my

put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments and do them. And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

In all the troubles of his after life, it is in the influence of this benign power that the believer finds his support. In all his perplexity, and in all his weakness, here is his guide, and here his strength. Spiritual enemies are overcome, advances are made in that purer knowledge and that purer feeling, which raise men to fellowship with heaven. But the influence which spiritualized the mind at first, is the same which has led it thus onward toward the rest and glory which the scriptures reveal. Satan may be treacherous and powerful, much beyond our largest conceptions, but here is an ever-present and an all-sufficient help;-wisdom, without limit; knowledge, from which nothing may be concealed; and power, which, in its slightest movement, must consume all opposition.

In what the Holy Spirit has done on earth, we discern something of that elevation of thought and affection, and something of that nobler bearing, which his agency must necessarily inspire. But to judge adequately of his work, we must pass from earth to heaven. There we shall probably see, as we cannot now see, the ten thousand escapes which have been vouchsafed to us, the innumerable mercies which have been bestowed upon us, and the ever-returning folly and sin, by which we have grieved the Holy One, and tried his long-suffering. There also his work will be perfect. The last danger

will have passed, and the last touch will have been given to the likeness of God on the soul. All its properties will be cleansed, invigorated, rightly employed, and the fulness of their exercise be a fulness of joy. Could we now see that work as it is, and could we see more of that mysterious working, by which it is carried on to such marvellous maturity, we should indeed pray, Take not thy Holy Spirit from me; and loudly should we bless him who has said, If ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give his Holy Spirit to those who ask him?

Such then, according to the scriptures, are the spiritual influences by which the human mind is affected in the present world. Man is a being in whose fate the whole intelligent universe is concerned. The rebellious would have him continue a party to their treason. The obedient would see him recovered to their own state of allegiance and blessedness. And there is war between them on his account. But so great is the compassion of God toward us, that the issue is not left to the possible uncertainties of such a contest. An influence all divine is vouchsafed to the soul, that thus its ultimate felicity and glory may be placed beyond the possibility of failure.

To all these influences did the Saviour refer, when he said, The wind bloweth where it listeth, thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth. But if this

mysteriousness belong to them all, how may we escape delusion? How may we know whether the influences which come upon us are good or evil? Satan can appear as an angel of light, error can assume the likeness of truth, evil can put on the semblance of good. Are there any means by which we may certainly distinguish between these? When an apostle writes, Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they be of God, it is clearly implied, that the means of conducting such a trial are within our reach.

III. We may observe, generally, that the Bible is our acknowledged standard of truth, and that

THE SPIRIT WHICH SPEAKS NOT ACCORDING TO THIS

RULE, IS NOT OF GOD. The great design of miraculous powers was to attest the authority of scripture, that the inspired volume, once completed, the church might possess ample guidance to the end of time. And, as if for the purpose of preventing any expectation of additions to that word, as left by the apostles, the power of working miracles ceased with the apostolic age. It is true that pretensions to this power survived that period; but in every instance, much subsequent to the first century, there is the strongest reason for considering them as the effect of misconception or fraud. And it is important to remember, that supposing these gifts to have passed away with the apostles and their immediate disciples, they must have disappeared, as they seem to have done, imperceptibly. Every

argument that may now be resorted to in support of a continuance of miraculous powers, might be urged in support of making additions to the documents of holy scripture; and the church of Rome, accordingly, in urging her pretensions to such power, has only been consistent in laying claim to a spirit of infallibility, and in making her traditions of the same authority with the commandments of God. An argument which should prove that any of the extraordinary gifts of the apostolic age were to be perpetuated, must prove that they were all to be perpetuated, the gift of healing and the gift of inspiration alike. Hence, the next step after an expectation of new miracles, should be the expectation of new Bibles, or that some modern saint should attempt to supply the deficiencies of the Evangelists and of St. Paul. We repeat, therefore, that the word of God is the sole, and the sufficient standard, by which to try our own spirits, and the spirits supposed to have influence over us.

Taking this perfect and unerring volume as our guide, we may be assured that the influence which disposes us to make light of sin, under whatever disguise this may be done, is not of God. The Spirit of God is holy, the angels in heaven are holy, and all that descends to us from them is in accordance with their nature. The divine word sufficiently describes what that work upon the heart is, which it is the design of all heavenly influence to promote. That which we may expect to be done within us, is that which we have distinctly

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promised, and pourtrayed before us. of this we should seek, and nothing beyond this should we for a moment anticipate. Whatever tends to produce distrust of the word of God, to nourish spiritual sloth, to impair a habit of devotion, to lessen our christian usefulness, to turn the mind from what is certain to what is doubtful, from truth to speculation, from doctrines that lead immediately to our sanctification to others which have no such immediate bearing;-whatever shall serve to puff up with spiritual pride, though under the garb of a monastic humility; or to make our own prominence and power a favourite object, though under the persuasion of a zeal for God; and, finally, whatever is found to alienate our affections from our fellow-men, and especially from our fellowchristians, all such things are manifestly the offspring of our own earthly nature, or the result of influences still more opposed to God and goodness.

The subject of this chapter forcibly reminds us of THE IMPORTANCE WHICH IS ATTACHED TO HUMAN NATURE IN THE ECONOMY OF THE UNIVERSE. It is a fallen nature, every way stained and polluted; but its destiny calls forth the never-slumbering watchfulness, and the never-ceasing activity, of the good and evil through every known region of spiritual existence. The ruined archangel, and his embattled host, have long since made the destruction of man the great object of their policy. To