him which way he sliould go. Inquire, therefore,- whether the Spirit of God (loth thus detennine thy soul in its actings and motions. Now, you know which is the Spirit's walk. Re is the Spirit of truth, and leads into truth : the word of God is the road he keeps : if thou walkest not by this rule, he is not thy guide. Speak, therefore, what authority bears the word with thee ? Dost thou consult and hearken to it, or art thou afraid to advise with it ? If the word will not stop thee from thy sinful courses, thou art not led by the Spirit of God. Again, to be led, imports willingness. The carnal heart may be driven by the rebukes of the Spirit ; but the gracious soul follows the Spirit, as a child his father that holds him by the hand, yea, that cries after his father, to take him along with him. ' Where the Spirit is, there is liberty.' The Spirit indeed draws, but the soul runs after him. Mary chose the better part : it was not imposed on her against her liking. The obedience of the saints is compared to a sacri- fice : ' Present your bodies a living sacrifice,' &c., Rom. xii. 2 ; and it is no acceptable sacrifice that is not offered willingly. The Spirit of God makes the soul willing in the day of his power. ' I will go with this man,' said liebekah; she was as willing to have Isaac as he was to have her. The gracious soul answers the Spirit's call, as the echo does the voice, — Seek my face ; — Thy face will I seek.
■ CHAPTER XII.
- AN EXHORTATION TO THOSE THAT WANT THE SPIRIT OF GRACE.
Now this calls for a double exhortation : first, to those that, upon examination, find they are destitute of the Spirit ; secondly, to those that, by the rules of trial, find the Spirit of God is in them.
Section I. — To thee who art yet without the Spirit of God. Better it were thou hadst not the spiiit of a man than to want the Spirit of God. If the Holy Spirit be not in thee, assure thyself the evil one is ; and there is no way for thee to turn this troublesome guest out of doors, but by having the Spii'it of God in. Thou mayest know where thy eternal mansion will be, in heaven or hell, by the spirit that fills and acts on thy soul here. If God takes not up thy soul as a mansion for his Spirit on earth, it shews that he prepares no mansion for thy soul in heaven, but leaves thee to be entertained by him in the other world who is thy guest in this. Thus thou seest how thy soul hangs over the infernal pit. What course canst thou take to prevent thy endless misery that is coming upon thee ? Wilt thou stand up, like Haman, to make request for the life of thy soul? Alas ! thou canst not pray, though thy life lies on it ; thou wantest the Spirit of God, who would help thee to groans and sighs. Prayer, you see, is not a work of nature, but a gift of grace ; not attained by human skill and art, but taught and inspired by the Holy Ghost. At the bar of man the orator's tongue may smooth over a cause so as to carry it : Isa. iii. 3, he is called, ' the eloquent orator;' or, as in the Hebrew, he that is skilful in a clianji. Thus Abigail so charmed David's passion with an eloquent speech, that he returned his sword into its scabbard, which was drawn to cut off her husband and his family. But words, alas ! make no music in God's ear ; they avail no more with him when his Holy Spirit is not in them, than Esau's prayers and tears did with Isaac for the blessing. The same rod which wrought miracles in Moses' hand would have done no such thing in the hand of another, because not influenced by the spirit that Moses had. The same words put up in prayer by a man's own spirit are weak and ineffectual, yea, distasteful and abominable, which, de- livered by the Spirit of God in anotlier, are mighty with God, and acceptable to him. Kings have their cooks, and eat not anything but what is dressed by their hands. The great God will not like that sacrifice which his Spirit doth not prepare and offer. Those prayers which are applauded by men, are some- times a great abomination to the Lord, who sees the heart to be void of his grace : on the contrary, those prayers which are despised and censured by man may be highly pleasing to God. Eli was offended with Hannah, and took her for a drunken woman ; but God knew her better, that she was not drunk with wine, but filled with the Spirit in prayer, therefore graciously answered her request. It was wisely done of one, who being sent ambassador to a foreign prince, studied the language of tlic country, that he might the more
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efFectually peisiiado the king, by delivering his embassy in his own tongue. O seek thou the Spirit of God ! that thou mayest pray to God in the hinguage of heaven, and tliere is no doubt but thou shalt succeed.