11. The Holy Spirit is our Paraclete (John 14: 16) or advocate, we are his clients, we know not how to plead our own cause, but he dictates to us what we ought to say. This office of the Spirit ought to be recog- nised, sought, and gratefully acknowledged, v. 26.
12. Prayer to be acceptable must be according to the will of God, and it always is so when it is dictated or excited by the Holy Spirit, V. 27.
13. All events are under the control of God ; and even the greatest afflictions are productive of good to those who love him, v. 28.
14. The calling or conversion of men, involving so many of their free acts, is a matter of divine purpose, and it occurs in consequence of its being so, v. 28. *
1. If God, by his Spirit, condescends to dwell in us, it is our highest duty to allow ourselves to be governed or led by him, vs. 12, 13.
2. It is a contradiction in terms, to profess to be the sons of God, if destitute of the filial feelings of confidence, affection, and reverence, V. 15.
3. A spirit of fear, so far from being an evidence of piety, is an evidence of the contrary. The filial spirit is the genuine spirit of reli- gion, V. 15.
4. Assurance of hope is not fanatical, but is an attainment which every Christian should make. If the witness of men is received, the witness of God is greater. As the manifestation of God's love to us is made in exciting our love towards him, so the testimony of his Spirit with ours, that we are the sons of God, is made when our filial feelings are in lively exercise, v. 16.
5. Christians ought neither to expect nor wish to have suffering with Christ disconnected with their being glorified with him. The former is a preparation for the latter, v. 17.
6. The afflictions of this life, though in themselves not joyous but grievous, are worthy of little regard in comparison with the glory that shall be revealed in us. To bear these trials properly, we should think much of the manifestation of the sons of God, v. 18.
7. As the present state of things is one of bondage to corruption, as there is a dreadful pressure of sin and misery on the whole creation, we should not regard the world as our home, but desire deliverance from this bondage, and introduction into the liberty of the children of God, vs. 19—22.
8. It is characteristic of genuine piety to have exalted conceptions of future blessedness, and earnest longings after it. Those, therefore, who are contented with the world and indifferent about heaven, can hardly possess the first-fruits of the Spirit, v. 23.
9. Hope and patience are always united. If we have a well-founded hope of heaven, then do we with patience and fortitude wait for it. This