The book of Proverbs, where wisdom is brought in speaking, as a person, is a well-known and remarkable instance. So likewise in the New Testament death reigns, Rom. v. 14, 17, and is an enemy, 1 Cor. xv. 26, 55-57. And sin is spoken of as a lord and master, and pays wages, and that in opposition to God, the most perfect agent. Rom. vi. 12, "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof." 14, "For sin shall not have dominion over you." 17," Ye were once the servants of sin"-23, "For the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

And how many things are done by charity, as described by St. Paul? 1 Cor. xiii," It suffereth long, and is kind, thinketh no evil, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things," and the like.

I might quote here many other texts. Judg. xxiv. 26, 27," And Joshua took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak-And Joshua said unto all the people: Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us: for it has heard all the words of the Lord, which he spake unto us. It shall therefore be a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God."

John xii. 48, "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, has one that judgeth him. The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him at the last day."

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Let me recite here the words of a pious and learned English writer.h To conclude this point, the sum of our Saviour's preaching consists in inculcating this one great ' and fundamental truth of Christianity: that " we are nothing, and God is all in all." It is his word that enlightens our minds, his Spirit directs our wills, his providence ' orders our affairs, his grace guides us here, and his mercy 'must bring us to heaven hereafter.'

Why is God's spirit a person more than his providence, or his grace, or mercy? We know, that by these last this writer does not intend persons, though he ascribes to them the guidance of us, or other actions. In the Jewish language, and among the Jewish people, spirit would no more signify a person, than grace or mercy. Nor were they more likely to ascribe distinct personality to the spirit, then we to the grace, or mercy, or providence of God,"

2. There is not in the Acts of the Apostles, or in any other book of the New Testament, any account of the appearance and manifestation of a great agent, or person, after our Sa- Directions for profitable reading the Holy Scriptures. Lowth, p. 100.

By William

viour's ascension: therefore no such thing was promised or intended by our Saviour, nor expected by the apostles, who could not but know his meaning.

3. In other texts of scripture, and particularly in St. John's gospel, by the Spirit, or the Holy Ghost, is meant a gift, or a plentiful effusion of spiritual gifts. I intend John iii. 34, vii. 39, xx. 22, which were alleged not long ago.

4. Our Saviour himself has explained what he meant by "the Comforter."

So it is one of those texts, upon which this objection is founded. John xiv. 26, "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost," or, more literally, the Comforter, the Holy Ghost. Ο δε παρακλητος, το πνεύμα το άγιον. But by the Holy Ghost, in other places of this gospel, as well as in many other texts of the New Testament, is not meant, as we have plainly seen, a powerful agent, but the Divine Influence, or the effusion of spiritual gifts. This therefore is what our Lord intended by the Comforter. And this sense is confirmed by the book of the Acts, wherein is recorded the fulfilment of our Saviour's promise.

5. Our blessed Lord, in speaking of this matter, has made use of a variety of expressions: by attending to which we may clearly discern his true meaning in what he says of the Comforter.

Matt. xxviii. 20, " And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." In John xiv. 16, lately quoted, he says: "I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever." One and the same thing is intended in both places.

In the texts of St. John's gospel, upon which this objection is built, our Saviour speaks of the teachings of the spirit, whereby the disciples would be enlightened, and fed into a clear discernment of his scheme of religion. But in John xvi. 25, are these expressions: "These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs. The time cometh, when I shall no more speak to you in proverbs, [or parables :] but I shall show you plainly of the Father.' Here our Lord speaks of those teachings as his own.

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In Matt. x. 20, it is said: "For it is not ye that speak, but the spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.' To the like purpose in Mark xiii. 11, and Luke xii. 12. But in Luke xxi. 15, our Lord expresseth himself in this man"For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay, nor resist." Mark xvi. 19, 20, "So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the

ner.

right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them," or the Lord cooperating, 78 Kupie ovveрyevтos, and confirming the word with signs following. Here the miracles of the apostles, after his ascension, are ascribed to our Lord himself, or his powerful presence and influence.

Acts ix. 17, 18, " And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house: and putting his hands upon him, said: "Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared to thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes, as it had been scales. And he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized."

Acts ix. 32-34, "And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters, he came down also to the saints, which dwelt at Lydda. And there he found a certain man named Eneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy. And Peter said unto him: Eneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole. Arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately."

10-12,

I might refer also to Acts iii. 6, iv. 10-12, But I forbear. However, I shall add a few other texts from the epistles, which I think are to the present purpose, and may deserve to be considered.

Rom. xii. 3, "For I say, through the grace given to me, to every man that is among you -to think soberly, according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith."

Ver. 6, "Having then gifts, differing according to the grace that is given to us."

Eph. iii. 6, 7, "That the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs --and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me, by the effectual working of his power."

Eph. iv. 7," But unto every one of us is given grace, according to the measure of the gift of Christ."-Ver. 11, 12, And he gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying. of the body of Christ."

1 Pet. iv. 10, 11, "As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him

speak as the oracles of God: if any man minister, let him do it, as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."

And 1 Cor. xii. 6. St. Paul says: "There are diversities of operations: but it is the same God which worketh all in all." And at ver. 28, "God hath sent some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles—.”

All which seems to show, that by the spirit is to be understood that special influence, which, in different measures and proportions, God vouchsafes to men through Jesus Christ, for their own comfort and establishment, and for spreading the great truths of religion in the world.

Luke xxiv. 49, " And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you. But tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.'

This power, this divine influence, this effusion of knowledge, and other spiritual gifts, our Lord calls" the Comforter," or the Advocate, #аpákλŋτos, as thereby their cause would be pleaded with men, and they would be justified in their preaching boldly in the name of Jesus Christ.

This gift, this divine influence, he calls also "the spirit of truth," because by that wonderful influence on their minds the apostles would be led into the knowledge of all the truths of the gospel, and would be enabled to teach them to others with perspicuity.

And our Lord speaks of the Spirit's "bringing to their remembrance" the things, which he had said, and of his "receiving of his, and showing it unto them:" because by this miraculous influence upon their minds, those prejudices would be removed, which had obstructed their clear discernment of what Christ had said unto them, while he was with them.

There are other texts from which objections may be raised. But they may be as well considered in the next section. And I think, that will be the shortest method.

SECTION III.

TEXTS EXPLAINED. 1. Luke xi. 13, "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit unto them that ask him?" Which is parallel with Matt. vii. 11," If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children: how much more shall your Father,

which is in heaven, give good things to them that ask him?”. Whereby we may perceive, that by the Holy Spirit is meant any good thing, conducive to our real happiness. And we are introduced to recollect here what St. James says, i. 5, “If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not. And it shall be given to him." And see ver. 17.

2. Matt. iv. 1, “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted of the devil." Mark i. 12, "And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness." Luke iv. 1, " And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost, returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness."

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The coherence will lead us into the true meaning of these words. Our blessed Lord had just been baptized, and the Holy Ghost descended from heaven, and abode upon him. At the same time he was solemnly inaugurated, and publicly declared to be the Messiah. There came a voice from heaven, saying: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Now therefore was fulfilled the prophecy in Is. xi. 1, 2, " And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse-And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might"-By that divine and extraordinary wisdom, our Lord was directed, and influenced, to retire into the wilderness. And having been there tempted of Satan, and having vanquished him, as St. Luke says, ch. iv. 14, 15, "Jesus returned in the power of the spirit into Galilee," fully qualified for the discharge of his high office, both for teaching his excellent doctrine, and for confirming it by miracles, “And there went out a fame of him through all the regions round about. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all." So our Lord said to his disciples, as recorded Acts i. 8, " Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you." Or, as it is in the margin of some of our Bibles: "Ye shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you."

3. Matt. xii. 31, "Wherefore I say unto you: All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men. But the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men." And see ver. 32. Compare also Mark iii. and

Luke xii.

Dr. Wall, who upon John xvi. 13. p. 113. asserts the personality of the Spirit, explains this text of St. Matthew after this manner, p. 15. "A man that sees plainly the effects of a present supernatural power, which, he must be convinced

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