has given us to understand,* the continuance of that spirit with us must, it should seem, depend upon our remaining in that connection with Him, which first qualified us for its reception.

We read but of "one body and one spirit."t From whence we are led to conclude, that the spirit of Christ is confined to that body of which He is the head; and that body is the Church. A separation from the Church, consequently, according to the meaning designed to be conveyed by the Apostle, must be regarded as a kind of spiritual death.

From what has been said at large upon this subject, our object has been to enable the reader to understand the figurative language of the Apostle, considered as descriptive of the mystical body of Christ; the members of which are joined together, and animated by the same spirit, derived to them from their participation in those life-giving sacraments, which Christ appointed as the means of forming and preserving to himself a Church upon earth. The Apostolic language thus interpreted, furnishes a clear and distinct notion of the Christian Church in its original and perfect form; of which the joint communion of its component members constitutes an essential characteristic. If we have been tediously particular on this point, it has been from a conviction, that a want of proper information upon it has been the cause of many wellmeaning people going out of the Church, who might otherwise have gladly remained in it. For their sakes, therefore, I still feel disposed to say + Eph. iv. 4.

Acts ii. 38.

when we argue from the appearance of an external act to the existence of an internal principle,) it will be more to our purpose to attend to the consequences derivable from it. And under this head, we cannot help remarking the unsound ground upon which a prevailing idea respecting the Divine assistance is commonly built.

In the Church, we look for the ordinary assistance of the Holy Spirit in the regular and sincere use of the means of grace appointed to convey it. The Divine promise encourages us so to do. Provided, therefore, we do not deceive ourselves in this matter, we certainly shall not be disappointed in our expectation. Separatists from the Church are frequently taught to expect the extraordinary assistance of the same Divine spirit, independent of all appointed means whatever. For the support of this expectation there is no authority, either from scripture or reason, to be produced. We are not surprised, therefore, that to minds engrossed with such an idea, all stated services of religion should appear in the light of useless forms, and beggarly elements; beneath the attention of those who are favoured with a more immediate communication from the Divine Fountain. But to prove the absurdity of this idea, considered as establishing the ground for a general position, and at the same time to set aside all pretensions to such extraordinary assistance, it requires only to be remarked, for what purpose that assistance was originally granted, and to what end it was employed....

"I will pray the Father," said Christ to his dis

may

From

ciples, a little before his departure from them, as we read in St. John's Gospel, "and he shall give you another comforter,* that he abide with you for ever, even the spirit of truth."+ In another part of his writings the same Apostle tells us, that "if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." the Apostle's application of the same word to the Holy Ghost in the former text, which he has applied to our Saviour in the latter; and since the word thus applied to our Saviour must be translated as it is, to make good the Apostle's meaning upon the occasion, it is to be concluded, that by this common use of the same term, the Apostle intended thereby to convey an idea of some similarity existing between the office of the respective parties; consequently, that both these Divine persons were, in some sense, to be considered advocates for man

kind.

Now the office of an advocate is, to support or defend a cause; to appear in behalf of another, to plead for him, or manage his concerns. Whilst, therefore, we have an advocate, Jesus Christ the righteous, who appears in our cause before the Father in Heaven; we have also another advocate on earth, who undertakes the cause of the Church against its spiritual enemies; providing the members of it, from time to time, with such assistance as may enable them to carry on their warfare 1 John ii. 1. The original word, translated Comforter and Advocate, in these two different parts of St. John's writings,

is the same.

† John xiv. 16, 17.

against them with success. To the care and management of this powerful advocate, our blessed Saviour, when He left the world, committed His Church ; that He might continue with it, as its patron and support, to the end of time. The The method adopted by this Divine Advocate, in the management of His great concern, at the commencement of his office, is what is now meant to be pointed out to immediate attention.

At the first establishment of the Christian Church, a great and important reformation, both in principles and practices, was to be effected. The cause of Jesus Christ was to be justified; the prince of this world was to be judged; the idols of heathenish superstition were to be thrown down; and the religion of a crucified Saviour propagated. The instruments pitched upon by Divine wisdom for carrying this great work into effect, were men, for the most part, of the lowest order and meanest endowments; and consequently men, humanly speaking, the least qualified for the undertaking; especially when it is considered, that on the other side all the powers of earth and hell were combined against them.

These extraordinary circumstances, under which the Church of Christ first appeared in the world, required extraordinary assistance from heaven, for the support of a cause in itself so apparently weak. To furnish this assistance, by distributing those gifts which Jesus Christ, when He ascended up on high, had received for men,* was the peculiar office of the Holy Ghost. The manner in which that

*Ps. lxviii. 18.