confine myself : and whilst I address myself to this arduous and momentous subject, may the Lord Jesus Christ himself "be with us," as he has promised1, and " baptize us with the Holy Ghost and with fireg," to consume the dross that is within ush, and to kindle in our hearts an inextinguishable flame of love towards his blessed name!
The Holy Spirit then will perform in us the offices of a Teacher, a Sanctifier, and a Comforter.
Let us view him first as a Teacher.
The young convert knows little beyond " the first principles of the oracles of God1." He is like a per- son just landed on a newly-discovered country, the beauty and riches of which he has yet to learn. But the Holy Spirit of Christ will open things to us, even as the Lord Jesus himself did when on earth to his Disciples, gradually, as we are able to bear them ; and with increased knowledge, he will give us " senses proportionably exercised to discern good and evilk," and thus will " lead us on to perfection1." The fun- damental doctrine of salvation by faith is known by us when we first come to Christ. But there is much which as yet is very indistinctly seen. For instance, the nature and difficulty of the Christian warfare is yet but very partially discovered. The deceitful ness and desperate wickedness of the human heart is but little known ; (in fact, who but God can know it to its full extent111) " the deceitfulness of sin"" also is by no means clearly discerned. As for " the devices of Satan0," the young believer is still " ignorant of them" to a great extent ; and of " the wiles" whereby that subtle adversary deludes the souls of men, he has scarcely any conception1'. Little does he imagine what power that old serpent has to " beguile the minds of the simple'1," and " to corrupt them, even as he deceived our mother Eve, from the simplicity that is in Christ1"." Armour is provided for him against
f Matt, xxviii. 20. e Matt. iii. 11. h Isai. iv. 4.
! Heb. v. 12. k Heb. v. 14. ' Heb. vi. 1.
m Jer. xvii. 9. n Heb. iii. 13. ° 2 Cor. ii. 11.
p Eph. vi. 11. q Rom. xvi. 18. r 2 Cor. xi. 3.