[2 Pet. 3. "examine yourselves" often, "whether ye be in the faith," [2 Cor. 13. and whether you "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." You catch at all oppor- 18.] tunities you can find of increasing your estates, and bettering your condition in this "world;" do the same for your "souls." You have many opportunities put into your hands of improving your spiritual state, and fitting your "souls" for Heaven; you may every day hear the Word of God read, and join together in praying to Him for mercy and grace, and all things necessary for the saving of your souls; you may every week partake of Christ's most blessed body and blood, and so of all the merits of His death, by whom alone your souls can be ever saved. These are the great means that God hath appointed for the Salvation of your souls do not slight or neglect them any longer, lest ye repent of it, as be sure ye will, when it is too late; but use them heartily, sincerely, constantly, as ye ought, and you will find them, by God's blessing and assistance, effectual to the fixing your hearts on Him, and to the confirming your faith in Christ, that when ye go out of this world, ye may, with St. Stephen, commit your souls into His hands, who will be sure to save and preserve them to eternal life; for He will receive them to Himself, He will wash and cleanse them from their sins in His own blood, and so present them to His Father "without spot and blemish," that they may [2 Pet. 3. live with Him and His Holy Angels in the highest glory 14.] and happiness which they can possibly enjoy, for ever SERMON XXIII. A SPIRITUAL LIFE THE CHARACTERISTIC OF A CHRISTIAN. SERM. [Ps. 106. 2.] ROм. viii. 9. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is THESE words may give us just occasion to speak of the Holy Spirit of God, and the wonderful works He hath done, and still doth in the world. But who is sufficient for these things? "Who can express the noble acts of the Lord, or shew forth all His praise?" Who can describe His infinite glory, or declare His gifts and graces, that are innumerable? This is a subject fit for the pen or tongue of an Angel. We mortals upon earth know nothing of Him, but what He Himself is pleased to tell us in His Holy Word; and what we there read can never enter into our minds, unless He Himself also be pleased to open our understandings, and so make way for it. But our comfort is, that our "Blessed Saviour" hath assured us, that He, and in Him our heavenly Luke 11.13. "Father, will give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him.” "In confidence whereof, we therefore humbly beseech Thee, O Heavenly Father, to give us Thy Holy Spirit, to lead us into all truth, that, by His inspiration and direction, we may have a right judgment in all things, speak nothing of Him but what is true, and receive the truth in the love of it; to the glory of Thy great name, through Jesus Christ our Mediator and Advocate, now appearing in Thy presence for us." Having thus prayed to Almighty God, in the name of His Son, to direct and assist us by His Holy Spirit, in speaking of Him, and nothing doubting but that He, according to His Word, hath granted our request; we shall now make bold to do it, from the words which I have now read: "Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." Wherefore we may first take notice, that in the former part of this verse He is called the "Spirit of God," in this latter the "Spirit of Christ," to teach us, that He is the "Spirit of Christ," as Christ is God, and that Christ is truly God, one with" the Father; otherwise the "same Spirit" could not be the "Spirit of Christ" and "of God" too. And as He is thus usually in Holy Scripture called sometimes the "Spirit of God," and sometimes the "Spirit of Christ;" so, at other times, He is called absolutely the 66 2 Cor.13.14; Holy Spirit," or, which is the same, the "Holy Ghost," especially where the Three Divine Persons are all named Matt.28.19; together, to shew, that although He be the "Spirit" both 1 John 5. 7. of the Father and the Son, yet so as to be a distinct Person from both, as each of the other Persons also is; as in the place last quoted, "There are Three that bear record in Heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these Three are One." They are expressly said to be Three," and "Three" in the masculine gender, that is commonly used to signify a person; whereby we are given to understand, that they are "Three" distinct Persons, properly so called, according to our common way of speaking: but then it follows, curos oi rgsis v sion, these Three John 10.30. are One,' "Three" in the masculine, "One" in the neuter gender; not, one Person,' but "v, one Thing,' one Jehovah, one Essence, or Substance: as the Son Himself also asserts of Himself and the Father. 6 same And therefore whatsoever personal distinctions (which we can never comprehend) there may be between the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, either among themselves, or in their ways of working, yet we must still apprehend and believe them all "Three" to be but "One" and the " God;" for as St. Paul expresseth it, "There are diversities 1 Cor. 12.4of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord; and there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all." Here is "one" Spirit, "one" Lord Jesus, "one" FF 6. XXIII. SERM. God the Father; these "all" and "every one" worketh all in all, and therefore must needs be "all one," and the same first cause of all, or, as we say, [Luke 1. 46.] one God." It is true, our finite understandings, in their highest perfection, could never reach this, no more than they can any other of those infinite perfections which we believe to be in God; much less can we do it in our corrupt and imperfect state. But the best of it is, as we are not able, so we are not bound to understand it, but only to believe it: and we have all the reason that can be to believe it, in that it is revealed to us by God Himself, and therefore also revealed, that we might believe it, upon His Word, without troubling our heads about the way and manner how "three" distinct Divine Persons subsist in "one" and the same Divine Essence, so as to be "one" and the " same God;" which being infinitely above us, it would be the height of pride and presumption in us to offer at bringing it down to our capacities. It is sufficient for us, that we have the infallible Word and testimony of God for it; and that we accordingly believe, that "the Father is God, the Son God, and the Holy Ghost God; and yet they are not three Gods, but one God: that God the Father made us, God the Son redeemed us, and God the Holy Ghost sanctifieth us;" and yet that "one" and the "same God" made, redeemed, and sanctifieth us for whatsoever is said in the Holy Scriptures to be done by any of these Divine Persons, the same, in other places, is said to be done by God. But there is only "one" living and true God; and therefore, although we must believe in each Person distinctly, contemplate upon what He hath done, and, upon occasion, address ourselves to Him as such, yet we must still keep close to the Unity of the Divine Essence or Substance, which, if it was divided or divisible, would not be Divine. As when I think of God the Son, as in a peculiar manner my Redeemer and Saviour, I must not apprehend Him as any other, but the "one" living and true God, that made and governs the world, and accordingly praise and magnify Hin as such, as the Blessed Virgin did, saying, "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit rejoiceth in God my Saviour." And when we read, as we do in my text, or speak of the "Spirit of Christ," although we must believe the "Spirit" to be "one" Person, and "Christ" another, yet we must still believe them both to be "one" in "nature" or "substance," both the "one" Almighty and Eternal “God;" who, whether He act as Father, Son, or Holy Spirit, it is still one and the same God that doth it. 2 Cor. 13. 5. 6. 19. As in the former part of this verse it is said, "If the Spirit of God dwell in you;" in the next verse, "If Christ be in you:" so in several other places of Holy Writ, sometimes Christ is said to "be," or "dwell in us." At other times the Eph. 3. 17; same thing is expressed by the Spirit's "being" or "dwell- 1 Cor. 3. 16; ing" in us; whereby we are given to understand and believe, that "Christ" and the "Spirit" is the same God; so that wheresoever either dwells, that is the "temple of God." 1 Cor. 3.16. Hence also it is, that as our Saviour often promised His Disciples, that when He was gone from them He would send them "His Holy Spirit;" He elsewhere promised the same thing, by saying, that He Himself would come to John 14. 18. them, that we may never doubt, but that howsoever Christ and the Holy Spirit are distinguished from one another, as well as from the Father, by their personal properties, yet in essence or nature they are the same. Which I therefore observe here, and desire you to keep it always in your minds, because it will be of great use both to the settling your faith aright, concerning the most Holy Trinity, and likewise to your understanding of what we are farther to consider in these words. The next thing to be considered here is, that the Holy Spirit is here called the "Spirit of Christ," the Son of God; as He is also in 1 Pet. i. 11; Phil. i. 19; Gal. iv. 6. And therefore although it be nowhere expressly said, that He proceedeth from the Son, as it is, that He "proceedeth from John 15.26. the Father," yet we have the same ground to believe the one, as we have to believe the other; forasmuch as to be the "Spirit" of the "Son," is but another way of expressing His procession from Him, and the clearer of the two, in that it can admit of no dispute, as the other may: which I therefore observe, because by this we may see, that although the Greek Church doth not agree with the Latin in the word, yet they do in the thing; they own the "Spirit" to be the |