and work of the Spirit, revealed in scripture, and are for going to heaven upon their own legs alone, and by the light of nature chiefly, if not only, cannot be numbered among his friends, but are rather of their number who do not know him, and cannot receive him. I mention these short and general hints only to shew what need we have to be confirmed and established in the great doctrines of the Deity, Personality, Office, and Works of the Holy Spirit.

APPLICATION.

1. From hence we may learn the infinite grace and love of God to his people, in shedding the Holy Spirit abundantly upon them a. The first great gift of God was his Son; the next greatest is his Spirit; the latter, indeed, is in some sense, comprehensive of the former, seeing all our saving benefit, by the giving Christ to redeem us, depends upon the giving the Spirit, effectually to apply that redemption: They who have the Spirit of Christ are his; they who have him not are none of his. As God gives a great gift, in giving his Spirit; so he shews his abundant grace, in the abundant or rich communication of him. Hence it is said by the prophet, 'I will from them any more; for I have poured

not hide my face

forth my Spirit upon them b. This effusion of the Spirit is a bright evidence of God's favour. As after a long war, pledges and tokens of peace are mutally given and received; so Christ took our nature up to heaven, and sent down his Spirit upon earth; a royal gift, in both instances, the Son of God, and the Holy Ghost, who is God, sent by the Father and the Son. Let us labour to affect our hearts more with this infinite grace of God the Father.

How

2. We may learn the dignity and duty of believers. great is their honour, to be the temples of God the Holy Spirit? That the high and lofty One, who has his glorious throne in heaven, with the Father and the Son, should also dwell, not only with, but in us vile sinners, and make us his

a Titus iii. 4, 5, 6.

Ezek. xxxiv. 29.

temple, is conferring a high honour upon us. This honour have all the saints; which rises much the higher, as thereby we have union with Christ, and communion both with him and the Father. Will God indeed thus dwell with men, yea, dwell in them, in whom sin and Satan had long before dwelt and reigned? How high has he raised us, from the most abject, mean, and miserable condition? As this should fill us with admiration and thankfulness, so it should excite us a to glorify God the Spirit, in and with those souls and bodies which are his temple: How awful are those words following my text, If any man defiles the temple of God, him will God destroy.'

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3. We may learn the infinite condescension and love of the Spirit. "Next to the love of Christ, in taking our nature, "and dwelling in it, we may wonder at the love of the Spirit, "in taking up his residence in such defiled souls, and turning "a dungeon into a temple, a prison into a paradise, yea, an "hell into an heaven b." What reason have we to love and adore the Holy Spirit? He is God, and therefore worthy of our love and highest regard; worthy to be sought of him, who giveth him to them that ask him; and worthy to be adored as God, dwelling in his people as in a temple. Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

a 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20.

b Sibs's fount. sealed, p. 12.

THE HOLY SPIRIT'S DIVINITY PROVED FROM HIS TITLES.

SERMON II.

PREACHED SEPTEMBER 9th, 1729.

1 COR. iii. 16.-Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

In a former discourse upon these words, I endeavoured to

explain what is meant by the Spirit, and by his dwelling in the saints, and to prove that he does so as God: The necessity of knowing and believing the Deity of the Holy Spirit was evinced, and the opposition made thereto was likewise represented. I shall now proceed to produce some evidence of the true and proper Divinity of the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the blessed and adorable Trinity in unity; and as I go along, I shall answer some of the principal objections which are raised against it. The topics I shall insist on to prove the Spirit's true Deity are four, which I shall speak to under so many distinct propositions.

I. The Holy Spirit is truly God, because, in scripture, he has divine titles.

II. The Holy Spirit is truly God, because, according to the oracles of truth, he is invested with divine perfections. III. The Holy Spirit is truly God, because he is represented in scripture as performing those works which only the great God can do.

IV. The Holy Spirit is truly God, because divine worship is given him in scripture.

I purpose to speak to all these, if the Lord shall permit ; and shall now begin with the first.

PROP. I. The Holy Spirit is truly God, because, in scripture, he has divine titles; such as Jehovah, God, and Lord.

It was confidently affirmed of old, and has been of late, that the word God, in scripture, no where signifies the person of the Holy Spirit; but the contrary to this, I hope to make appear in several instances.

Before I enter upon this, I would observe, that, though the Father is said to be the God of Christ, with respect to his human nature; yet he is never said, in scripture, that I remember, to be the God of the Holy Spirit; because he has not another nature inferior to the Father, as Christ has.

Let it also be observed, that when the word God is applied to such as, by nature, are not God, something is always added, by which we may know it; as when it is said, "I have made thee a god to Pharaoh a;' it appears that Moses was not god by nature, because he was a made god; which the true God is not; and he is said to be a god only to Pharaoh; whereas the true God is God over all, blessed for ever.

And in that passage, ‹ I have said, you are gods; but you shall die like men b;' it is plain the true God is not intended; for he is but one: Whereas the text speaks of more than one, and calls them gods, and says, they shall die like men; but the true God is immortal and eternal. Once, in scripture, it is said, that God is a Spirit c; and from thence we conclude, that God is a spiritual immaterial Being; especially seeing there are so many things said in scripture, which prove him so to be. In like manner, if we could produce but one text in which the Holy Spirit is called God, we ought to believe him so to be, especially seeing, in other places, such things are ascribed to him, which can belong to none but the true God. It is indeed granted, that if he were never so expressly, and never so often called God, yet if in those places, as in the cases above, any thing was affirmed of him inconsistent with his being the true God, we ought not to believe him so to be; but otherwise, one such assertion is sufficient.

I will only add, before I come to the instances themselves, a Exod. vii. 1. c John iv. 24.

b Psal. lxxxii. 6.

that when any name is applied in scripture to any person or thing, we are to consider, whether the scripture only reports it as done by fallible sinful men, or as done by the faithful, infallible God; if it be the latter, we may conclude it is rightly applied; for God cannot err, nor deceive us.

Having premised these things, I come to the scriptureproofs, that the names of God, Lord, Jehovah, God himself, are applied to the Holy Spirit, without any thing added inconsistent with his being the true God.

1. I shall consider the several passages of the Old Testament in which the Holy Spirit has divine titles. In the Psalms a we read, that the Israelites provoked the Most High in the wilderness, and tempted God in their hearts: This the prophet Isaiah applied to the Holy Spirit, when he said, They rebelled and vexed his Holy Spirit b: The consequence of this is, the Holy Spirit is the Most High God. The apostle Paul, speaking of the same thing, introduced the Holy Ghost, saying, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness, when your fathers tempted me c;' so that the Spirit is God, of whom the Psalmist speaks in the passage cited.

It was said of Israel, by Moses, The Lord, viz. Jehovah, alone, did lead them, and there was no strange god with him d Who this Jehovah is, that did thus lead them, we are informed by the prophet Isaiah e, in whom we read, that the Holy Spirit led them by the right hand of Moses, with his glorious arm: He therefore is the Lord Jehovah, the true and eternal God. The Psalmist says, I will hear what the Lord will speak; for he will speak peace to his people f;' which is interpreted of the Holy Spirit, whose work it is to speak peace to the saints. Peace is one of his fruits g. Likewise the Lord of Hosts, in Isaiah's h vision, said, 'Go and tell this people, Hear you indeed, but understand not: This

a Psal. lxxviii. 17, 18. b Isa. Ixiii. 10.

d Deut. xxxiii, 12.

g Gal. v. 22.

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c Heb. iii. 7, 8.