his all-fubduing power is difplayed in the foul. The Spirit teftifies of him as the almighty and eternal God, by the glorious majesty of Christ which the Spirit difcovers, and which shines into the soul.- Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of God is rifen upon thee; and the Lord fhall be thine everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Under this manifestation the foul falls proftrate before hims owns, honours, adores, and worships him. The Spirit teftifies of him as our high-prieft, and applies the atonement, with pardon and peace, as the bleffed effects of it. He teftifies of him as our phyfician; and the proof of it is, our iniquities are all forgiven, and all our infirmities are healed. He teftifies of him as the end of the law for righteousness, by applying his righteousness to the heart, and by paffing the fentence of juftification upon the confcience; at which time Chrift, as our Advocate, filences all our accufers; and, as our Mediator, he gives us access to God, a claim upon him, and boldness with him. The Holy Spirit teftifies of him as our King, and reveals him as fuch, and erects his empire in the foul upon our reception of Chrift; which ftands in power, in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghoft. When fin is dethroned, the devil, his armour, and artillery, are caft out, death is abolished, life and immortality is brought to light, and the fear of death and the dread of damnation are difperfed; and all our perplexing doubts, cares, and gloomy thoughts about it feat

tered

tered into all winds. Thus, my dear brother, does the Holy Spirit teftify of Chrift, and gives evident proofs of his ability to fave to the uttermoft; he realizes his faving benefits, applies his merits, proclaims his omnipotence, his mild and bleffed go. vernment, the powerful fway of his righteous fceptre, and the glorious majefty of his kingdom.

8. The application of all the promises is the work of the Holy Spirit. The promise of life and the spirit of life always go together, for it is the powerful application of the word by the Spirit that makes the promise-The incorruptible feed, the word of God, that liveth and abideth for ever. All the promifes of divine confolation have their fincere milk from Chrift by the Holy Spirit: one promife brings peace, another joy, another love, another comfort, another reft; juft as the Holy Spirit fends them in, fo they discharge their rich contents: the hungry foul, by exercifing faith upon them, fucks the sweetness of them, till he is filled with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Rejoice ye with Jerufalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her: that ye may fuck, and be fatisfied with the breafts of her confelations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. Ifa. lxvi. 10, 11. There is no converting, refreshing, encouraging power attends the word without the Spirit's operation. When he makes application of it, faith, life, and love attend it; for our gofpel came not unto you in

word only, but in power, in the Holy Ghoft, and in much affurance. 1 Theff. i. 5. And various are the fenfations of the foul under the Spirit's influence when he applies the word: fometimes it is a word of support that fortifies and strengthens; sometimes a word of encouragement to keep us watching, waiting, and to bear us up under trials and croffes; fometimes a word of correction that leads. us to felf-examination, which awes us, and excites watchfulness and amendment; at other times a foft word that breaketh the bone, and melts us under a fense of undeferved love and felf-abhorrence; and often a word of inftruction to correct the mind, disperse some wrong notion, to inform the judgment, and to bring more harmonious and confiftent views of things to the foul. Innumerable are the ways by which the Holy Spirit works by the word, and in his application of it; but it is always a feafonable application; And a word spoken in due season, how good is it? A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of filver. Prov. xv. 23. and xxv. II.

9. The fecret things of God, fuch as his counsel and covenants, are made known to us by the Holy Spirit-What man knoweth the things of a man, farve the fpirit of man which is in him? Even fo the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 1 Cor. ii. II. The Holy Spirit, when he has teftified of Chrift to us, leads us back to his great undertaking and appointment from everlasting; he leads us up to the everlafting love of God, and to his abfolute

abfolute choice of us in Chrift Jefus; to his fecret decrees of election and predeftination; to his good will of purpose in Chrift, and to the secret counsel of his will; and to his covenant made with Chrift before the world began-For the froward is abomination to the Lord; but his fecret is with the righteous. Prov. iii. 32. The fecret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will fhew them his covenant. Pfalm XXV. 14. The fecret of predeftinating us to the adoption of children by Chrift Jefus, and of his giving us life in him, and of his ordaining us to it before the world began, is revealed and made known to the elect of God by the Spirit; and our knowledge of these things, and of our interest in them, is our highest wisdom-But we fpeak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory; which none of the princes of this world knew; for, had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, Eye hath not feen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God bath revealed them to us by his Spirit; for the Spirit Searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 1 Cor. ii. 7-10. Our faith is called the faith of God's elect, not only because it is a grace peculiar to them, but becaufe God's election of us is a truth. revealed to faith, and a truth which faith apprehends and holds faft; for there can be no fuch thing as making our calling and election fure, without being

affured that there is fuch a doctrine as election. From God's fecret counfel and covenant fprings no finall part of our unfpeakable joy. God fills us with joy and peace in believing, and especially in believing our election of God-Notwithstanding, in this rejoice not, that the fpirits are fubject unto you; but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven. Luke x. 20. If these things are lacking in our faith, our faith is deficient in one of the moft fublime and establishing articles. He that believeth the love that God hath to him, is led to believe that this love took its rife from eternity (for there are no new acts in God); and from those ancient fettlements are the goings forth of Chrift dated.-But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee fhall be come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Ifrael; whofe goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Micah v. 2. Into these deep things does the Holy Spirit lead us, and into a humble acquiefcence with them, and fills us with wonder and astonishment at them. And he likewise leads us into the diftinct perfonal works of the holy and bleffed Trinity. As a fpirit of adoption he gives us power and boldness to claim our interest in God as our Covenant-God and Father -To as many as received him to them gave he power to become the fons of God, even to them which believe on his name; which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. This birth makes our fonship clear: love gives us a dwelling