SERMON X.

ROMANS IV. 43

NOW, THE GOD OF HOPE FILL YOU WITH ALL JOY AND PEACE IN BELIEVING, THAT YE ABOUND IN HOPE, THROUGH THE

POWER OF THE HOLY GHOST.

THIS benediction, which the apostle uttered in the closing part of his epistle to the Romans, expresses a desire, that God would bless them, and make them holy and happy, through the agency of the Holy Ghost.

It was the office of the Holy Ghost to inspire the prophets and apostles, to make revelations to their minds, and to bestow upon them miraculous gifts. Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. The apostles were all filled with the Holy Ghost, when, on the day of Pentecost, they began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

The text implies, that

it is also the office of the Holy Ghost, in a less extraordinary manner, to influence the thoughts and affections of men, and to inspire their hearts with faith, joy, hope and peace.

That God may, and often does exert an influence on the minds of men, is apparently taught both by nature and revelation. It has been practically admitted by all people, in every age. The whole system of heathen mythology proceeds upon this supposition. That very enthusiasm and extravagance, and those wild pretensions, which have so often brought the doctrine of divine influence into disrepute, indicate that it has its foundation in nature. And there is, perhaps, scarcely any one, either pagan or Christian, who has not at some time felt himself prompted to send up a kind of prayer for communications from above.

It is certain that the doctrine of divine influence was fully and decidedly inculcated by the ancient philosophers. Plato taught that virtue does not proceed from nature, or from education, but from a divine power. Seneca maintained that God dwells in every good man. Cicero declared that no one: was ever good or great without divine assistance and inspiration; and Pliny, that virtue is the gift of the gods. And another, in accordance with this sentiment, relates of an illustrious Roman general, that he never undertook any thing without first sitting a very long time in the chapel of Jupiter; as if to receive from thence a divine mind and salutary instructions.

The doctrine, in its proper form, is not without support from reason. The plainest reasoning lead us to the supposition, that he who made this world: and all it contains, with so much apparent skill and

design, even in its minutest objects, cannot have left any part of it without his care and control; and least of all, that most important part, the human soul, for which all the rest was created. It is reasonable to suppose, that he, who has made intelligent, moral beings, would guide and move them at his pleasure. It is reasonable to believe that he, whom nature, as well as revelation, teaches us to regard as our father, would not withhold from us a father's influence. The belief of the being of God would be, otherwise, in respect to our present good, of scarcely any practical importance. There would be no communion of soul with him. We could not turn to him as our friend, when our minds were perplexed, and our hearts troubled, if we had no hope that he would tranquillize our souls. The propensity we feel, to seek the favor of an unseen and superior power, would be repressed. Our noblest and best feelings would be chilled; and a principle would remain in our nature, which reason could not account for.

But it is clearly and abundantly made known to us in the Bible, that God does exert a moral influence upon his moral creatures. It was understood with greater or less clearness by the patriarchs and prophets. David prayed, in the bitter consciousness of guilt, "Create within me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free Spirit." It was one of the proverbs of Solomon, that "the king's heart is in the hand of

the Lord as the rivers of water, he turneth it whithersoever he will." When God foretold, by Ezekiel, to the dispersed Jews, that he would gather them from all countries, and restore them to their own land, he gave them a promise that he would change their hearts. "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my.judgments and do them."

There are some passages, however, in the more recent prophecies, which intimate that this truth was to be more fully disclosed, and the influences of the Spirit of God more extensively bestowed, under the dispensation of the coming Messiah. "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh." Peter referred to this passage, as having its fulfilment on the day. of Pentecost, when the apostles spake in foreign tongues, and there were added unto the little number of disciples about three thousand souls. The gift of the Holy Spirit, in a preeminent degree, is represented as one of the distinguishing blessings of the gospel. It is therefore in the New Testament, that we are to look for the most frequent mention of it. And accordingly, we can scarcely open a page in the writings of the apostles, without finding some reference to the influence of the Spirit of God. Paul speaks of it as a thing understood

"Know ye

Christ; that he would

and acknowledged by every believer. not that ye are the temple of God; and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; and that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth and length and depth and height; and to know the love of God which passeth knowledge, that ye may be filled with all the fulness of God."

Something more was evidently intended by these passages than the mere natural efficacy of truth unapplied by any superhuman power. The doctrine of a real direct influence from God was both taught in the received systems of philosophy, and was current among the people in the time of Christ and his apostles; and they certainly would not have used language calculated to confirm a prevailing error. The frequent allusion that is made in the New Testament to the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Ghost, and the power of God in the hearts of men, would, to say the least, be very useless and unnatural, if nothing else was to be expressed by such reference, than the simple fact told in other forms, that Scripture truth was originally communicated by the Spirit of God. The Bible speaks of