‘THE PERSONALITY AND WORK OF '1‘I~II:"} HOLY SPIRIT. THE PERSONALITY AND WORK HOLY SPIRIT, AS IKEVEALEIZ) IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. % mm fur the éliwusscz uf awraczt. BY THE REV. ALEX. MCCAUL, D.D., OF '1‘IHNI'I‘Y COLLEGE, DUBLIN. LONDON: SOLD AT THE LONDON SOCIE'I‘Y’S OFFICE, 16, EXETER IIALL; ma .1. DUNCAN, PATEILNOSTEI1 Row; J. Nxsmstr, mmzxmns s'1:1uam; AND :3. wmmzmxm, 57, ALDERS(3‘rA’1‘Ii) S'1‘REE'l‘. M nccc xxxvu. MACINTOSH, PRINTER, GnxwrN12w-s'r'Iu;x2'r, LONDON. THE PERSONALI'1"‘Y AND WORK. 0!? THE HOLY SPIRIT» "TI—1'.1;~.: o:.»q.:r1~ossic>os, “‘ .‘3pi1*it of Gocl,” “ Spirit; of ‘mo Lord,” ‘‘ Holy Spi1'it,” “‘ My Eilpirit,” mo of f1*oq1.1ont «occur-romzzo, both in tho I...ow and the Propl1ots,o11(l are c-sspooially foxmcl in those passages which constitute “tlxo \Vi'l2.I’I£”£'.l.111‘. for the hope of I‘.51‘{l.(‘-IL. When Isaiah ;fp1'o1l1ioosltllot “ the Roxzleoxxtxor shall oomo to Zion,” ho o.c1(lo, “ My Spirit; tllot is upon t.l'1(3e, and my worcls "\"Vl"li(;'3ll I luwo put in thy mouth, slmll not (;lo.po,1't out of thy mouth,” «Sm. ‘When Ezekiel zmxxolxrloos the re:st<::1o-atimox of Islool, ooyilxg, “ I will take you fi'om ox‘x'1()mg; tm-7: lm-otlu~.n;1., and gatlaor you out of €141]! o¢)unt.rio£s, marl will l;)1"i.11g you into your own lza.ml,” he adtls, “ oncl I will put zaxxy Spirit within you.” Ancl in like nlonoor tho p1~o;m€:;:'t Joel, af'1;o1- doola1*ing' the futuro moroios of God to I::sm<=:‘l says, “ Ancl it $113.11 coxrno to poos oftorworcls tlmlz I will pour out my Spirit; upon all floolx,” élrc. Every Iomolito, tllorofore, who (1%il1l’l(i!1£‘ clezoirteol to m1clo1*ota1'1d tllot law, "whioh is “ tllo ixoxolxoritaxomloo of Jaoo1>,” or looks forwa.rr.l with h'lo1ll1"l,l‘)1¢-? f'a,il;h mod lc>ogir1g oxpoc:tai;ioo1la to tho £%C001I1pl.iSl1I1',l(311t of Qw‘.:od’s proxx1.isoo, is: bound to ooxxsider the Mosaic and jg-%'x*z)};)K1c2tic d10c“i;ri11e 1”especti1:'1g flu"-.3 1%1a,t1.t:m a:z1<[§. ‘u"()ri~;:. «a;;»f the H0.iy' Spirit. VVC» k1.1m'v fihat Fm.‘ tflctzsh z:L11«:l 'i;>l0(:>(fi to 11‘b1'J:'m right 1i10ti0:11.si; evmin of “ the spim of‘ rx1a1'1” is ¢;;~:s;cc2e«;ii11gly di%1:fi.c11.it, flffild t1‘1ew:f<:»1‘(:: 0¢')11%cl'11de ‘j11st'ly% H'1;;zt to l»:no*vv any thinmgf (:<:>1w3<31'n;i1“1g' the Spirit of G(;‘)(.E 13.55 mom diflfitult Still. To »0bta.in 1;'n0\\«'1edg'@ on this-1 ;~'3ubj(7:C‘$, We 1m1stt 1'@nm111ce mm" mm 1'1oti011s, s'uppm.— :'ait.i011.~7;, zmd i111a.gi11a,tio1fns, 311d empley 01,11" reason, m;;>t. fi.:<:.v Maci the ‘xx’-exy in pe1'1et1'21ting the c10'1.1d.~3 which rem;::r.>111];)£Ls;~:; the». Deity, but to fomm" the liglnz of (T}<;‘»rIl.’s "x\"(T)1"(7L iHj{<:‘s}_'>ec:‘é;i1.A‘n Hm ]1T)'i'vi:r:i (9 :nz:m: 1.11%., we «$2111 cia(:t*, 'n;«:;> 1:.h<.=:: «2;s;x:1)1'<:+.~::s;i«:u1‘a “ E"5]V'.>i1*i't M5‘ 3‘r0a:1,'"’ is, V’W.1a.t. «..lm:~s "it: n"u1=:a,1'2 I?’ D(T)@$ it .~;mind Fain.‘ m:1(:: M" Gm.:1's wd :1 Iimirm‘.-. ;i1,1H;a.:u::-1”:my <;;'»:fl:' inlm I,“)‘i.'vi1%1c-e will, zim <::+fl'<:-'r(:‘t 1:)1*(:>«;11:1ce;3d. by’ Mac: ex eN,i«:m 1;.) if’ the Di.vime p<"nw::r? 01', 1%121:aVit 1'e:;ul .<_s11bst::x.nti'w;:a cmistellce? IV‘rn%- Emstmnce, wlixen G-ml "to l\/I<:;sc:s, “ I will t2'lk(3 0f't1*n': ;*S'p%i1'it w1‘1ic:,h is up<:n1 th<::0, a,1:1«;;l will put it 11pmi1 tlu'::r1’1," ‘WELS 3:hm'e ally 1'(.i:z1,1 Spi.1"it upml M'<)s¢1és which C}0<:.1 took amd put 1;1.p«.:m tlm elm‘-31'.<.'a, 01' l;1<:) tlm wows sigluify tlmt. the1%'c3 ‘W«'l.S3 m:>t}:1.in 'l,1}'JOl’1 IW«:»s<3:s, but 1'11c::.*mly' tlmt G('f.)(7 H ham. n:12u;l%e hi1:11 'wis::2, a.1iu‘,l tflmt; by an c(:>1*1'e::s'p<;m(l_int,, ¢;?E;\”(3‘l‘\'EitiT)1’1 of‘ tlw Divimg ‘p<;:’,=nzin.~i»' to thinl»; tlmt the ”%.’*.”‘('§b1"(§.1>”i4~“ $p,i1';it «)1? Go(.l," si1i1'.1p1y .~;ig1’:ivFy (:1-Aiw1:he1:' am in'Hue:m::e, 01? thmé: Divine will pa.1't. E. (3. =4%i;-(ff), am} he c01‘1fir1‘m; tl"1iEf4 "vi«;mr whelil, in ex1;'>l21i11i:ng; tflm (.liif’I"'<=:1‘e.1:n; <;‘ieg1'm2s of pmlnhc.-Cy part. ii. 45‘), he tha,t “ the .‘E§piri.t of God,” illld .~.~7;ucjh-li1~:e «3x1.)1"c~.s- »::~:i«:>1%1s;, .~sig;1%1ify eithex‘ tlw: E5ll]_Ti)C31'.l‘1atl;lI'&l1 power to do s0.1:m: 7 great thing, as cornmnniceted to J epthe, Samson, or the influence resting upon Daniel, Job, &c., whereby they: Wrote their books. p According to this view, the Holy Spirit is not 2!. real, abiding existence, but merely as. name for certain transitory effects, produced in the mind or on the body of Moses and theprophets, which existed only as long as that effect continued, and when it ceased was no where, just as sound is at mere vibration of the air, and when the vibration ceases has no existence. But this is not the View giveri by Moses and the prophets. In speekiiig of the Holy Spirit, they never use language which would convey the idea of a. mere operation, effect, or in- fluence, but every where employ terms necessn.i~ily .i1nplying 3. reel stibstentive existence, as in the ir1st:21.i;1r.;e_.. , 'be‘l'ore us, “I will trike of’ the riipirit which is ‘upon thee, and will put it upon them.” Here the ler1g'iiep;e: evidently implies, not that an effect lied been produced upon the mind of‘ Moses, but that sometl1*ing; xv.-is abiding upon Moses, ofwliich God took, and put it upon the others. And, in like Inenner, in the ‘_2.FStli verse, it is snicl, 6“ When the Spirit rested upon tlieni. they prophesied, end did not cease.” The word “'rest” is certainly very illlwchosen, if it is to express the effect of Divine power operating upon their minds; it net'ure.l1y lcsetls us to think of something external to their niinds coming and abiding upon them, nncl such the idea. stiggestcecl by all the other language eni- ployed in reference to this subject. The Lord speaks of" filling men with the Spirit, “ Whoml have filled with the spirit of wisdom,” (Exod. xxviii. 3,)—-~—--of pouring out his Spirit, as “I will pour out my Spirit upon ell flesh ”, (Joel). Again, the Scripture speelts of the Spirit’s coining upon a men. “The Spirit of the 8 Lord will come upon thee, .‘:11'1(;i thou shah: p1'opI1esy” (1 Saiii. X. Of i'1iS (l8])(£7"l‘fi?’2.g, “ the Spirit of the Lord depmrteci from fiiziul ;” of his “ clothing” those to whom he came, as “ The S]_)'i)i'ii1 of the Loiréi clothed Gideon” Jiucig. vi. $541+); none of" which e:«:_px'es;~:.io11s mm by my mezms iiinply that R mere effect was protiuceci, but that tiiex-e is someti':ii1:1g which God. does pcnir, whe1‘e'w'i.ti1 he ezm ml the 111i..11d, or clothe the nizm; Si..:»sci:1'v.;"’i,.ug ifi‘i::i.t Hie Ef§e1*ip“t'.1‘1.1'1;a.s ‘with. the itiower of 1in'«:,>1::>11esying, iiili; ate the cause of “which the po'we1' to 17>i;*<::>pitu:j::s;y ti"l.(I-3 efl"eot, in the c:.::zise o f .‘:%ia:Lui. “ '_i"ili.e $;1’i»'ii.'ii 1: of the L cm}. wifl oome m1:»<:m that-3_., a;niu1i ti;u:m. s~,=];m..‘H; p1“o‘_[i)i1e.sy." M, tine1'e:i"¢,:>1'e, i;'ln.e Moi ]_;)i:1“it. in-, izho (:2:i1.1.~s. 1)<:»we:r of pro» j;‘)iii'ia:.fiy'ix‘1 1:; «:2 tine a:s.:i£'flf'm:t, 'i;h<.3: Li.-i~F1[<:>1),r' S1:["Z)Li.ji‘ii3 2;i.:m;,i ’iTi‘E‘R<&‘.l..‘V']’ 'pc>Vv<«'=:1.' of 1:» i'('):[i)i,I.(f}(§I5 y «::::ui':mot i)(£¥. one 21.11 (NE the s;':uine otiiimg, 1.)1..u: iui;i.~:st he ::L.~:»' tiiiflxiioticrt ms oz1m.~‘;~'e auci effect. The Holy 1§‘»p:i1'it; e2:m1;1ot 1‘;}:1o1-(:IJ'<:'>re he zsmy effect wI'3it.io1‘:1 is 2;i1s<(:» 1;'e‘nde,red ii'nposssii..)1o by the (;¥1‘{p)"‘(2.E%Si()I1S which we lizwo eonsi(i«;;::1'ecjl. ';["c) soy “ I will m1;.e from the Divine will i3i"l2,"L‘t “upciiiti thee, l1.il’1(ii put it upon. thee e1.de1‘e ;” or “I will pour out the Divine 'will';” or “ the Divine will (:lep21:1*'te(.:fl from .‘§32L1;1l.,” is at)s’u1'(1. By “Holy $pi1'i.1;,” ti1ei*ci9:lf'ore, I1:~z ‘pa mun m-m*a “ And the Spirit shall. return unto God who gave it” (Ecscles. xii. 7),; and so in very many passages. Finding, therefore, that when applied to man, “ Spirit” signifies. something‘ both intelligent and immortal, we arenaturally led to think that when applied to Gocl, ‘tthatilis, when we read of “ the Spirit of God,” “ the Spirit of the Lord,” &e., it must aliave a similar signifi- cation; and to argute, that if God had intended uagto ‘take it in a different signiifieatiron, He would have employed a ldifferent word. He knew that the» word is 6q11lVOC3%1.l--——ll(3 knew also that it is appliedtotirrinan-,~—«-He knew therefore that there was a possibility of nxistahe, but yet He has fheenl rpleaaed to .en1p1~oy this word, and A3 L0 as l1~enn&erta.in1yn inntenéded‘ to lea us ‘into truth,» anfi not into error, we maynconclude that We should undemstand nittin flits~s:na»tura1n sigFf‘ ~camen uporr Sanln, i1l*it: .~;l1all not always strive with ma.n.” l3u.t, as the ml;>bie,;~;.a ere l1(:-re Llivinizlecl as to the mezming of “ my Spirit,” it will be ma-.eeesz:i.1'y fix-st to consider what these wom',;l.~s mezam. Al.:>a1"l._:)a.ueli 2-«B aw: mm --ma "rm mnw '~‘v:r.zm i"'H""h""f 21:2‘-mi‘-2 1:1 'n'£.>'1£'.7tD"‘° “” The intelligent Spirit, which is, my Spirit thatl fliave put in mien will not ‘judge in him always.” Aben .i3s1‘a St-i‘G1lilS to talue. the sa11'1e View, for he says, 3 F172: 7“'T i'T‘l"7T'l ‘D Tl‘? a"l"“7T3l?.‘D N'lT‘l"1 “ The word 117‘ is froni the root ‘to ‘judge,’ for the Spirit is judge in the body." Joseph l{i1nehi, its quoted in the Michlol Jophi, speaks in the same ueyi. r'r:z'~"m:2 m-rm tnrmaw -:n'»‘°:32.-r ~r1‘»'-a r°r~n- N5 ..*'m~m:2 mm '1J'".~? am.-'1 ‘~23 man my D5132‘: -my : nmrrnn n'az~:r1‘7 1:22:23 mam mm “My $upex'na,l s1i)ii1'iit, which I have l.)ree.tl'1ed. into "'* This is plain from the passage, and Rashi and the Talmud are both so particular as to the personality as to tell us that this Spirit was that of the murdered Naboth. (Rashi in lac. Sanhedrin, folio es). 2.) 13 man, shall: not always be in strife with the‘ body’, for it has no ‘enjoyrnent of the lusts of ‘ the body, andithé body is attracted to the lusts of the flesh.” i Acooircling to these commentators, “my Spirit,” signifies‘ not the Spirit of God,_ but the spirit of man; but this is evidently irnpossible, If Goci‘ had intended -to speak of‘ the spirit of’ man, it would have been easy to say so. This interpretation of “ my Spirit” makes nonsensel of the whole passage, for what sense is there in saying “ the spirit of man shall not always strive with 111ani”’ T110 commentators felt the difficulty of this, and were therefore compelled to force a new meaning upon another word. As they make “?"T'1“1, “ my Spirit,” mean “ the spirit of man,” so tlieymake L‘J‘ft~iTT, “‘ man” signify “ the body,” which it never does. W'ehave thus a double argnrnentrsagaiiist this interpretation. t:J“TN never does signify any thing but-the Whole‘ man, or the whole race, body, soul and spirit, ~r-n-1, “tiny Spirit,” cannot , mean the intellectual part, but must inean, when spoken by God, “ the Spirit of’ Grocl.” a m-:, with the suffix ‘*I"H‘1 , occurs often (-3I1011g‘l1, both of God and man, but it always signifies “niy Spirit,” and another passage cannot be fbund where it can be even pre- tended, that when spoken by God it does not mean His Spirit, but the spirit‘ of man. This Rabbinical interpretation, however, is not general. l Rashi takes it in its plain, obvioussense. l V at to slash i‘>*~:m:>n ~51: wnr-1 :*~-rm my-1r*r~ H‘: i “ My Spirit shall not always l inurmur and strive against me on account of mat” And, again, in ex» plaiining the word always, he says, i l l 2:1t~‘:'~:1“1,'7:1 ma ~m~u ti-rari Va‘? y ’-rm‘: m‘m7‘-.> '~r11-1:: :1: mm nvrn sh, mm‘: tam n~nrzm‘a :::*~z:- -ms’-.3 «me: m‘m‘7 }J:a. gin '*“ ohwh , ‘ e]‘Wa.ys,’ 1110:1118 for a.1o11g peifioci. Iviijx‘ Z.‘3pi1;‘it <;1ouhti.ng Within me whetlier to deet1i~oy or to have niercy, but this state of doubt in hay Spirit rsliali. not last for ever, tliat. is, for at long period.” Having thus e.soertained the itieatziiiig of “ my Spirit,” we must now consider the word “strive.” Abariimiei and Abeii Esra say that it sigiiifies “to judge.” Joseph Kiiiicliii takes it exactly as our t1"6LI1S-- }.21tO1T'S, “ to strive or cori'te1'icL” And to this ]I:?.2iss1'ii a,dcier.;.i the idea of doubting or 1ies'itating what to do.” Any one of the three ssenses is .:u.ifl’ioie1it to prove tiriet the Spirit of God is a. pei'so1:1a.i, ili”l1L(;“,i.1iL£_'.T(’i§Tl’!.iT. a,ge.1"1ti.. He that strivee with a1:1othet-, e11t'lez1ivo‘iii:-iiig to tum him from the evil of his way, &1iT'1Ci to hriiig him to repent- ance; He tilmt judgeza £l.11()'i3ii1€:31', t:i1.l;.i2"ig j‘i1.ciige either to rule or to oomilentm what i.)e<;1; He wflm tloiibts or i'ie.e:it£ite.es as to what course he ouglit to t.z1.I+:.e: (3E?t(;‘»iIl zamci all. of 1:.lies:e imist he p<::1\~3o1iie.l, i1iTli.€ti,ii,§_.’;(Z‘.l'1’[. El.g€3iiiIl.tS. To talk of 31:1 imami1:i1.ia.te, 'ui:ii.i1'te1.ligent ili]fil1t?l"iCl:Z! StI‘i‘i7ii1"]gf with, or jri<'1gi1'1g, or liesitetirig, would be noiiseme. It, therefore, we hEL(;i only this one passage, we elioiilti ooneiude ‘i;11£Li'. the Spirit of God is; personal and i11t€)iii.}ig‘t3I1t, but we l:1a.Vc:—: iimmy 17l’]()1‘(‘j3. ii)ai‘.«’i(";‘i says, “ The Spirit of the .L<:n:'(1 epe,l~:a;> by me.,'"’ mid his wcird was in my toligite (2 Saifri. xx;i;ii. It is p ssible to tienslzite “:1, either “by me,” as our E11gii."§5i1\7EEI'Si0I‘1 ]J1£L.‘F‘.. it, or “ in me,” 01‘ “ with me,” and the ree.Cier 11]i£“t‘_y" ehoose which he pleases, for our e1'g1ii11ei:it (:ioe;~3 not rest on any one of the three; we have got to do with the fact, t.1:iet “ the Spirit of the Lord spake,” and whether it was by David, or 2'92 Dawici, or wit/i David, makes no clifference. The geiieral sense, with wiiieh alone we are at present concerned, is well given both hy Kimehi and Ra.s1'ii. T he f'ormer says, 15 our "awe r ems is-14-was *tD"f1i‘7':"T n-ma “nrwsm l r 3 ‘I1 “ As to the Psalms, I said them by the Holy Spirit who spake inme.” Rashi says, pp ‘ min: 7112:‘: ‘am in "121"l‘D‘1 imp rrm ‘:2 n-awn '1:1“T ncvrsn 1:4 ,-7-in '17:: *2 '13“: 71:22‘: 1: ‘now: ~22‘: -121 ‘an: 17.31725‘! '12: -an-Ere one '12:: an sbn A M: -uzruai swan zap: '1: D312): nu-more "‘ His Holy Spirit rested in me, and spake in me. The i expression, ‘He spake, in me,’ is suitable in everymention of prophecy, as ‘ Hath the Lord rinydeed spoken only by Moses? Hath he not also spoken by us?’ (Numb. xii. 2)., And, again, ‘I will speak in him’ (Ibid. v. 6). ‘ And the reason of the expression is, that the Holy Spirit enters into him, into the rniclst of r the prophet, and speaks in him” (Rashi in loe.‘). Here Kimchi and Rashi both agree that the Holy Spirit speaks; not merely that a divine influence S moves the prophet to speak, but that the Holy Spirit speaks, and that in such a manner that the words of’ the prophet are in truth the words of the Holy Spirit. But if the Holy Spirit speaks, then He cannot be an inanimate, unintelligent influence, but personal, intelligent agent. Rashi’s reference to the twelfth ‘chapter of Numbers is very satisfactory, for it deter-— mines the exact sense which is to be afiixedr tothe ' words “A The Spirit of the Lortl spake in me.” _It is the same in which the Lord spake by Moses anal the prophets. Biuti in this last passage, other? can he no doubt tlrat‘ the Lord’s‘ speaking denotes the pact of a living, intelligentgbeing. . The same,therefore, is the sense in which these words are applied‘ to the Holy Spirit. S t Hi The m=::~;‘t passage which we shall oo‘11si.de1~, is, 3 “1t.’.."“'r,‘7 HT‘) .s°"‘ik~°& ‘1Z‘J‘.~:37"Y "1")?.:: ?"Y?:Ji"W “ But as for 'tl1em, they mbelled arid vexed his Holy" Spix-it” {Isaiah lxiii. 10). Here "the tralmlation is oxaetly in ace::ordzu:1ce with the ;~3ense given by Kinmhi, who :32Lys-—--- '3°~:':7 ’m.«:m 2 ‘m mnvm ma ’~-m ywnzv 'w:.: 2 m m-'mr:>'~ rm: pw ’r'm:7:m '-“V173 has me sense of rebe:Mi.on, as, ‘ Yo rebelled "aga.i'nst my ‘word’ (Nulnb. ‘2—1«).. “1:1}3:3,7 lms 'tht’:'E ;se11so of p1~o\r::»1 tlurt t}.1€~: whole. woolmiii ho, “ Tlxey i1‘1*'imt¢:e<;;l and vcaxetl his Iiloly Spirit." Thi.~;; sense <:2xa,c:t1y‘ :»in.g'1o'e2:($:.~e1 with the accents 1.vhicI‘»_ «aoolmect -T‘}71.‘,3, so to mime “ Holy Spirit” the 'a.(:C.°.t1:+;a’r,i'w3: to both verbs ; and is Warrz:mto(;1 by 11m: "USE: of 'a"'T“‘1?:3 in ot.hor posszxgeso, as in tlmt from the qacizventy-<::>ig11t,l1 1";’.«:=,ahn, as oitocl by Kimchi; and, ag'ai11, "1r'1'1"1 Nb‘: mmm, “ Tl1.-1 “ His Holy‘ Spirit means the words of his prophets which were "spoken by the Holy Spirit.” But this is to alter the text, not to explain it. If God had intendedthe words of the prophets, it would have been as easy for Isaiah as for Kirnchi to have written these words. Tlgie text says, “ His Holy Spirit,” and by that we must abide. By changing the text, a contro- versialist tacitly admits that it is unfavourable to his own cause, and favourable to that of his opponent.‘ Takpe the Words asthey stand, and they plainly express that the Holy Spirit is capable of being vexed, that is, that He is a person: and that this conclusion is legitimate, is not obscurelyintimated in the commentary of Abenp Esra on the place. He says, in explaining 121337 , rm in or-an-m um ‘arm: Tr-r insrn his n-um l l H: *n::::>.-1 -gm: sin no-r,-; “ It is to be taken figuratively in the sense ‘ Be not grieved’ (Gen. xlv. 5); but there are seine who say that His Holy Spirit is the angel of glory.” By saying that the word is to be taken figuratively, he admits that if ‘taken without figure it expresses a personal attribute ; and then honestly adds, that others took it literally of a personal, intelligent agent, and that this person they supposed to be the Angel’. of Glory. A more complete testimony cannotbe desired‘ to the correctness of our conclusion. These passages,; declaring that the Spirit strives, spea]zs,i and is vexed, are quite suiiicient to prove that He is not an inani- mate iniiuence, but a living, intelligent agent.’ ~ must now, therefore, proceed to inquire to what rank or class of beings he belongs. Some, as Ashen that creatioiii the Lord hail neoN‘Spirit? 18 iEscrai says, it have pisupposedi, that He was the An iof Glory, but en suchsubjects suppositions are net worth pCpo;ncerning the heavenlypintelligences we knew nothinhgxand musttherefore simply‘ collect the infor--_ mation vpouchsafedih in, the Scriptures. c And here we naturalpliypturpii firstto theinames applied to this Being by the inspired writers, ‘He is calledigf‘ the it Spiritihogf Godi’ and ‘Fthe Spirit of the this form of expression naturally ‘suggests that S Heiisi ta hdii;i{ine.p Spirit, just by the expression, , ‘F spirit of ahman,”hWe under- stand ahhumanp spirit. a The title, “ Spirit of the Lcrd,”p rfinfi r‘h'1,_ is equivalent to “ Spirit of the that the iSppirit is as whose7s,itheihSpiirit is. it When we speak cf‘ ness,ior mercy, or ‘omnipotence oft GOd,pwe pimplyp that theseiattributes arepcp eternal, and inseparable "from Deity», and shallhhwe suppose thatithe “ Spirit of the Lord” is a mere creation in time, and that The ispirit i finite," ' Wei say ithpati the iSipirit:*“of' pGioid4 5ibeiic?mihgsi ~ 1 class, asyitrmust, ifgit be createdi? 3 Another title is stiilxstrongericand plainer, and that is, “ The Spirit of ~ aye, ‘F Take not the Spirit of thy Ho1iness,i*::mmp» mi; H me ” (Ps..*1i.: 173, .Eng1‘. 11). : WT vexed the ~Spiri.%ty of His . I .4‘? :5 S 9 And‘ ’ Hiolinessg’ first ~ i hplace, i is ‘eterniaI"i V and inisepaaraie attribute S If,I“ A \»«,» 4 A it A A S ’r1i’al, «eczreélfm S S S ‘>“T‘Q]ii1%.1eSsC«is ifinite "409 Scan i_POSSib1y ” S . J 9 WI, .1 -Mi « V . f’ I 4 ‘rtw-at, mxiii. ? 10. S r Nofw, « in it ’ 1'9 Holiness.” iAll created beings, however great and glorious, are at ‘an immeasurable distance from the‘ holiness of God. “Behold, he put no trust in .his servants, and his angels he charged with folly,” (Job iv. 18). And, again, “Behold, in his holy ones he putteth no trust; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight,” (Job xv. 15). It, is, therefore, utterly im»- possible that He, who is the Spirit of God’s holiness, can belong to those in whom he putteth no trust, and who are not clean in his sight. As Grod’s‘holinessis eternal, He must be eternal--was Grod’s holiness is infinite, He must be infinite; and as being eternal it and infinite, He cannot be a creature, but must be a Divine Being. The expression, “Spirit of His Holiness," is ‘remarkably strong,"ancl is intentionally so. If the in» tention had been simply one of many holy “created beings, words might have been used, to express this. The adjective- i‘holy7’ need only havebeen added to ‘F Spirit.” nrzmp rm could just as easily have been used in Hebrew as “ a Holy Spirit” in Englisli; but this eszpression never occurs. “ The Spirit of Holiness,” would have been stronger; but still there was a possi-l bility of dispute, and, therefore, in the Bible this form is not employed either. The Bible says, “the Spirit of t71.3/ holiness” and “ the Spirit of Hist holiness,” and thereby decides that this being is not merely: a holy spirit, as anangel may be, but that He is the Spirit of God’s holiness, and, therefore, divine. T T’ i i ‘ This reasoning is in itself‘ conclusive; butthe Scrip- ture gives us further information, and tells us,» not only that the Holy Spirit is holy, as God is holy, but also omnipresent, Omnipotent, and omniscient. David says, “Wl1ithier shall I go from thySpirit? orwhither shall I flee i’r:oxn thy iipresenciefi? T If .I, ascend up into heaven,. "20 thou art were l if I lllalie my ‘bod in hell, lmhold, thou art there I” Here it is plainly iiitiniatod that the Spirit of God is ow)/1°y Wl‘H31"‘€ present; so i3l’1EL‘i; it is im- possible to go amr wliero, ‘Wll@.1‘(3 He is not. He is in lieaven a11a;;l in hell. He must, tl*1ereforo, lie infinite, that is, l~~ie iiixust be l;lilV’iI';H8; zmcli, tl‘"lE!l"(3fOI‘€3, if iliere be only one God, He must be one wiili God; auml this is also pl.aii'1ly lI1i.il11‘c1‘iS(E3(l in H1838 words. Dzwicl <;1oos not say, “ If I a;sc.om;l into li"ioav'<§2.11, tliy Spirit is tl;1e1'o,” but, ‘‘‘Thou art l;ll1.<§l:};“li-o, unrinoc:ess:m:'y to <;~1a;1l,or into filly‘ loi'1gtlim1<::2(l p‘roo:l?' tlmi: tlxio “‘ l4~.':‘»_“pi1.-it of (oifimfl ” l.'lT1uSi1 lZ”)(Z€3 2:3. aliviuo pea-1'.~:;on. llklil tlio smiiio way ISEILHELII. E.1piE3€El,l.~J..‘:"5 of tlio i9pi1*i.t, of tlio l..or(;l as o11~wiiso, and i:1.eodi1'1g no in- :e:t..1'uolio1:i in tlio ia'llg'll1‘i"_y' m;~'tal:. of ClL‘€!£LtiOl.'1. “ ‘W110 lmtli ¢;li1~ocl;o(l the S1.>‘is‘it oi?’ the Loni, or, l.‘)eill]{§J' his (tO'l]]]>3€;3ll(}I', liatli iL&l;l.lg‘lili, l‘ll1.‘l'1 ?” ll.'T.'~.'J;1,l€.l;l"l liif~l.:) ill" the i3l'&111Si€lti0l'l be cox-root, tho 1'I1(3iL‘l'1iIl]g‘ is, tlrmt the Spirit of tlie Lord liacl no «;lireoto1' ::i11(;l. no i‘:o1;x1‘;ns:;(;2ill(:)i*. The 'l‘.a1'gun1 of Jonatliaai, l1o\w3:'vo1:*, mid l§{2isl.:1i g'itvo fl1‘lOl1ll(31‘ 881186 to 1:116: W'01'('iS. The fC)1.‘l‘.l;‘.l€l1‘ 3:;-n,y.~3, “ ‘W ho l1z;n:l1 (lirectocl the Hol.y Spirit. in the 1TIlf1€)lut:l‘1 of all tho pi'c)pl1et9 ? VVIIS it not ‘H7163 Loml? And to lzlio I-igl1te:o'us, the aloe-rs‘ of his W'0lf'(;l, he ozsmses ‘tl’1E31'I1 to know the worcls of his will.” But this soxiso io plainly co11.t.m1;'yto the con- text. The }.)1~opl1et l1ii1;'1.so.lf' o;x:}l:)l:_1i1r.1s Wliat he n.1(=3a11s, lay V1337 mm, “ His counsellor,” for he acids, “ VVith ‘wliom took lrio co1;i11sol., anal who l1atl'1i11st1‘ucted him, 21 and taught him in the path. of . judgment? &c.i’ ‘ This p Kimehifully admits, for he thus interprets the verse :.-..... .nnn-mtvzani in: uni-1 ins, zzanhwni m 5: :-rwrwri . ‘arm the 7,-arrszzz mwspyzw ‘:31 jshn rs mm }::,1‘)h"17::m mhwrn nwmv: ‘n"1?$37 l.“)i"137"I‘1‘>tt7,‘) ‘ ‘ , :'r1::.‘7 mvzw mm: was 7:1, nzzmn l “ When he did all this, who directed his Spirit, as in Join, xxiii. 13. ‘And what his soul desireth, even that he idoeth.’ There was no angel, and much less. any man to dispose his Spirit, and to teach him hisgeounsel when he made the world, or to say to him, Thus, shalt thou and thushit is said, ‘ which alone spreadeth out the heavens.’ ’’ (Job in. 8.) The plain meaning, there- fore, is, that the Spirit of the Lorddoes himself possess infinite Wisdoum, and needed none.te instruct him in the workyof creation, that is, that He is a divine person. i Welhapve nowegot to thislpoint, that the Holy Spirit is Iareallexistenee, an intelligent personal agent, a divinle being; but it may be said,that “ Holy Spirit,” “Slpiritl of God,” &c., are only figurative modes of speaking, of God; and that, tl16rG_fQ1'5'a, God and his Spiritare one and, identical, so that one isnot toibe distinguishedvlfrom the other. That the I~Ioly,Spirit is one with God we fully admit,for there is but one God. “Hear, O Israel, the Lord, our God, the Lord is one.” But, the same Scriptures which teach us this unity, teach us also that the Spirit is to he;;disti11gnis1'1ed from Him, whogives the Spirit, There is aihdistinetion to be made between the Giver and the gift, .hetvveen~ Him who pours out and that which is poured ,out. Thus, xvvhen Ezekiel says, “ Iwill give :rny;Sp_iri,t within you,” and when Joel says,,‘¢ I will pour outgxnyt Spirit upon all flesh,” we have the Giver and gift, the_Pourer and thatviwhichii is pouredfirlnd ,these are ("not iidentieal. 22 ‘There is, however, a passage in Isaiah which shows, beyond doubt, that “ Spirit” is not a mere figure to express God. g “ Come ye near unto me, hear ye this : I havenot spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I; and now the Lord God and his Spirit hath sent’ me” (Isaiah xlviii.g16). Here, if Spirit be a mere figure, it is altogether out of place. The Spirit islhere represented as sending, as well as God, and must, therefore, be a real personage; and, if “ God” and the “ Spirit of God” mean only one and thesame person, the word is quite superfluous. God sends, and his Spirit sends; there must," therefore, be some sense in which the Spirit is distinct from Him who is called the Lord God. Kimchi felt this, and, therefore, says, 13:45:: tzyu-my '11-n-1, “ His Spirit is to be interpreted I-Iis angel.” But we have already shown that the Spirit of God is no mere creature, but a divine being—if distinct, therefore, as this passage proves, then , He is a distinct person in the Deity. There is the Lord who gives hisSpirit, and there is the Holy, omnipresent, omnipotent, and all-wise Spirit who is given, and yetlthere is only one God. Such is the testimony of‘ the Law and the Prophets, and if any Jew askrfor a further. explanation, werefer him to the doctrine of the Shechinah.‘ Let him understand that expression which so often occurs in Jewish writings-w r » : rronr-arm 71:1”,-9 ~ -“God and his Shechinah,” and he will then compre- hend what has been said. i ~ ‘ %;TI1is doctrine, as revealing to us some of the a deep things is of Deity, is in- itself most important. lWithout it we cannot know that God who is revealed in the Law and the Prophets; but it is also of great use in giving us right views on other subjects which nearly 23 concern us, especially on the natiure of prophecy and of iholiness, and these we now proceed to consider. a ' iMaimonides, in his “ Moreh Nevuchim,” p. ii.” 0; 4.45, reckons up various degrees of prophecy, each more excellent than the other. "The lowest degree of all, he says, is, when the Holy Spirit comes upon’ a man, as it did upon Jeptha and Samson,and enables him to do somellextraordinary act of valour, or to display some nniusuial degree of strength. The next lowest is when, by the power a of the Holy Spirit a man is enabled to speak: or write, as were David, Solomon, Daniel, Job, and the other” writers of‘ the Hagiagrapha. The third degree is, when it is said of any individual, “ The word of the Lord came to him,” and this he says is the first degree of real prophecy, by which assertion he excludes David and Daniel from the rank of real prophets. Now, if he had ~ broughtjone or more verses from the Bible as thewarrant of his assertion,and plainly stating that those who have only the Holy Spirit are nottrue prophets, and that this is the lowest grade of what can ‘even improperly be called prophecy, we should have T" bowed to the authority, not of Maimonides, buteof Scripture, from whence alone we can learn what is, or what is not prophecy. But this Maimonides has not done. He has merely given his opinion; its value, therefore, altogether depends upon its agreement with the words i of lthosewhotwere prophets, which Maimo- nides was not; $And here we would askltthe reader, whatldoes he meanilbyi “a,prophet?"i The simple answer seems to be, I One who prophesies, l whatever; he the lmeaningir of iprophesying. ,We ask, him further, Who? is a real prophetiliiand we agtainr‘ suggest an answier+~—He, of whom theword.o'f' God says, that he prop5hesied._ l ‘ Now, a then, let .us see the ;qua1ifications. of ‘I24 those to whom this Word is applied in Scripture. We find it said of the seventy elders, “ And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the Spirist that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders, and it came to pass, that when the Spirit rested upon them they prophesied, and did not cease. But there ireinainecl two of th.e men in the camp, the name of one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medacl: and the Spirit rested upon thorn, aini they prophesied in the oamp” (Numb. xi. Q5). l:5L"ow here it is said twice over that the Spirit came upon them, and as a eonsequenoe, that they 13lj‘C)1i)l1€SlclCi. Moses applies the word “ prophecy” to those upon whom the Spirit Moses, tlierefoie, thought that they were real prophets. l‘vlai.n:io11ides, on the contrary, says, that this is not real prophecy. It is t'o>i+ the ireadet to determine ‘Wl‘l(~3i'.lt1@1' he will believe, Moses the son of Aiiiiraiin, or Moses the son of l“vlai1:uo*n. He cannot believe hoth, for what the :i'or1uer asserts, the latter denies. This passage is in itself suiiioie1'1t to prove that he who has the Holy Spirit, and enabled to pmphesy thereby, is a real prophet. "3Lit Moses does not leave us to make an infereiiee. Tliie law pgcices on to tell us that Joshua, when he saw Elcjlaid and Meclad prophesying, was envious, ancjl called on Moses to forbid them. Moses replies, “ Enviest thou for my sake? VVould God that all the Lo1'd’s people were prophets; that the Lord “woluld put his Spirit ‘upon them” (V. 29), whereby he plainly implies that “these two men were prophets, and distinctly asserts that the way to make all the Lords people piophets “would be by putting His Spirit upon them. l1;1lil«:emam:x.er, We read of Saul, that Samuel said unto liim, “ Thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down froln the high place, and they tested. 25 shall prophesy. , And the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy.” And, accord- ingly, we are told, “when they came thither to the 11111, behold, a companylofr propllets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied amongst them” (1 ,‘Sa1n.,x.‘ 6----10). Now, ‘here we are psfirst told of l a company of prophets; further, that they prophesied; further, that what theydid Saul also did,and that he did it because the ‘Holy rSpirit,.came uponhim. Andlwhat is the conclusion to he drawn from this ?a ‘What the conclusion s that the bye- standers drew? Simply this, that ‘Saul was a prophet as the others were. “ It came to pass, when all that knew him before-_-time saw “tl1El.'l3, behold, he prophesied among ‘the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is_~tl1is that is come unto the pi son of Kgishl? §Is,S,au1l,'a1so among the prophets?” * They knewlnothingr of Meimorxides’ doctrine that ,l1(*3'Wlf1:0 «has the: Ho1y.':.Spirit ; is not,areal prophet, but on the con-— trary concluded, that, as he had the Holy Spiritand psrophesied, l1eg1'r1ust be a~p=r0pl1et. From all this We might -;rsa‘felyel infer that, as the Spirit came also upon David in the same way, i he was a real prophet, but i David puts this l)ey.o,nd doubt in the passa.gefwl1icl1 We hexvexralready oonsi;dered,where hesays, “ The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his wordstwasin my tongue; The God A of : Israel said; the Rook of ‘llsrael spake to me.” Here we:hlave'rr:tl1e very same l-expression, ‘~:zf1::m,,_ applied‘ to3Da%vi~d, as to ;Mos6.t=. and the another ~PI‘opl1~et8-r We have, also, '13-: 51;, “ He spake to me”; andewet have the l testimony-l of ;~Rashi, fthat the former ex-. pgressionr refers to prophesy. l Ief‘, l t1trerlef'ore,ll ,Moses, Samuel, the people in Samuel’s time, and David spake truth, theykwho: speak by their powerlof the Holy Spirit l B ‘.26 have the gift of prophecy, andiD'avid and Danilel,3&c., were real prophets. t But Maimonides, after determining that acting or speaking‘ by the Holy Spirit is the lowest degree of prophecy, and improperly called by that name, goes on to enumerate the other degrees distinguished by the various sorts of visions and dreams, and in the thirty- sixth chapter of‘ the same part, he ‘tells us, onjthe authority of Numb. xii. 6, that allprophecy is included in nfvng a dream, and ns-m, a vision. « If there be aprophetamong you, I, the Lord, will make myself known unto him in la vision, and will speak unto“ him in» a dream.” This, then, onvMa.i1noniides’u own showing, is real prophecy ;—-if’, therefore, it can be showhnléthat these two species of real prophecy are the work ‘of’ the Holy Spirit, and‘ the consequence of his being given, it will follow, that the coming of the Holy Spirit onran individual does not signify the lowest degree of the prophetic gift, “and, consequently, that ‘Maimonides is wrong, But that these species of real prophecy, are the consequence of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit appears from Joel, “I will pour out my Spirit ‘upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters? shall prophesy; your old men shall dream dreams, ,r11m".;n, your young men shall see visions, n'1i:'m-r1.” ” Here we have, first, the promise of the Holy Spirit, then, the consequence generally, that they shall be prophets, and lastly, t the particular species of H prophecy rintendred-m dreams and visions,—-upon which latter‘ Words:Kimchi use ’s::z7 um: i ’z:~:~2~::n an-1 ~nm::trn.n~nl.7:1 lmbenn e :7-runs i-r~‘;s rm-ma c’.-1» nrzzassnai r1~n~ it - in l :1:-2:124 V 7“ Suchfwas the ., prophecy of the majorityinief ” the 27 prophets, as it is said, ‘If there be a prophet among you, I, the Lord, will make myself known unto himfin aivision, and will speak unto him in a dream.’ ” From which it is “evident that he understood the passage as we do, of real prophecy. Real prophecy, therefore, in all its degrees, is the work of the,Holy Spirit, up and, therefore, when it is said of any onethat he spake by the Holy Spirit, we must conclude, that, at the time when he so speaks, he is a ‘real prophet. Such is the general testimony of Joel, but it is easy to confirm it by particular instances.._ For instance, Ezlehiel says, i “ And he said untoome, Son of stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee” (Ezek. ii. 1). Now Maimonides admits that, , whenever a prophet hears words addressed to him, that is one of the higher degrees of prophecy ; and no one who remembers that this stands in connexion with the vision of the living creatures, can doubt that we have here a vision of the higliest order, and yet Ezekiel tells us expressly that here also the Holy Spirit was the agent. “ And the Spirit entered into me when he spake untome, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me.” And so, ‘i again, in the vision described in the next, chapter, “ Then the Spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place” (iii. 12). And, again, in the twenty-third verse, “ Then I arose, and went forth into the plain; and, behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, as the glory which I. saw by the river of Chebar.” Here is aivision of the very highest dignity, and yet immediately it is added, “Then the Spirit entered into me, andsset meeupon my feet, and spake with me, and said unto me,” 820. Another remarkable instance is in the eleventh chapter. The 132 28 Lord: -showsfi him? aiicertain visioriyand‘ then“con:m1ands him, 4‘ Therefore, W prophesy against“ them, prophesy; 09 son of imani;i’i’ and Vimmediately it-; is a,~c1'de'hd,w‘“‘ Andrt“he Spirit ??of;the Lordsfellii upon‘ me; andiliei said uhtoimeg . Speak: thus saith the Lord,” &e.=yiThereiiéiarettmany others instances « in this iipiroplmet, but the1?e»is“"'oime which Maimonides iparticula;r1y~I~t notices, andv is‘,? thertefoéveg wor‘th{consiiderin\g.w He isatys-4-..»«.t i it * .-1mr.:n<% mans * mm A nn z:n"7rm-it *9-1z~z+.‘i ’-'1tH‘*-is ~<:~iz~2i* “ "1Z‘Z?N~“:iiil~‘?1T'f‘!i"’ ‘. 337"T1flHi\‘« WLVEN5 i T‘T?.'5H hZ~W:'i‘T'"5 z~z'rr1i‘iiiz:’i’:tm “I”'+I7:3‘I::'J:1i:.~2"1t,“7:‘1‘1 nmzan me.”-m :4-1,-7n is i A A - zamrm mpnttt 71:: 1:: . “'w“‘ I tneed nT(1texp1ai.Lnwhiat‘a. ‘sdnsam’ J:Sf5?2ib1Eia1?7i’1iI11fLS%’i3ii explaiii what is av ‘_visiiont,’ which: is” mentionedi‘ t in: HIV ‘is myself known to him in: a. visiianfiandiii which is also called‘ prophetic vision,’ and wa.ga:ini,: »‘»thte ~ha;nd of’ the Lord, and, also, ‘sight,’«iA”t(Part ii. c. 4«t1:"*). Now, here Maimonides. distinctlyuisays tthat “ivisi0n,”i which he i considers as tIrea1itiprohp.he.cy,his the is same as thatiwhicht is called ‘E the thandi otfsth:ssi~si[imnd.gg’:? A **ie:dL0 th~e1:e»£ore~, the proplietic state; signizfiteid “.‘ham1.*i‘i‘0f" the ‘Lord,’’ is diflbrent. from tthat which is signified by “ Holy Spirit,” and is far superior‘; 170* it. But%«Ezékiel tellsprust these.-M. states are coinciir1ent,~%a.ni‘d< them when “ ths%handnof the\.‘Lord;:Wa;s rupiioai‘ himifi’ them ‘‘ heiiiwas led: otut thee spiritff t;J‘t‘s‘Tht«si hamdotWthe.:;Lordiiiwas upon me, and .[ca*.rried .;mte¢‘out.itin«th,ei“ iSpiri‘t1:.: osf t}met‘"*‘Lwsid§i andtléts eh‘ dtowzn ‘iim-this vasliey v§rhichf«was:t.;>fu1fl: sot‘ i:hv@imts*s " (zek. lximviiut :1): 1 This latter stateg; th:e1ie;t'xii:e*,2is%*1ii“ir * rgior .to.1:.he ntvitheicontratygthetyiexismhgreitfi _’j“‘I:Whe}-1‘ “tiths' Of’: the 2 sLo~nadi” is this the azgentw observegi; i .a,‘ ,9.‘ u . ;1;‘;V ~ A it t * ~it~itt61'~t‘¥’?¥d m~t;ns1se:on;piiao7r; A 29 that this is not a» conclusion to which the Christian system brings, and to which, without this system, we should never have come. It is the old and prevailing opinion of the Jews, whereas Maimonides’ is altogether a new opinion of his own. Kimchi, in commenting on the words, says briefly, wmzmnz, “according to its Targum,” i-. e. “the sense is as the Targum gives it.” But Jonathan, in the Targum, gives the sense exactly as We have done, and in language utterly incompatible with the system of Maimonides. m-1: ~::ps:~u "vi mp 7:: news: m-1 '-5:7 ms t t : ‘ii mp 77:: ~53: mm ‘"1 nsizzn “ The spirit of prophecy rested upon me from before the Lord, and he brought me forth in the spirit of prophecy which rested upon me from before the Lord.” He then is so far from looking upon “ the Holy Spirit” as a state inferior to “the hand of the Lord,” that he makes them identical, and translates the latter ex-- pression by the former. Rashi speaks in the ‘very same tone. ‘ S r'm'~nw mm man: 71:22‘: 'z~u:2::m:7 ‘re -1» 5: rn-7.-1:2: mm: ‘as :7:m:z77:: -bi‘: inns T1!-3'13 mm s or vans “Wherever ‘the hand of the Lord’ occurs in pro- phecy, it signifies compulsion, for the Spirit was com» pelling him to go as ‘one without reason to the place which the Spirit desired.” Here, then, is the most distinct recognition of the agency of’ the Spirit; and thus we see that in this, as in many other instances, Maimonides was endeavouring to get rid of ancient Judaism, and to insinuate his own opinions instead; and further, that those opinions were as contrary to the doctrines of his fathers, as they are to the plain Words of Mosesand the prophets. , i B 3 30 But, further, in the extract» just given from the Moreh Nevuchim,‘ it: is said that real prophecy is expressed; not only by the word :"n~ze-my,» but, also,» by nrnn, “ sight,- or vision.” If. so,» then, of course, this prophetic state is superior to thyat expressed by ‘F Spirit of « the Lord,” and yet inlitheillaw of Moses‘. We“ find that these states are identi;«ca1,y«~ or “at .lea.st> that“ the visioni’: is» a consequence of I-receiving :5‘ the Holy Spirit.” It is said «of Balaam “the Spirit of God» oamellupon him ;” and thgenit is added, +=‘,‘i He hath;s_aid,- heard the words‘ of God, which saw the vision» (FTTFIZD) of the Almighty ”y (Numb. xxiv. 2, 4:, and again 16).~ lHere~ the very word,~whioh» according to Maimonides, idenotsels“ real y;ipro}phe)cy,ii goccnms an exw planation of» what yhappenedewhen the» Holy» came upon Balaam. It is, therefore, utterly vain for Maimonides» to assert, ashe dOeSfl(13¢ii.lC.’4.*5), that Ba1a.am~ had only the inferior and impropier grade tot? prophecy. '9-my ;;-m-pg, 4‘ The vision of the Almighty,” is very strong, and, on Maimonides’ own principles, idecisivege lhavelr here, besiadese rthehfact» that “ he heard the words of Gnoelg” iwhifchy earner Writer also lays down as one of the lnarks of the higher grades‘ of proph?‘eey.“ Maimonides, therefore, ~contra- dicts:alh:imise1éf,t ae weil as: the ‘Wiordrrr of The prim ciplej “ Holy Spirit’’, signifies ‘ an inferior and trim; propf wild asses, a pasture of flocks ; until the Spirit the poured ‘upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field he counted for a forest. Then judgment shall dwell in te¥Wilderness,; and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. te~#w*ork of righteousness shall be peace ;and the ‘‘ effect of ‘righteousness quietness and ‘assurance for ever ” (Isa. xxxii. 13-—--17 And, again, “ The Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from ts- in Jacob, saith the Lord. As for me, this is my covenantrwith them, saith the Lord. My Spirit that is upon thee,5 and ~ my words i which I have put in thy mouth, not idepartout of thy mouth, nor out of the! mouth, I of thy s~eed,a nor out of the mouth ofrthy seed’s seed, a .~;tl1e*~Lord, from henceforth and for e~velrV"; (Isaiah 20a >»In like manner, Ezekiel ‘ ,»‘;',‘ Thentwill. I sprrinklse clean water upnatysou,» and be clean: from your filthessyanzdinfrom all r «I cleanse ,1 you. A tnewttt heart also willlr y 83 give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I“ will take the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give a you an heart of flesh. , And'I will put my Spirit. within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and i do them. And ye; shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers ;. and ye shall be my people, andil will be your God” (Ezekr xxxvi. 25---$.28). In similar language, Zechariah, when speaking of the glorious ‘period of .Israel’s return,-says,;1 “ I will pour upon the house of David, and they inhaw bitants of, J erusa1em,7 the spirit of grace and supplicav; tions; and they shall look upon one whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as» one that is in bitternessfor his firstborn” (Zechariah xii. 10). All these passages, and many more which might beacldueed, I‘ show that ‘until Israel receives the Holy Spirit, they cannot repent as God requires, »and that, therefore, if they wish to repent, and to be rlelivered from captivity, they must earnestly seek the Holy Spirit, who will help them to mourn aright for their past sins, to forsakethem, and henceforth to “Walk in the judgments and statutes of the Lorcl. The~Holy Spirit is not promised to the prophets only, but to ‘every son: and daughter of Israel; for Joel says, “I will pour*out my Spirit upon alllflesh.” Zechariah says, :“I will pour out the a Spirit, of grace upon the inhabitants of *Jerusa1em*;.”i and» that thelwomen are included [we can see from the following, verses, Where. the prophet‘ says, “ that the women also shall imourn apart.” . Every son and rdaughter of Israels should therefore remember the greatness T of the promise that is thus given. a God does zrotlmerelyiipromise strength, or wisdom, or repentance, butthat that Divine Being, 34 “who moved upon the face of the waters ” at creation, shall come and dwell in their hearts, and, by his Almighty power, make them what they cannot make themselves. For nearly eighteen hundred years Israel has been trying. to repent and to recover the favour of God,‘ but in vain. Their ‘own strength has been unequal to the task. ‘ Century after century has rolled away, and left them still in captivity, thereby proving that theirlyearly repentance is nothing worth. Are they then to despair, and to give up all hopes of T mercy ? Are they to think that all efforts are vain? No: God : graciously, promises them an Almighty friend, who r can do what to human strength is impos- sible. . .He says, that He will put his Holy Spirit within them, and then they shall be able to repent, and their repentance shall be acceptable, and they shall be gathered from their captivity. Their great business at present, then, should be to seek the Holy Spirit, and to pray, earnestly that the Lord would fulfil his pro- mises." They ‘should also inquire what it is that has hitherto, prevented the promised outpouring of the Spirit. They must remember that if the Holy Spirit comes and dwells in them, that then their bodies are temples of the Lord. The Spirit of the Lord is a Divine Being, and where he dwells there is a temple. Of,0l(l'GOCl dwelt in the tabernacle created by Moses,‘ and then in the temple built by Solomon. Now that there is neither tabernacle nor temple, he promises-to dwell with them that are of a contrite and humble ‘ spirit. “ For thus saith the High and Lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in thetihigh and holy place, with him also that is of la contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive theheart of the contrite ones ”- 35 (Isaiah lvii. 15). From this then we can see what keeps God away, pride and unholiness. If therefore any Israelite desires to have this blessed guest, this true Shechinah, dwelling in his heart, he must depart from pride and from all iniquity. He must cleanse the temple from all idols, and, above all, he must take up the prayer of David: “Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, 0 God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of , thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit" (Ps. li. 9-12). Thus let Israel seek the Holy Spirit that is promised. They need not wait until the new--year and the days of penitence. No: now is the appointed time, now is the day of salvation. Seek the Lord whilst he is to be found, call upon him whilst he is near. To—day, if ye will hear his voice. i Let them learn from the experience of so many centuries that their own strength is unavailing. Let them seek the aid of the Holy Ghost to help them to repent. He will hear their cry. He will give them repentance. He will circumcise the foreskin of their hearts. i “ And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed,'and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.” Amen. The Lord grant it speedily in our days! I‘ a. Macintosh, Printer, 20, Great New-street, London.