the Spirit of God doth furnish the preachers of the gospel withal, to enable them unto an effectual discharge of their work, Eph. iv. 11-13, whereof we shall treat afterward. All the power, therefore, that these things are accompanied withal is resolved into the sovereignty of God; for he hath chosen this way of preaching for this end, and he bestows these gifts on whom he pleaseth. From these things it is that the persuasive motives which the word abounds withal unto conversion, or turning to God from sin, have that peculiar efficacy on the minds of men which is proper unto them. (4.) We do not therefore, in this case, suppose that the motives of the word are left unto a mere natural operation, with respect unto the ability of them by whom it is dispensed, but, moreover, that it is blessed of God, and accompanied with the power of the Holy Spirit, for the producing of its effect and end upon the souls of men. Only, the operation of the Holy Ghost on the minds and wills of men in and by these means is supposed to extend no farther but unto motives, arguments, reasons, and considerations, proposed unto the mind, so to influence the will and the affections. Hence his operation is herein moral, and so metaphorical, not real, proper, and physical. Now, concerning this whole work I affirm these two things:-- 1. That the Holy Spirit doth make use of it in the regeneration or conversion of all that are adult, and that either immediately in and by the preaching of it, or by some other application of light and truth unto the mind derived from the word; for by the reasons, motives, and persuasive arguments which the word affords are our minds affected, and our souls wrought upon in our conversion unto God, whence it becomes our reasonable obedience. And there are none ordinarily converted, but they are able to give some account by what considerations they were prevailed on thereunto. But, -- 2. We say that the whole work, or the whole of the work of the Holy Ghost in our conversion, doth not consist herein; but there is a real physical work, whereby he infuseth a gracious principle of spiritual life into all that are effectually converted and really regenerated, and without which there is no deliverance from the state of sin and death which we have described; which, among others, may be proved by the ensuing arguments. The principal arguments in this case will ensue in our proofs from the Scriptures that there is a real physical work of the Spirit on the souls of men in their regeneration. That all he doth consisteth not in this moral suasion, the ensuing reasons do sufficiently evince:-- First, If the Holy Spirit work no otherwise on men, in their regeneration or conversion, but by proposing unto them and urging upon them reasons, arguments, and motives to that purpose, [106] then after his whole work, and notwithstanding it, the will of man remains absolutely indifferent whether it will admit of them or no, or whether it will convert itself unto God upon them or no; for the whole of this work consists in proposing objects unto the will, with respect whereunto it is left undetermined whether it will choose and close with them or no. And, indeed, this is that which some plead for: for they say that "in all men, at least all unto whom the gospel is preached, there is that grace present or with them that they are able to comply with the word if they please, and so believe, repent, or do any act of obedience unto God according to his will; and if they will, they can refuse to make use of this assistance, aid, power, or grace, and so continue in their sins." What this grace is, or whence men have this power and ability, by some is not declared. Neither is it much to be doubted but that many do imagine that it is purely natural; only they will allow it to be called grace, because it is from God who made us. Others acknowledge it to be the work or effect of grace internal, wherein part of the difference lay between the Pelagians and semi-Pelagians of old. But they all agree that it is absolutely in the power of the will of man to make use of it or not, -- that is, of the whole effect on them, or product in them, of this grace communicated in the way described; for notwithstanding any thing wrought in us or upon us thereby, the will is still left various, flexible, and undetermined. It is true, that notwithstanding the grace thus administered, the will hath power to refuse it and to abide in sin; but that there is no more grace wrought in us but what may he so refused, or that the will can make use of that grace for conversion which it can refuse, is false. For, -- 1. This ascribes the whole glory of our regeneration and conversion unto ourselves, and not to the grace of God; for that act of our wills, on this supposition, whereby we convert unto God, is merely an act of our own, and not of the grace of God. This is evident; for if the act itself were of grace, then would it not be in the power of the will to hinder it. 2. This would leave it absolutely uncertain, notwithstanding the purpose of God and the purchase of Christ, whether ever any one in the world should be converted unto God or no; for when the whole work of grace is over, it is absolutely in the power of the will of man whether it shall be effectual or no, and so absolutely uncertain: which is contrary to the covenant, promise, and oath of God unto and with Jesus Christ. 3. It is contrary to express testimonies of Scripture innumerable, wherein actual conversion unto God is ascribed unto his grace, as the immediate effect thereof. This will farther appear afterward. "God worketh in us both to will and to do," Phil. ii. 13. The act, therefore, itself of willing in our conversion is of God's operation; and although we will ourselves, yet it is he who causeth us to will, by working in us to will and to do. And if the act of our will, in believing and obedience, in our conversion to God, be not the effect of his grace in us, he doth not "work in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Secondly, This moral persuasion, however advanced or improved, and supposed to be effectual, yet confers no new real supernatural strength unto the soul; for whereas it worketh, yea, the Spirit or grace of God therein and thereby, by reasons, motives, arguments, and objective considerations, and no otherwise, it is able only to excite and draw out the strength which we have, delivering the mind and affections from prejudices and other moral impediments. Real aid, and internal spiritual strength, neither are nor can be conferred thereby. [107] And he who will acknowledge that there is any such internal spiritual strength communicated unto us must also acknowledge that there is another work of the Spirit of God in us and upon us than can be effected by these persuasions. But thus it is in this case, as some suppose: "The mind of man is affected with much ignorance, and usually under the power of many prejudices, which, by the corrupt course of things in the world, possess it from its first actings in the state of infancy. The will and the affections likewise are vitiated with depraved habits, which by the same means are contracted. But when the gospel is proposed and preached unto them, the thinks contained in it, the duties it requires, the promises it gives, are so rational, or so suited unto the principles of our reason, and the subject-matter of them is so good, desirable, and beautiful, unto an intellectual appetite, that, being well conveyed unto the mind, they are able to discard all the prejudices and disadvantages of a corrupt course under which it hath suffered, and prevail with the soul to desist from sin, -- that is, a course of sinning, -- and to become a new man in all virtuous conversation." And that this is in the liberty and power of the will is "irrefragably proved" by that sophism of Biel [108] out of Scotus and Occam, which contains the substance of what they plead in this cause. Yea, "thus to do is so suitable unto the rational principles of a well-disposed mind, that to do otherwise is the greatest folly and madness in the world." "Especially will this work of conversion be unquestionably wrought if the application of these means of it be so disposed, in the providence of God, as that they may be seasonable with respect unto the frame and condition of the mind whereunto they are applied. And as sundry things are necessary to render the means of grace thus seasonable and congruous unto the present frame, temper, and disposition of the mind, so in such a congruity much of its efficacy doth consist. "And this," as it is said, "is the work of the Holy Ghost, and an effect of the grace of God; for if the Spirit of God did not by the word prevent, excite, stir up, and provoke the minds of men, did he not help and assist them, when endeavouring to turn to God, in the removal of prejudices and all sorts of moral impediments, men would continue and abide, as it were, dead in trespasses and sins, at least their endeavours after deliverance would be weak and fruitless." This is all the grace, all the work of the Spirit of God, in our regeneration and conversion, which some will acknowledge, so far as I can learn from their writings and discourses. [109] But that there is more required thereunto I have before declared; as also, it hath been manifested what is the true and proper use and efficacy of these means in this work. But to place the whole of it herein is that which Pelagius contended for of old; yea, he granted a greater use and efficacy of grace than I can find to be allowed in the present confused discourses of some on this subject. [110] Wherefore it is somewhat preposterous to endeavour an imposition of such rotten errors upon the minds of men, and that by crude assertions, without any pretence of proof, as is the way of many. And that the sole foundation of all their harangues, -- namely, the suitableness of gospel principles and promises unto our wisdom and reason, antecedently unto any saving work of the Spirit on our minds, -- is directly contradictory to the doctrine of our apostle, shall afterward be declared. But, it may be, it will be said that it is not so much what is Pelagian and what is not, as what is truth and what is not, that is to be inquired after; and it is granted that this is, and ought to he, our first and principal inquiry; but it is not unuseful to know in whose steps they tread who at this day oppose the doctrine of the effectual grace of Christ, and what judgment the ancient church made of their principles and opinions. It is pretended yet farther, that "grace in the dispensation of the word doth work really and efficiently, especially by illumination, internal excitations of the mind and affections; and if thereon the will do put forth its act, and thereby determine itself in the choice of that which is good, in believing and repenting, then the grace thus administered concurs with it, helps and aids it in the perfecting of its act; so that the whole work is of grace." So pleaded the semi-Pelagians, and so do others continue to do. But all this while the way whereby grace, or the Spirit of God, worketh this illumination, excites the affections, and aids the will, is by moral persuasion only, no real strength being communicated or infused but what the will is at perfect liberty to make use of or to refuse at pleasure. Now this, in effect, is no less than to overthrow the whole grace of Jesus Christ, and to render it useless; for it ascribes unto man the honour of his conversion, his will being the principal cause of it. It makes a man to beget himself anew, or to be born again of himself -- to make himself differ from others by that which he hath not in an especial manner received. It takes away the analogy that there is between the forming of the natural body of Christ in the womb, and the forming of his mystical body in regeneration. It makes the act of living unto God by faith and obedience to be a mere natural act, no fruit of the mediation or purchase of Christ; and allows the Spirit of God no more power or efficacy in or towards our regeneration than is in a minister who preacheth the word, or in an orator who eloquently and pathetically persuades to virtue and dehorts from vice. And all these consequences, it may be, will be granted by some amongst us, and allowed to be true; to that pass are things come in the world, through the confident pride and ignorance of men. But not only it may be, but plainly and directly, the whole gospel and grace of Christ are renounced where they are admitted. Thirdly, This is not all that we pray for, [111] either for ourselves or others, when we beg effectual grace for them or ourselves. There was no argument that the ancients more pressed the Pelagians withal than that the grace which they acknowledged did not answer the prayers of the church, or what we are taught in the Scripture to pray for. We are to pray only for what God hath promised, and for the communication of it unto us in that way whereby he will work it and effect it. Now, he is at a great indifferency in this matter who only prays that God would persuade him or others to believe and to obey, to be converted or to convert himself. The church of God hath always prayed that God would work these things in us; and those who have a real concernment in them do pray continually that God would effectually work them in their hearts. They pray that he would convert them; that he would create a clean heart and renew a right spirit in them; that he would give them faith for Christ's sake, and increase it in them; and that in all these things he would work in them by the exceeding greatness of his power both to will and to do according to his good pleasure. And there is not a Pelagian in the world who ever once prayed for grace, or gracious assistance against sin and temptation, with a sense of his want of it, but that his prayers contradicted his profession. To think that by all these petitions, with others innumerable dictated unto us in the Scripture, and which a spiritual sense of our wants will engage into, we desire nothing but only that God would persuade, excite, and stir us up to put forth a power and ability of our own in the performance of what we desire, is contrary unto all Christian experience. Yea, for a man to lie praying with importunity, earnestness, and fervency, for that which is in his own power, and can never be effected but by his own power, is fond and ridiculous; and they do but mock God who pray unto him to do that for them which they can do for themselves, and which God cannot do for them but only when and as they do it themselves. Suppose a man to have a power in himself to believe and repent; suppose these to be such acts of his will as God doth not, indeed cannot, by his grace work in him, but only persuade him thereunto, and show him sufficient reason why he should so do, -- to what purpose should this man, or with what congruity could he, pray that God would give him faith and repentance? This some of late, as it seems, wisely observing, do begin to scoff at and reproach the prayers of Christians; for whereas, in all their supplications for grace, they lay the foundation of them in an humble acknowledgment of their own vileness and impotency unto any thing that is spiritually good, yea, and a natural aversation from it, and a sense of the power and working of the remainder of indwelling sin in them, hereby exciting themselves unto that earnestness and importunity in their requests for grace which their condition makes necessary [112] (which hath been the constant practice of Christians since there was one in the world), this is by them derided and exposed to contempt. In the room, therefore, of such despised prayers, I shall supply them with an ancient form that is better suited unto their principles. [113] The preface unto it is, "Ille ad Deum digne elevat manus, ille orationem bonâ conscientiâ effundit qui potest dicere." The prayer followeth:--"Tu nosti Domine quam sanctæ et puræ et mundæ sint ab omni malitia, et iniquitate, et rapina quas ad te extendo manus: quemadmodum justa et munda labia et ab omni mendacio libera quibus offero tibi deprecationes, ut mihi miserearis." This prayer Pelagius taught a widow to make, as it was objected unto him in the Diospolitan Synod, that is at Lydda in Palestine, cap. vi.; only he taught her not to say that she had no deceit in her heart, as one among us doth wisely and humbly vaunt that he knoweth of none in his, so every way perfect is the man! Only to balance this of Pelagius, I shall give these men another prayer, but in the margin, [114] not declaring whose it is, lest they should censure him to the gallows. Whereas, therefore, it seems to be the doctrine of some that we have no grace from Christ but only that of the gospel teaching us our duty, and proposing a reward, I know not what they have to pray for, unless it be riches, wealth, and preferments, with those things that depend thereon. Fourthly, This kind of the operation of grace, where it is solitary, -- that is, where it is asserted exclusively to an internal physical work of the Holy Spirit, -- is not suited to effect and produce the work of regeneration or conversion unto God in persons who are really in that state of nature which we have before described. The most effectual persuasions cannot prevail with such men to convert themselves, any more than arguments can prevail with a blind, man to see, or with a dead man to rise from the grave, or with a lame man to walk steadily. Wherefore, the whole description before given from the Scripture of the state of lapsed nature must be disproved and removed out of the way before this grace can be thought to be sufficient for the regeneration and conversion of men in that estate. But some proceed on other principles. "Men," they say, "have by nature certain notions and principles concerning God and the obedience due unto him, which are demonstrable by the light of reason; and certain abilities of mind to make use of them unto their proper end." But they grant, at least some of them do, [115] that "however these principles may be improved and acted by those abilities, yet they are not sufficient, or will not eventually be effectual, to bring men unto the life of God, or to enable them so to believe in him, love him, and obey him, as that they may come at length unto the enjoyment of him; at least, they will not do this safely and easily, but through much danger and confusion: wherefore God, out of his goodness and love to mankind, hath made a farther revelation of himself by Jesus Christ in the gospel, with the especial way whereby his anger against sin is averted, and peace made for sinners; which men had before only a confused apprehension and hope about. Now, the things received, proposed, and prescribed in the gospel, are so good, so rational, so every way suited unto the principles of our being, the nature of our intellectual constitutions, or the reason of men, and those fortified with such rational and powerful motives, in the promises and threatenings of it, representing unto us on the one hand the chiefest good which our nature is capable of, and on the other the highest evil to be avoided that we are obnoxious unto, that they can be refused or rejected by none but out of a brutish love of sin, or the efficacy of depraved habits, contracted by a vicious course of living. And herein consists the grace of God towards men, especially as the Holy Ghost is pleased to make use of these things in the dispensation of the gospel by the ministry of the church; for when the reason of men is by these means excited so far as to cast off prejudices, and enabled thereby to make a right judgment of what is proposed unto it, it prevails with them to convert to God, to change their lives, and yield obedience according to the rule of the gospel, that they may be saved." And no doubt this were a notable system of Christian doctrine especially as it is by some rhetorically blended or theatrically represented in feigned stories and apologues, were it not defective in one or two things: for, first, it is exclusive of a supposition of the fall of man, at least as unto the depravation of our nature which ensued thereon, and, secondly, of all real effective grace dispensed by Jesus Christ; [116] which render it a fantastic dream, alien from the design and doctrine of the gospel. But it is a fond thing to discourse with men about either regeneration or conversion unto God by whom these things are denied. Such a work of the Holy Spirit we must, therefore, inquire after as whereby the mind is effectually renewed, the heart changed, the affections sanctified, all actually and effectually, or no deliverance will be wrought, obtained, or ensue, out of the estate described; for notwithstanding the utmost improvement of our minds and reasons that can be imagined, and the most eminent proposal of the truths of the gospel, accompanied with the most powerful enforcements of duty and obedience that the nature of the things themselves will afford, yet the mind of man in the state of nature, without a supernatural elevation by grace, is not able so to apprehend them as that its apprehension should he spiritual, saving, or proper unto the things apprehended. And notwithstanding the perception which the mind may attain unto in the truth of gospel proposals, and the conviction it may have of the necessity of obedience, yet is not the will able to apply itself unto any spiritual act thereof, without an ability wrought immediately in it by the power of the Spirit of God; or rather, unless the Spirit of God by his grace do effect the act of willing in it. Wherefore, not to multiply arguments, we conclude that the most effectual use of outward means alone is not all the grace that is necessary unto, nor all that is actually put forth in, the regeneration of the souls of men. Having thus evidenced wherein the work of the Holy Spirit in the regeneration of the souls of men doth not consist, -- namely, in a supposed congruous persuasion of their minds, where it is alone, -- Secondly, I shall proceed to show wherein it doth consist, and what is the true nature of it. And to this purpose I say, -- 1. Whatever efficacy that moral operation which accompanies, or is the effect of, the preaching of the word, as blessed and used by the Holy Spirit, is of, or may be supposed to be of, or is possible that it should be of, in and towards them that are unregenerate, we do willingly ascribe unto it. We grant that in the work of regeneration, the Holy Spirit, towards those that are adult, doth make use of the word, both the law and the gospel, and the ministry of the church in the dispensation of it, as the ordinary means thereof; yea, this is ordinarily the whole external means that is made use of in this work, and an efficacy proper unto it is accompanied withal. Whereas, therefore, some contend that there is no more needful to the conversion of sinners but the preaching of the word unto them who are congruously disposed to receive it, and that the whole of the grace of God consists in the effectual application of it unto the minds and affections of men, whereby they are enabled to comply with it, and turn unto God by faith and repentance, they do not ascribe a greater power unto the word than we do, by whom this administration of it is denied to be the total cause of conversion; for we assign the same power to the word as they do, and more also, only we affirm that there is an effect to be wrought in this work which all this power, if alone, is insufficient for. But in its own kind it is sufficient and effectual, so far as that the effect of regeneration or conversion unto God is ascribed thereunto. This we have declared before. 2. There is not only a moral but a physical immediate operation of the Spirit, by his power and grace, or his powerful grace, upon the minds or souls of men in their regeneration. [117] This is that which we must cleave to, or all the glory of God's grace is lost, and the grace administered by Christ neglected. So is it asserted, Eph. i. 18-20, "That ye may know what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead." The power here mentioned hath an "exceeding greatness" ascribed unto it, with respect unto the effect produced by it. The power of God in itself is, as unto all acts, equally infinite, -- he is omnipotent; but some effects are greater than others, and carry in them more than ordinary impressions of it. Such is that here intended, whereby God makes men to be believers, and preserves them when they are so. And unto this power of God there is an actual operation or efficiency ascribed, -- the "working of his mighty power." And the nature of this operation or efficiency is declared to be of the same kind with that which was exerted in the raising of Christ from the dead; and this was by a real physical efficiency of divine power. This, therefore, is here testified, that the work of God towards believers, either to make them so or preserve them such, -- for all is one as unto our present purpose, -- consists in the acting of his divine power by a real internal efficiency. So God is said to "fulfil in us all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power," 2 Thess. i. 11; 2 Pet. i. 3. And hence the work of grace in conversion is constantly expressed by words denoting a real internal efficiency; such as creating, quickening, forming, giving a new heart, whereof afterward. Wherever this word is spoken with respect unto an active efficiency, it is ascribed unto God; he creates us anew, he quickens us, he begets us of his own will. But where it is spoken with respect unto us, there it is passively expressed; we are created in Christ Jesus, we are new creatures, we are born again, and the like; which one observation is sufficient to evert the whole hypothesis of Arminian grace. Unless a work wrought by power, and that real and immediate, be intended herein, such a work may neither be supposed possible, nor can be expressed. Wherefore, it is plain in the Scripture that the Spirit of God works internally, immediately, efficiently, in and upon the minds of men in their regeneration. The new birth is the effect of an act of his power and grace; or, no man is born again but it is by the inward efficiency of the Spirit. 3. This internal efficiency of the Holy Spirit on the minds of men, as to the event, is infallible, [118] victorious, irresistible, or always efficacious. But in this assertion we suppose that the measure of the efficacy of grace and the end to be attained are fixed by the will of God. As to that end whereunto of God it is designed, it is always prevalent or effectual, and cannot be resisted, or it will effectually work what God designs it to work: for wherein he "will work, none shall let him;" and "who hath resisted his will?" There are many motions of grace, even in the hearts of believers, which are thus far resisted, as that they attain not that effect which in their own nature they have a tendency unto. Were it otherwise, all believers would be perfect. But it is manifest in experience that we do not always answer the inclinations of grace, at least as unto the degree which it moves towards. But yet even such motions also, if they are of and from saving grace, are effectual so far, and for all those ends which they are designed unto in the purpose of God; for his will shall not be frustrated in any instance. And where any work of grace is not effectual, God never intended it should be so, nor did put forth that power of grace which was necessary to make it so. Wherefore, in or towards whomsoever the Holy Spirit puts forth his power, or acts his grace for their regeneration, he removes all obstacles, overcomes all oppositions, and infallibly produceth the effect intended. [119] This proposition being of great importance to the glory of God's grace, and most signally opposed by the patrons of corrupted nature and man's free-will in the state thereof, must be both explained and confirmed. We say, therefore, -- (1.) The power which the Holy Ghost puts forth in our regeneration is such, in its acting or exercise, as our minds, wills, and affections, are suited to be wrought upon, and to be affected by it, according to their natures and natural operations: "Turn thou me, and I shall be turned; draw me, and I shall run after thee." He doth not act in them any otherwise than they themselves are meet to be moved and move, to be acted and act, according to their own nature, power, and ability. He draws us with "the cords of a man." And the work itself is expressed by persuading, -- "God shall persuade Japheth;" and alluring, -- "I will allure her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her:" for as it is certainly effectual, so it carries no more repugnancy unto our faculties than a prevalent persuasion doth. So that, -- (2.) He doth not, in our regeneration, possess the mind with any enthusiastical impressions, nor act absolutely upon us as he did in extraordinary prophetical inspirations of old, where the minds and organs of the bodies of men were merely passive instruments, moved by him above their own natural capacity and activity, not only as to the principle of working, but as to the manner of operation; but he works on the minds of men in and by their own natural actings, through an immediate influence and impression of his power: "Create in me a clean heart, O God." He "worketh both to will and to do." (3.) He therefore offers no violence or compulsion unto the will. [120] This that faculty is not naturally capable to give admission unto. If it be compelled, it is destroyed. And the mention that is made in the Scripture of compelling ("Compel them to come in") respects the certainty of the event, not the manner of the operation on them. But whereas the will, in the depraved condition of fallen nature, is not only habitually filled and possessed with an aversion from that which is good spiritually ("Alienated from the life of God"), but also continually acts an opposition unto it, as being under the power of the "carnal mind," which is "enmity against God; and whereas this grace of the Spirit in conversion doth prevail against all this opposition, and is effectual and victorious over it, -- it will be inquired how this can any otherwise be done but by a kind of violence and compulsion, seeing we have evinced already that moral persuasion and objective allurement is not sufficient thereunto? Ans. It is acknowledged that in the work of conversion unto God, though not in the very act of it, there is a reaction between grace and the will, their acts being contrary; and that grace is therein victorious, and yet no violence or compulsion is offered unto the will; for, -- [1.] The opposition is not ad idem. The enmity and opposition that is acted by the will against grace is against it as objectively proposed unto it. So do men "resist the Holy Ghost," -- that is, in the external dispensation of grace by the word. And if that be alone, they may always resist it; the enmity that is in them will prevail against it: "Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost." The will, therefore, is not forced by any power put forth in grace, in that way wherein it is capable of making opposition unto it, but the prevalency of grace is of it as it is internal, working really and physically; which is not the object of the will's opposition, for it is not proposed unto it as that which it may accept or refuse, but worketh effectually in it. [2.] The will, in the first act of conversion (as even sundry of the schoolmen acknowledge), acts not but as it is acted, moves not but as it is moved; and therefore is passive therein, in the sense immediately to be explained. And if this be not so, it cannot be avoided but that the act of our turning unto God is a mere natural act, and not spiritual or gracious; for it is an act of the will, not enabled thereunto antecedently by grace. Wherefore it must be granted, and it shall he proved, that, in order of nature, the acting of grace in the will in our conversion is antecedent unto its own acting; though in the same instant of time wherein the will is moved it moves, and when it is acted it acts itself, and preserves its own liberty in its exercise. There is, therefore, herein an inward almighty secret act of the power of the Holy Ghost, producing or effecting in us the will of conversion unto God, so acting our wills as that they also act themselves, and that freely. So Austin, cont. Duas Epistol. Pelag. lib. i. cap. 19: "Trahitur [homo] miris modis ut velit, ab illo qui novit intus in ipsis cordibus hominum operari; non ut homines, quod fieri non potest, nolentes credant, sed ut volentes ex nolentibus fiant." The Holy Spirit, who in his power and operation is more intimate, as it were, unto the principles of our souls than they are to themselves, doth, with the preservation and in the exercise of the liberty of our wills, effectually work our regeneration and conversion unto God. This is the substance of what we plead for in this cause, and which declares the nature of this work of regeneration, as it is an inward spiritual work. I shall, therefore, confirm the truth proposed with evident testimonies of Scripture, and reasons contained in them or educed from them. First, The work of conversion itself, and in especial the act of believing, [121] or faith itself, is expressly said to be of God, to be wrought in us by him, to be given unto us from him. The Scripture says not that God gives us ability or power to believe only, -- namely, such a power as we may make use of if we will, or do otherwise; but faith, repentance, and conversion themselves are said to be the work and effect of God. Indeed, there is nothing mentioned in the Scriptures concerning the communicating of power, remote or next unto the mind of man, to enable him to believe antecedently unto actual believing. A "remote power," if it may be so called, in the capacities of the faculties of the soul, the reason of the mind, and liberty of the will, we have given an account concerning; but for that which some call a "next power," [122] or an ability to believe in order of nature antecedent unto believing itself, wrought in us by the grace of God, the Scripture is silent. The apostle Paul saith of himself, Panta ischuo en to endunamouti me Christo, Phil. iv. 13, -- "I can do all things," or prevail in all things, "through Christ who enableth me;" where a power or ability seems to be spoken of antecedent unto acting: but this is not a power for the, first act of faith, but a power in them that believe. Such a power I acknowledge, which is acted in the co-operation of the Spirit and grace of Christ with the grace which believers have received, unto the performance of all acts of holy obedience; whereof I must treat elsewhere. Believers have a stock of habitual grace; which may be called indwelling grace in the same sense wherein original corruption is called indwelling sin. And this grace, as it is necessary unto every act of spiritual obedience, so of itself, without the renewed co-working of the Spirit of Christ, it is not able or sufficient to produce any spiritual act. This working of Christ upon and with the grace we have received is called enabling of us; but with persons unregenerate, and as to the first act of faith, it is not so. But it will be objected, "That every thing which is actually accomplished was in potentia before; there must, therefore, be in us a power to believe before we do so actually." Ans. The act of God working faith in us is a creating act: "We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus," Eph. ii. 10; and he that is in Christ Jesus "is a new creature," 2 Cor. v. 17. Now, the effects of creating acts are not in potentia anywhere but in the active power of God; so was the world itself before its actual existence. This is termed potentia logica, which is no more but a negation of any contradiction to existence; not potentia physica, which includes a disposition unto actual existence. Notwithstanding, therefore, all these preparatory works of the Spirit of God which we allow in this matter, there is not by them wrought in the minds and wills of men such a next power, as they call it, as should enable them to believe without farther actual grace working faith itself. Wherefore, with respect to believing, the first act of God is to work in us "to will:" Phil. ii. 13, "He worketh in us to will." Now, to will to believe is to believe. This God works in us by that grace which Austin and the schoolmen call gratia operans, because it worketh in us without us, the will being merely moved and passive therein. That there is a power or faculty of believing given unto all men unto whom the gospel is preached, or who are called by the outward dispensation of it, some do pretend; and that "because those unto whom the word is so preached, if they do not actually believe, shall perish eternally, as is positively declared in the gospel, Mark xvi. 16; but this they could not justly do if they had not received a power or faculty of believing." Ans. 1. Those who believe not upon the proposal of Christ in the gospel are left without remedy in the guilt of those other sins, for which they must perish eternally. "If ye believe not," saith Christ, "that I am he, ye shall die in your sins," John viii. 24. 2. The impotency that is in men, as to the act of believing, is contracted by their own fault, both as it ariseth from the original depravation of nature, and as it is increased by corrupt prejudices and contracted habits of sin: wherefore, they justly perished of whom yet it is said that "they could not believe," John xii. 39. 3. There is none by whom the gospel is refused, but they put forth an act of the will in its rejection, which all men are free unto and able for: "I would have gathered you, but ye would not," Matt. xxiii. 37. "Ye will not come to me, that ye may have life," [John v. 40.] But the Scripture positively affirms of some to whom the gospel was preached that "they could not believe," John xii. 39; and of all natural men, that " they cannot receive the things of God," 1 Cor. ii. 14. Neither is it "given" unto all to "know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven," but to some only, Matt. xi. 25, xiii. 11; and those to whom it is not so given have not the power intended. Besides, faith is not of all, or "all have not faith," 2 Thess. iii. 2, but it is peculiar to the "elect of God," Tit. i. 1; Acts xiii. 48; and these elect are but some of those that are called, Matt. xx. 16. Yet farther to clear this, it may be observed, that this first act of willing may be considered two ways:-- 1. As it is wrought in the will subjectively, and so it is formally only in that faculty; and in this sense the will is merely passive, and only the subject moved or acted. And in this respect the act of God's grace in the will is an act of the will. But, 2. It may be considered as it is efficiently also in the will, as, being acted, it acts itself. So it is from the will as its principle, and is a vital act thereof, which gives it the nature of obedience. Thus the will in its own nature is mobilis, fit and meet to be wrought upon by the grace of the Spirit to faith and obedience; with respect unto the creating act of grace working faith in us, it is mota, moved and acted thereby; and in respect of its own elicit act, as it so acted and moved, it is movens, the next efficient cause thereof. These things being premised for the clearing of the nature of the operation of the Spirit in the first communication of grace unto us, and the will's compliance therewithal, we return unto our arguments or testimonies given unto the actual collation of faith [123] upon us by the Spirit and grace of God, which must needs be effectual and irresistible; for the contrary implies a contradiction, -- namely, that God should "work what is not wrought:" -- Phil. i. 29, "To you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake," To "believe on Christ" expresseth saving faith itself. This is "given" unto us. And how is it given us? Even by the power of God "working in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure," chap. ii. 13. Our faith is our coming to Christ. "And no man," saith he, "can come unto me, except it be given unto him of my Father," John vi. 65. All power in ourselves for this end is utterly taken away: "No man can come unto me." [124] However we may suppose men to be prepared or disposed, whatever arguments may be proposed unto them, and in what season soever, to render things congruous and agreeable unto their inclinations, yet no man of himself can believe, can come to Christ, unless faith itself be "given unto him," -- that is, be wrought in him by the grace of the Father, Phil. i. 29. So it is again asserted, and that both negatively and positively, Eph. ii. 8, "By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." Our own ability, be it what it will, however assisted and excited, and God's gift, are contradistinguished. If it be "of ourselves," it is not "the gift of God;" if it be "the gift of God," it is not "of ourselves." And the manner how God bestows this gift upon us is declared, verse 10, "We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works." Good works, or gospel obedience, are the things designed. These must proceed from faith, or they are not acceptable with God, Heb. xi. 6. And the way whereby this is wrought in us, or a principle of obedience, is by a creating act of God: "We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus." In like manner God is said to "give us repentance," 2 Tim. ii. 25; Acts xi. 18. This is the whole of what we plead: God in our conversion, by the exceeding greatness of his power, as he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead, actually worketh faith and repentance in us, gives them unto us, bestows them on us; so that they are mere effects of his grace in us. And his working in us infallibly produceth the effect intended, because it is actual faith that he works, and not only a power to believe, which we may either put forth and make use of or suffer to be fruitless, according to the pleasure of our own wills. Secondly, As God giveth and worketh in us faith and repentance, so the way whereby he doth it, or the manner how he is said to effect them in us, makes it evident that he doth it by a power infallibly efficacious, and which the will of man doth never resist; for this way is such as that he thereby takes away all repugnancy, all resistance, all opposition, every thing that lieth in the way of the effect intended: Deut. xxx. 6, "The Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live." A denial of the work here intended is expressed chap. xxix. 4, "The Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day." What it is to have the heart circumcised the apostle declares, Col. ii. 11. It is the "putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ," -- that is, by our conversion to God. It is the giving "an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear," -- that is, spiritual light and obedience, -- by the removal of all obstacles and hinderances. This is the immediate work of the Spirit of God himself. No man ever circumcised his own heart. No man can say he began to do it by the power of his own will, and then God only helped him by his grace. As the act of outward circumcision on the body of a child was the act of another, and not of the child, who was only passive therein, but the effect was in the body of the child only, so is it in this spiritual circumcision, -- it is the act of God, whereof our hearts are the subject. And whereas it is the blindness, obstinacy, and stubbornness in sin that is in us by nature, with the prejudices which possess our minds and affections, which hinder us from conversion unto God, by this circumcision they are taken away; for by it the "body of the sins of the flesh is put off." And how should the heart resist the work of grace, when that whereby it should resist is effectually taken away? Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27, "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." To which may be added, Jer. xxiv. 7, "I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: so they shall return unto me with their whole heart." As also, Isa. xliv. 3-5, "I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: and they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water-courses. One shall say, I am the Lord's," etc. So Jer. xxxi. 33, "I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts." I shall first inquire two things about these concurrent testimonies:-- 1. Is it lawful for us, is it our duty, to pray that God would do and effect what he hath promised to do, and that both for ourselves and others? -- [We may pray] for ourselves, that the work of our conversion may be renewed, carried on, and consummated in the way and by the means whereby it was begun, that so "he which hath begun the good work in us may perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ," Phil. i. 6; for those who are converted and regenerated, and are persuaded on good and infallible grounds that so they are, may yet pray for those things which God promiseth to work in their first conversion. And this is because the same work is to be preserved and carried on in them by the same means, the same power, the same grace, wherewith it was begun. And the reason is, though this work, as it is merely the work of conversion, is immediately perfected and completed as to the being of it; yet as it is the beginning of a work of sanctification, it is continually to be renewed and gone over again, because of the remainder of sin in us and the imperfection of our grace. [And we may pray] for others, that it may be both begun and finished in them. And do we not in such prayers desire that God would really, powerfully, effectually, by the internal efficiency of his Spirit, take away all hinderances, oppositions, and repugnancy in our minds and wills, and actually collate upon us, give unto us, and work in us, a new principle of obedience, that we may assuredly love, fear, and trust in God always? or do we only desire that God would so help us as to leave us absolutely undetermined whether we will make use of his help or no? Did ever any pious soul couch such an intention in his supplications? He knows not how to pray who prays not that God would, by his own immediate power, work those things in him which he thus prayeth for. And unto this prayer, also, grace effectual is antecedently required. [125] Wherefore, I inquire, -- 2. Whether God doth really effect and work in any the things which he here promiseth that he will work and effect? If he do not, where is his truth and faithfulness? It is said that "he doth so, and will so do, provided that men do not refuse his tender of grace nor resist his operations, but comply with them." But this yields no relief, -- For, (1.) What is it not to refuse the grace of conversion, but to comply with it? Is it not to believe, to obey, -- to convert ourselves? So, then, God promiseth to convert us, on condition that we convert ourselves; to work faith in us, on condition that we do believe; and a new heart, on condition that we make our hearts new ourselves! To this are all the adversaries of the grace of God brought by those conditions which they feign of its efficacy to preserve the sovereignty of free-will in our conversion, -- that is, unto plain and open contradictions, which have been charged sufficiently upon them by others, and from which they could never extricate themselves. (2.) Where God promiseth [126] thus to work, as these testimonies do witness, and doth not effectually do so, it must be either because he cannot or because he will not. If it be said that he doth it not because he will not, then this is that which is ascribed unto God, -- that he promiseth indeed to take away our stony heart, and to give us a new heart with his law written in it, but he will not do so; which is to overthrow his faithfulness, and to make him a liar. If they say it is because he cannot, seeing that men oppose and resist the grace whereby he would work this effect, then where is the wisdom of promising to work that in us which he knew he could not effect without our compliance, and which he knew that we would not comply withal? But it will be said that God promiseth to work and effect these things, but in such a way as he hath appointed, -- that is, by giving such supplies of grace as may enable us thereunto, -- which if we refuse to make use of, the fault is merely our own. Ans. It is the things themselves that are promised, and not such a communication of means to effect them as may produce them or may not, as the consideration of the place will manifest; whereof observe, -- [1.] The subject spoken of in these promises is the heart. And the heart in the Scripture is taken for the whole rational soul, not absolutely, but as all the faculties of the soul are one common principle of all our moral operations. Hence it hath such properties assigned unto it as are peculiar to the mind or understanding, as to see, perceive, to be wise, and to understand; and, on the contrary, to be blind and foolish; and sometimes such as belong properly to the will and affections, as to obey, to love, to fear, to trust in God. Wherefore, the principle of all our spiritual and moral operations is intended hereby. [2.] There is a description of this heart, as it is in us antecedent unto the effectual working of the grace of God in us: it is said to be stony, -- "The heart of stone." It is not absolutely that it is said so to be, but with respect unto some certain end. This end is declared to be our walking in the ways of God, or our fearing of him. Wherefore, our hearts by nature, as unto living to God or his fear, are a stone, or stony; and who hath not experience hereof from the remainders of it still abiding in them? And two things are included in this expression:-- 1st. An ineptitude unto any actings towards that end. Whatever else the heart can do of itself, in things natural or civil, in outward things, as to the end of living unto God it can of itself, without his grace, do no more than a stone can do of itself unto any end whereunto it may be applied. 2dly. An obstinate, stubborn opposition unto all things conducing unto that end. Its hardness or obstinacy, in opposition to the pliableness of a heart of flesh, is principally intended in this expression. And in this stubbornness of the heart consists all that repugnancy to the grace of God which is in us by nature, and hence all that resistance doth arise, which some say is always sufficient to render any operation of the Spirit of God by his grace fruitless. [3.] This heart, -- that is, this impotency and enmity which is in our natures unto conversion and spiritual obedience, -- God says he will take away; that is, he will do so in them who are to be converted according to the purpose of his will, and whom he will turn unto himself. [127] He doth not say that he will endeavour to take it away, nor that he will use such or such means for the taking of it away, but absolutely that he will take it away. He doth not say that he will persuade men to remove it or do it away, that he will aid and help them in their so doing, and that so far as that it shall wholly be their own fault if it be not done, -- which no doubt it is where it is not removed; but positively that he himself will take it away. Wherefore, the act of taking it away is the act of God by his grace, and not the act of our wills but as they are acted thereby; and that such an act as whose effect is necessary. It is impossible that God should take away the stony heart, and yet the stony heart not be taken away. What, therefore, God promiseth herein, in the removal of our natural corruption, is as unto the event infallible, and as to the manner of operation irresistible. [4.] As what God taketh from us in the cure of our original disease, so what he bestoweth on us or works in us is here also expressed; and this is, a new heart and a new spirit: "I will give you a new heart." And withal it is declared what benefit we do receive thereby: for those who have this new heart bestowed on them or wrought in them, they do actually, by virtue thereof, "fear the Lord and walk in his ways;" for so it is affirmed in the testimonies produced: and no more is required thereunto, as nothing less will effect it. There must, therefore, be in this new heart thus given us a principle of all holy obedience unto God: the creating of which principle in us is our conversion to him; for God doth convert us, and we are converted. And how is this new heart communicated unto us? "I will," saith God, "give them a new heart." "That is, it may be, he will do what is to be done on his part that they may have it; but we may refuse his assistance, and go without it." No; saith he, "I will put a new spirit within them;" which expression is capable of no such limitation or condition. And to make it more plain yet, he affirms that he "will write his law in our hearts." It is confessed that this is spoken with respect unto his writing of the law of old in the tables of stone. As, then, he wrote the letter of the law in the tables of stone, so that thereon and thereby they were actually engraven therein; so by writing the law, that is, the matter and substance of it, in our hearts, it is as really fixed therein as the letter of it was of old in the tables of stone. And this can be no otherwise but in a principle of obedience and love unto it, which is actually wrought of God in us. And the aids or assistances which some men grant that are left unto the power of our own wills to use or not to use, have no analogy with the writing of the law in tables of stone. And the end of the work of God described is not a power to obey, which may be exerted or not; but it is actual obedience in conversion, and all the fruits of it. And if God do not in these promises declare a real efficiency of internal grace, taking away all repugnancy of nature unto conversion, curing its depravation actually and effectually, and communicating infallibly a principle of scriptural obedience, I know not in what words such a work may be expressed. And whatever is excepted as to the suspending of the efficacy of this work upon conditions in ourselves, it falls immediately into gross and sensible contradictions. An especial instance of this work we have, Acts xvi. 14. A third argument is taken from the state and condition of men by nature, before described; for it is such as that no man can be delivered from it, but by that powerful, internal, effectual grace which we plead for, such as wherein the mind and will of man can act nothing in or towards conversion to God but as they are acted by grace. The reason why some despise, some oppose, some deride the work of the Spirit of God in our regeneration or conversion, or fancy it to be only an outward ceremony, or a moral change of life and conversation, is, their ignorance of the corrupted and depraved estate of the souls of men, in their minds, wills, and affections, by nature; for if it be such as we have described, -- that is, such as in the Scripture it is represented to be, -- they cannot be so brutish as once to imagine that it may be cured, or that men may be delivered from it, without any other aid but that of those rational considerations which some would have to be the only means of our conversion to God. We shall, therefore, inquire what that grace is, and what it must be, whereby we are delivered from it:-- 1. It is called a vivification or quickening. We are by nature "dead in trespasses and sins," as hath been proved, and the nature of that death at large explained. In our deliverance from thence, we are said to be "quickened," Eph. ii. 5. Though dead, we "hear the voice of the Son of God, and live," John v. 25; being made "alive unto God through Jesus Christ," Rom. vi. 11. Now, no such work can be wrought in us but by an effectual communication of a principle of spiritual life; and nothing else will deliver us. Some think to evade the power of this argument by saying that "all these expressions are metaphorical, and arguings from them are but fulsome metaphors:" and it is well if the whole gospel be not a metaphor unto them. But if there be not an impotency in us by nature unto all acts of spiritual life, like that which is in a dead man unto the acts of life natural; if there be not an alike power of God required unto our deliverance from that condition, and the working in us a principle of spiritual obedience, as is required unto the raising of him that is dead, -- they may as well say that the Scripture speaks not truly as that it speaks metaphorically. And that it is almighty power, the "exceeding greatness of God's, power," that is put forth and exercised herein; we have proved from Eph. i. 19, 20; Col. ii. 12, 13; 2 Thess. i. 11; 2 Pet. i. 3. And what do these men intend by this quickening, this raising us from the dead by the power of God? A persuasion of our minds by rational motives taken from the word, and the things contained in it! But was there ever heard such a monstrous expression, if there be nothing else in it? What could the holy writers intend by calling such a work as this by a "quickening of them who were dead in trespasses and sins through the mighty power of God," unless it were, by a noise of insignificant words, to draw us off from a right understanding of what is intended? And it is well if some are not of that mind. 2. The work itself wrought is our regeneration. I have proved before that this consists in a new, spiritual, supernatural, vital principle or habit of grace, infused into the soul, the mind, will, and affections, by the power of the Holy Spirit, disposing and enabling them in whom it is unto spiritual, supernatural, vital acts of faith and obedience. Some men seem to be inclined to deny all habits of grace. And on such a supposition, a man is no longer a believer than he is in the actual exercise of faith; for there is nothing in him from whence he should be so denominated. But this would plainly overthrow the covenant of God, and all the grace of it. Others expressly deny all gracious, supernatural, infused habits, though they may grant such as are or may be acquired by the frequent acts of those graces or virtues whereof they are the habits. But the Scripture giveth us another description of this work of regeneration, for it consists in the renovation of the image of God in us: Eph. iv. 23, 24, "Be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." That Adam in innocency had a supernatural ability of living unto God habitually residing in him is generally acknowledged; and although it were easy for us to prove that whereas he was made for a super-natural end, -- namely, to live to God, and to come to the enjoyment of him, -- it was utterly impossible that he should answer it or comply with it by the mere strength of his natural faculties, had they not been endued with a supernatural ability, which, with respect unto that end, was created with them and in them, yet we will not contend about terms. Let it be granted that he was created in the image of God, and that he had an ability to fulfil all God's commands, and that in himself, and no more shall be desired. This was lost by the fall. When this is by any denied, it shall be proved. In our regeneration, there is a renovation of this image of God in us: "Renewed in the spirit of your mind." And it is renewed in us by a creating act of almighty power: "Which after God," or according to his likeness, "is created in righteousness and true holiness." There is, therefore, in it an implantation of a new principle of spiritual life, of a life unto God in repentance, faith, and obedience, or universal holiness, according to gospel truth, or the truth which came by Jesus Christ, John i. 17. And the effect of this work is called "spirit:" John iii. 6, "That which is born of the Spirit is spirit." It is the Spirit of God of whom we are born; that is, our new life is wrought in us by his efficiency. And that which in us is so born of him is spirit; not the natural faculties of our souls, -- they are once created, once born, and no more, -- but a new principle of spiritual obedience, whereby we live unto God. And this is the product of the internal immediate efficiency of grace. This will the better appear if we consider the faculties of the soul distinctly, and what is the especial work of the Holy Spirit upon them in our regeneration or conversion to God:-- (1.) The leading, conducting faculty of the soul is the mind or understanding. Now, this is corrupted and vitiated by the fall; and how it continues depraved in the state of nature hath been declared before. The sum is, that it is not able to discern spiritual things in a spiritual manner; for it is possessed with spiritual blindness or darkness, and is filled with enmity against God and his law, esteeming the things of the gospel to be foolishness; because it is alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in it. We must, therefore, inquire what is the work of the Holy Spirit on our minds in turning of us to God, whereby this depravation is removed and this vicious state cured, whereby we come to see and discern spiritual things in a spiritual manner, that we may savingly know God and his mind as revealed in and by Jesus Christ. And this is several ways declared in the Scripture:-- [1.] He is said to give us an understanding: 1 John v. 20, "The Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true;" which he doth by his Spirit. Man by sin is become like the "beasts that perish, which have no understanding," Ps. xlix. 12, 20. Men have not lost their natural intellective faculty or reason absolutely. It is continued unto them, with the free though impaired use of it, in things natural and civil. And it hath an advance in sin; men are "wise to do evil:" [128] but it is lost as to the especial use of it in the saving knowledge of God and his will, "To do good they have no knowledge," Jer. iv. 22; for naturally, "there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God," Rom. iii. 11. It is corrupted not so much in the root and principle of its actings, as with respect unto their proper object, term, and end. Wherefore, although this giving of an understanding be not the creating in us anew of that natural faculty, yet it is that gracious work in it without which that faculty in us, as depraved, will no more enable us to know God savingly than if we had none at all. The grace, therefore, here asserted in the giving of an understanding is the causing of our natural understandings to understand savingly. This David prays for: Ps. cxix. 34, "Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law." The whole work is expressed by the apostle, Eph. i. 17, 18, "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: the eyes of your understanding being opened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling," etc. That "the Spirit of wisdom and revelation" is the Spirit of God working those effects in us, we have before evinced. And it is plain that the "revelation" here intended is subjective, in enabling us to apprehend what is revealed, and not objective, in new revelations, which the apostle prayed not that they might receive. And this is farther evidenced by the ensuing description of it: "The eyes of your understanding being opened." There is an eye in the understanding of man, -- that is, the natural power and ability that is in it to discern spiritual things. But this eye is sometimes said to be "blind," sometimes to be "darkness," sometimes to be "shut" or closed; and nothing but the impotency of our minds to know God savingly, or discern things spiritually when proposed unto us, can be intended thereby. It is the work of the Spirit of grace to open this eye, [129] Luke iv. 18; Acts xxvi. 18; and this is by the powerful, effectual removal of that depravation of our minds, with all its effects, which we before described. And how are we made partakers thereof? It is of the gift of God, freely and effectually working it: for, first, he "giveth us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation" to that end; and, secondly, works the thing itself in us. He "giveth us a heart to know him," Jer. xxiv. 7, without which we cannot so do, or he would not himself undertake to work it in us for that end. There is, therefore, an effectual, powerful, creating act of the Holy Spirit put forth in the minds of men in their conversion unto God, enabling them spiritually to discern Spiritual things; wherein the seed and substance of divine faith is contained. [2.] This is called the renovation of our minds: "Renewed in the spirit of your mind," Eph. iv. 23; which is the same with being "renewed in knowledge," Col. iii. 10. And this renovation of our minds hath in it a transforming power to change the whole soul into an obediential frame towards God, Rom. xii. 2. And the work of renewing our minds is peculiarly ascribed unto the Holy Spirit: Tit. iii. 5, "The renewing of the Holy Ghost." Some men seem to fancy, yea, do declare, that there is no such depravation in or of the mind of man, but that he is able, by the use of his reason, to apprehend, receive, and discern those truths of the gospel which are objectively proposed unto it. But of the use of reason in these matters, and its ability to discern and judge of the sense of propositions and force of inferences in things of religion, we shall treat afterward. At present, I only inquire whether men unregenerate be of themselves able spiritually to discern spiritual things when they are proposed unto them in the dispensation of the gospel, so as their knowledge may be saving in and unto themselves, and acceptable unto God in Christ, and that without any especial, internal, effectual work of the Holy Spirit of grace in them and upon them? If they say they are, as they plainly plead them to be, and will not content themselves with an ascription unto them of that notional, doctrinal knowledge which none deny them to be capable of, I desire to know to what purpose are they said to be "renewed by the Holy Ghost?" to what purpose are all those gracious actings of God in them before recounted? He that shall consider what, on the one band, the Scripture teacheth us concerning the blindness, darkness, impotency of our minds, with respect unto spiritual things, when proposed unto us, as in the state of nature; and, on the other, what it affirms concerning the work of the Holy Ghost in their renovation and change, in giving them new power, new ability, a new, active understanding, -- will not be much moved with the groundless, confident, unproved dictates of some concerning the power of reason in itself to apprehend and discern religious things, so far as we are required in a way of duty. This is all one as if they should say, that if the sun shine clear and bright, every blind man is able to see. God herein is said to communicate a light unto our minds, and that so as that we shall see by it, or perceive by it, the things proposed unto us in the gospel usefully and savingly: 2 Cor. iv. 6, "God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." Did God no otherwise work on the minds of men but by an external, objective proposal of truth unto them, to what purpose doth the apostle mention the almighty act of creating power which he put forth and exercised in the first production of natural light out of darkness? What allusion is there between that work and the doctrinal proposal of truth to the minds of men? It is, therefore, a confidence not to be contended with, if any will deny that the act of God in the spiritual illumination of our minds be of the same nature, as to efficacy and efficiency, with that whereby he created light at the beginning of all things. And because the effect produced in us is called "light," the act itself is described by "shining:" " God bath shined in our hearts," -- that is, our minds. So he conveys light unto them by an act of omnipotent efficiency. And as that which is so wrought in our minds is called "light," so the apostle, leaving his metaphor, plainly declares what he intends thereby, -- namely, the actual "knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ;" that is, as God is revealed in Christ by the gospel, as he declares, verse 4. Having, therefore, first, compared the mind of man by nature, with respect unto a power of discerning spiritual things, to the state of all things under darkness before the creation of light; and, secondly, the powerful working of God in illumination unto the act of his omnipotency in the production or creation of light natural, -- he ascribes our ability to know, and our actual knowledge of God in Christ, unto his real efficiency and operation. And these things in part direct us towards an apprehension of that work of the Holy Spirit upon the minds of men in their conversion unto God whereby their depravation is cured, and without which it will not so be. By this means, and no otherwise, do we who were "darkness" become "light in the Lord," or come to know God in Christ savingly, looking into and discerning spiritual things with a proper intuitive sight, whereby all the other faculties of our souls are guided and influenced unto the obedience of faith. (2.) It is principally with respect unto the will and its depravation by nature that we are said to be dead in sin. And herein is seated that peculiar obstinacy, whence it is that no unregenerate person doth or can answer his own convictions, or walk up unto his light in obedience. For the will may be considered two ways:-- first, As a rational, vital faculty of our souls; secondly, As a free principle, [130] freedom being of its essence or nature. This, therefore, in our conversion to God, is renewed by the Holy Ghost, and that by an effectual implantation in it of a principle of spiritual life and holiness in the room of that original righteousness which it lost by the fall. That he doth so is proved by all the testimonies before insisted on:-- First, This is its renovation as it is a rational, vital faculty; and of this vivification see before. Secondly, As it is a free principle, it is determined unto its acts in this case by the powerful operation of the Holy Ghost, without the least impeachment of its liberty or freedom; as hath been declared. And that this is so might be fully evinced, as by others so by the ensuing arguments; for if the Holy Ghost do not work immediately and effectually upon the will, producing and creating in it a principle of faith and obedience, infallibly determining it in its free acts, then is all the glory of our conversion to be ascribed unto ourselves, and we make ourselves therein, by the obediential actings of our own free will, to differ from others who do not so comply with the grace of God; which is denied by the apostle, 1 Cor. iv. 7. Neither can any purpose of God concerning the conversion of any one soul he certain and determinate, seeing after he hath done all that is to be done, or can be done towards it, the will, remaining undetermined, may not be converted, contrary to those testimonies of our Saviour, Matt. xi. 25, 26; John vi. 37; Rom. viii. 29. Neither can there be an original infallibility in the promises of God made to Jesus Christ concerning the multitudes that should believe in him, seeing it is possible no one may so do, if it depend on the undetermined liberty of their wills whether they will or no. And then, also, must salvation of necessity be "of him that willeth, and of him that runneth," and not "of God, that showeth mercy on whom he will have mercy," contrary to the apostle, Rom. ix. 15, 16. And the whole efficacy of the grace of God is made thereby to depend on the wills of men; which is not consistent with our being the "workmanship of God, created in Christ Jesus unto good works," Eph. ii. 10. Nor, on this supposition, do men know what they pray for, when they pray for their own or other men's conversion to God; as hath been before declared. There is, therefore, necessary such a work of the Holy Spirit upon our wills as may cure and take away the depravation of them before described, freeing us from the state of spiritual death, causing us to live unto God, and determining them in and unto the acts of faith and obedience. And this he doth whilst and as he makes us new creatures, quickens us who are dead in trespasses and sins, gives us a new heart and puts a new spirit within us, writes his law in our hearts, that we may do the mind of God and walk in his ways, worketh in us to will and to do, making them who were unwilling and obstinate to become willing and obedient, and that freely and of choice. (3.) In like manner a prevailing love is implanted upon the affections by the Spirit of grace, causing the soul with delight and complacency to cleave to God and his ways. This removes and takes away the enmity before described, with the effects of it: Deut. xxx. 6, "The Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live." This circumcision of the heart consists in the "putting off the body of the sins of the flesh," as the apostle speaks, Col. ii. 11. He "crucifies the flesh, with the affections and lusts" thereof. Some men are inclined to think that all the depravation of our nature consists in that of the sensitive part of the soul, or our affections; the vanity and folly of which opinion bath been before discovered. Yet it is not denied but that the affections are signally depraved, so that by them principally the mind and will do act those lusts that are peculiarly seated in them, or by them do act according to their perverse and corrupt inclinations, Gal. v. 24; James i. 14, 15. Wherefore, in the circumcision of our hearts, wherein the flesh, with the lusts, affections, and deeds thereof, is crucified by the Spirit, he takes from them their enmity, carnal prejudices, and depraved inclinations, really though not absolutely and perfectly; and instead of them he fills us with holy spiritual love, joy, fear, and delight, not changing the being of our affections, but sanctifying and guiding them by the principle of saving light and knowledge before described, and uniting them unto their proper object in a due manner. From what hath been spoken in this third argument, it is evident that the Holy Spirit, designing the regeneration or conversion of the souls of men, worketh therein effectually, powerfully, and irresistibly; which was proposed unto confirmation. From the whole it appears that our regeneration is a work of the Spirit of God, and that not any act of our own, which is only so, is intended thereby. [131] I say it is not so our own as by outward helps and assistance to be educed out of the principles of our natures. And herein is the Scripture express; for, mentioning this work directly with respect unto its cause, and the manner of its operation in the effecting of it, it assigns it positively unto God or his Spirit 1 Pet. i. 3, "God, according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again." James i. 18, "Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth." John iii. 5, 6, 8, "Born of the Spirit." 1 John iii. 9, "Born of God." And, on the other hand, it excludes the will of man from any active interest herein; I mean, as to the first beginning of it: 1 Pet. i. 23, "Born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever." John i. 13, "Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." See Matt. xvi. 17; Tit. iii. 5; Eph. ii. 9, 10. It is, therefore, incumbent on them who plead for the active interest of the will of man in regeneration to produce some testimonies of Scripture where it is assigned unto it, as the effect unto its proper cause. Where is it said that a man is born again or begotten anew by himself? And if it be granted, -- as it must be so, unless violence be offered not only to the Scripture but to reason and common sense, -- that whatever be our duty and power herein, yet these expressions must denote an act of God, and not ours, the substance of what we contend for is granted, as we shall be ready at any time to demonstrate. It is true, God doth command us to circumcise our hearts and to make them new: but he doth therein declare our duty, not our power; for himself promiseth to work in us what he requireth of us. And that power which we have and do exercise in the progress of this work, in sanctification and holiness, proceeds from the infused principle which we receive in our regeneration; for all which ends we ought to pray for Him, according to the example of holy men of old. [132] __________________________________________________________________ [105] Ti to ophelos, ean eusunthetos men ho logos, kakosunthetos de ho tropos? ei men gar sophistou didaskaleion e he ekklesia euglottias hen ho kairos. Epeide de tropon agon kai karpophoria to prokeimenon, kai prosdokia ouranon to prosdokomenon, me glupta zeteistho all' ho tropos. --Athanas. de Semente. [106] " Non est igitur gratia Dei in natura liberi arbitrii, et in lege atque doctrina sicut Pelagius desipit, sed ad singulos actus datur illius voluntate de quo scriptum est; pluviam voluntariam segregabis Deus hæreditati tuæ. Quia et liberum arbitrium ad diligendum Deum primi peccati granditate perdidimus; et lex Dei atque doctrina quamvis sancta et justa et bona, tamen occidit, si non vivificet Spiritus, per quem fit non ut audiendo sed ut obediendo, neque ut lectione sed ut dilectione teneatur. Quapropter ut in Deum credamus et pie vivamus, non volentis neque currentis sed miserentis est Dei; non quia velle non debemus et currere, sed quia ipse in nobis et velle operatur et currere. Non ergo gratiam dicamus esse doctrinam, sed agnoscamus gratiam quæ facit prodesse doctrinam; quæ gratia si desit, videmus etiam obesse doctrinam." -- August. Epist. ccxvii, ad Vitalem. [107] "Sed quid illud est quo corporum sensus pulsantur, in agro cordis cui impenditur ista cultura, nec radicem potest figere nec germen emittere, nisi ille summus et verus Agricola potentia sui operis adhibuerit, et ad vitalem profectum ea quæ sunt plantata perduxerit?" -- Epist. ad Demetriadem. [108] "Omni dictamini rectæ rationis potest voluntas se conformare; sed diligere Deum super omnia est dictamen rectæ rationis; ratio enim dictat inter omnia diligenda esse aliquid summe diligendum. Item homo errans potest diligere creaturam super omnia, ergo etiam Deum; mirum enim valde esset, quod voluntas se conformare possit dictamini erroneo et non recto." -- Biel, ii. Sent. distinc. 27, q. art. 4. [109] "Hoc piarum mentium est, ut nihil sibi tribuant, sed totum gratiæ Dei; unde quantumcunque aliquis det gratiæ Dei, etiamsi subtrahat potestati naturæ aut liberi arbitrii a pietate non recedit; cum vero aliquid gratiæ Dei subtrahitur et naturæ tribuitur quod gratiæ est, ibi potest periculum intervenire." -- Cassander. Lib. Consult. art. lxviii. [110] "Pelagiana hæresis quo dogmate catholicam fidem destruere adorta sit, et quibus impietatum venenis viscera ecclesiæ atque ipsa vitalia corporis Christi voluerit occupare, notiora sunt quam ut opere narrationis indigeant. Ex his tamen una est blasphemia, nequissimum et subtilissimum germen aliarum, quâ dicunt gratiam Dei secundum merita hominum dari. Cum enim primum tantam naturæ humanæ vellent astruere sanitatem, ut per solum liberum arbitrium posset assequi Dei regnum; eo quod tam plene ipso conditionis suæ præsidio juvaretur; ut habens naturaliter rationalem intellectum facile bonum eligeret malumque vitaret, et ubi in utrâque parte libera essent opera voluntatis, non facultatem his qui mali sunt ad bonum deesse, sed studium. Cum ergo, ut dixi, totam justitiam hominis ex naturali vellent rectitudine ac possibilitate subsistere, atque hanc definitionem doctrina sana respueret, damnatum a catholicis sensum et multis postea hæreticæ fraudis varietatibus coloratum, hoc apud se ingenio servaverunt, ut ad incipiendum, et ad proficiendum, et ad perseverandum in bono necessariam homini Dei gratiam profiterentur. Sed in hac professione quo dolo vasa iræ molirentur irrepere, ipsa Dei gratia vasis misericordiæ revelavit. Intellectum est enim, saluberrimeque perspectum hoc tantum eos de gratia confiteri, quod quædam libero Arbitrio sit magistra, seque per cohortationes, per legem, per doctrinam, per creaturarum contemplationem, per miracula, perque terrores extrinsecus judicio ejus ostentet; quo unusquisque secundum voluntatis suæ motum, si quæsierit inveniat; si petierit, recipiat; si pulsaverit, introeat." -- Prosp. ad Rufin. de Lib. Arbit. [111] "Inaniter et perfunctorie potius quam veraciter pro eis, ut doctrinæ cui adversantur credendo consentiant, Deo fundimus preces, si ad ejus non pertinet gratiam convertere ad fidem suam, ipsi fidei contrarias hominum voluntates." -- August. Epist. ccxvii. [112] "Prima divini muneris gratia est, ut erudiat nos ad nostræ humilitatis confessionem, et agnoscere faciat, quod, si quid boni agimus, per illum possumus, sine quo nihil possumus." -- Prosp. Sentent. cv. ex August. [113] "Quicunque tribuit sibi bonum quod facit etiamsi videtur nihil mali manibus operari, jam cordis innocentiam perdidit in quo se largitori bonorum prætulit." -- Hieron. in cap. xvi. Proverb. [114] "O bone Domine Jesu, etsi ego admisi unde me damnare potes, tu non amisisti unde salvare soles. -- Verum est conscientia mea meretur damnationem, et poenitentia mea non sufficit ad satisfactionem. Sed certum est quod misericordia tua superat omnem offensionem. Parce ergo mihi, Domine, qui es salus vera et non vis mortem peccatoris: miserere, Domine, peccatrici animæ meæ, solve vincula ejus, sana vulnera ejus. Ecce misericors Deus coram te exhibeo animam meam virtutum muneribus desolatam, catenis vitiorum ligatam, pondere peccatorum gravatam, delictorum sordibus foedatam, discissam vulneribus dæmonum, putidam et foetidam ulceribus criminum: his et aliis gravioribus malis quæ tu melius vides quam ego obstrictam, oppressam, circumdatam, obvolutam, bonorum omuium relevamine destitutam," etc. [115] "Gratia qua Christi populus sumus hoc cohibetur Limite vobiscum, et formam hanc ascribitis illi, Ut cunctos vocet illa quidem invitetque; neque ullum Præteriens, studeat communem adferre salutem Omnibus, et totum peccato absolvere mundum. Sed proprio quemque Arbitrio parere vocanti, Judicioque suo, mota se extendere mente Ad lucem oblatam, quæ se non substrahat ulli; Sed cupidos recti juvet, illustretque volentes. Hinc adjutoris Domini bonitate magistra Crescere virtutum studia, ut quid quisque petendum Mandatis didicit, jugi sectetur amore." Prosp. de Ingrat. cap. x. 251-262. [1