eg g Of the Coming of the Holy Ghofl, So that we plainlyfee, that theWifdomof God had fo ordered this wholeDif- penfation, that every Part of it, the Birth, and Life, and Death, and Refer- re&ion, and Afcenfion of our Lord, and thefendingof the Holy Ghoft, theyare all fubfervient to one another, and to the whole Defign, viz. the Reformation andSalvation of Mankind. I have done with thefrrfi Thing I propounded, the Necefiity of Chrift's leaving the World, inorder to the Comingof theHoly Ghoft. I (hall now proceed to the Second Thing I propofed, the happy Confequence and Effe&sof theComing.of the Holy Ghoft. When he is come, he will reprove the WorldofSin, and of Righteouf -' refs, and of7zidgment. There is a great Difficulty in there Words, and therefore I (hall endeavour, as well as I can, to explain them, and then draw fome ufeful Inferences from the main Do&rine contained in them. For the Explication of them. Andwhen he, that is the Holy Ghoft, the Advo- cate mentioned before, fhall come, that is, when the Promife of the Father concern- ing the Coming of the Holy Ghoft upon the Apoftles ¡hall be accomplifhed, he (hall reprove the World; the Word is énsy;N, which I think may much more properly be rendred convince, He ¡hall convince the World. And fo it is ufed by this Ixvangeli(t, yohn 8. 46. Which ofyou, fays our Saviour, convinceth me ofSin ? The very Phrafe ufed in the Text, He (hall convince the World of Sin. And the fame Word is alfo ufed in the fame Senfe by St. Paul, Tit. r. g. %,.b,26,, .b,o,iya.o, to convince Gainfayers. And this certainly is much more agreeable to the Scope of this Place. For tho' to reprove the World of Sin, be a current Expre(&on ; yet to re- prove the World of Righteoufnefs, and of judgment, are very hard Phrafes, and I doubt, not intelligible ; but to convince an Adverfary, or to fatisfy a Court, of theFalfhood of the Accufation and Chargebrought agamfk the Party accufed, that is, to vindicateand juftifyhim in his Caufe, this is the proper A&of anAdvocate. So that the great Endof the Coming of the HolyGhoft, who is here called the Advocate, is to convincethe World. He(ball convince the World, that is, both Jews and I3entiles,who joined in their Enmity againft Chrift,and agreed to put him to Death. In thefe three Point, concerning Sin, and Righteoufnefs, and judgment. The Expref- fron isihort, and fomewhat obfcure, andfeems (as Grotius and other LearnedMen have not improbably thought) to allude to the three Sorts of Caufes and Anions among the yews. In the Firfl to Publick Anions concerning Criminal Matters, among which was the Cafe of believing or reje&ingProphets. He (hall convince the World ofSin, be- caufe they believed not in me; that is, he (hall convince theWorld that I was a true Prophet fent from God, and no Impoftor ; and confequently, that they were guilty of a great Contempt ofGod, and a horrible Murder, in putting me to Death. In the Second, there feems tobeanAllufion to that fort of private Anions which referr'd to the vindicating of Innocency from Falfe Teftimony and Accufation, which are calledby the Name of Righteoufnefs. He (ball convince the World of Righ- teoufnef . In the Third, to that fort of Anions, which referr'd to the Vindication and Pu- ni(hment of Injuries, by way of Retaliation upon him that did the Injury, and which are called weáeNÇ, or judgment. He (hall convince the World of judgment, be- caufe thePrince of this World isjudged. But to explain thefe Things more particularly. a. He (hall convince the Worldof Sin, becaufe they believe not on me ; that is, of the great Sin they wereguilty of, in reje&ing this great Prophet, and condemning him as a Seducer and Impoftor. Andof this they would remarkablybe convinced,when they ¡hould fee the Predi&ions of Chri(t fulfilled, particularly that of fend- ing the Holy Ghoft, and of that terrible Vengeance which fhould afterwards be executed on the Jemifh Nation, for rejeaing the Son of God. The firft of thefe we find eminently fulfilled upon the Coming of the Holy Ghoft upon the Apoftles on the Day of Pentecofi, Ails 2. For when the Apoftles by a fudden Infpiration fpake with other Tongues, the Jews, and Profelytes, who raw and heard them, were very much amazed at it, Ver. 7. and from this Miraculous Power of the Holy Ghoft fo vifible upon them, St. Peter er x
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