are one; that there is an eternal, ineffable, and an incomprehenfible union and in-being between him and his Father. And this Christ doth by his pofitive affertion, He that bath feen me, bath feen the Father: and then by the oneness of effence both of the Father and the Son, I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and this was manifefted, in refpect of operations, both in doctrine and miracles. The words that I Speak unto you, I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me, that I am in the Father, and the Father in me. Here our Lord puts them upon believing this fublime truth upon the bare credit of his own word. And it is upon this, all the faving knowledge and faith of the doctrine of the eternal Trinity, are founded and built. We receive it as an infallible truth, because the Lord hath revealed it in the written word: and our faith in it does not receive fupport from the wifdom of men, but from the word and power of God. Not only the bare word of Chrift was a fufficient proof of his being one in the Godhead, coequal, coeffential, and confubftantial with the Father; but his works proved all this to a demonftration; for which reafon Chrift adds, Or elfe believe me for the very works fake. He goes on to inform them that they would receive increasing evidences, and have full proof of this, by his almighty power which would be put forth in them, and by the glorious effects which would follow the preaching of the gospel by them. Verily, verily, I fay unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do, shall be do also, and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto my

Father. And that they might have their faith lifted up and strengthened in confequence of his entrance into heaven, he informs them, that all their prayers offered up to God in his name, fhould be granted. Then he excites them to manifeft their love to him by keeping his commandments: upon which follow the words of our text, And I will pray the Father, and he fhall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever. My defign in treating upon thefe words is, to fet forth unto you that the Holy Ghoft is given and bestowed upon believers, as the fruit and effect of Chrift's most prevalent and powerful mediation and interceffion. He is fent and given to fupply the want of Chrift's bodily prefence, and to perform the part and office of a comforter, or advocate; and being fent, he is to abide with the church of Christ for

ever.

It will not be amifs to obferve, it being by no means foreign to our fubject, that we have in our text a very confiderable, and moft glorious proof of the doctrine of the ever bleffed Trinity. Here is the Father prayed unto, the Son in human nature praying, and the Holy Ghoft the comforter prayed for. It may not be unprofitable to subjoin another obfervation, which is, that the Scriptures being a revelation of God's mind and will to us, the three divine perfons therefore, are generally held forth to us in their economical offices, or Covenant engagements; and they are fo in this Scripture. Christ is here acting the part of mediator, and praying as fuch to his Divine Father, for the Spirit to be fent, to

glorify him in the hearts of his people, and to bring all divine truth to their remembrance. I will endeavour to caft the text into the following divifion : Firft, by confidering these words as Chrift's promise to his disciples in order to comfort them. Secondly, what Chrift promifeth, I will pray the Father, and he fhall give you another Comforter. Thirdly, that the Spirit being given, he is to abide with the church. for ever.

I propofe, as my first particular, to confider these words as Chrift's promise to his difciples in order to comfort them. They had long enjoyed his bleffed prefence, his heavenly difcourfes, and divine converfe, but now he was to be removed from them; which was an heart-breaking thought to them. To lose their head, for him to be taken from them; this, at the first view of it, feemed to be to them an unfpeakable lofs: whereas, in fact, it was not. For Christ's bodily prefence, was not so great a bleffing and privilege, as his fpiritual prefence by his Spirit. It is the Lord's method, which he obferves in all his difpenfations of grace, that his prefent manifeftations of himself shall put down the past, and the future will exceed the prefent. For four thousand years, the faints had been longing for the appearing of the Great God, even our Saviour, the promised Shiloh, the Prince of Peace. When the fulness of time was come, God was manifested in the flesh, proclaimed to be a Saviour, Chrift the Lord, and worshipped by all the hoft of heaven. Old Teftament faints who lived to fee this glorious advent

of our Lord, triumphed in him. He was proclaimed by his herald, who cried, Behold the Lamb of God, and testified of by a voice which came from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleafed. And our almighty Saviour fhone forth in the rays of his glory and divine majefty, at his baptifm and transfiguration. Hence John fays, We beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Now the disciples heard and faw, what many prophets and righteous kings defired and longed for. They faw JEHOVAH the Saviour, with the eyes of their bodies and minds alfo. Their spiritual understandings were in a great measure withholden, so that they had but here and there a fpiritual glimpse of him. This was their

mercy; for had they been able to take in to their minds and comprehend the effential, personal, and mediatorial glories of Chrift, fo fully during our Lord's perfonal prefence with them, as they did afterwards, fuch views would have been too great for them to bear up under during their prefent mortal ftate of frailty. It is true, they had fome bleffed views and fights of him, as the Son of God, and as God-man, the Saviour of his people; but these were presently loft, through the popular mistake which they greedily embraced concerning the kingdom of the illuftrious Son of David. True faith they had, though not drawn forth to that perfection it would be. Our Lord by little and little, leads the minds of these his beloved ones, into the nature and glorious triumphs of his crown and kingdom. He is the Lord from

heaven, the King, yea the Lord of Glory, and was to wade through a fea of forrows and fufferings, ere he mounted his mediatorial throne. He, the true Meffiah, must be lifted up upon the crofs, as the antitype of Mofes' brazen ferpent; and then he knew his difciples would feel their faith ftagger, their hope be confounded, and their forrows multiplied. He here adminifters a cordial before-hand, to prevent their faith from failing, and their minds from finking. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever. He fpeaks of an afking or praying, for the word fignifies both the one and the other, for a gift not to be granted during his ftay below but after his afcenfion; and which was to be the fruit of his death. Hereby he would evidence that his glory fhould not becloud his mercy, and the care of their concerns; that his love towards them, should be ftronger than death (or glory), and that he would not reft till he had obtained of his Divine Father, what was neceffary for them; fo that he here exprefsly declares, what he was to do for, and would bestow upon them from heaven. The accomplishment of the promise of the Spirit, which he had made unto them, was to be by way of prayer, I will pray the Father, which prayer would be founded upon the oblation of himself. This benefit would therefore be the most bleffed fruit of his interceffion.

Our Lord, in these words, held forth to them, that upon his first entrance into glory, as the Great High Priest of our profeffion, this would be the firft bleffing asked for by him, and the greatest poured down