father's house and company, and had reduced himself to a most abject state of penury and distress; yet his father's heart is ftill towards him. He finds his compaffions fail not: and it is more than fufficient to melt his heart, to break and fubdue his rebellious will. Under the expreffions of his father's love, the returning prodigal cries out, Father, I have finned against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy fon. A fon he was, though an ungrateful, finful, and unworthy one. As a fon he was received, owned, and acknowledged. And it may ferve to teach us, that God is not afhamed to own his children; nor the relation he bears to them as their Father in Christ Jefus, though they are often ashamed of him, and act altogether unworthy of the high honour and privilege of being the fons and daughters of the Lord God Almighty. The prodigal may be to us an emblem of a poor backfliding finner, when through the compaffion his father had manifested to him, in looking upon him when he was yet a great way off, and falling upon his neck and faluting him with fome heart-reviving thoughts, that, with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption, he falls down at the feet of sovereign grace, saying, Father, I have finned against heaven, and in thy fight, and am no more worthy to be called thy fon; but the father's grace fuperabounds, and mercy breaks forth in a fuperabundant manner! He raises the poor, guilty, polluted wanderer, from his knees, will hear no more of his doleful complaint: but to the revival of his heart, and for the comfort of this poor, penitent backflider, be faid to his fervants, Bring

forth the best robe, and put it on him. Let him have a fight of the immaculate obedience my coequal Son wrought out for him, and let his ears be charmed with your teftimony out of the written word concerning the endless purity and duration of it. And put a ring on his band; which being circular, is expreffive of God's love, which is from everlasting to everlafting: and as a ring put on the finger in marriage, is a feal and confirmation of love, fo here it is expreffive of God's embracing the prodigal in the arms of his everlasting love, and his giving him fome bleffed experience and evidence of it. And put shoes on his feet: for the Lord must prepare and fit the foul for running the way of his commandments. And bring hither the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and be merry. Which expreffes the delight which the Father of mercies takes in manifefting his mercy, in receiving poor returning finners graciously, and in difcovering his love freely unto them. For this my fon was dead, and is alive again, he was loft, and is found. Sirs, what a bleffed picture is here of the compaffions of the Lord towards his people! And have you not been, are not fome of you partakers of the fame grace and compaffion? You have reason then to fing with David, Blefs the Lord, O my foul! and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my foul! and forget not all his benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy difeafes; who redeemeth thy life, from deftruction; who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies. To know God to be our Father in Chrift Jefus; to enjoy his love fhed abroad in

our

hearts by the Holy Ghoft; and to approach the Lord with love and delight, this is truly blessed! And leads

me,

Thirdly, to observe, that both the spirit of bondage, and the Spirit of adoption, are faid to be received. Ye have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The fpirit of bondage, of which I have already fpoken largely, may be faid to be received from the knowledge of the law, which being admitted into the confcience, ftirs up a fenfe of divine wrath. The fpirit of man unrenewed, and unsubdued by faith, is naturally inclined to take in what the law faith; fo that the more he attends unto it, the more legal he becomes. By this means a spirit of bondage is increased, and in this way may be faid to be received.

I fhall apply myfelf more particularly to the confideration of the Spirit of adoption, which believers are faid to receive. Ye have received the Spirit of adoption. This is one of the greatest gifts which God bestows upon his people, and which is received by means of the gospel. He gave his Son for them: he gives his Spirit to them, to live, dwell, and abide with them for ever. The gift of the Holy Ghost is as great as the gift of Chrift himself. God fo loved the world, that

be gave his only begotten Son to be a covenant for the people; and he hath been manifefted in the flesh, and the ends of his living and dying have been anfwered. All covenant engagements between the Father and the Son are accomplished. All covenant bleffings

are in the hand of the Holy Spirit, whofe work and office it is to bring home the elect, by effectual calling, to Chrift, and to make known and apply to their fouls the falvation which Chrift has finifhed and wrought out for them. He comes from heaven, in confequence of Christ's atonement and ascension, and proclaims falvation from the Lord for wretched finners. He enters their hearts of fin and wo, and makes known the falvation of God. He puts them, by believing in the perfon and work of Chrift, into poffeffion of the things which accompany falvation; and then he becomes a Comforter unto them. They then receive him as the Spirit of adoption, who witnesseth to their spirits that they are the children of God. Believers are not praying for the Holy Spirit to regenerate them, for they have already received him as a life-giving, regenerating, and fanctifying Spirit. Every real believer is made alive to God, and is living by the faith of the Son of God. But it may be, that many believers have not fo received the Spirit of God, as the Spirit of adoption, as to be enabled at all times to call God, My Father. The Spirit of adoption is the gift of the Father's love, and the fruit of Chrift's afcenfion; and he is fent down from heaven on purpose to make the heart perfectly happy upon its return to God; to enable it to plead the everlasting efficacy of the life and death of Chrift in the confcience; and to encourage the foul to draw near to God with holy freedom, liberty, and confidence. By him we are taught to love our heavenly Father, for the great love wherewith he hath loved us. He

removes our fears, refolves our doubts, fatisfies our fcruples, and answers that great queftion for us, How fhall I know that I am in Chrift? This he himfelf makes known. It would be well if real believers would confider this, that it is the prerogative-royal of God the Spirit, to make known Chrift to the foul. Therefore inftead of ranfacking our hearts for marks and figns of grace, it would be much better to apply immediately to the Holy Spirit by prayer, for the refolution of all our doubts, and for fatisfaction in this point, which is of eternal moment. We cannot live in communion with Chrift, till we know our union to him; and the Holy Spirit discovers this, to the end that we may live upon, and go on to glorify him. As God out of his own free love and grace, chofe the elect in Chrift before all worlds; out of the fame love he gave Chrift for them; and from the fame love he fends down his Spirit into their hearts, and he is received as the free gift of God's grace, who feals up believers unto the day of redemption. This fhould be observed, that as God looks at nothing in us as a cause or reason why he should love us; fo the Holy Spirit does not come to comfort us, by giving us a fight and view of our own graces; but he comforts us with the difcoveries of God's free love in Chrift Jefus, which he fills believers with a fense of. Paul prays thus for the called and regenerated people of God: Now the God of hope, fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. I add no more. May the Lord command his bleffing.

Amen.