CHAP. III.

Of the ministration of the Spirit as connected with the work of Redemption generally.

Ir is, of course, with no other part of the divine ways than the work of redemption, that the ministration of the Spirit is connected. The whole office of this blessed agent, so far as man is concerned, is to remedy an existing mischief in his nature; and the assumption of such an office clearly implies, both that he is fallen from his original excellency, and that by divine mercy a restorative process is undertaken. The influence of the Spirit could not have been called for under any other circumstances; and the administration of it is a part of the method by which the redemption of men from sin and misery is accomplished.

It is not, however, the first part of this method. By transgression men are fallen into a state of guilt and condemnation, which not only forfeits all title to the favour of God, but actually shuts them out from the possibility of

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its communication, without some preparatory operation. The law requires to be fulfilled, and the righteousness of the lawgiver to be maintained, at the same time that mercy is extended to the criminal; an effectual provision for which must be made, before any exercise of mercy is actually entered upon. Hence we say, therefore, that the gift of his dear Son to die for sinners is prior, in the dispensations of God, to the gift of his Holy Spirit. The communication of the Spirit presupposes the death of Christ, without which no good thing could ever have been conferred on the guilty; it is indeed the fruit of his dying pains, and is poured out to the honour of his love, and for the glory of his name.

But this is not all. It might be asked, Why, although Christ had died, should the Holy Spirit be imparted? Was not the way of salvation fully opened by the blood-shedding of the Son of God? Undoubtedly it was; and if men would have availed themselves of it without an extrinsic influence, there would have been no occasion for the operation of the eternal Spirit. The introduction of this glorious agent proceeds upon the supposition, that, although the way of salvation is open, the

determination of man's heart is so fixed in sin that he will not avail himself of it, even when favoured with the amplest opportunities, and addressed by the most powerful motives. Such, on God's authority, the fact is declared to be; and it is to meet this feature of the case, that the ministration of the Spirit is superadded to the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is to induce sinners to receive him, to cause his enemies to submit themselves, and to bring them, in this method, to the actual possession of redemption.

Now it is manifest, that one grand and important feature of this administration relates to the final issue of the work of redemption itself. Without it, although a vast provision had been made for the salvation of sinners, not a single sinner would be saved; and, in this respect, a character of fruitlessness and disappointment would be given to this great undertaking, which could be neither gratifying to the benevolence of the Most High, nor conducive to his glory. To prevent so undesirable a result, and to secure a large and sufficient measure of success in the actual salvation of men, the divine Spirit is sent forth, with his almighty energy, to work effectually in their

hearts to vanquish their enmity, and bring them to the Saviour, that he may see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied.

Another principal aspect of the ministration of the Spirit has relation to the happiness of man. When God determined to give his Spirit in answer to prayer, or, more especially, to send him unsought into the breasts of particular persons whom he foreknew, while it was for his own glory, it was also for their good. It was because he loved them with an everlasting love, that he thus purposed to draw them with loving-kindness. It is a pre-eminent illustration of his personal kindness towards the objects he had in view.

It is to be observed, however, that the ministration of the Spirit is kept altogether separate from the moral government of God. He requires obedience, he denounces threatenings against sin, he will judge and punish the ungodly, quite irrespectively of the influence of the Spirit; as it is manifest he must, since he does, and will do, all this to multitudes of persons to whom the Spirit is not given. Now the moral government of God consists in the method of dealing with men by means of commands and motives, in the

prospect of a final retribution; and since this comprehends many to whom the Spirit is not given, it is plain that the moral government of God is carried on altogether irrespectively of the ministration of the Spirit.

The gift of the Spirit is a dispensation of eminent personal kindness, and of glorious effectual power. It becomes Him so to work, who can accomplish all things according to the counsel of his own will. It is honourable for him thus to secure to his Son the joy set before him, and to defeat the awful malignity of a rebellious world. It is an attitude in which, with manifest justice, he claims to himself all the glory of a sinner's salvation. It was his love which provided a Saviour, whom yet every sinner would have rejected, without his overcoming grace. In this, therefore, as in his other works, God himself is all in all. To him alone, and in every respect, is it to be ascribed, that a single sinner has been rescued from hell and brought to heaven; and to Him alone will the glory be rendered, while saints are happy, or immortality endures. Amen, and Amen!