71 / 652
SEEM.
1V.]
CHRIST
EXALTED
AND
THE
SPIRIT
GIVEN.
0!
vii. 22.
our
Saviour declares,
that
some
who prophesied
in
his
name
and cast out
devils
by
virtue
of
these
gifts,
were workers
of
iniquity, he
will
not
know them,
he
will
at
the
last day
bid
them
depart
from
him,
and banish
them for
ever
from
his
presence
;
and
on
the
other
hand,
the graces
of the
Spirit are
bestowed on
thousands
in
every
age,
where these ,extraordinary,
gifts
were never
received; though
some
suppose
that
in
the primitive
days all
that
were converted
by
the apostles
themselves,
received some
or other
of
these gifts
by
the
imposition-
of
their
hands.
Give me leave
now
briefly to
set before
You,
the se-
veral
kinds
of
these gifts and
graces
of
the Spirit of God,
which were
poured
down
from
heaven
upon
men
by
our
exalted Saviour'; together
with
a hint
of
the
chief
designs
or
uses
of
them,
and then
I
shall
conclude
with some
remarks
upon them.
The extraordinary
gifts
are
of
various
kinds
;
they are
represented
by
the
apostle Paul
;
1
Gor.
xii.
8-11.
and
explained
by
learned
and
ingenious writers.
In
the first
place, the word
of
wisdom,
or
an extensive
acquaintance
with the mysteries
of
christianityf the
doctrines and
du-
ties
of
the religion
of
Christ.
This eminently belonged
to the apostles,
that they
might
be
able
upon
all
occa-
sions
to
preach the
gospel
in all
the
substantial and
ne-
cessary
parts
of
it,
and
answer the
questions
of
import-
ance which
were proposed
to them.
The
next
was
the
.
word
of
knowledge,
which
may imply such an insight
into
the
Old
Testament
and the writings
of
the
prophets,
as to
cite them and
happily apply
them
by
way
of inter-
pretation
or
allusion,
to
illustrate
or
confirm
the gospel
of
Christ,
and to refute the
Jewish
abuses and
perver-
sions
of
them.
The
third
is
the gift
of
faith,
that
is,
pro=
bably,
a peculiar
impulse
that
came
upon
them
from
heaven, when any difficult,
matter
was
to be
performed,
which
inwardly
assured
them,
that
the
Spirit of
God
would
enable them to
perform
it.
Then
follows
the gift
of
healing
of
various. distempers
by
a
word
'of
their
rnouth,.or
a
touch
of
their hand,
and the gift
of
working
other,
miracles
also,
even the
power
of
inflicting
diseases
or death itself
upon
offenders.
So St.
Paul
not
only
healed
the
maladies
of
men,
but
struck Elymas
the
sorcerer
blind;
So St.
Peter not
only bid
Tabitha
arise