are, under all ordinary circumstances, the necessary means of sali- vation.
The Reformed, while they teach that, so far as adults ai'e con- cerned, the knowledge of the Gospel is necessary to salvation, yet hold that the operations of the Holy Spirit are confined neither to the Word nor to the sacraments. He works when and where He sees fit, as in the times of the Old Testament and durino- the Apostolic age his extraordinary gifts were not conveyed through the medium of the truth, so neither now are the gifts for ecclesiastical office, nor is the regeneration of infants, effected by any such instrumentality. The saving efficacy of the Word and sacraments where they take effect, is not due to " any virtue in them ; . . . . but only " to " the blessing of Christ, and the working of his Spirit in them that by faith receive them."
The Work of the Spirit is distinct from Providential Efficiency.
As grace, or the influence of the Holy Spirit, is not inherent in the Word or sacraments, so neither is it to be confounded with the providential efficiency of God. The Scriptures clearly teach, (1.) That God is everywhere present in the world, upholding all the creutures in being and activity. (2.) Tiiat He constantly cooperates with second causes in the production of their effects. He fashioned our bodies. He gives to every seed its own bod}'. (;;.) Besides this ordered efficiency Qpotentia ordinata), which woiks uniformly according to fixed laws, He, as a free, personal, extramundane Being, controls the operations of these fixed laws, or the efficiency of second causes, so as to determine their action ac- cording to his own will. He causes it to rain at one time and not at another. He sends fruitful seasons, or He causes drought. " Elias .... prayed earnestly that it might not rain ; and it rained not on the earth by the sjjace of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit." (James v. 17, 18.) (4.) A like control is exercised over mankind. The king's heart is in the hands of the Lord, and He turns it as the rivers of water are turned. He makes poor and makes rich. He raises up one and puts down another. A man's hiart deviseth his way ; but the Lord directeth his steps. By Him kings rule and princes decree justice. Such, according to the Scriptures, is the providential government of God who works all things according to the counsel of his own will.
As distinct from this providential control which extends over all creatures, the Scriptures tell of the sphere of the Spirit's operations.
666 PART III. Ch. XIV. — vocation.
This does not imply that tlie Spirit has nothing to do in the crea- tion, preservation, and government of tlie world. On tlie contrary, the Bible teaches that whatever God does in nature, in the mate- rial world and in the minds of men, He does through the Sj)irit. Nevertheless the Scriptures make a broad distinction between providential government, and the operations of the S[)irit in the moral government of men and in carrying forward the great plan of redemption. Tiiis is the distinction between nature and grace. To these special operations of the Spirit are attributed, —
1. The revelation of truth. Nothing is plainer than that the great doctrines of the Bible were made known not in the way of the orderly development of the race, or of a growth in human knowledge, but by a supernatural intervention of God by the Spirit.
2. The inspiration of the sacred writei*s, who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
3. The various gifts, intellectual, moral, and physical, bestowed on men to qualify them for the special service of God. Some of these gifts were extraordinary or miraculous, as in the case of the Apostles and others ; others were ordinary, i. e., such as do not transcend the limits of human power. To this class belong the skill of artisans, the courage and strength of heroes, the wis- dom of statesmen, the ability to rule, etc. Thus it was saifl of Bezaleel, " I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and in understandino- and in knowledge and in all maimer of workmanship, to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in sil- ver, and in brass." (Exod. xxxi. 3, 4.) Of the seventy elders chosen by Moses, it is said, "I will take of the Spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them." (Num. xi. 17.) Joshua was ai)pointed to succeed Moses, because in him was the Spirit. (Num. xxvii. 18.) " The Spirit of the Lord came upon " Othniel "■ and he judged Israel." (Judg. iii. 10.) So the Spirit of the Lord is said to have come upon Gideon, Jephtha, and Samson. When Saul was called to be king over Israel, the Spirit of the I^ord came upon him; and when he was rejected for disobedience, the Spirit departed from him. (1 Sam. xvi. 14.) When Samuel anointed David, it is said, " The Spirit of the Lord came upon David fi'om that day forward." (1 Sam. xvi. 13.) In like manner under the new dispensation, '' There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit." (1 Cor. xii. 4.) And by these gifts some were miide apostles, some prophets, some teachers, some workers of minx-Ies. (1 Cor. xii. 29.) Paul, therefore, exhorted the elders of Ejihe-