ed or slain by him, that so my blood might cry the louder, and urge his judgment to be the more hastened. But if I am not worthy to testify with my blood, let me at least intreat and implore this mercy, that I may testify by my life and doctrine, that Jesus Christ alone is our Lord, and God blessed for ever and ever."

Calm Melancthon was endued with the same spirit of power; and so, when his enemies threatened him not to leave him a place in all Germany whereon to set his foot, he said, Avido & tranquillo animo expecto exilia; "Iexpect banishment with a desirous and peaceful mind."

Many more examples might be produced, to show, that when ministers are endued with the power of the Spirit coming on them, then they are stronger than all opposition and persecution whatsoever; otherwise, when these evils encounter them, they, with Demas, leave the work; and embrace the world.

And thus you see, what necessity all the faithful ministers of the gospel have, of the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon them; and without this power, though they be called ministers, yet they are none For without this power, they are unable to preach the word, to preach it powerfully, and to persevere and hold out in the course of the ministry; they are unable to reprove the world; to wrestle with and overcome the devil; and to suffer that persecution, which necessarily attends that calling. And so without this power, they may minister to themselves, but cannot minister to others the manifold graces of God: they may do their own work, but they cannot do God's work; they may feed themselves, but not the flock of Christ: they may domineer over the sheep, but cannot drive away the wolf: they may build up their own houses, but cannot build up God's house.

Secondly, As the Holy Spirit, and the power of it, is ne

cessary for ministers, so also for all other Christians what

soever.

But some here will be ready to say, yea, but do all believers receive the Spirit of God, and the power of the Spirit, as ministers do?

Yes, equally and alike with them, without any difference. This is evident, Acts xi. 15. where Peter tells the Jews, who contended with him for conversing and eating with the Gentiles, that when He began to speak the word to them, the Holy Spirit fell on them, saith he, as on us at the beginning. And again, ver. 17. Forasmuch then as God gave unto them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God. So that God gave the Holy Spirit to as many Gentiles as believed, in like manner as he did unto the apostles themselves and they received the same power of the Holy Spirit coming on them, as the apostles did. Whereby you may perceive, that not ministers only are spiritual men, and all others temporal, as the Papists have taught, and many ignorant people among ourselves, are still persuaded: but all true believers are spiritual, as well as they, being born of the Spirit, and baptized with the Spirit, equally as they are.

And so all true believers, as well as ministers, being endued with the Spirit; are also endued with the power of the Spirit, and so have more than an earthly power in them. They have all of them power of another nature than the power of the world; they partake of spiritual, heavenly and divine power, even of the very power of Christ himself; which infinitely transcends all the power of the creature.

You see then clearly, that all faithful Christians have the spirit of power, and the power of the Spirit coming on them, as well as ministers: And they stand in need of both these, for these causes;

1. They stand in need of the spirit of power, first, to difference and distinguish them from reprobates, and devils for without the gift of the Spirit, there is no difference between us and them. For Michael doth not differ from the devil, nor Gabriel from Beelzebub, but only by the Spirit. And Moses differs not from Pharaoh, nor Abel from Cain, nor Jacob from Esau, nor Peter from Judas, in regard of their substance, but in regard of the Spirit; which the one received, and the others were counted unworthy of.

2. To advance them above the condition of flesh and blood, and above all those, in whom is none of God's Spirit. The excellency of each creature is according to its spirit; for the more excellent the spirit of the creature is, the more excellent is the the creature itself; and each creature is valued and rated according to the spirit of it. How excellent then must they be above all the world, who have received the Spirit that is of God? Surely these are people of the most excellent spirit: And hence it is, that "the righteous is more excellent than his neighbour;" because his spirit is more excellent than his neighbour's.

3. To unite them unto Christ. The Spirit is the bond of union between the Father and the Son, in the Godhead; and the Father and the Son, are one in the Spirit, as we spake before. And now the same Spirit is our bond of union with Christ, and makes us one with Christ, as Christ is one with God, and unites us unto Christ in the unity of God; for as Christ is one with the Father, in the Spirit, so are we one with Christ in the Spirit: For he that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit; and he that is not one Spirit with the Lord, is not joined to him.

4. All faithful Christians stand in need of the power of the Spirit, as well as of the Spirit of power.

G

1. To change their nature, which is impossible to all power but the power of the Spirit. It would be a great power, to change clay into gold, and a pebble into a diamond; but it is a greater change that is wrought in a Christian, and requires a greater power. For the power of the Spirit, when it comes into our flesh, changes the nature of it. For it finds a man carnal, it makes him spiritual; it finds him earthly, it makes him heavenly; it finds him a drunkard, it makes him sober: an adulterer, it makes him chaste; a swearer, it makes him fear an oath; proud, it makes him humble; it finds him darkness, it makes him light in the Lord; in a word, it finds him nothing but a lump of sin, and makes him the righteousness of God in Christ. Thus the power of the Spirit changes our whole corrupt nature, and makes it conformable to the divine nature; as fire makes the iron in which it prevails, like unto itself, communicating its own nature to it. After this sort, the power of the Spirit changes our nature, and our nature cannot be changed without it. But without this power of the spirit, we shall always remain the same we were born, without any change at all. Yea, our corruption will, by daily use and exercise, increase in us, till at last it quite eat out that common natural good, which God hath given to every one of us, for the common benefit of mankind.

2. All Christians have need of the power of the Spirit to work grace in them. For our natures are wholly carnal and corrupt; and nothing can implant grace in them, but the mighty power of God's Spirit. And it is as great a miracle to see the grace of God dwelling in the corrupt nature of man, as to see the stars grow upon the earth. And yet the power of the Spirit doth this, as it is written, Truth shall spring out of the earth, Psal. lxxxv. 11. and again, Great and precious promises are made to us, that we should be partakers of the Divine nature, 2 Pet. i. 4, and again,

He hath predestinated us that we should be conformable to the image of his Son. That is, as in other things, so also in his virtues. So that the power of the spirit implants grace in our nature; and each grace is so much of the power of the spirit, in our flesh, as was said before. Wherefore we must needs learn to know, whose power the power of grace is. For though grace be a power in our flesh, it is not the power of our flesh: for Paul saith, in me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing: but and if any good be in my flesh, it dwells not in my flesh, but in God's Spirit which dwells in me. As light is in the air, but dwells in the sun, so when men are regenerate, good is in the flesh, but dwells in the Spirit. For grace in the soul, is nothing but so much of the power of the spirit, immediately dwelling and working in us; and when the Spirit is gone, all grace goes along with him, as all light with the sun but it dwells in him, and is inseparable from him.

3. All Christians stand in need of the power of the Spirit to enable them to mortify and destroy sin. There is no power in our flesh against sin; but all the power of our flesh, is for it: and therefore it must be another power than the power of our flesh that must destroy sin, and that can be no other than the power of God's Spirit. And the power of the spirit destroys the whole body of sin, and each particular strong corruption.

1. The whole body of sin, in all the parts, and members, and branches of it; each several influence and operation of the Spirit, being a several destruction, of some sin or other. For as the spirit that is in us, lusts after envy, or pride, or vain-glory, or covetousness, or uncleanness, or the like; so the Spirit we have of God, according to its mighty power, destroys all those sinful works of our corrupt spirit, and mortifies all the deeds of our flesh; according to that of Paul, If ye mortify the deeds of the flesh,