75 / 652
SEAM.
IV.]
CHRIST EXALTED
AND
THE
SPIRIT GIVEN.
65
more astonishing
thing,
that
the
souls
of
persons, who
were
in
a.great measure ignorant
of
divine
truths, should
be
at
once
illuminated
with
a word
of
wisdom,
should
be
furnished
so
soon
With
such
an extensive
knowledge
of
the mysteries,
doctrines
and
duties
of
the
gospel;
that
they were
able to preach them
to
an
ignorant
world
;
and that they should
be so fully
persuaded
of
these
doc-
trines
at
once,
in
opposition
to
many former prejudices
which
reigned
in them,
that
they could
now
venture their
lives
in
the defence
of
these
divine
truths, which they
learned
from heaven
by
such an
inspiration;
It
is
grant-
ed again,
that it
is
a
miracle
to
make the
deaf
to
hear,
the dumb
to speak,
to
put
life
into a dead
body
:
But
is
it
not
a more
amazing
event,
that
the
Mind
of
a fisher-
man
who
knew
nothing
but
his
mother-
tongue,
should
at
once
be
furnished
with
a
million
of
words, even
the
lan-
guages
of
various nations, and
that
his
organs
of
speech
should
be
enabled
to
pronounce
them right,
which
would
be'
the
learning
and
labour
of
two
or three
ages
;
and
that
they
should speak to
every man
in
their
own
tongue
the
wonderful works
of God
And
yet
still this
wonder
is
greater,
when
we
consider
that
the apostles
not
only
spake
with
strange tongues themselves,
but
they com-
municated
this
gift
of
tongues to
others
also,
which was
never done
by
our Saviour himself
in his
own
life
time.
Such were the
attestations to the gospel
of our
blessed
Lord, and
so
bright
was
the evidence
that
was shed
over
it
by
these gifts
of
the
Spirit,
that
this
is
appointed
to be
the supreme
seal
to
the
truth
of
it,
and
he
that
blas-
phemes
the Holy
Ghost, and renounces
this evidence,
after
it has
been convincingly set before
him,
and obsti-
nately attributes these divine wonders
to
the sleights
of
men, or to
the
craft
of
the
devil,
is
sealed up
under con-
demnation
by
the lips
of
the Saviour
of
the
world; and
there
is
no forgiveness
for
him;
Mat.
xii. 31,
S2' *.
Remark
III.
"
Though Jesus
the
founder of
the
chris-
tian religion submitted
to death, yet the
christian church
was
never designed to
die,:
because
Jesus
lives
again in
an exalted state, and bath
all
the
gifts
and graces
of
the
*
Of the
gifts
of the
Holy Spirit, and the
efficacy
and
power
of them,
to prove
and
confirm
the
gospel
of Christ
;
see
the
best
account
that
ever
I
read,
in
"
Miscellanea
Sacra."
Essay I.
VOL.
III.
F