POWER from ON HIGH

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DIVINITY SCHOOL
TROWBRIDGE LIBRARY

GIFT OF
The Rev. Waldo Farafcee

THE HOLY SPIRIT,

' Power From on High.
AN UNFOLDING OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE
HOLY SPIRIT IN THE OLD AND
NEW TESTAMENTS.

REV. A. B. SIMPSON.

PART II. THE NEW TESTAMENT

NEW YORK :
THE CHRISTIAN ALLIANCE PUBLISHING CO.,

4.
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COPYRIGHT, 1896, J
A. B. Simpson. >•*
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CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Lord Jesus Christ 13
CHAPTER II.
The Baptism With the Holy Ghost . . 27
CHAPTER III.
The Wise and Foolish Virgins, or the Holy Spirit
and the Coming of the Lord . . -38
CHAPTER IV.
The Parable of the Pounds, or Power for Service 49
CHAPTER V.
The Holy Ghost in the Gospel of John . 66 !<•
CHAPTER VI.
The Comforter . . . . .78
CHAPTER VII.
Waiting for the Spirit . . . 90
CHAPTER VIII.
Power From on High .... 104
CHAPTER IX.
Filled With the Spirit . . . .122 3

4 CONTENTS.
CHAPTER X.
The Holy Ghost in the Epistle to the Romans " . 135
CHAPTER XI.
The Holy Spirit in the First Epistle to the Cor
inthians . . • • • J49
CHAPTER XII.
The Holy Spirit in the Body of Christ . .163
CHAPTER XIII.
The Holy Spirit in Second Corinthians . . 172
CHAPTER XIV.
The Holy Spirit in Galatians ,, . . -183
CHAPTER XV.
All the Blessings of the Spirit, or the Holy Ghost
in the Ephesians . . .197
CHAPTER XVI.
The Holy Spirit in Philippians v . . -215
CHAPTER XVII.
The Spirit of Love . . . .228
CHAPTER XVIII.
The Holy Spirit in Thessalonians .V . 240
CHAPTER XIX.
The Holy Spirit in the Epistles of Paul to Timothy 253 v

CONTENTS. 5
CHAPTER XX.
Regeneration and Renewal . . . 268
CHAPTER XXI.
The Holy Spirit in the Epistle to the Hebrews . 280 *"*
CHAPTER XXII.
God's Jealous Love .... 294
CHAPTER XXIII.
The Holy Spirit in the Epistle of Peter . . 309 «—
CHAPTER XXIV.
The Holy Spirit in the First Epistle of John . 321
CHAPTER XXV.
The Holy Spirit in Jude . . . -338
CHAPTER XXVI.
The Seven-fold Holy Ghost . . -353
CHAPTER XXVII.
The Spirit's Message to the Churches . . 363
CHAPTER XXVIII.
The Holy Spirit's Last Message . . . 380 w

PREFACE TO VOLUME II.

In issuing the second volume of the Holy Spirit,
or Power from on High, after an interval of a
year since the publication of the first volume, the
author is deeply conscious of the imprefections of
his work. In view of the vastness and grandeur
of the theme, he asks the kind indulgence of his
readers and friends, and begs them to remember
that these chapters are the substance of his weekly
pulpit ministrations amid the pressure of a life of
almost overwhelming work and care.
He is, however, encouraged by the numerous
letters that have come from those who have read
these messages in the weekly columns of the
Christian Alliance to believe that they have often
been bread for God's hungry children. He is reas
sured by the humble consciousness that he is not
attempting to minister entertainment or instruc
tion for the wise, the scholarly and the critical, but
to provide simple and satisfying bread for the
King's children.
He need scarcely say that this sublime theme has
continually grown upon him during the two years
that it has been the subject of his regular pulpit
ministrations, and that, although he has now been

8 PREFACE.
able to complete the survey of the whole sacred
volume in unfolding this theme, he feels, at the
close, as if he were only standing upon the shore
of an infinite ocean of truth and love, without a
fathoming line or a shore.
He would humbly commend these pages to the
blessing of God and the earnest prayers of his
friends, that this volume may be used for the honor
of the Holy Spirit and the deepening of the* inter
est of God's people in this great theme which)
happily to-day, is occupying the profoundest atten
tion of the church of God, and which, perhaps
more than any other, is the " present truth " which
God is pressing upon the attention of His people in
these last days.
The first edition of Volume I having been quite
exhausted, another large edition is being rapidly
pushed through the press.
New York, April 1, 1896.

THE HOLY SPIRIT

POWER FROM ON HIGH.

Part II.

TflE NEW TESTAMENT

CHAPTER I.
THE HOLY SPIEIT IN THE LIFE OF THE
LORD JESUS CHRIST.

" I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance ; but He
that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not
worthy to bear ; He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and
with fire." — Matt. iii. ii.

THESE words from the lips of the Forerunner
intimate that there was to be a great distinc
tion between the old Dispensation which he was
closing, and the new, which Jesus Christ was
about to usher in.
The distinction was to be very marked in con
nection with the manner and measure in which
the Holy Ghost would be poured out upon the
people of God and manifested in connection with
the work of redemption.
The two natural emblems of water and fire are
used, to denote the difference between the two dis
pensations. We have seen that the Holy Ghost was present
on earth during the Old Testament age, speaking
in the prophets and messengers of God, and work
ing out the Divine purpose in the lives of God's 13

14 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
chosen agents, and instrumentalities. But the New
Testament is pre-eminently the age of the Holy
Ghost, and we might, therefore, expect that there
would be a great and infinite difference. The
principal difference between the old and new dis
pensations, with respect to the presence and mani
festations of the Holy Ghost, might be summed
up in the following particulars.
1. In the Old Testament, the Holy Ghost was
given to special individuals to fit them for special
service; and in the New Testament, the promise is
that the Spirit shall be poured out upon all flesh,
and they shall not need lo say one to another,
"Know the Lord, for all shall know Him," through
the Divine unction, "from the least to the
greatest. "
The universal outpouring of the Holy Ghost
upon all believers is the striking feature of the New
Testament. 2. The Holy Spirit was with men and upon men
rather than in them in the Old Testament. In the
| New Testament Dispensation, the Holy Ghost comes
'to dwell in us and to unite us personally with God,
and to be in us not only a Spirit of power and a
preparation for service, but a Spirit of life, holi
ness, and fellowship with ihe Divine Being.
, It is not the influence of the Holy Ghost that we
, receive but it is the Person of the Holy Ghost.
3. This leads us to the third distinction, namely,

THE SPIRIT IN THE LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST. 15
that under the Old Testament Dispensation, the
Holy Ghost was not resident upon earth, but vis
ited it from time to time as occasion required.
Now the Spirit of God is dwelling upon the earth.
This is His abode. He resides in the hearts of
men, and in the Church of Christ, just as literally
as Jesus resided upon the earth, during the thirty -
three years of His incarnation and life below.
4. Perhaps the principal difference was this,
that in the Old Testament age the Holy Ghost
came rather as the Spirit of the Father, in the glory
and majesty of the Deity ; while under the New
Testament, He comes rather as the Spirit of the
Son, to represent Jesus to us, and make Him real in
our experience and life. Indeed, the Person of the
Holy Ghost was not fully constituted under the
Old Testament. It was necessary that He should
reside for three and a half years in the heart of
Jesus of Nazareth, and become, as it were, hu
manized, colored, and brought nearer to us by His
personal union with our Incarnate Lord; and now
He comes to us as the same Spirit that lived, and
loved, and suffered, and wrought, in Jesus Christ.
In a sense our Master left His heart behind
Him ; and when the Holy Ghost comes to dwell
within us, He brings the living Christ and makes
His person real to our hearts.
This must be the meaning of that remarkable
passage in John vii. 37, 38, where Jesus said that

16 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
the Spirit in the believer should flow out like
rivers of living water; and then the evangelist
adds, " The Spirit was not yet ; because Jesus was
not yet glorified." The Holy Spirit in the form
which He was to be manifest in the coming age
was not yet constituted until after the ascension of
Jesus. Now, He comes to us as the Spirit of Christ.
Therefore, it is intensely interesting to us to look
at the relation of the Holy Ghost to the person of
our Lord in His first baptism and earthly ministry.
This is our present theme. May the Holy
Ghost Himself illuminate and apply it to all our
hearts ! I.
Our Lord was born of the Holy Spirit. The
announcement by the angel to Mary, connects the
Divine Spirit directly with the conception and
incarnation of Christ. "The Holy Ghost shall
come upon thee and the power of the Highest
shall overshadow thee, therefore, that holy thing
which shalT be born of thee shall be called the Son
of God." Lukei. 35.
The human mind cannot fathom this mystery
— a holy Christ conceived and born of one who was
herself the daughter of a sinful race. "We cannot
believe in the immaculate Mary, but we can believe
in the immaculate Son of God, born of her without
sin. The very fact that she was an imperfect and

THE SPIRIT IN THE LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST. 17
sinful woman adds to the glory of this mystery
and makes it the more perfect type of the experi
ence through which we also come into fellowship
with our living Head. For just as Jesus was born
of the Spirit, so we, the disciples of Jesus, must
also be born of the Holy Ghost ; for "except a man
be born from above he cannot enter the kingdom
of God."
The mystery of the incarnation is repeated every
time a soul is created anew in Christ Jesus. Into
the unholy being of a child of Adam a seed of in
corruptible and eternal life is implanted by the
Divine Spirit, and that seed is in itself through the
life of God, holy and incorruptible. Just as you
may see in the sweet springtime the little white,
spotless shoot, coming from the dark soil and out
of the heap of manure, unstained by all its gross
surroundings, so out of our lost humanity the Holy
Spirit causes to spring forth the life of the new
born soul ; and while the subject of that marvel
ous experience may seem an imperfect being, still
he has that within him, of which the apostle has
said, "His seed remaineth in him, and cannot sin;
because it is born of God." He can sin, but that
holy nature implanted in him cannot, it is like its
Author, holy too.
"And so He that sanctifieth, and they that are
sanctified, are all of one, for which cause He is not
ashamed to call them brethren. Like Him we are

18 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
born of the Holy Ghost and become the sons of
God, not by adoption, but by the Divine regenera
tion. II.
Jesus Christ was baptized by the Holy Spirit.
Not only did He derive His person and His incar
nate life from the Holy Ghost, but when at thirty
years of age He consecrated Himself to His minis
try of life and suffering, and service, and went
down into the waters of the Jordan, in token of
His self-renunciation and His assumption of death,
the heavens were opened, and the Holy Ghost by
whom He had been born, now came down and
personally possessed His being and henceforth
dwelt within Him.
No one can for a moment deny that this was
something transcendently more than the incarna
tion of Christ. Up to this time there had been one
personality, henceforth there were two ; for the
Holy Ghost was added to the Christ, and in the
strength of this indwelling Spirit, henceforth He
wrought His works, and spake His words, and ac
complished His ministry on earth.
But this also has its parallel in the experience of
( the disciples of Christ. It is not enough for us to
be born of the Holy Ghost, we must also be bap-
| tized with the Holy Ghost. There must come a
crisis hour in the life of every Christian when he,
too, steps down into the Jordan of death, when he

THE SPIRIT IN THE LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST. 19
yields his will to fulfill all righteousness, like his
Master, when he voluntarily assumes the life of
self-renuniciation and service, which God has ap
pointed for him in His Holy will, and when there
is added to him, as a Divine trust, the Holy Ghost ;
and henceforth it is not one but two, and then
these two are one.
I remember the day when my daughter walked
down one aisle of this building and another walked
down the other aisle, and they met at this altar
and then they walked back after that simple,
solemn ceremony, but not as she came. It was
not one person now, but two ; yet those two were
one, and she leaned her weakness upon his strength,
and assuming his name, henceforth looked to him
for all the needs of her life.
And so there comes a time when the believer
joins his hand with the Holy Ghost, and there is
added to his new heart and his Christian experi
ence the mighty stupendous fact of God Himself,
and the personal indwelling of the Holy Ghost.
How perfectly this is described in the two sen
tences in Ezekiel. "Anew heart will I give unto
you and a right spirit will I put within you." This
is the new heart in us. "And I will put my
Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My
statutes, and you shall keep My commandments
and do them. That is the baptism with the Holy
Ghost. And so Peter and the other disciples were

20 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
born of the Spirit before the day of Pentecost ; but
Jesus promised them that they should be baptized
with the Holy Ghost at the appointed time, and
when that day was fully come there was added to
their true Christian life, the Divine personality, the
infinite presence and all-sufficiency of God, the in
dwelling Holy Ghost who had lived and wrought
in Jesus Christ.
Beloved, have we entered into this experience ?
Have we received the Holy Ghost since we believ
ed, or have we allowed our theological traditions,
and our pre-conceived ideas to shut us out from our
inheritance of blessing and of power ? Let us do so
no longer. Let us, with the Master, step down to
Jordan, enter with Him into death, rise with
Him in resurrection life into the baptism of the
Holy Ghost, and then go forth in the fullnes of His
power and liberty, even as He.
Oh, if the Son of God did not presume to begin
His public work until He had received this power
from on High, what presumption is it that we
should attempt in our own strength to fulfill the
ministry committed to us and be witnesses unto
Him? III.
No sooner had the Lord received the baptism of
the Holy Ghost than He was led up of the Spirit
into the wilderness to "be tempted of the devil."
This is especially emphasized by the Evangelist. It is

THE SPIRIT IN THE LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST. 21
not the devil that appears first, but it is the Spirit.
In the Gospel of Mark the language is still strong
er, and it is said that he was "driven of the Spirit."
Perhaps His human spirit recoiled from the aw
ful ordeal of the wilderness; as it afterwards shrank
from the anguish of Gethsemane, and the Holy
Ghost pressed Him forward by one of those resist
less impulses which many of us have learned to un
derstand; and for forty days His blessing was chal
lenged, His faith was tested, His very soul was
tried by all the assaults of the adversary.
He was brought into certain places that seemed
to contradict all that He believed, and to challenge
all that had been promised to Him. The devil
might well say to Him, "Art Thou indeed the Son
. of God, in the midst of hunger, desolation, and
wild- beasts, and every form of suffering, cast off
and neglected even by God, and left in destitu
tion and desolation."
And then, amid all these perils and privations,
suddenly there opened before Him, the vision of
power and pleasure — the kingdoms of the world
and all the glory of them if He would but yield a
single point and accept the leadership of the enemy,
who doubtless appealed to His higher nature and
represented Himself as an angel of light, or per
haps approached Him through His own form, and
all the visions and possibilities of power He might
use for the good of men and the benefit of the
world.

22 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
These and other yet more subtle insinuations and
instigations came to Him on every side; and yet
amid them all He stood unmoved in His obedience
to His Father's will and His reliance upon His
Father's word, until Satan was driven from His
presence, and He came forth more than conqueror.
And so the first thing that we may look for, after
j the baptism of the Holy Ghost, is the wilderness
with its desolations and privations. Circumstances
will surely come to us which seem to contradict all
that we have believed, and to render impossible the
promise of God. Even God will seem to have
failed us; and when all is dark as midnight, the
vision of help from other sources will come to us,
and a thousand voices will whisper to us ti'ieir
promises of sympathy and aid if we will but yield a
single point of conscience and give ourselves up to
the will of the deceiver. All the temptations of
our Master will come to us,— the lust vl the flesh,
the lust of the eye, the pride of life, the tempta
tion to take help from forbidden sources, or per
haps, to carry even our faith to the extreme of
fanaticism and presumption. All these will come;
but if the Spirit has led us up into the wilderness He
will lead us out. If we will but lift our eyes above
the tempter to the Divine Deliverer, we shall find
that even Satan shall be compelled to become our
ally ; and, more than conquerors like our Master,
we shall take our enemy prisoner, and make him
fight our very battles.

THE SPIRIT IN THE LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST. 23
Let us not fear the conflict ; let us not shrink
from the testing. Let us not count it strange con
cerning the fiery trial that is to try us. Let us not
see the devil first, but the Lord always above him ,
and the Holy Ghost in the midst of our being, our
Victor and Deliverer. "When the enemy shall
come in like a flood, then the Spirit of the Lord
shall lift up a standard against Him. "
We must first fight the battle in our own soul
that we are to fight in the world. David must meet
Goliath alone before he can meet him in the hosts
of the Philistines. Jesus must conquer Satan in
single combat before He can go forth to drive him
out of the hearts and lives. And so, even with us,
we live out our public service on the private arena
of our own spiritual experience and then repeat our
victory in the victory that God shall give us for the
lives of others.
Beloved, shall we not trust, through all our tests
and trials, and take the Holy Ghost as our Deliver
er in the hour of temptation, and our blessed and
Divine Discipliner, leading us through the ordeal of
suffering to the strength of victory.
IV.
We next read that Jesus went forth in the
power of the Spirit from the wilderness into Gali
lee. He was not weakened but strengthened by
His conflict, and almost immediately afterward we

24 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
find Him standing in the synagogue at Nazareth
publicly declaring, "The Spirit of the Lord God is
upon Me for He hath anointed Me to preach the
Gospel to the poor ; He hath sent Me to bind up the
broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the cap
tives, and recovering of sight to the blind ; to set at
l'berty them that are bruised ; to preach the accep
table year of the Lord. " Luke iv. 18, 19.
Henceforth all His teachings, all His works, all
His miracles of power were attributed directly to
the Holy Ghost. In the 12th chapter of Matthew
and the 28th verse, we have a very distinct state
ment of the connection of the Holy Spirit with
His miracles of power. "If I by the Spirit of God,
cast out demons, then the kingdom of God is come
unto you." That is to say it is the Holy Ghost
that casts out demons in us, and this same Holy
Ghost is to remain in us and to perpetuate the
kingdom of God in the church through the Dispen
sation. It is a very wonderful truth that it is the same
Spirit who wrought in Christ that He has given to
the church to perform her works of love and power.
This was what the Master meant when He said,
"He that believeth on Me, the works that I do
shall he do also, and greater works than these shall
he do because I go unto the Father." The Holy
Ghost in us is the same Holy Ghost that wrought
in Christ. We yield to none in honor to the Son

THE SPIRIT IN THE LIFE OF J£SUS CHRIST. 25
of God. He was truly the eternal God, "very God
of very God." But when He came down from yon
der heights of glory He suspended the direct oper
ation of His own independent power and became
voluntarily dependent upon the power of God
through the Holy Ghost. He constantly said, "I
can of mine own self do nothing." He purposely'
took His place side by side with us, heeding equally
with the humblest disciple the constant power of
God to sustain Him in all His work. Not that He
might be dishonored in His glory and majesty,
"For being in the form of God He thought it
not a thing to be grasped to be equal with God ;
but He emptied Himself and made Himself of no
reputation, and took upon Him the form of a ser
vant." And so He went through life in the posi
tion of dependence, that He might be our public
example and teach us that we too have the same
secret of strength and power that He possessed,
and that as surely as He overcame through the
Holy Ghost, so may we.
Oh, what a solemn spectacle it is to see the
Son of God spending thirty years on earth, with
out one single act of public ministry until He>
received the baptism of power from on high ; and
then concentrating a whole life-time of service into
forty-two short months of intense activity and al
mighty power !
But He has left to us the same power which

26 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
He possessed. He has bequeathed to the church
the very Holy Ghost that lived and wrought in
Him. Let us accept this mighty gift. Let us
believe in Him and His all-sufficiency. Let us re
ceive Him and give Him room, and let us go forth
to reproduce the life and ministry of Jesus and
perpetuate the Divine miracles of our holy Chris
tianity through the power of the blessed Com
forter. This is the mighty Gift of our ascended Lord.
This is the supreme need of the church of to-day.
This is the especial promise of the latter days.
God help us to claim it fully and, in the power of
the Spirit, to go forth to meet our coming Lord.

CHAPTER II.
THE BAPTISM WITH THE HOLY GHOST.
"He shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire."
Matt. iii. ii.
THIS sounds almost like an echo of the last
promise of the Old Testament. The voice of
"the Messenger" is taken up by "the Fore
runner." "He is like the refiner's fire, and like
fuller's soap; He shall sit as the refiner and purifier
of silver, and shall purify the sons of Levi, and
purge them like gold and silver that they may offer
unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. "
In the last chapter we have seen the relation of
the Holy Ghost to the person of Christ. First, He
was born by the Spirit, then He was baptized by
the Spirit, and then He went forth to work out His
life and ministry in the power of the Spirit.
But "He that sanctifieth and they that are
sanctified are all of one;" so in like manner we must
follow in His footsteps and relive His life. Born '
like Him of the Spirit, we, too, must be baptized '
of the Spirit, and then go forth*to live His life and
reproduce His work. And so our next theme is the
baptism of the Spirit of God through the Lord
Jesus Christ.

28 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
I.
THE BAPTISER.
It is Christ's province to baptise with the Holy
1 Ghost. The sinner does not come first to the Holy
\ Spirit, but to Christ. Our first business is to receive
> Jesus and then to receive the Holy Ghost. There
fore, the great promise of the Old Testament is the
coming of Christ, the great promise of the New is
the coming of the Spirit.
Jesus received the Spirit from the Father. We
receive the Spirit from Jesus. It is necessary *"or
us, in order that we may fully receive the Holy
Ghost, that we shall first receive Christ in His
person as our Saviour and as our indwelling Life.
The Father gave the Spirit to Him not by meas
ure, and if He dwells in us He will bring the Spirit
with Him, and He shall dwell in us likewise in the
same measure in which He dwells in Jesus.
Our mere human hearts are not fit temples for
the Holy Ghost. It is only as we are united to
Christ that we are prepared and enabled to receive
the Holy Ghost in the fullness of His life and
power. It is the Christ within us that still receives
the Holy Ghost. *
And so, when our Master was about to leave the
world, it is significantly stated that He breathed
upon them, and said: "Receive ye the Holy Ghost."
The Holy Spirit came upon them through the

THE BAPTISM WITH THE HOLY GHOST. 29
breath of Christ. This significant action empha
sized the fact that the Spirit was imparted to them
from His own person and as His own very life.
It is true that the act of breathing on them did not
bring immediately the residence of the Holy Ghost
into their hearts; for this could not be until after
the day of Pentecost. But it was meant to connect
it with Himself, so that when the Holy Ghost did
descend and dwell in them they would receive Him
as the Spirit of Jesus, and as communicated to
them by the breath and the very kiss of their de
parting Master.
As we have already seen, the Holy Ghost comes
to us as the Spirit of Christ and even as His very
heart, the One who wrought in Him His mighty
works and repeats them in us.
Would we receive the baptism with the Holy
Ghost, let us receive Jesus in all His fullness. Let
us draw near to His inmost being, and from His
lips let us inbreathe the Spirit of His mouth.
II.
THE BAPTISM.
What is the baptism imparted to us by Christ ?
Sometimes we hear this spoken of as if He
baptised us with something different from Him
self, some sort of an influence, or feeling, or power.
The truth is, the Spirit Himself is the baptism.
Christ baptises, and it is with or in the Spirit that

30 POWER FROM OF HIGH.
He baptises us. There is, therefore, one baptism
with the Spirit once for all, and, from that time,
the Holy Ghost Himself is our indwelling life.
The word "baptise" is significant in this con
nection. Literally, it might be translated " Baptise
you in the Holy Ghost." It is scarcely necessary to
say that the word baptise means to immerse, and
carries along with it always the idea of death and
resurrection. There is something very significant
in this in connection with the reception .of the
Holy Ghost. It means that we are baptised into
death, and raised into life, and thus receive the
Spirit from on high. Just as Jesus went down into
the Jordan, which was the symbol of death, and
there received the Heavenly Dove, so we must step
down into the death of all our strength and all our
life, and, surrendering ourselves completely to
Him, rise in newness of life with Christ, and thus
receive the Holy Ghost as the seal and source of
that new life.
The most important condition of the baptism
with the Holy Ghost is that we shall truly die to
all our own life, and enter into the meaning
of Christ's resurrection. We must be completely
submerged, not a hair of our head left in sight;
and then when we cease from ourselves we shall
enter into God, and find that while,in one sense, we
have received the Holy Ghost into us, we have in a
far greater sense been received into the Holy Ghost.

THE BAPTISM WITH THE HOLY GHOST. 31
He is too vast and glorious for any soul to exhaust
His fullness, and therefore, after He has filled and
flooded all our being, there is an overflow as bound
less as the ocean of immensity, and we are still
in that ocean as the element of our inexhaustable
life. It is scarcely necessary to say that the baptism
of the Holy Ghost is our union with the living
personality of the Spirit. It is not an influence. It
is not a notion, or feeling, or power, or joy, into,
which we are submerged; but it is a heart of love,(
a mind of intelligence, a living being as real asj
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, and as real as our own
personality. III.
THE SYMBOL OF THIS BAPTISM, FIRE.
"He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost,
and with fire." This does not mean that the Holy
Ghost and fire are different, or that the baptism of
fire is something distinct from that of the Spirit,
but simply that the figure of fire expresses more
fully the intensity and power of this Divine baptism.
It means that the soul that is truly baptized with
God is a soul on fire. Fire is the most forceful
and suggestive of natural elements, and seems
made especially to symbolize the Holy Ghost.
1. It is a penetrating element. It goes to the
very fibre and heart of things and is internal and

32 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
intrinsic in its action. And so the Holy Ghost
" pierces to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit,
and of the joints and marrow, and is a Discerner
of the thoughts and intents of the heart.'' He
searches our inmost being, and requires and pro
duces "truth in the hidden part."
2. Fire is a purifying element. It separates the
dross from the gold. It burns up the stubble and
purges the vessel from all defilement. It is the type
of the cleansing, sanctifying Spirit of God, who
alone can purify our sinful and polluted souls, and
burn up the dross of sin.
3. Fire is a consuming element. It is the most
destructive of forces. And so the Holy Ghost comes
to destroy all that is destructible, to consume all
that is corruptible, and to burn out all that is com
bustible. God wants a people that have been so
burned out that when the testing fires of the great
final day shall come there shall be nothing left to
consume. It is not only the sinful but the earthly,
the natural, the self-bound life, that the Spirit
comes to wither, until there is nothing left but the
Divine and everlasting. " The grass withereth and
the flower fadeth ; because the Spirit of the Lord
bloweth upon it." Do we not want this blessed fire ?
Shall we not welcome this blessed flame ? Are we
not weary of the things that wither and decay, and
do we not desire the life that " cannot pass away,"
the loves and friendships that shall never say good-

THE BAPTISM WITH THE HOLY GHOST. 33
bye, and the treasures that shall meet us in. the
sky? 4. Fire is a refining element. And so the Holy
Ghost is the great Refiner. He comes, not only
to cleanse, but to improve, to elevate, to mature,
to beautify and glorify the soul, and fit our
heavenly robes for the marriage of the Lamb. " He
shall sit as a Refiner and Purifier of silver." There
is an instantaneous; and there is a gradual work of
the Holy Ghost. There is an act by which He bap
tizes us into Himself forever. And there is a pro
cess in which He sits down beside the crucible, and
watches the molten silver until it perfectly reflects
His image, and then He removes the fire and de
clares the work complete. He comes not only to
give us love, but all the gentleness of love ; not
only long-suffering, but also "all long-suffering
with joyfulness ; " not only "the things that are
pure, and true, and honest," but also the "things
that are lovely and of good report." Let us wel
come the refining fire. Let us invite Him to sit
down in our willing hearts, and finish His glorious
work, until we are " all glorious within," our cloth
ing of wrought gold, and our raiments "white
and lustrous " for the Marriage Feast.
5. Fire is a necessary element in preparing al
most every article of food for our nourishment.
We cannot live on ravv^ieator uncooked meat.
It must pass throjig^he^bo^sj^fefire to be whole-

34 TOWER FROM ON HIGH.
some and nourishing ; and so the Holy Ghost pre
pares the Word of God for our spiritual subsistence.
A great many people live on raw and cold theology.
It is little wonder that they are spiritual invalids
and suffer terribly from bad digestion. A little
truth, thoroughly prepared and presented to us by
the loving hands of the Holy Ghost, is worth vol
umes of dry theology and learned exegesis.
The passover must not be eaten "raw or sod
den," but it must be roasted in the fire and properly
prepared. The Holy Ghost is as necessary as the
blood of Christ and the word of truth. He is a very
foolish preacher who tries to preach without Him,
and a very foolish Christian who expects to find
the truth and the power of God without His bles
sed anointing and constant illumination.
6. Fire is a quickening element. And so the
Holy Ghost is the Source of life. What is it makes
the spring, the flowers, and the swarming life of
the insect world ? It is the warmth of spring, it is
the fire of yonder sun. And so the Holy Ghost '
quickens our whole spiritual being into vitality.
Like the mother bird, whose warm bosom in
cubates the germs of life that she has dropped in
her nest, so the Spirit of God vitalizes all our being,
and quickens into life and blessing seeds that lay
dormant, perhaps, for years. He quickens our
spiritual life; He quickens our intellectual life; He
quickens our physical life, and is the source of
healing and strength.

THE BAPTISM WITH THE HOLY GHOST. 35
7. The Holy Spirit, like fire, melts the rigid
heart and moulds it into the forms of God's holy
will, and highest purpose. Without the Holy Ghost
we aru set in our own ideas, plans, and thoughts ;
but the soul that is filled with the Holy Ghost is
adjustable, both to God and to man. The easiest
people to get along with are those most filled with
God. The Spirit is a great lubricator and mellower,
and He keeps us adjusted to the will of God, and
to the providences of life as they meet us day by
day in God's perfect order of place and time.
8. Fire is the great energizer and source of
power. It is the real secret of the electric current
and the throbbing piston of yonder engine. And so '
the Holy Ghost is the source of all spiritual power.
He and He alone can give effectiveness to our
lives, and make us tell for God and humanity and
the great purpose of our existence. We need His
power in every department of life. He is not only
for the pulpit, but for every walk of life. The
Holy Ghost will give power to all who will receive
it, to make life effective and to make us accomplish
the purpose of our being.
The Old Testament age was a life of effort,
struggle, and human endeavor. It was man's best
with God's help ; but God is through with that for
ever. God is not now trying to get people to do as
well as they can ; but He is offering to undertake

36 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
Himself the whole responsibility of their life and
work, to enter and possess their hearts, and to be
their all-sufficiency. And so we are without excuse
if we fail through our own imperfection and in
ability. God is not blaming us for what we do
not do, but for what we do not let Him enable
us to do.
"Ye shall receive power after that the Holy
Ghost is come upon you;" and we "can do all
things through Christ who is our strength. "
9. Fire warms, and so the Holy Ghost is the
source of love, zeal, and holy earnestness. He sets
souls on fire for God, and duty, and humanity. He
makes us all aglow with Divine enthusiasm. An
ordinary mind will accomplish more than a brilliant
one if it is alive with holy earnestness.
We are living in an earnest age. All the forces
of human intelligence are intensely alive. Be in
earnest. The world is in earnest. Satan is in
earnest. God is in earnest. Redemption is an
earnest business and cost its Author every drop of
His crimson* blood. The Holy Ghost is intensely in
iarnest. Everything in heaven and earth and hell
is in earnest but man. It is an awful thing for a
Christian, redeemed by the blood of Christ, and
destined to an eternal future of weal or woe, to be
frivolous or trifling. Oh, friend, think, if that day
you are wasting were to be cut off the end of your
life, instead of the middle, how quickly you would

THE BAPTISM WITH THE HOLY GHOST. 37
awaken and tremble at the thought of trifling! If
every hour you waste were deducted from the sum
of your life at the close, how frightful the sacrifice
would seem ! And yet it is even so. God help us
to be intensely aroused to life's solemn meaning!
Now, the Holy Ghost will make us earnest. In
deed, one of His own names is this, ' ' The Earnest
of our inheritance until the redemption of the pur
chased possession." The earnest- means the reality.
The Holy Ghost is the reality of things, and He
makes us real and earnest, too.
10. Finally, fire is a protective element. The
eastern shepherd surrounds his fold by night with
a little wall of fire as he heaps up the dry wood
of the desert in a circle around his flock ; and the
wild beasts fear to come within the fiery wall. So
God says, ' ' I will be unto her a wall of fire round
about, and will be the glory in the midst of her. "
The Holy Ghost defends us from the power of ]
evil. A heart on fire with God throws off a thou
sand temptations. An electric wire, charged with
the fiery current is as mighty as a battery of
artillery. A hot stove cover throws off the water
that vainly tries to rest upon it. So a heart filled
with the Spirit of God is proof against temptation,
sin, sorrow, and even disease.
Oh, let us be filled with the Holy Ghost, and \
we shall carry a charmed life, and be preserved ¦'
from all the powers of earth and hell.

CHAPTER ITT.
THE WISE AND FOOLISH VIRGINS ; OR, THE
HOLY SPIRIT AND THE COMING
OF THE LORD.
"Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten
virgins, which took their lamps, and went lorth to meet the bride
groom. " And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
' ' They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil
with them :
"But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps."
Matt. xxv. 1-4.
THE Gospel of Matthew is the Gospel of the
King, and its latest chapters are full of the
Master's teachings about His coming. The
Parable of the Virgins is a picture of the attitude
of the church at the coming of the Lord, and the
necessity of the Holy Ghost in order to our pre
paration for that great event.
The ten virgins, like the ten servants in the
Parable of the Pounds represent the whole church.
The church is often represented in the Scriptures
under the figure of a woman. It is an unnecessary
and irrelevant strain to try to make a distinction
between the Virgins and the Bride, and assume
that the Bride is somewhere in the background of
a8

THE WISE AND FOOLISH VIRGINS/ 39
the parable, and in a still higher place than the
wise virgins. If that were so, it is strange that
the Lord makes no reference to so important a
part of the dramatis persona in any of these clos
ing discourses. The truth is, that which is else
where represented by the Bride is here represen
ted by the virgins. Sometimes the church is called
a Bride, sometimes a building, sometimes a body,
sometimes disciples, servants, virgins ; but it is
always the same church, and all that is necessary
in the interpretation is to simply work out the
figure used in each case, consistently with itself,
and not to drag in every other feature and ac
companiment which a lively fancy may suggest.
As well might we try to work out a hypothesis for
the mother in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, or
to find a meaning for all the figures introduced in
the necessary drapery of any of the parables. The
Great Teacher has one object in view in this great
parable— to show the need of special preparation
for the Lord's coming, and we only confuse the
mind, and detract from the simple object of the
lesson when we try to bring in a whole system of
theology.I. THE POINTS OF RESEMBLANCE BETWEEN THE WISE
AND FOOLISH VIRGINS.
1. They were both virgins. They were both
separated and pure. It is possible to have a blame-

40 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
less character, to have come out from the world
and to be faultlessly right, moral, and correct in
our life, and yet be devoid of the Holy Ghost and
unprepared for the Lord's return.
2. Both were looking for the coming of the
Bridegroom. They had all gone out with this one
object and were definitely expecting and preparing
for Him. And so we may fully believe in the
doctrine of the Lord's return, may be deeply inter
ested in it, may be personally desiring and expecting
it, and yet may be, if we are without the Holy
Ghost, unprepared for it, and be found among the
foolish virgins at the last.
3. They both " slumbered and slept." The Greek
word for slumbered literally means "nodded." It
vividly describes the drowsiness that gradually
creeps over one, until, at last, unwillingly, and
almost unconsciously he falls asleep. It implies,
that even at the very best, the people of God are
more than half asleep. And yet it is a very dif
ferent thing to doze with the oil in your vessels,
and to fall asleep utterly unprepared for your
Master's appearing.
4. Both were called just before the Bridegroom
came. How gracious was it of the Master to send
word to the sleeping virgins ! He has promised us
that "that day shall not overtake us as a thief.'1
And even the foolish virgins were awakened at
the last moment, and were aware of the Master's

THE WISE AND FOOLISH VIRGINS. 41
near approach. But, alas ! it did not avail them
now, it was too late to obtain the oil and prepare
their dying lamps for the glorious procession that
welcomed their King's return.
There was much, very much, in their favor.
Just one thing they lacked. But it was enough
to prevent their entering in. God help us all to
make sure of ' ' that one thing needful ! "
II. THE DIFFERENCE.
What then was the difference between these
two classes of virgins ? What was the secret of
failure on the part of the foolish ones ?
1. Five were wise and five were foolish. It is not
enough for us to be earnest and well meaning.
God expects us also to be intelligent, instructed,
and wise. "Be ye not unwise, but understanding
what the will of the Lord is.'' " See that ye walk
circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming
the time, because the days are evil."
It will be no excuse for us in the day of His
coming that we did not know what He expected of
us. He has given us full instructions, and to neg
lect His word is evidence of guilty and careless
disobedience. How many are defaulting in their life and ser
vice because they do not even understand the truth
about their Master's coming, and. the Bible is to
them a sealed book. God make us wise !

42 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
2. The foolish virgins were impulsive, shallow,
enthusiastic, and lacking in real solid and lasting
qualities. This is indicated by the simple state-
ent, that the first thing that the foolish virgins
thought about was their lamps, and the first thing
that the wise thought about was their vessels and
the oil that filled them.
The one looked at the transient flame, the other
at the abiding source of life and light. The one
represents the present people, the other the per-
manent people with whom we are always coming
in contact. John Bunyan expresses the difference by his
two characters of Passion and Patience. The one
wanted everything now, the other wanted that
which he would have at the end.
3. But the supreme difference between the wise
and foolish virgins was the fact that the one took
their lamps only, and the others took the oil in their
vessels. This, we need hardly say, expresses these
two great facts and experiences, viz. , a Christian
life and the baptism with the Holy Ghost. The
burning lamp represents the spiritual life which
has been kindled by the Holy Ghost ; but the oil
in the vessels with the lamps represents the Holy
Ghost Himself, personally received in the consec
rated heart.
There is an infinite difference between these two

THE WISE AND FOOLISH VIRGINS. 43
facts. The apostles before Pentecost, the apostles
after Pentecost, represent this difference.
The vessel, of course, is our personality — spirit,
soul, and body, and the oil is the Holy Ghost who
comes to the yielded and obedient heart to control
it, and fill it with the fullness of God. This is the
true preparation for a life of holiness and for the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
With this we are ready to meet Him when He
appears, and although we may have but a few
moments to prepare, and may even nod and sleep
at times, we have the secret of the Lord within
us, and " we shall be found of Him in peace.''
This is the great question which God is press
ing upon His church to-day. "Have ye received
the Holy Ghost since ye believed ? " This is the
great mark of distinction between Christians and
Christians. Beloved, let us make no mistake, but
let us be filled with the Spirit and so ' ' give all dili
gence to make our calling and election sure. "
III. THE EFFECTS UPON BOTH CLASSES.
1. The wise virgins were ready, and after a few
moments of immediate preparation were received
to the marriage feast and the joy of their Lord.
2. The foolish virgins woke to find their lamps
expiring. " Give us of your oil," they cried, "for
our lamps are going out." They were not able to
supply their lamps from the vessels of the wise.

44 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
These needed all the oil they had for the great oc
casion which had come, and there was none to
spare for the lamps of the other virgins.
It is true that the Holy Ghost is indivisible, and
we cannot give part of our blessing to another. If
we have Him we have Him personally, and He can
not be separated into parts. We need all His full
ness for our own preparation. We may lead others
to Him and help them to receive Him, but they
must take Him for themselves.
3. We may receive even this blessing too late.
It would seem to be implied that the Holy Spirit
might still be secured even at the very moment of
the Lord's return, but "while they went to buy,
the bridegroom came, and they that were ready
went in, and the door was shut."
There will be doubtless many spiritual blessings
poured out upon the world immediately after the
Parousia of our blessed Master, and the translation
of His waiting Bride ; but it will be too late to
enter into the joys of the marriage, and escape the
sorrows of the great tribulation.
Time is one of the factors in every great ques
tion, and it is not only well for us to obey God's
call, but it is essential to obey it promptly. The
very essence of obedience is, "redeeming the
time,"— the very point of time; "because the days
are evil."
O beloved, let us not lose a moment before we

THE WISE AND FOOLISH VIRGINS. 45
receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost. There is
not an hour to spare. We are in solemn days, and
we are neither ready to live nor to die, nor to meet
our coming Lord, without the Holy Ghost.
There is something very suggestive in this figure
of buying. The traders in this case do not repre
sent any body of men who can sell us the Holy
Ghost; but they simply represent the Divine sources
from which we receive Him, the Divine method
which God has provided. There is a sense in which
we buy Him by making Him our own. When we
buy a thing it becomes our own property, and so
we may receive the Holy Ghost for ourselves and
claim Him as our very own.
In the early part of the parable the beautiful
original expresses the idea very strongly. "They
took their own lamps, and went forth to meet the
bridegroom." There is another sense also in which we buy.
We must give up something. We must let some
thing go before we can receive the Holy Ghost.
Indeed, we must let all go and then receive Him
in His fullness.
A few weeks ago, as we were passing out of a
large meeting, a sobbing girl was sitting near the
aisle, and asked us to pray with her. Her heart
was very heavy.
She had come to the Gethsemane of life, she
was letting go everything, and some of the things

46 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
were very dear ; but she was true to God, and
obedient to the heavenly calling.
Less than a week afterwards we were passing
away from that place, and a friend came up to greet
us and say good-bye. It was the same face, but
we scarcely knew her, it was so transfigured. The
light of heaven was shining in her beautiful coun
tenance, and the joy and glory of the Lord had
lighted up all her face. The sacrifice was past, the
resurrection morning had come, she had let all go,
and she had received Him.
There is still another sense in which we buy
this great blessing. Christ has purchased it for us,
and He says to us, "Come ye, buy and eat ! yea,
come, buy wine and milk without money, and
without price." The Holy Ghost is the purchased
privilege of every believer. Beloved, come and re
ceive Him, and receive Him at once, that you may
be prepared for the trusts of life and the great Pa
rousia. 4. The foolish virgins were excluded from the
marriage of the Lamb. All that this means we
dare not attempt to explain. That it does mean a
difference, a mighty difference between the two
classes of Christians, there can be no doubt, and
that there shall be such a difference between those
that shall meet the Master with joy, and those who
meet Him with grief ; between those who have
confidence, and those that shall be ashamed before

THE WISE AND FOOLISH VIRGINS. 47
Him at His coming — the Bible leaves us no room
to doubt. Just what shall be the peculiar privilege of
those who enter in, and the severest loss of those
who are excluded, it is presumptuous to attempt to
define in detail, but it will be loss enough, sorrow
enough,to be shut out of anything which our Master
had for us; and the soul that is willing just to be
saved and forego its crown, and a place in the
bosom of the Lord, is too ignoble almost to be
saved. God write upon our hearts the solemn
emphasis of that awful sentence, "the door was
shut ! "
5. But there was still a more solemn word, "I
know you not." They came, they came perhaps
with oil. They knocked, they begged for entrance,
but He from within only answered, "I know you
not." This as has been shown by Dean Alford is very
different from the more terrible sentence addressed
to others, "I never knew you." It is simply an
intimation that they are not in the circle of His
intimate personal friendship. He does not exclude
them from salvation, but He excludes them from
the place of the Bride, and the innermost centre of
His communion and love.
Beloved, what constitutes a bride ? It is not
wedding robes, or dowry, or surroundings. It is
the heart of love that knows her bridegroom, and

48 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
responds to his affection. It is an interior pre
paration, and this is the preparation which the Holy
Ghost is offering to-day to the children of God.
He is calling out a Bride for the Lamb. He is
saying to many a hesitating heart, "Hearken, O
daughter, and consider ; forget also thy kindred
and thy father's house ; so shall the King greatly
desire thy beauty ; for He is thy Lord, and worship
thou Him."
The Holy Ghost is bringing those who are wil
ling into a closer fellowship with Jesus, and
giving them such an acquaintance with Him that
in that day no bolts, nor bars, nor closed doors,
can keep them from the bosom of their Lord.
They know Him and are known of Him, and when
He appears, His loving smile will recognize them,
and the magnetic attraction of His presence will
draw them in a moment to His heart, and His
throne. May God make us willing to receive this blessed
preparation, and to be found ready at His coming !

CHAPTER IV.
THE PARABLE OF THE POUNDS, OR POWER
FOR SERVICE.
" Occupy till I come." Luke xix. 13.
ARCHELAUS, the son of Herod, went to Rome
to secure, by influence at the court of the
Emperor, the kingdom of Judea ; and then re
turned to enjoy his patrimony. Christ used this
familiar illustration to represent His return to the
Father to prepare the Kingdom of His Church and
future reign, and then to return to enjoy it with
His followers during the Millennial age. This is
the framework of the parable of the Pounds.
The special theme of the parable, however, is
the trust committed to His disciples during His
absence, and the resources given them to enable
them to fulfill their trust.
While the Master is representing us and caring
for our interests at God's right hand we are left
here to carry on His work, and to represent the
interests of His Kingdom ; and to enable us to
fulfill this ministry He gives us the necessary
resources. These are illustrated by the Pound, or mina,
given to each of the ten persons. This was a little 49

50 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
sum of money worth about fifteen dollars. It
represents the resources which God gives to His
servants for their work.
What are these resources as represented by the
Pounds ?
In answering this question it is necessary to
remember the difference between the parable of
the Pounds and the Talents. In the case of the
latter there was a difference in the enduement and
endowment of the servants. They had different
talents. In the case of the pound they had an equal
allowance. They cannot therefore mean the same
thing. If the talents represent our natural gifts of
wealth, social influence, or personal intelligence
and capacity, then the pound must represent the
special enduement of the Holy Ghost given to the
people of God, and the servants of Christ, to equip
them for their work.
We are taught most distinctly that spiritual
service must come from spiritual enabling. • "No
man can say that Jesus Christ is Lord except by
the Holy Ghost." No man can render any accept
able service to God through natural talent or fleshly
energy. The apostles were commended " to wait
for the promise of the Father," and were to "re
ceive power after that the Holy Ghost had come
upon them," and then to be witnesses unto Christ,
in the power of God.

THE PARABLE OF THE POUNDS. 51
There is but one Divine enabling for service, \
and that is the enabling of the Holy Ghost. There
was but one pound given to each of the servants,
and it is the one promise to every true servant of
Christ — "Ye shall be baptized with the Holy
Ghost." The same amount was given to each of the ser
vants, and the same Holy Ghost is given to all who
will receive Him. We do not receive a part of
His Person or power ; but we receive Him person
ally, and have as much of His life and strength
as we are able to take. The Holy Ghost is one and
indivisible, and there is no partiality whatever in
the opportunity which God gives to every one of
His consecrated children to serve and glorify Him.
The talents may be quite different. One may
be obscure, another may be in the blaze of pub
licity ; but the same power is given to each one,
and the same glory will redound to God through
each, no matter how different they appear in the
judgment of the world.
This blessed Pound is given to every one of His
servants. The Holy Ghost is purchased for all
who belong to Christ and will yield their lives in
surrender and obedience to the Divine Spirit. The
Apostle has given us the simple condition when
He says, "The Holy Ghost whom God hath given
to them that obey Him." The promise of Pentecost
was not restricted to a few special cases, but the

52 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
Apostle distinctly states, "The promise is unto
you, and to your children, and to all that are afar
off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call."
God does not send us warring upon our own
charges. He gives to us all that is needful for the
trust committed to us. If you should be sent by a
great commercial house to carry out a trust for
them in some distant land, you would expect them
to pay your expenses, to provide you your ticket,
to give you all necessary introductions, and to
equip you thoroughly for your important journey.
And when God sends us on His great embassy He
pledges Himself to enable us to carry it out suc
cessfully. This promise of power just means — all
we need for efficiency. It is sufficiency for effi
ciency, all personal qualifications, providential
workings, and Divine enablings that we have a
right to expect for the successful accomplishment
of the work that is given us to do.
If our work is in the secular realm, we have a
right to expect His help and success. If it is in
directly spiritual things, we have a right to expect
it there. The power is in proportion to the place.
God's provision is ample for God's trust.
Now the Holy Ghost is the equivalent of all we
need for our trust and work.
An English writer, I think Mr. Pearse, tells how
he once spoke to a poor woman in a London City
Mission, and tried to show her how Christ was the

THE PARABLE OF THE POUNDS. 53
adequate supply for all her need. She could not
understand it at first, and then he stopped and
began to ask her about her home and her circum
stances, and what she needed for her family. Then
handing her a shilling he said, " Now what would
you do with this shilling if you had it ? " She told
him that she would spend two pence for bread, and
a penny for coal, and so on until she had spent the
shilling. "So you see," he said, "that this shilling
is really not a shilling, but it is coal, and sugar,
and bread." " Now," he said, " Christ is the same.
Looking at Him in one way He is Christ, but in
another way He becomes to you peace, and joy,
and salvation, and answered prayer, providential
help and guidance, supply for all your needs,—
everything God can be to you both for time and
eternity." The illustration was very simple and
beautiful. She understood it and accepted the
Saviour, who was the equivalent of all her need.
Just in the same sense the Holy Ghost is the
equivalent of all things. Therefore in one place in
Luke He says, "How much more will your Father
in heaven give the Holy Ghost to them that ask
Him," and in another place in Matthew He says,
' ' How much more will your Father in heaven give
good things to them that ask Him." So this pound
is the equivalent of all we need for our work.
Do we need to understand the Bible ? He will
be light and Teacher. Do we need unction ? He

54 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
will give the anointing of the Holy Ghost. Do we
need faith ? He will be to you the Spirit of faith.
Do we need sympathy and love to draw souls to
Christ? He will be in us the love of God shed
abroad by the Holy Ghost. Do we need power to
convict and convert men ? He will convict the
world of sin, and righteousness, and judgment, and
will accompany our words with His effectiveness.
Do we need a power that, will co-operate in the
circumstances of life ? He will make all things
j work together for us. So the Holy Ghost is just
1 all things, and none of us is excused if ever we fail
j or come short. God has made provision for all that
we require, and He will surely expect us to be
faithful and true and to measure up to His high
calling. A Quaker lady was approached one day by a
friend who begged her to pray for her son who
was going down to destruction through the power
of drink. The Quaker lady turned to her and said,
"Sister, has thee prayed for thy son?" "Oh
yes," she said, "I pray as well as I can, but I'm
afraid my prayers arn't worth much, I want you
to pray, for I believe you know how to pray better
than I."
"Sister, has thee prayed with thy boy?" she
again asked. "Why," replied the lady, "I couldn't
pray aloud, I should be embarrassed at the sound of
my own voice. Why you don't expect me to pray

THE PARABLE OF THE POUNDS. 55
in public, do you ? I'm a woman." " Sister," said
the Quaker friend, ' ' what right has thee to be
weak, so that thee cannot pray for thy boy ? Thee
has the same Holy Ghost as I to be thy power."
" Sister, I will not pray for thy boy, till thee prays
with thy boy."
The lady went away angry like Naaman of old,
and feeling very badly used ; but like Naaman she
came to her senses a little later, and God began to
talk to her, and to make her feel that her friend
was right, and that she ought not to be powerless,
and that, perhaps, her boy was going to perdition
through her own weakness and unbelief.
There were many tears and heart searchings
and earnest prayers to God for Tightness and help,
and at length the Holy Ghost came to her. heart,
and she began to pray for her boy in faith and love.
One night he came home in a drunken stupor, and
lay down in his room, and was soon fast asleep.
But the Spirit drew that mother to his side, and
she knelt and laid her hand on his hot brow, and
began to smooth his tangled hair and pray to God
that He would touch his heart and save her boy.
Suddenly he awoke, and the Holy Ghost sobered
him in a moment. He looked up in surprise, and
cried, ' ' Mother ! you praying for me ? Oh God,
have mercy on me,'' and then he broke down in
repentance and prayer for his own soul. God heard
those united prayers, and before night was over

56 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
that boy was saved, and that mother's heart was
filled with the Holy Ghost.
" O sister, what right has thee to be weak ? " 0
brother, why should you be ineffective and power
less ? "Ye shall receive power after that the Holy
Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses
unto Me."
We have said that the Holy Ghost is given alike
to all God's servants. Why then was there such a
difference ?
There is a difference in the way that we use the
Holy Ghost. He is given to us to use Him ; and
this is the meaning of that word, " Occupy till I
come." A similar thought is expressed in the twelfth
chapter of I. Corinthians, where the apostle says,
"The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every
man to profit withal. ' ' He is given to us to profit,
to use, to invest, to exercise the Divine gift, and
thus to grow ; and as we use the Holy Ghost we
become accustomed to use Him, and we have great
boldness in the faith and work of God, and our
efficiency increases and multiplies, until the one
pound is worth ten, and the servant hands back
his trust tenfold greater than he received it. This
is the reason of the difference between men and
men. It is a difference of faithfulness. It is a
difference of diligence in improving the trust given
them. It is a very solemn thing to receive Divine

THE PARABLE OF THE POUNDS. 57
power. God invests Himself in men, and God is a
great economist of power, and is deeply grieved
when we waste His treasures, when we let His
power lie idle or sluggishly neglect the mighty
trust that has cost Him so much.
Let us use God's precious gifts. Let us be dili
gent and faithful in the exercise of spiritual things,
and, as we do, our faith will grow, our love will
increase, and our usefulness will expand until we
shall ' ' bring forth some thirty, some sixty, and
some an hundredfold. "
The word "occupy" in the original is a very
striking one. Indeed, even the English word is
quite suggestive. It implies that we do not own
our gifts, but they are simply loaned to Us, and we
use them as the gifts of another. It is not your
power. It is not your faith, but His, and He lends
to you His own Divine sufficiency for the special
service required of you, and when the service is
performed you are no stronger or wiser than be
fore. You just quietly depend upon Him for His j
own personal power for the next service and op- 1
portunity. But the word in the original has a still stronger
force. It is a word of affairs. It literally means
to be engaged in business affairs. The expression
" trading," used later in the parable, expresses the
same idea. There is the deepest emphasis in the
expression. The Holy Ghost is not restricted to

58 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
what we call spiritual things, but He is a great
business manager. He is a Spirit of practical wis
dom and power. He is an all-round Friend and He
wants to be concerned in all the affairs of our life.
Indeed, there is nothing secular, but all things that
are given to God are sacred, holy and Divine.
It isn't necessary, therefore, that you should
give up your business, and go out of the world to
\ serve Him ; but let it be God's business and then it
will always be service. God has no better oppor
tunity for glorifying Himself than to use a man in
the secular affairs of life, and be as near to him on
Monday as on Sunday, and in the workshop as in
the holy sanctuary and the secret place.
There are plenty of preachers in the world to
day, but God wants more practicers. There are
many apostles, but Christ is looking for living
epistles. There is nothing that speaks more for God than
a life spent in the blaze of the world yet lighted up
with holy and heavenly purity and power. Such
lives preach to men whether they want to hear or
not. We are living in a day when the great men of
the world are business men. The strongest men of
the nineteenth century are our railroad kings, our
bankers, the founders of our immense corporations
and commercial enterprises.
These men have gigantic intellects and far-

THE PARABLE OF THE POUNDS. 59
reaching power. Why can they not be as mighty
for God as they are for the world ? Why can they
not be as effective on the Board of Missions as they
are on the Board of Trade ? They can spend their
millions for railways and business corporations,
what is to hinder them spending their hundreds of
millions to spread the Gospel of Christ? Why
should the day not come when men of wealth and
successful enterprise shall invest not a few thou
sands, or a few hundreds of thousands, but ten,
twenty, yes, fifty millions for China, Africa and
India ?
I should not eulogize the man who should come
to me and say, " I have twenty millions I want to
spend in evangelizing Central Africa.'' I should
say to him, "You have done just right, but you
have been a long time getting at it."
When business men come to understand that
this is the nature of entire consecration, we shall
see greater things than the days of Pentecost.
Then young men will come forward and consecrate
their lives to God, and He will give them the mil
lions that belong to Him to spend as grandly for
Him as the men of the world are laying out their
treasures for commercial enterprises and gigantic
schemes of selfishness and gain. God help us to
"occupy " in these practical ways and days, with a
view to His coming !
The most encouraging facts which I know to-

60 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
day are just such facts as I have spoken of. There
are men in this country who are carrying on great
commercial enterprises for the exclusive purpose of
devoting the proceeds on a magnificent scale to the
evangelizing of the world, and the giving of the
Gospel to all nations.
" Occupy till I come." The object of the Holy
Ghost and the object of the consecrated believer
must always have direct reference to the Lord's
personal return.
The business of the Holy Spirit is to prepare
Christ's people and the world for His second com
ing. First, this will be done by the spiritual
preparation of our own hearts and lives. The Bride
must be made ready, and so the Holy Ghost is
working out to-day a wondrous work of sanctify
ing grace in the hearts of the chosen few, who are
willing to hear His call and to prepare for His re
turn. But this is not all. Our work is also to have
reference to His coming. We are to "occupy till
He come." We are to accomplish our ministry,
with direct reference to the Millennial reign of
Jesus. Our Christian work is to be shaped and
moulded by this consideration. Oh, what a differ
ence it would make in our methods of service if
we made this the standpoint and object of all our
work for God ! Then we should not have 120,000
ministers among sixty millions on this continent,

THE PARABLE OF THE POUNDS. 61
and a few hundreds among the vaster millions of
China. Oh, if the Holy Ghost had His way, how many
of us He would scatter to the uttermost parts of
the earth. I think I see Him going through Scot
land, and dismissing a thousand preachers, and
saying, "Go to India, China, and Africa."
I think I see Him entering a western town
where a dozen churches are competing for the
scanty population, and trying to establish their
separate sects, and saying, " Shut up three-fourths
of these places and send the men to the neglected
and destitute fields where no voice speaks of Me."
How much of our Christian work is standing in
the way of Christ's will! How much of our best
service, is not the service of the Holy Ghost, and
is not occupying till He come !
How long we have delayed Him even by doing
good, and not doing it in His way!
But we can be looking for His coming even in
our business.
It is very beautiful to notice in the picture
given of Christ's return and the translation of His
waiting people, they are found occupied in their
callings. It is night in one part of the world, and
"two are in one bed," and "one is taken, and the
other is left." It is all right to be in bed when
Christ comes, if it is night, far better be there than
in sin. It is early morning in another place, and

62 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
" two women are grinding at the mill." One of
them is getting her husband's breakfast ready. It
is quite right to be found there, and so she is taken
right up from her secular occupation. It is midday
in another land, and two are in one field working
at their harvest. It is all right to be there too, if
the work is done for God. There is no need to
hurry home and change their clothes. There is no
need to go and fix up things. They are " found
of Him in peace, without spot and blameless." And
so this toiling farmer is taken right up to be with
God and meet his Lord in the air, and to sit down
with the wedding robe at the marriage supper of
. the Lamb.
How beautiful to know that all that is done for
God is sacred. How sweet the old story of the New
England Legislature, when the storm came on and
some of the members thought that the day of
judgment had come, and one of them anxiously
moved that the house adjourn. An old Puritan
sprang to his feet, and said, ' ' Mr. Speaker, if the
day of judgment has not come, there is no need for
this unbecoming haste, and if it has come, I, for
one, prefer to be found at my post. I move that the
house do not adjourn."
Thus let us " occupy " and be occupied with the
Master's work, and for His glory and His approval.
Finally, when He comes there will be a just
award. The servant that has faithfully used his

THE PARABLE OF THE POUNDS. 63
enduement of power receives the Master's com
mendation, and is promoted to higher service. I
am so glad that the coming of Christ is not going
to end our work. I should not want to meet Him
if I had to give up working for the Master. Thank
God, we shall have higher service through the
eternal years. " Be thou ruler over ten cities."
Oh, how much greater is the recompense than
the service ! A city for a pound ; ten cities instead
of a hundred and fifty dollars !
All our service here is but a training for that
higher ministry. How touching to hear the Mas-
t&v say, " Thou hast been faithful over a very
little. " The man that had gained ten pounds had
done "a very little." The highest service we do
for God on earth, is but "a very little." We are
simply playing service, or rather going to school
at it. We are taking lessons in true ministry.
The best we do is but childish and trifling, but it
is preparing us for the grand service of the ages to
come, when with our Lord Himself, endued with
His wisdom, power, and glory, we shall be co
workers, perhaps, amid yonder constellations, or
on this green earth, to restore it to the beauties
and glories of Paradise again, and rear the eternal
temple for which He is now preparing the precious
stones. The Master does not say that they have been
successful, but He recognizes them as having been

64 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
"faithful." God help us at least to be faithful !
The reward will be in proportion to the fidelity
of the servant. The servant that had gained ten
fold was rewarded tenfold, and the servant that
had increased his investment fivefold received only
in proportion. Beloved, we are laying up our
treasures. We are carving our eternal destiny.
We are preparing our immortal crown. Oh, how
the days are telling ! God help us to be true !
But alas ! for the servant who came with his
pound wrapped up in a napkin. It was nicely kept.
It was a clean napkin, perhaps a costly one. He
had taken good care of his salvation. He had
nursed his blessing, and he gave it back as good as
he got it. But was the Master pleased ? Alas,
alas, for such a servant! "Take from him the
pound, and give it unto him that hath ten pounds."
He was not lost. He was not destroyed, as the
"enemies" of the Master were. He was deprived.
He had some place in the kingdom, but he was for
ever conscious of an opportunity lost, and a life
that never would come again.
Beloved, we may save our souls, but lose our
lives. We may gain an entrance into heaven, but
lose our everlasting crown. God help us to be our
best !
Not easily shall that crown be won by any.
Even the great apostle did not think rashly of his
reward, but straining every nerve and reaching

THE PARABLE OF THE POUNDS. 65
forth unto those things that were before as one
that had not yet attained, he used this intense
language, "If by any manner of means I might
attain unto the resurrection from among the dead."
So let us so run that we may obtain.
Beloved, we have an eternity before us. We
have an unfading crown to win or lose. We have
a life in which to win it. And we have the infinite
Holy Ghost to enable us for this mighty competi
tion, for this glorious prize, for this Divine trust.
God help us to be true !

CHAPTER V-
THE HOLY GHOST IN THE GOSPEL OF
JOHN.
" In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and
cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink."
" He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of
his belly shall flow rivers of living water."
" ' But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believeth
on Him should receive ; for the Holy Ghost was not yet given.
because that Jesus was not yet glorified.' " John vii. 37 -39.
IN the first seven chapters of the Gospel of John,
we have a very striking progressive unfolding
of the doctrine of the Holy Ghost, first, in
abstract statements of truth, and then, illustrated
in a very significant and beautiful miracle.
I.
First, we have the Holy Spirit in relation to the
Lord Jesus. In John i. 32, we see the Spirit de
scending from heaven like a Dove, and abiding
upon Him. And in John iii. 34, we are further
told that God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto
Him. Up to this time all men had received the Spirit
by measure, that is, they received some of His
gifts, influences, and power. But Christ received
66

THE HOLY GHOST IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN. 67
the Spirit Himself in His personal presence and
immeasurable fullness, and since then the Spirit
has resided in the world in His boundless and in
finite attributes.
Christ first received Him as a pattern for His
followers, and then gave Him forth to them from
His own very heart, as the Spirit which had resided
in Him, and which comes to us softened by His
humanity and witnessing to His person.
Therefore we read in the next place not only of
Christ receiving the Spirit, but of Christ giving the
Spirit. In John i. 33, the great forerunner says of
Him, "The same is He which baptizeth with the
Holy Ghost." It is Christ that baptizeth with the
Holy Ghost. It is through Him we receive the
Spirit. It is He who "hath shed forth," as the
apostle Peter says, the power from on high, and
the Spirit of Pentecost.
This is the peculiarity of the Holy Ghost as He
comes to us in the New Testament age. He comes
not only from the Father, but especially from the
Son, and through the Son, and He comes to us as
the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ.
II.
We next see the Holy Ghost in relation to the
believer. First, He is presented to us as the Spirit
of regeneration. In John iii. verses 5 and C, Christ
says, "Except a man be born of water and of the

68 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, that which
is born of the Spirit is Spirit."
The very first experience of the Christian life is
to receive the new heart from the Holy Ghost.
The natural man is unable even to see the Kingdom
of God, and powerless to enter.
The Holy Ghost creates in us a new life, and a
new set of spiritual senses altogether, through
which we discern, understand, and enter into the
life of God and the spiritual realm. "As many as
received Him, to them He gave 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." Next, we see the Holy Ghost in His deeper, and
personal indwelling in the heart. In John iv. 14,
Christ said to the woman of Samaria, " The water
that I shall give him shall be in him a well of
water springing up unto everlasting life." This is
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It is much
more than regeneration. It is the personal incom
ing of the Spirit Himself, bringing not a cup of
water, but a well of water, and establishing in the
heart the fountain of life, so that we are henceforth
dependant not upon each other, but only upon God,
for the source of our life.
Again in John vii. 37, we have a still stronger

THE HOLY GHOST IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN. 69
expression to describe the interior life of the Holy
Ghost in th^ heart ; "If any man thirst, let him
come unto Me, and drink." Drinking of the Spirit
is more than receiving the Spirit. It is possible
for us to receive the Spirit and have Him, and yet
not use Him or drink from the flowing fountains
as abundantly as we might.
The Apostle in I. Cor. xii. 13, uses the same
figures where he says, "By one Spirit are ye all
baptized into one body, . . . and have been all
made to drink into one Spirit." To use the old fig
ure, it is the bottle in the ocean and the ocean in
the bottle. It is possible for us to be in the Spirit
and yet not be receiving the Spirit as fully as we
need. Drinking is the habit of faith, an exercise
of our spiritual senses which constantly renews
and quickens our spiritual life, refreshing us and
filling us so that we are glad to pour out our full
vessel in service for others.
Then this receiving of the Spirit needs on our
part as well as on Christ's, the using and giving
forth of the Holy Ghost to others. And so we read
in the next verse, "He that believeth on Me, as the
Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers
of living water. This spake He of the Spirit,
which they that believe on Him should receive."
This is the outflow of the spiritual life. This is the
evidence that we are filled, because we cannot hold
it longer and now occupy ourselves in imparting

70 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
the blessing to others. Like Ezekiel's river, it is
flowing not in, but out, pouring in^streams of
blessing through the dry and desert places of life.
As soon as our life becomes positive, unselfish,
and outflowing, it becomes unspeakably magni
fied, so that what was a well, in the heart, has
grown to rivers of blessing in the life devoted to
God, and expended in blessing the world.
The river suggests the idea of fullness, magni
tude, and abundance. Spontaneous, free, and
overflowing, it does not need to be pumped but
flows itself for very fullness. It is the service of
a glad, unselfish and loving heart.
God does not want anything that has to be
pressed from an unwilling giver. The prayer that
is offered God from a sense of duty, the work that
is done just because we have to do it, the word that
is spoken because we are expected to be ministers
and to be consistent with our profession, is dead,
cold, and comparatively worthless. True service
springs from a full and joyful heart and runs over
like the broad and boundless river. Like the river,
too, it runs downward into the lowest places and
aims to reach the saddest, hardest, and most hope
less cases. And like the river, it is a perennial and
everflowing spring, running on amid the changing
scenes around it, flowing through the whole course
of life, and saying, like the beautiful streamlet ae
it glides along, " Men may come, and men may go,
but I go on forever."

THE HOLY GHOST IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN. 71
This is the power of the Holy Ghost. It makes
us simple, sweet, exuberant, fullhearted, and en
thusiastic for God and our work, and our words are
the overflow of a life so deep and full that it brings
its own witness, and it makes others long for the
blessing that shines in our faces, and speaks in our
voices, and springs in our glad and buoyant steps.
And it is not merely a river, but rivers. It runs
wherever it can find a channel, and blesses every
life that it touches on its way. Is God thus using
us, and has He thus filled us with the Holy Ghost
until the fullness overflows ?
It is not necessary that we should be always
preaching. Indeed, sometimes we are looking too
far off for the service that God expects of us.
Just at hand we might often find the opening and
the channel which would bring blessing to some
heart that God has brought into our life to prepare
us for future blessing to a wider circle.
An anxious, earnest Christian woman was cry
ing to God for service, and wondering why she was
tied up in her home, and unable, like other women
to go out and reach a broader sphere. Her bright
little girl was playing beside her, and calling in
vain to the preoccupied mother to help her with
her little doll which had lost a finger or a garment,
and which to her was the central object of life.
Again and again she came to the mother with
her little trouble, and the mother, fretted and

72 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
worried with her own spiritual need, pushed her
off, and, at length, rather harshly sent her away,
and told her not to bother her, as she was busy
about higher things.
Wearied and disappointed the little one went off
alone into a corner, and sat down with her little
broken doll, and cried herself to sleep.
A while after that mother turned around and
saw the little rosy cheeks covered with tears, and
the little wrecked doll lying in her bosom, and then
God spake to her, and said, ' ' My child, in seeking
some higher services for Me, you have broken a
little heart of Mine. You wanted to do something
for Me. That little child was the messenger I sent,
and that little service was the test I gave you. He
that is faithful in that which is least is faithful
also in more, and he that is unfaithful in the least
is unfit for the greater. "
The mother learned her lesson. She picked up
the little lambkin in her arms, and kissed her
awake ; and then she asked God and her baby to
forgive her, and began from that hour to pour out
the love of Christ on every object that came in her
way. As she became faithful to do the things
nearest at hand, God widened her sphere until the
day came when standing among her sisters, leading
them on to higher service, and speaking to hun
dreds and thousands of her fellow workers she
told the story of her experience, and the lesson by

THE HOLY GHOST IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN. 73
which she learned that God does not need our great
service, but simply that we should meet Him in
the things that He brings to us, and that we should
everywhere be channels of blessing and love.
So let our lives be filled, and then emptied
throughout the channels around us. Let us come
to Him, and drink and drink again, and yet again,
until our hearts are so full that we shall go out to
find the sad, sinning, and the suffering/ and com
fort them with the comfort wherewith we ourselves
are comforted of God.
This was the story of the Master. This must be
the story of the disciple. We receive that we may
give, and only as we give shall we continue to
receive; and the more abundantly we impart, the
more richly shall we be filled with all the fullness
of God. III.
Let us now look at a beautiful object lesson
of this double truth in the second chapter of this
blessed Gospel. It is the miracle of Cana of Gali
lee. The evangelist tells us that this was the first
of Christ's miracles, and it must have had a special
significance. He also tells us that it was a miracle
which manifested forth His glory, and this un
doubtedly suggests to us that there was some deep
lesson back of this miracle which made it worthy
to occupy a place right in the beginning of the

(4 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
deeply spiritual teaching of this wonderful gospel.
Indeed, it is a kind of parable and symbol of the
whole truth which we have been endeavoring to
unfold from the direct teaching of the Lord Jesus
Christ in the passages which we have quoted.
1. We see the failure of our natural life, joy
and love in the exhausting of Cana's wine. Beau
tiful, indeed, is the bridal scene with its fair and
fragrant blossoms, the freshness and beauty of
youth, the vigor and nobility of young manhood,
the sympathy of innumerable friends, and the
bright and sunny hopes and prospects of future
happiness. But oh, how soon the vision fails!
How quickly the goblet of pleasure is drained, and
how often the serpent is left in the dregs, and all
that remains is a memory more bitter because of
the joy that has turned to sadness!
Alas for life, if this were all. But it is just when
the natural fails that the Divine begins. It is just
when the old creation dies that the new creation
rises. It is just when Cana's wine is exhausted
that Jesus of Nazareth appears. And now we see
in this exquisite miracle the very truths we have
been endeavoring to unfold.
2. Next we have the filling of the vessels. The
Master's command is, "Fill the waterpots with
water to the brim." They were just earthen ves
sels, waterpots for ordinary use, but they were
empty and clean, and all that was necessary was

THE HOLY GHOST IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN. 75
to fill them with pure water. They represent these
vessels of our human lives, earthen vessels, but if
they are empty vessels and offered to the Master,
and if they are filled to the brim with the Holy
Ghost, of which water is ever the type, then some
thing will surely come to pass.
They must be full to the brim. A whole heart
must receive a whole Christ. The Holy Ghost
does not take us by halves, nor will He give Him
self by halves. It is the fullness which makes the
overflow. 3. Next comes the other and nobler side of the
miracle. The filling is the smallest part. What
next? "'Draw out now, and bear to the governor
of the feast." Begin to use the water, and lo ! it
becomes wine.
Oh, how clear and plain the lesson ! It is blessed
to receive the Holy Ghost, but it is more blessed to
impart Him. And the only way you will know
that you have received Him, is by beginning to
give Him. You must go forward like them in
faith, and draw out before you see the miracle ;
but as you bear it to the guests, lo, it becomes
wine, and it rises to a higher quality. Both are
types of the Holy Ghost, but the wine is the higher.
The water speaks of cleansing and fullness, but
the wine tells of joy, and love, and life Divine.
When we are receiving the Holy Ghost we are
only cold water Christians, but when we are pour-

76 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
ing forth His fullness in holy service we are drink
ing of the heavenly wine, and we are made par
takers of the Master's own Divine and ineffable
joy- it is exactly the same idea expressed later in
the rivers of living water, running out, and run
ning over ; but it is more than the river. It is
the joy and the gladness that turns all life into a
marriage feast, and a joyful song. And even the
world itself is forced to admit, like the ruler of
Cana's wedding, that the best wine has come last.
Oh, that we might so live and so minister that
men would recognize even as he, the higher quali
ties and value of the blessing that He brings ! All
around us are hearts and lives where the wine of
the earth has failed, God help us to bring them the
heavenly cup, and the Divine life of the Lord Jesus
Christ, until this poor starving world shall recog
nize that we have got something better than they,
and shall be made hungry by our benignant faces
and our overflowing ioy.
Now, in conclusion, now are we to receive this
blessing ? Let us hearken to the message of Mary.
"Whatsoever He saith unto thee, do it." It comes
to us through some step of obedience to the Master
Himself. He will show you the way and as you
obey Him step by step, you will enter into the joy
of your Lord. He will interpret every experience,
and more than realize every anticipation.

THE HOLY GHOST IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN. 77
But next, you must not forget the other com
mand, "Fill the waterpots with water, fill them to
the brim." Leave no vacant place in the soul.
Hold back no part of your life from Him. Yield a
whole heart, and fill it with a whole Christ.
And then finally, above all else, go forward and
use the gift of His love. " Draw out, and bear to
the governor of the feast."
Take the life that He has given and use it to
comfort the sorrowing, save the lost, help the dis
couraged, and minister in the name and grace of
your blessed Master; and as you go forth, the Holy
Ghost will go before you, and will work through
you, and lead you on from strength to strength,
and will multiply you one hundred fold, until like
Ezekiel's vision, the trickling streamlet will be
come "water to the ankles," "water to the knees"
"water to the loins," "water over head, a river
to swim in," a torrent of blessing and of power,!
with the trees of life on either shore, the leaves!
of healing and the gladness and the glory of Para- 1
dise restored all along your way.

CHAPTER VI.
THE COMFORTER.
John xiv. -xvi.
" And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another
Comforter, that He may abide with you forever." John xiv. 16.

T

HESE three chapters contain Christ's deepest
teachings concerning the Holy Ghost.
I.
THE NAME, THE COMFORTER.
This is not a very happy translation. The Greek
word is Paraclete, and it literally means a God at
hand, One by our side, One that we can call upon
in every emergency. The Latin word, Advocate,
has the same meaning. One that we call upon,
or call to us One ever within call. In this con
nection the Holy Ghost is represented to us as the
present and all sufficient God.
Of course, there is comfort, infinite comfort in
all this, but the primary idea is not so much spiri
tual enjoyment, as practical efficiency and suffi
ciency for every occasion and emergency that
arises. This is just what the Holy Ghost is,— God for
everything. God at hand under all circumstances
7S

THE COMFORTER. 79
and equal to all demands. Oh, what comfort this
brings to our oppressed and struggling life ! A
God able to make all grace abound to us ; so that
we always having all- sufficiency in all things, may
abound unto every good work.
II.
THE MODE OF HIS PRESENCE.
He shall be in you. "He dwelleth with you,
and shall be in you. " The presence of God through
the Old Testament, and even during the ministry
of Christ, was a presence with men ; but in the
New Testament dispensation, and after the com
ing of the Holy Ghost, it was to be a presence in
men. The Holy Ghost was to become corporately
united and identified with the life of the believer,
so that He would bring us into direct personal
union, and act not upon us, but in us and through
us, becoming part of our very life, and controlling
every faculty, volition, and power, from the in
most depths of our being. This is the difference
between the two classes of Christians we find to
day ; those who have God with them, and those
who have Him in them.
It may not be possible to explain it. It cer
tainly is impossible to make spiritual mysteries
plain to any that have not experienced them. It is
difficult to explain how the sunshine enters into

80 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
the midst of the flower and mauUeists itself in all
the living beauties and tints of the blossom ; how
the water saturates the ground and comes forth
again in the leaf, and laden fruit; how the influence
and image and personality of a friend becomes a
part of our very being, until we think as he
thinks, and act under his influence. These are
but distant approximations to the blessed mystery
that the Holy Ghost as a Person enters into the
life and being of a consecrated disciple and con
trols every choice, affection, thought and action,.
and fulfills His own promise, "I will dwell in you
and walk in you," " And I will put My Spirit with
in you, and I will cause you to walk in My stat
utes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do
them." III.
THE DURATION OF THIS ABIDING.
" He shall abide with you forever."
The Holy Ghost comes to stay. He seals the
heart unto the day of redemption. He takes pos
session of it to depart no more. We may grieve
Him, we may lose the consciousness of His ap
proval ; but He has loved us with an everlasting
love, and we are kept by His power through faith
unto salvation.
There are some who tell us that the Holy Ghost
will leave the world at the coming of Christ. This

THE COMFORTER. 81
is not the promise of the Master. " He shall abide
with you forever." Even when Jesus comes, He
will still remain. For through those dark tribu
lation days there will be souls on earth that need
His consolation, His keeping a»d His help, and He
will linger with them through the darkness, and
then through the Millennial age He will co-operate
with Christ as He did during the days of His
earthly ministry in bringing this world into har
mony with the will of God, and establishing the
dominion of righteousness throughout the utmost
limits of the creation.
We do not dishonor the work of the Spirit
when we pray for Christ to come. The grandest
theatre of His work will be in these Millennial
days for which we are looking forward with long
ing and prayer. IV.
HIS RELATION TO JESUS CHRIST.
"Whom the Father will send in My name,"
that is, in My character, to represent Me. He will
be "another Comforter." He is to correspond in
His relation to us to what Christ was. But He is
to be a substitute for Christ, a successor to Christ,
and, indeed, more to us than Christ could continue
to be. "It is expedient for you that I go away : for
if I go not away, the Comforter will not come ;
but if I depart, I will send Him unto you."

82 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
Oh, how precious His presence must be, if it can
be more than Christ's presence was ! Can we con
ceive how much Jesus was to these disciples?
More than a mother to her child, more than a
shepherd to his flock, more than a guide through
the pathless desert, more than a pilot on the track
less ocean.
They had leaned upon Him, lived upon Him,
and were utterly dependent upon Him for every
thing, and yet He says, " It is better for you that
I go, for One will come that will be more to you
than I have been in all these relationships.
Beloved, is the Comforter more to us than Jesus
was to His Galilean followers ? Ah, then how
much more you have to learn of His intimacy and
His ministry. Is He to you the Counsellor and
Companion of every moment, the Leader and the
Guide of every step, the Teacher of all you know,
the Substance of all you believe, the Source of all
your strength and joy and life ? This He wants to
be. Christ could only be present in one place ; but
He can be everywhere. Christ spoke to them from
outside their natures, He from within. Christ was
to a certain extent a physical presence, but He a
spiritual, that enters into the deepest life of our
being, blends with every consciousness and every
thought and every capacity and feeling.
Was He to so supersede and substitute Christ as
to displace Him ? Not at all. On the contrary He

THE COMFORTER. 83
was to make Christ more real than He had ever
been. Here is the great mistake that many are
liable to make in their zeal for the honor of the
Holy Ghost. They represent Christ as far away, at
the right hand of God, and they think they honor
. the Spirit when they exclude the personal presence
of the Master.
This was not the way the Saviour taught, and
this is not the way the Spirit comes. Nay, listen,
"He shall testify of Me, He shall not speak of
Himself." " I will not leave you comfortless, I will
come to you." "At that day ye shall know that I
am in the Father, and ye in Me, and I in you."
" If a man love Me, I will manifest Myself to him.
My Father will love him, and We shall make our
abode with him."
It is not possible to read these verses and not
see that the personal and conscious presence of
Jesus Christ is to be ever with His people through
the ministry of the Comforter.
Indeed, the great business of the Holy Ghost is
to stand behind the scenes and make Jesus real.
Just as the telescope reveals not itself, but the
stars beyond, so Christ is revealed by the blessed
Spirit as the medium of our spiritual vision.
Just as the atmosphere can bring yonder sun
down until he is nearer to us here than if we went
up into the air to meet him, so the Holy Ghost,
God's Divine medium for the revelation of spirit-

84 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
ual realities, brings Christ from the throne, until
distance is annihilated and space has no power to
divide. Surely, if a human telephone or telegraph can
sweep at a flash or by a wave of sound across in
tervening space and bring the distant near, it is
not hard for the Divine Author of light and life,
and all creation, to open a line of communication
from earth to heaven, so that we may dwell in the
heavenlies, and the living realities of that world
shall be within whispering distance of our quick
ened souls.
It is even so. Through the telephone of prayer
we may catph the very voice of our absent Master,
and be conscious of the heart-throbs of His love,
and even go on into the presence of the spirits of
the just made perfect, and almost hear the songs
that echo around the throne.
Yes, He is with us still, " all the days even
unto the end of the age." The presence of the
Comforter but makes Him nearer and dearer, and
enables us to realize and know that we are in Him,
and He in us. V.
THE SPIRIT AS A TEACHER.
Not only does He reveal the person of Christ,
but He reveals the truth which Christ only began
to teach. "He will guide you into all truth, He

THE COMFORTER. 85
will teach you all things." "I have many things
to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now,
howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come He
will guide you into all truth ; for He shall not
speak of His own knowledge ; but that which He
shall hear He shall speak. "
And so the Holy Ghost, the Author of the Scrip
tures, is the Illuminator and Teacher of the Word.
He makes the truth clear, intelligible, and intense
ly real. Just as you have seen on some great occasion
the metal frames where some grand illumination
was to take place; and it seemed to you in the
light of day that the forms of men and the figures
of crowns and stars and processions could be dim
ly traced in that network of leaden pipes erected
above the triumphal arch, but it was dull and dim
to you and made no impression upon your senses
or your mind. But wait till evening, till the sun
goes down, and a flash of light bursts over that
dead framework, lo ! in a moment it is lighted up,
and you see the figure of the military hero, the
glowing crown with its many colored jewels, the
procession of living human forms and all the pa
geant of a grand triumph. The light has done it
all. '
And so this Holy Book needs to be lighted up
by the Holy Ghost, and then we do not read the
Bible from a sense of duty ; it speaks to us as the

86 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
living message from our Master, the love letter of
our Bridegroom's heart.
Then how gentle and patient the Holy Ghost is
in teaching us. He will guide you into all truth.
He knows how fast we can go, and He does not
cram us : but He suits the word to the action, and
the action to the word, and fits His teaching into
the framework of our lives, making truth real day
by day, "line upon line, precept upon precept,
here a little and there a little," until He has led us
on to the graduating class and fitted us for the
maturer tasks of the school of faith.
How much He left to be revealed in the later
epistles and the Apocalypse that they could not
then endure, and how much truth He keeps back
from us, until we are ready not only to understand
it but fully to obey it and translate it into the liv
ing characters of our experience. VI.
THE HOLY GHOST AS A REMINDER OF TRUTH.
" He shall bring all things to your remembrance
whatsoever I have said unto you."
Not only does He teach us, but He quickens our
intellect to remember and to learn. He is the
Author and the Illuminator of the mind, and He
is the Spirit of suggestion.
He knows how to bring back forgotten truths
in the moment of need. He knows how to suggest

THE COMFORTER. 87
the promise in the time of depression. He knows
how to say, "It is written," and put in our hand
the sword of the Spirit when the adversary's wiles
are trying and perplexing us.
He knows how to ' ' waken our ear, morning by
morning, to hear as one that's been instructed,
that we might know how to speak a word in
season to Him that is weary." He knows how to
give the appropriate message for the fitting time,
and then to bless it and send it home with lasting
power. Let us trust Him to guide us, to speak through
us, triumph through us, and to be our monitor and
mother until all the mazes of life shall have been
passed. VII.
THE HOLY SPIRIT AS THE SPIRIT OF POWER FOR
SERVICE.
" He will convict the world of sin, and of right
eousness, and of judgment." We can rebuke the
world but He alone can convict it.
He can make our expression, our words, our
actions, awaken in the hearts of men a sense of
sin, and a realization of eternity.
He can bring the message to the conscience and
press the will to the great decision, and make our
words vehicles for His power. Then He alone can
convict of righteousness, and so reveal Christ that

88 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
it shall not be merely reformation and self -impro
vement, but true repentance, faith, and reliance
upon the finished work of Jesus Christ. He can
convict the world of judgment. He can pass sen
tence of death on self, sin, and the world, and sep
arate men from this present evil world for the
kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He can take men out of the power of the prince
of this world, and introduce them into the king
dom of God's dear Son. He can give victory over
Satan and finish the work which He begins.
Oh, how helpless all our work without Him !
Oh, how He waits to show us the great things that
He is willing yet to do, not only for us but for the
world ! VIII.
Finally, He is the Spirit of hope, and promise
and realization of the future. He will show you
things to come.
Oh, how this promise was to be fulfilled in the
later teachings of the Epistles and the Apocalypse
concerning the blessed hope of the Lord's coming,
and the same Spirit that has given the light of
prophecy can give the light of interpretation and
the life of faith and living hope.
He alone can make these things real to us; He
alone can centre our hopes and hearts in the blessed
hope of Christ's coming, and the throne of His As
cension.

THE COMFORTER. 89
It is not enough merely to know that Christ is
coming, and to desire it, but it is a great crisis
in the life of a soul when it becomes truly centred
there, when the source of attraction is removed
from the earth to the heavens, and when it learns
to live under the power of the world to come. It
is one thing to be lifting up the world from the
earth side, it is another thing to be drawing up the
world from the heaven side.
It is one thing to be a man on the earth living
for the glory, it is another thing to be a man in
the glory living for the world. We must be taken
out of the world first, and then sent back into it,
to be any blessing to it.
The reason that Christ knew how to live was
because He did not belong here. The Father had
sent Him from heaven, and we must be sent from
heaven too, and work on earth as men that dwell
in heaven. 0 may the Spirit so show us things to
come that we shall have our centre in the throne
of our ascended Lord, and with Him see and live
and work to save the world in which, for a little
while, we sojourn.

CHAPTER VII.
WAITING FOR THE SPIRIT.
" Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with
power from on High." "Wait," saith He, "for the promise of
the Father, which ye have heard of Me." "And when the day
of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one
place." THESE three passages all suggest a single and
very definite thought, — waiting on God for
the filling of the Holy Ghost.
The law of time is an important factor both in
nature and in grace.
There are some operations which are instanta
neous, but there are many more that require the
lapse of time and the process of development. The
principle of vegetation is gradual, unfolding first
the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn
in the ear.
Winter is as needful as Spring to fertilize the
ground, and the seed must lie silent in the soil
until it germinates and springs into the blade and
the blossom.
And so in the spiritual world, there is a place
for waiting. God's work of creation was not in
stantaneous but successive. The promise of the
coming Redeemer waited for four thousand years.

WAITING FOR THE SPIRIT. 91
Abraham waited for the fulfillment of the prom
ise of his son. Moses waited forty years before he
could go forth to the great work of His life.
Jesus waited for thirty years to begin His public
ministry. The promises of God are for those that wait
for Him ; and the spiritual life, in some respects
while it is instantaneous in its operations, in others
is progressive. There is a moment when we defi
nitely receive the Holy Ghost ; but there is a pre
paration for His coming, and a waiting for His full
ness for us just as much as for them.
Doubtless there is a sense in which they waited,
which cannot be true of us. For them the Holy
Ghost was not yet sent from heaven. The day of
Pentecost was the moment of His arrival on earth.
Up to that moment He had resided in the person
of Jesus, now He was to reside in his Body, the
church, and the earth was to be His home. In
that sense we cannot wait for the coming of the
Comforter ; for He has come and He is here.
But even if the Holy Ghost had come to earth
already that very same command would still have
been given to the disciples to wait in the upper
room. There was a preparation on their part just
as necessary as the Spirit's coming from heaven to
earth. And there is a preparation on our part just
as necessary still.
It is important, however, that we understand

92 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
the true nature of this waiting. It is not waiting
for the Lord but it is waiting on the Lord. It is
not looking forward to a distant blessing, but it is
continuing in the attitude of receiving and claim
ing the blessing, and giving time for the Holy
Spirit to fill the waiting heart will all His fullness.
It is more than expectation of a future blessing.
It is rather accepting a present blessing, and yet a
blessing so large and full, that it cannot be taken
by us in all its completeness in a moment of time,
but requires the opening of every vessel of our
being, and the continuance of our heart in the at
titude of receiving.
The Master is calling us as well as calling them
to these seasons of waiting, and there are deep
reasons in the principles that underlie all Christian
experience, which will show the importance and
necessity of our thus waiting on the Lord.
I.
This season of waiting on the Lord was fitted
and designed to mark a great transition in their
lives, an epoch of spiritual new departure, an era
of the chronology of the heart. God wants His
people to have such epochs and such eras.
As we read the records of geology we find that
the surface of our globe has been formed by suc
cessive layers between which can be traced succes
sive breaks. There is a stratum of rock, and then

WAITING FOR THE SPIRIT. 93
there is a stratum of wreck and conglomerate
masses between the layers of previous strata.
It is so in spiritual life. These days of waiting
lead us to new planes and new advances. Some
times it is very desirable that there should be a
complete break, that we may get out of the old
ruts, and be free to take a higher place, and make
a bolder advance.
In music one of the most effective things is
the emphatic pause. The word "Selah" in the
book of Psalms expresses this pause, and in order
to the effectiveness of such a pause it cannot be too
complete a silence. Then the chorus which follows
has a double emphasis.
And so the Holy Ghost has given us our Selahs
in the chorus of spiritual life, emphatic pauses
when God wants us to be still and listen to Him,
and break away from old ideas and measures, and
reach out into the larger fullness of His thought
and will. II.
This time of waiting on God was also necessary
in order to teach them the greatest lesson of the
Christian life— to cease from themselves. The
greatest danger about these men was not in what
they might fail to do, but in what they might try
to do. The greatest harm that we can do is the at

94 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
tempt to do anything at all when we are not pre
pared, and when we do hot understand our Mas
ter's will. Suppose a regiment of soldiers should
start off without their captain's orders, or their
necessary equipment of artillery, the next attempt
of the army would be rendered more hopeless by
their rash exposure and needless failure.
And so the Master wants to keep us from doing
anything until we are prepared to go forth in His
strength and victory. Our hardest lesson to learn
is to unlearn, and to know our utter helplessness
and wretchedness.
The deepest experience into which they had to
enter was self-crucifixion, and crucifixion is the
death not only of the evil self, but of the strong
and self-sufficient self.
Peter had not yet learned to be still, for before
these waiting days were over we find him rushing
again to the front, and proposing the election of a
new disciple without the Divine direction or recog
nition. The best that can be said of his work is that it
did no harm if it did no good, for God never after
wards seems to have recognized the apostle that
Peter led the brethren to choose, but in His own
time He called His own apostle.
And so it was necessary that these days should
be spent in waiting and learning to be silent, and
forming the habit of the suspension of our own ac-

WAITING FOR THE SPIRIT. 95
tivity and the dependence of our will entirely upon
the direction of the Holy Ghost.
There are times when the most masterly thing
we can exercise is inactivity, and there are times
when the most mischievous thing we can do is to
do anything at all.
That is a most instructive story that is told of
the nervous passenger on board a vessel in a dan
gerous storm, who was running about the deck in
every direction, and asking the captain what he
could do to save the ship from going to the bottom,
until at last the captain, more alarmed at him than
at the tempest, fearing that he should drive the
passengers into a panic, called him to his side, and
said, " Yes, you can help me immensely if you will
just hold that rope hard and firm ; and don't let it
go until I tell you ! "
He eagerly grasped the rope and held it tight
and steady until the storm was past, and then he
walked about the deck boasting that he had saved
the ship, until the captain, hearing of this, came
up; and looking at him with a twinkle in his eye,
he said, "Why, do you know the reason I gave
you that rope to hold was to keep you quiet ? the
only good you did to hold on so steadily was that
you were kept from doing any mischief."
Ah, how much mischief we do by doing our
own work ! How long it took God to teach Abra
ham to be still ! How long Abraham tried to help

96 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
God to the fulfillment of His own promise, and
then he got Sarah into his counsel, and then he
took Hagar into partnership, and out of it came
Ishmael, and out of Ishmael came nothing but
sorrow and hindrance, until, after a quarter of a
century had been spent, God quietly fulfilled His
own promise in His own way.
How long it took Moses to learn to be still !
Forty years he had to wait in the desert until all
his youngmannishness had died, and his preco
cious activity had been changed into modesty and
even timidity ; and then, when Moses shrank back
and asked God to send someone else, Moses was
small enough and still enough for God to use for
His people's deliverance.
And so when they came to the gates of deliver
ance, their first lesson was to "stand still and see
the salvation of God," to do nothing but wait for
Him, and then God stepped upon the scene, and did
the work Himself.
God cannot use us until we come to the end of
ourselves, and see our utter worthlessness, and
helplessness, and then put on His mighty strength,
and go forth, crying, "I am not sufficient even to
think anything as of myself; but my sufficiency is
of God." III.
These waiting days were necessary to enable

WAITING FOR THE SPIRIT. 97
the disciples to realize their need, their nothing
ness, their failure and their dependence upon the
Master. They had to get emptied first, before they
could get filled. Oh, how often they must have
thought, as those days went by, of the positions
they were now to [occupy, the responsibility that
was resting upon them, the charge that the Mas
ter had committed to them, and their utter inabil
ity for it all! How they must have recalled their
folly, their unbelief, their strife, their selfishness,
their fears, their defeats, and shrunk back into
nothingness, and even stood aghast at the prospect
before them, until in the very dust they cried to
Him for help and strength needed.
And so God wants us to go apart and quietly
wait upon Him, until He searches into the depths
of our being, and shows us our folly, our failures,
our need.
There is no wiser and better thing to do on the
eve of a season of blessing than to make an inven
tory, not of our riches, but of our poverty ; to
count up all the voids and vacuums and places of
insufficiency ; to make the valley full of ditches,
and then to bring to God the depths of our need for
Him to fill.
And it takes time to make this work thorough.
It takes time to burn it into our consciousness. It
takes time to make us feel it. It is one thing to
know in a general way our need and failure, it

98 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
is quite another thing to realize it, to mourn over
it, to be distressed about it, and to be filled with
sorrow and shame, and that holy zeal and revenge
upon ourselves which the apostle tells us is part
of true repentance.
In the golden stairway of the Beatitudes, the
first promise is to those that are poor in spirit; but
there is another step still deeper down on the way
to God, and that is " Blessed are they that mourn."
It is needful that we shall mourn over our poverty,
that we shall realize our need, that we shall be
deeply troubled over our spiritual wretchedness,
and that we shall come with such hunger that no
thing less than all the fullness of Christ can ever
satisfy us again.
There are some spiritual conditions that cannot
be accomplished in a moment. The breaking up
of the fallow ground takes time ; the frosts of
winter are as necessary as the rains of spring to
prepare the soil for fertility ; and God has to break
our hearts to pieces by the slow processes of His
discipline, and grind every particle to powder, and
then to mellow us, and saturate us with His blessed
Spirit, until we are open for the blessing He has to
give us. Oh, let us wait upon the Lord with
brokenness of heart, with openness of soul, with
willingness of spirit, to hear what God the Lord
will say.

/AITING FOR THE SPIRIT. 99
IV.
These days of waiting are important also that
we may listen to God's voice. We are so busy
that we cannot hear. We talk so much that we give
Him no chance to talk to us. He wants us to hear
ken to what He has to say to us. He wants us
on our faces before Him, that He may give us His
thought, His prayer, His longing; and then lead us
into His better will.
And if He keeps us waiting long, we know the
message when it comes will be worth all the delay.
"If He tarry, let us wait for Him." Only a few
times did He speak to Abraham. Only a few times
did He speak to Paul. But these were messages
that will live for ever, and their echoes have
sounded through all the years, and will resound
from the ages yet to come.
Let us wait upon God, not so much in prayer
as in hearkening. V.
God wants us to wait upon Him also that we
may realize not only our need, but His fullness
and His will for us. He wants to show us the
vision of the future as well as of the past. He
wants to open to us the treasures of His grace,
and make us know all the riches of the glory of
His inheritance in us.

100 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
He wants to lift up' our eyes northward and
southward and eastward and westward, and then
say to us, "All the land which thou seest, to thee
will I give it." He wants .to give us the vision of
the King in His beauty and the land of far dis
tances. He wants to reveal to us yet unexplored
regions of glorious advances in the life of faith.
He wants to call us to higher service, and show us
mightier resources and enablings for the work of
life. Oh, it is so sweet to wait upon the Lord and dwell
on high, to survey the mountain peaks of His
glorious grace and look out on the boundless full
ness of His promises and His power, and to hear
Him say, "Call unto Me, and I will answer thee,
and show thee " not merely the things thou hast
seen, but "great and hidden things which thou
knewest not."
This is the waiting to which He is calling us
to-day. God grant that these days before us may
bring the vision, and then the victory !
VI.
Waiting on the Lord is not only a preparation
for the Holy Spirit, but is a process of receiving
the Holy Spirit. There is a cumulative power in
waiting prayer to bring the answer and the bless
ing, breath by breath and moment by moment.
God's blessing is too vast and our capacity is too

WAITING FOR THE SPIRIT. 101
great to be filled in a moment. We must drink,
and drink, and drink again, and yet again, if we
would know all the fullness of the river of His
grace. Take an ash barrel, and begin to pour into it a
bucket of water, and your whole bucket will be
exhausted before the water has made the slightest
impression; the ashes will be as dry as at first,
and you can pour bucket after bucket, and still
the ashes be as dry as ever. It is only when the
barrel has been filled that at last you see the first
trace of the water you have been pouring in.
That ash heap was so dry that it could only be sa
turated by degrees from the bottom upwards; and
it is only when the whole body has been saturated
that the first evidence appears.
And so our hearts are so dry, that we need to
wait upon the Lord for days and days before there
is any impression. But all the while the dry ground
is filling, and the thirsty soil is absorbing, and after
the waiting is completed we shall know that it was
not in vain ; we shall realize that not one breath
of prayer was vainly spent ; we shall find that
every moment was storing up the treasures of His
grace and power in the depths of our being.
Beloved, we do not wait enough upon the Lord.
We do not spend sufficient time at the Mercy Seat.
We allow the rush and hurry of life to drive us off,
and we lose time instead of gaining it, by our
reckless haste.

102 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
Yes, that is an instructive old story about the
horseman pursued by his foes, who found his
trusted charger beginning to fail in the race, for
one of the shoes upon his feet had been detached,
and he was slipping upon the rocky path.
Suddenly the horseman dismounted at the black
smith shop, where the two ways met, and although
he could see his pursuers over yonder hill, bearing
down upon him, yet he waited long enough to shoe
his horse. He called to the blacksmith, "Be quick,"
as he threw him a coin of ten- fold value; and the
sweating workman filed and hammered and clinched
the nails, and did his work fast and well. And
when the last nail was turned, and the fugitive
leaped into his saddle, the hoofs of his pursuers
were thundering just behind him, and he heard
their shouts of triumph, as they felt they had
secured their prey.
But no! he leaped into his saddle, plunged his
spurs into his horse's haunches, and dashed away
like the lightning, because He was now prepared
for the journey.
Ah yes, he gained by losing time, and would
have lost all by going before he was prepared. Oh,
beloved, "Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until
ye be endued with power from on high." "Wait
for the promise of the Father, which ye have heard
of Him." "In quietness and confidence shall be
your strength."

WAITING FOR THE SPIRIT. 103
Without the Holy Ghost you are unequal to the
journey of life, you are unfit for the service of the
Master, you are unwarranted in attempting to
preach the gospel, or to win a soul for Christ, and
you are unprepared for the future which He is im
mediately opening to you. Oh, let us wait at His
feet, let us learn our weakness, let us realize our
nothingness, let us get emptied for His filling, and
then baptized with the Holy Ghost, or filled anew
with His utmost fullness; and we shall go forth
not to our work, but to His, and find that "He is
able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we
ask or think, according to the power that worketh
in us. To whom be glory now and forever.
Amen."

CHAPTER VIII.
POWER FROM ON HIGH.
" Ye shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon
you ; and ye shall be witnesses unto Me, both in Jerusalem
and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of
the earth." Acts. i. 8.
THE greatest need of human nature is power.
Man is weaker than all other creatures. The
tiger's cub is able to take care of itself, but
the human being spends one-third of an ordinary
lifetime before he reaches maturity.
He is the prey of all the elements around
him, and morally he is much weaker still. In his
heart are elements of evil that drag him down
ward, and around him a thousand influences that
lead him astray.
There is unspeakable pathos in the cry of a
poor, sinning woman who once said in a hospital
as we were pleading with her to do right : "I am
not strong enough to be good ; " and tnere is in
finite comfort in that blessed assurance of the
Holy Scriptures, "When we were yet without
strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly."
The gospel is a message of strength. " It is the
power of God unto salvation, to every one that
believeth." It is the special ministry of the Holy

POWER FROM ON HIGH. 105
Ghost to give power from on high. How much
is signified in this mighty promise ? How far
have we come short of His fullness ? How far may
we claim its fulfillment ?
We cannot find a better answer than in the
book of Acts. This verse is the keynote and the
table of contents. Every word in this verse points
forward to a whole section of the book which fol
lows. The first chapters of Acts tell us the story of the
power. The next chapters tell us of the witnes
sing which followed. Then we have the church in
Jerusalem. Then we have the gospel in all
Judea. Then we have the story of Samarta. And
finally, the closing chapters are wholly devoted to
the preaching of the gospel unto the uttermost
fart of the earth.
We shall not attempt now to trace the unfold
ing of this order through the book of Acts, but
shall simply endeavor to illustrate the meaning of
this word "power" by the facts and incidents of the
story of the apostolic church, as given in the book
of Acts, which is really the story of the acts, not so
much of the apostles as of the Holy Ghost.

THIS IS THE POWER OF A PERSON.
The right translation is, Ye shall receive not
power, but the power of the Holy Ghost coming

106 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
upon you. It is not your power, but His power. It
is not abstract power under your control, but it is
a Person whose presence with you is necessary to
your possessing and retaining the power.
He has the power and you have Him. In the
science of electricity it has been found that the
best form in which this motive power can be used
to run our street cars is not through storage bat
teries, but through overhead wires. The power is
not stored up in the car, but in the dynamo and the
wire, and the car just draws it from above by
constant contact, and the moment it lets go its
touch the power is gone. The power is not in the
car, but in the wire.
And so the power of the Holy Ghost is power
from above. It is not our power, but His, and re
ceived from Him moment by moment.
In order to receive this power and retain it there
are certain conditions which are necessary. One of
them is that we shall obey Him and follow His di
rections. We can only have His power in the
line of His will. The car can only draw the power
from the wire in so far as it follows the track. It
can have the power to run along the highway,
but it cannot have it to run into the neighboring
farms and follow the capricious will of the driver.
The Holy Ghost is given to them that obey Him,
and obedience to the Holy Ghost is a much larger
thing than many dream.

POWER FROM ON HIGH. 107
It is not merely to keep from doing wrong in
some little contracted sphere ; but it is to under
stand and follow the whole will and purpose of
God in the use of this Divine enduement. We
cannot have it to please ourselves. We cannot
have it to please ourselves even in the mode of our
Christian work. We can only enjoy the fullness of
the Spirit in so far as we use this fullness for the
work to which He has called us.
This verse is the measure and the limit of the
Spirit's power. He is given that we shall be wit
nesses unto Christ, both "in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost
part of the earth."
We can only know the fullness of the Spirit's
power as we use it to give the gospel to the whole
world. Only in the line of the world's evangeliza
tion and the fulfillment of our great trust can the
church of God ever realize the utmost meaning
of the promise of Pentecost. II.
IT IS THE POWER OF HOLY CHARACTER.
It is not primarily power for service, but it is
power to receive the life of Christ ; power to be,
rather than to say and to do. Our service and tes
timony will be the outcome of our life and ex- >
perience. Our works and words must spring from I
our inmost being or they shall have little power or

108 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
efficacy. "We must ourselves be true, if we the
truth would teach."
The change produced by the baptism of the
Holy Ghost upon the first disciples was more re
markable in their cwn lives than even in their ser
vice and testimony.
Peter, the irresolute disciple, — always running
ahead of His Master, boasting in his self-confidence
of what he would do, or would not do, and then
running away at the threat of a servant girl, was
transformed into the fearless hero, who stood be
fore the murderers of His Lord and charged them
with their crime, and then with lowly spirit and
humble heart went forth to walk in His Master's
steps, and at last to die upon His Master's cross
with downward head, — is a greater miracle in his
personal life i han even in the wondrous power of
his public testimony.
The spirit of unselfish love, that led to the entire
consecration of all their means to the service of
Christ and the help of one another, was an example
that could not fail to impress the sceptical and
selfish world. The "great grace" that was upon
them all was more wonderful than "the great
power " with which they bore witness to the death
and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The heroic fortitude with which they endured
unparalleled sufferings, " rejoicing that they were
counted worthy to suffer shame for the name of

POWER FROM ON HIGH. 109
Jesus," was an exhibition of power that no man can
gainsay, and carried a weight of conviction that
nothing can counterpoise.
This is the power which the church needs to-day
to convince an unbelieving world, the power that
will make us not inspired apostles, but "living
epistles, known and read of all men."
Nothing is so strong as the influence of a Con
sistent, supernatural, and holy character. Many ,
a skeptic has been converted by the sweet example
of his Christian wife, whom all the books in the
universe would never have convinced.
Many a missionary among the heathen has
found that the failure of his temper and spirit has
done more in a moment to counteract all his teach
ing than years could undo. "He that keepeth his
spirit is greater than he that taketh a city; " and
the power that can suppress the angry word and
stand in sweetness in the hour of provocation in
the humble kitchen and laundry has often become
an object lesson to the proud and cultured mistress,
until her heart was hungered for the blessinr;
which has made her lowly servant's life a ministry
of power, and her humble heart a heaven of love.
III.
IT IS THE POWER OF TRUTH.
The Holy Ghost works through the Holy Scrip
tures, and so the baptism of Pentecost was clearly
identified with the power of the Word.

110 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
The very first thing that Peter did after the
Holy Spirit came was to quote the Scriptures, and
explain the manifestation from God's own inspired
Word, and it was a scriptural sermon which was
used in the extraordinary conversions of that day.
If you will carefully notice the different mes
sages of the apostles, you will find that in every
instance they made large use of the Bible, and
some of their messages are simply statements of
Scripture and quotations from the Old Testament.
The Holy Ghost has given the Holy Scriptures,
and will never dishonor His own message. The
more we know of Him, the more will we honor
His Word. The Bible must ever be the foundation
of spiritual power, and the instrument of spiritual
service ; but it must ever be in the power of the
Spirit. "The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth
life." The late Dr. Gordon tells of a Sabbath he spent
abroad, on which day he went in the morning to
hear a distinguished preacher who was celebrated
for his biblical knowledge. He came home de
lighted with the clear and brilliant expositions of
the truth that he had heard, but chilled with the
icy coldness of the message. It was true, clear,
scriptural truth, but as cold as an iceberg.
He went in the afternoon to hear another
preacher distinguished for his fervor, and he came
back delighted with the earnestness and unction

POWER FROM ON HIGH. Ill
of the preacher, but it was a fire of shavings, and
there was not truth enough in it to make it lasting.
He went again at night, and heard a third
preacher, and he came away not only instructed,
but thrilled; because this sermon had been not only
an exposition of scriptural truth, but it had also
been alive with the power of God, and full of the
fire of the Holy Ghost. It was not a fire of sbav-
ings, but of substantial fuel, and it left not only
a memory of truth, but a glow of warmth that
filled his heart with joy and love. This is the
power of the Holy Ghost, speaking the truth in
love ; the Bible ablaze with holy fire ; the Word of
God dissolved in unction and love, until it can be
observed in every fibre of our being, and become
the nutriment of our life. IV.
IT IS THE POWER OF LOVE.
The* baptism of Pentecost was a baptism of love.
It brought a love to God that annihilated the power
of self. "Neither said any of them that aught of
the things which he possessed was his own." Their
costliest treasures were yielded up to God. Their
wealth, their homes, were held at the service of
the church of Christ.
It was love to one another, and they were so
absolutely bound together that they formed a cor
porate body. There was no schism or possible

112 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
place for the paralysis or mutilation of the whole
body of Christ. To day the church of Christ has
broken to pieces. Here and there we find a sound
member, but the whole body is mutilated and
severed, so that it is not possible for the Spirit to
flow with undivided and unhindered fullness
through the whole. Consequently we do not have
the gifts of the Spirit in the same measure as in
the day of Pentecost. The body is carrying about
with it diseased and lacerated members, and it
takes the strength of these that are whole to carry
those that are broken.
What we need to-day is the baptism of the
Holy Ghost, and then the union will come because
of the unity, and we will not need our platforms
and our convocations to bring the body together,
but bone to his bone, member to member and heart
to heart we shall stand in "unity of the Spirit,''
and the Church of Jesus will be "fair as the moon,
clear as the sun, and terrible as an army wrth ban
ners." The baptism of the Holy Ghost will always
bring a spirit of love. It will fill the heart with
devotion and devotedness to God, with tender con
sideration for one another, with loving regard for
our brethren, with intense longing for the salvation
of souls, and with sweetness and charity toward
all men.

POWER FROM ON HIGH. 113
VI.
THIS POWER ALSO INCLUDES THE SUPERNATURAL
GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT, AND ESPECIALLY
DIVINE HEALING.
The name of Jesus, through the power of tho
Holy Ghost, was efficacious to restore the paralytic
at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and even to
raise the dead at the prayer of Peter.
At every great crisis in the apostolic ministry
we find a special manifestation of supernatural
power. It was given to emphasize their testimony
in Jerusalem. It was specially marked at the
opening of the gospel in Samaria. It was still more
wonderfully manifested as Peter preached through
all Judea. And at every new point in Paul's mis
sionary journey we find "God bearing witness by
signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds."
* You will notice, however, that the healing of
the sick,, and the working of supernatural power
were not primary ends, but rather testimonies to
something more important, even the reality and
power of the name of Jesus, and the message of
mercy through the gospel.
And so, while we must still recognize the su
pernatural ministry of the Spirit, which never was
intended to be interrupted, and ought to be ex
pected yet more wonderfully in these last days be
fore the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, let us

114 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
never make the mistake of regarding it as an end,
or allowipg it to take the place of the higher truths
that relate to our spiritual life.
At the same time, let us not ignore it. The
church is one through all the ages. " Jesus Christ
is the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever;"
the Holy Spirit is unchanged, and the constitution
of the church is identical with the twelfth chapter
of first Corinthians and the plan which God gave
at Pentecost. We cannot leave out any part of the gospel
without weakening all the rest ; and if there ever
was an age when the world needed the witness of
God's supernatural working, it is this day of unbe
lief and Satanic power.
Therefore, we may expect as the end approaches
that the Holy Ghost will work in the healing of
sickness, in the casting out of demons, in remark
able answers to prayer, in special and wonderful-
providences, and in such forms as may please His
sovereign will, — to prove to an unbelieving world
that the power of Jesus' name is still unchanged,
and that " all the promises of God in Him are yea,
and in Him, Amen, forever."
Let us not fear to claim His power for our phy
sical as well as our spiritual need, and we shall
find that, "if the Spirit of Him that raised up
Jesus from the dead dwell in us, He that raised
up Christ from the dead shall also quicken our mor
tal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in us."

POWER FROM ON HIGH. 115
VII.
THE POWER OF THE HOLY GHOST IS MANIFESTED IN
GOD'S PROVIDENTIAL WORKING.
There is nothing more remarkable than the
manner in which God's providence worked in line
with the first disciples, showing that He who
dwelt within them was the same God that controls
the universe and all the affairs of human life.
How wonderful the providence that brought re
presentatives from the whole world to meet at
Pentecost, and then to receive the power and go
forth to their homes in every nation, as witnesses
for Jesus ! i
How marvelous the providence that brought
Philip and the eunuch of Ethiopia together down
there at the cross roads of the desert and then sent
on the prince to his home in Africa converted, en
lightened, filled with the Holy Ghost, to be a wit
ness for Jesus to his whole nation, and perhaps
bring all North Africa to God!
How remarkable the providence that sent Peter
to the housetop, and then brought to him the
vision that illuminated his mind, enlarged his
ideas, and prepared him for his greater com mission
for the Gentile churches ; and then, when he was
ready, sent, on the very nick of time, the messen
gers of Cornelius to knock at his door and take
him up to Caesarea to preach the gospel to the

116 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
Gentiles, and witness the outpouring of the Holy
Ghost as at Pentecost!
How wonderful the providence of God that
opened the church at Antioch and prepared a new
centre for Gentile Christianity in the larger spirit
of the cosmopolitan congregation, and then gath
ered there men like Paul and Barnabas to be the
leader of a wider movement for all the world!
How marvelous the providence that saved Peter
from the cruel hand of Herod, opening his prison
doors on the very night preceding his intended
execution, and smiting Herod down with a hideous
disease in the hour of the presumptuous purpose
to destroy the church of God!
How extraordinary the providences that fol
lowed Paul through his wondrous life, opening his
way from land to land, and making storm and
tempest, and even the very viper that sprang upon
him, to work for the cause of Christ !
And still the same God rules in the same realm
of Providence Still the Holy Ghost within us can
control the circumstances around us. Still the
march of events will keep time to the leadings of
the Spirit ; and the man that walks in the Holy
Ghost shall have a charmed life and be immortal till
his work is done, and find that winds and waves
and fierce and cruel men, and even Satan's very
emissaries shall be forced to become auxiliaries to
His purpose, and work with Him for the further
ance of the gospel.

POWER FROM ON HIGH. 117
And so God has shown in the lives of men like
Arnot in Africa,Patoninthe New Hebrides, George
Muller in Bristol, and many a humble missionary
of the cross who has dared to trust the mighty
promise of the ascending Master, "All power is
given Me in heaven and in earth, and lo ! I am
with you all the days, even unto the end of the
age." VIII.
POWER FOR GUIDANCE.
The Holy Spirit gives power for guidance. He
directed them. He led their steps. He sent Philip
to Samaria, and down to the desert to meet the
eunuch. He sent Peter to the housetop and then to
the home of Cornelius. He restrained Paul and
Silas from preaching in Bithynia and Ephesus, and
then He sent them to Macedonia, to give the gos
pel to Europe.
Step by step He was the Guide of all their ways,
and He is still our Counsellor and Guide ; and if
we will trust Him and "acknowledge Him in all
our ways, He will direct our steps" and lead us
into all the fullness of our Father's will.
IX.
POWER FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH.
There is nothing more wonderful than the over
sight of the Holy Ghost in the church of the apos
tolic age. He was its recognized Leader and Head.
He directed its councils, and was acknowledged as

118 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
its President. He controlled its discipline, kept
out unworthy members, and preserved it from the
touch of the world.
How solemn and awful His dealing with Ana
nias and Sapphisa. How suggestive the solemn
statement "of the rest, durst none join them
selves unto them!" Oh, if the Holy Ghost is in
the church the world will not have to be kept out;
it will be only too glad to get away.
Alas, that the day should have come when
learning, genius, influence and worldly power
should be recognized in the house of God, and the
world should be sought by sinful compromises and
unholy attractions, and the church should be
baffled and hindered by the "mixed multitude"
that she has no power to keep away. God is trying
to show His ministers and people that He is
adequate for all the needs of His work, and any
pastor and church, that will fully recognize Him,
shall be always prospered and blessed, spiritually,
financially,numerically,influentially,and every way.
Oh, that God would show His church her true
power and glory, and that she might again be the
woman " clothed with the sun, with the moon be
neath her feet." X.
THE POWER OF CONVICTION OVER THE HEARTS OF
MEN.
The power of the Holy Ghost is not always a

POWER FROM ON HIGH. 119
conscious power on our part. It is marked chiefly
by effectiveness in reaching the hearts of others.
On the day of Pentecost it was power to convict
the consciences of men, and influence and contiol
their actions. "They were pricked to the heait,
and they said, Men and brethren, what shall we
do?" It is not always the highest excitement that in
dicates the strongest power. The great question is,
What is the effect upon the hearts and lives of
men? When Demosthenes used to speak in Athens,
the people forgot all about Demosthenes, and said,
" Let us go and find Philip." It put the "go " in
them. And so when the Holy Ghost is present in
power He leads to results.
The speaker may be very calm, and have little
consciousness of the power, but in the audience
are men and women, who are brought face to face
with God, and the truth is "manifested to every
man's conscience in the sight of God," and a Voice
within says, "Thou art the man." The will isded
to decide and choose for God, and men turn from
sin, and yield themselves in entire surrender. This
is the power we want, that "will convict men of
sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." Not
the p'ower of great machinery, of thrilling elo
quence, melting pathos, and marvelous preaching,
and singing, but the power that quietly moves upon
the hearts of men in their workshops and in their

120 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
homes, until they are constrained to give them
selves to God. XI.
POWER TO SUFFER.
Perhaps there is no more remarkable manifesta
tion of the power of the Holy Ghost in the early
church, than in the sweetness and grandeur, with
which they endured all things for Jesus' sake.
Beaten with stripes, and humiliated before the
council, they came together not to condole with
each other, or show their bleeding wounds, but to
rejoice "that they were counted worthy to suffer
shame for the name of Jesus."
Hunted out of Iconium by a mob of respectable
women, pelted with stones and hooted from the
community the "disciples were filled with joy, and
with the Holy Ghost." Theirs was a gladness that
did not recognize their sufferings, but lifted them
above them all, and counted them but part of their
coronation. And so the power of the Holy Ghost will give
us the heroism of endurance and enable us like our
Master, for the joy set before us to endure the
cross, despising the shame.
It will bring about a spirit of self-denial and
holy sacrifice, it will make it easy for us to let go
things, and give up things, " and endure all things
for the elect's sake," and to say with the great

POWER FROM ON HIGH. 121
apostle, "Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacri
fice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with
you all."
J XII.
Finally this was the power for unwearied, earn
est and effective work. It was a power that could
enable Paul in a single lifetime, while supporting
himself by his own manual labor, unsupported by
any missionary society or church, and without the
facilities of our railroads, steamboats, telegraphs
and means of communication, to girdle the globe,
and preach the gospel everywhere, and say in
words of superlative triumph, "So that from Jeru
salem, round about unto Illyricum, I have fully
preached the gospel of Christ."
Oh, beloved, we are living in a earnest age, and
surely the Holy Ghost ought to produce earnest
men to-day. God give to us this power for work
what will multiply our lives until they measure
up to the extraordinary opportunities, and to the
marvelous intensities of these last days, on which
the ends of the world are come.
Oh, for a race of Pauls ; oh, for an army of
Gideons ; oh, for a band of heroes ; oh, for the
baptism with the Holy Ghost, in all the meaning
of Pentecost, and in all the highest thought of
Christ Himself !

CHAPTER IX.
FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT.
" They were all filled with the Holy Ghost." Acts ii. 4.
"Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled
with the Spirit." Eph. v. 8.
THESE words imply that there is a difference
between having the Spirit and being filled
with the Spirit. These disciples on the day
of Pentecost, had in some measure received the
Spirit previously. The Lord Jesus must have
meant something when He breathed on them, and
said, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." And the
disciples to whom the apostle wrote the Epistle to
the Ephesians had already been "sealed with that
Holy Spirit of promise," which was the earnest of
their inheritance until the redemption of the pur
chased possession ; but they were not filled with
the Spirit.
What this difference is we may not be able to
state explicitly or accurately. Our theories and
definitions may be at fault, and it is probably
unnecessary that we should understand all about
it theoretically. The most important thing is that
we should feel after it until we find it, that we
should long for it and press forward to receive it.

FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT. 123
It is very probable that many a soul is converted
without being distinctly conscious of the process
at the time, and that many a Christian receives
the gift of the Holy Ghost when he is stumbling
after it, and reaching out for it in the daikness
and the dimness of spiritual trouble. And so we
may not know all about this, but we may earnestly
desire it and persistently seek until we find it.
All Divine conditions transcend our understand
ing, and our most real, intense and important
experiences often come to us by processes which
we ourselves could not explain.
The most familiar operations of the natural
world afford a forcible illustration of this distinc
tion. We all easily understand the difference
between the shallow stream and the overflowing
river. In both cases there is water, but in one
case it is a feeble current, and in the other an over
flowing stream that drives the innumerable wheels
of the factories along the shores. The power all
comes from the fullness of the overflow.
We can easily understand the difference be
tween the boiler full of water and the boiler full
of boiling water. In the one case it is cold water
which fills, but which has no power, in the other
it is the water converted into steam, driving the
wheels of the mighty engine and carrying the cars
across the continent along the iron track.
That single degree of temperature makes all the

124 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
difference in the world between power and im
potence. The Scriptures of truth bear out this
distinction with the greatest possible clearness and
force. In writing to Timothy, the apostle Paul says,
in the first chapter of the second epistle and sixth
verse, "Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that
thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by
the putting on of my hands, for God hath not
given us the Spirit of fear ; but of power, and of
love, and of a sound mind."
The gift was already bestowed and fully recog
nized, but it was like an expiring flame — the em
bers of the fire were falling into ashes, and the
flame was almost dead. The word used is "re
kindle, " stir up the fading embers, rekindle the fire
— be filled with the Spirit.
Again, in I. Cor. xii. 7, we read, "But the
manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man
to profit withal." This word " profit " expresses
the whole difference between receiving the Spirit
and being filled with the Spirit.
Every one may receive the Spirit, but only a
few "profit withal," that is, improve the gift, de
velop it, exercise it, and reach its utmost fullness.
All this is perfectly unfolded in the beautiful
Parable of the Pounds, Luke xix. The one pound
given to each servant is the special enduement of
the Holy Ghost, power for service; but the impro-

FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT. 125
vement of the pound in each case is different, ac
cording to the diligence and fidelity of the servant.
And so the outcome of each life is different, and
the final reward bears the same proportion.
It is a wonderful and solemn truth, and places
an awful responsibility upon every one of us for
the right use of God's spiritual gifts, and especially
that Gift of gifts, the blessed Holy Ghost Himself.
In the twelfth chapter of first Corinthians and
the thirteenth verse, we have another remarkable
statement: "For by one Spirit are we all baptized
into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles,
whether we be bond or free ; and have been all
made to drink into one Spirit. "
It is one thing to be baptized into the one body
by the Spirit; it is another thing to drink into that
one Spirit. The first is an act, the second is a habit.
The first brings us into a relationship, the second is
the true use of that relationship, the drinking of
His fullness until we become filled, and the habit
of abiding in His fullness so that we are always
filled. Once more, the same truth is very beautifully
taught in the story of the widow and her pot of
oil, already referred to in connection with II.
Kings iv. 1-7. That little pot of oil represents the
Holy Ghost ; but the outpouring of the potof oil
into all the vessels, which the widow borrowed
from her neighbors, illustrates the fullness of the

126 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
Spirit, as we receive Him into all the needs of our
life, and into all the circumstances which God's
providence brings to us as opportunities for the
development of our spiritual life, and the richer
f ulluess of the Holy Ghost.
So many have the Holy Ghost confined in a
little pot of oil, and hid away on the shelf of a
cabinet. God wants us to go out into all the needs
of life, and pour that Divine fullness into every
vessel that comes to us, until our whole life shall
be a living embodiment and illustration of the all-
sufficiency of Christ. II.
Let us now inquire what are some of the effects
and evidences of the filling of the Holy Ghost.
1. To be filled witn the Spirit, in the first place,
will bring us the fullness of Jesus. The person
and work of the Holy Ghost must never be recog
nized apart from the person of Christ. To do this
is sure to lead us into Spiritualism. Natural re
ligion recognizes the spirit world. Spiritualism is
full of it. The priestess of Apollo was called the
Pythoness, because she inhaled a spiritual influ
ence until her whole body became swollen like a
python, and her whole being was alive with intense
spiritual force; but it was a spirit of evil, it was a
spirit apart from the person of Christ and the true
God.

FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT. 127
The Holy Ghost never comes to us apart from
Jesus. He is the Way to the Father, and He is the
Way from the Father to us; and the blessed Spirit
when He comes witnesseth not of Himself but of
the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us be very careful of this. It is possible to
become inflated with a spiritual influence, and yet
to ignore and even disobey the Lord Jesus Christ,
and be led into pride, self-sufficient sentimentalism,
and even sin.
The object of the Holy Ghost, like a beautiful
artist, is to bring Jesus upon the canvas, and
make Him real to us, while the blessed Actor is,
in a measure, out of sight.
The more we are filled with the Holy Ghost,
the more we recognize Christ, depend upon Christ,
live upon Christ alone. Therefore this very wdrd
" filled " is used in connection with Him.
In Col. ii. 9, 10, we have these two remarkable
relative verses, "In Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and ye are complete in
Him." Literally translated, it reads, "In Him
dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead in a bodily
form, and ye are filled with Him."
God fills Jesus, Jesus fills us. Christ is the ideal
man, the pattern of what a man should be, and
God has put into Him all that humanity needs to
be to satisfy Him ; therefore, in order that we
should be true men, we must re-live His life, re-

128 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
produce His personality, receive Him, grow up
into Him, and live Him in all the completeness of
His glorious life.
So we read, "Of His fullness have all we re
ceived, even grace for grace." We ourselves are
insufficient for every situation, and the great busi
ness of the Holy Ghost is to bring us up to the
situations of life and show us our insufficiency,
and then reveal to us Christ and bring Him into
our life as the supply of our needs. So in connec
tion with that wonderful promise of the Holy
Ghost in the fourteenth chapter of John, the true
sequel, is, "I am the Vine, ye are the branches.
Abide in Me and I in you. He that abideth in Me,
and I in Him, the same bringeth forth much
fruit; for apart from Me ye can do nothing."
This is the life into which the Holy Ghost
brings us, the life of personal union with, and con
stant dependence upon, the Lord Jesus Christ. To
be filled with the Spirit, then, is to be filled with
Christ, and so to live that our constant experi
ence and testimony will be, "I live; yet not I,
but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now
live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of
God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me."
2. To be filled with the Spirit will exclude the
life of self and sin, and will, of course, bring us
into a life of holiness, Tightness and obedience.
We read in Exodus, the fortieth chapter, thirty-

FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT. 129
fourth and thirty-fifth verses, that "when the
cloud of the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle,
Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the
congregation ; because the cloud abode thereon,
and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle."
This is the true picture of a Spirit-filled man.
The indwelling and infilling of the Holy Spirit
excludes self and sin. There is no room for Moses
when the glory of God fills our being.
3. The filling of the Holy Ghost will bring us
joy and fullness of joy. "These things have I
spoken unto you.'' the Master said, after He had
given us the promise of the Spirit, "that My joy
might remain in you, and that your joy might be
full." And so the apostle prays that " the God of
hope may fill us with all joy and peace in be
lieving, that we may abound in hope through the
power of the Holy Ghost."
The fullness of the Spirit must crowd out pain,
doubt, fear and sorrow, and bring the joy of Christ
to fill our being. What is it makes the melody in
this organ ? It is not the touch of skillful fingers
only on these keys, but it is the filling of the pipes
by the movement of the pedals. I may try to
play the most skillful tune in vain, unless the
organ is filled ; and so our songs of praise are
dead and cold until the breath of God fills all the
channels of our being. Then comes the heart-song

130 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
of praise, and the overflowing fountain of glad
ness. 4. So all the fruits of the Spirit come from the
Spirit-filled heart. " The fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, good
ness, meekness, faith, temperance. " These are all
fruits, or, at least, the fruit of the Spirit, and
spring spontaneous from the fullness of the Holy
Ghost. When a few years ago I stood at Hebron, and
looked at the pool of David and saw it overflowing,
my friend turned to me, and said, This is the token
by which we know that the valleys of Judea are
filled with water, and its plains will be covered
with fertility and luxuriance. The rains have
been abundant because the pool of David is full at
Hebron, and the sources of irrigation are ample.
And so when the heart is full of God, the life
will be full of godliness. Spontaneously, sweetly,
will spring up all the fruits of righteousness, holi
ness and blessing, and "the desert will rejoice and
blossom as the rose. "
5. Again, the Holy Ghost can fill our minds
and understandings with knowledge and light, and
control our thoughts with harmony and sweetness
and strength. " The peace of God that passeth all
understanding will keep our hearts and minds,"
and our thoughts will be stayed upon Him, and
"brought into captivity to the obedience of
Christ."

FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT. 131
6. Yes, our very bodies will feel the fullness.
The Holy Ghost is a true tonic of physical energy
and perfect health. The fullness of the Spirit is
the Elixir for body and brain and being. To be
filled with His blessed life, will make our feet
spring, our nerves steady, our brain strong, our
circulation regular, and our whole being at its best
for God and holy service.
7. Then also our very circumstances keep time
to the blessed fullness of the heart within.
Like the widow's pot of oil that flowed out into
every vessel, so the presence of God touches every
thing that comes into our life, and we find that
' ' all things work together for good to us " if we
love God and fulfill His purpose.
The circumstances will become adjusted to us,
or we become adjusted to the circumstances, and
the whole of our life " fitly framed together " be
come vigorous, and full of power and blessing.
8. It is no longer expended upon itself, we have
enough and to spare, the blessing overruns until
there is not room to receive it, and the residue
becomes "the inheritance of a suffering world.
These are the lives God uses, and God cannot use
us until we are running over.
It was when Cana's water was poured out that
it was changed from water into wine. It is when
Ezekiel's river runs from the sanctuary to the des
ert that it grows deeper arj.4 , broader and fuller.

132 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
And it is when our lives are lost in self -forgetting
love that we know all the fullness of God.
III.
HOW MAY WE BE FILLED ?
1. We must be empty.
I have a phonograph into whose sensitive gela
tine cylinders I dictate my literary work. One
busy day, I dictated a large amount of matter, fill
ing up every cylinder and spending nearly two days
getting through a great amount of literary labor,
and feeling very much relieved that it was off my
hands. But when my typewriter proceeded to copy the
messages which I had spoken to these cylinders
she could not understand the words, it was all
jargon and confusion. The reason was very simple.
I had neglected to shave off the former dictation
before giving the new message. I had really dictat
ed a lot of matter into ears that were already
filled, and, therefore, it had made no impression.
My work was lost, my labor was in vain. But I
learned a lesson that was worth all it cost, and
that is, that we must be empty before we can be
filled. God cannot speak His messages into full
ears, The Holy Ghost cannot pour His fullness
into those who are already full.
2. We must be hungry. For " He hath filled
the hungry with good things, and the rich hath

FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT. 133
He sent empty away." The caravans on the burn
ing desert when they cannot find the accustomed
well of water, let loose the thirsty harts and they
sweep over the burning plains, panting with
thirst, until they find the water brooks.
And so the hungry heart always finds the living
bread, the thirsty soul, is always filled with water.
There is nothing that finds God so quickly as an
earnest soul. We always find Him when "we
search for Him with all our hearts."
3. We must be open if we would be filled.
"Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it." We
must be free from prejudice and preconceptions of
truth that shut us up from God's voice. We must
be adjusted so as to catch His whisper and under
stand His will.
4. We must receive as well as ask, we must
believe as well as pray, we must take the water of
life freely, we must know the secret of drinking
the living water, if we would be filled.
5. We must wait upon the Lord.
The heart is too large to be filled in a moment,
the soul is too great to be satisfied with a mere
mouthful. " They that wait upon the Lord shall
renew their strength." We must "continue in
prayer ;" we must be much at the throne of grace;
we must learn the secret of communion as well as
supplication ; and as we thus wait upon the Lord,
we shall be filled until we shall find it a luxury
to give forth our blessing to others.

134 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
6. And finally, if we would be filled, we must
learn to give as well as receive ; we must empty
our hearts, that they may be refilled. God is a
great economist and He loves to bless those who
make the best use of their blessings, and become
in turn a source of blessing to others.
The Holy Ghost is given for service, God cannot
bless a selfish soul ; and there is no selfishness
more odious in His sight than that which can
hoard God's spiritual blessing, and let others die in
ignorance of the gospel, and suffer through our
selfish neglect.
"The liberal soul shall be made fat, and he that
watereth others shall be watered himself." In
this blessed work of winning the lost and giving
the gospel to the world, we shall find our own
rich reward, and "the fullness of the blessing of
Christ."

CHAPTER X.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE EPISTLE TO
THE ROMANS.
" But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that in
the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the
Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." Rom. viii. 9.
WE approach in this great epistle a spiritual
temple, and from its illuminated windows
there shine out the beams of lofty and Di
vine truth. It is so glorious that it needs only to
be stated to bring its own illumination and vindi
cation. This, the greatest of the epistles, presents
to us the doctrine of the Holy Ghost with a sym
metry and fullness quite as remarkable as the un
folding of the other doctrines which it contains.
I. First we have the witnessing Spirit. In Rom
ans i. 3, 4, the Lord Jesus Christ is said to have
been "of the seed of David according to the flesh,
and declared to be the Son of God with power, ac
cording to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrec
tion from the dead."
The Spirit of holiness has been interpreted to
mean the Divine nature of Jesus Christ, but it is
quite proper and, indeed, a more simple interpre
tation to apply it directly to the Holy Ghost as a
13s

136 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
Divine Person, witnessing to the Divinity of the
Lord Jesus Christ, by raising Him from the dead
according to the will of the Father.
The Holy Ghost was ever the witness to Christ's
Divinity, and the Spirit who had so distinct a part
in the offering up of His sacrifice (for it was " by
the eternal Spirit that He offered Himself to God
without spot,") had surely as important a part in
His resurrection. This is the first view we love to
take of the Holy Spirit, as the Witness of Jesus,
and especially of the risen Jesus, the living Christ,
and the Divine Lord.
II. We next see the Holy Ghost as the Spirit of
Life and Holiness. In the eighth chapter of
Romans and the second verse we read, " The law of
the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me
free from the law of sin and death."
This is the first work of the Holy Ghost in sanc
tifying the soul. Let us carefully notice the place
where this comes in. It is subsequent to our jus
tification by faith and our surrender to Christ in
death and resurrection. Then the Holy Spirit comes
and takes possession of us and breathes into us the
life of the Lord Jesus Christ. This becomes a new
law of life and power in our spiritual being, and this
new law lifts us above and sets us free from the
old law of sin and death.
Just as the law of life lifts us above the law of
gravitation, and the power of my will can raise my

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN ROMANS. 137
hand in spite of that physical law which makes
dead matter fall to the ground, so the Holy Ghost,
bringing Christ as a living presence into my heart
and life, establishes a new law of feeling, think
ing, choosing, and acting, and this new law lifts
me above the power of sin and makes it natural to
me to be holy, obedient, and Christ-like.
III. We see the Holy Spirit operating in the
mind as well as in the spirit, and we read in the
next paragraph verses 5 and 6, "The minding of
the flesh is death, but the minding of the Spirit is
life and peace." The Holy Spirit enters the mind
and disposes it to the will of God, so that we choose
the things that He chooses, and think God's
thoughts after God.
We mind the Monitor who dwells within us,
we listen to the voice that speaks to us, we follow
His directions, and "we walk " not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit."
IV. The Holy Spirit is next revealed as the
Spirit of quickening and healing in our mortal
flesh. Inverse 11, " If the Spirit of Him that raised
up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised
up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your
mortal body by His Spirit that dwelleth in you."
The Holy Ghost is the source of physical as well
as mental and spiritual life. The human body
consists of more than the outward frame. There
is the inner mechanism of nerves, and, inside of

138 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
that, the vital fluids and currents which quicken,
energize and impel the whole material organ
ism. Inside of all this is the principle of life ; and in
side of this is the Holy Ghost in the consecrated
believer. He is most distinctly represented to us
here as a vital force in our material being, a source
of life, quickening, exhilarance and physical energy,
for those that know Him and obey Him. He is the
Spirit that raised up Christ from the dead, and He
dwells in our mortal bodies as a quickening life.
This is not the immortal body of the resurrec
tion, but the mortal frame of the present life which
feeds upon the Divine life. And this is the secret
of living on the life of God.
It is thus that our bodies are the temples of the
Holy Ghost, and our frames are the members of
Christ, and partake of the life of our living Head.
V. The Holy Spirit as the Guide and Director of
our Christian life is very clearly presented to us in
the next few verses. ' ' Therefore, " adds the apostle,
"we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the
flesh. For if ye live after the flesh ye shall die: but
if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of
the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by
the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."
We are to "live after the Spirit," we are to
obey our Divine Guide, we are to follow our heav
enly Leader, we are to yield ourselves to the

THE HOLY; SPIRIT IN ROMANS. 139
Mother and the Monitor who comes to direct our
pathway. Christian life is not a mere moment of blessed
transformation, but it is a life of continual abiding
and obedience. Step by step we must walk with
God, and maintain the attitude and habit of depen
dence and holy obedience. The Holy Spirit never
wearies of the care of our life, and we should never
weary of His loving jealousy for us. This is the
secret of peace and gladness, constant obedience
and a hearkening spirit, that waits to catch the
whisper of His will and obey His every word.
VI. In this passage we have another most im
portant truth, namely, that the Holy Spirit is the
Spirit of crucifixion. He is the One that mortifies
our evil nature and holds us in the place of death
and resurrection life. The attitude of the Christian
life is that of reckoning ourselves dead indeed unto
sin. This must be maintained as a habit, and there
are constant occasions when the old life will seek to
reassert itself and must be held steadily in the place
of death. This is what is meant by "mortifying
our members," and this can only be done by the
Holy Ghost. If we attempt it ourselves we shall
be everlastingly in the attitude of attempted sui
cide, and we shall never reach the place of peaceful
death. The reason so many ghosts are walking
around is because so many people have tried to die

140 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
in their own strength, and have got up in the same
strength, and walk about as the apparitions and
shadows of the old carnal life.
The church of God is full of these uncanny
spirits, these live corpses, these resurrected ones,
and they are very sad looking objects to themselves
and to everybody else. The true secret is to be so
full of the Holy Ghost, that, like the autumn leaves
which drop off by the coming of the spring, our old
life shall be kept in the place of death by the ex
pulsive power of Divine love and Christ's indwell
ing life.
VII. The Spirit of Sonship is also clearly unfolded
in this beautiful paragraph: " As many as are led
by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."
The Holy Ghost brings us into the same relation
with the Father as Jesus Christ the Divine Son.
We are made partakers of His Sonship through
His indwelling life, and the prayer of the Master
becomes fulfilled in us and through us, "that the
love wherewith Thou hast loved Me, may be in
them and I in them."
It is because He is in us that the Father loves
us with the same love that He loves the Son, and
we dwell in the blessed consciousness and confid
ence of this place of child liberty and love.
We are called the first born ones, we are all first
born ones, even as He the First Born One and the
Only Begotten. We partake of His very Sonship ;

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN ROMANS. 141
and as the bride shares the bridegroom's family
and home, so we enter into all privileges, immuni
ties, glories, and prospects of Christ's own glorious
life. " Behold, what manner of love the Father
hath bestowed upon us, " and the Spirit hath brought
to us, " that we should be called the sons of God."
Beloved, have we received power thus to be
come the sons of God, and does the Spirit, not of
adoption, but of Sonship, cry out instinctively from
our inmost being, "Papa, Father," our own dear
Father, His Father and our Father, His God and
our God ?
VIII. The Spirit of Hope and anticipation of the
coming glory. And so we read in verse 23, "And
not only they, but ourselves also, who have the
first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan
within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit,
the redemption of our body."
That is, the Holy Spirit awakens the conscious
ness and brings the earnest of the coming glory,
and calls forth our eager longing and outreaching
for it. Just as the little birdling in its shelly when
the time for its birth draws near it, presses through
the restraints that confine it, until at last it bursts
the fragile shell, and leaps forth into liberty and life
to breathe the air of the great world, and soon to
cleave the firmament on eagle's wings; so the Spirit-
filled heart has in it the bud and the embryo of a
transcendent future, and it stretches out even now

142 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
its nascent wings, and groans within itself for the
coming glory.
Who is there of all the disciples of Christ who
has not some time felt the birth-pangs of a grander
life, and the prophecy of a future transcending all
we know of power and blessing?
We have not only the conception and anticipa
tion of this glorious future, but the apostle says we
have " the first fruits " even now. The Spirit of
God in our hearts is the prophecy and promise of
the coming age of more glorious spiritual life when
we shall be like Him, and clothed with His perfec
tions, and something of His wisdom and power, we
shall share His throne forever.
The touches of Divine healing that have thrilled
our mortal frame are but the foretaste of the resur
rection hour, when we shall sweep up into the full
ness of our eternal manhood, and these mortal
frames shall be as beautiful, as glorious, as pure,
and as strong as His glorified body on the throne.
What we have seen of answered prayer, of
power over nature, of victory over circumstances,
of a Divine life even in this limited sphere, these
are but anticipations and earnests of the time when
we shall inherit the kingdom which Adam lost, and
share man's destined dominion over the whole crea
tion. And so the Holy Spirit in us is teaching us the
Millennial song, is waking up in us the pulses of

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN ROMANS. 143
the resurrection, is illuminating before us the vis
ion of the coming glory, and is calling us out to
prove even here our celestial wings. And as the
parent eagle teaches her little ones to fly, moment
by moment and effort by effort, alluring them from
their soft nest, bearing them on her mighty wings;
so the Mother Dove is teaching us to spread our
wings upon the higher air and press forward into
a little of our future inheritance.
Oh, let us not be disobedient to these heavenly
visions. Let us not repress these outreachings. Let
us not quench these immortal fires. And let us not
cramp and stunt, and crush out the heavenly in
spirations and aspirations which carry with them
not only the prophecy, but the vital power of an
endless and boundless life.
IX. In the twenty-sixth verse we have the Holy
Spirit as the Spirit of prayer. " Likewise also the
Spirit helpeth our infirmities; for we know not what
to pray for as we ought; but the Spirit maketh in
tercession within us with groanings that cannot be
uttered. And He that searcheth the hearts know-
eth the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh in
tercession for the saints according to the will of
God." This is the deep mystery of prayer. This is the
delicate Divine mechanism which words cannot in
terpret, and which theology cannot explain, but
which the humblest believer knows even when he
does not understand.

144 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
Oh, the burdens that we love to bear and can
not understand ! Oh, the inarticulate outreachings
of our hearts for things we cannot comprehend;
and yet we know they are an echo from the throne
and a whisper from the heart of God.
It is often a groan rather than a song, a burden
rather than a buoyant wing. But it is a blessed
burden, and it is a groan whose undertone is praise
and unutterable joy. It is "a groaning which can
not be uttered." We could not ourselves express
it always, and sometimes we do not understand
any more than that God is praying in us for some
thing that needs His touch and that He under
stands. And so we can just pour out the fullness of our
heart, the burden of our spirit, the sorrow that
crushes us, and know that He hears, He loves, He
understands, He receives, and He separates from
our prayer all that is imperfect, ignorant and wrong,
and presents the rest with the incense of the great
High Priest, before the throne on high, and our
prayer is heard, accepted and answered in His
name. IX. The Spirit of Service. The Holy Ghost is
next represented as the Spirit of power for conse
crated service. In the twelfth chapter of Romans
and the first verse, there is a singular and beauti
ful force in the use of the Greek word "paraclete."
The expression, "I beseech you, therefore,

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN ROMANS. 145
brethren by the mercies of God " literally means,
" I paraclete you by the mercies of God "; that is,
not I, but the Holy Ghost beseeches you, that ye
present your bodies a living sacrifice," holy, ac
ceptable unto God, which is your reasonable ser
vice. This is the Holy Spirit's message to the saved
and sanctified children of God, and this is the true
power for consecration and service.
We may so identify ourselves with the blessed
Paraclete, that our appeals and messages to men
shall not be ours but His, and we can say, "I Par
aclete you," I, in the name of the Holy Ghost, be
seech you. Thus our words and works will come
to men with the authority and the power of the
Holy Ghost.
X. The Spirit of Gladness. Romans xiv. 17
"The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but
righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Romans xv. 13. "Now the God of hope fill you,
with all joy and peace in believing, that you may
abound in hope, through the power of the Holy
Ghost." The Holy Spirit is always the Spirit of gladness,
and the spirit of gladness and hope is essential to
power for service and effective testimony for Christ.
XI. The Spirit of Missions.
The crowning revelation of the Holy Ghost in
this sublime epistle is as the Spirit of evangeliza
tion for the whole world. It is very beautiful that

1-16 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
in this, the most doctrinal of all the Epistles, the
most profound theological treatise on justification,
sanctification and the purposes of God, ever writ
ten by inspired hands, should be these closing
words repecting the ministry of the Holy Ghost for
the evangelization of the whole world; but how
could it be otherwise, from such a soul and such a
hand as Paul's.
Listen to these inspiring words: " I have written
more boldly unto you, as putting you again in re
membrance, because of the grace that was given
me of God, that I should be the minister of Jesus
Christ unto the Gentiles, ministering, the Gospel
of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might
be made acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy
Ghost. ' ' I have therefore my glorifying in Jesus Christ
in those things which pertain to God. For I will
not dare to speak of anything save those which
Christ wrought for me, for the obedience of the
Gentiles by word and deed, through mighty signs
and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so
that from Jerusalem and round about unto Illyri-
cum, I have fully preached the Gospel of Christ ;
yea, so have I strived to preach the Gospel, not
where Christ was already named, lest I should
build upon another man's foundation; but as it is
written, To whom He was not spoken of, they
shall see ; and they who have not heard shall un
derstand." Chap. xv. 15-21.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN ROMANS. 147
To the glowing heart of Paul the work of mis
sions was just the offering up of the Gentile world
as a great living sacrifice to God, sanctified by the
Holy Ghost.
To present this offering to God was the glorious
and all absorbing service of his life, and in this he
had claimed and received the mighty power of the
Holy Spirit ; so that his soul could truly say,
"through mighty signs and wonders from Jeru
salem round about unto Illyricum, I have fully
preached the gospel of Christ."
He could not rest in the beaten tracks of old
and occupied fields, but pressed forward to the re
gions beyond to tell the story of Divine love and
grace, where Christ had not been named.
In an age when all our methods of international
communication were unknown, when there were
no railroads, steamboats, telegraphs, or missionary
societies, this lone man preached the gospel, from
land to land, until he could say of this vast region
of the known world that circled round Jerusalem,
he had so fully preached the gospel of Christ that
no place was left in those parts, and that he was
now at length at leisure to visit his friends in Rome
and do some home mission work.
Wherever the Holy Ghost has possession of our
hearts and lives this will be the impulse that will
possess us, and the practical outcome of our con
secration, until we shall have given the gospel as a

148 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
witness to every tribe and tongue, and the purpose
of the Christian Dispensation to gather out of the
Gentile a people for His name shall be accom
plished ; and the Lord Himself shall come.
Oh, may the Holy Spirit help each of us, from
the study of this wonderful epistle, to understand
His meaning for us and for our times, and to rise
from the grandest truths of the gospel to the
grandest work of the ages.

CHAPTER XI.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE FIRST EPISTLE
TO THE CORINTHIANS.
THE first epistle of Paul to the Corinthians
unfolds the doctrine of the Holy Ghost in
a number of distinct paragraphs, bringing out
four different aspects of the truth, that are full of
practical significance.
In the second chapter we have the Holy Ghost
presented as the source of mental illumination and
the Spirit of wisdom and revelation.
In the third and sixth chapters we have the
Holy Spirit in His indwelling in our spirit, and His
sanctifying power.
In the sixth chapter we have the Holy Spirit
dwelling in our body and uniting us to Christ.
And in the twelfth chapter we have the Holy
Spirit constituting the whole body of Christ and
uniting it, filling it with life, and enduing it with
power for service.
I. THE SPIRITUAL MIND. I. Cor. ii. 6-16.
The last verse of this wonderful chapter ex
presses the particular truth of which the whole

150 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
chapter is an unfolding, — " We have the mind of
Christ." The Spirit is here represented as the
Quickener of the mind, and the Source of mental
illumination, and the Revealer of spiritual truth.
There are three distinct and important thoughts
in the chapter. The Holy Spirit is the Revealer
of supernatural truth.
There are three distinct and important thoughts:
1. In the first place, the Spirit is the Revealer
sources of knowledge. For " 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."
There is much that eye hath seen, but there
are truths beyond our natural vision, just as won
derful as the world of light and beauty, when it is
suddenly revealed to a man who has always been
blind, and whose vision is restored. His first
thought is, "How beautiful, how wonderful ! why
didn't you tell me of this before ? "
And so there are spiritual truths, and there is
a world of higher vision which God has for the
quickened spirit, and which our natural senses
never could discover ; and when we see it in the
light of His revealing, we wonder we never heard
of it, and we think everybody ought to see it.
There are things which ear has heard,— the

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN FIRST CORINTHIANS. 151
words of eloquence and wisdom, the notes of melody
and harmony, the whisper of affection, the voices
of nature and human love; but there is a higher
realm whose messages of heavenly truth and
Divine love ear hath never heard.
There are words of tenderness and wisdom
which the Shepherd's voice is waiting to speak to
those that know it, and the Holy Ghost is longing
to give to " him that hath an ear to hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches."
And there are thoughts and truths which human
hearts have conceived, wonderful creations of the
human imagination, wonderful conceptions of the
human soul, wonderful inductions from human
observation and perception, wonderful systems of
thought and philosophy. But there are deeper and
higher truths for the heaven- taught soul which
will fill the ages to come with wonder and rap
ture. "In Him are hid all the treasures of wis
dom and knowledge," and some day we shall
know, even as He, all the secrets of truth. But
He cannot speak them to us until we are able to
hear them. This is the province of the Holy
Ghost. Some of these truths He has revealed to us
in the Holy Scriptures, but this is but a primary
revelation for the present age, and as we shall
know Him better, He will lead us on and up to all
the heights and depths of knowledge in the cycles
of eternity. "For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the

152 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
deep things of God." Like a mother who is search
ing through her wardrobe to find what will fit
the ages of her children ; like a teacher who is
wisely discriminating, and determining just what
class he can put the pupil into, according to his
progress ; so the Holy Ghost is searching constantly
to find how much we can stand, how far He can ad
vance us, how fully He can reveal to us "the mind
of Christ," and He is often disappointed, because
as babes, we are unprepared for His higher mes
sages. 2. We need more than supernatural truth, we
need a supernatural mind to receive it.
And so the next thought presented here is the
Holy Spirit's ministry in giving to us the mind of
Christ, and a supernatural power of reception.
"For what man knoweth the things of a man,
save the spirit of man that is in him ? even so the
things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of
God." You may go home this morning and repeat this
sermon to the little canary bird that sings in your
chamber, and he may bend his little head in ear
nest attention and try to take in your thought and
meaning, but you will find that he has not grasped
it. His little mind is not equal to your higher
thought, he has only the mind of a bird and you
have the mind of a man. In order to make him
understand you, you would need to put your mind
into his brain.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN FIRST CORINTHIANS. 153
And so when we bring our little mind up to
the great thoughts of God we are inadequate, we
cannot take them in. Your canary may have a
bigger head than your neighbor's canary, it may
know one or two notes of song, it may have a few
little tricks that others have not learned, it may be
an educated, it may be a cultivated, it may be a
professional bird ; but it is only a bird. And so
your philosopher, your man of science, your scholar,
may know a few intellectual tricks, which the
common mind is ignorant of ; but he has only a
human mind, he cannot take in the things of God
without Divine illumination.
This is the reason why "the wisdom of the world
is foolishness with God." "But," He adds, "we
have received the Spirit which is of God, that we
might know the things that are freely given to us
of God." " We have the mind of Christ."
This is the stupendous truth which revelation
holds out, that we may have a Divine capacity in
order to understand a Divine revelation. The Holy
Ghost does not annihilate our intellect, but He so
quickens it and infuses into it the mind of Christ,
that it is practically true "that old things have
passed away, behold, all things have become new."
He can give us the power to cease from our
own thoughts, and He can put into us His Divine
thoughts. He can make the truth real and living
so that it glows and shines with the vividness of

154 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
intense realization. He can enable us to grasp it,
to feel it, to remember it, and to understand it.
He can light up the page until it glows as the fir
mament of stars at night, or as the sunshine of the
day that makes all objects plain. He can stop our
foolish and vain imaginations and "bring every
thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.''
Blessed baptism for our poor wandering minds,
blessed "peace of God that passeth all understand
ing," that can "keep our thoughts" as well as
our hearts by Christ Jesus ! Blessed sight as well
as light that the blind can have !
Therefore, in that beautiful and symbolical Gos
pel of John, where every act of Christ was an ob
ject lesson, we find that after He had revealed
Himself as the Light of the world, He immedi
ately healed the blind man, and restored his sight,
as much as to say, "It is not only light you need,
but vision." He came "that they which see not
might see, and that they which see might be made
blind ! "
3. There is one more thought still, and that is
the insufficiency of human wisdom to know the
things of God. "The natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God; for they are fool
ishness unto him : neither can he know them, be
cause they are spiritually discerned."
The natural man here is not, of course, the
fleshly man, but it is literally the psychical man,

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN FIRST CORINTHIANS. 155
that is, the soul man, the intellectual mind, the
cultured mind, the mind of the philosopher. It is
not for want of human education that men do not
know the truth of God ; but it is for want of
spiritual organs. Therefore, it is that "the wis
dom of this world is foolishness with God, and
He taketh the wise in their own craftiness." There
fore it is that scholarship and genius, and even
ecclesiastical authority so often fail to grasp the
deeper spiritual truths of the gospel, and even op
pose and hold up to ridicule and scorn the things
that God hath revealed to them that love Him.
And so, beloved, when you find the gifted
and the influential, even in professors' chairs and
sacred pulpits, opposing the truths that are dearer
to you than your life, and that you have seen in
the living light of God, — do not wonder, do not feel
provoked, do not answer back according to their
folly ; but pray for them, pity them and, as you
have opportunity, let the light of the truth they do
not know shine into their hearts.
Let them feel the touch of your love. Let them
see the tears of your deep and earnest compassion.
Let them behold the glory that shines through
your face and life, and some day they will become
hungry for the secret of the Lord, which you have
found. When Apollos preached in Ephesus the wonder
ful wisdom of the schools, Aquila and Priscilla

156 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
heard him, and saw his great lack. They did not
criticise him and denounce him ; but they lovingly
prayed for him, and they gently brought to him
the deeper truth, and God opened his heart to re
ceive it.
And oh, men of culture, men of self-confidence,
you will never find the truth by your processes.
You cannot understand it without the Divine re
velation. You are blind, and dark, and doomed,
unless God shall give you light. Oh, lie down in
humility, abase ment, and helplessness, at His blessed
feet ; confess your blindness, and cry to Him like
Bartimeus of old, "Lord, that my eyes may be
opened ; " and you, too, shall receive spiritual sight,
and behold wondrous things out of His Law.
II. THE INDWELLING OF THE HOLY GHOST AS OUR
SANCTIFIER.
I. Cor. iii. 16, 17: "Know ye not that ye are
the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwel
leth in you ? If any man defile the temple of God,
him shall God destroy ; for the temple of God is
holy, which temple ye are. "
I. Cor. vi. 11: "And such were some of you;
but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye
are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and
by the Spirit of our God."
Here we have the Holy Spirit as the indwelling
presence of the sanctified heart, and, indeed, as
the source of his sanctification and preservation.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN FIRST CORINTHIANS 157
This is the mystery of godliness — God dwel
ling in the temple of a human soul. It is not
merely that the temple is made holy, but being
separated and sanctified, it is made the abode of
God Himself, and He lives in it His own glorious
life. " I will dwell in them, and I will walk in
them." The apostle appeals to the Corinthians with the
question, "Know ye not ? The power of this bles
sed relationship is in knowing it, recognizing it
and living under its power. There are many glori
ous facts, which, if we but knew them, would
revolutionize our lives. For ages the world lived
on the edge of the profoundest secrets of science
and nature, and because it knew them not, it never
entered into their power ; but when it knew the
secret that was locked up in the lightning and the
steam, then all the forces of our modern commer
cial and industrial life at once came upon the scene
of human life.
And when we know that we have within us the
indwelling presence of God, we become at once
partakers of His omnipotence. When we know
that we have within us the power that can lift us
above every temptation, difficulty and sorrow, we
become partners in the power of God, andwe go
forth with the shout of a conqueror.
Oh, beloved, many of you are living in poverty,
defeat and disappointment, when you might be

158 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
conquerors and millionaires — spiritual millionaires.
Only claim your rights, only touch the wire that is
throbbing with electric fire, only draw upon the
bank account which is deposited in your name,
only use the resources that belong to you, only
know and prove your full salvation, and go forth
as the victorious sons of God, and conquered diffi
culties shall fall beneath your feet, and you shall
march forth, shouting, "Thanks be unto God, who
always causes us to triumph in Christ Jesus."
III. THE HOLY SPIRIT FOR OUR BODY.
I. Cor. vi. 19: "What! know ye not that your
body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in
you, which ye have of God ? "
This is a different truth from the one that we
have been considering, at least it is a different
measure and degree of the same truth.
The Holy Ghost not only fills the heart, but He
fills, or wants to fill, the body, too. He wants to
have us surrender to Him every physical organ and
member, and possess it, fill it, and quicken it with
His Divine life. He is the Former of our body as
well as the Father of our spirit, and He is able to
impart to every part of our frame the very life
of the risen Christ. And when He fills the body
and makes it His temple, He unites it with Christ.
Then also the thirteenth and the fifteenth verses
become true, "The body is for the Lord, and the

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN FIRST CORINTHIANS. 159
Lord is for the body." "Know ye not that your
bodies are the members of Christ ? "
Then He introduces us to that mysterious and
glorious relationship where we call Him Husband,
where we are wedded to the very life of our
Beloved Lord, and where He imparts to our vital
being and our physical organism His own resur
rection life and strength.
This is a relationship as pure and holy as the very
heart of God. It cannot be compared with any
human relationship ; it is infinitely above it. It is
a fellowship in the Holy Ghost so delicate, so sacred,
so pure, that the faintest image of earthliness would
defile it. But it is as real, as actual, as satisfying,
as the most tender and intimate of human affec
tions ; and, indeed, all we know of earthly love
and earthly joy is only its imperfect type and
shadow. It is the source of physical quickening
for the consecrated body. It makes our bodies the
members of Christ. It brings into every part of
our being His very life, it makes Him to us our
Life and Living Bread. It translates into actual
experience His wonderful words, "As the living
Father hath sent Me, and as I live by the Father,
so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me."
This is a love and a life that "none but he that
feels it knows." But He will teach it to the con
secrated and obedient heart, and He will give to
us even here a foretaste of that blessed fellowship

160 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
above where we shall sit down at the marriage
Supper of the Lamb, and live forever on His own
Divine life.
Then we are also taught that this indwelling
of the Holy Ghost in our body, and this union of
our frame with the personal Christ will bring entire
sacredness, dedication, and consecration to all our
being. "Ye are not your own, for ye are bought
with a price ; therefore, glorify God in your body,
which is God's." The reading of the Authorized
Version is wrong here. The word " spirit" is not
found in the original. He is speaking exclusively
of our physical life. It is our body that is bought
with a price. It is our body that is not our own.
It is our body in which we are to glorify God.
And how shall we glorify Him, but by letting
Him live in it, look through it, and work in it for
others, until our whole physical life shall be an
expression of God's grace and fullness, and He shall
look through our holy lives, and walk in our spring
ing steps, and shine in our glowing faces, and .
speak in our living, loving tones, and be revealed
to men in all we think and say and do.
Oh, what a sacredness it gives to life to receive
it breath by breath and moment by moment from
Him! They tell of a poor Chinese woman who had
refused to accept Jesus from the missionary nurse
that waited upon her.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN FIRST CORINTHIANS. 161
She was dying of an ulcerated arm, and when
the doctor said that if she could get anyone to
give up his flesh and blood to be transfused into
this shrunken and diseased member she might be
healed. She sent for her son and asked him if he
would let the doctor take the pieces of flesh and
the drops of blood from his arm to be infused
into his mother. But he refused, and then she
broke down in deep sorrow and discouragement.
One day the missionary nurse found her weep
ing and sat down by her side and asked her if she
would allow her to give her flesh and blood to heal
her. She was deeply moved at the offer, and al
though she protested that it was too much to ask,
yet she allowed the operation to be performed.
Day by day she continued to improve, and at
length the arm was healed and a white patch of
pure flesh and skin covered the place where the
ulcer so long had consumed her flesh.
One day the missionary nurse saw her weeping
again, and looking at her healed arm with strange
tenderness. She asked her what was the matter,
and the native woman said, "Teacher, I have been
looking at this white spot on my arm, and think
ing that you gave me your flesh and blood to heal
my poor diseased body. Why could you do it ? ''
And the teacher said, "It was only for love
of Jesus, because He gave His life for me."
The poor Chinese woman wept afresh, and look-

162 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
ing up, she said, " Teacher, I want your Jesus. If
He can make you love me that way, when my own
son refused to save me, I want Him to be my
Jesus, too." And that poor Chinese woman was
brought to Christ by the love of a missionary who
could give her very flesh to her.
Oh, beloved, as I Iook at these veins that were
once so dark with the currents of disease, and think
of Him who not only gave His life for me, but who
every morning freshly gives it to me, how can I live
for myself, how can I live for the world, how can I
prostitute to sin these God-given powers, how
can I but feel, as this text has said, " I am not my
own, I am bought with a price, I will glorify God
in my body which is God's ? "
God help us so to receive the life of Jesus, and
so to give it forth in holy, consecrated service for
Him, and for the world which can only be brought
to Him by the living pattern of His great love,
and by the indwelling of His own wondrous life
through the Holy Ghost which is given to us !

CHAPTER XII.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE BODY OF
CHRIST.
" For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whe
ther we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and
have been all made to drink into one Spirit." I. Cor. xii. 13.
THE whole of this wonderful chapter is devoted
to the unfolding of the profound truth that
the church is the body of Christ, and that the
Holy Ghost is the life of the church, constituting
and sustaining its union with Christ, the living
Head, and clothing it with Divine power and effi
ciency for its holy ministry.
I. THE HOLY GHOST CONSTITUTES THE BODY OF CHRIST.
" For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one
body." The church is not an organization. It is
an organic life ; it is a living body constituted by
the Holy Ghost, and united to Jesus Christ, its life
and living Head. Eve was created in the person of
Adam at first, and then afterwards was taken from
him by the special act of God, and united to him
as his bride. So the church is taken out of Christ
by the Holy Ghost, and then given back to Him in
Divine union as His glorious Bride. 163

164 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
Each individual member is thus called and crea
ted anew in Christ Jesus, and one by one the
Lord adds to Himself and to His church such as
shall be saved.
No other power can constitute a church. Men
may be added to organizations, but this does not
make them the body of Christ. The union must
be vital ; the work must be Divine.
It is called a baptism. This word expresses the
deep truth of death and resurrection. It is by the
death of our natural life, and the resurrection life
of the Lord Jesus Christ that we become incorpor
ated into His glorious body, and united with His
life as the great Head of the church.
Everything pertaining to the natural life is in
congruous with the true church of Christ. The
greatest curse of the church to day is the carnal
element that still adheres to it through unsancti-
fied men. The greatest need of the church of the
Lord Jesus Christ is to be baptized into death
through His cross, and raised into His Divine life.
This the Holy Ghost alone can do. This He is do
ing, member by member and moment by moment,
as the days go by; gathering out of every people,
and kindred, and tongue, a body for the Lord, a
Bride for the Lamb. And when the last member
shall be gathered, and the Bride shall be complete,
the Lord will come .and unite His body to its
waiting and glorified Head.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE BODY OF CHRIST. 165
So those alone belong to the true body of
Christ, who, through the Holy Ghost, have passed
through death into resurrection. "For by one
Spirit are we all baptized into one body."
II. THE HOLY GHOST SUSTAINS THE LIFE OF THE
CHURCH.
The apostle adds in the same verse, "We have
all been made to drink into that one Spirit." It is
one thing to be baptized into the body, it is another
thing to drink cf the ocean into which we have
been plunged.
The Holy Ghost becomes the vital element of
our new life. In Him we live, and move, and have
our being. As the bird lives in the air, as the fish
lives in the sea, as the flower lives on the sun
shine, so we live in the element of the Holy Ghost;
and as we drink of His fullness, our life is main
tained and grows into the maturity of Christ.
This is the secret of being filled with the Spirit,
and this is the source of fruitfulness and life.
Have we thus been made to drink into that one
Spirit ? He has to make us drink. He has to make
us so hungry and thirsty that we will fly to Him
for His life and love. He has to press us into the
hard emergency, so as to constrain us to receive
His fullness. And thus He is watering, nourish
ing, filling and perfecting His glorious workman
ship, and preparing it for the maturity of the body
and the fullness of Christ.

166 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
III. THE HOLY GHOST UNITES THE BODY.
" For there is one body," not two, "and as we
have many members in one body, so also is Christ."
1. He unites us to Christ the Head, and then
He unites us to one another in Him. Each individ
ual is connected directly with the Lord Jesus
Christ as the source of his individual life, and from
Him life must come to every member and extrem
ity of the body.
But He needs His church just as much as His
church needs Him. What is a head without a body;
what is a body without a head ? And so the church
here is called by a very solemn name, "So also is
Christ." The church is spoken of as Christ; the
Head in heaven is Christ ; the body on earth is
Christ. It represents Him ; it stands for His
merits, rights, and name, His holy character, and
vital power. It is filled with His life, its holiness
is His presence, its physical strength is derived
from His resurrection life, and all its power is just
the working out of the ascended Lord. He is still
working through it, and continuing to work, as
He began on earth, and we can look up, and say,
"As He is, so are we also in this world." All our
sufferings He shares. The most tender cords of
sympathy bind us to Him. When His disciples are
persecuted and hurt, His heart from the throne is

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE BODY OF CHRIST. 167
thrilled with sympathetic pain, and He cries,
' Why persecutest thou Me ?'"
2. But not only so, the Holy Ghost unites the
members also together. " Therefore if one mem
ber suffer, all the members suffer with it ; if one
member be honored, all the members rejoice with
it." Weakness or disease in any portion of the
human body affects the whole ; so the morbid,
sickly condition of so many members of the church
of Christ to-day affects the whole body, and holds
back the strength of Christ's cause from accom
plishing results which He has a right to expect.
Therefore it is a very solemn thing to be re
sponsible for schism or separation in the church.
When we do we sin against the heart of Jesus, we
sin against the Holy Ghost, we sin against the very
body of Christ. Therefore it is not only necessary
to keep from offences, injuries, and attacks, upon
the body of Christ; but we must also maintain a
healthful spiritual condition, or we shall defile the
whole body by sympathetic contact. And, there
fore, if we are filled with the Spirit, we shall have
a very tender, compassionate and sympathetic heart
toward Christ's Church, and shall be solicitous and
sensitive for her welfare and prosperity. It will
be our joy, like the great apostle's, " to be offered
upon the sacrifice *nd services of her faith," and
to "fill i\p that which remains of the sufferings of

168 POWER FROM ON HIGH.,
Christ for His body, the church ; " sharing with
the blessed Head the needs of His people, bearing
one another's burdens, and so fulfilling the law of
Christ.
IV. THE HOLY GHOST ENDUES AND ENABLES THE
BODY OF CHRIST FOR ITS VARIOUS MINISTRIES.
This is the special theme of this chapter and all
we have said leads up to it.
1. Every ministry, in order to be effectual, must
be inspired and made efficient by the Holy Ghost.
No man can rightly say that Jesus Christ is Lord,
save by the Holy Ghost. God cannot use secular
and natural gifts apart from the Holy Spirit. "If
any man speak, let him do it as the oracle of God ;
if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability
that God giveth, that God in all things may be
glorified through Jesus Christ." It is not splendid
talent, it is not deep culture, that constitute effi
ciency in the body of Christ, it is simply and abso
lutely the power of the Holy Spirit. It is a Divine
ministry and must have a Divine equipment.
2. We are also taught that every member of the
church may have the Holy Ghost for service; for
" the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every
man to profit withal;" that is to say, the Holy
Ghost is no respecter of persons, but is ready to
endue and enable every servant of Christ for the
work to which he is called, and the place in the
body where he is appointed.

j i

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE BODY OF CHRIST. 169
This blessed enduement is not for apostles,
prophets, miracle workers, teachers, special offi
cials, merely, but for every member of the church
of God. Every part of the body is necessary and
important, and, as the apostle reasons very beauti
fully from human physiology, the weakest and
humblest members of the human frame are often
most highly honored ; so also, in the church of
Christ, God uses and honors the weakest and the
lowliest, filling them with His own enabling, and
thus glorifying His own grace.
3. There is infinite variety. As in the human
body, every member has its separate office, and the
unity is enriched by the diversity which it har
monises. God does not want any man to copy
another, but each to be himself, with God added.
Our ministries are determined in some measure
by our place in the body, by our environment, by
the circumstances and providences amid which we
are placed, by leadings, and natural instincts and
preferences, and by the gifts both of nature and
of grace. Just where we are the Holy Ghost waits
to equip us, enable us, and fit us for higher useful
ness, and most efficient service.
He names a number of these gifts. Some are
called to be apostles, some prophets, some evange
lists, some pastors and teachers, some workers of
miracles, some counsellors, some just helps, and

170 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
some governments ; but you will notice, that the
helps come Jbefore the governments, and the teach
ers come before the miracle workers. It is not
brilliancy that God recognizes, but service ; and if
you cannot be a wonder worker, you can be at least
a little lamp to give light to the path of some trav
eller, or you can be an armor- bearer to stand beside
some other worker and help along.
4. Each of these gifts of the Holy Ghost is ad
ministered by the Holy Ghost Himself. The man
who is used as an instrument, does not receive the
glory and is not recognized as the worker, but sim
ply as the instrument. And so we have the signi
ficant expression, "All these worketh that one and
the self -same Spirit. " It is the Spirit that works,
and the man is just the vessel through whom He
exercises His sovereign and almighty grace. As
Richard Baxter has put it so wisely, "Each of us
is just a pen in the hand of God, and what honor
is there in a pen ? "
While we recognize this we shall be saved from
all self-consciousness, egotism, and elation, and
we shall lie in the dust at His blessed feet, hidden
and empty vessels, in the place where He can use
us best. 5. There is one other thought of great signifi
cance, and that is, that as the servant uses the
gift, it grows— "The manifestation of the Spirit
is given to every man to profit withal." As we

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE BODY OF CHRIST. 171
wisely use and faithfully improve the gifts of the
Holy Ghost they grow in effectiveness, and we be
come more and more used and honored of God ;
until He may be pleased to add to us not only one,
but many gifts, as we covet earnestly the best gifts,
and He shall multiply the fruit of our service by
thousands and tens of thousands, so that in the day
of recompense our seed shall be as the stars of
heaven, and our crown shall be brighter than their
supernal light.
What a solemn truth it is to have God Himself
as our Enabler, our enduement for service ! Yes,
He has given to us a crown to win, He has given
to us a life in which to win it, He has given to us
an age of extraordinary opportunities, and He has
given us the Holy Ghost to work out in our lives
the highest possibilities of existence. God help us
to be true to our tremendous trust, and to our
brief but infinite opportunities, through the grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ and the power of the
blessed Holy Ghost.

CHAPTER XIII.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IN SECOND CORIN
THIANS.
"Now, He which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and
hath anointed us, is God ; who hath also sealed us, and given the
earnest of the Spirit in our hearts." II. Cor. i. 21, 22.
" For as much as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle
of Christ ministered by us, not written with ink, but with the
Spirit of the living God ; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy
tables of the heart." II. Cor. iii. 3.
' ' But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the
glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory
to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." II. Cor. iii. 18.
THESE three verses present to us five striking
and instructive symbols of the Holy Spirit;
jewels, they are, of holy metaphor, flashing
celestial light from their faces, and speaking of the
deepest truths of Christian experience.
I. THE ANOINTING.
" He which stablisheth us with you in Christ,
and hath anointed us, is God."
The figure of anointing runs through all the
Scriptures, and it is crystalized in the very name
of Christ and Christian. Christ means the
Anointed One, and the Christian is the Christ-one,
or the one that has been anointed with the Holy
Ghost.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN SECOND CORINTHIANS. 173
We see it in all the ceremonies of the Old Test
ament. Especially was it employed in the setting
apart of the three great officials of the Old Testa
ment, the prophet, the priest, and the king.
Prophets were anointed that they might be set
apart as witnesses "and messengers of the will of
God, and so we are God's witnesses and messen
gers. Priests were anointed to stand between God
and the people, and make intercession in behalf of
others; and so we are anointed as God's holy priest
hood, to come near into His presence, to worship
at His feet, to present the incense of faith, love,
and devotion, to bear upon our hearts the suffer
ings, sins, and needs of others, and to share the
priesthood of our glorified Master.
And kings were anointed to rule in the name
of God, and to stand in glorious majesty represent
ing Jehovah to the people ; and so we are a royal
priesthood, kings and priests unto God and His
Father ; and, possessing the Holy Ghost, ours shall
be a regnant life, victorious over self and sin,
triumphant over temptations and difficulties, and
glorious in the dignity of our high calling.
For this three -fold ministry we are anointed of
the Holy Ghost. Only the Holy Spirit can fit us
for so high a calling, and He is given to every
follower of Jesus who is willing to receive and
obey Him.

174 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
The figure of anointing is used with still more
wide and beautiful significance. It speaks of holy
gladness,— "Anointed with the oil of gladness
above our fellows." "Thou anointest my head
with oil, my cup runneth over." It is the symbol
of healing, " anointing with oil in the name of the
Lord ; and the prayer of faith shall save the sick,
and the Lord shall raise him up."
It is the privilege of the humblest believer,
and of the most unworthy sinner that is willing to
receive Jesus and be baptized with the Holy Ghost.
There is no more beautiful figure of the anointing,
in the Old Testament, than the story of the leper
in the book of Leviticus. A poor outcast, un
worthy and sinful, he was brought unto the priest
in his helplessness and misery ; then touched
with the blood , washed with the water, dis
robed, and cleansed; and then, clothed upon in the
garments of holiness, the blood of the oil touched
the tip of his ear, his thumb, and his foot, and he,
too, became an anointed one.
So still the most helpless, hopeless, and worth
less, may receive the very highest gift of the Lord
Jesus Christ, the blessed Holy Ghost, and say
with the apostle, "Now He which stablisheth us
in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;" and then
go forth to say with the Master, " The Spirit of the
Lord is upon me ; for He hath anointed me to
preach the gospel to the poor, to bind up the

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN SECOND CORINTHIANS. 175
"broken-hearted, to proclaim deliverance to the cap
tives, the recovering of sight to the blind, and set
at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the
acceptable year of the Lord."
II. THE SEAL.
The seal is associated with all the relics of an
tiquity and all the customs of business in every
age. It is used first to authenticate and certify ;
and so the Holy Ghost certifies the believer, put
ting the stamp of God upon him, giving to him the
witness of his acceptance and the assurance of His
full salvation.
Next, the seal is the token of ownership ; and
so the Holy Ghost sets us apart, stamping us as
the property of God, and marking us as no longer
our own, but the purchased possession of Jesus
Christ, bought by His blood, bound to live for His
service and glory.
Again, the seal is the expression of reality. It
cuts its impression in the wax, and mates it real,
tangible and enduring ; and so the Holy Ghost
makes the things that we have known, real, and
turns into actual experience that which was be
fore but theory.
He makes truth real, He makes Christ real, He
makes Divine things facts in our consciousness
and our blessed experience.
Finally, the seal transfers the image ; and so

176 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
the Holy Ghost imparts to the receptive heart the*
very image of Jesus Christ, and leaves the stamp
of His character upon our lives.
You cannot, however, affix the seal to the hard
and settled wax. It must be soft and melted,
then the impression is easily made, and becomes
fixed and abiding ; and so God has to soften our
hearts before He can seal them. Oh, the blessed
ness of brokenness! The Holy Spirit is ever
seeking to melt our rigidness into tenderness, so
that He can impress upon us the stamp of His
ownership and His image, and make us the repre
sentatives of Christ to all who see and know us.
The sealing of the Holy Ghost is a very definite
and explicit act. In the Epistle to the Ephesians
we are told exactly when it occurs. " After ye
believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of
promise." We first yield ourselves, and then we
believe and receive the Holy Ghost by a definite
act of committal and faith ; and then His work
begins. We come and set our seal to the Divine cove
nant ; for "he that hath received Him, hath set
his seal that God is true." And then, on our seal
which we have affixed with our trusting, trembling
hands, the Holy Ghost comes and puts down His
mighty seal upon us, the double stamp is given,
and we are fully sealed unto the day of redemp
tion.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN SECOND CORINTHIANS. 177
Beloved, have you received the anointing, have
you been sealed by the Holy Ghost ?
III.
THE EARNEST.
This is also a very significant word- It has been
reproduced in almost all languages from the origi.
nal Hebrew. The very same Hebrew word reap
pears in the Greek language and in other tongues.
It represents the first installment in the pur
chase. When I buy a piece of land, I make a pay
ment on the signing of the contract, and the seller
is bound by my payment to make good to me the
deed in due time, and I am bound to follow it up
with the complete payment. It is a first install
ment, a part payment, binding the whole transac
tion. It has still another sense closely akin to this.
In Oriental countries and ancient times, the seller
also gave a first installment, as well as the buyer.
Taking a little handful of soil from the land pur
chased, he put it in a bag and handed it to the
purchaser as a pledge of the whole property being
transferred to him in due time. It was the very
same soil as he had bought, only a portion of it,
but it was the guarantee that all the rest should
be duly transferred.
So the Holy Ghost is to us the payment in part,
and the pledge in full, of our complete inheritance.
He is the first fruit of the harvest, He is the first

178 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
portion of the inheritance. He brings into our
heart and life the very same blessed reality which
heaven will complete ; the only difference will be
in measure and degree. And so we have the
double earnest. First, we have Him in our hearts
as the earnest of the spiritual inheritance which
heaven will bring. But a little later, in the fifth
chapter and the fifth verse, we have a little differ
ent phase of the earnest. "Now He which hath
wrought us for this very thing is God, who hath
also given us the earnest of the Spirit." Now the
very thing of which Paul is speaking there is not
our spiritual inheritance, but our physical inherit
ance in God. It is the resurrection body, it is the
glory which Christ is to bring when we shall be
clothed upon with our house which is from heav
en, and he clearly states here that the Holy Spirit
is the earnest of this also.
What can this mean but the blessed truth and
the still more blessed experience to many of us —
the Holy Ghost imparting to the body the very
principle of the resurrection life, quickening it,
exhilarating it, strengthening it, inspiring it with
Divine life and vigor, lifting it above disease and
pain, and anticipating, in some little measure, the
glory of the resurrection. IV.
EPISTLES OF CHRIST.
"For as much as ye are manifestly declared to

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN SECOND CORIIS THIANS. 179
be the epistles of Christ ministered by us, written
not with ink, but with the Spirit of the Living
God ; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables
of the heart." II. Corinthians iii. 3.
We have here a new figure of the Holy Spirit
as the great Recorder transcribing Christ, and His
character and life, upon the living tablets of hu
man hearts and lives. It is a beautiful figure,
and each of us is represented as a volume published
to the world, and carrying to men the message of
Christ. It is the only volume that many ever read. It
is the Bible bound not in Russia, or Morocco, or
cloth ; but the Bible bound in human lives. This
is the work of the Holy Ghost, and this is the
highest ministry of every consecrated life. Be
loved, are we thus revealing Christ to the world ?
Are we thus carrying the living message of His
love and will to men and women around us ? Are
we written over with the finger of the Holy Ghost?
Oh, how sacred were those holy tables of stone on
which God's own finger recorded the ancient law,
and which He deposited for safe keeping in the
Ark of the Covenant ! How much more sacred
the tables on which the Holy Spirit is now inscrib
ing the very life of Jesus, and entrusting to the
keeping of our consecrated lives !
God help us to receive the message and then to
publish it so truly, so sweetly, so wisely and so

180 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
consistently, that it may be known and read of all
men, and that it shall minister Christ to a world
that will not read His Bible, and does not know
His grace. As has been happily said, " Each of us
is either a Bible or a libel." God help us to be
living epistles of Jesus Christ in the power of the
Holy Ghost. V.
PHOTOGRAPHS OF JESUS.
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a
glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the
same image from glory to glory, even as by the
Spirit of the Lord." II. Cor. ii. 18.
This is the last of these metaphors of the Spirit
and it carries the thought to a beautiful and per
fect climax. We are not only books, but we are
illustrated books ; we are not only epistles of
Christ, but we are photographs of Christ. In the
centre of the volume of our life is a living picture
which the Holy Ghost is ever perfecting, and in
which He is revealing to the world the very glory
of Jesus. The idea is very striking, and exquisitely fine.
We are represented as gazing with fixed look upon
the face of Jesus Christ, and, as we gaze, His like
ness is reflected in our countenance, the Holy
Ghost is taking a picture of Jesus, not on a sensi
tive plate, as in our photographic art, but on a hu-

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN SECOND CORINTHIANS. 181
man face, and the face becomes a living illustration
to the world of the glory of our Lord.
In order to this picture being perfectly taken,
we must keep our own face steadfast, and our eye
fixed upon Him, and as we do so His glory is re
flected in our countenance, and His very image is
reproduced in our face.
It is also necessary that we must gaze with
open face. There must be no veil or cloud be
tween. As in the photographer's art, the little
covering must be removed from the face of the
camera, in order that the impression may be taken;
so the world, the flesh, and every obstruction must
be put aside, and with unclouded face and single
eye we must look steadfastly to Him, and as we
become occupied with Christ, and abide in His
fellowship, His glorious likeness is reproduced in
us and we stand before the world not only living
epistles but living likenesses of our blessed Lord.
Sublime conception ! We are illustrated volumes,
revealing to the world our blessed Saviour, even as
He revealed to the world His glorious Father.
It was His to be the brightness of the Father's
glory and the express image of His person. ( It is
ours to be the image of His glory and the express
image of Him. As He represented God, so we are
to represent Christ, and men will know Him by
what they see of Him in us.
This is the blessed work of the Holy Ghost.

182 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
He is the Artist that stands behind the canvas aDd
brings out the glorious, heavenly picture. Not only
so, but He makes a living picture. We are not
stereotyped and put away in a cabinet, but the pic
ture is renewed from day to day, and each day
should be brighter than the past. It is "from
glory to glory," ever brighter and brighter until it
shall be lost in the light of heaven.
It is not even " from grace to glory." We are
to reach the stage of glory, and then go on "from
glory to glory '' in increasing lustre forever.
Beloved, have we understood these things ?
Oh, may the Holy Ghost enable us to realize and
fully prove the blessed meaning of these five
heavenly symbols of the Holy Ghost — the anoint
ing, the seal, the earnest, the living epistles, and
the living photograph of the Saviour's face. Amen.

CHAPTER XIV.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IN GALATIANS.
" If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. ' ' Gal.
v. 25. a
T^HE Galatians were the Scottish Highlanders
A of ancient times and the ancestors also of
the hot-blooded race that transferred the
name of Gaul from the Province of Galatia to
ancient France.
They were a warm-hearted and generous people,
quick to receive the teachings of Paul, and quick
also to be led astray by the talse teachers that fol
lowed him. And so we find him warning and
pleading with them with his warm-hearted enthu
siasm against the seductions of trie Judaising
party who had begun to lead them back from the
simplicity of Christ to the entanglements of the
law. The theme, therefore, of the Epistle, suited to
the condition of the Galatians, is free grace. In
opposition to the misleading men who were seduc
ing them from the liberty of the gospel, he reiter
ates, again and again, the f reeness of the grace that
saved them at the beginning and that now must
still sanctify and lead them all the way through.

184 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
And so this thought gives tone to all the apos
tle's references to the Holy Spirit in the epistle.
These references are by no means few or unimpor
tant, and they are all touched with the complex
ion of this glorious theme, the freeness of the
gospel and, of course, inferentially, the freeness
of the Holy Ghost.

The Holy Ghost is received by faith and not
by the works of the law.
"0, foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched
you ? This only would I learn of you. Received
ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the
hearing of faith ? " Gal. iii. 2.
The Holy Ghost is just as freely given as the
blood of Jesus and the justifying righteousness
of God through Christ. The Holy Ghost is prom
ised just as salvation is promised, and received
just as salvation is received, by simple faith in
the blood of the Lamb, and the act of appropriat
ing the blessing to ourselves. Not by our surrend
ering, not by our consecration, not by our suffer
ings or crucifixions, but by simply believing, do
we receive this great gift of Jesus Christ, the
blessed Holy Ghost.
He is not given because we deserve it, He is
not given because we have suffered, He is not
given to those who struggle, but He is freely

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN GALATIANS. 185
given to those who freely receive Him, on the
simple promise of God and by child-like trust in
His grace and love.
We must trust the Holy Ghost as well as Jesus.
We must speak to the Rock and bid the waters
flow. If we strike it with our violent hands and
our struggling self- efforts we will only keep back
the blessing which we seek. Let us believe, let us
receive the Holy Ghost. II.
Our whole Christian life must be sustained and
maintained by the Holy Ghost through the same
simple faith by which we first began. And so we
read again, Galatians iii. 3 : "Are ye so foolish?
having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made per
fect by the flesh ? "
Oh, how many are so foolish ! They begin as
hopeless sinners at the foot of the cross, taking
all as the sovereign gift of Divine mercy, and then
they begin to build up a sort of reputation and
condition of self -constituted strength, and try to
sanctify themselves by their own self-denials, cru
cifixions, and ineffectual struggles. It, is indeed,
utterly foolish and vain. We need the same grace
to keep us as saves us at first. "By whom also
we have access by faith into this grace wherein
we stand."
Our Christian life is just a succession of the

186 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
simple acts of faith with which we first began.
"As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so
walk in Him." And the Holy Ghost is essential
to sustain and maintain all the exercises of spirit
ual life by His own Divine efficiency and spontan
eous working to the very close of our Christian
life. Oh, beloved, have you been so foolish ? Cease
your hard and vain endeavors, and simply abide
in Him. Be filled with the Spirit, and the fruit
will take care of itself. III.
Our Christian service, and our power for service
through the Holy Ghost is, by simple faith, and the
free grace of God in Christ. And so we have the
next appeal. Galatians iii. 5. "He, therefore,
that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh
miracles among you, doeth He it by the works of
the law, or by the hearing of faith ?"
Yes, the very ministry, for which the Holy
Ghost enables us, must be done in simple faith and
dependence upon His gracious gifts. The Holy
Ghost in His power for service is given just the
same as in the beginning, in the name of Jesus, in
the exercise of Divine mercy, and by simply be
lieving God and taking Him at His word. Accord
ing to our faith is it unto us. "He that minis
tereth the Spirit ; " here is not some man, but it

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN GALATIANS. 187
is God. It is Jesus that ministereth the Holy
Ghost, and He does it to them that believe and
as they believe. Would we then have this deeper
fullness, we must believe in the Holy Spirit, we
must receive Him by implicit trust in the promises
of God. IV.
We have the Holy Spirit next presented as the
sum of all the blessings that come to us through
Christ and the great covenant with Abraham on
which the gospel is founded. Gal. iii. 13, 14, "Christ
hath redeemed us from the curse of the law . . .
that the blessing of Abraham might come upon
the Gentiles, that we might receive the promise of
the Spirit through faith."
The promise of the Spirit, therefore, is the sub
stance of the covenant with Abraham, and the
supreme blessing of Christ's redemption. And as
the covenant with Abraham was purely one of
faith and not of works, long antecedent to the dis
pensation of law, so the Holy Ghost must be as
freely given as all the other blessings of the gospel.
The inference is quite justified that if we have
not received the Holy Ghost we have not inher
ited the full blessings of the covenant with Abra
ham, and the full purchase of Christ's redemption.
The Holy Ghost is just the Agent who applies to
us the redemption purchased by Christ, and with-

188 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
out Him the cross becomes but a vain possibility
to us, and the gospel an unfulfilled promise.
Beloved, have you received the promise of the
Spirit ? Other promises are called the promises,
but this is called the promise ; it is the one all-em
bracing promise that includes all the rest, and
without it all the rest are vain. Oh, let us claim
the promise of the Father, and the inheritance of
faith in all its^blessed fullness. V.
THE SPIRIT OF SONSHIP AND OF CHRIST.
The Holy Ghost is next presented in this beau
tiful epistle as the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ
dwelling in our heart through our union with Him,
and bringing us into his very sonship, and the fel
lowship of His inheritance. " Because ye are
sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son
into our hearts crying, Abba Father." Gal. iv. 6.
This sonship is the peculiar promise of the
New Testament, the peculiar privilege of those
who are united to the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ. This is not the sonship that comes by
virtue of our creation, this is not even the son-
ship that comes by virtue of our regeneration and
God's begetting us as His children, but this is a
new and higher sonship that comes by our virtue
of our union with Jesus Christ, and it brings us
into His very relationship to the Father.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN GALATIANS. 189
He is the only begotten Son, the First Born, and
we also are first born ones, and called " the church
of the first born ones who are written in heaven."
It is in His very Sonship, and with His very heart
within us that we look up and say, "Abba Father;"
it is a double Fatherhood, a two-fold experience, —
born of His very heart and then wedded to His
Only Begotten Son. Oh, what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be
called the sons of God, and we are the sons of God,
and "we know that when He shall appear we
shall be like Him." We are no longer servants
but sons and heirs of God, through Christ."
Beloved, have we received power thus to become
the sons of God and let the Holy Ghos«t work in us
our high calling ? VI.
THE HOLY GHOST AS THE SPIRIT OF SANCTIFICATION
AND VICTORY. GAL. V. 16.
" This I say then, walk in the Spirit and ye
shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. For the
Spirit," that is, the Holy Spirit, "lusteth against
the flesh, and the flesh against the Spirit, and
these are contrary the one to the other : so that ye
may not do the things that ye would."
A single letter here sheds God's own perfect
light upon the exposition of this verse, and that
is the capital S with which we spell the word

190 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that resists the flesh,
and He alone can overcome it, and exclude it, and
as we "walk in the Spirit, we shall not fulfill the
lusts of the flesh."
Here is God's great secret of holiness, not
fighting sin, but being filled with God. It is the
old principle of the expulsive power of a stronger
force and a supreme affection. Just as water
excludes air from that tumbler when it is filled
with water ; just as light excludes the darkness
when the room is lighted : so the indwelling of
the Holy Ghost excludes the presence and power
of sin. It is the old question of struggling to sanctify
ourselves, and fighting the flesh to keep it down,
on the one hand, or rising with God above it and
dwelling in that higher, holier element, where we
are removed from its control. It is the question
whether we shall try to cleanse the swamp of its
filth and its abominable creatures, or whether we
shall fly above it, and dwell in the pure light of
heaven with the Holy Ghost, where its miasmas
cannot reach us, and its serpents cannot crawl.
It is the old fable of the cleansing of the Augean
stables by spades and carts and scavengers, or the
simple and better way of letting the current of the
mighty river flow through that stable until it
sweeps all its impurities away and turns its banks
into a paradise of loveliness. In a word, it is the

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN GALATIANS. 191
glorious privilege of being sanctified, not by works
but by free grace, not by self-effort, but by simple
faith in the indwelling presence and power of God.
VII.
THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT.
This naturally follows from the previous
thought, and it is exquisitely brought out in the
next few verses, where we have the works of
the flesh in their manifold forms. First, the acts
of impurity; then, the sources of impurity; then,
the idolatry to which impurity leads; then, mal
ignity and hate in all their forms, pouring out
toward men the evil that had already separated
from God ; and finally, the awful excess of crime
and sensuality into which it brings men.
In contrast with this dreadful picture He gives
us "the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy,
peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, meek
ness, temperance, faith."
These are not fruits, but fruit. It is all one
fruit. We have not a great many things to do,
but just one, and that one thing is to love; for all
these manifestations of the fruit are but various
forms of love. Joy is love exulting ; peace is love
reposing ; long-suffering is love enduring ; gentle
ness is love refined ; meekness is love with bowed
head ; goodness is love in action ; temperance is
true self-love, and faith is love confiding ; so that

192 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
the whole sum of Christian living is just loving.
And we do not even have to love, but we only have
to be filled with the Spirit, and then the love will
flow as a fountain, spontaneously, from the life
within. It is all free grace, it is all the fullness
of an inexhaustible stream, the artesian weU that
pours from the boundless depths, and flows iu
floods of blessing on every side.
Ob, how easy is this life, how delightful, how
true, how glorious ! VIII.
OUR PART IN RECEIVING THE SPIRIT, AND CO-WORK-
ING WITH HIS WORKING. GAL. V. 25.
"If we live in the Spirit let us also walk in the
Spirit." Is there then nothing for us to do but
just lie passive in His hands while He works in us ,
Oh, yes ; there is much for us to do. We must
"walk in the Spirit," we must co operate with
God, we must keep step with our blessed Compan
ion, we must follow as He leads the way.
It is the habit of constant dependence and obedi
ence ; and as we thus walk with Him, He will be
manifested in us, and will fill us with His fullness,
and work out in us the fruition of His life.
There are things to do, but they are to be done
at His leading, and at His enabling. There are atti
tudes to be maintained, but they are as natural
as the stoppings of a little child that holds its

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN GALATIANS. 193
mother's hand, and walks by her side through
the great city where it knows not a single street or
number. It is not our walk so much as our Com
panion. It was not Enoch so much as the One
with whom Enoch walked. And yet Enoch had
to keep step with His blessed Friend, and as we
thus abide in Him, and walk in Him, and follow
Him, we shall know all the fullness of His love,
and will follow on to know the Lord.
IX.
THE ATTITUDE OF THE SPIRIT FILLED MAN TO THE
WEAK AND ERRING. GAL. VI. 1.
"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault,
ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the
spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou
also be tempted."
Is this life in the Soirit to make us proud and
self sufficient in our attitude to others? No; it
will make us tender, compassionate and full of
sympathy to the faltering ones who stumble by
our side. It is the spiritual man that is to restore
the erring, and even he, with all his experience, is
to consider himself, "lest he also be tempted,"
and to know that he is just as weak and frail as
his brother.
It was when Peter had reiterated his love and
been accepted anew of his Lord after his deep and
humbling lesson, he received, as his highest trust,

194 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
the command to feed the feeble sheep and the
helpless lambs. So, as we are filled with the
Spirit, it will be the spirit of gentleness, the spirit
of patience, the spirit of compassion, the spirit that
will restore the erring, and seek and save the lost.
X.
Finally, the Spirit, in relation to the future;
sowing to the Spirit, reaping to the Spirit.
What is the bearing of all this present life on
the life to come ? It is very real, it is very solemn,
it is very lasting. "God is not mocked: for what
soever a man soweth that shall he also reap. He
that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap
life everlasting, and he that soweth to the flesh
shall of the flesh reap corruption."
Oh, how the days are telling. We may scatter
the thistle down, we may throw away our prec
ious seed in the depths of sin, but there shall be
a sad reaping bye-and bye. Or, we may sow seeds
of patience and trust, of holy suffering, and
unselfish service, and bye-and-bye we shall reap if
we faint not.
Oh, ye that trifle away the precious hours and
oppportunities of these days, some day you shall
wake to find how much you have lost ! Some
day, when, with a converted soul and a consecrated
life, you long for holy usefulness, Oh, how you
will mourn that you wasted your youth,

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN GALATIANS. 195
lost the opportunities that would have fitted
you for glorious work for God, and that it is too
late !
Oh, ye who seem to see no fruit now, go on;
sow tothe Spirit and wait; " Cast your seed upon
the waters, and you shall find it after many
days." And some day, in yonder heaven, you will
know what this promise means. ' 'I have called thee,
that thou shouldst plant the heavens." Some day as
you see the avenues of glory planted with the
trees of righteousness and blooming with the flow
ers of Paradise, an angel voice by your side may
tell you that these were the sowing of years of
faith and patience, these were the seeds cf laith
and prayer, of sacrifice and obedience, that you
planted long ago.
Pray on, beloved; you are planting seed in
heavenly soil, and some day your rapturous soul
shall embrace the answer. Suffer on, patient sol
dier of the cross ; it may not be given to you to
serve, it may not be given to you to preach the
gospel, it may not be given to you to do the work
for which j ou would gladly give all the world ;
yours is to stand bravely, truly, in the ordeal of
pain, misconstruction, irritation, uncongenial sur
roundings, in the household, in the business
office, in the place of terrible temptation. Be
true. You are sowing to the Spirit, and some

196 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
day you will reap the amarathine flowers and fruits
of glory. You shall have your crown. Nothing that the
Spirit breathes can ever die. Nothing that the
Spirit plants can ever perish. Sow on. Weep on.
Wait on. Hold on. It may be weeping now, it
will be rejoicing bye-and-bye. It may be sowing
now, but it will be reaping by-and-bye.

CHAPTER XV.
ALL THE BLESSINGS OF THE SPIRIT;
OR, THE HOLY GHOST IN EPHESIANS.
" Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
hath blessed us with all the blessings of the Spirit in the heaven-
lies in Christ Jesus." Ephesians i. 3.
HTHIS is the text of the whole epistle to the Ephe-
1 sians. That epistle is an unfolding of "all
the blessings of the Spirit." This is the true
translation of the passage.
There is a great difference between the bless
ings of the Spirit and spiritual blessings. This is
a case where a single noun is worth a hundred ad
jectives. The person of the Holy Ghost is worth
more than all His gifts.
The blessings unfolded in this epistle, are said
to be "in the heavenlies ;" that is, in the higher
realm and element where we dwell in Christ,
above the natural life, and in fellowship with the
heavenly world.
The Apostle's theme, in this sublime epistle, is
the higher blessings of the Holy Ghost, which
He makes known to those who enter into the full
ness of Christ. May the Holy Spirit Himself en-
197

198 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
able us to see and enter into all the blessings of the
Spirit ! I. THE SEALING OF THE SPIRIT.
' ' In whom, after ye believed, ye were sealed
with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the
earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of
the purchased possession." Ephesians i. 13-14.
We have already spoken in a former chapter of
the seal and earnest of the Spirit, and it is not
necessary to enlarge upon them here. The seal is
the mark of ownership, reality, certainty and re
semblance, and the earnest is the first installment
and pledge of the full inheritance. The Holy
Ghost, when He seals us, makes real and sure to us
the blessings of our inheritance, and stamps us
with the image of Christ; and, as the Earnest, He
gives to us the promise and the pledge of all the
fullness of our future heritage.
This is the privilege of every disciple, and it
may be claimed and received, by simple faith, the
moment we believe. • It is recognized not as the
crowning experience of Christian life, but rather
¦asits beginning.
Beloved, have we been thus set apart and
stamped as the purchased possession of God, and
made to know in our inmost experience the hope
of our calling, and the foretaste of our future
glory !

THE HOLY GHOST IN EPHESIANS 199
II. THE SPIRIT OF ILLUMINATION.
The Holy Ghost next opens our inner eyes, and
reveals to us the vision of our high calling and our
full inheritance. This is given at great length in
the sublime passage, Ephesians i. 15-23. This is
the apostle's first prayer for the sealed ones of
whom he has already spoken.
He asks for them, that the Holy Ghost may be
to them the "Spirit of wisdom and revelation in
the knowledge of Him." This is a special Di
vine revelation beyond the power of human in
tellect in its own natural wisdom and strength.
It is not only that new truths are unfolded and
illuminated, but new spiritual vision is given to
understand and realize them.
The eyes of their understanding are to be en
lightened. This should rather be translated, "the
eyes of your heart." It is the deeper spiritual
nature that is here referred to, the very core of our
being, and the fountain of our thoughts and con
ceptions of Divine things.
It is not through our cold intellect but through
our spiritual instincts that we are to understand
the heavenly vision. There are things that " eye
hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have they
entered into the heart of man ; but God hath
revealed them unto us by His Spirit." There are
humble Christians who could not spell a word of

200 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
two syllables or explain a single rule of grammar,
who ha»ve thoughts and conceptions of God, and
raptures of heavenly joy, for which an angel would
gladly leave his throne.
The object of this vision is, first, "that ye may
know what is the hope of His calling." This
means the glorious purpose for which He has
called us, as an object of delightful hope and ex
pectation, that we may know our high destiny and
be thrilled with the joy of its anticipation.
Next, He prays that we may know "the riches
of the glory of His inheritance in the saints."
The word know in all these clauses, means, in the
original, to fully know, to know to the utmost.
The "inheritance in the saints," means that glo
rious work of grace which Christ is fulfilling in the
hearts of His people and which is yet to be con-
sum mated in the eternal glory, when we shall sit
with Him upon His throne, and share with Him,
as His glorified Bride, in His eternal kingdom.
This is the inheritance for which He Himself gave
up His primeval throne, and for which we count
all things but loss.
The apostle prays that the sealed ones may
catch the vision of this glorious inheritance in its
present and future possibilities, and may fully
know all the riches of its glory. This will take the
glow from every earthly picture and from every
worldly prospect, and this will make sorrow light

THE HOLY GHOST IN EPHESIANS. 201
and things present seem like empty bubbles and
worthless dreams.
Still farther, he prays that they may fully know
"what is the exceeding greatness or rather the
surpassing greatness of His power, or, as the Greek
expresses it, His dynamite, to usward who believe.
It is not merely joy and glory that the vision
unfolds, but actual and practical power. There is
nothing we so much need as power. We are ever
coming into conflict with forces too strong for our
human weakness. We are fighting a ceaseless
battle, and we are inadequate for the weakest of
our foes and the smallest of our difficulties. We
are "without strength," and the deepest need of
our heart is for spiritual power. And there is for
us all the power we need, treasured up in Him
who said, " All power is given unto Me in heaven
and in earth." The word here used for power has
received a new significance through the progress
of modern science.
The terrific force expressed by dynamite is here
represented as the figure of the spiritual power
that the Holy Ghost wants to show us and impart
to us, if we can only see and receive the surpass
ing greatness of His dynamite to usward who be
lieve. But we must see it, and believe it, or we
cannot have it.
What is the difference between the nineteenth
century with its blaze of light and its resources of

202 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
mechanical power, and the fifteenth century with
its slow and tedious processes of toil ? What is the
difference between our Empire Express sweeping
over the land at sixty miles an hour, and the poor
Indian savage on his snow shoes, travelling in a
month the distance that now we can cover in a
day? There was just as much power in nature
then as now. The hidden forces of electricity and
of steam were all in existence then, as much as to
day. Ah, the difference was, he didn't know it,
and we do. And so there are stored up in Christ,
spiritual forces surpassingly greater than the dy
namite or the electric engine ; but millions of
Christians go stumbling, groaning, and defeated
through life, because they do not know the riches
of the glory of their inheritance.
What right have we to be weak, what busi
ness have we to fail, what excuse have we to be
ignorant with such a treasure house of blessing
stored up at the throne of grace, and at the call of
faith and prayer ?
And then he gives us an object lesson of all this
in the resurrection and ascension of the Lord
Jesus Christ. This is not a mere theory, but an
accomplished fact. All this power has been ac
tually proved and tested, and what was true once
can always be true again. What was fulfilled in
the life of Jesus can be fulfilled in each of us.
And so he prays that our vision may be quick-

THE HOLY GHOST IN EPHESIANS. 203
ened and enlarged, so that we can see the work
ing of His mighty power, as it wrought "in Christ
when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him
at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far
above all principality, and power, and might, and
dominion, and every name that is named, not only
in this world, but also in that which is to come :
and hath put all things under His feet, and gave to
Him the head over all things to the Church, which
is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in
all." All this surpassing power has been already ex
emplified in the resurrection of Christ. It burst for
Him the fetters of the tomb, rent asunder the se
pulchre, shattered the Roman seal upon the stone,
scattered the terrified soldiers that guarded the
tomb, and brought forth the risen Lord in all the
glory of His immortal life. Not only so, it raised
Him far above the empty tomb, far above the earth
itself, up through the air, and the fields of space,
past the planets and the constellations, yonder to
the Central Throne, where He sat down in the
place of honor and power at the right hand of the
eternal God.
It exalted Him far above all government, and
power, and might, and law, and every name that
is named, both in the present age and in all the
ages to come. Think of all the names you know,
think of all the powers you fear, think of all the
foes you dread, He is far above them all.

204 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
And He is there not for Himself, but for you.
He is Head over all things for His body, the Church.
His very business there is to use His power for us.
His eternal occupation is to represent us. He is as
much in need of us as we are of Him. He is but a
head without us ; for we are His body, we are the
complement of His life, we are the other half of
His being, and when He helps us He helps Him
self, and when He blesses us He is more truly
blessed. Therefore we may confidently claim the
boundless fullness of His blessing, and know that
all that is true of Him, may be just as true of us;
for "as He is, so also are we in this world."
To see this vision is to be omnipotent. May
the Holy Ghost anoint our eyes with eye salve and
show us His glory !
III. THE SPIRIT OF ACCESS AND COMMUNION.
Having seen the glory of our ascended Lord, we
are next admitted by the Holy Spirit, in access and
communion, into His presence. "For through
Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the
Father." The door is open now, and we can go in
and out with the freedom of children ; gazing upon
His glory and drawing from His fullness strength
for weakness and grace for grace.
This is by the Spirit. It is He who gives to us
the sense of need, the spirit of prayer, the con
fidence to come, the witness of acceptance, and the

THE HOLY GHOST IN EPHESIANS. 205
blessed fellowship of constant communion. We
are to "pray in the Holy Ghost," and as we fol
low His suggestions, and breathe out His groan-
ings, and aspirations, our God given prayers will
reach the throne and come back to us in blessing.
IV. THE INDWELLING SPIRIT.
But now we have a far grander vision. We
have seen the glory yonder, within the heavenly
gates, and amid the splendors of the throne. We
have had permission to enter through the open
doors of prayer, and gaze upon it, and draw from
its stores of grace. But now the Holy Ghost brings
it all down to us, and puts it in our very heart
and being.
The heaven above becomes the heaven within,
the Saviour enthroned at God's right hand becomes
the enthroned Lord of our heart and being, and
God Himself removes His tabernacle from heaven
to earth, and dwells in very deed with men, and
in the temple of the believing heart. This is the
next stage of the Spirit's working in this sublime
epistle. It is two-fold. First, in the whole church as
the body of Christ, Ephesians ii. 21, 22. "The
whole building fitly framed together groweth unto
a holy temple in the Lord ; in whom ye also are
builded together for an habitation of God through
the Spirit."

206 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
Then also it is fulfilled in the heart of each in
dividual Christian, Ephesians iii. 16-19. " That
He would grant you, according to the riches of His
glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit
in the inner man ; that Christ may dwell in your
hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and ground
ed in love, may be able to comprehend with all
saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth,
and height; and to know the love of Christ which
passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all
the fullness of God.''
The essence and substance of this prayer is,
that we may be filled with all the fullness of God,
and that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith,"
so fully that we shall " know the breadth, and
length, and depth, and height of His measureless
love." Now for this the Holy Ghost has to strengthen
us and prepare us. In our ordinary condition we
could not stand the glory and power of such a
blessing. It would be like putting a charge of
powder that would fill a cannon into a pocket pis
tol, and the only effect would be the explosion and
destruction of the pistol. If God were to give us
all the power for which we sometimes ask Him,
it would destroy us. We should be so lifted up
with self-consciousness and self-importance that
we should be ruined, or else we should be crushed
by the weight of glory. Therefore, He prays, first,

THE HOLY GHOST IN EPHESIANS. 207
that we may be strengthened with might by the
Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell
in the heart by faith.
Just as the maker of that cannon strengthens
it at the breech, doubling the thickness and
strength of the metal where the pressure is heavi
est, and gradually tapering it to the- muzzle, that
the resistant power shall be equalized to the
strain ; so the Holy Ghost prepares us to be the
vessels of His grace and power. Perhaps the mak
er of that cannon experimented for many years be
fore he got the quality of the metal, and the
strength of the barrel, perfectly adjusted to his
purpose. Perhaps he often broke it up, and re
cast it, before he dared to put the stamp of his es
tablishment upon it, and trust it in the battleship
of his country. And so the Holy Ghost has to
work long and patiently with us, and often to
break us, over and over again, before we can be
fully trusted with His highest commissions, and
stand the exceeding weight of glory which He
wishes to put within us, and upon us. Let us not
be afraid of His mighty love, or shrink from the
presure of His wise and mighty, moulding hand.
In the vision of Daniel the empires of the
world were represented under the magnificent
image of a figure with a head of gold, shoulders
and arms of silver, trunk of brass, and legs of
iron. It was a very splendid-looking form of

208 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
grandeur and power, but the end of it was that it
was broken to pieces, and scattered like the chaff
of the summer threshing-floor. The secret all lay
in this, that as the image descended toward its
feet, the strength of the iron was mixed with
miry clay, and the feet, on which its grand form
rested, were no better than clods of mud.
Many a grand looking life has no better sup
port than this, and all the work that rests on mixed
materials must go to pieces in the hour of strain.
God is taking the clay out of us. He wants men
and women made of unmixed steel, that will stand
the pressure of the power that He means to give
them, and the glory with which He is yet to
clothe them.
The truth is, God blesses every one of us as
much as He can, and fills us as full as we can hold.
The trouble is, some of us cannot hold much. As
we yield ourselves to His gracious working, He
will fill us more and more with all tha fullness of
God, Christ shall be to us an indwelling presence,
and we shall "comprehend with all saints what
is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height,
and to know the love of Christ which passeth
knowledge." For He "is able to do exceeding
abundantly above all that we ask or think, and
the only limit is, "according to the power that
worketh in us."
Dr. Boardman tells of a lady in London, to

THE HOLY GHOST IN EPHESIANS. 209
whom this passage came with such convicting
power that she felt she could not rest until God
had made it real to her. She knew that she had
never received exceeding abundantly above all
that she asked or thought, and she just went to
her Father, and asked Him to make His word true
to her, and told Him that she would never cease
until this verse had become her actual experience.
She waited upon God for many weeks, and
when she came back she told her pastor that her
prayer was answered, and God had revealed Him
self to her in a manner far exceeding her high
est thought. But she said that He had shown
her that there was so much more yet for her
to receive, that He had raised her thought as
far above her blessing, as her blessing had been
above her former thought. And so He was lead
ing her on from glory to glory, and as each new
capacity was filled it was enlarged and filled again.
This is indeed true ; and so we may all have
exceeding abundantly and be kept forever in that
strange paradox of the spiritual life, ever satisfied
and yet eyer hungering and thirsting for more.
V. THE LIVING OUT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN OUR
DAILY EXPERIENCE.
All this beautiful inward experience would be
but a holy mysticism if it did not have a direct
practical bearing on our common life. And so we

210 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
have in Ephesians v. 9, 10, 17, 18, the practical
bearing of all this upon our every-day life. ' 'For
the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and right
eousness and truth ; proving what is acceptable
unto the Lord. Wherefore, be ye not unwise, but
understanding what the will of the Lord is. And
be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but
be filled with the Spirit." This is to be the habit
of our daily life, and, as we are thus filled with
the Holy Ghost, our lives will be filled with good
ness, Tightness, and reality.
We will not be shams and professions, but
blessed expressions of the Divine life within, and
our whole being, inspired with a Divine exhiler-
ance, shall overflow in gladness, goodness, sweet
ness, unselfishness, and blessing, to all with whom
we come in contact.
VI. THE OVERCOMING LIFE THROUGH THE HOLY
GHOST.
The last picture in the epistle carries us forward
to the closing and crowning experiences of the
Christian life. It is a scene of conflict and fierce
temptation. We are " wrestling with principali
ties and powers, the rulers of the daikness of this
world, with spiritual wickedness in the heaven
lies." These throng the thickest at the very gates
of heaven Think it not strange that we should
find such beings and such conflicts in the heavenly

THE HOLY GHOST IN EPHESIANS. 211
laces. Th^t is just where they love to concen
trate their forces, and turn us back at the very
portals of glory. Let us not be "terrified by our
adversaries, which is to them an evident token of
perdition, but to us of salvation, and that of God."
We have seen these principalities before in this
epistle. They are the powers of what we were
told in the first chapter, that Christ was "far above
them." They are conquered foes, and in Him we
are already "more than conquerers."
But how shall we meet these terrific forces ?
Thank God for the Holy Ghost again. "When
the enemy shall come in like a flood, then the
Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against
him." First, we have the sword of the Spirit, Ephe
sians vi. 17. "And take the helmet of salvation,
and the sword of the Spirit, which is in the Word
of God." This was Christ's weapon in the conflict
when He met the adversary in the wilderness,
with the repeated word, " It is written." And
when the devil, surprised at the power of this
heavenly sword, picked it up and began to use it
himself by quoting Scripture, Christ took the
other edge of it, and struck him back the last fatal
blow by His answer, so sublimely wise, "It is
written again."
The Holy Ghost has given thus this Word, and
He is not likely to ignore it in His own manifesta-

212 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
tions to our hearts. Indeed, it is His purpose that
we shall live out every particle before we pass from
this earthly stage to the life beyond. It is He
and He alone that can make it the sword in our
victorious hands, suggesting to us the promise,
or the reproof, or the command, which we need
for each new situation, and then arming it with
the fiery point and piercing edge that will cut
through all the devil's disguises and make us
always to triumph in the battle of life.
Then we have the prayer of the Spirit in the
eighteenth verse. " Praying always with all prayer
and supplication in the Spirit, and watching there
unto with all perseverance and supplication for all
saints." This is our next victorious weapon ; and
the most remarkable thing about it is, that the prin
cipal part of the prayer is not for ourselves at all,
but for others. It is when, like a wise general,
we turn the position of our foe, and attack him
directly, by praying for others, that we compel
him to retreat and let us alone ; and, as we become
occupied with the high and holy thoughts of un
selfish love and prayer, we forget the troubles
that were crushing us, and the temptations that
were pressing us, and we are lifted, clear above the
battlefield, into those heavenly places where the
serpent's fangs cannot reach us, and the devil's
fiery darts cannot come.

THE HOLY GHOST IN EPHESIANS. 213
VII. WHAT SHOULD BE OUR ATTITUDE TO THIS
HEAVENLY FRIEND?
We have it beautifully expressed in Ephesians
iv. 30. " Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby
ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." It is
not said that we make Him angry, or drive Him
away ; but we grieve Him, disappoint Him, and
cause Him pain.
He has set His heart upon accomplishing in us
and for us the highest possibilities of love and
blessing ; and when we will not yield to His wise
and holy will, when we will not let Him educate
us, mould us, separate us from the things that
weaken and destroy us, and fit us for the weight
of glory that He is preparing for us, His heart is
vexed, His love is wounded, His purpose is baffled;
and if the Comforter could weep, we would see
the tears of loving sorrow upon His gentle face.
Just as a mother fondly longs for the highest
education and success of her child, and feels repaid
for all her sacrifices and toils when she beholds her
noble boy in the hour of his triumph ; just as a
loving teacher spends years in the training of his
pupil, and when, at last, some day, that successful^
student is rewarded with the highest prizes and the
acclamations of the university, he takes his favorite
in his arms with a joy far greater than if the
triumph were his own; so our blessed Mother God

214 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
is jealously seeking to work out in our lives the
grandest possibilities of immortal existence ; and,
some day, when that blessed Spirit shall take us by
the hand, and present us to Jesus as His glorious
Bride, " without spot or wrinkle or any such
thing," the joy of the Holy Ghost will be greater
than our own.
Oh, let us not disappoint Him. Let us not
grieve Him. Leus not hold back from Him. Let
us not sin against His forgiving, long-suffering
love. "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby
ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."

CHAPTER XVI.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IN PHILIPPIANS.

"For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through
your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ." Phil.
i. 19. " If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort
of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same love,
being of one accord, of one mind." Phil. ii. 1-2.
THE Epistle to the Philippians is the sweetest of
the Pauline letters. It is the unfolding of his
inmost heart, and of his tenderest relations, to the
most fondly-loved of his spiritual flocks. No
church was quite so dear to him as the little band
at Philippi, who were the first seals of the begin
ning of his missionary work on the continent of
Europe. He could say to them truly, ' ' I have you in my
heart. Ye are all partakers of my grace. I thank
God for your fellowship in the gospel, from the
first day until now."
But it is not only the expression of a hallowed
human love, it is also the embodiment of all that is
most mellow, mature and delicate, in the Christian
spirit and temper. It is the ripeness of the mellow

216 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
fruit just ready to fall from the branch; it is the
bloom on the peach, delicate as the rainbow tint,
and soft as the wing of an angel. There is some
thing about its tone that can only be understood by
the finer senses of the deepest and highest Chris
tian experience.
While the great epistle to the Ephesians is like
the tabernacle building with its deeper and deeper
unfoldings of truth and life, the epistle to the
Philippians is like the sweet incense on the golden
altar and in the holy place.
There are only two references to the Holy Spirit
in this epistle, but these two are in perfect keeping
with the" structure and spirit of the whole epistle.
I. THE SUPPLY OF THE SPIRIT.
The word for supply employed here is a very
unusual one, and has a special and strongly figura
tive significance. It is the Greek word, Epichore-
gos, and it refers to the Epichoregos, or chorus
leader in ancient Greece. On a great festival occa
sion it was customary for a certain man, as an act
of public generosity, and also a distinguished honor
to himself, to provide for the public entertainment
of the people by an elaborate musical exercise, con
sisting of a great many pieces, a great variety of
music, musical instruments and performers ; and
it was his business to supply all that was necessary
for this performance, to meet all the expenses of

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN PHILIPPIANS. 217
the occasion, to secure all the performers, instru
ments, assistants, etc., and see that everything was
supplied, and also to lead the chorus.
From this old word, our expression chorus, and
chorus-choir are derived.
Now this word conveys the idea of supplying ;
but also of supplying especially the parts in a musi
cal chorus ; and it carries along with it the idea of
something harmonious and glorious. It is a very
abundant supply, and it brings a very triumphant
result. This word is used in a remarkable passage in
the first chapter of II. Peter, "Add to your faith
courage, knowledge, temperance, godliness, broth
erly kindness, charity." This word "add," is the
same Greek term, Epichorego. It means, "chorus
into your faith and life these beautiful graces,"
bring them all into tune, and work them out in har
mony and praise, so that your life shall be a dox
ology of joy and thanksgiving. And then, at the
close of that paragraph, the word re-appears, "For
30 shall an entrance be ministered unto you abund
antly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ." Literally it might be
translated, " So an entrance shall be chorused unto
you." That is, the very graces that were wrought
into your earthly life, and attended you as a heav
enly choir, shall wait for you at the gates of heaven
and sing you home to your coronation. The love

218 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
and gentleness, the faith and patience that you ex
ercised in your earthly pilgrimage shall be waiting
yonder, as a train of musicians, and shall celebrate
your victory and your recompense.
Now this is the word used in the passage in
Philippians, "the supply of the Spirit of Christ
Jesus." The Holy Ghost is the choir leader, and He
is bringing into the Apostle's life all the supplies
of grace he needs to make his life not only tolerable
but triumphant, and turn everything into a chorus
of praise. The Apostle had just been telling us before of
the peculiar trials through which he was passing,
and the subtle foes that were distressing and harass
ing him, by even preaching the very gospel that he
loved so well, for contention and strife, "Suppos
ing," he says, " to add affliction to my bonds." Yet
so abundant was the supply of the Holy Spirit, as
the Choir -Leader of his victorious life, that he rose
above their jealous hate, turned the very trial
into a triumph and was enabled to bring blessing
out of the devil's blows, and to exclaim in a chorus
of praise, "What then, notwithstanding every
way, whether in pretense, or in truth, Christ is
preached ; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will
rejoice ; for I know that this shall turn to my sal
vation," that is, my complete and fuller salvation,
" through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit
of Jesus Christ."

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN PHILIPPIANS. 219
And so for us, beloved, the Holy Ghost is able
to provide so fully, that
" Ills of every shape and every name,
Transformed to blessings, miss their cruel aim."
This was to turn to his salvation. He does
not, of course, mean his literal deliverance from
condemnation, but that deeper, fuller life in Christ
which is all comprehended in complete salvation.
It is one thing to be " saved as by fire ; " it is
quite another thing to be saved to the utteumost.
Now the apostle says that this is to come to him
"through their prayer." We can help each other
to the deeper and fuller supply of the Spirit of
Christ Jesus. If our heart is open to receive the
blessing, the prayers of others reach us and add
to the measure of our fullness.
Every breath of true prayer accomplishes some
thing, and makes some addition to the measure of
blessing that we ask for ourselves and others.
There is no greater service that you can render to
a true child of God than to pray for him in the
Holy Ghost, and in that deep Divine love that
brings you into a common touch with his life and
needs. Especially is this true of those who stand
in public places to represent Christ to others, and
who must receive first the stores of blessing which
they are called to impart. Let us pray for them,
and we may be very sure the blessing will come
back to us. To keep up the figure of the text and

220 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
the imagery of the chorus, our prayers are just the
breath which fills the mighty organ and swells the
strain that bursts from every pipe and every note.
II. THE COMMUNION OF THE SPIRIT. PHIL. II. 1, 2.
This passage is a very exquisite one. It touches
the most delicate shades of Christian feeling. It
speaks of " consolation in Christ." the tenderness
of His comforting love. It speaks of the "com
fort of love," the sweet and healing balm of sym
pathy and holy affection. It speaks of the "fel
lowship of the Spirit," the communion of the saint
with God, and with his brethren in the Holy Ghost.
It speaks of "bowels of mercies," the finer chords
of spiritual sensitiveness which thrill responsive to
every touch of pain or joy in each others' hearts.
There is something about it so refined and exquisite
that the rude, coarse mind cannot grasp it, and it
is literally true, "that none but he that feels it
knows." It is especially of this third phrase that we are
to speak — "If there be any fellowship of the
Spirit." The Greek word is Koinonia, which
might be literally translated, in common. It really
means to have things in common.
1. It is used first of our fellowship with God.
"Truly, our fellowship is with the Father, and
with his Son, Jesus Christ." " The communion of
the Holy Ghost."

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN PHILIPPIANS. 221
Our communion with God is the basis of all
other communion. And communion with God is
not merely external worship and articulate prayer,
but it is really oneness with God, and having every
thing in common "with Him." Just as oil and
water cannot mix, just as iron and clay cannot
blend, so there can be no communion between God
and the sinful soul. We must be reconciled to
Him, we must be at one with Him, we must be
conformed to His image and partakers of His very
nature, and filled with His Holy Spirit.
There must be in us the organ of intercourse.
It is not enough to have a telegraph wire reaching
your office from the distant city, but you must also
have a battery here in order to receive the message
of the wire. And so we must have with us the
spiritual organs of communion with God in order
to enter into His fellowship.
We may have such fellowship. The Holy
Ghost is the channel and organ of this com
munion. He is at once the electric current that
conveys, and the battery that interprets the mes
sage both ways. "Through Him we have access
unto the Father. " We can pour out our heart into
His, and He can pour in His heart into ours. We
can ask Him for the things we need, and get them.
But more than all the things we get, is the answer
of His own heart to ours. And more than all the
words which He speaks to us, or we speak to Him,

222 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
is the deep and silent communion of the heart that
is in accord with His holy will, and living in the
consciousness of His delightful presence.
It is not necessary to be always speaking to God,
or always hearing from God, to have communion
with Him ; there is an inarticulate fellowship more
sweet than words. Just as the little child can sit
all day long beside its busy mother, and, although
few words are spoken on either side, and both are
busy, the one at his absorbing play, the other at
her engrossing work, yet both are in perfect fellow
ship. He knows that she is there, and she knows
that he's all right. So the saint and the Saviour
can go on for hours in the silent fellowship of
love, and we be busy about the most common
things, and yet conscious that every little thing
we do is touched with the complexion of His
presence, and the sense of His approval and
blessing. And then, when pressed with burdens and
troubles too complicated to put in words, and too
mysterious to tell or understand, how sweet it is
to fall back into His blessed arms, and just sob out
the sorrow that we cannot speak !
"Too tired, too worn to pray,
I can but fold my hands,
Entreating in a voiceless way
Of Him who understands.
" And as the weary child,
Sobbing and sore oppressed,

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN PHILIPPIANS. 223
Sinks, hushing all its wailings wild
Upon its mother's breast.
"Soon Thy bosom , I,
Would pour my speechless prayer,
Not doubting Thou wilt let me lie
In trustful weakness there."
2. This also includes our communion with one
another. "The fellowship of the Spirit" means
fellowship in the Spirit with spiritual minds.
Thank God for the article in the creed which binds
together the Church of every age and clime, " I
believe in the communion of saints. "
This must, of course, be first of all communion
in the Spirit. It is not the fellowship merely of
natural affection, but it is the communion of hearts
that have a Divine life in common. Of course, it
is dearer and closer with those that are dearest to
us ; but, even in the case of our nearest friends, our
love must be transformed, or it cannot be lasting or
bring us into spiritual communion.
Then it is communion in the truth, and the
closer our agreement in the truth the closer will be
our communion in the Spirit. Therefore as God
leads us on to deeper teachings and higher truths,
He intensifies our fellowship.
We can remember the time when we were first
saved, and were brought at once into the same fel
lowship with all others that were saved. Our little
note was "Jesus saves me," and every saved man
was a brother beloved. We just wanted to take

224 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
him by the hand and tell him we were brothers.
But it was just one little part in the chorus. It
was the soprano, and soprano alone makes very
thin music.
After a while we learned the deeper bass of
sanctification ; and then we got a new note, and
a new part to our song. And our music grew
richer, and our harmony fuller.
We can remember the first time we met an
other Christian who had also learned the blessed
truth of Christ our Sanctifier. He was not only a
brother, but he was doubly a brother. And oh,
how delightful it was to find one that could un
derstand our deeper leadings and teachings in the
Spirit, and how much closer was our communion
in the fullness of the truth !
After a while we added a third part, the tri
umphant tenor of Divine healing, and the Lord's
supernatural life in our body. Shall we ever for
get the first time we were thrown into the society
of those who understood and believed these things !
We had been standing alone, misunderstood, mis
represented, perplexed, and as we found some
other heart that was treading the same lone way,
and living in the same blessed experience, it was a
three-fold chord, and a Diviner fellowship.
And yet there is one more part in perfect
music, the soft suggestive undertone of the alto,
that carries our thoughts afar, and wakes up the

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN PHILIP! 'IANS . 225
chords of memory and hope. And so we came
into the fourth truth of this blessed gospel, — the
Coming of our Lord, and the glorious hope of His
return. Need I say that this brought a deeper
fellowship still with those who stand together in
this holy expectation as the waiting Bride of the
Lamb ? And so God makes us one in the fullness
of the truth. Let us not lightly think of any truth
which He has given us, or fail to be true to His
testimony and our mutual fellowship.
Then again, we have fellowship not only in
the truth, but in the life of the Spirit. All the
platforms in the world will not make us one with
out oneness of heart. The four-fold gospel is not
any better than the thirty-nine articles without the
Holy Ghost. The true secret of Christian union is
the baptism of the Spirit and the fullness of the life
of Christ in all who believe.
And this is the fellowship of prayer. It makes us
sensitive to each other's needs and burdens, and it
binds us altogether, like travellers in the moun
tains ; so that if one fall, the others hold him up,
and if one suffer, all suffer together.
Let us ask God to show us all that this minis
try means for us and for His servants ; and let
us each be so " fitly framed " in the body of Christ
that we shall carry upon our hearts the very ones
the Spirit would assign to us, and the" very bur
dens which He would have us share with them.

226 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
Finally, it is fellowship in service. We are
called together for a common testimony, and a,
common work in these last momentous days. It
is not accidental that the Holy Spirit has given
us a common experience, and has led us out in
similar lines of truth and life. He is preparing a
mighty spiritual movement in these last times for
the special preparation of the Master's coming, and
we cannot miss His special calling without great
loss to ourselves, and great hindrances to His pur
pose for our lives and for His church.
When God brings into our life a special ex
perience of truth and blessing, we cannot go on as
heretofore, but there is always some special minis
try and testimony for which we have been pre
pared, and we are to stand together for the pro
pagation of these present truths, and the help of
other lives that need the very blessing that has
come to us.
How solemnly some of us feel that if we had
faltered in our testimony when God first spake
to us these deeper things, not only would we
have lost the best work of our life, but multitudes
of other lives might have missed their blessing, too.
Whatever else we do, beloved, let us be true.
Let no coward fear, let no compromise with popu
lar opinion and half-hearted respectibility make us
falter in our high calling, or be faithless to the
bonds of fellowship in the little flock that the
Master is preparing for His kingdom.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN PHILIPPIANS. 22<

<t

If there be, therefore, any congelation in
Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship in
the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfill ye my
joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same love,
being of one accord, of one mind."

CHAPTER XVII.
THE SPIRIT OF LOVE.
" Your love in the Spirit." Col. i. 8.
THIS is the only reference to the Holy Spirit in
the Epistle to the Colossians. The theme of
of this beautiful letter is the fullness and
glory of Jesus. But Jesus cannot be glorified with
out recognizing the Holy Ghost ; and so we have
this brief reference to the blessed Spirit. But brief
as it is, it shines like a heavenly pearl; reflecting
the deepest and most important truths concerning
the blessed Comforter. #
The apostle had just been visited by Epaphras,
one of the ministers of the Colossian church, and
he had reported to hkn the condition of that
church. It was all summed up in one sentence,
"He declared unto us your love in the Spirit."
This seems to have been the one characteristic of
this Colossian church ; it was full of love. Its
fellowship was perfect, its union unbroken, its
members were filled with charity, unselfishness
and consideration for one another. There were no
gossiping tongues, there were no slanderous ru
mors, there were no misunderstandings and.quar-
228

THE SPIRIT OF LOVE. 229
rels, there were no criticisms, murmurings and bad
feelings, but all were joined together in harmoni
ous love and beautiful co-operation in the testi
mony, work and worship of the church. And this
was manifestly a Divine unity. It was "love in
the Spirit." It was not mere partisanship, or per
sonal friendship ; it was not because they were
clannish, and united in little cliques of personal
favoritism, but it was all so heavenly, so holy, so
Christ-like that it was evidently the prompting of
the Holy Ghost. And so, as the apostle hears of
it, he exclaims with thanksgiving and deep joy,
"We give thanks to God, and the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you since
we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the
love ye have to all the saints, for the hope which
is laid up for you in heaven."
Would to God that this beautiful picture might
be more frequently repeated. Let us look at it as
a pattern of true Christian love, and an illustra
tion of the choicest and noblest work of the Holy
Spirit. There is plenty of love in the world, and always
will be. It is the secret of every romance, the
theme of every poem and the centre of every play
that has ever touched the heart of humanity, or
charmed the ears of men. It lies back of all that
is heroic in national history. It gilds every re
cord of patriotism, and glorifies every home altar

230 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
and fireside. But there is a great difference bet
ween the love of nature and "love in the Spirit."
I. Natural love is an instinct and a passion ;
the love of the Spirit is a new creation, and the
fruit of the supernatural life imparted by the Holy
Ghost when the soul is born from above. The na
tural heart knows nothing about it. Human love
may only be a little higher in measure, degree and
character than the instinct of the mother bird over
her young, or the fondness of the lioness for her
cubs. It is born of earth, and with earth it will
pass away. But the love of the Spirit descendeth
from above. It is part of the nature of God, and
it must last forever. It is the kinship of a heaven
ly family, and the bond of an eternal home.
II. Natural love is selfish in its nature, and ter
minates upon its own gratification ; Divine love is
unselfish, and reaches out to the good of its object.
And therefore the strongest affection born of
earthly passion may turn to the bitterest hate, if
it is crossed and disappointed. It can strike down
with the deathblow of vengeance the one for
whom it would have given its life, when that one
awakens its jealousy and resentment. Divine love,
on the other hand, forgets itself, and seeks to bless
its object. It does not love for the sake of the
pleasure of loving, or for the sake of the pleasure
the loved one can afford ; but it loves in order to
bless and help and elevate, and it shrinks from no

THE SPIRIT OF LOVE. 231
sacrifice, even the sacrifice of its own happiness, if
it may accomplish its high purpose for its object.
III. Natural love is based upon the attractive
qualities of its object ; Divine love springs from
something within, and is the outflow of an irresist-
able impulse in itself. Mere human love is attract
ed by the goodness and loveliness of the one it
loves, fancied or real. But Divine love can seize
upon the most unlovely, can love it into love
liness, and can keep on loving through an impulse
in its own heart, when everything in the circum
stances would render it impossible. And so, ' ' God
commendeth His love towards us in that while we
were yet sinners Christ died for us."
We see a faint approximation to this kind of
love in true motherhood. Who ever saw a mother
yet that did not have a "beautiful baby ? " Others
might not see it but she saw it. And even when
that babe is decrepit, feeble and fretful, and a
source of constant trial and strain, instead of less
ening, it intensifies that maternal affection. Night
and day it is her joy to minister and suffer and
serve; and when that little sufferer passes out of
her life, her loss is all the greater because it cost
her so much, and she knows not how to get on
without the frail and feeble dependent one which
was almost her very life.
God loved us because of something in Himself,
and so if Christ is dwelling in us, we shall love be-

232 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
cause of the Christ within us, and we shall love
even the unworthy and the unlovely, because He
loves them, even when we cannot love them for
themselves. IV. Natural love is sensitive and lives in the
sunshine of responsive affection ; but Divine love
is long-suffering, patient, and true, in the darkest
hour of suffering and wrong. The very element of
Divine love is suffering. In the sublime picture
given in First Corinthians, the thirteenth chapter,
love begins her march by "suffering long," and
ends by "enduring all things," while in the centre
stands the signal, " love is not provoked."
The whole environment of her being is suffer
ing and wrong. She can suffer without being
unkind, and endure without being hard. Her
sublimest example is the Son of God in the midst
of His cruel foes ; the more they wronged Him,
the more He felt that they needed His love, and the
more He longed to suffer that He might bless and
save them. This is ever the spirit of Christian love.
A few weeks ago when half a score of martyrs
fell in Southern China, one of the survivors, in
speaking of that hour, said that when they were
all expecting death, the only consciousness which
she remembered was the intense joy and love
which seemed to be breathed into their hearts from
the very gates of heaven. And when the tidings
reached their friends in England, there was no

THE SPIRIT OF LOVE. 233
word of resentment, even from those who loved
them best, but a still deeper longing to go forth
in yet Diviner love and save them from the ignor
ance and the blindness which could make them
perpetrate such a crime.
The love that blesses those that bless us is only
earthly, "do not even the publicans the same?"
But the love that reaches out to those who can
make no return, the love that blesses them that
curse us, and prays for them that despitefully use
us'and persecute us, and would die for those that
would take our very life, this is the love of God,
and this the Holy Ghost alone can produce in the
heart. V. Natural love is fitful ; Divine love is abiding
and everlasting. Natural love depends either upon
our moods or the moods of those we love. But
Divine love is the eternal Christ within us, loving
on the same through good and ill forever. Oh, how
much we need to pray, " Search me, oh God, and
see if there be in me any evil way, and lead me in
the way everlasting!"
Do we not want the affections that shall be for
ever ? Are we not tired of having our heartstrings
torn ? He is able to give us His own everlasting
love. VI. Natural love is exclusive, partial, and part
isan ; Divine love is comprehensive and universal,
like the very heart of God. It does not love its

234 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
favorites, but it loves for love's sake all that need
to be loved. It does not ignore the closer ties and
fellowships of life. It does not love all alike with
the same affection, nor even with the same de
gree ; but it loves each in the place where God has
fitted him and her into our life, and loves all in
due proportion, and world-wide sympathy.
It gives the husband a deeper affection to the
wife who has her peculiar place in his heart. It
gives the friend a yet more delicate and special
bond of fellowship with the one that fits into the
closest sympathy and fellowship of the heart. But
it has room for every fellowship, every tie, and
every friend, each in his true place, and all in per
fect symmetry, and fullness. Like the broad
bright sunshine, it goes wherever there is room,
and it goes most quickly where there is largest
room. Like the blessed Master, it has the John
that leans upon its breast, and the Mary that enters
into its deeper confidences, but it has also the
Peter who in his place is loved as truly, the
Thomas who finds the sympathy he needs, and the
little child that lies in His bosom with confiding
delight. This is the love of God.
Human love becomes antagonistic and dislikes
those who are not within the charmed circle, but
God's great love has a universal fairness, justness,
and Tightness, and yet a sweeter tenderness, and
a finer delicacy in its every heart-throb and holy

THE SPIRIT OF LOVE. 235
tendril, than the finest sentiment of human affec
tion. VII. Human love is intemperate ; Divine love
is moderate and self -restrained. The petulant,
passionate mother, in one moment can hug to her
bosom her beloved child with passionate affection,
and in the next can pour out the fierce invectives
of wrath upon his head. The impulsive father
can love his boy so intemperately and indulgently
as to be unwilling to deny him the wishes and
gratifications which he knows may cost him his
character and his future life. True love restrains
and even dares to displease that it may do even
greater good in the end to its object. And thus
God loves us even to woundiDg us that He may
heal, and chastening us that He may save.
Thus it was that Joseph loved his brothers, re
straining the bursting affection of his heart,
while he sternly stood off from these guilty men,
and brought them to repentance; and then, when
they saw their wrong, he was the first to forgive,
and help them to forget; throwing himself
upon their bosom, as with passionate intensity he
cried, "Be not grieved no angry with yourselves,
it was not you, but God."
This is Divine love, a thoughtful, sober, far-see
ing devotion, brave enough to wound that it may
heal, and to correct that it may save.
VIII. Human love lives by sight; Divine love

236 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
walks by faith. And so we r^ad, "love believeth
all things, hopeth all things. " When it cannot see
the quality of loveliness in its object now, it prays
that God may place it there, and it believes in the
answer to its prayer, and acts as if it were already
fulfilled ; and then hope joins hands with faith and
looks out into the future, until the vision becomes
a present realization, and it covers its object with
all the glory of that which some day is to be.
Thus God loves us. He see us not as we are to
day in our unworthiness and sin, but as we shall
be some day when we shine forth as the sun in the
Kingdom of our Father, and reflect the glory and
the beauty of our Saviour's face ; and this is what
He recognizes and delights in. He treats us every
moment as if we were already glorified. He sees
us "in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." He "be
lieves all things, and hopes all things " for us, and
purposeth to fulfill all things in us. This is the
love with which we should bless our friends. Thus
should we pray for them, believe for them, and see
them in the light of God and heaven ; and thus
our love will lift them up to its own vision, and
realize in them its own holy purpose.
IX. Human love is human; "love in the Spirit "
is the love of God within us. It is the love of the
Holy Ghost Himself filling and flowing in our
hearts. It is not the best that we can feel, or say,
or do, but it is the very heart of Christ reproduced

THE SPIRIT OF LOVE. 237
in us. And so it has been well said that the thir
teenth chapter of First Corinthians is just a photo
graph of Jesus, and the true way to read it is to in
sert Christ instead of love, and then to transfer to
it our hearts aDd lives and insert Christ instead of
self in our experience. Then, indeed, it shall be
true that "Christ in us suffereth long and is kind,
Christ in us seeketh not His own, Christ in us
envieth not, is not puffed up, Christ in us rejoiceth
not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, Christ in
us is not provoked, Christ in us beareth all things,
believeth all things, hopeth all things, endurethall
things, and never faileth."
And so we are thrown back again upon Him,
and constrained to sink out of self into Christ, and
to say, "Not I, but Christ that liveth in me."
This is the purpose of the Holy Ghost, to show us
our insufficiency and Christ's all- sufficiency, and,
step by step, to transfer the living picture to our
lives and reproduce the living reality in our ex
perience. This, then, is " Love in the Spirit." The blessed
Spirit of Love has come down from heaven to
teach us this crowning lesson of righteousness,
holiness, and Divine conformity. For "God is
love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God,
and God in Him." Love is the fulfilling of the law.
Love is the sum of all goodness. Love is the es
sence of holiness. Love ift life.

238 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
The Holy Ghost has come to train us in the
school of love. Day by day He leads us out into
some new lesson as we are able to bear it. And
when things seem hard and trying, it is just
another class in the school of discipline, another
opportunity of putting on Christ Jesus and learn
ing either the patience, or the long-suffering, or
the gentleness of love.
An injured bishop was once complaining to
Francis De Sales how a brother had wronged him,
lied about him, and tried in every way to defame
him; and the good saint listened and assented,
saying, "Yes, my brother, it's all true, it's very
wrong, it's very unkind, it's very unjust, it's very
cruel ; " and then he added, "but there is another
side to it." "But," said the Bishop, "do you
mean to say that there is any excuse or reason to
justify this ? "
1 ' Not on his part, my brother, but there is on
the other side of the question, a still higher reason
for it, and it is this: that God had let all this hap
pen to you, and all this to be said about you, to
teach you the lesson that is worth more to you
than even your good name, and that is to
hold your tongue when people talk about you,
which it is very evident you have not yet
.learned." The good Bishop saw the lesson, and silently re
ceived it. Would to God that we might see in

THE SPIRIT OF LOVE. 239
everything our Master's hand, oui Teacher's lesson,
our Father's love. Life should become to us a
school of love, and we so sweetly perfected in this
highest grace, that nothing could hurt us, but,
above the hand of every enemy we should see the
hand of love more richly blessing us, and making
"even the wrath of man to praise " God, and min
ister to our perfection. Then, perhaps, we should
some day be able to say like one of the Medieval
saints, "It is so sweet to love my enemies that if
it were a sin to do so, I fear I should be tempted to
commit that sin, and if it were forbidden by the
Lord, I fear it would be the greatest temptation of
my life to disobey that commandment." God give
us the "love of the Spirit," and say to us afresh
the new commandment : "Love one another, as I
have loved you."

CHAPTER XVIII.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THESSALONIANS.
" For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in
power, and in the Holy Ghost." I. Thess. i. 5.
"Having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the
Holy Ghost." I. Thess. i. 6.
' ' God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvrfion through
sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." II. Thess.
»• 13. " Quench not the Spirit." I. Thess. v. 19
THE first three of these four passages present to
us three aspects of the work of the Holy
Ghost; as the Spirit of power, of joy, and of
holiness, and the last passage presents the practical
side of the question, and the solemn danger of our
quenching the Holy Ghost.
I. THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT.
The apostle attributes the conversion of the
Thessalonian Christians to the power of the Holy
Ghost. His work among them was accompanied
with extraordinary manifestations of the Spirit's
convicting and converting power. Speaking of it
again, the apostle says, "Yourselves, brethren,
know our entrance in unto you, that it was not in

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THESSALONIANS. 241
vain ; when ye received the word uf God which ye
heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men,
but, as it is in truth, the Word of God, which
effectually worketh also in you that believe."
So wonderful was their awakening and turning
to God, that he could say of them: "From you
sounded out the word of the Lord, not only in
Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your
faith to God-ward is spread abroad ; so that we
need not to speak anything. For they themselves
show of us what manner of entering in we had
unto you, and how ye turned from idols to serve
the living and true God ; and to wait for His Son
from heaven, even Jesus, which delivered us from
the wrath to come."
These wonderful results the apostle attributes
entirely to the power of the Holy Ghost, accom
panying the word of God, and giving it such
authority that they received it, not as the word of
man, but as a direct message from the living God.
This is the first element in the power of the
Spirit, that it takes the worker and the speaker
quite out of view, and brings the hearer face to
face with the authority of God.
This is what Paul means when he says that his
word came to them with much assurance. This
means, literally, much boldness. He spoke to
them as a messenger direct from heaven, and they
so received him.

242 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
His message was not with wisdom of words, nor
studied rhetoric, but with Divine authority. How
much of our preaching is with words only — logical
words, rhetorical words, well-uttered words, per
haps pathetic words, words that move to tears or
to enthusiasm ; but only words !
The Holy Spirit's power leads men beyond all
forms of expression to the substance of God's great
message of repentance and salvation, and the
necessity of immediate decision and obedience. It
makes people do something and do it at once and
forever The word for power here is dynamite. It is the
kind of power that breaks up things. It breaks up
the conscience, and convicts it of sin. It breaks
up-the heart and melts it to repentance. It breaks
the will into surrender and choice. It breaks the
fetters of sin, the habits of life, and the bonds of
Satan. Not only does it speak to men in much assurance,
but it produces in them the same assurance. It
makes them to know that God is speaking, to
know that they are sinners, to know that they are
lost, and then to know that they are saved.
Beloved, have we felt this convicting, convert
ing, transforming power ? Fellow- workers, is this
our reliance, our supreme and sole dependence for
the salvation of men, and the service of our King ?

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THESSALONIANS. 243
II. THE JOY OF THE SPIRIT.
One of the first results of the conversion of the
Thessalonians was the spirit of joy. " Ye received
the word in such affliction, with joy of the Holy
Ghost." The spirit of gladness is one of the immediate
fruits of the Holy Ghost. The new life is essen
tially a joy-life, banishing the very elements of
sorrow and gloom, and bringing us into the light of
an everlasting sunshine.
The joy of the Holy Ghost is not a natural emo
tion, and it is not dependent upon favorable cir
cumstances or pleasant surroundings. In the
present case, their joy is an immediate contact and
contrast with much affliction. They had everything
to try them — persecution, the loss of friends, the
danger of even death itself ; but the very extremity
of their affliction only developed a deeper and
Diviner joy.
So it ever is. Christian life is an everlasting par-
dox ; "Sorrowful yet always rejoicing; poor yet
making many rich ; having nothing, and yet pos
sessing all things."
It is an inexplicable mystery. The world cannot
understand it, the world cannot give it, and, thank
God, the world cannot take it away. We cannot
understand it ourselves. It is a song in the night,
that gives no other reason for its singing than that

244 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
the song is there. It is a fountain in the desert,
that flows from no visible source, and empties into
no earthly outlet, and runs according to no pre
scribed channel. It is an artesian well that bursts
from the rocky depths, and flows on without the
mechanism of pumps, or endless chains, or human
buckets, or hands. It is glad just because there is
a gladness there that came from heaven, and be
longs to heaven and lives in heaven forever.
It is a blessed heritage. It is a fortune to its
possessor, even amid the depths of penury. It is
an antidote to temptation and sin. It lifts us
above the power of evil, and holds us in the im
pregnable heights of peace and victory. It is a
balm for sickness and pain, and a holy elixir for
nerve and brain and every outward ill. It is an
inspiration for service, and gives an irresistible
emphasis to our appeals to the sinsick and sorrow
ing world ; and it is vain to call the lost and weary
to the gates of mercy, when the telltale counte
nance, the tired manner, and the sepulchral tone
assure them, that they are happier than we. The
joy of the Lord is our strength, not only for holi
ness, but for health, and happiness, and holy in
fluence on other hearts and lives, and in all our
work for God and man.
Beloved, open your heart and receive the joy of
the Spirit.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THESSALONIANS. 245
III. THE SANCTIFICATION OF THE SPIRIT.
The first thing that strongly impresses an ordi
nary and candid reader of this verse is the strong
and universal language in which sanctification is
here spoken of as an essential part of our salvation.
It is stated in the most unambiguous language
that we are ' ' chosen to salvation through sanctifi
cation of the Spirit and belief of the truth." We
are not chosen to salvation irrespective of our
spiritual condition, but we are chosen to those con
ditions ; and one of the essential conditions is
sanctification of the Spirit.
How any man or woman can expect salvation,
and yet be indifferent to his sanctification, is Very
hard to understand. The salvation consists largely
in the sanctification itself, for thus, and thus alone
are we saved from the virulent and soul destroying
power of sin.
Sanctification is here attributed to the Holy
Spirit. It is His work, not ours ; and it is as much
a part of the free grace of God in Christ as our
justification and forgiveness. In the previous
epistle, fifth chapter, twenty -third verse, its nature
is very fully expressed in the apostle's prayer : "The
very God of peace, or the God of peace Himself,
sanctify you through and through ; and I pray
God your whole spirit and soul and body be pre
served blameless unto the coming of our Lord

246 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you, who
also will do it." God Himself must do this work,
and He does it through the blessed Holy Ghost.
The word, sanctify, has three specific meanings,
namely, to separate from, dedicate to, and fill
with. First, we must lay off, and separate trom, the
old life of self and sin. There are some things we
cannot consecrate to God, but we must lay them
down. The old sin-offering could not be laid on the
altar — it was unclean, because the sin of the people
had been transferred to it ; and it must be carried
outside the camp and there burned with fire in the
place of judgment. And so we cannot consecrate
our sin and our sinfulness to God. We must re
nounce it, we must lay it off, we must die to it,
we must be separated from it.
Then, secondly, comes the dedication to. This
is the place for consecration. This is the place for
the burnt-offering. That was laid on the altar, and
accepted as a sweet-smelling savor. And so when
we have separated from our sinful self, we offer
our new life in Christ to God, in entire dedication;
and He accepts it as a sweet savor. But even then
it is nothing but a consecrated will, a mere possi
bility, an empty vessel, clean, but empty still, and
the very power to make the consecration worth
anything to God, must come from God Himself.
He has the vessel, but He must fill it, and keep it

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THESSALONIANS. 247
full. And so this is the third meaning of sanctifica
tion. It is the filling of the Holy Ghost, who takes
our consecrated will, our clean and empty vessel,
and all the possibilities of our new and yielded life,
and so unites them to Jesus, and fills them with
the very life of Jesus, that we just live out the life
of Christ from day to day, and we shed forth the
fullness which the Holy Ghost supplies within.
Our life is not our own, but "of His fullness have
we received, even grace for grace."
Now this is the sanctification of the Spirit. It is
His peculiar province thus to sanctify the souls
that have been justified through the grace and the
blood of Christ.
First, He shows the soul its need of sanctifica
tion, its inherent and hopeless sinfulness, and its
utter inability to bring a clean thing out of au
unclean, or live a holy life, with an unholy heart.
Next, He shows us God's provision for our sanc
tification in the free gift of Christ, the efficacy of
His atonement for the death of our old self, the
power of His blood and the willingness of the Holy
Spirit to undertake this work, to cleanse our heart,
and to dwell within it. Then He leads us to the
next step, — a glad and full surrender and commit
tal of our soul to Him for this blessed work, an
unreserved separation from all evil, and an equally
unreserved dedication of our all to God, and to His
perfect will.

248 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
Then He accepts us, and makes real the trans
action into which we have entered, by full sur
render and appropriating faith, He puts to death
our old life of self and sin, and He enters and
dwells within our consecrated heart, uniting us to
Jesus, filling us with His own all-sufficient grace
and presence, and leading us henceforth, moment
by moment, in constant dependence upon His
glorious grace.
In one sense, this work is instantaneous; it has
a definite beginning and a moment in which we
count it all eternally settled. In another sense, it
is progressive, as He leads us on from step to step,
from strength to strength, from grace to grace,
from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the
Lord. As each new revelation of light comes, He calls
for new obedience and new advances; and yet
while we walk in the light, we are fully accepted
according to the light we have, and counted holy
and well-pleasing in His sight.
It is after we receive His sanctification, and
enter into perfect union with Him, that our real
growth begins; and the church of Christ has yet to
learn the depths and heights and lengths and
breadths of the fullness of life in the Spirit, as the
providence of God makes new situations for the
obedient disciple from day to day, and the Holy

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THESSALONIANS. 249
Ghost fits us into them by His all-sufficient
grace. IV. THE PRACTICAL APPEAL.
"Quench not the Spirit."
In view of these three blessed aspects of the
Spirit's work, how tender and solemn the appeal :
Quench not the Spirit ! While this primarily refers
to the church collectively, it may also be true of
the believer individually. It is possible for us, as
private Christians, so to misunderstand, hinder,
and disobey the loving leadings of the gentle Holy
Ghost, that we shall quench His holy fires, and dis
appoint His great purposes of love.
I do not say that a soul that truly believes in
Jesus Christ will be lost at last, but, beloved, it
may lose very much of what salvation ought to
mean. It is one thing to be lost, it is another thing
to lose our crown, and our Father's highest will ;
and the Scriptures are full of loving warnings
against the danger of coming short of our full in
heritance, and losing aught of our full reward.
The Holy Ghost is like a sensitive lover. A
-woman's heart is not won by a violent assault, but
by the gentle approaches of respectful, sensitive,
and considerate love; and, at any point along the
way, she can check and chill the advances of the
heart that woes her, until, at last, she quenches the
love that would have laid all at her feet. And so
the Holy Ghost comes to us, with respectful and

250 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
gentle monitions. He will accept no sacrifice which
is not freely given, He will require no obedience
that is not gladly rendered. But He does ask us
for sacrifice and obedience, as the proof of our love,
and He does place us in situations of perplexity
and trial, through which alone we can receive the
training which His love designs for us.
Now here it is that disobedience and refusal may
come in. We may shrink from His gentle leading,
we may refuse the trial through which He would
bring us to some glorious victory, we may choose
the easier path, and shun the dreaded cross ; but,
in so doing, we grieve the Holy Ghost, we arrest
our own progress, we compel our God to wait until
we are ready to go forward with Him, and after a
while we may so wear out His patient love, that
He shall find us unfit to receive the blessing He
designed for us, and while we may not lose our soul,
we shall be rejected from our crown.
There are souls that have lost something out of
their life forever, and, perhaps, have become so
hardened that they do not even know what they
have lost.
It is possible to take a piece of iron, red-hot, and
then plunge it into the water and cool it, and do
this so many times, that, at last, the very metal
scales off like ashes, and the temper and substance
of the iron is corroded and destroyed.
It is possible to wear out our hearts by disobedi-

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THESSALONIANS. 251
ence and repeated chills of Divine love, until, at
last, there is nothing left but dross.
Oh, let us be careful how we play with the voice
of God, and the infinite, everlasting gentleness and
love of the Mother heart of the Holy Ghost !
"Quench not the Spirit."
You may do it by disobedience ; you may do it
by distrust ; you may do it by self-indulgence and
cowardly softness ; you may do it by yielding to
temptation ; you may do it by going into the world
and selling your birthright for a mess of pottage ;
you may do it by petulance, irritation, an angry
look, a hasty word ; you may do it by impatience
and rebellion against the hand of God. Let us be
careful. Resist not the Spirit. Grieve not the
Spirit. Quench not the Spirit.
And, finally, we may quench the Spirit in others.
We may hinder the work of God in human souls.
We may hold back the church of Christ from vic
tory. We may paralyze the whole body by keep
ing one or two members in a state of chronic dis
ease. So Moses, Joshua, and Caleb were kept back for
forty years by Israel's unbelief. So the church is
kept back to day from the fullness of Pentecostal
power, by the weakness of so large a part of the
body of Christ. And so, many a soul is cramped, or
chilled, or even seduced from God's high purpose
and the Spirit's holy calling by the mistaken love,

252 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
or the thoughtless and unholy influence of some
one that called himself a friend.
God save us from the fearful guilt of not only
sinning, but causing others to sin. God help us to
fan the flame of Divine life and power in our own
and other hearts, until it shall burn, not only with
the light of Pentecost, but as the beacon watch
fire of the Advent Morning.

CHAPTER XIX.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE EPISTLES OF
PAUL TO TIMOTHY.
IN the pastoral and personal letters of Paul to his
son in the gospel, Timothy, we have five im
portant references to the Holy Spirit.
We shall consider them in their logical order.
I. The Holy Spirit in relation to the person and
work of Jesus Christ. I. Timothy iii. 16, "Great
is the mystery of godliness ; God was manifest in
the flesh, justified in the Spirit."
The reference here is, no doubt, to the witness to
the Holy Ghost to the incarnate Son of God. This
was given not only by the announcements that
preceded his birth, and by the supernatural mani
festations of the Holy Ghost that accompanied and
followed it, but especially at His baptism, when
the Spirit of God publicly descended and abode
upon Him, bore witness to His Divine Sonship,
and united Himself with His person, becoming
henceforth the enduement of power for His minis
try and work. Henceforth the Holy Ghost con
tinually bore witness to Jesus Christ by manifest
ing the power of G#d in His words and work. 253

254 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
It was through the Spirit that He spake His
messages; it was through the Spirit that He cast
out demons and healed the sick ; it was through
the Spirit that He offered Himself without spot to
God and stood victorious in the conflict and suffer
ing of the cross ; it was through the Spirit that He
overcame the power of Satan, not only in the wil
derness, but in the final conflict ; it was through
the Spirit that He presented His perfect sacrifice at
the throne of His Father ; and it was through the
Spirit that He rose from the dead " declared to be
the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit
of Holiness, by the resurrection from the dead."
And then the Holy Ghost still further justified
His claim, by coming down as He had promised,
and taking up the work that He had begun, and
bearing witness to the ascended Lord in the minis
try of the apostles, in the organization and work
of the church, and in all the miracles of grace that
have followed through the Christian age. Jesus is
justified by the Spirit, who witnesses to Him as the
Son of God, the Saviour of the world, and the
faithful and true Witness in all His promises and
claims. Wherever the Holy Ghost still comes, He will
always be found witnessing to Jesus, and honoring
the Son of God.
II. The Holy Ghost in relation to the Holy
Scriptures. II. Timothy iii. 16, " All Scripture is

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN TIMOTHY. 255
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 per
fect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."
The Holy Ghost is here presented in relation to
the Word of God. It is His own word, and wher
ever it comes He witnesses to it, and honors it, and
the man who knows the Holy Ghost best will know
his Bible best, will love it, will live upon it, and
will use it as the weapon of his work and warfare.
The expression here used, literally means "God-
breathed," "every Scripture God-breathed is profit
able for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for in
struction in righteousness."
The Holy Scriptures are the breath of God. Just
as He breathed into man the breath of life, and
man became a living soul, so He has breathed into
the Word His own life, and it is the expression of
His thought, His mind, and His heart. Just as you
breathe upon the window-pane, and the vapor
clouds it, so God has breathed upon the page, and
lo, His very thought and heart are there, not as
dead letters, but the living message of His love.
We recognize this holy book as the very Word of
God. It is not a volume of valuable historical
records, ethical principles, and sublime poetry ;
but it is a direct message from heaven speaking to
man with the authority of His Lord ; and as we so
receive it, believe it, and put our whole weight

256 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
upon it, it becomes real, and the Holy Ghost wit
nesses by its actual effect upon our hearts and
lives, that it is, indeed, the true word of the eternal
God. Then it becomes profitable to us, in the first
place, for teaching, giving us true views of
God's will, and of the things we most need to
know. Next, for conviction, as the word literally
means, for reaching the conscience, and showing us
where we are wrong. Then it becomes the word
of correction, or direction, not only showing us the
wrong, and making us conscious of it, but showing
us the right and how to enter into it. And finally, it
is the word of "instruction in righteousness," build
ing us up, as the word literally means, and carry
ing us on into the maturity of Christian manhood.
Thus the man of God becomes mature in his own
experience, and thoroughly furnished unto all good
works, for the help of others and the service of His
Maser. The man of God must live by the Word of God,
and the Holy Ghost never will pass by or lightly
esteem the Word that He has given. There are
two extremes. The word without the Spirit is dry
and dead, but the Spirit without the word is incom
plete. Let us honor the Holy Scriptures, let us
study them, let us habitually use them, search
them, feed upon them, incorporate them into our
lives, and use them as the weapon of our warfare
against Satan, and for the souls of men.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN TIMOTHY. 257
III. The Holy Spirit's message tor our own
times. All this Word is the Spirit's message, but He has
given some messages in these epistles explicitly for
our own times. And so we read, I. Timothy, iv. 1,
"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the
latter times some shall depart from the faith, giv
ing head to seducing spirits, and doctrines of de
mons." This is more elaborated in the second epistle,
third chapter, the first to the fifth verses. "This
know also, that in the last days perilous times shall
come, for men shall be lovers of their own selves,
etc., having a form of godliness, but denying the
power thereof."
When we want to print a passage with peculiar
emphasis we underline it, and our printer sets it up
in italics. When we want to emphasise it a little
more, we put two or three lines under it and then
he sets it up, not in italics, but in capital letters,
and sometimes in large capitals.
Now this is the way the Holy Ghost has writ
ten these verses. It is His emphatic, italicised,
double capital-lettered message to the men of to
day, to the closing days of the nineteenth century
and the first moments of the twentieth century.
"He speaketh expressly." It is His message to
us, and it is His emphatic message that we do well
to hear.

258 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
It is not a sentimental and rose-colored message,
glowing with poetry and complacency ; but it is
a solemn warning of danger and^ holy fear. It
speaks in no ambiguous tones. Its voice is, " Take
heed," "Lookout," "Beware." It tells us not of
days of universal liberty and Christian influence,
it speaks not in the eloquent language of our mod
ern apostles of progress, recounting the spread of
the gospel, the increase of the professors of Christ
ianity and the advent of the speedy Millennium of
our age ; but it tells us that, as the days hasten to
their close, they shall get darker and more danger
ous still. Not glorious times, but "perilous times,"
times of seducing spirits, times of strong delusion
that would believe a lie, times when the light within
us shall be darkness, times when the most danger
ous elements will be in the very Church of God,
and on the part of those who have a form of godli
ness, but deny the power thereof," times when the
men that seem to be the most upright, the most
self-denying, "abstaining from meats, and forbid
ding to marry, "and apparently the very impersona
tions of self-sacrifice and the highest morality,
shall be the very leaders of Satanic delusion and
monstrous iniquity.
These times are upon us already. The vista is
opening, the century is closing with lurid clouds on
every side. Was there ever a spectacle so humb-

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN TIMOTHY. 259
ling and so heart-breaking as the heavens are look
ing upon to-day ?
Thousands and tens of thousands of helpless
Christians butchered like cattle in the shambles,
and outraged by brutal lust, at the bidding of a
sovereign ruler of Europe, and with the tacit
consent of six great powers who control ten mil
lions of soldiers. All this going on for weeks and
months and years, under the light of heaven and
the eyes of diplomacy, and men threatening Vo
go to war about every trifle, and not. "a sword
raised nor a protest uttered against ^ese outrages
and butcheries. Surely, huma in government is an
utter failure. Surely, the fcfest of our kingdoms and
kings are as the potto's clay. Surely, weakness
and wickedness ha^e joined hands. Surely, God is
showing the u titer incapacity of man to rule this
earth, and Khe utter need of the coming of the
Prince. of r'Peace and the mighty King, who "shall
judge tthe people with righteousness and the poor
with, judgment, who shall judge the poor of the
People, and save the children of the needy, and
/oreak in pieces the oppressor; who shall deliver
the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him
that hath no helper; who shall spare the poor and
needy, and save the souls of the needy; who
shall redeem their souls from deceit and vio
lence; and precious shall their blood be in His
sight."

260 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
Oh, for that blessed King to come! The whole
creation groans, the persecuted Armenian cries,
and the saints under the altar plead, "How
long, oh Lord, how long ? " The Spirit speaketh
expressly that these things are to be so, and the
very fact that they are becoming so is light even in
the darkness, and the first streak of dawn in the
black sea of night.
Thank God the morning is at hand. Let us listen
tosfehe Spirit's voice, let us watch and pray and be
ever reau^v.
IV. The Hbi^jv Spirit as the Christian's endue
ment for life and sdryice. II. Tim. i. 6, 7, "Where
fore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up
the gift of God that is in t'^ree, by the putting on
of my hands. For God hathXnot given us the
spirit of fear, but of power, and otf love, and of a
sound mind." \
Here we have, first, a distinct recognition of the
Holy Ghost, definitely given. God hath grVen the
Spirit not of fear, but of power, etc. » \
The tense employed here in the Greek is alwaVs
emphatic; it is the Aorist tense, and it expresses^
an act that has been definitely done at a fixed mo
ment in the past. It is not a progressive experi
ence; it is not a gradual approach to something,.
but it is something done, and done at once, and
clone once for all. In this sense the Spirit is given.
It is the crisis hour in the life of the believer, wheu

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN TIMOTHY. 26J
the Holy Ghost is thus received as the enduement
for life and power in all our spiritual need, and
according to all the fullness of the Master's
promise. Beloved, have you thus definitely received the
gift and the promise of the Father ? Many prom
ises you have claimed, but has the promise been
thus made real to you? What reason can you give
that it is not so ? Oh, do not let another hour pass
until at His feet you definitely surrender yourself
and receive Him according to His Word. ••
But again, we notice that even aj£s. "By the
the Holy Ghost there is much, shewing of the Holy
do. And so Timothy is ery-'us abundantly through
stir up the gift of Godour ; that, being justified by
here used is a metsrld be made heirs according to
dling of a sinki^rnal life."
power is deah verse does no t mean that justifijsj.tvuk
and incoctfgeneration. The Gre& tense implies that
andstjcede^ it. ^ jfa^tng been justified by His
N^e " is tho ^1-ue force of the tense. God takes us
vis sinners, a,nd justifies us through His grace the
moment -v^e believe, and then He regenerates us
and giv'es us the Holy Ghost and leads us forward
'Into all the fullness of His grace, and on to the
blessed hope of our eternal inheritance.
We have, however, only to deal in this connec
tion, with two steps in this scale, "the washing of
regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost.''

262 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
into the vessels and poured out to the guests until
it becomes wine, abundance of wine, enough for
all the needs of the occasion.
The Holy Ghost may thus be stirred up and de
veloped, or He may be neglected and left to decline
and languish, until, instead of being God's mighty
dynamo, and all sufficient power, He becomes but
a protest against our unfaithfulness and our negli
gence. Beloved, let us stir up the gift of God that
^jn us* ket us take away the ashes from the de-
„™t ..^Wflre. Let us put on the coal and the fuel of
IV The^HtJ^6* us se* on *^e draught by prayer,
ment for life and^1 ifc warms the household of
fore I put thee in remaSSj* and a benediction to a
the gift of God that is in
of my hands. For God hathN?f God that is in
spirit of fear, but of power, and 3S£er> of loye> of
sound mind." *\so we have
Here we have, first, a distinct recognifl^resented
Holy Ghost, definitely given. God hath |_
Spirit not of fear, but of power, etc. \^her
The tense employed here in the Greek is
emphatic; it is the Aorist tense, and it expressed
an act that has been definitely done at a fixed mo
ment in the past. It is not a progressive experi
ence; it is not a gradual approach to something,
but it is something done, and done at once, and
done once for all. In this sense the Spirit is given.
It is the crisis hour in the life of the believer, when

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN TIMOTHY. 263
and to confess that we believe; and we must have
courage to go forward and obey His bidding and
enter into all His fullness.
Then secondly, He is the Spirit of power. Cour
age without power would but throw our lives
away. Courage combined with power will make
us invincible. The Greek word for power is dyna
mite. He is the dynamite that accomplishes re
sults, and breaks down all barriers and all hin
drances, ^i
Beloved, have you this power ? Is your I'"
ing ? Are your purposes accomplishing. " gy the
prayers effectual ? Are your Jawing of the Holy
are you baffled and thrown, lus abundantly through
shore, and by every bfljur ; that, being justified by
hath given usthej^id be made heirs according to
is not your povgfrnai life.'*
the ind welli£h verse does not mean that justificatif^
running hjgeneration. The Qr/tftfe tense implies that
anditjCedes it. ^ Hffimg been justified by His
Powee " is tfte t^ue f orce 0f the tense. God takes us
1**b sinners, avhti justifies us through His grace the
moment f/ve Tbelieve, and then He regenerates us
and gives us the Holy Ghost and leads us forward
'Iiitb all the fullness of His grace, and on to the
blessed hope of our eternal inheritance.
We have, however, only to deal in this connec
tion, with two steps in this scale, "the washing of
regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost.''

264 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
benedictions. It isn't our love. We come to the
place continually where we cannot love; but it is
His love. It is Almighty love, it is love to the un
lovely and distasteful, it is the love which in Him
forgave His enemies and prayed for His murderers.
But there is yet another element needed in this
fourfold enduement. We need the Spirit of wis
dom, the Spirit of a sound mind, or, as some have
translated it, the Spirit of discipline.
T^This is the Spirit that holds all our powers in
ever r'SS^n, keeps us in perfect balance, and ena-
^IV. The^&i^jn all forces, all resources and all
ment for life anafcli^best account.
fore I put thee in remeWre without wisdom might
the gift of God that is inlifcd even love, without a
of my hands. For God hatir%dsentiment, and at
spirit of fear, but of power, and 8||Lnd so the Holy
sound mind." ^^™h^^estraining,
Here we have, first, a distinct reeoJnin^hts and
Holy Ghost, definitely given. God hath g^nplish
Spirit not of fear, but of power, etc.
The tense employed here in the Greek is alwa%u
emphatic; it is the Aorist tense, and it expresses'
an act that has been definitely done at a fixed mo
ment in the past. It is not a progressive experi
ence; it is not a gradual approach to somethmj|
but it is something done, and done at once, and
done once for all. In this sense the Spirit is given.
It is the crisis hour in the life of the believer, when

THE HOLV SPIRIT IN TIMOTHY. 265
obey God. The wisdom of Paul and Silas would
have led them to stay in Ephesus, Bythinia, and
Asia ; but the wisdom of the Holy Ghost sent them
into Greece and Europe, for God foresaw what it
meant to evangelize that great continent of the
future. The wisdom of the flesh would have held
back almost every bold enterprise of faith and
courage which the Church of God has ever made ;
but the wisdom of God was justified in His child
ren, as they went forward at her bidding, and wejaa "
strong in God's command.
The Holy Ghost is equal to all ^JsT " By the
Let us trust Him. Let us dewing of the Holy
follow His wise and holy trus abundantly through
us in a safe way wherejur ; that, being justified by
Now the essenqaid be made heirs according to
the proportioning! iife.»
alone, nor lech verse does not mean that justifioati.cjii
alone, ^generation. The Gi^k tense implies that
but wiCedeg it. £ staffing been justified by His
po^ce » is th«j +uTue force of the tense. God takes us
d,s sinners, &A& justifies us through His grace the
moment ^e .Tbelieve, and then. He regenerates us
and gives us the Holy Ghost and leads us forward
'Into all the fullness of His grace, and on to the
blessed hope of our eternal inheritance.
We have, however, only to deal in this connec
tion, with two steps in this scale, "the washing of
regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost.''

266 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
foolish or fail. Let us stir up the gift of God which
is in us, and put on the strength, the life, the might
of the Holy One, and go forth insufficient in our
selves, but all sufficient in His boundless grace.
V Finally, we have the Holy Ghost represented
here as the power who will enable us to keep our
sacred trust. II. Timothy, i. 14, "That good
thing which was committed to thee, keep by the
Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us."
io The words, "good thing committed to thee,"
everSfc^ame as the apostle uses in the previous
IV. TheTl^speaks of that which " I have com
ment for life ancN^iterally, it means, my deposit.
fore I put thee in reml^^here is one deposit which
the gift of God that is in^^f Christ, and we know
of my hands. For God hat^^^ious soul, it is our
spirit of fear, but of power, and o^is interests of
sound mind."
Here we have, first, a distinct recogniflj^d has in-
Holy Ghost, definitely given. God hath gr\^is the
Spirit not of fear, but of power, etc. ^r'1"' is
The tense employed here in the Greek is alwa^Jo.
emphatic; it is the Aorist tense, and it expressesl|
an act that has been definitely done at a fixed mo
ment in the past. It is not a progressive experi
ence; it is not a gradual approach to something,
but it is something done, and done at once, and
done once for all. In this sense the Spirit is given.
It is the crisis hour in the life of the believer, when

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN TIMOTHY. 267
in us." Not only does He take care of His end, but
He comes also to take care of ours. Blessed Friend,
Blessed Helper, Blessed Substitute, Blessed All-
Sufficient One, we receive Thee, we lean upon
Thee, we commit to Thee Thy trusts to us, as well
as our trusts to Thee, and in Thy wisdom and in
Thy might and in Thy love, and in thy Almighti-
ness, we go forth, to finish the work committed
to us, to watch and work for our Lord's appearing!
Amen. ttiL

5s. " By the
x-enewing of the Holy
^ us abundantly through
.our ; that, being justified by
/did be made heirs according to
jcnal life."
..ch verse does not mean that justificjitifUL.
regeneration. The Qsx&k. tense implies that
ecedes it. "jjdtfvng been justified by His
ace " is the +^ue force of the tense. God takes us
ds, sinners, a, rid justifies us through His grace the
moment fare believe, and then He regenerates us
and gives us the Holy Ghost and leads us forward
'Into all the fullness of His grace, and on to the
blessed hope of our eternal inheritance.
We have, however, only to deal in this connec
tion, with two steps in this scale, "the washing of
regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost."

CHAPTER XX.
REGENERATION AND RENEWAL.
' ' He saved us by the washing of regeneration, and the renew
ing of the Holy Ghost; which He shed upon us abundantly
through Jesus Christ our Saviour. ' ' Titus iii. 5 .
ever^l^Lnassage gives us a grand view of the plan
IV. TrnP^tafc^on. First, the apostle tells us of
ment for lifeanffl^^dition when " we were some-
fore I put thee in r5il|^^ deceived, serving divers
the gift of God that isin^|^n malice and envy,
of my hands. For God hath^jL"
spirit of fear, but of power, andffl^L our salvation.
sound mind." Xj^hteousness
Here we have, first, a distinct recogniS^^ was ac-
Holy Ghost, definitely given. God hath gH^h the
Spirit not of fear, but of power, etc. ^^t
The tense employed here in the Greek is alwajft-'
emphatic; it is the Aorist tense, and it expresses^
an act that has been definitely done at a fixed mo
ment in the past. It is not a progressive experi
ence; it is not a gradual approach to something*
but it is something done, and done at once, and
done once for all. In this sense the Spirit is given.
It is the crisis hour in the life of the believer, when

REGENERATION AND RENEWAL. 269
gerous heat, and began to fly, but only met an
other wall of fire on the other side, and so went
from side to side in terror and despair ; until at
last, finding no way of escape, it gathered itself
up in the centre of the circle and lay there helpless
and dying. Then the Indian stretched out his
hand, picked it up and saved it. "That was
the way," said he, "that mercy saved me."
It is according to His mercy that He has saved
us, and it is mercy every day that fulfills in us all
the fullness of that great salvation.
Then he tells us of the special steps. " By the
washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy
Ghost ; which He shed in us abundantly through
Jesus Christ our Saviour ; that, being justified by
His grace, we should be made heirs according to
the hope of eternal life."
This seventh verse does not mean that just ificatiojit
follows regeneration. The Qr^fc tense implies that
it precede^ it. " Tif&6mg been justified by His
grace " is the +BTue force of the tense. God takes us
as sinners, ^ha justifies us through His grace the
moment ^#e Delieve, and then He regenerates us
and giyes us the Holy Ghost and leads us forward
'Intb all the fullness of His grace, and on to the
blessed hope of our eternal inheritance.
We have, however, only to deal in this connec
tion, with two steps in this scale, "the washing of
regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost.''

270 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
I. REGENERATION.
This literally means "the la ver of regeneration."
The Greek word really refers to the laver in the
ancient tabernacle. You know that in the court
of God's ancient sanctuary there were two objects
of deep interest. The first was the altar cf burnt
offering where the sinner came, and, transferring
his guilt to the sacrifice, received atonement
through the blood ; the next was the laver or foun
tain of water where he saw his defilement in its
mirrored sides, and then cleansed them in its flow
ing stream. The first represented the blood of
Christ ; the second represented the Holy Spirit in
His regenerating work.
This court was open to all the people. It repre
sented the free, full provision of the gospel for the
sinner, the justifying, redeeming work of Jesus,
and the reg^Tvf^j^gracejof the H*ly Ghost.
And so the laver of regenorgM^f^^P1"613611*18 ^e
primary work of the Divine Spirit in quickening
the soul that is dead in sin, aanyi^giHg ** "^
the life of God. The Bible is full of this. The
sinner is constantly represented as dead? in tres
passes and sins. It is not merely a matter41 of ^ight.
It is not enough for him to form good resolutions
and accomplish moral reformations. It is life he
needs. And, therefore, we read, " If any man be
in Christ, he is a new creation ; old things have

REGENERATION AND RENEWAL. 271
passed away ; behold, all things have become new. "
Therefore, the Lord Jesus says to Nicodemus,
" Except a man be born again, he cannot enter the
kingdom of God." Therefore, the prophet Ezekiel
says of the coming salvation, "I will take away
the hard and stony heart out of your flesh, and I
will give you a heart of flesh. A new heart will I
put within you, and a right spirit will I give unto
you." This is the laver of regeneration, this is the in
dispensable work of the Holy Ghost in conversion.
Last night I knelt beside a dying bed. It was a
dear lad who had for months been dying, but had
no one to lead him to the Saviour. That day a dear
friend had, for the first time, told him of Jesus and
tried to lead him through the narrow gate.
As I knelt by his side, with his weak brain, and
sinking body, I felt how impossible it was for me
to make him understand his need in this change.
He had never done anything very wrong, and he
had no deep sense of outward sin, but God helped
me to show to him that "that which is born of the
flesh is flesh " and that his natural heart could not
enter the family of heaven any more than the little
kitten upon the hearth, or the canary in the cage,
could be a member of my family, or enter into my
sympathies, joys, and conceptions.
Then, as his heart felt his need of this great
change, it was easy to lead him to Jesus and to

272 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
offer him the free gift of eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord, and to tell him that he could take
it in a moment as the gift of God's great love. Then
it was that the blessed Holy Ghost came to our
relief, and showed His almighty new-creating
power. Never shall I forget the strange sweet flash of
eternal light that shone across his countenance for
a moment, as he accepted that gift, and with all
his heart said, "I will," and then threw his head
upon my breast and his arms about my neck,
and for a long time lay there, while I prayed, and
he entered into the bosom of everlasting love.
When I left him, all was peace and the sweet
ness of heaven; and in the early morning he passed
through the gates into the city, and those that were
by his side told us how, just before he passed
through, God gave to him a vision of the opening
heavens and the chariot that was to bear him
home; and the dear family, who knew not God
and scarcely understood these wondrous things,
were unspeakably touched with the message of
Divine grace that had come to him, and through
him to them, from the gates ajar.
This is the laver of regeneration. O precious
friends, you cannot enter heaven without this new
heart. You cannot see the Kingdom of God with
out this Divine life. You cannot come into it
without this Divine touch. You cannot bring it

REGENERATION AND RENEWAL. 273
to yourself. You cannot work it up by struggling
and by effort. Thank God, there is a better way.
"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
the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
Oh, sinner, come to the laver of regeneration.
Let your hard and stony heart bow at the feet of
Jesus. Receive Him, come to Him with all your
hardness and helplessness, with all your lack of
faith and feeling ; and He will take away the stony
heart, and give you the heart of flesh. He will
plunge you in the laver of regeneration, and then
lead you on into all the fullness of His grace and
glory. II. THE RENEWING OF THE HOLY GHOST.
After we have received the new life it needs to
be sustained, it needs to be cherished, matured,
built up, and led on into all the fulness of Christ.
This is the work of the same blessed Mother God
that brought us first into life. This is what is
meant by the renewing of the Holy Ghost.
1.* First, it suggests the dailiness and dependence
of our life. We are not supplied in a moment for a
lifetime. We have no store of grace for to-mor
row. The manna must fall each day afresh; the
life must be inhaled breath by breath ; we must

274 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
feed upon the living bread day by day. It is not at
our command, but all derived from Him.
We must abide in Him, and He in us, " for apart
from Him we can do nothing." Our store of grace
is not a great reservoir, but just a little water pipe
carrying enough for the moment, and ever passing
on. And so we must learn to live in constant com
munion with Jesus and constant fellowship with
the Holy Ghost.
He is only too glad to have our fellowship. He
does not weary of our oft returning. He longs to
have us come to Him, and keep coming again and
yet again, and " He is able to save to the uttermost,
or rather, forever more, all that keep coming unto
God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make inter
cession for them."
2. The language implies our spiritual fresh
ness. We cannot live on old food and stale bread ;
but God's supply for us is perpetually fresh and
new. " I will be as the dew unto Israel" is His
own blessed figure. It does not rain always, but
the dew comes every night and sparkles every
morning upon the flower and the leaf. It comes
gently, quietly, not in the rush of the tempest to
wash out the tender plant, but in the gentle supply
which refreshes without disturbing. And then it
comes in the hottest weather and the most trying
times. Indeed, the dew does not fall, but rises, it
is always in the air and is absorbed by the plant

REGENERATION AND RENEWAL. 275
just as its condition is fitted to take the moisture
that is always floating in the atmosphere. The
Holy Ghost is always within reach, if we are in
condition to receive and absorb Him. Oh, let us
drink in the dew of His grace and live in the re
newing of the Holy Ghost.
What a beautiful figure of this was given in the
rod of Aaron, which, when placed within the holy
sanctuary, budded, and blossomed, and bare fruit.
So the rod of faith, and prayer, and holy priesthood,
and communion, bears fresh buds, blossoms, and
ripe fruit, continually.
Still more beautiful was the figure of the water
that flowed through the desert for the supply of
Israel's thirst. Once it was struck at Horeb and
opened its bosom for the flowing stream, but ever
after that the river was there to supply their needs.
And so, when they thirsted again, God sent them
back and bade Moses not strike the rock, but
" speak," said He, '' to the rock, and it shall give
forth its waters." Moses made the mistake of
striking it, but the waters were there and flowed
all the same, and God's faithful grace was still
supplied. And yet again, when they came into the bound
less desert, there was nothing but the fiery sand
beneath them, and the burning sun above them.
But again the water was there. All they had to
do was to gather in a circle, and dig with their

276 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
spades a well in the desert, and then gather around
it and sing their song of faith and praise ; and lo,
the waters gushed forth, and their need was all
supplied. This is the renewing of the Holy Ghost. Thus
He supplies our daily needs. Thus He waits to
meet the cry of faith. Thus He loves to answer
the song of praise, and flow through all our being
with His glad and full supply, until "the wilder
ness and the solitary place shall rejoice, the desert
(of life) shall blossom as the rose."
This is what the Apostle Peter meant when he
spoke of the " times of refreshing that should come
from the presence of the Lord," before "the times
of the restitution of all things," which Christ's
advent shall bring.
We are in "the times of refreshing," and we are
waiting for the times of restitution. Oh, let us
take the blessing ! Oh, let us claim the fullness !
Let us receive the renewing of the Holy Ghost.
Let us enter into the mighty promise, "I will
make you and the places round about you a bless
ing ; and I will cause the shower to come down in
his season ; f:here shall be showers of blessing."
3. There is one more thought suggested by this
expression. The Greek word here used is employed
once only besides in the New Testament. We find
it in that remarkable passage in the twelfth
chapter of Romans, where the apostle says, "Be

REGENERATION AND RENEWAL. 277
not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed
in the renewing of your mind."
It is well known that the expression there should
be translated, " Be ye transfigured by the upward
renewing of your mind." It is the same woid as
here used for renewing, and it is connected there
with the figure of transfiguration.
The thought of the apostle here is that the Holy
Ghost is leading us on to our transfiguration. It
is not merely grace, but glory, that He wants to
bring us into. It is not enough to be regenerated,
we want also to be glorified. It is not enough to
go to the laver of regeneration, let us enter in
through the door, and then go in and out and find
pasture. Let us pass in to the golden lamps of the
Lord. Let us feed upon the table of shewbread
with its sweet frankincense. Let us breathe the
odors of the incense that fill the sanctuary. Let
us have "boldness to enter into the Holiest by a
new and living way ; " and there, in the light of
God's Shekinah presence, there, under the wings
of the Cherubim, there, in the innermost presence
of God, let us anticipate the glory of the life
•beyond, and go forth with its radiance upon our
brow to shed its blessing upon a dark and sorrow
ful world.
The Holy Ghost wants to transfigure our lives
just as truly as He transfigured Christ's. Two and
a half years of that blessed life of ministry had

278 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
passed. He, too, had been born of the Spirit. Be,
too, had been baptized in Jordan's banks. From
the opening heavens the Holy Dove had come down
to rest upon Him. He had gone forth, in the
power of the Spirit, into the conflict with Satan in
the wilderness, and the service of love through the
villages of Galilee.
But now He was going down into the deep val
ley of Kedron, into the shame of the judgment
hall, into the dark, sad conflict of Gethsemane, in
to the mystery of the cross, into the awful place
of God's forsaking for the sins of men, into the
deep, cold grave. And He needed more. He
needed the glory as well as the strength of God.
And so He went up to Hebron's height that night,
and was clothed upon with the glory of His prime
val throne, and His Advent reign ; and then, in
that glory He went down from the mountain to
cast out the demoniac at its foot, to triumph over
persecution, rejection and every adversary, to en
dure the cross, despising the shame, and to be the
Conqueror of sin and death.
So we read that after this there was a strange
majesty in His mien, "and as they saw Him,
they were amazed, and as they followed, they were
afraid." Oh, beloved, we, too, are entering upon
strange and solemn times. Dark clouds are round
about the horizon, lurid lightnings are flashing
from the sky, solemn mutterings are heard upon

REGENERATION AND RENEWAL 279
the air, there are signals of a crisis, everything is
troubled, days of solemn meaning are drawing
nigh. We need more than we have had. We need to
pass from grace to glory. We need the transfigu
ration life as well as He. We need to look from
Hebron's height above the valley of humiliation
and suffering, away to the sunlit hills of the Ad
vent glory. Oh, ' shall we be transfigured, too ?
And then, shall we go forth, like Him, to triumph
over Satan, sin and death, to shed the light of His
glory around us, to stand unmoved amid the perils
and convulsions of our time, to meet our coming
Lord, proving "all that good, and acceptable, and
perfect will of God."
Let us come apart with Him like the three dis
ciples of old. Let us rise to an exceeding high
mountain apart. Let us not fear the shadows of
the night, and the cloud of the glory as we enter
in ; and we, too, shall know something of the
meaning of His mighty promise, "The glory which
Thou gavest Me, I have given them, that they
may be one, even as We are One."

CHAPTER XXI.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE EPISTLE TO
THE HEBREWS.

T

HERE are five special references to the Holy
Ghost in this epistle.

I. THE HOLY SPIRIT IN RELATION TO CHRIST S DEATH.
Hebrews ix. 14. "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." We have seen that the Holy Ghost was con
nected with the whole life of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Through His overshadowing He was born the in
carnate Son of God. Through His baptism He
was anointed for His special work. Through His
leading He was brought into the wilderness to be
tempted of the devil, and then led forth in victory.
He anointed Him to preach the Gospel. He cast
out demons through the Holy Ghost. All through
His life the Spirit was in partnership with Him,
and He condescended to be dependent upon Him,
for Divine strength and grace even as we His dis
ciples.

THE HOLY SPIRIT 1$ HEBREWS. 281
But now we see the Holy Ghost in the last hour
of His life, ministering on the cross of Calvary,
and taking part in the last and most important act
of the Master's whole life. " Through the Eternal
Spirit He offered Himself without spot to God."
The blessed Comforter was with Him in t"hat dark,
lone hour. He strengthened Him for His agony
in Gethsemane and upheld Him so that He could
not die before His time, nor sink under the power
of the devil.
He sustained Him in sweetness, gentleness, and
spotless righteousness, through the awful ordeal of
shame and suffering, in the Judgment Hall and the
Roman Praetorium. He stood with Him in the
anguish of the cross when all others forsook Him,
and when even His Father's face was turned away.
To the very close of that great sacrifice, the Holy
Ghost ministered, suffered and sustained, and then
presented that offered life before the throne of
God, as a perfect and spotless sacrifice for sin, and
a sufficient ransom for every sinner's life.
Blessed Holy Ghost, how much we owe to Him,
even for the cross of Calvary, and the great Atone
ment. And just as He was with the Master in His cru
cifixion, so will He be with the disciple. He will
enable us, likewise, to die to self and sin. It is
only through the Holy Ghost that we can be
truly crucified. " If we through the Spirit do mor-

282 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
tify the deeds of the body, we shall live." But if
we try to kill ourselves, we shall only be like poor
Nero, who stabbed his body a hundred times, but
never dared to stab himself to death. Would we
die with Jesus and rise into all the fullness of His
endless life ? Let us receive the Holy Ghost, and
let Him love us into death and life eternal.
Then, if even these mortal lives should be laid
down, before the coming of our Lord, the same
blessed Paraclete, that was with our dying Lord,
will overshadow our last couch of pain, and, on His
mighty wings of love, will bear our departing
soul across the lonely voyage, to the bosom of
the Father, and present our spirit without spot
before the Throne of God. Blessed and eternal
Spirit, our Mother God and Everlasting Friend,
oh, how much we owe to Thee !
II. THE HOLY GHOST AS THE WITNESS OF THE NEW
COVENANT.
Hebrews x. 15. " Whereof also the Holy Ghost
is a witness; for after that He had said before,
This is the covenant that I will make with the
house of Israel, after these days, saith the Lord, I
will put my laws into their hearts, and write them
on their minds, and I will be their God, and they
shall be my people, for I will be merciful to their
unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniqui
ties will I remember no more. "

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN HEBREWS. 283
This is the Gospel revealed by the Holy Ghost to
Jeremiah, in the dark and declining days of an
cient Judaism, when, through the broken win
dows of the earthly temple, the prophet's vision
looked to the light of a better morning.
This ancient covenant, so gloriously revealed to
Jeremiah, is three times repeated in the epistle to
the Hebrews ; and it must, therefore, be entitled
to the greatest significance and weight. It is, in
deed, the very essence of the Gospel. It breathes
the spirit of the new Dispensation.
Under the old economy the law was written
upon tables of stone. Here it is written upon our
minds and upon our hearts. Thus it is made a
part of our very nature, thought, desire, choice,
and being. It is the instinctive and spontaneous
impulse of our very life, and it is as natural for us
to love it, and to do it as to live and to breathe.
We all know the force of the great law of love.
How much do you suppose it would cost for that
father and husband to hire the woman who nurses
his children, and takes care of his home? What
amount of money could purchase her toil and labor,
as she lives by his side, shares his fortunes, and
works herself to death for these helpless little ones?
No earthly consideration could induce her to under
take this charge, no law except the law of force
could make her such a slave. Yet there is another
law, the law of love, and God has written it upon

284 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
every mother's heart; and by the drawing of that
sweet law of love, she leaves her father's house,
her luxurious home, her comfortable surroundings,
and goes forth with the man she loves, to share his
fate, to toil by his side, to nurture his children, to
work early and late for these little helpless ones,
unwearied, unconscious of any sacrifice and only
too glad to be able to pour out her very life to make
them happy. Ah! this is the law upon the heart.
This is the way the Spirit of God puts into us the
will of God and makes it our choice and our de
light. Therefore, the Holy Ghost was given at Pentecost
on the exact anniversary of the giving of the law.
Pentecost and Sinai, are the two ordinances in
the Calendar of the Ages that correspond with each
other. The first was the law written upon stone,
the second was the law in the living power of the
Holy Ghost in human hearts and lives.
Beloved, have we learned this secret of life and
power ? Do we know the Divine covenant, the in
dwelling Spirit, and "the law of the Spirit of life
in Christ Jesus," making us "free from the law of
sin and death," and "fulfilling the righteousness
of the law" not only by us, but " in us?"
Then it is added, "I will be your God, and ye
shall be My people." We do not become His peo
ple first, thus constituting Him our God; but He
first becomes our God, and we are His people.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN HEBREWS. 285
Just as the mother is before the babe, and it is her
motherhood that constitutes its childhood. It is
because she is its mother, that it is her child. And
so God calls us, chooses us, saves us, fills us, and
we respond to His love, and become His willing,
obedient children.
Then our sins are not only forgiven, but for
gotten. We are lifted above every cloud of con
demnation, and it is true for ever, "their sins and
their iniquities will I remember no more."
Beloved, have we entered into this New Cove
nant by the Holy Ghost, and are we walking under
the spontaneous and all- impelling impulse of the
indwelling Holy Ghost ?
III. THE HOLY GHOST IN RELATION TO THE SUPER
NATURAL SIGNS AND OPERATIONS OF THE GOSPEL.
"God bearing them witness spoke by signs and
wonders, and divers gifts of the Holy Ghost, divers
miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost according to
His own will." Heb. ii. 4.
The apostle gives us in this passage a vivid pic
ture of the pre- eminence of the "great salvation"
of the Gospel as compared with the law. The dis
pensation of Moses was introduced by angels and
by men, but the Gospel has been "spoken to us by
the Lord," and repeated by those who were sent
directly by Him, and then confirmed to us by the
Holy Ghost Himself.

286 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
The passage refers not only to the signs and
wonders of the early chapters of Christianity, but
to the supernatural power which God has promised
to every age and stage of the dispensation, to con
firm to an unbelieving world the Divine reality of
God's great message. The Holy Ghost is still pres
ent in the Church, and is still giving the confirma
tory signs, not only by His miracles of grace in the
hearts of men, but by His miracles of Providence
in the Church and in the world, and His miracles
of power in the bodies of those who trust Him.
Beloved, do we know these signs, and are we
proving them to the world ? Is this Gospel still a
living power, and its own great witness ? Who is
there among us that has not seen enough to make
us know and feel that it is the power of God ?
"How shall we escape if we neglect so great sal
vation ?"
IV. THE HOLY GHOST IN RELATION TO OUR IMME
DIATE DECISION FOR GOD. HEB. iii. 7.
"Wherefore as the Holy Ghost saith, Today if
ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts."
Heb. iii. 7, 8.
This is always the Holy Spirit's message to men.
It is always a present message, an urgent message,
and demands an immediate decision. Back of it,
He is always pointing to that solemn story of the
wilderness, when God's chosen people came forth

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN HEBREWS. 287
from bondage under His Mighty Hand, and ad
vanced under His glorious leadership to the very
gates of Canaan, and then, in one fatal moment,
faltered, doubted, disobeyed and went back to
nearly half a century of failure, disappointment,
and a dishonored death.
Just for a single day they stood upon that nar
row isthmus, and then they took the wrong step
and lost all by indecision. Oh, how sad, how des
olate these wilderness years, ever moving but
going nowhere ; toiling, suffering, but accomplish
ing nothing ; simply markiDg time, waiting for
the sad inevitable hour that should close their dis
obedient lives.
Beloved, there are still such lives, there are men
and women that have missed their opportunity,
that have disobeyed their high calling, and have
gone back from the gates of promise, and are
simply marking time and finishing a life whose
one sad echo will be forever, "Alas, what might
have been ! "
This is true of the sinner. There is a moment
when we must decide or perish, and the Holy
Spirit's message to him is always, "To-day, while
it is called to day," for it may not be all the day,
it may be a golden moment on which eternity
hangs, " To-day, while it is called to day, if ye will
hear His voice, harden not your hearts."
It is also His message to the disciple, for each of

288 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
us comes up to the gates of the Land of Promise, to
the point of a great decision, to the place for entire
consecration, to the Jordan's bank where the Holy
Ghost is waiting to descend upon us if we will dare
to step down into the waters of death and self-
dedication. And there comes a moment when
there is no time to lose. It is now or never. Oh,
if it is such a moment with any of us to-day,
beloved, "while it is called today, harden not
your hearts."
Yes, and even after we have received the Holy
Ghost there are crisis hours in consecrated lives.
There are great doors of service offered, there are
great openings for higher advances, there are sacri
fices to be dared, advances to be made, promises to
be claimed, victories to be won, achievements to be
undertaken ; but they will not wait for us. Like
harvest time, they are passing by, and the Holy
Spirit's message to us is, "Redeeming the time
because the days are evil."
It is not merely the time, it is the point of time,
ton kairon, the very nick of time. We have not
days for it, but only moments. The days are evil,
the moment is golden ; let us seize it while we
may. God help us, beloved, to understand that
message, and to let that blessed Guide and Friend
lead us from victory to victory, and at last present
us faultless in the presence of His glory with
exceeding joy.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN HEBREWS. 28i>
V. THE HOLY GHOST IN RELATION TO THE BACKSLIDER.
There are two very solemn passages in this epis
tle in relation to the backslider.
"For it is impossible for those who were once
enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift,
and. were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and
have tasted the good word of God, and the powers
of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to
renew them to repentence ; seeing they crucify
to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him
to an open shame," Chapter vi. 4, 6.
" Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye,
shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden
under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the
blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sancti
fied, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto
the Spirit of grace ? " Chapter x. 29.
Time and space will not permit us to enter fully
on the exposition of these verses, but a few remarks
may throw sufficient light upon them, to prevent
their being a stumbling-block to sincere and trem
bling hearts.
In the first place, it is quite certain from other
Scriptures, that there is mercy and forgiveness for
every sinner who is willing to accept the mercy of
God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Again and
again the infinite mercy of God to the penitent
sinner has been repeated and reasserted until no
sincere penitent need ever doubt his welcome at

290 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
the throne of grace. "All manner of sin and of
blasphemy," our Saviour has said, "shall be for
given unto men.
In the next place, the sin of the persons referred
to here is not any ordinary sin. It is not a mere
fall, but it is " falling away," and falling away so
utterly that the backslider wholly rejects the
very blood of Christ through which he might be
forgiven, and throws away the only sacrifice and
hope of mercy. He crucifies to himself the Son of
God afresh, he puts Him to an open shame, he
tramples upon His blood, and he defies and does
despite unto the Spirit of grace.
The difficulty of his salvation arises not from
any limitation of God's mercy, but from the fact
that he utterly rejects God's mercy, and the only
way by which it could be manifested through the
Lord Jesus Christ.
In the third place, the case supposed is not neces
sarily an actual case. It may be of the nature of
a warning and a supposition; and the very warn
ing is given in order to prevent it from becoming
a fact. Just as the mother cries to her child,
" Come back from the edge of the precipice or you
will be killed, "but this does not imply that the child
is to be killed It is the very means by which it
is saved from death. God's warnings are not
prophecies, but they are His loving way of keep
ing back that which otherwise would happen.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN HEBREWS. 291
And so the apostle adds,'' " we are persuaded bet
ter things of you, and things that accompany sal
vation, though we thus speak."
Finally, in the revised version there is a little
word of comfort and hope in the sixth verse. In
stead of "seeing they crucify to themselves " the
translation is, "so long as they crucify to them
selves the Son of God afresh." It implies that
in a certain spiritual condition they cannot be
saved or forgiven, but it also implies that so soon
as they abandon that condition, and become peni
tent and accept the blood of Christ, the mercy of
God is still free and full.
There is, therefore, no reason to infer from these
very solemn warnings that any penitent soul need
despair of being forgiven. At the same time the
warning is so solemn that we would not for one
moment weaken its tremendous force. For we
never can tell when we begin to go back, or even
look back, where we are going to stop. That
which seems but a trifling fall may become a
"falling away," and may end in the rejection of
Christ and the defiance of God. Our safety lies in
heeding the solemn warning, "The just shall live
by faith, but if any man draw back, My soul shall
have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them
who draw back unto perdition, but of them that
believe unto the saving of the soul."
The story is told of a man who advertised for a

292 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
coachman. Among those that came were two
who seemed to him to be particularly bright. He
took them aside and asked them how near they
could drive to the edge of a precipice without fall
ing over.
The first candidate answered that he could go
within half-an-inch, and had frequently done so,
just shaving the edge, and feeling perfectly safe.
He then asked the other the same question.
"Well, sir," replied the man modestly, "I really
cannot tell, because I have never allowed myself
to venture near the edge of a precipice, I have
always made it a rule to keep as far as possible
from danger, and I have had the reward in know
ing that my master and his family were kept from
danger and harm."
The master had no difficulty in deciding between
the two candidates. " You are the man for me,"
he said, " the other may be very brilliant; but you
are safe."
Ah friends, let us not play with danger, trifle
with sin, nor venture so close to the edge of the
lake of fire that we may not be able to return.
The Holy Ghost, as our loving jealous Mother, is
guarding us from harm by these very warnings.
Like the Pilgrims in the palace Beautiful, who
went on their way saying, as they had looked at
the wonderful visions of the palace, "These things
make us both hope and fear," so, in a wise and

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN HEBREWS. 293
holy fear as well as a bright and blessed hope, lies
the balance of safety and the place of wisdom.
Thus walking in His love and fear may we be kept
by the Holy Ghost until that glad hour when we,
through the eternal Spirit, too, shall offer our
selves, without spot, to God.

CHAPTER XXII.
GOD'S JEALOUS LOVE.
"The Spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy." James
lv. 5.
IN the marginal reading of the Revised Version,
we find this verse translated : " The Spirit that
He hath made to dwell in us yearneth over us
unto envy." A still more happy rendering is,
" The Holy Spirit, that dwelleth in us, loveth us to
jealousy." This is a little gem in a mass of rocks, a little
flower in a wilderness, a little bit of poetry and
sacred sentiment embosomed in the great Epistle
of common sense.
One would almost as readily expect to see a rose
in a wilderness or a blossom on a glacier, as to find
this exquisite little bit of sentiment in the epistle
of the most practical of all the apostles.
For James has really struck the keynote of the
entire system of revelation. This is the golden
thread that runs through the whole Bible, from the
bridal of Eve to the marriage of the Lamb. The
love life of the Lord, — this is the romance of the
Bible, — and the golden chain of Revelation.
The story of Rebeckah is a kind of idyll, setting 294

GOD S JEALOUS LOVE. 295
forth the whole idea in her romantic wooing and
wedding. Just as Abraham sent his trusted ser
vant to bring a bride for Isaac, and just as old
Eliezer faithfully discharged that trust, finding,
wooing, and then bringing home the beautiful
Rebeckah, and at last presenting her to the arms of
Isaac, waiting for her in the eventide; so the Holy
Ghost has been sent by the Father to call from this
sinful world a Bride for His beloved Son, and,
having called her, to bring her home ; educating
her, robing her, and gradually preparing her for
her glorious meeting with her Lord, in that sub
lime event which is to be the consummation of the
age — the Marriage of the Lamb.
Now, the Holy Spirit is represented in this pass
age as loving us to jealousy, and holding us
sacredly to our blessed Bridegroom and Lord. In
the context we read about the friendship of the
world and the sin of adultery. The true reading
of this passage, "Ye adulterers and adulteresses,"
is simply "ye adulteresses." It is wholly in the
feminine gender. He is not speaking about the
earthly marriage bond, but about the fidelity of
the Bride of the Lamb to her heavenly Lord. The
church is represented throughout the Scriptures as
a wife, and the sin of unfaithfulness to Christ as
spiritual adultery. Therefore, it is the adulteress
that is mentioned here, and she is asked in the
most solemn manner, "Know ye not that the

296 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
friendship of the world is enmity with God ? Who
soever, therefore, will be the friend of the world is
the enemy of God."
Compromise with the world is unfaithfulness to
Christ, and adultery in His sight. It is in this con
nection that our text is introduced. "The Spirit
that dwelleth in us loveth us to jealousy." He is
constantly guarding our loyalty of heart, and our
single and unqualified devotion to Christ alone.
Now, the Spirit which is given to each of us is
holding us true to Christ. He first wins and woos
us to Christ and then holds us true to Him, and
leads us on until we shall be prepared to meet Him
at His glorious coming.
This figure could be much better understood in
eastern countries and ancient times than now.
Almost every Oriental marriage has a go-between,
a friend of the bridegroom and the bride, who
arranges the preliminaries, and brings the parties
together, just as Eliezer brought Rebeckah to Isaac.
This is the high mission of the Holy Spirit, and in
its discharge He is so true to Christ that the least
spot upon our holy character, the least compromise
in our allegiance and devotion awakens* in His
heart a holy jealousy. He has devoted Himself to
bring about our union with Jesus, and to fit us for
it in the highest possible measure.
This is the purpose of all His dealings with us,
this is the meaning of all the discipline of our life,

GOD S JEALOUS LOVE. 297
to call us to Christ, and then qualify us for our
high calling, as the Bride of the Lamb.
I.
First, He seeks and finds us, and brings us to
Jesusin conversion. He sees in us those qualities
which God created for Himself, and which Satan is
prostituting for our shame and ruin, and He sets
His heart on winning us for our heavenly
Lord. This will explain the fact that must often have
occurred to many of us, that God revealed Himself
to us in mercy many a time before we knew Him as
a Saviour, and a Father, and answered many of our
prayers when we really had no claim upon His
promise. He was wooing us to His love, He was
trying to make us understand that He was seeking
us, He was presenting to us the jewels of Isaac
that we might be drawn from the gifts to the
Giver and led to listen to His overtures of grace.
He was treating us in advance as His friends and
His children. He was leaping over the intervening
years of sin and unbelief, and anticipating the hour
when we should love Him, and weep with bitter
sorrow that we did not sooner understand and
accept His love to us. Oh beloved, He is calling
some of you now. He is longing for you with a
jealous love. You belong to Him by God's eternal
purpose, you will some day love Him and live for

298 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
Him with all your heart, and would give the world
to be able to undo the years of your present sin and
folly. Oh, let Him reach your hearts, let Him win
your affections, let Him draw you to His Bosom
and make you His beloved, II.
But secondly, even after we come to know Him
as a Saviour, He is pressing us forward to a deeper
union and a closer fellowship. We have come to
Him for refuge from judgment, and from guilt;
we have accepted Him as a Deliverer from condem
nation, and from fear; we have fled for refuge,
like the little bird pressed by the storm upon the
deck of the passing steamer ; but He wants us
closer, He wants us to put away our doubts and
fears, and to enter into His confidence and fellow
ship. And so the Holy Ghost is loving us into the
life of entire union with Jesus and unreserved con
secration to Him.
Thousands of Christians only know Him as a
shelter between them and their guilt and danger,
He wants to take them into the innermost cham
bers of His heart and make them the partakers of
His deepest love. And so the Holy Spirit is wooing
tlie children of God, and drawing them to the very
bosom of Jesus. He is saying to them " Hearken,
Oh daughter, and consider, forget thy kindred and
thy father's house; so shall the King greatly desire

GOD'S JEALOUS LOVE. 299
thy beauty: for He is thy Lord, and worship thou
Him." He wants us to turn away from every earthly
idol, and give Him our whole heart, that He may
give us His in return, and make us the partakers
and the heirs of all His riches and His glory. This
is what consecration means. This is what the
baptism of the Holy Ghost is. In this His jealous
love is calling some even as they read these lines.
III.
But even when we thus yield ourselves to Christ
in full consecration, and receive Him by the Holy
Ghost as an indwelling Saviour, and the Ishi of our
heart, we have only begun Rebeckah's homeward
journey, and the Holy Ghost like Eliezer has to
lead us on through all the way, educating and pre
paring us for our meeting with our Lord.
And all through this life of discipline and experi
ence, He is still loving us with a ceaseless and tire
less devotion, and pressing us forward with jealous
solicitude into God's highest and best will. And so
He becomes our Sanctifier. He is preparing our
wedding garments and fitting them to us, so that
the King's daughter shall be "all glorious within."
" She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of
needlework." She shall be robed not only in gar
ments white, but garments bright, the wedding
robes of the marriage of the Lamb.

300 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
When wo receive Christ as our Sanctifier, there
is a sense in which we are wholly sanctified from
the beginning. We have accepted all the will of
God, and God counts us fully obedient. Our will
is utterly surrendered and His will is our unquali
fied choice. But oh, how much there is for us yet
to learn, how much more light, how much more
realization, how all these things have to be wrought
into the very fibre of our being. As that young
lady takes the pattern of embroidery that has been
stamped in its minutest details upon the fabric,
in one sense she has the whole pattern there from
the beginning. But now she goes to work with
worsted, and silk, and threads of gold, and many a
stitch, with patient delicate needle, to work on
that pattern in every tint and color and costly
material, until it is not only a stamped pattern on
the canvas or the silk, but a beautifully inwrought
figure with every tint of the rainbow, and all the
brilliant sheen of satin and silk, and silver and gold,
and perhaps the precious pearls that are skilfully
wrought into the glowing design. So the Holy
Ghost stamps the image of Christ upon ua from
the beginning, but He then goes to work to burn it
in, and work it in, until our clothing shall be of
wrought gold and finest needlework. So He is
loving us to jealousy in His deeper work of sancti
fying grace, sensitive to every spot, guarding
against every slip and failure, and aught that could

GOD'S JEALOUS LOVE. 301
mar the fullness and perfection of God's great pur
pose of grace within us.
Some day we shall thank Him for His love, when
we stand with the glorious Bride of the Lamb, pre
sented faultless before the presence of God with ex
ceeding joy, while the wondering universe shall
come to see the Bride, the Lamb's wife, with robes
more radiant than all the gems of earth, and colors
more glorious than a thousand rainbows or a
thousand suns.
No thoughtful mind can fail to appreciate the im
portance and the reality of this deeper work of the
Holy Ghost. It is one thing to have love, but it is
another to have the love that suffereth long and is
kind, that never faileth, that is not provoked. It
is one thing to have patience, but it is another to
"let patience have her perfect work that we may be
perfect and entire wanting nothing." It is one
thing to have forbearance and long suffering, but
it is another thing to be " strengthened with might
unto all patience and long suffering with joyful-
ness." It is one thing to have the things that are
just and right, but it is another thing to have the
"things that are lovely and of good report," not
only the useful and the necessary, but the beauti
ful and the decorative qualities of Christian life.
It is one thing to have the graces of the Holy Ghost
in form, it is another to have them in maturity.
It is one thing to have the grapes of June or July,

302 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
it is quite another to have the mellow purple fruit
of September or October, ripe and ready for the
vintage. We have seen the Holy Ghost thus leading on a
soul, here adding a touch, there subtracting an
excess, there deepening a line, there ripening and
mellowing a quality. Silently, gradually, day by
day and moment by moment we have seen the
picture growing more complete, more symmetrica],
more deep, and full of strange indescribable expres
sion, until at last we felt somehow that the work
had been wrought into the depths of life, and that
the soul was ripe and ready for the Master's
coming. IV.
Along with this work of sanctification, there is
also a work of separation, and crucifixion. That any
thing may grow, something must die. He is separa
ting us from the influences of the alien world, and
the thousand forces that could distract or counter
act His gracious purpose. It is here that His
jealous love is most manifest. It is here that He
has often to break our idols, and sever the cords
that bind us, that would weaken our character, or
hinder our highest growth. But the deeper and
higher we are to grow, the narrower must our
range of earthly sympathy become. And so He
has not only to separate from sin, and from the

GOD'S JEALOUS LOVE. 303
ungodly and unholy world, but to separate us from
a thousand things that touch the life of self, and
that enter in as hindrances between us and our
Lord's highest purpose.
We may not see it ourselves, but He sees it, and
He loves us too well to let it hurt us. It may be
some dear friend, it may be some innocent and
what we regard as an absolutely holy, affection.
But He may see that that love, or that friend is
taking His place, and instead of becoming an at
tachment to the Head, it becomes a barrier between
us and our living Head. Instead of a fruit bearing
branch it becomes a parasite, drawing away our
life, or a prop on which we lean instead of rooting
more strongly in Him, and so He gently detaches
us from it.
It may be that our ambition, or our literary
taste, or our fondness for some artistic delight ;
our beautiful home, our refined friendships, our
higher pursuits in the lines of aesthetic taste, are
absorbing much of the strength of our life and
making Him and His work less. And so the flash
light falls upon this, and the surgeon's probe de
tects it, and the deep cathode ray goes through
the very flesh and bone, till it reaches the very
intents of the heart, and brings to light the hidden
danger, and then He tests our loyalty and love and
calls upon us to surrender it to Him.
Yes, it may be even our Christian work that is

304 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
absorbing our affection and enthusiasm and leav
ing Him out. It may be for an idea, or an ambi
tion we are working rather than for our Lord, and
so His jealous love sometimes must destroy the
vision that He may save His child. Like the ap
prentice boy who saw his master gazing intently
at the beautiful fresco that he had just completed
upon the ceiling, and gradually stepping back
wards to admire it, until he was on the very edge
of the scaffold, and another movement would have
dashed him to the pavement below; when suddenly
the faithful apprentice dashed forward, seized the
painter's brush and dashed it over the beautiful
fresco, daubing it, and destroying it with one ruth
less blow.
The master sprang forward with a cry of agony,
but in a moment he stopped and looked at the pale,
trembling boy, pointing with his finger backward
to the scaffold where he had stood, and then he
understood it all, and he took the boy in his arms
and in a paroxysm of tears he embraced him, and
thanked him that he had spoiled his wor-k and
saved his life.
So the blessed Holy Ghost has marred the vision
of our past, and has desolated the hopes of our
future that He might save us for something bet
ter. Let us trust Him to the end, let us let Him
love us as much as He wants to, let us never doubt
His faithful will, or question the commandments
which are " for our good alway."

god's jealous love. 305
V.
The jealous love of the Holy Ghost is also
educating us, and seeking to enlarge our vision
and our thought, so +hat He can better fit us to
be the eternal companion of our glorious Bride
groom. He is trying to make us understand the
majesty of His purpose, and to bring us into part
nership with Him in His glorious plans to save the
world, and in the ages to come, to lead out His re
deemed ones into the highest and grandest services
for the universe; and His heart is often grieved
and disappointed, to find us so narrow, so self-
bound, so unable to enter into His glorious pur
poses, and His eternal designs.
There is a sad story told of a young couple who
became betrothed in early life, and afterward the
young man went to college, and acquired a liberal
education, and then went abroad and travelled for
years in a foreign country, finishing his studies
and widening his views of life and men.
All the while they kept up their correspondence,
and their engagement, and at last one day he came
back to meet his beloved and claim her as his
bride. But, alas, he found that while he had
grown, she had remained stationary. He loved her
still, and her whole life was bound up in him. But
she was not able to understand him, she was not
able to enter into his higher thoughts and plans,

306 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
and she was not able to be the companion of hia
magnificent mind. He wedded her, but more and
more from day to day he saw that the breach was
widening. Her horizon was no wider than her
neighbor's fence, and her neighbor's farm, her
world was scarcely bigger than the kitten on the
hearth, the lambs that gamboled in the field, and
the milk-pan and kitchen range.
He never told her, and she scarcely understood
the shadow that had fallen upon his life, but day
by day he pined, and wasted away, until at last he
died of a broken heart.
Ah, friends, our beloved Bridegroom with His
glorious mind, His sweeping vision of the universe
and His mighty purpose, not only to redeem this
world, but to glorify His Father's name in every
star and constellation of yonder space through His
redeemed ones by and by, must often be grieved
to find us so slow to understand Him.
When you sit down in your corner grocery
to make a petty fortune, and you work away at
your farm in order to make a scant living, and
some day have a farm for your boys, and you get
absorbed in your little circle, and perhaps your
little bit of a church, you never think of the great
world that is waiting to be saved, the millions that
have never heard of Jesus, or the high purpose of
His heart to make you with Him the queen not
only of the millennial years, but of the whole re-

GOD'S JEALOUS LOVE. 307
deemed universe. Let us rise to meet His thought;
let us get out beyond our self -bound, earth-
bound life, and enter into His plan for the world,
and speed His glorious coming, and His mighty
purpose for all mankind. VI.
And so again, the Holy Ghost is leading us out,
and developing our faith and thus preparing us for
the higher life of the world beyond. For faith is
just the wings by which we are some day to sweep
across the abyss, and soar amid the heights of the
ages to come. Even after we receive the Holy
Ghost we are content to move on in small planes
and small circles, and we do not want to be dis
turbed or pushed out to harder, higher things, and,
therefore, the Holy Ghost has to come and just
compel us by His love to develop into spiritual
strength and energy of which we thought ourselves
incapable. "As an eagle stirreth up her nest,
fluttereth over her young, taketh them, beareth
them upon her wings, so the Lord alone did lead
Him." And so He stirs up our nest and pitches us out
in mid air helpless and defenceless orphans, and we
think that it is to destroy us, but it is only to con
strain us, to strike out the little wings of faith
and learn to fly in the great unseen, and when we
get a little weary He stretches out His mighty pin-

308 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
ions and bears us up again until we are ready for
another lesson. And so through hardship, through
the discipline of trials, through new circum
stances into which He brings us, through diffi
culties for which we feel unequal He is developing
us, throwing us upon Him, teaching us to claim
His grace and educating us for the higher energies,
and the nobler manhood of the life to come. Oh,
how He delights in us when we yield to Him,
how He is disappointed in us when we refuse.
How sad when the clay will not let the Potter
fashion it, and He has to throw it aside. Beloved,
let us trust His love, and yield to His high and
holy purpose of love and blessing.
VII
Finally, the Holy Ghost is yearning for our
higher usefulness, and training us for service. The
life of God is an unselfish life, the employment of
the ages to come will be wholly benevolent and
self -forgetful. Our service for Christ to-day is a
great investment through which we are laying up
treasures beyond that are to constitute our ever
lasting riches and reward. And so the Holy Ghost
is pressing us forward to make the most of present
opportunities, He is trjing to get us to' plant the
seeds of usefulness, to invest the things that we
hold dear in sacrifice and service, which yet will
bear immortal flowers and plant the heavens with
trees of righteousness and fruits of glory.

CHAPTER XXIII.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE EPISTLES OF
PETER.

T

HERE are three important truths respecting
the Holy Spirit presented in the Epistles of
Peter. I. THE SPIRIT OF INSPIRATION.

In II. Peter i. 21 we are told that "the prophecy
came not by the will of man, but holy men of old
spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.''
This is a very explicit statement of the doctrine of
inspiration. They were not giving their own opin
ions, they were not writing by the impulse of their
own will. Sometimes they said things that were
contrary to all their natural preferences and at
tachments, as for example, when Samuel pro
nounced his judgment upon the house of Eli, or
when Jeremiah uttered his awful warnings against
his dearly loved people and country.
But they were "moved by the Holy Ghost."
The Greek word moved is a very strong one, and
in the Revised Version is translated "borne."
They were -swept along by a mighty impulse which
309

310 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
carried them far beyond themselves. They did not
always even understand their own predictions, for
in I. Peter i. 10, we are told that "the prophets
have inquired and searched diligently, who proph
esied of the grace that should come unto you,
searching what manner of time, the Spirit
of Christ which was in them did signify, when it
testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and
the glory that should follow."
Daniel tells us that he heard, but understood not,
his own vision. Sometimes they saw the vision of
a glorious King, sometimes of a bleeding Lamb. But
they did not always fully comprehend what it all
meant, or when it was all to be fulfilled. It loomed
before them as a glorious vista of far reaching
promise ; but there was many a cloud upon the
vision, and all they clearly knew was that "not
unto themselves, but unto us they did minister "
these wondrous revelations of truth.
In the next verse the apostle speaks of the Holy
Ghost, not only in the message of the prophets,
but in the message of the ministers of the gospel,
as these truths are now preached unto us by the
ambassadors of Christ, "with the Holy Ghost sent
down from heaven." The ancient prophet was the
organ of the Spirit, but the minister of the gospel
has the very presence and person of "the Spirit
sent down from heaven," accompanying his mes
sage and giving authority and power to his word ;

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN PETER. 311
so that when we speak the message of God, we
speak in the very name of God, and those who
hear are responsible for rejecting or receiving, not
the word of man, but the very word of the living
God. II. THE SPIRIT OF SANCTIFICATION.
I. Peter i. 2, "Elect according to the foreknowl
edge of God the Father, through sanctification of
the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the
blood of Jesus Christ." The Apostle Peter fully be
lieved in the sovereignity of God, and in the Divine
purpose of election ; but he did not believe in any
foreordination apart from personal sanctification.
The truth is, there are two ends to the Divine pur
pose. On yonder side the cable is fastened to the
throne, and hidden from our view in the inscruta
ble and inaccessible light of God ; but on this side
the cable of Divine mercy is within our reach, and
we may fasten it around our own hearts through
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and the indwelling
of the Holy Ghost, so that we may make our call
ing and election sure, and know that we belong to
the heavenly family.
The word " through " should rather be translated
"in sanctification." Holiness is the element and
atmosphere of the Divine calling, and as we are
found there we must be inseparably linked with
Him ; and apart from this spiritual condition, we

312 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
have no right to rest in any theological dogma or
ecclesiastical form. Let us leave the theology of
it to God, and let us make the practical application
sure. Let us carefully notice the form of expression
here used. It is not sanctification by the Spirit,
but sanctification of the Spirit. There is a great
difference. Sanctification by the Spirit might leave
us crystalized into a sanctified state, like the wax
when the stamp is withdrawn, or like the clock
wound up to go by its own machinery. But sanc
tification of the Spirit is not a self-constituted
state, but a sanctification which consists in our
union with the Spirit, and makes and keeps us de
pendent upon His indwelling life and power every
moment. We are not sanctified apart from Him,
but only as we are filled with Him, and abide in
Him continually. We are but the vessel, an empty
shell which He must fill, and keep ever freshly
filled by "the renewing of the Holy Ghost."
The Greek genitive expressed by the proposition
of indicates the most intimate connection between
our sanctification and our possession of the Holy
Ghost. Beloved, have we the Spirit as our Sancti
fier and our Life ? Have we something more than
holiness, even the Holy One Himself to " dwell in
us and walk in us," and ever "cause us to keep
His statutes and judgments and do them ?"
Again, the sanctification of the Spirit brings us

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN PETER. 313
the "sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ."
Now, the blood of Jesus Christ means the life of
Jesus Christ, and the life of Christ has always a
twofold application. First, the life of Christ was
givenfor us through the shedding of His blood and
the atonement of His death on Calvary. But the
life of Christ is also given to us by His union with
us and abiding in us.
This latter sense is the one covered by the
"sprinkling of the blood. " We read in the twenty-
fourth chapter of Exodus, that when Moses was
about to take the leaders of Israel up into the
mount, he offered sacrifices of oxen, slaying the
bullocks and pouring out half of their blood upon
the altar, thus signifying the shedding of Christ's
blood for us in the offering of His sacrifice upon
the cross. But the other half of the blood he took
in basons and carried it up unto the Mount, sprink
ling part of it upon the people and the book of the
covenant ; and, thus sprinkled with blood, and
accompanied by the blood, they went up into the
very presence of God, and were received into His
love and favor. Instead of the thunders and
lightnings which yesterday made Mount Sinai a
scene of terror, the blue heavens without a cloud
covered them as a celestial dome, and Jehovah
received them into His presence chamber, feasted
them as princely guests at a royal banquet, and, it
is added, "upon the nobles of Israel he laid not

314 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
His hand ; but they did eat and drink, and they
saw God."
Now, the sprinkled blood in this beautiful type is
quite different from the shed blood poured out
upon the altar; it represents the life of Christ im
parted to us, and making us fit for His presence
and fellowship. This is the work of the Holy
Ghost. He brings us into living union with the
person of Jesus and reproduces in us the very life
of Christ.
We believe this is the meaning of the strong
expressions used so often respecting the life and
blood of Jesus. We are said to be " saved by His
life." Again, the "blood of Jesus Christ His
Son," that is, the life of Jesus Christ "cleanseth
us, or keeps cleansing us from all sin." So again,
in the sixth of John, it is by eating His flesh and
drinking His blood that we have eternal life, and
that life is nourished from day to day. Beloved, do
we know the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus, and
are we living upon His life ?
There is another beautiful type in the Old Testa
ment throwing much precious light upon this strik
ing figure. It is the account of the Red Heifer in the
nineteenth chapter of the book of Numbers. We
will pass by the other applications of this remark
able type, and refer only to the sprinkling of the
water of separation.
When any one in the camp of Israel had become

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN PETER. 315
defiled by the touch of the dead, or by contact with
uncleanness in any way, it was provided that he
should be cleansed and restored by sprinkling with
the water of separation. This water was made out
of the ashes of the heifer that had been sacrificed
and then burned, and preserved in a sacred place
for this purpose. Water was poured upon it, and
then, with a bunch of hyssop the unclean person
was sprinkled and cleansed.
Now, we know that the water which you make
out of ashes is known as lye, and it is pungent
and cutting in its operation as caustic or fire. The
sprinkling that came in this way upon the unclean
would not be likely to be forgotten. It was a
cleansing that would cut to the core, and burn to
the bone. And so the work of the Holy Ghost is
not always soft and complacent, but often most
searching and consuming. He brings home to our
hearts the application of the death of Christ, until
it takes us into actual fellowship with His death,
and makes us also willing to die to the sinful or
selfish thing which He has revealed in our natural
life. There is, therefore, a sense in which the sancti
fying work of the Holy Ghost is at once immediate
and progressive. There is a moment in which we
actually enter into personal union with Jesus and
receive the baptism with the Holy Ghost; and in
that moment we are fully accepted, and are fully

316 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
sanctified up to all the light we have. But as the
light grows deeper and clearer He leads us farther
down, and farther on, at once revealing and heal
ing every secret thing that is contrary to His per
fect will, as we are able to bear it, and bringing us
into perfect conformity to the very nature and life
of Christ.
It is somewhat like the operation of the lime
stone brook upon the wooden branch that is left
lying in the flowing stream. Day by day, the
limestone held in solution is deposited in the open
fibres of the wood, until after a while the wood has
been changed to stone, and, while retaining its
natural form, its substance has been transformed
into the nature of the stone. So there is a sense
in which the Holy Ghost holds the life of Jesus
Christ in a kind of solution, and imparts it
to us, until we become perfectly conformed to
the very image of our glorious Pattern and
Head. Once more, the sanctification of the Spirit leads
to "obedience." It is not all theory and experi
ence, but it is intensely practical and real. It runs
into our daily lives in the home, the factory, and
the store. It makes us better men and women,
and compels the world to testify to its genuineness
and reality. And then it becomes so easy. It is
not the obedience of effort, but the spontaneous
and joyful outflow^of life and love. He not only

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN PETER. 317
dwells in us, but He also walks in us. " And what
the law could not do in that it was weak through
the flesh," " the law of the Spirit of life in Christ
Jesus," does accomplish, " making us free from
the law of sin and death, that the righteousness of
the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after
the flesh, but after the Spirit."
IH. THE SPIRIT OF GLORY.
I. Peter iv. 14, "If ye be reproached for the \
name of Christ, happy are ye; for the Spirit of \
glory and of God resteth upon you." The work of
the Holy Ghost is more than cleansing. It is also
glorifying. He comes not only to make our gar
ments white, but lustrous, like the transfiguration
light and the marriage robe.
In the ancient tabernacle there were three sec
tions. The first represented salvation. It was the
Court where the worshiper came to the altar and
the laver for the atoning blood and the cleansing
water. The second was the Holy Place, the chamber
where the priests had their home, and where they
dwelt with God amid the light of the golden lamps,
feeding upon the sacred bread and frankincense,
and breathing the fragrant odors that arose in
clouds of incense from the golden altar of interces
sion. This represented sanctification, communion,
fellowship, the life of abiding in personal union
with the Lord Jesus Christ. But there was another

318 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
chamber farther in. It was the Holy of Holies, the
sacred Presence Chamber of God, where the She-
kinah glory shone between the outstretched wings
of the heavenly cherubim. This was God's image
of the glory. This represents, of course, the future
glory of our heavenly home and the millennial day
for which we are waiting. But this also represents
the beginning of that glory into which we may
enter now. For the Holy Ghost is the earnest of
our future inheritance, and He brings its fore-
gleams and foretastes to us here.
That inner chamber, in the days of Moses, was
shut off from view. Only the high priest might
enter it, and he but once a year. But the veiling
curtains were rent asunder when Jesus died, and
the glory was opened wide for us to enter in. And
so we read the Divine invitation, " Having, there
fore, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood
of Jesus, by a new and living Way, which He hath
consecrated for us, through the vail, that is, His
flesh, let us draw near with a true heart, in full
assurance of faith." Yes, we may enter into the
glory even here. "The glory which Thou gavest
Me, I have given them," is our Saviour's parting
bequest. Not only does He give us His peace and
His love, but He gives us His glory too, and into
its heavenly radiance we may enter now. " Whom
having not seen, we love, in whom though now we
see Him not, yet believing, we rejoice with joy

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN PETER. 319
unspeakable and full of glory." " Not only so, but
we glory in tribulations also." " If yebe reproached
for the name of Christ, happy are ye ; for the Spirit
of glory and of God resteth upon you."
It is difficult, if not impossible, to make this in
telligible to any one who has not been initiated
into the alphabet of heavenly things. It needs
spiritual senses and instincts to comprehend it.
But almost every child of God has at one time or
other, been touched with some thrill from the Spirit
of glory. Perhaps it lighted up the closet of prayer
until it became the gate of heaven. Perhaps it
touched your sorrow with a light that transfigured
the night into morning, and the shadow of death
into the light of heaven. Perhaps it came when
Jesus healed your body and gave you the first fruits
of the resurrection. Perhaps it comes to jou some
times when you sit and think of the cross behind
you, the Christ within you, and the home before
you, and you scarcely know whether you are in
the body or out of the body. But the blessed Spirit
is ready to bring it to us just where we need it
most. It would seem as if its congenial sphere was the
place of suffering, persecution and reproach. It
would seem as if when earth's barometer goes
down to the lowest point, heaven's sunburst
always comes most brightly through the tempest
clouds It is "in tribulation" "we glory;" it

320 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
is "when reproached in the name of Christ "
that "the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon
us." But let us be very sure that we are reproached
"in the name of Christ," as the passage should be
translated. Let us not suffer, as the next passage
suggests, because of our own foolishness or sin, as
transgressors or busy bodies. But, standing in the
name of Christ, living in His high and holy char
acter, representing Him, and resembling Him, let
us not fear if trials come, and storms of sorrow fall.
The cloud will be but His background for the rain
bow. The pillar that loomed by day as an enshroud
ing mist, will glow by night like a celestial fire;
"And sorrow" touched by God grow bright
With more than rapture's ray,
As darkness shows us worlds of light
We never saw by day. ' '

CHAPTER XXIV.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE FIRST EPISTLE
OF JOHN.
ONE is impressed with the -limited number of
direct references to the Holy Ghost in the
great Epistle of the beloved disciple in com
parison with his references to the person of the
Lord Jesus Christ.
There are only four or fire passages in all this
long letter, in which the blessed Paraclete is men
tioned by name, but Christ is referred to over and
over again. One is led to inquire why this should
be. And perhaps the answer suggests a deep and
beautiful truth. John was so saturated with the
Holy Ghost that, like the Holy Ghost, who never
witnesses of Himself, He was constantly thinking
of Jesus, and witnessing of Him. The very fact
that he was not directly referring to the Spirit
was the best evidence that he was in the Spirit,
and that he was occupied, as the Holy Ghost always
is, in thinking of Jesus and glorifying the Son of
God. And so, beloved, as we are most full of the Holy
Ghost we shall be most occupied with Jesus ; so

322 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
that we will not think so much of our own expe
rience or of the Glorious Friend within us as of the
face of Jesus and the depths of His heart of love.
There are, however, several very important ref
erences to the Holy Spirit in this epistle. Before
we take them up in detail, it is necessary that we
should explain our silence respecting one of the
verses in this epistle which bears most direct wit
ness to the Holy Ghost.
It is the well known passage, I. John v. 7:
"There are three that bear record in heaven, the
Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost ; and these
three are one." This verse which contains so di
rect and theological a testimony to the doctrine of
the Trinity is undoubtedly spurious. It is not
found in any of the early manuscripts, and by the
consent of the highest scholars of our age it has
been omitted from the revised version, and was
undoubtedly added by some transcriber, who bad
more zeal for theology than discernment of the
mind of the Spirit and the order of thought in this
chapter. The verse is quite irrelavent in the place
where it is introduced, and it is by no means nec
essary to prove the Divinity either of the Son or
of the Holy Ghost.
I. THE HOLY GHOST AS THE DIVINE ANOINTING.
" But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and
ye know all things. But the anointing which ye

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN FIRST JOHN. 323
have received of Him abideth in you, and ye need
not that any man teach you ; but as the same
anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth
and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye
shall abide in Him." I. John ii. 20, 27.
We have previously referred to the symbol of
oil, and the figure of anointing with reference to
the Holy Spirit. The idea of this passage is
substantially the same as in the passages formerly
referred to. The word is a little different. It is
not so much the anointing as the unction, the
chrism which is here mentioned.
We need not remind our readers that this word
unction and anointing is the same word from which
the Christ comes, so that anointed one just means
Christ one. We read in the previous verses of the
anti- Christ and of the many anti-Christs who shall
come. In contrast with these are the Christ ones.
The Holy Ghost is raising up Christ men. The
word Christian is derived from this root, but it is
not entirely satisfactory. A Christian is one that
is somehow connected with Christ, but a Christ
one is one that is united with Christ and represents
Him, being, in fact, a second edition of Him, and
representing the very life of Christ among men.
Now this was the great mission of the Holy
Ghost — to set apart the Christ, and make Him the
great Pattern for all future men. Having accomp
lished this work in the glorification of Jesus, He is

324 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
now reproducing the Christ, in the Christ ones, and
calling and training the disciples of Jesus to rep
resent the Master and repeat His life through the
Christian dispensation.
We have already called attention to the use of
anointing in setting apart the prophets, priests,
and kings, and to the special significance of the
name of Christ in relation to His threefold office as
our Prophet, Priest, and King. In like manner we
are anointed to be the prophets, priests, and kings
of the Church of God ; to be God's witnesses to
men of His will and work, to be God's intercessors
for men, and to be God'sJdngly ones, victorious over
self and sin, and waiting to share with our blessed
Head the kingdom of the Millennial age.
Now the Holy Ghost calls us to this high minis
try and fits us for it. The anointing here spoken
of is described as a Divine gift, "Ye have an
anointing." The verb here is quite emphatic. It
means we have received a special gift, and we know
we have received it. Beloved, have we received
the Divine anointing, the Holy Ghost ?
His work is here referred to especially in two as
pects, as a Teacher, and as a Keeper. As our
Teacher He brings to us the mind of God through
the Holy Scriptures. The language here used does
not imply that we are inspired as the Apostles and
Prophets of the Lord, to know the will of God apart
from the Holy Scriptures. It does nut mean that

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN FIRST JOHN. 325
we are not to receive the message of God from hu
man lips ; but it does mean we are not to receive
any message as the word of man, but, even
when we are taught by the ministers of Christ, we •
are to receive them as the messengers of God, to
compare their word with God's Holy Word, and
only to receive it as it is the voice of God, speak
ing to our conscience in the Holy Ghost.
But this anointing not only teaches us, but keeps
us abiding in Him. The great object of thisblessed .
presence in our hearts is to unite us to Christ, and
to keep us ever dependent upon Him and close to
Him, so that " when He shall appear we may have
confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His
coming." So let us receive Him, so let us abide in
Him, so let us represent our blessed Lord ; and in
the age of anti-Christ let us be not only Christians
but Christ ones, standing for our Lord on earth as
He ever stands for us in heaven.
II. THE INDWELLING SPIRIT.
"And hereby we know that He abideth in us, by •
the Spirit which He hath given to us." I. John iii.
24. " Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and
He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit."
I. John iv. 13.
It is not so much, however, the indwelling of the *
Spirit that is here referred to, as the indwelling of
Christ through the Spirit. The object of the Holy

326 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
Ghost is to reveal and glorify Jesus and make Him
personal and real in the life of the believer.
This is not a matter of faith, but it is a matter of
knowledge. " We know that He abideth in us."
It is real to our consciousness, it is satisfying to
our hearts. Christ is to us a personal presence, claims
our affection, and satisfies all our need, while the
Holy Ghost just ministers Him to us, and holds us
in abiding communion with Him as the source and
substance of all our life for spirit, soul and body.
We shall never rightly understand the Holy
Ghost so long as we terminate our thought upon
Him. The Scriptures always lead us on beyond
every subjective experience to the person of the
Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
III. COUNTERFEIT SPIRITS.
"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the
spirits, whether they be of God, because that many
false spirits have gone forth into the world. n
I. John iv. 1, 2. The great ambition of the devil
is to counterfeit the Holy Ghost. He has always
had> many counterfeits and many anti-Christs, but
as the age draws to a close " the spirits of wicked
ness in heavenly places" will grow thicker and
"the wiles of the devil " will become more subtle
and deceiving.
Already we can discover the beginning of that
age of Satanic delusion which is to close the pres-

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN FIRST JOHN. 327
ent dispensation and gather the hosts of evil to
"the great battle of the Lord God Almighty."
Often he comes in the disguise of good, and as an
angel of light, and God has warned us to be watch
ful and to "be not deceived."
The apostle John gives us the supreme test, and <
that is the witness these spirits bear to the Lord
Jesus Christ. When any spiritual influence ter
minates upon itself, and does not directly lead us
forward to the Lord Jesus Christ and to glorify and
vivify Him, we have good reason to be doubtful of
it. Any spiritual experience that rests chiefly in
the experience and in its delightfulness or signifi
cance, is very apt to prove another spirit. The
Holy Ghost always witnesseth to Christ.
This passage gives us a still more discriminating
touchstone by which we may detect some of the
spirits that have gone abroad in our own day.
" Every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ
is come in the flesh is not of God; but this is that
Spirit of anti-Christ of which we have heard that
it should come, '' and which even in John's day was
in the world.
This is the spirit that denies the material world
and the actual physical incarnation of the Lord
Jesus Christ, making the story of creation a beau
tiful allegory and the account of Christ a fiction,
discarding the doctrine of sin and atonement and
the actual crucifixion of Christ as a substitute for
sinful men.

328 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
It is not necessary to name the plausible and
widespread error which is abroad to-day, which
tells us that there is no material world, that there
is no material body, that there is, therefore, no
physical basis for disease, that everything is ideas
and mind, and that all we have to do is to think
rightly, and everything else will be right, for pain
is only an idea in the mind, and if we refuse to be
lieve in the pain it will cease to exist, and healing
will follow as a matter of course. This is neither
Christianity nor science, but it is the false spirit
which John predicted eighteen centuries ago,
and one of the harbingers of the final anti-
Christ, But there are many more abroad. There is real
danger among those who know the Holy Ghost,
that they should get absorbed or lifted up in their
own self-consciousness, and thus be separated from
Christ and the truth. Satan is trying to get us on
a pinnacle of the temple that he may cast us down
in some wild fanaticism or presumption. If we are
God's true children he cannot kill us, but he can
break our backs and disable us for the battle of the
Lord. He can mar our testimony, cause our good
to be evil spoken of, and make us so extravagant
and ridiculous that we shall not commend our tes
timony to thoughtful and well-balanced men. May
God give to us "the spirit of a sound mind," as
well as of " love and power."

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN FIRST JOHN. 329
IV. THE SPIRIT OF VICTORY
"Ye are of God, little children, and have over
come them; because greater is He that is in you than
he that is in the world." I. John iv. 4.
The secret of victory is to recognize the Con
queror within and the adversary as a conquered
foe. John does not say we shall overcome, but he
says we have overcome them, because He that is
in us is "greater than he that is in the world."
" He that is in us "has already conquered, and He
leads us on to His own victory. We are to meet
the enemy as already subdued, and, like Joshua
and the hosts of Israel, to put our, feet upon the
necks of the giants and look in, their faces with de
fiance. Satan only has power when he can make
us dread him. He flees before victorious faith and
holy confidence..
At the same time, John fully recognizes the
power of him that is in the world. " We are of
God," he says later, "and the world lieth in the
wicked one." It lies in his arms, a helpless cap
tive, taken alive at his will. He is the power that
controls it, and, although it may look sometimes
like a very cultivated, beautiful and civilized world,
yet the principle that lies at the root of all its pro
gress and power is human selfishness and, there
fore, godlessness. Christ is not yet the sovereign
of all the world. He is the sovereign of His peo
ple's hearts, He is in them, Satan is in the world.

330 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
But the heart in which He dwells is already victor,
and goes forth to every conflict with the battle cry,
''Thanks be unto God who giveth us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ."
V. THE WITNESSING SPIRIT.
This is the last aspect under which the Holy
Ghost is presented in the Epistle of John. "It is
the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit
is truth. And there are three that bear witness in
earth, the Spirit and the water and the blood, and
these three agree in one," I. John v. 6, 8 The three
witnesses who agree upon earth, are the Holy
Ghost, the water of baptism, and the blood of
Jesus Christ which we commemorate in the Holy
Supper, and which we recognize as the atonement
for our sins, and the purchase of our redemption.
It is of the witness of the Spirit that we are called,
i however, to speak here.
1. The Holy Ghost witnesses first through the
Word, and this is John's argument in this passage.
He says, "If we receive the witness of men, the
witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of
God which He hath testified of His Son ; for God
hath given us eternal life, and this life is in His
Son." Then he goes on to say that if we receive
not this witness " we make Him a liar, because we
believe not the witness which God hath given of His
Son." This is the message of the gospel. It is the

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN FIRST JOHN. 331
Holy Ghost that speaketh. It comes to men as
God's witness and He declares to the sinner that
God hath given to us eternal life, and that this life
is in His Son, and that if we accept His Son, we
have life. Now our duty is to believe this witness,
and to believe it implicitly and immediately ; and
the moment we do believe it it becomes true for
us, and we are included in the objects of this great
salvation. This is where faith must commence, by
taking God's witness and believing His Word re
specting our own salvation through Jesus Christ.
2. The Holy Ghost next witnesses in our hearts
that that for which we have believed is true for us
and real to us. " He that believeth on the Son of
God hath the witness in Himself." The moment
we believe the Word, that Word becomes effectual
in our hearts and brings us into the actual experi
ence of peace and salvation. The Word comes first
and then the inward witness. We cannot receive
the Holy Ghost's assurance of our acceptance of
salvation, until we believe on the simple Word of
God that we are accepted and saved, simply because
we have come to Christ as He commanded us, and
we are not cast out as He promised. Then the soul
enters into a real and conscious peace and a de
lightful assurance based upon God's Word, and re
peated by God's Spirit to the individual conscience
that we are the children of God.
3. The Holy Ghost witnesses to our deeper union

332 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
with Christ and our Divine Sonship. When the
disciple fully yields himself to God, he is sealed
' with the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Sonship- is
shed abroad in the heart, and Jesus Christ is made
personal and real to the soul. The Spirit of God
testifies to our union with Him. And so Christ
has said, "At that day," namely, when the Spirit
of God comes, "Ye shall know that I am in the
Father, He in me, and I in you." This is the seal
ing of the Spirit. This is the wedding-ring forever
authenticating the marriage of the soul to its
Beloved. 4. The Holy Ghost witnesses to God's acceptance
of our prayers. This follows in I. John v. 14, 15,
"And this is the confidence we have in Him, that,
if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth
us. And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever
we ask, we know that we have the petitions that
we desired of Him."
5. The Holy Ghost witnesses to our service, and
gives us the seal of power and usefulness. "God
also bearing witness unto them with signs and
wonders, and divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy
Ghost, according to His own will," Hebrews ii. 4.
We go forth to the service of Christ and the Holy
Ghost bears witness to our service. He gives us
power for service, He gives us souls for our seals,
He makes- our words effectual, and He makes our
fruit ' 'remain, "for His glory and our own eternal joy .

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN FIRST JOHN. 333
i
Every servant of Christ who is baptized with the
Holy Ghost has a right to expect the witness of the
Spirit to his work. Just as of old, "they went
forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working
with them and confirming the Word with signs
following,'' so still we have a right to expect " the
signs following." Sometimes they are spiritual
signs, in the conversion of souls ; sometimes they
are physical signs, in the healing of the body ;
sometimes they are circumstances of marvelous
import, in answered prayer, difficulties removed,
signal providences of God, and the manifesting of
God's approval and blessing. So God has set His seal
upon the missionary work of our day. So God has
set His seal upon the testimony of those who have
dared to claim the fullness of the gospel, and enter
into all the riches of their inheritance. So God will
set His seal upon every life that is fully consecrated
and fully yielded to Him.
Beloved, claim the witness, expect the power, do
not be satisfied without His seal to your testimony.
6. The Holy Ghost not only witnesses to us, but
witnesses through us. The special object of His
coming upon us is that we shall be witnesses unto
Jesus. "Ye shall receive the power of the Holy
Ghost coming upon you, and ye shall be witnesses
unto Me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and
in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the
earth.1'

334 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
This is the great4 ministry of the Spirit, to wit
ness through the disciples of Christ to the church,
to the world, and especially to the heathen.
Beloved, have we, as we read these words, *the
consciousness that we have been true to our tes
timony ? Have we stood for Christ in our home ?
Have we spoken to all in our household fearlessly
and fully the witness of Christ Jesus ? Can we say
that we are "pure from the blood of all men?"
Are we known in our business and social circles as
uncompromising friends of Christ ? Have we dared
to speak in the church of Christ in every proper
and becoming way the message and the witness of
the Master ? Is our position known ? Are we out
and out for Christ, and is it our joy and privilege,
as opportunity is afforded, to bear witness to the
unsaved, of Him who is able to save to the utter
most ? And shall we some day find waiting for us
a chorus of loving hearts that shall be our eternal
crown and seal ?
A few weeks ago, the writer had the great joy
of standing in a pulpit before a large congregation,
and hearing the pastor of that great church
rise and tell his people that more than twenty
years ago, he had been led to Christ by the one
who now stood by his side, although this fact had
never yet been known to this one, whom he intro
duced to his people as under God the instru
ment of his salvation and usefulness. As our heart

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN FIRST JOHN. 335
thrilled with humble gratitude to God for such a
privilege, we seemed to see the vision of a time
when, in yonder heavenly world, one and another
might come forward and greet us and lead us to
the throne and tell the blessed Master that He had
used us to bring them to God, and we for the first
time should meet and know the children from many
lands that the Holy Ghost had made seals of our
ministry. Oh beloved, will anyone there be wait
ing and watching for thee ? Have you some sur
prises in store at God's right hand when you shall
" rest from your labors and your works shall follow
you ? "
Let us receive the fullness of the Spirit first, and
then we cannot but give Him. Let Him witness
in you and to you, and then He will surely witness
through you. Oh, let us be so fully given to Him
that He can possess us and control us, and then can
use us to reproduce in others the blessing which we
have received.
In a frontier Indian mission station a little girl
one day came to her teacher and said, " Teacher,
will you let me do something ? " The teacher asked
her what she wanted to do. She said, " I want to
give myself away to you, because I love you," and
kneeling down by her side and putting her two
hands in the teacher's, she said, " I give myself to
you, because I love you." And the little heart
just swelled with gladness, as she threw herself in-

336 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
to the arms of her teacher, so glad to be owned
and loved.'
A few days afterwards she asked the teacher how-
she could consecrate herself to Christ. She had
heard about it, but didn't understand it. The
teacher said, " Darling, just give yourself away to
Jesus as you gave yourself away to me. "
A light came into the little face, and kneeling
down again beside her teacher, she clasped her
hands, and looking up with holy reverence, said,
" Jesus I give myself away to You, because I love
You;" and then the Holy Ghost came down and she
knew she was sealed His own forever.
She had a very wicked father in a distant station,
a cruel, brutal man who refused ' to listen to the
gospel. She began to pray for him, and one day-
she asked the teacher if anything could be done to
save him. "Why," said her teacher, "write to
him and tell him that you have given yourself
away to Jesus, and ask him to do the same." The
little letter was sent with many tears and prayers.
Days and weeks passed by, but nothing seemed to
come out of it. She did not know but he was
fiercely angry and waiting for some terrible
revenge. But one day he appeared at the mission.
He had walked fifty miles, and was tired and
broken, and teaus were running down his face. He
asked for the teacher, and then he requested to be
baptized. He said he had come "to give himself

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN FIRST JOHN. 337
away to Jesus," and amid the rejoicings of his
little one, and all at the station, the rough, brutal,
wicked man gave himself to Jesus, and became a
humble follower and fearless witness of the Saviour
he had hated and despised.
Beloved, shall we let Him have us, and then shall
we let Him use us likewise ?

CHAPTER XXV.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IN JUDE.
"These be they, who separate themselves, sensual, having
not the Spirit. But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your
most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in
the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ
unto eternal life." Jude 19-21.
THE Epistle of Jude, like the Apocalypse which
follows it, is written for the last times. It
draws a striking contrast between the first
and last chapters of human history, especially in
the forms of wickedness, which prevailed at the
beginning, and will return at the end, and it re
cords a prophecy of the Lord's return uttered by
Enoch in antedeluvian times, and soon to be ful
filled in the times in which it is our lot to live.
In the present passage Jude describes two classes
of men, and draws a strong contrast between
them. They both resemble each other, but the one
is the counterfeit of the other. The forms of
wickedness that are to be most dangerous in the
times of the end, are not those marked by open de
fiance of God, but those that shall be cloaked under
a form of godlinesss without the power, and be
338

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN JUDE. 339
Satan's counterfeits of the Holy Ghost. Let us
look first at the counterfeits, and then at the
genuine people. I. SATAN'S COUNTERFEIT PEOPLE.
"These are they who separate themselves, sens
ual, having not the Spirit " Jude 19. This is an un
happy translation. The word "sensual," as ueed
in current speech, means immoral, gross, licenti
ous and openly wicked. The Greek word does not
convey this impression. The word "sensuous"
would be nearer to it, but even this is too strong.
The word "natural" is better, and it is so trans
lated in the second chapter of First Corinthians —
"the natural man." The only way to convey the
true conception is to anglicize the Greek word, and
call it " psychical." It is derived from the Greek
word psyche, meaning the soul. It describes the
intermediate part of human nature. Man, accord
ing to the philosophy of the Bible, is a trinity like
his Creator, consisting of spirit, soul, and body.
The spirit is the higher nature, that which knows
God, distinguishes between right and wrong, and
is capable of religious affections, emotions, and ex
ercises. The physical is the other extreme. It is
the material organism indwelt by the soul and
spirit, and the instrument of its desires, purposes,
and operations. Intermediate between these two
is the soul, the natural mind, the seat of the affec-

340 , POWER FROM ON HIGH.
tions, the understanding, the tastes ; that which
loves and hates, that which thinks, that which can
be cultivated, and which has at once its lower pas
sions and its finer tastes.
The psychical man is the man that is controlled
by this department of his being.
There are three conditions in which we may live.
First, we may be controlled by our lower nature,
our animal existence, our body and its gross ap
petites. This is pure sensuality. Or secondly, we
may be controlled by our tastes, by our intelligence,
by our affections and passions, by our psychical
nature. Or thirdly, we may be controlled by our
spiritual nature.
The psychical man is the man that is controlled
by his natural mind, whether its tendencies be
high or low. He is the man born of his mother,
descended from Adam, inheriting a fallen human
nature, and acting entirely from its promptings.
He may be a very refined man, a very intellectual
man, a very intelligent man, a very affectionate
man, a man full of domestic virtues and patriotic
fire ; but he is a natural man.
Now all these three departments of our nature
are fallen, and under the curse. Our body is sub
ject to disease and death. Our soul has become
self-centred, and has wound about itself and its own
gratification, as a watch spring around its centre.
And even our spirit is fallen, the conscience

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN JUDE. 341
is deranged, the will is enfeebled and wrongly
directed, and our highest aspirations and intuitions
are under the influence of wicked spirits and un
holy motives.
It is not enough for us to subject each or all the
departments of our nature to any one of them,
even to the spirit, because our natural spirit is
fallen, too. Some people think that all that is ne
cessary is to crucify the body, to put it in a cage,
feed it on herbs and roots, deny it every gratifica
tion, and sometime it may lose its evil propensities.
This has been proved to be a monstrous failure.
The moment the restraint has been removed, it
springs back to all its former tendencies. You
may crush it, but you cannot destroy its evil trend.
Some again tell us that all we need is to exter
minate the soul, to crucify our human passions,
our earthly affections, our natural tastes and de
sires, and become cold, abstracted, and spiritual.
Well, the devil is a spirit, but he is the most wicked
of spirits. The monk in his cell, shut off from
every earthly thought, desire, and affection, may be
the incarnation of wickedness, Jesuitism, cruelty
and unholy ambition.
God's remedy is to yield up the whole man —
spirit, soul, and body to God, hand it over to death,
and then receive a new creation, a converted body,
a regenerated soul, a new spirit in the glorious
work of a complete conversion. But even this is

342 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
not enough ; for even when converted, we will, if
left to ourselves, relapse again, and therefore we
need not only a new heart and a new spirit, but
the Holy Spirit to enter and keep the new man, to
garrison the heart and mind, to hold the citadel,
to dwell and walk within us, and "cause us to
keep His statutes."
Now, the apostle says of these men that they
have not the Spirit. They have a substitute for it,
and it is their own spirit, or rather their own soul,
their carnal mind, their human wisdom, their cub
tivated nature. They are psychical men.
Well, the generation has not passed away, the
world is full of them still. What is Theosophy,
what is Christian Science, what is much of our
modern preaching? What is the religion of culture?
It can weep under the pathos and eloquence of the
preacher, it can even preach under the impulse of
impassioned eloquence until the people weep, but
both preacher and people may be but psychical men
after all. Perhaps they weep to-day in the church,
and will weep to-morrow in the theatre. When
the French were shedding streams of human blood
in the terrible revolution of a hundred years ago,
they were spending their evenings in the theatres
of Paris shedding floods of tears over sentimental
plays. There is a great deal of counterfeit feeling
even in modern religion.
The sublime oratorio may lift your soul to rap-

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN JUDE. 343
tures of delight, the perfect harmonies of the classic
hymn may charm your cultivated taste, but this is
not religious feeling. Nay, you may even bow be
neath the magnificent arch of yonder Cathedral,
and in its dim religious light you may feel a kind
of awe that you think is worship, but it is pure
sentiment, and you can go out from all this to live
for self and sin. It is mere psychology. It is only
the kindling of the human mind. Thus heathen
idolatry rouses its votaries to intensest feeling and
overpowering enthusiasm.
Thus Poetry, Art, Music and Eloquence in every
age have charmed and thrilled the human mind.
But it is but human feeling after all, and has noth
ing to do with the work of the Holy Ghost. The
power of the Spirit reaches the conscience and con
victs it of sin ; enlightens the understanding, and
reveals the differences between right and wrong,
and the beauty and authority of the will of God ;
touches the will, and crucifies it to its own selfish
choice, and then conforms it in glad surrender to
the will of God; and controls the whole life in
simple, and practical obedience and service. There
may be far less sentiment and feeling, "but by
their fruits ye shall know them."
We have to guard against the counterfeit, and
not mistake the psychical for the spiritual, for the
" natural man (the psychical man) receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he
know them, for they are spiritually discerned."

344 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
The natural man, of "flesh and blood, cannot in
herit the Kingdom of God." The Adam race can
not enter the Eternal Home, but through death to
life we must pass into the resurrection of Christ,
and through His spiritual life, born of the Second
Man, the Lord from heaven, we share His eternal
inheritance. "He that saveth his life," psyche "shall lose it,
but he that loseth his life for My sake shaJJ keep it
unto life eternal." We must lay down this self-
life even in its sweetest and highest forms. Shall
we lose it forever ? Nay, we shall receive it back
in resurrection power, and in the ages to come shall
have a grander culture and a nobler satisfaction for
ever. Some day God shall clothe us with the rain
bows and cause us to shine as the sun in the King
dom of our Father, and He shall give us a mind,
a capacity, a taste to appreciate and enjoy it too,
and yet hold it only for His glory.
II. THE SPIRITUAL MAN.
" But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your
most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep
yourselves in the love of God, looking for the
mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life."
1. The spiritual man is a man of faith. Faith
is the foundation of the Christian life and char
acter, and on this foundation we build up our
selves. We can grow no wider than the founda-

1
THE HOLY SPIRIT IN JUDE. 345
tion. We can advance only " according to our
faith." We are to "add to our faith courage,
knowledge, temperance, godliness, brotherly kind
ness and charity," and all the graces of Christian
life. They are to be taken by faith, and, step by
step, we are to go forward by successively receiv
ing from the fullness of Christ "from faith to
faith," from grace to grace, from day to day. ¦
2. The spiritual man is a man of love. " Keep
yourselves in the love of God." While faith is the
foundation, love is the element in which we grow
and live, And so Christ has said, "Abide in My
love. " It is the congenial atmosphere of our life
and growth. Love is life, and only as we keep our
selves in the love of God, and dwell in the cloud
less communion of His fellowship, can we grow.
3. The spiritual man is a man of hope. He has
a glorious outlook, he has a heavenly horizon, he
has an infinite vision. From day to day the vision
grows larger, and the inspiration grander. There
can be nothing glorious without hope, and the
higher the hope the mightier its inspiration.
Ours is a glorious hope, an infinite hope, looking
out on the eternal years and reaching up to the
very heights of God. And as we live under the in
fluence of this blessed hope we are raised to a
majesty and grandeur that dwarfs all petty earthly
things and gives sublimity to our life and char
acter.

346 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
4. The spiritual man is sustained and upheld in
his life of faith, and love, and hope, by the prayer
of the Holy Ghost. This is the power that impels
his life ; this is the inspiration that upholds his
faith, and hope, and love; this is the force that con
tinually supplies the strength of his whole being.
The Holy Ghost has come to undertake the whole
care and responsibility of the consecrated life. He
takes His place there as the Pilot upon the deck to
bring the vessel into the harbor; as the Contractor
for that building, providing all necessary supplies
for its erection and completion ; as the Teacher
and Trainer of some important school, undertaking
the whole discipline of that young and precious
life; as the Mother, undertaking the care and over
sight of her precious child ; as the Commander in-
Chief for some great campaign, with his eye and
hand on every detail of the conflict — so the Holy
Ghost sits down as the Author and Finisher of our
spiritual life. He is looking forward every moment
to the glorious consummation. He has understocd
as we cannot understand God's glorious plan for
us. He sees us every moment as we shall be when
we shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of our
Father. He comprehends the perils that surround
us, the defects within us, the temptations without
us, and all the possibilities and disabilities of our
life, and He has determined to carry us through in
spite of all to the glorious consummation.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN JUDE. 347
Now He does this through the ministry of prayer.
He takes us into partnership with Him in the work
of our own development and full salvation. He does
not work upon us as the potter upon the plastic
clay, but He works with us and requires our co
operation with Him ; and so, as each need arises,
He gently lays it upon our own heart, He whispers
it to us as a breath of prayer, or a burden of desire,
and He leads us out to present it to the Father in
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, step by
step, moment by moment, He prays out in us every
need of our own life, every need of our work, every
need of the other lives that He lays upon us, and
the Father sends the answer in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ.
There is not a moment in the believer's life when
the Holy Ghost is not vigilantly, tenderly, watch
ing over Him, and guarding him with more than a
mother's care. And if we were only more sensi
tive to understand, more quick to hear, more ready
to respond, our life would be one ceaseless breath
of prayer, and everything would come to us
through the blessed channel of the Spirit's inter
cession. Then truly we would "pray without
ceasing," and "in everything give thanks," and
"wait upon our God continually." Then we
should never miss a single hint, suggestion, or
ministry of prayer ; but we would be in perfect
touch with our blessed Guide and have the con-

348 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
tinual consciousness of His approval, and the sense
of meeting His highest, fullest thought.
This, beloved, is the secret of many an expe
rience which you have not perhaps understood.
This is the explanation of that depression that
sometimes falls upon your heart and brings the
tears gushing to your eyes, or makes you bury
your head in your hands and pour out a supplica
tion which you cannot comprehend. He sees some
need, some peril, which you cannot comprehend,
and He is praying against some evil which some
day you will know. When you are about to take
a false step, to enter upon a wrong path, to miss
some important call, or to be deceived by some
subtle wile of Satan, He is there to pray the prayer
within you which may be only a groan that cannot
be uttered ; but if you are wise you will yield to it,
and you will answer to His touch. Often it is a
prayer for some other life, some soul in peril, some
body in dire distress or disease, some cause that
needs assistance, some wrong that needs resistance,
some need of the Master's heart which He is let
ting you share with Him.
Oh, to be more sensitive to His voice, and more
obedient to the prayer of the Holy Ghost! Then
we should miss nothing of His highest will, and
our life should be all sunshine in the presence of
the Lord.
Now, what is the prayer of the Holy Ghost ?

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN JUDE. 349
1. The Holy Ghost lays upon us the desire and
burden of prayer. Sometimes we understand it,
sometimes we do not. Sometimes it is a joyful
consciousness of spiritual elevation, sometimes it
is an unutterable and inarticulate groan. Some
times it is a definite sense of need, a consciousness
of personal defect, or a heart searching sense of
our own emptiness and failure. It is a blessed
thing to "hunger and thirst after righteousness."
The sense of need is the shadow side of the bless
ing. Let us thank the Holy Ghost when He gives
us the burden of prayer.
It was God's highest commendation of Daniel of
old that he was "a Man of Desires," and it is the
promise of God that if we delight in the Lord "He
will give to us the desires of our heart."
2. The Holy Ghost enables us to pray according
to the will of God. He gives us direction in our
prayers. He saves us from wasting our breath
and asking at random. He illuminates our mind
to understand the scriptural foundations of prayer,
and makes us understand the things that are
agreeable to the will of God, enabling us to ask
with confidence that it is His will, and that we
have the petitions that we desired of Him.
Mr. George Muller often says that it takes him
much longer to decide what he is to pray about,
than to obtain the answer to his prayer when he
does present his petition.

350 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
3. The Holy Ghost gives us access into the pres
ence of God. He creates for us the atmosphere of
prayer. He gives us the sense of the Father's pres
ence. He leads us to the door of mercy and stead
ies our hand as we hold out the sceptre of prayer,
and reveals to us that inner world of Divine things
which none but he that feels it knows.
4. The Holy Ghost enables us to pray in the
name of Jesus. He shows us our redemption rights
through the great Mediator, and coming in His
name we can ask even as He, and humbly, yet con
fidently claim, "Father, I thank Thee that Thou
hast heard Me, and I know that Thou hearest Me
always." 5. The Holy Ghost enables us to pray in faith,
"for He that cometh unto God, must believe that
He is, and that He is the rewarder of those that
diligently seek Him."
He enables us when we pray to "believe that we
receive the things that we ask," and to rest in the
Master's word, without anxiety or fear. He wit
nesses to the heart the quiet assurance of accept
ance, and He sustains us in the trial of our faith
which follows, enabling us still to trust and not be
afraid. 6. The Holy Ghost enables us to pray the prayer
of love, as well as the prayer of faith. The Holy
Ghost leads us into the dignity and power of our
holy priesthood, laying upon us the burdens of the

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN JUDE. 351
Great High Priest, and permitting us to be par
takers of "that which remaineth of the sufferings
of Christ for His Body, the Church." In this
blessed ministry we are often made conscious of
the needs of others, and permitted to hold up some
suffering or tempted life in the hour of peril; and
we shall find some day that many a life was saved,
many a victory won, and many a blessing enjoyed
tnrough this hallowed ministry that reaches those
we love by way of the throne, when we never
could have reached them directly.
When we become wholly consecrated from our
own selfish cares and worries, and fully at leisure
for the burdens of the Master, the Spirit is glad to
lay upon us the needs of multitudes of God's peo
ple, and the burdens of the whole Church and
Kingdom of Christ, so that it is possible to have
a ministry as wide as the world, and as high as
that of our great High Priest before the Throne.
7. The Holy Ghost leads us into the spirit of
communion, so that when we have nothing to ask
we are held in blessed silence, and wordless fellow
ship in the bosom of God. This should become the
very atmosphere of our being.
Finally, as we thus "pray in the Holy Ghost"
we shall be enabled to " build ourselves up on our
most holy faith," we shall "keep ourselves in the
love of God," and we shall "look" in heavenly
vision "for the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ unto

352 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
eternal life. " And the benediction of this beauti
ful epistle shall be fulfilled in our lives. "Now
unto Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
and to present you faultless before the presence of
His glory, with exceeding joy; to the only wise
God our Saviour be glory and majesty, dominion
and power, both now and forever. Amen."

CHAPTER XXVI.
THE SEVEN FOLD HOLY GHOST.
"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." Rev. i. io.
" The seven Spirits which are before His Throne." Rev. i. 4.
" And before the Throne seven lamps of fire, which are the
seven Spirits of God." Rev. iv. 5.
" Having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven
Spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth." Rev. v. 6.
THE book of Revelation is the last message of
the Holy Ghost to the Church of Christ. It
was given after the first generation of Chris
tians had passed away, and only John was left of
all the immediate followers of the Lord.
Christ had been half a century in heaven, and
He came back once more to visit the Apostle at
Patmos, and give the final unfolding of His will to
His followers of these last days of the dispensa
tion. It is peculiarly, therefore, the message of Christ
to us, and it is called in the Apocalypse itself, the
message of "the Spirit unto the churches."
In the passages that come before us now we
have a picture of the Holy Ghost Himself as He
came to John in this Apocalypse.

354 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
I. THE SEVEN-FOLD FULLNESS OF THE SPIRIT.
The seven Spirits which are before the throne
cannot mean any created spirit, for it would be
blasphemy to associate any lower beings than Di
vine persons with the Father and the Son in the
ascription of glory and worship given to the Trin
ity in this passage.
It is evidently the Holy Ghost represented as a
seven-fold Spirit. Seven, the number of perfec
tion, is used to denote the perfect fullness of the
Divine Spirit in His attributes and works. He is
the Spirit of all power and wisdom, all life and
love, all grace and fullness, all that we can ever
need for the fulfilling of life's duties and the ac
complishing of God's perfect will for each of us.
We might stop to specify the seven great attri
butes of the Holy Ghost, as the Spirit of Light,
the Spirit of Life, the Spirit of Holiness, the Spirit
of Power, the Spirit of Joy, the Spirit of Love and
the Spirit of Hope ; but when we have named these
seven glorious aspects there are yet as many more
that we might still name, for, like the love of Je
sus, the love and grace of the Holy Ghost pass our
knowledge. Can you think of anything you need for your
spiritual life, your physical being, or your service
for God and man ? You can find it in the Holy
Ghost. Is there any place where you have failed,
or others have failed ? That is just the place that

THE SEVEN FOLD HOLY GHOST. 355
He is equal to with the grace that never fails.
" He hath given to us all things that pertain to
life and godliness," and " He is able to make all
grace abound unto us, so that we always, having
all sufficiency in all things, may abound unto every
good work."
Then the mention of the seven Spirits in connec
tion with the seven churches would seem to sug
gest the beautiful truth that there is a separate as
pect of the Holy Spirit for each separate church.
He is not the same to all, He is direct and specific
in His relation to His churches and His people, and
the whole of His love and grace is given distinct
ively to each one. Just as a fond mother with a
dozen children gives her whole heart to each of her
children, so the Holy Ghost gives Himself to each
of us specifically, and you and I can press up to the
place where John lies upon the Redeemer's breast,
and dare to call ourselves the "disciple whom
Jesus loved."
Beloved, are we fully proving the seven fold
Holy Ghost?
11. THE FULLNESS OF THE SPIRIT OF LIGHT.
"Seven lamps of fire before the Throne." Rev.
iv. 5.
This is a picture of the fullness of the Spirit of
light. It comes in the midst of a scene of gran
deur and terror. A door is opened in heaven, and

356 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
John beholds the throne of the Eternal Jehovah,
surrounded with the insignia of majesty and the
manifestations of God's avenging wrath and
power. Judgment is about to begin upon a wicked world,
and the spirits of wickedness that have so long
possessed it. There are voices of thurider and
lightnings of wrath gleaming from the central
throne, but in the midst appear these seven lamps
of fire, shedding their benignant light upon the
lurid scene; and immediately all is transformed.
Before the throne is a sea of glass like unto crys
tal, and the scene of judgment becomes changed to
one of peace. And then "the Lamb in the midst
of the throne" appears, and the songs of the whole
creation arise to God and to the Lamb.
These seven lamps before the throne remind us
of the vision of Zechariah in the fourth chapter of
His prophecy, representing the Holy Ghost as the
seven-fold light of the Church, and the oil that
supplies the ever- burning lamps. We have no
other light but the Holy Ghost, and His is perfect
light, seven-fold effulgence, shining upon every
mystery, every perplexity, and every step in life's
pathway. He gives to us the light of the Holy Scriptures,
revealing the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for
our salvation, and the will of God for our conduct.
He is the light of life, giving guidance in our path-

THE SEVEN-FOLD HOLY GHOST. 357
way, and showing us how to walk through the
tangled mazes of life. He is the light that searches
and reveals our heart, and then shows us the
precious blood that cleanses, and the promise suited
for every time of need. He is the perfect Light;
light that never deceives, light that never exagger
ates, light that never evades or hides the most
painful truth, light that never changes, fails or
leaves us in darkness.
And He is not only the light, but He is also
peace and warmth, He is "a burning," as well as
"a shining light." He gives life as well as light,
power as well as direction, love as well as truth,
and when we receive His light we become also
"burning and shining lights," and our lives will
be living illustrations of the truths that we pro
fess and the principles that we hold.
HI. THE HOLY SPIRIT AS THE SOURCE OF PERFECT
SIGHT.
"Having seven horns and seven eyes which are
the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the
earth." Rev. v. 6.
This is the most sublime vision of the Lord Jesus
Christ in the whole book of Revelation. As the
evangelist stands looking into heaven, he beholds
a scroll containing, it would seem, the purpose and
the will of God for the future ages, sealed. No
man in earth or heaven was able to open the scroll,
or loose the seals. Suddenly an angel turning to

358 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
him, explained that the mystery was about to be
solved, and that One had been found that was able
to loose the seals and open the scroll. It was the
Lion of the tribe of Judah, who had prevailed to
loose the seals "and open the book."
As John stood looking for the Lion, lo ! a Lamb,
bearing the crimson marks of suffering and death,
and yet, on closer inspection, wearing also the in
signia of infinite power and wisdom, for he had
seven horns and seven eyes, the types of perfect
power and perfect knowledge.
These seven eyes represent the seven Spirits of
God, that is the seven-fold Spirit of God, sent
forth into all the earth. We need more than light;
we need sight to see the light, the power of an in
ward illumination, the creation and quickening of
a new set of spiritual senses that can take cogni
zance of the new spiritual realities that the Holy
Ghost reveals, and that can recognize the person
and the presence of the Lord Jesus, whom it is the
Spirit's great delight to make manifest. And so
the Holy Ghost is represented here as the eyes of
Christ, the eyes of God within us for our illumi
nation. This suggests the beautiful expression in one of
the Psalms, "I will guide thee with Mine eye."
God gives us His very eyes, and in His light enables
us to see all spiritual truth and all Divine realities.
Therefore, it is quite significant that when our

THE SEVEN FOLD HOLY GHOST. 359
Lord Jesus Christ had revealed Himself in the
Gospel^of John as The Light of the world, He im-
diately follows His beautiful teaching by healing a
blind man, and thus suggesting to them that what
they needed was vision, even more than truth. And
then He proceeded to tell them that He had come
into the world, "that they which see might be
made blind, and they that were blind might see,"
and that their very confidence in their own wis
dom was the cause of their blindness and their in
ability to understand His teaching.
This is what the Holy Ghost brings to us, the
vision of the Lord, power to see Divine things as
God sees them. Not only does He give us the
knowledge of the truth, but the realization of it.
Not only does He reveal to us the promises, but He
enables us to appropriate them. Not only does He
show us the living bread and the flowing water of
life, but He opens our mouth to drink, and gives
us the taste to receive and know the blessedness of
these things.
Not only does He speak to us, He speaks through
us, thinks in us, gives us Divine instincts and in
tuitions, and enables even our own sanctified judg
ment to act under His influence and by His sug
gestion, so simply and yet so perfectly that it is not
so much God speaking to us, as God speaking
through us, and " working in us to will and to do
of His good pleasure."

360 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
These seven eyes, we will notice, are the eyes of
the Lamb as well as the eyes of the Holy Ghost.
Perfect unity between the Spirit and the Son is
most strikingly expressed in this strong and sub
lime figure. The seven horns represent the power of
the enthroned Christ, and the seven eyes represent
the wisdom of the indwelling Holy Ghost. Between
these horns and eyes, between the infinite power
of Jesus and the infinite wisdom of the Holy Ghost
how can we ever fall or fail ?
Let us ever recognize the Holy Ghost as the
Spirit of Jesus, and let us ever honor the slain
Lamb, as we honor the Holy Ghost.
Again, the eyes of the Lord are represented as
"sent forth into all the earth." The Holy Ghost is
operating not from heaven, but from earth. The
infinite wisdom of God is present with His church
to direct, guard, and energize all her work for Him,
until the mystery of redemption shall be accom
plished, until the seals of the scroll shall all have
been opened, and the vision all fulfilled in the
glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ as the
Lion of the tribe of Judah.
IV. IN THE SPIRIT ON THE LORD'S DAY.
Having given us this account of the fullness of
the Holy Ghost, he next speaks of His relation to
us. John says, " I was in the Spirit." Observe,
he does not say— The Spirit was in me. This is also

THE SEVEN FOLD HOLY GHOST. 361
true, but the other expresses a greater truth. A
Spirit so seven fold, so vast in His resources and
attributes, is too large even for the whole of the
human heart, and, therefore, he becomes an ocean
of boundless fullness in which we are submerged,
and in which we dwell. As we listen to the ex
pression it seems as if we were standing beside a
spring, and we drank from it until we were filled,
and then it still kept flowing on until it became a
pool, and then an ocean, a great and boundless
flood in which we were plunged until we could find
neither fathoming line nor shore, but laved and
drank until we were lost in the ocean of His infi
nite fullness. This is the Divine conception. The
Holy Ghost is the very element and atmosphere in
which we live, as the mote in the sunbeam, as the
bird in the air, as the fish in the sea, as our lungs
in the ether whose oxygen we inhale, and on whose
breath we live. Not only are we filled with the air
by a single inspiration, but the air is all around us
still, and we can breathe and breathe and breathe
again, and yet again, until it becomes the source of
our ceaseless life, and only limited by our capacity
to receive it.
It is our privilege not only to be thus in the
Spirit in seasons of holy rapture and special eleva
tion, but we may dwell there, abiding in Him and
He in us, so that it shall be true, indeed, in a spirit-
tual sense "in Him we live and move and have

362 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
our being." Then will every day be "the Lord's
day," then will all life be one ceaseless Sabbath of
holy rest and heavenly fellowship, and every place
be a sanctuary, every season a Sabbath, and every
moment a heaven of peace and joy and love.
"Come, blessed, holy, heavenly Dove,
Spirit of light and life and love,
Revive our souls we pray.
Come with the power of Pentecost,
Come as the seven-fold Holy Ghost
And fill our hearts to-day."

CHAPTER XXVII.
THE SPIRIT'S MESSAGE TO THE CHURCHES.
"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto
the churches." Rev. iii. 23.
HTHE seven letters of the Lord Jesus to the seven
*¦¦ churches of Asia, contain the last message
of the Holy Ghost to the churches of the
Christian age. These messages were not addressed
to the Apostolic Church ; for all the Apostles ex
cept John were already in heaven, and the first
two generations of Christians had passed away.
In a very peculiar sense these epistles represent
the message of the risen Saviour and the Holy
Ghost to the churches of the last days and our own
times. While they are the words of the Lord Jesus
Himself, they are also represented, in that perfect
unity which the Scriptures constantly recognise
between the Spirit and the Son, as the words which
the Spirit saith unto the churches.
A short circuit through the western part of Asia
Minor would take one in the order of these epistles
from Ephesus to Smyrna, and thence to Perga-
mos, Thyatira, and the other cities mentioned. It
363

364 POWER FROM ON HIGH
has been supposed by many thoughtful interpreters,
that these churches represent in chronological or
der the successive conditions of Christianity from
the time of John to the end of the age. This is
doubtless true to a certain extent.
Ephesus, strong in its orthodoxy, zeal and Christ
ian work, represented the Church immediately
after the apostolic age. Smyrna, persecuted and
suffering, represented the next epoch of persecu
tion and martyrdom. Then came the reaction of
Pergamos, the prosperous and worldly church, with
its greater perils and temptations, representing the
period of Constantine, when Christianity was the
established religion of the State, and the world
had ceased to oppose and exchanged her persecut
ing frown for the fawning smile of seductive pleas
ure. The church at Thyatira represents the next stage,
the rise of spiritual corruption, and especially of the
Romish apostasy. This is naturally followed by
Sardis, a condition of entire spiritual death, which
well represents the darkness and death of the mid
dle ages.
Philadelphia follows, feeble, but true, loyal to
Christ's word and name, and receiving His appro
val and benediction. This represents the Reforma
tion era, the cause of that and the revival of spir
itual life and power under Luther, Cranmer,
Knox, Doddridge, Baxter, and the religious life

THE SPIRIT S MESSAGE TO THE CHURCHES. 365
and deeper spiritual movements which have been
going forward in a blessed minority of the Churches
of Christ during these later centuries.
There is yet one picture more, it is the church
of the Laodiceans; rich, prosperous, self satisfied,
widely respectable, but thoroughly lukewarm, in
different, and deeply offensive to the heart of the
Lord Jesus Christ ; who stands as One outside the
door, knocking for admission, warning of coming
judgment, and soon to return again and sit down
upon His Millennial throne. Surely this represents
the Church of to-day, and the still more worldly
church of the immediate future, the last age of
Christianity before the coming of the Lord.
Now, while the picture is chronologically true,
at the sametime each of these churches represents
a condition of things that is permanent and per
petual to the time of the end. While Ephesus
represents the first ages of Christianity, yet it is
found all the way through. While Philadelphia
represents the dawn of the Reformation, yet the
spirit of Philadelphia runs on, and the representa
tives of true revival and vital Christianity are
found to the close, and so all these churches are
concurrent a's well as successive.
They represent seven conditions of Christianity
which may almost always be found in some quar
ter of Christendom, and to which the Holy Ghost
is speaking His last solemn message of warning,

366 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
reproof, or promise. Let us look at them in this
light. I. THE SPIRIT'S MESSAGE TO THE STRONG CHURCH.
The church at Ephesus was a strong church. It
was full of good works. "I know thy works,"
and not only thy works, " thy labor" — works that
cost something, "and thy patience" — works that
are continuous. It was an orthodox and jealous
church, which stood firmly for what it believed to
be the truth, and they withstood without com
promise all that was false and counterfeit. " Thou
hast tried these that call themselves Apostles, and
are not, and hast found them liars." This is
a very high testimony, and one would think that
a church of which the Master can say so much,
must be considerably in advance even of the aver
age standing. But the Lord is not satisfied with
Ephesus. The Spirit's message is one of the deep
est searching and condemnation. Our English
version poorly expresses the emphatic meaning of
this condemnation. It is not "I have somewhat
against thee," but rather "I have against thee."
I have so much against thee, that if thou dost not
change this cause of offence and reproof I cannot
bear thee ; I will not suffer thee, "I will come unto
thee and remove thy candlestick out of its place,
except thou repent."
What was this grave charge? What was this

THE SPIRIT'S MESSAGE TO THE CHURCHES. 367
solemn omission ? " Thou hast left thy first love."
It was the lack of love, the lack of fervor, the lack
of devotion to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
They had the active and the orthodox element,
but they had not the heart life, without which all
these are but empty forms, and for which Christ
will accept no substitute.
You do not marry a wife to do your cooking and
ironing, as an African savage ; but to be your
companion, and to give you the devotion of her
heart. And if she were to excuse her want of
love, by the fact of her having so much work to
do, you would tell her that a servant could do your
work, but only a wife could give you the love for
which your heart longs. This is what Jesus asks
from His Church, and He will take nothing else
instead. What is this first love ?
Is. it the intense demonstrativeness which we
manifest at our conversion, that glad overflow
ing, perhaps over effervescent devotion of child
hood, and which passes into sober and earnest, but
quiet habits of faithfulness, and obedience ? And
are we to accept His reproof if we do not always
feel the excitement of our first experiences ? Cer
tainly not. First love does not mean the love we
first had when we were converted, because He
wants us to have something better as the days go
by. It is not first in the order of time, but it is
first in the order of importance. He means the

368 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
love that puts Him first ; the love that gives Him
the supreme place ; the love that makes Him the
first waking consciousness, and the last thought as
we fall asleep at night, the supreme joy of all our
being, the gladly- accepted Sovereign of our will
and all our actions, and the One apart from whom
we have and want nothing ; the First and the Last
of our heart's affections, and our life's aim. This
is what Christ expects, and without this love our
noblest liberality, our loftiest zeal, our busiest
work, is but a sounding brass, a tinkling cymbal,
and a disappointing mockery to His loving heart.
This is the first and the last message of the Holy
Ghost to these seven churches. Jesus wants your
love. A dear Christian friend once passed through
a peculiar experience. It seemed to her as if Christ
was not satisfied with her life, and so she began to
plan for more work. She added another Sunday
School class, another Ladies' Society, a few more
hours of laborious work ; and still she was not
satisfied. Month after month the hunger grew,
and the sense of disappointment only increased.
At last she threw herself before Him, and said,
" Lord, will you not show me what it is You want ?
What more can I do to please You ? " And then a
gentle voice seemed to whisper to her, "It is not
more work I want, but more love, and I want you
to work less and love Me more." And as she let

THE SPIRIT'S MESSAGE TO THE CHURCHES. 369
herself fall into His loving arms, and learned to
lean upon His breast, and sit like Mary at His feet,
while Martha was bustling around with her busy
work, she found that what the Master wanted was
her heart, and her first love. "He that hath an
ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the
churches."II. THE SPIRIT'S MESSAGE TO THE SUFFERING CHURCH.
Rev. ii. 8-11.
The church in Smyrna was a martyr church.
It represents the suffering people of God in every
age. It is not always outward fire. There is a
keener pain in the white heat of inward trial, and
there are sorrows still for human hearts to bear, as
piercing as in the martyr days. What is the
. Spirit's message to the suffering church ? " Be
thou faithful unto death, and I will gjve thee the
crown of life.'' Do not get out of your trouble as
easily and as quickly as you can by any possible
means, but rather be faithful in your trouble, be
faithful even if it kills you ; be faithful not until
death, but unto death, faithful even at the cost of
death itself. The great temptation to the tried ones
is to regard deliverance from trouble as the prin
cipal thing.
How noble the example of the men of Babylon
in contrast with this! "If it be so," they said, "our
God is able to deliver us, and He will deliver us out
of thy hand, oh king ; but if not, be it known unto

370 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
thee, oh king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor
worship the golden image which thou hast set up."
That is the true attitude of faithfulness, to stand
like Christ in the wilderness, refusing the devil's
help, until God Himself shall set us free, or accept
the sacrifice at its fullest cost. This is the greatest
need of to-day, the backbone and the royal blood
of self sacrificing loyalty to principle and to God.
When the Holy Ghost can find such men and
women He can accomplish anything by them.
III. THE SPIRIT'S MESSAGE TO THE WORLDLY CHURCH.
This is represented by Pergamos. Rev. ii. 12 to 17.
This church dwelt where Satan's seat was, and
Satan's throne is in the world. Its special danger
was the doctrine of Balaam, the temptation to go
to worldly banquets with the great and influential,
to eat of things sacrificed to idols, and to indulge
in unholy pleasure, holding the doctrine of the
Nicolaitanes — the form of godliness, and yet the
liberty to sin.
This is the peculiar temptation of the church of
to-day, to hold on to God with one hand, and to
the world with the other, to compromise sterling
principle for the approval of the influential and the
great, to go to their feasts, keep in touch with
social amusements, to retain their influence and
approval, and yet pretend to be true to God. In

THE SPIRIT'S MESSAGE TO THE CHURCHES. 371
contrast with the forbidden bread, and the for
bidden love of this present evil world, the Holy
Spirit offers something better, — the Hidden Manna
of the heavenly banquet, and the everlasting love
of the Lord Jesus Christ, represented by the White
Stone with the new name written upon it, which
no man knoweth save he to whom it is given.
Let us refuse the temptation of the world's
bread, and the world's friendship, and some day we
shall sit down in His banqueting house, and His
banner over us will be love as He receives us to the
Marriage of the Lamb, and gives us the rapture of
His own love; one thrill of which would compen
sate for an eternity of earthly delight.
Beloved, is He speaking to some of you ? Is the
world plausibly trying to win you to a worldly
life ? "He that hath an ear, let him hear what
the Spirit saith unto the churches."
IV. THE SPIRIT'S MESSAGE TO THE CORRUPT CHURCH.
Thyatira represents the age of corruption, and
the counterfeit life of the wicked one. The strik
ing phrase found only in this epistle — "the depths
of Satan " — well represents the abominable myste
ries of the Papacy, and the kindred perils which
are gathering around the Church in these last days
through Satan's counterfeits, and the false life of
Thyatira. These will doubtless increase as the age draws to

372 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
its close. There will be false prophets ; there will
be visions, illuminations, revelations, osophies and
isms yet more and more.
In opposition to these, the Holy Ghost has given
us a safe criterion in this epistle, "I will put upon
you none other burden, but that which ye have al
ready, hold fast till I come." This settles the
whole question. There is to be no new revelation,
no new Bible, no new authoritative voice from
heaven. We have it all now in the Holy Scriptures,
and all we have to do is "that which we have, hold
fast till He come."
These men come to us with their theosophies
and their revelations, telling us, as the serpent told
Eve, of higher life, and loftier spiritual planes ; but
it is the false, elusive light of the lamps of the pit.
In answer to it, we have only but to hold up the
Word of God, and all these illusions will be ex
posed, even as the sunlight not only chases away
the darkness of the night, but eclipses the feeble
torchlight glare.
In contrast with all this, how glorious the prom
ise which the Spirit gives to the faithful over-
comer! In opposition to the devil power which
the adversary offers, and the false light of his rev
elations, the Lord Jesus says, "I will give him
that overcometh power over the nations in the
millennial kingdom, at My second comicg, and the
true light of the Morning Star," the power and the

THE SPIRIT'S MESSAGE TO THE CHURCHES. 373
light which are from above, and which shall be
forever. Oh, beloved, are any of us turning our
eyes to the false delusive torchlights of error,
fanaticism, superstition and a false mysticism ?
" He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
saith unto the churches."
V. THE SPIRIT'S MESSAGE TO A DEAD CHURCH.
Sardis represents the culmination of all that has
gone before, a church which has a name to live,
but which is really dead. What is His message to
such a church ? Alas ! it is useless to speak to a
dead church, but He can only speak to the rem
nant that is still alive within it. And to these
He says, "I have a few names, even in Sardis, that
have not defiled their garments; and they shall
walk with Me in white, for they are worthy."
If God has placed you in such a community, you
can stand faithful, you can live in vital connection
with Him, and you can stand as a true confessor
of Christ where all around are dead. And to such
He gives a glorious promise ; "He that overcom-
eth, the same shall be clothed in white raiment ;
and I will not blot out His name out of the book of
life, but I will confess his name before My Father,
and before His angels." "He that hath an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the
churches." Beloved, be true though you stand alone, and

374 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
some day you will hear your name confessed be
fore the Father's throne.
VI. THE SPIRIT'S MESSAGE TO THE LITTLE FLOCK OF
FAITHFUL ONES.
The church in Philadelphia meets nothing but
words of approval from the Lord. It is the little
church, it has but little strength, but it has been
faithful in two respects. It has been true to
Christ's word and loyal to His name. It holds its
testimony clear and true to the word of God and
the holy Scriptures, and in contrast with ecclesias
tical names and outward forms, it recognizes and
honors the name of the Lord Jesus Christ The holy
Scriptures and the living Christ, these are its tes
timonies. It is easy to recognize the true evangel
ical flock of Christ by these signs in all the ages,
and especially in these last days.
In contrast with higher criticism, down grades,
and latitudinarian views, are we standing, be
loved, for the simple authoritative, unchanging
Word of God ? In contrast with all other names,
are we standing for the person, the Divinity, the
glory, and the all-sufficient grace of the living
Christ, and proving the power of Jesus' name ?
Then for us also the Spirit speaks these mighty
promises : First, " an open door " of service, that
none can shut.
Secondly, a part in the glorious translation of the

THE SPIRIT'S MESSAGE TO THE CHURCHES. 375
Bride at the coming of the Lord. " I will keep
thee from the hour of temptation that is coming
upon all the world, to try them that dwell on the
face of the whole earth. "
And thirdly, a place of permanence and honor in
the new Jerusalem, a part in the Millennial king
dom of our Lord, where we shall stand as pillars
in His temple, bearing the name of the new Jeru
salem, and the new name of Jesus Christ; identify
ing us with Him in His personal love and glory
forever. Oh, beloved, in view of this high calling and
these glorious truths, let us be true ; and " he that
hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith un
to the Churches."
VII. THE SPIRIT'S MESSAGE TO AN INDIFFERENT
CHURCH.
There is something awfully suggestive in the
fact that the church of' the Laodiceans is spoken
of quite differently from all the others. Even
Sardis was recognized as His Church; but this
last church is not His Church, but theirs. It
is the "church of the Laodiceans," and He seems
to say to it, as He did to His own Israel of old,
" Behold your house is left unto you desolate."
You have not wanted me to control, you can
have your church if you will. The very name
Laodiceans means " to please the people." It repre-

376 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
sents a popular church, and a time-serving age. It
is a very large, wealthy, powerful church, it is
rich, increased with goods, in need of nothing. It is
also a self-satisfied church.
The reports of its membership, its finances, its
missionary organizations are very flattering.
It is doing a great deal of work, it is spending a
great deal of money, and it is thoroughly satisfied
with its own progress and prosperity, but alas ! in
the eyes of its Lord, it is "the poor, the miserable,
the blind, and the naked one." He is represented
as excluded from its interior, and standing knock
ing at its door as a Stranger. He is uttering His
last solemn warning and appeal, and telling of
chastening and judgment about to come upon it.
He is counseling it to buy of Him the gold of true
faith, the white raiment of Divine holiness, the
eye-salve of spiritual illumination.
But alas, the saddest and most solemn part of all
this picture is, that it represents the last stage of
visible Christianity. The Church at the end of
the age and at the coming of the Lord.
Beloved, can it be possible that the Church of
our Fathers, the Church of the Reformers, the
Church of the martyrs, could ever become such a
Church ? Ah, ask yourselves did not the Church
of Paul and John become the apostacy of Rome ?
What is trie real secret of all this? "Thou art
lukewarm." Respectable indifference ; the same

THE SPIRITS MESSAGE TO THE CHURCHES. 377
cause which led to the rejection of Ephesus only
aggravated and intensified, the want of heart, the
want of love, the want of enthusiasm, the want of
Jesus Himself within ; the Church that has lost
the spirit of revival, the Church that has lost the
simplicity of fervor, the Church that looks upon
religious experience as sentimentalism, fanaticism,
and extravagance, and clothed in a stately respect
ability and satisfied in herself complacency, folds
her arms, and says, "I am rich, increased with
goods, and have need of nothing," while Jesus is
standing at the door, and the last judgments are
about to fall.
And now the Master turns from the church of
the Laodiceans, and His last message is not to the
church, but to the individuals in it, who are willing
to stand out from its indifference, and to be spirit
ual overcomers. " If any man will hear my voice,
and open the door, I will come in to him, and will
sup with him, and he with Me." " To him that
overcometh will I grant to sit down with Me in
My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set
down with My Father in His throne."
It is to the individual the promise is given. Yes,
even if the Church should become apostate, one by
one we can stand true to God, and still may win
our crown.
There are two promises : First, we must receive
the Christ within ; and then secondly, we shall sit

378 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
down with Him upon His throne. The Prince
comes to us now in disguise. Soon He will come
in all His glory to know those who have stood with
Him in these days of trial and rejection. Oh, in
view of that great day, God help us to be true.
It is said that Ivan of Russia, used sometimes
to disguise himself and go out among his people
to find out their true character.
One night he went, dressed as a beggar, from
door to door, in the suburbs of Moscow, and asked
for a night's lodging, but he was refused admit
tance at every house, until at last his heart sank
with discouragement to think of the selfishness of
his people. At length, however, he knocked at a
door where he was gladly admitted. The poor
man invited him in, offered him a crust of bread,
a cup of water and a bed of straw, and then said,
" I am sorry I cannot do more for you, but my
wife is ill, a babe has just been given her, and my
attention is needed for them." The Emperor lay
down and slept the sleep of a contented mind. He
had found a true heart. In the morning he took
his leave with many thanks.
The poor man forgot all about it, until a few
days later the royal chariot drove up to the door,
and, attended by his retinue, stopped before the
humble door.
The poor man was alarmed, and throwing him
self at the Emperor's feet, he asked " What have I
done?"

THE SPIRIT S MESSAGE TO THE CHURCHES. 379
Ivan lifted him up, and taking both his hands,
he said " Done ? you've done nothing but entertain
your Emperor. It was I that lay on that bed of
straw, it was I that received your humble but
hearty hospitality and now I have come to reward
you. You received me in disguise, but now I come
in my true character to recompense your love.
Bring hither your new-born babe." And as he
brought him, he said, " You shall call him after me,
and when he is old enough, I will educate him and
give him a place in my court and service." Giving
him a bag of gold he said, " Use this for your wife,
and if ever you have need of anything don't for
get to call upon the poor tramp that slept the other
night in that corner."
As he left him that poor man was glad indeed!,
that he had welcomed his king in disguise. The
day is coming when amid the splendors of the
Advent Throne, we would give worlds for one
glance of recognition from that royal eye.
And we shall be so glad that amid the myriads
of the skies we shall see His loving smile, and
meet His recognition and hear Him say, "Come,
ye blessed of my Father, sit down upon My throne.
You were not ashamed of Me when I came to you
in disguise. Now I have come to confess you before
My Father and His holy angels."
"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches."

CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE HOLY SPIRIT'S LAST MESSAGE.
"The Spirit and the Bride say come." Rev. xxii. 17.
THIS is the last message and the last mention of
the Holy Ghost in the New Testament. It is
usually interpreted as an appeal to the sinner
to come to Christ, but it is really a prayer on the
part of the Spirit and the Bride for Christ to come
back again, in His promised second advent ; and it
is answered by His gracious message, " Behold, I
come quickly," and the response of the apostle and
the church, "Even so, come Lord Jesus, come
quickly. Amen."
It is very striking and beautiful that the last
word of the Holy Ghost in this great Apocolypse
which is devoted to the unfolding of the Lord's
return should be a cry of prayer to Him to come.
The great business of the Holy Ghost since Christ's
ascension, has been to prepare for His return. The
two last messages of our departing Master, recorded
in the first ten verses of the Acts of the Apostles,
are the promise of the Holy Ghost and the prom
ise of His second coming. Between these two
380

THE HOLY SPIRITS LAST MESSAGE. 381
promises lies the whole Christian age, and the
object of the first is to fulfill the last.
The Holy Ghost has now unfolded the prophetic
vision, and as He closes it until the end of time,
He pours out one ardent prayer and unites the
beloved Bride of Jesus in it, " Come Lord Jesus."
And then He sends the message forth to all around,
and adds, "let him that heareth say come." And,
turning to the world and the sinner, He utters
the last message of inviting mercy to come to
Jesus. ' ' Let him that is athirst come, and whoso
ever will let him take the water of life freely."
This passage suggests the connection of the Holy
Ghost with the Lord's return.
I. The Holy Ghost has given us the predictions
of Christ's second coming. It was He that whis
pered to Enoch the first testimony respecting the
advent in antediluvian times. It was He that
gave to dying Jacob his vision of Shiloh's reign.
It was He that revealed even to double-hearted
Baalam the glory of the latter days, until he
longed to have a part in it. It was He that enabled
Job to speak of the day when in his flesh he should
behold his living Redeemer and see Him for him
self and not for another. It was He who inspired
the heart of David to sing so often and so sub
limely of the Prince of Peace, whose name should
endure forever and whose sway should reach from
shore to shore. It was He who gave to Isaiah his

382 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
prophetic fire, and revealed to Daniel and Zech
ariah the panorama of the ages.
Through the lips of the Master on the side of
Olivet He foretold the fall of Jerusalem and the
end of the Age.
It was He who taught the early church this
blessed hope as the comfort of her sorrows, and
the inspiration of her labors. It was He who gave
to the first apostolic council at Jerusalem its clear
outline plan of the Christian age, and revealed to
Paul the great apostacy, and the glorious messages
of the advent in the Epistles to the Corinthians
and Thessalonians. And now to the last of the
apostles, He has unfolded with a clearness far sur
passing all former visions, the glorious truth of the
Lord's return, and as He sums it all up He turns
heavenward in one last prayer, ' ' Come, Lord Jesus,
come quickly."
By and bye, when we read this book in the light
of heaven, we shall find that every incident and
detail of the Lord's return has been unfolded.
Much of it we have misunderstood, much of it may
remain somewhat obscure until the time of the
end, but nothing has been left unsaid that we need
to know to fit us for the meeting with our Lord.
The Holy Ghost has made the testimony clear and
plain. On word of every twenty five of these New
Testament Scriptures is about this great theme.
He is a very foolish man who reads his Bible

THE HOLY SPIRIT'S LAST MESSAGE. 383
without seeing it, and who misses the benediction
pronounced in this very book, on " him that read-
eth and on them that keep the words of the
prophecy of this book."
II. The Holy Ghost has interpreted and illum
inated the prophetic Scriptures.
It is not enough to have the prophetic word, we
need some one to enable us to understand it.
Daniel uttered these advent visions, but he dimly
comprehended them, and was told to seal them up
until the time of the end. But he was also told
that as the end drew near, the wise should under
stand, and this is just what is happening to-day.
The most remarkable sign that we are in the last
days, and that the mystery of the ages is about to
be finished, is the wondrous light which the Holy
Ghost has shed on the interpretation ot propnecy
in our time.
Mistakes there have doubtless been, obscurities
still there are, much yet remains to be made plain,
but the great landmarks of the future are clear
and plain, and the church of Christ knows enough
to be able to be true to her trust and ready for the
coming of her Lord.
The brightest and soundest scholarship of the
age is on the side of pre-millennial truth. The
light of science has become tributary to the inter
pretation of the Holy Scriptures, and the truth
respecting the Lord's coming has been so widely

384 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
published and so simply illustrated and proclaimed,
that no earnest Christian to-day need be in dark
ness with regard to that day. Nor need the most
illiterate and simple disciple of Christ shrink back
from the study of prophecy because it is myster
ious and obscure. The Holy Ghost will make it
plain, and will bless us in its study as we earnestly
read and faithfully keep the words of this proph
ecy. III. The Holy Ghost is preparing for the Lord's
coming by awakening the desire and expectation
of Christ's return in the hearts of His disciples.
When the Lord Jesus was about to come to earth
for the first time, His faithful people were waiting
for redemption and for The Consolation of Israel,
and at the proper time, they were there to welcome
Him. It needed no special note of invitation to
bring Simeon and Anna to the temple when the
infant Jesus was to be presented there ; but,
through the simple and unfailing guidance of the
Holy Ghost, they were both on time, and Simeon
took the holy Babe in his arms, and blessed Him,
and Anna went forth from that joyful scene,
woman-like, to tell of His coming " to all that
waited for redemption in Jerusalem."
And so will it be at the last. Christ's Simeons
and Annas will be waiting too. And already they
have caught the first rays of the dawn, the first in
tuitions of the Bridegroom's drawing near.

THE HOLY SPIRIT S LAST MESSAGE. 385
As the hour draws near this will become more
uniform and universal among the little flock, and
when He appears His Bride will not be left "in
darkness that that day should overtake her as a
thief," but she will be found ready and waiting to
go forth to meet Him.
This blessed hope which is taking possession of
so many of our hearts, is one of the signs of our
time, and its sympathetic throb is felt even among
the votaries of false religion, who, with an instinct
that they cannot understand or explain, are also
looking for the appearing of some great One in the
present generation.
Sometimes these holy intuitions are truer and
more unerring than the conclusions of our science
and philosophy. The little bird makes no mistake
when, following an impulse in its little heart, it
spreads its wings on the air and sails away to
southern lands as winter is coming on. It knows
that the springtime is there and it finds it true.
The little fellow was right as he stood holding
the string of his kite which had gone far out of
view in the lofty firmanent, when the boys laughed
at him and told him it was gone. He answered
firmly, " No ; taint neither, its all right. I know
it 'cause I feel it pull."
Ah beloved, can you feel it pull ? And, although
worldly wisdom may scoff, and human ambition
may plan for the coming generations, and the self-

386 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
centred world roll on around its little axis, yet our
eyes are upon the east, and our hearts tell us with
an intuition that we know is true that the coming
of the Lord draweth nigh.
It is the blessed Holy Ghost. Let us listen to
His whisper, let us catch his full meaning, let us, as
the day draws near, be found "bending ourselves
back," and "lifting up our heads " and, like the
bird upon the branch, with fluttering wings and up
lifted eye waiting for the signal of its mate, let us
be ready at His earliest call to rise to meet Him in
the air.
IV. The Holy Ghost is preparing for Christ's
return by the spiritual enrobing of His children.
The call is going forth. "The marriage of the
Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself
ready ; and it was granted to her that she should
be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, the fine
linen is the righteousness of the saints."
The Holy Ghost is preparing a people to day for
the coming of Christ. There is a marked move
ment in all sections of the Christian Church toward
separation from the world and entire consecration
to Christ, that we may receive the baptism of the
Holy Ghost and be transformed and conformed to
Christ. This is the very time that the Bridegroom is
near at hand. When the Bride is found robed and
ready, her Lord will not be long behind. This is

THE HOLY SPIRIT'S LAST MESSAGE. 387
one of the special religious movements of our time.
Call it by what name you please, sanctification, the
second blessing, the higher Christian life, the bap
tism of the Holy Ghost, entire consecration, — it is
the call of God to-day to His own people, and it
is the precursor of the Master's coming.
Our Lord's beautiful Parables of the Wedding
Robe and the Ten Virgins are founded on this
great truth, the need of special preparation for the
coming of the Lord. In the former Parable it is
personal holiness that is implied, and in the latter
the indispensible need of the baptism of the Holy
Ghost. Both these qualifications are freely given
in the grace of God. To the Bride it is " granted
that she should be arrayed in linen, clean and
bright." She does not have to make her own ap
parel but simply to put on the beautiful garments
of her King, and like Rebecca of old, go forth ar
rayed in the robe which He has given, and covered
with his veil to meet Him with acceptance at His
coming. Beloved, have we received the Wedding Robe ?
Have we made sure of the oil in our vessels with
our lamps ? Are we arrayed in raiment not only
"clean" but also "bright," not only without the
stain of sin, but with all the beauty and glory of
the priestly garments. There is an inner and an
cuter robe. The inner robe must be spotless, the
outward must be glorious. This is why the Holy

388 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
Ghost is leading us through the discipline of
life. The word for white here in Revelation means
bright, and it is the same word used about the
transfiguration garments of our Lord. Beloved, let
us put on the white robe and the beautiful garments,
and, through the grace of the Holy Ghost, be robed
and ready for His coming.
V. The Holy Ghost gives the earnest of the
resurrection. We have already referred to this in former chap
ters in connection with the physical life of Christ
manifested in the believer through the Holy Ghost.
This is an anticipation of the resurrection life. This
is a foretaste and first fruit of the physical glory
which is awaiting us at his coming.
Divine healing, rightly understood, is just the life
of Jesus Christ in our mortal flesh and a foretaste
of the resurrection. It is the work of the Holy
Ghost to " quicken our mortal body " as He
dwelleth in us. Beloved, do we know this super
natural life ? And are we thus already tasting the
fountain of immortality which is to supply our life
eternally from its exhaustless spring ?
VI. The Holy Ghost is working in the providence
of God among the nations, to prepare for the com
ing of Christ.
The wonderful events of our time are the begin
ning of those overturnings which are to bring in

THE HOLY SPIRIT'S LAST MESSAGE. 389
the kingdom of Christ and His Millennial reign.
The Ancient of Days is already working among the
nations, and through the power of the Spirit of
God is breaking down the barriers and opening up
the highway for Christ's return. The same Holy
Ghost that of old touched the hearts of heathen
kings and made them God's instruments in accom
plishing His purpose, is calling out to-day the var
ious providential agencies which are but part of
God's plan for the approaching end of the age.
•Surely, the extraordinary events that are so rapidly
happening around us in every quarter of the globe
are full of portentous meaning.
The wonderful progress of knowledge ; the run
ning to and fro of men, with their commercial
activities and their methods of transportation and
communication by land and sea ; wars and rumors
of wars disturbing the whole political realm ; revo
lutions and upheavals of society and political insti
tutions ; all these are full of meaning and promise,
and through them all moves the steadfast purpose
of the Holy Ghost, whose ' ' eyes run to and fro
throughout the whole earth," and whose hand is
moving men to the fulfillment of His higher will.
VII. The Holy Ghost is enabling and sending
forth the disciples of Christ to fulfill their great
trust in witnessing for Christ and evangelizing the
world. This is His greatest work of preparation for the

390 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
coming of Christ. In direct connection with the
promise of the Spirit is the great commission, "Ye
shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming
upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto Me, . .
unto the uttermost part of the earth." .
And so to-day we witness the .mighty workings
of the Holy Ghost, in sending out the message of
the gospel to the neglected at home and the
heathen abroad. The Holy Spirit is more than a
delightful sentiment in the believer's heart. He is
a mighty influence of practical, missionary zeal
and world-wide evangelization, and the heart in
which He is saying, "Come Lord Jesus, come
quickly," will always be heard crying, "Let him
that is athirst come, and whosoever will, let him
take the water of life freely."
Beloved, if we are truly filled with the Holy
Ghost and longing for the coming of Christ, we
shall be active witnesses and workers in preparing
for Him. We shall be found faithful to our trust
wherever God has placed us. We will be soul
winners at home, and if we cannot go abroad we
will help others go and give the gospel quickly to
all the world.
How much of our religious life is comfortable sen-
timentalism,, taking the pleasant part, enjoying
the selfish luxury, doing as much Christian work
as is agreeable, and yet knowing little or nothing
of the ceaseless self-sacrificing, and intense devo-

THE HOLY SPIRIT'S LAST MESSAGE. 391
tion of the Lord Jesus Christ to finish His work
and bring this revolted world back to His Father.
Oh beloved are we wholly in earnest ? Have we
too "a baptism to be baptised with, and are we
straitened until it be accomplished ? " Are we
going forth " as much as lieth in us " to give the
Gospel of the Kingdom to all nations that the end
may speedily come .
Perhaps, dear brother, as you read these lines
God may be calling you to go forth and call home
the lost disciple who shall complete the number
of the Bride and then bring back our adorable
Redeemer. Nay perhaps, dear sinner, as you read these
lines, you may be the soul for whom Christ is wait
ing to complete His glorious Bride, as He calls you,
" Whosoever will let him take the water of life
freely." There are three little words that seem sweetlv
linked together here. The first is " come Lord
Jesus," that is the Spirit's cry, and that will be the
cry of every one who is filled with the Spirit.
"Let him that heareth say come."
The second is, the word " Go." If we are truly
saying " come Lord Jesus," we will go with the
Gospel of salvation to the lost at home and the
heathen abroad. And the third is the same word,
"come,'' again. For this will be our message as it
is the Spirit's to a lost and dying world. " Coipe

392 POWER FROM ON HIGH.
to Jesus." "Let him that is athirst come, and
whosoever will, let him take the water of life
freely." It is said that when Queen Victoria first visited
Scotland, it was arranged that the tidings of her
arrival should be signalled from Edinburgh, and
by beacons on the mountain tops should be flashed
over all the land, until it reached from Leith to
Stirling, and Stirling to Inverness, and Inverness
to distant Caithness, and from mountain to moun
tain, the beacon blazed forth its joyful welcome,
" The Queen has come."
So this text seems to be a cry for the watch-
tower. Oh let us haste to plant the watch fires on
all the mountain tops of earth, let us station the
watchmen for the morning, let as make ready for
the beacon blaze ; and , some sweet morn, the nearest
watcher shall catch the signal, flash it from post
to post, and tower to tower, and land to land, till
all around the globe he that heareth shall say
Come, and the shout shall go up from the meeting
ranks of earth and heaven, "the lord has come."
Even so come lord jesus, come quickly.
Amen.