in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." In this passage it appears, that to be the temple of the Spirit, and the temple of God, is the same thing; and therefore, it is an incontestible inference, that the Spirit is God." The God, who dwells and walks in the saints, is therefore, the Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit is so joined with the Lord of hosts, as to show that He is clothed with the same perfections, authority and glory. St. Paul says "Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." 2 Cor. 3. 17. It is very evident, that one and the same Person cannot be the Lord and the Spirit of the Lord. He is said to be the Spirit of the Son as well as of the Father, and, in the order of his offices, to be directed by them both. On this, St. Paul says "And because ye are Sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts." Gal. 4. 6. Again-"Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." Rom. 8. 9. In speaking of the Spirit, Christ saith unto his disciples-" Whom the Father will send in my name." John 14. 26. Again, Jesus saith of the Holy Ghost" Whom I will send unto you." Chap. 15. 26. It is unnecessary to say any more on the names which the Holy Ghost bears, to show that He is a Person in the Divine Essence, of equal eternity, power and glory with the Father and the Son.

2. The proper Deity of the Holy Ghost, appears from the infinite perfections which He sustains.

1. He is said to be eternal; or, "from everlasting to everlasting." This can be said of no other being but JEHOVAH Himself; and yet it is equally true of the Holy Ghost. In relation to this, St. Paul says" If the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the uncleap, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh :-how much more shall the blood of Christ, who, through the eternal Spirit, offer

ed himself unto God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God." Heb. 9, 13, 14. If the Holy Spirit be eternal, He had no beginning of existence; and therefore he must be the living God. I shall rest the whole argument on this single proof: for it is irresistible.

2. The Supreme Deity of the Holy Ghost appears from His omnipresence. Dwelling in heaven, and in every saint on the earth at one and the same time, settles this point completely. The inspired Psalmist says to God“Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?" The omnipresence of the Holy Ghost, is, therefore, completely proved; and no other arguments are necessary. Omnipresence is a perfection which belongs to no one but the Lord of hosts, who is the "first cause and the last end of all things."

3. The proper Deity of the Holy Ghost appears from His omniscience. It is said in the sacred word, that "the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." 1 Cor. 2. 10. "The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God." verse 11th.. It must surely be admitted on all hands, that no mere creature can search all things, and know all the secrets of the Almighty:-neither can these things be said of an attribute, nor of its operation. Such things bespeak knowledge and agency.

As it has been fully shewn that the Holy Ghost is not the Father, nor the Son, if such perfections belong to Him, they settle the point, that He is a Person in the essence of God, and of equal glory, with the other Persons in the Deity. The Bible, on any other scheme, is a mass of confusion-an inexplicable Book-a Book, calculated to mislead its readers-and has mislead the greater part of those into whose hands it has fallen. While it forbids idolatry on the pain of the Divine displeasure-threatening that sin with unlimited punishment-it has lead the great

er part of Christendom into the very depths of that evil : and even such people, as have suffered the most of any on the earth, for what they have believed to be the cause of God and truth. These are facts which cannot be denied, without displaying a degree of temerity which baffles a parallel. But on the ground of Trinitarian doctrine, the language of the Scriptures is intelligible, harmonious and beautiful in the highest degree. Thus we have the clearest testimony in the sacred pages, that "the Holy Ghost is the third Person in the incomprehensible essence of JEHOVAH; and that He is in all the Divine perfections, co-equal with the Father and the Son. The eternity of His being His names-His omnipresence-and His omniscience, completely prove the soul-animating doctrine.

4. To this overwhelmning evidence in favor of the Supreme Deity of the Holy Ghost, we may add His omnipotence. We are expressly informed in the book of Genesis, that, at the commencement of creation, "The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. This is a manifestation of His creating energy. He displayed His creating power in forming the material heavens, as well as the earth. Job says of God-"By his Spirit He hath garnished the heavens." Job 26. 13. In respect to the various creatures which move upon the face of the earth, the Psalmist saith unto God-"Thou sendest forth thy Spirit, they are created." Psalms 104. 30. But more will be said on the omnipotence of the Spirit,when we come to speak of his peculiar offices. From what has been said, however, His proper Deity very fully appears. St. Paul speaks in Rom. 15. 19, of the "power of the Spirit of God;" and that saying evinces that he is not an operation, but an operator.

5. The Supreme Deity of the Holy Ghost appears from His unlimited wisdom. The creation of man was the

result of His council, in union with the Father and the Son. On this account God said "Let us make man, in our image, after our likeness:"-and when he had fallen, God said-"Behold the man is become as one of us." Gen. 1. 26, and 3. 22.

The Holy Ghost is the acknowledged instructor of mankind; and executing this work is a manifestation of His infinite wisdom. A sacred writer asks this question"He that teacheth man knowledge, shall He not know?" The answer is yes. This is an invincible argument that the Holy Ghost possesses the perfection of knowing in an infinite degree.

6. The Supreme Deity of the Holy Ghost appears from the sovereignty of His agency on the hearts of men. This glorious perfection cannot be ascribed to a mere name, or operation of God. In respect to the Spirit's sovereignty, our Savior saith-"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." He renews the hearts of mankind when and where He pleases, and passes by forever, whom He will. In the great work of salvation, His sovereignty is conspicuous; and He gives to no one an account of His ways. When this doctrine is expressly mentioned, and fairly understood, it fills the hearts of unrenewed men with wrath.

Sovereignty is a divine prerogative; and, as the Holy Ghost evidently possesses it in an unlimited degree, He is God-there is no being above Him. In relation to this, the prophet Isaiah solemnly asks-"Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being His counsellor hath taught Him? With whom took He counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him knowledge, and taught Him the path of judgement, and shewed to Him the way of un

derstanding? Behold, the nations are as the drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance; behold He taketh up the Isles as a very little thing. And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt-offering. All nations before Him are as nothing; and are counted to Him less than nothing and vanity."

The Holy Ghost is evidently the Person the prophet has spoken of; and we see that he ascribes to Him the perfections of the Supreme Deity. St. Paul, in speaking of the various gifts of the Spirit, says "But all these worketh that one and the self same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will." The Holy Ghost, therefore, is not a mere energy of the Deity-but a proper Persona sovereign, independent agent, to whom be glory forever. AMEN.