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6. The Holy Spirit glorifies Christ by revealing to believers his infinite merit, righteousness, grace, and love, and impressing a sense of them upon their souls. O how precious is Christ to them! What innumerable ascriptions of glory and honour have been made to him on these accounts, in all ages? To these, the closet, the family, the public assembly, and the writings of many can witness, which have been full of the high praises of the dear Saviour, as having made an end of sin, and brought in an everlasting righteousness, in which all the faithful are justified, and do glory. And the infinite grace and love of the Redeemer no less affect the hearts of the faithful, nor less excite their praises, The grace of our Lord Jesus was exceeding and abundant towards me,' said Paul; and the same has been extolled by numberless numbers since, who, by the illuminations of the Holy Spirit, have been brought, first to see their own vileness and unworthiness, and then the infinite free favour of Christ to the most unworthy and undeserving. Thus the Holy Spirit revealed him to Paul, and Paul has represented him to others, that Christ might be glorified. I,' said the apostle a had been a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious; but I obtained mercy, and the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant towards me.' In one place b we read of grace given in Christ before the world began; in another, that he was full of grace; and that out of his fulness we all receive, according to the measure of his gift ; and elsewhere, the grace of Christ is made part of a farewell benediction: The Corinthians are said to know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ; and Christ told Paul, that his grace was sufficient for him; and Timothy is exhorted to be strong in the grace that is in Christ; and grace is said to reign to eternal life, through Jesus Christ. These, with many other representations of Christ's infinite grace, has the Holy Ghost given us, that we might have high and admiring thoughts of it, and adore and praise him for it, as all the saints, in all

a 1 Tim. i. 13, 14.

b 2 Tim. i. 9.-John i. 14, 16.-Eph. 1v. 7.-2 Cor. xiii. 14.; viii. 9.; xiii. 9.-2 Tim. ii. 1.-Rom. v. 21.

ages, have done and thus the Holy Spirit glorifies Christ, by displaying the riches and glory of his grace, and causing Christians to glorify him on that account. Believers are said to taste that the Lord is gracious, and are exhorted to know the love of Christ a, which passes knowledge; and to look for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, to eternal life.

The crowning excellency of the mercy and love of Christ, is its sovereignty and freeness; which is called grace, and has respect to the unworthiness of the receiver, which renders it more pleasant to the taste, and more glorious in the eyes of the saved, who know themselves to be most unworthy; and this will render their praises and adorations of Christ eternally delightful, and be for ever to the glory of his grace: Thus whilst the Spirit of grace takes of the grace of Christ and shews it to us, he, in a transcendent way, glorifies him; this he does on earth, all the days of time; and in heaven, to all eternity.

7. The Holy Spirit glorifies Christ, by enabling his servants to suffer for him, with resolution and constancy. Through a supply of the Spirit of Jesus, Paul b hoped, that in nothing he should be ashamed; but that Christ should be magnified in his body, whether it were by life or by death; for it was a gift of the Holy Ghost to suffer for his sake. O the noble army of martyrs, who loved not their lives to the death, but glorified their dear Saviour in dying for him! The Spirit of glory and of God rested upon them c, and by them he was glorified, as Peter speaks. Hence Tertullian said to the martyrs, "Grieve not the Holy Spirit, who entered with you into prison; for if he had not been with you, you had never entered, nor had you been now there d. In this the apostle rejoiced, that God had not given him, and his fellow-labourers, the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind e:' Hereby they were enabled to witness a good

a 1 Pet. ii. 3.-Eph. iii. 19.-Jude 21.

c 1 Fet. iv. 14.

e 2 Tim. i. 17.

b Phil. i. 19, 20, 29.

d Tertullian, ad martyres, p. 155.

confession of Christ, and to honour him by laying down their lives in his cause; which was the greatest visible token of their love and loyalty to him, as the best of Sovereigns and Saviours. By this means Christ's interest spread and prevailed in the primitive times, insomuch that it was commonly said, the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church: The histories of those times furnish us with many remarkable instances of it. And thus did the Holy Spirit glorify Christ, by enabling his servants to lay down their lives for his sake.

8. The Holy Spirit glorifies Christ in perfecting the saints a, in order to their being presented a glorious church, having neither spot nor wrinkle, nor any such thing. How will Christ be glorified in the saints b, in the great day? when they all shall appear in their robes of glory, all glorious within, and their raiment of wrought gold e, all the workmanship of the Holy Spirit, who changes them into Christ's image d, from glory to glory, till Christ shall be e glorified in them, and they in him, in the highest degree that is possible? And how much must it be to Christ's honour, to be attended in that day with a numberless number, turned from darkness to light, from filthiness to purity, from Satan to God, with the Saviour's image in them, and glory upon them, and drawn to the life by the Holy Spirit? O how are they changed from being the most loathsome, to be the most lovely creatures, with one mind and with one mouth, adoring and praising their dear Redeemer? Well may Christ say of his church in that day, Thou art all fair, my spouse, there is no spot in thee; and herein the glory of the Redeemer's merit, grace, and love, will shine brightly for ever and ever. If it be asked, Who are these, and whence did they come? It may be answered, These all came out of the pit of corruption, the devil's kingdom, having once bore the same loathsome image as the reprobates do; but the Holy Spirit renewed them, washed them, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, made them all thus fit for Christ to be glorified and admired in and by them.

a Eph. v. 26.

d 2 Cor. iii. 18.

b 2 Thess. i. 10.
e John xvii. 10.

c Psal. xliv. 13.

APPLICATION.

1. What reason have we to believe that Jesus Christ is the true and only Saviour, and to adhere to him as such? He is not left without witness, and that of the highest and best sort: If we receive the witness of men, the witness of the Holy Ghost is greater. The Spirit himself bears witness because the Spirit is truth, and is no lie; he can neither be deceived, nor deceive us: He has testified of Christ, by abiding in a glorious manner upon him at his baptism, and by his enabling the apostles to proclaim him in such a glorious manner, at and after Pentecost. In all ages of the church, but eminently in the last, the Holy Spirit bears witness to Christ in the most convincing manner, and therefore it is now a great sin not to believe in and receive Christ, as it is committed against clear light and strong evidence.

The very effusion of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost, was a noble testimony to Christ, that he was ascended up on high, seeing he was to give such a gift to men: And the power and gift of prophecy, wherewith the Holy Ghost endowed the apostles, is the testimony of Jesus, and a plain evidence that Christ is the Son of God, and Saviour of men, seeing that Spirit, who is true God, thereby testified of him. Hence it follows, that we are under the strongest obligations to own and adhere to Christ; for we make the Holy Spirit a liar, if we receive not his record which he has given us of Christ; and how great a sin must that be! Let us then, most earnestly beg, that the work of faith may be fulfilled with power in us: and that we may stedfastly embrace Christ as the Son of God, and only Saviour of lost sinners: as such the Holy Spirit has revealed him, and has given the clearest attestation to this truth. All that he inspired the Evangelist and apostle John to write in his gospel, was with this intent, that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing we might have life through his name a.

a John xx. 31.

2. Let us be led by the Spirit, and fall in with his design and work of glorifying Christ. Surely Christ is worthy of great glory, seeing so great and good a person as the Holy Ghost has made it to be his great work in the world, to glorify Christ. If we are fond of following examples, let us choose the highest and best to imitate: Let us keep in view the work of the Holy Spirit, and the great things which he has done to glorify Christ: What a glorious testimony has he given us of Christ's resurrection? How has he vindicated his truth and honour? How has he erected and established his kingdom, by changing men into his image, and displaying the glory of his merit and grace? How has he enabled many to glorify Christ in the fires of persecution and death itself? Should not we now, if we live in the Spirit, also walk in the Spirit, endeavour to advance his kingdom in the world, promote his image in ourselves and others, display the glory of his grace and merit, and endeavour, by our good works, to adorn his doctrine, give honour to his glorious person and work? May the Spirit assist us with sufficient grace for this service, to which we are so strongly bound, who live under that ministration, which abounds in glory.

Now to the Holy Spirit, who has made us, who provides for us, who is the giver of all wisdom, who inspired the prophets and apostles, who conducted the Man Christ Jesus, who has wrought miracles, who furnished the primitive teachers with extraordinary gifts, who has instituted and makes useful a gospel-ministry, who bears witness to Christ, and glorifies him in the world, and to the Father of mercies, and to the eternal Son, to these three divine persons, who are the One supreme God, be honour, glory, and praise ascribed in all the churches, now, henceforth, and for evermore. Amen.

THE END.

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