Once you were darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord; walk as children of the light. Be ye holy, harmless, the children of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked generation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.

Beclouded Christian, thou goest on bemoaning and bewailing thyself, complaining that thou art still blind; that the light hath shined into thy darkness, but thy darkness comprehendeth it not; thine eye is yet but tender, at least, and thou canst see but little-but little of Christ, the sun is but as a spark to thee-but little of sin, that mountain looks yet but as a molehill; it is "neither clear nor dark," neither night nor perfect day. Thou didst hope that long ere this thy scales would have fallen off, that the veil would have been removed, but they abide upon thee; thou waitest for light, but behold obscurity--for brightness, but thou walkest in darkness; thou goest on, adding darkness to darkness, the darkness of sorrow to the dimness of sight. Thou fearest that the gospel is hid from thee, that it is still night, because it is not yet noon with thee. But hearken: As little as thou seest of Christ, dost thou see so much that thou prizest and lovest and cleavest to him above all? As little as thou seest of sin, dost thou see so much that thou loathest and shunnest it above all things? Dost thou walk in that little light thou hast; dost thou love, long, wait, cry for the light? "Send forth thy light and thy truth, lift up the light of thy countenance; Sun of righteousness, shine upon me; why are the wheels of thy chariot so long in coming? when, Lord? Make haste, my

beloved; O might I once see thy face, as the sun, looking over the mountains." Is this thy voice; are these the breathings of thy soul? Be of good comfort, these are the glimmerings and groanings of that Holy Spirit within thee, who hath already delivered thee from darkness, and will bring thee forth into his marvellous light; thou shalt know, if thou follow on to know the Lord. "Arise, shine; thy light is come, the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee." Though yet, as to thy sense, it be neither clear nor dark, neither night nor perfect day, "at evening time it shall be light."

II. As a Spirit of HOLINESS AND SANCTIFICATION. He is given as a holy Spirit, and as a sanctifying Spirit; therefore sanctification is called the "sanctification of the Spirit." 2 Thess. 2:13. He comes to change us into his own nature, to make us partakers of his holiness; he is a refiner's fire, and fuller's soap, Mal. 3:2, to purge and work and wash off the filth and corruption of our nature. It is said, he shall be to the church "a Spirit of judgment and a Spirit of burning," to wash away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and to purge the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof. Isa. 4:4. "A Spirit of judgment," that is, in the rulers of Israel-stirring them up to do justice and execute judgment, that so the guilt of blood may be taken away; and "a Spirit of burning," that is, in the hearts of the people of Israel, to consume and destroy the inward lusts of their hearts, that no more such wickedness be committed among them.

What he is to the church, this he is to every saint, a Spirit of judgment, to give sentence against their lusts, to condemn them to the fire: these must be cast out. "To the fire with them; away with them; get ye hence, ye sons of the bond-woman; ye may not be heirs with the sons of the free woman." The Spirit of the Lord first discovers and convinces of sin, judges between light and darkness, grace and sin, and then gives sentence: "Away with these lusts, they may not be suffered to live." It is a Spirit of burning, to execute the sentence, to consume them in the fire. The Spirit of sanctification is a Spirit of mortification. "If ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." Rom. 8:13. It is the Spirit that kills sin, the flesh profiteth nothing.

The Spirit implants the soul into Christ, gives it an interest in his death, brings it under the influence of his death. It is the death of Christ that is the death of sin; these thieves are crucified with him: “Our old man is crucified with Christ, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should no longer serve sin." Rom. 6:6. Hell knew not what they did when they crucified Christ; death and all its armies were put to death with him.

The Spirit raises up another party in the soul, a party against a party, an army against an army; brings grace in to take up arms against sin. Grace doth not only fight against sin, but is in the very nature of it the death of sin. Humility is pride dead; meekness is sinful passion and frowardness dead;

patience is impatience slain.

The Spirit excites and stirs up the soul against sin; sets it a praying against it: the Spirit of grace is a Spirit of supplication, it fetches down hailstones and thunderbolts from heaven to destroy these Amorites, sets a watch against sin, presses the soul to deal wisely with it, to keep it low by cutting off all provision from the flesh, restraining and keeping it short of all those fleshly objects which would keep it in heart, and so it is starved to death. It is true, our own greatest wisdom, watchfulness, abstinence, selfdenial, and all external means alone, will fall short of killing one lust; it is the Spirit who killeth, without him the flesh profiteth nothing. All external attempts for the mortification of the flesh, are but a fleshly mortification. But if ye, through the Spirit, do mortify the flesh, praying in the Spirit, watching in the Spirit, curbing and keeping under this body, seeking always the assistance of the Spirit, then it shall die.

Christian, thou livest in a weary land, and thou hast but a weary life of it; briers and thorns are with thee, the Canaanite is yet in the land, thou sojournest in Meshech, and hast thy habitation in the tents of Kedar; and thou hast a Meshech and Kedar within thee-thou hast armies within thee of fleshly lusts which fight against thy soul. Thou goest mourning daily, because of the oppressor-those spiritual wickednesses which lie in thy heart, and war in thy members. Thou often groanest and criest out to thy God,

Liberty, liberty; redemption, redemption. Oh, this proud heart! Oh, this vain heart! Oh, this earthliness! Oh, this fleshliness, this slothfulness, this

enmity and rebellion against the law of my mind, and my God! When I would do good, evil is present with me. I cannot, I cannot do the things that I would. I can with no peace serve or enjoy my God and my soul: my duties are either prevented or polluted, my comforts are either wasted or made quite to vanish and disappear. When I would serve my God, I must away to serving my appetites, or my pride, or my friends; when my soul is a little got upon the wing, and soaring in the upper region, it is presently checked, pulled down again to the earth. Oh, my pinioned, imprisoned soul! Woe is me, wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Yet comfort thy heart; Yet comfort thy heart; the enemy flies upon thee as a flood, but the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him. Thou complainest thy gold is become dross; yet he will turn his hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin. Though these briers and thorns be set in battle against thee, yea, and against him also, yet he will go through them, he will burn them together. Isa. 27:4.

Thou complainest that thy garments are defiled, thy glory is stained, thy beauty is marred, the image of thy God is so defaced that there is but here and there a spot of it left upon thee. While thy Lord says, "Thou art all fair, O my love," thou criest out, "I am all foul, O my Lord:" thou wouldst be holiness to thy Lord, but thou art an offence to him; holiness is still thy love and thy desire and thy longing, but it flies from thee; it is rather thy wish than