Ess. XI.] PRAY FOR AND OBEY THE SPIRIT.

543

much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" Luke xi. 11-13. And here I would remark, that, as the gift of the Holy Spirit is a pure, unmixed, unquestionable good; since it must always tend, without the slightest variation or "shadow of turning," to our own essential happiness, and to the glory of God— it is a blessing for which we cannot pray too constantly or too fervently. In order to the attainment of such a blessing, we may safely give wings to our utmost desires, and, without reserve, pour forth our warmest petitions to a throne of grace. The influence of the Holy Spirit is precisely that one indispensable gift, for which "men ought always to pray, and not to faint," Luke xviii. 1.

Finally, we are exhorted by an apostle not to quench, and not to grieve, the Holy Spirit, Eph. iv. 30; 1 Thess. v. 19. Experience affords us many a melancholy proof, that merciful as are the designs of the eternal Spirit towards us, and infinite as is his power, he may soon be grieved by our pride, our impenitence, our unbelief, and our rebellion, and his gentle influences quenched by the vain pleasures of the world, and the sinful indulgence of the flesh. It is said of the Israelites of old, (and very awful is the warning) that "they rebelled and vexed his [the Lord's] Holy Spirit, and that, "therefore," God was turned to be their enemy, and fought against them," Isa. lxiii. 10. If we would avail ourselves of the privileges of the gospel dispensation, and participate in the fellowship of the saints, and in the peace of God, we must not only wait

544

JUSTIFICATION AND SANCTIFICATION. [Ess. XI.

and pray for the Holy Spirit-we must also yield to his influence, submit ourselves to his guidance, and obey his dictates. Thus, and thus only, shall we make an effectual progress in our Christian course, advance in the life of grace and holiness, and realize, in our own experience, the declaration of Solomon, that "the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day," Prov. iv. 18.

Having now considered the principal features of that glorious plan of love and wisdom which God has appointed for the redemption of mankind, we may revert to the inquiry which formed our Introduction to the present Essay. What could be the mighty and equivalent purposes for which that infinitely glorious Person, the Son of God, who is one with the Father in the Divine nature, and is therefore himself Jehovah, should so marvellously condescend and humble himself, as to take our nature upon him; in that nature undergo every species of contumely and contradiction of sinners, and finally die on the cross a cruel and shameful death?

To this inquiry, the Scriptural statements, which have now passed under our review, afford a full and satisfactory answer. In his adorable mercy, in his almighty power, he came not only to reveal the truth, and to promulgate the law of God, but also to deliver mankind; to recover them from their lost condition; to save them from the dominion of Satan, and from everlasting destruction; to supply all their

Ess. XI.]

CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS.

545

spiritual need; to reconcile them by his blood-shedding and mediation to the Father Almighty; to impart to them the merits of his own righteousness; to illuminate, regenerate, and sanctify them by his Holy Spirit; to bestow upon them both indemnity and cure; and thus to provide for them a boundless eternity of unsullied happiness. Here are unfolded purposes worthy of the Son of God, by whom all things were created "in heaven and in earth;" and worthy of the peculiar display of his love and condescension revealed to us in the Biblepurposes fully adequate to his Divine dignity, and capable of being carried into effect only by Him, who while he suffered in our suffering nature, was indeed JEHOVAH-personally participating in the wisdom, power, and essence of the ONLY TRUE GOD. Whether, indeed, we regard the human nature of Jesus Christ, in which he ministered to our necessities, died for our sins, rose for our justification, and now, in his priestly character, is tenderly touched with a feeling of our infirmities,-or his Divine nature, which imparts an infinite efficacy to all his gracious offices; we cannot but acknowledge that between the spiritual wants of mankind on the one hand, and the sure mercies of the Messiah of God on the other, there subsists a nice, an accurate, a perfect adaptation.

When we reflect on that adaptation; when we dwell at once on its comprehensiveness and its exactness, our minds become furnished with an experimental and conclusive proof-a proof which the cavils of infidelity can never weaken-that the mes

546

CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS.

[Ess. XI. sage of the gospel of Christ is no "cunningly devised fable," but irrefragable truth and we are prepared to apprehend the declaration of the apostle-" He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life," 1 John v. 12. While, however, we accept the eternal Son of God as the Saviour and Redeemer of men, our Resurrection and our Life, our only hope of glory, we are always to remember that herein are our strength and joythat "through Him" we have "access by one Spirit unto the Father," Eph. ii. 18. Nothing, indeed, is so much calculated to fill the mind of the believer with wonder, admiration, and gratitude, as the joint and united love, the perfect harmony of design and operation, with which the Father decrees, the Son conducts, and the Spirit assists and completes, the mighty scheme of man's redemption. In contemplating so vast and awful a subject, we can surely do no less than bow down in abasement of soul before the Majesty of heaven, and exclaim, Glory be to God on high-Glory be to the FATHER, and to the SON, and to the HOLY GHOST, now and for ever!

ESSAY XII.

ON FAITH AND OBEDIENCE.

To inform and cultivate our understanding respecting the fundamental truths of the Christian religion, is obviously a very important duty; for ignorance on these subjects is the fruitful parent of error and corruption, and unless our acquaintance with Christianity comprehends a correct view of its principal features, we shall never form a right estimate of its incomparable value. It cannot, however, be too strongly enforced, or too constantly remembered, that all true religion is directed to practical ends. Having, therefore, in the preceding Essays, been engaged in contemplating what may be termed the theory of the scheme of the gospel, we may now proceed to consider those principles of disposition and action in ourselves, by means of which Christianity is carried forward to its legitimate results, the happiness of man and the glory of God. The principles to which I allude are faith and obedience.

PART I.

ON FAITH.

Extraordinary as is the religion of the Bible, in a number of important particulars, there is scarcely any circumstance by which it is more clearly dis