his first apostles to preach the gospel to every creature, knew also their natural unfitness for the work, and therefore required them for a while to tarry in Jerusalem, and wait for the promise of the Father, until they should be endued with power from on high," and then," said he, "ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth." (Acts i. 8.) He promised also that they should speak with new tongues. (Mark xvi. 17.) Now let us notice how these things were fulfilled, and how they all concurred to prove the Messiah to be a true prophet, and to bring about the great event which he had predicted.

The Jews, as we have before seen, resorted to the feast of the passover at Jerusalem from all nations, and it is highly probable that many of the wealthier sort, who came from distant countries, would stay in or near Jerusalem for fifty days, to attend the feast of pentecost. This is very natural to suppose. Now the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, all happened within this time. The feast of pentecost was exactly ten days after our Lord's ascension. Had the crucifixion and effusion of the Holy Spirit happened at any other time, not one in a hundred, perhaps not one in a thousand, would have been present to witness their effects. But so did the wisdom of God order it, that at the very time that one of Christ's predictions received its accomplishment, the way should be opened for the fulfillment of another, and in the

fulfillment of a second, the foundation should be laid for the accomplishment of a third.

The gospel was to be preached in all the (then known) world before the destruction of Jerusalem -the apostles, the humble fishermen of Galilee, were to be the chosen instruments of preaching it. To fit them for this work, they were to be endued with power from on high. (Luke xxiv. 49.) To enable them to preach in all languages, they were to be able to speak with new tongues; and to prepare the way for all this, God so ordered it that the astonishing events above described should take place at Jerusalem, at the very time when "devout men from every nation under heaven" should be assembled there. (Acts ii. 5.) To excite expectation, the most wonderful prophecies of the Old Testament were soon to be fulfilled, and to awaken attention, Pilate, the Roman governor, affixes a title to the cross, which in fact contained no proper accusation; and when the Jews desired him so to alter it as to make it answer the end according to their view, he replied, "What I have written, I have written," and would not change it, but left it, as it were, to proclaim, in the three most popular languages of the earth, the innocence, the character, and the dignity of the mighty sufferer.

And who that surveys the wisdom that planned all this, and the providence that brought it about, and the prescience that foresaw every human contingency, and the power that overruled the motives and actions of moral agents, among whom were an ignorant and infatuated populace, a proud and mercenary priesthood, a despicable traitor, an Idumean

prince, a Roman governor, and an armed band, all acting without design or concert, sometimes in opposition to one another, sometimes not knowing what to do with their prisoner, accusing him of one crime, and condemning him for another, and at last affixing a title of accusation which contains no crime at all! Who, we ask again, can survey all this, in the calm of an unprejudiced mind, and connect with it the mighty results which have followed in exact accordance with the predictions of Christ, and deny that he is the very and eternal God?

But will this Divine Saviour condescend to be my Saviour? Yes, he will. He is the light of the world. He is the good shepherd that laid down his life for the sheep. He is the great physician, and his blood can make the wounded whole. He suffered the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. Are we guilty? He has purchased our pardon. Are we hungry? He is the bread of life. Are we thirsty? He will give us of the water of life freely. Are we miserable? He will make us happy. Are we dead? He is the resurrection and the life. And whosoever cometh unto Him, he will in no wise cast out. To Him be all honor and glory, world without end, Amen!

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LECTURE XI.

THE PERSONALITY, DIVINITY, AND OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

"But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me." John xv. 26.

In the last Lecture we have attempted to show that Jesus Christ is the very and eternal God. In this, we shall attempt to prove that the Holy Spirit is the same, and in the next, as a necessary result of the truth contained in these two Lectures, we shall endeavor to establish the doctrine of the Trinity. But, as in the subsequent Lecture, many passages will be brought forward, to prove that the Spirit, and the Son, are equal with the Father, it will not be necessary to extend the remarks on the proper divinity of the Holy Spirit in this; a few only will suffice, and the rest of the Lecture may then be devoted to a more practical view of the subject, as embraced in the title of this discourse.

In the text under consideration, it is stated that the Holy Spirit "proceedeth from the Father." But lest we should suppose that the Spirit is only an emanation from the Father, in the same manner that Truth and Love may be said to emanate, or flow from Him, let us notice that the personal pronoun HE, is applied to the Spirit, in the same sense that it is applied to the Father and the Son, which is never the case with respect to Truth and Love. These attributes, or qualities, may be said to emanate from God, as light may be said to emanate from the sun; but it cannot be said that Truth is God, or that Love is God. When we say that the light and heat of the sun are equal to the sun, being coexistent, and co-essential with the sun itself, we do not mean that light is the sun, or that heat is the sun, but that they are emanations from the sun. The body of the sun is one thing, the light of the sun is another, and the heat is another. Light and heat may exist independently of the sun, but it is difficult to conceive of a sun without light and heat. These remarks are not thrown in for the purpose of proving the doctrine of the Trinity, but rather to show in what sense we use certain terms; for though the sun may be as fit an emblem as any thing in created nature, to represent the glory and beauty of the uncreated One, yet, it is presumed, that nothing that is felt and seen, can explain to us the mystery of the Divine nature, or furnish a fit object wherewith to compare it. The Holy Scriptures must be our guide in this sublime enquiry, and so far as they are our instructers, so far it is safe for us to go, and no farther. When, therefore, we say that