gospel, even while the sinner had no apprehension that it contained such important and interesting declarations. A savoury and practical writer speaks on this subject, with much evidence, in the following words: "We can have no saving knowledge of God, but in and by his word. We must look through that glass upon him; and that appearance of God we meet with there, is the beginning of all religion. The word never comes with power to our consciences, till God appear in it. God lets himself down into our hearts, through the apprehensions of our faith, which frames in our hearts a right image of God, answerable to that character he gives of himself in his word. He shines through the word in all his glory. When he spake of old to the patriarchs by an articulate voice, the unwritten word then was accompanied with such convincing signs of his presence, that they could not but believe it: and so is the written word now as capable of representing God to us, when he has a mind to be seen by us, as that was then. The letter of the word is but a creature; but the truths contained in it are eternal, and do all centre in God himself, who is the essential word. Thus God rises out of the word, and looks a man in the face, tells him, Thus saith the Lord, I am the Lord God Almighty, who now speak unto you' he leaves no objection unanswered, and shows what sure grounds of faith we have in him. Shall God say, and not do? It is impossible for God to lie; it must be so as God says; it cannot be otherwise. Heaven and earth shall sooner pass away, than one tittle of the word be broken. Thus "in God we praise his word." Consider the word out

of God: it will puzzle men and angels to make out the meaning of it, to think the things spoken of possible, or likely to come to pass; but all things are possible with God, and to those who believe in God. They stick at nothing; they are sure Omnipotency knows no difficulties; the counsel of the Lord must stand; his thoughts shall come to pass. A soul thus struck with a sense of God's presence, yields immediately, I believe, Lord, with all my heart, and am ready to do whatsoever thou requirest of me.' The knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus, is one thing, and the knowledge of the truth as it is in ink and paper, is another. They are the same truths; but as they are in the Scriptures, they lie in the dead letter; as they are in Christ, they are seen in their living root and principle from whence they spring. Mere scriptural knowledge is but historical: we look upon things we read and hear, rather as notions than realities. Till God fill up all expressions of Scripture concerning himself, with a divine presence answerable thereunto, we believe nothing that is said of him; but such a presence of God in his word, captivates our hearts to the belief of it. We must believe him to be such a God as the word declares him to be, before we shall count all his sayings true. So that, till God appear and show himself to the soul, all that is said to us out of the Scriptures, in the name of an "unknown God," affects us not, because it wants that which is the ground of its credibility: for "no man can say, that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost;" he cannot say so and think so, he cannot say so and believe what he says, till the Father

reveal his Son in him. access to our hearts: he conveys himself through his truth to our souls; his divinity leads the way. Without some appearance of this, the contents of the word would have no place in our hearts; but coming with so great a presence, in so great a name, and with so strong an impression, God himself writing them upon the heart, we cannot but receive his testimony. The word comes into our hearts suddenly before we are aware, and seizes them for God; and hence we cannot but think, speak, act, and judge as God does; the sense of the word is the sense of our souls, so far as the word is written in our hearts; we read it without the least variation; the copy answers the original."* To open the eyes of the mind to take in the knowledge of gospel declarations, is the office of the Lord the Spirit; and therefore he is promised for this purpose: "When the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth; for," says Christ," he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you." And the Holy Ghost performs this office by means of the gospel; and therefore the gospel is called "the ministration of the Spirit," and "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus." The apostle uses a fine expression on this subject, when he writes to the saints at Ephesus, explaining their glorious privileges, and enforcing a thankful regard to the sovereign grace of God, and the agency of the blessed Spirit, in every thing that pertained to their new and happy state. He reminds them of the essential and necessary relation of all their pre

God has invisible ways of

* See a Discourse of Faith, by Mr. Thomas Cole, pages 12-18.

sent enjoyments and future hopes unto Jesus Christ, and then addresses them thus: "In whom also be lieving, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise."* The apostle does not mean that some time after they believed in Christ, the Holy Ghost gave them the assurance of their interest in him; but that every believer among them was sealed with the demonstration of the Spirit of God, accompanying divine truths with such evidence and power on his heart, that in believing them he received the same faithful impressions of these truths on his soul, as the melted wax receives from the engraved seal strongly applied to it.

3. By these discoveries of the meaning and authority of the declarations of the gospel, as they refer to Christ and salvation, the Spirit of God persuades and enables the soul to receive and rest upon Christ alone for salvation, as he is revealed and exhibited in these declarations. Hereby he dispels the mists of ignorance and error that hung upon the mind, and veiled the glories of divine truth, while they led the sinner into the fatal mistake of trusting in falsehood, and making lies his refuge: hereby the soul is brought under subjection to the authority of God speaking in his word, and proud reasonings against the will of God are demolished, so that the sinner becomes like a little child in submitting to the authority and will of God: hereby the sinner, under a view of the exceeding sinfulness of his sin, and un

Eph. i. 13. Ev & nai mioTevaartes ioQgaywonte, &c. I have given a literal translation of these words; and I apprehend this small alteration contributes much light to the meaning of the passage. See Theron and Aspasio, near the close of the sixteenth Dialogue.

der a view of the suitable and sufficient remedy proposed to him in the gospel, doth gladly embrace and depend upon this safe and honourable expedient for his complete salvation: hereby faith becomes the echo of the soul to the voice of God in his word, concerning Christ, and eternal life in his name. This might be illustrated in many instances, to prove the immediate and direct regard a believer has to the word of God, while he, through the Spirit, believeth on Christ unto the salvation of his soul. He considers in what light the Saviour's character is proposed, and he receives him accordingly. Is Christ exhibited to a lost world as the free gift of God? The soul is persuaded and enabled by the Holy Spi rit to receive him accordingly: for it "buys without money and without price;" it "takes the water of life freely." Is Christ exhibited in his whole undivided character? The believer is persuaded and enabled to receive him accordingly, as "the way, and the truth, and the life;" as his prophet, priest, and king. Is Christ presented to all the hearers of the gospel, so as to warrant every one of them to embrace him for his own benefit? The believing soul accordingly receives him with the most particular appropriation, saying, "My Lord, and my God." Is Christ proposed in the gospel declarations as the only Saviour of perishing sinners? He is received accordingly by every unfeigned believer, whose language is, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Having taken this view of the effectual operation of the Spirit, in producing an unfeigned belief of divine truth, by means of those very truths which