with the neuter noun, пNEYмA, the emphatic word EKEINOE, in the masculine gender, as in John xvi. 13, ὅταν δὲ ἔλθῃ ΕΚΕΙΝΟΣ ΤΟ ΠΝΕΥΜΑ τῆς ἀληθείας, which, properly rendered, signifies, "when He, i. e., that Person, the Spirit of Truth shall come,' evidently to shew that the word IINEYMA is not to be understood of any inanimate substance, but as a personal term denoting an intelligent agent or person.

The departure of our Lord is contrasted with the coming of the Comforter, as a further intimation of the personality of the promised Comforter.

Our Lord seems to reason with his disciples, that it is expedient He should go away, and, in person, withdraw from them, otherwise the Comforter could not really, and in person, come to them; but if He does really depart, then shall the Holy Ghost as really, and in person, come to them, as He came, and shall be sent to them by Him, in the same manner as He was Himself sent to them by the Father. "Nevertheless," says He, "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. As my Father sent me, even so send I the Holy Ghost."1

In the evangelical account of the fulfilment of this promise, the coming of the Comforter is re

lated; and the Comforter himself is described as a Being endowed with mind, choice, and affection, and every other characteristic that can designate an intelligent agent or person. He is pleased,1 vexed, grieved, provoked; has heard, spoken," received, distributed," willed; and he still guides' men in all truth, helps10 their infirmities, and makes intercession for them.

So lively a portraiture is utterly inconsistent with the "science falsely so called," which teaches that the spirit is an attribute or quality only of the Divine Being. Affections and operations of the mind can be predicated only of a sentient being: and as the Holy Ghost, as described in Scripture, is neither un-originate like the Father, nor begotten like the Son, but proceeding;" and as His office 13 is distinguished from those of the former persons, inasmuch as he is come to "advocate the cause of Christ," and "to sanctify the elect;" so the Spirit is not only proved to be a person, but to be a person distinct in office and in subsistence from the Father and the Son.

As regards the Godhead of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit stands before us arrayed in all the fearful attributes of eternity," omniscience, 15 omnipresence,

omnipotence,-attributes which belong exclusively to Deity, and, consequently, to none to whom the nature of God does not appertain.

He is also the Inspirer of the prophets,-the Sanctifier of the elect; and His it is to know' the mind of God, and to be His Counsellor.

2

From Him, as from the lap of plenty, descend all spiritual graces. Holiness, Truth, Love, Glory, all flow from Him as their fountain and real source.

To one He divides the word of wisdom, to another the gift of charity; and the fruit of his workings are Temperance, Meekness, Long-suffering, GentleSo that He is clearly that Being whom St. James addressed as "The Father of Lights, with whom there is no variableness nor shadow of turning."

ness.

1

1 1 Cor. ii. 10, 11. There cannot be a clearer proof of the consubstantial nature of the Spirit with the Father, than the statement of St. Paul," the Spirit searcheth and knoweth the things of God." In the verses to which I have referred, the Apostle asserts, "the things of God knoweth no one,” ovdɛïs, i. e., neither man nor angel, none but God Himself; and therefore the Spirit who knows the things must necessarily be God Himself. Secondly, he asserts, that the Spirit is with God and in God, as intimately as the soul is in the body. "What man," says he, "knoweth the things of a man save the Spirit of man which is in Him? Even so, the things of God knoweth none but the Spirit of God."

21 Cor. ii. 10. 16. It is evident from Isai. xl. 13, that God has no other counsellor than Himself; consequently since the Spirit is the counsellor, He is God Himself.

3 James i. 17.

Nor could He with propriety be said to dispense gifts according to His own will, if He was not truly God. For every being inferior to God performs not his own will, but the will of Him whose minister he is. But of the Holy Ghost it is said "He divideth His gifts to every man severally as He will." 1

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There is a sin also which is emphatically called Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost," which bears a melancholy stamp of the awful nature of this Being. If the Holy Ghost was by nature inferior to the Father or the Son, sins committed against Him would be less aggravating in their nature than those committed against the Father and Son. But we are told by Christ Himself, that "all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. Whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever speaketh a word against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.'

2

To these proofs of the Divine Essence of the Holy Ghost may be added some which spring from the titles by which he has been addressed.

He is called "Lord." "The Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ."3

1 1 Cor. xii. 11.

2 Matt. xii. 31, 32.

3 2 Thess. iii. 5. The Third Person of the Trinity is here

He is called "God."

Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost.... Thou hast not lied unto man, but unto God.” 1

He is called "the Lord God of Israel, who spake by the mouth of His prophets since the world began. For "holy men," says St. Peter, "spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." "

He is called "the Lord of Hosts," who spake to Isaiah saying, "Go tell this people, hear ye indeed, but understand not," &c.; for St. Paul, referring to the same vision, says, "Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet, unto our Fathers, saying, Go unto this people and say, hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand," &c.

There can be no advantage in pursuing the inquiry further. It is certain the Scriptures teach— First, that the Word and Spirit are two Persons: persons who are distinct from the person of the Father by office, by relationship, and by their mode of subsistence. Secondly, that they are of one substance with the Father: for by forbidding us on the one hand to acknowledge any other than one God, and by demanding our assent on the other hand that the Father is God, the Son is God, and

called "Lord." For the First Person is mentioned in the phrase, "love of God," and the Second is distinctly named "Christ."