The Work of the Spirit.

O then for

dark ocean of doubt and despair. sake not thine own, who could never have been thine own but from thy mere love and bounty, and perfect all the work of grace in me, that, before men and angels, I may give indubitable proof that indeed I am thine!

CHAP. XVIII.

THE WORK OF THE SPIRIT.

THE nature of man, since the FALL, is carnal and prone to evil; nor hath it power or inclination to raise up itself to the desire and enjoyment of heavenly things, but, on the contrary, shuns and abhors them. It savoureth not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men, and of the world.

Now, as whatsoever is born of the flesh is flesh, and as flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom or grace of God, it is not marvellous that Christ should say, Ye must be born again, or that it is absolutely necessary for a man to be renewed in the spirit of his mind, before he can apprehend or enjoy the things of God. We see this plain necessity proved by the case of all men; for no man seeks and knows God by his own natural abilities; and every one, who doth know him, freely confesses, that it is by grace alone he obtained that knowledge.

is a

The first work of the Spirit, then, in a sinner, new birth unto righteousness.' As this is the Spirit's office in the covenant of grace, so believers under it are said to be born of the Spirit.

New Birth.

This is their entrance into the knowledge of themselves and of God. They are united unto God in Christ by the act of his Spirit, and so partake a new life, with new functions, faculties, and affections, peculiar to it; which life is in all things opposite to the carnal life of their fallen nature, and creates, from the time of its birth, a constant warfare in them against the being and power of evil.

As this generation, in its essence, is the sole work of the Spirit; so it is likewise in all its effects. When the christian begins to live spiritually, he is soon enabled to think and act spiritually. And as the views and objects of this life are beyond the creature, and rest in God and in Christ; the Holy Spirit leads up the heart to a dependance on the divine Persons for the attainment of them. This is true and genuine faith: And thus it appears, that it is both the gift and the operation of the Spirit.

By this faith, the christian desires and attains what he desires: By this he prays, and hopes, and waits, and expects: By this he wrestles against sin, and Satan, and the world: By this he looks with a holy contempt on the perishing things, and beholds those delightful realities which are invisible to sense: By this he knows himself to be a child of God, and the purchase of Christ By this he sees a glorious immortality provided for him, and longs often to enjoy it: By this he suffers the will of God, as well as obeys it, knowing that it must work entirely for his good: By this he welcomes death itself, and at length obtains the victory over it through Jesus Christ his Lord. All this work of faith is carried on by the effectual unceasing agency of

:

Divine Breathings.

the Holy Spirit. It is an action upon the spirit of a man, which none but the God of spirits either would or could perform. And where this work is not thus inwardly performed, there may indeed be the notions of truth, and the forms of godliness, but they have no real life or power in them. The heart, in that case, may be as dead to God, and as much in and of the world, as ever. He is called the Spirit of Christ, because he not only is one with him in Jehovah, but also takes of the things of Christ, and shows them to his people. Thus, where his Spirit dwells, Christ is said to dwell, because of their inseparable union. If Christ dwell in our hearts by faith, it is therefore because the Spirit of Christ is in us; and God is in us of a truth. It was the Spirit of Christ in the apostle which enabled him to say, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

To thee, then, O thou Holy Spirit of truth, and by thine own power, do I look up for the life of faith and hope, and for the increase of faith and hope, and every blessing! O work in me to will and to do what is right; for without thee I can neither will nor do any thing but evil. I am all depravity; but thou art grace itself, and the God of all grace. I am weakness, instability, and want; but thou art everlasting Strength, the Rock of ages, the Fulness which filleth all in all. I have nothing, but thou hast all things. O behold thy poor servant, whom thou hast made willingly to serve thee; and let all the good pleasure of thy will be done in me and by me. Abate my pride, subdue my unbelief, mortify my cor

Three Persons.

ruptions, establish my soul. All that I need, supply, according to thy riches in glory by Christ Jesus. So shall I be stedfast in thy stedfastness, lively in thy life, active in thy power, faithful in thy grace, wise in thy wisdom, holy in thine holiness, happy in thy love, persevering to the end by thine incessant care, comfort, and preservation. Lord, who and what am I, that thou hast so tenderly brought me hitherto; when, like millions around me, I might have been justly cut off, and left silent in darkness! Help, O help me to adore thee, and to testify of thy goodness and grace, in heart and in mind, in lip and in life, both now and for ever.

CHAP. XIX.

ON THE EQUAL OBLIGATION OF BELIEVERS TO THREE PERSONS IN JEHOVAH.

It is an error to suppose, that we are indebted to one more than another of the divine Persons: for their love is but one and the same love, as their essence or nature is one and the same; and there could not exist such a difference or inequality of kindness to men, unless there was such a difference or inequality in themselves as would not stand with the perfect unity of the Godhead.

The love of the three Persons formed the covenant of grace from everlasting, in which they were equally and undividedly concerned; and though the fulfilment of this covenant had necessarily an order and distinction, according to the several engagements of the three distinct Persons, yet the mind and will of the Godhead

Father, Son, and Spirit.

were but one, and the object of their power but one, even Jehovah's glory in the salvation of sinners.

The Father loved, and concurred in the redemption of his chosen by Christ; the Son loved, and bare their sins in their nature, glorifying in that nature all the attributes of the Godhead; the Spirit loved, and engaged to make effectual the whole plan, by fitting the heart to receive, and by carrying to the heart the benefits of eternal salvation. Thus God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself; Christ fulfilled all that was given him to do; the Spirit enlivens, enlightens, and seals to the day of redemption. This is the order of the covenant; beginning with the Father, and, through the Son and Spirit, descending from heaven to the salvation of his people; but, in the order of their enjoyment of this covenant, the Spirit begins with them, and they ascend by him, next to the Son, and then to the Father. This is a blessed mystery of faith, which (however plain in the scriptures) can only be understood truly in the course of a gracious experience. No mere notions, and especially of the carnal mind, can possibly reach it. The tuition, or rather intuition, is altogether divine.

What a blessed thing it is to believe and to know assuredly, that the wisdom, will, affection, and power, of all the persons in Jehovah are concerned in the salvation of every poor sinner that repenteth! What a confidence of spirit ought not this to inspire in the children of God! If the Lord be thus engaged and concerned in their welfare, how can any of them be lost, or fail of what he hath prepared for them? O my soul, rejoice in the love of the Father, Son, and Spirit,

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