[1.] He is the head of the renewed state. Christ was filled with the Spirit to this end, to be the head, or quickening spirit to his mys- tical body : 1 Cor. xv. 45, ' The first Adam was made a living soul, the second a quickening spirit ;' not only as he giveth us the life of glory, but the life of grace also : so Eph. i. 22, 23, ' He is head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that fiUeth all in all.' He is an head, not only to govern and defend the church, but to give them spiritual life and motion, as the head doth to the members ; for he filleth all with grace. All believers are supplied from this fountain, and continually supplied, ' Till they be filled with all the ful- ness of God : ' Eph. iii. 17, 18, 19, that is, with all the grace he meaneth to impart to us. Well, then, the spirit is given by Christ : John iv. 14, ' Whoso drinketh of the water that I shall give, shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him, shall be in him a well of water, springing up to everlasting life.' It is a living conduit : John vii. 38, 39.
[2.] It is his law that is written upon our hearts by the Spirit. The new covenant is made with sinners in Christ : Heb. viii. 8-10, ' Be- hold the days come (saith the Lord) I will make a new covenant witli the house of Israel, not according to the covenant I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they continued not in my covenant ; for this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel, I will put my laws into their minds, and write them in their hearts.' Now he that taught us the christian faith and religion, doth impress it upon us by his Spirit ; we find a power, more than can be from the words alone, in the effects on ourselves. This cometh from Clirist, whose law it is, but it is immediately wrought by the Spirit.
[3.] Christ promised it, therefore Christ giveth it: John xv. 26, * The comforter shall come, whom I will send you from the Father.' By virtue of his merit and intercession, Christ, from the Father, sendeth forth the all-conquering Spirit to subdue the world to himself. He promised before hand to send down this sanctifying Spirit into men's souls, to do this work upon them.
[4.] He giveth it on his own conditions, that is to say, of faith : John vii. 37, 38, ' If any man thirst, let him come to me, and drink ; he that believeth in me, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water : but
VeR. 2.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS VIII. 409
this he spake of the Spirit, which they that believe in him should receive.' And repentance : Acts ii. 38. ' Then Peter said unto them, Kepent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the re- mission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.' Now these are the conditions of the new covenant, which Christ brought out of the bosom of God.
3. By what law ? By the gospel. This is ' the law of the Spirit of Christ.' Theie is some little of the spirit given by the light of nature, to help men to read the book of the creatures : Eom. i. 19. God showed it them ; they might see somewhat of God in the creatures, his wisdom, power, and goodness ; and God excited their minds to behold it, and did dart in some light into their consciences. There was more of the spirit given by the legal covenant ; they might see much more of the power, wisdom and goodness of God in his statutes and laws than heathens could in the book of nature ; but generally it wrought unto bondage. The free spirit was but sparingly dispensed, and to some few choice servants of God ; but these were but as a few drops of grace ; the great flood of grace was poured out by the gospel. The apostle puts the Galatians to the question, by what doctrine they received the Spirit : Gal. iii. 2, ' This only would I learn of you, received you the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith ? ' He appealeth to their conscience and experience, what kind of doctrine conveyed the Spirit to them, — the preaching of the law, or the preaching of the gospel ; and this is meant not only of the Spirit that wrought miracles, but the sanctifying Spirit. He spealceth of both, ver. 5, ' He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you.' Where the ministration of the Spirit is made a distinct branch from working miracles ; 'doth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith ? ' So that the Spirit of regeneration, sauctification and adoption, cometh by the doctrine of the gospel. I will prove this by some reasons.