Son, being the Creator of all things, has thereby discovered his eternal power and Godhead a, and the reality, majesty, and glory of his divine person. "The primitive church (says a celebrated writer) believed, that Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, were distinct persons, and all jointly concerned in the creation of the world; not as many creators, but as one Creator, not dividing the work into parts, but as concurring in the whole, and in every part b." And, as the same person observes, "whenever scripture intended to raise in men's minds such esteem and veneration as they ought to have for the supreme God of Israel c;" nothing higher or greater could be said than this; that he had created the universe, had laid the foundations of the earth, and that the heavens were the works of his hands d. "As for the terraqueous globe, the earth, he has laid the foundations thereof, divided it into sea and land, garnished it with trees, plants, and flowers, stocked it with living creatures for the use of man, and plentifully furnished it with the most inexpressible variety. Every herb that grows, every spire of grass that springs up, every creeping thing that moves upon the face of the earth, proclaims the wisdom of its Maker;" as the same learned e writer speaks. And as he f adds, "If we survey the magnitude of the heavenly bodies, some smaller, some vastly bigger than our earthly globe, all of an amazing size and greatness; if we consider the niceproportion of their distances, the regularity of their situations, the harmony of their courses, and the uniformity of all their motions, they cannot but raise in us an idea of the infinite power, wisdom, and greatness of him that made them." And seeing this is the work of the Holy Spirit, as well as of the Father and the Son, it ought to be ascribed to him, and the glory due to him, on the account of it, should be freely and openly given him. II. Providence is another work in which the Holy Spirit is a Rom. i. 20. c Third Sermon, p. 96. Third Sermon, p. 85. b Dr. Waterland's second Sermon, p. 78. d Psal. cii. 25, 26. f Third Sermon, p. 87. intimately concerned, as the scriptures witness, both in the Old Testament and the New. The Psalmist said, Thou sendest forth thy Spirit, and they are created; thou renewest the face of the earth a. The same Spirit who created all things at first, and gave order and beauty to the various parts of his work, carries on a succession of individuals of each kind, as the former fail and die away; and he restores the order and beauty of his works, when fallen to decay; the earth, and all things that grow upon it, being, as it were, dead in the winter, are revived and renewed again in the spring, and appear with new life, beauty, and glory, through the powerful influence of the Holy Spirit: This is his providential work, called a creating and renewing the face of the earth. To whatever other causes men may ascribe this wonderful work, yet the scriptures expressly proclaim the Holy Spirit to be the efficient cause and author of it, in the continual course and exercise of his provi dential care and influence. The conservation of the whole is carried on by a new creation of such parts as were wanting. Elihu, long after the first creation, owns the Spirit to have been his Maker or Creator, as was noted before b. The conducting and protecting Israel through the Red Sea and the wilderness, was the work of the Holy Spirit; for thus spoke Isaiah, Where is he that put his Holy Spirit within him, that led them by the right hand of Moses, that led them through the deep? The Spirit of the Lord caused him to rest, so didst thou lead thy people c.' It was the Holy Spirit that qualified the rulers of the people, called them to, and assisted them in their work; by him were Moses and the rest of the prophets conducted, in the Theocracy the Jews were under: It was, both in civil and military things, a ministration of the Spirit; when the enemy came in as a flood d, he lifted up a standard against them. It was he that separated e some who had no might to build the second temple. And in the gospel a Psal. civ. 30. d Isa. lix. 19. b Job xxxiii. 4. c Isa, lxiii. 11-14. economy, his providential influence clearly appears; by him one apostle strikes a man blind, another strikes others dead, and by them the dead were raised to life: All gifts, administrations, and operations are from the Holy Spirit: From the time of his glorious mission, he has been at work in the world a, reproving of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment: He will, at last, be the ruin of Antichrist, and the author of that glorious work which shall be effected in the latter day. If we consider these things, how applicable to him will the Psalmist's description of providence appear to be; 'The Lord looketh from heaven, and beholdeth all the sons of men; he fashioneth their hearts alike, he considereth all their works b. Is it not reasonable to suppose, that he, the wise Creator, should take care of, and govern what he made, and direct every thing to the ends designed by him? When Christ is affirmed to have made the worlds, in the very next verse we read, that he upholds all things c: Creation and providenceare not to be divided; the same ends are pursued in both, and. therefore he that does the one does the other also. If providence consists in the divine wisdom directing, the divine will appointing, and the divine power executing, and performing events; then providence is properly the work of the Holy Spirit, as may be seen in the instances before mentioned, and in many others that might be produced. I will only mention one; that is, the Spirit's directing and ordering Paul's course in fulfilling his ministry; when he would have gone into Bithynia, the Spirit suffered him not; but sent him into Macedonia, where Lydia was converted, and afterwards the jailor and others d: Nor are we to think that this overruling hand of the Spirit was his only providential work; as he still makes, so he conducts the course of his ministers still, though in a different way from that relating to Paul. And thus we see how the great works of providence are the works of the Spirit, as well as of the Father and Son.. a John xvi. 8. b Psal. xxxiii. 13-15. c Heb. i. 2, 3. d. Acts xvi. 7, 9. APPLICATION. 1. How fit is the Holy Spirit to be Christ's successor and vicegerent, to come in his name, and carry on his work? He who is God the Creator, is also God the Comforter: He who created the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him a; he is infinitely able to create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy; to restore comfort to her and her mourners, and to create the fruit of the lips, peace, peace to him that is nigh, and to him that is afar off. When Christ promised and sent the Spirit to supply his absence, he provided well for his people: The greatest comforts and benefits they had received from his bodily presence and ministry were by means of the Spirit, who anointed him b, to bind up the broken-hearted, and to preach glad tidings to the meek. Christ, speaking of this other Comforter, says to his disciples, 'You know him; for he dwells with you, and shall be in you c.' He dwelt with them, and they had seen his power and grace in the ministry of Christ; and Christ promised that he should dwell in them, by an extraordinary infinite power and presence, such as they enjoyed when he was shed down upon them, and discovered all the perfections of wisdom, goodness, and power required in the infinite Creator and Governor of the world. If we view the Holy Spirit in this light, and as vested with this august character, there is no room to doubt of his sufficiency to fill up Christ's place, and carry on his work of salvation. When Job had heard from God of his wonderful works of creation and providence, he drew this conclusion, I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withheld from thee d.' The Holy Spirit is Creator and Governor, he can do every thing, finish the work given him to do. 2. Is the Holy Spirit so much concerned in the works of a Isa. lxv. 18.; xvii. 19. c John xiv. 17. b Isa. lxi. 1. d Job xlii. 2. This is expressly creation and providence; then what subjection and obedience do we owe to him? O come let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. To-day, if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts a. applied to the Holy Ghost by the apostle b; which enforces the exhortation to bow down before him, and to hear and obey his voice. Seeing he is the Father of our spirits, and the fountain of our comforts, it is highly reasonable that we should be subject to him: He has made us, and not we ourselves; and therefore we should serve him with gladness; ' Thy hands have made me and fashioned me,' said the Psalmist, 'give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments c.' The scriptures d represent it as the most horrid and heinous evil, for those whom God has nourished and brought up, to rebel against him. Seeing then the Spirit of God has made us, and the Breath of the Almighty has given us life, it is most highly reasonable that we should yield subjection and obedience to him. 6 3. What confidence and comfort may believers draw from this doctrine? Happy is he whose hope is in the Lord his God, which made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that therein is e.' When we are ready to sink and despond, under a sense of spiritual declensions in the church, or in ourselves, what relief may be received from that word? Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, faints not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding; he gives power to the faint, and to them that have no might he increases strength f. He that created all things can create us in Christ Jesus to good works; he that renews the face of the earth, can renew our souls, give power to the faint, and increase strength to them that have no might: He is a free Spirit, an Almighty Spirit, and therefore is fit to pre a Psal. xcv. 6, 7. d Isa. i. 2. b Heb. iii. 7. c Psal. cxix. 73. e Psal. cxlvi. 5, 6. f Isa. xl. 18, 19.-Eph. ii. 10. |