poral prospects or fears: never pay court to the irreligious, by mean compliances with their talk or behaviour, in hopes of better quarter from them; for it will be much harder to ftop afterwards, than to maintain our present ground: yet never be moved, either to paffion against them, or uncharitablenefs towards them; but freely own their good qualities, while we carefully preferve an abhorrence of their bad ones; pity their unhappiness, while we condemn their fins; and earnefily pray, that they may repent and be forgiven. For thus fhail we adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things *; and be followers of them, who through faith and patience inherit the promifes d Tit. ii 1. + Heb. vi. 12. SERMON RELIANCE ON THE SPIRIT OF GOD, UNITED WITH A PROPER RESPECT TO OUR own UnderSTANDING IN OUR ADDRESSES TO THE ALMIGHTY." I COR. xiv. 15. --I will pray with the Spirit, and I will pray with the understanding alfo: I will fing with the Spirit, and I will fing with the underStanding alfo. ΤΗ HESE words, in their first and strictest sense, relate to thofe gifts of inspiration, which the primitive church enjoyed the Holy Ghoft then frequently enabling many mem❤ bers of it, befides the apostles, to speak in tongues, which they had never learned, the wonderful works of God*; and dictating to them petitions and praises fitted to their circumstances. But, as the ordinary gifts of Heaven to mankind are left to be managed according to the discretion of those, who enjoy them; fo the divine wisdom preserved an uniformity of conduct, and kept to the fanie rule, in refpect of thefe extraordinary ones. The Spirits of the prophets, as the apoftle tells us, ver. 32. were fubject to the prophets. It was in their choice, when they would use the power of speaking with divers tongues: and on what occafions they would produce the prayers and hymns, with which they were infpired. In this, (and no wonder,) they did not all of them judge always prudently: their thankful zeal to publish these miraculous favours, and perhaps a too great, but very natural, felf-complacency in being poffef *Acts ii. 11. fed : fed of fuch remarkable privileges, prompting fome of them fometimes to give demonftrations of it in their affemblies, when few or none were prefent, who understood the language they fpoke in which cafe, the exercife of their endowments was only a hindrance to the ftated, and though lefs admired, yet more useful devotions and instructions of the congregation in their native dialect. And therefore St. Paul, in the true spirit of Christianity, reproves this oftentation: reminds them, that the gift of tongues was defigned to convince unbelievers by a seasonable use of it, not to provoke their scorn, or bring diforder into the church, by an unfeasonable one; that the other gift of PROPHESYING, teaching men their Christian duty, and exhorting them to the practice of it, (for this the word means here, and this the Jewish prophets made their chief bufinefs,) was a much more valuable thing, than that of freaking to them, or to God, in languages known to few of them; which therefore they should do modeftly and sparingly; never indeed, but when the fpeaker, or fome one present, was able to interpret what he faid fo readily and properly, as might edify the hearers; for their conftant endeavours fhould be to exert all the powers of this kind, which the Holy Ghoft had bestowed on them, rationally and discreetly, so as to inform and improve others. I will pray with the Spirit, and I will pray with the understanding alfo: I will fing with the Spirit, and I will fing with the understanding also: that is, every perfon endowed with fupernatural abilities, of this or any other fort, was to think himself bound to employ them in fo discreet a manner, that all around him might be instructed and benefited, as much as poffible. This, you will find, on careful reading it, is the meaning of the text, and of the chapter in which it occurs. And the whole fhews, both the truth of extraordinary and miraculous gifts at that time; (for had threy not been real, no directions about them could have been wanted, or would have been given;) and alfo the admirable wifdom and genuine goodness of the apoftle, in which we may well prefume the reft to have been like him. He permitted not thefe accomplishments, wonderful and fhining as they were, to interfere with the plain rules of order and edification; or to be at all fet on a level with the humble virtue of Chriftian charity, doing good to mea men from love of God. Now fuch things as these are great confirmations of our holy religion, and do it great ho nour. But though the first and immediate meaning of the text be what I have now explained; a more general inftruction, and applicable to every age of the church, may be justly drawn from it. The fame Divine Comforter, who inspired the devotions of believers then, influences their hearts in the performance of them now: the fame duty of ufing due precautions to make the fervice of the church intelligible, which the apostle preffed fo ftrongly in his own time, equally fubfifts in ours: And therefore the words which I have read to you, comprehend two points of doctrine, as needful at present as ever they were. I. That good Chriftians are affifted by the Holy Ghost in offering up their petitions and praises. I will pray with the Spirit: I will fing with the Spirit. II. That we should be very folicitous rightly to apprehend the sense and fitness of what we fay and do in God's worship, I will pray, I will fing, with the understanding aljo. I. That good Chriftians are affifted by the Holy Ghost in offering up their petitions and praises to their heavenly Father. The Spirit of God hath ftriven with bad persons *, and therefore doubtlefs effectually operated on pious ones, from the beginning of the world. The Pfalmift, on his falling into fin, prays that God would not take his Holy Spirit from bim†. And more especially God promifes, in the prophet Zechariah, that he will pour on his people the Spirit of grace and of fupplication . In the New Testament we are told, that if any man have not the Spirit of Chrift, he is none of his ; that the Spirit helpeth our infirmities in prayer, making interceffion for us; that we are to pray always with all prayer and fuppli cation in the Spirit ¶, and praying in the Holy Ghost to keep ourfelves in the love of God. But though it be undeniable, that the Holy Spirit, who indeed excites us to, and fits us for, every duty, doth not withhold his influences in this: yet how far they extend, is matter of difpute; and particularly between those who approve, VOL. II. 4 F and and those who disapprove, liturgies or forms of prayer. And which are in the right, it fhall be the principal business of this difcourfe to fhew: not with intention to raife in you cither hatred or contempt of any, who diffent from our Church on that head, (God forbid!) but only to make you more fenfible of the propriety and advantages of the way you are in; and incline you to that proportionable improvement by it, which God will expect. Some then apprehend, that there is fuch a gift, or fpirit of prayer, bestowed by the Holy Ghoft on true Chriftians, and peculiarly on all that are worthy to be minifters of God's word, as enables them to addrefs themselves to Heaven, onall occafions, copioufly and fuitably, in unpremeditated words of their own which they think ought not to be reftrained by appointing forms, even for the public ufe of congregations. And fometimes the text is quoted in fupport of this opinion. Bu plainly, fo far as it relates to words it relates to words inspired; to which, in the ftrict fenfe, but few of these persons themfelves lay any claim: for indeed it would be equalling their own compofitions to the holy fcripture. And excepting this miraculous gift of inspired prayer, the word of God mentions no`gift of ready expreffion in prayer: nor have we the leaft ground to confider it as coming from above, any otherwise than as every good gift, every natural ability, which God hath conferred upon us, and every improvement, which he qualifies us to make by our induftry, is from above *. For evidently this talent is one of that fort: depending, partly on the fluency of fpeech, to which people are born, partly on the art and dili gence, which they ufe to increase it; and varying, as their health and fpirits vary. Nor therefore is there any more harm in restraining this faculty, if good reasons require it, than in reftraining any other. Even the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, you have feen, were frequently put under fome restraints much more then may one of our ordinary powers. And they who call it limiting and ftinting the Spirit, have no fcripture warrant, either for the phrase, or the thing which they understand by it. Nay, fuppofing the Holy Ghost did ever fo peculiarly affift in directing the words of prayer, why fhould we not think him as likely to have affifted in the drawing up of the established forms, as in the extempore perfor James i. 17. mances |