Casuistical morning-exercises the fourth volume /

(1.) To speak generally: That which we are to pray, and strive to be filled with, is the Spirit of God, Eph. 5.18. Be not drunk with Wine wherein is excess, but be ye filled with the Spirit; where first the Apostle dehorts against Intemperance; we may have too much of the best outward things: It's easy to run into excess in these matters: The Psalmist assures us, Psal. 104.15. That Wine makes glad the heart of man. And the Prophet, Hos. 4.11. assures us too, that Wine takes away the Heart. It's no more but this; the Use is good, the Abuse is sinful; and the danger is, lest from the lawfulness of the Use we slide insensibly into the Abuse. Be not therefore filled with wine, wherein is excess; but then he exhorts too, But be ye filled with the Spirit: No fear of excess, or Intemperance in this case; when God fills the Souls of his People with his Spirit, he fills them with all the Spiritual good things that their hearts can fill their Prayers with: Compare but these two places: Matth. 7.11. How much more shall your Father which is in Heaven give good things to them that ask him? Luke 11.13. How much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? The comparing of these two Scriptures evidently proves, that in praying for the Holy Spirit, we pray virtually for all good things; and that when God is graciously pleased to communicate his Spirit, he communicates all good things; when the Father gives his Son, he gives all things: So the Apostle has taught us to believe, and argue, Rom. 8, 32. He that spared not his Son, but delivered him up for us All; how shall he not with him freely give us all things? And we have equal reason to believe, that he that spared his Spirit, and gave him to us, will in him, and with him freely give us all things: But these all things are to be taken in suo genere: The Gift of Christ comprehends all things that are to be done for us; the gift of the Spirit includes all things to be wrought in us: Christ is all things for Justification, the Spirit is all things for Sanctification and Consolation. I shall touch at present upon some few things.