Serín. LXX:. TheAuthority of plus Chrift. 515 muft needs be a great Encouragement to have him engaged for their Afff'ance, who hadall power in Heaven and Earth committed to him, as he tells them at the 18th verfe. I (hall endeavour therefore, as far as the time will permit, to explain to you the true meaning and extent of this Promife. That it is primarily made to the Apoftles, noMan can doubt, that confiders that it was fpoken to them imme- diately by our Saviour ; and in, regard to them, the meaning of it is plainly this that our Saviour would fend down the Holy Ghoft upon them, in miracu- lous Gifts, to qualify and enable them for the more fpeedy planting and pro- pagating of the Gofpel in the World, and that he would be with them, and affiit them extraordinarily in this Work. And that this is the primarymeaning of it, in regard to the Apoftles, will bb very plain, by confidering how thisPromife is expreft by the other Evangelifts; Mark 16. 17. inftead of this Promife, you have thefe Words immediately af- ter our Saviour had given them Commiffion to go and preach the Gofpel, Go ye into all the World, andPreach the Gofpel to every Creature : He that believeth and is baptized, (hall he faved, but he that believeth not(hall be damned. And then it follows, Theft Signs Jhall follow them that believe ; in my Name they _hall call out Devils, and Jhall fpeak with New Tongues. And Luke 24.39. inftead of Lo, Z amwith you, it is Paid, Behold, Ifend the Promife of my Father uponyou, that is, the miraculous Gifts of the Holy Ghoft ; for it follows in the next Words, but tarryye in the City of 5erufalem, untilye k endowed with Power from on high. This St. Luke himfelf interprets of the Promife of the Holy Ghoft, Ails 1. 4, S. He commanded them that they fhould not depart from gerufalem, but wait for the promife of the Father, which, faith he, ye have heard of me. For Bohn truly baptizedwith Water, but ye (hall be Baptized with the HolyGhoff, not many Days hence. And v. 8. re _hall receive power after that theHoly Ghofl is come uponyou, andye Jhall be Witne_fes unto me, both in 7erufalem, and in all7u- dea, and, in Samaria, andunto the uttermofl part of the Earth. So that no Man that compares thefeTexts together, can doubt, but that this was the primary meaning of this Promife, as it was made to theApoftles. But then it is as plain likewife, that this Promife is to be extended farther than to the Perlons of the Apoftles, even to all thole that thould afterwards fueçceed them in this Work of Preaching theGofpel, andBaptizing, becaufe our Saviour adds, that he wouldbe with them to the Endof the World ; which Words becaufe they reach far beyond the Apoftles Times, (as I Ihall thew by and by) mull be necefiarily extended to loch Perlons in after-Ages, as (hould carry on the fame Work. There are two famous Controverfies about the Senfe of thefe Words, in which this Promife is expreft. The Fir/i, is concerning the Circumftance of time mentioned in this Pro- mife; Alway, to the Endof the World. The other concerning the Subftançe ofthe Promife it felf, what is meant by our Saviour's being with them. In the fir:// we have to deal with the Enthufi= ails; in the latter, with the Papifts. I fliall examine thePretences of both theme, a briefly and plainly as I can. FirfI, Concerning the Circumflanee of time expreft in theme Words, Alway; to the End of the. World The Enthufiafts would perfuade us, that the mean- ing of theme Phrafes is not to be extended beyond that Age, and that this Pro- mife is to be limited to the Apoftles Perlons, and that the Senfe of it is that Chrift would be with the Apoftles, vrisaç n ç ñµéffnç, all their Days, fo long as they fhould live, and that would be, éwç f ece5 "rg d«woç, to the End of that Age ; thus they tranflateit, and with no worfe defign than Co take away the Necefhty of a Gofpel-Miniftry. But this Pretence will vanifh, if we can make good theme two things. H u u x 1A Thai
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