that the Spirit itself, that is, the fame Spirit by which we are made Children, beareth witnefs with our Spirit, that we are the Children of God. 'Tis Matter of great Difpute, what fort of Evidence the Apostle here means, and what kind of Certainty arises from it. Some have placed this Evidence among the Gifts of the Spirit, and fuppofed it to be given on purpose to affure the Elect of the Certainty of their Salvation. Others maintain, That no Man, unless it be specially revealed to him by God, can ever know that he is in a State of Security in this Life: And this Opinion was received and confirmed by the Council of Trent, as may be seen at large in the fixth Seffion. It will not be worth my Pains or your Patience to enter into the Niceties of this Controverfy: And therefore I fhall confine myself to St. Paul, and endeavour to fhew you his Meaning in the Text, which will go a great way towards giving us right Notions and Apprehensions in this Matter. In order to this, I propose three Things to be confidered:

First, How many Witneffes St. Paul points out to us in the Text, and who they are. Secondly, What kind of Evidence each of them gives in this Cafe.

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Thirdly,

Thirdly, What the Refult of their Evidence is, and with what kind of Certainty we know that we are the Children of God.

First, We are to confider how many Witneffes St. Paul points out to us in the Text, and who they are. As our Tranflators have represented St. Paul's Meaning, there is no Room for Difpute concerning the Number of the Witneffes, which are evidently two: The Spirit itself beareth witness with our Spirit: The Spirit itself, that is, the Spirit of Adoption, which Chriftians receive, is one Wit nefs; and our own Spirit is the other Witnefs. But the vulgar Latin, and feveral other Tranflators, render the Words to this Effect: The Spirit itself beareth witness to our Spirit. According to this Senfe, which is maintained by Grotius and Crellius, and fome others, there is but one Witnefs, the Spirit of Adoption, who bears evidence to our Spirit, But the Words in the Original evidently imply the Sense which our Tranflators follow: Αυτὸ τὸ πνεῦμα συμμαρτυρεῖ τῷ πνεύματι ἡμῶν. Zvuμapropav fignifies to be a Fellow-witnefs, pr to witness the fame Thing that another does And fo the Word conftantly fignifies in Scripture, and is never ufed but where there is a concurrent Evidence of two Wit, neffes. We meet with the fame Word in

Rom.

Rom. ii. 15: Which fhew the Work of the Law written in their Hearts, their Confcience also bearing witness, and their Thoughts the mean while accufing or elfe excufing one another. And to this Place Grotius fends us, to fhew that the Word is ufed of one fingle Witness only; as here the Conscience only is faid to bear witness. But a little Attention will fhew us in this Place another Witnefs: The Apoftle proves from the Evidence of Confcience, that the Gentiles had the Work or Matter of the Law written in their Hearts: The Law teftifies to Men what is good, and what is evil: If Confcience teftifies the fame Thing to be good and just which the Law does, then Conscience proves the Matter of the Law to be written in the Heart; if it teftifies any thing elfe, fo be it: But no other Evidence will prove the Apostle's Affertion, that the Gentiles have the Work of the Law written in their Heart. And therefore the Apoftle's Argument ftands thus: The Gentiles fhew the Work of the Law to be writ ten in their Heart by the Teftimony of their Confcience, which agrees with the Testimony of the Law; their Confcience and the Law both allowing and forbidding the fame Thing. So that the Apostle's Argument plainly suppofes the concurrent Evidence of the Law

and of Confcience. And therefore even here the Word oviμagrupe points out two Witσυμμαρτυρεῖν neffes to us. The fame Word is used by St. Paul in the first Verse of the ninthChapter of the Romans: I fay the Truth in Chrift, I lye not, my Confcience alfo bearing me witnes, συμμαρτυρούσης μοι. But here evidently are two Witnesses to the fame Thing. When a Man does not fpeak the Truth, 'tis certain that he witneffes one Thing, and his Confcience witneffes another, and are therefore two distinct. Witneffes: So are they likewise when a Man speaks Truth; for the fame. Evidence will not make two Witnesses to be one Witness. And. therefore here also there are two Witneffes; St. Paul, who witneffed his Affection to his Countrymen, and his Confcience, which witneffed for his Sincerity. The Word is ufed but once more in the New Teftament, and that. is in the laft Chapter of the Revelations; and there it is ufed with refpect to a Teftimony, in which Christ, and his Angel whom he fent to the Churches, and even St. John, were concerned. So that the Word is every-where ufed of the concurrent Evidence of two or more Witneffes. And, this being the conftant Ufe of the Word, there can be no Reason given why it should not be taken in.

the

the fame Senfe here, and rendered, The Spirit itself beareth witness, not to, but with, or together with our Spirit, that we are the Children God. Here then are two Witneffes; and who they are, is next to be confidered.

Who the first Spirit is, muft be learnt from what goes before. In the fecond Verfe of this Chapter we read of the Spirit of Life in Chrift Jefus, which bath made us free from the Law of Sin and of Death: In the ninth Verse he is called the Spirit of God and of Chrift; in the eleventh Verfe, the Spirit of him that raised up fefus from the Dead; in the fifteenth Verfe, the Spirit of Adoption, by which we cry Abba, Father. In the Verfe of the Text Reference is had to this Spirit: The Spirit itself, that is, the Spirit which has made us free in Chrift Jefus, the . Spirit by which we have received Adoption, does itself bear witnefs with our Spirit, that we are the Children of God. But the Question then is, whether Spirit in all these Places be the Name of a Perfon, or whether it denotes only a Quality and Temper beFonging to Chriftians; fo that the Spirit of Chrift fhall fignify no more than the Mind of Chrift does in another Place, Let the fame Mind be in you which was in Chrift fefus; that is, the fame Temper and Difpofition.