which he prevents his people with his everlasting kindness, unless we know the grace of the Son, by which he purchased all happiness for them of the Father? But how shall we know the Son to salvation, unless we obtain by the Holy Ghost communion in the love of the Father, and in the grace of the Son therefore not only "the love of God" the Father," and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ" is supplicated for believers, but also "the communion of the Holy Ghost," 2 Cor. xiii. 13. For it is the Holy Ghost, who conveys the love of the Father, and the grace of the Son to the elect, as the Son promiseth the apostles, John xvi. 13, 14, 15. “When he the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak : and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you." As it is therefore necessary, that we should know the Father and the Son, so it is not less necessary, that we should know the Holy Ghost. For which reason the instructor having divided the Christian creed into three parts, the first relating to God the Father and our creation, the second to God the Son and our redemption, and the third to God the Holy Ghost, and our sanctification; and having explained the doctrine of God the Father and of God the Son, he proceeds in this Lord's day to the mystery of the doctrine concerning God the Holy Ghost.

There are three particulars here, which require our consideration ; I. What the Holy Ghost is,

II. How he is given, and

III. How we believe in the Holy Ghost.

I. In order to know what the Holy Ghost is, we must consider, I, the meaning of the words, Holy Ghost, 2, that he is a person, 3, that he is, together with the Father and the Son, true and eternal God, and 4, that he is a person distinct from the Father and the Son.

1. In order to understand the meaning of the words, Holy Ghost, we must know that the word Ghost, (or Spirit) in Hebrew ruach, in Greek pneuma, and in Latin spiritus, denotes primarily a wind, or any blast, and thus something that is bodily; but it is also used to denote immaterial beings, which act by a natural ability, and from themselves with understanding and will. And in this sense angels and souls are ghosts, (or spirits); but this word is used particularly of God, and especially with respect to the essence of God; thus our Saviour speaks, John iv. 24, "God is a spirit." And with respect

to one of the divine Persons; thus the Son is called, according to his divine nature, a spirit; "He was justified in the Spirit," saik Paul, 1 Tim. iii. 16. But this name is given chiefly to the thir Person in the divine essence: and of this Person our text speaks, and a'so the instructor in this Lord's day. The third Person in the divine essence is called emphatically the Spirit, not because he is more spiritual in his essence than the Father and the Son, for he is co-essential with the Father and the Son, and of the same simple and spiritual essence; neither is this third Person called Spirit, on account of his spiritual œconomy, and work of grace; for he is called the "Holy Spirit, on account of his economical work of grace, as will appear more particularly hereafter; but he is called Spirit on account of his personal and spiritual proceeding from the Father through the Son: for as the first Person is called Father, and the second son, on account of the eternal generation of the Son by the Father; so the third Person is called Spirit on account of his personal and spiritual proceeding from the Father through the Son from eternity. As the Father and the Son are denominated from their personal property, to wit, the eternal generation, so also the third Person is denominated from his personal property, to wit, his eternal proceeding. It is the ancient and well established doctrine of the church, that the Holy Spirit proceedeth from the Father; and therefore it is detestable, not only in the Socinians, but also in a certain person, * who desires to be esteemed orthodox in our church, to deny this proceeding of the Holy Ghost. Suffering himself to be misled and spoiled by philosophy, he did not find any innate idea of an eternal generation of the Son by the Father, therefore he would deny it, although the word of God asserted it ever so plainly. No marvel then that he subverted the faith of the church with respect to the proceeding of the Holy Ghost: but we reverence the word of God too much to deny, or doubt of this truth; for the word of God teacheth us that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father. Of this the Son of God speaks, John xv. 26. "When the Comforter shall come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me." It is said here, that the Spirit proceedeth from the Father, and this is distinguished from the sending of the Holy Spirit by the Son from the Father. On account of this proceeding, the Holy Spirit is also called "the Spirit of God," 1 Cor. i. 11. "The Spirit which is of

By this person our author means Professor Roel

God," 1 Cor. ii. 12. "The Spirit of God's mouth," Psalm xxxiii. 6. "The breath of the Almighty," Job xxxiii. 4.

But when we say that the Holy Ghost proceedeth from the Father, we add that he proceedeth from the Son also. This occasioned severe disputes in the seventeenth and following centuries between the Greek, or eastern, and the Latin or western churches; for when the Catholic creed of Constantinople confessed that the Holy Ghost proceeded "from the Father, the Latins added, “and from the Son." The Greek church took this exceedingly ill, considering it as a falsifying of that creed: but if we consult the word of God, we shall see that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Son also; for he is called "the Spirit of Christ, and of the Son," Rom. viii. 9. Gal. iv. 6. The Son "sends the Spirit from the Father," John xv. 26. And the Spirit receives all things from the Son, who hath what he bath from the Father, John xvi. 13, 14, 15. Since now the order of working among the divine Persons follows the order of their subsistence, it is evident, that the Holy Ghost doth proceed not only from the Father, but also from the Son. It was not therefore commendable in the Greek church to oppose so vehemently the proceeding of the Holy Ghost from the Son: neither can we approve of the conduct of the Latins in altering the creed by their own authority, and insisting upon the words, "from the Son," and not rather saying "through the Son," which the Greeks were willing to allow, and which would perhaps have been altogether as proper, because the Father works through the Son, and thus also causeth the Holy Ghost to proceed through the Son.

The third Person is called not only the Spirit, but also the "Holy" Spirit,, not because he is more holy than the Father and the Son : for the hymn Holy, holy, holy, is addressed to each Person, and not unto one only, Isaiah vi. 3. But the third Person is called holy, because the making of the Church holy, is particularly attributed to him; for as creation is attributed to the Father, and redemption to the Son, so sanctification (or making holy) is attributed to the Holy Ghost, as his peculiar economy and dispensation of grace; therefore Paul saith, 2 Thess. ii. 13, that "God hath chosen believers to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit." And thus the whole economy, the dispensation of grace by the Spirit, or the application of the foreordained and pu chased grace of the Father and Son is intimated by the additional word "holy," as the word sanctification denotes also the whole work of grace, which belongs to the Spirit. Peter teacheth us this, when he saith, 1 Peter, i. 2 "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through, sancti

fication of the Spirit and obedience, and sprinkling of th Jesus Christ." Since now the Holy Spirit effects the w tification spiritually, that is, rationally and internally in t soul of man, by the instrumentality of the gospel, therefo of grace are sometimes called the Spirit. So we read, "This he spake of the Spirit, which they that believe on PZ Áɛp receive; for the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because s was not yet glorified." So the gospel is also called the fi cause it is the ministration of the Spirit: this we may iii. 6. 8.

P

2. The Holy Ghost is a Person, that is, an intelligent by which he is in the divine essence individually what he paid the ar neither a part, accident nor quality of either of the other Per si u p aught else. The Arians, Servetians and Socinians, who den the Holy Ghost is a Person, are so perplexed here, that they kne not what to make of him. Some will have that he is an inbreathed affection of God; others that he is the power of God; a third thinks that he is neither God, nor a creature, but something wholly different from either; a fourth that he is like one of the attributes of God; a fifth saith that he is a gift of God; a sixth makes him to be an excellent angel, or a certain order of angels; but those among them who wish to speak accurately, distinguish between the Holy Ghost, and the gifts of the Holy Ghost. By the Holy Ghost they understand the power of God the Father, which is naturally in him; by the gifts of the Holy Ghost, which are also called the Holy Ghost, they will have that the gospel is signified, and certain gifts granted to particular persons.

The church teaches in opposition to this, that the Holy Ghost is a person; and not without reason; for (a) the Holy Ghost hath the personal properties of understanding: "For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God," 1 Cor. ii. 10, 11; and also of will: "For all these worketh that one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will," 1 Cor. xii. 11. (b) The Spirit hath appeared in divers forms, as in that of a dove, and of fiery tongues, in order to represent his gifts of Grace, Matt. iii. 16. Acts ii. 3, 4. Now persons only do such things. (c) The Holy Ghost hath his personal works; for he sends the preachers, Acts viii. 29, 30. xiii. 2. He leads, comforts, assures and intercedes, Rom. viii. 14-27, therefore the Holy Ghost is also a person. By a personification, personal works are indeed ascribed to charity, I Cor. xiii. 4-7, but this supposeth a charitable person. We cannot certainly think that the personal works of the Holy Ghost are personi

fied, since the Holy Ghost is distinguished as a person from his works. Thus Paul teacheth us: "For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit," 1 Cor. xii. 8. See also vrs. 9, 10, 11. (d) The Holy Ghost is also distinguished from the other divine Persons, not only as a distinct thing, but as a distinct Person. See John xiv. 15. xvi. 13, 14, 15. We have exhibited these passages at large before.

The objections which the adversaries of the Spirit offer against this doctrine are insignificant: they say that we are baptised with the Holy Ghost, according to Matt. iii. 11. Acts i. 5. 1 Cor. xii. 13, that the Holy Ghost is the power and gift of God, Luke i. 35. xxiv. 49. Acts x. 38, 45. We freely allow that by the Holy Ghost we must sometimes understand his gifts, with which we are baptized and influenced; but it follows not from this, that the Holy Ghost is not a person: for the Holy Ghost is distinguished as from his gifts, as hath been shown from 1 Cor. xii. 8-11. Is the Holy Ghost called the power and gift of God, it doth not denote that he is not a person; for then Christ would not be a person neither, since he also is called the power and the gift of God, 1 Cor. i. 24. John iv. 10.

a person

3. We profess furthermore concerning the Holy Ghost, "that he is true and coeternal God with the Father and the Son." The above-named adversaries of the Spirit deny this also; but we hold it to be a most certain truth; because the names, attributes, works and honour of God are ascribed to the Holy Ghost: For,

1. The Holy Ghost is called God; for Peter said, Acts v. 3, 4, "Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God." By lying to the Holy Ghost, they had lied to God; how is this to be understood, if the Holy Ghost be not God. The Holy Ghost is also called Jehovah : "Israel tempted the Lord," Exod. xvii. 7. Num. xx. 3-13. Deut. vi. 16. Psalm xcv. 6-9; but the Lord was the Holy Ghost, as Paul showeth, Heb. iii. 7, 8, 9. Compare also Isaiah vi. 6-10, with Acts xxviii. 25, 26, 27. Now this name is proper to God only, and expresseth his essence, as we have proved on the eighth Lord's day. Whence it therefore follows that the Holy Ghost is true and eternal God with the Father and the Son.

2. Divine attributes are ascribed to the Holy Ghost; for he is "the eternal Spirit," Heb. ix. 14. He is also omnipresent, Psalm cxxxix. 7. He is all-knowing, so that "he searcheth not only the hearts and reins," as it is said of God, Jer. xvii. 10, but what is more, “he searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God, and he know