proud and conceited; the worldly are too much in love with their own habits, and pursuits, and prospects. They will not be directed by any but their own selfish, grovelling wisdom. They cannot bring their hearts to acknowledge any will but their own. And no wonder!" The preparations of the heart are from God." He "giveth us to will and to do." But fearful as such a truth ought to be to the opinionated, the sensual, and worldly, yet they should bear in mind, that he "desireth not the death of a sinner;" that he rejects none who come to him, he heareth all such as call upon him faithfully; that he will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth." He has, therefore, only to "ask, and he shall have."

But there must be this anxiety about his best interests, this dedication of the heart to God, before he can attain to the things of the Spirit: and for this purpose he should begin by examining, closely and impartially, the obliquity and depravity of his own inclinations and appetites. By first observing his own constant bias to sin, his continued falling under temptation, his inability to withstand it of his own power, the weakness of his resolves, and the regular disappointment of his hopes, he may perceive the necessity of aid from above. Application to the

God of help, in prayer, must lead him to Christ. He must see the necessity of a Redeemer, Mediator, and Sanctifier. Having once proceeded thus far, he will have recourse perpetually to the fountain of life, and of all saving knowledge. He will see, and know, and feel the offensiveness of sin to God. He will, through Divine Grace, renounce his own sins, even his habitual and favourite sins. He will bend his will, and thoughts, and designs, to the great purifier of hearts. His reason, however proud and stubborn, will bow before the power of revelation. In the light of that will it see light! He will perceive, at length, that "the kingdom of God is not in word but in power;" and that "to be spiritually-minded is life and peace." He will now understand, that "we walk by faith and not by sight;" and will "look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen." He will know experimentally, that "the secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him." Thus will he gradually "receive the things of the Spirit of God:" thus will he wish with St. Paul "to know only Christ, and him crucified;" that doctrine which was to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks foolishness;" but which to us is " the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory."

230

SERMON XVI.

THE MANNER AND CONSCIOUSNESS OF BEING LED BY THE SPIRIT, CONSIDERED.

(For Whitsunday.)

ROMANS, viii. 14.

As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

WE celebrate this day the miraculous mission of the Holy Ghost. By this most important event, as beneficial and merciful in its effects, as it was past all human conception or anticipation in its nature, the Christian dispensation, as far as regards its establishment, seems to have been completed. The commemoration of it, therefore, comes in the close of the solemn fasts and festivals, by which it is the intention of our Church, that every Christian amongst us should most devoutly keep alive the remembrance of all the leading facts, attending the foundation of the Gospel by our Lord and Saviour Jesus

Christ. Accordingly, we have already celebrated his incarnation, his epiphany, or mediatorial manifestation, his passion, resurrection, and triumphant ascension. The last, and to us very momentous, event of this great scheme of our redemption, was the descent, as upon this day, of the Holy Ghost, first on his Apostles, and thenceforward on his universal Church upon earth; to be with it, like himself, and to bless it "always, even unto the end of the world."

Peculiarly honoured, indeed, were those Apostles of our Lord, in being the chosen vessels appointed by the Almighty, to witness the sojourning of their Saviour upon earth; to hear the words of Him, who "spake as never man spake;" and to see the miracles and

mighty works, which were wrought by his all-powerful hand." Prophets and kings might well desire to see those things which they saw, and to hear those things which they heard. For, though under the dispensation of the Law, the special favour of God distinguished many individuals, and many splendid acts of divine power were exhibited, yet the establishment of the Gospel shines forth like one continued radiance of signs and wonders, and miracles; and far eclipses all that had gone before. "If the ministration of death and the Law was glorious," we may truly exclaim with the Apostle, "How

66

shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious?" that Spirit, who, as if to characterize Him upon whom he descended, had already come down in the likeness of a dove; that Spirit, whose power and brightness shone forth in every act of our Saviour's life, and attended his transcendent glory; which “ glory," says the Evangelist, "we beheld,"-" the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father;" that Spirit, who as on this day, with "a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind," that filled all the house where they were sitting, appeared to the Apostles in the likeness of fiery cloven tongues, and rested upon each of them. Yet, although the Apostles were thus honoured; although they do stand distinguished among all the sons of Adam; although they are resplendent in the annals of the Church, and in the dark history of our nature, as the twelve jewels of the Apocalypse, or the twelve stars in the crown of the woman, who was clothed with the Sun; still the established balance of good and evil, was otherwise not unevenly held in their earthly destinations. If raised above others in their spiritual privileges, they had few temporal blessings of which to boast; if conspicuous for their religious honours and distinctions, they were equally remarkable for their perils, tribulations, and deaths. So that, while we perhaps would fain