tered; I must leave you, ver. 5. And for your parts, fo are you astonished with forrow, that you do not afk me whither I go, the confideration whereof would certainly relieve you, feeing I go to take poffeffion of my glory, and to carry on the work of your falvation: but your hearts are filled with forrow and fear, and you do not fo much as enquire after relief, ver. 5, 6. whereupon he adjoins that wonderful affertion, ver. 7. 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 unbut if I depart, I will fend him unto you.

to you,

This verfe then, being the peculiar foundation of what fhall afterward be declared, muft particularly be confidered as to the words of it, and their interpretation: and that both with respect to the preface of them, and the affeveration in them, with the reafon annexed thereunto.

1. The first word alla is an adverfative, not excepting to any thing of what himself had spoken before, but to their apprehenfion; I know you have fad thoughts of thefe things, but yet nevertheless,

2. Ego ten aletheian lego, "I tell you the truth." The words are exceeding emphatical, and denote fome great thing to be ushered in by them. First, ego, I tell it you, this that fhall now be fpoken; I who love you, who take care of you, who am now. about to lay down my life for you, they are my dying words, that you may believe me; I who am truth itself, I tell you; and,

"I

Ego ten aletheian lego, I tell you the truth." You have in your fad mifgiving hearts, many mifapprehenfions of things; you think, if I would abide with you, all thefe evils might be prevent

ed;

ed; but alas! you know not what is good for you, nor what is expedient; I tell you the truth; this is truth itself, and quiet your hearts in it. There is need of a great deal of evidence of truth; to comfort their fouls that are dejected and difconfolate under an apprehenfion of the abfence of Chrift from them, be the apprehenfion true or falfe.

And this is the first part of the words of our Saviour, the preface to what he was to deliver to them, by way of a weighty convincing affeveration, to difintangle thereby the thoughts of his difciples from prejudice, and to prepare them for the receiving of that great truth which he was to deliver.

2. The affertion itfelf follows, It is expedient for you, that I go away.

There are two things in the words; Chrift's departure, and the usefulness of it to his difciples. For his departure, it is known what is intended by it: the withdrawing his bodily prefence from the earth after his refurrection, the heavens being to receive him, until the time of the reftitution of all things. For in refpect of his Diety, and the exercise of love and care towards them, he promised to be with them to the end of the world, Matth. xxviii. laft. Of this faith he, it conduceth to your good; it is profitable for you, it is for your advantage, it will anfwer the end that you aim at; that is the sense of the word, which we have tranflated, expedient: it is for your profit and advantage. This then is that, which our Saviour afferts; and that with the earneftness before mentioned, defiring to convince his forrowful followers of the truth of it; namely, that his departure which they so much feared, and were troubled

troubled to think of, would turn to their profit and advantage,

3. Now although it might be expected that they fhould acquiefce in this affeveration of truth itself, yet because they were generally concerned in the ground of the truth of it, he acquaints them with that alfo; and that we may confefs it to be a great matter, that gives certainty and evidence to that propofition, he expreffes it negatively and positively; if I go not away he will not come, but if I depart I will fend him. Concerning the going away of Chrift, I have spoken before: of the Comforter his coming and fending, 1 fhall now treat, as being the thing aimed at.

O parakletos: the word being of fundry fignif cations, many tranflations have thought fit not to restrain it, but do retain the original word paracletus, fo the Syriak alfo: and as fome think, it was a word before in ufe among the Jews: whence the Chaldee paraphraft makes use of it, Job xvi. 201 and amongst them it fignifies one that fo taught o thers, as to delight them alfo in his teaching; that is to be their comforter. In fcripture it hath two eminent fignifications; an advocate and a comforter; in the first sense our Saviour is called parakletos, 1 John ii. 2. whether it be better rendered here an advocate or a comforter, may be doubted:

Look into the foregoing occafion of the words which is the difciples forrow and trouble, and it feems to require the Comforter; forrow hath filled your hearts, but I will fend you the Comforter; look into the next words following, which contain his peculiar work for which he is now promised to be fent, and they require he should be an Advocate to plead the cause of Chrift, against the world, ver.8.

1 fhall

I shall choose rather to interpret the promise by the occafion of it, which was the forrow of his difciples, and to retain the name of the Comforter.

Who this Comforter is, our bleffed Saviour had before declared, chap. xv. 26. he is the Spirit of truth, that is the Holy Ghost, who revealeth all truth to the fons of men. Now of this Comforter two things are affirmed,

1. That he fhall come. fend him.

2. That Chrift fhall

The affirmative of his

1. That he fhall come. coming, on the performance of that condition of it, of Chrift's going away, is included in the negation of his coming, without its accomplishment; if I go not away, he will not come; if I do go, he will come, fo that there is not only the miffion of Chrift but the will of the Spirit in his coming; he will come, his own will is in his work.

Pemfio auton, I will fend him; the mystery of his fending the Spirit, our Saviour inftructs his difciples in by degrees; chap. xiv. 16. he faith, I will pray the Father, he fhall fend you another Comforter. In the progrefs of his difcourfe he gets one ftep more upon their faith, ver. 26. But the Comforter which is the Holy Ghost whom the Father will fend in my name: but chap. xv. 26. he faith, I will fend him from the Father; and here abfolutely I will fend him. The bufinefs of fending the Holy Ghost

by Chrift which argues his perfonal proceffion alfo from him, the Son, was a deep mystery which at once they could not bear; and therefore he thus inftructs them in it by degrees.

This is the fum, the prefence of the Holy Ghoft with believers as a Comforter fent by Chrift, for thofe ends and purposes for which he is promised;

is better and more profitable for believers than any corporeal presence of Chrift can be, now he hath fulfilled the one facrifice for fin, which he was to offer.

Now the Holy Spirit is promised under a twofold confideration. 1. As a Spirit of fanctification to the elect, to convert them and make them believers, 2. As a Spirit of confolation to believers, to give them the privileges of the death and purchase of Chrift: it is in the latter sense only wherein he is here spoken of; now as to his presence with us in this regard, and the end and purposes for which he is fent, for what is aimed at, obferve,

1. The rife and fountain of it, 2. The manner of his being given, 3. Our manner of receiving him, 4. His abiding with us, 5. His acting in us, 6. What are the effects of his working in us, and then how we hold communion with him, will from all thefe appear.

What the fcripture fpeaketh to thefe particulars, fhall briefly be confidered.

1. For the fountain of his coming it is mentioned, John xv. 26. he proceedeth from the Father; this is the fountain of this difpenfation; he proceedeth from the Father; now there is a twofold proceffion of the Spirit.

1. In refpect of fubftance and perfonality.

2. In refpect of the work of grace: of the first, in which respect he is the Spirit of the Father and the Son, proceeding from both eternally, fo receiving his fubftance and perfonality; I fpeak not: it is a business of another nature than that I have now in hand. Therein indeed lyes the first and most remote foundation of all our diftinct communion with him and our worship of him. But because abiding