from our sins0;" delivering us from the present evil world ; and purifying unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works d." The gift of the Holy Spirit, also, was " to convince us of the evil and bitterness of sine;" and to " sanctify us throughout, in body, soul, and spiritf." There is not a pro- mise belonging to it which had not this direct aim in view, that, by laying hold of it, we might " cleanse ourselves from all filthiness, both of flesh and spirit, and perfect holiness in the fear of God g."
It is clear, therefore, that the Gospel, as being altogether designed to restore men to the Divine image, does and must reflect the highest glory on Him from whom it proceeds.]
2. The efficacy of his grace —
[Whatever we had been, even though we had been as perfect as when we first came out of our Creator's hands, the practice of universal holiness would have been honourable to Him from whom our powers had proceeded ; but, considering what creatures we really are, how corrupt and sinful in all our parts, the change wrought in us displays the marvellous efficacy of God's grace. If a husbandman take good scions, and they all prove fruitful, his skill is displayed and honoured in the estimation of all who behold it. But, suppose he were to take none but dry and withered sticks, and to make all of them fruitful, his honour would be the more exalted, in that he should be able to educe fruits from dead sticks, which in themselves were incapable of producing any. Such honour is the Lord's when we dead and barren creatures are enabled to bring forth any fruit unto our God. Such " trees of right- eousness of the Lord's planting" do indeed reflect the highest glory upon him11.]
3. The blessedness of his salvation —
[Let any one behold a " wilderness made to blossom as the rose, and a desert to become, like Eden, the garden of the Lord ;" then he will have some little idea of what is wrought upon the soul by the grace of Christ. See, on the day of Pentecost, the change wrought by a single discourse upon three thousand murderers, whose hands were yet reeking with the Saviour's blood: Was God not glorified in that? Or let us look amongst ourselves : Are there none of us, who, pre- vious to our reception of the Gospel, were left to shew what was in our hearts, and to manifest that we were altogether " led captive by the devil at his will ? " Compare those per- sons now with their former state of folly and wickedness ; and
c Matt. i. 21. (1 Tit. ii. 11. e j0hn XVI. 8.
f 1 Thess. v. 23. B 2 Cor. vii. 1. * Isai. lxi. 3.