should now contradict the same doctrine, it is impossible that the Spirit should be of God: for the same Spirit of truth will not say and unsay, and be on both sides: that which contradicteth the Spirit and doctrine of highest wisdom, power, goodness, truth, and holiness, can never be the Spirit of God ; and, indeed, there is not now any Spirit in the world that can make the least probable pretences against the doctrine of the Scripture. The Spirit of consolation and adoption is the same, and so given; and so is the Spirit of illumination the same, and given only by the Scripture and for any Spirit that shall contradict Scripture, it can never be holy, nor true, nor faithful, as contradicting truth: nor is there any that can pretend to omnipotency, for there is none that speaks against Scripture that ever wrought one true miracle; much less multitudes of uncontrolled miracles, such as cofirmed the Scripture: so that you see how doctrines must be tried; at first by the Spirit; and then both spirits, and their words by that doctrine.

Quest. But may we not then try men's doctrine now by the Spirit?

Yes; both by the Spirit and Scripture together, but not otherwise. If you see any doctrine by which God giveth the Spirit of holiness, that is certainly a holy doctrine, and of God; but if you take not Scripture along, you may easily be mistaken in this only thus much I say, that yet to this day, if any man be a heathen, or tempted to heathenism, or Judaism, and doubt of the doctrine of Scripture and Christianity, this man may try the Scripture by the Spirit still: that is, by the Spirit which Christ gave in the first time, with the Spirit of illumination and holiness, which he giveth to this day; and by this Spirit he may certainly know the Scripture to be the word of God: but when a man, upon the testimony of this Spirit, acknowledgeth the Scripture, he must try all particular motions, and personal, real, or pretended revelations, by this Scripture; for he receiveth the Scripture as a rule, and therefore must use it as a rule and even Christ himself and his apostles, though they had such variety of miracles to testify for them, yet still appealed to the prophets that were before them; acknowledging that it would not be of God if it contradicted his prophets or former word; and that was it that was the great occasion of the Jews' unbelief; because Christ took down the law of ceremonies, they thought he contradicted the word of God, not understanding that these were as positives, and therefore alterable by God. So

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types, and therefore to cease, when the thing typified was come. Besides all this, there is great difference between the Spirit witnessing to Scripture by way of inward persuasion that it is true, and the witness of the Spirit's glorious and blessed effects, wrought by that doctrine, and objectively witnessing. The Scripture might be said to need this latter to make it a sufficient revelation; but it is we only that need the former to cure our blindness.

Use. I.

Let all that are tempted to any doubting about the truth of the christian religion and doctrine of Christ, consider well of this argument; what religion is there in the world that hath possessed the professors of it with a new Spirit, and such a Spirit besides the christian religion? Only this religion hath been sealed by such a Spirit as beareth the lively image of God; a Spirit of wisdom and omniscience, discovered by prophecies, languages, &c.; a Spirit of omnipotency, discovered by miracles; a Spirit of holiness, discovered in the holiness of the doctrine and the holiness of the receivers; a Spirit of goodness, discovered in the excellency of all; and that love and mercy that is manifested to mankind. Mahomet disclaimeth all miracles, and confesseth, in his Alcoran, that Jesus was the word of God, and spake the truth, and condemneth the Jews most bitterly for not believing in him. The Jews hold part of the truth, and they had miracles for the establishment of their positive ceremonies; but they are blinded, that they cannot see either the tendency of these ceremonies to Christ, the truth, or the miracles, by which God did again seal to the taking of them down. Their prophecies, which they maintain, are one part of Christ's testimony, and those miracles, which themselves confess he did de facto, are another part of it: so that they are but, as Austin speaks, 'The library keepers of the church.' The heathens that worship multitudes of gods, even they know not what, have neither supernatural revelation nor sound reasoning, but go contrary to both. The deficiency of the mere light of nature needs no other proof than the experience of all those parts and ages of the world, that have had nothing but the light of nature, who have generally lived in gross ignorance and wickedness; and withal, the sad experience of our own weakness and pravity, and how little we can reach with all helps and means; much less by the mere light of nature, besides that certainty we have of supernatural

revelation de facto. He that would be of no religion must needs believe that there is no God; for if there be a God, he must needs be the Maker of the creature, and must needs be worshipped by the creature, and obeyed as our Lord: and he that is thoroughly an atheist is not thoroughly a man: and, therefore, seeing there is no other religion that a man can, with any strong show of reason entertain, and seeing he that will appear a reasonable creature must be of some religion, it followeth, that to renounce the christian religion is to renounce reason, and to doubt of it is to be injurious to reason itself. This is the only religion that doth convey the Spirit into those that do profess it. I know there is a certain work that every religion hath upon the minds of them that do believe it; and, because every religion hath somewhat that is good in it, as the acknowledgment of a God, and that he is good, true, just, &c.; therefore, every religion may do some good in the souls of men; that is, the common truths of God which men of these religions do hold, though mixed with wicked and abominable opinions, may do some good on the minds of men: but because they hold so small a part of the truth, and because they mix that truth with so much error, and detain it in unrighteousness, therefore the generality of them are given up to vile affections and wicked conversations, and the best of them never manifested any spirit of true sanctification or of miracles. Nay, besides that, the mixture of contrary opinions destroyeth the force of that truth which they acknowledge it cannot have its natural effect upon their souls for want of the concurrence of an internal efficient; for the christian religion hath both these advantages, of all other religions. 1. Objective; 2. Effective.

1. It propoundeth such truths of so high and glorious a nature, and offereth benefits of so excellent, desirable, and attractive a nature; and, withal, contains so full and sufficient a number of these truths and benefits, having the whole chain, and not as Jews, heathens, or Mahometans, some few broken links only; that herein it hath the advantage for elevating the soul to God, and purging it from sin, above all other religions: such as the seal is, such will be the impression. Objects make an impression on the understanding, as a seal in the wax. If, therefore, each religion should make its impress on the soul according to its own nature, you should see on all other religion a little of God, and much of Satan; a little light, and much darkness and confusion; but in the christian religion only, you should see the

very image of our Maker, his wisdom, truth, goodness, power, and holiness. No wonder if a doctrine of heaven produce a heavenly mind and life, and if a doctrine of love do make men loving, and if a doctrine of mercy do make men merciful, and if a doctrine of humility do make men humble, and a perfect doctrine do fill up all those sad wants and chasms that imperfect ones leave in men's minds; when the heathenish doctrines, on the contrary, produce little but pride, vain glory, covetousness, voluptuousness, and makes them all slaves to the flesh. If ever paganism were in splendour, it was among the learned Romans, and that even then when Christianity came and shamed it; and, as a glorious sun, dispelled its darkness and yet what a monstrous age of wickedness was that learned, civil age; and what a horrid place of all villainy was that learned, civil place of Rome, who called almost all other barbarians to them. What should we talk of the worst of them, when even their great, learned men, that condemned the vices of the world, and their excellent, virtuous princes, whom they called gods when they were dead, for their virtues; even these were sinks of sensuality; as if they had been made to pour in meat and drink, and take their fleshly lusts. When they have commended all their excellent virtues, yet all is concluded with some confession of the whole gallons of wine that they were wont to drink at once, or that they would eat till they cast it up at table, or scarce any but had his whores commonly; that was one of Rome's venial sins; then valiant acts in fighting for their country, or acts of justice to men, were the substance of all the best part of their religion; for all that help they had from the church of God near them.

2. Besides this objective advantage, Christianity hath an effective advantage. Man's soul is so far depraved and enslaved to sensuality, and mastered by inferior things, and its inclinations corrupted and turned to them, that now a mere objective help is not enough. The object is a sufficient seal, but the understanding turns away from it, and will not receive it: it is not as wax, but as water, or as iron; either it will not receive, or will not retain, the impression. The best principles of religion find men's understandings and wills like a bottle already full of water, into which you cannot pour any wine, because it is full; besides all the prejudice and other hinderances raised by the flesh. Now, therefore, if there be not a Spirit within to take the seal in hand, and make the impression deeply and effectually, all doctrine will be for the most part lost. This, therefore, is the great advan

tage of the christian religion, that besides what the doctrine tendeth to of itself there is the Spirit of God within that doth second these doctrines, and take the received species of them, and impress them on the soul, and doth this effectually and potently, according to the mighty, irresistible power of the agent. I confess (and I would more would confess it considerately) that its way of working is secret to us, as is the way of the Spirit's forming us in the womb: some question; whether it be physical or moral, this way or that way; I think it may be called both, and many learned disputers do, in a blind zeal for the glory of God's strength, deny him the glory of his admirable wisdom, as if he governed not the rational creature, and healed and sanctified the souls of believers, per viam sapientiæ, but only per viam omnipotentiæ; yea, as if his wisdom itself had not in it such an omnipotency as God will have to be observed and glorified, but the manner is past our clear and exact apprehension; and he that knows himself, and his distance from God and spiritual things, will not wonder at that. But yet, though we know not how the Spirit worketh, yet through the great mercy of God, we feel that it doth work, and what it doth work; and hence we see those holy affections in Christians, those holy breathings after God, and that sense of the evil of sin, and that conscience of duty, and those groans excited by the spirit of prayer, and those mindings of the things of another world, and those joys and spiritual comforts in life and death, and that ability to deny the flesh its desires, and to overcome all temptations from things below, and to suffer in hope of an unseen glory, and that hearty love to one another, and that ability to forgive enemies, with many the like excellencies, which are not in any other sort of men in the world. I speak of those that have truly and thoroughly received the impress and spirit of this religion, though even the half Christians go beyond all other men by far; for even they are often cleansed from the pollutions of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Christ. God will not give forth the Spirit with a false religion; no, not to make forcible these few truths of his own which the heathen, or Jewish, or Mahometan world doth detain in unrighteousness. So that you see the truth of the christian religion by the Spirit of holiness; besides that of miracles formerly.

Use II.

You see here, also, what clear, evident light it is that those