1. The foundation is laid in the new birth, and the change wrought in us by regeneration. The Son of God was conceived by the opera- tion of the Holy Ghost ; so are we born of water and the Spirit, John iii. 5. In the birth of Christ it was said, Luke i. 35, ' The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the Highest shall over-
VeR. 29.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS VIII. 309
shadow thee ; therefore also that holy thinf^ which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.' The Holy Ghost was the dispenser of this mystery, who formed the body of the Word incarnate, and gave him life ; now thus we are conformed to the image of his Son. It is the Holy Ghost that begets us unto God, and maketh us new creatures ; we owe our birth to him, that birth whereby we become the children of God.
2. Christ, being formed in the Virgin's womb by the Holy Ghost, devoteth himself to God ; for he saitli, Heb. x. 7, ' A body hast thou l^repared me : for lo, I come to do thy will ; ' 1 Cor. iii. 23, ' Christ is God's ; ' he came into the world as God's. Such a resignation there must be of ourselves to God, that we may do his will whatever it costs us, and suffer whatever he imposeth upon us : 1 Cor. viii. 5, ' They first gave themselves to the Lord, and to us by the will of God.'
3. When we are dedicated to God, the Holy Ghost is the same to christians that he was to Christ, a guide and comforter. He that giveth life giveth conduct and motion ; you find Christ still guided by the Spirit. If he retire into the deserts : Mat. iv. 1, ' Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness;' when he went back again: Luke iv. 14, ' Jesus returned by the power of the Spirit into Galilee.' So christians are still guided by the Spirit, led into, and out of con- flicts, Eom. viii. 14. So a comforter : John i. 32, ' Upon him shalt thou see the Spirit descending and remaining on him ; ' so 1 John iii. 24.
4. There is a conformity of life necessary, that we be such to God and man as Christ was to God, seeking his glory — ' I seek not mine own glory,' John viii. 50 ; pleasing God, ver. 29 ; obeying his will, John vi. 38 ; delighting in converse with him, for Christ spent much time in prayer ; was subject to his natural parents, Luke ii. 51 ; sub- ject to rulers, Mat. xvii. 27 ; good to all : Acts x. 38, ' Went about doing good ; ' humble to inferiors, John xiii. 3, 4.
5. Eye your pattern much, Heb. xii. 2. Christ told the Jews, John viii. 12, ' I am the light of the world ; he that followeth me, shall not walk in darkness ; ' his doctrine, his example. You must often examine what proportion there is between the copy and the transcript.
6. Shame yourselves for coming short, Heb. iii. 12-14. It is not an arbitrary thing : so much as you are unlike Christ, so much you lose of your evidence of election before time, and glory in time ; you should look upon yourselves as under a spiritual engagement to be more like Christ every day. A man is much under the command of his design, and the scope of his life.
7. A religious use of the means of communion with him, especially the Lord's supper. Natural means communicate their qualities to us ; we are changed into them when they are assimulated unto us. Nero sucked the milk of a cruel nurse ; Achilles was valiant, his master nourished him with the marrow of a lion. Those creatures bred amongst rocks are more rough and savage ; those that live in the fertile plains are more tractable. This holy food changeth our inclinations, and promotes holiness in us ; by eating Christ's flesh and drinking his blood at this ordinance, we aie inclined to live the life of Christ, and that is nourished and strengthened in us by it.
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310 SEKMONS UPON ROMANS VIII. [SeR. XL.
SEEMON XL.
Moreover, whom Tie did predestinate, tJiem lie also called ; and wJiom he called, them he also justified ; and tvhom Jie justified, them he also glorified. — KoM. viii. 30.
Here is a further declaration of the last argument, represented by a gradation or chain of causes, beginning at election and ending in glory. Those whom God hath appointed unto salvation he doth not presently put in possession of it, but by degrees, with respect to his eternal purpose ; he offereth grace to them in Christ, which they accepting, are justified. Then God dealeth with them as justified, beginning a life in them which shall be perfected in heaven. All which proveth that God by an infallible decree doth guide all things to the good of the elect. 3Ioreover, tuhom he did predestinate, &c.
In the words observe this general point —
That those whom God electeth before time he effectually calleth, justifieth, and sanctifieth in time, and will finally glorify when time shall be no more.