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 THE SPIRITUAL LIFE 
 

THE 
 
 SPIRITUAL LIFE 
 
 BIBLE LECTURES 
 
 
 y 
 
 GEO. C. NEEDHAM 
 
 
 CGT #* 
 
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 ■ h Op Mi ^ - 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 
 AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY 
 
 
 1895 
 
A 
 
 WASHINGTON 
 
 Copyright 1895 by the 
 American Baptist Publication Society 
 
EXPLANATORY. 
 
 HE Addresses herein published were 
 delivered at the Niagara and North- 
 field Conferences for Bible Study. 
 They have been re-delivered else- 
 where and many of them appeared in a former 
 volume, " Preach the Word." Repeated re- 
 quests for the Lectures in more permanent 
 form has led to their publication. The Studies 
 were developed in the ordinary course of Scrip- 
 ture examination, were taken during their 
 delivery by a stenographer, and revised by the 
 author. 
 
 The chief object of these Bible Lectures is 
 the deepening and quickening of Spiritual Life 
 in the hearts of God's people. It is sincerely 
 hoped that the Holy Spirit will graciously use 
 them for the Promotion of Piety. 
 
 The reader is specially forewarned that 
 every Scripture reference should be studiously 
 
 (5) 
 
6 Explanatory. 
 
 examined. The insertion of texts in full would 
 have occupied too much space ; the references 
 ought to stimulate each person to examine the 
 several passages which are given in chapter 
 and verse in order to have a more complete 
 understanding of the topic expounded. 
 
 Special attention is called to the final chap- 
 ters on The Psalms. They have involved 
 much labor and will not be appreciated by a 
 superficial reading. We beg for them con- 
 scientious study. True piety can only be pro- 
 moted by pains-taking Bible investigation 
 while looking to the Holy Spirit for mental 
 enlightenment and illumination of the divine 
 Book. 
 
 Now may the blessings which attended the 
 Lectures when delivered be multiplied a hun- 
 dred-fold, and be used of God in helping every 
 reader to love, reverence, and study, the blessed 
 Word of Life. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Explanatory, 5 
 
 Geo. C. Needham, . . 9 
 
 Bible Conferences : Their Origin, .... 17 
 
 I. Manifold Ministry of the Spirit, . . 23 
 
 II. The Spirit of Revelation and of 
 
 Unction, 41 
 
 III. The Spirit and the Word, 57 
 
 IV. How to Study the Bible, 76 
 
 V. The Manifold Gospel, 95 
 
 VI. Consecrated Vessels, 114 * 
 
 VII. Paul's Devotion to Jesus, 132 
 
 VIII. Communion with Jesus, 149 
 
 IX. Redemption as Taught by Moses, . . 170 
 
 X. Our Great High Priest, 181 
 
 XI. The Believer's Blessed Hope, ... 198 
 
 XII. Spiritual Life in the Psalms, . . . . 213 
 
 XIII. Spiritual Life in the Psalms, .... 235 
 
 XIV. Spiritual Life in the Psalms, .... 248 
 
 (7) 
 
GEORGE C. NEEDHAM.* 
 
 
 HE subject of this brief notice was born under 
 the British flag on the shore of the Ken- 
 mare Bay, not far from the far-famed l^akes 
 of Killarney in the south of Ireland. His 
 parents were Irish Protestants, and he, with nine 
 brothers and sisters, enjoyed a religious training. 
 When five years old he received a decidedly religious 
 impression from hearing an older sister recite a sermon 
 which she had heard on the Second Coming of Christ. 
 But it was not until his eighteenth year, when the great 
 revival wave swept over Ireland, that he became fully 
 assured of salvation. The mother of the Needham 
 family, with her ten children surrounding her bedside, 
 passed away when George was nine years of age. The 
 mother's dying prayer was for the spiritual welfare of 
 her children. It has been abundantly answered. 
 
 When nineteen years old young Needham entered 
 business in Dublin. He soon won the high regard of 
 his employers by detecting a system of fraud which had 
 for some time been practised against them. At the 
 end, however, of his first year in business, against the 
 protest of his employers who made him flattering offers, 
 and of some of his friends, who thought him rash, he 
 
 * For this sketch of Kvangelist George C Needham we are chiefly in- 
 debted to The Christian Herald^ edited by Rev. T. DeWitt Talmage. 
 
 (9) 
 
io George C. Needham. 
 
 relinquished his position and went forth as an Evan- 
 gelist. His labors during the first few years of his 
 ministry succeeded so well in Ireland that he was in- 
 vited to England, where a successful work in the 
 vicinity of Mr. Spurgeon's birthplace threw him into 
 contact with that great preacher. It is said that he 
 proposed at this time to enter Mr. Spurgeon's college, 
 then in its incipiency, but that the latter, seeing the 
 work he was doing, advised him to continue preaching 
 Christ. In 1866, Mr. Needham, in company with Henry 
 Grattan Guinness, made an evangelistic tour of Ireland 
 with the most marked results. " Thousands flocked 
 to their preaching, and strong men fell to the ground 
 under powerful conviction of sin. Conversions were 
 numerous. Christians were greatly stirred to work for 
 the salvation of souls. 
 
 When he entered upon his life-work it was with the 
 reservation that, if not supported, he would return to 
 his former home and aid his father, who for years had 
 filled several public offices. George had heard nothing 
 of the theory of living by faith, although he was now 
 practically living that life. When his first trial came 
 through lack of funds he determined to re-visit his 
 father. That night he had a troubled sleep, and three 
 times had a startling dream that his father and himself 
 were net-fishing, and every time they threw the net the 
 father fell overboard and became entangled in the 
 meshes. The morning found him feverish, dejected, 
 and on the border of despair. He sought relief in pro- 
 tracted prayer and arose strengthened, when a telegram 
 reached him. He surmised evil tidings, and, before 
 opening it, again sought the help which cometh from 
 
George G Needham, n 
 
 God only. A strange peace came over him, and he 
 was somewhat ready for the terrible news : ' ' Your 
 father was drowned yesterday. Come home immedi- 
 ately." Soon after the settlement of family affairs, 
 with the added burden of younger brothers and a deli- 
 cate sister, for whom temporary arrangements had been 
 made with relatives, the young Evangelist, strong in 
 purpose to win souls, started out on a tour of preach- 
 ing throughout Ireland and England. 
 
 Observing one day the shabby condition of his cloth- 
 ing, he ventured to pray especially for a new suit. He 
 had not heard of any one before doing this. In a very 
 brief space of time he received an anonymous letter, in 
 which he was asked to call on certain shop-keepers. 
 On doing so he found they had been commissioned 
 to renew his wardrobe, even to hat and boots. The 
 great packages came to his room, when, spreading 
 them open, he challenged the devil to look at his 
 Father's gifts, and never again to tempt him on the 
 score that he would either starve or go ragged if he 
 continued evangelizing. The Evangelist has had many 
 such lessons taught him by great trials and extra- 
 ordinary deliverances. 
 
 In the year 1867 two young preachers in Great 
 Britain had agreed together to visit America. These 
 young men were George C. Needham and the late 
 Henry Moorhouse. Mr. Needham having been de- 
 tained by the sickness of a sister, who afterwards accom- 
 panied him on the voyage, did not reach the United 
 States until three months later than his friend Moor- 
 house. He landed at Boston, and on the next day 
 gave a brief address at the noon meeting of the Y. M. 
 
12 George C. Needham. 
 
 C. A. Invitations to preach began immediately to 
 pour in upon him. Mr. Spurgeon had introduced him 
 by letter to the churches of America, hence the con- 
 fidence readily bestowed on the young stranger. 
 
 Moorhouse had already reached the public ear in 
 Chicago through D. I,. Moody, then President of the 
 Y. M. C. A. of that city. Through these young Evan- 
 gelists, Bible readings, as they are now more popularly 
 called, were first introduced, similarly in New England 
 and the great West. Bagster's Bibles were then com- 
 paratively unknown among the American people ; but 
 the Bagster's, carried by the young preachers, well 
 thumbed and well marked, were regarded as a curi- 
 osity, and immediately the work of importation began. 
 Pastors, missionaries, Sunday-school workers, and 
 others, must study a Bagster's Bible! Some, indeed, 
 made excellent use of them, while others, not diligent 
 in the pursuit of Bible knowledge, found the talisma- 
 nic copy very ordinary after all. Rev. S. H. Pratt, of 
 Salem, Mass., had invited Needham to his church. 
 He, too, was struck with the marked Bible used by 
 the Evangelist, and at once ordered a copy. This was 
 probably the first Bagster imported of that immense 
 number which thereafter found purchasers on this side 
 the sea. Mr. Pratt made excellent use of his Bible, 
 having since then entered upon the work of evangelism, 
 and has been for years well known as a faithful, accu- 
 rate teacher of God's Word. 
 
 After Moorhouse left Chicago, Mr. Moody urged 
 Needham to visit him, he having previously met with 
 him in London. These were halcyon days ; a nucleus 
 of whole-souled young men had already stamped the 
 
George C. Needham. 13 
 
 city with religious zeal. Bible study received an 
 added impulse when Mr. and Mrs. Needham, on their 
 wedding tour, joined that vigorous band. Moody, 
 Whittle, Jacobs, Morton, Reynolds, and others, are 
 still, thank God, with the church on earth, and ripen- 
 ing for the Home in heaven. 
 
 A recent critic has tersely remarked: "Mr. Need- 
 ham emphasizes, elucidates, preaches the Word." The 
 same testimony is given wherever he has gone, and 
 there is no doubt that it reveals the secret of his suc- 
 cess. God will bless His own Word. Preachers and 
 Evangelists may depend upon that. If they desire 
 God's blessing, let them make their hearers know and 
 understand the Bible. If their object is popularity 
 as eloquent or gifted preachers, then they may deliver 
 an oration with a verse of Scripture used for form's 
 sake as a peg to hang it on. They will have their 
 reward. It is the Word of God which is ' ' quick and 
 powerful" for the conversion of sinners. Mr. Need- 
 ham believes this, and he has made it his study in 
 order to expound it unto others. 
 
 A recent article calls attention to his constant aim of 
 exalting the Scriptures. It says : ' ' The best commen- 
 tary on the New Testament is the Old Testament, and 
 vice versa; the Scriptures explain themselves. The 
 listener is profound^ impressed with the importance 
 of studying the Word of God, and he goes home with 
 at least a mental resolution to be a closer Bible student. 
 One thing is very apparent — it is that people will go 
 to hear the Bible explained when it is well done. ' ' 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Needham have both written largely on 
 Bible themes. Mr. Needham has also prepared a 
 
14 George C. Needham. 
 
 voluminous life of Mr. Spurgeon, and a large book on 
 "Street Arabs," besides having written a life of his 
 friend, Henry Moorhouse. The Evangelist has been 
 the hardest sort of a worker all his life. He preaches 
 nightly almost the whole year around. He gives 
 Bible readings nearly every afternoon, sometimes con- 
 ducts a morning prayer meeting, preaches frequently 
 four or five times a Sunday, carries on a large and 
 /aried correspondence, and contributes to a number of 
 nagazines and papers. One of his little books, ' ' Father 
 Waffle, ' ' has reached a circulation of four hundred and 
 fifty thousand. 
 
 Although on three separate occasions he has been 
 offered an honorary degree, with most flattering allu- 
 sions, Mr. Needham is still "Evangelist" pure and 
 simple. Though in constant movement from one part 
 of the country to another, having carefully kept him- 
 self free from ties which would confine his labors to 
 any one location, he is not a professional revivalist. 
 The distinction may appear trivial, but it is very im- 
 portant. Some idea of his character may be formed 
 from an answer he once sent to a member of a com- 
 mittee in a large city, who wrote to him for suggestions 
 about the style of advertisement which should be 
 issued, announcing his meetings. ' * By no means 
 advertise me," he wrote, "as being sensational, or 
 magnetic, or eloquent, or scholarly, or smart, or any 
 such thing, but only as a plain man, telling a plain 
 story, in a plain manner." 
 
 The Evangelist has done pastoral work in Chicago 
 for two years, where the great Chicago Avenue church 
 and school felt the power of his organizing ability, as 
 
George C. Needham. 15 
 
 well as of his earnest preaching. He generally avoids 
 great denominational gatherings and popular assem- 
 blies, and refuses to deliver addresses on any subject 
 which does not immediately relate to the gospel of 
 Christ. He has labored with leading evangelists both 
 in Great Britain and the States, and has co-operated 
 for many years with his beloved brethren, Moody and 
 Sankey. 
 
 His three younger brothers have been influenced by 
 his example, though never urged by his appeal to 
 give themselves to the work of the ministry. Thomas 
 is a well-known and highly successful Evangelist, 
 whose career for ten years, previous to his conversion, 
 among the Patagonians and Uruguayans of South 
 America is packed with startling incidents. Benjamin 
 is pastor of the Coatesville Baptist Church, a tireless 
 worker moving along on independent lines and success- 
 ful beyond many. William, pastor of the Trinity Bap- 
 tist Church, Camden, is also an artist of no mean 
 merit, whose rapid crayon-sketching before an audi- 
 ence is surprising, thrilling and morally elevating. 
 The Evangelist's sisters are all devoted workers in 
 their respective churches, while several of their chil- 
 dren are highly imbued with the missionary spirit. 
 The sainted mother's prayer has indeed been answered. 
 
 One of Mr. Needham 's special gifts is that of organ- 
 izing and promoting great Christian conventions. He 
 successfully carried through the prophetic conference in 
 Chicago, inaugurated and moderated the Philadelphia 
 Conference on Bible Inspiration, and the glorious con- 
 vention of Baltimore, on the Person and Work of the 
 Holy Spirit. Besides, the Evangelist's voice is heard 
 
1 6 George C. Needham, 
 
 all over the country at Bible Schools and Bible Insti- 
 tutes. In fact, of late years he is giving much of his 
 time to the promotion of Bible Study through all of 
 these potential agencies. 
 
 Mrs. Needham is also well-known as an accurate 
 Bible student, a prolific writer and an accomplished 
 speaker. Her voice has been heard throughout the 
 country at the various Bible Conferences and in many 
 prominent churches. Her little book on "Woman's 
 Ministry ' ' has received the commendation of biblical 
 scholars, and its conservative tone has done much to 
 remove prejudice against the position assigned woman 
 in the Scriptures. 
 
BIBLE CONFERENCES : THEIR ORIGIN. 
 
 - 
 
 " They that feared the I^ord spake often one to another." — Malachi iii. 
 16, 17. 
 
 " I^et us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works ; not 
 forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the custom of some is, 
 but exhorting one another ; and so much the more as ye see the day 
 
 DRAWING NIGH."— HEB. X. 24, 25. 
 
 IBlfH Conferences for the promotion 
 
 AND DEEPENING OF SPIRITUAL LIFE have 
 
 proved channels of great usefulness. The 
 Niagara and Northfield meetings have 
 brought untold blessings to many thou- 
 sands, resulting in spiritual quickening and in multi- 
 plied efforts to preach the gospel to every creature. 
 Those who are privileged to attend such gatherings are 
 edified by the truths taught, and elevated in their 
 purpose for consecrated service and holy living. 
 
 The benefits derived and the blessings secured from 
 the annual gatherings of earnest Christians who come 
 together for Bible study and mutual exhortation cannot 
 be overestimated. We know of no other class of in- 
 formal meetings which have exercised so potent an 
 influence on the evangelistic ministry of our day. 
 Bible conventions have given tone to that clear and 
 distinctive teaching which has enriched the testimony 
 of a mighty host of pastors, missionaries, and evan- 
 gelists who are not ashamed to be found fully identified 
 with the gospel of Christ. From Atlantic to Pacific, 
 
 (17) 
 
1 8 Bible Conferences: Their Origin. 
 
 and from northern Canada to Southern Texas, are to 
 be found thousands of Christian workers in every 
 department of gospel husbandry who, more imme- 
 diately or remotely, have been helped by this class of 
 assembly. Yea, and on foreign soil there are godly 
 men, and sainted women, sowing the pure seed of the 
 Word from which springeth a golden harvest, whose 
 testimony has been clarified through the influence of 
 these agencies. 
 
 Modern Bible conventions are of Irish origin. They 
 are the outcome of the great revival which swept over 
 Ireland in the years i860 and 1861. This deep move- 
 ment of God's Spirit focalized itself in Dublin, where 
 the idea of congregating assemblies of converts from 
 all parts of the island found permanent shape in yearly 
 " Believers' Meetings." The promoters of this prac- 
 tical method to impart Bible knowledge on an extensive 
 scale were men of various evangelical schools, of large 
 hearts, and of quick spiritual discernment. They gave 
 time and means unstintedly for the enlargement of 
 Christian work. Tons of expository tracts and evan- 
 gelistic booklets were printed and distributed through 
 their efforts. The Word of the Lord was thereby 
 glorified while teachers of the Word were greatly 
 multiplied. Young men who had not attained their 
 majority became skillful expositors. With unflagging 
 zeal they delved into the rich mines of Scripture and 
 hastened hither and thither to impart the discovered 
 treasures to others. The Holy Spirit was reverently 
 honored, and he in turn supplied gifts to the church 
 for the further edification of converts who were, in 
 thousands, added unto the Lord. The early history of 
 
Bible ■ Conferences : Their Origin. 19 
 
 those ' ' Believers' Meetings ' ' is rich in manifold inci- 
 dent. Its record of spiritual progress and spontaneous 
 duplication resulting in the great Mildmay Conferences, 
 and many other Bible Schools of the people, is worthy 
 the pen of a D'Aubigne. 
 
 When the present writer landed in the United States 
 in 1868 with the thrill of these mighty gatherings in 
 his soul, he sought after Bible conferences but found 
 them not. He was then a very young man and shrank 
 from assuming leadership in their introduction. But 
 after constant inquiry he found others of like mind 
 with whom he communicated on the subject. Happily 
 he became acquainted with one of God's modern seers, 
 the late and ever-to-be lamented James Inglis, of New 
 York City, who hailed the suggestion of a * * Believers' 
 Meeting" with glad approval. The doctrine of sinless 
 perfection with its various concomitant theories was at 
 the time receiving popular attention. Dr. Inglis, with 
 prophetic eye, saw the coming wreckage and rallied 
 the forces on the basis of the divinely inspired motto : 
 ' ( Holding fast the form of sound words. ' ' We had 
 the pleasure of welcoming to that first American Bible 
 conference brethren who had long awaited the oppor- 
 tunity for this form of fellowship. Besides James Inglis 
 we had with us his brother, the late Dr. David Inglis, 
 the late Charles Campbell, Drs. George S. Bishop and 
 Iy. C. Baker, Rev. George O. Barnes and Mr. Benjamin 
 Douglass. The subjects presented were : The Verbal 
 Inspiration of the Bible ; The Personality and Ministry 
 of the Spirit ; The Atonement and Priesthood of 
 Christ ; The Two Natures in the Believer, and The 
 Personal Coming of Our IyOrd. 
 
20 Bible Conferences: Their Origin. 
 
 Our second conference was held the next year (1869) 
 in Philadelphia, when our numbers were reinforced by 
 men of like spirit. Dr. James H. Brookes was then 
 among our guests. Well do we remember how it fired 
 our young Irish heart to look upon, and listen to, the 
 black-haired, black-eyed, robust giant of the West, 
 then in the prime of his manhood. Vividly do we 
 now recall his magnificent exposition of the text, 
 " Waiting for the Son from Heaven." 
 
 The next year (1870) the conference was held in St. 
 Louis with greatly increased numbers. Gait, Canada, 
 was the chosen ground for 1871, chiefly because of a 
 great revival which had swept over the country and in 
 which we had a prominent part. Thereafter came an 
 interruption to the movement. James Inglis and 
 Charles Campbell, men of renown as expositors and 
 teachers, were called home to be with the Lord. Others 
 of us were engrossed with evangelistic work in distant 
 States and in Europe, but the spirit of the move- 
 ment lived. Once again it took shape in 1875 under 
 the leadership of D. W. Whittle, the late P. P. Bliss, 
 and James H. Brookes. The stream has never since 
 dried. On the contrary it has widened, deepened, and 
 branched out into the Niagara Convention and many 
 others. At first pilgrim in its character, that humble 
 conference set in motion near Chicago in 1875, visited 
 Swampscott, Mass.; Watkins Glen, N. Y.; Geneva 
 Lake, Wis.; Clifton Springs, N. Y., and the romantic 
 Island of Mackinac. After a few years of pilgrimage 
 it was organized and officered, Dr. Brookes having 
 been chosen president and Dr. W. J. Erdman, secretary. 
 They have since continued in office, and much of the 
 
Bible Conferences: Their Origin. 21 
 
 spiritual success of the Niagara Bible Meeting is due 
 to the painstaking efforts of its faithful secretary. At 
 Geneva I^ake our corps of teachers was reinforced by 
 the presence of Dr. A. T. Pierson, that doughty cham- 
 pion of Biblical orthodoxy, whose voice has since been 
 heard in most of the conferences throughout this and 
 other lands. 
 
 It is not the province of this paper to sketch, even in 
 brief, any or all of these schools of the prophets which 
 in late years have come into successful operation. In 
 June (1894) issue of the Echoes the Northfield Confer- 
 ences received attention from the able pen of Dr. Pierson. 
 We hope some gifted writer will in due course present 
 the work of that characteristic assembly started at 
 Ocean Grove, and now localized at Asbury Park, under 
 the leadership of its energetic founder and director, Dr. 
 I,. W. Munhall. Yet we may add to the names pre- 
 viously mentioned the following who have been promi- 
 nent in voicing out the Word of God at Niagara, 
 Northfield, and Asbury Park : Prof. W. G. Moorehead, 
 Dr. H. M. Parsons, Dr. Nathaniel West, Dr. Albert 
 Erdman, Prof. J. W. Stifler, Rev. D. M. Stearns, the late 
 Drs. A. J. Gordon and John Kendall, Rev. I. C. Sco- 
 field, and Rev. Thomas Lowe. Loyally and convincingly 
 have they honored the Scriptures in their totality and 
 thereby strengthened the faith of thousands in their in- 
 fallibility. 
 
 I may briefly refer to the three great conferences 
 which have become historic, originated and moderated 
 by the writer : the Chicago Prophetic Conference ; the 
 Philadelphia Conference en The Inspiration of the Bible, 
 and the Baltimore Conference on The Manifold Ministry 
 
Bible Conferences : Their Origin. 
 
 of the Holy Spirit. Doubtless occasional confer- 
 ences on special features of biblical study will be 
 organized in various cities under the leadership of able 
 men, now in the field, who are profound believers in 
 the whole Bible and who contend earnestly for the faith 
 delivered once for all to the church of God. Several 
 volumes of addresses delivered at the various confer- 
 ences of the past have been published, and are worthy 
 of a place in every Christian home. The present 
 volume, * ' Spiritual Life, ' ' we prayerfully commend to 
 our readers. 
 
 Geo. C. Needham. 
 
 East Northfield, Mass. 
 
SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 i. 
 
 THE MANIFOLD MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 
 
 BAR FRIENDS :— I think we begin right 
 when we begin with the Spirit Himself. 
 ' ' Them that honor me, I will honor. ' ' 
 We all believe theoretically in the Holy 
 Spirit; we believe in His personality; we believe 
 that He is the great source of power in the church ; 
 yet practically we too much ignore Him, and He is 
 thereby grieved. We cannot make the work of the 
 Spirit and the ministry of the Spirit too prominent 
 in teaching; nor can we make it too prominent in 
 personal experience. 
 
 I remember hearing of a Scotch pastor who, 
 according to the custom, met with candidates for 
 church-membership every Saturday to catechise 
 them on the doctrines of the Bible, and as his 
 manner was, he asked many questions. To one 
 old woman he put this question, * ' How many 
 persons are there in the God-head?" She replied, 
 in her broad Scotch, "Twa." " Why, you foolish 
 
 (23) 
 
24 Spiritual Life, 
 
 woman, don't yon know how many persons there 
 are in the Trinity ?' ' And she again said 4 i Twa. ' ' 
 u Don't yon know that there are three persons, 
 Father, Son, and Holy Ghost?" " Oh, I ken the 
 Bible says that, and the Catechism says that; but 
 you have been ten years in the parish, and I have 
 never heard you say so much as that there was a 
 Holy Ghost." He felt the rebuke and gave him- 
 self up to the study of the subject. Then he 
 began to preach on the Spirit, and the result was 
 that a gracious revival broke out in that parish. 
 
 Now, I believe, dear friends, that if in the 
 church and in our individual lives we honor the 
 Spirit more and have less reliance upon church 
 machinery— which, while it may be all right in its 
 place, yet if it takes the place of the Spirit we 
 shall suffer — and if we put the Spirit in His own 
 proper place, and recognize Him and honor Him, 
 and trust in Him, He will respond to us, and He 
 will manifest His power through us, and reveal the 
 truth concerning Jesus Christ to us, and we shall 
 thereby be enriched and enlarged in spiritual life. 
 
 L,et me say here, that in these Conferences we 
 cannot afford to amplify too much ; the subjects 
 cannot be dealt with as interestingly as in an or- 
 dinary evangelistic sermon. In our evangelistic 
 addresses we can make use of anecdotes and illus- 
 trations, making them a little more popular, per- 
 haps; but in these Studies we take it for granted 
 
Manifold Ministry of the Spirit. 25 
 
 that you are already interested ; that your hearts 
 are already in sympathy with the subject, and 
 therefore we shall do little more than suggest as 
 we proceed. I want you to bring your own Bibles, 
 with your note -books, and write down the salient 
 features of the subjects, with the Scripture refer- 
 ences. And I wish to say that these Conferences 
 will not be of very much benefit to you, unless at 
 your homes you review the lesson and see how 
 much you can get out of it that will be helpful to 
 you in your personal life. I make this a point 
 which I insist upon everywhere, that the real 
 pi'oftt of the Conference is not during the session, 
 but afterwards, when individual Christians are 
 alone with God in studying the word, in studying 
 out what they have heard, trying to put it in such 
 a form that they can grasp it within their own 
 hearts, and that it will be full of power in their 
 own lives. We want not simply to hear with the 
 outward ear, but to hear also with the inward 
 heart. ' ' Thy word have I hid in my heart. ' ' 
 
 I. We now commence with this fact, THAT the 
 Spirit is personal. I know it is very hard to 
 realize that the Spirit is personal, because He has 
 not appeared in a human body. God tabernacled 
 in the flesh, and we behold the Son of God in 
 human form; we can touch Him; He appeals to 
 our senses, so we know He is personal; but it is 
 difficult to realize that the Holy Spirit is likewise 
 
2,6 Spiritual Life. 
 
 personal. God is a Spirit. No man hath seen 
 the Father, yet the Father is personal. If we 
 keep in our minds this fact, that the Holy Spirit 
 is personal as much as the Father is ; as much as 
 Jesus is; that He has all the qualities, attributes, 
 feelings and capabilities which go to make up 
 personality, then we will not dishonor Him by 
 thinking of Him as an emanation, an influence, 
 or a thing. The Holy Spirit, as a personal Being, 
 is incorporated in a body; but that body is the 
 body of the believer, hence His manifestations in 
 Christian life, just as we have manifestations and 
 proof of the wind which we see not. 
 
 John xiv: 16. "And I will pray the Father, 
 and he shall give you another Comforter, that he 
 may abide with you forever." The names which 
 belong to Him prove His personality. He is 
 called ' ' another Comforter. ' ' Now, that word 
 "another" not only proves the equality of the 
 Spirit with Jesus, but also the personality of the 
 Spirit. Jesus was a Comforter to the disciples, an 
 Advocate, a Helper, who said, ' ' When I go away I 
 will send you ' another Comforter' — not a thing, 
 not an influence, but a ' Comforter ;' one who 
 shall be to you what I have been to you; He will 
 be your Guide, your Friend, your Helper, and He 
 will abide with you forever." He is called our 
 Guide, our Counsellor, our Friend — names which 
 distinguish Him as a personal Being. 
 
Manifold Ministry of the Spirit. 27 
 
 Again, there are certain attributes which he 
 possesses. God has for his attributes Omniscience, 
 Omnipotence, Eternity ; and the Spirit of God 
 possesses the same attributes as the Father and the 
 Son. See Hebrews ix. 14. Here He is called the 
 Eternal Spirit. The Father is eternal, the Son is 
 eternal, and the Holy Spirit is eternal; so that He 
 has neither beginning nor end. 
 
 Read 1 Cor. ii. 9-1 1. u But as it is written, 
 Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have 
 entered into the heart of man, the things which 
 God hath prepared for them that love him. 
 But God hath revealed them unto us by his 
 Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the 
 deep things of God. For what man knoweth 
 the things of a man, save the spirit of man which 
 is in him ? even so the things of God knoweth no 
 man, but the Spirit of God." The Spirit here is 
 Omniscient. He knoweth all things. The Spirit 
 of God is said to possess knowledge; He has all 
 knowledge of to-day and to-morrow; He has all 
 knowledge of the Father and the Son; He know- 
 eth all things. You see that language could not 
 be applied to an influence in any way, but it is 
 applied to a person, and the Holy Spirit is that 
 person. He possesses knowledge ; He knoweth 
 u the deep things of God." 
 
 Psalms cxxxix. 7-12. u Whither shall I go from 
 thy Spirit ? or whither shall I flee from thy pres- 
 
28 Spiritual Life. 
 
 ence ? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art 
 there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art 
 there. If I take the wings of the morning, and 
 dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea ; even 
 there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand 
 shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness 
 shall cover me: even the night shall be light about 
 me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee: 
 but the night shine th as the day: the darkness and 
 the light are both alike to thee. ' ' This brings before 
 us the blessed fact that the Spirit of God is Omni- 
 present ; present everywhere, no matter how distant 
 believers are from one another, no matter how far 
 away they are from home and kindred, the Spirit 
 of God is always with His people; He is in the 
 heavens, He is in the deep, He is Omnipresent. 
 I only give you these few sample texts along that 
 line of study which could be amplified and devel- 
 oped, making a subject of itself — the attributes of 
 the Spirit of God. Remember these lessons are 
 only suggestive and you are to work them out more 
 fully for yourselves. 
 
 Again, the action and work of the Spirit imply 
 personality. Genesis i. i, 2. Here we find Him 
 brooding over chaos at the beginning, bringing light 
 out of darkness, order out of confusion. Job xxvi. 
 13. We find that the Spirit is identified with the 
 work of creation. He is the creator of this material 
 earth, this cosmos, in co-operation with the Father 
 
Manifold Ministry of the Spirit. 29 
 
 and the Son. So we read the Spirit of God was 
 engaged in the work of creation. ' ' By His Spirit 
 He garnished the heavens. ' ' Psalms civ. 30. The 
 Spirit's work in the material world is typical of 
 His work in the spiritual world. 
 
 John xvi. 8. ' ' And when he is come, he will 
 reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and 
 of judgment. ' ' He will come to reprove, or con- 
 vince, the world of sin, of righteousness and of 
 judgment. Not only is He the creating Spirit, but 
 also the convicting Spirit. Some time ago at the 
 Northfield Conference, when Prof. Drummond was 
 there, I arrived one day after Conference had com- 
 menced. I found Mr. Moody, Dr. Pentecost and 
 Prof. Drummond sitting on the ground, asking and 
 answering questions. The question that was up 
 when I reached the "Hill- top," was this: Whether 
 the evangelists had been noticing in late years, the 
 character of conviction produced in the hearts of 
 the unsaved ; whether it was conviction of the guilt 
 of sin, or of the power of sin. Prof. Drummond 
 said in connection with his work, he thought the 
 conviction produced in the minds of the young men 
 was conviction of the dread power of sin, while Dr. 
 Pentecost thought that in his preaching men were 
 convicted of the guilt of sin. Mr. Moody turned 
 to me and asked, ' ( What is your experience ? ' ' 
 ' 'Well, ' ' I said, * ' I am sorry to say that for the last ten 
 years I have not found very many convicted either 
 
30 Spiritual Life. 
 
 of the guilt or of the power of sin." We do not 
 seem to have much conviction in these days. We 
 get people into the Church in a very easy way, and 
 I tell you friends that I hope the time may soon 
 come when the Spirit will convict men of sin until 
 they are all broken up. I may be right, I may be 
 wrong, but I think one reason of this lack of con- 
 viction is that we have not been honoring the Spirit 
 of God sufficiently. 
 
 By the way, let me say, in passing, that when 
 we talk about the Book of Acts, we generally call 
 it by its human title, ' ' The Acts of the Apostles, ' ' 
 just as u The Revelation of St. John n is the human 
 title of the last book in the Bible. That is not the 
 true name of the Book ; see the first verse of chapter 
 I. c ' The Revelation of Jesus Christ ;' ' so the 
 "Acts of the Apostles," should be " The Acts of 
 the Holy Spirit. " It is the fifth Gospel ; the Gospel 
 of the Holy Spirit. The other Gospels record the 
 life and ministry, the death and resurrection of 
 Jesus, so that book records the work of the Spirit 
 through the Apostles. And if you study this 
 question in the book of Acts, Is the Spirit of God 
 personal ? His actions, His power, His miracles, 
 would so impress you, that you would bless God 
 and praise Him that such a Divine person is given 
 to the church. 
 
 The qualities which the Spirit possesses prove 
 His personality. Eph. iv. 30. "And grieve not the 
 
Manifold Ministry of the Spirit. 31 
 
 Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the 
 day of redemption. ' ' The way in which we grieve 
 Him is expressed in the context. We may grieve the 
 Spirt of God in two ways. I may grieve the Spirit 
 in my own heart by sin, and I may grieve the 
 Spirit of God in your heart by my conduct towards 
 you; and I think that is the thought really brought 
 out in the text ; therefore we are to be kind one to 
 another, gentle, forbearing one another, forgiving 
 one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath 
 forgiven us. And by the exercise of these graces 
 one toward another, the Spirit of God instead of 
 being grieved, is gladdened; we have the power of 
 gladdening the Spirit or grieving Him, so that 
 although He does not take His flight from us, He 
 may be grieved in our hearts. Yes, grieved, like 
 some friend coming to our house; we entertain him 
 in great style for a few days and then neglect him; 
 he remains, but is grieved. The fact that the 
 Spirit of God is capable of grief, is substantial 
 proof of His personality. 
 
 Acts vii. 51. "Ye stiffhecked and uncircum- 
 cised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the 
 Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye." Now 
 there is a difference between grieving the Spirit 
 and resisting Him. The child of God grieves the 
 Spirit, the unconverted resist the Spirit. How 
 does a man resist the Spirit ? By simply refusing 
 to believe on Jesus Christ as his Saviour. Stephen 
 
32 Spiritual Life. 
 
 presented the crucified Saviour to the Jewish peo- 
 ple and they would not believe on Him; now the 
 fact of their rejection of Christ was proof of their 
 resistance of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes persons 
 may say, ' ' I am afraid I have resisted the Holy 
 Spirit." Are you a believer in Jesus Christ? 
 ' ' Well no, I have not believed on Him. ' ' Then, 
 of course, you have resisted the Spirit. In the 
 persistent refusals of the sinner to accept Christ as 
 his Saviour, he resists the Holy Spirit, for it is the 
 work of the Spirit to bring the truth of the Gospel 
 to the heart, and by our refusing to accept it, we 
 put ourselves in opposition to the Spirit of God. 
 
 Isaiah lxiii. 10. " But they rebelled, and vexed 
 his Holy Spirit : therefore he was turned to be 
 their enemy, a?zd he fought against them." Just 
 think of that! u They rebelled and vexed the 
 Holy Spirit, therefore He became their enemy and 
 fought against them. ' ' Now, you cannot vex any- 
 thing impersonal; you cannot vex the light, but 
 you can vex a person. 
 
 Acts v. 9. "Then Peter said unto her, How 
 is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the 
 Spirit of the L,ord ? behold, the feet of them which 
 have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall 
 carry thee out." What a terrible charge made 
 against the man and the woman after having kept 
 back part of the price of the land! While it was 
 in their own power it belonged to themselves, but 
 
Manifold Ministry of the Spirit. 33 
 
 when they sold it and professed to have given all 
 the proceeds to the apostles, yet kept back part of 
 the price of the land, they lied to the Holy Ghost, 
 so although they had not spoken a word, their 
 action was a lie, and thus they vexed the Spirit, 
 and judgment came upon Ananias and Sapphira 
 for their sin against Him. 
 
 II. The Manifold Ministry of the Spirit. 
 
 1. He is the regenerating Spirit. The Spirit of 
 God is the Agent, the great, personal intelligent 
 Agent in the church to do the work of regenera- 
 tion. He is the regenerating Spirit and every 
 believer is the product of the Holy Spirit, for he 
 is born of the Spirit. 
 
 John i. 12, 13. "But as many as received him, 
 to them gave he power to become the sons of God, 
 even to them that believe on his name : Which 
 were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, 
 nor of the will of man, but of God. ' ' I want you to 
 notice here, ' ' which were born not of blood, nor 
 of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but 
 of God. ' ' Who are born of God ? u To as many 
 as received Him, to them gave He power," or the 
 right or privilege ' ' to become the sons of God. ' ' 
 
 Romans viii. 15, 16. u For ye have not received 
 the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have 
 received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, 
 Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness 
 with our spirit that we are the children of God." 
 
 3 
 
34 Spiritual Life. 
 
 L,et me say in passing, the neuter pronoun " itself " 
 applied to the Spirit is in the Revised Version 
 properly ' ' Himself. ' ' There is a verse in the second 
 chapter of Acts where it is said that the tongue 
 of flame came and " it y ' sat upon each of them, 
 but the neuter pronoun there belongs to the symbol, 
 the tongue of flame. It is always ' ' He ' ' and 
 il Him " and " His;" " the Spirit Himself beareth 
 witness with our spirit that we are the children of 
 God. ' ' Therefore the cry of the believer, * c Abba, 
 Father!" There is a traditional saying that the 
 Jewish children in their first attempts to speak 
 simply brought their lips together and made that 
 sound, * ' abba, ' ' exactly as American children say 
 ' ' papa. ' ' Well, there are a great many of us who 
 never get much beyond that u Ab-ba." It is a 
 great thing to be able to look up and say, ' 'Although 
 I have been a rebel against God yet now instead of 
 being my Judge, he is my Abba, Father. ' ' The 
 Spirit of Adoption in us leads us to cry, u Father," 
 because we recognize the relationship which exists 
 between us now ; he is my Father, I am His child. 
 But let me add that though we have the Spirit 
 of adoption now, the adoption has not yet taken 
 place. There is a great deal of difference between 
 adoption and birth. The ordinary idea is that as 
 a rich man takes a poor child from the street into 
 his family, giving him his name, treating him in 
 every way as his child, so God in like manner 
 
Manifold Ministry of the Spirit. 35 
 
 takes the sinner into His family. Bnt the illustra- 
 tion fails. There is no community of nature be- 
 tween the reputed father and the adopted child; 
 though the child may take that father's name, 
 there is still a great chasm between them; there is 
 no union of nature. Adoption is a very different 
 thing from birth: we are not now adopted when 
 we believe; we are born. We are made partakers 
 of the Divine nature; there is a fellowship of nature 
 between God the Father, and the believing sinner. 
 But then, where does the adoption come in ? Turn 
 to Romans viii. 23. " We . . . groan within our- 
 selves, waiting for the adoption." We wait for the 
 adoption ; now we have the Spirit of adoption 
 already in us, because the Holy Spirit takes pos- 
 session of the heart of the believer ; He is the 
 Spirit of adoption witnessing within us to our 
 spirits that we are the children of God. What is 
 the adoption ? The redemption of the body. One 
 of the interesting sites to me in Rome, is the old 
 Forum. I spent many hours there, walking up 
 and down, and I remembered a good many things 
 in history which occurred there. When a young 
 Roman was about to be invested with the rights 
 of citizenship, the father brought him before the 
 Senate, and said, ' ' This is my son who has 
 reached the age of manhood, and I want him to be 
 publicly recognized as a citizen of the Common- 
 wealth." Then they take from him the robe of 
 
36 * Spiritual Life. 
 
 boyhood and put on him what is called the ' ' toga 
 virilis," or robe of manhood, and he is by that act 
 adopted into the family of his father and he thereby 
 becomes a citizen of Rome. So hereafter the 
 believer's body is to be raised from the dead, and 
 when that resurrection day comes, God will pub- 
 licly invest us with the ' ' toga virilis ' ' our glorified 
 body, and we shall enter into the rights of heavenly 
 citizenship. We now wait for the adoption, even 
 the redemption of our body. Oh, it is a grand 
 thing to be a Christian; it is a divine and dignified 
 business ; not simply, ' ' I belong to the Church and 
 I am trying to do the best I can. ' ' But, ' ' I am a 
 citizen of Heaven, I am a child of the King." 
 Gal. iv. 4-6. See how Paul writes to the Gala- 
 tians, as he wrote to the Romans, ' ' because ye are 
 sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son 
 into your hearts crying, Abba, Father. ' ' 1 John 
 iii. 1, 2. In the Revised Version it says, u Sons of 
 God we are. ' ' Now I ask you, are you a child of 
 God? I hear some reply, U I hope I am, I don't 
 know whether I am worthy or not. ' ' On the score 
 of unworthiness you need have no doubt. I know 
 you are not worthy, neither am I. God looks down 
 upon the unworthy, upon the beggar on the dung- 
 hill ; he sees us in our filth, but in spite of our 
 filth and folly He stoops to us and brings us into 
 His family. 
 
 2. The Holy Spirit is the Believers Seal. 
 
Manifold Ministry of the Spirit. $7 
 
 We are born of the Spirit, and sealed with the 
 Spirit. Eph. i. 13. "After that ye believed," 
 or as the Revised Version reads, ' ' on believing ye 
 were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise." 
 Now, the seal is not some impression which the 
 Spirit makes npon the heart. The seal is not 
 some emotion which will pass away again, bnt the 
 seal is the Spirit Himself. 2 Cor. i. 22. What is 
 the use of the seal ? 
 
 It is the mark of Recognition. Gal. vi. 17. 
 ' ' From henceforth let no man trouble me : for I 
 bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." 
 The Apostle Paul had some brand-mark upon his 
 body which was the seal of recognition that he was 
 the property of another. The Lord had acquired 
 Paul unto Himself. Paul calls himself the slave 
 of Jesus, and says, ' ' I bear in my body the brand- 
 marks of the Lord Jesus. ' ' Now, the Holy Spirit 
 is the real brand-mark which God has put upon the 
 believer as a token that now we are no longer our 
 own; He has secured us unto Himself as purchased 
 property and He puts upon us this brand-mark. 
 
 2. Tim. ii. 19. "Nevertheless the foundation 
 of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord 
 knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one 
 that nameth the name of Christ depart from in- 
 iquity." This is the inscription of the seal upon 
 the heart of the believer, " The Lord knoweth 
 them that are his. ' ' Christianity is an exceedingly 
 
38 Spiritual Life, 
 
 simple question, if we understand and remember 
 that we belong to another. Consecration is simply 
 a recognition of the fact of Christ's ownership of us. 
 Oh, friends, if we once recognize the fact that we 
 are the Lord's property; our brain, our talents, the 
 wealth which we may accumulate, and all our gifts, 
 or whatever we hold belong to Him; if that were 
 recognized in the Church of God, we would fill 
 the Lord's treasury full all the time and be able to 
 carry on mission work, home and foreign, because 
 all we have belongs to Him. There is not a single 
 passage in the Bible which says that Jesus Christ 
 died for the souls of men only; He came to save us 
 soul, body, powers, faculties, everything that we 
 possess. If we dissociate our earthly calling from 
 spiritual life, there is no consecration. The Lord 
 came to save soul, body, will, conscience, heart, 
 life, talents, money, everything. I should recog- 
 nize the fact that I am purchased by blood divine 
 and sealed by the Spirit as the property of another. 
 I have therefore no right to cheat Him; I have no 
 right to say I own a thousand dollars, or fifty thou- 
 sand dollars, or that I am a millionaire. I am only 
 a steward; God entrusts me with certain funds, 
 and I should manage that property for Him. This 
 should be the result of the Spirit in us as the seal 
 of God upon us. 
 
 John vi: 27. " Labour not for the meat which 
 perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto 
 
Manifold Ministry of the Spirit. 39 
 
 everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give 
 unto you : for him hath God the Father sealed. ' ' 
 
 Jesus Christ was sealed by the Spirit. The seal 
 was the mark of genuineness, validity. There 
 were a great many who said, ' * I am the Messiah. ' ' 
 But John said, U I knew Him not; but He that 
 sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto 
 me, upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descend- 
 ing, and remaining upon Him, the same is He. ' ' 
 God placed His seal upon the Messiah, and testi- 
 fied, u this is my beloved Son." All the others 
 were false Messiahs. Now this is the proof of 
 true Christianity. God places His seal upon every 
 believer who is a regenerate person. ' • If any man 
 have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. ' ' 
 That is a very solemn matter. The moment I 
 believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, God puts His 
 mark on me. I should, therefore, recognize myself 
 as purchased property. ■ ' Not every one that saith 
 unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the Kingdom. ' ' 
 
 Then the seal produces a likeness. Romans 
 viii: 29. "For whom he did foreknow, he also 
 did predestinate to be conformed to the image of 
 his Son, that he might be the firstborn among 
 many brethren." God's great plan is to have the 
 redeemed race like Christ in His glorified Body. 
 He started with Adam, making him after His own 
 image. The devil came and despoiled that image, 
 and man has been marred ever since. God then 
 
4-0 Spiritual Life. 
 
 came down in grace and redemption, took man up 
 out of the horrible pit, and hereafter will take him 
 higher in a bodily resurrection. Then shall we 
 be conformed to the image of His Son ; the image 
 which God had before His mind in the beginning. 
 But there is also a moral transformation going on 
 in the lives of Christians who are sealed with the 
 Spirit. 2 Cor. iii: 18. That is practical Chris- 
 tianity. We are being changed, transformed by 
 the Spirit into the image of Jesus. That means 
 we are to be more patient to-day than yesterday, 
 more gentle and more Christly day by day as the 
 years roll on. We ought to control our temper; 
 to mortify our covetousness ; to be more generous; 
 we should ever be daily growing into the likeness 
 of Jesus Christ, which the Spirit has come to pro- 
 duce in us, so that the world may be convinced 
 of the reality of Christianity, as that reality ex- 
 presses itself in outward conformity to the blessed 
 Son of God. 
 
Jed 
 
 
 [Mm 
 
 II. 
 
 THE SPIRIT OF REVELATION AND OF UNCTION. 
 
 HERE are many lines of study on the 
 subject of the Holy Spirit which are 
 very profitable. For instance, one can 
 consider the Gospel of John and trace 
 the operations of the Spirit and the promises con- 
 cerning the Spirit through that Gospel. You will 
 find there a wonderful field of study and of delight. 
 Then any student can take up the book of Acts, 
 and trace the ministry of the Spirit through that 
 book, and while reading the book, just have that 
 one thought in your mind, making notes as you 
 read; it may take you a week or two according to 
 your time and the diligent application you give to 
 it. Then review the Epistle to the Ephesians; 
 there are six chapters in that Epistle and the Spirit 
 is mentioned in every chapter. So if you will 
 study a book, noting what is said about the Spirit, 
 you will find a great deal of comfort and delight 
 and spiritual profit in that study. 
 
 Now, let us open our Bibles at John xiv. 16. 
 ' ( And I will pray the Father, and he shall give 
 you another Comforter, that he may abide with you 
 forever." I wish to call your attention to the 
 
 (41) " 
 
42 Spiritual Life. 
 
 Spirit as the Spirit of Revelation. He reveals to 
 us the things of Jesus Christ. 1 1 1 will pray the 
 Father and He shall give you another Comforter that 
 he may abide with you forever. " The Comforter 
 is the Holy Spirit, who is Christ's Vicar on earth; 
 Christ's substitute; He comes to take the place of 
 Jesus. Many persons think the Pope is Antichrist, 
 but I never can understand how the Pope is Anti- 
 christ, for this reason, the Bible says specifically 
 that Antichrist when he comes will deny the 
 Father and the Son, that Antichrist will be an in- 
 fidel. The Pope honors the Father and the Son, 
 not only in His humanity as the son of the Blessed 
 Virgin, but he also fully recognizes the divinity of 
 Jesus Christ, the Son of God. But the Pope claims 
 to be Christ's Vicar on earth, and he occupies the 
 Holy See, which is an abbreviation of the Holy 
 Seat, so that the sin of the Pope is a sin against 
 the Holy Ghost, for his assumption is a denial of 
 the Spirit of God, who has come in his personal 
 presence to be Christ's Vicar on earth and to occupy 
 the Holy See, which is the Church, the Temple of 
 God. The Holy Seat is the heart of the believer, 
 and the Spirit has come as Christ's representative 
 to earth to transact business for Him, so that when 
 the Pope claims to be the Vicar of Christ, he there- 
 fore denies the Spirit and sins against Him. 
 
 But the Protestant Church is not guiltless. 
 Our evangelical orthodox churches, while not deny- 
 
The Spirit of Revelation. 43 
 
 ing the Spirit, yet ignore His presence, so that we 
 also have in great measure sinned against the Holy 
 Spirit. Jesus said, I will send One who shall abide 
 with you forever, another Comforter, the Paraclete, 
 the Advocate, the Intercessor, who shall be with 
 you and in you. 
 
 John xv. 26. u But when the Comforter is come, 
 whom I will send unto you from the Father, even 
 the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the 
 Father, he shall testify of me." This then is the 
 main work of the Spirit of God, testifying of an 
 absent Christ ; testifying of a risen Christ. John 
 xvi. 13. The newspaper can only tell us of things 
 which have transpired ; the Bible speaks of things to 
 come. It is the best kind of a newspaper, for it 
 predicts future things. The Holy Spirit is the 
 Spirit of prophecy. He makes known to us the 
 future, so that the believer need not be speculating 
 concerning the things of the future ; the things con- 
 cerning our Lord and His people, and concerning 
 this planet upon which we live. c ' He shall show 
 you things to come." The Holy Spirit is the re- 
 vealer of Jesus Christ. Suppose there is a veil 
 across this platform, all these ministers on the plat- 
 form will be in obscurity, you cannot see what is 
 behind the veil; but when the veil is drawn aside 
 you see clearly. Revelation means the rolling back 
 of the veil. There is a veil on the human heart ; 
 we cannot see spiritual things, but the Holy Spirit 
 
44 Spiritual Life. 
 
 comes and draws aside the veil, opening our eyes 
 and enlightening our understanding, giving us the 
 power to perceive spiritual things, and He sets 
 Jesus Christ before us so that we shall see Him. 
 If we are acquainted with the Holy Spirit in His 
 gracious ministry we shall become more fully ac- 
 quainted with Christ. But we must not be look- 
 ing for any mystical work of the Spirit apart from 
 His Word. Through it He will give to us a clear 
 and complete knowledge of our L,ord Jesus Christ. 
 And here arises the question : Is it possible to 
 believe in, or love an absent person ? Is it possible to 
 love one whom we have never seen, with whom we 
 have never spoken ? Certainly, it is. The Lord 
 Jesus is absent, but the Holy Spirit can reveal Him 
 to us so really that our hearts will throb in love to 
 Him, and like Peter, we can say, "Whom not hav- 
 ing seen, we love ; in whom, though now we see 
 him not, yet believing we rejoice with joy unspeak- 
 able and full of glory." When you have time I 
 want you to read the 24th chapter of Genesis, 
 where we have a very beautiful story, interesting, 
 touching, pathetic; it is also a very striking illus- 
 tration of God's method of revealing the truth to 
 the believing soul. Abraham is a father, Isaac is 
 his son. Abraham has a faithful servant who has 
 been a long time in his household, and has become 
 as a member of his family. He said to him one 
 day, ' ' You go to the daughters of my people and 
 
The Spirit of Revelation. 45 
 
 provide a wife for my son; do not go among the 
 Canaanites ' ' — for old Abraham did not wish to have 
 any unequal yokes in his family — "go find a wife 
 amongst my own people for my son." Now, this 
 was a very peculiar mission on which this servant 
 was sent, but he prayed God to go with him, and 
 when he reached the end of his journey there was 
 Rebekah, and after a little conversation the servant 
 thought, perhaps this is the one whom God has pro- 
 vided for my master's son. I want you to mark the 
 delicate tact of the man. He talked to her and 
 said, ' ' I belong to Abraham ;' ' then he talked about 
 Abraham for a time, and about himself as the ser- 
 vant; but mark you, everything he said about 
 Abraham and everything he said about himself 
 related to Isaac ; he led the mind and heart of the 
 damsel to Isaac. ' ' My master has an only son and 
 his name is Isaac; Abraham is rich and Isaac is his 
 heir." Of course that would be attractive to a 
 damsel, to hear of a true, good young man, very rich. 
 After a little while he opens the casket and takes 
 out some jewels and puts them upon her arms and 
 neck, and said, Now these are but the first-fruits 
 of the wealth that Isaac has. And then he talked 
 about Isaac in a great many sweet ways, and while 
 he talked the heart of the damsel began to throb 
 with love towards the man she had never seen. 
 And when the servant said, ' ' Will you go with me 
 and be his wife?" she said, "I will go." Why? 
 
46 Spiritual Life. 
 
 The revelation of Isaac was so real, the portrayal 
 of the man was so graphic it seemed as if she had 
 known Isaac all her life-time. 
 
 So, beloved friends, our Master is very great, He is 
 the risen Lord Jesus, He is Lord of all, and the Holy 
 Spirit conies as the servant of the Father and of the 
 Son to this earth to find a bride for that Isaac. He 
 comes down to earth to speak with us about the 
 Lord; He talks not about Himself except in rela- 
 tion to Christ. Then He takes the promises and 
 precepts and beautiful things which belong to 
 Christ, and gives us to understand this is just a little 
 of the riches of His grace. And as we believe, our 
 poor hearts begin to beat with love towards a person 
 we have never seen, because the Holy Spirit makes 
 Him real to us. This is the work of the Spirit, to 
 make Christ real to the believing heart. He is no 
 mystic Christ, no mere dogma Christ, but the Christ 
 for the human heart; He is full of sympathy, He has 
 suffered for us, He gave His life for us, and the 
 Holy Spirit makes Him and His redeeming love real 
 to our faith, so that we love Him. 
 
 Again, the Holy Spirit reveals to us the resources 
 of Christ. There are a great many of us Christians 
 who are living on a cent a day. You know what 
 I mean. The Lord Jesus is infinite in His resources ; 
 He gives to us liberally all things to enjoy, and the 
 Holy Spirit is here to make known to us the deep, 
 infinite, eternal riches of Christ. Not only, dear 
 
The Spirit of Revelation. ^rj 
 
 friends, are all things spiritual in the hands of Jesus, 
 but all things material. The cattle upon a thousand 
 hills belong to Him; so also the gold and the silver. 
 Where does George Muller get his means for feed- 
 ing and educating 2000 orphans ? He goes to His 
 Lord, for the Spirit has revealed to George Muller 
 the infinite resources of Jesus. Hudson Taylor 
 cares for hundreds of missionaries in China, and 
 neither he nor Mr. Muller ever had a pink tea, or 
 an oyster supper, or a broom drill, or a begging 
 expedition to raise money for the Master's work. 
 
 There was a man, called Joseph, who, in his 
 youthful days, was supposed to have been eaten by 
 animals. In after years the brothers were in Egypt 
 in the time of famine, and there Joseph revealed 
 himself to them. He forgave them; he filled their 
 sacks with corn; he sent them down to Canaan, 
 and said, Tell my father that I am alive and Gov- 
 ernor over the land of Egypt, and bring my father 
 up to me. And the sons came into the tent of 
 their father and said, ' ' Father, Joseph is alive and 
 Governor over the land of Egypt!" Now if they 
 had broken it gently and said first, " he is alive, ' ' 
 and then afterwards "he is well off," and given 
 him time so that he could take it in little by little, 
 they might have convinced him; but the heart of 
 the old man sank within him, and he said, ' ' You 
 mock me!" and turning, it may be, to the little 
 coat hanging on the tent-peg, he said something 
 
48 Spiritual Life. 
 
 like this: My sons, there is proof that Joseph is 
 dead. Joseph is to me but a sacred memory, and 
 you harrow my feelings in my old age by talking 
 in that flippant way about him. How can they 
 convince their father that Joseph is alive and Gov- 
 ernor of all the land of Egypt, and that the old 
 man shall henceforth have plenty? They invite 
 him to the open door; and as he stood there in the 
 tent-door he saw a chariot, the like of which he 
 had never looked on, with caparisoned horses. 
 "What is this ?" " Those are Joseph's horses and 
 chariot come for you. " u And those wagons — 
 what are these?" u Those are provisions for your 
 comfort on the journey." "What are those?" 
 "Those are provided for us and our families." 
 "What is that?" Wagon after wagon; it was 
 such a revelation to the old man that he cried out, 
 "It is enough; my son is yet alive; I will go and 
 see him before I die." 
 
 My dear friends, the Holy Spirit comes to us, 
 poor pauper Christians that we are, and He brings 
 before us in review chariot after chariot, wagon 
 after wagon, promises, provisions of grace, all to 
 persuade us, to assure us that Christ is rich; that 
 we need not starve; that He has all things in His 
 possession. And when that truth gets down into 
 our hearts and lives we can go on our way rejoic- 
 ing, singing, " Our Joseph is alive, our Joseph is 
 rich. ' ' So let us not go creeping along, but walk 
 
The Spirit of Revelation. 49 
 
 erect as Sons of God, when our Elder Brother has 
 all things at His disposal; spiritual wealth, and all 
 other things which we need. This, then, is the 
 work of the Spirit, revealing Christ, making Him 
 so real that we shall transact business with Christ, 
 who is Governor over all worlds, and who has all 
 resources in His possession. 
 
 In the next place, not only is He the Spirit of 
 Revelation, but He is the Anointing Spirit. 1 John 
 ii. 20, 27. The unction of the 20th and the anoint- 
 ing of the 27th verse are the same thing. Now what 
 is the purpose of the Spirit in this respect ? The 
 Spirit is set forth under the emblem of oil. What 
 is the use of oil ? Oil is for many purposes. First, 
 we find that oil is for knowledge ; in the second 
 place, oil is for joy; then oil is for beauty; oil is 
 also for power. Acts x. 43. God anointeth ; the 
 Holy Spirit is the oil. In Luke iv. 10, we read ' ( The 
 Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, for He hath 
 anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor." 
 As Jesus was anointed with the Spirit, so are His 
 people. There are two things referred to in the 
 Old Testament ; the blood and the oil. In the 
 14th chapter of Leviticus we have the cleansing 
 of the leper. One bird is killed and the other bird 
 is dipped into the blood of the dead bird and turned 
 loose into the field, while the blood is sprinkled on 
 the leper seven times. Then follow the results of 
 the cleansing. A great many Christians are sat- 
 
 4 
 
50 Spiritual Life. 
 
 isfied to have the blood of Jesus cleanse their past 
 life, but, my dear friends, that is only the first in- 
 stalment of salvation. When that leper had been 
 cleansed, he shaved off all his hair, washed himself 
 in water, and stood there a cleansed man, then the 
 priest gave other directions. Observe : The priest 
 took of the blood of the trespass offering and put it 
 upon his right ear and upon his thumb and upon 
 his toe, touching him with blood from head to foot. 
 The ear represents the senses ; the hand, labor, 
 and the foot, walk. All touched with the blood of 
 the trespass offering. This is exceedingly inter- 
 esting to us, because it is typical. When the leper 
 had his senses and all his faculties dedicated with 
 blood, then the priest took the oil and placed the 
 oil upon the blood, associated it with the blood, 
 upon the ear and upon the thumb and upon the 
 toe. Oil is the symbol of the Spirit; hence the rest 
 of the oil was poured upon his head and it flowed 
 down to the skirts of his garment ; so that this 
 leper was not only touched with blood, but also 
 anointed with oil. There is a remarkable passage 
 in i Cor. vi. 19, 20, " Know ye not that your body 
 is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, 
 which ye have of God? . . . For ye are bought 
 with a price." Thus we have the blood and the 
 Spirit together, but the blood always preceding; 
 the blood first and then the Spirit afterwards ; so 
 that the oil upon the leper represents the fact that 
 
The Spirit of Revelation. 51 
 
 the sinner cleansed in trie blood of Jesus, is in the 
 next place touched with the holy oil; the holy 
 unction is placed upon him ; upon his head, upon 
 his hands, and upon his feet ; the whole Christian 
 is now dedicated to the Iyord by the indwelling of 
 the Spirit of God. 
 
 Now, let us look at these four points. First, the 
 anointing is for knowledge, that you may know; 
 as when Jesus anointed the eyes of the blind 
 man, then he saw ; he went and washed and re- 
 ceived his sight. Jesus said to the Church at 
 L,aodicea, ( ' Thou thoughtest that thou wast rich, 
 and increased in goods and had need of nothing, 
 and knowest not that thou art poor and miserable 
 and blind and naked. I counsel thee to buy of me 
 gold tried in the fire that thou may est be rich ; and 
 white raiment that thou may est be clothed, and that 
 the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and 
 anoint thine eyes with eye-salve that thou mayest 
 see." My dear friends, when the Holy Spirit 
 comes as the oil, it is that we may know Christ; 
 then our eyes are opened ; our blindness is removed. 
 The Church blind ? Is that possible ? Yes, and 
 the Holy Ghost is the oil to heal the spiritual eye 
 of the Christian that he may see by its wonderful 
 power and efficacy. Don't you know that the 
 Christian believer sees very much farther than the 
 unregenerate philosopher ; the holy oil, this Spirit 
 of revelation, is given him for knowledge, and he 
 can see farther than the natural man. 
 
52 Spiritual Life. 
 
 The second purpose of the oil is for joy. Psalm 
 xlv. 7. "Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest 
 wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed 
 thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." 
 This Psalm is prophetic of Jesus; u He was anointed 
 with the oil of gladness above his fellows. ' ' There 
 is a traditional saying that Jesus was never known 
 to smile, that Pie was never known to laugh, but 
 passed through this world a man of sorrows, gloomy 
 and sad. It is true He is called the ' ' Man of Sor- 
 rows ; ' ' He saw enough of sin in this world to fill 
 Him with sorrow; but it is also true that He was a 
 Man of Joy, so we read that Jesus rejoiced in spirit 
 and said, u I thank thee, oh Father, L,ord of Heaven 
 and earth." Again and again it is intimated that 
 divine joy possessed the heart of Jesus, and He went 
 through life filled with gladness. The Holy Spirit, 
 the Spirit of gladness was upon Him. A little girl 
 heard that Jesus never smiled, and she said, 
 ' l Mamma, that cannot be so, for if He never smiled 
 how would the little children come to Him, for we 
 are told they did come to Him, and if He had never 
 smiled, they would not have come to Him." The 
 Holy Spirit has come to us that we too might be 
 joyful. Gal. v. 21. u The fruit of the Spirit is 
 love, joy." Beloved friends, who are happier than 
 the Lord's children ? They can have their recrea- 
 tions, their amusements, their innocent diversions. 
 I believe they should be very happy; I mean the 
 
The Spirit of Revelation, 53 
 
 children of God, who are walking in communion 
 with their L,ord and King. 
 
 In the next place, the Holy Spirit, as the oil, 
 makes us beautiful. Psalms civ. 15. Orientals 
 use oil very lavishly; they use it for medicinal pur- 
 poses and as a beautifier, and the more they shine, 
 the greater beauties they are considered to be. 
 Now the Holy Spirit is represented by that figure; 
 ( ' oil, which makes the face to shine. ' ' There is a 
 spiritual meaning underneath all that. My dear 
 friends, the only beauty this world's children talk 
 of is outward beauty. There are a great many 
 beautiful faces in this world, and there are some beau- 
 tiful faces in this city. But though some of us are 
 homely enough, nevertheless we can be beautiful, 
 for when the Spirit of God fills mind and heart, 
 and the Word of God abides in us, there will be a 
 spiritual charm and a heavenly peacefulness radiat- 
 ing from the most unhandsome face. It has often 
 been said that Mr. Spurgeon was a very ordinary- 
 looking man; people were disappointed when they 
 saw him. It is true he was not handsome, not 
 even in his young manhood, when I first became ac- 
 quainted with him. But when preaching, or even 
 in conversation, talking about the I^ord, I have 
 seen that face light up like the face of an angel; I 
 have seen the beauty of the I^ord reflected from 
 that rugged face. I received a letter from the dear 
 man which reached me after he had gone to heaven. 
 
54 Spiritual Life. 
 
 He was feeling well some days before his death, and 
 the letter which he wrote me was tender and sweet. 
 Spiritual beauty is the kind of beauty which the 
 Spirit brings out in the life of the believer. The 
 angles and the harsh lines He tones down and the 
 corners He rounds off. The Spirit of God has a 
 good deal of work to do on some of us, and He has 
 been very patient with us. My dear friends, 
 Society may talk about her balls; her votaries may 
 go through ball-rooms laden down with diamond 
 jewels, but there is no ball-room beauty to be 
 compared with the plainest person in whom the 
 Spirit of God dwells. ( ' L,et the beauty of the 
 L,ord our God be upon us." 
 
 The Holy Spirit as oil is given to us for power. 
 The ancient athletes and gymnasts used it for lubri- 
 cating all parts of their body, so that they were 
 able to bend easily. The oil has been in constant 
 use by Orientals for strengthening the body, so the 
 divine Oil has been given to us that we may be 
 strong in spiritual life. 
 
 When you look into the Old Testament, and espe- 
 cially the book of Judges, you will find how the Spirit 
 of God came upon men, anointing them; He came 
 upon Shamgar, and upon Samson; He came upon 
 Gideon, who went forth with his pitchers and lamps 
 and overcame the Midianites. He came upon judges 
 and upon kings to give them strength for action, 
 to qualify them for service. He comes now upon 
 
The Spirit of Revelation. 55 
 
 us to impart strength for toil, and power for service. 
 My dear friends, this is an important consideration; 
 are we willing to have the power of the Spirit rest- 
 ing upon us, not only for public service, but also 
 for personal holiness? I believe that if the Spirit 
 of God rests upon us, we will know how to rock a 
 cradle better, how to do an errand better, how to 
 do business better, how to accomplish the most 
 menial things better; for if indeed we are anointed 
 with the Spirit of God there will be a power upon 
 us for everything we seek to do, and surely we need 
 to be anointed that our hands might be made 
 stronger for labor, our services be more complete 
 and our character more perfect. 
 
 Now, in closing, is there any way by which 
 we can secure this power? Yes, thank God! 
 There must be a denial cf self there must be a giv- 
 ing up of many things dear to us; there must be a 
 hearty surrender of ourselves unto our God. I do 
 not mean to say that you are to become a monk or 
 a nun, but that the world must have no power over 
 you any more; society must not charm you any 
 longer. 
 
 When we fulfil the conditions which secure 
 spiritual power, turning our backs upon all kinds 
 of harmful societies, which are the bane of the 
 Church to-day, turning our back upon the world, 
 giving our services to the Church of Christ, stand- 
 ing by her true pastors and teachers, and in fellow- 
 
56 Spiritual Life. 
 
 ship with all who love our Lord, then shall life 
 indeed be worth living. Brothers and sisters, the 
 power of God is for us all. Oh, I do pity from my 
 heart brethren who are wasting their strength, sis- 
 ters who are squandering their energies on things 
 that do not profit. When I see many of our best 
 workers drawn aside by one thing and another 
 from the true object of life, I do not care even if it 
 be a legitimate pursuit, I know it is grievous to the 
 Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit is unlimited in 
 power, infinite in grace. He may take up some 
 poor, weak sister here to-day, and before twelve 
 months you may see her bringing in her sheaves ; 
 He may take up some brother who has never 
 worked for God and use him mightily in sav- 
 ing the lost. I^et us expect great things. God 
 bless you and grant you the anointing of the Spirit. 
 
Ill 
 
 THE SPIRIT AND THE WORD. 
 
 HE Holy Spirit sustains varied relations 
 to the Holy Scriptures. He is inde- 
 pendent of them in personal sovereignty, 
 yet identified with them in official min- 
 istry. The Spirit is known only through His word, 
 even as a man is known by his words, which are 
 the outward expression of his thoughts. "As a 
 man thinketh in his heart, so is he." Yet not 
 always is the man hereby fully known. Not so, 
 however, with the Spirit, for through the revela- 
 tion of Himself, we have accurate knowledge of 
 Him — the Holy Spirit. For He wears no mask, 
 adopts no disguise, is not hypocritical, is no trickster, 
 but is transparent as the sea of glass before the 
 throne, clear as the sunbeam, in whom is no dark- 
 ness at all. Through the mirror of His Word He 
 reflects His pure nature, His manifold characters, 
 and the purposes of His ministry. By that Word, 
 also, by the thunder of its power, by the sharpness 
 of its blade, by the sweetness of its taste, by the 
 richness of its mines, by the comfort of its promises, 
 and by the nourishment of its doctrines, do we 
 further know the Spirit in the majesty of His per- 
 
 (57) 
 
58 Spiritual Life. 
 
 son and in His manifold ministry. For whatever 
 may have been His modes of revelation in former 
 ages to patriarchs and prophets, and however varied 
 His operations shall be in the ages to come, He 
 seems to have limited the instrument of His min- 
 istry during this church dispensation to that Word, 
 of which He is both Author and Finisher. 
 
 There is, however, a First Word, who is from 
 the beginning, who in the fullness of time became 
 incarnate, and there is another Word, called ' ' living 
 y Bpistles," with each of whom, also, the blessed 
 Spirit has entered into close and vital relations. 
 There is, besides, a correspondence between such 
 relations, and those He sustains toward the written 
 Word, which is, to us, the source of all spiritual 
 knowledge of things past, present, and to come. 
 With each, the Incarnate Word, the living Epistles 
 of Christ, and the written Scriptures, is the Holy 
 Spirit organically related. It was He who prepared 
 that Temple of our L,ord's body, which concealed, 
 yet revealed, the glory of the only-begotten Son of 
 God. It was He who, in dove-like appearance, 
 descended upon Jesus on the banks of the Jordan, 
 and abode upon Him. Thus He came, as the 
 Father's seal of divine authentication, upon the 
 Beloved Son. Priests and prophets He visited, 
 endowed, inspired, but with none of them could it 
 be said that He abode. And so throughout our 
 Lord's earthly life, in preparation for His unique 
 
The Spirit and the Word. 59 
 
 mission, He was anointed of the Spirit, led of the 
 Spirit, empowered by the Spirit, comforted through 
 the Spirit ; He offered Himself a sacrifice for sin by 
 the same Spirit, yea, was finally raised from the 
 dead by Him — who is the quickening Spirit. 
 
 Again, observe the very intimate relations which 
 the Holy Spirit holds to the believer. For the 
 Christian is one born of the Spirit, sealed with the 
 Spirit, led of the Spirit, empowered by the Spirit, 
 quickened by the Spirit, first in his inner life, and 
 finally in his resurrection from the dead. 
 
 Thus, also, do we perceive like relations between 
 the letter of Scripture and the living Spirit. May 
 we not say truly that it is born of the Spirit, it 
 has been baptized with the Spirit, its genuineness 
 is attested by this divine seal upon it? It is 
 anointed with the Spirit, it is made quick and 
 powerful, a living resurrection Word by the same 
 Spirit. As Jesus was author and finisher of His 
 own personal faith, so is He, the Spirit, author 
 and finisher of that ' ' word of faith, ' ' which is our 
 warrant of faith, our ground of faith, our instructor 
 in faith, our incentive to faith, and our rule of 
 faith. 
 
 I wish to submit for your consideration four pro- 
 positions. 
 
 I. First proposition : The Holy Spirit is sole 
 Author of Holy Scripture. 
 
 1. He is the author of revelation in its totality. 
 
60 Spiritual Life. 
 
 The Bible is not of man, neither by men, even as the 
 stream is not of the river channel. Yet as channel 
 and stream are closely related, and identified one 
 with another, so are the hnman writers and the 
 writings in close identity. But only forth from the 
 fountain-mind of the Eternal Spirit, who is inde- 
 pendent, sovereign, original, and originating, have 
 these Scripture streams descended through their 
 human channels to us. 
 
 2. The Holy Spirit is the author of Scripture in 
 its thoughts and words. We do not indeed at- 
 tribute to Him every recorded utterance. There 
 are phrases in the book entirely alien to the Spirit 
 of God. The words of Satan — words of demons — 
 words of heathen poets — words of scribes, pharisees, 
 hypocrites — words of bad men and mistakes of good 
 men are not divine words. It suited the purpose 
 of the Spirit, however, to have them recorded ; and 
 He accordingly inspired holy men to write them, 
 1 ' for reproof, for correction, for instruction in 
 righteousness, that the man of God might be per- 
 fect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." 
 
 The mission and office of the Spirit were thus 
 announced by Jesus : " Howbeit when He the Spirit 
 of truth is come, He will guide you into all truth: 
 for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever 
 He shall hear, that shall He speak : and He will 
 show you things to come ' ' (John xvi. 1 3). The 
 Holy Spirit must make use of human language, not 
 
The Spirit and the Word. 61 
 
 because of His impotence, but because of our in- 
 firmities. " He shall speak." He gave the writers 
 words, which words are the original Scriptures. 
 It has been frequently stated that the Holy Spirit 
 had for the object of His mysterious inspiration, 
 not the writers, but the writings. The writers 
 were fallible men ; the writings infallible communi- 
 cations. The words employed by the Spirit are 
 human words, and may form the vehicle of ordinary 
 human intelligence, but when selected by the 
 Spirit to convey divine revelations they become 
 divine words. Therefore, in this relation are they 
 called the words of the Spirit. ' ' Which things 
 also we speak, not in the words which man's wis- 
 dom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth. " 
 
 As the body of the primal man was made out of 
 the earth, into which God breathed the breath of 
 life, and man became a living soul; so the Holy 
 Spirit has taken the earthly words of human lan- 
 guage out of which He forms the body of Scrip- 
 ture, and into which He breathes the living thought, 
 and thereby the Book becomes a Book of Iyife. 
 " Every Scripture is God -breathed." 
 
 L,et us consider the testimony of Jesus on this 
 point. In Mark xii. 36, our lord's words are re- 
 corded, where He quotes from Ps. ex. Not accident- 
 ally does He refer to the author of that Psalm, when 
 rebuking the secularized scribes of the temple, in 
 the words, "David himself said by The Holy 
 
62 
 
 Spiritual Life. 
 
 Ghost." The Psalm is the language of David. 
 David himself said it, for David was mouth-piece, 
 or penman. But it is emphatically the language 
 of the Holy Ghost who spake through David, and 
 whose word was on his tongue. (2 Sam. xxiii. 2.) 
 
 Again, when Peter, in Acts i. 16, refers to the 
 forty-first Psalm, prophetic of Judas Iscariot, he 
 makes this application of it : " Men and brethren, 
 this Scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which 
 the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake 
 before concerning Judas, which was guide to them 
 that took Jesus." Thus does Peter attribute the 
 authorship of the words of the Psalm to the Holy 
 Spirit of God. 
 
 So also in Acts iv. 25, the language is most ex- 
 pressive, "Who by the mouth of Thy servant 
 David HAST said." Paul, likewise having been 
 taught the source of that wonderful communication 
 to Isaiah recorded in chap. vi. , declares, ' ' WELL 
 spake the Holy Ghost through Isaiah the 
 prophet." Nor must we forget that climacteric 
 statement of Peter who was inspired to write, ( i No 
 prophecy ever came by the will of man; but men 
 Spake from God, being moved by the Holy 
 Ghost." 
 
 How misleading, therefore, is any theory of In- 
 spiration which allows the admixture of human 
 mistakes with divine communications; the mistakes 
 of human speech coupled to divine thought. And 
 
The Spirit and the Word. 63 
 
 how flattering to human pride that intellect, intui- 
 tion, or consciousness shall determine which is truth 
 and which is fable. No true lover of God's Word 
 will permit the majesty of that Word to be thus 
 degraded, in order that the perverted, distorted 
 and corrupted reason of man shall be exalted. Nor 
 will any Christian believer having due reverence 
 toward the Holy Spirit entertain such rationalistic 
 and unscriptural doctrine. The higher critics 
 and the lower critics would not manifest their 
 dislike of the complete inspiration of the words 
 of Scripture, were it not for the insane pas- 
 sion of the natural man to regard reason as the 
 touchstone and test of revelation. Calmly and 
 wisely has Professor Gaussen written of the Bible; 
 u Its first line and its last, with all the instruction 
 (whether understood or not) which it contains, are 
 by the same Author. Whatever the sacred penmen 
 may have been — whatever their circumstances, 
 their impressions, their comprehension of what 
 they wrote, and the measure of their individuality 
 brought into operation by this divine and mysteri- 
 ous power — they have all, with a faithful and 
 directed hand, written in the same volume, under 
 the guidance of the same Master, in whose estima- 
 tion ' a thousand years are as one day, ' and the re- 
 sult is — the Bible. Let us not lose our time, then, 
 in vain questioning, but study the Book. It is the 
 word of Moses, of Amos, of John and of Paul, but 
 
64 Spiritual Life. 
 
 it is the thought of God, and the word of God. 
 It is therefore erroneous language to say, Certain 
 passages of the Bible are those of man, and others 
 those of God. No; every verse therein, without 
 exception is of man, and they are also all, without 
 exception, those of God. ' ' Bven so. The humble, 
 devout believer recognizes the divine Author in 
 every verse and word of Scripture, and values it as 
 an integral part of the great volume of Revelation, 
 stamped from Genesis to Apocalypse with the im- 
 press of divine life, and light, and power, even as 
 the thoughtful naturalist sees in every trembling 
 leaf the mark of intelligent design, and under- 
 stands its relation to the whole forest. 
 
 II. Second proposition: The ministry of the 
 Spirit and of the Word is a co-ordinate 
 ministry. He who is the author of the word is 
 pleased to use it as the instrument of His diversi- 
 fied operations in this dispensation of the Spirit. 
 
 1. The identity of the Spirit and Word is re- 
 cognized in the names given to each. As for in- 
 stance : ' ' Spirit of God, " " word of God ;' ' ' 'Spirit 
 of truth, " u word of truth ;" " Spirit of grace, ' ' 
 "word of His grace ;" "Spirit of life," "word of 
 life ;" " Spirit of wisdom, " u word of wisdom ;' ' 
 "Spirit of Christ," "word of Christ;" "Spirit of 
 power," "word of power;" "The good Spirit," 
 "the good word of God;" "Spirit of prophecy," 
 "word of prophecy;" "The Comforter," "com- 
 fort one another with these words. ' ' 
 
The Spirit and the Word. 65 
 
 2. Their identity is recognized in the nse of 
 emblems common to the Spirit and Word. 
 
 (1) Dew. In Hosea xiv. 5, we find the promise, 
 "I will be as the dew unto Israel," a favorite and 
 appropriate emblem of the Spirit. In Deut. xxxii. 
 2, Jehovah declares, u My speech shall distil as the 
 dew. ' ' 
 
 (2) Rain. Ps. lxxii. 6: u He shall come down 
 as showers upon the mown grass, as showers that 
 water the earth." (comp. Isaiah xliv. 3.) Deut. 
 xxxii. 2 : " My doctrine shall drop as the rain . . . 
 as the small rain upon the tender grass, and as the 
 showers upon the earth." 
 
 (3) Water. John vii. 37: "He that believe th 
 on me, out of his belly (heart or inward parts) 
 shall flow rivers of living water. This spake He 
 of the Spirit, that they which believe in Him 
 should receive." Bph. v. 25: "Christ loved the 
 Church and gave Himself for it, that He might 
 sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water, 
 by the word." 
 
 (4) Light. 2 Sam. xxiii. 4: "He shall be as 
 the light of the morning, when the sun riseth." 
 Ps. cxix. 105', "Thy word .... is a light." 
 Prov. vi. 23: " The law is light." 
 
 (5) Fire. When the Holy Spirit descended on 
 the day of Pentecost, * ' there appeared unto them 
 cloven tongues like as of fire .... and they were 
 all filled with the Holy Ghost." (Acts n\ 3, 4.) 
 
 5 
 
66 Spiritual Life. 
 
 Jer. xxiii. 29: " Is not my word like as fire? saith 
 the Lord." 
 
 3. Proof of co-ordinate ministry of the Spirit 
 and the Word by the effects produced. 
 
 (1) In regeneration. "Not by works of right- 
 eousness which we have done, but according to 
 His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regene- 
 ration and renewing of the Holy Ghost" (Titus 
 iii. 4-6.) Regeneration by the Holy Spirit is a 
 foundation creed in all evangelical churches. It is 
 an essential Bible doctrine. For ' ( except a man 
 be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter 
 into the kingdom of God." But regeneration is 
 also the office of the Word. " Being born again, 
 not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by 
 the word of God, which liveth and abideth for- 
 ever." (1 Pet. i. 23.) The Holy Spirit begets the 
 soul anew through the word. The Spirit regene- 
 rates, and the Word regenerates; hence the neces- 
 sity of preaching the Word in order to give the 
 Spirit the opportunity He seeks to make men wise 
 unto salvation. While human speculation, natural 
 philosophy, culture, politics, or science, form the 
 substance of so many sermons, we are not surprised 
 that regeneration is practically ignored, and its 
 deep need forgotten. The Spirit's injunction to 
 the ministry of every age is, ' ( Preach the Word. ' ' 
 
 (2) In sanctification. The Holy Spirit enters the 
 believing heart as the sane tifier. (1 Pet. i. 2.) But 
 
The Spirit and the Word. 67 
 
 also in the Lord's prayer we note the petition, 
 4 ' Sanctify them through Thy truth, Thy word is 
 truth;" i. e., the whole of truth. (John xvii. 17.) 
 There are various aspects of sanctification which 
 cannot now be discussed, such as sanctification 
 through the blood of Christ, sanctification by faith, 
 etc. Our present work is to call attention to the 
 fact that the Spirit of God sanctifies the regenerated 
 man, making use of the Word of God for his 
 cleansing and purification. * ' Now are ye clean 
 through the word which I have spoken unto you. ' ' 
 (John xv. 3.) 
 
 (3) The Holy Spirit testifies of Jesus. ' ' But 
 when the Comforter is come, whom I will send 
 unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth 
 which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify 
 of me." (John xv. 26.) But it is co-ordinate testi- 
 mony. ' ' Search the Scriptures ; for in them ye 
 think ye have eternal life : and they are they which 
 testify of me." (John v. 39.) The Scriptures our 
 Ivord refers to, are those of the Old Testament. 
 Moses in the L,aw, David in the Psalms, and all 
 the Prophets testified of Him. Jesus Himself re- 
 bukes every reviler of Moses. ' 'And beginning at 
 Moses and all the prophets He expounded unto 
 them in all the Scriptures the things concerning 
 
 Himself. And He said unto them, These 
 
 are the words which I spake unto you, while I was 
 yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled 
 
68 Spiritual Life. 
 
 which were written in the law of Moses, and in the 
 prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning me. Then 
 opened He their understanding, that they might 
 understand the Scriptures." 
 
 (4) The Spirit and the Word work unitedly in 
 the edification of the Church. The Holy Spirit is 
 builder. He hews out the living stones from the 
 quarry, fitting them into the spiritual temple, which 
 groweth up as the habitation of God. (Eph. ii. 22.) 
 Yet Paul, in his farewell address to the Ephesian 
 elders, commended them to the word of God's 
 grace, ' ' which is able to build you up. ' ' (Acts xx. 
 32.) Through the Holy Spirit's gracious ministry 
 of the divine Word is the Church, whether viewed 
 as a structure, or as the mystical body of Christ, 
 truly edified. 
 
 (5) The work of revival is the work of the 
 Spirit. When the promised dew descends, revival 
 begins. (Hosea xiv. 5.) No intelligent Christian 
 will designate the most effective preacher a "re- 
 vivalist ;" and no man taught of the Spirit will 
 arrogate to himself this distinguishing title. Re- 
 vivals may be simulated, but the work when real 
 is the product of the quickening Spirit. The 
 Word however, has also its place in every genuine 
 revival. In Neh. viii 1-9, we have an example of 
 the reviving power of the preached Word. The 
 Ivevites read out of the law distinctly, and gave the 
 sense, and caused the people to understand the 
 
The Spirit and the Word. 69 
 
 reading. And the word was applied in power by 
 the Spirit. So also in Kzek. xxxvii. 1-10, we dis- 
 cover the co-operation of these two in the revival 
 of the dry bones, who stood upon their feet an 
 exceeding great army. And thus, as the prophecy 
 foretells, shall the scattered tribes of Israel be nation- 
 ally revived in the next age of millennial blessed- 
 ness, when the Spirit is poured forth upon them, 
 and they are found hearing the words of the Lord. 
 
 (6) Gtiidance. The promise of Jesus is, ' ( He 
 will guide you into all the truth." Thus does our 
 Lord comfort His disciples, in assuring them that 
 after His departure, the Holy Spirit would come 
 and be their guide. Also in Pro v. vi. 22, guidance 
 is attributed to the Word; u When thou goest, it 
 shall lead thee." Here, then, is provision for our 
 journey; an infallible guide flashing on our path- 
 way this unfailing light. No feeble light of nature 
 nor flickering light of consciousness can illumine 
 the path from earth to heaven. Only the Holy 
 Spirit's clear, steady, noon-day light of Scripture 
 will prove sufficient. 
 
 (7) Co-operation in producing pure and sponta- 
 neous worship. u Be filled with the Spirit, speak- 
 ing to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiri- 
 tual songs, singing and making melody in your 
 hearts to the Lord ; giving thanks always for all 
 things unto God and the Father in the name of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ." (Eph. v. 18, 19.) Thus 
 
jo Spiritual Life. 
 
 the highest expression of worship is the product of 
 the divine Spirit in the soul. And herein does the 
 Word also fulfill its mission. u Let the word of 
 Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching 
 and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns 
 and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your 
 hearts to the Lord." (Col. iii. 16.) Such are the 
 divine effects of the indwelling Word when received 
 in the Holy Ghost. It becomes the true basis of 
 spiritual experience and the strongest incentive to 
 spiritual worship. 
 
 Thus have we traced the unity of both. The 
 Word is the Spirit's word and the Spirit's instru- 
 ment. Therefore their action is one and the same 
 in regeneration, sanctification, testimony, edifica- 
 tion, revival, guidance, worship, and every ex- 
 perience of that new creation in Christ Jesus — the 
 true Christian believer. Sadducean sceptics de- 
 nied the supernatural element in the Scriptures 
 and brought upon themselves the deserved rebuke 
 of Jesus, u Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures 
 nor the power of God. ' ' In that declaration does 
 our Lord affirm, that divine, superhuman, omnipo- 
 tent power is linked with the written Word of God. 
 
 Is it not our privilege, then, to receive that Word 
 in its totality and in its tittles; to bow with becom- 
 ing reverence before its divine claims; to recognize 
 that every type, prophecy, history, parable, doc- 
 trine, is given of God; that every word of God is 
 
The Spirit and the Word. yi 
 
 pure ; that it has been tried and not found wanting, 
 and that He from whom it came will abide with it 
 forever ? 
 
 III. Third proposition: The Holy Spirit alone 
 can give us a right understanding of the 
 Word. 
 
 The natural man may by the power of unaided 
 intellect throw side-lights upon the human element 
 of Scripture. We are deeply indebted to the geol- 
 ogist, botanist, historian, grammarian, archaeolo- 
 gist, to compilers, and to critics. But to none of 
 them, as merely intellectual men, not having the 
 Spirit themselves, do we owe aught in the matter 
 of spiritual interpretation; " For what man know- 
 eth the things of a man, save the Spirit of man 
 which is in him? Even so, the things of God 
 knoweth no man but the Spirit of God. Now we 
 have received not the spirit of the world, but the 
 Spirit which is of God, that we might know the 
 things that are freely given to us of God. " (i Cor. 
 ii. ii, 12.) There are, of course, men of intellect, 
 who, thank God, have also the Spirit of God, to 
 whom the Church is deeply indebted for spiritual 
 interpretation and exposition of the Bible. And 
 also there are natural men who reverently aim to 
 exalt the Bible from a merely human standpoint, 
 who endeavor to account for discrepancies, and 
 who seek to explain difficulties. ' ' But the natural 
 man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of 
 
72 Spiritual Life. 
 
 God, for tliey are foolishness unto him; neither 
 can he know them, because they are spiritually dis- 
 cerned." (i Cor. ii. 14.) 
 
 And alas ! there are writers of another school who 
 disparage the written testimony and deny the Holy 
 Spirit, while they irreverently discuss the Christ in 
 art, in poetry, in story and in philosophy; whose 
 darkened understanding and skeptical tendencies 
 can only lead their disciples into the mazes of doubt 
 and infidelity. Some of these would fain boast 
 that they compliment Jesus as the Ideal Man, while 
 they rob Him of His inherent glory as ' ' God mani- 
 fest in the flesh. ' ' Truly, ' ' no man can call Jesus 
 Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. ' ' So, also, ( ' if any 
 man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of 
 His." 
 
 Let it, then, be our glad homage, brethren in the 
 Lord, to give the Holy Spirit that honor due to Him. 
 It is His prerogative to enlighten our minds, and 
 to illuminate the Word, that we may behold won- 
 drous things therein. ' ' We have an Unction from 
 the Holy One," that we might know divine things. 
 He will teach us, He will prophesy to us, He will 
 bring past spiritual knowledge to our remembrance. 
 He will reveal Christ to our inner life, when, 
 through patient, diligent study of the divine Book 
 we wait upon His ministry, and prayfully seek His 
 proffered help. 
 
 IV. Fourth proposition : The Holy Spirit in- 
 variably HONORS THE DIVINE WORD. 
 
The Spirit and the Word. 73 
 
 The promises are abundant insuring its success. 
 Isa. lv. 10, 11. "For as the rain cometh down, 
 and the snow from heaven, and returneth not 
 thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring 
 forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, 
 and bread to the eater. So shall my word be 
 that goeth forth out of my mouth : it shall not re- 
 turn unto me void, but it shall accomplish that 
 which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing 
 whereto I sent it. ' ' We read in the Book of Acts : 
 "While Peter spake these words, the Holy Ghost 
 fell on all them that heard the Word." What 
 words? Simply Old Testament words, rightly in- 
 terpreted. The Apostles preached the Word. Their 
 sermons were Bible-readings. When Christ is ex- 
 alted according to the Gospel, through its pro- 
 clamation the Holy Spirit will glorify Him in those 
 that believe. He presents to them through the 
 Gospel the things of Jesus, and thus Jesus becomes 
 to the believing soul both real and personal. It 
 need scarcely be added that pastors, evangelists, 
 missionaries and other preachers who deal largely 
 with the Scriptures, and who earnestly invoke the 
 Spirit's anointing, are the men and women whom 
 the King delights to honor. 
 
 In conclusion : The knowledge of these relations 
 between the Spirit and the Scriptures will save us 
 from a two-fold danger. 1. First, from searching 
 the Word for purely mental gratification — from an 
 
74 Spiritual Life. 
 
 intellectual pursuit after truth. It is possible to be 
 adepts in biblical science, and yet be as dry in our 
 spiritual life as Gideon's fleece when no dew from 
 heaven fell upon it. Gathered truth, unfelt in the 
 soul, unknown by spiritual apprehension, can only 
 corrupt like the unused manna. It is possible to 
 preach biblical doctrine and be strangers to its 
 vitalizing power. Such preaching is dreary, is 
 drudgery, is delusive. The heart, not the head, is 
 the home of the Word. It seeks admittance there. 
 Confession with the mouth, or outward testimony, 
 if real, must be the outflow of a believing heart. 
 (Rom. x. 9.) Heart-knowledge of the Word must 
 be sought after by every Christian who would know 
 more of Jesus, who seeks to know the will of God, 
 and who gladly recognizes the prerogative of the 
 Spirit as the supreme, qualified and infallible Bible 
 teacher. 
 
 2. Secondly : bearing in mind the relations of 
 both, will also guard us from a dreaded mysticism, 
 or a dead sentimentalism. Seeking revelations, or 
 experiences from the Holy Spirit, outside of, and 
 apart from the Holy Scriptures, leads to fanatical 
 extravagances. He needs a keen and watchful eye 
 who can readily distinguish the inward monitions 
 of the Spirit, from purely human emotions. When 
 the voice of God, in His Word, is considered too 
 feeble, and a more pronounced voice is demanded 
 by the listening soul, let it be remembered that 
 
The Spirit and the Word. 75 
 
 Satan can mimic to deceive and adopt the gnise of 
 a good angel for his evil purpose. The canon of 
 Scripture is closed and is complete. Within its 
 range we may freely roam in search of truth, our 
 trembling hand held in the strong hand of the 
 Holy Spirit, our guide. Its pastures are our feed- 
 ing-places; its still waters will slake our thirst. 
 Rapt visions, celestial dreams, or mysterious inward 
 impressions, must not be heeded when antagonistic 
 to the revealed will of God, and the true teaching 
 of the Spirit in the Bible. It is an evil work to 
 attribute to the Spirit monitions and emotions for 
 which He is not responsible. He has given us the 
 Scriptures. By these He will teach us, and com- 
 fort us. In our study of the same, we shall have 
 His promised aid; in our Christian work, we shall 
 have His needed help. And in distinguishing His 
 personality, as co-equal with the Father and the 
 Son, from the instrument of His official ministry 
 in the Church, namely, His thoughts and Words, 
 let us not seek their divorce. For of the Spirit 
 and the Word it may be truly said, "What God 
 hath joined together, let not man put asunder." 
 
IV. 
 
 HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. 
 
 HE present subject is one of great im- 
 portance, as well as, I trust, of great 
 interest to us all ; and I wish, to be very 
 frank with you from trie start. I do 
 not know that there are any iron rules for Bible 
 study. I believe a great deal depends upon our 
 own individual exertion, our personal diligence 
 and application. All I can now do is, not to lay 
 down rules for study, but to give you hints and 
 suggestions. Much will depend upon your own 
 earnest endeavor to make the Bible a real study. 
 
 Do not be discouraged ; Rome was not built in 
 a day, and you must not expect to be proficient 
 Bible students in a day. The acquisition of Bible 
 knowledge is really very slow work. There are a 
 great many Christians discouraged because they 
 hear a man quote Scripture very fluently and very 
 accurately, and they feel that they never will attain 
 to that proficiency. Every student of the Bible 
 with whom I am acquainted, gained his knowledge 
 by diligence, patience, and perseverance, year by 
 year, gathering little by little at a time. I do not 
 know of any good Bible student, who became one 
 
 (76) 
 
How to Study the Bible. yy 
 
 incidentally, or accidentally, bnt who in this work 
 had to make haste slowly. So do not be discour- 
 aged in beginning Bible study ; everything depends 
 upon your own faithfulness ; use a little time each 
 day in this blessed pursuit and you will find very 
 soon, by the end of a year or two years or five years, 
 if God shall spare you, that your Bible knowledge 
 will increase ; and in order to make it of real value 
 in your own experience, give it out to others as 
 fast as you receive it. Let this be your aim and 
 you will find your reward in its successful accom- 
 plishment. 
 
 I should like to say also that we shall never be 
 proficient Bible students, until we know the purpose 
 of the Bible; the value and use of God's most 
 blessed word. We need a motive for study; mo- 
 tives are greater than methods; methods will take 
 care of themselves. The Jews were commanded to 
 read the Bible all the time; to write it upon their 
 door-posts; to have it as frontlets between their 
 eyes; to talk of it by the way; and in social gather- 
 ings. The Bible was to be the subject of discourse 
 constantly, and so they were commanded to teach 
 it to their children and their children's children. 
 It was to be their spelling book, their reading book, 
 their grammar, their help in devotions, their com- 
 fort in trouble, their staff in old age, their light in 
 the valley of death. They were to know the word 
 of God, to love it, to believe it, to study it and to 
 practise it. 
 
78 Spiritual Life. 
 
 I know an "humble mechanic — and I say this for 
 your encouragement — who was once a poor clog- 
 dancer on the stage, brought up a Roman Catholic, 
 exceedingly ignorant of the Bible, and not a great 
 man intellectually. He came into one of our Sun- 
 day afternoon meetings, was converted, and there- 
 after resolved that he would not read a single book 
 for five years but the Bible. He read neither newspa- 
 per, nor magazine these five years. The only mo- 
 ments he had for study was a little time in the morn- 
 ing and at night. He commenced the study of the 
 Bible alone; he had no one to guide him or help 
 him, but he memorized a verse each day, and could 
 repeat 365 verses in a year, which he kept stored 
 in his memory. The way he managed was this : 
 When he got up in the morning, he took his Bible 
 and after reading a few verses, he wrote out some 
 one verse on a slip of paper, took it to his factory 
 and put it on the bench before him, and often 
 through the day while he was filing or sawing, he 
 had his eye on that paper ; all day long he was 
 memorizing it, meditating upon it, praying about it 
 and getting its sweetness down into his soul. For 
 five years he kept at it, until now the man's inner 
 life is filled with Bible knowledge. Not only that, 
 but he has become skillful in its use. He now 
 reads other books but only such as will aid him in 
 Bible study; and, my friends, I know few men 
 in this land who have a profounder grasp of truth 
 
How to Study the Bible. 79 
 
 than that mechanic. Many pastors request him 
 to fill their pulpits on Sundays, and when he stands 
 up to preach he speaks in Bible language. He is 
 an illustration of the verse, ' ' the base things of 
 the world and the things that are not, to bring to 
 nought the things that are. ' ' There is something 
 marvelous about that man ; he is not a very strong 
 man physically ; he is a very ordinary man, but in 
 a section of his town known as the most wicked 
 part of that city, he started a mission, and more 
 than two hundred people were converted by his 
 efforts. He gave them God's word which proved 
 irresistible. I verily believe it possible that any 
 ordinary man, any ordinary woman, any young 
 man, any young woman here may become fairly good 
 Bible students, if they will take the time which is 
 now wasted on mere trifles ; if they will use the 
 spare moments and pass them in Bible study, the 
 Spirit of God will help them in it, will enlighten 
 them, and will empower them to do good in their 
 day and generation. 
 
 All the helps, all the suggestions, all the hints 
 in the world will be of no use, unless you have 
 first of all a motive for study : then be diligent, not 
 simply for a month or two, or a year or two, but 
 for a lifetime. We should be Bible students right 
 along to the very end. 
 
 Well, what is the good of the Bible ? What is 
 its special use ? Remember friends, the word of God 
 
80 Spiritual Life. 
 
 is for regeneration, for sanctification, for growth, 
 for purification ; the word of God is for the en- 
 largement and enrichment of Christian experience ; 
 the word of God is our shield, the word of God is 
 our sword, the word of God is a fire, it is a hammer, 
 it is a lamp. When we come to know how helpful 
 it is for spiritual development, we shall have a 
 motive for study. How now shall we study it ? 
 
 You know the old recipe for cooking a hare. 
 The first thing is to catch your hare. How to study 
 the Bible ? First of all possess a Bible; have a Bible 
 of your own. Procure a Bible that you can use. 
 Do not depend upon the old loved family Bible in 
 the parlor, with its big clasp and the names of the 
 family recorded in it; their births and marriages. 
 Sometimes when you go home, with your hands a 
 little soiled and wish to use it, the good wife would 
 not like to have you open it; you cannot use the 
 family Bible for study as a rule. Get a Bible and 
 do not be afraid to use it; do not try to keep it too 
 nice and clean. We ought to adopt the habit of 
 bringing our Bibles to the prayer meetings and to 
 our church services. I have been a pastor, and I 
 have encouraged my people always to bring their 
 Bibles to church. We should see with our own 
 eyes if the text is there in the Book. I am very 
 glad to see so many Bibles in your hands to-day, and 
 I wish to say that I have not held a Bible Conference 
 for years in any new district of the country under 
 
How to Study the Bible. 81 
 
 such favorable auspices as these ; I have never had 
 a new Conference more favorable than this ; the 
 brotherly fellowship, the eagerness of search, the 
 taking of notes — why I would like to live among 
 you! * My friends, if you have not money enough 
 to buy a Bible, forego your spring bonnet; if 
 you have not money enough for a new coat go 
 without it, if you can secure a Bible in no other 
 way. Be sure to have a Bible of your own. 
 
 Another thing about the Bible. Never make a 
 jest or a pun upon the word of God, never allow 
 anybody to do that in your presence; see that you 
 have great reverence for the Book. I believe in 
 wit, I believe in brightness, I believe in social in- 
 terchange of humorous remark, but I never want 
 in any sort of company to hear anybody make a 
 pun on the word of God. A twist of a verse will 
 leave a perverted exposition on the mind which 
 may never be corrected. Some of us have heard 
 things said about the Bible which we can never for- 
 get. I hope that the generation coming will have a 
 profound reverence for God's word, and never make 
 it the subject of a jest. May we all show by our con- 
 duct that even if we do not understand it, we rever- 
 ence it, because it is the word of the living God. 
 
 Then let us not be discouraged because some of 
 the Bible is very difficult to understand. Nor 
 should we overlook any part of the Bible; let us 
 
 * Wilmington, N. C. 
 
82 Spiritual Life. 
 
 not overlook the most difficult portions of the 
 Book, the historical portions, the Books of Chroni- 
 cles, the Books of Kings, the Book of Job ; let us re- 
 member that ' ' all Scripture is given by inspiration 
 of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, 
 for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that 
 the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly fur- 
 nished unto all good works. ' ' What a library the 
 Bible is for the man of God! By it he may be 
 thoroughly furnished unto all good works! 
 
 Then we are to pray for the promised blessing 
 to rest upon us while we study. L,uke viii. 22. 
 Remember this, the Lord Jesus declares that there 
 is a closer relationship existing between Himself 
 and his disciples than between Himself and His 
 mother and brethren in the flesh. ' ' My mother 
 and My brethren are these which hear the word of 
 God and do it! " Jesus always honored the Scrip- 
 tures. Luke xi, 27, 28. This also is a very re- 
 markable statement. The Lord Christ in His human 
 life loved His dear mother: oh, how tenderly; but 
 when the blessing was pronounced upon the virgin 
 mother, Jesus said, ( ' Rather blessed are they that 
 hear the word of God and keep it." Rev. i. 1-3. A 
 great many people tell me they do not read the Book 
 of Revelation, because they do not understand it. 
 That is true, we do not understand all of it, but 
 there are in it a good many things we do under- 
 stand. It does not say, u Blessed is he that under- 
 
How to Study the Bible. 83 
 
 standeth," but, " blessed is lie that readeth;" so, I 
 have never, myself, read through the Book of Re- 
 velation, without receiving a blessing. While some- 
 times the seals, and the trumpets, and the beasts, 
 and the great historical and prophetic passages may 
 be beyond our grasp, remember the Book is ' ' the 
 Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto 
 Him, to show unto His servants the things that 
 must shortly come to pass." We cannot read it 
 without being profited, without being solemnized in 
 our minds by that wonderful Book which is given 
 us by the Spirit of God. ' ' Blessed is he that 
 readeth ; " if you read it, you will get the promised 
 blessing, the Lord will not disappoint you. There 
 is always blessing accompanying the careful reading 
 of any part of the sacred Scriptures. 
 
 In the next place, let me say that when the Lord 
 shows us any truth in his word, we are to obey 
 that truth at once. The word teaches and further 
 prepares for duty; obedience gives capacity to under- 
 stand more. I believe that the blessing of Bible 
 study ceases when we refuse to accept some clearly- 
 revealed truth. John vii. 17. "If any man will 
 do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether 
 it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." 
 Rom. xii. 1,2. I think this is an exceedingly im- 
 portant verse. Non-conformity to the world, and 
 being transformed by the renewing of our mind, 
 that we may prove what is that good and accept- 
 
84 Spiritual Life. 
 
 able and perfect will of God. And the contrary is 
 true of those who are conformed to the world, and 
 who not being transformed in their minds, are 
 not capable of proving what is that good and ac- 
 ceptable and perfect will of God. The carnal 
 mind cannot grasp spiritual things; the natural 
 man understandeth not the things of the Spirit of 
 God; they are foolishness unto him; neither can 
 he know them, because they are spiritually dis- 
 cerned. Consider : 
 
 The importance of Bible Study. Job xxiii. 12. 
 " Neither have I gone back from the command- 
 ment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his 
 mouth more than my necessary food." We go 
 back to Job, according to conservative scholars, one 
 of the oldest books of the Bible. Job lived very 
 early in the history of the world. He did not, 
 probably, have any written Bible ; but that which 
 he had was more to him than natural food. Now, 
 when we are in the spirit of Bible study, so that 
 sometimes we forget to eat our bread, we shall 
 suffer no bad consequences. It would be a good 
 thing for us sometimes to forego a meal, in order 
 that we might have leisure for heavenly food. 
 
 Psalms cxix. 140. "Thy word is very pure: 
 therefore thy servant loveth it. ' ' David loved the 
 word. He had not very much of it, but he loved 
 it. Jer. xv. 16. u Thy words were found, and I 
 did eat them. ' ' He got them down into the right 
 
How to Study the Bible. 85 
 
 place. It is not enough to have the word on our 
 lips, unless we get it down into the heart. u Thy 
 Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my 
 heart." There is no occasion why we Christians 
 should need a revival meeting, or a minister, or an 
 evangelist to stir us up. If, like Jeremiah, we hid 
 the word of God in our inner life, it would burn 
 within us as fire; we should soon be stirred up by 
 its power. If the word of the Lord comes to us 
 in all its sweetness and power and warmth, we 
 shall be in a revived state all the time. 
 
 Before we can study the Bible, we ought to read 
 it. We should read it consecutively, beginning 
 with Genesis and ending with Revelation. I never 
 set myself the task to read just so many chapters, 
 but to read while I have time. In the interrupted 
 life which I pursue I cannot always have stated 
 periods such as you may have, so I read according 
 to my time. If I have time for only half a chap- 
 ter, I read it ; if I have time for one chapter, I read 
 it. Consecutive reading of the Bible has this great 
 advantage: first of all, we shall get a knowledge 
 of the books. Each book with its peculiar char- 
 acteristics will have an interest for us ; while the 
 first or the second reading may not give us very 
 much knowledge, yet we are becoming familiar 
 with the books. We ought to read the Bible at 
 least once a year. It is not a very large Book. 
 Some of you will read more novels in that time 
 
86 Spiritual Life. 
 
 than in bulk would make five or six Bibles. One 
 of the great advantages of consecutive reading is 
 that we shall notice how often chapters are divided 
 in the wrong places. Chapters and verses are 
 human divisions. It is a good thing to have a 
 paragraph Bible; it is a good habit to read the Re- 
 vised Version frequently. If you turn to the fifth 
 chapter of the Book of Joshua, you will find at 
 the closing of the chapter that a man stands before 
 Joshua, near the walls of Jericho. Who is this 
 captain of the lord's host? Who is this angel 
 messenger? The first verse of the sixth chapter 
 is a parenthetical verse. The second verse of the 
 sixth chapter, and the last verse of the fifth chap- 
 ter, naturally come together. What truth do you 
 now discover? For a long time I supposed that 
 this messenger was some kind of an angelic being; 
 but when I saw the connection of the chapters, I 
 knew it was Jesus Himself. Jehovah-Jesus was 
 Captain of the lord's host. Jesus foreshadowing 
 His incarnation by appearing in human form out- 
 side of the walls of Jericho, showing Himself there 
 as leader of the host, with victory upon his 
 banner. 
 
 The 7th and 8th chapters of John taught me a 
 sweet lesson because I did not stop at the end of 
 the 7th chapter. The last verse of that chapter 
 says, " And every man went unto his own house." 
 Suppose I had shut the book then, I would forget 
 
How to Study the Bible. 87 
 
 how the chapter ended, and when I started a new 
 chapter I would not see the connection. The 8th 
 chapter begins, " And Jesus went unto the Mount 
 of Olives." Every man went to his own house; 
 every man had a house, but Jesus went to the 
 Mount of Olives ; He had no home. " Foxes have 
 holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the 
 Son of man hath not where to lay his head." I 
 tell you, my dear friends, I could not keep back 
 the tears as I read that pathetic statement about my 
 L/ord and Master, who had no earthly home, no 
 couch whereon to lay Himself. 
 
 In reading the Bible consecutively you will come 
 upon numbers of such instances and illustrations. 
 Every time that you discover a truth about Jesus it 
 will be a blessing to you. I thank God for the 
 faithful men who have helped me in Bible study, 
 but I tell you this : A truth which you discover for 
 yourself in your study has more power in your life 
 than anything you receive second-hand. You 
 ought to be making discoveries all the time. We 
 read about doubting Thomas, who would not be- 
 lieve when the disciples said, ( ' We have seen the 
 Lord," and too many have been flinging stones at 
 Thomas for nineteen centuries. Now, I have great 
 sympathy with Thomas, for I have been there my- 
 self. I have great sympathy with Thomas because 
 he would not take the truth of the resurrection 
 second-hand. While external evidences are good 
 
88 Spiritual Life. 
 
 enough in themselves, until we have personal ex- 
 perience of the power of His resurrection, evidences 
 of themselves are powerless to remove our doubts 
 and to hush our fears. 
 
 Yet not only do we see the connection of chapters, 
 but we see the connection of verses ; that is a very 
 important matter to observe. For instance, L,uke 
 xiii. 24, 25. The doctrine deduced from that text 
 is that there are a great many persons who make 
 an earnest endeavor but who will not be saved, 
 because they were not elected to be saved, and no 
 matter how much they strive, they will be shut 
 out. Is that what it teaches ? If you read both 
 verses together, you find it otherwise. Now the 
 door is open, but the Judge will come by and by 
 and close the door, then those who have not come 
 in while the door is open will be shut out forever. 
 
 1 Cor. ii. 9, 10. "But as it is written, Bye 
 hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered 
 into the heart of man, the things which God hath 
 prepared for them that love him. But God hath 
 revealed them unto us by his spirit: for the Spirit 
 searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. " 
 I heard a brother preach on that text, and this was 
 the doctrine that he taught: That nobody knows 
 anything about heaven or the future; that we have 
 to live as well as we can here and trust for the 
 future; that God hath some good things prepared 
 for those that love Him, but all thoughts about 
 
How to Study the Bible. 89 
 
 heaven, all thoughts about the millennium, were 
 purely speculative. You see he did not read the 
 next verse or he would have found that instead of 
 having these glorious things hidden from us, they 
 are revealed ; the Spirit of prophecy has given us 
 in the word knowledge of the future ; heaven is 
 known to God's people and the glory of the future 
 is revealed to us. I could give you many such 
 instances of the value of reading the Bible consecu- 
 tively, but these few illustrations will be sufficient. 
 
 In addition to reading the Bible consecutively, 
 we are to search diligently. u Search the Scrip- 
 tures," said Jesus, and He commended the Phari- 
 sees in so far that they searched the Scriptures. 
 " But my understanding of that word ' search,' said 
 a miner, 4 ( means ' pickaxe ' the Scriptures. ' ' You 
 do not get much gold by scratching, but when you 
 use the pickaxe you find the nuggets. The Swedes 
 have no word for " search," but they have a word, 
 which we translate ' ' ransack. ' ' I know when we 
 sometimes are hunting for an article we pull open 
 the bureau drawer, and will ransack the drawer 
 until we find what we are after. L,et us ransack 
 the Bible in pursuit of some truth and you will find 
 it, but like the Shepherd going after the sheep 
 diligently seeking, so must we search until we find. 
 
 Again, we should study the Bible topically. I 
 am not going to enlarge upon this feature because 
 considering topics is one of the commonest ways 
 
90 Spiritual Life. 
 
 of studying ; but do not think that you can get 
 it all at once; nor imagine the Concordance will 
 give you all on each topic. When in Alabama 
 some years ago giving Bible readings a brother 
 from the North was there and attended one of the 
 services. Afterwards he called at my home in 
 Philadelphia, and said, " I took notes of the Bible 
 reading, and I want you to give me two or three 
 readings, because I have not much of a stock and 
 I want to get started along that line; I have only 
 two hours to catch my train, and I want you to 
 give me as many Bible readings as you can." 
 ' ' How long did it take me to prepare that Bible 
 reading?" I inquired. He did not know. 
 "Well," I answered, "it took me exactly fifteen 
 years." Bible study is a growth. A Bible read- 
 ing proper is not simply stringing verses which 
 have the same word together ; there must be 
 inquiry, investigation, analysis and comparison of 
 Scripture with Scripture; taking each particular 
 text, reading the text all around it to find out just 
 what the real thought is, then you link that with 
 the next and the next, and so on. The topic gives 
 you the string upon which you can crystallize the 
 truth. There are some topics which you can string 
 together very happily. If I were a young student, 
 I would begin this very night on the doctrine of 
 Justification by faith. If I were to spend a year on 
 it, it would repay me well. Take the theme, 
 
How to Study the Bible. 91 
 
 Justification by faith; analyze every verse where 
 found; take your time, you may not get far ahead 
 the first week or the second week or the third. It 
 is like studying stenography; you get acquainted 
 first with the various characters, by and by you 
 learn to put them together, though you do not 
 notice much progress at first. It is like learning 
 music, or anything else. But when you have a 
 scriptural understanding of Justification by faith, 
 not only do you grasp the whole foundation doc- 
 trine of the believer's salvation, but you will at the 
 same time grasp all related doctrine, and when you 
 arise to testify, it will be a clear testimony. You 
 never after will talk in any ignorant manner about 
 Justification by faith ; the study will abide with you 
 forever. Studying the Bible is a task anyhow, but 
 earnestly give yourselves to it. 
 
 Do not be vexed with me if I tell you of this 
 difficulty. North, South, Bast, West, England, 
 Ireland, Scotland, everywhere, one great difficulty 
 in the way of Bible study is laziness. The natural 
 man is a lazy animal ; he dislikes religious earnest- 
 ness. It is far easier for preachers, I tell you hon- 
 estly, it is far easier to take a little text and spin 
 out a little moral essay than to take the word of 
 God and search, investigate, compare, examine, 
 until sometimes the head becomes dizzy and the 
 hand weary in the use of pen or pencil; but the 
 word of God taught and preached has more power 
 
92 Spiritual Life. 
 
 than all our poor little rhetoric. Brethren and 
 friends, let us fight against laziness in Bible study. 
 ^Once more : We should study the Bible typically. 
 Study the types of the Old Testament. How can 
 we do it ? It is an exceedingly interesting study. 
 Some brethren say to me, "Why, brother, you are 
 too fantastical about these types; it is dangerous to 
 study Scripture types." Where is the danger? 
 "Well, imagination and fancy might run away 
 with us." My friend, I dispute your statement; 
 any man who makes that statement, I tell him he 
 makes that statement because he is ignorant of the 
 real design of the types. I declare to you, my 
 friends, there is no more danger of the imagination 
 running away on the study of types than in any other 
 study that I know of. Go back to the 21st chap- 
 ter of Numbers, what do you read there? You 
 read about the serpents biting the Israelites, and 
 Moses lifting up the serpent of brass. What has 
 that got to do with us ? We refer to John iii. 14, 
 15. Our lyord takes that Old Testament type and 
 he makes a proper application of it. Now, suppose 
 I were to prepare a sermon on John iii. 14, 15. 
 How should I begin ? I do not sit down with John 
 iii. 14 before me and try to find everything from 
 what is in that passage, but I go back to Numbers 
 and read carefully there the history of the whole 
 matter; how the serpents came in, and how Moses 
 was commanded of God to take the brazen serpent 
 
How to Study the Bible. 93 
 
 and what he was to do with it. I try to find out 
 all the facts of the historical type and then turn to 
 its application. The study of the precious Gospel 
 will then begin to grow upon me in its beauty, and 
 force and fullness. There are many points of com- 
 parison and of contrast between this type and its 
 antitype. 
 
 Moses struck a rock and the water came leaping 
 out of it. What has that to do with me ? There 
 is just a little hint given in the 10th chapter of 
 1 Cor. 4th v. ' ' They drank of that spiritual rock 
 that followed them and that rock was Christ." 
 As the water gushed out of the heart of the rock 
 and satisfied three million thirsty people, so out of 
 the Heart of Jesus flows the river of life and salva- 
 tion to quench the thirst of a dying world. What 
 a glorious gospel is there! See the 12th chapter 
 of Bxodus and read about the lamb that was killed 
 and the blood of that lamb. What has that to do 
 with me? We turn to 1 Cor. v. 7, and we read, 
 ' ' Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us, there- 
 fore let us keep the feast; not with old leaven, 
 neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness ; but 
 with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." 
 
 Now, return to the type and read of that lamb 
 slain, and see the beautiful type there, then turn 
 over to the New Testament and see how this type 
 throws its light upon Christ our sacrifice, the Lamb 
 of God. The gospel of salvation will grow before 
 
94 Spiritual Life. 
 
 our wondering rnind as we pursue this line of com- 
 parison. Now, there are many of these types 
 scattered through the books of Moses having their 
 application to Christ as revealed in the New Testa- 
 ment. It is a glorious study; an interesting study; 
 a study that may well occupy a lifetime. 
 
 I say to you, in closing, with all humility, that no 
 man can have a clear, vivid grasp and understand- 
 ing of the gospel of Jesus Christ who has not been 
 a student of the types of Moses. Moses wrote of 
 him. In the Old Testament Jesus Christ is taken 
 to pieces, as it were, that you may look at each 
 part and see the perfection of each part, and in the 
 New Testament the pieces are put together again 
 and we see the complete Christ. The intelligent 
 believer will go to the types of Moses and see Christ 
 there, see every part laid out in these types; he 
 comes to the New Testament and discovers Jesus 
 the sum and substance of all. So the typical study 
 of the Bible is exceedingly important. 
 
 I trust that we may go from here realizing that 
 this Bible is for a lifetime study, and that thereby 
 the Spirit of God will work in us personal puri- 
 fication. Bible study will help us in our ministry 
 and in our homes. God grant these fragmentary 
 suggestions may prove of practical value to you, 
 dear pastors, and to all of you, Christian friends; 
 that the study of Holy Scripture may make you 
 wise and loving and patient and fruitful to the 
 praise of His grace. Amen. 
 
V. 
 
 THE MANIFOLD GOSPEL. 
 
 DO not say "gospels," but "gospel," 
 the one gospel, though it is many-sided. 
 There are many facets to this diamond. 
 In these meetings we wish to develop 
 some feature of God's word which will furnish you 
 material for your profit and study and further in- 
 vestigation of the precious Scriptures. 
 
 Now, turn with me to the 55th chapter of Isaiah, 
 vs. 1, 2. Notice four things ; water, wine, milk, 
 bread. These are emblems or symbols of the 
 gospel of our salvation. Somebody has rightly 
 said that the Holy Spirit has ransacked all creation 
 to find fitting emblems and symbols with which to 
 suitably portray the L,ord Jesus and set forth His 
 finished work of redemption. Everything in nature 
 is laid under tribute by the Spirit of God for this 
 purpose. He enters the animal creation and takes 
 the lion and the lamb, and into the vegetable king- 
 dom and selects the rose and the lily, and into the 
 mineral kingdom to find gold and silver and 
 precious stones, to illustrate, to shadow forth, to 
 represent, and to portray the I^ord Jesus. The 
 Spirit of God hides Himself; He shall not speak 
 
 (95) 
 
q6 Spiritual Life. 
 
 of Himself, in order that He might reveal Jesus 
 Christ. He testifies of Him. But we need to have 
 an intimate acquaintance with the modes and 
 methods and purposes of the Spirit in order to be 
 prepared for His revelation of Jesus Christ to us. 
 
 So the Spirit of God takes various emblems and 
 symbols to set forth the gospel of salvation in its 
 manifold character. If any of you, brethren, wish 
 to have a little address and you have been too busy 
 all day to prepare it, you could take these four 
 things and talk on them beautifully and profitably. 
 
 Water is the symbol of life; so the best thing we 
 have is the living water. What a glorious repre- 
 sentation of the gospel that is! Then wine in 
 Scripture is the emblem of joy, "wine tliatmaketh 
 glad the heart of man. ' ' Wine produces an ecstasy 
 in man's physical organization, and so it is the 
 emblem of the gospel which produces a purer 
 ecstasy and a greater enjoyment. Wine illustrates 
 the joy of the gospel. Then milk. You know 
 that milk is spoken of in Peter as the source of 
 growth: "As new-born babes desire the unadul- 
 terated milk of the word, that you may grow 
 thereby unto salvation. ' ' And bread is that which 
 gives strength. So we have life, joy, growth and 
 strength, features of spiritual life symbolized in this 
 manner. The gospel of Jesus Christ is all of this; 
 the gospel brings life to the sinner, and the gospel 
 brings joy to the heart, and the gospel develops 
 
The Manifold Gospel. 97 
 
 growth in the convert, and the gospel has in it 
 also the nourishing qualities, the nutritive elements 
 which make the believer strong in the L,ord and in 
 the power of His might. 
 
 I want that you should now turn to Gal. i. 8, 9, 
 in order that we may study this subject of the mani- 
 fold gospel. The Revised Version reads, ( ' Though 
 we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you 
 any gospel other than that which we preached unto 
 you. " It is a very serious thing to preach the gospel, 
 to profess to be a preacher of the gospel ; it is a very 
 serious thing to hear the gospel ; it carries with it 
 very great responsibility. Take heed, therefore, how 
 ye hear, and take heed, therefore, what ye hear. Now 
 the question will naturally arise in the mind, What 
 is the gospel ? If there is an anathema pronounced 
 against those who preach any gospel other than 
 that which Paul preached, what is the gospel ? In 
 Gal. i. 4, we have the very substance of the gospel : 
 "Who gave himself for our sins, that he might 
 deliver us from this present evil world, according 
 to the will of God and our Father. ' ' Now that is 
 the very essence of the gospel, the substitutionary 
 work of Jesus Christ for the sinner ; and if any man 
 preach any other gospel than this, any speculation, 
 any philosophy or any theory other than this, he 
 comes under the terrible anathema, u let him be 
 accursed. ' } 
 
 What is the gospel ? What is its definition ? 
 7 
 
98 Spiritual Life. 
 
 We have a scriptural answer. We turn to the 
 second chapter of Luke and there we find the true 
 scriptural definition from the 10th verse: u Fear 
 not." Man is afraid of God because he does not 
 understand God; man, because he is a sinner, 
 knowing that God is holy, trembles before him. 
 * ( Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of 
 great joy." What are the good tidings? "For 
 unto you is born this day in the city of David " a 
 helper ? no ; a reformer ? no ; a teacher ? no ; u a 
 Saviour which is Christ the L,ord. ' ' Now do not 
 be startled if I say to you that Jesus Christ did not 
 come into this world to help the sinner. He did 
 not come to help, He came to save. We have no 
 power in ourselves, we are helpless, and He has 
 come not as a helper, but as a Saviour. ' ( And 
 this shall be a sign unto you, ye shall find the babe 
 wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a 
 manger. And suddenly there was with the angel 
 a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and 
 saying, Glory to God in the highest and on earth 
 peace, good- will toward men. ' ' Even angels will 
 have their hallelujahs when they hear this gospel 
 announced. Mr. Spurgeon said one time that 
 when he got to heaven, where he is now, although 
 there would be no sinners there, he felt that he 
 must stand on the corners of the streets of the New 
 Jerusalem and preach to the angels, to tell them 
 about this gospel, what a glorious thing it is. 
 
The Manifold Gospel. 99 
 
 How very glad every angel in heaven must be to 
 know that as God looked down upon this lost 
 world, he had such love for man as to send his 
 only begotten Son, born of a woman, the Saviour, 
 Jesus Christ our Lord. This was their chant: 
 * * Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, 
 good-will to men." 
 
 This, then, is the meaning of the word gospel ; 
 "glad tidings." And what are these tidings? 
 I want you to take the word gospel and trace it 
 through the New Testament when most convenient. 
 There are many ways of studying the Bible, but 
 this is one very good way. You select the word 
 gospel: it is found very frequently in the New 
 Testament; get your concordance and trace it 
 throughout. Take note-book and pencil and write 
 down every verse where you find the word; then 
 when you complete your list of texts, take your 
 notes and your Bible, and read carefully not only the 
 passage where the word is found, but all its sur- 
 roundings. Try to understand what is meant by 
 the word in that particular passage, and you will 
 find very soon that your mind will be enriched and 
 your soul comforted, and you will have gained a 
 goodly store of Bible knowledge. When I was a 
 boy I was very fond of rock candy. One thing 
 about the candy always puzzled me; the smallest 
 piece would always have a little string in it, and 
 the longer pieces would have a string in them. 
 
V 
 
 ioo Spiritual Life. 
 
 Whatever amount I bought I always found a string 
 through it. When I inquired I learned that they 
 could not make the candy without that string on 
 which they crystallized the sugar. Now you may 
 take a word like the word gospel for the string and 
 find precious teaching connected with it. I shall 
 take that word at this time and call your attention 
 to it in a few places. 
 
 Romans i. i. " Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, 
 called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel 
 of God." I want you to notice that every text I 
 read will have a different expression connected with 
 the word gospel. We start with this statement: 
 ( ( The gospel of God. ' ' That is, the gospel is of 
 God, the gospel is from God, it concerns God and 
 it comes from God to men. Every river in the 
 world has its source ; men may be a long time try- 
 ing to find the source of the Nile, but it has its 
 source. So when you trace the gospel you find its 
 source in the very heart of God. God planned this 
 whole scheme of redemption. It was no after- 
 thought; before even man fell He had the idea of 
 redemption in His own mind; the gospel is not, 
 therefore, a human scheme of redemption, but it is 
 the divine plan for the salvation of the race. The 
 gospel reveals God; makes Him known to us. 
 Nature also makes Him known, but not in His 
 moral character; the man who studies nature will 
 have some idea of His existence and power and 
 
The Manifold Gospel 101 
 
 wisdom and greatness and so on, but the gospel 
 discovers to us the moral nature of God. Nature 
 tells us nothing about His love for mankind, but 
 the gospel gives us the full revelation of His char- 
 acter, of His work, of His nature; so we come to 
 know Him ; ( ' and this is life eternal that they may 
 know Thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ 
 whom Thou hast sent. ' ' Then there is life in a full 
 knowledge of God in the gospel. He reveals Him- 
 self to us in that gospel, and by that revelation we 
 are saved; saved because we come to know Him; 
 to know that "God is love," and "we love Him 
 because He first loved us." 
 
 Turn to Acts xx. 24. c ' But none of these things « 
 move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, 
 so that I might finish my course with joy, and the 
 ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, 
 to testify the gospel of the grace of God." You 
 find another expression here. We read in that re- 
 markable sermon which Paul preached to the elders 
 atEphesus: "None of these things move me." 
 How different it is with us modern evangelists! 
 Unless we ride in a Pullman and have the best of 
 everything we think we are hardly dealt with; 
 and unless we have applause where we go, we are 
 discouraged. It was the gospel of God in the 1st 
 chapter of Romans, now it is the " gospel of the 
 grace of God. ' ' If you were to ask me to explain 
 grace, I should have to decline; if you were to ask 
 
102 Spiritual Life. 
 
 me to lecture on the rainbow, I should have to be 
 silent. You cannot explain grace, although you 
 may have some little conception of it. The best 
 definition I ever heard of grace was from a little 
 ragged boy in a mission school. The question was 
 asked, " What is grace ?" And the answer came, 
 11 Please, sir, it is getting everything for nothing." 
 Such really is the grace of God. The gospel says 
 that we have nothing to give, and God gives us 
 everything; we have no price in our hand, no 
 merit in ourselves, but God out of His boundless 
 goodness, out of His own infinite mercy, gives to us 
 salvation full and free. The gospel is the gospel 
 of the grace of God. In the 7th chapter of L,uke 
 you will find a beautiful and touching illustration 
 of Grace. There was a good man, a centurion, 
 very patriotic, a lover of his country, and a lover 
 of the Jews ; he built them a synagogue and he 
 loved their nation. He had a sick servant, and he 
 was very solicitous about that servant, and the 
 Jewish people sympathized with him. They went 
 to Jesus and said, ' ' We want you to come and heal 
 this centurion's servant, for he is worthy for whom 
 you should do this, for he built us a synagogue and 
 he loves our nation." Now the plea of the Jews 
 with Jesus that he might heal the centurion's ser- 
 vant was based on the ground of the man's per- 
 sonal worthiness. When the centurion heard it 
 he was mortified, and sent his servant to Jesus with 
 
The Manifold Gospel. 103 
 
 this message, ' ' Lord, do not trouble yourself to 
 come to me nor to come under my roof; for / am 
 not worthy that thou shouldst come under my roof. 
 Say the word only and my servant shall be healed. ' ' 
 Jesus marveled, and turning around said, ( ' I 
 have not found so great faith, no not in Israel." 
 Not among the Jewish people did Jesus find such a 
 believer, but here is a Gentile who has so much 
 faith that he describes himself as unworthy, and he 
 does not base any plea on his own merit, but prays 
 the Saviour to heal his servant in grace. Now if we yS 
 have one thought of merit regarding ourselves, it 
 is the fly that spoils the ointment; it spoils grace. 
 If you think there is any spot good in you from 
 scalp to heel, you do not understand grace; but 
 when you know there is not a single good moral 
 spot in you, and that God in His infinite grace 
 stoops down to save you for nothing, then you will 
 understand something about grace. The gospel is 
 the gospel of the grace of God. It humbles man, 
 it shows him his own lack of merit, then it takes 
 him up in its arms, that in the " ages to come He 
 might show forth the exceeding riches of His 
 grace." Eph. ii. 8. u For by grace are ye saved 
 through faith ; and that not of yourselves : it is the gift 
 of God." Grace and merit are opposite; grace and 
 works are opposite, and you cannot mingle the 
 two ; you cannot be saved partly by grace and 
 partly by works. The gospel is the gospel of the 
 
io4 Spiritual Life, 
 
 grace of God; it is the announcement of salvation, 
 proclaiming to man eternal life as the gift of God. 
 "The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus 
 Christ our Iyord. ' ' Now you know what a gift is. 
 When God gives you salvation He is not asking 
 anything of you, and the sinner who is in the atti- 
 tude of a recipient is the one whom God will bless 
 first. Oh, blessed gospel of the grace of God! 
 
 Now we turn to Romans i. 16. " For I am not 
 ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power 
 of God unto salvation to every one that believeth ; 
 to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. ' ' Here the 
 expression is ' ' the gospel of Christ. ' ' In Rom. i. 
 we have iheorig-m of the gospel, the gospel of God; 
 in Acts xx. we have the character of the gospel. 
 Now in Rom. i. 16, we have the subject of the 
 gospel ; the gospel of Christ. He is the one whom 
 this great gospel reveals. Turn for a moment to 
 i Cor. xv. 1-4 and you will understand this ex- 
 pression, the gospel of Christ. The gospel is con- 
 cerning the Son of God; it tells of His mission to 
 earth, it tells us of His death and triumphant resur- 
 rection. Here are the pillars upon which man's 
 redemption rests. Christ died for my sins, accord- 
 ing to the Scriptures, He was buried; it was no sham 
 death, no faint, no swooning; He was buried as a 
 dead man, but He rose again according to the Scrip- 
 tures, and the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ 
 are the pillars upon which man's salvation rests se- 
 
The Manifold Gospel. 105 
 
 cure. If these pillars can be pulled to pieces there is 
 no salvation for the human race. But they are stand- 
 ing to-day as they have ever stood. So the gospel 
 is an announcement concerning Jesus Christ, espe- 
 cially this, that He died for our sins, and rose again 
 from the dead. Therefore the apostles went every- 
 where preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And 
 in the Epistle to the Romans, in that one letter, you 
 see how much the apostle thought of Christ; Christ 
 was the centre of his theology; Christ was the sub- 
 stance of his teaching, for thirty times in that 
 epistle he mentions the name of Christ. Paul had 
 a real sense of salvation through Christ, when he 
 talked about Christ, and when he preached salva- 
 tion he could not preach it apart from Christ. 
 So it is Christ all through, and the gospel is the 
 gospel of Christ. 
 
 Then as to the objec t of the gospel in the fourth V- 
 place, we turn to Bph. i. 13. u In whom ye also 
 trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the 
 gospel of your salvation : in whom also, after that 
 ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit 
 of promise." The object of the gospel then is 
 salvation. The gospel is a verbal message, a 
 declaration concerning Jesus Christ, and the mani- 
 festation of the grace of God to men. Now, salva- 
 tion is a very comprehensive term; we need to 
 examine that a little. What is salvation ? Salva- 
 tion is deliverance. And salvation is a good deal 
 
106 Spiritual Life. 
 
 more than we ordinarily think, perhaps. If, for 
 instance, a man is brought before the court here in 
 this State and is adjudged guilty; if that man is 
 a thief and the witnesses prove his crime against 
 him, and the jury return a verdict of "guilty," if 
 the judge has the right, the prerogative, the power 
 to release that man from the penalty of the law; if 
 he has the privilege to pardon the man, he pro- 
 nounces pardon upon him, he exercises mercy, he 
 says to the thief, ' ' You have been convicted, but 
 now it is my prerogative to pardon you ; you can go 
 out of this place free. ' ' He is saved from what ? 
 From the penalty of his transgression; he is saved 
 from the punishment of the law which he trans- 
 gressed. But after he goes out he steals again; 
 he has still all his thievish propensities and is there- 
 fore only partly saved. But, if the judge could in 
 some way inoculate that man with his own upright 
 principles ; if he could say, ' ' My friend, you have 
 been a thief all your life, and it is your propensity 
 to steal; I not only remit the penalty of the law, 
 but I implant in you my upright nature." Then 
 the thief going out without his thievish propensities, 
 and with all the virtues of the judge in him, he is 
 saved from the penalty of his crime and he is saved 
 from the habit of thieving. In like manner the 
 Lord came to save us, not only from punishment 
 due to us as transgressors, but also by the imparta- 
 tion of His own nature. * ' If any man be in Christ, 
 
The Manifold Gospel. 107 
 
 he is a new creation; old things are passed away, 
 behold, all things have become new. ' ' If Brother 
 Fife went around the streets drunken and gambling 
 as formerly and still said, ' ' I am saved from my 
 sins," none of you would come to hear him. But 
 when you see the change in the man, that old habits 
 are overcome and old vices given up, and the 
 brother's life is now bent in the right direction, you 
 see that salvation is a broad, comprehensive term. 
 Saved from sins and saved from sinning. 
 
 A great many are hoping to get to heaven, who 
 are never saved from their habits. Their prayer is 
 u Iyord, I would like to be saved from hell, but 
 please let me drink and gamble here below." 
 Well, not much, sir, not much shall that prayer be 
 answered. 
 
 I preached the other night, and made the gospel 
 just as difficult as I could for the sinner. I showed 
 him all that he would have to encounter, I tried to 
 show him all the difficulties before him; and I 
 said, "Now, I have made the gospel so difficult 
 that if you come to Jesus Christ you must turn your 
 back upon questionable things; in the face of this 
 difficult gospel, who is going to come out on the 
 Lord's side ? " It requires courage, but we have to 
 accept the fact that the gospel carries with it cer- 
 tain responsibilities which a man cannot set aside 
 when he professes faith in Jesus Christ. 
 
 But though saved from the habit of my past life, 
 
108 Spiritual Life. 
 
 I am not yet fully saved, because I am subject to 
 sickness and disease; I have a body subject to death 
 and if the L,ord Jesus should tarry, I shall be car- 
 ried to the grave. But He has promised to redeem 
 that body when He comes, and the graves will then 
 open, and from all the cemeteries will come God's 
 people in their glorified bodies; they shall then be 
 saved from all the consequences of sin. 
 
 So there are a great many texts which apparently 
 do not harmonize, because one class of texts speak 
 of salvation from the penalty of sin, another class 
 of texts speak of salvation from the power of sin, 
 and another of salvation from its final consequences. 
 
 v L,et me give you a sample : we read in 2 Timothy 
 ii. 9, that we are saved ; that is absolute, that is 
 positive ; we are saved. We read in Phil. ii. 12, 13, 
 
 i/ "Work out your own salvation, ... for it is God 
 that worketh in you." He works in us and we work 
 out what He works in. When in Canada preaching, 
 the cold was very severe; and while driving across 
 
 / the country my hands would get very cold; so I 
 said to my wife one day, " My hands become so 
 cold I can not hold the lines." "Well," she said, 
 4 ' I will knit you a pair of woolen mittens. " u But, ' ' 
 she added, "you have to provide me with the 
 material." She worked them out after I bought 
 the material and put it in her possession. So God 
 puts the material of salvation into us by the impar- 
 tation of His Spirit; then says, "Go, work out 
 
The Manifold Gospel. 109 
 
 your own salvation ; ' ' salvation from self, salvation 
 from habit, salvation from the flesh. My friends, 
 that is the second aspect of salvation. Then read 
 Romans viii. 24. "For we are saved by hope: 
 but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man 
 seeth, why doth he yet hope for ? " A great many 
 people take comfort in that text, and say they hope 
 to be saved because the Bible says we are saved 
 by hope. What is this salvation ? The redemp- 
 tion of the body. Therefore we are expecting the 
 consummation of our salvation as a hope. By the 
 exercise of memory we look back, we remember 
 what Jesus has done; by the exercise of hope we 
 look forward: we have memory and hope, by which 
 the Christian soul is kept poised and balanced, like 
 the traditional cofiin of Mohammed. 
 
 Again observe Eph. vi. 15. "And your feet 
 shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace." T 
 This is the result of the gospel, peace. The gos- 
 pel of peace. It is a curious style in telling a man 
 to prepare for war, to talk about peace. Paul talks 
 about the helmet and the breast-plate and then 
 shoes of peace. Now, the meaning is this : No 
 Christian is ready to fight until he stands on peace; 
 if he has a peaceful understanding with God ; peace 
 with God, then he is able to fight against the enemy ; 
 but if we have not peace with God, we have no 
 courage to fight. So we stand like the Roman and 
 Greek soldiers who with spiked sandals gripped the 
 
no Spiritual Life. 
 
 earth; they had a good understanding, because the 
 iron spikes held them up and they were able to 
 fight. So the gospel is the gospel of peace; we 
 have peace with God through our L,ord Jesus Christ. 
 A great many do not discriminate between hav- 
 ing peace and feeling peace, and they are wrecked 
 right along those rocks; a kind of sunken bar and 
 a very dangerous place. We want to be happy 
 and we try to work ourselves into happiness, then 
 think we are converted. There may be something 
 of emotion in a real conversion, I grant you, but 
 I do not depend on feelings for my salvation; these 
 are but the consequences of salvation. Now what 
 is peace? I never like, whether I am North or South, 
 to refer to the late war, first of all because I had 
 nothing to do with it; I was on the other side of 
 the water, but I used to read the papers about the 
 North and the South. The good time came when 
 peace was declared between the two parties. There 
 is a man hiding down here in the swamps, or woods 
 and I come up and say, " My friend, what is the 
 matter?" "Well, sir, my two sons were killed in 
 the war, and I have a sick wife at home, and I am 
 afraid they will draft me. ' * He is hiding in fear ; 
 but I tell him that the war is all over, that the 
 strife is ended. Now if he believes that message, 
 immediately he has peace in his heart; if he does 
 not believe the message, he is still in terror. God 
 has been at war with this world on account of sin; 
 
The Manifold Gospel. in 
 
 Jesus Christ came and made peace; and if we be- 
 lieve that, we enter into peace with God. Peace 
 is not feeling, but fact; peace with God, peace 
 with my Father. We are not afraid, we have peace. 
 If we have the feeling of peace afterwards, it is 
 all right; there are some people who never can 
 have feelings and if they try to work themselves 
 into feeling, they do not succeed. You ask me if 
 I always feel happy. No, I do not ; it is impossible, 
 no man can control his feelings. When I am out 
 on the Atlantic, for instance, about two days from 
 shore, I am anything but happy; and if you should 
 approach and say, ' ' How do you feel ?' ' I would 
 be apt to say, * ' Get you gone ; hie to your den ; 
 let me alone. ' ' But if you were to say, ' ' Have 
 you peace with God?" I would say u yes, al- 
 though old Neptune is demanding tribute, I 
 have peace with God. ' ' The gospel is the gospel 
 of peace. So that when we by faith enter into the 
 enjoyment of peace with God, I do not care how 
 much feeling we may have afterwards. 
 
 My opinion is this: I believe that people should 
 be natural; if anybody puts a straight jacket on 
 you, pull it off and simply be yourself, but do not 
 make the mistake that happy feelings constitute 
 the peace of the gospel. God is no more at war 
 with me, I am reconciled to Him; I have peace 
 with God through Jesus Christ, my L,ord. So 
 peace is the result of the gospel. 
 
f 
 
 112 Spiritual Life. ■ 
 
 In the last place, i Tim. i. n. " According to 
 trie glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was 
 committed to my trust. n Or as it properly reads, 
 "According to the gospel of the glory of the 
 blessed God." This, then, is the ultimate design 
 of the gospel, that God may be glorified. I am 
 afraid, brethren, we do not keep that enough in 
 view, the glory of God in the gospel. Glory is 
 the manifestation of all His excellencies, the mani- 
 festation of all His attributes ; He shall be glorified 
 in the results of the gospel. The word "blessed " 
 as all scholars know, means ' l happy. ' ' Therefore 
 it reads in this way, ' ' according to the gospel of 
 the glory of the happy God." God is immeasur- 
 ably happy in Himself, like these great lakes that 
 become so full, they must have outlets, so the St. 
 Lawrences and the Niagaras are formed by the 
 overflow of the lakes. God is so supremely happy 
 in Himself, there must be an outlet; that outlet 
 comes in the form of the gospel to our race. 
 
 So we have, dear friends, the gospel beginning 
 with God and ending with God, the gospel of God 
 and the gospel of the glory of God. We have the 
 gospel of God as to its origin, and the gospel of 
 the grace of God as to its character, and the gos- 
 pel of Christ as to its subject, and the gospel of 
 your salvation as to its object, and the gospel of 
 peace as to its result, and the gospel of the glory 
 of God as to its design. There is besides the 
 
The Manifold Gospel. 113 
 
 gospel of the kingdom, and the everlasting gos- 
 pel, but I think I have said enough to induce study 
 and give you a little clew in this direction. It is 
 a great thing to have a consistent view and a har- 
 monized view of these different texts which exalt 
 the gospel of our I^ord Jesus Christ. 
 8 
 
VI. 
 
 CONSECRATED VESSELS. 
 
 j UT in a great house there are not only 
 vessels of gold and of silver, but also of 
 wood and of earth; and some to honor 
 
 and some to dishonor. If a man therefore 
 
 purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto 
 honor, sanctified, and meet for the Master's use, 
 and prepared unto every good work. ' ' (2 Tim. ii. 
 20, 21.) 
 
 This great house is the church. Israel, nation- 
 ally, was the house of Moses, though he was but a 
 servant in it. The church is the house of Christ, 
 of which He is Foundation, Builder and Master. 
 (Heb. iii. 4-6; Matt. xvi. 18; 1 Cor. iii. 2.) The 
 Church is "a spiritual house, ' ' the temple wherein 
 God dwelleth. (1 Peter ii. 5; Bph. ii. 19-22; 1 
 Cor. iii. 16, 17.) It is the house of God, the pillar 
 and ground of the truth. (1 Tim. iii. 15.) This 
 is the house where Truth seeks rest, and for whom 
 all the inhabitants should have proper and jealous 
 regard. But, alas! it is not always so. Hyme- 
 nseus and Philetus opposed the truth in denying a 
 future literal resurrection. They overthrew the 
 faith of some in teaching that it was past already. 
 
 ("4) 
 
Consea r ated Vessels. 115 
 
 This fatal error has been presented in many forms 
 for nineteen centuries, and the hope of the fathers 
 regarding the resurrection of the body, for which 
 Paul contended before kings, has been in great 
 measure eliminated from our modern theology. 
 Truth corrupted soon led to corrupt practices. 
 With the denial of truth came the fading away of 
 morals, hence the faithful admonition in the above 
 passage. 
 
 /. Consider the vessels. 
 
 The vessels in the great house embrace the minis- 
 try of the church. Some are ' ' gold ' ' and ' ' sil- 
 ver ' ' in the preciousness of gift, natural and ac- 
 quired, and in opportunity for wider service. 
 
 Others of "wood" and "earth," though of 
 coarser material, are not necessarily restricted in 
 usefulness. In domestic use, indeed, the more or- 
 dinary vessels are the most needful. Not always 
 are vessels of ' ' gold ' ' honorable, nor ' ' earthen ' , 
 vessels dishonorable. The Master of the house 
 seeks honor from all; yet it is of frequent occur- 
 rence in the assembly of God, that members of 
 culture, position, and wealth — ' ' vessels of gold " — 
 are to dishonor, being defiled. Intellectual specu- 
 lation in holy things are "lusts of the mind," 
 which lead to denial and perversion of the truth, 
 and in being seduced from the written word 
 through "carnal reasonings" such, thus tempted, 
 become ' ' vain in their imaginations, ' ' and their 
 
n6 Spiritual Life. 
 
 foolish heart being darkened, are set aside as unfit 
 for the Master's use. 
 
 Again, it is an undoubted fact that persons of 
 meagre gift, limited education, and restricted ad- 
 vantages — vessels of " wood " and " earth " — have 
 proved a perpetual benediction, carrying about 
 within them the water of life to refresh and com- 
 fort and save a multitude — "vessels unto honor. " 
 
 Does God, then, discount human learning, and 
 put a premium on ignorance ? No, in no wise. 
 But He has frequently demonstrated that He can 
 accomplish His great designs without the wisdom 
 of men. ' ' For the foolishness of God is wiser than 
 men; and the weakness of God is stronger than 
 men." (i Cor. i. 25-29.) Whether of gold or earth, 
 the c ' vessel ' ' is but a vessel; another shapes it, 
 prepares it, fills it, makes use of it. There are, 
 however, conditions to be observed. The evil 
 which defiles and dishonors must be cast out as a 
 preparatory process for service. Hence, " if a man 
 PURGE HIMSELF FROM THESE he shall be a vessel 
 unto honor. ' ' Not that a vessel of. ' ( gold " or u sil- 
 ver ' ' must withdraw itself from one of ' ( wood ' ' or 
 "earth," but that each vessel rid itself of defiling 
 elements which dishonor the Son of God. 
 
 The context shows that the false teaching of 
 verse 1 8 is connected with the c c profane and vain 
 babblings" of verse 16, which eat as a gangrene 
 into the vitals of spiritual life. The "youthful 
 
Consecrated Vessels. 117 
 
 lusts" of verse 22, and the " foolish and unlearned 
 questions" of verse 23, show that truth neglected 
 or perverted inevitably leads to laxity of morals. 
 For when truth is dislodged from the mind by 
 ' l lusts, " u evil communications, ' ' which ' ' corrupt 
 good manners, ' ' find a ready entrance. 
 
 A vessel of gold or of wood may contain impurity, 
 and from this the vessel should seek purging. The 
 purging enjoined is not an unbrotherly exclusion, 
 or withdrawal, but a riddance of false doctrine. 
 
 That discipline should be exercised in the church 
 of God is clearly taught elsewhere. But the Scrip- 
 ture idea of excision is for the health of the body, 
 and the restoration to sound doctrine or morals of 
 the excommunicated. We fear that much spiritual 
 pride has been engendered by a false view of this 
 passage, and an unjust exclusiveness, a false spiritu- 
 ality has been the result. 
 
 Leaving, however, the matter of church dis- 
 cipline aside, let us further examine the teaching 
 of the passage under consideration. " If a man 
 purge HIMSELF," brings us immediately to the fact 
 of personal responsibility. Separation from sin in 
 all its forms is taught throughout the Scriptures. 
 There are things which defile a man, and from 
 such he should withdraw himself. ' ( Let us 
 cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and 
 spirit;" "but now ye also put off all these;" "put 
 off the old man with his deeds ;" u put off the works 
 
n8 Spiritual Life. 
 
 of darkness. " Such exhortations should come 
 home very closely to every Christian who has a 
 realization of his individual relation to God, before 
 whom he seeks to walk. And by such Scriptures 
 the Spirit of God is ever reminding us, that as we 
 are holy in God's eternal purpose, we should also 
 be holy in immediate experience and practice. The 
 leper, ceremonially cleansed by the priest, was next 
 commanded to cleanse himself. (L,ev. xiv. i-io.) 
 The priest applied the blood, he must apply the 
 water. In our solicitude to defend the gospel of 
 grace from Arminian legalism, we must jealously 
 guard against the rebound to the gospel of Antino- 
 mian license and presumptuous fatalism. The 
 same Spirit who gives assurance of complete salva- 
 tion through the efficacy of the blood, urges the 
 saved believer to self-judgment and self-cleansing 
 through the efficacy of the word. It is well to 
 hold the balance of truth, and perceive the harmony 
 between being kept and keeping ourselves, being 
 purged and purging ourselves, being washed and 
 washing ourselves. 
 
 Nor are we left without a motive in this essen- 
 tial work. u If a man purge himself from these, 
 he shall be A VKSSKL unto honor." In verse 15 
 Paul enjoins Timothy to study as a workman under 
 the eye of God and for God's approval. For u not 
 he who commendeth himself is approved, but whom 
 the L,ord commendeth. ' ' Such study deepens faith 
 
Consecrated Vessels. 119 
 
 and checks our desire after flattery. He who seeks 
 the praise of men more than the praise of God, who 
 weighs every question of service in the scales of 
 human opinion, cannot be a vessel ' ' unto honour. ' ' 
 1 ' For if I yet please men, I should not be the ser- 
 vant of Christ, ' ' was the experience of one whose 
 brief but comprehensive creed was the true ex- 
 pression of a consecrated life — "Whose I am, and 
 whom I serve " How true are our Lord's words, 
 u How can ye believe, which receive honor one of 
 another?" Such self-seeking must surely wound 
 and weaken our faith. 
 
 II. Sanctified vessels. 
 
 * * If a man therefore purge himself from these, 
 he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and 
 meet for the Master's use. " We cannot charge the 
 Holy Spirit with tautology; every word is of mo- 
 ment He attaches meaning to ' ' purge ' ' and 
 "honor;" so also to "sanctified," "meet," and 
 ' ( prepared. ' ' 
 
 "Sanctified" is an Old Testament word. It 
 means, primarily, "separated." And this idea is 
 attached to it also in the New Testament. In the 
 memorable prayer of our Lord (John xvii. 17, 19) 
 He asked that His disciples might be sanctified. If 
 we claim that sanctification means only moral ex- 
 cellence, or growth into a holy state, we shall miss 
 the Lord's thought and misinterpret the right idea 
 of sanctification. In verse 19 He speaks of His 
 
120 Spiritual Life. 
 
 own self-sanctification, which cannot refer to any 
 attainment in holiness or essential purity, which 
 might imply lack of holiness in the past. He 
 was always ' ' that holy thing ' ' from the earliest 
 stage of being; and in growth into manhood he 
 never became holier in person or character. Not 
 only did our Iyord sanctify Himself, but He acknowl- 
 edges the Father as the sanctifier : ' ' Say ye of Him, 
 whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the 
 world, Thou blasphemest ?" (John x. 36.) Keep- 
 ing the primary idea of sanctification still in mind, 
 how full of meaning are the words of Jesus! The 
 Father sent Him; gladly He came to do His will, 
 separating Himself to His mission with unfaltering 
 devotion, until at the close of life He could say, in 
 fullest measure, u I have finished the work thou 
 gavest me to do. ' ' As our Lord thus set Himself 
 apart to the perfect fulfilment of the Father's will, 
 so He prays that His disciples might likewise be 
 truly sanctified. 
 
 Every vessel in God's house is formed for its own 
 unique purpose; or, to change the figure, every 
 member of the mystical body has its own use. 
 Every Christian, by the election of the Father, by 
 the redemption of Christ, and by the indwelling of 
 the Spirit, is set apart for salvation and service. 
 Consecration is the recognition of this vital truth in 
 personal life, and the faithful, unswerving devotion 
 of the believer to fulfil the purpose of God concern- 
 
Consecrated Vessels. 121 
 
 ing him. Therefore, as a vessel, each one should 
 earnestly endeavor to abide in his own place, or, as 
 a member of the body, to fulfil his own office, and 
 throughout the whole of life be fully devoted to his 
 calling and ministry in the house of God. Every 
 piece of furniture in the tabernacle and temple 
 had its own peculiar ministry: the brazen altar 
 could not serve for the laver, nor the candlestick 
 take the place of the ark. Nor as members of the 
 body can the hand say to the foot, ' c I have no need 
 of thee;" nor the eye seek to perform, in addition 
 to its own, the functions of the ear. Therefore 
 confusion arises in the house of God when we not 
 only endeavor to fill offices for which we are not 
 qualified by nature or grace, but also when ignoring 
 other vessels chosen of God for their own particular 
 service. ' ' Evangelists ' ' should not decry ■ ' pas- 
 tors," nor " pastors" ignore u evangelists;" nor 
 should either despise ' ' governments ' ' and ' c helps. ' ' 
 The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every 
 man to profit withal, but to every man is appointed 
 his own special work. (Eph. 4. 8-12.) 
 
 And here let me offer a word of caution. This 
 separation to our own peculiar work does not em- 
 brace all of sanctification. We may, indeed, stand 
 in our proper place in the church, and not be in a 
 right attitude of soul before God. In the conse- 
 cration of the Nazarite (Num. vi.), separation was 
 unto the Lord. Failure in this particular was fail- 
 
122 Spiritual Life. 
 
 ure in every department of separation. Refusing 
 wine, or avoiding a dead body, may be done in a 
 pharisaic spirit, or in monkish piety. But true 
 separation to the L,ord necessarily withdrew the 
 Nazarite from the emblems of worldly pleasure 
 and moral death. Practically, then, it is through 
 the indwelling power of the Spirit that we are 
 separated in aim, in heart, in service to the Lord, 
 and, consequently, from everything antagonistic 
 to His holiness and truth. Thus do we become 
 vessels unto honor, "sanctified" for the Master's 
 use. 
 
 III. Vessels made meet. 
 
 " Sanctified," but not yet "meet." Let us note 
 this other word. In the pottery the potter is sov- 
 ereign. He moulds and forms as he wills. He 
 fashions each vessel for its own use — bowls, 
 pitchers, cups, vases. Yet are they not free from 
 un cleanness, the dust of the factory or store ever 
 falling upon and defiling them. A cleansing pro- 
 cess is therefore needful to fit the vessel for use. 
 Likewise, notwithstanding our separation to God, 
 and consequent turning away from evil, we are not 
 free from defilement. We breathe an impure at- 
 mosphere, and even the unconscious sin, which is 
 ever sin to God, must be fully cleansed away before 
 we can truly serve in the fellowship of His Son, 
 our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 In Lev. xi. 32, the law of ceremonies declared a 
 
Co7tsecrated Vessels. 123 
 
 vessel unclean if touched by any creeping thing. 
 "And upon whatsoever any of them, when they 
 are dead, doth fall, it shall be unclean; whether it 
 be any vessel of wood, or raiment, or skin, or sack, 
 whatsoever vessel it be, wherein any work is done, 
 it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean 
 until the even : so it shall be cleansed. ' ' Not the 
 outside of the cup and platter only, but the inside 
 also must be cleansed. Vessels of gold or of wood, 
 of silver or of earth, need the inward purification 
 of the Spirit, who washes by the word, till we are 
 clean every whit. ' ' Holiness becometh thine 
 house, O Lord, for ever." The Christian believer, 
 separated to his ministry, purged from sin with 
 atoning blood, and cleansed in the laver of truth, 
 becomes a vessel unto honor "meet for the Mas- 
 ter's use." 
 
 Vessels uncovered in a Jewish tent became de- 
 filed when a person died. (Num. xix. 14, 15.) 
 The presence of death, apart from any action of 
 the vessels, rendered them ceremonially unclean. 
 Therefore coverings were made and fastened upon 
 them, that they might be held ready for use. 
 Blessed be God, purification may become an ex- 
 perience, because a fact, and provision is made 
 through His infinite grace, to preserve in holiness 
 those who are called and chosen and faithful. 
 
 " I am an empty vessel ! scarce one thought 
 Or look of love to Thee I've ever brought ; 
 
124 Spiritual Life. 
 
 Yet I may come, and come again, to Thee 
 With this, the contrite sinner's truthful plea, 
 ' Thou lovest me. ' ' ' 
 
 IV. Prepared vessels. 
 
 "Prepared unto every good work." What is 
 this preparation ? In other words, if the vessel is 
 set apart and purified, is it not prepared ? Truly, 
 it is ready for use, but not as yet prepared for 
 practical service. 
 
 When visiting a pottery, I observed the various 
 processes through which the vessel passed till com- 
 pleted. Having made a purchase, the vessel was 
 ready for usefulness in the home, but must needs 
 be prepared for its special work through being filled. 
 While empty, though cleansed, it could not serve 
 its purpose nor fulfil its mission. And hereby the 
 lesson was enforced upon me, that we fail in recog- 
 nizing the Sovereign Potter's design when we de- 
 sire only an abiding emptiness. It is of paramount 
 importance that self should be thrust out, and kept 
 out, but the filling up with the divine material is 
 an absolute essential. 
 
 "None of self, but all of Thee." 
 
 A filled vessel, then, is a vessel ( ' prepared for 
 every good work." Nor is consecration & fact in 
 personal experience, until the emptying of every 
 defiling element becomes insured by the filling up 
 out of the fulness that is in Christ. This essential 
 feature of consecration was typified by the priest's 
 
Consecrated Vessels. 125 
 
 presentation of sacrifice and incense, which filled 
 his hands. When Moses was ordained of God to 
 consecrate the priesthood, one part of that act was 
 in filling their hands, as symbolic of the powers 
 and ministry of the office with which they were 
 invested. (Exod. xxviii. 41; xxix. 9, margin.) 
 
 So, then, the consecration of the priests was com- 
 pleted by the offering up of gifts unto Jehovah. 
 And we must insist on this, that while the believer is 
 said to consecrate himself by a hearty submission to 
 Christ, yet, truly, consecration is the action of the 
 great high Priest upon him in separating, cleansing, 
 and filling that believing soul with the Spirit of 
 purity and of power. Nor is this consecration an 
 undefined and ecstatic emotion, called by some c 'full 
 salvation," an expression unscriptural in that ap- 
 plication of it. Full salvation will not be an ac- 
 complished result until the coming of the Lord, 
 when this mortal shall have put on immortality, 
 and the corruptible body sleeping in death be 
 crowned with incorruptible life. Not until we are 
 like the Son of God, when glorified together with 
 Him, shall we have attained unto complete salva- 
 tion, to be revealed in the hour of His second ad- 
 vent. Blessed be God ; we have the earnest of that 
 salvation now, in His life communicated to us, and 
 by the Spirit dwelling in us. (John v. 24; 1 Cor. 
 vi. 19, 20.) 
 
 In Romans xv. 13, Paul prayed thus for the 
 
126 Spiritual Life. 
 
 saints : ' ' Now may the God of hope fill you with 
 all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound 
 in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. ' ' 
 The Holy Spirit makes the hope real to the in- 
 structed heart, and its anticipations fill us with joy 
 and peace in believing. Joy and peace — the peace 
 that floweth as a river — the result of quietness and 
 assurance; and joy, like the babbling brook fed by 
 unseen sources, welling up within, giving strength 
 for labor, and gladness in service. The fulness 
 of joy and peace is our birthright privilege. "Being 
 justified by faith, we have peace with God .... 
 And not only so, but we also joy in God, through 
 our Ivord Jesus Christ." These are, however, but 
 results in themselves which flow from an acquaint- 
 ance with the truth of the gospel and faith in the 
 Son of God. 
 
 In Bph. v. 1 8 we have a New Testament com- 
 mand, " Be ye filled with the Spirit." The conse- 
 cration of the believer is not possible apart from the 
 Holy Spirit. When He comes as an abiding guest, 
 and fills every chamber of the heart with His sweet 
 influences and gracious illuminations, revealing 
 Jesus to the understanding, ennobling our aspira- 
 tions and intensifying our love for Christ; when, 
 in a word, we are filled with the Spirit, we but en- 
 ter upon a New Testament experience denied to 
 none of the redeemed. For as in the gospel we 
 find * ' whosoever will, let him take, ' ' appealing to 
 
Consecrated Vessels. 12 7 
 
 sinners outside the door of salvation, so the same 
 invitation is given to believers who remain outside 
 the door of purchased privileges and unrecognized 
 relationships. And how soft should be our tread, 
 and how careful our walk, lest in the loud tramp 
 of unseeming haste, and the unholy urgency of car- 
 nal excitement, we grieve the Divine Guest who 
 honors us with His presence, and endues and 
 strengthens us by His power. How jealously we 
 should guard the holy flame which the sacred oil 
 feeds within us, lest by our rude touch or unhal- 
 lowed breath we quench the heavenly fire. With- 
 out the Divine Spirit filling the soul there can be 
 no consecration of the life, such as took place with 
 the timid, unlearned fishermen of Galilee, after the 
 Holy Ghost had come upon them. 
 
 We may here refer to the consecration of Paul, 
 a chosen vessel of the Lord. Whether of earth or 
 wood or gold, the glory was not in the vessel's 
 material, but in its contents. (Acts 9:15.) " He 
 shall bear My name, ' ' was the divine decree. ( ' My 
 name! " The name of Dignity and Wealth and 
 Power and Forgiveness and Eternal Life filled the 
 whole being of this honored apostle, who counted 
 all else but dross, that Christ should be magnified 
 in his body. For others, too, he prayed ' ' that 
 Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith," and 
 that you ' ( may be filled with all the fulness of 
 God." (Eph. 3: 19.) Paul could indeed boast "I 
 
128 Spiritual Life. 
 
 live, yet not I but Christ liveth in me;" therefore 
 when jostled by the crowd something of Jesus 
 spilled out of this consecrated vessel. 
 
 We cannot well define the indwelling of Christ 
 and of the Spirit as distinct facts or experiences. 
 Essentially one in the unity of Godhead, yet, offici- 
 ally both perform a distinctive work. Have you 
 ever looked across the ocean, the eye moving over 
 the surface of the water, until unconsciously you 
 found yourself looking upon cloudland? The 
 drapery of mist having hid the sharp line of divi- 
 sion, your eye passed the unseen horizon as if sea 
 and sky were one. So with the indwelling Christ 
 and the indwelling Spirit. Not that two distinct 
 agents have their abode within us, for not cor- 
 poreally, but by His Spirit, does Christ dwell in the 
 heart. And the Holy Spirit directs the anointed 
 eye from Himself to Jesus with such nice adjust- 
 ment of vision, that there is no abrupt transition 
 from one to the other. Nor by a forced impelling 
 are we led through His monitions and admoni- 
 tions till we find ourselves gazing up into heaven, 
 the scene of our High Priest's intercession at the 
 right hand of God; and by faith beholding His 
 glory there, we are filled with His presence, revealed 
 to our souls through His Spirit which dwelleth in 
 us. 
 
 1 ' Oh, fill me, Jesus, Saviour, with Thy love ! 
 Lead, lead me to the living fount above ; 
 
Consecrated Vessels. 129 
 
 Thither may I, in simple faith, draw nigh, 
 And never to another fountain fly, 
 But unto Thee." 
 
 In order to understand or conceive being filled 
 with all the fulness of God, we need a material 
 figure, which is furnished us both in the taber- 
 nacle and temple. When the tabernacle was set 
 up and the temple completed on each occasion 
 the glory of God filled the house of God. The 
 Shekinah light having its centre of manifestation 
 on the mercy-seat, between the Cherubims, expanded 
 from thence in such fulness of volume as to fill 
 every department of each house. In the Temple 
 the priests could not minister because of the glory. 
 We have heard of holy men who had such a sense 
 of the glory of the L,ord that it became painful to 
 them. Sweet pain! Precious suffering! Oh that 
 we could thus be * ' sick of love !' ' Does such ex- 
 altation, does such fulness, cause the vessel to 
 vaunt itself, and treat contemptuously the little 
 vessel less favored? No, in no wise. Paul, who 
 saw Jesus, King of glory, ' i and heard unspeakable 
 words, which it is not lawful for man to utter, ' ' thus 
 testified : ' ' But we have this treasure in earthen 
 VESSELS, that the excellency of the power may be of 
 God, and not of us. ' ' The chiefest apostle called 
 himself "the chief of sinners," with a discrimi- 
 nating knowledge of the inherent evil of the flesh, 
 in which ' ' dwelleth no good thing. ' ' For was not 
 
 9 
 
130 Spiritual Life, 
 
 this the casting down of self, not by ignoring its 
 vital existence, but in condemning its unhallowed 
 power? And tins. filling of this chosen vessel with 
 the glory which excelleth, caused him as a conse- 
 crated believer to write, ' ' No confidence in the 
 flesh. " It is indeed a characteristic of consecra- 
 tion, to reject self-aid and live in the element of 
 grace. The truly believing sinner delights in the 
 law of God, and spurns as an insult to Christ the 
 intrusion of i ' rites ' ' as either the reservoirs or 
 channels of grace. Having begun in the Spirit, 
 let us aim at no perfection in the flesh, but sweetly 
 chant our hymn of praise to God, and announce 
 this as our creed: " Christ is made unto us wisdom, 
 and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemp- 
 tion. ' ' Remember, dear friends, such believers only 
 are holy and prepared vessels. 
 
 V. Vessels full to overflow. 
 
 But again, a prepared vessel must be filled to the 
 brim in order to do the best service. Where there 
 is overflow, fresh, constant, vigorous ministry will 
 be the result. Klihu said, u I will speak, that I 
 may be refreshed " (Job xxxii. 18-22); and David 
 declared that his heart was bubbling up with a good 
 matter, so that he must speak of those things 
 touching the King. (Ps. xlv. 1, 2.) u He that be- 
 lieveth on me, ' ' saith Jesus, c ' out of him shall flow 
 rivers of living water. ' ' And ' ' thus spake He of 
 the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should- 
 
Consecrated Vessels. 131 
 
 receive. ' ' Receiving is an act of faith ; so then the 
 filling is by faith, and the exercise of faith in Christ 
 will draw ont of His immeasurable fulness the living 
 water, until out of us who believe streams of life 
 shall now to refresh earth's desert places. 
 
 In Prov. x. 1 1 we read, ' ( The mouth of a right- 
 eous man is a well of life;" and the L,ord Jesus 
 promised that the water given by Him would be in 
 His people ' ' a well of water springing up into 
 everlasting life." (John iv. 14.) Again we find, 
 in Prov. xviii. 4, "The words of a man's mouth 
 are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as 
 a flowing brook. ' ' This can be an experience only 
 when Christ, the fountain and wellspring of wis- 
 dom, is in us. No philosophy, no study, no attain- 
 ment, no creed, can effect the marvelous results 
 produced through an indwelling Christ. 
 
 Come then as an empty vessel, O believer, not to 
 the broken cisterns of human device, but to the 
 fountain-head of life,, and truth, and consecration, 
 that you may become as " a watered garden, and 
 as a spring of water whose waters fail not. ' ' May 
 our constant prayer be, but with no selfish or self- 
 righteous end in view, u L,ord, make me c a vessel 
 unto honor, sanctified and meet for the Master's 
 use, and prepared unto every good work. ' ' ' 
 
 " O Thou who art of love the living spring, 
 My vessel fill." 
 
VII. 
 
 PAUL'S DEVOTION TO JESUS. 
 
 HAT Christ shall be magnified in my 
 body, whether it be by life, or by death; 
 for to me to live is Christ." Phil. i. 
 20, 21. That Christ may be magni- 
 fied in my body, if by life, then life is worth living. 
 If by a martyr's death, then so be it. In the first 
 place no man conld make that boast who was not 
 a converted man. Conversion precedes devotion; 
 there can be no true devotion to Jesus Christ before 
 conversion. A great many persons try to be de- 
 voted to their church and to a religious cause, who 
 are not converted and they have a hard time of it; 
 they are working on wrong principles. Conversion 
 precedes devotion. The reality of Paul's conver- 
 sion is proved by the reality of his devotion. 
 
 Paul's conversion was the result of sovereign 
 grace. Gal. i. 15. u But when it pleased God, 
 who separated me from my mother's womb, and 
 called me by his grace. ' ' Every Christian man be- 
 lieves in God's sovereign grace. We are one with 
 Paul there. Paul's conversion was the result of 
 sovereign grace bestowed upon him and ministered 
 to him. 
 
 (132) 
 
Paul 's Devotion to Jesus. 133 
 
 In the second place, it was the result of the reve- 
 lation of Jesus Christ to him. 1 Cor. ix. 1. "Am 
 I not an apostle ? am I not free ? have I not seen 
 Jesus Christ our L,ord ? are not ye my work in the 
 Lord ? ' ' He had not been the disciple of Jesus 
 during His earthly ministry, but he had a heavenly 
 revelation of Him. Jesus revealed Himself to Paul 
 outwardly and there was also a revelation of Christ 
 in him. Gal. i. 16. u To reveal his Son in me, 
 that I might preach him among the heathen; im- 
 mediately I conferred not with the flesh and blood. ' ' 
 Here, then, is a two-fold revelation; the revelation 
 of Christ to Paul which made him an apostle, and 
 the revelation of Christ in him. And that brings 
 us to this very important text in 1 Tim. i. 15, 16: 
 * ' This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all accep- 
 tation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save 
 sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this 
 cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ 
 might shew forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to 
 them which should hereafter believe on him to life 
 everlasting. ' ' I am sure every pastor here has found 
 that passage to be very perplexing. Jesus Christ 
 saved Paul as a pattern; Paul's conversion is a 
 model conversion, yet we know there are no con- 
 versions in this age exactly patterned after it. 
 Where is the difficulty ? Just here. A great many 
 people are saying, if they could be converted like 
 Paul, they would have assurance. You need not 
 
134 Spiritual Life. 
 
 expect such a conversion. Paul was converted by 
 the direct revelation of Jesus Christ to him, and 
 then afterwards by the revelation of Jesus Christ in 
 him. We are converted by the revelation of Jesus 
 Christ in us; there is neither man nor woman here 
 who has been converted by the revelation of Christ 
 to them. Paul speaks of himself in another place 
 as one born out of due time; literally he was born 
 before his time. What was his time ? What is 
 the meaning of this ? L,ook at the verse again : 
 1 ' For a pattern to them which should hereafter be- 
 lieve on him to life everlasting. ' ' Paul was a Jew, 
 and he is referring to the fact that in the latter day 
 when the Jews are converted, they shall be con- 
 verted by the revelation of Jesus Christ to them. 
 " They shall look upon him whom they pierced 
 and mourn. ' ' There will be a manifestation of the 
 Son of God to Israel, and by His glory in the 
 heavens they will be struck down and converted 
 nationally as Paul was individually ; so that he, as a 
 Jew, was a pattern to those who shall hereafter be- 
 lieve, even his people, the nation of Israel ; but his 
 conversion is not a pattern of conversions which 
 have taken place since the days of Paul. Of course 
 there are some characteristics alike; but Paul was 
 converted in a special way, in a distinguished and 
 in a very distinctive manner and for a set purpose. 
 We have ample proof of the reality of Paul's 
 conversion; for Paul was converted through the 
 
PauPs Devotion to Jesus. 135 
 
 Spirit's work upon him. 1 Cor. xii, 3. u No man 
 can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy 
 Ghost." You cannot reason an unbeliever into 
 the recognition of Christ's eternal Deity; he has to 
 be taught by the Spirit; "no man can receive any- 
 thing except it be given him from heaven. ' ' When 
 Paul was smitten to the earth, we find him at once 
 responding, ■ ' Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? ' ' 
 Just think of it! A persecutor who hated the name 
 of Jesus! u Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? " 
 u No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by 
 the Holy Ghost. ' ' When you look up and say to 
 Jesus, "Jehovah, Lord!" it implies your submis- 
 sion to Him, it implies your allegiance to Him, and 
 you will recognize Him as your Master ever after- 
 wards. Believe, then obey. 
 
 My pastor in Boston, one of the staunchest theo- 
 logians we had — in fact, Mr. Spurgeon told me \/ 
 one time that he was the bulwark of New England 
 evangelical theology — my pastor, Dr. A. J. Gor- 
 don, told me that when he and his wife went into 
 the hills of New Hampshire there were a great 
 many skeptics there. On Sunday morning he said 
 to his wife, ' ' We had best go to the village church ; 
 possibly we may stumble into some Unitarian place, 
 but let us go. ' ' They went, and he said, ' ' I won- 
 der how soon will we discover what kind of a 
 preacher this is, whether a Unitarian, or a servant 
 of Jesus Christ. ' ' The choir sang a little, and then 
 
J 
 
 6 Spiritual Life. 
 
 the pastor prayed, and the first words of that prayer 
 / were, "O, blessed L,ord!" Dr. Gordon touched 
 his wife and whispered, "We are all right; no man 
 can call Jesus L,ord, but by the Holy Ghost." It 
 is so. Paul was able to call Jesus, L,ord, as soon as 
 he was converted. 
 
 Paul was converted when he surrendered. Acts 
 xxvi. 19. "Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was 
 not disobedient unto the heavenly vision." The 
 Apostle Paul yielded at once; it was one of the 
 grand qualities of the man; as soon as Jesus revealed 
 Himself to Paul there was a surrender of Paul to 
 Jesus. There is no conversion without surrender. 
 
 Then Paul was converted in answer to prayer. I 
 give you this from implication ; I do not find any 
 place in connection with Paul's history where it is 
 said that actual prayer was offered for him; but I 
 take it by implication that prayer was offered for 
 him. Rom. xvi. 7. "My kinsmen who were in 
 Christ before me." The apostle acknowledges there 
 that some of his own household had been in Christ 
 before him. Perhaps they were his cousins; do not 
 you think they prayed for the zealous persecutor? 
 Can you not imagine them standing up in the little 
 assembly and saying, "There is our cousin Saul, 
 who is now on his way to Damascus, and is get- 
 ting fiercer and madder all the time against the 
 saints ; pray for him. ' ' You can imagine that with- 
 out perverting a line of Scripture. So that I see 
 
Paul *s Devotion to Jesus, 137 
 
 God's sovereign grace, the revelation of Jesus Christ, 
 the Spirit working in his heart, the surrender of the 
 man and answer to prayer all potential influences 
 co-working for the salvation of Paul. Paul's con- 
 version was a real conversion. 
 
 After conversion comes devotion. The devotion 
 of Paul was exemplified in two ways: first, in his 
 suffering for Christ, and secondly, in his service for 
 Christ. Suffering for Christ, serving Christ. Notice 
 how Paul suffered. There are two kinds of suffer- 
 ing; suffering for Christ and suffering with Christ. 
 There was the suffering which he endured because 
 of his oneness with Jesus Christ, and there was also 
 the sufferings which came upon him through perse- 
 cution, caused by his allegiance to Jesus Christ. 
 In reading the life of Paul we are apt to be carried 
 away by his eloquence, power and glorious charac- 
 ter. We say, what a grand man! What a grand 
 hero! But for years, as I have looked closely into 
 the man's life, I have been struck more with the 
 spirit in which he suffered, with the resignation and 
 the patience and the meekness of the apostle, not- 
 withstanding the intensity of his suffering, than 
 with any other great quality which he possessed. 
 He looms up before me as a greater man, as a more 
 devout Christian because of the spirit in which he 
 suffered. 
 
 /. PauV s sufferings for Christ. 
 
 Acts ix. 15, 16. u But the I^ord said unto him, Go 
 
138 Spiritual Life. 
 
 thy way : for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear 
 my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the 
 children of Israel. For I will shew him how 
 great things he must suffer for my name's sake." 
 The apostle, then, is selected as a vessel to bear the 
 name of Jesus, and it is designed by the Lord that 
 he suffer ; "I will show him how great things he 
 must suffer for my name's sake." It looks at first 
 like the law of retaliation ; he made others suffer, 
 now he is about to suffer : but that is not the 
 purpose of the Lord, He is not avenging himself 
 on Paul. He is simply going to show Paul that 
 his best work is to come through suffering, that 
 discipline is necessary to make him a more per- 
 fect witness for Jesus Christ on earth. 
 
 Galatiansvi. 17. " I bear in my body the marks 
 of the Lord Jesus. ' ' This was a peculiar kind of suf- 
 fering to which he referred. I do not know what 
 is meant, but it is very evident that Paul had some 
 mark upon him, some mark in his body, in his 
 flesh, which at once distinguished him ; he appeals 
 frequently to the people concerning it. ' ( Let no 
 man trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks 
 of the Lord Jesus. ' ' Just as in those days they 
 branded their slaves with the mark of ownership ; 
 so the Lord Jesus in some way put his special 
 brand upon Paul. Paul called it the stigma or 
 the brand-mark of Jesus in his body. See Gal. 
 iv, 13, 14. "Ye know how through infirmity 
 
PanV s Devotion to Jesus. 139 
 
 of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you 
 at the first. And my temptation which was 
 in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected ; but 
 received me as an angel of God, even as 
 Christ Jesus." There was some infirmity of 
 the flesh, and said Paul, you received me 
 notwithstanding that infirmity, as an angel from 
 heaven, as even Christ Jesus. He praises the 
 Galatian converts that they received him notwith- 
 standing this peculiar infirmity, whatever it was. 
 Now there are a great many thoughtful Bible 
 students who have come to the conclusion that 
 there was something the matter with Paul's eyes, 
 and that this was the brand-mark to which he 
 referred. He, himself, speaks of his slowness of 
 speech ; and it is the conclusion of all students 
 that Paul was a little man, a man small in sta- 
 ture, a man of very meagre proportions, of a stam- 
 mering tongue, and that there was also a weak- 
 ness of the eyes ; perhaps defective vision. I do 
 not give you this as an original thought, but it 
 is supposed that when Paul saw the glory of 
 Jesus Christ and he was blinded by that glory, 
 he never fully recovered the use of his eyes, for 
 the glory of the celestial vision affected his eye- 
 sight. Is there any proof of this ? I think so. 
 Gal. vi. 11. u Ye see how large a letter I have writ- 
 ten unto you with mine own hand. ' ' Paul was not 
 accustomed to writing his letters ; he employed an 
 
140 Spiritual Life. 
 
 amanuensis as you see at the closing of his Epistles. 
 Nor does he mean, u I have written a large letter," 
 referring to the length of the letter, but "you see 
 with what large letters I have written to you with 
 mine own hand. ' ' Writing with large letters shows 
 that there was something defective in his eyesight. 
 We may paraphrase it thus : ( ' You see with what 
 large letters I have written ; I have dictated to no 
 amanuensis ; I have gone to the trouble to write 
 myself, and it has been a great deal of trouble ; 
 you see what great pot-hooks I have made. ' ' Again, 
 Gal. iv. 15. "Where is then the blessedness ye 
 spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been 
 possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, 
 and have given them to me." Such was the love 
 of the Galatian converts at first for the Apostle Paul, 
 they would have plucked out their own eyes and 
 given them to him. Now all these verses would 
 lead us to suppose this was the brand-mark which 
 he suffered; and the infirmity of his flesh which he 
 accepted, and this may have been the thorn in 
 the flesh, which he prayed might be taken away, 
 and of which the Lord said, " If I take it away 
 you may forget yourself, but I am going to give 
 you so much grace that it will be beneficial to you. " 
 Paul then said, ' ' Most gladly will I rather glory in 
 these infirmities." He gained power by the 
 presence of that very thorn which he would not pos- 
 sess had it been taken away. 
 
PauPs Devotion to Jesus. 141 
 
 Let us now consider the persecutions and suffer- 
 ings which he endured and the spirit in which he 
 endured them. 2 Cor. vi. 4, 5. " But in all things 
 approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in 
 much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in dis- 
 tresses. In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, 
 in labours, in watchings, in fastings. ' ' He reckons 
 up all that he endured for Christ's sake. 2 Cor. 
 xi. 23-28. u Are they ministers of Christ? (I 
 speak as a fool) I am more ; in labours more abun- 
 dant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more fre- 
 quent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times 
 received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I 
 beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suf- 
 fered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in 
 the deep. In journeying often, in perils of 
 waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of mine own 
 countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the 
 city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the 
 sea, in perils among false brethren. In weari- 
 ness and painfulness, in watchings often, in 
 hunger and thirst, in fasting often, in cold 
 and nakedness. Besides those things that are 
 without, that which cometh upon me daily, the 
 care of all the churches. ' ' I wish you would read 
 all this at your home some time and read it care- 
 fully. I want you to notice the grace which sus- 
 tained Paul under such trials, and the devotion 
 of the man for Jesus. ' l Five times received I forty 
 
142 Spiritual Life. 
 
 stripes save one." In administering this awful 
 punishment, the officers first of all bent the body 
 of the prisoner over a block, so that every muscle, 
 every sinew was strained to the utmost degree. 
 Then the executioner laid the first blow upon the 
 back and shoulders of the victim. That first blow 
 would not only tear the skin, but make pieces of 
 flesh fly from the body of the criminal, and often 
 leave the bones exposed. The second blow would 
 follow upon the first, going deeper into his body, 
 while very often the third blow killed the man. 
 Paul suffered that whipping not once nor twice but 
 five consecutive times he received forty stripes — 
 one hundred and ninety-five stripes, of the Jewish 
 lash had been laid upon his sensitive back. The 
 whip was composed of thirteen lashes, which, when 
 laid on three times, made thirty-nine stripes. Never 
 once did he grumble, never once did he complain, 
 never once did he cry out ; that was one way of 
 witnessing for Christ. When his mouth was closed 
 in silent submission, every open wound made by 
 the lash in the flesh of his body was a mouth bear- 
 ing testimony to the grace of the risen Christ. 
 
 Paul was also whipped by the Romans. The 
 lictors laid their rods upon the body of the prisoner. 
 You remember at one time in Philippi where he 
 had come to preach he was immediately arrested. 
 ' ' Come over into Macedonia and help us, " was the 
 call. Paul and Silas obeyed, but instantly they are 
 
PauPs Devotion to Jesus. 143 
 
 in a Roman dungeon. Yon know what a horrible 
 place a Roman dungeon was in those days. As I 
 stood in the Mamertine prison in Rome, Paul's 
 traditional prison — as I stood there in utter dark- 
 ness except the little lamp of the guide, there came 
 to my mind a little man who had been immured in 
 these prisons, for I read in the 16th chapter of Acts 
 that they put him into the lower prison, when they 
 had beaten him, and left him there. There was 
 no ointment for his sores, no loving hand to bathe 
 his stripes; they were put into the lower dungeon 
 and their feet made fast in the stocks. But Paul 
 and Silas said, "L,et us have a prayer-meeting!" 
 And they prayed and sang praises unto God. I do 
 not understand it, I cannot conceive of it, but I 
 believe it; I cannot understand how any human 
 being should be willing to submit to all that ex- 
 quisite torture without some word of complaint. 
 But he was proving in his life his devotion to his 
 Master, and God responded to those songs of praise 
 and that old prison house was shaken. God's 
 Amen was an earthquake. You know the result, 
 that the church at Philippi was founded, after the 
 jailer and his family had been converted. My 
 friends, Peter got three thousand souls when he 
 testified of Christ, but Stephen got three thousand 
 stones for his faithful testimony. I pity the man in 
 any day who is not persecuted for Jesus Christ ; you 
 cannot be faithful, devoted, Christian men and 
 
144 Spiritual Life. 
 
 women and not rouse opposition. The enemies 
 of Jesus will not imprison you, it is true, but they 
 will sneer at you. There is no Christian lady in 
 this town who, if she is loyal to Christ, will not be 
 sneered at by fashionable society, and fashionable 
 society is the most irreligious thing in this world 
 outside of hell. But thank God for the grace to 
 bear it all. So Paul was imprisoned, and beaten, 
 and stoned, and kicked, and cuffed; the Pharisees 
 were after him, and the Sadducees, and the Hero- 
 dians, and the Gentiles, all were after him with 
 threats and blows, but the brave, noble man could 
 joyfully exclaim, " None of these things move me 
 from the purpose of my being, that Christ shall be 
 magnified in my body, whether it be life, or by 
 death." 
 
 Do you ask me if I have grace to suffer for 
 Christ ? I do not know anything about it. If we 
 have grace for the present occasion, we can trust 
 for the future. Every time I think of this, it 
 overcomes me to think of this small weak man 
 who never had a palace car, was never provided 
 with first-class hotels, going from place to place, 
 suffering all things, yet never complaining ; yea, 
 rather, he is glad of it, thankful for it, that he is 
 counted worthy to suffer for Jesus. 
 
 Did you ever visit the Church of the Tra Fon- 
 taine outside the city of Rome ? My dear friend, 
 Dr. George B. Taylor, doing missionary work in 
 
Paul s Devotion lo Jesus. 145 
 
 Rome, showed me great kindness when there. I 
 said to him : ' ' There is one place to which I mnst 
 go before I return to America; I must go out to 
 the traditional site where Paul was beheaded." 
 We went out there, and saw the three fountains 
 bubbling up in the church. According to the 
 tradition, when they struck off Paul's head, it 
 fell on the ground, and a well of water sprung up, 
 and the head bounded on, and another well sprung 
 up, and the head bounded again, and another well 
 sprung up. I drank of the water from these three 
 fountains, while I prayed for the like spirit which 
 possessed Paul. How true, that wherever Paul's 
 Kpistles have gone, fountains of living water have 
 welled up. Oh, what a man he was; yet only a 
 man, a man of like passions with ourselves. I 
 talked to you last night about consecration in the 
 abstract; I present to you to-night consecration 
 in the concrete. Paul is an illustration of conse- 
 cration — a man who suffered for Jesus Christ so 
 sweetly, so patiently, so constantly; faithful unto 
 death, and therefore deserving the crown of life. 
 
 II. The second division of this subject is Paul s 
 service for. Christ. I wish to call attention to the 
 secret springs of Paul's devotion. What were the 
 secret springs of action in his life ? First, recog- 
 nition of the claims of Christ upon him. Acts 
 xxvii. 23. u Whose I am and whom I serve." 
 The Apostle Paul recognized the claims of Jesus 
 10 
 
146 Spiritual Life. 
 
 upon him. " Icli Dien," I serve, is on the plume 
 of the Prince of Wales. That was the emblazoned 
 motto on the plume of Paul, with this addition: 
 1 ( Whom I serve. ' ' Now, we have, in the first 
 place, relationship, ( ' whose I am, ' ' and then we 
 have responsibility growing out of that relation- 
 ship, ' ' whom I serve. ' ' Paul never thought for a 
 moment that he belonged to himself; it never 
 entered into his mind ; he knew he belonged to 
 Jesus Christ ; he knew that Jesus Christ bought 
 him and paid for him, and therefore his purpose to 
 serve Him." That will simplify the whole ques- 
 tion of consecration. Next, Gratitude. Gal. ii. 
 21. I want you to notice what Paul said: " I do 
 not set aside the law, but if righteousness come by 
 the law, then Christ died for nothing ;' ' but He 
 died for something; we find it in a previous verse: 
 ' ' He loved me, and gave himself for me. ' ' Now, 
 Paul was moved with gratitude. And the motive 
 of gratitude, as you know, is a mighty motive. 
 
 At a mission service in Boston, some of the con- 
 verts could not speak English very well. A Por- 
 tuguese sailor stood up, and scarcely knew what to 
 say, but his face was shining, and finally he stam- 
 mered: "If any man say I do not love Jesus, I 
 black his eyes!" It was not elegant, but it was 
 expressive. Well, my dear friends, if we have 
 that kind of gratitude in us, is there anything 
 under heaven that we will not undertake for Him ? 
 
PauPs Devotion to Jesus. 147 
 
 There will be nothing we shall consider too precious 
 for us to lay at the feet of our King, who has re- 
 deemed us by His blood. 
 
 Think of the personal affection which Paul had 
 for Jesus. Acts xxi. 11-13. "And when he was 
 come unto us, he took Paul's girdle, and bound his 
 own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy 
 Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the 
 man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him 
 into the hands of the Gentiles. And when we 
 heard these things, both we, and they of that place, 
 besought him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then 
 Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to 
 break mine heart ? for I am read) 7 not to be bound 
 only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of 
 the Lord Jesus." The prophet Agabus came to 
 him, and, putting the girdle on him, said: " Paul, 
 do not go to Jerusalem, for thus saith the Holy 
 Ghost, the Jews will bind the man that owneth this 
 girdle, and will deliver him to the Romans. ' ' Im- 
 mediately the little crowd of believers said some- 
 thing like this: " Paul, do not go. We cannot 
 give you up. You will lose your head, and what 
 shall we do without you?" Ah, but hear the 
 noble, the eloquent, the Christ-exalting reply : " I 
 am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at 
 Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." Per- 
 suade Paul to turn aside from the path of service! 
 No, never. Heroic Paul, thou art now with thy 
 
148 Spiritual Life. 
 
 Lord, and in the resurrection thou wilt receive thy 
 full reward ; the hand pierced for thy sins will 
 place the crown of glory upon thy shining brow. 
 The good Lord make us a devoted people, that 
 Christ may be magnified in our body, whether it 
 be by life or by death. Amen. 
 
VIII. 
 
 COMMUNION WITH JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 OMMUNION with Christ is illustrated 
 by the fellowship which David's men 
 had with David. This is an Old Tes- 
 tament study, and I shall first show you 
 how you may study the Old Testament with profit, 
 as I develop this subject — the power of fellowship. 
 I have tried to show you the power of the Spirit 
 and the power of the word, and now it is the power 
 of communion with Jesus Christ. And I think if 
 we are walking- with the Master, and if the word 
 and Spirit dwell in us, we shall then have all the 
 elements of spiritual power in our life. 
 
 i Samuel xxii. i, 2. i ' David therefore departed 
 thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam : and when 
 his brethren and all his father's house heard it, they 
 went down thither to him. And every one that 
 was in distress, and every one that was in debt, 
 and every one that was discontented, gathered 
 themselves unto him; and he became a captain 
 over them: and there were with him about four 
 hundred men." Here we have, first of all, the 
 power of personal attraction. In his exile, David 
 went down to the cave Adullam, and the power of 
 
 (149) 
 
150 Spiritual Life. 
 
 David's personal character drew to him four hun- 
 dred men. He could not offer them any induce- 
 ments or luxuries, he could not offer them any 
 rewards or prospects; he was in a cave, in exile; 
 unpopular, yet they gathered unto him. Those 
 who were discontented, in debt, in distress; those 
 who were unhappy under the rule of Saul were 
 drawn by the personal presence of David into that 
 cave. Then you notice the proof of their loyalty 
 to David. When they came to him in the cave 
 they made him captain over them; they submitted 
 to his discipline and David taught their hands to 
 war and their fingers to fight. They gathered 
 themselves to David in the cave, and remained 
 there with him for some time, and when these 
 same men came out of that cave, as we shall pres- 
 ently see, they were mighty men, men of renown. 
 The spiritual teaching is this: Jesus is not popular 
 in the world to-day; if He were in any of our 
 cities, where His servants gather and His word is 
 preached, thousands would flock to hear about Him, 
 but not to follow Him. He is not popular in this 
 country to-day; He is not popular in the world 
 to-day; He is in exile for the present. When He 
 came unto His own, His own received Him not. 
 Satan, in this age, rules in the hearts of the chil- 
 dren of disobedience; he is the prince of this world; 
 he holds the reins of government at present, but 
 God is above him, and Jesus is coming back and 
 
Commimio7i with Jesus Christ. 151 
 
 He shall sit upon His holy hill in Zion. Now it 
 is by His personal attraction He brings us out of 
 the world into fellowship with Himself. Every 
 sinner in distress, in debt, in bondage, in trouble, 
 attracted by the personality of Jesus is drawn to 
 Him in the cave where our Christ can train us, 
 weak and feeble as we have been in the past, so 
 that we shall become mighty men and men of 
 renown. 
 
 L,et us turn to the 12th chapter of 1 Chron. vs. 
 1, 2. u Now these are they that came to David to 
 Ziklag, while he yet kept himself close because of 
 Saul the son of Kish: and they were among the 
 mighty men, helpers of the war. They were 
 armed with bows, and could use both the right 
 hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting 
 arrows out of a bow, even of Saul's brethren of 
 Benjamin. ' ' We shall now trace out the history of 
 these men. They were helpers of the war. There 
 are two classes of Christians, the helpers and 
 the hinderers. If we are not helping, we are hin- 
 dering; you may try to take a neutral position, but 
 you cannot; no man can be neutral in relation to 
 Jesus Christ. ( ' He that gathereth not with me, 
 scattereth." I would rather to-day be a helper in 
 the church of God, even though every effort be a 
 blunder, than to be a hinderer. Then these men 
 were prepared helpers. They were armed with the 
 armor which had been provided for them, and you 
 
152 Spiritual Life. 
 
 notice they were skillful in the use of it; they could 
 hurl a stone with the left hand as well as the right 
 and shoot arrows out of a bow. Dextrous and 
 ambi-dextrous. They would not miss a hair, they 
 were so keen and skillful in the use of their 
 weapons. When as sinners we come to Jesus 
 Christ, we are soldiers from that moment. The 
 next thing is to be armed, and to be armed always, 
 to be like a soldier, armed cap-a-pie ; from head to 
 foot; "Wherefore take unto you the whole armor 
 of God." It does not say wherefore make unto 
 you the whole armor of God, but take; it is pro- 
 vided already. Then we are to be skillful in the 
 use of the weapons, and that comes by training, 
 by discipline, by studying the use of the weapons, 
 to know how to handle shield and sword. Some 
 of us Christians, make great mistakes; we often 
 catch the sword by the blade and cut our fingers, 
 instead of taking it by the hilt and using it upon 
 the enemy. So it is important for us to be skillful 
 in the use of our weapons. 
 
 David was a skilled captain ; David understood 
 the art of war, though he had been a shepherd boy ; 
 he taught these men in the cave how to use the 
 weapons of their warfare. Just think of it. Every 
 day they were with him, drawing inspiration from 
 his presence, every day influenced by his presence, 
 every day taught how to make slings and bows and 
 how to use them. They became helpers of the 
 war. 
 
Communion with Jesus Christ. 153 
 
 Turn now to 1 Chron. , xii. 8th verse. ' 'And of the 
 Gadites there separated themselves unto David into 
 the hold to the wilderness men of might, and men 
 of war fit for the battle, that could handle shield and 
 buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions, 
 and were swift as the roes upon the mountains. ' ' 
 Now notice three things said about these men. 
 First, they were separated men ; they ceased alliance 
 with David's enemies, they had no more fellowship 
 with Saul. My friends, we can have no communion 
 with God until we live a life of separation ; and it 
 is not simply separation from evil but separation 
 unto God. I may separate myself from worldly 
 company and become very conceited and exclusive 
 and self-complacent ; but to be separated unto the 
 the King is necessarily separation from self also. 
 Second, they were not only separated men, but 
 they were heroic men; their faces were like the 
 faces of lions. The lion, you know, is the emblem 
 of courage. And when those men came out of the 
 cave, there was nothing cowardly about them, no 
 timidity or fear written on their countenances. 
 Thirdly, they were prompt men, responsive, 
 men. They were ready to do David's behests ; 
 whatever he told them do, they did it, and did it 
 with alacrity ; like Mercury with winged heels they 
 flew away on his errands. Their feet were swift as 
 roes upon the mountains. You see how full of 
 the spirit of loyalty these men were to David. 
 
154 Spiritual Life. 
 
 Now David's men suggest these thoughts to us ; 
 thoughts concerning our relations to Jesus. If we 
 are in the cave with Him, if we are in fellowship 
 with Him, we become prompt, courageous, respon- 
 sive Christians, and when He makes known His 
 will, we should readily obey it. When God told 
 Abraham to offer up his son, we read that " early 
 in the morning he saddled the ass." He did not 
 wait until noon or evening, but Abraham knew that 
 the best kind of obedience was prompt obedience, 
 so early in the morning he prepared to put God's 
 awful command into execution. Likewise David's 
 men were prompt to serve their king. And their 
 readiness is our example. 
 
 Now turn to the 14th verse. ( ( These were of the 
 sons of Gad, captains of the host; one of the least was 
 over a hundred, and the greatest over a thousand. ' ' 
 Read in the margin, ' ' One that was least could re- 
 sist a hundred, and the greatest could resist a 
 thousand. ' ' When they went to the cave they were 
 men in distress, men greatly depressed in spirit, but 
 David taught them, disciplined them, moulded 
 them, empowered them and emboldened them, 
 so that when they came out of the cave, the one 
 that was least could resist a hundred of the enemy 
 and the one that was greatest could resist a thousand. 
 
 Verse 15 " These are they that went over Jordan 
 in the first month, when it had overflown all his 
 banks ; and they put to flight all them of the valleys, 
 
Communion with Jesus Christ. 155 
 
 both toward the east and toward the west." It was 
 the time when Jordan overflowed all its banks ; 
 there were no ferries; there were no bridges. How 
 then did they cross the river. They must have 
 swum over. These men crossed the Jordan and on 
 the other side put to flight all the people of the 
 valley. Jordan in the Scripture means the river of 
 Judgment. There are a great many Christians who 
 are still at the cross and around the cross; it is a 
 good place to be, around the cross, but that is not 
 the place for the believer. We look back to the 
 cross and thank God for it, but we are to be on the 
 resurrection side of the cross, having gone through 
 death with our Lord, having died with Him, having 
 been raised with Him, we are children of the hills, 
 children of the resurrection. Jordan is not the river 
 of death, the land of Canaan is not the type of heaven; 
 you would not want such a heaven as that which 
 Canaan represented, for Canaan was a place full of 
 enemies. When the Israelites entered Canaan they 
 went into battle and conflict. Canaan represents 
 the spiritual life into which many Christians enter 
 now. Alas, some are yet in the wilderness, sigh- 
 ing for the leeks and onions of Egypt, while others 
 have crossed the Jordan and possess the land. But 
 now they have to fight Philistines and Canaanites. 
 It is the better life of the two, though great temp- 
 tations assail the believer who has entered into 
 heavenly places in present experience, correspond- 
 ing to the heights of Canaan possessed by Israel. 
 
156 Spiritual Life. 
 
 The children of God who cross the Jordan in ex- 
 perience, have to fight against principalities and 
 powers and wicked spirits in heavenly regions. I 
 was taught that lesson many years ago. When a 
 young man, I went through the south of Ireland 
 speaking at little meetings. I visited the city of 
 Cork when about twenty years of age to preach 
 the gospel. One day somebody said, "I want you 
 to go to the Almshouse and see an old lady there. ' ' 
 I went and found an old lady eighty-two years of 
 age, lying on her bed. I saw she was drawing 
 near death, and as I talked with her I found her a 
 very bright Christian ; her face was shining like the 
 face of an angel. I was a very young Christian 
 myself, but when I came there I thought I could 
 help her. I did not know that the L,ord was going 
 to use her to help me. She had been at one time 
 a wealthy woman, but her husband and children 
 died and her property vanished. It is a great thing 
 when a person has come down from wealth to 
 poverty to be submissive. I said to her, "I sup- 
 pose death will soon claim you, and I want to ask 
 you, are you afraid to die ?' ' She looked up very 
 happily at me and said, ' ' I am not going to die. ' ' 
 4 ' Not going to die ? You are pretty old now and 
 you seem feeble, and in the course of nature, you 
 will soon die, and it is well to be prepared. " " Oh, 
 no, ' ' she said, ' ' I am not going to die, because I 
 died already. ' ' Well, I looked at the old lady and 
 
Communion with Jesus Christ. 157 
 
 I thought, "poor thing! her mind is wandering. " 
 And I tried just to humor her, because I thought 
 she was in a state of mental weakness ; so I inquired 
 1 ' When did you die ?' ' She promptly replied, ' ' I 
 died eighteen hundred years ago. " " Oh, yes, ' ' I 
 thought, \ ' the poor woman's mind is entirely gone. ' ' 
 Well I smiled and took up my hat and said, " It is 
 all right; look to Jesus and you will be all right." 
 i ' Well now, ' ' she said, ' c you think I am not talk- 
 ing good sense, but my dear boy I wish to tell you 
 you do not know what it means, and I want to tell 
 you what it does mean. When Jesus came down 
 from heaven to earth, He died as my substitute, 
 and when He died under the load of my sin, God 
 reckoned that death as my death. I died with Christ; 
 I was buried with Christ, I am raised with Christ; 
 I have eternal life in Christ. Death is behind me 
 and I shall not die again ; I will fall asleep in Jesus, 
 but for that I am ready. There is no death for me, 
 I am a child of resurrection. I am on the heaven 
 side of the Jordan, and I am now waiting till the 
 L,ord shall hush me to rest in his blessed arms. ' ' 
 
 Well, I tell you, friends, I saw heaven opened 
 around me, and I got a truth that I had never 
 dreamed was in the word of God, that I was a 
 dead man, a buried man, and a risen man. It is 
 true, we are children of resurrection ; we are in 
 union with our risen Lord; we have crossed Jordan; 
 we can put to flight the enemies of the valley. 
 
158 Spiritual Life. 
 
 Paul said: "Since ye then be risen with Christ, 
 seek those things which are above;" do not be 
 looking down on the earth, seeking to make the 
 best of this world, but seek the things which are 
 above, because you are already a child of the hills. 
 
 L,et us now trace these men a little further in 
 their history. Turn to the xxiii. chapter of 2 
 Samuel. Do not be troubled, brother, sister, if 
 you are known very little in this life ; the Lord 
 Jesus keeps a diary of your daily acts ; and the 
 time will come when He will read out your name 
 and tell of the work which you have accomplished 
 in His service; we shall be pillars in the temple 
 above. I used to think that a pillar was for sup- 
 port, and I wondered how I could support heaven 
 in any way, until, after seeing these old pillars in 
 Rome, with inscriptions upon them, the records of 
 heroic deeds of long ago, making the men famous 
 to-day. There stand these old pillars, with the 
 names of Roman heroes, with their deeds recorded 
 in bas-relief upon the column. So we shall be 
 pillars in the temple of our God, and our names 
 will blaze out in the heavenly city. The least 
 act which we do for God to-day will be recorded 
 upon the pillar. So do not be discouraged if you 
 are not very much known. If you are living to 
 God, He knows your name and records your deeds. 
 
 So these men who went into the cave became 
 well known. The first was Adino, which means 
 
Communion with Jesus Christ 159 
 
 ornament. There are two kinds of ornaments. I 
 was introduced to a man once by his pastor, who 
 said; "he is an ornament to our church." x\nd I 
 asked, ' ( What kind of an ornament are you ? Are 
 you a piece of bric-a-brac ? Or are you another 
 kind of an ornament — a useful vessel ?' ' This 
 man Adino was a useful ornament; he was a glory 
 to the company with which he was identified; he 
 went out and slew eight hundred at one time. 
 
 The 9th verse. Bleazer is a very interesting 
 man. The children of Israel went against the 
 Philistines, who defied them in battle. Soon as 
 the Israelites saw the host of the Philistines, they 
 fled away, and every soldier of Israel became a 
 coward, and left only one man there, and the great 
 army of the Philistines surrounded him. But we 
 are told Eleazar ' ' arose and smote the Philistines 
 until his hand was weary and his hand clave to his 
 sword, and the L,ord wrought a great victory that 
 day." 
 
 Here is a man who grasped his sword. They 
 could not pull it out of his hand, and the sword 
 went on doing its execution. He represents the 
 man with the Book; the man who is identified with 
 the word ; ■ ' the sword of the Spirit, which is the 
 word of God." You may be weary intellectually, 
 you may be weary physically. I have seen many 
 a man exhausted in the battle ; but as the word 
 came from him, as the word leaped out of his 
 
160 Spiritual Life. 
 
 mouth, that word became a piercing sword, which 
 put to flight the Philistines. So our faith must be 
 in the sword of the Spirit. I will tell you what I 
 think we have been doing by mistake for many 
 years, not only here but elsewhere: we have been 
 having great controversies in the past; we have 
 had great discussions aforetime, and we have be- 
 come very skillful in debate; we have been using 
 arguments which may be right enough in their 
 place, but my dear friends, instead of seeking to 
 meet infidels by trying to prove to them the reason- 
 ableness of the Bible, do not waste your breath in 
 arguing to vindicate God's word ; it will vindicate 
 itself. I would not spend two and a half minutes 
 with a willing sceptic, attempting to prove the 
 divine origin of the word, but would like to stab 
 him with it ; the sword will do its own execution. 
 There was an old Christian travelling some years 
 ago, and there was a full-fledged sceptic in the car- 
 riage who prated against Christianity. The old 
 preacher turned around and gave him a text of 
 Scripture. "Ah, yes," he said, "you quote from 
 that Book, but I do not believe in that Book." 
 And the preacher gave him another text. ' ' Well, 
 now, prove to me that your Bible is the Word of 
 God." He gave him another text. " I want you 
 to be reasonable ; I am willing to argue with you, 
 but first of all prove to me that the Bible is in- 
 spired. ' ' He gave him another text. c ' You are 
 
Cojnmunion with Jesus Christ. 161 
 
 not fair; I challenge you to prove to me whether 
 your Book is divine." He gave him another text. 
 u Well, I will not have anything to do with you at 
 all;" and he gave him another text. Then the 
 young man got mad and said, ' ' You are an old 
 fool." And he gave him another text. Then 
 said the preacher, " If I wanted to kill you with a 
 Damascus blade, I would not come up and say, 
 4 My dear sir, this sword is of steel;' I would not 
 try to prove it, but I would put it into you, and it 
 would prove itself. ' ' • Six months afterwards the 
 young man met him, and said, ' ' Sir, do you re- 
 member me?" u No, sir." "I am the young 
 man who was riding in that coach ; you know 
 how angry I was with you; well, I want to tell 
 you, if you had gone into an argument with me I 
 would have been glad to make sport of you; but 
 you used that Book, and it proved the sword which 
 cut me to the heart; but it has also saved me, and 
 I want to thank you,« sir." Brethren, let us have 
 faith in the old Sword, then, though the hand grow 
 weary, the Iyord will give us victory. A man came 
 to me some time ago and said, ' ' I hope you won' t 
 let so and so speak at the meeting. " u Why not ?' ' 
 " Well," said he, u his grammar is so bad, and the 
 ladies do not like him. " u Does he expound Scrip- 
 ture properly?" " Oh, yes, he knows all about the 
 Bible. " "I don' t care if he knows nothing of 
 grammar; if he can give us the Word of God he 
 ii 
 
1 62 Spiritual Life. 
 
 may testify." "Them that honor me I will honor." 
 You know I do not discount intellectual ability. 
 I thank God for every intellect consecrated to the 
 Lord Jesus ; but I would not give you a bad fig for 
 the biggest brain in this world if it did not exalt 
 the Book of God. Intellect of itself is but a 
 dagger of lath, a paper sword, a wilted rag with 
 which to fight against spiritual foes. 
 
 Look at the next man in the nth verse. Now, 
 this man's name, Shammah, means fame or renown; 
 he became famous because he defended the land 
 and took it back from the Philistines. I will tell 
 you a little secret; if you are after fame, you will 
 never get it. If you get anything called fame or 
 renown, it is a small affair, but if you are faithful 
 to the Lord, He will give you all the fame you can 
 stand. Just remember, do not make fame or renown 
 the object of your life, else you will be the losers 
 but be faithful to God and He will take care of 
 your reputation. The Philistines, the marauding 
 Philistines, came down and reaped the grain of the 
 poor Israelites who fled away from before them. 
 That went on until these Israelites were impover- 
 ished. One day the Philistines came and the 
 Israelitish farmers ran away from them, and the 
 Philistines began to gather up the barley, but one 
 Jew stood out boldly in the little field to defend it. 
 The enemy said, "Why, what is this man doing 
 here ? " But he braved the whole host of the Phil- 
 
Communion with Jesus Christ. 163 
 
 istines, and overcame them and took that little field 
 back from them. That was a bit of God's covenant 
 land; He gave it to Abraham by an everlasting 
 covenant. Here was a conscientious man. He had 
 a conscience for God's land in all its parts and par- 
 ticles; he would not give a single foot of it over to 
 the Philistines. We have a great many Philistines 
 who tell us this part of the Bible is not essential 
 and that part is not essential ; and there are a great 
 many timid Christians who say, ' ' L,et us allow the 
 c higher critics ' to have this and that;" and the 
 poor backboneless men have not pluck to withstand 
 the enemies who reason with their unsound logic, 
 and say, " There was no such man as this, and 
 there was no such man as that." Then do the 
 weaklings say, u Yes, that is reasonable, that is 
 commendable. ' ' But, thank God ! there are men who 
 are standing up to-day who shield the Bible from 
 the ( ' higher critics. ' ' They are defending it, too. 
 Thank God we have a complete Bible; let us hold 
 on to it. Fight for it, live for it, die for it, and 
 God will honor you. We hurl back the innuendoes 
 of the sceptics with no fear for their learning, 
 and we declare our faith in the whole Bible from 
 Genesis to Malachi, and from Matthew to Rev- 
 elation. 
 
 "Oh, well now," some reply, "you are an ex- 
 tremist; that is fanaticism, you are not reasonable 
 at all. * ' Am I not reasonable because I think your 
 
164 Spiritual Life. 
 
 logic crooked ? I have no faith in man's mental in- 
 fallibility; I do not trust anybody's logic. If a man 
 is born crooked how can he help it? We are all 
 born with a moral twist. Bvery faculty is out of 
 plumb. Man's mind is warped, and only when 
 men are converted they see their own crookedness. 
 Then do we seek to exalt the word. It is a grand 
 thing to see a man right towards the truth and hold- 
 ing the truth. So this man would not give up a 
 turf to the Philistines; all the others fled, but he 
 stood there fighting and won back the land. I 
 thank God that down here South — as I have often 
 said North — you hold on to God's word. My hope 
 of the country theologically is in the Southern peo- 
 ple; they are true to the Bible. As I said to you 
 the other night, you are sound in the faith, but you 
 are sound asleep. Your theology is good enough, 
 but your spiritual temper needs quickening. You 
 need salvation from spiritual inertness. Set your 
 theology on fire for God and you will burn down 
 the barriers hindering aggressive evangelism. 
 
 Observe the next man in the 19th and 20th verses. 
 Here are three distinct acts wrought by this man. 
 Benaiah is a very significant name; it means wise 
 and strong; and when we have strength and wis- 
 dom we are good Christians. Well this man first 
 of all slew two lion-like men of Moab; then he 
 went against an Egyptian, a goodly man, and pulled 
 his spear out of his hand and thrust the spear into 
 
Communion with Jesus Christ. 165 
 
 him and killed him with his own spear ; next he 
 tracked a lion to his den, and fought that lion there 
 and killed him. Moab is a type of the flesh, Egypt 
 is a type of the world, and the lion is a type of the 
 devil ; Benaiah represents the believer, who can 
 overcome whatsoever is against us. It is a great 
 thing to stand for God in these days opposing this 
 three-fold power; the world, the flesh and the devil. 
 L,et me say to you here that this man did it all him- 
 self; he fought the men of Moab without any help 
 from the people; and he went after the lion with- 
 out any help from the leaders. Now you can 
 imagine what an exciting time it was. There was 
 the lion prowling around that village. Probably it 
 had eaten some child or woman. We are told by 
 travelers that when a lion tastes human flesh it 
 cares nothing for animals after that, and that a lion 
 will prowl around a village in India or Africa and 
 permit deer or antelope to go by without touching 
 them, because human flesh is sweeter. Everywhere 
 this lion had been committing great depredations, 
 and the people were all alarmed. I can imagine 
 that one day Benaiah went to the house of some of 
 the Jews and said, ' ' Brethren, we must do some- 
 thing; there is a great lion around here and our 
 women and children are in danger. ' ' And I can 
 imagine him calling a committee together, and they 
 all talked it over and proposed to organize, but 
 that was the end of it. I have seen many an or- 
 
1 66 Spiritital Life. 
 
 ganization that was so perfect in its machinery that 
 the only trouble with it was it died at the birth. 
 Now, organization has its place, but there are 
 times when we must rise above organization. 
 
 Benaiah could not get an organization to go after 
 that lion ; the president might say, "It is snowing 
 and I can not go out in the cold." The secretary 
 might object, "I guess we have not funds enough 
 in the treasury to buy weapons for that lion; " and 
 the other members of the committee would vote, 
 * ' That we do not go after the lion to-day. ' ' But 
 Benaiah walked out of the door and went straight 
 ahead and entered into the den after that lion and he 
 killed him. Thank God for individual men. If Noah 
 had had a committee, he would never have built the 
 ark. I do not despise committees and organizations, 
 but God has raised up men who must put their 
 individuality into the work of aggressive missionary 
 endeavor. So let us take courage from David's men. 
 
 Now read from the 15th to the 17th verse. Think 
 about those three men who came to David. Alas, 
 David ! Iyook at him; his eyes are sunken in his 
 head; his cheeks are pallid; his lips are cracking 
 and blistering; and as he sits there he cries, u Oh, 
 that I had a drink of water from the well of Beth- 
 lehem which is by the gate !" Well, three of the 
 men heard it and they said, ' ( Our king is perishing 
 for water; he is desirous for the waters of Bethle- 
 hem. ' ' There were the hosts of the Philistines in 
 
Communion with Jesus Christ. 167 
 
 the way, but those three men went, in love for 
 David, and broke down the host of the Philistines; 
 they filled their bottles with the sweet water, came 
 back again and cleaned out that camp and brought 
 the water to David. David said, ' ' Where did you 
 get the water ?' ' They said, "It is water from the 
 well at Bethlehem." I do not know whether to 
 admire most the love of these men for David or the 
 devotion of David to his God. He poured it all out 
 as a libation before the L,ord, as something too pre- 
 cious for him. to drink, though his parched tongue 
 was swollen in his head. He said, u It is the blood of 
 these men and I can not drink it. ' ' Great is the 
 power of love. ' ' The love of Christ constraineth 
 me, ' ' said Paul. Dear friends, if we love Him, we 
 will dare the Philistines, we will seek to refresh 
 the heart of our King, by bringing sinners to Him. 
 L,et us act, impelled by this great motive and we 
 shall satisfy Him. 
 
 Mark vi. 31. "And he said unto them, Come 
 ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest 
 a while; for there were many coming and going, 
 and they had no leisure so much as to eat. ' ' The 
 disciples had been working very hard, they were 
 doing so much public work they had not time 
 to take their proper food; and the devil knew 
 this was one way to neutralize their work; he 
 knew if he could prevent the disciples from 
 taking food, they would become weak and not 
 
1 68 Spiritual Life. 
 
 be able to do their work. Jesus guarded against 
 such a mistake; He said, u Come into a desert 
 place and rest a while. ' ' It was no desert when He 
 was with them ; the greenest glade becomes a desert 
 when He is absent, but the driest spot becomes a 
 refreshing place when the L/ord is there. ' ' Come 
 into a desert place and rest a while. ' ' They went 
 into the cave with Jesus; they came out refreshed 
 and ready for work. When Peter and John in 
 Acts iv. 12 spake before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish 
 counsellors said that they should no more talk in 
 the name of Jesus. But "when they saw the bold- 
 ness of Peter and John and perceived that they were 
 unlearned and ignorant men," they took knowl- 
 edge of them that they had been with Jesns. That 
 was the explanation to the unbelievers; they could 
 not have known it on any other principle. These 
 disciples had been in the cave with Jesus, they had 
 been in the desert with Jesus, and the unbelievers 
 took knowledge of it that they had been with 
 Him. They recognized the Spirit of Christ in 
 them, and upon them. 
 
 General Gordon, known as " Chinese Gordon," 
 one of the most remarkable Christians of the nine- 
 teenth century, spent an hour every morning with 
 God in prayer, and there was not an officer in the 
 army who would dare to disturb him at that hour. 
 He placed a white handkerchief at his tent door, and 
 a message from Parliament, a message from his 
 
Communion with Jesus Christ. 169 
 
 Queen could not reach him at that hour. Gordon's 
 directions were of such a nature that no officer 
 would dare to intrude as long as that white hand- 
 kerchief was pinned there. Bvery man in the 
 army knew that Gordon was alone with God. He 
 came out thereafter with his face like the face of a 
 lion, ready for the business of the day. Oh, what 
 a man he was ! I do not know of any two men of 
 the present century who v/ere so much alike as the 
 late Stonewall Jackson and the late General Gordon; 
 men who were not only humane but intensely 
 spiritual. These were men who walked with Jesus 
 Christ, whose faces were like the faces of lions and 
 whose feet were swift as the roes upon the moun- 
 tains. Why cannot we poor pigmies have a little 
 of their courage ? Why cannot we have a little 
 of their power ? We can ; if like these men we 
 walk with God. 
 
 No amount of pleasure, no acquisition of wealth, 
 no success in business can be an equivalent for the 
 loss of communion with the Son of God. Oh ! 
 friends, lessen your pleasures, limit your business, 
 accumulate a smaller fortune, and give more of 
 your uninterrupted time to companionship with the 
 King of kings, until you shall catch the whisper of 
 His love, and become filled with the power of His 
 inspiring irresistible Spirit. 
 
IX. 
 
 REDEMPTION AS TAUGHT BY MOSES. 
 
 OME one has well said that ' ( redemption 
 is the science and song of eternity." 
 As a science there can be none more 
 deeply interesting and important to us. 
 God and angels, men and devils, all play a part in 
 it; and when our physical sciences end, this divine 
 science will continue to be the subject of inquiry 
 and of praise. In the ages to come God will show 
 forth the glories of the redemptive plan, and the 
 exceeding riches of His grace, in His kindness to- 
 ward us through Jesus Christ. (Bph. ii. 7.) 
 
 There are two parallel lines running throughout 
 the whole of God's word : (1) the sinner's indebt- 
 edness to moral law, and his consequent bondage 
 under its curse; (2) the release effected by the L,ord 
 Jesus Christ, and the sinner's rescue from all bond- 
 age resulting from his sin. 
 
 These doctrinal truths are readily discovered in 
 the books of Moses, in which so fully Christ is 
 preached. See L,uke xxiv. 27, 44; John v. 46; 
 John i. 45. Some of the prophetical utterances of 
 Moses are directly applied to Christ. Deut. xviii. 
 
 15; Acts iii. 22, 23. There are many other direct 
 
 (170) 
 
Redemption as taught by Moses. 171 
 
 references to Christ, as Gen. iii. 15. Gen. xlix. 
 10, 24; Nnm. xxiv. 19; Exodus iii. 14, etc. The 
 whole Jewish ritual was a finger-board pointing 
 directly to a coming Redeemer, and in the dim 
 twilight patriarchs and prophets read and believed 
 the wondrous story thus announced. The harps 
 of the faithful resounded with joyful notes, as their 
 lips gave utterance to prophetic songs of future re- 
 demption, prefigured to them in every earthly de- 
 liverance they had experienced. With the brighter 
 shining of that light, it is clearer still to us that 
 the inspired pages of these early books are fragrant 
 with the Redeemer's name. 
 
 I. Christ as Redeemer is typically set forth in the 
 books of Moses. 
 
 1. In the redemption of the poor relative. 
 u And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by 
 
 thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax 
 poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or so- 
 journer by thee, or to the stock of the stranger's 
 family: after that he is sold he may be redeemed 
 again ; one of his brethren may redeem him : either 
 his uncle, or his uncle's son, may redeem him, or 
 any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family 
 may redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem 
 himself. Lev. xxv. 47-49. 
 
 2. In the redemption of the inheritance. 
 
 "If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold 
 away some of his possession, and if any of his kin 
 
172 Spiritual Life. 
 
 come to redeem it, then shall lie redeem that which 
 his brother sold." Lev. xxv. 25. 
 
 3. In avenging injuries done to the next of kin. 
 ' ' The revenger of blood himself shall slay the 
 
 murderer: when he meeteth him, he shall slay 
 him. . . . But if the slayer shall at any time come 
 without the border of the city of his refuge, whither 
 he was fled; and the revenger of blood find him 
 without the borders of the city of his refuge, and 
 the revenger of blood kill the slayer; he shall not 
 be guilty of blood." (Num. xxxv. 19, 26, 27.) 
 
 The revenger of blood was the Goel or kinsman- 
 redeemer. 
 
 4. In raising up a seed which would perpetuate 
 the family name and keep alive in the widowed 
 heart the hope of redemption through the coming 
 Messiah. 
 
 ' ' If brethren dwell together, and one of them 
 die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall 
 not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's 
 brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him 
 to wife, and perform the duty of a husband's 
 brother unto her. And it shall be, that the first- 
 born which she beareth shall succeed in the name 
 of his brother which is dead, that his name be not 
 put out of Israel. And if the man like not to take 
 his brother's wife, then let his brother's wife go up 
 to the gate unto the elders, and say, My husband's 
 brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name 
 
Redemption as taught by Moses. 173 
 
 in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my hus- 
 band's brother. Then the elders of his city shall 
 call him, and speak unto him: and if he stand to 
 it, and say, I like not to take her; Then shall his 
 brother's wife come unto him in the presence of the 
 elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit 
 in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be 
 done unto that man that will not build up his 
 brother's house. And his name shall be called in 
 Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed. ' ' 
 Deut. xxv. 5-10. 
 
 II. The Redeemer y s. qualifications were three- 
 fold : — 
 
 1. Relationship must exist between the redeemer 
 and the party to be redeemed. 
 
 2. The Goel or redeemer must have resources to 
 pay the ransom demanded, and ability to rescue 
 from illegal power. 
 
 3. There must be willingness on the part of the 
 redeemer to fill the office; redemption on his part 
 must be purely voluntary. 
 
 How completely the Lord Jesus fulfils what was 
 thus typified and predicted of Him. 
 
 He is next of kin, nearer to us than angels. 
 (Heb. ii. 14, 17.) He has all power to ransom and 
 rescue. (Matt, xxviii. 20 ; Heb. vii. 24.) And He 
 has proved His willingness. (John x. 17, 18; Heb. 
 x. 5—7.) He redeems us to an inheritance; He re- 
 deems the inheritance for us; He avenges our 
 
174 Spiritual Life. 
 
 wrongs; and in Him believers become the spiritual 
 seed — children of God. 
 
 Christ, as the coming Redeemer, is announced in 
 Gen. iii. 15: "I will put enmity between thee and 
 the woman, and between thy seed and her seed, 
 it (or He) shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt 
 bruise his heel. ' ' The ransom aspect, as well as 
 the rescue side of redemption, is predicted here. 
 The bruising the heel of the woman's seed inti- 
 mates the ransom payment through Christ's suffer- 
 ings unto death. The bruising of Satan's head 
 speaks of his overthrow, and man's rescue, by the 
 great Deliverer. Satan was the source of man's 
 ruin; the seed of the woman is the agent of man's 
 redemption. 
 
 The Iyord Jesus is our Goel — the avenger of our 
 wrongs. It was in this relation the patriarch Jacob 
 spake of Him on his dying bed, when blessing the 
 sons of Joseph. u The Angel which redeemed me 
 from all evil bless the lads." — Gen. xlviii. 16. 
 Christ was known to the patriarchs as the avenging 
 or redeeming Angel. The name Goel was given 
 officially to the kinsman who avenged injuries. 
 The devil is the man-slayer from the beginning 
 (John viii. 44), for whom no effectual refuge opened 
 its gates. The divine Goel pursued him to his own 
 domain, and bruised the serpent's head. He came 
 to unbind the works of the devil, and "through 
 death He destroyed him that hath the power of 
 
Redemption as taught by Moses. 175 
 
 death." (1 John iii. 8; Heb. ii. 14.) This heroic 
 representation of Christ thrilled the hearts of pa- 
 triarchs, prophets, and apostles, and found expres- 
 sion in their writings. He spoiled principalities 
 and powers, and made an open show of them tri- 
 umphing over them in Himself. (Col. ii. 15.) 
 The petition in our Lord's prayer, "Deliver us 
 from evil," is literally, " Rescue us from the Evil 
 One." 
 
 God gave promise to Israel of deliverance from 
 the Egyptian bondage by which they were sorely 
 oppressed, also that He would bring them into the 
 land promised to Abraham and his seed for an 
 heritage. Exodus xii. gives the history of that de- 
 liverance — redemption negatively ; shelter from 
 judgment through the blood of a substituted lamb 
 (Ex. xii. 13) Redemption positively ; the Lord 
 bringing them out of Egypt. (Ex. xii. 42.) It is 
 again the history, and the type of ransom and res- 
 cue. (Ex. xiii. 3.) Then follows the song of re- 
 demption, ' ' Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the 
 people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided 
 them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation." 
 (Ex. xv. 13.) 
 
 The primary idea of the Scripture word " re- 
 demption ' ' is that of loosing, releasing, or libera- 
 ting by the payment of a ransom. The great ob- 
 ject of redemption, as before intimated, is the re- 
 lease of men from under captivity to the law of 
 
176 Spiritual Life. 
 
 sin, and from under the dominion of the Prince of 
 the power of the air. 
 
 Exodus xiii. speaks of the consecration following 
 redemption, and this is ever the order of truth in 
 the gospel. In v. 13 we notice the ass, the rep- 
 resentative unclean animal, and man, linked to- 
 gether. (Numbers xviii. 15.) Both deserve a com- 
 mon doom, but both may be redeemed. If not 
 redeemed, they come under judgment. " And 
 every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a 
 lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou 
 shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of men 
 among thy children shalt thou redeem. " How 
 strikingly the lamb dying instead of the ass typi- 
 fies Christ our substitute dying for us. This aspect 
 of redemption by substitution is to be guarded with 
 jealous care. The old Socinian idea, that redemp- 
 tion is effected by an infusion of grace enabling the 
 recipient to outgrow sin, is not without its advo- 
 cates, who speak of redemption by ransom as a 
 metaphor, or figure of speech. That redemption 
 has the sense of release by purchase in the Old 
 Testament, is readily proved as for instance : c ' And 
 if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, 
 she shall not go out as the men-servants do. If 
 she please not her master, who hath betrothed 
 her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: 
 to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have 
 no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with 
 
Redemption as taught by Moses. 
 
 
 her. ' ' Ex. xxi. 7,8. u To sell ' ' implies pur- 
 chase, and represents the ransom aspect of re- 
 demption. Ransom and atonement are identified. 
 This is a rich passage, and worthy of much 
 thought. ' ' And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying, When thou takest the sum of the children 
 of Israel after their number, then shall they give 
 every man a ransom for his soul unto the Lord, 
 when thou numberest them ; that there be no 
 plague among them, when thou numberest them. 
 This they shall give, every one that passeth among 
 them that are numbered, half a shekel after the 
 shekel of the sanctuary (a shekel is twenty gerahs), 
 an half shekel shall be the offering of the Lord. 
 Every one that passeth among them that are num- 
 bered, from twenty years old and above, shall give 
 an offering unto the Lord. The rich shall not 
 give more, and the poor shall not give less than 
 half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the 
 Lord, to make an atonement for your souls. And 
 thou shalt take the atonement money of the chil- 
 dren of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service 
 of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may 
 be a memorial unto the children of Israel before 
 the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls. " 
 Ex. xxx. 11-16. The redemption of the children 
 of Israel in this particular corresponds with our 
 experience of a personal appropriation of Christ in 
 the relation of Redeemer. Atonement was the 
 
178 Spiritual Life. 
 
 ground of service, and all stood equally there — the 
 rich and poor having an equal share in redemption 
 privileges. 
 
 In Leviticus xxv. the Sabbatical year, and the 
 year of Jubilee, typify an age to come when Christ 
 our Redeemer shall be known as the Restorer of 
 the land to the rightful heirs of Abraham. Doubt- 
 less the characteristics of the year of Jubilee illus- 
 trate the blessings of the gospel now, but as a type 
 it can only be fulfilled when the Redeemer will re- 
 turn to Zion and turn away ungodliness from Ja- 
 cob. Rom. xi. 26. 
 
 Redemption was the purpose of God of old, or 
 ever the earth was. Before sin came into being, 
 or the old serpent entered Eden with his hellish 
 plot, God anticipated both the one and the other. 
 His counsels antedate man's ruin, and what His in- 
 finite wisdom planned His glorious power achieved. 
 Ere the hills were formed, or the mountains brought 
 forth, redemption's science was mastered by the 
 Divine mind. Ere He called light into existence, 
 or gave to the sea His decree, His more glorious 
 decrees of love and mercy toward a future fallen 
 race were perfected in heaven. The earth was 
 made to form a theatre whereon God's character 
 should be fully displayed in the work of redemp- 
 tion, and the world is yet to witness the blessed 
 consummation of earth's restoration through the 
 personal agency of a reigning Christ. The pale 
 
Redemption as taught by Moses. ijg 
 
 light of redemption's gospel fell on Eden as our 
 first parents stood self-accused before the majesty 
 of God. But in that light they had hope. Its 
 brighter glimmerings were caught on the peaks of 
 types, sacrifices, and prophetic revelations. The 
 day dawn had come as the rugged Baptist pro- 
 claimed the presence of the I^amb of God. The 
 sun had fully risen on Bethlehem and Gethsemane 
 and Calvary; but dark shadows arising from man's 
 sin and God's wrath obscured its shining. Never- 
 theless, when Pentecost had fully come, a bright 
 ray from the cross had fallen upon the guilty city 
 where our Lord was crucified, and sinners redeemed 
 by His blood rejoiced in the light. But the clouds 
 have not all withdrawn. Man is still opposed to 
 God, and Satan is this world's prince. Evil men 
 and seducers wax worse and worse ; iniquity 
 abounds; the love of many grows cold; the mys- 
 tery of iniquity is at work; the mother of harlots 
 and abominations of the earth grows more haughty 
 in her claims and prerogatives, while boasted 
 science flaunts her defiant banner in the face of 
 revelation : the attitude of the world is enmity 
 with God; millions of our race are yet unevange- 
 lized, and nature herself is weary of the curse 
 which becomes more oppressive. But courage, ye 
 believers in the prophetic story ! Hark to the foot- 
 falls of the returning Redeemer. What He has 
 purchased by blood He will surely redeem by 
 
180 Spiritual Life. 
 
 power. All nature is consecrated by the awful 
 sweat of the garden, and the tragic passion of the 
 cross, and soon will she be disenthralled from the 
 bondage of the oppressor. The Redeemer Himself 
 will appear to fulfill the promises, and justify His 
 purposes. The enchanter's wand shall be broken, 
 the potent spell of hell's magician destroyed; the 
 serpent shall be hurled from his throne; nations 
 will leap into liberty; the scattered tribes of Israel 
 and Judah shall be re-united and restored ; the dark 
 clouds will forever vanish, and the earth will be 
 filled with the light of the Redeemer's glory. 
 Blest day, all hail I Blest Saviour, come! Let re- 
 demption's work, typified in the Pentateuch and 
 fulfilled on Calvary, soon be consummated to the 
 eternal praise of Thy name. Thy waiting saints 
 hear the cry, ' ' Behold, I come quickly, ' ' and 
 promptly respond, u Even so, come, Lord Jesus. ' * 
 
X. 
 
 OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST. 
 
 " Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider 
 the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus."— Hebrews 
 iii. i. 
 
 HK priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ 
 is a subject of paramount importance. 
 There is an interval between the Cross 
 and the Crown which He fills up in the 
 heavens, while the Spirit fills up the same interval 
 in the church. We may inquire what is our L,ord 
 doing for us during that whole period of time be- 
 tween His ascension and His return again ? You 
 who have read the Pentateuch with careful obser- 
 vation will have noticed how frequently a system 
 of doubles is employed in the types of our L,ord. 
 For instance, on the great day of atonement there 
 were two goats: one goat could not shadow forth 
 the great scheme of redemption, which includes 
 both the death and the resurrection of the Iyord 
 Jesus Christ. No one animal could set forth this 
 double aspect of gospel truth. We find also, in 
 connection with the leper, two birds, one slain, and 
 the other dipped in its blood, and let fly into the 
 open fields, setting forth, I believe, the two-fold 
 
 (181) 
 
182 Spiritual Life. 
 
 feature of the gospel, that Christ who died for us 
 has also passed for us into the heavens with His 
 own blood. And so when we come to representa- 
 tive men, there are two, Moses and Aaron, the 
 apostle, and the high priest. The apostle was one 
 sent from God to men, commissioned to declare the 
 truth of God to men, representing God to men. 
 The priest was one going from men to God, to 
 communicate with God on their behalf, and to 
 represent men in the presence of God. And there- 
 fore these two men typify the double feature of the 
 work of our L,ord Jesus Christ. Moses was the 
 apostle sent forth from God charged with a royal 
 commission. He was the prophet constantly com- 
 municating the mind of God to Israel. Aaron the 
 priest was the one who interceded with God on 
 behalf of the people. Our Lord Jesus is both 
 apostle (or prophet) and priest. "Wherefore, holy 
 brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, con- 
 sider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, 
 Christ Jesus." The Shiloh or Sent One came forth 
 from God. He came forth from the Father into 
 the world. He came to represent God to men; 
 and, having fulfilled perfectly the apostolic office, 
 He entered upon His priestly ministry within the 
 veil, to transact business with God on behalf of 
 men. Apostle and Priest! He is the subject for 
 our consideration, as well as the supreme object of 
 our adoration to-day. 
 
Our Great High Priest. 183 
 
 In the 4th chapter of Hebrews, the 14th verse, 
 we read, ( ' Seeing then that we have a great High 
 Priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the 
 Son of God, let us hold fast our profession." See- 
 ing that we have such a great High Priest. One 
 of the characteristics of Christianity is its absolute- 
 ness; it is positive, definite; it is never vague nor 
 uncertain. "WK have a great High Priest!" 
 This characteristic feature of certainty pervades all 
 gospel doctrine. We know, and we have; we 
 know, and we possess. There are persons in our 
 day who deem it presumption on the part of any 
 one to claim spiritual knowledge, or acquaintance 
 with spiritual things. According to their philoso- 
 phy, it is the very acme of intellectual culture not 
 to know. But if they confess their own lamentable 
 ignorance of spiritual truth, they have no right to 
 assume that others are alike ignorant. A blind 
 man who denies the existence of sunlight is im- 
 pertinent in assuming that all others are blind like 
 himself. We would never trouble ourselves with 
 these agnostics, " proud boasters," were it not that 
 they constantly insist that others are as blind as 
 themselves, and as uncertain as themselves regard- 
 ing matters pertaining to salvation. The Christian 
 believer ought to be perfectly assured of eternal 
 life, of his home in heaven, of his great High 
 Priest. This is our boast in the Lord: " We know 
 that we have eternal life;" we haves, great High 
 
1 84 Spiritual Life. 
 
 Priest: His name is Jesus, Son of God. We know 
 He is in the heavens, within the veil, making in- 
 tercession for us. "Wherefore, holy brethren, 
 partakers of .the heavenly calling, consider the 
 Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ 
 Jesus." 
 
 L Nearly all human religions acknowledge the 
 necessity of priesthood. It is a very singular fact 
 that when the white man enters for the first time 
 into the haunts of the pagan he finds priesthood 
 there, as if man, in his most barbarous state, was 
 ever conscious of his unfitness in himself to ap- 
 proach Deity. Fallen, sinning man, must know 
 that there is a great gulf fixed between himself 
 and the Divine Being whom he seeks to worship. 
 And because of this innate consciousness of guilt 
 in the human heart, Ritualism, whether Papal or 
 Anglican, takes advantage of it, and supplies us 
 with a counterfeit priesthood. You remember how 
 Job, realizing his own personal sinfulness, cried 
 out, ' ' Neither is there any daysman betwixt us 
 that might lay his hand upon us both." (Job ix. 
 33.) There is a great distance between the holy 
 God and sinful man. The sinner cries out for an 
 arbitrator, an umpire, to lay hands upon both, and 
 so effect a reconciliation. The Apostle Paul re- 
 sponds to such a cry in his 1st Epistle to Timothy, 
 2d chapter and 5th verse: u For there is one God, 
 and one Mediator between God and men, the Man 
 
Our Great High Priest, 185 
 
 Christ Jesus. n He who is God, our Saviour, is 
 also the Man Christ Jesus, qualified, as Daysman, 
 to lay hands upon both. Jesus is the Arbitrator, 
 placing one hand upon the throne of the Eternal, 
 and the other hand upon the guilty sinner, thus 
 bringing both together into reconciliation and 
 union. L,et us thank our God, beloved, that we 
 have a great High Priest. 
 
 As all religions acknowledge the necessity of 
 priesthood, the Christian religion likewise acknowl- 
 edges its necessity, and, in fact, if there is no 
 priest, there can be no assurance, no pardon, no 
 reconciliation with God. The title " Priest" means 
 ' ( Sacrificer. ' ' It implies the offering of a victim 
 to God, and certain results flowing therefrom. 
 The word is very often abused and misapplied. 
 Those who cry out against the sacrificial priest- 
 hood of Jesus Christ, who denounce the idea of 
 sacrifice as being altogether repugnant to our re- 
 fined senses, use Bible terms, and steal from the 
 phraseology of Scripture many of its glowing 
 terms. Men of intellectual thought, forsooth! are 
 u priests of nature." What a misnomer! The 
 term implies sacrifice, and if no sacrifice, no priest. 
 
 The priest must present sacrifice. If Jesus 
 Christ assumes the office of Priest, He must present 
 an acceptable offering. ' ' For every high priest is 
 ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices; wherefore it 
 is of necessitv that this Man have somewhat also 
 
1 86 Spiritual Life. 
 
 to offer. ' ' (Hebrews viii. 3.) What is that offering ? 
 ' ' For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the 
 ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sancti- 
 fieth to the purifying of the flesh : How much more 
 shall the blood of Christ, who, through the Eternal 
 Spirit, offered Himself without spot to God, purge 
 your conscience from dead works to serve the living 
 God?" (Hebrews ix. 13, 14.) Here is something 
 which never before took place in the history of the 
 world — the Priest offering Himself as a. sacrifice unto 
 God. This Man who must have somewhat to offer 
 offered Himself without spot to God, that, through 
 that offering, our consciences might be purged 
 from dead works to serve the living God. Now, 
 no human priest presenting a sacrifice for sin has 
 any assurance that his offering is accepted, but not 
 so our Priest. If it was not an acceptable offering, 
 He would remain in Joseph's tomb; but " the L,ord 
 is risen indeed, and has appeared unto Simon." 
 Yea, He has gone up on high, and is now in the 
 divine presence, on our behalf. We know that it 
 is not only an acceptable offering, but a sufficient 
 sin-offering for us. There needs no more offering 
 for sin. Away, then, with your elevation of the 
 host! Away with any other pretended sacrifice to 
 make reconciliation with God, or atone for human 
 sin. It is preposterous and blasphemous. This 
 Man purged away sin by the sacrifice of himself, 
 so that it is all-sufficient and available to us. The 
 
Our Great High Priest. 187 
 
 guilty sinner, by faith, appropriates the sacrifice of 
 Jesus Christ to himself, and can say, ' ' He loved 
 me, and gave Himself for me. ' ' 
 
 II. We now inquire — Was our Lord personally 
 qualified to assume the office of priest f There were 
 certain qualifications demanded under the cere- 
 monial law. Every man of the seed of Aaron could 
 not enter the office. You will find that there were 
 certain requirements, as, for instance, that the priest 
 must be physically perfect. If any man had a 
 broken hand, a broken nose, or broken foot, or if 
 there was any distortion or any blemish in his body, 
 though he was qualified by birth for the priesthood, 
 these physical infirmities disqualified him, and he 
 could not offer sacrifice. We read of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ in the 7th chapter of the Hebrews and 26th 
 verse, ( ' For such an high priest became us, who is 
 holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, 
 and made higher than the heavens. ' ' Not a blemish 
 on Him, no distortion or disqualification. He was 
 morally fitted, in His own personal life, to enter the 
 priestly office. Then, again, the priest must be per- 
 fectly human, " For every high priest taken from 
 among men, is ordained for men, in things pertain- 
 ing to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacri- 
 fices for sins." (Heb. v. 1.) An angel could not be 
 a priest. There is nothing in common between 
 angel nature and human nature. ' ' Forasmuch then 
 as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, 
 
1 88 Spiritual Life. 
 
 He also Himself likewise took part of the same; 
 that through death, He might destroy him that had 
 the power of death, that is, the devil." (Heb. ii. 14.) 
 He was born of a woman and became perfectly 
 human, and in His human life He became qualified 
 as priest. Furthermore, the priest must be a man 
 of compassion. A stoic would not do. A man who 
 had not the ordinary feelings of humanity, who 
 could not sympathize with those in sorrow, would 
 be set aside as morally disqualified. We find that 
 in all things it behooved our L,ord to be made like 
 unto His brethren. He is a merciful and faithful 
 high priest in things pertaining to God. He is 
 touched with the feeling of our infirmities. His 
 compassions never fail. He is a sympathizing 
 priest, boundless in pity, infinite in tenderness. 
 No priest could elect himself to the office. Israel's 
 high priest received a distinct call from God : he 
 did not enter the office as having a claim to it. So 
 we read, ' ' And no man taketli this honor unto 
 himself, but he that is called of God as was Aaron. ' ' 
 (Heb. v. 4.) So of Jesus : " Called of God an high 
 priest, after the order of Melchisedec," (v. 10). 
 He has therefore right and title to enter the priest- 
 hood, and there He stands to-day unchallenged, 
 unquestioned. He still can say, c ' The prince of 
 this world cometh, and hath nothing in me." (John 
 xiv. 30.) We observe, then, dear brethren and 
 friends, that the Lord Jesus Christ is qualified in 
 
Our Great High Priest. 189 
 
 every way to be our priest. He answered all the 
 demands of the law, receiving all honor from the 
 Father. ' ' Seeing, then, that we have a great High 
 Priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the 
 Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. ' ' 
 
 III. We pass on to speak of the place where He 
 exercises His priestly ministry. I have referred to 
 that already, but I wish to have it fully established 
 in your minds. When He was here, in the days of 
 His flesh, He fulfilled the office of teacher, teach- 
 ing and preaching glad tidings ; making known the 
 things of God to men. But as the priest of old, on 
 the day of atonement, went within the veil with 
 the blood of the sin offering, so, when our L,ord 
 had presented His offering, He passed within the 
 veil, and He is now in the presence of God for us. 
 We read in the 1st chapter of the Epistle to the 
 Bphesians, ver. 19, 20, u And what is the exceeding 
 greatness of His power to usward who believe, ac- 
 cording to the working of His mighty power, which 
 He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from 
 the dead, and, set Him at His own right hand in 
 the heavenly places ?' ' The 1st chapter of Hebrews, 
 verse 3 : u Who being the brightness of His glory, 
 and the express image of His person, and uphold- 
 ing all things by the word of His power, when He 
 had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the 
 right hand of the Majesty on high." Again, in 
 8th chapter of Hebrews and the 1st verse : " We 
 
190 Spiritual Life. 
 
 have such an High Priest , who is set on the right 
 hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens." 
 See the 9th chapter, 24th verse: "For Christ is not 
 entered into the holy places made with hands, which 
 are the figures of the true, but into heaven itself, 
 now to appear in the presence of God for us." 
 Then we find in the 10th chapter, verses 11, 12, 
 the following words, "And every high priest 
 standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes 
 the same sacrifices, which can never take away 
 sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacri- 
 fice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of 
 God. ' ' I want you to notice the attitude of Jesus 
 Christ in heaven. We are told that when the 
 priests came into the sanctuary every day to per- 
 form the service of God, there was no seat provided 
 for them in the Holy Place. They always stood to 
 perform the service of God. There was no seat 
 provided for the high priest in the Holiest of all ; 
 there was but one seat there, the mercy-seat, occu- 
 pied by Jehovah Himself. His throne is one of 
 mercy and grace, but there was no seat for the 
 ministering priest. ' ' Every priest standeth daily 
 ministering :" the work was always incomplete ; 
 ' ' but this Man, when He had offered one sacrifice 
 for sins for ever, sat down at the right hand of God. ' ' 
 Atonement is made, and He has a right to His seat. 
 He is seated there in heavenly places. He finished 
 the work of atonement, and made an end of sin. 
 
Our Great High Priest. 191 
 
 He purged away sin and has presented an offering 
 which, is available for the sinner, and effectual in 
 securing our abundant pardon; and having made 
 atonement He is now presenting it within the veil. 
 There He presents the results of that finished work 
 in the presence of God on our behalf. Thus recon- 
 ciliation is effected between God and the believing 
 sinner. This, then, is my plea : u O God, I am a 
 sinner; Christ died for me, and has taken His own 
 blood into heaven, and having respect to that blood 
 Thou dost accept me." Oh, friends, we are recon- 
 ciled to God by the death of His Son. 
 
 IV. Still further, He is presenting our worship 
 with acceptance. My dear brethren, this is a con- 
 soling thought. Had we no priest in heaven as 
 the medium of our worship, we never could worship 
 God acceptably; our holiest performances are un- 
 clean, our noblest efforts are marred with sin. Just 
 as when the priest of old came into the Holy Place 
 and presented the incense from off the golden altar, 
 before the I^ord, so Jesus, who is our golden altar, 
 presents our worship, which ascends from that altar, 
 and the altar sanctifieth the gift. Our gift is sanc- 
 tified and accepted as it ascends from Himself. 
 You know our prayers are but stammering utter- 
 ances; our praises and devotions are poor at best; 
 but see how He gathers them together into the 
 golden bowl, perfuming them with the fragrant 
 incense of His own merits, and so presenting them 
 
192 Spiritual Life. 
 
 acceptably to our God and Father. Prayer is 
 offered in the name of Jesus ; praise is presented in 
 the name of Jesus; the consecration of our lives 
 ascends to heaven through the merits of our Priest. 
 Here, then, is where a person of Unitarian senti- 
 ment makes the fatal mistake; he hopes to enter 
 into the presence of the God of nature, the God of 
 providence, the Supreme Deity, and stand there 
 offering gifts: but, vain man, his richest gifts are 
 not accepted by a holy God, save through the 
 medium of the Priest. If you recognize the priest- 
 hood of Christ, you acknowledge His sacrifice. 
 Then you are no more Unitarian : you are a Chris- 
 tian believer in the L,ord Jesus Christ. Again, be- 
 sides presenting our worship, He presents the wor- 
 shipper. The priest of old carried the names of 
 the tribes upon the breast-plate and on the shoulder- 
 stones, thus bearing up the whole nation of Israel 
 upon shoulders and heart. So our priest is pre- 
 senting us to-day. Every saint is in the same 
 acceptance always in Jesus Christ. You may to-day 
 have a more vivid realization and appreciation of 
 that acceptance ; to-morrow, your mind may be dull 
 and clouded: you may not enjoy the experience 
 of peace in your soul, and you may not be so keenly 
 spiritual as you are to-day, but your acceptance is 
 the same, beloved friends, and must always be the 
 same, if you are accepted at all. 
 
 Aaron, Israel's priest, wore around his head a 
 
Our Great High Priest. 193 
 
 mitre, and on that was placed a crown on which 
 was engraved, "Holiness unto the Iyord," that they 
 might be always accepted. So Jesus Christ stands 
 before God for us, and we stand in Him, and God 
 is looking at us in the Son, saying, admiringly, 
 ' i Thou art all fair, my love : there is no spot in 
 Thee. ' ' Thus it is that the Iyord Jesus Christ pre- 
 sents us in acceptance, in righteousness, in the 
 presence of God. 
 
 What else is He doing for us ? As our Priest is 
 the medium through whom our prayers and worship 
 ascend to the Father, so He is the channel through 
 whom the blessing of the Father comes to us. God 
 is ever blessing us for the sake of His Son, and 
 through His Son. We praise God from whom all 
 blessings flow, because of the priesthood of Jesus 
 Christ. He is always meriting the blessing on our 
 behalf, and in that sense we are always meriting the 
 blessing. By His merit, through the medium of 
 the Priest, grace upon grace, and ' ' the supply of 
 the spirit of Jesus, ' ' comes unhindered to our be- 
 lieving souls. How glorious for us is His work! 
 Seeing we have such an High Priest within the 
 veil, let us rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of 
 glory. 
 
 V. I wish to sum up by giving you a three-fold 
 representatioii of His priestly work. 
 
 (1) Jesus Christ is the Mediator between God and 
 man. He is an Advocate with the Father; and an 
 13 
 
194 Spiritual Life. 
 
 Intercessor on behalf of the saints. A mediator is 
 one who opens up the way of access, and keeps it 
 open, to effect reconciliation between two contend- 
 ing parties. As mediator, that aspect of His 
 priesthood is for the unconverted as well as for the 
 believer; it is for you, sinner, to-day. He has 
 opened a door of access to God, and through His 
 blood He keeps it open for you, Come then to 
 God through the Priest, through the sacrifice, 
 (i Tim. iii. 3-5.) 
 
 (2) But the other parts of the priesthood are 
 limited to believers. He is not an advocate for the 
 sinner, but for the saint. The advocate is the same 
 as Comforter, or Paraclete. There are many things 
 implied in the advocacy of Jesus Christ. As advo- 
 cate He meets the accuser, for an advocate implies 
 an accuser. Here, then, is a startling fact. The 
 accuser of the brethren, Satan, the god of this 
 world, has access to heaven. He accuses us before 
 the Father. Remember, he does not enter heaven 
 as a subject of it, but he enters the court of equity 
 as an accuser goes before the Judge to testify against 
 transgressors. The devil has a foothold in the 
 heavenly court. Here is his advantage; you and 
 I have failed as Christians. If you reflect upon 
 your life since your conversion, you wonder will 
 you ever be finally saved ? The devil takes advan- 
 tage of our infirmities, of our sins of jealousy, envy, 
 evil speaking, of the bitterness of our heart, and he 
 
Our Great High Priest. 195 
 
 flies to the court above, demanding, - ' O thou Judge 
 of men, who canst but abhor iniquity, see these 
 people : how can they enter heaven ? How can they 
 enter Thy presence, and have communion with 
 Thee ?' ' So he brings these accusations against us 
 there. Nor can we deny these charges; we must 
 acknowledge our guilt. What can be done when 
 the accuser brings forward charges which cannot be 
 denied before a righteous God ? Friends, look into 
 that court; behold one standing there at the right 
 hand of the Judge. Who is He ? He has the scars 
 of the thorny crown upon His brow. Who is He ? 
 He has the marks of the nails upon His hands, the 
 mark of the spear in His side. He stands present- 
 ing His pierced body in heaven's court of justice. 
 Hear Him thunder, u Who shall lay anything to 
 the charge of God's elect ? Bring the charge against 
 Me. ' ' Hallelujah ! We have an advocate with the 
 Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. See, there 
 He is with His own blood presenting it on our 
 behalf; it covers our sins, and the devil is baffled 
 in yonder court. Does he press the charges ? Even 
 so, we have our Surety, our Representative, our 
 Priest, who represents us so faithfully and justly 
 that the devil is overcome; he finds nothing in our 
 Lord. But mark you, he rushes from the court- 
 room, and, charging the conscience of the believer 
 with like accusations, would fain drive us to despair. 
 Grace has, however, made provision, and we over- 
 
196 Spiritital Life. 
 
 come him by the word of our testirnoiiy and by the 
 blood of the Lamb. The very blood which drove 
 him out of heaven will drive him from the court of 
 conscience, baffled and overcome. Oh, how it be- 
 comes us to keep that blood in mind, and to remem- 
 ber that we ever have an advocate with the Father, 
 Jesus Christ the Righteous. (1 John ii. 2.) 
 
 (3) What else is He doing? He is making in- 
 tercession for the saints. (Heb. vii. 25-27.) I have 
 sometimes heard it said from the pulpit, ' ' Come to 
 Christ, He is praying in heaven for you;" but there 
 is no such teaching in the Bible. In the 17 th of 
 John we read, ' ' I pray for these, I pray not for the 
 world." If He prayed for the world, the world 
 would be converted; the prayers of this David 
 would be answered. Every prayer of His finds 
 prompt and glad response. God holds nothing 
 back from Him. Were He praying for the whole 
 world, universalism would be true. But He limits 
 His intercessions. * ' I pray for those whom Thou 
 hast given Me, that they may be one." In this 
 17th of John, in this intercession of Jesus Christ, 
 we have the most unselfish prayer on record. There 
 is but this prayer for Himself, " And now, O Father, 
 glorify Thou Me with the glory which I had with 
 Thee before the world was. ' ' He then prays for 
 His disciples that they may be kept and sanctified; 
 and for all believers, to the end of time, that they 
 may be united in one, sanctified, and preserved. 
 
Our Great High Priest. 197 
 
 1 ' Father, I will that they also whom Thou hast 
 given Me may be with me where I am; that they 
 may behold My glory which Thou hast given Me, 
 for Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the 
 world." Such is the character of our Lord's in- 
 tercession during the period of His priestly ministry 
 within the veil. It is a prayer of anticipation; 
 He had finished the work given Him to do. Oh, 
 how dependent we are on His priesthood. If He 
 failed in that priesthood to-day, alas, friends, our 
 salvation could not be consummated; but He will 
 finish the work of the priesthood, even as He 
 finished the work of the atonement, and when that 
 ministry is brought to a glorious climax in the final 
 salvation of the church, then will He come forth 
 to fulfil that other office, His kingly office, and 
 sway His sceptre over the nations of the earth, for 
 ' ' the kingdoms of this world shall become the 
 kingdoms of our L,ord, and of His Christ, and He 
 shall reign for ever and ever. " " Wherefore, holy 
 brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, con- 
 sider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, 
 Christ Jesus. ' ' 
 

 THE BELIEVER'S BLESSED HOPE — OUR LORD'S 
 SECOND COMING. 
 
 HERE are two events connected with the 
 Christian believer's hope. Paul in his 
 letter to Titus refers to the first of these 
 in the glowing words ' ' Looking for the 
 blessed Hope and appearing of the glory of our 
 great God and Saviour Jesus Christ." (R. V.) The 
 return to our earth in personal glory of Jesus Mes- 
 siah is the first event included in the blessed Hope. 
 In Paul's speech at Jerusalem before the council 
 we find the second event thus stated : ' ' Men and 
 brethren I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee, of 
 the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called 
 in question. ' ' Acts xxiii. 6. Again in his defence be- 
 fore the governor Felix, Paul uttered these memo- 
 rable words. ' ' But this I confess unto thee, that 
 after the way which they call heresy, so worship I 
 the God of my fathers, believing all things which 
 are written in the law and the prophets, and have 
 hope toward God, which they themselves also 
 allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, 
 both of the just and unjust." Acts xxiv. 14, 15. 
 In his speech of vindication before Herod 
 
 (198) 
 
The Believer" s Blessed Hope. 199 
 
 Agrippa we find the divinely instructed apostle re- 
 ferring again to this hope in the sublime statement : 
 "And now I stand and am judged for the hope of 
 the promise made of God unto our fathers. Unto 
 which promise our twelve tribes instantly serving 
 God day and night hope to come. For which 
 hope's sake King Agrippa, I am accused of the 
 Jews. Why should it be thought a thing incredible 
 with you that God should raise the dead. ' ' Acts 
 xxvi. 6-8. 
 
 Once more when Paul had reached Rome, he 
 summoned his Jewish brethren, some of whom 
 were already believers, to hear his plea, that ' ' for 
 the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain." 
 Acts xxviii. 20. 
 
 Clearly, then, Resurrection was the old Testa- 
 ment hope, held by all Pharisees who accepted the 
 law, the prophets and the Psalms, but denied by 
 the Sadducees who placed reason above the inerrant 
 Scriptures. Paul, converted, enlightened, instructed 
 by the infallible Spirit, held with even greater tena- 
 city than formerly to that blessed hope of a literal, 
 bodily and glorious resurrection. These, then are 
 the joyful anticipations of the true Christian be- 
 liever. Waiting in hope for the Son of God from 
 heaven, and expecting therewith the full consum- 
 mation of our salvation when the departed spirit 
 shall be re-united with its own body by resurrec- 
 tion from the dead, and in our translation unto 
 glory. 
 
200 Spiritual Life. 
 
 As regards the future, the believer cannot admit 
 that human opinions and human speculations are 
 conclusive. There is but one infallible, authorita- 
 tive source of knowledge concerning the days be- 
 fore us, namely, the inspired and absolutely exact 
 revelation of God which we call The Holy Scrip- 
 tures. 
 
 No true Bible-loving and seriously reverent 
 Christian will deny the prophetic features of that 
 revelation. Much that is now history was once 
 prophecy, and the literal fulfillment of the events 
 predicted is the golden key which opens the gate 
 of unfulfilled prophecy to the devout and inquiring 
 mind. The Spirit shows us things to come be- 
 cause he already inspired holy men to write of 
 them in the prophetic word. 
 
 L,et us then, with becoming reverence, and glad- 
 ness of heart, approach this subject. It is that 
 most joyous hope which has impressed and influ- 
 enced the church in every age. Will the Lord 
 Jesus, the Eternal Word, who appeared once on 
 earth, return again and touch its soil with His 
 blessed feet? Will He who was born of woman, 
 who became the Servant of all, come again in 
 Sovereign Majesty and receive from the world the 
 homage of universal worship, and the crown of uni- 
 versal supremacy ? And shall His sleeping saints be 
 raised from the dust of death to the throne of eter- 
 nal life ? 
 
The Believer's Blessed Hope. 201 
 
 I. Chrises own answer. Our first quotation is 
 a statement from His own gracious lips. " I go to 
 prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a 
 place for you, I will come again." (John xiv. 2, 3.) 
 No one surely will dispute the fact that when Jesus 
 said U I go," He meant a personal, literal removal 
 of Himself to the Father. The u I " is personal, 
 not metaphorical; the u go" is literal, not figura- 
 tive. Thus Jesus in His own person departed out 
 of the world by ascension to the heavens. So, ac- 
 cording to the simplest laws of language, the 
 promise "I will come again," must be both per- 
 sonal and literal. The ' ' I come, ' ' answers to the 
 4 ' I go. ' ' According to this precious promise of 
 Jesus, is it not right to expect that some time He 
 will again return to earth ? Surely no. past event 
 can be construed into a fulfillment of this promise. 
 Neither the coming of the Spirit, the destruction 
 of Jerusalem, the discovery of America, the birth 
 of the Republic; not the progress of the Age, nor 
 the event of Death will satisfy the thoughtful mind, 
 that in any or all of these occurrences Jesus has 
 come. 
 
 He came and died for us; this is love bleeding 
 for its beloved. He went on high to prepare an 
 abode for us; this is love active for the beloved. 
 He will not send a myriad of angels to convey the 
 beloved home, but He will come Himself and re- 
 ceive His church — His bride to Himself. This is 
 
202 Spiritual Life. 
 
 love satisfying itself : ' ( That where I am there ye 
 may be also." 
 
 II. The Answer of the White-robed Messengers. 
 Turn we now to Acts i. 9-1 1. "And when He 
 had spoken these things, while they beheld, He 
 was taken up. ' ' The first part of His own promise 
 was then exactly fulfilled. He was taken up. Had 
 He not said, u I go " ? Now hear the heavenly 
 messengers address the disciples. ( ' This same 
 Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall 
 so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go 
 into heaven." (v. 11.) How did He ascend ? In 
 His human, glorified body. How shall He descend ? 
 In like manner. Who ascended? Jesus. Who 
 shall descend ? This same Jesus. How was He 
 accompanied in His ascension? With a cloud. 
 How shall He return ? ' ' And then shall they see 
 the Son of Man coming in a cloud. ' ' (L,uke xxi. 
 27.) Surely these Scriptures teach on their surface 
 that Jesus is coming again personally, visibly, 
 gloriously. 
 
 III. The Apostolic Answer. One verse more. 
 ' ' For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven 
 with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and 
 with the trump of God. " (1 Thess. iv. 16.) Again 
 we must admit that this passage refers to our Lord's 
 personal return. With what accompaniments did 
 He ascend ? ( ' God is gone up with a shout, the 
 Lord with a sound of a trumpet." (Ps. xlvii. 5.) 
 
The Believer' s Blessed Hope. 203 
 
 Thus also shall He return. He is now in heaven 
 whither He ascended, and will continue there in 
 His priestly mediatorial office until the hour arrives 
 when He shall return to claim His own. Then 
 shall the dead in Christ rise first, and the living 
 saints shall join them in their triumphal procession, 
 while they challenge the graves long occupied, but 
 now empty: "O death, where is thy sting? 
 grave where is thy victory ? Thanks be unto God 
 who giveth us the victory through our Iyord Jesus 
 Christ." (1 Cor. xv. 55-57.) 
 
 But keeping to the line of thought before us, we 
 must not overlook the fact that the I^ord comes 
 Himself and not by deputy. This, then, is our 
 assured hope. It is not a speculation, not a 
 philosophy, not a supposition, not even a calcula- 
 tion, but an assurance based on the infallible pro- 
 mises of God. Oh, believer, are you tried now ? 
 Are you afflicted now ? Are you sorely beset by 
 many adversaries ? Is your heart wrung with an- 
 guish as you see the wicked prosper and the un- 
 godly prevail ? Fear not! L,ift up your head for 
 your redemption draweth nigh. Gird up the loins 
 of your mind, be sober and hope perfectly for the 
 grace that is to be brought unto you at the revela- 
 tion of Jesus. He will not forget His promises. 
 Therefore ' ' unto them* that look for Him shall He 
 appear the second time without sin unto salvation. ' ' 
 (Heb. ix. 28.) Then shall there be re-union with 
 our sainted dead on that day of His glorious Advent. 
 
204 Spiritual Life. 
 
 IV. The Promised Advent not Death. One of 
 our great surprises in connection with this sub- 
 ject is, that any thoughtful person should con- 
 sider the experience of death, and the event of 
 our Lord^s coming one and the same, or even think 
 of them as of equal value. Very many say, ' ' Well, 
 when I die the L,ord will have come to me. ' ' Now, 
 is this not a very perversion of Scripture language ? 
 L,et any reader carefully go over a few texts where 
 it is said Jesus is coming again, and substitute 
 death for that hope. Will he not readily perceive 
 the fallacy of the above statement ? As for exam- 
 ple : ' ' This same death shall come again. ' ' (Acts 
 i. 12.) " Death shall descend from heaven with a 
 shout." (i Thess. iv. 16.) "Unto them that 
 look for it, shall death appear a second time. (Heb„ 
 ix. 28.) "For our conversation is in heaven; 
 from whence also we look for death. (Phil. iii. 
 20.) "And to wait for death from heaven." (1 
 Thess. i. 10.) It would be just as absurd to read 
 into such passages any other event, historical, 
 ecclesiastical or providential, as that of death. 
 Surely the Scriptures are clear enough in their 
 literal statement, and conclusive in their designed 
 application. This is very important, therefore 
 observe : 
 
 1. That there was in the minds of the apostles a 
 distinction between the article of death, and the 
 advent of Jesus is proved from our L,ord's conver- 
 
The Believer ] s Blessed Hope. 205 
 
 sation with Simon Peter, as recorded in John xxi. 
 18-23. ^ ne Master told him he would die a mar- 
 tyr, which led Peter to inquire concerning John, 
 1 ' Lord, and what shall this man do ?' ' The an- 
 swer of Jesus, " If I will that he tarry till I come," 
 led all of the disciples to believe that John would 
 not die, but be found still living when their Lord 
 returned from heaven. Not indeed that Jesus gave 
 any such promise, yet what He did say called out 
 from them the fact that in their minds there was a 
 broad distinction between death and His return. 
 
 2. But further, this contrast is seen when we 
 consider that death is a monster evil, the awful 
 penalty of sin (Rom. vi. 23), while the promised 
 Advent of Jesus will deliver His people from its 
 dread power. (1 Thess. iv. 16, 17.) Death is un- 
 natural. From this terrible enemy we shrink with 
 fear, while with glad hope we long to see the un- 
 veiled face of our glorious Lord. Death is a dis- 
 solution; a taking down of the tabernacle; a dis- 
 robing. For the unclothed state we do not pray, 
 as we do for the re-clothed condition. (11 Cor. v. 
 4.) Death is a divider. The grim messenger is 
 neither softened by tears nor subdued by threats. 
 He is independent of bribes, and mocks at every 
 device to escape his chilling embrace. Kings and 
 subjects, rich and poor, are alike leveled by his 
 sickle, while the friends spared a little longer are 
 left to mourn in their grief. (Gen. xxxvii. 34, 35; 
 
2o6 Spiritual Life. 
 
 John xi. 21, 32.) But when Jesus comes re-union 
 will take place, for the sleeping saints and living 
 believers shall be caught up together in the air. 
 (1 Thess. iv. 17, 18). 
 
 3. But again, death does not consummate our 
 salvation ; by it we are made incomplete; the body 
 rests in the grave, and the spirit rests with the 
 Lord. (1 Thess. iv. 13; n Cor. v. 8.) When 
 Jesus comes and gathers His people unto Himself, 
 the corruptible shall put on incorruption, referring 
 to those who have died, while the mortal shall put 
 on immortality, referring to those who shall be 
 found alive at His Advent. Then, indeed, shall 
 our salvation of soul and body be fully consum- 
 mated, for we shall be crowned and glorified in 
 that day. (n Tim. iv. 8; Phil. iii. 20, 21.) No 
 where in the divine record are we taught to earn- 
 estly look for death, to pray for death, to love 
 death, to be comforted with the hope of death, to 
 hasten death, or to watch for death. But always 
 and everywhere these exhortations have direct ref- 
 erence to the coming of Christ; "waiting for the 
 Son from heaven." 
 
 I do not deny the intermediate state as one of 
 restful bliss. It is, indeed, better to be " absent 
 from the body, and present with the L,ord, n than 
 to be in suffering and sorrow down here. More 
 prominence is given, however, to the final or resur- 
 rection state than to that which is intermediate. 
 
The Believers Blessed Hope. 207 
 
 The future will be the consummation period, hence 
 the frequency of exhortation to look for the blessed 
 Hope. 
 
 V. Power of the Blessed Hope. Faith looks 
 upward ; hope looks onward. Whatever mean- 
 ing we may put on the prophetic event intro- 
 duced in the Scriptures as our L,ord's second 
 coming, we notice that it is frequently speci- 
 fied as a Hope. And as hope implies expectation, 
 the church should wear the onward look. The 
 believer should be an expectant. 
 
 Hope is the antipode of despair. It has a defi- 
 nite object in view, and as that object is perceived 
 at hand, or remotely, the soul is swayed by deliver- 
 ance or discouragement. The blessed hope and 
 appearing in glory of our L,ord Jesus Christ should 
 not be relegated to the regions of mystery or mysti- 
 cism. How can it be a hope of any value, if it be 
 some uncertain, indefinite, mystic, and far-away, 
 and non-essential theory which happened to drop 
 into the Bible? In fifty-three places where hope 
 is referred to in the divine word, it has special re- 
 lation to future blessings which are to crown the 
 Christian believer at the appearing of Jesus Christ. 
 A few of these we might examine. 
 
 1. It is a blessed hope. " Looking for the blessed 
 hope and appearing of the glory of our great God 
 and Saviour Jesus Christ." (Titus ii. 13.) A 
 blessed hope means a happy one. The word refers 
 
2o8 Spiritual Life, 
 
 to inward enjoyment apart from external environ- 
 ment. The expectations implied in such a hope 
 make all present circumstances of trial or depres- 
 sion ( ' not worthy to be compared with the glory 
 which shall be revealed to us- ward. For the earn- 
 est expectation of the creation waiteth for the 
 revealing of the sons of God." (Rom. viii. 18, 19. 
 R. V.) 
 
 2. It is a purifying hope. l ' And every man that 
 hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he 
 is pure." (1 John iii. 3.) As linen bleaches under 
 the sun, the light of this hope cleanses the life 
 from world-stains. It loosens the grasp from the 
 things of earth. The man who has a magnificent 
 mansion in some beautiful locality, and is only 
 tarrying in a city hotel for a few days till he can 
 journey home, will not care to spend time and 
 money and thought in elaborately decorating his 
 temporary lodgings in the strange city. So the 
 Christian, who reckons himself a "pilgrim and a 
 stranger" here, will have little heart to spend his 
 energies on things pertaining merely to the earthly. 
 His city and his home lie beyond. His great con- 
 cern will be to " lay up treasures in heaven. " (Col. 
 iii. 1, 4.) 
 
 3. It is a pacifying hope. "Therefore judge 
 nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who 
 will both bring to light the hidden things of dark- 
 ness, and will make manifest the counsels of the 
 
The Believer's Blessed Hope. 209 
 
 hearts: and then shall every man have praise of 
 God." (1 Cor. iv. 5.) " Be patient, therefore, 
 brethren, nnto the coming of the Lord. Behold, 
 the hnsbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of 
 the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he 
 receive the early and the latter rain. Be ye also 
 patient ; stablish your hearts : for the coming of the 
 Lord draweth nigh." (James v. 7, 8.) In the 
 power of this hope all questions of provocation can 
 be patiently laid aside for the Lord to settle on His 
 arrival. The child of God who is pervaded with 
 this hope will be willing to waive all rights of self- 
 vindication, knowing that his ' ' labor of love and 
 patience of hope" will not go unrewarded. (1 
 Thess. i. 3.) 
 
 4. It is a comforting hope. ' ' But I would not 
 have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them 
 which are asleep, that ye sorrow not even as others 
 which have no hope." (1 Thess. iv. 13.) The 
 lustre of this hope shines most conspicuously in the 
 consolation it brings to those who are called to part 
 with their loved ones by death. The unbelieving 
 bury their dead without any certain or definite ex- 
 pectation of reunion. For in no other so-called 
 sacred book than the Bible is the truth of a resurrec- 
 tion even hinted at. But the Scriptures do definitely 
 promise this. " For if we believe that Jesus died and 
 rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus 
 will God bring with Him." (1 Thess. iv. 14.) The 
 
2io Spiritual Life, 
 
 Apostle Paul, after explaining all this to the Thes- 
 salonian Christians, and showing them the immense 
 advantage they had over the heathen who knew 
 nothing about the return in majesty of Jesus Christ r 
 nor of the resurrection, adds finally, "Wherefore 
 comfort one another with these words." 
 
 5. It is a glorioles hope. i ' For our conversation 
 is in heaven: from whence also we look for the 
 Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change 
 our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto 
 his glorious body, according to the working whereby 
 he is able even to subdue all things unto Himself." 
 (Phil. iii. 20, 21.) " By faith, Abraham, when he 
 was tried, offered up Isaac : and he that had received 
 the promises offered up his only begotten son, of 
 whom it was said, that in Isaac shall thy seed be 
 called: accounting that God was able to raise him 
 up, even from the dead; from whence also he re- 
 ceived him in a figure. . . . Women received their 
 dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, 
 not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain 
 a better resurrection. ' ' (Heb. xi. 17-19, 35.) This 
 hope would be meaningless apart from the locality 
 and the circumstances where it anchors itself. It 
 leaps over time and space to the period when Jesus 
 Christ shall Himself be glorified as King of kings 
 according to the eternal purpose of the Father. 
 
 6. This blessed hope embraces several promised 
 facts. 
 
The Believer's Blessed Hope. 211 
 
 We shall be with Christ. Not as at death when 
 we are said to be u unclothed, ' ' and ( ' waiting to be 
 clothed upon with our house from heaven. " (2 Cor. 
 v. 1-3.) In an actual sense we shall u see Him as 
 He is, ' ' and be ourselves like Him personally and 
 morally. We shall be beyond sinning. Now we 
 groan for deliverance. Pain and the curse encom- 
 pass us. The consummation of that hope will bring 
 full redemption to the body. (Rom. viii. 22, 23.) 
 We shall know as we are known. i l Now we see 
 through a glass darkly; but then face to face: now 
 I know in part; but then shall I know even as also 
 I am known." (1 Cor. xiii. 12.) What joy to 
 have the hope of one day being masters of all 
 knowledge ; to understand the mysteries of science, 
 the marvels of astronomy, the secrets of nature, 
 and the profound depths of the soul ! 
 
 7. What then should be our present attitude? We 
 are to be looking for the blessed crisis. (Titus ii. 
 13.) That is, expecting it with desire. We are to 
 be hastening it. (11 Peter iii. 12). That is, urging 
 on its consummation by our attitude of personal 
 faithfulness toward all that it involves. We should 
 be loving it. (1 Tim. iv. 8.) If we love the seed 
 of Abraham, if we love the burdened brute creation, 
 if we love the heathen Gentile nations who know 
 nothing of a Saviour, we shall joyfully anticipate 
 this hope, for their sakes also. For it is the hope 
 that shall bring to the Jew his Messiah; to the 
 
212 Spiritual Life. 
 
 creature his emancipation from man's exacting 
 dominion; to dumb creation her freedom from 
 thorns and thistles ; to the heathen idolater a knowl- 
 edge of the true and living God ; and to the waiting 
 Bride the personal presence of the heavenly Bride- 
 groom. Yea, it will bring to Jesus His Kingdom, 
 Crown, and Throne. 
 
 1 ' Thus heavenward all things tend, for all were once 
 Perfect, and all niust be at length restored ; 
 Haste, then, and wheel away a shattered world 
 Ye slow revolving seasons ; we would see 
 A sight to which our eyes are strangers yet — 
 A world that does not dread and hate His laws, 
 And suffer for its crime. 
 Come, then, and to Thy many crowns, 
 Receive yet one, the crown of all the earth, 
 Thou, who alone art worthy. It was Thine, 
 By ancient covenant ere nature's birth, 
 And Thou hast made it Thine by purchase since, 
 
 And overpaid its value with Thy blood." 
 
 "Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for 
 these things, give diligence that ye may be found 
 in peace, without spot, and blameless in His sight. ' ' 
 (n Pet. iii. 14; R. V.) 
 
XII. 
 
 SPIRITUAL LIFE IN THE PSALMS. 
 [Explanatory.] 
 
 HE subject of " Spiritual L,ife in the 
 Psalms " necessitates an explanation of 
 the book ; a general exposition of its 
 design, and an exegesis of several pas- 
 sages where LJFK is especially introduced. 
 
 Some old writers translated the original title of 
 the book by the English words, " to move briskly, 
 irradiate, shine." They, therefore, called it "the 
 book of the shinings forth," " irradiations," " mani- 
 festations or displays," viz. : Displays of divine 
 wisdom and love, exhibited in God's dealings with 
 His chosen people. The book may be compared 
 to the Cloud of glory, which was not only the 
 symbol of, but the very envelope which enwrapped 
 the divine presence. Israel's God was in the Cloud, 
 speaking out of it sometimes in hot rebuke, yet 
 again with words of gentle admonition and endear- 
 ing persuasion. Righteous anger flashed from that 
 Cloud ; divine compassion flowed from it. At times 
 we observe God vindicating His uncompromising 
 holiness in slaying the rebellious, yet again and 
 again illustrating His matchless patience toward 
 His self-willed people. 
 
 (213) 
 
2 14 Spiritual Life. 
 
 Not unlike the Cloud do these Psalms reveal 
 God's essential character. Water-floods, tempests, 
 earthquakes, and mighty thunders, not only declare 
 His power, but also His burning indignation against 
 sin. The green pastures, the still waters, the shining 
 of the sun, the serene heavens show forth the merci- 
 ful side of God, which is ever toward the children 
 of men. The desolating Jehovah of Psalm xlvi. 
 is also the pitying Father of Psalm ciii. The 
 analogy may be carried out more fully when we 
 remember the uses of the Cloud. It was Israel's 
 guide, shield and light. In Ps. lxxiii. 24, we read, 
 "Thou slialt guide me with Thy counsel." In 
 Ps. xliii. 3, it is declared, " His truth shall be thy 
 shield and buckler." Ps. cv. 30, acknowledges, 
 "The entrance of Thy word giveth light." 
 
 I. The book of Psalms has also been called " THE 
 book OF praises," and by that name it is now 
 known in the church. Praise is abundant in this 
 part of Holy Writ, rising higher and higher towards 
 the close, when in a grand climax everything in 
 heaven above, and on earth beneath, is invited to 
 swell the song of worship, " L,et everything that 
 hath breath praise the Lord," Ps. cl. 6. The first 
 uote of praise is in recognition of His righteousness 
 (Ps. vii. 17); and the last for His mighty acts 
 (Ps. cl. 3). 
 
 In Bphesians v. 19, we observe a threefold division 
 of praise which may have special reference to this 
 
 
Spiritual Life in the Psalms* 215 
 
 book. " Speaking to yourselves in psalms and 
 hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making 
 melody in your heart to the L,ord." The parts 
 called Psalms were generally accompanied by an 
 instrument, and may have been declarations and 
 acknowledgments of God in the manifestations of 
 His power and glory. Hymns were offered as an 
 act of worship in which praise was directly ascribed 
 to God by His redeemed people. Songs would 
 more especially express the emotions of the wor- 
 shipers. 
 
 The book of Psalms includes all these : psalms, 
 hymns and spiritual songs. There is a constant 
 outcry against emotional preaching, but nowhere 
 in the Psalms do I find that special provision has 
 been made for the suppression, or repression, of the 
 believer's emotional nature. Emotions of grief or 
 gladness are herein fully recognized. Precious 
 little interest will the book of Psalms have for us 
 if the juices of our life have been sapped by an 
 overweening intellectualism. The proprieties so 
 called have been the death of revivals both in the 
 church and individual souls. Praise that comes 
 from a frozen heart, or that falls from icy lips, is 
 but the simulation of worship. " God is a Spirit, 
 and they that worship Him must worship Him in 
 spirit and in truth." As we read the Psalms, we 
 need the Holy Spirit to enkindle our emotions, in 
 order that we duly appreciate them and readily 
 
216 Spiritual Life. 
 
 utilize them. To the cold, passionless, rationaliz- 
 ing intellect these divine compositions will prove 
 but the dead letter of Hebrew poetry. 
 
 The book of Psalms has been used as the vehicle 
 of spiritual worship, both by pious Jews and believ- 
 ing Gentiles, in every age since God gave them to 
 man. Our blessed Lord who understood them in 
 their original design and ulterior aim, sang these 
 songs of Zion, and with His disciples employed 
 them as the expression of His and their devotion. 
 In that upper room they sang the hallelujah psalms 
 which record the goodness of God to Israel in their 
 redemption and rewards, but which carry beneath 
 their historic surface, deep and fervid spiritual 
 experiences. 
 
 Dr. Kdersheim has called attention to the fact 
 that the Talmud dwells upon the peculiar suita- 
 bleness of the Hallel to the Passover, " since it not 
 only recorded the goodness of God to Israel, but 
 especially their deliverance from Egypt, and there- 
 fore appropriately opened with ' Praise ye the Lord, 
 ye servants of Jehovah,' and no longer ye servants 
 of Pharaoh." 
 
 But our blessed Lord has revealed to us deeper 
 things in the Psalms, even the things concerning 
 Himself. In Ps. xxii. 25, it was predicted of Jesus 
 that in the midst of the congregation He would 
 sing God's praises. While the complete fulfillment 
 of this prophetic utterance is reserved for future 
 
Spiritual Life in the Psalms. 217 
 
 occasions, its immediate fulfillment took place when 
 our gracious Lord, as precentor, led the band of 
 disciples around the Passover table in chanting 
 this matchless Hallel. 
 
 Let us now glance at these six Psalms, commenc- 
 ing with the one hundred and thirteenth, which 
 compose the great Hallel. Observe that this Psalm 
 begins with the exclamation of worship, " Halle- 
 lujah," rightly translated "Praise ye the Lord." 
 " Praise ye the Lord. Praise, O ye servants of the 
 Lord, praise the name of the Lord. Blessed be 
 the name of the Lord from this time forth and for 
 evermore. From the rising of the sun unto the 
 going down of the same the Lord's name is to be 
 praised. The Lord is high above all nations, and 
 His glory above the heavens. Who is like unto 
 the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, who 
 humbleth Himself to behold the things that are in 
 heaven, and in the earth ! He raiseth up the poor 
 out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the 
 dunghill ; that He may set him with princes, even 
 with the princes of His people. He maketh the 
 barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful 
 mother of children. Praise ye the Lord." Psalm 
 cxiii. 
 
 In this song of praise, the disciples may have 
 only their forefathers in mind, who were exalted 
 from the dunghill to princely estate, while the 
 thoughts of Jesus would encompass and embrace 
 
2i8 Spiritual Life. 
 
 all of the facts and experiences involved in v. 6, 
 " Who humbleth Himself," etc. Did He not under- 
 stand this as foreshadowing His own incarnation? 
 
 In Psalm cxiv. the exodus of Israel from Egypt 
 is again the subject of sacred song. The triumph 
 of their deliverance is sketched in graphic figurative 
 language : " When Israel went out of Egypt, the 
 house of Jacob from a people of a strange language ; 
 Judah was His sanctuary and Israel His dominion. 
 The sea saw it, and fled ; Jordan was driven back. 
 The mountains skipped like rams, and the little 
 hills like lambs. What ailed thee, O thou sea, 
 that thou neddest? thou Jordan, that thou wast 
 driven back ? Ye mountains, that ye skipped like 
 rams; and ye little hills, like lambs? Tremble, 
 thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the 
 presence of the God of Jacob, which turned the 
 rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain 
 of w T aters." Ps. cxiv. 4-7. 
 
 The third Psalm of the Hallel is a complete 
 repudiation of idols, and an exhortation to trust in 
 the living God. The Psalm ends with Hallelujah. 
 " Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy 
 name give glory, for Thy mercy, and for Thy 
 truth's sake. Wherefore should the heathen say, 
 Where is now their God ? But our God is in the 
 heavens : He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased. 
 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's 
 hands. They have mouths, but they speak not ; 
 
Spiritual Life in the Psalms. 219 
 
 eyes have they, but they see not ; they have ears, 
 but they hear not ; noses have they, but they smell 
 not ; they have hands, but they handle not ; feet 
 have they, but they walk not ; neither speak they 
 through their throat. They that make them are 
 like unto them ; so is every one that trusteth in 
 them. O Israel, trust thou in the L,ord : He is 
 their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, 
 trust in the L,ord : He is their help and their 
 shield." Ps. cxv. 1-10. 
 
 Psalm cxvi. is more experimental. As on several 
 occasions during His earthly life our L,ord wept 
 tears of grief, I should not wonder if His recitation 
 of the early part of this Psalm had been choked 
 with emotions of anguish. Hear Him cry, " The 
 sorrows of death compassed Me, and the pains of 
 Hell gat hold upon Me ; I found trouble and 
 sorrow," v. 3. Yet the Psalm has also its triumph- 
 ant assurance. Jesus exultingly exclaims, " For 
 Thou hast delivered My soul from death, Mine eyes 
 from tears, and My feet from falling. I will walk 
 before the L,ord in the land of the living," vs. 8, 9. 
 " Thou hast loosed My bonds," refers to our Iyord's 
 resurrection. The Psalm ends with Hallelujah. 
 
 In Psalm cxvii. we have a wide range within a 
 small compass. This is the central chapter of the 
 Bible and its shortest. " O praise the Lord, all ye 
 nations ; praise Him, all ye people. For His 
 merciful kindness is great toward us : and the 
 
220 Spiritual Life, 
 
 truth of the Lord endureth forever. Praise ye the 
 Lord." 
 
 Paul quoted from this Psalm in Romans, to prove 
 the calling of the Gentiles. The Gentiles who in 
 this age are members of the Church of God ; the 
 Gentiles who, as nations, will be brought under the 
 sway of Messiah's reign during the millennial age, 
 and those who in ages to come shall share in His 
 glory are exhorted in this Psalm to shout their 
 Hallelujah. Oh ! how Jesus would sing this song 
 in that upper room with exultant spirit, as His 
 Prophetic eye saw the abundant fruit of His toil ; 
 the vast multitudes saved by virtue of His blood. 
 " He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall 
 be satisfied." 
 
 Psalm cxviii. is a magnificent composition. It 
 is the closing Psalm of the great Hallel. The first 
 and last verses were chanted at the rebuilding of 
 the Temple in the days of Ezra, and possibly the 
 whole Psalm formed part of their song-service. 
 During the singing at the passover table our Lord 
 would recognize the prophecy alluding to Himself, 
 " The stone which the builders refused is become 
 the head stone of the corner. This is the Lord's 
 doing; it is marvelous in our eyes," vs. 22, 23. 
 
 This was the Psalm which braced Luther for his 
 fight against the enemies of the Church. He 
 writes in his dedication of this Psalm: "This is 
 my Psalm, my chosen Psalm. I love all holy 
 
Spiritual Life in the Psalms. 2,2,1 
 
 Scripture, which is my consolation and my life, 
 but this Psalm is nearest to my heart, and I have 
 a peculiar right to call it mine. It has saved me 
 from many a pressing danger, from which nor em- 
 peror, nor kings, nor sages, nor saints could have 
 saved me. It is my friend ; dearer to me than all 
 the honors and powers of the earth." And he 
 adds, " I am not jealous of my property ; I would 
 divide it with the whole world." 
 
 How significant that v. 8 is the middle verse of 
 the Bible ! " It is better to trust in the Lord, than 
 to put confidence in man." Many writers assert 
 that the early Church, following the example of our 
 Lord and His disciples, used the book of Psalms 
 for public praise. The primitive Christians were 
 severely simple in their ritual. Their spirituality 
 of worship was not degraded to artificiality by mo- 
 tives of foolish display. Where such temptations 
 overtake and overcome a church it is only fit to be 
 spewed out like the church of L^aodicea. It is a 
 very solemn affair to undertake the guidance of 
 church praise. If there be a chorister, and if there 
 be a choir, such persons should be specially charac- 
 terized by sobriety of demeanor and by a fervent 
 spirituality. Honest Adam Clark, referring to the 
 pure worship of the early church, and remarking 
 on the singers of his time, said : " Those whose 
 peculiar office it is to direct and lead that part of 
 the divine worship which consists in singing the 
 
2,22 Spiritual Life. 
 
 high praises of God, should have clean hands and 
 pure hearts. To see this part of public worship 
 performed by unthinking if not profligate youths 
 of both sexes fills the serious with pain and the 
 ungodly with contempt. He who sings not with 
 the spirit, as well as with the understanding, offers 
 a sacrifice to God as acceptable as the dog's head 
 and swine's blood would have been under the 
 Mosaic law." 
 
 I do not know if choirs generally have improved 
 since Adam Clark's day ; but this we do know, 
 that there is a marked contrast between the sen- 
 suous worship of our times, chiefly limited to 
 choirs and quartettes, and the exalted worship of 
 spiritual life which finds its varied expressions of 
 reverence, homage, devotion and adoration in the 
 book of Psalms. The sentimentalism of carnal 
 worshipers may be gratified by unmeaning sound, 
 but how God can be glorified, or the church edi- 
 fied by senseless jargon, is a question beyond our 
 comprehension. 
 
 In Psalm xlvii. we are commanded to sing 
 praises with understanding. Old Charnock 
 said : "In worship the soul adores and reverences 
 God's majesty, is ravished with His amiableness, 
 embraceth His goodness, enters itself into an inti- 
 mate communion with this most lovely object, and 
 pitcheth all His affections upon Him ; we must 
 worship God understanding^ ; it is not else a 
 reasonable service." 
 
Spiritual Life in the Psalms. 223 
 
 Much of modern hymn- writing has lowered the 
 standard of worship. The sickly rhymes without 
 reverence or sense, full of silly endearments and 
 frivolous allusions to things most sacred, has pros- 
 tituted spiritual praise, while many of our revival 
 song-services are more befitting heathen fanes than 
 Jehovah's temple. Silly ditties which have over- 
 flowed the land indicate how sadly the Church has 
 declined in her worship from the days when she 
 appreciated " David's harp of solemn sound." 
 
 The Psalms always present the living God as 
 the object of worship. The voice is unto God. 
 
 1. The voice of supplication is directed to Him. 
 " My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning, O 
 L,ord ; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto 
 Thee, and will look up. For Thou art not a God 
 that hath pleasure in wickedness ; neither shall 
 evil dwell with Thee." Ps. v. 3, 4. 
 
 2. The voice of praise is uplifted to Him. " Sing 
 praises to God, sing praises ; sing praises unto our 
 King, sing praises." Ps. xlvii. 6. 
 
 The voice of lattdation is to God. " O clap your 
 hands, all ye people ; shout unto God with the voice 
 of triumph." Ps. xlvii. 1. 
 
 As the panting deer hastens to the water-brooks, 
 so the throbbing heart of the believer hasteth to- 
 wards God. Hear the cry of the quickened soul. 
 " O send out Thy light and Thy truth : let them 
 lead me ; let them bring me unto Thv holy hill, 
 
224 Spiritual Life. 
 
 and to Thy tabernacles. Then will I go unto the 
 altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy ; yea, 
 upon the harp will I praise Thee, O God, my God." 
 Ps. xliii. 3, 4. 
 
 Notice here : The light like the Cloud of old, 
 leads to the holy hill of Zion. But that does not 
 satisfy. Nor does the Tabernacle, the house of the 
 L,ord, satisfy ; nor does the brazen altar with its 
 smoking sacrifices, nor the golden altar with its 
 fragrant incense, fully satisfy. The true worshiper 
 must enter within the vail to commune with a per- 
 sonal God who Himself is the believer's joy. 
 
 II. The soul's outlook God-ward is a promi- 
 nent feature of the Psalms. Praise is offered to 
 Him ; prayer is directed to Him ; confession is made 
 unto Him ; pardon is sought at His hands ; service 
 is rendered to Him, while worship ascends to Him. 
 
 Kven the most superficial glance at the book of 
 Psalms will not fail to notice that every aspiration 
 and longing of the soul is toward God. When sub- 
 merged in deep distress, as lead sunk in the ocean, 
 or when borne aloft above the storm as on eagle's 
 wings, God is always the Being to whom it turns. 
 Is the soul at a distance from God ? Then do we 
 hear its throb of spoken anguish, " From the ends 
 of the earth will I cry unto Thee, when my heart 
 is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is higher 
 than I." Ps. lxi. 2. Or, is the soul near to God? 
 Then do we hear its joy exulting amid surrounding 
 
Spiritual Life in the Psalms. 225 
 
 gloom, " Yea, though I walk through the valley of 
 the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou 
 art with me ; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort 
 me." Ps. xxiii. 4. 
 
 Responding as the rain drop to the law of gravita- 
 tion, Spiritual life, as shown in the Psalms, is 
 attracted to God. He is the mysterious pole of the 
 moral universe, to which the sensitive needle of 
 divine life in the regenerate man undeviatingly 
 turns. There are indeed spiritual atmospheric dis- 
 turbances recognized throughout the book ; still the 
 trembling needle refuses to rest in any direction but 
 toward the personal L,ord God who is its great 
 affinity. 
 
 Turn we now to Psalm sixty-three, where we find 
 proof of the yearnings of spiritual life after the 
 living God. Give special emphasis in reading to 
 the names of " God," and the pronouns " Thkk" 
 and "Thy." "O God, Thou art my God; early 
 will I seek Thee : my soul thirsteth for Thee, my 
 flesh longeth for Thee in a dry and thirsty land, 
 where no water is ; to see Thy power and Thy glory, 
 so as I have seen Thee in the sanctuary. Because 
 Thy loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall 
 praise Thee. Thus will I bless Thee while I live ; 
 I will lift up my hands in Thy name. My soul shall 
 be satisfied as with marrow and fatness ; and my 
 mouth shall praise Thee with joyful lips ; when I 
 remember Thee upon my bed, and meditate on 
 15 
 
226 Spiritual Life. 
 
 Thee in the night watches. Because Thou hast been 
 my help, therefore in the shadow of Thy wings will 
 I rejoice. My soul followeth hard after Thee ; Thy 
 right hand upholdeth me," vs. 1-8. 
 
 Quaintly does Master Thomas Brooks comment 
 on the first verse : " He doth not say my soul 
 thirsteth for water, but my soul thirsteth for Thee ; 
 nor doth he say my soul thirsteth for the blood of 
 mine enemies, but my soul thirsteth for Thee ; nor 
 doth he say my soul thirsteth for deliverance out of 
 this dry and barren wilderness, but my soul thirst- 
 eth for Thee in a dry and thirsty land where no 
 water is ; nor doth he say my soul thirsteth for a 
 crown, or a kingdom, but my soul thirsteth for 
 Thee ; my flesh longeth for Thee." 
 
 Surely this also is our desire, or at least we desire 
 to have this desire ; we long for this longing. Oft 
 and again in reading the book of Psalms, are we 
 reminded of the truly sainted Rutherford, whose 
 fervid utterances, both in his sermons and letters, 
 indicate the profound emotions of his soul. Said 
 this sainted preacher : " Oh that Christ would 
 come near, and stand still, and give me leave to 
 look upon Him ! for to look seemeth the poor man's 
 privilege, since he may for nothing and without 
 hire behold the sun. I should have a king's life ; 
 if I had no other thing to do than forevermore to 
 behold and eye my fair L,ord Jesus ; nay, suppose I 
 were holden out at heaven's fair entry, I should be 
 
Spiritual Life in the Psalms. 227 
 
 happy for evermore to look through a hole in the 
 door, and see my dearest and fairest Lord's face. O 
 great King, why standest Thou aloof? Why remain- 
 est Thou beyond the mountains ? O well-beloved, 
 why dost Thou pain a poor soul with delays ? A 
 long time out of Thy glorious presence is two 
 deaths and two hells to me. We must meet ; I must 
 see Him. I am not able to do without Him. 
 Hunger and longing for Christ hath brought me 
 such a necessity of enjoying Christ, that cost me 
 what it will, I cannot but assure Christ that I will 
 not, I am not able to do without Him." 
 
 Such are the quenchless longings of true spirit- 
 ual life, whether found pulsating in the heart of a 
 banished king within his cave Adullam, or a ban- 
 ished preacher within a prison cell. Most patheti- 
 cally does Testergeen portray this phase of Christian 
 experience in the sublime hymn concluding with 
 these lines : 
 
 " My heart is pained, nor can it be 
 At rest, till it finds rest in Thee. 
 
 Are not these outgoings of the soul the fruitage 
 of spiritual life ? Do we not everywhere through- 
 out the book of Psalms recognize this devotion of 
 spiritual life ? Do we not see that life ascending 
 heavenward on wings of love and trust seeking 
 companionship with God ? And the personal 
 being of God, in all His glorious attributes, per- 
 fections, and providences, becomes the engrossing 
 
228 Spiritual Life. 
 
 object of tlie believer's worship. He lives in God, 
 lie moves in God ; lie drinks in every precious 
 thought of God which makes Him real, and which 
 brings Him nigh. 
 
 The magnificent covenant Psalm, the 89th, ex- 
 emplifies this spirit of devotion, in extolling God's 
 glorious attributes : " I will sing of the mercies of 
 the Lord forever ; with my mouth will I make 
 known Thy faithfulness to all generations. For I 
 have said, Mercy shall be built up forever; Thy 
 faithfulness shalt Thou establish in the very 
 heavens. I have made a covenant with My chosen, 
 I have sworn unto David My servant, Thy seed will 
 I establish forever, and build up thy throne to all 
 generations. Selah. And the heavens shall praise 
 Thy wonders, O Lord ; Thy faithfulness also in the 
 congregation of the saints. For who in the heaven 
 can be compared unto the Lord ? who among the 
 sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord ? 
 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the 
 saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that 
 are about Him. O Lord God of hosts, who is a 
 strong Lord like unto Thee ? or to Thy faithfulness 
 round about Thee ? " 
 
 1. The power of God is the subject of holy song. 
 " Be Thou exalted, Lord, in Thine own strength ; 
 so will we sing and praise Thy power." Ps. lxxxix. 
 13. "All Thy works shall praise Thee, O Lord ; 
 and Thy saints shall bless Thee. They shall speak 
 
Spiritual Life in the Psalms. 229 
 
 of the glory of Thy kingdom, and talk of Thy 
 power." Ps. cxlv. 10, 11. "Great is our L,ord, 
 and of great power ; His understanding is infinite." 
 Ps. cxlvii. 5. 
 
 2. The holiness of God calls out fervent thanks- 
 giving. " Give unto the L,ord the glory due unto 
 His name ; worship the L,ord in the beauty of 
 holiness." Ps. xxix. 2. " Sing unto the Lord, 
 O ye saints of His, and give thanks at the remem- 
 brance of His holiness." Ps. xxx. 4. " Thy testi- 
 monies are very sure ; holiness becometh Thine 
 house, O Iyord, forever." Ps. xciii. 5. " O worship 
 the L,ord in the beauty of holiness ; fear before 
 Him, all the earth." Ps. xcvi. 9. 
 
 Holiness is that attribute of God which fills the 
 saint with joyous exultation, and the sinner with 
 dread alarm. God is glorious in holiness ; this at- 
 tribute is the foundation and topstone of our salva- 
 tion. " Grace reigns through righteousness unto 
 eternal life through Jesus Christ our L,ord." The 
 Christian believer is saved righteously, and saved 
 unto righteousness. 
 
 3. God's faithfulness is also a theme for praise. 
 How oft He declares the fact that His faithfulness 
 will not fail. How frequently also the believer 
 expresses his assurance of that fact. " For ever, O 
 Ivord, Thy word is settled in heaven. Thy faith- 
 fulness is unto all generations ; Thou hast estab- 
 lished the earth, and it abideth. " Ps. cxix. 89, 90. 
 
230 Spiritual Life. 
 
 Since mercy and truth have met together, since 
 righteousness and peace have kissed each other, 
 we can meditate without fear on all the divine 
 attributes and perfections of the Godhead. " Thy 
 mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens : and Thy faith- 
 fulness reacheth unto the clouds. Thy righteous- 
 ness is like the great mountains ; Thy judgments 
 are a great deep ; O Lord, Thou preservest man 
 and beast. How excellent is Thy loving kind- 
 ness, O God ! therefore the children of men put 
 their trust under the shadow of Thy wings." Ps. 
 xxxvi. 5-7. 
 
 In every division of the Psalms we observe at 
 their close joyous outbursts of praise. There are 
 five of these divisions : the first ends with the 
 41st Psalm ; the second with the 72d ; the third 
 with the 89th ; the fourth with the 106th ; and the 
 fifth with the 150th. 
 
 Notice the closing verses of these great divisions : 
 u Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from ever- 
 lasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen." 
 Ps. xli. 13. 
 
 " Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, 
 who only doeth wondrous things. And blessed be 
 His glorious name forever ; and let the whole earth 
 be filled with His glory. Amen, and Amen. The 
 prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended." Ps. 
 lxxii. 18-20. When this prayer is answered, noth- 
 ing more remains to be prayed for. 
 
Spiritual Life in the Psalms. 231 
 
 " Blessed be the Lord forevermore. Amen, and 
 Amen." Ps. Ixxxix. 52. 
 
 " Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from ever- 
 lasting to everlasting ; and let all the people say, 
 Amen. Praise ye the Lord." Ps. cvi. 48. 
 
 " Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. 
 Praise ye the Lord." Ps. cl. 6. 
 
 Between the first verse of each division, and the 
 closing verses where the writer places his "Amen," 
 there are revelations of God, and of man, workings 
 of providence, references to time and eternity which 
 we may not understand. Things too high for us ; 
 things more wonderful than we can grasp, more 
 complicated than we can unravel. Yet I observe 
 this feature of spiritual life throughout, viz.: its 
 unaffected, its unfeigned sympathy with God em- 
 phatically declared. Sympathy with His kingly 
 sovereignty and absolute supremacy ; sympathy 
 with His Fatherly pity towards His feeble saints, 
 and with His righteous indignation towards the 
 wicked ; sympathy with His grace towards the 
 erring, and with His awful judgments which visit 
 the evil-doer, whether human or angelic. Nowhere 
 does spiritual life in the Psalms take God to task 
 for His often strange proceedings and terribly 
 ravaging providences ; nowhere in the book is 
 apology offered for the severe dealings of God with 
 His enemies which runs throughout it all. 
 
 I grant that often a spasm of pain shot through 
 
232 Spiritual Life. 
 
 the soul of David, as he pondered on the startling 
 questions of divine sovereignty and human respon- 
 sibility, so that, like a man in a troubled dream, he 
 muttered incoherent ravings about matters which 
 could not be harmonized with his views of right 
 and wrong. But his firm faith in the absolute 
 wisdom of God supported him under these fiery 
 trials and conflicts ; his confidence silenced his 
 complaint. The 73d Psalm illustrates this phase 
 of Christian experience. Asaph had fallen into 
 great mental trouble when he saw the wicked 
 prospering in life, and peaceful in death. Of him- 
 self he declares : " Verily I have cleansed my heart 
 in vain, and washed my hands in innocency. For 
 all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened 
 every morning." Then he adds, referring to the 
 apparent happiness of the wicked in life and death : 
 " When I thought to know this, it was too painful 
 for me ; until I went into the Sanctuary of God ; 
 then understood I their end. Surely Thou didst 
 set them in slippery places ; thou castedst them 
 down into destruction. How are they brought into 
 desolation, as in a moment ! they are utterly con- 
 sumed with terrors. As a dream when one awaketh : 
 so, O Iyord, when Thou awakest, Thou shalt despise 
 their image. Thus my heart was grieved, and I 
 was pricked in my reins. So foolish was I, and 
 ignorant ; I was as a beast before Thee." 
 
 Here is a lamentable yet truthful confession, that 
 
Spiritual Life in the Psalms. 233 
 
 man has but a beast's knowledge of God's eternal 
 purposes. Only in the sanctuary, only by the 
 Spirit, only through Scripture is man enlightened 
 in the ways of God. " O the depth of the riches 
 both of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! how 
 unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past 
 finding out. For who hath known the mind of 
 the L,ord, or who hath been His counsellor?" 
 
 While it is evident that no such baseless senti- 
 mental hopefulness (which learned men call optim- 
 ism) is found in the Psalms, as we hear uttered by 
 modern false prophets, neither do we discover a 
 despairing, remorseless hopelessness (which the 
 wise term pessimism) within its pages. The glowing 
 light of hope shines out of the book ; not however 
 hope from man, who can never by his wisdom or 
 power lift a dead world out of the pit in which it 
 is sinking still deeper ; but hope from Jehovah 
 Jesus, Redeemer, Saviour, King, who will come 
 again in Majesty even as He came formerly in 
 Meekness, to completely redeem the world from sin 
 and death and the devil. 
 
 III. The experiences of spiritual life in the 
 Psalms are very varied. They range from one 
 extreme to another. At times there is great depres- 
 sion of soul ; a feeling of utter desolation, of extreme 
 sadness gliding into an apparently hopeless melan- 
 choly. In Psalm cxxxvii. we have an illustration 
 of this sorrow. " By the rivers of Babylon, there 
 
234 Spiritual Life, 
 
 we sat down ; yea, we wept when we remembered 
 Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in 
 the midst thereof." 
 
 In Psalm cxxx. we find the same experience, 
 " Out of the depths have I cried unto the L,ord." 
 But the pit is not the abiding place of the believer. 
 He has also his celestial elevations ; his moments of 
 blissful transport. And these are more frequent and 
 permanent than the hours of distress. ( ' Weeping 
 may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the 
 morning." As in the summer season the darkness 
 is short-lived, so at longest our seasons of gloom are 
 brief. If we find ourselves in the pit for an hour, 
 we appreciate the more fully our deliverance, and 
 enjoy with greater zest the prolonged periods of 
 gladsome delights. 
 
 In Psalm xxvii. 5, 6, we have a different note from 
 the cry from the pit : u For in the time of trouble 
 he shall hide me in his pavilion ; in the secret of his 
 tabernacle shall he hide me ; he shall set me upon a 
 rock. And now shall mine head be lifted up above 
 mine enemies round about me ; therefore will I 
 offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy ; I will sing, 
 yea, I will sing praises unto the I^ord." 
 
 The reality of these experiences enhance the 
 value of the Psalms to us. They are our own ex- 
 periences ; nothing is artificial. There are no pre- 
 tensions ; the sorrows are real, the pain is real, the 
 mental conflict is real, the sublime faith is real, the 
 
Spiritual Life in the Psalms. 235 
 
 glorious deliverances are real, the spiritual luxuries 
 are real. 
 
 Many are the characteristic titles given to this 
 Book by those who found them an exact portraiture 
 of their own experiences. One calls it The Soul's 
 Anatomy ; another, The L,aw's Epitome ; still 
 another, The Gospel's Index. It is to one, The 
 Garden of the Scriptures ; to another, A Sweet 
 Field and Rosary of Promises, Precepts, Praises, 
 Predictions and Soliloquies. It has been called The 
 very heart and soul of God ; An Epitome of all 
 Scripture, a little Bible, Singing Groves, Tinkling 
 Rills, Pastures Green. 
 
 The Psalms are potential, for they minister to the 
 heart, and by the heart also are they properly under- 
 stood. Within their pages spiritual life is heart 
 life. 
 
 Does God invite the sinner to Himself? Hear 
 the response in Ps. xxvii. 8, " When Thou saidst 
 unto me, Seek ye My face, my heart said unto 
 Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek." 
 
 Is God worthy of praise? In Ps. ix. 1, we read, 
 "I will give thanks unto God with my whole 
 
 HEART." 
 
 Is salvation worthy of our acceptance ? In Ps. 
 xiii. 5, we read, "My heart shall rejoice in Thy 
 salvation." 
 
 And so throughout the book. " My heart is 
 inditing a good matter." " Create in me a clean 
 
236 Spiritual Life. 
 
 heart, O God." The Lord is nigh unto them 
 that are of a broken heart." 
 
 Nor is it the sinner's heart, nor yet the saint's 
 heart, which is made prominent. We read the 
 prophetic admission of Jesus, " Reproach hath 
 broken Mine heart ; " while in anticipation of a 
 joyful resurrection He sings, " Therefore My heart 
 is glad and My glory rejoiceth." I have met with 
 the word " heart" over 130 times in these 150 
 Psalms. The sinner's heart, corrupt, unclean, 
 deceitful, treacherous, selfish, insincere, foolish. 
 The believer's heart, cleansed, joyful, hopeful, fixed. 
 God's heart, generous, gracious, forgiving, pitiful. 
 Christ's heart, sad, broken, rejoicing, constant. 
 
 No book, however profound, can be compared 
 with this ancient collection of Psalms, which worm 
 their way into our inmost souls, and warm our 
 emotions by their glowing revelations.* 
 
 * ' ' Men seemingly the most unlikely to express enthusiasm 
 about any such matter — lawyers and statists immersed deeply 
 in this world's business, classical scholars familiar with other 
 models of beauty, other standards of art — these have been for- 
 ward as the forwardest to set their seal to this book, have left 
 their confession that it was the voice of their inmost heart, that 
 the spirit of it passed into their spirits as did the spirit of no other 
 book, that it found them more often and at greater depths of 
 their being, lifted them to higher heights than did any other — or, 
 as one greatly suffering man, telling of the solace which he found 
 from this Book of Psalms in the hours of a long imprisonment, 
 has expressed it — that it bore him up, as a lark perched between 
 an eagle's wings is borne up, into the everlasting sunlight, till 
 he saw the world and all its trouble forever underneath him. ' ' — 
 Archbishop Trench. 
 
Spiritual Life in the Psalms. 237 
 
 So great is the variety of trie Psalrns that their 
 Author must have been acquainted with the infinite 
 changes of the human mind ; its moods, fears, hopes, 
 disappointments, exultations ; he must have known 
 every phase of human life in all lands, throughout 
 all ages, barbarious and civilized, pagan and 
 Christian. Is it possible that any one being could 
 comprehend these multitudinous experiences, por- 
 tray them with minute fidelity, and anticipate the 
 conflicts of untold millions of the human race? 
 Yes, it is possible, but we must admit that such a 
 Being is Infinite, Omniscient, Almighty. I defy 
 the most astute skeptical thinker, who has a spark 
 of honor in his soul, to rise from a patient thought- 
 ful perusal of the book of Psalms and thereafter 
 accredit its production to a human source. No ! it 
 is too much to ask us to believe that these match- 
 less revelations are purely human compositions. 
 We affirm our deepest conviction that the thoughts 
 and words, the heights and depths, the majesties 
 and the infinitesimals, the majors and the minors, 
 are supernatural, and therefore superhuman. 
 
 Iyying on his dying couch the son of Jesse utters 
 this honest testimony : " The Spirit of the L,ord 
 spake by me and His word was in my tongue." 
 Give credit to the Bard of Avon for his creations 
 and his maxims ; give credit to blind Milton for his 
 works and for his words ; give credit to John 
 Bunyan for his spiritual allegories presented in 
 
238 Spiritual Life. 
 
 chastest and choicest Anglo-Saxon ; but let us not 
 fail to give credit to One greater than all these 
 for the Book of Psalms. Its revelations of God ; 
 its portrayals of man ; its subjects and predictions ; 
 its thoughts, ideas, language, words, particles, jots 
 and tittles, have come to us from no less an Author 
 than the third Person of the blessed Trinity, the 
 Originating Inspiring Spirit, who is Author and 
 Finisher of all Holy Scripture. 
 
XIII. 
 
 SPIRITUAL LIFE IN THE PSALMS. 
 [Expository.] 
 
 T is a simple statement, but a sadly pro- 
 found fact, that we are living in a world 
 of death. Man was once the possessor 
 of life, but he forfeited it by disobe- 
 dience, and died — he died to God. The race was 
 thereby struck with death in its federal head, and 
 like a poisoned fountain sending its deadly waters 
 into every stream and tributary, so every individual 
 of the race, descending from a spiritually dead 
 parentage, is born spiritually dead. 
 
 "As by one man sin came into the world, and 
 death by sin, so death passed upon all men for that 
 all have sinned." Physical death is but one of the 
 apalling results of that fell destroyer, sin, which 
 alienated man from God, and thereby robbed the 
 whole human family of this God-given boon — the 
 life of God in the soul of man. 
 
 But that which man forfeited Christ recovered. 
 He came that we might have life, and " He brought 
 life and immortality to light through the gospel.' ' 
 I am now speaking of life in its fullness. Physical 
 life is not all of life, nor is intellectual life its 
 highest form. Whatever of life man possesses as 
 
 ( 2 39) 
 
240 Spiritual Life. 
 
 a rational being, it is no more to be compared with 
 the life he lost through sin, or the life he gains in 
 Christ, than the life of the least and most useless 
 insect is comparable with our highest natural 
 instincts and powers. 
 
 Our task now is to trace this subject of spiritual 
 life throughout the Psalms ; its nature and character, 
 its extent and perpetuity, its support and defence, 
 its joyousness and its source. 
 
 The Psalms deal very largely with this subject 
 of life. In Psalm xlii. 2, we read that God is 
 " the living God." In Psalm Hi. 5, we read that 
 the wicked who love evil, will be rooted " out of 
 the land of the living." In Psalm lxix. 28, the 
 enemies of the L,ord are said to be " blotted out of 
 the book of the living." In Psalm lvi. 13, the 
 redeemed will "walk before God in the light of the 
 living." In Psalm xxii. 26, we read that they who 
 seek the Lord, "their heart shall live forever." In 
 Psalm lxxii. 15, it is predicted of the Royal King 
 that "He shall live." In Psalm cxviii. 17, the 
 believer boasts "I shall not die, but live" In 
 Psalm cxix. 17, the believer prays, "Deal bounti- 
 fully with Thy servant, that I may live and keep 
 Thy word;" in v. yy } u Let Thy tender mercies 
 come into me that I may live;" v. 116, "Uphold 
 me according to Thy word, that I may live;" v. 124, 
 "Give me understanding, and I shall live." 
 
 We cannot read the Psalms without being sensible 
 
Spiritual Life in the Psalms. 241 
 
 of this throb of life making its power felt through- 
 out the book, and therein, also, we see how the 
 race yearns for its recovery, as the true mother 
 yearns for a lost child. 
 
 I. The nature and character of spiritual life. 
 " Thou wilt show ine the path of life : in Thy 
 presence is fullness of joy ; at Thy right hand are 
 pleasures for evermore." Psalm xvi. 11. 
 
 This Psalm has been called " The Golden Psalm," 
 and we may truly say that the gold of this land is 
 good. It has also been designated l ( David's precious 
 jewel." It is indeed a jewel among other jewels, 
 and is of priceless worth, for the Psalm brings 
 Jesus into view. Peter quotes from it in his sermon. 
 " For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw 
 the Lord always before my face, for he is on my 
 right hand, that I should not be moved : Therefore 
 did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad ; 
 moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope : Because 
 Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt 
 Thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 
 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life ; 
 Thou shalt make me full of joy with Thy counte- 
 nance. Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto 
 you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead 
 and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this 
 day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that 
 God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the 
 fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, He would 
 16 
 
242 Spiritual Life. 
 
 raise up Christ to sit on his throne ; He seeing this 
 before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that His 
 soul was not left in hell, neither His flesh did see 
 corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof 
 we all are witnesses." Acts ii. 25-32. 
 
 In this quotation we have a fair sample of Scrip- 
 ture interpretation. Hundreds of years before our 
 Lord's advent the sixteenth Psalm was composed. 
 Peter refers to it as prophetic of Christ's resurrec- 
 tion. ' It was a proper appeal to the Jewish people. 
 They would not believe Peter's testimony, but can 
 they refuse to believe their own Scriptures? David, 
 being a prophet, declared that God would raise up 
 Christ to sit on His throne. 
 
 Paul also quotes from this Psalm in his sermon. 
 " Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou 
 shalt not suffer thine Holy one to see corruption. 
 For David, after he had served his own generation 
 by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto 
 his fathers, and saw corruption ; but he whom God 
 raised again saw no corruption." Acts xiii. 35-37. 
 
 Thus Paul proves the same great fact which 
 Peter declared, that Christ was raised from the dead, 
 and saw no corruption. 
 
 Turn we again to the Psalm itself. Jesus is the 
 speaker when He declared, " Thou wilt show Me 
 the path of life." Both Peter and Paul having 
 applied this saying to our Lord's resurrection, I 
 wish to call special attention to THE PATH OF LIFE, 
 
Spiritual Life in the Psalms. 243 
 
 as that of our LorcPs pathway from the grave. In 
 other words, the spiritual life of this Psalm is 
 Chris fs resitrrection life, and by consequence, our 
 resurrection life by and in Him. 
 
 But Jesus had first trodden the path of death 
 and reached its end. He tasted its bitterness, He 
 endured its agonies, He experienced its mysterious 
 power, He submitted to the execution of its dread 
 sentence, He entered upon that pathway knowing 
 its consuming dread, its horrors and its darkness. 
 He must have frequently pondered the twenty- 
 second Psalm, where it is predicted that He would 
 be the scorn and contempt of men ; that mockingly 
 they would jeer Him for His professed faith in God ; 
 that along that pathway there were angry bulls to 
 gore Him ; roaring lions from the pit to spring upon 
 Him ; vicious dogs to bite Him ; sharp thorns to 
 pierce His brow, and cruel nails to tear His flesh. 
 He knew that His blessed feet would sink in deep 
 mire when alone He entered death's domain ; that 
 storms from above would burst upon Him. He 
 knew that strong, relentless enemies watched for 
 His life; that reproach, accusation, betrayal, deser- 
 tion lay before Him ; that wounds and bruises, that 
 weariness and painfulness, that hunger and burning 
 thirst would be His portion, while mocked with gall 
 for meat and vinegar for drink. He knew His own 
 nation would disown Him ; His disciples betray 
 Him, deny Him, forsake Him. He knew malicious 
 
244 Spiritual Life, 
 
 demons, headed by Beelzebub their prince, the old 
 serpent, that is, the devil, would do their worst to 
 rob Him of His life. Do we wonder, knowing all 
 this, that He would be pressed on every side by 
 malignant foes, and seeing before Him the darkest 
 cloud which ever swept athwart the sky, hiding the 
 face of God from view, He should cry out, " My 
 
 SOUL IS EXCEEDING SORROWFUL UNTO DEATH ? " 
 
 Do we wonder that, " being in agony, He prayed 
 more earnestly, and His sweat was as it were great 
 drops of blood falling down to the ground ? " 
 
 But another wonder awaits us, viz. : that our 
 blessed L,ord was supported by a sure and steadfast 
 hope in the hour of his fierce conflict with princi- 
 palities and powers of earth and hell. As He went 
 down under the waves and billows ; as He entered 
 the damp sepulchre of death where the iron 
 Monarch awaited his prey, sitting upon his throne 
 of skulls, the trophies of his conquests over the 
 children of men, Jesus, the intrepid Champion, 
 turned His face heavenward and shouted with 
 triumphant exultation these words of this Psalm : 
 " My flesh also will dwell in hope ; that Thou wilt 
 not leave my soul in the mansion of the dead, nor 
 suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou 
 HAST MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE ; 
 Thou with Thy presence wilt fill me with joy. At 
 Thy right hand are pleasures for evermore." 
 
 As He tasted death for every man, so, for the joy 
 
Spiritual Life in the Psalms. 245 
 
 that was set before Him, He endured the cross, 
 despising the shame, and as the reward of his toil 
 and His triumph, He now sitteth at the right hand 
 of God. 
 
 Now, spiritual life is not only patterned after 
 Christ's life, but it is also the reproduction of that 
 life. Having died with Him, we are risen in Him. 
 And so for us the sorrows are lessened, the bitterness 
 is sweetened, the sufferings are modified, and death 
 is conquered. For us the path of life glows with 
 light. Laterally, it is " The path of lives," Christ's 
 life and ours. And with this spiritual life, which is 
 resurrection life, is bound up spirit, soul, and body, 
 each of which in its own time will be made to 
 know the power of His resurrection, when our glorifi- 
 cation will be completed at the time of our Lord's 
 return. But should He tarry and we sink in death, 
 let this also be our blest assurance, " Thou wilt 
 show me the path of life." With Puritan Adams 
 let us assert this our hope, " Him that rose from the 
 clods, we expect in the clouds ; to raise our bodies, 
 to perform His promises, to finish our faith, to per- 
 fect our glory, and to draw us unto Himself." 
 
 Spiritual life, then, in its nature and character, is 
 resurrection life. 
 
 II. The extent and perpetuity of spiritual life. 
 " The King asked life of Thee and Thou gavest it 
 Him, even length of days forever and ever." Ps. 
 xxi. 4. 
 
246 Spiritual Life. 
 
 This verse intimates the extent of spiritual life ; 
 " length of days forever and ever." The theme of 
 this Psalm is Messiah's exaltation and glory. He 
 is presented as King upon whom honor and majesty 
 have been laid. In v. 2 we read, " Thou hast given 
 him his heart's desire, and hast not withholden the 
 request of His lips," v/hile in v. 4 the subject- 
 matter of the prayer is made known : " He asked 
 life of Thee." From v. 8 to 12 we read that the 
 King's enemies are swallowed up, devoured, de- 
 stroyed. He who is delivered from deadly enemies 
 has life given to Him. No doubt this was the boon 
 given to Jesus when God the Father raised Him 
 from the dead. The Bible speaks of Christ's resur- 
 rection day as His birthday. He is the first-begotten 
 from the dead, and now He lives forever. Hear 
 Him say to John in Patmos, " I am He that liveth 
 and was dead, and behold I am alive forevermore." 
 Rev. i. 17. " For in that He died He died unto 
 sin once, but in that He liveth He liveth unto God." 
 The days of Jesus are now the days of Bternity. 
 He is the Father of the everlasting ages. This 
 Psalm is the triumphant song of the King, " who 
 is eternal, immortal, invisible." And His life is the 
 extent of our life. It is worthy of notice that the 
 assurance of life and favor found in this Psalm 
 follows the twentieth Psalm, which alludes to the 
 day of Messiah's trouble, and precedes the twenty- 
 second, which foretells the death awaiting Him. 
 
Spiritual Life in the Psalms. 247 
 
 Is not this also characteristic of our spiritual life ? 
 Our joys succeed our sorrows. Nor need we ever 
 forget that length of days is our appointment. Mean- 
 while, " all things work together for good to them 
 that love God, to them who are the called according 
 to His purpose." Rom. viii. 28. 
 
 There is another thought suggested by this pas- 
 sage— " He asked life of Thee, and Thou gavest it 
 Him, even length of days forever and ever," viz., 
 God's bountifulness in answering the prayer of His 
 people. In all ages of the Church's history, He 
 has done "exceeding abundantly, above all that we 
 ask or think, according to His riches in glory by 
 Christ Jesus." 
 
 Hezekiah asked for recovery, and God added to 
 his life fifteen years. But the extent of our Spiritual 
 life cannot be measured by cycles. Jesus said, " I 
 give unto my sheep eternal life, and they shall 
 never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of 
 My hand." John x. 28. 
 
 III. The support and defence of spiritual life. 
 "The IyORD is my light and my salvation ; whom 
 shall I fear ? the L,ord is the strength of my life ; 
 of whom shall I be afraid ? Ps. xxvii. 1. 
 
 This magnificent Psalm has been termed "a song 
 of cheerful hope, well fitted for those in trial who 
 have learned to lean upon the Almighty Arm." 
 Its preface is a boast of a threefold possession : 
 light, salvation, strength. But they are all in the 
 
248 Spiritual Life. 
 
 Lord, who is no empty casket, for when we receive 
 Him, we find in Him all precious things. It is no 
 small boast to say the Lord gives me light, the 
 Lord gives me salvation, the Lord gives me strength, 
 but it is a higher grade of experience when the 
 soul can exult in the Lord as being Himself every- 
 thing to us. The Lord is my light. Our highest 
 exultations are not from the blessings themselves, 
 nor yet because of their adaptation to us ; but in 
 this, that there is a Blesser behind the blessing. 
 It is this which gives tone to our doxology, " Praise 
 God, from whom all blessings flow." The secret 
 of strength is made known in this second verse of 
 the Psalm. Spiritual life has its infancy, its weak- 
 nesses, its relapses ; it must have support. Spiritual 
 life has also its instincts ; it seeks after God. You 
 have found some stray plant in your dark cellar 
 springing from a seed which had somehow dropped 
 through a crevice into the soil. There is a ray of 
 light adjacent to the plant, and toward it the 
 delicate shoot hastens. This is its instinct. It is 
 no strained metaphor nor mere figure of speech for 
 the believer to say, The Lord is my light. This 
 he knows by a happy experience, and the instincts 
 of his life also reach after more of God ; he seeks a 
 more complete illumination. " Adorable Sun," 
 cried St. Bernard, " I cannot walk without Thee ; 
 enlighten my steps and furnish this barren and 
 ignorant mind with thoughts worthy of Thee. 
 
Spiritual Life in the Psalms. 249 
 
 Adorable fullness of light and heat, be Thou the 
 true noonday of my soul, exterminate its darkness, 
 disperse its clouds, burn, dry up, and consume all 
 its filth and impurities. Divine Sun, rise upon my 
 soul and never set." Notice the bold challenge of 
 the Psalmist, " The Lord is my light and my salva- 
 tion ; whom shall 1 fear ? the Lord is the 
 strength of my life ; of whom shall i be afraid?" 
 Jehovah is the believer's stronghold, his tower of 
 defence, his everlasting shield. 
 
 In the fourth verse of this Psalm spiritual life ex- 
 presses itself in one great all-inclusive wish, " One 
 thing have I asked of the Lord, and this I will 
 earnestly seek, that I may dwell in the house of the 
 Lord all the days of my life — that I may contem- 
 plate the delight of the Lord, and visit His temple. " 
 Within this sacred shrine of the holy temple, where 
 God resides, we have access by faith. There we are 
 supported, sustained, defended. There we behold 
 His glory in fullness of light. There we silently 
 adore and worship. 
 
 IV. The gladness of spiritual life. The next 
 passage to which I call attention where life is found 
 is in Psalm xxx. 5. " For His anger endure th for 
 a moment ; in His favor is life ; weeping may 
 endure for anight, but joy cometh in the morning." 
 There is a contrast between God's anger and God's 
 favor. His anger is of brief duration, yet how soon 
 we wither beneath its consuming power. His favor 
 is prolonged and promotes our joy. 
 
250 Spiritual Life. 
 
 We are here reminded of the fact that Christian 
 experience is ever changing, that it is not always 
 eqnal. Some men touch the extremes of Spiritual 
 life. To-day they are bathed in the sunshine of the 
 Delectable mountains ; to-morrow they are in earn- 
 est battle with cruel Apollyon, or feeling the heavy 
 atmosphere of the enchanted ground. Sometimes 
 through our foolishness, we call down our Father's 
 displeasure, while again after full confession and 
 reparation of wrong-doing we are indulged with His 
 favor. And have we not found His favor life? 
 Oh ! it is worth striving after to live continually in 
 the favor of God. Jacob could bear the hardship 
 of His service for twice seven years, in order to 
 secure the abiding companionship of his Rachel. 
 Her favor was to him the wine of life. Our brief 
 mourning gives zest to prolonged mirth, if it be the 
 mirth which is the reward of the divine favor. The 
 honey tastes sweeter after the bitter wormwood. 
 Tears are suitable for the hours of night, but when 
 morning arrives sorrow and sighing shall flee away. 
 Mourning ends with morning. Dark clouds are 
 forgotten in the clear sunshine ; the storm which 
 threatened our barque is but a memory, as we glide 
 into the peaceful harbor. Our best days are yet 
 before us, when no cloud shall hide from our vision 
 the smiling face of God. 
 
 The rapid interchanges of peace and trouble, of 
 grief and gladness, are contrasted in v. 7. " Iyord 
 
Spiritual Life in the Psalms. 251 
 
 by Thy favor Thou hast made my mountain to 
 stand strong : Thou didst hide Thy face and I was 
 troubled." Oh ! how we should pray' that the face 
 and favor of the L,ord be upon us. This was Aaron's 
 priestly prayer for Israel, " The I^ord bless thee and 
 keep thee ; the L,ord cause His face to shine upon 
 thee and be gracious unto thee ; the L,ord lift upon 
 thee the light of His countenance and give thee 
 peace." Numb. vi. 20-22. 
 
 Peace, gladness, and holy joy are characteristics 
 of spiritual life in its healthful and normal condition. 
 
 V. The source of spiritual life. Psalm xxvi. 9 : 
 " For with Thee is the fountain of life." 
 
 In this Psalm there is a contrast between the 
 righteous and the wicked. In Psalm fourteen we 
 read that the fool hopes in his heart there is no 
 God ; while in verse 1 of this Psalm it is written, 
 ' ' The transgression of the wicked saith within my 
 heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes." 
 This repudiation of the living God is a distress to the 
 godly man, who in v. 5, 6, 7, exalts the divine 
 attributes. " Thy mercy, O Iyord, is in the heavens, 
 and Thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. 
 Thy righteousness is like great mountains, Thy 
 judgments are a great deep. O Lord, Thou pre- 
 servest man and beast. How excellent is Thy 
 loving kindness, O God ! therefore the children of 
 men put their trust under the shadow of Thy 
 wings." Having thus exalted Jehovah, who has 
 
252 Spiritual Life, 
 
 been slighted by the wicked, the psalmist recog- 
 nizes his own indebtedness, for in God he finds an 
 abundant supply of satisfaction, rivers of pleasures 
 and a fountain of life. 
 
 Here then is an acknowledgment, nay, more, a 
 joyful boast, that God IS THE SOURCE OE KlX, LIFE. 
 For it is u in Him we live and move and have our 
 being." An English writer declares that these 
 words, " For with Thee is the fountain of life," 
 are some of the most wonderful words in the Old 
 Testament. They are in fact the kernel and the 
 anticipation of much of the profoundest teaching 
 of St. John. 
 
 " The well is deep," exclaimed the woman of 
 Samaria, while ignorant of the Fountain by her 
 side. Because of this fountain of life there may be 
 a well-spring in every Christian soul. " Whosoever 
 drinketh of this water shall thirst again," may be 
 written over the door of every sinful pleasure, but 
 " whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give 
 him," said our Lord, "shall never thirst, but the 
 water that I shall give him shall be in him a well 
 of water springing up unto everlasting life." We 
 connect this grand statement, "With Thee is the 
 fountain of life," with Psalm xlii. 2, " My soul 
 thirsteth for God, for the living God" and with v. 8, 
 " Yet the Lord will command His loving kindness 
 in the day time, and in the night His song shall be 
 with me, and my prayer unto the God of my UfeP 
 
Spiritual Life in the Psalms. 253 
 
 Jehovah is the living God, and the God of my life. 
 He it is who giveth songs in the night. So that 
 whether we sing His praise, or offer our petitions, 
 we should ever keep in remembrance that He is the 
 living God. Praise sounds sweetly in His ear, and 
 He who is the source of all Life is able to do ex- 
 ceeding abundantly above all we ask or think. We 
 do not pray to a dead God, nor to a sleeping God, 
 nor to an indifferent God, but to the living God 
 who is the God of our Life. 
 
 Thomas Norton tersely remarks, "That there 
 are three respects especially in which God is said to 
 be the living God. First, originally, because He 
 only hath life in Himself, and of Himself, and all 
 creatures have it from Him. Secondly, opera- 
 tively, because He is the only giver of life unto man. 
 Thirdly, He is said to be the living God by way of 
 distinction, and in opposition to all false gods." 
 
 I have presented this subject to you only suggest- 
 ively. There is very much more to be said con- 
 cerning other features of Spiritual Life as developed 
 in the book of Psalms. I am sure that in a patient 
 and prayerful study of the subject our personal life 
 will be greatly helped, and we shall be encouraged 
 to strive after the sublime possibilities in Christian 
 experience to which others have attained. 
 
XIV. 
 
 GOLDEN KEY TO THE PSALMS. 
 
 WO things are of absolute importance in 
 
 order to acquire a proper understanding 
 
 of the book of Psalms. First to possess 
 
 the right Key with which to unlock its 
 
 treasures, and next the ability to make use of that 
 
 Key. The Holy Spirit alone can give us this ability. 
 
 The Key is Jesus Messiah. While the doctrinal 
 
 Epistles may be partly understood by the use of 
 
 certain Key-words, the Psalms can only be unlocked 
 
 by a Key-Person. Jesus not only possesses the Key 
 
 of David, with which He will hereafter open the 
 
 door for Israel to the Kingdom of David, and so 
 
 fulfill those grand prophecies which declare that 
 
 He shall sit upon the throne of his father David, 
 
 but He is also Himself the Key of David in the 
 
 sense that He is both the object and the subject of 
 
 David's Psalms. " In the volume of the book it is 
 
 written of ME." Ps. xl. 7 ; Hebrew x. 7. All 
 
 through His blessed ministiy He called attention to 
 
 the predictions of Scripture concerning Himself, 
 
 very frequently quoting from the book of Psalms. 
 
 I/uke xxiv. 44. 
 
 Now, while I would not by a hair's breadth lessen 
 
 the importance rightly attached to our L,ord's dying 
 
 (254) 
 
Golden Key to the Psalms. 255 
 
 words, "It is finished, " I beg to call attention 
 to their first application and fulfillment. The Holy 
 Spirit, through the human writer, is pleased to 
 record these words : "Jesus knowing that all 
 things are now finished, that the Scripture might 
 be accomplished, saith, I thirst. . . . When 
 Jesus therefore had received the vinegar he said, 
 " It is finished." John xix. 28-30, R. V. Did not 
 our Iyord at His near approach to death have in 
 mind every Scripture prophecy relating to His first 
 advent, and as yet one remained unfulfilled ? Had 
 He not this prediction in mind, " They gave Me also 
 gall for My meat, and in My thirst they gave Me 
 vinegar to drink." Ps. lxix. 21. Was it not to 
 this final prophecy He referred when He said " It 
 is finished ? " All was now accomplished that had 
 been declared concerning His earthly life and 
 ministry. And is not the very language, "It is 
 finished," a quotation from Ps. xxii. 31, " He hath 
 done it," i. e. completed it. He had completed a life 
 which had fulfilled every Scripture prediction re- 
 garding it. 
 
 If then this conclusion is the result of candid 
 interpretation, why not view the Psalms in their 
 entirety as a complete prophetic history of Jesus in 
 His two advents and in . all that pertains to them ? 
 I do not say, of Jesus alone, but of Jesus in His 
 varied official character ; in His relation to the Jew, 
 the Gentile, and the church of God. The Psalms 
 
256 Spiritital Life. 
 
 are indeed more penetrating in their history of Jesus, 
 than the Gospels. These give us His historical life 
 in its outward form ; what He did : while the 
 Psalms predict chiefly His inner life ; what He is. 
 Thus are they the real exponent of the highest form 
 of Spiritual L,ife. 
 
 Does not this view of the Psalms also explain 
 their unlimited fullness ? Holy Penmen spake and 
 wrote of things beyond their knowledge ; they 
 portrayed emotions and described sensations not 
 known to themselves through personal experience : 
 for, whether aware of it, or not, they were trans- 
 cribing the tender experiences of the Man of Sor- 
 rows, and exultant hopes of Israel's future King. 
 
 We sometimes speak of the Messianic Psalms as 
 if they were limited in number. But if we view 
 the book, not in its fragmentary parts, but as a 
 whole, may we not claim that the Psalms are alto- 
 gether Messianic ? As the Sinaitic law relates in 
 its entirety to God and man, so we submit that the 
 whole collection of Psalms in their leading features 
 and general teaching pertain to Christ as both God 
 and Man. The Psalms of experience are Messianic ; 
 so also are the doctrinal. Every doctrine is neces- 
 sarily related to Christ, otherwise they become 
 abstractions of little worth. 
 
 I. Take for instance the doctrine of Sin. That 
 evil thing receives full recognition in the Psalms, 
 not only as a transgression of law, but also a secret 
 
Golden Key to the Psalms. 257 
 
 leaven-working power in the heart of man. In the 
 fifty-first Psalm the terrible consequences of sin are 
 exposed in David's confession of his guilt as the 
 outcome of a corrupt nature. But hear his prayer : 
 " Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean, wash 
 me, and I shall be whiter than snow." Is there no 
 reference to Christ in this prayer for purification? 
 In the thirty-second Psalm hear we the joyful note : 
 " Blessed is the man whose transgression is for- 
 given, whose sin is covered." Is there no allusion 
 to the atonement in this gospel declaration ? Turn 
 we now to Psalm one-hundred-and-third, that 
 glorious acknowledgment of mercies received for 
 which praise is rendered. Notice verse 2, " Who 
 forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth. all thy 
 diseases," and verse 12, " As far as the east is from 
 the west, so far hath He removed our transgression 
 from us." Here assuredly it is Christ forgiving, 
 Christ healing, Christ putting away sin by the 
 sacrifice of Himself ; Christ through His atonement 
 of blood covering man's guilt, as prefigured in the 
 typical Mercy-seat. Inasmuch, then, as these 
 Psalms refer to Jesus, the sinner's great Redeemer, 
 they are indeed Messianic. And so we can trace 
 each doctrine throughout the Book in its vital con- 
 nection with Christ Jesus. Election, Sovereignty, 
 Grace, Assurance, Holiness, Priesthood, Resurrec- 
 tion, find their life, source and power in the glorious 
 
 person of the Messiah. The experience Psalms 
 17 
 
258 Spiritual Life. 
 
 have a fuller and richer meaning because it is 
 Messiah's experience; the doctrinal Psalms are 
 spiritually vital because linked with His personality, 
 while the unfulfilled prophetic Psalms are still 
 pointing onward to His enthronement and uni- 
 versal supremacy. 
 
 II. Thus having established by proof that Mes- 
 siah is the Key of the Book in its broad and general 
 teaching, I now pass on to notice that there are 
 some of these Psalms which are specially and mani- 
 festly Messianic. 
 
 The Old Testament name, Messiah, belongs chiefly 
 to Israel. I have used it heretofore in an accom- 
 modating sense. It is not the New Testament name 
 by which Jesus is best known to the church. 
 Since His resurrection from the dead His appella- 
 tion is IyORD. Throughout the book of Acts and 
 the Epistles this name of headship and rule is 
 most frequently employed. 
 
 Messiah is indeed the Anointed One, anointed as 
 the Prophet of whom Moses said, " The L,ord thy 
 God shall raise up unto thee a Prophet from the 
 midst of thy brethren, like unto Me, unto Him ye 
 shall hearken,'' Deut. xviii. 15 ; anointed as a Priest 
 after the order of Melchizedek, Heb. v. 6 ; anointed 
 as King, of whom David was type, and of whose 
 kingdom David was Founder, L,uke i. 32, 33. 
 Now in the Psalms there is constant reference to 
 Israel's re-vivification through the spirit of life 
 
Golden Key to the Psalms, 259 
 
 bestowed on tliem by Messiah. He is the foretold 
 Shiloh, and unto Him shall the gathering of the 
 people be. Gen. xlix. 18. Therefore throughout 
 the Book, Zion and Jerusalem have special promi- 
 nence. Jehovah-Jesus will hereafter impart life to 
 His people ; Israel is very dear to His heart. The 
 plaintive wail of the captives by the rivers of Baby- 
 lon is but the echo of Messiah's voice, "If I forget 
 thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her 
 cunning. Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my 
 mouth if I remember thee not ; if I prefer not 
 Jerusalem above my chief joy." Ps. cxxxvii. 6. 
 There is a deeper meaning in the tears of Jesus as 
 He wept over Jerusalem than we usually think. 
 Have we not more than an intimation of His special 
 interest in the royal city in the command " Pray for 
 the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper that love 
 hee." Ps. cxxii. 6. Mount Ziou was once the 
 dwelling place of Jehovah. Within the curtained 
 temple He shone in awful splendor, until, when 
 grieved by Israel's multiplied apostasies, He with- 
 drew from the sanctuary. Hear the glowing 
 description of the once favored city : u Beautiful for 
 elevation, the joy of the whole earth was Mount 
 Zion, the city of the great King. God had made 
 Himself known in her palaces for a refuge." Ps. 
 xlviii. 1-3. Again, " Out of Zion the perfection of 
 beauty God hath shined forth." Ps. 1. 2. Once 
 more it is recorded, " The Lord loved the gates of 
 
260 Spiritual Life. 
 
 Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. 
 Glorious things are spoken of Thee, O city of God," 
 Ps. lxxxvii. 1-3. 
 
 III. We now raise this question : Is Jerusalem to 
 have no future corresponding to her past greatness ? 
 Reaching back to the days of Abraham she has a 
 history of 1200 years before the birth of Rome, and 
 to her properly belongs the title "The Eternal 
 City." We submit that this name is Scripturally 
 appropriate in view of her future glorious destiny. 
 For she shall become an u Eternal Excellency," 
 Messiah's city, the city of the Great King. Founded 
 by Melchizedek, King of Righteousness, and King 
 of Peace, she shall become super-excellent, when 
 hereafter governed by Melchizedek's great Anti- 
 type, David's Son and David's L,ord. " For Zion's 
 sake I will not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's 
 sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof 
 go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as 
 a lamp that burneth. And the Gentiles shall see 
 thy righteousness, and all the kings thy glory : and 
 thou shalt be called by a new name, which the 
 mouth of the Lord shall name. Thou shalt also 
 be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and 
 a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. Thou 
 shalt no more be termed Forsaken ; neither shall 
 thy land any more be termed Desolate ; but thou 
 shall be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah : 
 for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall 
 
Golden Key to the Psalms, 261 
 
 be married. And they shall call them the holy 
 people. The redeemed of the L,ord ; and thou 
 shalt be called, Sought Out, A city not forsaken." 
 Isa. lxii. 1-4, 12. 
 
 Thus we see the Isaiah predictions of Jerusalem 
 are in accord with the Psalm prophecies. Attach- 
 ing no mystic meaning to the references made to 
 the future of Zion and Jerusalem what can be our 
 conclusion when we read : 
 
 "L,et Mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of 
 Judah be glad, because of thy judgments. Walk 
 about Zion, and go round about her : tell the towers 
 thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her 
 palaces, that ye may tell it to the generation follow- 
 ing." Ps. xlviii. 11— 13. 
 
 u Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion : build 
 thou the walls of Jerusalem." Ps. li. 18. 
 
 " Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion : 
 for the time to favor her, yea, the set time, is come. 
 For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and 
 favor the dust thereof. So the heavens shall fear 
 the name of the L,ord, .and all the kings of the 
 earth thy glory. When the I^ord shall build up 
 Zion, he shall appear in his glory." Ps. cii. 13-16. 
 
 " For God will save Zion, and will build the 
 cities of Judah ; that they may dwell there, and 
 have it in possession. The seed also of his servants 
 shall inherit it ; and they that love His name shall 
 dwell therein." Ps. lxix. 35-36. 
 
262 Spiritual Life. 
 
 My object in directing special attention to these 
 Jewish prophecies is to show how closely Messiah 
 is connected with the fnture of the Jewish people, 
 and their beloved city, and that per consequence, it 
 is His life which is the source, and sustenance of all 
 spiritual life,, individual or national. 
 
 Thus, then, we conclude that the doctrines of the 
 Psalms centre in Him who is both Sacrifice and 
 Priest ; the experiences of the Psalms radiate from 
 the inner life of Jesus, the perfect Man ; while the 
 yet unfulfilled prophetic Psalms concern the Messiah, 
 Israel's future King, and Earth's rightful Owner. 
 This is THE golden Key fitting into the complicated 
 wards of the Lock, by which we may open the 
 door, through the ability which the Holy Spirit 
 imparts, into this well-filled storehouse of heavenly 
 treasure, and enrich ourselves unto all bountifulness. 
 Thus, also, is Jesus Messiah the Fountain of Life 
 which through restored Israel shall bud, and blos- 
 som, and fill the world with fruit. Through the 
 Seed of Abraham shall all the nations of the earth 
 be blest. 
 

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