in relation to themselves, from their receiving this gift, they "gladly 'received the word, "ver. 41. and eat their meat with gladness, "as well as finglenefs of heart; praifing "God," ver. 46, 47.

When the Holy Ghoft was given to the Gentiles, it witneffed the fame thing to them. And as there was a greater neceffity for the Spirit's witneffing this with refpect to them than to the Jews, it is not barely implied, but ftrongly infifted on, in relation to them. "If"rael was God's fon, his first-born: to him "pertained the adoption." The Ifraelites were the fons of Abraham according to the flesh, and to them therefore belonged the covenants and the promises; and of them, "as

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concerning the flesh, Chrift came; preach

ing to them, that they should repent and "believe on him." So that, if they received him, there was no doubt but they would "become the Sons of God, being born not "of flesh and blood, or of the will of man, "but of God." And that confequently they would inherit the fpiritual promifes, and certainly enter into the reft that remained for the true Ifraelites. But the Gentiles had forfaken their heavenly Father, and left his family; and had spent their portion in riotous living: they were afar off, ftrangers from

the covenants of promife, and aliens from the commonwealth of Ifrael. God had indeed foretold by the prophets, that they should be called in under the Meffiah. But the precife time when, and the manner how they fhould be called, was not revealed. Nor was it understood, that they were to be called into the church without firft becoming Jews; or, that then they were to be admitted to equal privileges with the Jews. They might perhaps have fome doubt of this themselves; and, like the prodigal, have only hopes to be as one of the hired fervants. But whatever they thought, this was one of the most radicated notions of the Jews; who could scarce by any means be brought to think, that the Gentiles were to be received into the family and houfhold of God on any terms whatfoever, and were generally very highly incenfed at the very thoughts of it. They counted them all, even the devout men among them, unclean; and not fo much as fit to be converfed with. Therefore God found it neceffary, on their first converfion, "to bear them wit

nefs, by the Holy Ghoft, that he had pu"rified their hearts by faith; which afton"ished as many of the circumcifion as went "with Peter to Cornelius; who took it, that "the promise of the Spirit was theirs, and their childrens, and the Jews that were d Acts xi. 3.

• Ibid. xv. 8, 9.

“ afar

"afar off; but little imagined, what they now

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faw, that on the Gentiles alfo fhould be "poured out the gifts of the Holy Ghoft." "And thus the Spirit witneffed with their fpirits, that they alfo were the children of "God; and the fpiritual feed of faithful “Abraham; on whom the great bleffing of "the Spirit was to come f." And fo it alfo was among fuch of the Romans as had it ; and could not but fhew the reft who had it not (no apoftle having been then among them), that the Gentiles were as capable of receiving it as the Jews, fince great numbers of the Gentiles had received it; and therefore they might alfo, efpecially fince he told them, "that when he fhould come unto "them, he should come to them in the ful"nefs of the bleffing of the gofpel, and impart some spiritual gift to them, whereby they might be farther established.” This was in them the Spirit of adoption h; a full proof that they were fons (fince the Spirit was only promised to the feed or children of Ifraeli; that is, the fpiritual feed of Ifrael; fuch who like him had power with God, and could prevail; and fince they had the Spirit of God their Father, and the Spirit of Christ Jefus his Son, their great elder Brother); and affured them of the love of God, which was thus

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f Gal. iii. 14.
h Gal. iv. 5-8.

S 4

% Rom. v. II.
i Ifa. xliv. 2, 3.

"fhed

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"fhed abroad in their hearts by the Holy "Ghoft." And as it And as it gave them full confidence towards God, enabling them to call him Abba Father'; fo it likewife was a full demonstration, that if they were fons, they were heirs, heirs of God, and joint-heirs "with Jefus Chrift. It was in them the "earneft of their inheritance, until the redemption of the purchafed poffeffion";" or, in fewer words, "the earncit of the Spirit," as it is called in other places"; and which, for the fame reafon, under another metaphor, is called, "the fcal of the Spirit°; in whom

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alfo, after ye believed, ye were fealed with "that holy Spirit of promife" (the Spirit being the promise of the Father, Ifa. xliv. 4. Joel ii. 28. and fo called Acts i. 4. ii. 33-39. referring to Luke xxiv. 49. and to John xiv. 26. and xv. 26. where Chrift promifes the Spirit as the Person that was to fupply his absence; as he alfo does chap. xiv.); and ver. 30. "Grieve not the Holy Spirit, whereby ye "are fealed unto the day of redemption." This fhews us the reafon why this witness, earneft, and feal of the Spirit, is never used in relation to the Jewish, but always to the Gentile believers, particularly by Paul their great apoftle (as appears by the epiftles them

felves, in which this witnefs, earneft, and feal of the Spirit, are mentioned; and the manifeft context of thofe parts of the epiftles where these paffages occur); in order to fatisfy them, as well as the Jewish believers, in the fulleft manner, that they (Gentiles) who were fometimes afar off, were now brought near, and were all become the children " of God in Chrift Jefus P," and admitted to equal privileges with the Jewith believers, without any of the works of the law: which point he labours, and couches under feveral beautiful metaphors, in feveral of his epiftles

to the Gentile believers.

It is very much to our prefent purpose, and will farther explain and prove what I have faid on the witnefs of the Spirit in the sense I am now confidering it; to obferve, that as the gifts of the Holy Ghoft were only given to true believers, fo they might be excited and stirred up, or increased in them; or elfe Paul's advice to the Ephefians, "to be filled

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with the Spirit ; and to Timothy, to ftir

up the gift that was in him," would have been given in vain. The way by which the Ephefians were to be filled with it, St. Paul plainly hints in the verfes immediately preceding, was "to have no fellowship with the "unfruitful works of darknefs, but to reP Gal. iii. 26.

S 2 Tim. i. 6.

Eph, v. 18.