ThePromife of the Spirit towhommade. CAP.Vii. ciples ofChrift, asBelievers, toquicken and ftrengthen their failing, drooping Faith, inand under that great Tryall,of looting the prefenceoftheir Máfter, which they were to undergoes and being made unto them as Believers, though upon aparticular occafon, is made toall Believers: for à quatenus ad omne valetargumentum. 2.It is noleffe evident,that accordingto the interpretati6,here,without the leaft attempt ofproofe,importunately fuggefted,the Promife is no way fuited to give the leaft Incouragement or Confolationunto the Difeiples,in reference to the Condition,upon the account whereofit is now fo folemnly given thé;It is al one as ifourSaviour fhould havefaid,you arefadly troubled indeed,yea your hearts arefilledroith trouble fear,becaufe I have told that Imilt! leave you be notfo dejeláed91 have kept youwhilfl Ihavebeen withyou in theworld,& now Igoe away, and willfend the Holy Spirit into the :World, that,whatfoever becomes ofyou, or any ofyou, whetheryee have any Confolation orno, he(hall abide in the world(perhaps) with forceor other,(that is,if any doe believe, which it may be (brae will, it may be not)untill the end, and confummation ofit. 3. Is this Promife of fendingthe Holy Spirit given to the Apoftles, or is it not ? Ifyou fay not, affigne who it is given or made unto: Chrift fpake it to them, and doubtleffe they thought he intended them, and it was wholly fuited to their Condition. Ifit were madeunto them, is itnot in theletter of thePromife affirmed that the Spirit (hall abide with them for ever, towhom it was given ? Ifthere be anyfubjeti ofthis Promife in receiving the Spirit, he inuft of neceffity keepe his refidence and abode with it for ever. The whole defigneofthis Seaion, is to put the perlons, to whom this Promife is made,into thedarke,that we may not fee them;yea to deny that it is made toany perfons at all,as the recipientfubjell of the Grace thereof. He tells yee, that he ábides in the world:how I pray ? Doubtleffe not as the uncleane Spi- rit, that goes up and downe in dry places, feeking reft andfinding none. Chrift promifeth his Spirit tohis Church, not to the world, todwell in the hearts of his, nottowander up and downe. Nay he abides with the Apoflles,and their Spirituallpofterity, that is Believers, in our Saviours interpretation john r 7.2o. Are they then, and their pofterity, (that is, Believers) the perlons, to whom thisPromife is made, and who are concerned in it, with whom as heis promifed, he istoabide ? This you can fcarcely finde out anAnfwer to, . in the whole Difcourfe. He tells you indeed, the Holy Ghoft was not todye, with fuch other rare notions: but for any perlons particularly intended in this Promife, we are hill in theDarke. q,. He tells us, Thatfrom fuch an abiding oftheHoly Gho.fl with them, as this,cannot be inferredhisperpetuall abiding with - any one perfon, determinate- y. But 1. What kindof abiding it is, that he intends, is not eafìlyapprehen- ded. 2. Ifon the account of this Promife, he is given to any perfon, on the fame account he is toabide with the fame perfon for ever. 3. That, which he feemes to intenel,is the prefence ofthe Spirit in theAd- miniftration oftheWord, tomake it effe&uall, unto them to whom it is delivered 5 when the Promife isto give him as a Comforter, to them, on whom he is beftowed. But he addsSeg. 14. 4. And laftly,Thisparticle lm doth not alwayes import thecertainty ofthe thing fpokenof,by wayofevent,(no,not when thefpeech is ofGod himfelfe)butoft times . the intentiononlyof theAgent:fo that the words (that hemayabide with youfor ever) doe not imply anabfolute neceffityofhisabiding with themforever, brit on- ly g that it jhottldbe the intent ofhim that fhouldfetidbins, and that be would A a 3 fend 181
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