should come to him. And to what is this wondrous display of power ascribed, but to the influence of his Spirit? When Jesus was

glorified, he received of the Father the promised Spirit, and he poured him out on his disciples, not for their benefit alone, but for the diffusion of the Gospel throughout the world. The Spirit had indeed been given before, but it was very sparingly; whereas when Jesus was glorified, he was poured out in the richest profusion. On the day of Pentecost, there came from heaven a sound as of a mighty wind, to denote at once the plenitude of spiritual influence which was now to be bestowed, and the powerful energy with which it should act. And mighty indeed were the effects that followed; not so much in the miraculous signs which distinguished that age, as in the conversion of multitudes to the Christian faith.

The connexion between the atonement of Christ and the gift of the Spirit is distinctly marked by the fact, that it was not till the former was finished that the latter was eminently bestowed. This connexion is of a two-fold nature. First, by the death of Christ, a channel was opened for the honourable communication of that spiritual influence by which sinners are turned unto God. He redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith, Gal. iii. 13, 14. He thus removed that legal barrier which intercepted the communication of special holy influence from God to the guilty children of He had indeed been given in a measure before, but he was so given with a prospective view to the atonement as the only honourable medium of such intercourse between the righteous Judge and the transgressors of his law. Secondly, by his obedience unto death, he developed those great

men.

moral principles by which the Spirit operates on the souls of men, and effects their moral renovation. When we say that the Spirit is the agent, and the word the instrument of conversion, it is of importance to remember that the fitness of the latter, to be thus employed, arises from the nature of the moral principles which are there developed, and their relation to the faculties, the feelings, and the circumstances of man. We are told, that this heavenly agent takes of the things of Christ, and shows them to the subjects of his influence, John xvi. 14, 15. And do not these things embrace the grand moral principles, which are embodied in the facts of the Gospel history, and in the character and work of the Saviour? And if it be the office of the Holy Spirit to make these incorruptible principles so to bear upon the mind of man, as to assimilate him to their nature, it is easy to see how the most remarkable effusion of his influence should have followed the accomplishment of that wonderous work in which they have been most fully embodied. " In Jesus we had all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge," because in him are to be found all those heavenly truths and imperishable moral principles which exhibit the divine glory, and are the means of attracting the human heart from the vain pursuits of the present world, towards the realities of eternity. Immanuel is the image of the invisible God, because in his character and work are exhibited those high spiritual qualities which constitute the glory of Jehovah. And it is the work of the Spirit so to shine in the heart as to give the knowledge of this glory in the face of Jesus Christ, 2 Cor. iv. 4-6. Such is our nature, that we are much more susceptible of impressions by means of facts, than by the most correct abstract statements. And

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what is the Gospel, but a testimony concerning the important facts of the incarnation and death, the resurrection and the glory of Christ, in which the most solemn and interesting truths are bodied in a way admirably to enlighten the mind and to impress the heart? In the sufferings of Immanuel, and in the glory which hath followed, are strikingly exhibited the nature and demands of the law-the divine abhorrence of sin, with its evil nature and bitter consequences the moral excellencies of that character in which Jehovah delights-the inseparable connexion between sin and misery -and the identity of a return to God and a return to happiness. But all these important discoveries centre in the manifestation of the astonishing greatness of divine mercy and love. For every thing that heightens our views of the holy nature and righteous claims of the lawgiver, and of the guilt and demerit of the sinner, must heighten our conceptions of that unmeasurable love, which, by the gift of the Redeemer, overcame the mighty moral obstacles which stood in the way of our deliverance and blessedness. And must not the impressive views which are thus given us of the bitter fruits of transgression, and of the holy character which is essential to happiness, serve to exalt conceptions of that mercy which saves from misery such as that to which the Saviour was subjected, and of that grace which calls us to the enjoyment of that high blessedness to which he is elevated? While on the one hand, we thus see the power of the Judge to execute to the full the fearful curse of the law; and on the other, his power honourably to save from it the very chief of sinners, can we fail to admire that infinite goodness which first provided the costly sacrifice of the Son of God, and now lavishes its richest bless

ings on the guilty and unworthy children of men. Now it is the office of the Holy Spirit to give the knowledge of the hallowed principles thus displayed in the cross and the glory of the Saviour. These principles, as they constitute the character of God, so are they the seeds of eternal life in the souls of men. "This is life eternal," says the Saviour, "to know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." This is to know God in the blended glories of his holiness and mercy, it is to know the harmony that subsists between the Lawgiver and the Mediator in the salvation of sinners, and it is to know Jesus as the great propitiatory, and as therefore the only medium of our access to God, and of the divine communication of grace to us. In a word, it is to know the genuine nature and the intrinsic excellence of those spiritual truths and imperishable principles, which are embodied in the doctrine of Christ crucified. It is thus that man is restored at once to holiness and happiness. We ought not to conceive of the work of the Spirit, as at all inconsistent with the close relation that subsists between these high moral principles, and the holy character which is the result of his influence. What is that character, but the reflexion of the moral glory which shines in the cross, where these sacred principles are exhibited? And how is this character produced, but by the influence of the Divine Spirit making these principles so to bear upon the mind of man as to transform his whole powers into their likeness. The renovation of the heart is effected when the spirit "takes of the things of Christ," and enables the subject of his influence to discern them in their import and their transcendent excellence. This is that divine teaching through which the sinner comes to have new views of him

self, of the character of God, and of the plenitude of that salvation which is revealed in the Gospel; and by which he comes to be governed by new principles, affections, and aims.

On the mode of the operation of the Holy Spirit, the Scriptures are silent; but they most explicitly state, that in every case the proper knowledge of the truth, the faith of it on its proper evidence, and the character produced by it, are the result of his agency. His energy gives efficiency to its moral fitness. Though conversion is the result of a supernatural influence, it is effected through and by means of our natural faculties. By a holy and a powerful influence the Divine Spirit touches the springs of volition, and without interfering with our freedom of agency, he persuasively inclines the will, and secures a complete change of choice under the influence of an enlightened judgment. While truth is poured into the mind, he produces a kind of spiritual taste by which the true import and heavenly glory of the things of God come to be discerned, and the will is brought to a cheerful compliance with the mind of Christ. Divine influence is employed in connexion with means adapted to our circumstances and our mental constitution, and it acts simultaneously with them, so that, though in itself quite distinct from those means, and though its operations are in their nature direct, it yet so accompanies the means, that its subject cannot generally distinguish between its operations and those of his own mind. The impression of the divine image on the heart is produced by the great moral principles embodied in the truth itself, though in order that the truth may enstamp this likeness, the influence of the Spirit is absolutely necessary-"just as the impression upon wax is entirely made by the seal, although heat N. S. No.31.

may be employed to fit it for receiving the impression." John i. 13.; iii. 5.; 1 Peter i. 23.; James i. 18.

It is a great part of the work of the Holy Spirit to make the incorruptible principles which are revealed in the Gospel to bear with effect on the mind of man. We are apt to evade the close contemplation of what is spiritual. We love darkness, and will not come to the light. But the divine Spirit brings the mind and the truth into close contact. He fixes the attention upon the important discoveries of revelation, and makes the subject of his influence to turn to personal account all that is thus presented to his view. He makes him feel his individual concern in the subject as absolutely as if the message were addressed to him alone. There are produced awakening personal impressions of his own interest in the solemn discoveries of the curse of the law on the one hand, and of the gift of eternal life on the other.

In particular, the most powerful appeals are made to the conscience. The secret chambers of imagery in the heart are laid open, and the utter contrariety of his character to that which shines in the divine word flashes on the view of the awakened sinner. By an invisible but potent energy, the Spirit of God so controuls and regulates the mind, that the man cannot but dwell on the heart-thrilling discoveries of that word which is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Heb. iv. 12. Nor is this penetrating and awakening power confined to the law, for the whole implications of the Gospel proceed on the principle that there is a fearful obliquity and corruption in the heart 2 Z

after long seeking rest and finding none, the weary soul is led to look to the Gospel, and by the blessing of God its glory is discerned, and it is found to be the very thing which the heart needs. But even here the satisfaction that is found includes the happiness that arises from a sense of forgiving mercy. In such cases, the knowledge of danger and of the means of safety may indeed be said to go together; yet there must be a sense of sin as the cause

of sorrow. For a man is unhappy only in consequence of his being a sinner, so the entire suitableness of the Gospel to his condition can only be seen when its adaptation to his state as a guilty, as well as an unhappy creature, is discerned. The Gospel is a scheme of redemption, and proceeds on the principle that mankind are sinners, and as such are righteously exposed to the wrath to come, and also morally incapacitated for spiritual bliss. There can therefore

be no proper understanding of its nature, nor any just recognition of its true value, without an apprehension, more or less, of that for which it is the instituted remedy. Some are, in the first instance, most easily roused by appealing to their conscience, and others by appealing to their affections; and it is not for us to limit the Spirit of God to a particular order of operation. But, even in the latter case, the interest felt by the heart in the Gospel, as promising to be a source of satisfying enjoyment, is followed by, or connected with, an immediate conviction of sin, and a sense, greater or less, of that fearful evil to which it exposes the transgressor. And thus the suitableness of the message of Heaven to the state of man as a sinner, as well as an unhappy creature, comes to be perceived. And in resting as a sinner on the atonement as his only refuge, he finds that all else which he needs

to perfect his enjoyment is abundantly supplied. The love of God is thus shed abroad in the heart, by the Holy Spirit; and the sinner is reclaimed from his wanderings, and is drawn to God with the cords of love. The current of the affections is turned to the God of all goodness. Having much forgiven, we love much; and this love becomes the fruitful principle of holy obedience.

When a man is thus made to see, in the light of divine teaching, the glory and excellence of the Gospel, and is led to bring the truths of God home to himself, so as to derive from them peace of conscience, and joy of heart, he is led by the same heavenly influence so to dwell upon these subjects, as to experience their sanctifying power. The grand moral principles which are revealed in the cross, are made to bear upon the mind so as to mould all its faculties and powers into their own nature. "The entire truth

is let in." An invincible energy keeps the heart fixed on those imperishable principles which coustitute the character of God, and are the only proper food for the thoughts and the affections of man. And when the view thus given of God is found to harmonize with all that can be conceived to be worthy of the divine nature, and to accord with the whole properties and felt necessities of man, as well as to account for all that the world exhibits, the faith of the heart rests upon grounds which come within the sphere of the man's own knowledge. How was it that the moral faculties of man were corrupted, but by the tempter succeeding in his endeavour to turn the mind from God, and to make the instinctive desire of enjoyment to swallow up every thing else? Now, as the moral faculties were corrupted through the wrong direction of this instinctive desire, so the Spirit of God renovates the