PART III. ofgracious A:le gians. 131 demotion, that the Father provides the Saviour, or Purchafer, and the Purchafe is made of Him ; and the Son is thePurchafer and the Price ; and the Holy Spirit is the great Blefling or Inheritance purchased, as is intimated Gal. 3. 13, 14. and hence the Spirit is often fpoken of as the Sum of the Bleflings promifed in the Gofpel, Luke 24. 49. AWs 4. and Chap. 2. 38, 39. Gal. 3. 14. .Eph. 1. 13. This In- heritance was the grand Legacy which Chrift left his Difciples and Church, in his Taft Will and Testament ; 'John Chap. 14, and 15, and 16. This is the Sum of the Bleflings of eternal Life, which fhall be given in Heaven. ( Compare yam 7. 37, 38, 39. and john 4.. 14. with Rev. 21. 6. and 22. 1, 17. ) 'Tis through the vital Communications and Indwelling of the Spirit, that the Saints have all their Light, Life,Holinefs, Beauty andJoy in Heaven : And 'tis thro' the vital Communications and Indwelling of the fame Spirit, that the Saints have all Light,Life, Holinefs,Beauty & Comfort onEarth ; but only communicated in lefs Meafure. And this vital Indwelling of the Spirit in the Saints, in this lefs Meafure and fmall Beginning, is the Earnejl of the Spirit, the Barn of the future Inheritance, and thefirfl Fruits of the Spirit, as the Apoftle calls it, Rom. 8. 22. where, by the fill Fruits of the Spirit, the Apoftle undoubtedly means the fame vital graciousPrinciple,that he fpeaks of in all the preceedingPart of theChap- ter, which he calls Spirit, and Pets in Opiiofition to Flefh or Corrup- tion. Therefore this Earneft of the Spirit, and first Fruits of the Spirit, which has been shown to be the fame with the Seal of the Spi- rit, is the vital, gracious, fanétifying Communication and Influence of the Spirit, and not any ithmediate Suggeftion or Revelation of Fasts by the Spirit. T And indeed the Apoftle, when in that Rom. 8. 16. he fpeaks of the Spirit's bearing Witnefs with our Spirit, that we are the Children of God, does fufiiciently explain himfelf, if his Words were but at- tended to. What is here exprefs'd, is conneSed with the two p re- ceeding Verfes, as refulting from what the Apoftle had Paid there, as every Reader may fee. The three Verfes together are thus, For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the Sons of God : For ye After a Man is in Chrift, not to judge by the Work, is not to judge by the Spirit. For the Apoftle makes the Earneft of the Spirit to be the Seal. Now Earneft is Part of the Money bargair.'d for ; the Beginning of Heaven, of theLight and Life of it. He that fees not that the Lord is his by that, fees no God his at all. Oh therefore, do not look for a Spi- rit, without a Word to reveal, nor a Word to reveal with- out feeing and feeling of fomeWork firft. I thank theLord, I do but Pity thofe that think otherwife. If a Sheep of Chrilt, Oh, wander not ". Shepard's Parable, P. I. p. 86. K 2 have
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=