dom by the Affyrians, the Chaldeans, and afterward by the Romans. The direful calamities which the Jews fuffered from thefe nations, and the long continuance of the threatened judgments, feem exactly to agree with what is here foretold, and to justify the application of the above predictions to thefe events. I conclude this article with the remarkable words of the prophet Zechariah: They refused to hearken'Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant ftone, 'left they should hear the law, and the words which 'the Lord of hosts hath fent in his Spirit by the for'mer prophets; therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of hofts-Thus the land was defolate af ⚫ter them, that no man paffed through nor returned; for they laid the pleafant land defolate *. 15 Until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. The calamities above recited were to be terminated after a long period, by the precious fpiritual benefits which God was to confer upon his people. The first mentioned, which ought to be viewed as the cause from which the others proceed, is the effufion of the Spirit. The advent of the Son of God in human nature, to put away fin by the facrifice of himfelf, and to obtain the redemption of the church, was the object of ardent expectation under the Old Teftament. The gift of the Holy Ghoft promifed to renovate men after the image of God, to reflore them to fpiritual life, and to prepare them for the full enjoyment of the eternal falvation of Jefus Chrift, is the great benefit expected under the New Teftament. In confequence of this rich donation, which accompanies the miniftry of the word, the gofpel is propagated with fuccefs over all the earth; the gifts and graces of the Spirit are in large meafure difpen Zach. vii. 11, et feq. Ted; - fed; and multitudes are qualified for the fervice and enjoyment of God. And it shall come to pass afterward,' faith the Lord by the prophet Joel, That I will 'pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your fons and your daughters fhall prophecy; your old men shall ⚫ dream dreams; your young men fhall fee vifions,' &c.* The gifts beftowed in confequence of this and other fimilar promifes, may be diftributed into three claffes; for from the fame Spirit proceed diversities of gifts. There are those which are extraordinary and miraculous; fuch as the gift of prophecy, of tongues, of difcerning of fpirits, which were conferred on the day of pentecoft, and were admirably adapted to the time, the circumftances, and the benevolent designs to be thereby accomplished. There are those which may be called common or ordinary, being more generally and extenfively communicated; fuch as the gift of knowledge, of profeffional abilities, of prayer; which are well calculated to render men useful in their feveral capacities and ftations. There are alfo fpecial and fanctifying gifts and graces of the Spirit, which are peculiar to the chofen, the called, and faithful in Chrift Jefus; fuch as the precious faith of God's elect, true repentance, divine counfel, fupport, and confolation; whereby the people of God are furnifhed for every good work, and prepared afore unto glory. These various gifts are conveyed by the Spirit (though those of the first fort were confined to the time wherein Christianity was promulgated) when Poured upon us from on high. It is not faid, until thefe gifts and graces be gently dropped, or fparingly imparted, as they were under the former difpenfation; but until they are poured in vaft plenty, even as floods of water on the dry ground. The expreffion frequently recurs, and deferves attention. It plainly imports the unbounded liberality of the Father of lights, who fheds down, not in a fcanty measure, but with rich profufion, this ineftimable blefling. Chap. ii. 28. bleffing. It also intimates, that this precious benefit fhould be extenfively conferred, not on a particular people only, as before the afcenfion of Jefus Christ, but upon all flesh,' as faid the apoftle Peter, 'upon every nation under heaven;' fo that its benign influence should be univerfally felt. Befides, it ferves to remind us of the falutary effects produced by this liberal donation, that, as water refreshes, mollifies, and fructifies the earth; fo the Spirit, when poured from on high, foftens, comforts, and fills those who receive it with the fruits of holiness and righteoufnefs, which are by Jefus Chrift to the glory and praise of God. The gift of the Spirit, like the little cloud, which feemed at first to the prophet's fervant only in fize as a man's hand, fpread until it covered the whole heavens, and was followed with a great rain. Like the waters of the fanctuary, beheld by Ezekiel in vifion, this living water, which at first reached only to the ankles, became a broad and deep river. How glorious the effects that accompanied the firft abundant pouring forth of the Spirit! What miracles, what illumination, what converfion to God, what faith, what holiness, what confolation, what unanimity! Hundreds, thousands, were added to the church by the word preached with the Holy Ghoft and power from on high. And ever fince that memorable period, by the conveyance of the gifts and graces of the Spirit, numerous converts have been made to the faith and obedience of the gofpel, who, through fanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth, havė fhewn that they were deftined to falvation.-Let each of us, then, seriously confider, if the spiritual judgments we have deferved, have been stopt in their progrefs, by the Spirit being poured upon us. He is the Spirit of wisdom and revelation; are we filled with the knowledge of God's will? He is the Spirit of penitence and true contrition of heart; hath he bestowed upon us repentance unto life? He is the Spirit of fanctification; hath he operated in us true holiness, without which no man fhall fee the Lord? VOL. III. H He He is the Spirit of confolation; hath he granted unto us joy and peace in believing? Thus ought we impartially to examine ourselves, thoroughly convinced that our ftate is deplorable until the Spirit be given unto us; that neither the judgments of heaven, the forbearance of God, the word, nor the ordinances of divine inftitution, will prove effectual for real converfion, unless they are attended by his divine agency. When this event takes place The wilderness fhall be a fruitful field. What an aftonishing change doth then fucceed! As the bleffing specified in the first part of the verfe is fpiritual, fo the effects refulting from it are of the fame nature with the cause whereby they are produced; though doubtless they may be accompanied with a defirable alteration of external circumftances. Our Prophet feems clearly to have had in view a fpiritual change, or converfion, to be accomplished on thofe of whom he gives a figurative representation. The wilderness may denote the Gentile nations; which, prior to the time in which the Spirit was poured upon them, refembled a wild uncultivated defart; the forlorn ftate of unconverted finners, who are deftitute of pleasant good fruits. It may likewife indicate the barren, defolate condition of the Jewish people, until their fituation was in fome measure happily changed by the miniftry of Jefus Chrift and his apoftles. Of the wildernefs in the fenfe now given, it is foretold, that it fhall be a fruitful field. For this purpose, heathen countries, unrenewed men, were to have their ignorance, prejudices, and fuperftitions removed; the precious feed of the word of God was to be fown among them, and watered by the dew of heaven: in confequence whereof, it was every where to spring up, and to bring forth abundance of the excellent fruits of the Spirit, that fhould render them defirable and ufeful. And the fruitful field, &c. By this figurative expreffion the Jewish church were intended, which, having been cultivated for a long time by the fervants of Jehovah, under his particular direction and and special care, and enriched by many fignal bleffings above all other nations, yielded thofe fruits which were honourable to God and profitable to themselves-fhall be counted for a forest. The church which fubfifted under the Mofaic economy was to lofe its former beautiful appearance, being deprived of the important advantages which the people had long enjoyed; trees of righteousness, which were rarely to be met with, were to fall into decay; and but few comparatively, the planting of the Lord, were to fupply their room. In this manner the Jewish church was to fall into a wild, fcattered, barren ftate, resembling that of a foreft or large wood. Attend to the words of Jefus Chrift on this fubject: 'I fay unto you, that many fhall come from the east and weft, and fhall fit down with Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the ⚫ children of the kingdom fhall be caft into outer darkness; there fhall be weeping and gnashing of 'teeth *.' Multitudes from all quarters fhall affociate with the ancient patriarchs, in the kingdom founded and adminiftered by the Meffiah, whilft numbers born within the precincts of the church, poffeffing peculiar external privileges, fhall be excluded from that kingdom, and be ejected into a miferable state. -The great alterations marked in this verfe, were owing to the Spirit being poured on one people, and not on another. In tender mercy, Jehovah was graciously pleased to make the Gentiles fellow partakers of the benefit, which he had conferred upon the pofterity of Ifrael, who, having refifted the Holy Spirit, he was withdrawn from them, fo that they became as a foreft; he was given to other nations, who became as a fruitful field.-Under full conviction of the ineftimable worth of this bleffing, and of the infinite readiness of our heavenly Father to give the Spirit to them that ask him, let us fervently implore that he may be given to us, to direct, to ftrengthen, and *Mat. viii. 11, 12. comfort |