many understand and reflect little upon the importance of what they are about, upon the exceedingly great consequence of what they are asking, when they pray to God, as we do in our liturgy, "to cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of his holy spirit;" "to make clean our hearts within us;" "not to take his Holy Spirit from us; to give us increase of grace; to grant that his Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts."

These are momentous petitions, little as we may perceive, or think, or account of them, at the time. It has been truly said, that we are hardly ever certain of praying aright, except when we pray for the Spirit of God.--When we pray for temporal blessings, we do not know, though God does, whether we ask what is really for our good: when we ask for the assistance and sanctification of God's Spirit in the work and warfare of religion, we ask for that, which by its very nature is good, and which, without our great fault, will be good

to us.

3 I

But

But secondly, We must obtain it. God is propitious. You hear that he has promised it to prayer, to prayer really and truly such, to prayer, viz. issuing from the heart and soul; for no other is ever meant. We are suppliants to our Maker for various and continual blessings; for health, for ease; it may be, for prosperity and success. There is, as hath already been observed, some degree of uncertainty in all these cases, whether we ask what is fit and proper to be granted; or even, what, if granted, would do us good. There is this, likewise, further to be observed, that they are what, if such be the pleasure of God, we can do without. But how incapable we are of doing without God's Spirit; of proceeding in our spiritual course upon our own strength and our own resources; of finally accomplishing the work of salvation without it; the strong description, which is given by St. Paul, may convince us, if our own experience had not convinced us before. Many of us, a large majority of us, either require, or have required, a great change, a moral regeneration,

This is to be effectuated by the aid of God's Spirit. Vitiated hearts will not change themselves; not easily, not frequently, not naturally, perhaps, not possibly. ness no man shall see God."

Yet,

"without holiHow then are

Holiness is a

It is not a few

the unholy to become holy? thing of the heart and soul. forced, constrained actions, though good as actions which constitute holiness. It must reside within us; it is a disposition of soul. To acquire, therefore, that which is not yet acquired; to change that which is not yet changed; to go to the root of the malady; to cleanse and purify the inside of the cup, the foulness of our mind, is a work for the Spirit of God within us. Nay more; many, as the scripture most significantly expresses it, are dead in sins and trespasses, not only committing sins and trespasses, but dead in them: that is, as insensible of their condition under them, as a dead man is insensible of his còn dition. Where this is the case, the sinner must, in the first instance, be roused and quickened to a sense of his condition; of his danger.

312

danger, his fate; in a word, he must, by

some means or other, be brought to feel a

strong compunction.

for the Spirit of God.

This is also an office

"You hath he quick

ened, who were dead in trespasses and sins." (Eph. ii. 1.) "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." (Eph. v. 14.) Whether, therefore, we be amongst the dead in sin; or whether we be of the number of those, with whom, according to St. Paul's description, to will is present, but how to perform that which is good they find not; who, though they approve the law of God, nay delight in it, after the inward man, that is, in the answers of their conscience, are nevertheless, brought into captivity to the law of sin, which is in their members; carnal, sold under sin; doing what they allow not, what they hate; doing not the good which they would, but the evil which they would not: which ever of these be our wretched estate, for such the Apostle pronounees it to be, the grace and influence of God's Spirit must be obtained, in order to rescue

and

and deliver us from it, and the sense of this want and of this necessity lies at the root of our devotions, when directed to this object.

To those, who are in a better state than what has been here described, little need be said, because the very supposition of their being in a better state includes that earnest and devout application by prayer for the continual aid, presence, and in-dwelling of God's Holy Spirit, which we state to be a duty of the christian religion.

But thirdly; The assistance of God's Spirit being obtained, we are to yield ourselves to its direction; to consult, attend, and listen to its dictates, suggested to us through the admoni tions of our conscience. The terms of scripture represent the Spirit of God, as an assisting, not forcing, power; as not suspending our own powers, but enabling them; as imparting strength and faculty for our religious work, if we will use them; but whether we will use them or not, still depending upon ourselves, Agreeably