Holy Spirit. We have Access to God thro' his Spirit. We are purified and fanctified by the Spirit. 'Tis by the Spirit of Christ that we are to mortify the Deeds of the Flesh. We are led by the Spirit; and we are taught to understand this Gospel by the Spirit which he hath given us. We are fealed by this Spirit unto the Day of Redemption. The Spirit dwelling in us is a Pledge and Earnest of our Inheritance in Heaven. Rom. viii. 13. Ephef. ii. 18. and iii. 16. and iv. 23. 2 Thef. ii. 13, &c.

Now thefe Expreffions of his are to be understood in the common Senfe and Meaning of the Words, and not as far-fetch'd Metaphors; for it is evident, that in all this, he does not affect the Arts of Oratory, nor affume a magnificent Air of Writing, nor does he raise himself into Sublimities of Style, nor rove in an Enthufiaftick Way, when he treats of these Subjects; but while he is explaining to us thefe great Things of the Gofpel, he avoids the Wisdom of Words and Oratory, and he talks in a plain rational, and argumentative Method to inform the Minds of Men, and give them the clearest Knowledge of the Truth.

Surely a Perfon that was fent of God to preach and write the Gospel for the Ufe of all Nations and future Ages, and even for the ignorant and uninftructed Barbarians, would not have expreffed himself in this fort

of

of Language, if he meant no more by it than the Socinians do by the Gospel of Chrift; that is, "that the Lord Jefus Chrift

was a very great Man, but a mere Man "still; he was a Prophet ordained of God

to preach up Holiness, in greater Degrees "than it had been before preached, to set"tle fome Points which were left a little "doubtful by the Light of Nature, to af"fure us that God would be reconciled to "Man, and forgive him, if Man repented "and was forry for his Sins, and lived as "well as he could for time to come; and "that for the Sake of the Prayers of Christ, "who was fo very pious, fo very religious, "and fo very heavenly a Perfon, and fo "fubmiffive in his Sufferings to the Will "of God, he would favour the Penitent

among Mankind with fome Bleffings and "Comforts in this World, and eternal Life "in the World above. Then when he "had preached this Doctrine to the World, "he fuffer'd the Death of the Crofs, to "bear witness to the Truth of it, and feal'd "it with his Blood, and rofe again for a "further Confirmation of the fame Doc"trine." Now if this were all the meaning of the Gospel of Chrift, St. Paul would never have preached it in fuch Language as he did. We muft fuppofe him to be a very unaccurate Writer, a moft unintelligible Preacher and a most unfit Man to be made

an

an Apostle, and be fent to inftruct the ignorant World, if he had expreffed himself in fuch mysterious, figurative, and ftrange Phrafes, and all this while had meant no more by them than what the Socinian's mean by their Gofpel.

Can we think God would have employed fuch an Inftrument as this was, whofe Way of Talking would have rather deceived Multitudes than informed them of the Truth, would have led them into the Dark rather than have given them Light, would have filled their Heads with myfterious Words without Ideas, and instead of leading them into the Way of Salvation, would have left them in bewildered Thoughts about the Doctrines and Duties of it with fo much Entanglement and Confufion?

Here I might add alfo, that the holy Apostle not only inftructs his own Countrymen the Jews, and the Gentile Strangers in this divine Doctrine, and teaches them to build their Hopes of Salvation upon it; but be ventures his own Soul, his immortal Concernments, and his everlafting Hopes upon the fame Foundation. He glories in the Cross of Chrift, he has committed his All into his Hands till the great Judgment Day; he lives by the Faith of the Son of God, who loved me, faith he, and gave himself for me, Gal. vi. 14. 2 Tim. i. 12. Gal. ii. 20. 'Tis the Pleasure of his Tongue, 'tis the Joy of his

Pen,

Pen, 'tis the Delight and the Life of his Spirit to talk of thofe Things: He hangs upon this Subject, and knows not how to leave it; his very Heart and Soul is in it, and he abandons all Things for the Sake of this Knowledge. He defpifes the former Privileges of his Birth, of his Learning, of the Jewish Prerogatives and Rites. He renounces all his Legal and Ceremonial Perfection, and all his Honour amongst the Priests and the Pharifees in Comparison of this. What Things were Gain to me, fays he, those I count Lofs for Chrift: Yea, doubtless, and I count all Things but Lofs for the Excellency of the Knowledge of Chrift Jefus my Lord, for whom I have fuffered the Lofs of all Things, and do count them but Dung that I may win Chrift, and be found in him, not having mine own Righteousness, which is of the Law, but that which is through the Faith of Chrift, the Righteoufnefs which is of God by Faith that I may know him and the Power of his Refurrection, and the Fellowship of his Sufferings, being made conformable unto his Death, Philip. iii. 7, &c.

;

Nor is the Apostle Paul fingular in this Refpect, or different in his Sentiments from the other Apoftles. You find Peter and John faying the fame Things in their Epiftles; and they take every Occafion to publish the fame Gofpel and the fame Pro

mises and Hopes of Salvation by the Death and Sacrifice of our Lord Jefus Chrift, and by the enlightening and fanctifying Operations of the fame Spirit. It would be endlefs to cite all the Proofs of this. Now, 'tis not to be supposed that the three chief Writers among the Apostles fhould all confpire to talk in the fame myfterious and unintelligible Language, fo widely different from the common and obvious Senfe and Meaning of their Words, if they intended no more by them than the Socinians mean by their Gospel, which is very little different from the Way of Salvation that the Deift propofes, while they deny the Satisfaction of Chrift, and his real and proper Atonement for Sin, and the powerful fanctifying Influences of the Holy Spirit.

II. As this Gofpel of Chrift which we have described, was the Labour of the Apostle's Ministry, and the Defign of the Revelation of the New Teftament, fo 'tis this Gospel which is often hinted and prophecied in the Old Teftament alfo, and typified by the Ceremonies of the Jewish Religion. Now these Prophecies could not have been fulfilled, nor these Types answered and accomplished without fuch a Gospel as I have explained.

The Prophecies of the Old Teftament are various and many: Some of the clearest of those which relate to the Sufferings and

Atone