ó2 THE EgATTA1'IOAt OF CtiRtSTf. spite with strange tongues themselves, but they communicated this gift of tongues to others also, which was never doneby our Saviour himself in his own life time. Such were the attestations to the gospel of our blessedLord; and so bright was the evidence that was shed over it by these gifts of the Spirit, that this is ap- pointed to be the supreme sealto the truth of it, andhe that blas- phemes the Holy Ghost, and renounces this evidence, after it has been convincingly set before hi>`n, and obstinately attributes these divine wonders to the sleights of men, or to the craft of the devil, is sealed up under condemnation by the lips of the Sa- viour of the world; and there is no forgiveness for him;. Mat. xii. 31, 32*. III. Though Jesus the founder of the christianreligion sub- mitted 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 Holy Spirit in his hand, which have been the life and soul of the church. When he left the world, he sent down his Spirit; both in the gifts and graces of it, to raise and maintain a temple or dwelling for himself in it so long as the world should stand : He hath promised that his Spirit should abide with it for ever, at least for the ordinary commu- nication of gifts, and the influences of special grace, and there- fore thegates of hell or death shall not prevail against it ; Mat. xvii, 18. And it might be added here also, that this is the reason why believerspersevere in faith and holiness, because Jesus their ex- alted headhas the fulness of the Spirit in hito, and it is fromhim that the members derive their life, and all their support. .He that was dead is alive, and behold he livesfor ever; Rev. i. 18. And because I live, says our blessed Lord, ye shall live also; John xi v. 19. IV. This thought points to us " whither to aired our eyes and hopes when the Spirit of God is withdrawn from amongst us." Since Jesusascended to heaven, the great 'God communi- cates his promised Spirit to men only through the hands of his Son. Let ministers, let christians, let churches learn, whence to derivenew supplies, new gifts, new graces and influences, when spiritual things run low in themidst of them. It is from the hand ofan exalted Saviour thatwe must receive all these blessings : It ishe must give new life to all his churches under their dying cir- cumstances, and newzeal and vigour to our souls under all their witherings and decays. Titus all-glorious and divine is our salvation, from the ori- * 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.
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