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Heb. ix. 14. "The Spirit of God;" and "the Spirit of Chrift;" as he was purchased and fent by Chrift to bear the part he fuftains in the work of our falvation. "If any man hath not the Spirit of Chrift," Rom. viii. 9. "God hath fent forth the Spirit of his Son,' Gal. iv. 6. And frequently, as in the text, he is called abfolutely and in a way of emphafis, the Spirit, without any addition, in places too numerous to need reciting. And that he is meant in this exhortation, may appear from a parallel phrafe, which is frequently used concerning fome in the New Teftament, that they were full of the Holy Ghoft, or Spirit ;" which is faid of Chrift himself, Luke iv. 1. And of Stephen, A&ts vi. 5. chap. vii. 55. And of Barnabas, Acts xi. 24. Now we fhall. most reasonably understand the apostle here to exhort Chriftians to be filled with the fame Spirit, which those perfons are declared to be full of.

2. The gracious influences and operations of this bleffed agent upon our minds, in order to our holiness and happiness, are that participation of the Spirit, which we are to seek after,

It is not his bare effential presence with us. So he neceffarily is every where; he filleth heaven and earth. "Whither fhall I go from thy Spirit?" Pfal. cxxxix. 7. Though by the way, I cannot fee how all Chriftians through the world could be directed to expect his influences, without fuppofing him to be poffeffed of that divine perfection of omniprefence. I can by no means apprehend it poflible, that

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a finite being should have accefs at once to all minds.

Nor are his extraordinary influences and operations in miraculous gifts the things intended. He acted as a Spirit of prophesy under the Old Testament. "Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost," 2 Pet. i. 21. "The Spirit of Christ was in them, teftifying" the things which they delivered, 1 Pet. i. 11. And in the primitive age of the chriftian church, his extraordinary influences in various kinds were extenfive and furprising. "God revealed the things, which eye had not feen, nor ear heard, nor had entered into the heart of man, by his Spirit" to the apostles and firft publishers of the Gospel, and enabled them infallibly to make them known to the world, 1 Cor. ii. 9, 10. He immediately endowed them with fupernatural qualifications for the fervices to which they were called, fo that their enemies" were not able to refift the wifdom and the fpirit by which they spake," Acts vi. 10. He gave miraculous atteftations to the truth of chriftianity, by the gift of tongues, and by many other figns and wonders.

These were peculiar to that first age, and neceffary to lay the foundations of the chriftian church; but not defigned or needful to be continued in after-times. The revelation of God's will was then completed, fo as neither to need nor admit of any addition, Rev. xxii. 18. and fufficient atteftations were then given to the truth of the Gofpel in the firft age, and fufficient provifion made for convey

ing the notice of them down to all after-ages in an ordinary way; fo that nothing more of this kind is to be expected, as far as I can perceive, from the Gospel.

All these influences of the Spirit were more directly intended for the good of others, than of the perfons themfelves who partook of them. Indeed in thofe days, while fuch ex-traordinary gifts were difpenfed, the apoftle exhorted Chriftians to defire a fhare in them, in order to their greater usefulness, 1 Cor. xii. 31. "Covet earnestly the best gifts." But even then he directed them to the gracious influences of the Spirit, as much more valuable: "And yet," fays he," fhew I unto you a more excellent way." What that more ex>cellent way was, he immediately lets them know in the next chapter; namely, the holy difpofitions which the Spirit produces by his fanctifying grace; one of which he fingles out fuitable to his prefent occafion, charity. And he gives a very plain reafon for this preference; because the most excellent gifts of the Spirit might be without his grace; and if they were fo feparated, they would not turn to their final account. If a man could speak with the tongue of men and of angels; if he had the gift of prophecy, and understood all myfteries and all knowledge, and had all faith," i. e. to work miracles; this might be without charity, or the other graces of the Spirit : and if fo, a man would be nothing after all; or if any thing, only as "founding brafs, or a tinkling cymbal," 1 Cor. xiii. 1, 2. If he was enabled by fuch gifts to be pleasing or VOL. I. profitable

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profitable to others; yet whatever agreeable found he might make in their ears, he would have no more fhare in relifhing the harmony, than a mufical inftrument hath.

Such gifts may aggravate men's condemnation, but can never of themselves bring them to heaven. The apoftle feems to speak mainly of the participation of these extraordinary gifts, when he says, Heb. vi. 4, 5, 6. “It is impoffible for thofe, who were once enlightned, and have tafted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tafted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come;" i. e. as I think, the miraculous powers difplayed in the evangelical ftate, which the fame apostle declares to be the world to come; whereof he pake," chap. ii. 7. "If thefe," fays he, "fhall fall away, it is impoffible to renew them again to repentance." It was next to impoffible, that is extremely difficult, to recover such, if they should become apoftates, because they had had fuch evidences for christianity already, as could hardly be out-done; and yet they might leave their hearts unchanged.

These things therefore were not the operations of the Spirit, which were most valuable then but his direct agency as a Spirit of holinefs. And it was plainly the apoftle's intention in the text to direct the Ephefians to this latter kind of his influences; if we confider what effect he intimates their being filled with the Spirit would have upon them, in the words following the text. Be filled with the Spirit; fpeaking to yourselves in pfalms, and hymns,

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hymns, and fpiritual fongs; finging and making melody in your heart to the Lord: giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father, in the name of our Lord Jefus Chrift: fubmitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God," ver. 19, 20, 21. which is in effect to fay, "Be filled with the spirit, that fo you may be difpofed to all the acts of de❝votion toward God, and to perform them "in a fpiritual manner, as unto God; and that you might be formed alfo to behave aright "towards men." Now they would be furnished for these things by the fanctifying influences, not by the gifts of the Spirit. And therefore the apoftle must be understood of the former.

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Thefe operations were neceffary to any fpiritual good in fallen creatures from the beginning. We find fome promifes of them under the Old Teftament, and good men then fometimes exprefsly praying for them; but they were referved for a fuller difcovery under the New. When Chrift engaged in his public miniftry, he directed the eyes of his followers to the bleffed Spirit as the fountain of fpiritual good, and encouraged them to hope and afk for his grace from their heavenly Father, Luke xi. 13. And as his gracious agency will be ftill needed for the fame purpofes to the end of time, we should still have a conftant eye to it.

3. The genuine fruits which the gracious influences of the Holy Spirit tend to produce in us, muft alfo be taken in, as a part of the object of purfuit here recommended to us;

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