The three firft of thefe Points are pretty obvious, fo that I need fpend no Time in infifting on them.

ift. By the Spirit here is undoubtedly meant that Holy Spirit which our Lord promised he would fend upon his Difciples, after he was afcended into Heaven; and which accordingly came upon them on the Day of Pentecoft, and which from thence forward was to continue with the Church to the End of the World. This Spirit is here in the Text called the Spirit it felf, to represent Him as a Perfon, because in the Verfe before the Apoftle had used this Word Spirit in another Senfe, viz. for a State and Rom. 8. Difpenfation. Ye have not, fays he, received the Spirit of Bondage again to fear, but ye have received the Spirit of Adoption: That is, ye are not now in the Jewish Difpenfation, which is a Difpenfation of Servants, wherein ye are left to your natural Fears; but ye are in the Difpenfation of Sons: Ye may now call God Father; For the Spirit it felf (as he goes on), that Spirit who hath the principal Agency and Management of this new Difpenfation, bears witness with our Spirit that we are the Children of God.

15.

But, 2dly, What is meant by being the Children of God? To this I anfwer, that to be a Child of God, in the Scripture-Phrafe, is to be an Heir of Immortality; or to be an In

heritor

heritor of the Kingdom of Heaven: That is to fay, either in actual Poffeffion of it, or in Right and Title to it. Thus our Saviour tells us, that they which shall be Luke 20. accounted worthy to obtain that future World 35, 36. and the Refurrection from the Dead, can die no more; for they are equal to the Angels, and are the Children of God, being the Children of the Refurrection. And thus our Saviour himself was ftiled God's Son, as upon other accounts, fo alfo upon this, that God begot him from the Dead, and exalted Pal. 2. 7 him to an immortal glorious Life in Heaven. Thou art my Son (faith God) this Day have I begotten thee. Which Paffage the Apostle applies to our Saviour's Refurrection. And it Acts 13. is with this refpect that St. John fpeaks- 33. Beloved, now are we the Sons of God, but it 1 John 3. doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that when He shall appear we shall be like him; for we fhall fee Him as He is. So that to be a Son or a Child of God, and to have a Right and Title to eternal Life, is the very fame Thing. As alfo fufficiently appears from the next Words that follow after my Text, If we be Children, then are Rom. 8. we Heirs; Heirs of God, and Joint-heirs with Chrift: if fo be that we fuffer with him, that we may be alfo glorified together.

But, 3dly, What is meant by this Expreffion of the Spirit's bearing witnefs with our Spirit? Is it meant that the Holy Spirit B 2 dothy

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2.

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doth, by his fecret Infpirations, his inward Suggeftions to the Minds of good Men, poffefs them with an Opinion, or, if you will, with an Affurance, that they are the Children of God, and that they fhall certainly go to Heaven, without giving them any Reafon for it. Thus indeed it is commonly taken. But I can by no means think that this is the Meaning of the Words. I conceive that which the Apoftle here meant, is this; that the Holy Spirit by the visible fenfible Operations which he wrought in, and among Chriftians, gave an affured Proof and Teflimony to their Minds, that God owned them for his People, and as fuch would glorify them with his Son Jefus at the last Day. That I take to be the Meaning of the Expreffion. But now what thefe Operations were, or in what Way the Spirit did, or doth witness with our Spirit, is my

4th Inquiry; which I fhall dwell longer upon. And here it is fit we fhould take notice, that there is a twofold Witness or Teftimony of the Spirit to our being the Children of God: The one, General and Publick, refpecting the whole Church, or the whole Body of thofe who profefs the Chriftian Faith, in oppofition to all Unbelievers; the other, Particular and Private, and only refpecting fingle Perfons. Both thefe ways, I fay, doth the Spirit witness with our Spirit that we are the Children of

God.

pro

God. And to both thefe ways, it is bable, the Apoftle had Refpect in this

Text.

I. I begin with the publick Witnefs. First of all, I fay, the Spirit gave an undeniable Proof to Chriftians, that they were the Children of God, by the publick Teftimony he gave to the Truth of the Promifes of the Gofpel; in defcending upon the Apoftles on the Day of Pentecoft, and inabling them to fpeak all Languages, to cure all Diseases, to caft out Devils, to raife the Dead, to foretell Things to come, and to work all forts of Miracles, for the Confirmation of the Chriftian Faith: And, which ought to be particularly taken notice. of, when he gave them a Power likewife to transfer thefe Gifts and Powers upon others, even as many as they should lay their Hands upon; fo that not only the Apoftles, but a great Number of other Believers, in all Places, were able to work Miracles, for the Atteftation of the Truth of Chrift's Doctrine.

Here now was as plain a Teftimony of the Holy Spirit to the Minds of all Chriftians, that they were the Children of God, that they had the true Religion among them, that they, in oppofition both to Jews and Pagans, were God's peculiar People, and that he would at the laft Day, when this World should have an End, own them

as fuch, and reward them with everlasting Life, as our Saviour had promised them.

I fay, here was as effectual a Witness of the Spirit to the Truth of all this, as was pofsible to be given. It was both a Witness to themselves, and to all the World: A Witness to their own Minds and Spirits, for their infinite Comfort under all their prefent Diftreffes, and for their Encouragement, to perfevere ftedfaftly in the Christian Religion, whatever Trials they should be called out unto: A Witnefs alfo to the unbelieving World, for their Confufion, if they did not quit their Infidelity, and enter themselves into this Family of God, this Society of Chriftians, to whom the Promifes of Adoption and eternal Life were made

over.

But it will be faid, how doth this Witnefs of the Spirit concern us who live at this Day, and fee none of those extraordinary miraculous Effects of the Holy Ghoft? How is this a Teftimony to our Spirits, that we are the Children of God? I anfwer, it is the fame Witnefs and Teftimony of the Holy Spirit with our Spirits, that it was when St. Paul wrote this Epiftle. We do not, indeed, fee now those visible Effects and Operations of the Holy Spirit, for the convincing us of the Truth of Chrift's Promises, that were then to be seen; but the Reafon is, because there is no need of it for if that was a good Witness to the