ledged his divine power and glory: And he hath seen too much of the mighty works of the Spirit of God, not to know, that only God himself could have wrought them. So many demonstrations of this grand truth, even upon experiment (to use a favorite word from modern philosophy) might convince modern philosophers themselves, were they to be convinced by God's machines rather than their own, that this is a truth resulting from the God of truth. The mighty signs and wonders, wrought by the power of the Spirit of God, do so manifest and testify bis eternal power and Godbead, that they, who presume or persist to deny it, are left without excuse. Rom. xv. 19. i. 20. They have no refuge, but to deny the signs and wonders themselves; and, in this refuge, they must deny all religion and revelation, commence avowed heathens, and utterly reject the God of the Scriptures.

Upon these strong foundations, believer, rest the proofs of thy blessed supporter's divinity. They, who deny it, may pretend indeed to kiss the Bible; but they do it, like Judas, either to betray, or like some customary perjurers, only to gain by it. That a sincere, sensible, and intelligent mind, which is able to see the consequences and combinations of facts and doctrines, should oppose the very principle upon which all those facts and doctrines have proceeded, and in spite of the effects disown the cause; can only be accounted for in one way, and in the way St. Paul accounted for the preposterous unbelief of the Jews. Acts xxviii. 25, &c. And that this is the true mode of accounting for this procedure, appears from hence; let the man be once touched by the grace of this Spirit (and, blessed be God, there have been many instances of this kind); let him feel himself to be, as he is, a poor, lost, and guilty creature: let him find his own nature sinful, helpless, and hopeless in itself throughout; let him embrace the Lord Jesus Christ as his only rock of salvation, and his blood and righteousness as the only means of his acceptance with God; and he owns at once, that this mighty change in his heart and life could only be effected by a divine power, and that this is the power of the Spirit of God. No longer will he doubt of the divinity of his person, no longer disown the omnipotence of his grace. He is charmed with this truth, as the comfort of his soul, and blesses God, that, as He alone could have mercy upon such a worm and restore him to life, surely He will do nothing in vain, but bless him to life eternal. The demonstration is brought home to his heart; and he could just as soon deny his own existence, as dare to oppose the divinity of God the Holy Ghost. It is a truth, as certain as the Bible itself, that, let the man be who he may or what he may, if he gainsay the divine na

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ture and glory of the Spirit of God, he neither knows his own heart, nor the book of God, nor the power of God, and hath no true hope or comfort in his soul, while he continues in this state, for life eternal. Speak, conscience, in him that reads this, and bear witness for God, that these things are so.

The whole Book of God is a book of experience, as well as of instruction. It is a channel provided by the Spirit of Life, and himself, as the Water of Life, flows within it; and thus wherever the book is understood, it is not like other books laboured with fine thoughts or bright compositions only, but 'full of life, demonstration, and power. To the real believer, it is a book sprinkled for his use by the blood of Jesus, and his conscience is sprinkled with the same blood to use the book. See Hebr. ix. 19. There are no naked principles, void of influence or use, in the Scripture; but they all apply to the heart, mind, and conduct, and, wherever they enter, make the whole man the wiser and the better for eternity. Continual appeals are made in this book to men's experimental knowledge of divine truths; and this kind of knowledge is the only one called by that name in the original word, and becomes the taste and enjoyment of the things assumed to be known. Carnal professors of Christianity do not comprehend this quickening mode of acquiring theology, but erroneously suppose, that it consists in high notions, refined ideas, or some metaphysical speculations. On the contrary, it is so plain to the renewed capacity, that be who runs may read it, and he, who wills, may enjoy it. The Spirit of truth prepares the heart for the truth, and, by this preparation of the Spirit, the most ignorant man apprehends so much truth as is necessary to salvation; and the most learned can do no more. As with the manna, he that can gather but little, has no lack; and he that gathers much, has none to spare. The reason is, both apprehend it by an higher operation than their own: And, without this operation, they cannot apprehend it at all. There were divers washings and carnal ordinances imposed on the Jews, until the time of reformation, or the appointed season of correction and explanation; and these shadowed forth the purifying operations of the Holy Spirit: But the carnal Jews, like too many of our nominal Christians, knew nothing of the matter, and did the work as a work, without the sense of its experimental instruction. They were no more cleansed by the spirit of the law, though they punctually followed the letter of it, than some of our modern professors are by the sacrament of baptism. They thought, that if they put away the filth of the flesh literally, it was all well with them, and that their mind and conscience, however defiled, would stand in the judgment. Our Lord corrects this gross mistake, in Mark víi. And in Luke xi. 38. he seems to omit the

common practice of washing before meals, on purpose to have an occasion of explaining that original design, which had been forgotten, and without which all these outward services became empty ceremonies, or (in the apostle's indignant phrase) weak and beggarly elements. That design was not a political one framed by Moses's own brain, in order to induce cleanliness in a hot climate among a nasty people, as some have pretended to account for the institution; but a piece of instruction to the people, like the rest of the law, to lead up their minds by natural types to high and heavenly things. As ail natural men do, the carnal Jews courted the shadow, and lost sight of the substance. They did what was right in following the outward precepts, but they became guilty of perversion, when they so rested in them, as to look no farther. Hence, the apostle calls such men wells without water: They are in form wells professing to have and to yield water; but, because they have none, they may justly be called empty professors.

If any man And, in that divinity, is a

When a man, therefore, applies to his own experience, he soon may know, either that he hath not this divine Spirit, or water of life in him, and so he knows not, in truth, whether there be any Holy Ghost; or else, that he hath the blessing of his grace in him, which from the very nature of it, he is sure could only be the work of a divine agent. bave not the Spirit of Christ be is none of bis: case, all his belief or unbelief, respecting his mere notion, and ends in nothing (unless God prevent) but to harden him on the one hand, or to make him secure and careless on the other. To convince a man in his sins of this truth, speculatively, that the Holy Ghost is God; is not worth the labor of writing one line. He may hold it, or not hold it; it is just the same to him. The divinity of the Spirit can afford no more comfort to him, than the bare idea of God's justice or vengance upon sinners. On the other hand, when this truth, concerning the Holy Ghost, is applied to the real believer; he can say, upon the warrant of God's word, that he ought, and upon the testimony of his own conscience, that he doth apprehend and know it, experimentally, to the comfort and support of his soul. He further can say; "Once I was dead, but now am alive to my God: Once I was blind to my true, and my everlasting interests; but now I see them: Once I was a scoffer at true religion, and could not endure (what I thought) the insupportable strictness of an holy life; but now I love and rejoice in it as my portion, and find all its paths to be paths of peace. God's word tells me, that this renewal or restoration to life is by the power of the divine Spirit; that be converted my soul, and supplies it with that living water, by which it is comforted and nourished for

his heavenly kingdom; and that I am, with all the redeemed, to be an habitation of God through the Spirit. My heart's experience tallies with the holy Scripture, and assures me, in conformity to it, that He, who bath wrought this self-same thing in me, is God. And I see it as impossible for it to be the work of a creature, as it is impossible for creatures to create at all, and so give a life which they have not in or from themselves. I could much sooner believe that a fly could create an angel or frame a world, than that any being, who depends for his all upon another, should of bis own will beget me by the word of truth; and, as be will, divide unto me and others severally, all those gifts, which are positively and directly called the operations of God." James i. 18. with I Cor. xii. 6, 11.

Experience, which is the repeated work of God's Spirit in the soul, teaches the believer, that the several outward acts of washing and cleansing loudly preach purity of heart and life, and were chiefly enjoined as expressive symbols for that purpose. Thus, the baving our bearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, is the great object of the legal injunction, that our bodies be washed with pure water. Heb. x. 22. Thus the purpose of being baptized outwardly, is a sensible expression of faith, that our sins are washed away through Christ Jesus. Acts xxii. 16. Thus this outward washing is typical of the mystical washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. Titus iii. 5. See also Ezek. xxxvi. 25. And the whole design of it is comprehended at once by the apostle in these words, But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Cor. vi. 11. Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, the Ganges of the east, nay, Jordan itself, dignified as it hath been by Christ and his prophets, could not wipe away one spot of sin, nor purify to the least degree of holiness; * but the blood of Christ, and the living water alone, from the Spirit of God. Man can at any time find water enough as John Baptist said, I baptize with water, &c. God alone can baptize with (what the water signifies) the Holy Ghost, for the ablution of sin. In vain do men catch at the shell of religion, if they enjoy not what lies within. The shell hath no life nor food in itself, though ordained to hold and communicate, what is altogether food and life to those, who receive it.

But

Epiphanius goes farther, and says, in the words of his transla tor, Neque enim ocianus, neque omniaj uenta ac maria,juviique perpetui, ac fontes, universaque imbripera natura in unum congressa, peccata de lere potest. Contra Hemerob.

But some may yet ask, "How shali we know indeed, that our experience is true, and that we are really partakers of this Water of Life?"-Consult the emblem, which God has set before you. Common water is called living water, because it is running or moving water.* So the Spirit of God in a man moves and acts, is not inert himself, nor suffers the creature to be so. Has he stirred up the mind towards God," and Christ, and heavenly things? Doth he cleanse from the filth of sin, and the flesh, and earthly things? Are the affections of the heart engaged for God, and the actions of the life employed to his glory? Is there a positive renunciation of self, and a continual breathing after nearer communion with God in all duties and functions?-These are the acts of life. This is the motion of the living water, which our Lord de scribes as springing, continually running and springing up into everlasting life. It flows because it lives. View its emblem in plants and animals. The water which nourishes them, and forms a considerable part of their composition, is ever in act and exercise, is always moving through the various parts and channels of their frame. Thus also, the Holy Spirit acts in the soul of the Christian, and is to it, respecting its divine life, what material water is to the animal life of the body. He nourishes, saturates, and prepares it for everlasting glory. This is a very common image in the holy Scriptures, particu larly in the Old Testament, and must have occurred to the frequent observation of every serious reader.

As we have corrupt bodies, and walk in a filthy world, we ourselves have need of frequent cleansing from our own unavoidable defilements, and should look, therefore, with candor and compassion on the defilements of others. This lesson is taught us in a most forcible emblem by Jesus Christ, in John xiii. His disciples, except one, were all clean, and truly so, by being washed in the Fountain of life. Yet the feet needed repeated washing by bim, and, not only this, but washing by each other. In plain words; our obedience, signified by the feet as the instruments of motion, is imperfect at the best, and requires much cleansing from God: And it is also so combined with corruption, that Christians, knowing their own infirmities, should be tender to the infirmities of others, endeavour to recover them from their falls, strive to cleanse away dirt instead of sticking it on, and cover with a mantle of charity whatever may be concealed without injury to the cause of God or to society. He should hate the sin as Quemadmodum enim corpus anima carens non movetur, sed contra șivum, anima vi movetur: sic aqua e fonte profluens non quiescit, sed movetur. GOMAR. In Johan. iv. 10.