camp of God. He is also their sacrifice itself, His divine nature, represented by that aerial creature the bird, was placed in our human nature, under the well-known image of an earthen vessel, and, in it, suffered for their sins. Out of his side come forth blood and water, the two testimonials of cleansing. As the bird was killed over or upon the living or running water; so Christ offered himself through the ETERNAL SPIRIT, which that water signified, unto God, and poureth out that Spirit upon his people, when He sprinkleth them with his blood. The sprinkling, reiterated seven times, denotes the perfect purification by that blood. The living bird also represents, under another form, the Lord Jesus. This was to be dipped in blood, and to rise from it, and to fly away. So Christ was buried, and rose again, and is now ascended into heaven, baving obtained eternal redemption for his peo ple. Through him, the Spirit of life became the water of life for them, all-efficacious to cleanse and to replenish for ever

more.

If we go through the whole ceremonial of the law, we shall find the application of water made in a variety of instances, which were appointed to shadow forth the necessa ry and illustrious agency of the Spirit of God. The priests were to be outwardly washed with water, in sign of their inward purification, and not from a political motive of mere cleanliness (as some authors have very unscripturally supposed;) and, in allusion to this, the great expounder of the Jewish ritual recommends to believers, that their bodies be washed with pure water, by which he means, that their outward life and conversation should be purified from the filth of sin, as well as their bearts be sprinkled from an evil conscience. Heb. x. 22, Exod. xxix. 4. Lev. viii. 6. Men are not truly qualified to minister in holy things without the water of life, whatever be their parts or learning; and nothing, done for God, can be holy, but by its purification. Lev. viii. 7. It was necessary even for Christ himself, as the great High-Priest of our profession, to offer himself with this water, or the eternal Spirit so called; as was prefigured by the sacrifice of the red beifer, whose ashes were to be mingled with water, and kept for the church, as a water of separation, or purification for sin. Numb. xix. Thus Christ came by water; not only in his own innocence but in the power of the Spirit, and also by blood, shedding his own life for the lives of his redeemed. His merit was confirmed by the Holy Spirit, and is applied by him to all the people of God, This the apostle seems to mean in 1 John v. 7,8. by the three that bear witness in beaven, and the three that bear witness on earth; the former giving spiritual testimony, the latter a sensible one, that the work of salvation is accomplished by

Christ. The three divine persons bear witness to believers concerning Christ; and this is called the witness of God, which every believer bath in bimself: verses 9, 10. The Spirit of the believer winesses to the truth of what God reveals, setting to bis seal that God is true, respecting the efficacy of the water and the blood, or, in other words, of the Spirit and Christ, in their engagements of salvation. And these three, namely, the believer's spirit, this water, and this blood, agree in one, i. e, they all harmonize and agree together in one object, and in one great end and purpose fully accomplished for that object. Thus (we may repeat the heavenly truth) Christ came not by water only, to sanctify by the SPIRIT, but by water and blood, i. e. by the united efficacy of his own atonement and of the Spirit's purification and blessing.

Nothing was clean or purified to the Lord, but by this em blematic water of separation. The spoils taken from the enemy underwent this ceremonial of purification, Numb. xxxi. 23. And this was to declare to believers, that all victory. over sin was to be effected by and ascribed to the Spirit of God, working in them through the great Mediator.For this reason, Christ is said to be with his people always, even to the end; not in his corporal presence, or human nature, for that is ascended into the boliest till the time of restitution; but in the Spirit, who is one with him and with the Father, and who, dwelling in his people, fulfills the Scripture, that God is in them of a truth. In a word, there was a constant use of water in the Mosaic ritual, in order to shew the Jews, and to shew us by them, that the grace of sanctification and all its blessings must be derived, through Christ, from the Holy Ghost. Considered in this view, they do exbibit many important truths, which, as other parts of Scripture prove, they were intended to exhibit; whereas, without this consideration, they dwindle into insig nificant ceremonies, unworthy of a divine institution, and have either no meaning at all, or no meaning of importance to any man. And this result would contradict a universal rule, laid down concerning the Bible, that ALL. SCRIPTURE is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for INSTRUCTION in righteousness. 2 Tim. iii. 16,

If we turn to the Christian dispensation, water, as the emblem of the Holy Spirit's agency, is appointed in one of the two sacraments to signify, that our introduction to a new life, and to the company of those who have obtained this. life here and hereafter, is by his renovating power alone. Except a man be born of water (says our Lord, employing the long-accustomed emblem) and of the SPIRIT (explaining di rectly what the emblem signified) be cannat enter into the

kingdom of Godt John iii. 5. The simple element alone is" nothing in this respect, not even the whole world of waters, could they be thrown upon a man, or were he plunged into them. Of themselves, they could sooner wash the Ethiopian white, than purify one sin. If they had a voice, they would take up the words in fob; and the depth would say, It is not in me; and the sea, It is not with me. job. xxviii. 14. God understandeth the way thereof, and be knoweth the place thereof. v. 23 It is from Him alone, that there is any blessing or use in the creatures. He only makes his ordinances effec-* tual, and adds to the outward sign the thing signified thereby. To be truly born of water, is indeed to be born of the Spirit: In other words, the Spirit of God will operate upon the believing soul, as water acts in the frame and composi tion of all material things. These cannot live, nor increase, nor be pure, without that salutary fluid; nor can the Christian be in reality a Christian, nor put forth one act of the tru ly Christian life, but by the life and agency of the Spirit of God. All substances are dry and dead, when deprived of elementary water: And so are ali souls, as dead to God as souls can be, and as evil spirits are, without the possession and support of this water of life.‡

The whole office of the divine Spirit, under this emblem of living water, turns upon these two points of LIFE and PURIFICATION, throughout the Bible. In fact, these two are but one; for, purity being the true life of spirits, purification'is nothing more than the continuance, increase, or support, of the spiritual life bestowed. When a being continues to live, it is not by the adlibition of another life, but by the support of the same life. In like manner, the soul, being made alive by

† As the Spirit of Life preserves the faithful, so he is the breath of the Lord to destroy the ungodly. The same water, which drowned the world, sustained the ark, or church, from destruction. It is a just observation of the learned Mr. Bryant, who, speaking of this ark, says; "It was of such a model and construction as plainly indicated, that it was never designed to be managed, or directed by the hands of men. And it seems to have been the purpose of Providence throughout, to signify to those who were saved, as well as to their latest posterity, that their preservation was not in any degree effected by human means." Anal. of ant. myth. Vol. ii. p. 197. The Christian reader will anticipate any reflections, how exactly this emblem corresponds with the state of the church in all ages.

When man fell from God, he lost this water, and so became parched ground, a wilderness, &c. Hence it was, that when believers in the Old Testament acknowledged their fall and loss of God's presence, they poured out water before him in humiliation and confesssion of soul, acknowledging thereby, that they were lost and undone without his mercy. See 1 Sam. vii. 6. 2 Sam. xiv. 14. ....... i

the agency of the Spirit, doth not receive new and new life from time to time, but a maintenance of the same spiritual life by the Spirit's power. Thus, a soul, once born of God, or of the Spirit who is God, can never die again, unless the Being of whom it is born, can die, or should withdraw the support of his life, which he hath most positively declared he will not. Hence, those people, who talk of the defectibility of grace, approach so nearly to charging the almighty Spirit with impotence or falskood, that they ought to consider well, how closely they advance to indirect blasphemy against him. It is not sufferable among men to publish any thing, which af fects the honour and dignity of a king; and how far the truth and majesty of Jehovah can be safely questioned by poor mortals, it seems of much importance to them that they should inquire.

In the law (as we have said) there was no sacrifice for sin without some use of water. This points out to us, that, as the Spirit never acts but in and through Christ with respect to his people, so Christ is never received but by and with the influences of the Spirit. They are as undivided in their ope rations, as in their essence. A man cannot truly believe in Christ, but by the power of the Holy Ghost: Nor can a man have the Holy Ghost, who doth not truly believe in Christ. There is a reciprocity in the two divine offices, which illustrates and magnifies both, and for which, respecting the divine glory, they were covenanted and undertaken. Christ is the Fountain of Life; and the Holy Spirit is the Water of Life from that Fountain. Christ is also called the Fountain of Israel, because the Water of Life flows from him only to his Israel, or true and spiritual people. Christ is likewise termed a Fountain sealed, a Fountain of gardens, a Fountain opened to the bouse of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusa lem, because none but the Spirit of God can unseal this Fountain, and impart the Water of Life from it; because it is not a common spring, but stands in God's garden or church; and because only the house or family of the spiritual David, i. e. all true believers, who are citizens of the heavenly Jeru salem, are privileged to draw from it. As Christ cannot

be a dry fountain, or be without water for his people; so the Spirit, as the water of life, flows only to them through that fountain. The humanity of our great Redeemer is the grand nexus or bond by which we are united to him, and in him to the Spirit, and through the Spirit to the Father. Hence the life of believers is said to be from Christ, who is their life, and from the Spirit, and from the Father; because it is their joint bestowment as to its nature, though each distinct person is œconomically distinguished in the respective manner of its bestowal or enjoyment.

For this great purpose there is so much mention made in the Scriptures of the use of living water, or the water of life. Believers, being planted or grafted into Christ, are to grow and increase by the continual watering of the Holy Spirit. As they need his influence and support, from moment to moment; he hath graciously promised to water them every mo ment. As they require free access to Christ, as to their fountain, from whom this water of life proceeds; the grant runs, Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. They are athirst for this, and therefore they will to drink; and, being willing to drink, they may drink freely and for ever. The Spirit gave them life, or they could have felt no thirst: They thirst for increasing life; and they may have it to their full replenishment and joy by him. O what a glorious promise is here to those, who thirst for the living God, and who feel within them a will to drink, not out of the broken cisterns of the world, which can hold no water, but out of the inexhaustible fountain of living waters! To such the word is, Drink, yea drink abundantly, O beloved!

From the foregoing considerations it may appear, that it is the peculiar office and glory of the Spirit of God to be the water of life unto his people, and the water of purification to keep them clean, when made alive, from their original filth and pollution. He is called the HOLY Spirit, not only because He is intrinsically holy in Himself, for this cannot be doubted, but because He is the author of all holiness and purification to the church of God. He gives life, sustains it, and purifies it from the filth of the earthen vessel into which it is received. He is not mere passive power like elementary water, and therefore He calls himself living water, water of life, or of lives. He both gives life, and acts in the life given. As water naturally rejects impurities, and purges a way all heterogeneous particles, till nothing remain in its substance but its own pure fluid: How much more, then, must the water of life cleanse all defilements from the hearts of his people, till, in the appointed time, nothing shall remain but his own pure life within their souls!

If these premises be admitted, and admitted they must be upon the ground of the Scriptures, they conclude most invincibly for the DIVINITY of that blessed person, by whom such supernatural operations are performed. No effect can rise above its cause: And therefore, as these effects are above all created might, it follows, that no creature could perform them. But the Holy Ghost hath performed them; and it is his office to perform them. Will Belzebub himself say, then, that he is a creature? Belzebub, with all his effrontery, would disown such logic, as would render him as much a fool as he is a devil. He knew Christ in the flesh, and acknow