To this, more than to any other cause, is the _great apostasy_ of all Christendom to be attributed. This was the door, at which the _whole spirit_ of the world entered into possession of the Christian church. Worldly desires and interests, vanity, pride, envy, contention, bitterness, and ambition, the death of all that is good in the soul, have now, and always had their chief nourishment and support, from a sense of the merit, and sufficiency of literal accomplishments. Humility, meekness, patience, faith, hope, contempt of the world and heavenly affections (the very life of Jesus in the soul) are by few people less desired, or more hard to be practised, than by great _wits_, _classical critics_, _linguists_, _historians_ and _orators_ in holy orders. Now to bring a man to a full dependance upon, and faith in the continual operation of the Holy Spirit, as the only raiser and preserver of the life of God in their hearts, it is not enough, you sometimes, or _often_ preach upon the subject, but every thing that you inculcate, should be directed _constantly_ to it, and all that you exhort men to, should be required, only as a means of obtaining, and concurring with, that Holy Spirit, which is, and only can be, the _life_ and _truth_ of goodness. And all that you turn them from, should be as from something that resists, and grieves that blessed Spirit of God, which always wills to remove all evil out of our souls, and make us again partakers of the divine nature. For as they only are Christians, who are born of the Spirit, so nothing should be taught Christians, but as a _work_ of the Spirit; nor any _thing_ sought, but by the _power_ of the Spirit, as well in hearing as teaching. It is owing to the want of this, that there is so much preaching and hearing, and so little benefit either of the preacher or hearer. The labour of the preacher is, for the most part, to display logic, argument, and eloquence, upon religious subjects; and so he is just as much united to God by his own religious discourses, as the pleader at the bar is, by his law and oratory upon right and wrong. And the hearers, by their regarding such accomplishments, go away just as much helped, to be new men in Christ Jesus, as by hearing a cause of great equity well pleaded at the bar. Now in both these cases, with regard to preacher and people, the error is, trusting to a power in themselves; the one in an ability, to persuade powerfully; the other in an ability, to act according to that which they hear. And so the natural man goes on preaching, and the natural man goes on hearing the things of God, in a fruitless course. And thus it must be, so long as either preacher or hearers, seek any thing else but to edify, and be edified in, and through the immediate power and essential presence of the Holy Spirit, working in them.