sEttM. XLIV.3 AND TH$ USE OF IT. '263 ful and wretchedworld. Thus we have access to God the Father, by his Son Jesus Christ, who is our great Peace-maker. I grant, that several other necessary duties, which we owe to Christ our Lord, might be mentioned in a more distinct and explicit manner, viz. the acknowledging him as our great Prophet, receiving his divine instruc- tions, with an humble faith, and imitating his sacred ex- ample, with holy care ; the submission to him as our Lord and King, yielding a ready and chearful obedience to his commands, and a humble subjection to his provi- dential dispensations ; to which I may add, depending, on him for daily grace, and the promised aids of his blessed Spirit, as being appointed of the Father to bestow them; for he is exalted to be a Prince, as well as a Savi- our; and indeed, Christ doth promote this great work of thesalvation of men, by his universal government of the visible and invisible worlds, with this view and design, by giving and continuing his gospel, toparticular nations, by sending forth his ministers and messengers to invite sinners to be reconciled to God, and by the communica- tions of his Spirit to men. But these things do not ap- pear, directly, to be the present view of the apostle in my text, while he is describing Christ as a medium of our access and reconciliation to God, chiefly by his death and its influences. And as for the work of the Spirit, that comes next in course to be mentioned. III. Having shewn the glorious service, which the second person, in the Holy Trinity, performs for our salvation, according to my text, we come now to speak of the third, that is, the blessed Spirit of God, who is here represented as one, whohelps our return or access to God the Father, through Jesus Christ; and this he does, eminently, in the ways following : 1. He convinces us of sin. FIe makes us see, and feel our dreadful state of wretchedness, because of our guilt in the sight of God. Mankind, bynature, are insensible of their own misery, till the Spirit of God is sent to awaken them, out of their dead sleep, and make them look after a reconciliation to the infinite Majesty of God, whom they have offended. It is the powerful and inward operation of the Spirit, thatmakes sinners cryQut, "What shall I do to be saved ?" s 4
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