Holy Ghoft; which is the other thing I come to speak to.

2. The Advocateship of the Holy Ghost, as I faid before, is not in Heaven, but in the World: Doth not fo much refpect God, as the World, and the Devil. His Office is in the place of Chrift to plead the Cause of the Church against its Enemies; to be its Patron and Defender upon Earth, and to manage the Affairs of it fo, that it may be victorious in this World over all its Oppofers. Under this Notion of an Advocate he is plainly represented in John 16. v. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. a Paffage which I before referred to, but fhall now explain more fully, because it is an exprefs Declaration of the Advocateship of the Holy Spirit, and a clear Account of the Effects that fhould enfue upon his Defcent on the Apostles, as the Patron of the Chriftian Caufe. Neverthelefs I tell you the Truth, fays our Lord to his Difciples, It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter Advocate will not come to you: But if I depart I will fend him unto you, and when he is come he will reprove the World of Sin, and of Righteousness, and of Judgment. Of Sin, because they believe not on me: Of Righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye fee me no more: Of Judgment, because the Prince of this World is judged. Now we fhall have a very easy Admiflion into the Senfe of this difficult Paffage, as it hath been usually

v.46.

accounted, if we tranflate Tapaλnt, Ad-
vocate, inftead of Comforter, and fλé,
xov, convince the World, as it is in the
Margin, instead of reprove the World, as
our Tranflators have render'd it in the Text.
That there is good Ground for the former
Alteration, appears not only from what hath
been faid upon my firft Head, by way of
Criticifm upon the Word Tapáxλnт &, but
παράκλητ@,
from the Acts attributed to him in this Place,
for reproving or convincing the World of Sin,
and Righteousness, and Judgment, are the
proper Acts or Offices of an Advocate, but
by no means of a Comforter. And that we
have fufficient Authority for the latter Al-
teration is evident from a parallel Place to
this in the eighth Chapter of this Gofpel,
τίς ἐξ ὑμῶν ἐλέγχει, or as fome Copies read
it iniyu; which of you convinceth me of
Sin, that is, which of you can fhew me that I
am guilty of Sin in teaching and in acting
as I do? And befides, tho' it may be good
Sense to say that the Holy Ghost shall re-
prove the World of Sin, yet that Term is not
applicable to the two Inftances that follow ;
for it is not Senfe to fay, he fhall reprove
the World of Righteousness, or of Judgment.
Another Paffage there is in Tit. 1. 9. which
will fhew us the full Import of x in
this Place. There it is faid, that a Bishop
fhould be qualified not only to exhort, but
alfo ἐλέγχειν τὲς ἀντιλέγοντας, to convince the

Gainfayers; to juftify the things of Chrift against all Oppofers.

This then certainly is the Sense of the Word in this Paffage that we are upon, viz. that when the Holy Ghoft, the Advocate for Chriftians, is come, he will convince the World, he will justify the Caufe of Chrift to the World, both in point of Sin, in point of Righteousness, and in point of Judgment. The Office of an Advocate is to defend and make good the Cause he hath undertaken. So the Holy Ghoft, having, as an Advocate espoused the Caufe of Christ, he will maintain it, and justify it against all Opposi

tion.

As to the three particular Inftances in which he will justify it, we now come to give an Account.

And here, in the first place, let us confider what this Caufe of Chrift was, that this Advocate undertook to juftify and defend. The Caufe of Jefus Chrift was plainly this: God fent him into the World as the great Prophet, who was to declare his Will to Mankind, in order to their Salvation. But he was looked upon by the Jews, as a false Prophet, as an Impoftor and Deceiver: And instead of giving him that Entertainment and Reception that was due to him, they crucified and flew him. All which was brought to pass by the Contrivance and Inftigation of the Devil, the Prince of this World, who having long ufurped an EmD 4 pire

pire and Dominion over Mankind, was loth to be thrown out of his Poffeffion; which he was fure to be, as foon as Jefus fhould be believed on in the World. And therefore by procuring that he fhould be thus punished as a Malefactor, thought by this Means to quafh for ever all his Pretences of being a Prophet, and fo to fecure and eftablish his own Kingdom. This was the Caufe of Chrift which the Holy Ghost came to vindicate.

Now the Question comes, What the Holy Ghoft was to do in the Vindication of it? In what Inftances he was to fhew himfelf an Advocate for this Caufe which he had espoused? In Answer to this Question, if we confider our Saviour's Cafe, we cannot even, according to the Principles of common Reason, and the Ufe and Practice of Mankind in these Matters, defire more to be done by him than these three Things:

ift, To juftify the Truth of our Saviour's Miffion; to convince the World that Jefus Chrift was that great Prophet which God had promised to fend for the Salvation of Mankind, and that it was a great Sin in thofe to whom he was fent, that they did not believe in him.

2dly, To vindicate the perfonal Innocence and Righteoufnefs of Jefus Chrift, to fhew that he was really a virtuous, holy Perfon, however he was thought of in the World; and at the fame Time to make out the

Equity and Righteoufnefs of God in fuffering him to be fo evil treated.

3dly, To make out the Juftice or the Judgment of God upon thofe that were the Authors of thofe Injuries that Chrift fuffer'd in the World: To fhew that he was fo far from countenancing or abetting the wicked Confpiracy against Jefus, that he gave a manifest Evidence of his Juftice by retaliating upon the principal Agent and Contriver of it, what he thought to have done to Jefus That is, deftroying and cafting him out of all that Power and Dominion which he had hitherto poffeffed in the World.

These three Things, I fay, in common Reason, and according to the Course of Proceedings among Men in like Cases, were the principal Points which it concerned the Holy Ghost, as an Advocate, to vindicate the Cause of Chrift in. And these are the very Things which our Saviour faid he fhould do, when he came into the World; and accordingly when he came he did them effectually.

First of all, he convinced the World of v. 9. Sin, becaufe they believed not in Jefus Chrift, yiz. He gave a Proof beyond all Exception and Contradiction that Jefus Chrift was the great Prophet fent from God; and that the Jews who did not receive him were guilty of a very great Sin; and ftill a greater in that they crucified him. For let this only

be