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 3 chap. 8 verse.

These are the words of Christ to Nicodemus, one of the Pharisees, a ruler of the Jews: who came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do those miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

Whether this member of the Jewish Sanhedrim came to Jesus by night, out of shame to come to him by day; or from fear of the Jews to come to him by day, is a matter of little importance for us to know. The last account we have of Nichodemus, inclines us to think the latter; or rather, that he deemed it prudent to come to Jesus secretly, lest he should rouse up the jealousy and envy of the Pharisees against him: for nothing could exasperate them so much, as to hear that any of the rulers, entertained a favorable opinion of him as the true Messiah.

When our blessed Redeemer was buried, when the faith of his disciples was under the curtains, and the shades of darkness, Nicodemus came forward as a bold soldier of the cross. Such was the faith, and hope, and love of him, who formerly came unto Jesus by nightthat he now publicly owns him by day light; and sees that he is decently buried. The faith that begins well, will end well. Our Saviour addressed him with that

solemnity that becomes the importance of a divine oath. Verily, verily I say unto thee. As thou believest that I am a teacher come from God, I must let thee know the doctrine that I teach. That every man must experience a real change of heart: which must manifest itself in the general conduct, before he is a proper member of the church militant on earth; and before he can enter the church triumphant in heaven. To be cir. cumcised the eighth day, according to the law of Moses constituted any one a member of the national church under the old dispensation; but that is not the case now, under the gospel dispensation: for the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: and every one, let him be ever so nearly related to Abraham, if he does not personally bring forth good fruit, must be cut down, and cast into the fire. Think not therefore to say within yourselves, that you have Abraham for your Father. Ye Jews, must be born again. Ye Gentiles, must be created anew in Christ Jesus. All of you must be made new creatures. For that which is born of the flesh, is flesh. All are carna] unclean and defiled, and no unclean thing shall ever enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Nicodemus is here taught by an unerring teacher, that this inward change is, of the operation of the Holy Spirit, by the instrumentality of the word of God; that it is invisible, irresistible, and sovereign as the wind, which bloweth where it listeth. This is a subject of the greatest importance, and every one should examine himself, whether he is born again or not. The Rev. George Whitfield preached the same sermon on the subject of regeneration, two hundred times, in England, America, and Wales.

From the words of our text, we would notice,

I. The nature,

II. The necessity, and

III. The Agent of regeneration.

I. But we would notice in the first place, the nature of regeneration.

In regeneration the mind is illuminated, the will is subdued, and the affections are rectified. The new creature has faculties to see, to feel, and to taste; to love, and to hate, to mourn, and to rejoice. These faculties are not created anew; the understanding, the will, the conscience, and affections, are still the same; but they are fixed on new objects, and operate in a different way.The new man acts contrary to the inclinations of the old man. The law of the mind is warring against the law of the members; and the spiritually minded is against the carnally minded. Such sensations as these made a man, that was under serious impressions, to tell Mr. Robinson of Cambridge, that he had two hearts; one fighting against the other, one of them, said he, wants me to get drunk, and break the Sabbath, as I used to do: and the other wants me to quit these sinful habits altogether, and attend to the means of grace. Regeneration is not making the old man better; neither does it convert the heart of stone to an heart of flesh; but it is to give you a new heart, and to renew a right spirit within you. When the holy spirit of God takes possession of the heart, the strong man armed and every thing which belongs to him are cast out; but the faculties of the soul, the old fixtures of the house are to remain, and be covered over with the golden image of the second Adam.

While in a state of nature, we are not only in the dark, but very darkness itself: for darkness hath covered the earth, and gross darkness the people; so that we know not the nature and sad consequence of sin. The natural man receiveth not the things that are of the spi rit of God, neither does he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. To be born again therefore

is, to be made light in the Lord, and in that light, the regenerated character, has seen the evil of sin, the depravity of his nature, his lost and ruined condition, his inability to save himself, the insufficiency of his own righteousness to justify him in the sight of God, and the glory and excellency of Christ as the only Saviour of lost and perishing sinners. Vicious principles are removed, and contrary dispositions are brought in their room. The old man put off and the new man put onall things are become new. A new road to travel, new friends, with whom he associates, a new employment in which he is engaged, and within him there is a new principle by which he is actuated.

To be born again is, to have your will subdued, so as to be conformable with the will of God, and to be willing to be saved upon that plan contrived by infinite wisdom to save rebellious man; through the sufferings and death of Christ, who died on the cross for our sins, and rose again for our justification. The carnal mind is enmity against God; it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. While in the state of nature, we hate, what we should love, and love, what we should hate; we rejoice, in what we should mourn, and mourn, in whai we should rejoice. Though we are captives, prisoners, and slaves; yet will not be liberated. Though we are sick and wounded; yet there is nothing that we hate so much as the balm that is in Gilead, and the Physician that is there; but in the gate of regeneration, the unwil ling are made willing in the day of God's power, both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Every thing naturally acts according to the principle that is within it. Fire naturally burns,-smoke naturally ascends,water naturally descends,-fishes as naturally live in the ocean, as the feathered tribes in the air above us; so the ungodly characters are travelling the

downward road to destruction; and the regenerated mea are on their pilgrimage to the celestial city; all of them actuated according to the nature of the principle that is within them.

Again to be born again is to be made spiritually minded; less carnal, and more spiritual; less earthly, and more heavenly minded; to pant after fellowship, and communion with God, as the hart panteth after the water-brooks.

A man may obtain a speculative knowledge of God, and his attributes, of the law, and its spirituality, of the gospel and its fulness, of the nature and dreadfu consequence of sin, of the promises and threatenings of God, of the miserable state and condition of man by nature; of the day of judgment, and the eternal duration of the punishment of the wicked, and the happiness of the righteous, without being made spiritually minded.— It is only the regenerated character, that can act by faith in the truth, hope in the goodness, love in the beauty, and godly fear in the authority of divine things.Before the man has experienced a real change of heart, he could see the water of life, but did not drink of it, he could see the rich provisions of the banqueting-house the bread, the wine, the milk, and the honey, but never tasted them; he could see the sword of the spirit, but never felt its keen edge wounding his heart; and never experienced the efficacy of the balm of Gilead extraoting the poison from his wounded heart.

Finally to be born again is, to have your whole conversation changed. A new heart makes a new life, and a single eye makes the whole body full of light. Whenever divine grace is implanted in the heart, it must manifest itself in the general conduct. This regenerating grace, not only makes good men and good women, but it makes them better members of society; it makes bet