though our salvation depended on our works, we depend no more upon them than if we had done nothing. CHAPTER XI. ON DIVINE INFLUENCES. As the knowledge of the true religion would never have had an existence in the world without the revelation of God, so neither can it have an existence in the soul without the operation of God. If in Him we live, and move, and have our natural being, shall we derive from an inferior source our spiritual life? There must be to us, indeed, from the nature of the subject, a mysteriousness in any agency which relates to the Spirit; for in its nature it is necessarily removed from human apprehension. Our Saviour represents it under the figure of the wind, one of the most common phenomena of nature, visibly and powerfully sensible in its effects, but far removed in its essence from our apprehension. "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit." The same power who brought order and harmony out of the primeval chaos, is necessary to quicken the soul which is dead in trespasses and sins. Accordingly, we find the sacred writers in the Old and New Testament constantly ascribing the great work of man's regeneration and moral improvement to the influence a John iii. 8. of that Almighty Agent, whose prerogative it is to infuse his sovereign energy throughout all the works of his hands. The Church also directs us to the Holy Spirit as the author of every good and perfect gift. The question proposed to those who are to be ordained, is, "Do you trust that you are inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon you this office and ministration to serve God for the promoting of his glory, and the edifying of his people?” “I trust so," replies the candidate. In the collects, we pray, that God may "cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of his Holy Spirit ;" that he would "grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort." "The office of the Holy Ghost," says Bishop Warburton, "is to enlighten the understanding and rectify the will." "To the Spirit enlightening our understanding," says Bishop Hurd, "purifying our wills, and confirming our faith, we impute all that is good in us, all that proficiency in true holiness, which qualifies us for the enjoyment of Heaven. If a ray of light break in upon us; if a new degree of knowledge be imparted to us; if we see the truth of the gospel more clearly, in any respect, than before we had done; we cannot mistake in ascribing the additional information or conviction to the illuminating Spirit within us." "If we perceive our devotions to be quickened, our hopes enlivened, our faith fortified, we shall not mistake in ascribing these consolations of peace and joy to the Comforter; we may regard them as the earnest and pledge of the spirit in our hearts."-Ephes. i. 14. "I know," continues he, "this will appear strange to b Ordination Service. c Collect for communion service and for Whitsunday. natural reason. But so the Scripture has prepared us to expect they would do. For the natural man, (says the Apostle,) receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him.' And to the same purpose, our Master himself speaketh of the Spirit of truth; 'whom,' says he, the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but ye, (addressing his disciples) know him, for he dwelleth in you.' ”a Seneca 66 says, no man can be good without divine assistance," and represents the "Deity as residing in the human body;" Cicero tells us that "no man was ever a great man without divine inspiration." "Do you wonder," says Maximus Tyrius " that God was present with Socrates, friendly and prophetic of futurity—an inmate of his mind? A man he was, pure in his body, good in his soul," &c. Plato also expressly ascribes the improvement of human nature to the supernatural influence of the Divine Spirit." 66 "There is in every righteous man," says Bishop Taylor, a new and vital principle. The spirit of grace is the spirit of wisdom, and teaches us by secret inspirations, by actual persuasions, by personal applications, by effects and energies; and as the soul of man is the cause of all his vital operations, so is the Spirit of God the life of that life, and the cause of all actions and productions spiritual. There is in the things of God, to those who practise them, a deliciousness that makes us love them, and that love d Sermon XVIII. * Bonus vir sine Deo nemo est.-Seneca Epist. f Deus in humano corpore hospitans. 8 Nemo igitur vir magnus sine aliquo afflatu divino usquam fuit. Cic. de. Nat. Deor. h Plato calls it the gift of God to men Θεων τις Ανθρωποις δοσις; and also supernatural, and overcoming nature in its present state of imbecility; δωρεαν υπες φυσιν νικωσαν την φντη. admits us into God's cabinet, and strangely clarifies the understanding by the purification of the heart. For when our reason is raised up by the Spirit of Christ, it is turned quickly into experience; when our faith relies upon the principles of Christ, it is changed into vision; and so long as we know God only in the ways of men, by contentious learning, by arguing, and dispute, we see nothing but the shadow of him, and in that shadow we meet with many dark appearances, little certainty, and much conjecture: but when we know him with the eyes of holiness and the instruction of gracious experiences, with a quiet spirit and the peace of enjoyment, then we shall hear what we never heard, and see what our eyes never saw: then the mysteries of godliness shall be open to us, and clear as the windows of the morning." "The Spirit of God," says Bishop Bull, "which in the beginning moved upon the face of the great deep, and invigorated the chaos, can, when he pleases, with the greatest ease, cause the light of divine consolation to arise on the dark and disconsolate soul. And this he often doth. I may here appeal to the experience of many good Christians, who sometimes find a sudden joy coming into their minds, enlightening their understandings, dispelling all clouds from thence, warming and enlivening their affections, enabling them to discern the graces of God shining in brightness, and to feel them vigorously acting in their souls, so that they have been, after a sort, transfigured with their Saviour, and wished with St. Peter, that they might always dwell on that Mount Tabor." Bishop Smalridge: "The humble and devout Christian being thus satisfied of the necessity of God's grace, both from his own experience and from the Scriptures, and being assured of the vital influences of this Spirit from the promises made to him in the gospel, will not be over curious to inquire into the secret and inconceivable manner of its operation. He will choose rather to feel those influences, than to understand or explain them, and will not doubt of that power, which though he cannot give an account of as to the manner of its working, he plainly perceives to be great and marvellous from its mighty and wonderful effects: for when, in reading the holy Scriptures, he finds the veil of darkness removed from before his understanding; when those clouds of ignorance, that had overcast his mind, are presently dispersed; when the doubts under which he had for some time laboured, are on a sudden cleared; when such pious thoughts as were wont to pass transiently, are long dwelt upon, so as to leave behind them deep and lasting impressions; when these are suggested to him without his seeking, and are urged and impressed upon him so importunately, that he cannot choose but listen to them; if when he finds a sudden impulse upon his spirits, rousing him up to the performance of some important duty; or an unexpected check stopping him in the midst of his course, when he is rushing on blindly and impetuously to the commission of some heinous sin: when in his devotions, he finds his attention fixed, his affections inflamed, and his heart melted within; when, while the voice of God's minister preaching the truths of the gospel sounds in his ears, he is sensible of an inward voice speaking with greater force and efficacy to his soul, to his understanding, and his heart; when under the pressure of any grievous affliction, he feels unexpected joy and comfort; when light rises up in the midst of darkness; when there is given unto him beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; upon all these and like occasions, he is sensible of the presence and aid of God's Holy Spirit, whose grace alone is sufficient to all these |