inherent in the souls of his people, is ra ther a subject for their spiritual sense and judgment to be exercised on than the object of their faith. His work being within us, and Christ's work without us, and the latter being our salvation, and the former the application of it unto us, we are apt to overlook the Holy Spirit's work within us, and himself as the author of it. SALVATION is wholly of GRACE, both in its origin, execution, and application. Nor is grace a whit more glorious in the one than in the other. The elect "were not ap"pointed unto wrath, but to obtain sal"vation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who "died for us." And by his death they were redeemed out of the hands of all their spiritual enemies. Yet, the Father's love and the Son's salvation, with all the unspeakable blefsings thereof, remain unknown to them for a season. In their fallen, guilty, and sinful state they remain dead in trespasses and sins, without hope, and without God in the world. The bringing them out of ́this state, and raising them from a death of sin unto a life of righteousness, is the true and proper work reserved for the Holy Ghost, in order to display and manifest thereby his love and Godhead. To quicken the dead sinner with spid 1 Thess. v. 9, 10.

ritual life in his soul, to enlighten the dark mind with the marvellous light of life, to become the fountain and spring of everlasting life by his secret and mysterious in-dwelling in the soul, and to produce such a new creation as deserves to be dignified with the title of The divine nature, are altogether the acts, prerogative, and glory of the eternal Spirit, whose distinct personality and efsential divinity are evidenced hereby. He knows the names, persons, state, and cases of all the elect, with the love of the Father's heart, and how it abounds, and superabounds towards them. He is fully acquainted with the present and everlasting virtue, efficacy, worth, and dignity of the person, work, and offering of Immanuel; and what his heart. was, when he made his soul an offering for sin, and how infinitely and everlastingly well pleasing it was to Jehovah the Father, who hath it in everlasting remembrance. The Father and the Son having committed the revelation and application of their great salvation to the persons of all the elect to the Holy Spirit; he is pleased, therefore, out of the riches of his own free and sovereign grace, to work in due season on all the heirs of glory. And like as Christ died but once, his death being all-sufficient to answer every design to be effected by

it; so the Holy Ghost by one act works effectually in the soul, produces a spiritual birth, and changes the state of the person, once for all. So that the regenerate are thereby brought out of, and delivered from, the power of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son. And thus they pafs from a state of spiritual death into a state of spiritual life. Regeneration, the necefsity of which is taught us by Christ himself, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except "a man be born again, he cannot see "the kingdom of God," is the act and work of the Spirit of God in the soul, whereby it is quickened with new and spiritual life. Without this divine and supernatural birth, we cannot see spiritual and heavenly things, objects, subjects, and blefsings in their true worth and excellency. "That which is born "of the spirit is spirit"." In consequence of which the spiritual mind thus produced in us in spiritual regeneration is suited to all things spiritual, and distinguishes such as are born of God from others who are not. Hence the apostle saith, "The natural man re"ceiveth not the things of the Spirit of "God, for they are foolishness unto "him: neither can he know them, be• Col. i. 13. f 1 John iii. 14. * John iii. 3. h John iii. 6.

"cause they are spiritually discerned'. To say "Because they are spiritually "discerned" is giving the reason why a natural man cannot receive them. Because, if they are rightly discerned, they must be discerned in their spirituality; as they are in themselves spiritual things, as spiritual.

The effect of the new birth is, that the man born again loves spiritual things, as spiritual, and values spiritual blefsings on account of their being purely spiritual. The fulness of life, which is lodged in Christ for all the elect, is displayed in the following way. He is the head in the spiritual and eternal world; and he conveys his spiritual life in regeneration to his members, who are then born into it. The second birth, by which the elect are born again into Christ, into the spiritual world, is a new creation - the workmanship of God. The spirit of life from Christ enters into them, and is the spring of all their spiritual life-the root of all their gracesthe perpetual spring of every divine principle within them. So says Christ, "The "water that I shall give him (speaking

of a believer) shall be in him a well "of water, springing up into everlast"ing life." Thus, regeneration introduces the elect into a capacity for the

1 Cor. ii. 14.

* John iv. 14.

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enjoyments which are peculiar to the spiritual world, and makes that alteration in the person's state before God, which will last for ever. Hence the apostle saith, "He hath saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of "the Holy Ghost'." All other alterations are gradual. Even that great change from grace to glory is but from faith to sight,-from imperfection to perfection. The state of the renewed man, as to the grace of God, in life and after death is one and the same. He is the Lord's in both. All our meetnefs for the heavenly state is wrought in us in regeneration. Therefore the apostle addrefses the regenerate in the church of Christ at Colofse thus, "Giving thanks "unto the Father, which hath made us "meet to be partakers of the inherit"ance of the saints in light." And he shews wherein that meetnefs consisted, "Who hath delivered us from the power "of darkness, and hath translated us "into the kingdom of his dear Son". Regeneration is one and the same in all saints. It admits ef no increase nor decrease. All grace and holinefs are then implanted in the soul. have eternal life abiding in

"

We hereby us, and all

that remains, from the first moment the

Titus iii. 5.

m Col. i. 12, 13.