[1.] Christ doth save all that he doth save ansirerahle to the nature of tlie party saved. He saves them as reasonable persons, for he saves us that he may make us friends. He saves us as men, and redeems us as men. He doth not only pay a price for us as we buy a thing that is dead, but like- wise he frees us, so as we may understand to w'hat, and by whom we are freed, and what condition we are freed from. Therefore there must be a Spirit joined with the work of Christ, to inform us thoroughly, being creatures fit to be informed.
[2.] And God intending to come into covenant with us, that we may be friends with him, which is our glory and happiness, he acquaints us as friends rvith all the favours and blessini/s that he hath done for us. He acquaints us what misery he brings us out of, and what happiness he brings us unto, and what is our duty. This is the work of the Spirit, to shew us what he hath done for us, that we may be friends.
[3.] And then it is a ground to love God. God saveth us by a way of love in the covenant of grace. His desire is that we may love him again, and maintain love. Now how can this be, without the Spirit of God dis- cover what God in Christ hath done for us ? Therefore there must be the Spirit to shew to the eye of the soul, and to tell us, this Christ hath done for us.
[4.] Then again there must he a fitting for heaven, for that glonj that God intends us in election. Now this fitting must be altogether by the Spirit. The same Spirit that sanctified Christ in the womb, the same Spirit that anointed Christ, anoints all those that are Christ's, that they may be fit for so glorious a head. So there must be the Spirit as well as Christ in the work of redemption and liberty.
Now this Spirit of God doth set us at liberty, in all the course and whole carriage of salvation, from the beginning to the end.
He sets us at liberty at the first in calling us.
He sets us at liberty when we are justified. * That is, == ' alone.'
ABOVE THE LAW.
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He sets us at liberty when he sanctifieth us.
And he sets us then at hberty fully iu glorification.
First of all, the Spirit of God is a Spirit of liberty, ivhcn ive are first called pou'crftillij and ('jfcctuaUy. For living in the church sets us not at liberty, unless the Spirit stir us up to answer a divine call. ' For many are called but few are chosen,' Mat. xx. IG. In the church there is Hagar and Ishmael as well as Isaac. There are hypocrites as well as sound Christians. There is outward baptism as well as inward. There is outward circum- cision of the flesh as well as inward of the spirit. A man may have all these outward privileges, and yet notwithstanding be a slave in the bosom of the church ; for Ishmael was a bond- slave though he were in the house of Abraham. Therefore the flrst beginning of spiritual hberty is, (1.) When the Spirit of God in the ordinances, in the means of salvation, stirs up the heart to answer God's call as it tvere. When we are exhorted to believe and repent, the Spirit gives power to echo to God, ' Lord, I believe ; help thou my unbelief,' Mark ix, 24. Lord, I repent, and desire to repent more and more. When the Spirit of God in the ordinance saith, ' Seek my face. Thy face. Lord, will I seek,' Ps. xxvii. 8. Be thou mine, Lord, and I will be thine. This spiritual echo and answer of the soul comes from the Spirit of God in calling, and it is the first degree of liberty.
(2.) Now this answer of the soul, by the power of the Spirit, over- powering our corruptions, is tof/ether irith the obedience of the inward man to go out. For man answereth the call, not only by the speech of the heart, Lord, I do it ; but he doth it indeed. Therefore when by the power of the Spirit we come out of the world and out of our corruptions, and walk more freely in the ways of God, then we are set at spiritual liberty. Now the Spirit doth all this. For if it were not the Spirit that persuaded the soul, when the minister speaks, alas ! all ministerial persuasions are to no pur- pose. If the Spirit do not stir up the soul to answer, all speech is to no purpose from men. But this the Spirit doth. In the first place he openeth the eyes with spiritual eye-salve to see our natural bondage ; he openeth our eyes to see, I must come out of this condition if I will be saved, of necessity, or else I am miserable for ever. And it is enough for the soul of a miserable man if he be convinced to see his misery and bondage, what he is by nature ; for let us be convinced of that once, and all the rest of the links of the golden chain of salvation will follow. Let a man be convinced that he is as the Scripture saith he is, and as hereafter he shall find to his cost, you shall not need to bid him come out of his conversation and condition, and worldly course that he is in. All this will follow where there is con- viction of spirit. Therefore the first work of the Spirit in spiritual liberty is to convince us of sin and misery ; and then to work, as I said, an answer of the soul, and an obedience of the whole man. This I will not be long in, being a clear point.