dL ae 7, Fi bi Pees oepwpecnstresapecl ies Cyt SET FL Peet woepepecned shane Hiboyel erspasanate oost “Private “Library of Rev. G. E. Hughes Wowie isDate eee rhe '” OCT 20 1932 4) cS is \ EO visa Ta \ ease te ONS Seat ee .Clark, Dougan, 1828-1896. The offices of the Holy spirit ‘ea Nal et eiag ky G New Yor«k: GEORGE HUGHES & CO, 62-65 BrBLE House. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2022 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library https://archive.org/details/officesofholyspi0Oclar < PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. HIS little book is offered to the Christian public without any apology. The subject is a very im- portant one. If errors and defects shall be discovered in my manner of treating it, I shall not be surprised nor disappointed. The responsibility, both of the matter and the manner, rests solely with myself. I have here discussed the Offices of the Holy Spirit in His relations (1) to the unconverted world, (2) to the individual believer, (3) to the visible Church. The treatise is by no means an exhaustive one; but it has been my aim to give, in small compass and in simple language, a clear, definite and Scriptural account of the Holy Spirit’s work. How far I have succeeded in this object the reader will decide. _ If the sentiments expressed in the following pages are true, they must result in good. If they are false, God can over-rule them to prevent evil. lv PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. The book is sent forth with earnest prayers that it may prove a blessing to very many souls, and promote, so far as its influence extends, the glorious cause of Christ. De WorcEstER, ENGLAND, 1878. PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. AM gratified and thankful that a second edition of my unpretending little book is called for, only half a year after the publication of the first. With the hope of extending its circulation and use- fulness, it is now issued in a cheaper form. A. few corrections and alterations have been made, the titles of many of the chapters have been changed, some matter has been omitted, and some added. I have endeavored to profit by such criticisms as have fallen under my notice; but in all important particulars the book is nearly the same as at first. O Lord, my Heavenly Father, condescend, I pray Thee, for Jesus’ sake, and by the Holy Spirit, to con- tinue Thy blessing abundantly and increasingly upon this humble effort to promote the cause of truth and holiness in the earth. Ge LEOMINSTER, ENGLAND, 1879, _ ad r ’ = 3 , F ) ) ; ‘ . : * ‘ — “ ; : ¢ =, ~, . % ry . es . = ra i a “ - ~~ * 4 ' \ a 7 > : ie ee ¢ 4 ¢ ay : ' " - 7 Rear . A - > ‘ 1 . < Le ; a ; } ; ee 3 * € ; 3 é F ir we ‘ . = =e 4 ; - ~ ae : ‘ “ 5 Pe . - is ¥ —— : & : p os ; ie : : h f re ‘ a> 4d) \ = f - ’ . 7 ae ‘ be CHAP, I. 1 ibs TET. IV. Wie Vii VV LL: VEL 1D D.@ le POLE: CONTENTS. WHo 18 THE Hoty SPIRIT?......... FC eee cieeeeees DORN OFOTH Be OPLE LIN tes savcus sececuvees: Verseteaietecstes rae DAPTUZRD. WITH) THE: SPIRIT mcs eeensecns cess be sess soci SANOTIBIRD BY (THE: OPIRIT + cic: oeii cs sesetere vests Aah eke MApE PERFECT IN LOVE BY THE SPIRIT a CONSECRATION AND FAITH. WALKING IN THE SPIRIT........ Meche re Teese esa DIFFICULTIES SOLVED :isccecccsccsvess AS sy aya A Te oeie PINDUED SE Wi hd BOOP TRE Tree sc orcas os ore aetna eek eus Bry tp: INDWELT BY THE SPIRIT.......cccccncccccs eoeerseseseeroeerre PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT......... sara THE SPIRIT IN THE CHURCH............00- PAGE. 118 136 166 179 194. 215 \ ila ‘ ferccs O Nay) 76 2 ee ee a an Lo?- tlet2.l Pee. - GE Huypes CHAPTER I. WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT? SAY who, not what, and by this mode of expression it may be understood at the outset that I am in- quiring about a person—not a thing. The Holy Spirit is not an influence, nor an attribute, nor an emanation, but a person. He is not merely a messenger proceeding from the Father and the Son, but one and co-eternal with the Father and the Son. He is not simply, as the etymology of the word spirit might imply, the breath of God, nor the abstract power of God, nor the life of God, nor the life of Christ—but God Himself. The Saviour uniformly uses the personal pronouns, he, him, whom, himself, in designating the Comforter or the Spirit of Truth—and although there are two or three passages in the English New Testament, in which -the neuter forms, itself and it, are employed in reference to the Spirit, yet everywhere in the Bible His personality is recognized and His Godhead asserted. “ Why,” said Peter to Ananias, “hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost? thou hast not lied unto men but unto God.” “ Whereof,” writes the author of the Epis- tle to the Hebrews, “the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us; for after that He had said before, ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord!’”’ In the former of these quotations the terms, “Holy Ghost” and “God,” in the latter, the terms, “ Holy Ghost” and “the Lord,” are evidently 1 2 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY . SPIRIT. used interchangeably to designate the same Almighty Being. And as the Holy Ghost is one with God the Father, He is also one with God the Son. In direct connection with the promise of the Comforter, the Saviour said to His mourning disciples, “Z will not leave you comfortless, J will come to you;” and His final parting words to them before His ascension were, “Lo, J am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” The Holy Ghost is called Spirit of God, Spirit of Christ, and Christ. He inspired the writers of the Bible. He said to the Church at Antioch, “Separate me Barnabas and Saul, for the work whereunto J have ealled them.” He forbade Paul to preach the gospel in Asia, and suffered him not to go into Bithynia. He de- termined for, and with the first council at Jerusalem, what restrictions should be imposed on the Gentile con- verts. He is associated with the Father and the Son in the final commission to the disciples, “Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ;” and the attributes of Deity, eternal existence, omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, creative power, are all ascribed to Him. And here I will venture to ask one or two questions. (1.) Is not the practice of designating the Holy Ghost by the impersonal pronoun 7t, and praying for its influ- ence and zs work in our hearts, calculated to detract somewhat from that worshipful reverence which is due to His dignity, personality and deity? (2.) Is it not better to apply to this divine Being, some one of the appellations used in Scripture, such as Holy Ghost, WIIO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT? 3 Holy Spirit, Comforter, or Spirit of Christ, than to employ instead the name of one of His attributes or workings, as “the light,” “the truth,” “the seed,” or the “inward voice?” It would certainly seem to me less ambiguous, and more in accordance with the form of sound words, not to designate the Holy Ghost by any term which in the Bible is applied only to Christ or to God. The Spirit is truth, but Christ is the truth—the Spirit quickens the dead soul into life, but Christ is the life—the Spirit points the way, but Christ is the way— the Spirit makes manifest, and ‘whatsoever doth make manifest is light,” but God is light—and Christ is the light of the world—the Spirit testifies of the “seed of the woman” which shall bruise the serpent’s head, and that “incorruptible seed” is Christ Himself, The mystery of the Godhead will ever be incompre- hensible to the finite mind. In approaching that “holy ground,” we need to tread reverently and with uncov- ered feet. No fact is more clearly set forth in the Holy Scriptures than that God is one, and yet He has conde- seended to reveal Himself in the threefold character of Tfather, Son, and Holy Ghost. And, as in the wondrous plan of salvation, the Son performs certain definite offices distinct from those of the Father, so the Holy Spirit also accomplishes a work peculiarly His own. It is to a con- sideration of the offices of the Spirit, that the following pages will be principally devoted. CHAPTER II. BORN OF THE SPIRIT. | eae anaes human being comes into the world with : innate tendencies to sin: and every responsible human being has so far yielded to these tendencies, as to become an actual transgressor. Our first parents have sinned, and all their descendants have sinned; the man Christ Jesus—the second Adam, and the seed of the woman—being the only exception. We are born into this world possessed of physical life, and intellectual life; but in order to obtain spiritual life, we must be quickened by the Holy Spirit Himself, and born aga. The Saviour, in His memorable conversation with Nicodemus, insists upon the new birth as an indis- pensable thing. Whatever else may be done without, the new birth may not be done without. Whatever else may be desirable, the new birth is positively essential. Just as certainly as we get into this world by birth, we get into the kingdom of God by birth also. We do not get into that kingdom by growth, nor by culture, nor by money, nor by penances, nor by works of righteousness, nor by ritualistic ordinances, nor by anti-ritualistic ob- servances, nor by improving our own virtues, nor by leaving off certain bad habits, nor by self-inflicted crosses or mortifications, nor by anything whatever which we of ourselves can be, or do, or suffer, or merit, but simply and only by the new birth. 4 BORN OF THE SPIRIT. 5 And, moreover, the spiritual birth, like the natural birth, is a definite process. There is a time when it takes place. The birth pangs may be slighter or more severe—shorter or more protracted—but as for every person upon earth there was a moment when the first breath was drawn and life began, so for every child of God there was a time when in a spiritual sense he passed from death unto life. Every Christian has his spiritual as well as his natural birthday. In some in- stances, but by no means in all, the conversion is mani- fest to the consciousness of the individual at the time when it occurs, and distinctly remembered ever after- ward. “ Where were you born?” said a church prelate to Summerfield. “In Liverpool and Dublin,” was the reply. “Why,” said he, “were you born in two places?” And the answer again was, “Art thou a master of Israel and knowest not these things ?” But whether distinctly recognized and definitely re- membered or not, regeneration is to every one who ex- periences it, a crisis—not less marked than that which happens to the child, when it passes from the darkness, and the confinement, and the unconsciousness of its ante-natal existence, into the light, and the life, and the freedom, and the enjoyment of the wide, wide world. You see a living man—you know that he had a birth- day, even if neither himself nor any one else can tell when it was. So, many a Christian may not be able ac- curately to define the time when he experienced the new birth, but both he and others know, or ought to know, that he has experienced it, because he feels within him- self the witness of the Spirit, and exhibits to others that Christian love which is recognized in Scripture as an 6 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. unmistakable sign of spiritual life. It is not so im- portant to be aware of the time, as of the fact of one’s conversion. It is of far less moment to inquire, When was I born again? or, When did I begin to live? than to inquire, Have I been born again? and, Am I living? And why should a sudden conversion be deemed strange or incredible? are not analogous changes con- stantly occurring in human affairs? A man ceases to act with one political party, and begins to act with an- other; he is converted politically. A citizen removes from cone country to another—becomes the subject of a different sovereign, and is converted as to his allegiance. A little time is sufficient for such a change. And may it not be possible for a subject of the prince of the power of the air to change his allegiance, and become a subject of the King of kings, without being months er years, or a lifetime, in making up his mind and deciding for Christ? A drunkard in some moment of sober thought, resolves to abandon his cups, and if he keeps that reso- lution, he is converted from intemperance. Every day, decisions are made in a moment which influence a life- time. Nor are families and communities exempt from these sudden changes. under conviction, nor the amount of ircnyrdan welmniogy feat “Th the ereat plan of eon man receives ae giving, , and conquers by yielding; every victory is by Scie (It was not Jacob wrestling, but Jacob ceas- ing to wrestle—Jacob humbled, subdued, helpless, halting, trusting, asking—that apeatied the blessing from God.) Conviction, if yielded to, produces “ seals sorrow ”— sorrow for sin as such; not because it has injured us in health, reputation, or estate, but primarily and chiefly, because it has offended our gracious Heavenly Father ; “and godly sorrow worketh repentance unto salvation not to be repented of,’ Repentance is not penance; nor remorse—which cty- mologically, is biting again, and belongs to despair—not agony of mind; not conviction; not “godly sorrow ;” but that change of mind, and purpose and will, which results from godly sorrow. It is not simply the forsaking of one’s sins; because that may be done from various motives of self-interest; whereas, repentance is in the heart, and has respect to our obligations to God. Never- theless, beginning in the heart, it works out also into the life, and produces “fruits meet for repentance.” Fol- lowing conviction, it is the afterthought—the new resolve ; the choosing to be the Lord’s; the decision in favor of Christ ; and true repentance does inwolve the abandoning of all known sin. Whilst it is the goodness of God, or, in other words, 16 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. the influence of the Holy Spirit, that leads men to re- pentance, nevertheless, all men are commanded to repent. “Repent ye, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand,” was the primary message not only of John the Baptist, but of the Saviour Himself: and the same injunction 1s repeated, in one form or another, in many places, both in the Old and New Testaments. An express command of God implies the power to obey, and hence, repentance must be, in an important sense, an act of the will. God desires our co-partnership in the work of salvation, to the extent that we shall put our wills on His side, sub- mit to Him, and consent to be saved. Without His grace, doubtless, we shall not be able to repent ; but His grace will not be withheld if we are willing to repent. He commands us to repent, and requires us to repent; and He will not do our repenting for us. Let no one, therefore, who is convinced of his need of a Saviour, be waiting for deeper conviction, or more sensible manifes- tations of his undone condition, but let him, at once, by a voluntary act, put himseif into a state of submission to God; yielding his heart, including his will, into His hands. And whoever does this, repents. But, in order that the sinner may be born again, he must experience not only repentance toward God, but also faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ; and every Gospel blessing which the Lord promises to give us, is to be received only with the hand of faith. ‘ Faith signifies nothing more nor less than believing God’s truth. It is the substance of things hoped for ; because it makes them real. It is the evidence of things not seen; because it convinces the mind of their existence and importance. It is the confidence which the human BORN OF THE SPIRIT. 17 soul reposes in its Creator. It is taking God at His word, It is the acceptance of the glad tidings. It is trust in the Lord. It is rest in Jesus. All men believe something, and therefore, all men have faith. But it cannot be said, with truth, that all men believe God; nor, that all men have religious faith, or saving faith. It is not sufficient to believe, historically, what is writ- ten about the Lord Jesus Christ; nor to believe, in a general way, that He was the Son of God, and that He came into the world to save sinners. It is needful for each individual to believe in Him asa personal Saviour, and to grasp Him with that appropriating faith which uses the first person singular, and the possessive pro- noun, This God is my God. This Saviour is my Sa- viour. “ My beloved is mine, and I am His.” C¥aith is either the power of believing, or the act of be- hevmg. In the former sense it is given to all.) {In the latter i is exercised with the consent and choice of the human will) God presents us with His truth, and gives us the capacity to believe it; just as He gives us food, and the capacity to eat it. The act of believing, like the act of cating, is our own. Surrounded by plenty, men can starve their bodies by neglecting or refusing to eat. Surrounded by the saving truth of the Gospel, they can starve their souls by neglecting or refusing to believe. A ship, hoisting signals of distress, was spoken by another vessel and asked what was wanted, Feebly and beseechingly came the answer from famishing throats— “Water! water!” “Let down your buckets and dip it up,” was the reply. “You are in the mouth of the 18 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Amazon.” Fresh water all around them, and they per- ishing with thirst! And, with the water of life flowing freely for their refreshment, m ultitudes of souls are doing the same thing. The proper business of a truly convicted soul while he is praying for repentance, is to repent ; and, while he is praying for faith, is to believe. “Faith,” says Dr. Upham, “ considered as an element of the Divine mind, is a nature and not an acquisition. - In man, also, faith is a nature; but in God, it is nature eternal—in man it is nature given. God, without faith in Himself, could not be God; and man, without faith in God as his Father, could not be the child of God. When man, therefore, was originally created, he was created with faith in God. If man was originally created in faith, he could not have fallen from his original state, except by ceasing to have faith; in other words, by unbelief. And he cannot be restored to the state from which he fell, except by the restoration of faith. Pro- vision for this restoration is made in Jesus Christ; and this restoration is actually realized in the case of all those, who, in ceasing to have faith in themselves, have opened the door of their hearts for the faith which is in God.” Our Saviour has told us that all who would get into the Kingdom of Heaven, must enter it “as a little child.” Now the child lives in the constant and easy exercise of faith. He readily believes what is told him about nat- ural things. With the same readiness also, if rightly instructed, he believes what is told him about spiritual things. He is wholly dependent upon others for the supply of his daily needs; but he has faith in his pa- rents and care-takers—he trusts them; he is not careful; BORN OF THE SPIRIT. 19 he takes no anxious thought; he expects them to pro- vide for his wants, and he is not disappointed. Accord- ing to his faith it is unto him. If a certain good thing is promised him, he does not think of doubting that he shall receive it, but begins at once to enjoy it by faith. If certain things are required of him, or certain restraints imposed upon him, even though he may not be able to understand their reason, yet he quickly learns to obey ; because he is certain that his father knows what is right and proper much better than himself. And every one—man or child, old or young, male or female, is to receive the Kingdom of Heaven in a similar spirit of unquestioning faith, and implicit obedience. There must be faith in God’s promises; obedience to His commands—which commands, at this stage are, repent and believe—and submission to Him, even in things we cannot understand; because our Father knows. And just because of this easy faith, it is especially in- cumbent on Christians to use all proper endeavors to secure the conversion of their own children, and of children generally. Still, as of old, the language of Christ is, “Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not.” Of all the Christians in the world to-day, there can be little doubt that a large majority were converted in childhood and youth. The Holy Spirit begins His work of conviction upon the heart ata very early period of life. Ifa child, even when very young, comes to his parent grieved and distressed, because he has done wrong, the goodness of God is leading him to repentance. Embrace the opportunity thus presented by Providence for in- 20 THE OFFICES OF THI HOLY SPIRIT. structing him in the plan of salvation, and for bringing him to Christ. Do not give him any false comfort on the one hand, nor unduly discourage him on the other. Do not divert his attention from the subject too hastily, nor persuade him that he is not very bad after all. Tell him that he has indeed a naughty heart, because Satan has had possession of it, and by means of it has led him into sin. But tell him also that Jesus died, that he might be forgiven and become God’s child. Instruct him how to pray in the name of that Saviour, for pardon and a new heart, and then, to belicve he receives what he prays for. In this simple way, even a child, being justi- fied by faith, will have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. And not the child only, but every one that is seeking salvation, should be instructed to ask, that he may receive. Whilst naturally and properly desiring the prayers of others on his behalf, he is not to rely wholly upon them, but pray for himself “ Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Do not be satisfied with exercising good desires in your hearts, but turn those good desires into words, and what you thus desire, pray for. The penitent sinner who humbles himself before God, assumes the attitude of prayer, and asks, vocally, for ITis mercy, seldom fails speedily to find pardon and ac- ceptance at [His hands. It is quite true, indeed, that neither praying—whether silent or vocal—nor anything else that man can do, will be of any avail in the work of regeneration, without the aid of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, however, works by and with the concurrence of the intellectual and moral faculties of man, He does not supersede BORN OF THE SPIRIT. 21 those faculties, nor act independently of them. The in- tellect, the sensibilities, the conscience and the will are all operated upon and influenced by Him. Man is not an automaton, nor a machine, manipulated in such a way by the Holy Spine that he must be saved or lost in spite of himself. He is, on the contrary, a moral a gent, possessing and exercising the power of choice. The Holy Scriptures eon eMak y persuade him to choose arig gM, but they clearly recognize his power of choosing wrong and the Holy Spirit, feiss gave forth the Seripiines te precisely the same thing. Tt is He that causes the “ godly sorrow,” “that work- eth repentance unto salvation not to be repented of.” It is He that produces in the soul a hungering and thirsting after righteousness ; and He does so in order that it may be filled. It is He that begets those longing desires after salvation, which can be satisfied only in Christ. It is He that inspires the prayer for mercy and acceptance ; and a prayer thus inspired will most. cer- tainly be answered. It is He that enables the repenting, praying sinner to exercise saving faith in Christ; and “no man can say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.” Man’s part in the work of regeneration is to repent, to ask, to believe. God does the rest. But “ fin cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” [Whenever the word of God, the gospel of life and salvation, is heard by the sinner—whether through the aghananentelties of the Bible, a sermon, a hymn, a tract, or in any other way—that is a sufficient call to accept and obey it; and the Holy Spirit will not be wanting on His part, both to persuade and to enable him so to do.) sufficient reason to repent is, that God 22 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. commands it. A sufficient reason to ask is, that you realize your need. A sufficient reason to believe is, that Christ is the Truth ; and the repenting, asking, believing, should be done at once. , /If I may not invite a sinner to come to Christ now, it must be because Christ 1s not willing to receive him now; which is only saying that He wishes him to continue longer in his sins: a conclu- sion which the boldest advocate of delay and preparation would scarcely dare to adopt.“ Behold, now is the ac- cepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” If this book should be so fortunate as to be perused by any in the younger walks of life, I would here pause a moment to entreat all these to give heed to the,admo- nition of the Preacher—* demember now thy Oreator in the days of “thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say I have no pleasure in them ;” no pleasure in the follies, nor the gaieties, nor the sins of this world—whcere, perhaps, you have hitherto been seeking all your pleasure. Oh! if only you can be persuaded now to heed the loving voice of your Saviour, who, through the Spirit within and the Gospel without, is inviting you to arise and come away —away from sin, and away to Him—how much bitter anguish, and sorrow, and remorse will be spared you in the future! Whilst it is comparatively easy to believe, whilst it is comparatively easy to obey, before both heart and life have become thoroughly steeped in sin, before evil tendencies have become strengthened by constant indulgence, and evil habits fixed by constant repetition, before Satan has so completely enveloped you in his toils that you shall almost despair of escape, “ Whilst the evil days come not,” oh, “Remember now thy Creator !” BORN OF THE SPIRIT. 23 God’s purposes concerning you are purposes of love; His plans are plans of love. His means are means of love. He has His plan, also, for every man, yes, and for every child ;—a plan which, if carried out, will se- cure unmixed blessing to the recipient, and glory, as well as pleasure to Himself. What He wants to give you is infinitely better than anything you can seek for your- selves. If only the dear children and young people would let Him have His own way with them; if only they would not frustrate His grace, nor mar His work, nor thwart His plans, nor resist His will; what glori- ously blessed results would He bring out in their expe- rience. Into what delightfully green pastures would He guide them, beside what blessedly still waters would He lead them. Not but that His dealings would be very different in different cases. He would make some, it may be, like vessels of gold and of silver; and some like vessels of wood and of stone; but all should be vessels unto honor—sanctified, and meet for the Master’s use. Men seek for pleasure, or for wealth, or for fame, or for position in the world. For these things they strive, for these they struggle, for these they burn many a time the midnight oil; and how very few, after all their efforts, ever obtain that one of these supposed good things which they have desired so earnestly, and striven for so long. And out of the comparatively small number who do attain what the world calls success in life, how much fewer still are those who are satisfied therewith. Do they not find by experience which is often bitter and sad, that— “Things of earth were never yet designed To quench the vast and deathless thirst of an immortal mind !” 24 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. and that the very objects which they fondly imagined would make them happy, are only—like the apples of Sodom—fair and beautiful to the view, but crumbling to ashes within the grasp ! Multitudes of disappointed men are in the world to- day ; some disappointed because they have not attained what they desired, and some because. after they have at- tained it, they are still unsatisfied. “ Bubbles we earn with our whole soul’s tasking ; ee) | ’Tis only God that is given away— ’Tis only Heaven may be had for the asking.” “ONE THING IS NEEDFUL.” “God seeth not as man seeth.” Many a life which the world calls a success, will be found a stupendous failure when weighed in the balance of the sanctuary. Many a life which men count a failure, God will count a grand success. A wealthy merchant was suddenly stricken with a fatal malady. Casting his dying eyes around the luxu- riously-furnished apartment in which he lay, and then fixing them upon his only daughter—for whose sake, it may be, he had been eager in his pursuit of gain—he simply asked, “ Nelly, have not.we made a mistake after all?” What a volume of instruction do these words convey ; and how lamentable that in any case a mistake, whose disastrous effects may extend to eternity, should be discovered only when it is too late to rectify it! Let us make a definite hypothesis. Suppose that God, by His Holy Spirit, calls you to surrender to Him - and become a Christian at the age of fifteen years. You plead for delay. You wish a little more time for your BORN OF THE SPIRIT. 25 own pleasures, and your own plans, you are young, you want to enjoy this world awhile, you must finish your education, you must settle in life, you must give yourself to business. A hundred excuses your own ingenuity and Satan’s, can quickly invent, and you say to the Spirit—“ Go thy way for this time.” Suppose, however, that you stipulate that, at thirty years of age you will surrender your heart to the Lord. If sucha thing were possible, suppose that He accepts your presumptuous proposition ; leaves you to your own plannings, and willings, and pleasures, for fifteen years; returns to you, and you keep your vow—close in with His offers and become His child. Even then, what have you done? You have simply deprived yourself of Jifteen years of un- mixed blessing. The Lord in His infinite goodness may, and will, make of you the best thing that can be made now; but not the best thing that could have been made if you had surrendered then. There is a loss in every day’s delay to accept the blessed Spirit’s call; and not even by double diligence can we, in any just sense of the term, redeem lost time. But unhappily, in point of fact the majority of man- kind, even in gospel lands, pass through their childhood and youth without ever definitely exercising faith in Christ, and without being converted. And we often meet with those, in middle or advanced life, who, al- though greatly concerned about their souls, yet tell us they cannot believe. Ard yet, from their childhood they have had faith in the sense of the power to believe; but they have never put that latent power into actual use by definitely believing God’s truth for themselves. Their faith is weakened and paralyzed by long disuse; just as 26 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. sight would be weakened and paralyzed if the eyes were bandaged from infancy to manhood, and never employed im seeing anything. Under these circumstances, the will must be brought to bear in aid of the debilitated faith. The convicted and prayerful penitent, must will to believe; he must choose to believe; he must determine to believe. Do not let it be objected that belief is not a matter of volition, but a matter of evidence. It is not from any lack of evidence, that such an one as we have supposed does not believe that Christ is able and willing to save him now, and that He does save him now. It is because Satan has got hold of his believing power and rendered it partially inert. And now, let the will be put on the believing side, and let the individual resolve to obey God’s positive command—believe, as he would obey any other command. Let him grasp the promises of Christ and appropriate them to himself. “ Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out.”—That means me, now. “ Be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee.”—That means me, now. “ Be it unto thee even as thou wilt.”—That means me, now. ‘ Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.” —That means me, now. With a fixed deter- mination, let him regard unbelief as a grievous sin and an infinite dishonor to God, and, while he prays for help from above, let him also strive to believe. The Holy Spirit will be present to his necessity ; and as he en- treats, like one of old—“ Lord, I believe, help Thou mine unbelief,” he will receive the gracious response— “Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.” On one occasion Jesus found a man whose right hand BORN OF THE SPIRIT. ye was withered. He gaye him a positive command: “ Stretch forth thine hand.” The poor man might have answered, “TI cannot—it is the very thing I would gladly do, but this right hand has long ago forgotten its cunning; to tell me to stretch it forth is a mockery.” Do we not see that if he had reasoned thus he might have carried his withered hand to the grave? But he did not thus reason. The command came: “Stretch forth thine hand.” Immediately he made the effort, and with the effort came the power. The hand was stretched forth, and became whole as the other. Let the convicted and penitent sinner, whose faith has become feeble by want of exercise, do likewise. By a determined effort let him stretch forth the hand of faith, and he also shall be made whole. And now the same blessed Spirit who has thus wrought _ the new birth in the soul of the sinner, becomes a wit- ness to his adoption. “ The Spirit itself, beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.” And, because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, “Abba, Father.” “He that believeth in the Son of God hath the witness in himself’ And the forgiven, accepted, regenerated believer, can but utter from his heart the language of adoring praise—“ Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name,” 28 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. REMARKS, I, Conviction is the work of the Holy Spirit on the heart of the sinner, by which he is made to realize his undone condition and earnestly to desire reconciliation with God. Tn order to bring the impenitent to conviction, the Holy Spirit may either operate directly, or He may employ a great variety of instrumentalities. It. Repentance is change of mind, the after-thought, a firm resolve to turn away from sin and come to Christ. “Godly sorrow worketh repentance,” and “Godly sor- row” is itself the result of conviction, produced in the unforgiven soul by the Holy Ghost. The amount of mental agitation and suffering that may precede, or ac- company, repentance is very different in different cases. One is pressed down as with the weight of a mountain, under the sense of his guilt. Another is melted at once into contrition, as he gets a glimpse of God’s infinite love. One exclaims with Charles Marshall, “Oh, un- declarable fall!—Oh, endless wall of partition and separation!—Oh, gulf unutterable!” Another with the Psalmist cries, “Because Thy loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise Thee.” One hears the threatenings of Sinai; another the invitations of Calvary. One is aroused by the terrors of impending judgment; another responds to the voice of love, as an infant awakened from slumber by its mother’s kiss. And let us not give heed to any heresy that would weaken a single motive, either of fear or of love, which may draw men to Christ. BORN OF THE SPIRIT. 29 TET: Faith is the acceptance of God’s mercy and grace in Christ Jesus. & The grace of faith, or the power of be- lieving, is the gift of God.) The act of faith, or actual believing, is the exercise of that power. When God presents His truth to us it is not a matter of indifference whether we accept or reject it. He holds us accountable for the exercise of the faith which He has given us. “He that believeth not, is condemned already.” And to every contrite, anxious soul that wills to believe, the power so to do will be given by the Holy Ghost. IV. Prayer is asking God to fulfill His own promises and to give us what we need. It is turning the good desires which the Holy Ghost has begotten in our hearts into words, and addressing them to the throne of grace. This may be done either in vocal utterances, or by the whispered or silent aspirations of the soul. Whether prayer shall be silent or vocal in any given case may be left to the leadings of the Holy Spirit, but I believe the sinner who comes to Christ for pardon will often find it both necessary and effectual to call with his voice upon the name of the Lord. Ve “Thy sins, which are many, are all forgiven thee.” If we are in such a state of penitence and submission that God is willing for Christ’s sake to forgive us one sin, He is willing also to forgive us all sins. The broken and the contrite heart He will not despise. Whoever comes 30 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. to God in penitential prayer, believing in Jesus, receives justification. This is pardon, forgiveness, remission, ab- solution. All guilt, all condemnation, and all penalty on account of past transgressions are removed from him forever. His indebtedness is cancelled. “Jesus paid it, all 73 VI. But in justifying a sinner, God has respect to his moral condition. He not only removes his guilt, but He changes his natureas well. Conversion, or Regener- ation, always accompanies Justification. ‘These terms are used synonymously—the one indicating, in its ety- mology, a change of heart, or turning to Christ; the other, a new birth from above. Spiritual life is imparted to the soul by the Holy Ghost; and this life, however feeble it may be in its incipiency, is a life in the image of Christ, so that every justified soul, even if not wholly cleansed from the stains of its inward corruption, is yet partially sanctified; and whoever experienees “the washing of regeneration,” begins to be made holy. The process is completed (in most cases at a later period) by the “renewing of the Holy Ghost.” iVaL; The witness of the Spirit is explained by John Wesley as follows, viz.: “By the testimony of the Spirit I mean an inward impression on the soul, whereby the Spirit of God im- mediately and directly witnesses to my spirit that I am a child of God, that Jesus Christ hath loved me and given Himself for me, that all my sins are blotted out, BORN OF THE SPIRIT. ol and I, even I am reconciled to God. I do not mean hereby that the Spirit of God testifies this by an out- ward voice. No, nor always by an inward voice, although He may do this sometimes. Neither do I suppose that He always applies to the heart (although He often may) one or more texts of Scripture. But He so works upon the soul by His immediate influence, and by a strong though inexplicable operation, that the stormy wind and the troubled waves subside, and there is a sweet calm, the heart resting in Jesus, and the sinner being clearly satisfied that all his iniquities are forgiven and his sins covered.” EVEL UIs I do not believe that either election, reprobation, or the perseverance of the saints is unconditional. If we take the whole tenor of Bible teaching, instead of basing important doctrines on isolated texts, I think we shall find that the elect are those who hear the gospel and accept it; while the reprobate are they who hear and reject, or neglect, the great salvation. In point of fact, we may well suppose that very few who have really been born again are finally lost. If they backslide, the Lord follows them with His tender invitations to return. Backsliding is soul-sickness, but not soul-death. But, as among the millions of people who have inhabited the earth, a very few, in full pos- session of their faculties, and exercising their own choos- ing power, have committed suicide, so it is possible for the believer, in the exercise of his moral agency, sui- cidally to sunder himself from Christ. | But whe would wish or choose so to do? y THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Co b IX. “Oh, how unlike the complex works of man, ITeayen’s easy, artless, unencumbered plan! No meretricious graces to beguile, No clustering ornaments to clog the pile; From ostentation, as from weakness, free, It stands, like the cerulean arch we see, Majestic in its own simplicity. Inscribed above the portal from afar, Conspicuous as the brightness of a star, Legible only by the light they give, Stand the soul-quickening words, Brenizyr AND Liv.” CHAPTER III, BAPTIZED WITH THE SPIRIT. HIS is Christ’s Baptism. When the son of Zacha- rias came preaching in the wilderness of J udea, his first message was, “ Repent ye, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” His second message was, “I in- deed baptize you with water; but there standeth one among you whom ye know not; He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.” Now two of the Evangelists expressly state that John « preached the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.” ‘This remission, as none can doubt, was expe- rienced by faith, not in John, but in Jesus. It is plain that the thing typified and signified by the baptism of John, is precisely what I have already been describing in the second chapter, as the Holy Spirit’s work in produc- ing conversion or regeneration through “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” The new birth is repentance and remission—Christ’s baptism is consecration and holiness. The new birth is for the unconverted—Christ’s baptism is for Christians. The new birth is out of Egypt—Christ’s baptism is into Canaan. The new birth is deliverance from guilt— Christ’s baptism is deliverance from sin. The new birth is justification to the sinner—Christ’s baptism is entire sanctification to the believer. The new birth is the be- trothal—Christ’s baptism is the marriage. The new birth is the “washing of regeneration ’”’—Christ’s baptism 3 33 o4. THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. is “the renewing of the Holy Ghost.” The new birth begins what Christ’s baptism consummates—but both are wrought by the agency of the one Divine Spirit; and both are wholly independent of any outward ordinance. “T baptize you with water; He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.” So said John; and Christ’s own words to His disciples just before His ascension, are almost identical“ John truly baptized you with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.” He told them to wait for the promise of the Father, which they had heard of Him; and that promise was, that the Father would send, in Jesus’ name, the “Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost.” Long before this, on the last great day of one of the Jewish feasts, Jesus stood and cried, “ If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.” “ He that believeth on me,” as the Scripture hath said, ‘“ out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” And then, that the Church in all subsequent ages might not be left in doubt as to what the Saviour meant by saying that out of the inmost spiritual self of those who believed in Him there should flow rivers of living water, the Apostle puts in a parenthetical explanation, which is exceedingly interest- ing and important, viz.: “But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive, for the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified.” Now, no one will dispute that the Holy Spirit has been in the world from the beginning. When primal chaotic darkness invested the void and formless earth and rested upon the face of the deep, even then, “The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” He BAPTIZED WITH TIE SPIRIT. 35 inspired the writers of the Old Testament, for “ holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy xhost.”’ LHe came upon individuals at different periods and empowered them for special services, as in the case of Gideon, Jephthah, Samson, David. N otwithstanding these facts, however, it is quite certain, if the above text is to be interpreted according to its plain and obvious meaning, that the Holy Ghost was given to the Church after the glorification of Jesus, and in consequence of the glorification of Jesus, in a sense and to a degree which had never been experienced before. And this is the bap- tism with the Holy Ghost. The Old Testament prophecies themselves distinctly mention this baptism as one of the blessings to be en- joyed under the Gospel dispensation. “TI will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine off- spring.” “T will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judg- ments and do them.” And the well-known prophecy of Joel, which was quoted by Peter on the day of Pente- cost, asserts that the Lord will pour out His Spirit upon sons, daughters, old men, young men, servants, hand- maidens. Under the old dispensation, therefore, the Holy Spirit, except that small measure of His influence and light which is given to all men in all ages, was im- parted only to certain individuals and oni special occa- sions, but under the Gospel it is God’s gracious purpose that the Spirit should be poured out universally and generally upon all His children, and that He should abide with them forever. In the sixth chapter of the prophecy of Isaiah, we find an experience so marvellous in itself, and so clearly 36 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. foreshadowing the baptism with the Spirit, that I think it proper to allude to it. Isaiah prophesied in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, In his first chapters he describes most vividly the sinful- ness of the Jewish nation and exhorts them to repent- ance and amendment of life. He tells them to wash them from their sins, to put away the evil of their doings, to cease to do evil, to learn to do well; and, on condition of their doing so, he promises them, in the name of the Lord, that “though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” His prophesying at this stage, just like John’s preaching and John’s baptism, is concerning repentance, amendment of life, and remission of sins. How long he had thus been a preacher of righteous- ness before the death of Uzziah, we do not certainly know. But he tells us, “in the year that king Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim ; each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts.” Now, who told the prophet that he was a man of un- clean lips? Had he not been powerfully preaching to those around him, repentance and the forgiveness of BAPTIZED WITH THE SPIRIT. ot sins? Yes, But when he caught only a glimpse of the infinite purity of Christ (for on this occasion, John tells us that Isaiah saw His glory and spake of Him), his first thought was about his own uncleanness, To get really a better view of Christ does not tend to engender pride, nor boastfulness, but on the contrary, it takes the self- righteousness, and the self-sufficiency, and the self-de- pendence, and the self-glorification out of a man. So it was with Job, when the Lord answered him out of the whirlwind; and the patriarch, ceasing to justify himself, exclaimed—“T have heard of Thee by the hear- ing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth Thee; wherefore I abhor mycelf, and repent in dust and ashes.” So it was with Daniel, when a wondrous vision was vouchsafed to him—* There remained no strength in me, for my come- liness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.” So it was with Ezekiel, when “the ap- pearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord”? was shown to him—“And when I saw it, I fell upon my face.” So it was with Saul of Tarsus, when on his jour- ney to Damascus Jesus appeared to him in the way, and he fell to the earth, tremblingly inquiring —“ Who art Thou, Lord? What wilt Thou have me to do?” it was with John in Patmos, when he saw the glorified Redeemer—that same Jesus with whom he had been so familiar on earth as to lean upon His bosom ; but now — tell at His feet as dead.” And so it was with Isaiah, But mark what followed “Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar ; and he laid it upon my mouth, and said, ‘ Lo, this hath touched 38 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. thy lips, and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.’” Now, no one, I apprehend, will venture to deny that Isaiah was already a forgiven and accepted child of God; and yet, this was to him a new experience. He had received the pardon of his past sins before; but now the iniquity of his nature was taken away, and his in-bred sin was purged. He had known justification before; now he obtained sanctification. He had already had the baptism of repentance and remission of sins ; but this was his baptism with fire, yes, and with the Holy Ghost. And is it too much to believe that we can trace the effects of this baptism everywhere upon the glowing pages of his prophecy? Isaiah is pre-eminently the evangelical prophet of the Old Testament. He describes she blessings of the gospel dispensation almost as forci- bly and accurately as if he had lived under it himself. How vividly, and how pathetically, does he delineate the vicarious sufferings of Christ. “He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniqui- ties ; the chastiscment of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed.” How beautifully does he set before our view, the desert blooming, and the wilderness rejoicing ; and the highway of holiness, over which the unclean shall not pass, and in which the way- faring men shall not err. How grand, and how lovely, are the visions, in which, looking down the centuries before him with the eye of a seer, he recognized the — future glory of the Church, and calls upon her to “ Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” Let us now return to the Apostles. ‘They were com- BAPTIZED WITH THE SPIRIT. 39 manded not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The eleven, together with the converts—male and female—in all, one hundred and twenty, assembled in an upper room, and “con- tinued, with one accord, in prayer and supplication.” From the best calculations we are able to make, they must have continued to hold these daily prayer mectings for seven, or possibly ten days, before the promise was fulfilled. If the vision tarried, they waited for it. “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place; and suddenly there came a sound from heayen, as of a rushing, mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloyen tongues, like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” We need not wonder that the effect was marvellous. The multitude of Jews, “out of every nation under heaven,” assembled together at the strange news, aid, hearing unlearned men—and shall we not say women as well ?—speaking the wonderful works of God in their different languages, could only look into each others’ faces and exclaim—“ What meaneth this?” Whilst others, mocking, said, “These men are full of new wine.” ‘Then Peter arose, quoted in their hearing the prophecy of Joel, preached unto them Jesus and the resurrection, assured them that what they heard and saw, was the baptism with the Holy Ghost—the promise of the Father shed forth by the Son—and exhorted them, with wonderful success, to accept the offers of salvation through a crucified and risen Lord. 40 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Again. When, at a subsequent period, in obedience to a heavenly vision, Peter went and preached the Gos pel to Cornelius and his household, the Holy Ghost fel\ on them also, and they spake with tongues and magni- fied God. Thus God made choice among the Apostles that through Peter’s instrumentality, the door of faith was opened to Gentiles as well as Jews; and I see no reason to reject the views maintained, I think, by Dean Alford, that (in a certain subordinate sense) the Church universal, composed of Jew and Gentile, was founded upon Peter as one of the “ foundation stones”—himself founded upon Jesus Christ, “the chief corner stone,” and haying added to himself on the day of Pentecost, three thousand living stones beside. There is nothing in this remark, if rightly interpreted, to give the slightest coun- tenance to the errors and assumptions of popery. The true rock upon which the Church is built, can be none other than the “ Rock of Ages.” “Other foundation can no man Jay than that is laid, which is Christ Jesus.” On the day of Pentecost, Christ’s baptism was poured out upon the Church of the hundred and twenty. It was given to Christian believers, to converted persons, to those who had already accepted Christ in the pardon of sin. Some of them had been followers of Jesus almost from the beginning of His public ministry—a period of more than three years. Some, probably, had been only recently converted ; but all alike received the Holy Ghost. And it is worthy of notice also, as showing the diversi- ties of operations by the same Spirit, that the three thou- sand persons who were added to the Church on that remarkable day, probably, all received this baptism with the Spirit co-instantaneously with, or immediately after, BAPTIZED WITH THE SPIRIT. 4] their conversion. The power of the Lord is not to be limited in any way, and, although in most instances Christ’s baptism is not received until some time subse- quent to the new birth, yet this is not always, nor necessarily the case. The work may be cut short in righteousness, and the newly-regenerated soul may be baptized at once with the Holy Ghost. | Sometime after the martyrdom of Stephen, we are told that Philip, the deacon, went down to Samaria, and preached Christ unto them, Immediately a great re- vival began. ‘The people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake.” They accepted the glad tidings of salvation, they believed in J esus, they were baptized, both men and women. But this was not Christ’s baptism. For “when the Apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John, who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost.” Then we have another most important parenthesis, showing very distinctly that to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus—that is, to accept Him in repentance and remission of sins—is one thing, and to receive the Holy Ghost in His baptizing power, 1s another and a very different thing. “For as yet,” says the evangelist, “He was fallen upon none of them, only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” “ Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.” Philip, we cannot doubt, was an anointed minister of Christ and a successful revivalist, but it was not given to him to be the means of imparting the Holy Ghost. Tor that impartation, the laying on of Apostolic hands, 42 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. was, in this instance, required. But it was not always so. Paul himself received the Holy Ghost through the instrumentality of Ananias, and Apollos through that of Aquila and Priscilla. The power of conferring the Holy Ghost on believers was given, but not confined, to the Apostles; nor do I read anything, or know any- thing, about an “apostolic succession” in this or any other regard. I have mentioned Apollos, This man was instructed in the way of the Lord, and spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, and therefore he must have been a converted man. He knew only the baptism of John, and therefore he had not received the baptism of Christ. But after Aquila and Priscilla had expounded to him the way of God more perfectly, and he had received the knowledge of Christ’s baptism, and, no doubt, the bap- tism itself also, then “he hetped them much which had believed through grace; for he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publicly, showing by the Scriptures that Jesus was Christ.” In addition to his gifts of culture and eloquence, he had received power when the Holy Ghost came upon him. I presume it was twelve of the converts made by Apollos, when he knew only the baptism of John, whom Paul found at Ephesus, and to whom he addressed the question, “ Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?” I shall not enter into any argument about the translation of this passage, since, whatever be the translation, it clearly shows that to believe was, in the mind of the Apostle, one thing, and to receive the Holy Ghost was another. So fully was this distinction un- derstood in those days, that it seems probable that some BAPTIZED WITH THE SPIRIT. 43 such question as the above was very commonly asked by the Apostles when they met with strangers who claimed to be believers. After these twelve men had candidly confessed that they had not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost, and Paul had explained to them the difference between John’s baptism and that of Christ, he laid his hands upon them, and they also re- ceived the Holy Ghost—“ spake with tongues and pro- phesied.” And if the inquiry were made in our own day whether of individual believers, or of the Church as a whole— “ Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed ?” would not the Church, as such, and the great majority of its members, have to confess, like the Ephesian converts, “We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost,” so far as His baptizing power is concerned. We have not known Him to fill us; to cleanse us; to energize us; to abide in us. And yet, what says the Lord Jesus? “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?” Oh! when will the individual Christian, and when will the Church at large, learn the simple lesson— “Ask and receive ?” In the chapters that are to follow, it will be my en- deavor to show what were the essential features and characteristics of the Pentecostal baptism. At present I will merely observe that the sensible miraculous phe- nomena which were manifested on that occasion, did not constitute those essential features and characteristics. The principal miraculous power exercised by the dis- ciples, and observed by the multitude, was the ability to 44 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. épeak in unknown tongues. Now, the gift of tongues— whether it means the power to speak in actual existing languages which the speaker had never learned, or whether it implies the giving forth of ecstatic utterances, not to be found in any language, and requiring a special gift of interpretation to understand it, was—like the word of wisdom, and the word of knowledge, and the power of healing, and extraordinary faith—one of the gifts of the Spirit, conferred by Him upon some, and with- held from others. Christ’s baptism, on the other hand, was the gift of the Spirit Himself, and was designed for the Church univer- sally, and every individual member of it in all ages. When Peter stood preaching on the day of Pentecost, with the new power of the Spirit upon him, the wonder- ing multitude “ were pricked in their heart,” and said unto Peter and the rest of the Apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Then Peter said unto them, ‘ Repent and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins.” That is the first step in the way of salvation, and means sim- ply the experience of the new birth. But he continued— “And ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost; for the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” Here we have another and a different experience —that of the baptism with the Holy Ghost—and the positive assertion, that it is for every Christian; be- cause most assuredly every Christian is one whom the Lord our God has called. Let no one, therefore, suppose for a moment that the baptism with the Holy Ghost was a blessing granted BAPTIZED WITH THE SPIRIT. 45 only to Apostles, or to others only in the Apostolic age. On the contrary, it is the privilege of every believer to the end of time. Beloved reader, say then, It is for me, and, by the grace of God, it shall be mine. The formula for a New Testament believer, whatever his name might be—whether Peter, or John, or Paul, or Barnabas, or Stephen, or Silas, was, “aman full of the Holy Ghost ;” and the same formula ought to cx- press, and does express, the true Christian now. Not but that there are many true Christians, who have not yet received the Holy Ghost since they believed ; but that all ought diligently to seek Him until they do re- ceive Him, and that only thus can they enjoy the “ ful- ness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ,” Nor has the Church, in any century of its existence, been without at least a few men and women who were “filled with the Spirit.” So it was with Tauler, and the Friends of God, in the middle ages so it was with such pious Roman Catholics as F énélon, Thomas a Kempis, Lady Guyon, and Catherine Adorna; so it was with the Reformers of the sixteenth century ; so it was with the Protestant Martyrs of England’and other lands; so it was with the Moravians; so it was with the Cove- nanters ; so it was with the early Friends; so it was with the early Methodists; so it is now with thousands of individual believers among the various sects of Chris- tendom. God docs not leave Himself without witnesses to His great salvation; and, even in the very darkest nights of apostacy, and in the fiercest storms of persecu- tion, He reserves to Himself seven thousand who do not bow the knee to Baal, nor kiss his image. These are men baptized with the Holy Ghost; men full of the 46 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Spirit; men of whom martyrs are made in the days of trial; and men whose light shines sweetly and attrac: tively in the days when the churches have rest. If, as I have remarked, the miraculous phenomena attending the baptism received by the Church on the day of Pentecost are not to be confounded with the baptism itself, we need not be surprised if such sensible manifes- tations are sometimes absent. This baptism does not come to all in the same way, though its effects are alike precious in all. With some it is a Pentecostal effusion—the rushing of a mighty wind; the whirlwind and the earthquake, prostrating everything before it, and causing its recipients to speak with new tongues and glorify God, whilst the multitude wonder or scoff. With others the blessing comes in moments of quiet calm; when all outward commotions have ceased ; when the faculties of the soul are hushed, and restful, and expectant; and it comes asa still, small voice, whispering to the inward ear, and diffusing a sweet and tranquil joy through the whole spiritual being. In either case it is the Holy Ghost, and we are to re- ceive Him in the way of His coming. “The wind bloweth where it listeth.” is The following quotation is from Fletcher: “ But, if the Lord be pleased to come softly to thy help; if He make an end to thy corruptions by helping thee gently to sink to unknown depths of meekness ; if He drown the in- dwelling man of sin by baptizing, by plunging him into an abyss of humility; do not find fault with the sim- plicity of His method, the plainness of His appearing, and the commonness of His prescriptions. Nature, like Naaman, is full of prejudices. She expects that Christ BAPTIZED WITH THE SPIRIT. 47 will come to make her clean, with as much ado and pomp, and bustle, as the Syrian General looked for, when he was wroth and said, ‘ Behold, I thought he will surely come out to me, and stand and call on his God, and strike his hand over the place and recover the leper.’ ” Christ frequently goes a much plainer way to work, and by this means He disconcerts all our preconceived no- tions and schemes of deliverance. “Learn of me to be meek and lowly in heart, and thou shalt find rest to thy soul” —the sweet rest of Christian perfection, of perfect humility, resignation and meekness. In the light, and the joy, and the purity, and the power of the Pentecostal baptism, the disciples walked till the day of their death. Jt was never repeated to them. And yet, on one occasion afterward the place was shaken where they were sitting, ‘‘and they were filled with the Holy Ghost, and spake the word of God with boldness.” The power of the Spirit continuing in them constantly after the day of Pentecost, as a latent force, was brought into active exercise whenever it was required. They \ were specially energized for special emergencies, but the | Spirit was with them all the time; yes, and in them. / And so we must conclude that the baptism with the Holy Ghost is, in each case a definite experience, realized once for all, and not to be expected again and again; but there may be many successive girdings and fillings, according to God’s free grace and the believer’s indi- vidual need, as well as the service to which he may be called, | 48 THE OFFICES OF THE IIOLY SPIRIT, REMARKS. if The baptism with the Holy Ghost is the promise of the Father and the gift of the Son. II. This baptism is an experience distinct from, and sub- sequent to the new birth, but, in exceptional cases, the one may be imparted in immediate connection with the other. ITI. The Scriptural expressions—“ baptized with the Holy Ghost,” “the Holy Ghost fell on,” “ was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost,” “ Holy Ghost came,” “ Holy Ghost was given,” “received the Holy Ghost,” are used in reference to believers, and are precisely synonymous, IV. Christ’s baptism does not always come in the same way, nor exhibit the same phenomena, either to the consciousness of the recipient, or to the observation of others. Vv. This baptism is not one of the gifts of the Spirit, but the gift of the Spirit Himself. By Ls Every converted person—whether he has been bap- tized with water or not—has received John’s baptism of BAPTIZED WITH THE SPIRIT. 49 repentance and remission of sins; but there are many Christian believers, who have not yet received Christ’s baptism with the Holy Ghost and with fire. Let such as these abide in the upper chamber—in the place of con- secration and prayer—till the day of their Pentecost is fully come. “If the vision tarry, wait for it; for it will surely come, it will not tarry.” CHAPTER IV. SANCTIFIED BY THE SPIRIT. TT NHE sound as of a rushing mighty wind, the ap- pearance of cloven tongues like as of fire, and the speaking in unknown languages, were all miraculous ac- companiments of the baptism received on the day of Pentecost; but they were not the baptism itself. ‘The one item of transcendent importance in the whole history is, that then, for the first time, the church of the hun- dred-and-twenty ‘were all filled with the Holy Ghost.” And, as a consequence of this baptism, a complete reno- vation and transformation were wrought in their interior, spiritual natures. They were entirely sanctified. Their hearts were made perfect in love. Some years after this memorable event, a council was called at Jerusalem, to determine whether or not the re- strictions and observances of the Mosaic law should be imposed upon the large numbers of Gentile Christians who had been converted by the preaching of Paul and Barnabas. On that occasion, Peter, in rehearsing the transactions in which he had had so large a share at the house of Cornelius, used the following language—“ And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them w*tness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as He did uno us; and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.” It must be quite evident, from this statement, (1), that just what the Gentiles received when the Holy Ghost 50 SANCTIFIED BY THE SE ERI oO] fell on them at the preaching of Peter, that same thing the Apostles, and their fellow-believers, received on the day of Pentecost; and (2), that as the former received the purifying of their hearts by faith, so also did the latter. f But what does the expression, “ purifying their hearts,” mean? It means the removal of the remains of their carnality. It means the creation of a clean heart, and | the renewal of a right spirit. It means the crucifixion 4 of the flesh. It means the destruction of the body of sin. It means the casting out of the strong man, who | was only bound in conversion. It means entire sanctifi- | cation. It means Perfect Love. . Assuredly the eleven Apostles were converted men long before the day of Pentecost. They had, years ago, left all and followed Jesus. He had said to them, “ Re- Joice, because your names are written in Heaven,” “T aim the Vine, ye are the branches,” “TI have called you friends.” But it was not till the day of Pentecost that they experienced the “purifying of their hearts by faith.” It was not until they had received the baptism with the Holy Ghost, that they were wholly cleansed from the stains of their inward corruption, and made truly pure in heart. Let us for a moment look at the results of this won- drous transformation, as we can trace them in the subse- quent history of some of the Apostles, Take the case of Peter. A very strong and earnest love had bound him to his Master from the first. He had been impulsive, and even forward in his service; he had been loud, and, we cannot doubt, sincere in his professions of devotion to Him ; he had exhibited the strength, and along with it, 2 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Or the weakness as well, of an ardent, impetuous nature ; he had attempted fo walk upon the sea, and, through want of faith, had failed; he had boastfully asserted that he would never forsake his Lord, but had fled with the others when he was bidden to put up his sword ; he had declared that he would die rather than deny his Saviour, but had been afraid to confess Him in the presence of a servant maid. But how changed was Peter after his heart had been purified by faith on the day of Pentecost. Still active and energetic in his Master’s cause, he was no longer timid and vacillating, but full of holy boldness. He did not hesitate to say to the amazed multitude, after the lame man had been healed—“ Ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; and killed the Prince of Life, whom God hath raised from the dead.” Looking into the faces of the very chief priests and Sanhedrim who had condemned his Master, he said, “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, WHOM YE CRUCIFIED, whom God raised from the dead, even By Hr doth this man stand here before you whole.” And, when commanded not to speak nor teach in the name of Jesus; he gave utterance (with John) to that sublime aphorism which is ever the guide of the Christian, when his obedience to the civil magistrate comes in conflict with his duty to God—“ Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you, more than unto God, judge ye.” On another occasion, when Herod was guarding Peter with four quaternions of soldiers, on the night before his SANCTIFIED BY THE SPIRIT. 5S intended execution, the angel who came to his rescue, did not find him weakly lamenting his approaching fate, _ uor striking his head in despair against the wall of his prison, but wrapped in that profound and tranquil slum- ber, which indicated the peacefulness of a spirit in har- mony with God. Only once in his subsequent history, do we find a little of the old vacillation—when he failed to pursue a strictly straight-forward course toward the Gentile converts at Antioch, But he would seem, even then, to have received the rebuke of his fellow-apostle in humility and meekness, and to have found it a pre- cious oil, which did not break his head, because his heart was purified by faith; and he exhibits a spirit of true Christian magnanimity, by speaking afterward in his Epistle of his beloved brother Paul, and his myste- rious writings. And how was it with James and John? Boanerges —sons of thunder; full of energy and zeal. They also, like Peter, were earnest and active in their Master’s cause. But, mingled with their devotion to Him, there was also much fire that was not of His kindling; much self-seeking ; much unholy ambition. They had schemes of personal advancement. They desired the first places —to sit, one on “ His right hand, and the other on His left, in His kingdom.” They were ready to call down fire from heaven to destroy a village that would not re- ceive Him. Their hearts had not yet been purified by faith. But after the Pentecostal baptism, how marked is the change. James meekly lays down his life under the sword of Herod—the first of the Apostles to seal his testimony with his blood; and John lives to an ad- 54. THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. vanced age, becoming the very embodiment of love, talking about it, preaching about it, writing about it, telling us what it is to be made perfect in love; and in his later years—if tradition is correct—he would some- times be carried into the assembly of Christian worship- pers, and looking benignly upon them would say, “ Lit- tle children, love one another.” He was not less a son of thunder after Pentecost, but vastly more a son of consolation. The Apostle Paul, in his first letter to the Church of the Thessalonians, uses the following language: “ And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit, and soul, and body, be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” “ Faithful is He who calleth you, who also will do it.” Now, it would appear, from a comparison of the different Epistles, that these same Thessalonians constituted one of the most healthy and flourishing churches of the Apostolic age. In the first Epistle, the Apostle ad- dresses them as a church whose members had been soundly converted by the power of the Holy Ghost, and whose work of faith and labor of love he could com- mend. In the words addressed to them, there is little censure and much commendation. He does not say to them, as to the Corinthians, “ Every one of you saith, T am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ.” He does not say, ‘‘ Put away from yourselves that wicked person.” He does not say, “There is ut- terly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another.” He does not say, as to the foolish Galatians— “ Who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth ?” SANCTIFIED BY THE SPIRIT. 55 And yet, even for these Thessalonians, Paul prays that they may obtain something which they have not yet obtained, something which they still needed; and that something was—entire sanctification. “The very God of peace sanctify you wholly.” They were already walk- ing in the light of justification, and, being justified, they were also partially sanctified; but the Apostle desires nothing less than that they may be wholly sanctified. When the second Epistle was written, we may well suppose that the Apostle’s prayer had been answered, for he says: ‘ We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity (perfect love) of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth.” Surely the church of which this could be said, had been baptized by the Holy Ghost, and received the purifying of their hearts by faith. Justification and sanctification have often been con- founded, both by writers and speakers; some regarding them as identical, and others failing to distinguish be- tween them with sufficient definiteness and accuracy. Whilst the terms undoubtedly express different states of grace, it must be admitted they have much in common. In both justification and sanctification, everything has to be received from Christ; everything has to be received in a spirit of entire submissiveness and self-abnegation on our part; and everything has to be received by faith. Nor is it unimportant to remember that both these terms are used, in more senses than one, in the Sacred Scriptures. The word justify means, first, and com- monly, to account just—i. e., to regard the offender, for the sake of Jesus Christ, as though he had not sinned, 56 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. This is the same thing as pardon, or forgiveness. “ Be- ing justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” But it means, secondly, to approve; as in the text, “ But ye are washed,” which means born again; ‘but ye are sanctified,” which means (as I suppose) made holy; “but ye are justified,” which means (as I suppose) have received G'od’s approval “in the name of the Lord-Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” It will be seen at once, therefore, that this quo- tation from Paul furnishes no argument whatever in favor of the idea that sanctification comes before justifi- cation, in the ordinary sense of that term. Again, the term sanctify originally means to set apart for sacred uses; and thus, under the Law, it was ap- plied to things as well as persons—to the furniture of the tabernacle, for example, as well as to the priests who officiated there. It is applied, technically, in the New Testament to all Christians. Even the Church at Corinth, to whom the Apostle writes, “Ye are carnal, and walk as men,” are nevertheless addressed, in the beginning of the Epistle, as “sanctified in Christ Jesus.” But, secondly, the term signifies to cleanse from all in- ward pollution ; to deliver from in-dwelling corruption; to save from heart-sin; to make holy. In this sense sanctification signifies the same thing as entire sanctifica- tion; and it is in this sense that I employ it in the present work. We are now prepared to understand and to find the points of distinction between justification and sanctification. First: Justification, while not excluding the present, has reference, primarily and chiefly, to the past. If I commit a sin one moment, and am forgiven for it the SANCTIFIED BY THE SPIRIT. 57 = next, it is, nevertheless, when so forgiven, a past sin. Sanctification, on the other hand, regarding the past as settled and cancelled by the blood of Christ, has refer- ence almost exclusively to the present and the future. A soul seeking justification inquires, “ How may I be forgiven for the sins that are past?” A soul seeking sanctification inquires, “How may I be kept from sinning now and in the future?” Secondly: Justification removes the guilt and con- demnation of sin; and sanctification removes from the heart that which brings guilt and condemnation, 7. e., sin itself. The term sin is used in the Bible, either in the sense of sin committed—an actual transgression, in thought, word, or deed—or sin n-dwelling, that depravity of heart which leads to all sinful acts; that inward cause, of which sins are the effects; that nature which we have by inheritance from our first parents, in the fall. In the one sense, sin is a voluntary violation of the divine law ; in the other it is an mvoluntary state of the heart. The one meaning implies guilt, the other de- pravity; the former requires pardon or remission, the latter cleansing or removal. The individual who is groaning under the burden of sing committed, wants to be forgiven; the one who is sensible of his in-dwelling corruption, wants to be cleansed. One seeks justifica- tion, the other sanctification. Thirdly: Christ, and Christ only, is the efficacious cause, both of justification and sanctification. But Christ is our justification in that He hung ‘upon the cross as our substitute, and bore our sins in His own body on the tree. He endured the penalty of the law 58 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. instead of us. He gave Himself for us. He tasted death for every man. He was wounded for our trans- eressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. It is quite true that in every case of justification something is done inwardly as well as outwardly, nevertheless, the work, in a peculiar sense, is done for us, outside of us, by our blessed Saviour. On the other hand; Christ is our sanctification, as He baptizes us, and fills us, and dwells in us by the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, who was only given to the Church in His fulness after Jesus had been glorified. Sanctification is, therefore, a work performed peculiarly and specially within us. Fourthly: Justification is done once for all; it isa completed work ; it blots out forever all past sins. It may have to be repeated if sin is repeated, but always, when it has taken effect, it is a finished work ; it is not in any sense progressive. Sanctification, on the contrary, al- though it implies at the beginning the removal of that inward depravity which inclines us to evil, is yet always progressive, in degree. Entire sanctification, so far from excluding growth, is itself the best preparation for a healthful, symmetrical, and continuous growth. “ There will never,’ says Upham, “be a period, either m time or eternity, when there may not be an increase of holy love.” In sanctification, the tendencies to sin are removed, but the susceptibilities remain. On these Satan is ever ready to operate with his temptations, and in the present state of being, it will always be possible for us, as moral agents, to yield to his suggestions. There will always be the liability to sin, but never the unavoidable necessity to sin. We have a deliverer “mighty to save.” The SANCTIFIED BY THE SPIRIT. 59 “non posse peccare” (not to be able to sin), is incompati- ble with probation. The “ posse non peccare” (to be able not to sin), is, by God’s grace, given to those who will receive it in Christ. We shall always, while in the body, have a peceable nature; but (if wholly sanctified) not a peccant nature. What says Paul? “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein?” And again, the words of the Holy Ghost, through that eminent Apostle, come down to the Church in every age with all the force of a positive command: “ Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin , but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord 3 4. e, reckon your- selves dead to sin and trust in Christ to make the reckon- ing good. What you reckon, He will make real and true. We have already spoken of sin as either an act or a state. Now to be dead to sin as an act, is not to do that act. ‘To be dead to sin as a state, is not to be in that state. Most men are dead to the sin of murder as an act. They do not actually kill, but the Apostle John tells us that “he that hateth his brother ig a murderer ;’ and so, whoever cherishes hatred and malice in his heart is not dead to the sin of murder as a state. The illustration can easily be extended to other sins. There is a being of sin, back of the doing of sin. “A man is not a sinner,” says a late writer, “simply because he does evil; he does evil because he is a sinner. Train him as you will, evil will come out of him, because it is in him.” There are germ sins in the heart, out of which spring actual sins in the life. Paul distinguishes be- 60 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. tween the flesh and the works of the flesh. ‘The flesh, used in that sense, is the body of sin; the depraved heart, the aggregate of the evil propensities, dispositions, and tendencies of the carnal nature. Every evil deed in that long, dark, dreadful list enumerated in the Epistle to the Galatians as the works of the flesh, arises out of some tendency in the unregenerate heart, which ten- dency, under Satan’s temptations, is liable to break forth into the corresponding act of wickedness. Now, in an immense majority of instances, to say the least, these dis- positions to evil, which, collectively, are called sin, or the body of sin, or in-bred sin, or in-dwelling sin, or de- pravity, or the flesh, are not wholly removed at the time of conversion. The Articles of the English Church are entirely correct in saying, “This infection of nature doth remain, yea, in them that are regenerated.” And yet, even in justification and regeneration, sin is brought into subjection. It continues in the heart, but it does not reign there. The promise to all Christians is “Sin shall not have dominion over you.” Let no justi- fied believer imagine for a moment that because he is not sanctified, or for any other reason, he has a license to sin. Whosoever is born of God, sinneth not.” “Te cannot sin,” without thereby incurring condemna- tion. The tendencies to evil may be strong within him, but the grace of God will be sufficient to keep him from falling into overt acts of sin, to enable him to walk in the light of justification, and even to grow con- tinually in grace. Still, however, there must be in such a heart frequent and protracted struggles. The strong man is bound, but not being cast out he makes desperate efforts to SANCTIFIED BY THE SPIRIT. 61 burst his bonds and re-assert his supremacy in the household. “ The infection of nature” within, responds favorably to the temptations of Satan from without. When the individual would do good, evil is present with him. His will may be firm on God’s side, his faith may be strong, and sin may be kept in subjection, but the contest is often so fearful, that the language is truly applicable, “Ob, wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death?” (mar). And, in point of fact, while we do not for a moment limit or doubt the power of God to keep any of His children from falling, we believe the number to be very small who, stopping short with the grace of justification, and not seeking and finding that of entire sanctification, do yet wholly escape being brought into captivity to the law of sin and falling into back- sliding. In direct contrast with the “works of the flesh,” the Apostle sets before us “the fruits of the Spirit ”— love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance—a blessed group of sweet Christian graces. Now, in Christ’s baptism, the Spirit comes into the heart of the believer, that He may abide with him forever. Such will be the result, if we do not grieve Him away by our unbelief and disobedience. And that man in whom the Spirit dwells, will enjoy in his heart, and bring out in his life, the fruits of the Spirit. Thus the promise addressed by Ezekiel to the scat- tered, peeled sons of Israel, will be fulfilled in the ex- ; perience of the consecrated, believing Christian, 7. e.— “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you and ye 62 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments and do them.” Out of the heart. are the issues of life; and the heart, entirely sanctified and renewed, brings forth the fruits of the Spirit, in accordance with its renewed nature ; just as the unregenerate heart brings forth the works of the flesh, in accordance with is wnrenewed nature. In one of the American cities, a minister one day came into a meeting which was being held for the pro- motion of Christian holiness. He heard persons testify- ing to the cleansing power of the blood of Christ, and the keeping power of His Spirit, and was filled with wonder. At length he arose, and said, “Brethren, I want to understand this thing. Jam a minister of the Gospel. As I came to this meeting I passed by the race-course, where the trotting of fast horses is going on. I have a fast horse myself, and I felt a strong inclina- tion to turn in and try him against the others. But I reflected that it would not be scemly for a minister of thrist to be engaged in such amusements with jockeys and gamblers, who were probably racing their horses for money; so I passed on. I wanted to go in very much, but I did not go. Now, tell me, brethren, is that sanc- tification?” ‘ No, brother,” was the reply, “ sanctifica- tion takes the want-to out of the heart.” And this is true. Every one can see that a man who cherishes evil desires and passions in his heart, however SANCTIFIED BY THE SPIRIT. 63 he may restrain them in the outward act, is not a sancti- fied or holy man. Jesus, when personally on earth, compared the Scribes and Pharisees to “whited sepul- chres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.” And yet these Pharisees were exceedingly scrupulous in their ceremonial observances, and religious duties, To be religious is one thing, to be holy is quite another, Every holy man is religious, but every religious man is not holy. A story illustrating the same point has come down to us from the heathen mythology. Among the divinities, or semi-divinities, believed in by the Greeks, were the sirens, who dwelt upon an island on the west coast of Italy. They were gifted with wonderfully attractive voices, and sang beautiful songs. These siren songs, as they floated melodiously over the waves, lured the mariners who came within hearing to their own destruc- tion; for, so enraptured were these unhappy men by the unprecedented sweetness of the sounds which greeted their ears, that, in their infatuation, they would leap over- board in order to get to the Songstresses. Thus they were either drowned, or, if they succeeded in reaching the shore, they were put to death by the sirens them- selves. In all this we behold an admirable symbol of carthly and sensual pleasure. On one occasion it happened—as the legend informs us—that Ulysses, the celebrated Grecian general, whilst performing his protracted and arduous journeyings, after the destruction of Troy, passed near the island of the sirens. Knowing the dangerous character of their de- ceitful songs, he took the precaution, before coming 64 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. within hearing, to stop the ears of his men with wax, and to have himself tied fast with ropes to the mast of the ship. When the ravishing sounds reached his ears, he made desperate efforts to free himself from his bonds, that he might leap into the sea; but his self-imposed restraint held him back, and all sailed away in safety. He wanted to go where the pleasant sounds invited him, but he could not. At another time the Argonautic expedition, led by Jason, was passing by the same place. Jason felt no necessity for stopping his men’s ears with wax, nor for binding himself to the mast. He had on board his vessel the celebrated musician Orpheus, at the sound of whose lyre—according to Grecian fable—the trees of the forest would bend in ecstasy. Jason had nothing to do, therefore, but just to set Orpheus playing upon his lyre. The sound was so much more entrancing, so much sweeter and lovelier than any that the sirens could produce, that though their songs were still wafted over the deep, they fell upon heedless ears ;—there was better music on board. They could have gone to the sirens if they had chosen, but they did not want to go. “ Unyssns, sailing by the Siren’s isle, Sealed first his comrades’ ears, then bade them fast Bind him with many a fetter to the mast, Lest those sweet voices should their souls beguile, And to their ruin flatter them the while Their homeward bark was swiftly sailing past; And thus the peril they behind them cast, Though chased by those weird voices many a mile. But yet a nobler cunning Orpheus used: No fetter he put on, nor stopped his ear, SANCTIFIED BY THE SPIRIT. 65 But ever as he passed, sang high and clear The blisses of the gods—their holy joys, And with diviner melody, confused And marred earth’s sweetest music to a noise.” —Archbishop Trench. From various motives, and by various means, both converted and unconverted men may restrain themselves from sinful indulgences which they may, nevertheless, ardently desire to partake of. They may force them- selves to observe the right in outward conduct, when they haye little love for the right in their inmost hearts. But, is it not possible to be so filled with the Spirit—to have Christ so dwell in the heart by faith, that the tempting attractions of this world, although presented to the perceptions, shall scarcely influence at all the emo- tions, the desires or the will? The sanctified believer in Jesus has a music in his own soul, far sweeter than any siren-song of this delusive world. And, true it is, as the author of The Christian Year has beautifully written : “There are, in this loud, stunning tide Of human care and crime, With whom the melodies abide Of the everlasting chime; Who carry music in their heart Through dusky lane and wrangling mart; Plying their daily task with busier feet, Because their secret souls a holy strain repeat.” And as sanctification takes away the “want to” that inclines us to evil, so it puts in the “want to” that in- clines us to good, God writes His law in the heart so that it may be loved. His service then becomes love service, not task work. 5 66 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. The language of the heart purified by faith is, “Here am I, send me.” It meets every intimation of God’s will with a may J, rather than a must J. You may require your child to do your bidding, and secure his obedience ; but his reluctance is so great, his brow so clouded, his step so tardy and unwilling, that the act of obedience gives you little pleasure. He does what you command him from duty or compulsion, but not with the joyful acquiescence of a loving heart. You feel that if you could get into his heart and make him want to do what you require, you would possess the secret of success in governing him. “I wish,” said a thoughtful little boy, “that I could obey God as my dog obeys me; he just loves to do what J tell him.” The language of the Psalmist is: “I delight to do Thy will, O my God ;” and that of the blessed Saviour: ‘‘ My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work.” In a like spirit should willing service be rendered by every devoted child of God. May it be the experience of every Christian who reads this book, to leave the posi- tion of a servant and take joyously that of a son. REMARKS. it Justification is the beginning, and entire sanctification the completion of the work of inward holiness. But there may be an indefinite growth in holiness. 160 Justification is “that act of God’s grace in which He pardons our sins and accepts us as righteous in His SANCTIFIED BY THE SPIRIT. O7 sight, for the sake of Christ.” The believer who has been thus pardoned and accepted is in a justified state. Ill. Sanctification is that act of divine grace whereby we are made holy. The believer in whom this act of grace has been performed is in a sanctified state. IV. Sanctification is the result of Christ’s baptism “ with the Holy Ghost and with fire.’ It should be definitely sought for, expected, and received at or near the begin- ning of the Christian life—and not postponed till at or near its close. Vg Sanctification, as a state of grace, “implies the whole heart and life devoted to God.” VI. “ Holiness is sanctification in per etuity ” perp Ne VII. The natural appetites, propensities, and affections were not originally sinful, but became so when man fell. Sanctification does not abolish these sensibilities of our nature, but takes the sin out of them, so that they may be exercised rightly and properly, and to the glory of God. This is what it is to keep under the body and bring it into subjection. Our Heavenly Father does not require us to eradicate our natural propensities, but to purify them. He does not require us to cease to be men, but He does require us to be holy men, 68 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. VII. The appetites, propensities, and affections are readily susceptible of a wrong action, either in kind or degree. Satan, by his temptations, is ever ready to induce in them such wrong action, and thus to pervert them from their original purpose. It is here, chiefly, that the suscepti- bilities to sin remain, even in the sanctified believer. If he fails to watch and to pray and to abide in Christ, Satan will be on the alert to inject sin again into that heart which has been purified from its inward corrup- tion, even as he beguiled Eve by his subtlety. LX, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin.” The justified believer, though not wholly delivered from the remains of carnality, may be kept by faith in Christ from falling into outward sin. On the other hand, the sanctified believer may be tempted, and may fall. Nevertheless, to have the heart purified by faith cer- tainly does not involve any peculiar danger of falling, but quite the reverse. It would be preposterous to maintain that where there is more holiness there is less safety. XxX. A sudden outburst of illness in a healthy man is no proof that disease always exists within him. The suscepti- bilities to disease exist, and these may be wrought upon by various causes, such as atmospheric changes, bad food, or impure water, so as to incite actual disease. But, in a condition of good health, the tendencies are to throw off all these influences, which are deleterious, and to main- SANCTIFIED BY THE SPIRIT. 69 tain good health. So, if in a sanctified man, there should occur, by his own unwatchfulness, a sudden out- burst of sin, it is no proof that sin always exists within him, and must do so; nor that he was not sanctified be- fore the sin, any more than the other man was not healthy before the illness. The susceptibilities to sin re- main, and Satan brings to bear all manner of evil agen- cles, to incite these into actual sin. But the best way to escape his wiles, is to abide so fully and constantly in Christ, that you shall have sound spiritual health, and so resist every evil influence which would introduce sin into the heart. Temptation is not sin, but enticement, or incitement to sin. XI, “Accepting our punishment is just being of one mind with God, in hating and condemning sin, and longing for its destruction. It is submitting ourselves to the process of its destruction, and setting our seals to the righteousness of God in the process. Jt is the death- pang of the crucified Head thrilling through the members, and accomplishing in them what it did in the Je oii Tuomas Ersxinr. If instead of the phrase, “accepting our punishment,” we read Christ’s baptism, these observations—and_es- pecially the last—will be equally impressive and equally true. XII. Paul calls the Corinthians sanchified—although they were not holy in their lives. On the other hand he prays that the Thessalonians may be sanctified wholly— 70 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. although they were abounding in faith and good works, The inference is unavoidable that all Christians are partially sanctified, and that many excellent Christians are not wholly sanctified. Reader, is it the Corinthian sanctification you are seeking or possessing for yourself in Christ, or is it the Thessalonian? Is it the partial—or is it the enture ? CHAPTER V. MADE PERFECT IN LOVE BY THE SPIRIT. ee inspired writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews begins the sixth chapter of that letter as follows, viz.: “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of lay- ing on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit.” It is evident that there is nothing here that should lead us for a moment to under-value the foundation, nor to under-estimate the importance of laying it aright. The Church of Christ, including every individual be- liever, is founded upon the Eternal Rock. “Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Whoever would be a good reader, must first learn the alphabet. Whoever would bea mathema- tician, must first learn the properties of numbers. Who- ever would be an adept in any science must begin by acquainting himself with the elements of that science. And thus every believer needs to be indoctrinated into the fundamental principles of Christianity. These are enumerated in the text as (1.) Repentance from dead works, whether the works of the flesh in the uncon- verted, or the works of the Jewish law which could not give life. (2.) Faith toward God, which is the accept- 71 12 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. ance of His plan of salvation in Christ. (3.) The doc- trine of baptisms, or rather of washings—meaning the divers washings of the Jewish ritual—and, as the epistle was to Hebrew Christians, it was particularly fit that they should know the typical meaning of their own ceremonial law. (4.) Laying on of hands. In the Apostolic days the laying on of hands was employed in healing the sick, in setting apart the various officers of the Church for their respective positions and duties, and in conferring the Holy Ghost. (5 and 6.) The resurrec- tion of the dead and eternal judgment, which inyolye our hope and our fear for the unending future, It is quite clear that these fundamental doctrines of - Christianity are not to be regarded as of no importance, - nor of small importance. What we are urged to do is not to get away from the foundation, nor to lay a new foundation, but to proceed to build on the foundation already laid—not to spend all our lives in laying it again, but to go on unto perfection. The perfection here meant, I suppose, to be Christian perfection or holiness. The word perfect, as applied to any man, is very generally regarded as odious and absurd, not only by the unconverted but by Christians as well. Yet from a very early period in human history down to New Testa- ment times at least, there were men whom God called perfect. Nor can it be disputed, as I think, that the same remark continues to be true down to the present age, nor that it will be equally true to the end. “ Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.” “Hast thou considered my servant Job, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God and escheweth evil.” “Iam the Almighty MADE PERFECT IN LOVE BY THE SPIRIT. res: God: walk before me, and be thou perfect.” “ Asa’s heart was perfect with the Lord all his days.” “ And thou, Solomon, my son, know thou the God of thy fathers, and serve Him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind.” “Be ye, therefore, perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfeet.” “Be perfect.” “ For the perfecting of the saints.” “Whom we preach, warning every man and teaching every man, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” Now, I am very far from denying that even the most noted worthies of the Scripture history, sometimes exhib- ited such traits of character, and were guilty of such prac- tices as were not at all perfect, when judged by the ordinary human standard ; and I am equally far from suggesting for a moment, the preposterous idea that God’s standard of perfection is lower than man’s. Nevertheless, the undeniable fact remains, that, by the grace of God, these servants of His had been brought into such a condition of heart that He could, and did, call them perfect. Let us ascertain, if possible, what that condition was. The word perfection is, undoubtedly, employed in the Scriptures in more senses than one. We have the expression perfect as pertaining to the conscience, where Justification, the perfect remission of past sins is meant, Then, again, we read, “To make the Captain of their salvation perfect through suffering.” Jesus took not on Him the nature of angels, but He took on Him the seed of Abraham, and was fitted for the work of human redemption by assuming our humanity, and suffering with and for us. In that sense, He was made perfect through sufferings; and in that sense also, the disciple, TA THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. like his Master, may be made perfect, 2. ¢., fitted for the work he has to do, or the place he has to occupy in God’s building, by the discipline of suffering and trial. Still, again, in the third chapter of Philippians, Paul claims perfection in the fifteenth verse, and disclaims it in the twelfth. That which he claims is doubtless Christian perfection or aclean heart. That which he disclaims, but which he is pressing toward, is the eternal perfect- edness of the saints in light, when the resurrection body, joined to the soul in endless union, shall promote, instead of retarding, as does our corruptible body now, the unceasing exercises of holy love and holy joy. Christian perfection is not the absolute perfection of Deity. God’s perfection is infinite in degree, and ap- plies to all His attributes. It is inherent in Himself, and wholly independent of all other existences. He stands alone, and is the only absolutely perfect Being in the universe. The holiest Christian has no perfection which is not derived from Christ, and which is not every moment dependent upon His merits. “ We are nothing, Christ is all.” Christian perfection is not the perfection of the angels, nor that of the redeemed in glory. ‘True it is, indeed, that holiness in its nature is ever the same, but in heaven its blessed exercises are not interrupted or sus- pended, as they are liable to be on earth, by physical and other causes. Nor will those who are permitted to dwell in that happy place be any longer subject to the heavy and perpetual temptations which assail even the holiest believer here. Sanctification does not bestow upon its possessor freedom from temptation, but freedom from MADE PERFECT IN LOVE BY THE SPIRIT. 75 sin; not freedom from spiritual warfare, but freedom from defeat. And this only when looking unto, and abiding in Jesus. Paul describes the true spiritual warfare, as a wrestling, “not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against wicked spirits in heavenly places.” —(mar.) In order to wage this war, therefore, we have to get into heavenly places. The strong man, who has possession of our hearts, must be not only bound but cast out. ‘The foes must be expelled from our own household; our hearts must be entirely loyal to our Commander. If there are traitors within, they will be constantly endeavoring to open the door to the enemies without. Entire sanctification, or Christian perfection—a heart made perfect in love—is one of the most important qualifications for the soldier who would do valiantly in the army of the Lamb. The armor which the Apostle s0 graphically describes in the Epistle to the Ephesians —armor for the head, for the breast, for the body, for the feet and for each hand—is an armor which the Christian must wear, and which he must use so long as he liyes in this world. It is to be employed, however, not against the citadel of his own heart—which is sup- posed to be already wholly surrendered to the Lord— but against the hosts of Satan and of sin all around him, Christian Perfection does not pertain to the physical system, nor to the intellect. It is not Adamic perfec- tion. The progenitor of our race was, doubtless, created with a perfect body and a perfect mind. He was not 76 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. omniscient ; but so far as his knowledge was permitted to extend, it was right knowledge—i. e., a knowledge of things as they really were, and of their true relations to each other. He was not liable to be deceived either by his perceptions or his judgment, either in the acquisition of facts, or the deduction of conclusions from them. What he perceived, he perceived correctly ; and what he knew, he knew correctly. And yet even he, because he could not know all things, might make a mistake—and so, for anything we know, may an angel. But with us, in our fallen condition—all our faculties and powers being crippled by sin, our bodies subject to disease and death, our minds intimately associated with them, and partaking of their infirmity—the case is en- uirely different. Our senses, the avenues through which information reaches us from the external world, may themselves deceive us. The supposed facts upon which our judgments about many things are based, may not be real facts. The premises from which we reason may be fallacious; the reasoning itself may be unsound; the conclusion may be incorrect. And if our judgments are thus liable to error, our practice also will be liable to mistake. In our present state of being, a perfect knowledge of things, either as they are in themselves, or as they are related to cach other, is wholly impossible. And God does not require such perfect knowledge as the necessary condition of Gospel holiness. Imperfections, infirmities, and errors will cling to us so long as we are in the body. These are sometimes called sins of ignorance, but they cannot be regarded as identical with moral evil. To what ex- tent the Christian—who puts himself wholly in God’s MADE PERFECT IN LOVE BY LHE- SPIRIT, Ne hands for guidance and instruction—may expect to be delivered from mistakes in opinion and practice, I do not feel prepared to say. There is doubtless such a thing as a sanctified Judgment, and for this, every Chris- tian should devoutly pray; but a sanctified judgment does not imply infallibility. God has a right to require of each of us, all that we might have rendered to Him if Adam had not fallen; but, for the sake of Jesus Christ, He mercifully remits and forgives all things in which we unavoidably fall short of that standard. Without requiring mental or physical perfection, He confers upon His consecrated, believing children, the inestimable grace of Christian Perfection. Dispossessing our minds, then, of all these erroneous ideas, having ascertained what Christian Perfection is not, let us now proceed to inquire what it 7s, A ques- tion so momentous can find a satisfactory answer no- where else but in the Book which is “ profitable for doc- trine”—the teachings of the prophets, of the apostles, and of the Saviour Himself. And the humble, candid inquiring mind, searching the Scriptures daily “whether these things are so,” will not be left long in doubt as to what it is that constitutes the Holiness, or the Perfec- tion, which God requires of His people, and which He confers upon them as a grace and a privilege under the Gospel dispensation. When, on a certain occasion, Jesus was asked , * Which is the great commandment in the Law?” His answer was—* Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment ; and the 78 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. second is like unto it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” All the teachings of the Old Testa- ment, therefore, we must infer, hinge upon these two commandments—the first and second tables of the Law —love God, and love man. The same truth is expressed by the Apostle in his Epistle to the Romans,*in one pithy sentence: “Love is the fulfilling of the Law.” Now, all that God requires of us, is the fulfilling of His law; and if that is com- prised in love, then, he who loves aright fulfils the law —pleases God, and is, in the Christian sense, perfect. Again, He writes to Timothy—“ Now the end of the commandment is charity, out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned.” Love, there- fore, flowing out of a sanctified heart, a conscience void of offence, and a sincere faith; that is the end of the commandment—that is Christian Perfection. “A new commandment,” said the Lord Jesus to His disciples, “I give unto you,”’—a commandment which may supersede all others, because it includes them all—“ That ye love one another.” And the beloved John tells us of a “perfect love which casteth out fear ;’ and that if we love one another, “G'od’s love is perfected in us.” Christian Per- fection, therefore, my dear reader, is nothing else than Perfect Love. The man who loves God supremely, and his neighbor as himself; who enthrones God as it were in the very centre of his heart, and allows Him to reign there with- out a rival, and who, while loving God above everything else, yet loves everything else also as God would have him loye it, is, in the Scriptural sense of the terms, a MADE PERFECT IN LOVE BY THE SPIRIT. 79 holy or a perfect man. Such an one may be rich or poor; he may be learned or ignorant ; he may have one talent or five; his body may be healthy or diseased ; his mind may be active or sluggish; his Judgment may be strong or weak; his involuntary imperfections and in- firmities may be few or many ; he may differ much from the angels, and much from Adam, but he bears—in his measure—the moral image of God, for “God is love.” Thus, in the Sermon on the Mount, when the Saviour s contrasting human love, which only extends to friends ind neighbors, with the love of God, who “ maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust,” He tells us, that in order to show by our likeness to such a Father that we are His true children, we must adopt His sentiments, and love in our degree as He loves; i. e.— Love your enc- mies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.” And it is in this connection that He employs the stupendous words, “ Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is per- fect.” That is to say—Be ye perfect in love, and thus— to the extent of your finite capacity—like Him who is Perfect Love. We do not hesitate to say that holiness or perfection, in the sense in which it has just been explained, is re- quired of all Christians, And, if required of all, it is the privilege of all to obtain it.» Like every other Gos- pel blessing, it is the gift of God in Christ; and like every other Gospel blessing, it is to be received by faith. It is a part of our Father’s legacy to His children. Let none despise it, nor fail to seek and find it. 80 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. In every age of the Church, God has had His experi- mental witnesses to the wondrous grace of perfect love. Not the least conspicuous among these were the founders of the Society of Friends. George Fox, and many of his coadjutors, not only taught the possibility of holiness —through faith in Christ—as a doctrine, but they claimed it for themselves as an experience. “They asked me,” says George Fox, in giving an ac- count of his examination before some magistrates In Derby, “ whether I was sanctified. I answered, Yes, for I was in the Paradise of God. Then they asked me if I had no sin. I answered, Christ, my Saviour, had taken away my sin; and in Himisnosin. They asked me, how we knew that Christ did abide in us. — I said, By His Spirit, which He has given us. Then they temptingly asked if any of us were Christ. I answered, Nay ; we were nothing! Christ was all.” Equally explicit were the teachings of John Wesley and the early Methodists. In opposition to Count Zin- zendorf—who maintained that all sin is removed from the heart in conyersion—Wesley upheld the doctrine, that sin still exists, as an “infection of nature,” in justi- fied believers. But he also clearly recognized the possi- bility of its entire removal; such removal being effected by an act of God’s grace, and the result to the individual being entire sanctification—Christian perfection, or per- fect Love. The questions still addressed to Methodist ministers at their ordination, indicate the same thing. ‘The candidate is asked—“ Have you faith in Christ? Are you going on unto perfection? Do you expect to be made perfect in love in this life?” Not—Do you expect to be made MADE PERFECT IN LOVE BY LHky SPIRIT, 81 perfect in knowledge, or in wisdom, or in practice ? but, im love. But we need not particularize the distinctive teach- ings of Christian sects, Every denomination has had its witnesses. Some of the most holy men and women of whom we have any account, have been Roman Catho- lics. Such were Tauler, and the friends of God, Thomas 4 Kempis, Fénélon, and Lady Guyon. The names of many holy men and women adorn the annals of the Church of England. I need only mention Archbishop Leighton; Swiss Calvinists like @ Aubigné; Presbyte- rians like President Edwards, and James Brainerd Tay- lor; Baptists like Dr. Levy, of Philadelphia; Congre- gationalists, Moravians, Brethren. All these, and other sects, have had among their members those who could bear testimony to the “perfect love which casteth out fear.” And never, since the Apostolic Age, have larger ac- cessions been made to the ranks of these witnesses than In our own days. Thousands and tens of thousands throughout Christendom have been awakened in recent years to an apprehension of their privileges in the Gos- pel, such as they had not known before ; and coming to Jesus with consecrated hearts, they are entering by the open door of faith into the fulness of the blessing of the Gospel. To His name be all the glory. Amen. 82 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. REMARKS. it To be holy is not to be perfect in body, it is not to be perfect in mind, it is not to be infallible in judgment, it is not to be faultless in practice; it is simply to be pure in heart; it is simply to be freed from sin. II. Christian perfection makes its possessor perfect in his Christianity, not necessarily perfect in anything else. III. Perfect Christianity, or Christian perfection, consists in perfect love. Perfect love is that which loves God supremely, and your neighbor as yourself. Such love is the fulfilling of the law and the end of the command- ment. IV. Love is in proportion to faith, Little faith, little love; much faith, much love; perfect faith, perfect love. Perfect faith can only exist in connection with perfect surrender to God. Ve Out of a heart made perfect in love, there must neces- sarily flow a life devoted to God. “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit.” Vis Knowledge, judgment, and practice will always be imperfect in our present state of being. But Christian MADE PERFECT IN LOVE BY THE SPIRIT. 83 perfection implies perfect submission, perfect faith, per- fect love, and, up to the standard of knowledge, perfect obedience, Wane Christian perfection is a bestowment and an imparta- tion, wholly derived from the merits of Christ and con- stantly dependent upon the in-dwelling Spirit. It cannot exist a single moment in any branch that is not abiding in the Vine. VeLITs Christian perfection does not exclude growth. Both in nature and in grace God’s works may be perfect in every stage of their development, and yet constantly growing in their perfections, 1D.@ Christian perfection in the sense explained in this chapter is required of all Christians ; and what is duty is also privilege. Every believer may and should have a heart made perfect in love. The absolute standard of right and wrong is the ab- solute will of God, but the practical standard for human beings is the revealed will of God; and the gospel standard is the law of perfect love. Every conscious violation of God’s known will is a conscious sin. Every violation of His revealed will, not known to be such, is a sin of ignorance. These, as well as conscious sins, re- quire an atonement. God can forgive everything, but His eye of infinite purity does not leave even the 84 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. slightest sin unnoticed. “Tt is not our own conscience,” says H. W.S., “nor our measure of light, but the truth of God that is the standard by which sin is to be measured.” “Sins of ignorance” are spoken of in the Law of Moses, as possible, but not necessary. They might or might not occur. Ignorance of God’s will, when the knowledge of it is within our reach, is itself criminal. And ignorance is no valid excuse for sins committed under such circumstances; although God, in His mercy, provides sufficient sacrifice for these, as for all other sins —in Christ. “When he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty.” “Though he wist it not,” (did not know it was sin when he committed it)—“yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity,” (when he does know it.) When sins com_ mitted in ignorance are ascertained to be sins, then they offend the conscience, and bring us into condemnation —then we need to confess them and plead the merits of the atoning blood for their remission; and as they are no longer sins of ignorance, but conscious sins, they must be forsaken as well. But sin is not imputed when there is no law. Evils arising out of unavoidable ignorance, are not sins, in the sense of attaching guilt to the perpetrator. They are his misfortune, not his fault. Their penalty may be suffering, but it is not condemnation. Sin is in the will and purpose, rather than in the act. “ Where there is no law there is no transgression.” “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another,” that is I suppose fellowship with God, “and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” MADE PERFECT IN LOVE BY THE SPIRIT. 85 DQ “Welcome alike the crown or cross; Trouble I may not seek, nor peace, Nor toil, nor rest, nor gain, nor loss, Nor joy, nor grief, nor pain, nor ease, Nor life, nor death: but ever groan ‘Father, Thy only will be done? ” FarueEr, Thy all- absorbing love Deve out my heart in love to Thee ; Yet, save Thy love came down to ma Mine never could have reached above. Lord, I have nothing; till, within, Thy grace revealed "Thy blessed cross, My very righteousness was dross, And all my life a trace of sin. Thou asked for that which Thou had’st made, My life, myself, my love, my heart, Yet when Thou would’st Thy grace impart, My gift, though poor, was long delayed. At length, surrendered to Thy call, I sear ae knew then what I gave; I cannot now know all I have, But I have Christ and He is SAY? We Caw. So let us love, dear love, like as we ought, Love is the Lesson, which the Lord us taught. Edmund Spencer. CHAPTER GY i: CONSECRATION AND FAITH. ls my reader has followed me through the preceding chapters, and if he -has searched the Scriptures daily whether these things are so, he must already have de- cided in his own mind either that it is his duty and privilege, under the Gospel, to be holy, or that it 1s not. If he has adopted the latter conclusion, then he might as well close the book at this point, and so far as he is concerned, I might as well not have written it. It is of no use to talk about how holiness is to be obtained to a man who does not believe that it can be obtained at all. The human mind is so constituted that it will not put forth a volition, nor an effort, nor feel under any obliga- tion to do a thing which it believes impossible to be done, or to obtain a thing which it believes impossible to be obtained. A Christian believer may regard holi- ness as a thing to be very much desired, but if he regards it also as a thing not to be obtained, he is not likely to concern himself about the conditions on which it is be- stowed nor to determine to have it at whatever cost. If, however, my Christian reader has been brought, by my feeble words, or by any instrumentality whatever, to believe that holiness is required, and therefore possi- ble, I trust that he has been brought also earnestly to desire it. A deep conviction of one’s needs in this re- gard, is a preparatory state of mind very favorable to its reception. It is they that hunger and thirst who are to 86 CONSECRATION AND FAITH. 87 be filled; and if any one under a deep sense of his in- ward corruption is saying with David, “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God ;” or, “ My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God ;” or, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me ;” or, with the poet— “Break off the yoke of in-bred sin, And fully set my spirit free, I cannot rest till pure within, Till I am wholly lost in Thee.” To such an one I believe it may be said, This full sal- vation is “very nigh thee.” If, then, a proper beginning has been made in a fixed belief that holiness is attainable, and an earnest desire for it, the next step which the seeking, inquiring soul will find it necessary to take, is an act of unalterable consecration to God. Consecration is, by some, con- founded with sanctification, but I shall employ the term in its usual acceptation—that, namely, of entire surren- der to Christ. Consecration in this sense is necessary to sanctification, but not identical with it. Sanctification implies consecration, but it also implies more. Conse- cration 1s our own act; sanctification is God’s act. Con- secration has the same relation to sanctification, that repentance has to justification. It is a deeper repent- ance, a completer submission, a fuller and more detailed surrender, Such an act of consecration in which we yield up our- selves and our all—body, soul, and spirit, time, talents, possessions, all that we have, and all that we are—in unconditional surrender to God, is necessary to every one who would receive at His hands the priceless blessing 88 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. of a clean heart. That blessing, like every other good thing promised in the Gospel, is to be received by faith ; and it is only by entire surrender that we can come on to believing ground, and be in a position to exercise faith for so great a boon. We cannot, with any show of reason, believe that God will bestow upon us that wondrous blessing while we | are living in a state of voluntary rebellion against Him. So long as we indulge any known sin, or omit any known duty, we cannot have faith to believe that God will sanctify us wholly ; and without faith it is just as impossible for the believer to be sanctified, as for the sinner to be pardoned. Christians are often complaining, and doubtless with justice, of their own lack of faith. There are compara- tively few who have a faith so strong, that in the lan- guage of the Saviour, they can remove mountains. And if our faith is dim and weak, is it not because our con- secration is imperfect? Is it not because we are keeping back part of the price? By retaining self-life in our hearts, are we not making it impossible to believe in God fully, and to trust Him confidingly, and to obey Him implicitly ?. Absolute and unconditional surrender to God is a necessary pre-requisite to the faith that stag- gers not at the promises of God through unbelief. ‘‘Be- loved, of our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.” In the sixth chapter of Romans, 13th verse, the Apostle clearly sets forth the consecration that is re- quired of Christians: “ Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, CONSECRATION AND FAITH. 89 and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” He is now addressing Christian believers no Jonger dead in trespasses and sins, but “alive from the dead.” They had already come in repentance as sinners surrendering themselves to be saved or forgiven, but now he calls upon them as Christians to yield themselves and their members in unconditional surrender to God and His service. Consecration is not simply a mass-offering, but a surrender in detail. | Are my readers willing thus to make an inventory of themselves, their members, and _ their possessions, and hand all over to the Lord, saying to Him from their in- most hearts, each one for himself, “ Not my will, but Thine be done.” “Have Thy own way with me and mine in all particulars. Iam willing to receive what Thou givest, and to want what Thou withholdest, and to relinquish what Thou takest, and to suffer what Thou inflictest, and to be what Thou requirest, and to do what Thou commandest.” Where shall we begin? Shall it be with your intel- lect, your brain power, your gifts and talents, and accom- plishments? What have you been thinking about since your conversion? Have you been thinking little of yourselves and much of God, or much of yourselves and little of God? Have you been planning and devising how to promote God’s glory, or how to serve your own interests and pleasure? Have your talents been devoted to the service of Christ or the service of self? Has God been in all your thoughts, and are you willing now to give up your thinking powers to the Lord, and allow Him to “bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ?” “Finally, brethren, whatsoever 90 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” The eye and ear—those organs of sense through which Satan so often introduces his temptations from without —will you surrender them to the Lord? Will you say with Thomas Ellwood, “Oh, let mine eyelids closed be To what concerns me not to see! Oh, let me ever shut mine ear To what concerns me not to hear !”’ So far as the things of this world are concerned, “the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with > But rather let the Christian say, “ Thine eye shall see the King in His beauty ;” or “Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things oud of Thy law ;” and let him remember that “ My sheep hear my voice.” Give eye and ear unto the Lord The tongue also—that unruly evil which no man can tame. Nowhere can it be kept safely, except in God’s hands. How have your tongues been employed, be- loved, since your conversion; have they been telling what God has done for your souls? Talking about His wondrous ways? ‘Teaching transgressors His ways? hearing.’ Praising Him who hath taken your feet from the mire and clay, and established them upon the Rock? Many Christians are possessed of a dumb spirit. ‘They are voluble enough in praising their earthly friends or pos- sessions. Yes; they will be heard day after day prais- CONSECRATION AND FAITH. 9] ing horses, dogs, books, birds, the landscape, works of nature and of art, but never a word of praise is heard for Him who redeemed them. And just here the stumb- ling-block is, to many, the hindrance in the way of their consecration, They are afraid to surrender themselves wholly to the Lord, lest they may have to speak of Him before the people; and there are those who would al- most as willingly surrender up their natural life, as open their mouths publicly in the Lord’s cause. Here is one of the strongholds of Satan in too many hearts. But now, as of old, when Satan is cast out, the dumb speak—nay, more, the tongue of the dumb sometimes sings. Did not the prophet say it would be so? And again. The tongue that is mute in God’s praise, is it not sometimes too busy with your neighbor’s char- acter? Is it more ready to confess other people’s sins than your own? Does it never prevaricate? Does it not sometimes conceal your real thoughts, instead of ex- pressing them ? Have you not found it really “ unruly?” Will you not put it in the hands of Him who is alone able to control it? The only safe place for our tongues is with the Lord; and let us give them to Him will- ingly and gladly, to be used by Him in any way that He may choose, or disused entirely if it be His will, to teach, to exhort, to testify, to pray, to praise, or to re- main silent before Him. And your hands, beloved, how have they been em- ployed since you have been Christians ? Working for yourselves? Accumulating the treasures of this world ? Gathering together those things which please the natural man, but cannot satisfy the longings of the inmost soul ? 92 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Give them to the Lord, to work for Him. Possibly He might not change their employment at all; you may still pursue your lawful avocations ; but you must make even your secular business religious business, and dis- charge it to the Lord, and not to men. And if He calls you to use your hands in another way entirely, they are His, let Him have His own way with them. And your feet, which have been swift, it may be, to run upon your own errands, are you willing they should be both swift and beautiful to run upon God’s errands? Surrender them to Him, and whether they are still per- mitted to carry you about in your lawful pursuits where you are, as heretofore, or whether He leads you far hence to bear glad tidings, or to minister in any way to His little ones, with firm and willing feet you are to follow “the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.” Your money also, your farms, and your merchandise, all your earthly possessions must be given to the Lord. The silver and the gold are His, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. And wealth is a good thing when it is dedicated to the Lord and used in His service. We may be glad that He does not leave all the silver and gold in the hands of His enemies. He has His faithful stewards, who are diligently and profitably employing their Lord’s money, using it in promoting His cause upon the earth, and in doing good to the bodies and souls of their fellow- men. He knows the hearts of His people—who of them can bear the peculiar temptations connected with great wealth, and who cannot—and He allows some to be rich, and others poor. He doeth all things well; and we must leave our riches or our poverty, just as we must CONSECRATION AND FAITH, 93 leave our health or our sickness, our happiness or our suffering, entirely in His hands. I do not lose sight entirely of second causes, nor do I undervalue a proper prudence and forethought in refer- ence to outward affairs. The husbandman must prepare the ground and sow the seed; and this is not less esscn- tial, because he will, after all, have no crop unless God sends the rain and the sunshine. In like manner it is doubtless true that there are laws of business, the ob- servance or non-observance of which tends to success or failure in the accumulation of wealth. But God is in all and over all; and how often does He thwart the best devised schemes for obtaining riches, leaving one man, whose business qualifications may be of the highest order, comparatively poor, and pouring wealth into the lap of another, almost without effort or thought on the part of the recipient. Reader, if the Lord has entrusted thee with great wealth, remember that it is His gift. He that giveth can also take away. Do not grasp it too tightly. Do not let the love of money take root in thy heart. If He permits thee to keep it to the end of life, thank Him for it, and glorify Him with it. If He take it from thee, say, “Thy will be done.” —Consecrate thy possessions and thy business to the Lord. And your time must be the Lord’s. How easily He can say to each of us, Time to thee shall be no longer. And yet there are a great many Christians who find it hard to spare time from their outward business to attend | to the claims of God.“ Friend,” said Anthony Benezet to a man who pleaded that he had no time to hear him, “dost thou think thou wilt ever find time to die?” 94 TILE OFFICES OF THE IOLY SPIRIT. Those who devote all their time, even at a great sacrifice of their earthly interests to the Lord’s work, yet con- stantly find some, where they travel, who do not have the time to go and hear the message they have to de- liver. Give your time to the Lord. Ask Him how to spend every hour to His glory. He may not take you away from your present mode of employing the moments that make up a lifetime; but if He should do so, remem- ber that the time is His, and He must have the direction of it. Spend your time to His glory here, and you shall spend your eternity to His glory hereafter. You must leave your reputation in God’s hands. A good name amongst our fellow-men, and_ especially amongst. our fellow-Christians, is not to be under- valued, but we must make it our first object to please our Father in Heaven, and then trust Him for what men shall say of us, and what they shall think of us. It is not at all uncommon for the best and holiest of men to be misunderstood, and therefore misrepresented, not only by the unconverted, but by other Christians, and sometimes even by those who are not less holy than themselves. When Jesus was personally upon earth He was followed at one time by hosannas, and at another with revilings by the fickle multitude. He was blasphemed, persecu- ted, and condemned to death by the Scribes and Phari- ces who sat in Moses’ seat; and He was never under- stood even by His own immediate followers, who were constantly in His presence, and hearing the gracious words that proceeded out of His mouth. One of the most eminent of England’s Christian jurists, Sir Matthew Hale, in the conscientious discharge of what he regarded his duty as a judge, sent one of the CONSECRATION AND FAITH. 95 most eminent of England’s Christian preachers (albeit, he was only a converted tinker) to prison—the Bedford Jail—the den where he dreamed his immortal dream, Nor could either of these excellent and pious men un- derstand nor agree with the equally excellent and pious George Fox, nor the latter with the no less excellent and pious Richard Baxter. It is, indeed, a somewhat melan- choly thought that. many, even of the salé of the earth, know each other in this world only as opponents. In the other world, doubtless, they will be companions, and sit down at the same feast. We cannot command the good opinion of our fellow- men. [ven if we could do s0, there is no reason to be- lieve that it would be a blessing, for the Saviour says, “Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you.” ‘The one necessary thing for the believer is that if men speak all manner of evil against him, it may he falsely. But if when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it pa- tiently, this is acceptable with God.’ Let us then seek the honor which cometh from God, and leave our repu- tation in His hands. Our families and the objects of our tenderest affections —parents, children, husbands, wives, lovers, friends, must be surrendered to the Lord. It does not follow that He will be more likely to take them from us because we yield them up unreservedly into His hands; possibly, the reverse is true. But here also, our wills must be in entire submission to God’s will. The following cases, illustrating this form of consecra- tion, are taken, slightly abridged, from a valuable little work, entitled, “Sanctification Practical,’ by Rey. J. Boynton ; 96 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. i A lady, relating her experience in our hearing, said: “T had long prayed— “ Cv1nvittten ., eee Sn LIFE. + «PURITY. — “MATURES (as a gift.) (as a gift.) (growth.) “Hold fast the entire Faith, namely: That by faith in Jesus Christ, through His blood, and by the Holy Spirit, you are now cleansed from ALL filthiness of the flesh and spirit, from ALL sin, from ALL unrighteous- ness, redeemed from ALL iniquity, and PURIFIED UNTO GOD. Or, to use other Bible figures, you haye, through the Spirit, crucified the flesh with the passions and lusts; are DEAD INDEED UNTO SIN, FREE FROM sin. The old man is not rendered inert or inoperative as some say, but is put off. “Christ, by the will of the Father, is to you, through Faith, the only procuring and sustaining cause of your sanctification. You do not get holiness by growing, by WALKING IN THE SPIRIT. boo doing, by suffering, by bettering yourself, by legality, nor by works. Means of grace in their proper place are not to be neglected ; but they become misleading, the in- stant it is imagined that they can in any wise procure sanctification. Chastisement, in whatever form, bends the will to despise self, and trust God, that we may be sanctified, but it does not sanctify us. “As we are now, and as we must ever be entirely wn- worthy, it therefore requires the same virtue of the A tone- ment (to which we are ever linked) to sustain our sanctifi- cation as to give it at the first, and therefore the same continuous acting of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. ‘Watch ye, stand fast in the faith.’ “Tf you become confused or get into difficulties, define your position immediately. That is, declare in your heart in spite of all feelings or thinkings to the con- trary, and with your lips if you like, that you do now believe that the blood of Christ does cleanse, and the power of God does keep you from all sin. Then hold on there by naked faith alone (no matter how you feel), yea, by desperate faith if need be, until the trial is over. After this manner define your position every morning, the first thing when you awake, ‘This is important. “Vinally—Be careful for nothing, be prayerful for everything, be thankful for anything.” W. W. Smytx. CHAPTER VII. DIFFICULTIES SOLVED. I. 1s NOT SANCTIFICATION RECEIVED BY ALL CHRIS- TIANS CO-INSTANTANEOUSLY WITH THEIR CON- VERSION ? EGENERATION being the beginning, and sane- tification the completion of the work of inward holiness, these are distinct states of grace, imparted by the Holy Spirit; but they need not be far apart in time. In some instances—which, however, seem to be very rare—the experiences are received at once, or, at least, cannot be separated by the consciousness of the indi- vidual; and it is said that one man was converted, sanctified, called to the ministry, and entered upon the ministry—just as in the case of the Apostle Paul—with- in three days. But, if all persons are sanctified when they are converted, it follows that all Christians now living, unless they are in a state of backsliding, are wholly sanctified. And yet the number is comparatively small, who even lay claim to such an experience, while the great majority, so far from claiming it or seeking it, do not even believe in it. Furthermore, the idea that all persons are sanctified at their conversion, is quite unscriptural. The Corin- thians were undoubtedly converted Christians, yet they were “carnal,” “ babes,” and far from being holy in their lives. The Galatians were Christians, yet, seeking to 136 DIFFICULTIES SOLVED. Pe gain perfection by the works of the law. The Thessalo- mians were Christians, yet Paul prays that the God of peace might “sanctify them wholly.” The Hebrews were Christians, yet, the inspired writer exhorts them to leave “principles and go on to perfection.” I have stated that sanctification is imparted in connection with the baptism with the Holy Ghost; and this baptism is evidently not always experienced at conversion. It was not experienced till Pentecost by the hundred-and- twenty, who, nevertheless, had all been converted before Pentecost. It was not experiened by the Samaritans who were converted by the preaching of Philip, until Peter and John prayed for them, and laid their hands on them. Conversion, therefore, and sanctification, are separate and distinct experiences, which may, neverthe- less—and ought to—come very near together ; and not to be separated, as they often are, by forty years, or a life-time of wilderness wandering. 18 & IS SANCTIFICATION FOR ALL BELIEVERS? Some earnest Christians hesitate to believe that so great a blessing as holiness can be for them. It may be -possible, they argue, for a few ministers or plously-dis- posed persons, who have leisure to devote themselves to religion, to receive and live out this great blessing ; but for us, men of business, men of many cares, brought into daily contact with a sinful world, it is out of the range of possibility for us to be kept wholly free from its stains and corruptions. The man overwhelmed with worldly business—the woman fretted and worried with household cares, says, almost despairingly, “J¢ is not for me.” 138 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Now, let these glance for a moment at the third chap- ter of Ephesians, and read what Dr. Steele has aptly called “ Paul’s higher life prayer :”—“ For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” ete. Who was it that Paul was praying for? Only a few ministers of the Gospel? A few piously disposed persons? A few men and women of leisure, who had all their time to devote to religion? The Ep- hesian Church was made up, principally no doubt, of laboring men, artisans—makers in former years, perhaps, of silver shrines for Diana—and women, with, in all probability, families of children, and all the usual pres- sure of household cares incident to persons in their cir- cumstances, They had evidently been addicted, before their conversion, to low forms of vice, for the Apostle exhorts them “ to put away lying,” and “let them that stole steal no more,” and not to allow “any corrupt communication to proceed out of their mouth.” And yet, for just such people as these—with all the cares, and troubles, and perplexities incident to narrow circum- stances, and the necessity of toil for their daily bread— Paul prays that they may be strengthened by the Spirit in the inner man; may have Christ to dwell in their hearts by faith; may be rooted and grounded in love; may understand and know the mathematical, solid con- tents of the love of Christ, and may be filled with all the fulness of God. And then he doubles and triples, or squares and cubes, all these stupendous blessings that he invokes upon them, by stating that God is able to do more than all that we ask or think ;—yes, abun- dantly above all; and even exceeding abundantly above all. DIFFICULTIES SOLVED. 139 If, then, any of my readers are disposed to think that the blessing is not for them; if they are full of worry and care; if their hindrances are many and great; if their burdens are heavy and grievous to be borne; let them not yield to discouragement, and cease to ask or seek for the fulness of the blessing, but, let them rather say :—“Just because of my cares and troubles, and toils, and worries, therefore I must have this great salvation, if others can afford to do without it, I cannot.” And so, casting their care—outward and inward—upon Jesus, let them believe, and enter into a sweet rest of soul in Him who careth for them. And, if any think it a matter of temperament, and that the morbidly melancholic cannot obtain this boon of having an in-dwelling Saviour to save them from tor- menting doubts and fears, let them read these words of Daniel Steele :— “Salvation from doubts that I am now and forever wholly the Lord’s, This is the most astonishing tri- umph of grace over a temperament naturally melan- cholic—an introspecting, self-anatomizing, and self-ac- cusing style of piety, characteristic of my ancestry. Perfect rest from all apprehension of future ill. Salva- tion from worry is no small thing; especially in the case of one whose views of life are strongly tinged with indigo. I believe that Jesus, who is the Head over all things to His Church, has the programme of my best possible future. My only anxiety, moment by moment, is this—Am I now led by the Spirit of God?” 140 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. II. IS HOLINESS A CONDITION OF HEART WHICH IS FREE FROM TEMPTATION? By no means, Any one who accepts the plain Scrip- tural statements about the existence and personality of Satan—the real, powerful, intelligent, malignant, spirit- ual adversary with whom we have to contend—the devil, the liar, the tempter, the deceiver, the accuser, the de- stroyer, the roaring lion, the old serpent, the false angel of light, the prince of the power of the air, the god of this world—will not expect to reach a state in this life in which he shall wholly escape the assaults of such an enemy. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself was tempted. Yes, in all points in which His believing, sanctified fol- lowers are tempted, and yet without sin. There is, therefore, no sin in being tempted. The sin is in yield- ing, in cherishing the temptation till it takes root in the desires and the will, resulting, finally, it may be, in the sinful word or the sinful act. The disciple is not above his Master, but every one that is perfect shall be as his Master. And, therefore, even those whose hearts are perfect in love shall be tempted. But, on the other hand, we have the blessed assurance, “In that He Himself hath suffered, being tempted, He is able to succor those who are tempted.” Temptations, or tempting objects, are presented by Satan to the intellect ; and it is his purpose that they should pass through the intellect into the sensitive and volitional part of our nature, so as to induce in the ap- petites, the propensities, the affections, and, finally, the will, a wrong action—wrong either in kind, or in degree. DIFFICULTIES SOLVED. 141 We are sometimes tempted to admit into our hearts, feel- ings and desires which ought not to exist at all. We are sometimes tempted to a perverted or excessive indulgence of feelings and desires, which, to a certain extent, and with proper limitations, may be innocent and right. In either class of cases we are to ascertain—by a careful study of the Holy Scriptures, or by the immediate teach- ing of the Holy Spirit—just where it is that temptation ends and sin begins; and then we are to give heed to the intimations of a tender and enlightened conscience, which bids us at all hazards turn from the wrong and follow the right. Conscience is a natural faculty, and given to all man- kind, Every responsible human being has a sense of obligation—a belief that he ought to do certain things, and to abstain from doing others. And this feeling of obligation is ever impelling him to a corresponding action. His conscience is always saying to him, Da what you think is right. His ideas of duty are derived principally from education, and are liable to be exceed- ingly vague and erroneous, especially where there is no outward knowledge of the Gospel or of the requisitions of Scripture. But still his conscience urges him to do what he thinks is right. From whatever source your convictions of right and wrong are derived, conscience bids you act up to those convictions, and condemns you if you do not do so. A man may do a thing conscientiously, which is, neverthe- less, not a right and proper thing to be done. A man may, conscientiously, deprive himself of a thing which God has not forbidden, and which, therefore, is not wrong. ‘The advantage, “much every way,” to those 142 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. who have the oracles of God, over those who have them not, is, so far as the question of duty is concerned, chiefly in this—that when a man acts conscientiously with the open Bible before him, illuminated by the Holy Spirit, he not only does what he believes to be God’s will, but what is God’s will. It is not only true that the holiest persons will be subject to temptation through life, but it not un- frequently happens that their temptations are greater in exact proportions to their holiness; that is to say, as they surrender themselves wholly to the Lord, and trust Him for a clean heart, Satan’s assaults upon them be- come not less frequent and less severe, but precisely the reverse. The more you resist his temptations, the more he will be induced to try his full strength upon you, which it will not be necessary for him to do if you yield easily. he children of Israel were not sent to Canaan the nearest route, because they were not in a condition to resist a determined, warlike people such as the Phil- istines. As they became better acquainted with the Lord’s dealings, and learned to trust Him more, He allowed them to meet their enemies in battle. But their severest and most protracted wars were after they came into the land itself. And so very great temptations are often a sign, not of a low, but of a high state of grace; for if you are beset by “principalities and powers and wicked spirits,” it is because you are in heavenly places. Be not, therefore, discouraged. If the warfare is long and severe, it will, nevertheless, be true if you abide in uninterrupted union with your Commander—the Captain of salvation—that the victory will be constant and complete. DIFFICULTIES SOLVED. 143 The temptations of a sanctified heart are principally from without. While the “infection of nature”—the remains of carnality—still continue in the heart, there will be a disposition to cherish the temptation and to make a favorable response to the suggestion of the evil one. But when perfect love has been wrought in the soul, when it has been sanctified wholly, then it reckons itself, and, through Christ, realizes itself to be dead to sin, and promptly repels the temptation. There is no Parley the porter within, to open the castle gates to the enemy without. And yet it is possible still to listen to Satan, and to reason with him until he again injects sin into even a clean heart, just as of old he “ beguiled Eve,” whose heart was perfectly pure, “by his sub- tlety.” “A person may be sanctified to God,” says Dr. Up- ham, “his heart may be pure in the Divine sight, and still there may be a constant struggle on the part of the ‘old man,’ or the ‘old nature,’ to regain possession. It is difficult to explain this, viz., that a truly holy heart may still have a struggle antagonistical to sin, and often- times a fearful struggle; but it is probably owing, in ad- dition to the direct temptations of Satan, to the tremend- ous power of antecedent evil habits. The principle of self-love, for instance, may by divine grace be redeemed from its selfish attitude, and may be brought to its true subjective position, and become a holy principle; and yet, in consequence of its previous habits of inordinate exercises there may be a strong tendency, which requires constant resistance to resume its former position of ir- regularity and sin. This tendency is not, properly speaking, in the principle itself, but is forced upon it, $44 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. exteriorly, if we may so express it by the law of habit ; and therefore, although it is extremely dangerous, it does not appear to be necessarily sinful. The reformed inebriate has refrained from drinking ; but the influence of the antecedent law of habit is still felt in his system. He is no longer guilty of the sin of drinking; but his liability to fall into this sin is greatly increased by his antecedent evil habit. Something like this is the case with those who have just entered into that state where they can say, they ‘love the Lord with all their heart” The enemy is cast out; but he avails himself of the influence of the Jaw of habit, to take a hostile atti- tude and to seck a re-entrance.” If the sanctified believer is liable to temptation, it fol- lows that it is possible for him to sin. Sanctification does not destroy a man’s moral agency. He is still to choose to be kept and saved, and is kept and saved only while thus choosing. It is possible for him to fall, but possible also—let the Lord be praised—not to fall, be- cause Christ is able to keep him from falling. It is only by abiding in Christ that he can be safe a single moment. Therefore he needs to watch and pray, and that con- tinually. But those who are wholly the Lord’s, watch Jesus more than themselves. “Looking unto Jesus” is the attitude of their soul. Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do? is their constant inquiry. They are on the alert for the slightest intimations of His will, and move in re- sponse as the branch moves to and fro at the gentle touch of the breeze. They watch that nothing may separate them from Christ. They watch that they may retain possession of the goodly land, They watch for DIFFICULTIES SOLVED. 145 the approach of the enemy, and fly to the cleft of the Rock. And do they not pray? Why, they dwell in an at- mosphere of prayer. Their life is a continual prayer. They know what it is to pray without ceasing. ‘They perhaps exhibit in their prayers less agonizing and more resting than others, less struggling and more believing, fewer importunate requests and more joyous thanksgiv- ings; but none are oftener on their knees, either in the closet or the public assembly, whether for themselves or others, than the sanctified believers in Jesus. And none take more delight than they in the prayer- ful perusal of the Holy Scriptures. They find them all aglow with the doctrine of holiness so precious to their souls. Every means of grace prized by the justified is prized the more when they are sanctified. ‘There is no self-complacent resting in themselves or their attainments, as if there were no further danger and no more need of care. heir rest is not in what they have attained, but in Jesus. It is not that they have no need, but that their need is all supplied in Jesus. It is not that Satan has ceased to tempt them, but that they are victorious in Jesus. It is not that they have no sorrow, but that in Jesus their sorrow is turned into joy. It is not that they have no care, but that they east their cares on Jesus. It is not that storms and floods do not come, but that they are fixed upon the Rock—Christ Jesus. They are nothing. Christ as all. There is one of the devices of Satan which those whose hearts have been made perfect in love ought not to be ignorant of: this is, the suggestion by him of evil and blasphemous thoughts to their minds, and then dis- 10 146 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT couraging them by accusing them of being themselves the authors of these wicked imaginings. Some earnest Christians are thus tempted, and it may be, specially so when engaged in prayer ; all kinds of vile and harassing thoughts coming into their minds and shutting out their communion with God. They are thus brought into great perplexity and discouragement, sometimes being quite ready to doubt whether they are even Christians at all, much more whether they are walking upon the highway of holiness. We can no more avoid these whisperings of Satan than we can avoid hearing the profane conver- sation of wicked men with whom we may be thrown in contact ; and we should learn at once to repel the accu- sations of our enemy and to cast back his evil sugges- tions upon himself, fully assuring ourselves that he is the author of them, and not we. The Holy Spirit will be near to aid; and if we have a single eye to Him, He will enable us to distinguish between the thoughts of evil thus injected into our minds by the tempter, and volun- tary evil thoughts originated and cherished with the con- sent of the unsanctified heart, which thus becomes the author of its own temptations. The former may be very harassing, but are not, in themselves sinful. The same cannot be said of the latter. IV. IS NOT SANCTIFICATION A GRADUAL WORK, AND THE RESULT OF GROWTH IN GRACE? As sanctification is a definite act of God’s grace, there must be a definite time when that act is performed. There is a time when the penitent believing sinner is justified and regenerated, whether that time is manifest - Ee —_————— DIFFICULTIES SOLVED. 147 to his consciousness or not, and there is a time when the consecrated believer receives a clean heart, whether he is conscious of it at the moment cf its reception or not. In point of fact, so far as the consciousness is concerned, ex- periences differ. Some begin to seek for a holy heart, and the light gradually dawns upon them, and at length, without any very distinct perception as to time and man- ner, they find themselves wholly surrendered to the Lord, and perfectly trusting Him and loving Him su- premely. Others, after a definite and voluntary surren- der, and an equally definite and voluntary act of faith, are flooded to overflowing with light, and love, and peace, and joy, experiencing, like the believers on the day of Pentecost, a conscious and instantaneous filling of the Spirit and consequent cleansing of the heart. Sanctification, being the work of the Holy Spirit, can- not be the result of growth in grace. There may be a erowth before it, and a growth in it. The vessel may be filled to-day, but it may be so enlarged as to hold more to-morrow. Growth in grace does not consist in an increase of our own virtues; but an increasing sense of God’s love to us, begetting a corresponding increase in our love to Him. In order to grow in grace, we must be planted in grace; and grace is the rich, warm, genial soil of God’s infinite love. V. CAN A SOUL BE MADE HOLY UNTIL THE HOUR OF DEATH ? God’s command to His people is—“ Be ye holy ;” and He nowhere tells them that they may put off obedience to this command until the day of their death. Zacharias 148 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. says that we are to serve the Lord without fear, in holi- ness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives. We are not informed that death is a sanctifier. Jesus is made unto us sanctification. We are sanctified by the Spirit of our God. Sanctification is used in direct connection “ with belief of the truth,” by Paul, and with “sprinkling of the blood of Jesus,” by Peter. [ap a man is sanctified in the hour and ar foe of death, it is because, renouncing all merit and all hope in every earthly thing, he casts himself, in entire surrender and perfect trust, \ into the arms of Jesus. The Holy Ghost fills him and / cleanses him, because then, for the first time, he puts his +| case wholly in His hands. And would not precisely the | same result follow a similar consecration and faith, if ] these were exercised a year, or ten years, or fifty ye before the hour of death 2") / Noy ehrory hist VI. WAS NOT THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT CON- FINED TO APOSTOLIC TIMES? Aur IS NOT THIS BAPTISM NOW RECEIVED BY ALL CHRIS- TIANS AT THE TIME OF THEIR CONVERSION? The propositions implied in the sixth and seventh questions cannot both be true. If the baptism was con- fined to Apostolic times, it cannot now be given to all believers at conversion. But both these questions, we believe, have been sufficiently answered already. Peter told the multitude on the day of Pentecost, that the promise (of the Spirit) was to them, and their children, “even as many as the Lord our God shall call,” More- DIFFICULTIES SOLVED. 149 over, there have been and are still, many witnesses to the reception of this baptism, in their own’ conscious experience, and this—in the very great majority of in- stances at least—-at a period subsequent to their con- version. ) - It is certain that Christ’s baptism—or the filling of the Spirit—was not received by the church of the hun- dred-and-twenty, nor by the Samaritans who accepted the word of God through Philip’s preaching, until after their conversion. As this is the baptism that cleanseth ; if all receive it at conversion, then all Chris- tians are sanctified at the time when they are born again, and the Church of Christ on earth must consist, in every age, of wuolly sanctified members. But the testimony of tens of thousands, who cannot at all doubt their son- ship, who are sure that they have passed from death unto life~-through faith in Christ—but are also con- scious of the remaining corruption of their hearts, would palpably contradict such an assumption. And, if all Christians are made pure in heart at their conversion, why are these emphatic exhortations addressed to be- lievers, in the Holy Scriptures—“ Be ye holy ;” “be ye perfect ;” “go on to perfection,” and “the God of peace sanctify you wholly.” And yet, I must not fail again to mention the fact— however paradoxical and inconsistent I may appear to my readers—that every one does, in some sense, receive the Spirit, and is, in some sense, made holy at the time of his conversion. Whosoever receives the Son, has the ~ Tather, and the Spirit also. No man can say that Jesus 8 Lord but by the Holy Spirit. “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.” And whosoever 150 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. has been forgiven, or justified—as has been remarked elsewhere—begins to be holy. But, this reception of the Holy Spirit which is in connection with conversion, is not at all that baptism and filling of the Spirit to which believers are called. And this partial cleansing which occurs at conversion, is only the beginning of what is consummated, when—by Christ’s baptism—the believer is sanctified wholly. Vill. DOES NOT CHRIST’S BAPTISM CONSIST OF CERTAIN MIRACULOUS GIFTS? The gifts of the Spirit, whether consisting of the power to work miracles of any kind, or in something less wonderful, were, and are, given to every man sever- ally, as He will. ‘They are given to some and withheld from others; but the baptism of the Holy Ghost, is the in-coming and the in-dwelling of the Spirit in the heart of a believer. And, if He first gives us Himself, we can be content—so far as other and minor gifts are con- cerned—to receive what He gives, and want what He withholds; though still not neglecting to “covet earn- estly the best.” 1G: IS THE SANCTIFIED BELIEVER ALWAYS FULL OF JOY? Holiness undoubtedly is a rich field. There is much Joy in it. He who is holy cannot be miserable. The Saviour spoke certain comforting words to His disciples, that their joy might be full. We are told to “rejoice ever- more ;” that “the joy of the Lord is your strength ;” DIFFICULTIES SOLVED. neiyl that, “your joy no man taketh from you.” But, it is not to be understood that the joy of the sanctified be- liever is unceasing rapture, or ecstasy. It is rather char- acterized by a feeling of quiet peace; a rest of soul—the tranquillity of a spirit poised in harmony with God’s will. Perhaps a distinction may justly be drawn between happiness and yoy. This distinction, if it has a real ex- istence, may be stated as follows, viz.: joy—and the same is true of peace, which may indeed be regarded as one form of joy arises from the inner-being, welling up from the heart itself; while happiness is more of an out- ward feeling, having reference to the circumstances under which we are placed at the time. Holy joy is found in communion with God; in eating the hidden manna; in dwelling in the secret places of the Most High; in abid- ing under the shadow of the Almighty; in having the mind stayed on God. Happiness, on the other hand, is found in agreement between our wills and our surround- ings. It very often happens that we cannot bring cir- cumstances to our wills, and then, the only resource we have, in order to avoid unhappiness, is to bring our wills to circumstances. God’s hand is in the circumstances and occurrences of our daily life, as it is in everything else, and we must learn to recognize it there. Hvents are providences, and our Heavenly Father either permits or causes everything that happens to us. ‘To see, in even the heaviest calamities, a manifestation of God’s will, and to bow in humble resignation to that will ;—these are the means of obtaining relief from the pressure. “< Thy will be done ’’— Tis this which rolls Their agony from suffering souls.” 152 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. If the above remarks are entitled to consideration, it will follow that joy, or peace, being an inward princi- ple, is more permanent; while happiness, depending upon outward circumstances, is more transitory and un- certain. Bearing in mind the distinction already given between the two terms, we might say then, a man’s hap- piness may be disturbed, and even greatly disturbed, by many things which.do not at all disturb his inward peace or joy. The Christian—and even the holiest Christian—is subject, like other men, to the restrictions and limitations of humanity. He hungers and thirsts; he suffers phy- sical pain; he meets with afflictions and bereayements, crosses and disappointments; he is tried and tempted ; he finds many occasions of sorrow and mourning, just as other men do, and he feels them as other men feel them. { But, if his mind is kept fixed upon God, while these agitations may greatly affect his outward enjoyment, they do not disturb his inward rest.) Every cistern may fail ; one by one the sources of his earthly hopes and enjoy- ’ ment may be cut off; prop after prop upon which he has leaned may be forced from under him; he may be bruised, and scathed, and peeled, but still the language of his heart is, not only—“ though he slay me, yet will I trust in Him,” but even—“TI will rejoice in the Lord; I will joy in the God of my salvation.” } In the midst of sufferings and trials, labors and distresses, persecutions and afflictions, such as have scarcely been the lot of any other man, the Apostle could say—“ None of these things move me; neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy.” Outward com- motions did not disturb the Sabbath- keeping of his soul. DIFFICULTIES SOLVED. Pho When storms come down upon the Atlantic, when the sea roars and is troubled, when men’s hearts are failing them for fear, and the waves are threatening to over- whelm the frail vessel that is tossed up and down upon them, even then but a few feet below the surface all is calm as a summer’s sun. At the very time that the tempest is raging so fearfully above, ‘Then, far below, in the peaceful sea, The purple mullet and goldfish rove, Where the waters murmur tranquilly Through the bending twigs of the coral grove.” And thus the severest trials that are permitted to over- take the sanctified believer are but surface storms, which, however terrible they may be without, are scarcely able to agitate at all the inward tranquillity of a soul that is anchored in God. Instances occur not unfrequently of individuals expe- riencing quiet rest of soul, and even joy of heart, while enduring intense physical pain. “ In the most peaceful state of every corporeal function,’ says Dr. Abercombie, “passion, remorse, and anguish may rage within; and while the body is racked by the most frightful tortures, the mind may repose in tranquillity, and hope.” And if physical pain is entirely compatible with inward peace and joy, so also are sufferings, afflictions, and sorrows which are mental and not physical. Tribulations. are a part of the legacy left us by our Master. “In the world ye shall have tribulation.” He Himself was “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” At one time He said in the depth of His myste- 154 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. rious anguish, “ My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.” But even in that dark hour, love tri- umphed. Whilst He prayed that if it were possible the cup might pass from Him, He also said, “ Nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thow wilt.” In the hour of in- tensest agony there was yet no resistance to His Father's will. And thus we learn that affliction and sorrow of the most poignant character are entirely compatible with perfect love, while rebellion is not thus compatible. Sanctification, then, does not purchase for its possessor exemption from trial and suffering, neither does it so blunt his sensibilities that he shall not feel them, and feel them keenly. And if he looks at his surroundings he will very often find feelings and emotions arising in his mind which are very much the reverse of joyful; but if he looks unto Jesus, in Him he will have peace, and the tender exhortation will come home to him, “ Let not your heart be troubled.” Sorrow is one thing, trouble is another. / “Tis blessed angel, Sorrow—she hath walked For years beside me; and we two have talked As chosen friends together. Thus I know Trouble and sorrow are not near of kin. Trouble distrusteth God, and ever wears Upon her brow the seal of anxious cares. But Sorrow oft hath deepest peace within. She sits with Patience in perpetual calm, Waiting till heaven shall send the healing balm.” Joy, like love, regarded as a religious affection, can only exist in connection with faith. It is those who are justified by faith who haye peace with God—the sweet DIFFICULTIES SOLVED. 165 rest of forgiven sin; and it is those who are strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man, in whose hearts Christ dwells by faith, who enjoy the still deeper and fuller soul-rest of perfect love, or a clean heart. Hence, whether in judging of our present religious state, or in seeking after a better one, we need to look more to our faith than to our feelings, and more to Christ than to either. Right feelings are by no means to be under- valued, nor considered of no account in the believer’s experience, but right feclings are the result of right faith. Where there is little faith there will be little love and little joy. Where there is much faith there will be much love and much joy. Where there is assurance of faith there will be perfect love and fulness of joy. If we make joy only the object of our seeking, we shall be very likely to fail in finding even that. Not joy, but holiness—not feeling, but faith—not happiness, but Christ is what we need. And if we have Him we shall have all the happiness and all the joy that are best for us. The child that is not satisfied without being fed all the time on sweetmeats has very inadequte conceptions of a parent’s love. [tr o use in my own words an illustra- tion borrowed from another, the man who is governed by his feelings only, is like a sailing vessel, whose moy- ing power is without, which is sometimes getting on rapidly, sometimes very slowly, sometimes not at all, and whose course is a zig-zig one toward her destined haven. But the man whose governing principle is faith, is like one of those magnificent steamers which cross the Atlantic, whose moving power is within, and which pur- sue a Riad rapid, atk undeviating course alike through storm and calm, through cloud and sunshine,) 156 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. EX2s DOES SANCTIFICATION ABOLISH THE FEAR OF DEATH, AND MAKE ITS POSSESSOR ANXIOUS TO DIE? In entire sanctification the believer is brought into soul-union with Jesus, and this must take away the fear of death, so far as the future judgment is concerned. There is no condemnation, all slavish fear is removed, while there still remains an awful, reverential, filial fear —a fear of offending our Heavenly Father, or of griev- ing His Holy Spirit. But the mere physical fear of dissolution and lying down in the grave is not necessarily removed. The holy man is yet a man with all his physical and mental infirmities still existing, and, according to his peculiar temperament, may have much or little dread of death as death. There is, doubtless, even here, in many cases, a remarable deliverance. I have heard a dear friend, who is wholly the Lord’s, say that he was en- tirely free from the fear of death. “If,” said he, “an angel from heaven should tell me that I was to die with- in ten minutes, I should have nothing to do but write a letter to my wife.” But such is not always the case. Nor is such entire exemption from the mere physical shrinking from death a necessary test of entire sanctifi- cation. It is equally true also that the sanctifi¢d believer is not always anxious to die. Whilst holiness is a prepara- tion for dying, it is also a preparation for living, and the needed qualification for successful labor in the cause of ~ Christ. And when we see how white the fields are for harvest and how few are the laborers, we ought to DIFFICULTIES SOLVED. L5¢ esteem it a great privilege to live and work, and, if need be, to suffer for Jesus, yea, and count ourselves immortal till our work is done. Let not the sanctified Christian who is strong and in the midst of labors, however abundant, grow weary and be in haste to quit the field and go to his rest, nor, on the other hand, allow himself to be brought under bondage by any undue fear of death. Let no one spend his time in crossing bridges before he comes to them, or in secking dying grace to live by. The point is to be able to say with Paul, “'To me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” “ Whether we live, we liye unto the Lord, and whether we die, we die unto the Lord.” Therefore, living or dying we are the Lord’s. ‘“ What thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” Work while it is day, and then when the night cometh, dying grace will] not be withheld. DAE WHAT BECOMES OF A BELIEVER WHO DIES JUSTI: FIED BUT NOT SANCTIFIED? We may well believe that this never occurs. A justi- fied child of God cannot be lost; an unsanctified soul cannot be saved. If, therefore, a man who is walking in the light of justification and growing in grace, is sud- denly cut off, there can be no doubt that the blood of Jesus avails to cleanse such a soul from the remaining stains of inward corruption, to sanctify it wholly, and to give it that “holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” It is by the precious blood of Christ, also, that the souls of infants, idiots, and irresponsible persons who are taken away by death are cleansed from inbred sin, 158 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. But while the justified believer may be, and, doubt- less, often is thus sanctified in the hour of death, this fact furnishes no sufficient reason for any Christian who is made to realize, by whatever means, that God requires of him and makes it his privilege to be holy now to turn away from it and voluntarily to postpone it until the approach of death. He cannot neglect or reject the added grace that is offered him without incurring a grave responsibility. To continue in known disobedience to God because we may trust in His mercy at last, is a “presumptuous sin.” From such let us pray with David that the Lord may keep us back. XII. IS IT RIGHT FOR A BELIEVER TO CONFESS THAT HE HAS RECEIVED, THROUGH GRACE, THE BLESSING OF HEART PURITY, OR SANCTIFICATION ? We do not find in the Holy Scriptures any counte- nance given to the idea that men are to keep their reli- gion to themselves. There is scarcely a word indicating expression that David does not employ in showing forth the goodness of the Lord, He will pray, he will praise, he will bless, he will talk, he will tell, he will utter, he will declare, he will sing, he will shout, he will ery, he will call, he will give thanks, he will lift up his voice, he will make a joyful noise unto the Lord. Ina few instances, it is true, probably for prudential reasons, the Saviour forbade those who had been healed by Him to make it known, but in others He expressly commanded them to tell what great things the Lord had done for them; and, when one only of the ten lepers returned to DIFFICULTIESSO VED. 159 give Him glory, there must have been an implied cen- sure in His question—“ Were there not ten cleansed ? Where are the nine?” God’s people in every age of the world are His wit- nesses, and they are forbidden to withhold their testi- mony. ‘They must not hide their light under a bushel. Not by their life and example only, but by their words are they to confess Him, and declare themselves on His side. Such at least must be at times their privilege, and it would seem to be a duty as well. As they are to take with them words and turn to the Lord, so with the mouth are they to show forth His praise. “We cannot but speak,” says Peter, “the things which we have scen and heard.” “Tf thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,” says Paul, “and believe in thy heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved ; for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” In- terpreting the text in the most natural manner, it would, be difficult to see why it is not as necessary to confess with the mouth as to believe with the heart. In the twenty-sixth chapter of Deuteronomy, we find the following instructive passage: “And it shall be when thou art come unto the land which the Lord Thy God giveth thee, for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein, that thou shalt take of the first of all the fruits of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land which the Lord Thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord Thy God shall choose to put His name there. And thou shalt go to the priest that shall be in those days and say unto him, I profess this day unto the Lord 160 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Thy God that I am come into the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers to give us.” At first view this seems very remarkable. It would be regarded as very strange if one who has been known all his life as a resident of London should arise in a public assembly and say : I profess this day that I am a citizen of London. But this profession of the Tsrael-— ite, made to the Lord in the presence of the priest, and we may well suppose with more or less publicity, was not without an object. The Lord had promised that the land of Canaan should be possessed by the descendants of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, and the ceremony prescribed by the great Lawgiver was a verbal declara- tion that the Lord had been as good as His word, It honored Jehovah by setting forth in words His faithful- ness to His own covenant. And if any of my kind readers have been delivered as from Egypt, if they have escaped from the house of bondage and lifted up—ah! did they do so?—the song of thanksgiving, or in any way the voice of praise, and if they have come up to the land of soul-rest and en- tered it at Kadesh Barnea, or been led about by a long and toilsome march through the wilderness, and at length have followed their invincible Captain across the Jordan and have entered upon their inheritance, will they not declare that He is faithful that promised ? Will they not profess this day that they have come into the land, and are dwelling in the land which the Lord their God giveth them ? How instructive is the history of the woman who - thought to be healed without any one knowing it! She glided through the crowd with a heart full of faith, for DIFFICULTIES SOLVED. 161 she said, “If I may but touch the hem of His garment I shall be whole.” She touched the hem of His robe, and immediately felt in her body that she was healed of her plague. So far so good. But mark what followed. The Saviour stopped—all the thronging multitude who were following Him to the house of Jairus stopped— why? “TI perceive that virtue is gone out of me.” Somebody has been blessed, and whoever it is must tell it. And it was not till she had fallen down be- fore Him, and declared unto Him “ before all the people” for what cause she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately, that she received the comforting words, “ Daughter, be of good comfort, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.” Jesus expressly tells us that them that confess Him before men, He will confess before His Father and the angels, Will He only confess them by His actions? And how is that confession to be made? Will He only show by His conduct and bearing towards them that they are His? Ah! we read that the King shall say unto them, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Yes, forever magnified be His blessed and holy name, He will confess His people with His mouth! And shall they think it too hard a thing to do to con- fess Him with their mouth while here on earth? Shall they be ashamed of Him or of His words before men? “Ashamed of Jesus! just as soon Let midnight be ashamed of noon!” But are we not told, “ By their fruits ye shall know them?” Yes, and what are the fruits? Not only the 11 162 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. fruit of the daily life and walk, but the fruit of the lips as well. God’s people are a royal priesthood, and every individual Christian is a priest in His kingdom. If a priest, he must have somewhat to offer. And what shall it be? The expiatory and _propitiatory offerings of the Levitical priesthood were abolished forever when Christ bowed His head upon the cross and said, “It is finished.” It is, therefore, no longer the bleeding sacrifice of the old law that the Christian priest is called upon to offer. It still remains true, however, that “the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit—a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise”’ And by our great High Priest we are to “ offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually—even the fruit of the lips, giving thanks unto His name; but to do good and to communicate for- get not, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” Therefore, beloved reader, let us remember that the good tree bringeth forth good fruit, and the good fruit is every good word, as well as every good work. We read of certain “chief rulers” who believed on Jesus, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue ; ‘For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.” Such are found in all ages of the Church. If Christians at all, they are very timid and feeble Christians. They do not openly and boldly declare their pedigree. They are not strong and efficient soldiers in the Lamb’s army. They do not let their light shine, and thus bring others to glorify God. Motives of sup- posed self-interest hold them back from making a direct and public avowal of their allegiance to Christ. And DIFFICULTIES SOLVED. 163 the tendency of this vacillating course is to render them obscure and perplexed in their own experience, and a cause of obscurity and perplexity to those around them. it is a difficult matter to know where to place them, and on whose side they are to be enrolled. How impressive are the Saviour’s words, “ He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.” Now there is a particular danger in our day of “being put out of the synagogue ” to the man who confesses that God, for Christ’s sake, has given hima clean heart, and this, added to a natural reserve, a fear of falling, so bringing reproach upon the cause of holiness, and various other motives, hinder many consecrated believing Christians from confessing the grace of entire sanctification, even when they humbly hope and believe that the Holy Ghost has wrought that grace in their souls. More persons testify to having lost the evidence of perfect love from failing to confess what God had done for their souls than from any other cause. John Fletcher, of Madely, informs us that he was in this manner de- prived of his evidences to a conscious cleansing no less than four times. Again, I say, we must neither be ashamed of Christ nor of [His words. But this confession ought always to be a confession of Christ. Everything that savors of Pharisaical righteous- ‘ness, or boasting, or self-exaltation, should be excluded from it; otherwise it were better not made at all. En- compassed as we are with infirmities, and liable always to sins of ignorance, no man dare say—“ TI have lived a year, or five years, or ten years, without sinning.” Rather will he say, with the deepest humility —“ My 164 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Deliverer has proved Himself mighty to save, and able to keep. To His name be the praise.” Instead of say- ing—“T am perfect, I am holy, I am sanctified ;” it is better, safer, wiser to say—Christ is my sanctification. The blood cleanseth me.” Or with George Fox— “Christ, my Saviour, hath taken away my sin.” The testimony should keep ourselves out of sight, and honor the Saviour only. It is not what I have done, but what Jesus has done for me. It is not what I have attained, but what Jesus has given me. It is the nothingness of self, and the glory of God, that are to be promoted by the confession—if it have any value. “It is generally,” says Upham, “ and, perhaps, we may say universally, the case, that those who give good evidence of being in that state which we variously de- scribe as assurance of faith, and as perfect love, and which involves the possession of the blessing of present sanctification, speak of their state in a qualified, rather than in an absolute manner. In other words, they gen- crally express themselves (and it is exceedingly proper that they should do so) merely as if they hoped, or had reason to hope [better, I think, reason humbly to believe. —D. C.] that they had experienced this great blessing, and were kept free from voluntary and known sin. Such a mode of expression seems to be unobjectionable ; it is consistent with confession, and corresponds to the precise state of the case.” The following is from Isaac Penington: “ Now thus having met with the true way, I cannot be silent—true love and pure life stirring in me and moving me—but am necessitated to testify of it to others. As God draweth in any respect, ob, give up in faithfulness to Him. De- DIFFICULTIES SOLVED. 165 spise the shame. He that will come into the New Cove- nant must come into the obedience of it.” Reader, these are true sayings. Let them have their due place in thy heart. One word more about confession; and it isa word of caution, If any one who has enjoyed the fulness of the blessing, and has witnessed to Jesus as his sanctification , finds his experience grown dim, his faith grown weak, his luve grown cold; if he no longer realizes—even at intervals—the witness of the Spirit to his conscious cleansing; if in short, he has lost the evidences of a clean heart, let him not confess as a present experience, that which is only the memory of a former one. In other words, if he has ceased to possess perfect love, let him cease also to profess it. But, on the other hand, such an individual should not be unduly discouraged, nor give up in despair, as if all were lost. ‘That would be giving place to the devil. Let him humble himself, and seek to know—if he does not know—how he has lost the inestimable jewel of a holy heart; and, in renewed consecration and trust, let him beseech the Lord, once more to sanctify him wholly —to set his feet on the highway of holiness; to keep him from falling, and to establish his goings. Whilst he sincerely mourns over his lapsed condition, let him nevertheless say—“Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy. If I fall, I shall rise”? ‘With the Lord helping me, I will try again.” CHAPTER IX. ENDUED BY THE SPIRIT. HE enduement of power, a3 well as sanctification, is a result of Christ’s baptism. When the Holy Ghost fell upon the Church of the hundred-and-twenty, on the day of Pentecost, they received not only the purifying of their hearts by faith, but the enduement of power as well. The Apostles, for more than three years, had been in almost daily companionship with Jesus. He had instructed them in the doctrines of the Gospel. He had opened to them the Scriptures concerning Himself. He had expounded to them His own parables. He had given them “power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.” He had sent them “ to preach the King- dom of God, and to heal the sick.” They had been pres- ent at His miracles, and after His public crucifixion, they had seen Him alive—thus becoming witnesses of His resurrection, and, afterwards, of His ascension. And yet, all these advantages—unspeakably important as they were—did not Palit them for the work of evangelizing the world. Something else was needed. The Saviour had given them their commission and their field —* Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature ;” but He also told them, just as defi- nitely, to tarry at Jerusalem, till they should be endued with power from on high; and to “ wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of me.” And that “promise” was the baptism with the Holy Ghost. By that, and that only were they to expect the 166 ENDUED BY THE SPIRIT. 167 needed qualification to perform their appointed mission. “ Ve shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost 1s come upon you.” At this time when Christianity was introduced into the world, the mythological religion of the ancient Greeks prevailed, with greater or less modifications, throughout the Roman Empire. That religion was an idolatrous Polytheism. It recognized gods many, and lords many. It had become incorporated with the in- stitutions of almost every country. The common people accepted without question, the absurdities and supersti- tions which this religion inculcated ; while they practised, without scruple, the sensual vices and bacchanalian revels which it sanctioned. But this was not all. Learning and genius were also consecrated to the heathen divinities, and exhausted their efforts in laying “exquisite offerings” upon their shrines. In every principal city, some magnificent tri- umph of architecture would be exhibited to admiring visitors, in the shape of a temple in honor of one of the gods or goddesses. With brush, or chisel—on canvas, or in marble—the most beautiful representation of the human form or “face divine,” were produced as like- nesses of a Jupiter or a Venus, an Apollo or a Diana, a Cupid or a Mercury. Poets and musicians obtained a world-wide reputation by perpetuating, in verse or in song, the beautiful stories of legendary Gast wherein the divine and the human, the natural, and the supernatural were strangely hit skilfully blended. The interests of the ordinary artisan were likewise bound up with the idolatrous religion of the world. Thousands of image-makers in many cities, 168 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. could say with Demetrius—“ By this craft we have our wealth ;” and opposed everything calculated to bring discredit upon the religion whereby they earned their daily bread, with the angry and despairing cry —“ Great is Diana of the Ephesians.” There are some evidences, indeed, that the Lord was preparing our fallen race for its Deliverer; that many were growing weary of the vague and unsatisfactory superstitions of the day; that the world was, as it were, pausing in expectation of some great event, when Deity beeame incarnate in the Lord Jesus Christ. However this may be, the Apostles were to make no compromise with idolatry. If they had been only “setters forth of strange gods ;” if they had had nothing to bring before the world, except “ questions of their own superstition, and of one, Jesus, who was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive;” if they had simply preached Jesus, as another god in addition to the many gods whom “ Asia: and the world worshipped ;” if they had simply asked for a niche in the heathen temples where a statue of Christ should be placed beside those of their Olympic deities or of their heroes and demi-gods, it is very possible that they would have encountered but little opposition. Paul told the Athenians that he perceived that they were very much disposed to the worship of divine be- ings,* and, to add another to their already long list of divinities, would have been no great matter, But the Apostles were to proclaim the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom He had sent. They were to call upon people “to turn from these vanities, unto the * Archbishop Whateley. peo ene REF AR gE mS gh a a ENDUED BY THE SPIRIT. 169 living God, which made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein.” They were to boldly assert—even when surrounded by splendid edifices, and works of Grecian art, dedicated to the heathen divini- ties—that God dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with men’s hands, because He had written His law in their hearts; and that the Godhead must not be regarded as “like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.” They were to preach, to Jew and Gentile alike, that there is no other name under heayen given amongst men, whereby we must be saved, except the name of a crucified and risen Jesus; and that God now commands “all men everywhere to repent, because He hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom He hath chosen.” At the name of Jesus every knee was to bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth; and every tongue to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. These doctrines necessarily struck at the root of all false religions, and were a declaration of war—uncom- promising and exterminating war—against idolatry. They aimed at nothing less than the overturning of superstitious opinions and practices, which had descended from antiquity, which were established in the popular mind and heart, which were identified with the interests of a large number of the community, and in honor of which had been produced the loftiest creations of genius and art which the world has ever seen. Now it must be confessed that for a dozen unlearned Galilean fishermen this was no small undertaking. One man of learning indeed was afterwards added to their 170 THE OFFICES OF THE IIOLY SPIRIT. number, but even he, in addition to his culture and his talent, was filled with the Holy Ghost, that he might be qualified for his special office—that of the Apostle to the Gentiles. Before going forth to win the world for Christ, the Apostles were commanded to wait at Jerusalem till they were endued with power. And immediately on the oc- currence of the Pentecostal baptism Peter began to preach to the multitude. His words were simple—con- sisting principally of quotations from Scripture and wit- nessing to Jesus and His resurrection; but he had now received the tongue of fire, and at once his hearers were pricked in their hearts and began to inquire, “ Men and brethren, what shall we do?” The result was that the same day there were added unto them about three thou- sand souls. Now Peter had been preaching before the crucifixion — of Christ, so had all the Apostles, so had the seventy disciples whom Jesus had sent forth into every town and village whither He Himself would come. ‘To what ex- tent these had travelled in the ministry and how much time they had occupied in it, we are not informed. Nor are we prepared to say how many converts had been made in all the regions where they had preached. But it is safe to say that more souls were converted under Peter’s first sermon after the Holy Ghost had come upon him than by all the disciples together, in all their min- istry before that time. On that wonderful day there were three thousand, two days afterwards there were five thousand, and then the ‘number is no longer stated, but we are informed that “multitudes were added to the Lord, both men and SITIO. ENDUED BY TIE SPIRIT. yore women.” The Saviour’s words had indeed been fulfilled, They had received power by the baptism with the Holy Spirit. And they now became witnesses throughout Judea, and Samaria, and Galilee, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth; for it is supposed that the Gospel was preached, during the Apostolic age, to every nation known to the Jews. The promise of the baptism with its consequent en- duement of power, was, according to Peter, to “all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” In other words, it is to all Christians in all ages. And, although all are not Apostles, and all do not need the special qualifications which the Apostles needed for evangelizing the world ; yet, it is just as true of Chris- tians now, as it was of them—and true of all Christians —that they are not qualified for their life-work in the ser- vice of Christ, until they receive the enduement of power, by Christ’s own baptism. Every justified believer may, and should, do some- thing for Christ. Some may even do much for Him, through His grace; as the Apostles had power to heal the sick, to cast out devils, and to preach the Gospel with some success, even before Pentecost. But, none can do all that God would have them do, until they re- ceive power by the in-coming and in-dwelling of the Holy Ghost. The enduement of power is something totally distinct from intellectual cleverness, from learning, and from eloquence. It is best symbolized by the tongue of fire. It enables its possessor to speak burning words, which make their way to the hearts of his hearers. It is not power to tickle the ear, nor to please the fancy, nor to [2 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, engender pleasurable feelings in the mind; but it is simply power to impress men’s hearts, and win their souls to Christ. It may be added to gifts of learning, as in the case of Paul; or to gifts of eloquence, as in Apollos; but it may also be given to unlearned and ig- norant men, like Peter and John. It may be possessed by a babe in Christ, if he has received the Holy Ghost; by the poor and illiterate; by those who can scarcely speak a grammatical sentence; by sons, daughters, old men, young men, servants, hand-maidens. It is sometimes exerted without any words at all; but oftener it accompanies the word spoken, whether by the cultivated or the uncultivated, and renders it effectual— like an arrow in the heart of the King’s enemies. The late President Tinney, of Ohio, on one occasion went into a manufactory in the State of New York, simply to in- spect the machinery, and see the work that was going on. He was accompanied by one of the proprietors, and, on entering the weaving-room, he noticed two of the opera- tives, in a distant part of the chamber, laughing. He fixed his eye upon them, calmly and solemnly, and gradually approached the place where they were. They soon appeared to be in great trepidation. Their laugh- ter was changed to tears ; and, when he came near them, an indescribable influence overpowered them. ‘They ceased working, and went down on their knees, and began prayiug. Others followed ; the mysterious influ- ence spread from one room to another ; and, finally, the proprietor ordered the works to be stopped, and Presi- dent Finney preached the Gospel to them. Many were converted, and a great revival followed. Truly, “the wind bloweth where it listeth,” ENDUED BY THE SPIRIT. eS I do not at all undervalue the importance of learning and talent, when consecrated to the Lord and employed in His service. An educated man or woman, when really baptized with the Holy Ghost, and endued with power from on high, can doubtless render much more efficient and important service in the cause of Christ, than one who is uneducated; but I must insist that Christian scholarship—even of the highest order—is something totally distinct from the power of the Holy Ghost. And I do not hesitate to add that, in many in- stances, a man of very little knowledge or culture, if endued with this power of the Spirit, will accomplish far more in promoting God’s Kingdom on earth, than the most talented and cultivated individual—earnest Christian though he may be—will be able to accomplish, without this enduement. Whoever receives Christ’s baptism, receives with it the enduement of power ; but this power may be very differ- ent in degree in different cases. It is sufficient for the work to which each individual is called. It does not make prophets or apostles, Isaiahs or Pauls, of all, but simply qualifies each for his allotted service. Nor is it always present to the consciousness, as a great reservoir of power laid up for every emergency. It exists, it is true—though more or less latent—in every Holy-Ghost- baptized believer, because the Spirit, who gives the power, and is the power, abideth in him; but often he 1s conscious of nothing else so much as his own utter weakness, This feeling would indicate the very reverse of great power ; but when such an one is called upon to engage in any service for Christ, and enters upon it trust- ing in the Lord, then he finds the power supplied as he 174 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. needs it. A man in health would scarcely know, from his consciousness, the amount of strength that lies quies- cent and unfe!t in his muscles; but, if he finds it need- ful to lift a hundred-pound weight, the latent force of his muscular system comes into active play, and he easily accomplishes his task. So it is also with the power of the Spirit. It is often present to the consciousness only when it needs to be exercised. And, surely, such an enduement of power 1s what the Church of Christ on earth, in our day, and its individual membership particularly need. The prophet Isaiah, looking forward to Gospel days, exclaims—‘A wake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion! Put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city !—for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncir- cumcised and the unclean.” And in what does the strength of Zion consist? Not in numbers, unless her membership be baptized and filled with the Spirit. The so-called Christian Church that stands ahead of all others, in the number of its ad- herents, is the Roman Catholic; and we should hardly admit that it is, also, the strongest body of Christians in spiritual strength. Nor does Zion’s strength consist in learning, nor in- tellectual gifts—highly important and useful as these are, when dedicated to the Lord and employed in His service. “It is not by might, nor by power (human power or might of any kind), but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts.” Possibly, it is to remind us con- stantly of this fact, that “God hath chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound ENDUED BY THE SPIRIT. 175 the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen ; yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are, that no flesh should glory in Eis presence.” The strength of Zion does not consist in money, nor in splendid houses of worship, nor in legal or ritualistic observances of any kind, nor in beautiful and artistic music, nor in the many useful and clever applances which are being used for the propagation of the Gospel. What, then, is the strength which Zion ig exhorted to put on? It is nothing less than the power of the Spirit, coming into the hearts of His children, sanctify- ing and energizing them for the service of Christ. The Church of Christ on earth has plenty of intellect, plenty of culture, plenty of money, plenty of machinery ; but these all need to be permeated and directed, and em- ployed under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Just as in @ large manufactory the machinery is inert and pow- erless until the steam is applied, but when that is done, works most beautifully and efficiently in the production of whatever fabric it is designed for; so the zeal, and talent, and energy, and wealth, and appliances of Christ’s Church are comparatively barren of results until they are manipulated by the power and wisdom of the in- dwelling Spirit. If God’s people would be the power in the earth that they are designed to be, they must march under the ban- ner of holiness. For every believer that is sanctified esit is estimated that from seven to ten sinners are converted, Zion’s “strength,” and her “beautiful garments,” are the same. Do we not find in the fact that the Church of Christ has, to so great an extent, failed to enter into 176 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. the fulness of the blessing, and to receive the baptism with the Holy Ghost and the enduement of power, « reason for the tardy pace at which the glad tidings has been carried from nation to nation ? “Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word; that He might present it to Him- self, a glorious church—not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing.” Such must be the Bride of Christ— spotless, pure, “arrayed in fine linen, which is the righteousness of saints.” And it is the business of the Church and its member- ship, now, as of old, first to tarry at Jerusalem till they are endued with power from on high, and then to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every crea- ture. When Zion shall indeed thus awake, and put on her strength and her beautiful garments; when she shall shake herself from the dust of the earth—then she shall arise and shine; then she shall come up out of the wil- derness “leaning wpon her Beloved, clear as the sun, fair as the moon, terrible as an army with banners.” “ More- over the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days.” The banner given her to be displayed because ot the truth, shall not be allowed to trail in the dust; but waving it aloft clear and bright, she shall be so attrac- tive that sons and daughters shall come to the brightnes, of her rising, from the north and the south, the east and the west, flocking “as doves to their windows.” Her holiness shall be her power. Her beauty shall be her strength. ENDUED BY THE SPIRIT. 177 REMARKS. I The Enduement of Power results from Christ’s Bap- tism with the Holy Ghost. IT. It is the power to impress minds, and win souls to Christ. bit Tt is wholly independent of, and distinct from, oifts of learning and eloquence; but when added to such gifts, it imparts to them wonderful effectiveness. IV. The believer who has been baptized with the Holy Ghost, and abides in Christ, always has power sufficient for any service to which he may be called; because the Spirit within girds, and fills, and qualifies him at the needful time. But neither the power nor the presence of the Spirit is always manifest to his consciousness. Vv. The individual believer needs the enduement of power to qualify him for his life-work in the service of Christ; and the Church, as a whole, needs to have her various means and appliances energized by the Holy Ghost, in order to become vastly more successful in spreading the Redeemer’s kingdom. VI. “There are diversities of operations;” and whilst I have stated definitely and repeatedly that which I believe 12 178 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. to be the rule—viz., that sanctification and the endue-_ ment of power are received, in direct connection, with Christ’s baptism—yet, I wish also to remark, that so far, at least, as the consciousness of the individual is con- cerned, there are exceptions to this rule. A few days after his conversion, the late Charles G. Finney received what he calls a baptism with the Holy Ghost, which gave him at once, wonderful power in the awakening and con- version of sinners; but his sanctification did not occur r—or at least was not a conscious experience—till many years later. On the other hand, Dr. Mahan teaches that the Holy Spirit, having first builded us for a habitation of God, at our conversion, then proceeds with a process of preparation and sanctification—which is more or less gradual, but need not be long—and when this is completed, if we are consecrated, and inquiring of Him to do it for us, God takes possession of the temple, in His glory and His power, by the baptism with the Holy Ghost. In some instances, therefore, it would seem that the power precedes the cleansing—and in others the cleans- ing precedes the power—while in the great majority both are received at the same time, as the immediate result of Christ’s baptism. CELA BMA RS: ox INDWELT BY THE SPIRIT. HEN Jesus was about to be taken away from His sorrowing disciples, He promised that after His departure, the Father would send them, in His name, another Comforter, who should abide with them forever. He expressly told them that this Comforter should be the Holy Ghost, or the Spirit of truth, who was even then dwelling with them, and should be in them. And we cannot doubt that the Comforter of whom Le spake, did come into their hearts on the day of Pente- cost—purifying and enduing them; and that He did abide in them the remainder of their lives. His incom- ing was accompanied by certain miraculous phenomena, manifest to the observation of all present, and to the wondering multitude; but the essential and important thing was the incoming itself. It was because they were possessed and filled by the Holy Ghost, that they spake with tongues and magnified God, and preached the Word with such power that thousands were convicted and converted. The purifying of their hearts by faith was accomplished then, and after- wards they experienced a continuous cleansing. The enduement of power was conferred upon them then, and was a permanent enduement. But what does Jesus tell them about the offices of the 179 180 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Comforter, as He was to dwell in their purified and en- ergized hearts during their earthly pilgrimage? In other words, what does the Holy Spirit do in the heart of the believer with whom He abides forever ? In answering this question, I remark, in the first place, that Jesus does not here make mention of any remarkable or miraculous gifts which the Spirit was to confer upon the disciples. I have spoken in another place of the miracle-working power imparted in apostolic times to one individual in particular, to another in another, and withheld alto- gether, in all probability, from a very large majority; but the Spirit dwelling in the heart of a Christian can- not, and will not, be inoperative; and there are certain offices which, as an in-dwelling Comforter, He will dis- charge with greater or less power and distinctness in all. — And the first office that the Saviour designates as be- longing to the abiding Holy Ghost is that of Teacher and Remembrancer, “ He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you.” Nothing is more clearly stated in Old Testament Scripture than that in the gospel days the Lord shall teach His children Himself. “And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of thy children.” And the Apostle John speaks of the “anointing which abideth and teacheth,” doubtless designating by that term the Holy Spirit dwelling in the heart of the sanctified believer and teaching him. For we must not fail to remember that it is “ the chis- dren of the Lord,” those who have been adopted into the family through faith in Christ, who are to be taught INDWELT BY THE SPIRIT, 181 of the Lord. It is the sheep who hear the voice of the Good Shepherd, and know Him, and follow Him. Of the very in-dwelling Comforter in regard tu whom we are now inquiring, Jesus Himself saith that the world —the unconverted world—‘“seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him.” And we are told expressly that “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God : they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” In reference to heathen nations and those who have no outward knowledge of the Gospel, I have no doubt that God will deal with them both in strict justice and great mercy, and so many of them as are saved will be found to owe their salvation, as do others, to the Lord Jesus Christ. And, as I am not writing for the heathen, I leave them there, commending them with myself and all to the merciful disposal of an all-wise and all-gracious Heavenly Father. | The in-dwelling Spirit, then, is a teacher; and, like Jesus Himself, He teaches as never man taught. He may, and often does, teach directly, by an impression communicated either supernaturally or through the or- dinary operations of the intellect to the understanding ; but in a larger number of instances, perhaps, His teach- ing is by instrumental means, and these we must neither ignore nor undervalue. And here again the most important instrumentality which the Holy Spirit employs for the teaching of God’s people is the Bible. The Scriptures “are profitable,” with other things, “‘ for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” 182 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. How often does a text of Scripture which we may have read scores of times without receiving any marked impression, become a rich feast to the soul, as the light of the Holy Spirit shines like a sunbeam upon it. How often does the whole Bible become a new book when we read it again and again under the illumination of that blessed Spirit who gave it forth. It is as if the author of a book were sitting by your side, when you peruse it, ready to explain all your difficulties, and solve all your doubts. Let no one, therefore, fail to search the Scriptures. It is a dangerous error to neglect, or reject, or ignore the teachings of the Holy Bible on the pretext, however plausible, that the inward teachings of the Spirit are more valuable than the outward letter. It will always be found that those who love God most loye His Bible most. He who is taught by Scripture is taught of the Lord ; and it is never by the Holy Spirit that any one is induced to desert the outward revelation written by holy men whom He inspired. Another agency of very great importance, which the Holy Spirit employs for teaching God’s people, is the ministry of the Gospel. In every age of the Church, the Lord has given to it men and women whose calling and qualification were to speak unto their fellow-believers for “exhortation, edification, and comfort.” There have not only been evangelists who might preach the glad tidings of the Gospel to sinners, and in- vite them to come to Christ, but pastors and teachers who should labor for the perfecting of the saints, and the ed- ifying of the body of Christ. The apostles and prophets being dead yet speak in the Scriptures, of which they INDWELT BY THE SPIRIT. 183 were the inspired authors; and the Spirit still teaches the Church by conferring the gift of teaching upon some of its members, and strengthening them to exercise it. Not that the same degree of inspiration is given to any now, as was conferred upon the authors ot the Scriptures, Not that any one is authorized now to proclaim new doc- trines, 7. e., such as ave not found in the Scriptures, or clearly deducible therefrom. But the ministry is still a gift, and when exercised in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power, it will always be in accordance with the Scriptures, and reaching the witness in the hearts of believers, it becomes, through grace, a very valuable means of instructing them in the right way of the Lord. And we should receive with thankfulness and child- like docility, the teaching of even the humblest instru- ment whom the Spirit condescends to employ. How wondrous is the privilege of enjoying His instructions— of being taught by Him, whether mediately or immedi- ately, directly or instrumentally ! Another thing that the Saviour promised the Com- forter should do, was to guide the disciples into all truth. Guidance is one form of teaching. It is teaching us the right course to pursue. It is showing us what our duty is. Divine guidance is distinctly promised both in the Old Testament and the New, and has been the experience of the saints in all ages. The following quotations are a sufficient proof :—“ I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go, I will guide thee with mine eye.” “The steps of a good man are ordered of the Lord, and he delighteth in His way.” “The meek will He guide in judgment, and the meek will He teach His 184 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. way.” “ He calleth His own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.” “Tf any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not ; and it shall be given him.” “These are they that follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.” And yet it must be confessed that it is often one of the greatest difficulties which beset the Christian’s path, to ascertain, to his own entire satisfaction, what God’s will is concerning him, in the particular circumstances by which he is surrounded. A few observations may pos- sibly throw some light, both on the cause of this diffi- culty and the remedy. In order to secure the Divine guidance in our daily life—both secular and religious—our minds must be brought into a proper condition for receiving it. And, in the first place, we must sincerely desire to be guided aright. God is always willing to supply all our real need in Christ Jesus; but it is the longing soul that He satisfies—it is the hungry soul that He fills with His goodness. And, as we need guidance continually—moment by moment, and day by day—so the desire for it needs to be permanent and intense; and David’s prayer will fre- quently be adopted by the humble disciple—“ For Thy name’s sake, O Lord, lead me, and guide me;” or, “Tead me ina plain path, because of mine enemies ;” whether these be outward enemies, such as David had, or the enemies of our souls, within. Tn the next place, we must believe that, since God has so distinctly promised us His guidance, therefore, when we utter such prayers as the above, we are asking according to His will, and that He heareth us, and that we have the INDWELT BY THE SPIRIT. 185 petitions that we desired of Him. We must honor Him by believing in Iis veracity, and His faithfulness to His own promises, Without faith it is impossible to please God. And, it is by faith that we must receive our answer to the prayer for guidance, as well as the answers to prayers for other things. Let me explain. It often happens that after praying earnestly to be guided aright in a diffi- cult case, we do not feel at all differently, nor see our way any more clearly than before, and yet the time comes when we must decide what to do. We hear, it may be, no voice saying, ‘This is the way, walk ye in it;” and, so far as any sensations that we may have are concerned, we may seem to be left as much in the dark as if we had not prayed at all. Under these circumstances our only resource is in faith. We have come to God with a sincere desire and purpose, to be directed aright, and to be guided by His will. We have asked Him to lead us as He has promised; and now, deciding upon the matter before us with the best judgment we have, we are bound to believe that we have the petitions that we desire; that God does guide us; and that our decision 7s according to His will; and, therefore, in child-like confidence, we should leave our case in the hands of our Father. We are to believe that He has decided our course; though He may not have commu- nicated His decision to our sight, but only to our faith. The proper exercise of faith in seeking Divine guid- ance, implies the restraining and subordinating of all undue eagerness and activity of our own. I do not mean that we are not to act, nor that we are not to use, to the best of our ability, our own perceptions and judg- 186 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. ments in determining the question, whatever it may be; but, having come to God, asking and seeking His guid- ance, we are not still to cherish a determination to guide ourselves, nor to give way to restless anxiety, which in- dicates an unsubdued will and a want of faith in God. We have committed our way unto Him, and now we must trust in Him, that He will bring to pass that which He knows will be best for us. To sincerely desire His guidance, is to desire that we may adopt His plans ; and not that He may adopt our plans. Our Heavenly Father commuicates His will to us, (1) By the Serip- tures. (2) By His Holy Spirit. (8) By His Providences. By carefully interpreting the intimations received through these channels singly, or in connection with each other, the Christian will, to say the least, very generally perhaps, I might venture to say always—be preserved from serious error in reference to his conduct and pur- suits. In the first place, any one who is sincerely desirous to know God’s will as to his general course of life, must not neglect to obey the Saviour’s injunction, “ Search the Scriptures.” And we must not only diligently search them, but we must be willing to bow to their authority. Wherever the will of God is clearly revealed in the Bi- ble in reference to any subject, our duty in regard to that subject is determined. And we are not to expect an in- ward revelation in addition to the outward one to show and, us what to do. If Jesus says “Do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, defraud not, honor thy father and mother,” we do not need any other revelation to instruct us as to our duty in these particulars. INDWELT BY THE SPIRIT. ike; And the Scriptures do go into more detailed directions than we should imagine, until we acquaint ourselves thoroughly with them. If the Christian lady wishes to know how she may dress so as to please God, she finds that women are “ to adorn themselves in modest apparel ;” and, although the standard of modest apparel might be different in different localities, and with varying circum- stances, yet, with God’s providence and the Holy Spirit to assist the sincere inquirer in determining, I think few would be left long in doubt. If we want to know what kind of talk is acceptable to God, we read (1) that we are to let no corrupt commu- nication proceed out of our mouth, nor any foolish talk- ing, and (2) that our talk ought to be good “ to the use of edifying.” If we are in doubt how to treat our enemies and those who have injured us, we are told explicitly, ‘ Love your enemies,” “ Pray for them that despitefully use you,” “Avenge not yourselves.” And if our civil or per- sonal rights are invaded, we are asked, “‘ Why do ye not rather suffer wrong than go to law?” and told that charity, which is perfect love, “seeketh not her own.” And the universal duty of Christians when praying is, “TYorgive, if ye have aught against any man.” If we want to understand our obligations to the civil magistrates and rulers, we are told to honor them, to obey them in all things, not in conflict with our duty to the King of kings, to pray for them, and to pay tribute to them, If we are at a loss as to how far we may join in the pleasures and customs of the world, we are enjoined not to be conformed to the world, and assured that “if any 188 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” It is to the written revelation of God’s will, then, that we are first to look for the knowledge of our Christian duties, as well as the knowledge of the way of salvation. But there are still many questions arising in our daily life—questions of propriety and duty about which we find no directions in Scripture, and the deciding of which often causes us no little perplexity. It is in reference to these matters that we are to seek and expect the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit. He either makes extraor- dintary impressions on the mind with more or less dis- tinctness, or He influences the understanding and the will by an unconscious and imperceptible operation so as to bring about the right decision. The instances are by no means few, in which God’s children have been induced, by feeling and impulses wholly inexplicable to themselves at the time, to adopt measures, which resulted in their deliverance from dan- ger, the prevention of disasters to themselves, their fami- lies, or their business, and the successful accomplishment of formidable undertakings. And a blessed thing it is, indeed, to know the voice of the Spirit, to listen obedi- ently to His gentlest intimations, and to make the Lord our Counsellor in things temporal as well as in things spiritual. | But not all the impulses and intimations that come into our minds are from the Holy Spirit. Satan also can originate impressions, and is transformed into an angel of light. Thus, as we are to interpret the Bible in the light of the Holy Spirit, so we are to interpret inward impressions upon the mind by comparing them with INDWELT BY THE SPIRIT. 189 Scripture truth, with sound reason, and with the out- ward providences of God. As the Scriptures were given by inspiration and dic- tated by the Holy Spirit, any impression claiming to be revelation from God, which is contrary to the Scriptures, must be rejected as a delusion. The Holy Ghost will not contradict Himself. As sound reason, also, or a sanctified judgment, is the gift of God, nothing that is really from His Spirit will be contrary to such judgment, although it may be quite beyond it. In the daily events of our lives we are to look for and to see the providences of God. Everything that takes place, with the sole exception of sin, is either permis- sively or causatively His will. And sin itself is per- missively providential. In other words, there would be no sin if God did not permit it, although He is never the author of sin. In everything that happens to us, then, God is present. And our daily lives are made up of what we are bound to regard as providential events; and we are to meet God where He meets us, and allow Him to guide us by His providence as well as by His Spirit and His Bible. As there is an exact and mutual correspondence be- tween the power of vision and the phenomena of light and color, between the power of hearing and the phe- nomena of sound, between the sense of touch and -the material forms which are presented to it for recognition, so there is a precise adaptation of the providences of God without, and the intimations of His Spirit within. Both are expressions of His will, and each will be found to illustrate and interpret the other. And so we often hear Christians say, in effect, that “way opens’ to do certain 190 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. things, which they regard as right to be done, the mean- ing being that inward impressions of duty, made on the mind by the Holy Spirit, are confirmed by outward providences so shaping events as to facilitate the per- formance of the duty. The earnest desire to be guided aright implies willing- ness on our part to obey the intimations of God’s will, however received. Whilst there must be no eager im- petuosity, which always indicates that self-will is still alive, there must be a constant seeking to know the mind of Christ, and a prompt and diligent obedience to His will, which are the reverse of slothfulness or care- lessness. We must wait upon the Lord in the true spirit of a servant, watching to receive His commands, and ever ready to execute them, and then to say, “ What next wilt Thou have me to do?” Every moment meets us with a duty to be done, ora suffering to be borne, some active service, or some silent waiting; and let us have a spirit earnest while quiet, an eye watchful but restful, an ear attentive but patient, and move or be still as “the love of Christ constraineth us.” Another office of the in-dwelling Comforter is to bring to remembrance the words of the Saviour, which He may do when we are engaged in silent contemplation or about our needful avocations, or He may, as already stated, impress them with new life and power upon our hearts as we read them, “ He shall bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” “Tle shall glorify me, for He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.” He shall testify of me.” “Tle shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear that shall He speak.” INDWELT BY THE SPIRIT. 191 The power of the Spirit has been treated of in a pre- vious chapter, and He, dwelling in the heart of the be- liever as a constant strengthener, supports him in every time of weakness, and guides him for every required service. Paul prays for the Ephesians, that they “may be strengthened with might, by His Spirit, in the inner man ;” and it was doubtless through Him that he ex- pected his other petitions to be realized, 7. e., that their comprehension might be so enlarged, that they might comprehend the solid contents of God’s love; and their knowledge so increased that they might know the love of Christ which passeth (human) knowledge, and be filled with the fulness of God. Finally ; the designation, Comforter, applied by the Saviour Himself to the in-dwelling Spirit, expresses one of the most precious of His offices. He dwells in the heart of the sanctified believer; and with Him, the Father and the Son. Thus He keeps the soul in com- munion and fellowship with the “God of all comfort.” “Truly,” says the Apostle, “our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.” He comforts those in whom He abides, in all their tribulation. He causes consolation to abound by Christ. Fle gives them to eat of the Hidden Manna. He brings to pass, that, out of their deepest sorrow, shall well up their richest, and fullest, and most permanent consolations, “Ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.” ‘The sorrow shall be transitory, even if it continue a life-time; the joy shall be everlasting. From God, in Christ, by the Holy Spirit, we have “everlast- Ing consolation, and good hope through grace.” 192 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. REMARKS, qe The offices of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the sanc- tified believer are totally different from His work in convicting and converting the sinner, by leading him to repent and believe in Jesus. iB These offices are distinct, also, from His work in the justified believer—showing him his heart-sin, and lead- ing him to seek a clean heart, by entire consecration and faith in Christ. j OR The Spirit witnesseth:—In the justified, to his adoption; in the sanctified, to his cleansing ; in all, to Christ. IV. When the Holy Ghost has taken possession of the heart, and dwells there as an abiding guest, He operates as a Teacher, a Guide, a Remembrancer, a Glorifier of, and Testifier to, Christ; a Strengthener, and a Com- forter. Vv. The in-dwelling Comforter teaches and guides the be- liever ; either directly—by impressions, made perceptibly or imperceptibly upon the understanding and the will ; or, instrumentally—by the Holy Scriptures, the preaching of the Gospel, and the outward providences of God. INDWELT BY THE SPIRIT. 193 VI. If our Heavenly Father has clearly revealed His will by the written word, in reference to any point, we are not to expect another revelation from His Spirit to teach us our duty in that regard. Vil. When God’s will has not been thus revealed, we are authorized and enjoined to seek His guidance, and to claim His promise that we shall have it: ViLLLS Impressions of truth and duty, are not to be regarded as coming from the Holy Spirit, if they are contrary to Scripture, to a sanctified judgment, or to the outward providences of God, IX, Tt is by faith that Christ, or the Holy Spirit, dwells in the heart. And we should seek for that form of faith that sees God’s hand in everything—permitting or caue- ing all that happens to us. : CHAPTER XI. PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT. OTHING is more positively inculeated in the Holy Scriptures, both by precept and practice, than the duty of prayer. Nor is there any law of na- ture more universal in its application than that which impels all men in times of great danger or emergency, to pray to some superior being, known or unknown, for aid. The man Christ Jesus was not only a man of sorrows ; but a man of prayer. Not many prayers of His have been transmitted, it is trué, and these few are generally very short ; but we are told, nevertheless, that “ He went up into a mountain and prayed ;” that “ He withdrew from the multitude and prayed ;” and that His prayers were sometimes protracted ones, we may infer from at least one instance in which “ He continued all night in prayer to God.” Taking upon Him the form of a servant, ex- hausted by His labors for others, which through the day were so pressing that He sometimes had no leisure even to eat bread, it was indeed true of Him, that “Cold mountains and the midnight air, Witnessed the fervor of His prayer.” The apostles, prophets, and holy men of old. were all mighty in prayer. As princes they had power with God and prevailed. And we have not the slightest reason to suppose that they ever doubted for a moment that they received blessings from God in answer to their 194 PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT. 195 prayers ; which blessings they would not have received without the prayers. It was reserved for the scepticism of more modern times, to deny the real efficacy of prayer. And yet, this is a very mysterious subject! God is an unchangeable Being, “with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” How, then, can the peti- tions of His feeblest child avail to move that Almighty hand that moves the worlds? Some persons believe that the only influence of prayer is a subjective one, ¢. ¢., that it brings the individual into a humble receptive state of mind, suitable for the accept- ance of the blessings desired; or, that he is stimulated by prayer to increased exertion to secure the things he asks for, and thus to bring about the answers to his own prayers. And very much ingenuity has been expended in trying to prove the hopeless orphanage of our race, and bring discredit upon the simple truth that we have a Heavenly Father, to whom we may and ought to pray with the expectation of receiving definite answers to definite requests. In the first place, I remark, that there is no real in- compatibility between the unchangeableness of God, and His willingness to hear and answer prayer. The very conditions upon which He promises to give the things we need, is that we ask Him. When therefore we bring ourselves to the point of asking Him for the things we desire, and when we reccive them, it is not He that changes His mind, but we who change ours. We come to His terms, we comply with His conditions, and He does precisely what He has promised to do, without the slightest change of purpose. A father may say to his little boy, “ You shall have 496 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. this orange if you ask for it in a proper manner.” But the child is obstinate and self-willed; he tries to obtain it without asking. Ile may say, perhaps, “ It is no good to ask ;” and by various means he may manage to deprive himself for a long time of the coveted fruit. But, when he comes to the prescribed terms; when he says— “ Please, father, give me the orange,” he at once obtains it. It is easy to see in this case that it is the child, and not the father, who changes his mind. It cannot be denied, however, that prayer—like every- thing else which God has instituted and prescribed—has its conditions, its laws, and its limitations. I cannot make request, selfishly and indiscriminately, for any blessing, real or supposed, which I may desire, and ex- pect to obtain it. I cannot say to the Lord—“Give me a hundred thousand pounds to-day ;” or ask Him for any- thing and everything which it might please me to have, and hope to receive it. This would be making God’s will subject to my own will, and would thus reverse that divine order which His omnipotence has established. ‘To pray, means to offer up petitions; not to make demands. And the very idea of a petition, recognizes the right, and the power, on the part of the sovereign to whom it is addressed, to grant or deny the things asked for, according to his own will. And so, all true prayer includes, whether by expression or implication, the words—“‘ Thy will, not mine, be done.” The first condition, then, upon which prayer is an- swered is, that it is according to God’s will. “If we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us.” The second condition is, that the prayer be accompanied by PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT. 197 faith. “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” The two conditions are intimately connected with each other, and both com- port entirely with the unchangeableness of God. Wecan only utter a believing prayer for things which are ac- cording to God’s will. And, to grant what is according to His will, involves on His part no change of purpose. But who are those to whom it is promised that they shall receive the things they ask for believingly and ac- cording to God’s will? Doubtless the children of God. There is one necessary thing for the unpardoned sinner to ask for first of all, and that is mercy and acceptance in Christ Jesus. And he may, if sincerely penitent and desirous of salvation, offer up his prayer for forgiveness with entire confidence that he shall be heard and accepted, because “God willeth not the death of a sinner.” Having thus become a child of God by faith in Jesus Christ, he will now find many things, both temporal and spiritual, about which he will need to seck his Heavenly Father’s counsel and aid during the remainder of his earthly pilgrimage. | Believers themselves, however, are often at a loss to know what things are according to God’s will, and what things, therefore, they may believingly ask for. Here, as elsewhere, they should first try to find a solution for their perplexities by searching the Scriptures, It may be laid down as an axiom that whatever our Heavenly Father has promised us in His word we may pray for, as we feel it to represent our own needs, If Jesus has said, “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out,” that is sufficient ground for one who: 198 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. has not found pardon, to ask and receive it. If the in- spired Apostle says, “This is the will of God, even your sanctification,” the Christian may, and ought to pray for sanctification. If the Saviour says, “ Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost,” the believer may, and should, pray to be thus baptized. If we are told that Jesus carried our sorrows as well as our sins, we should, in prayer, give Him our sorrows as well as our sins. If we are told to cast all our care upon Him, because He careth for us, we should do that thing. If we are commanded to “ Re- joice evermore, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks,” we should pray for that state of mind and heart, in which God’s grace may enable us to do so. But I need not particularize further. Whatever we find in the precepts, the promises, or the prophecies of the Bible revealing or indicating God’s will and pur- poses toward us, will be, each on its fitting occasion, a proper subject for prayer, which we can offer believingly, knowing that He will hear us. And if He clearly shows, by His outward provi- dences, His plans, purposes, and wishes concerning us, there also is a basis on which we can pray in faith, having confidence that we have the petitions which we desire of Him. Now, the promises of God include all possible good to the believer—“ No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.” They exclude in like man- ner all possible evil—“There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.” They take in also the supply of every spiritual and tem- poral need—“ My God shall supply all your need ac- PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT. ° 199 cording to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” They recognize further, all events as providences coming from God and tending to the believer’s good— All things shall work together for good to them that love God.” Surely, no Christian could ask more for himself than that all real good should be given him, all real evil kept away from him, all his real needs of every kind supplied, and all his circumstances and surroundings to be promo- tive of his highest interest and happiness. But when we come to particularize and to inquire whether this or that specific thing is a real good, alas, we are brought face to face with our “ infirmities.” That which we esteem good may be in the eyes of Him who seeth all things as they are, just the reverse. And so of evil. Samuel with his prophetic wisdom did not see where real merit was, as the tall and goodly sons of Jesse passed before him. But he was told that the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. And it was upon the head of the shepherd stripling that the anointing oil was to be poured. You stand beside the dying bed of a Christian. Tears fall from mourning friends; lamentations fill the room. The struggle with the last enemy seems dreadful to you, and you can but say that a real evil and calamity are falling upon the family. But above all these tears and groans and sighs of sor- row, above the clouds that to your eyes seem so black and gloomy, is the eye of God beholding the same scene. And what does He see? A precious thing. “ Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” And now, amid the perplexity arising out of our 200 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. short-sightedness in reference to real good and evil, how blessed it is to know tl.at it is our privilege to have the intercessory offices of the Spirit Himself. The nature of this intercessory function of the Holy Spirit is de- scribed in the eighth of Romans. “ Likewise also the Spirit itself helpeth our infirmities; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings that can- not be uttered ; and He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh inter- cession for the saints according to the will of God.” This is praying in the Holy Ghost. This is the true spirit of prayer, and true praying in the Spirit. What we do not know, the Holy Spirit does know. He knows what is real good and real evil for us. And He works upon the heart of the believer, begetting an earnest long- ing and groaning after those things which He knows to be a real good, and those things which He knows to be according to the will of God. Oh, that Christians everywhere knew what it is to have the Spirit within them, helping their infirmities, showing them what to pray for, and begetting within them unutterable groan- ings and fervent petitions for those things which are ac- cording to the mind of the Spirit ! And when the Spirit thus helps us in prayer He pro- duces also a corresponding faith, so that true spiritual prayer is always the prayer of faith, and brings the blessing down upon those that thus pray, because they ask believingly and must receive. The same Spirit who begets in the believer’s heart the _ groanings that cannot be uttered, and the faith that takes hold on God with a firm grasp for the thing asked for, PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT. 201 also works either in the realm of nature or the realm of grace to bring about the answer to prayer. And the ob- taining or non-obtaining of answers to prayer does not depend at all upon the greatness or wondrousness of the things asked for, but rather upon the question whether or not the prayer and the corresponding faith have been begotten by the Holy Spirit. God is Almighty, and can do great things just as easily as small things. And the Church of Christ, with its in- dividual membership, needs to learn to trust Him more implicitly for great things as well as small, and for small things as well as great. He not only “ setteth up kings and putteth down kings, and turneth the hearts of kings as a man turneth the water-course in his field,” but He orders the momentary events in the daily life of His lowliest child as well. Oh, that we might all learn “what is that exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe.” Sometimes the Holy Spirit secures the answer to a prayer, which Himself has inspired, by human agency. And, for this purpose, He may use either converted or unconverted men. Instances are not very rare in which one Christian man or woman has been impressed by feel- ings, not to be put aside, that it was right to visit some other Christian person ; and on so doing, has found the family in distress, and praying to God for relief; which has, in this manner, been sent them. In the following case a man, who was nota Christian, was used in a similar way :—A carter in the employ of a farmer in the south of England (both of them being ungodly men), had a praying, Christian wife. One day he was carried home to her with his leg broken by an 202 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. accident. After the surgeon had adjusted the fractured limb, and she had done all she could for his comfort, she said to him: “Well, John, I have long prayed for your conversion, and that—if in no other way—even by suf- fering, your soul might be brought to God.” He was very angry, and accused her of praying that his leg might be broken. After a few days their means were exhausted. Saturday night came, and there was neither bread nor money in the house. “Now,” said the man reproachfully, “you have been praying that I might have to suffer ; you had better pray that we might have some food.” She kneeled down by the table, and continued half an hour in earnest prayer to God, be- seeching Him to supply their pressing wants. The door opened. The employer of the carter appeared; made some short remark to the effect that “he could not get Jack out of his mind this evening,” and, laying on the table the full amount of what the man’s wages would have been if he had been able to work, he disappeared. And not only the woman’s prayer for food was answered, but the prayer for the conversion of her husband as well; for he gave his heart to God, and accepted Christ as his Saviour. Sometimes the answer to the prayer is through the in- visible operation of the Spirit who dictates it—upon the human body, or upon the external world. Both Scrip- ture and experience testify to the truth, that “ the prayer of faith shall save the sick,” and if the true relation of the Spirit to our conditions and needs were understood, there would be no reason for discrediting the facts of “prayer-cure” on the one hand, nor of perplexity as to why it is not always, or more generally available, on the other. PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT. 203 “Tt is appointed unto men once to die;” and it is certain that we cannot in our own will keep our friends from the fatal results of illness or accident. The point of limitation is precisely here. The Spirit knows when it is in accordance with the will of God that the sick should be restored in answer to the prayer of faith. He begets the earnest longings, the unutterable groanings, the fervent petitions, the living faith, in the heart and en the lips of some Christian believer, and then, by His own divine energy, He invisibly operates upon the body of the diseased person, and restores him to health. Tt is the prayers, and those only which are Inspired by Himself, that are also answered by Himself. Tt does not follow that the recovery would have taken place without the prayer, any more than in other caség recovery would take place without the medicine ; which, the physician justly assures us, saved the patient’s life. Nor does it follow that God’s will or purpose has been changed in the least. He makes the prayer of faith the condition of recovery in one case. He makes medicinal remedies the condition of recovery in another case. The condition is fulfilled. His will is accomplished, and no law is violated in one case, any more than the other. Nor is there any inconsistency in asserting that the two methods of cure may be combined. Christian phy- sicians, as I know by my own experience, are sometimes led earnestly to pray that God’s blessing may rest upon the means they employ for the recovery of their patients. And I quite deny that there is any absurdity in suppos- ing that He who gives to the animal, vegetable, and mineral productions of nature their medicinal qualities, may impart to them a special efficacy in particular cases, 204 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. in answer to believing prayer. The Spirit that produces the prayer, confers also peculiar potentiality upon the means employed. The following account is quoted from the Memoirs of Stephen Grellet, Vol. I, p. 275:—‘After one of these opportunities, Lavater, a physician—brother to the late Lavater—told me, ‘I have great reason for being fully convinced of these great and important truths that you have delivered. Once, I did not believe in them, and even ridiculed them; but the Lord was pleased to con- vince me of their reality in the following manner: My son, my only son, was very ill; I had exerted all my medical skill upon him in vain, when, in my distress, I wandered out into the street, and seeing the people going to the church, where my brother Lavater was to preach, IT went also. He began with that very text that you have mentioned—* Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, believing, it shall be done unto you.” He dwelt very particularly on the nature of prayer—in whose name, and to whom it is to be offered. He described, also, the efficacy of that faith which is to be the clothing of the poor supplicants. I attended very closely to what my brother said, and I thought I would now try if it was indeed so; for my solicitude for the recovery of my son was great. My prayer for it was earnest. I thought, also, that I believed the Lord Jesus had all power to heal him if He would. ““* Now,’ said he, ‘in my folly I dared to limit the Almighty to three days, concluding that by this I should know that He was indeed a God hearing prayer, if my son was restored within that time. After such a daring act, all my skill as a physician seemed to be taken away PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT, 205 from me. I went about, looking at my watch to see how the time passed, then at my son, whom I saw grow- ing worse, but not a thought to minister anything to him arose. The three days had nearly passed away, when, with an increase of anguish and also a sense of the Lord’s power, I cried out, “I believe, O Lord, that Thou canst do all this for me. Help Thou my unbelief ;” on which, some of the most simple things presented to me to administer to my son—so simple that at any other time I should have scorned them. Yet, believing it was of the Lord, I administered them, and my son immedi- ately recovered,’ ‘Now,’ said the doctor, ‘TI felt fully convinced that the Lord heareth prayer, and that there is an influence of the Spirit of God on the mind of man, for I have felt it.’ He added, ‘To this day I feel ashamed of myself, that I, a poor worm, should have dared to prescribe limits to the Lord, and wonder how, in His boundless mercy, He should have condescended, notwithstanding my darkness, to hear me.’ These are very nearly the words of the doctor. They were ac- companied with brokenness of spirit.” Nothing is more clearly revealed in Scripture than that the Lord controls the operations of nature in such a way as to promote or to prevent the production of such crops as are necessary for human sustenance. It is He that sendeth the rain and He that withholdeth it, if the plain declarations of the Bible are of any value. He may, and does, employ second causes, but He is not dependent on them, nor subject to them. They are His servants, not His masters. The prophet calls upon Israel to pray to the Lord about the weather—a thing which is nuw regarded by many Christians as absurd. 206 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. “ Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain, so the Lord shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain.” Let the meteorologist explain the rains and the droughts as he may, z is the Lord that does it. Now, as a rule, no doubt, it is very well to Jeave the weather in the Lord’s hands, with full confidence that He will still “cause His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and send rain upon the just and upon the un- just.” Bat if the Holy Spirit begets in Christian hearts the true spirit of prayer in reference to the weather, whether it be in times of drought and famine, of storms and floods, or on more ordinary occasions, then the Holy Spirit also is ready to exert His divine power in bring- ing about the answer to the prayer. There “ He also maketh intercession for us according to the will of God,” and the result is sure. Now it is very plain that this kind of prayer is not in our own wills. Most certainly, in reference to the healing of the sick, and in reference to rain and sunshine, “we know not what to pray for as we ought.” And the thing for the believer to do is to leave his heart in God’s hands, to watch carefully the gentlest intimations of His Spirit, and when, and only when, He worketh in him the prayer and the faith, then give place to it, then utter it, and then realize that according to his faith it is unto him, Sometimes, again, the prayer is for deliverance from some besetting sin or some enslaving habit. Here the Holy Spirit begets an earnest longing for deliverance, and the prayer of faith (which is also as availing in these instances as in those already mentioned) and the PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT. ZAG answer may come just as suddenly. Jesus came to save His people from their sins, “to redeem them from their iniquity, and to purify them unto Himself.” Why should any Christian hesitate to accept Him as a present Saviour from all sin? A little boy of five or six years, residing in the city of London, was possessed of a most irascible and ungovern- able temper. In his fits of rage he would k*ck, scratch, bite, and in every way resist the efforts of his governess to secure his obedience. One day, having left him to sit alone in a room after one of his ebullitions of anger, she observed that he was quite silent for a time. Then coming to her with tears, he besought her forgiveness for his naughtiness, and observed, very firmly, “I shall not get angry again.” The governess inquired why he said so. “ Why,” said he, “I have been talking to Jesus about it, and He has promised to keep me from sinning again, and He will do iw.” ‘The child had, probably, often prayed before that he might not get angry; but now he had uttered, under the influence of the Spirit, the true prayer of faith. He believed that Jesus would save him. The testimony of the governess, six years after these occurrences, was that she had never seen him angry since. I had this story from a prominent minister of Christ, now in London. A Nonconformist minister of the city of London, was exceedingly fond of smoking. After a time, he became dissatisfied with this habit. He enjoyed it, but he thought God’s will was against it. He continued the indulgence, though mentally uneasy, and he found that it lessened the sense of God’s presence and favor. He hesitated as to his course, not wishing to make too much 208 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. of what might seem to many a harmless habit. On one occasion, however, when a friend had presented him with some excellent tobacco of special qualities, he pushed aside his qualms and shut himself in his own room for the enjoyment of his favorite indulgence. He was, then and there, whilst smoking, clearly impressed with the conviction that the habit for him was wrong in the sight of God. He put his pipe aside, knelt in prayer, and gave himself in a definite act of consecration, to God. He asked that, if smoking were wrong for him, his taste for tobacco might be taken away. He rose; and his testimony was, and is, that the taste, once So very strong, was taken away, and has not returned— the period being from May, 1875, to January, 1878. Not scores only, but hundreds of well-authenticated cases could be collected, if pains were taken for the pur-— pose, in which the appetite for strong drink has been at once and permanently removed, in answer to believing prayer. Comment is needless, | Finally, the prayer of faith, begotten by the Holy Spirit with groanings that cannot be uttered, is available for the conversion of sinners, and for bringing varied blessings upon believers. The Spirit works upon one Christian’s heart, producing an earnest longing and sin- cere petition that some soul may be saved, or that some neighborhood may be visited by a revival of religion, begetting a corresponding faith also, so that the prayer is uttered believingly. He next directs His omnipotent energy toward the hearts of those who are prayed for, and, convincing them of sin, turns them effectually to Christ, thus securing the answer to the prayer which Himself has originated ; PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT. 209 And in these instances, as well as others, there is especial power in united prayer. “If two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father who is in Heaven.” The following was related to me by the gentleman who was the subject of it. He was, and still is, a phy- siclan In active practice, in one of the interior towns of America. He was an ungodly man. At the time of a revival of religion in the town a number of ladies met, by agreement, at a certain time, to pray specially for the conversion of this individual. He of course knew nothing of it. But in the afternoon, and at the very hour while they were praying, he told me that while engaged in his professional visits, a strange, unaccount- able feeling of panic came over him. ‘The feeling was indescribable, but consisted in part of fear mixed with deep distress of mind. This mental trouble, which was to him astonishing, grew and increased. He went home, examined himself as to his physical health, felt his pulse, looked at his tongue in a mirror, but could not find anything amiss with his bodily functions. The anxiety and uneasiness of mind continued, however, until he found peace, where only it is to be found in its fulness, by accepting free mercy and pardon in the Lord Jesus Christ. When revivals of religion have occurred in different communities, which revivals are by no means to be con- temned or underrated, for it is in times of religious awakening like these that the majority of Christians have been converted, it will, perhaps, always be found on inquiry, that some one, or two, or more Christian be- 14 210 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, lievers, men or women, or even children, have been praying especially that the Lord would revive His work among them. And the Spirit who moves upon their hearts thus to pray, moves also upon the hearts of the people, bringing them to Christ, and fulfilling their petitions. A Christian lady has sent me the following anecdote, which occurred in her own experience: “On one occasion, while engaged in ordinary duties, my mind was arrested by a feeling of intense sympathy with one of my dear suffering friends; as if she was then passing through extraordinary trial. So strong did it become, that I was constrained to retire to my own room, and pour out my heart more freely in prayer for her, accompanied by ‘strong cryings and tears,’ under a sense of her condition. While thus pleading, the thought struck me—‘Could I not send her a telegram by way of Heaven?’ and, in full faith, I asked the Lord to bring this passage to her mind, ‘As one whom his mother com- forteth, so will Z comfort you’—with the power of the Holy Spirit. Ina few days I received a letter from her, in which she told me that she had been passing through extreme trial, but that about 7 o’clock, on such a day— the very day and hour in which the telegram was sent —that passage was so brought home to her, that her soul was sweetly calmed, and her mourning was ended —‘Ag one whom his mother comforteth, so will I com- fort you.” It is always to be gratefully remembered, that the Sa- viour, who prayed for His people when He was on earth, PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT. 21. still ever liveth to make intercession for them in Heaven. It is only as He presents our petitions, with His own, before the throne of God, that they can find acceptance with the Father. All prayer, therefore, should be of- fered in the name of Jesus, and for His sake, And, I believe, it is both in accordance with Scrip- ture, and, in some cases, eminently proper, to address prayer directly to Christ Himself. It was continually done, when He was personally on earth, by those who had need of healing. It was done by the dying thief, with acceptance, It was done by the martyr, Stephen, as he sealed his testimony with his blood. And those who are under conviction for sin, need oftentimes to get rid of a certain prejudice they may have had against recognizing Jesus Christ as God. This they effectually do, when they pray to Him directly, as one who still has power on earth to forgive sins. Little children, also, may often—now as of old—be brought directly to Christ, and taught to pray to Him, we can- not doubt, with entire acceptance. And, as the Holy Spirit is one with the Father and the Son—and, therefore, God—it cannot be regarded as wrong, or always inappropriate, as it seems to me, to address prayer to Him. We may pray to the Father to give us the Holy Spirit; we may pray to the Son to bap- tize us with the Holy Spirit; we may pray to the Holy Spirit Himself to come and abide in our hearts. But, for Christian believers, the general rule, I think, should be to make our requests to the Father, in the name of the Son. 912 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. REMARKS. ib It may be regarded as an universal instinct of man- kind to pray to some superior Power in times of distress and danger. Il. It is the imperative duty of every Christian to pray to God. Ill. The teaching of the Bible, and of experience, agree in establishing the fact that blessings, both temporal and spiritual, may be, and are, obtained in answer to the prayer of faith; which would not Le received without the prayer. This is entirely consistent with the un- changeableness of God. IV. The condition on which blessings are promised, is that they be asked for. “Ask, and ye shall receive.” Vv. Anything contained in the precepts, promises, or prophecies of the Bible—so far as it indicates God’s will toward us—may be a proper subject of prayer. VI. To pray aright, we must ask according to God’s will, and we must ask in faith. PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT. ite VII. When we know not what to pray for as we ought, the Spirit helpeth our infirmities, and maketh intercession for the saints, according to the will of God. VIII. Under the Spirit’s leadings Christians may pray for the supply of their wants and obtain them; for the cure of the sick, and they shall be raised up; for rain or for sunshine—as these are needed—and have them; for the conversion of sinners, and blessings upon_ believers, which shall follow accordingly. IX, As these results follow unfailingly, because the Holy Spirit, who inspires the prayer, operates Himself, in na- ture or in grace, to bring about the answer. But, except when prompted by the Spirit, these prayers will be of no avail. xa If we remain constantly surrendered to God, and look- ing to Jesus, He will show us, by the Holy Spirit, when and how to pray the true prayer of faith. And this is praying in the Holy Ghost. XI. Prayer should be addressed to the Father, in the name of the Son. On some occasions, however, we may properly pray directly to Jesus Himself; or even to the Holy Spirit. 214 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. AIT, “Lord, what a change within us one short hour Spent in Thy presence will prevail to make, What heavy burdens from our bosoms take, What parched grounds refresh, as with a shower! We kneel, and all around us seem to lower; We rise, and all, the distant and the near, Stands forth in sunny outline, brave and clear; We kneel, how weak; we rise, how full of power! Why, therefore, should we do ourselves this.wrong, Or others—that we are not always strong, That we are ever overborne with care, That we should ever weak or heartless be, Anxious or troubled, when with us is prayer, And joy, and strength, and courage are with Thee?” —Trench. CHAPTER XIT: THE SPIRIT IN THE CHURCH. ae is by, and through, the Holy Spirit, that Christ exercises His Headship over the visible Church. Both the service and the worship of God’s people—the former typified in the Mosaic ritual by the work of the Levites; the latter, by that of the priests—are to be un- der the direction of the Holy Spirit. Upon individual believers He bestows a variety of gifts, to be exercised for the good of the body. And He Himself presides, , invisibly but really, over every assembly of true wor- shippers. Under the former dispensation, the whole congrega- tion of Israel made their offerings, and performed their worship through the intervention of an anointed priest- hood. The whole congregation, likewise performed the service of the sanctuary, through the Levites, who were purified and set apart, that they might represent all the tribes in that special office. “ Be ye clean who bear the vessels of the Lord.” And so, we find Priests and Levites—the official worshippers and the official workers of the chosen people—frequently associated in the sacred narrative. But the Levitical priesthood, with its offerings and its ritual, was abolished when Christ had offered ‘one sacrifice for sins forever ;” “had entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us,” and had “sat down on the right hand of Goc ae 215 216 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, Nevertheless, God’s people under the Gospel dispen- sation, are still a ‘‘ kingdom of priests ;” and the Church on earth, by virtue of its union with Christ—the ever- living Head, through the Spirit—is invested with both regal and priestly dignity. Furthermore, as every indi- vidual believer is a priest in God’s kingdom, it follows that he can do his own worshipping—nay, must do it; for “God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him, must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” There is no need for the pomp and splendor of an outward ritual; and just as little of the intervention of a human priesthood, to enable the believer to “ offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God, through Jesus Christ.” Nothing whatever should come between our souls and God, but Christ, the great High Priest, who has ascended up on high, and “ever Jiveth to make inter- cession for us.” True worship is spiritual, and is per- formed acceptably wherever the sincere heart is lifted up to the Father of Spirits, in adoring gratitude and love. And is it not sad to see the extent to which the equality and priesthood of believers have been lost sight of in the Church of Christ? Instead of gathering im- mediately to Christ, and seeking the light and power of His Spirit, to qualify us to worship Him aright, we must still look—virtually, if not actually—to some human head or leader, pope or bishop, priest or minister, to do our worshipping for us. And we must have buildings, splendid in their architecture, and costly in their decora- tions; we must have beautiful attractions for the eye, and artistic music for the ear; and the time of our pub- lic worship must be taken up largely with seeing, and THE SPIRIT IN THE CHURCH. 217 hearing, and doing certain things which have been pre- scribed and prearranged by others. Now, I am very far from saying that our Heavenly Father may not be worshipped acceptably, nor that He is not worshipped acceptably by many, in the midst of all these accompaniments and surroundings—which, in their nature, would appear to be more sensuous than spiritual—but I am jealous of the idea, that it is only by these accompaniments, and only by human instrumen- tality, or under human leadership, that the Church of Christ may rightly and properly unite in social worship. If Christ by His Spirit, is present with the two or three, or any larger number of gathered worshippers, then it is to Him, above all and beyond all, that we are to look. And, whether in vocal utterances, or in si- lent adoration of the humble heart, it is in dependence upon Him, and under His guidance that we are to offer up true worship. Whilst, then, right worship may be in silence, it is not necessarily so; nor do I believe that it will often be the case that an assembly of Christians, gathered under the influence of the Spirit, and every one truly led by Him, will perform their worship wholly in silence. For whilst the Holy Ghost is ever present, and—as repre- senting Christ, the living Head—is always to be sought unto first of all, He also graciously bestows His gifts, dividing to every man, severally, as He will. And it is, especially, when gathered for public worship, that these gifts are to be exercised ; sometimes for the profit of the whole assembly, sometimes for the special need of indi- viduals. These gifts, as they existed in the Apostolic age, are 218 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. enumerated in the twelfth chapter of 1st Corinthians. I shall not discuss them here, but leave my reader to ex- amine for himself the disquisitions of Christian scholars upon the nature and peculiarities of these bestowments of the Spirit. In the fourth chapter of Ephesians we find the Apos- tle employing the following language :—‘‘And He gaye some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints; for the work of the ministry; for the edifying of the body of Christ.” I infer from these inspired words, that God gives to His Church, in every age, gifted men and women, whose calling and qualification are from the Holy Spirit, and who, under His guidance and direction, may “prophesy” or preach, with the result— by Divine grace—of converting sinners and strengthen- ing believers. I use the phrase men and women advisedly, because, here again, the Church of Christ has been, and continues to be, quite too slow of heart to accept the fact that “there is neither Jew nor Greek ; there is neither bond nor free; there is neither male nor female, but ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” By so doing, she is evidently limiting the Holy One, who pours out His Spirit upon daughters as well as sons, handmaidens as well as ser- vants—that they may prophesy. I shall not argue the question, but simply express my firm belief that the au- thority of Holy Scripture, and the example of the early Church, recognize the ministry of women, and place it on precisely the same ground as that of men; and that is—the calling and qualification of the Spirit. THE SPIRIT IN THE CHURCH. 919 The “apostles” and “prophets” spake to the men of their own generation, and under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, they wrote the Books of the Bible, through which they continue to speak to the men of all genera- tions. The apostolic and prophetic gifts—as they were possessed by the writers of Holy Scripture—have ceased to exist in the Church. Since the Book of Revelation was written, no man has claimed, or could justly claim, that he was inspired in the same sense in which the writers of the Bible were inspired. But evangelists, pastors, and teachers are still con- tinued to the Church. The evangelist preaches glad tidings. He proclaims salvation through a crucified and risen Lord. When baptized with the Holy Ghost, He speaks, as with a tongue of fire, to the unregenerate ; and the thing he is engaged about, above all things else, is the conversion of sinners. Pastors and teachers, on the other hand, though re- ceiving their qualification from the same Spirit who en- ergizes the evangelist, are especially concerned, and em- powered, to build up believers in the most holy faith ; to administer milk to babes, and strong meat to strong men; to impart new truth to the inexperienced Christian; to expound the Holy Scriptures; to reprove, rebuke, ex- hort, with all long-suffering and doctrine. _ The evangelist, the pastor, and the teacher, are not un- frequently combined in the same individual, but oftener this is not the case; and it is very important for every one to keep to his own gift—improve it, grow in it, and use it to the glory of God, and the good of the Church ; whilst he should not be seeking, restlessly, to imitate others, or mistakenly suppose that he must be, and do, 220 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. in all things like those whose gifts may be wholly differ- ent from his own. On the other hand, a Christian believer who is dili- gently occupying the gift which the Holy Spirit has be- stowed upon him, must not judge another who is led, it may be, by the same Spirit into a line of service entirely different from that to which he may feel called. Every one’s proper business is, not to be inquiring, “ What shall this man do?” but, to be carefully heeding the injunc- tion—“ Follow thou me!” Prophesying, or preaching, is ranked by Paul as the highest of the gifts of the Spirit; and this consists in power to speak for “exhortation, edification, and com- fort.” He tells us, especially, to covet this gift. And Moses was of the same mind, when he said :—“ I would to God that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them.” The call and qualification for the ministry, then, are from the Holy Ghost. It may be given to, and exer- cised by, the same or different individuals, in the way of evangelizing, teaching, exhorting, edifying, or comfort- ing; but the Spirit gives power and unction to the truths which are spoken, and renders them effective in persuad- ing and influencing the minds of the hearers. Now, when the Church is assembled for public wor- ship, there is a special opportunity, as well as a peculiar fitness, for the exercise of these various gifts of the Spirit. First and foremost, however, let the minds and hearts of the worshippers be gathered to Christ Himself, who, by His Holy Spirit, meets with them according to His own _ gracious promise, and is their real though invisible Head. Let the attitude of the soul be an attitude of receptivity THE SPIRIT IN THE CHURCH. 22 and expectancy ; and let every one say with the Psalmist —* My soul, wait thou only upon God, for my expecta- tion is from Him.” A mecting thus gathered in the name of Jesus, and consisting entirely of Christian believers, will sometimes find that they are tendered, and strengthened, and in- structed, and comforted, and edified by the direct work- ing of the Holy Spirit Himself upon their hearts; and without any human ministry whatever. Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton called such precious seasons of stillness and waiting upon God “divine silence.” I proceed now to state that the Spirit in the Church is the great Unifier. All true fellowship between individual believers— and the word implies union of heart and purpose—is the “fellowship of the Spirit.” “Our fellowship,” says the Apostle, “is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” And the Spirit is striving still to bring all God’s children into that blessed fellowship with the Father, and with the Son, and with each other. “If we walk in the light [of the Spirit] we have fellowship one with another.” And as Christ, dwelling in the heart of the believer by faith, and strengthening him by His Spirit in the inner man, is the foundation for union and fellowship between individual Christians, so it is the Spirit abiding in the Church that is to form the basis of union between the sects. The doctrine of holiness is sometimes accused by its opposers of tending to divide and distract the Church of Christ. But Gospel holiness is the work of the in- dwelling Spirit, and surely it cannot be said of Him O27, THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. that He is the author of heresies, divisions, or schisms among God’s people. The Church has undergone many lamentable divi- sions and separations, it is true, but it was not so much because of its holiness as because it wanted more holi- ness. As individual Christians and Christian sects are bap- tized with the Holy Ghost they are brought nearer to Christ, and, like the radii of a circle or the spokes of a wheel, as they get nearer the Centre they’get nearer to each other. Their union is in Christ, and in Him alone through the Spirit. I do not see any sufficient reason to accept the views of those who suppose that the Church of Christ on earth must, during the present dispensation, become unde- nominational, 7. ¢., that all sects of Christians must be merged into one outward and visible Church. God’s chosen people of old were twelve tribes, but one Israel. In like manner His people now are denominations, but one Church. I do not know why it should not con- tinue to be so, until the Son of Man cometh in His kingdom. And when the Israelites marched, or when they en- camped, it was not in disorder, nor at random. Every tribe had its own place assigned in the march, in the battle, and in the encampment; and every man was to march, to fight, and to pitch his tent under his own standard, and with his own tribe. ‘There was beauty, there was order, there was strength. But the secret of it all was that God dwelt in the tabernacle, and the tabernacle was in their very midst. And when the prophet, covetous of Balak’s gold, THE SPIRIT IN THE CHURCH. DS would fain have cursed this Israel of God, when he even changed his position again and again that he might see them from a different stand-point, if peradventure Le might curse them from thence, on every occasion the curse was changed into a blessing in his mouth, and he was compelled to exclaim, “‘ How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! As the val- leys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river’s side, as the trees of lign aloes which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters ;” nay, even to peti- tion for himself, “ Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his.” Beautiful in their encampment, terrible in their march, irresistible in their attack upon their enemies—such were the Israelites of old when the Lord dwelt among them. And such would the Church of Christ be now, if thoroughly baptized, and filled, and abode in by the Holy Spirit. She would indeed be “ beautiful for situ- ation, the joy of the whole earth, fair to look upon.” And she would be to the enemies of God and His truth “terrible as an army with banners.” And the attempts, which might be made from many different stand-points, to curse her would all be in vain, so that even her ene- mies would be compelled to acknowledge with Balaam, “ How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy taberna- cles, O Israel.” “Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his.” And is not the good time coming and nigh at hand? Is not the Holy Spirit indeed taking possession of the Church to a larger extent than ever before, since Apostolic times? The dividing lines between different 224 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. sects of Christians have hitherto been too much like high walls of separation, across which they could only shoot arrows at each other. Now they are becoming, as I trust, more like low hedges, across which they can shake hands and wish each*other God-speed on their heaven- ward journey. Moreover, instead of spending their time and their talent, their brain-power and their learning, in contro- versies and persecutions, instead of waging angry and interminable wars with each other, they are beginning to see that it is no longer the province of Ephraim to vex Judah, nor of Judah to judge Ephraim, but Judah and Ephraim are to unite with each other, and with the other tribes, in smiting the common enemies of God and of Israel, and, shoulder to shoulder with one common front, they are to wage war with Amalek, the Canaanite, or the Philistine, as the case may be. Yes, beloved, we are living in the Dispensation of the Holy Ghost. May He be received by faith to dwell in the hearts of believers, and to vivify,and unify, and sanctify, and energize the Church, until Jerusalem shall indeed be a praise in the earth, and millions shall be gathered into the fold of Christ. Gird up your loins, ye servants of the living God, and run like Elijah of old. “There is a sound of abundance of rain.” | Or THE SPIRIT IN THE CHURCH. 2? REMARKS. I. Christ, by the Holy Spirit, exercises His Headship over the visible Church. II. Christ, by the Holy Spirit, meets with every assembly that is gathered in His name. ITI. All true worship is performed in spirit and in truth, Tt may be either with or without vocal exercises. IV. The Holy Spirit, if waited upon and sought unto, will rightly direct all the exercises of the worshipping assembly. Vv. The gifts of the Spirit may be rightly exercised under His direction in the assembled Church. VI. The call and qualification for the ministry of the Gospel are from God alone. But while the Church has no power or authority to make a man a minister, it may rightly recognize the gift he has received and record him a minister. VII. nw The gift of the ministry may include evangelizing, teaching, and prophesying, which is speaking for exhor- tation, edification, or comfort. 15 226 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. VI. The priesthood, equality, and brotherhood of believers result from the headship of Christ over His Church, IX. A one-man ministry is not taught in the Bible. X. Women, as well as men, may be, and are, called and anointed by the Holy Ghost for the work of the min- istry. XI. Preaching, praying, singing, and reading the Scrip- tures are all appropriate and edifying acts of public worship, when engaged in under the leadings of the Holy Spirit. XII. Christian believers who have been baptized with the Holy Ghost are brought into fellowship with the Father, and the Son, and with one another. DG IE The Holy Spirit in the Church of Christ binds to- gether the different sects of believers in the acceptance of a common salvation, and harmonizes them In a com- mon purpose to extend the Redeemer’s kingdom. THE SPIRIT IN THE CHURCH. 220 CONCLUSIONS. The offices of the Holy Spirit, as treated of in this book, may be summed up as follows: I, The Holy Spirit operates upon the hearts of sinners, to awaken them, to convince them of sin, to lead them to repentance, and to enable them to believe in Jesus. In direct connection with their justification He also, by His own divine energy, regenerates them. As Having now become children of God by the new birth the Spirit witnesses to their adoption. Il. The Spirit dwells with the justified believer, strengthen- ing him in the Lord, enabling him to grow in grace, showing him the remains of the carnal nature still exist- ing, and causing him earnestly to desire a clean heart. Vi< When the believer, following the Holy Spirit’s lead- ings and receiving His divine aid, consecrates himself to the Lord and trusts fully in His promises, he receives the baptism with the Holy Ghost. Vv. As the results of this baptism, the Holy Spirit “ puri- fies the heart by faith,’ endues him with power, fills him, and abides in him, 228 THE OFFICES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Vals The in-dwelling Spirit operates in the heart of the sanctified believer as a teacher, guide, strengthener, com- forter, expounder of the Scriptures, and glorifier of Jesus. Vs The Holy Spirit gives us the true spirit of prayer, en- abling us to pray believingly, to have the petitions that He leads us to desire, to “ask and receive that our joy may be full.” Vil. By the Holy Spirit Christ exercises His Headship and authority in the Church. The Spirit leads and directs all true worship, and imparts His gifts to indi- vidual members, male or female. By the exercise of these gifts, God is glorified and the Church edified. And now let all my beloved readers unite with me in the ascription of heartfelt praise to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. AMEN. FINIS. _ nee o——_ i= — : : = o ~ h Prince .e peccessnoeer vevtsanees eagaerenssicieiseserss