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He has therefore fo frequently these Styles in Scripture, the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation, the Spirit of Prophecy, the Spirit of Truth, and Truth it felf, in the ab ftract 1 John 5. 6 Because the Spirit is Truth. Laftly, Omnipotence does alfo certainly belong to the Holy Ghoft, fince all thofe Divine Operations, thofe Works that none but God can do, are fo frequently thro' the whole Scriptures afcrib'd to him. Such as are the acts of Creation and Confervation of all things, the Miracles wrought upon, and by our Bleffed Saviour and the works of Grace and Power wrought in the hearts of the Faithful, and chiefly the raising first Chrift, and afterward all that believe in him from the Dead. Rom. 8. 11. All which works are fuch as None but an Omnipotent Power can produce, and belong properly and folely to God.

3dly, and Laftly, it is undeniably prov❜d, that the Holy Ghoft is God by the Divine Worfhip which is juftly paid to him, who, as the Nicene Creed expreffes it, with the Father and the Son together is Worshipped and Glorify'd. Now this Divine Worship, even by God's own appointment, is paid by us to him at our Baptifm, where we acknow. ledge him to be God, place our Faith in him, fix our Hope on him, profefs our Devotion and Obedience to him, by being

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Baptiz'd into his Name. This Worship we alfo pay to him as often as, after the Pattern of that Benediction of St. Paul, together with the Grace of our Lord Jefus Chrift, and the Love of God, we pray also for the Fellowship of the Holy Ghoft. All This it is impoffible that God, who is a Jealous God, who has more than Once fo folemnly declar'd, that he will not give his Glory to another; that God, I fay, fhould fuffer, much lefs command and inftitute all this, namely Divine Honour and Religious Worship to be paid to the Holy Ghoft, unless he were truly God, is abfolutely impoffible. But laft of all, what great Devotion, what fuperlative Reverence is due from us to the Holy Spirit, we may learn from what our Saviour himself tells us, that tho' all manner of Sin and Blafphemy fhould be forgiven to Men, yet the Blafphemy against the Holy Ghoft fball not be forgiven, neither in this World, neither in the World to come. Matth. 12. 31, 32.

There is no Sin committed against the Father, no Word fpoken against the Son, but is capable of Forgiveness, but the Sin against the Holy Ghost is for ever unpardonable: Now it is against the Nature of the thing it felf, that any Derogation from the honour of a Creature fhould be fo highly culpable, and fhould be capable of fo great

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aggravation, as to be only out of the reach of God's Pardon and Mercy, which to all other most grievous Sins extends it felf. It cannot, I fay, be poffibly conceiv'd, that the honour of a Creature fhould be thus preferr'd, thus ftronger guarded and fortify'd, than the honour of God himself. It remains therefore,that the Holy Ghost,against whom only this unpardonable Sin can be committed, mult of neceffity be no Created Being, but God Eternal, Co-effential and Co-equal to the Father and the Son in Unity of Nature, and Diftin&t from them both, in Perfon only. Which Distinction when I fhall briefly have made appear out of Scripture, I think I fhall have fhewn you all that is necessary to be Known and Believ'd of the Nature, and fhall proceed to the Of fice of the Holy Ghoft. That therefore, tho' he is One in Nature with the Father and the Son because he is God, and because there can be but One God, both which Propofitions are plainly in many places of Scripture deliver'd, yet that he is diftinguifh'd from both in his Perfon, is as manifeftly in the fame Scriptures taught. From the Father firft,in all thofe places which are too numerous to be reckon'd and too obvious to need it, where he is faid to be fent by the Father, to be given by the Father to proceed from the Father, to make Inter

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ceffion for us with the Father, and the like; and alfo from the Son, where he is called the Spirit of the Son, Gal. 4. 6, where he is fent by the Son, where he is faid to receive of the Son and thereby to glorify him, He shall glorify me for hefball receive of mine, Joh. 16.14. where we are told, that he defcended and refted upon the Son, that the Son was led by him, anointed by him, and by his Operation and Overshadowing Conceiv'd of the Bleffed Virgin and laftly, where Our Saviour expressly distinguishes him from Himself by calling him Another, John 14. 16. I will pray the Father and he shall give You another Comforter, that he may abide with You for ever. And as in all thefe places of Scripture the Holy Ghoft is diftinguifh'd from the Father, and from the Son feverally, fo very frequently alfo is he diftinguish'd from 'em both, jointly and together. Out of all which I fhall mention but one, because of its clearnefs, which is that account of St. Matthew 3.16. fo he faw the Spirit of God defcending like a Dove and lighting upon him, and lo! a Voice from Heaven saying, This is my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleafed. Where it is very evident, that the Perfon of the Holy Ghost was manifeftly distinguish'd from the Perfon of the Son upon whom he lighted, and the Perfon of the Father who fpake from Heaven of his Son. All which is enough

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enough to let us understand that the Holy Scriptures do as certainly and clearly make Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, as diftinct in their Persons, as they make them One in their Nature. And let thus much fuffice as concerning the Effence or Nature of the Holy Ghost; for this is all that the Word of his own Inspiring has reveal'd to us of himself, and further it is neither dutiful, nor reverent, nor fafe for us to enquire.

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By His Office I mean that which is peculiarly afcrib'd to Him in the Salvation of Mankind, as the Work wrought by him, and for which he is purpofely fent by the Father and the Son. And That proper and peculiar Office of the Holy Ghoft is Sanctification, he being the Author of all Internal Holiness and Sanctifying Grace. Not that the Other Perfons of the Bleffed Trinity are excluded from a joint Concurrence in this Work, For all the Actions of the Bleffed Trinity, excepting those that are of extrinfecal Relation, are the undivided Works of all the Three. According to that Maxim uniformly and conftantly ever receiv'd in the Catholick Church, Opera Trinitatis ad extra funt indivifa. But because We are of too grofs an Understanding to be

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