come, and we hope it is now fast approaching, when the Sanctuary shall be cleansed (Dan. viii, 14), when the Vanity of human System will be felt and humbly Acknowledged; the Nations of the Earth be brought to a just sense of their Duty to their Great Creator; and the LORD alone shall be exalted* in that Day, -Isa. ii, 11, 17.

I have sworn by MYSELF, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return; That unto ME every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.-Ibid. xlv, 23.

That they may know, from the rising of the Sun, and from the West, that there is none besides ME. I AM THE LORD, AND THERE IS NONE ELSE.-Ibid. xlv, 6.

i. e. Shall alone be Glorified in the Highest Sense.

OF

THE HOLY SPIRIT.

ΠΝΕΥΜΑ ὁ ΘΕΟΣ

JOHN IV, 24.

The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.-2 Sam. xxiii, 2.

But there is a spirit in Man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.-Job xxxii, 8.

SINCE the Supreme Being is declared in the sacred oracles to be strictly and truly ONE; therefore, by the Holy Spirit appears to be meant no other than the Spirit of the Almighty himself (and indeed often so called in the Bible); comprehending the same ineffable Power that was exerted in the Creation, and which

*

* It sometimes implies his effective Power;-sometimes his divine Illuminations, said (Acts ii, 17) to be "Poured out by Him (or effused) upon all flesh;" and, therefore, in such instances cannot signify a Person.

eternally pervades the whole Universe, and every individual therein, material or Immaterial!

The holy Scriptures are full and decisive in declaring this astonishing Fact*: and the natural consequence of the OMNIPRESENCE of the Deity, is, that there can be no real Necessity for any Power different from His own, in the General Government of the Universet. His Spirit or Intelligence is Infinite, or absolutely Unbounded. "His Wisdom and Power are "always working, in the wild desert, in the

deep ocean, within and about ourselves." He is a searcher of the Heart. Happy are they who stand fair in His Records. Not only the Actions of all His creatures are continually exposed to Him, but the operations of the Mind also. Not a Thought that passes in man, or

* Jeremiah xxiii, 24; Acts xvii, 27, 28; Eph. iv, 6; Heb. iv, 13.—See Matho. vol. i, p. 273; and Duncan's Baxter, p. 18, &c.

+ Nevertheless, Innumerable beings, of different Orders, throughout the Universe, may occasionally be made His Instruments, under His all-ruling Providence; and doubtless may experience the greatest happiness in being so employed.

Duncan's Baxter, page 38.

in any other being, can possibly escape Him! Tremendous as this is, we cannot doubt the Truth of it, if we reflect a moment that, were it otherwise, His Knowledge or Perception must be limited, and Himself and His Government, in course, Defective:-but these opinions, which were anciently entertained, were the offspring of Ignorance; and would be now, at once, rejected with scorn, both by the rational Philosopher and the Christian.

The Apostle Paul has plainly intimated that the all-permeating Spirit of the Deity, sometimes acted on the Conscience of himself, and his fellow Christians, as an Aid or Support to that internal Judgment of themselves. Rom. viii, 16; ix, 1. It must, indeed, be allowed, that the first Christians had far more sensible and illustrious tokens of the Divine Influence, than the most pious can now expect; the necessity for such very extraordinary Interpositions, not being now the same. Virtuous men have, notwithstanding, a sure promise of every needful assistance; and it is certain that God hath not left us without an intrinsic witness of Himself. The Conscience, that kind informing Principle, the gracious gift of the Father of lights, is an affecting evidence of His care; and it would be well if we could all be persuaded strictly to

obey its admonitions. He has, however, been pleased to leave it in our power to disobey them. The reasons for this, in a Probatory state, are obvious. Even the Divine Influence bestowed upon the first Christians, was not Irresistible, nor intended to be so. They were left free in their determinations. We, therefore, find them warned by St. Paul, not to do despite unto the Spirit of grace:-not to quench the Spirit, &c. We should steadily use the like caution not to resist the dictates of the Conscience; for, whenever God is pleased to grant us any internal directive assistance, it, most probably, acts there*.

The sinning wilfully against the special emo

* We are very far from wishing to countenance any superstitious or enthusiastic notions; but it cannot be supposed that the Supreme Being has so bound Himself by general or fixed laws, as to utterly prevent His affording any spiritual Assistance whatsoever to His creatures, in any circumstances. Under Mental (as well as under Bodily) Afflictions, we Pray for comfort and support;-can it be imagined that He will give None? (The mode of administring assistance, indeed, must be left to Himself.) As the Mind is the spring of Action, probably, the timely awakenings supposed above, may sometimes be given because the Consequences of human Actions, frequently spread wide and deep; affecting multitudes, as well as the Individual who may be the original cause. The merciful inten