and endeavours of a good life, that fo powerful an affiftance is fo freely offered to us, to enable us to run the ways of God's commandments; that God hath promifed his Holy Spirit to refide and dwell in us, to be a principle of fpiritual life to us, and to enable us to all the purposes of obedience, and a holy life?

And what infinite cause have we to blefs God for the gift of his Holy Spirit, and to fay with St. Paul, Bleed be God for his unjpeakable gift! That he hath given his Holy Spirit to his church, at firft in miraculous powers and gifts for the preaching of the Chriftian religion in the world, and ever fince, in fuch degrees of affiftance, as were neceffary in the feveral ages of the church, for the prefervation of the Chriftian religion in the world; that he hath given his Holy Spirit to every particular member of his church, for the fanctifying and renewing of our natures, to strengthen us to every good word and work, and to keep us by his mighty power through faith unto falvation!

And this fanctifying virtue of the Holy Ghoft, enabling us to do the will of God, is more than any miraculous powers whatsoever. So our Saviour tells us, Matth. vii. 21, 22, 23. Not every one that faith unto me, Lord, Lord, fhall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophefied in thy name? and in thy name have caft out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? and then will I profefs unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Men may do wonders by the power of the Holy Ghoft, and yet be fhut out of the kingdom of heaven; only they that are affifted by the Spirit of God to do the will of God, fhall be admitted into heaven.

And this is matter of greater joy and comfort · to us, than to work the greateit wonders, and to have power over devils, to caft them out of the bodies of men, Luke x. 20. Rejoice not in this, faith our bleffed Saviour, that the fpirits are made fubject to

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you, but rejoice in this, that your names are written in heaven. How is that? The fanctifying virtue of God's Spirit is the pledge and earneft of our neavenly inheritance, and that whereby we are fealed to the day of redemption.

SERMON CCLIII.

The efficacy of prayer, for obtaining the Holy Spirit.

LUKE XI. 13.

How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

The fecond fermon on this text.

N difcourfing on thefe words, I propofed,

Firft, To endeavour to fhew what is compre hended in the gift of the Holy Spirit mentioned in my text, and how great a bleffing and benefit it is.

Secondly, What kind of asking is here required.

Thirdly, To confirm and illuftrate the truth of this propofition, That God is very ready to give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him.

Fourthly, To remove a confiderable objection, to which this difcourfe may feem liable. And,

Fifthly, To make fome practical application of it to ourselves.

The three former of thefe I have difpatched, and fhall now proceed to the

Fourth thing which I propounded, which was, to remove an objection to which this difcourfe may feem liable, the removal whereof will conduce very much to the clearing of this argument, about which men feem to have had very confused apprehenfions.

The

The objection is this; That none can ask the Spirit aright, but they that have the Spirit; and if this be fo, then this large declaration of God's goodnefs and readiness to bestow his Holy Spirit upon them that ask him comes to nothing; for a promife fignifies nothing, which confers a benefit on a perfon, upon a condition impoffible by him to be performed, unless he firft have the benefit which is promifed; and to ufe a familiar comparifon, if this were the meaning of it, it would be like a father's jefting with his child, when he is fallen, and bidding him come to him, and he will help him up. Now if God thus promife his Holy Spirit to them that ask it, with this refervation, that no man can ask God's Spirit, unless he have it, then this promife amounts to nothing.

And that no man can ask God's Spirit without his Spirit, (that is, put up any prayer that is acceptable to God, without the affiftance of God's Spirit) feems to me in effect generally granted by thofe who affert, that no unregenerate man can pray to God aright, or perform any other duties of religion in an acceptable manner; for to be unregenerate, and not to have the Spirit of God, are equivalent expreffions in fcripture, St. Paul having exprefly told us, that if any man have not the Spirit of God, he is none of bis; that is, does not belong to him, as every regenerate perfon moft certainly does.

Befides that the fcripture tells us, that all the prayers, and all the facrifices, that is, all religious duties performed by a wicked man, are an abomination to the Lord; because no prayer can be acceptable to God, which does not proceed from fincerity, and is not put up to God in faith; now fincerity and faith are graces proper to the regenerate.

So that the objection in fhort is this, How can any man that hath not the Spirit of God, ask any thing of God aright, that is, fincerely, fervently, and in faith? And if without God's Spirit, no man can beg his Spirit of him, what then fignifies this promife that God will give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him &

For

For the fatisfaction of this objection, I fhall lay down thefe propofitions, which, if they be well confidered, will conduce very much to the clearing of this

matter.

First, That in the interpretation of promifes and conditions annexed to them, we ought above all things to take heed, that we do not fo interpret either the promife, or condition, as to make the promise void, and of none effect; for this cannot be done without a notorious affront to him that made the promise, who is prefumed, if he was ferious and fincere, to have intended a real benefit and advantage by his promife. And this rule holds not only in the interpretation of promifes, but of all covenants, and contracts; in omni interpretatione paftorum, contractuum, promifforum, illud præcipue cavendum, ne in vanum recidant; "In the interpretation of all covenants,

and contracts and promifes, we are principally to "take care, that we do not fo interpret them as to "make them fignify nothing :" And if this hold among men, much more ought we to be cautious and tender of interpreting the promises of God to a vain and trifling fenfe; for we cannot difhonour the goodnefs and veracity of God more, than to fuppofe that he mocks men by his promises, and makes a fhew and offer of a benefit, when he really intends none; for all fuch proceedings as would be unbecoming the fincerity and integrity of a good man, are to be removed at the greateft diftance from God, All whofe ways are faithfulness and truth, who is not as man, that he should lie, or as the Son of man, that he should repent.

Secondly, I do not fee but if this were the true fenfe and meaning of these words of our Saviour, that though God will give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him, yet none but those who have the Spirit of God, can ask it of him, I fay, I do not fee but that it muft neceflarily be granted, that fuch a promife as this amounts to nothing; becaufe according to this interpretation of it, the benefit promifed would be fufpended upon a condition, which no man can perform, unlefs he be firft partaker of the benefit; which

is, in plain English, to promife to bestow a thing upon a man on this condition, that he first have the thing which I promise to bestow upon him; which fignifies juft nothing, but is lufory and trifling, and confequently not to be imagined to be the meaning of a divine promise. There cannot be a greater abfurdity in divinity, than to put fuch a fenfe upon the promifes of God, as does plainly evacuate them, and make them of none effect. This be far from us, as the Apostle fays upon another occafion, Shall we make the promises of God of none effect? God forbid.

And whereas it is commonly faid, that the meaning of our Saviour's promife here in the text is this, that thofe who have the Spirit of God already, if they ask a greater measure of it, he will not deny it to them; though this be true in itself, that God will not deny greater degrees of the grace and affiftance of his Holy Spirit to them that beg it of him, and may by a juft parity of reafon be inferred from this pro mife, or contained in it as part of the meaning of it, yet to make this the whole meaning of it, feems to be a very forced and unreasonable limitation of thefe general words, wherein this promife is conceived ; for if we look back to the 10th verfe, the words are as general as could well be devifed, Every one that asketh, receiveth; and every one that feeketh, findeth; and containing matter of favour and benefit, they ought in reafon to be enlarged and extended as far as may be, but by no means to be reftrained without evident reafon. Now fo far is there from being any evident reason for this, that there feems to me to be an invincible one to the contrary, why they fhould not be thus reftrained, and that is this: If this promife of our Saviour's were thus to be limited; then all other promises of the like nature, ought in like manner to be interpreted; which cannot be without manifeft violence and felf-contradiction. I will inftance in two other promises of the like nature and importance. The firft is, Ezek. xxxvi. 25, 26, 27. God there promises to reclaim them from their idolatry, by convincing them of their fin, and giving them repentance, and his Holy Spirit to re

generate