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The Personality of the Holy Ghost
A Sermon Delivered on Sabbath Morning, January 21, 1855, by the
REV. C.H. SPURGEON At New Park Street Chapel, Southwark."And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."John 14:16-17
You will be surprised to hear me announce that I do not
intend this morning to say anything about the Holy Spirit as the Comforter. I propose to
reserve that for a special Sermon this evening. In this discourse I shall endeavor to
explain and enforce certain other doctrines, which I believe are plainly taught in this
text, and which I hope God the Holy Ghost may make profitable to our souls. Old John
Newton once said, that there were some books which he could not read;they were good
and sound enough; but, said he, "they are books of halfpence;you have to take
so much in quantity before you have any value; there are other books of silver, and others
of gold; but I have one book that is a book of bank notes; and every leaf is a bank-note
of immense value." So I found with this text: that I had a bank-note of so large a
sum, that I could not tell it out all this morning. I should have to keep you several
hours before I could unfold to you the whole value of this precious promiseone of
the last which Christ gave his people.
I invite your attention to this passage because we shall find in it some instruction on
four points: first, concerning the true and proper personality of the Holy Ghost;
secondly, concerning the united agency of the glorious Three Persons in the work of our
salvation; thirdly we shall find something to establish the doctrine of the indwelling of
the Holy Ghost in the souls of all believers; and fourthly, we shall find out the reason
why the carnal mind rejects the Holy Ghost.
I. First of all, we shall have some little instruction concerning the proper personality
of the Holy Spirit. We are so much accustomed to talk about the influence of the Holy
Ghost and his sacred operations and graces, that we are apt to forget that the Holy Spirit
is truly and actually a personthat he is a subsistencean existence; or, as we
Trinitarians usually say, one person in the essence of the Godhead. I am afraid that,
though we do not know it, we have acquired the habit of regarding the Holy Ghost as an
emanation flowing from the Father and the Son, but not as being actually a person himself.
I know it is not easy to carry about in our mind the idea of the Holy Spirit as a person.
I can think of the Father as a person, because his acts are such as I can understand. I
see him hang the world in ether; I behold him swaddling a new-born sea in bands of
darkness; I know it is he who formed the drops of hail, who leadeth forth the stars by
their hosts, and calleth them by their name; I can conceive of Him as a person, because I
behold his operations. I can realize Jesus, the Son of Man, as a real person, because he
is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. It takes no great stretch of my imagination to
picture the babe in Bethlehem, or to behold the "Man of sorrows and acquainted with
grief," of the king of martyrs, as he was persecuted in Pilate's hall, or nailed to
the accursed tree for our sins. Nor do I find it difficult at times to realize the person
of my Jesus sitting on his throne in heaven; or girt with clouds and wearing the diadem of
all creation, calling the earth to judgment, and summoning us to hear our final sentence.
But when I come to deal with the Holy Ghost, his operations are so mysterious, his doings
are so secret, his acts are so removed from everything that is of sense, and of the body,
that I cannot so easily get the idea of his being a person; but a person he is. God the
Holy Ghost is not an influence, an emanation, a stream of something flowing from the
Father; but he is as much an actual person as either God the Son, or God the Father. I
shall attempt this morning a little to establish the doctrine, and to show you the truth
of itthat God the Holy Spirit is actually a person.
The first proof we shall gather from the pool of holy baptism. Let me take you down, as I
have taken others, into the pool, now concealed, but which I wish were always open to your
view. Let me take you to the baptismal font, where believers put on the name of the Lord
Jesus, and you shall hear me pronounce the solemn words, "I baptize thee in the
name,"mark, "in the name," not names"of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Every one who is baptized according to the true form
laid down in Scripture, must be a Trinitarian: otherwise his baptism is a farce and a lie,
and he himself is found a deceiver and a hypocrite before God. As the Father is mentioned,
and as the Son is mentioned, so is the Holy Ghost; and the whole is summed up as being a
Trinity in unity, by its being said, not the names, but the "name" the glorious
name, the Jehovah name, "of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."
Let me remind you that the same thing occurs each time you are dismissed from this house
of prayer. In pronouncing the solemn closing benediction, we invoke on your behalf the
love of Jesus Christ, the grace of the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit; and
thus, according to the apostolic manner, we make a manifest distinction between the
persons, showing that we believe the Father to be a person, the Son to be a person, and
the Holy Ghost to be a person. Were there no other proofs in Scripture, I think these
would be sufficient for every sensible man. He would see that if the Holy Spirit were a
mere influence, he would not be mentioned in conjunction with two whom we all confess to
be actual and proper persons.
A second argument arises from the fact that the Holy Ghost has actually made different
appearances on earth. The Great Spirit has manifested himself to man: he has put on a
form, so that, whilst he has not been beheld by mortal men, he has been so veiled in
appearance that he was seen, so far as that appearance was concerned, by the eyes of all
beholders. See you Jesus Christ our Saviour? There is the river Jordan, with its shelving
banks and its willows weeping at its side. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, descends into the
stream, and the holy Baptist, John, plunges him into the waves. The doors of heaven are
opened; a miraculous appearance presents itself; a bright light shineth from the sky,
brighter than the sun in all its grandeur, and down in a flood of glory descends something
which you recognize to be a dove. It rests on Jesusit sits upon his sacred head, and
as the old painters put a halo round the brow of Jesus, so did the Holy Ghost shed a
resplendence around the face of him who came to fulfil all righteousness, and therefore
commenced with the ordinance of baptism. The Holy Ghost was seen as a dove, to mark his
purity and his gentleness, and he came down like a dove from heaven to show that it
is from heaven alone that he descendeth. Nor is this the only time when the Holy Ghost has
been manifest in a visible shape. You see that company of disciples gathered together in
an upper room; they are waiting for some promised blessing, and bye-and-bye it shall come.
Hark! there is a sound as of a rushing mighty wind; it fills all the house where they are
sitting; and astonished, they look around them, wondering what will come next. Soon a
bright light appears, shining upon the heads of each: cloven tongues of fire sat upon
them. What were these marvelous appearances of wind and flame but a display of the Holy
Ghost in his proper person? I say the fact of an appearance manifests that he must be a
person. An influence could not appearan attribute could not appear: we cannot see
attributeswe cannot behold influences. The Holy Ghost must, then, have been a
person; since he was beheld by mortal eyes, and he came under the cognizance of mortal
sense.
Another proof is from the fact, that personal qualities are, in Scripture, ascribed to the
Holy Ghost. First, let me read to you a text in which the Holy Ghost is spoken of as
having understanding. In the 1st Epistle to the Corinthians, chap. ii., you will
read, "But as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it
entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepare for them that love him.
But God have revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things,
yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of
man which is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of
God." Here you see an understandinga power of knowledge is ascribed to the Holy
Ghost. Now, if there be any persons here whose minds are of so preposterous a complexion
that they would ascribe one attribute to another, and would speak of a mere influence
having understanding, then I give up all the argument. But I believe every rational man
will admit, that when anything is spoken of as having an understanding, it must be an
existenceit must, in fact, be a person. In the 12th chap., 11th verse of the same
Epistle, you will find a will ascribed to the Holy Spirit. "But all these
worketh that one and the self-same spirit, dividing to every man severally as he
will." So it is plain that the Spirit has a will. He does not come from God simply at
God's will, but he has a will of his own, which is always in keeping with the will of the
infinite Jehovah, but is, nevertheless, distinct and separate; therefore, I say he is a
person. In another text, power is ascribed to the Holy Ghost, and power is a thing
which can only be ascribed to an existence. In Romans 15:13, it is written, "Now the
God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope
through the power of the Holy Ghost." I need not insist upon it, because it is
self-evident, that wherever you find understanding, will, and power, you must also find an
existence; it cannot be a mere attribute, it cannot be a metaphor, it cannot be a
personified influence; but it must be a person.
But I have a proof which, perhaps, will be more telling upon you than any other. Acts and
deeds are ascribed to the Holy Ghost; therefore, he must be a person. You read in the
first chapter of the Book of Genesis, that the Spirit brooded over the surface of the
earth, when it was as yet all disorder and confusion. This world was once a mass of
chaotic matter, there was no order; it was like the valley of darkness and of the shadow
of death. God the Holy Ghost spread his wings over it; he sowed the seeds of life in it;
the germs from which all beings sprang were implanted by him; he impregnated the earth so
that it became capable of life. Now, it must have been a person who brought order out of
confusion: it must have been an existence who hovered over this world and made it what it
now is. But do we not read in Scripture something more of the Holy Ghost? Yes, we are told
that "holy men of old spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." When Moses
penned the Pentateuch, the Holy Ghost moved his hand; when David wrote the Psalms, and
discoursed sweet music on his harp, it was the Holy Spirit that gave his fingers their
seraphic motion; when Solomon dropped from his lips the words of the proverbs of wisdom,
or when he hymned the Canticles of love, it was the Holy Ghost who gave him words of
knowledge and hymns of rapture. Ah! and what fire was that which touched the lips of the
eloquent Isaiah? What hand was that which came upon Daniel? What might was that which made
Jeremiah so plaintive in his grief? or what was that which winged Ezekiel and made him
like an eagle, soar into mysteries aloft, and see the mighty unknown beyond our reach? Who
was it that made Amos, the herdsman, a prophet? Who taught the rugged Haggai to pronounce
his thundering sentences? Who showed Habakkuk the horses of Jehovah marching through the
waters? or who kindled the burning eloquence of Nahum? Who caused Malachi to close up the
book with the muttering of the word curse? Who was it in each of these, save the Holy
Ghost? And must it not have been a person who spake in and through these ancient
witnesses? We must believe it. We cannot avoid believing it, when we read that "holy
men of old spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."
And when has the Holy Ghost ceased to have an influence upon men? We find that still he
deals with his ministers and with all his saints. Turn to the Acts, and you will find that
the Holy Ghost said, "Separate me Paul and Barnabas for the work." I never heard
of an attribute saying such a thing. The Holy Spirit said to Peter, "Go to the
Centurion, and what I have cleansed, that call not thou common." The Holy Ghost
caught away Philip after he had baptized the Eunuch, and carried him away to another
place; and the Holy Ghost said to Paul; "Thou shalt not go into that city, but shall
turn into another." And we know that the Holy Ghost was lied unto by Ananias and
Sapphira, when it was said, "Thou hast not lied unto man, but unto God." Again,
that power which we feel every day, who are called to preachthat wondrous spell
which makes our lips so potentthat power which gives us thoughts which are like
birds from a far-off region, not the natives of our soulthat influence which I
sometimes strangely feel, which, if it does not give me poetry and eloquence, gives me a
might I never felt before, and lifts me above my fellow-manthat majesty with which
he clothes his ministers, till in the midst of the battle they cry aha! like the war-horse
of Job, and move themselves like leviathans in the waterthat power which gives us
might over men, and causes them to sit and listen as if their ears were chained, as if
they were entranced by the power of some magician's wandthat power must come from a
person; it must come from the Holy Ghost.
But is it not said in Scripture, and do we not feel it, dear brethren, that it is the Holy
Ghost who regenerates the soul? It is the Holy Ghost who quickens us. "You hath he
quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins." It is the Holy Spirit who imparts
the first germ of life, convincing us of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment to come.
And is it not the Holy Spirit, who, after that flame is kindled, still fans it with the
breath of his mouth and keeps it alive? Its author is its preserver. Oh! can it be said
that it is the Holy Ghost who strives in men's souls; that it is the Holy Ghost who brings
them into the sweet place that is called Calvarycan it be said that he does all
these things, and yet is not a person? It may be said, but it must be said by fools; for
he never can be a wise man who can consider these things can be done by any other than a
glorious persona divine existence.
Allow me to give you one more proof, and I shall have done. Certain feelings are ascribed
to the Holy Ghost, which can only be understood upon the supposition that he is actually a
person. In the 4th chapter of Ephesians, v. 30, it is said that the Holy Ghost can be
grieved: "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of Go, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of
redemption." In Isaiah, chap. lxiii, v. 10, it is said that the Holy Ghost can be
vexed: "But they rebelled, and vexed his Holy Spirit; therefore he was turned to be
their enemy., and he fought against them." In Acts, chap. vii. v. 51, you read that
the Holy Ghost can be resisted: "Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears,
ye do always resist the Holy Ghost; as your fathers did, so do ye." And in the 5th
chapter, v. 9, of the same book, you will find that the Holy Ghost may be tempted. We are
informed that Peter said to Ananias and Sapphira, "How is it that ye have agreed
together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord?" Now, these things could not be emotions
which might be ascribed to a quality or an emanation; they must be understood to relate to
a person; an influence could not be grieved, it must be a person who can be grieved,
vexed, or resisted.
And now, dear brethren, I think I have fully established the point of the personality of
the Holy Ghost; allow me now, most earnestly, to impress upon you the absolute necessity
of being sound on the doctrine of the Trinity. I knew a man, a good minister of Jesus
Christ he is now, and I believe he was before he turned his eyes unto heresyhe began
to doubt the glorious divinity of our blessed Lord, and for years did he preach the
heterodox doctrine, until one day he happened to hear a very eccentric old minister
preaching from the text, "But there the glorious Lord shall be unto us a place
of broad rivers and streams, wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant
ship pass thereby. Thy tacklings are loosed; they could not well strengthen their mast,
they could not spread the sail." "Now," said the old minister, "you
give up the Trinity, and your tacklings are loosed, you cannot strengthen your masts. Once
give up the doctrine of three persons, and your tacklings are all gone; your mast, which
ought to be a support to your vessel, is a rickety one, and shakes." A gospel without
the Trinity! it is a pyramid built upon its apex. A gospel without the Trinity! it is a
rope of sand that cannot hold together. A gospel without the Trinity! then, indeed, Satan
can overturn it. But give me a gospel with the Trinity, and the might of hell cannot
prevail against it; no man can any more overthrow it than a bubble could split a rock, or
a feather break in halves a mountain. Get the thought of the three persons, and you have
the marrow of all divinity. Only know the Father, and know the Son, and know the Holy
Ghost to be one, and all things will appear clear. This is the golden key to the secrets
of nature; this is the silken clue of the labyrinths of mystery, and he who understands
this, will soon understand as much as mortals e'er can know.
II. Now for our second pointthe united agency of the three persons in the
work of our salvation. Look at the text, and you will find all the three persons
mentioned. "I"that is the Son"will pray the Father, and he
shall give you another Comforter." There are the three persons mentioned, all of them
doing something for our salvation. "I will pray," says the Son. "I will
send," says the Father. "I will comfort," says the Holy Ghost. now, let us,
for a few moments, discourse upon this wondrous themethe unity of the three persons
with regard to the great purpose of the salvation of the elect. When God first made man,
he said, "Let us make man," not let me, but, "Let us make man
in our own image." The covenant Elohim said to each other, "Let us unitedly
become the creator of man." So, when in ages far gone by, in eternity, they said,
"Let us save man:" it was not the Father who said, "Let me save man,
"but the three persons conjointly said, with one consent, "Let us save
man." It is to me a source of sweet comfort to think that it is not one person of the
Trinity that is engaged for my salvation; it is not simply one person of the Godhead who
vows that he will redeem me; but it is a glorious trio of Godlike ones, and the three
declare, unitedly, "We will save man."
Now, observe here, that each person is spoken of as performing a separate office. "I
will pray," says the Son; that is intercession. "I will send," says the
Father; that is donation. "I will comfort," says the Holy Spirit; that is
supernatural influence. O! if it were possible for us to see the three persons of the
Godhead, we should behold one of them standing before the throne, with outstretched hands,
crying day and night, "O, Lord, how long?" We should see one girt with Urim and
Thummim, precious stones, on which are written the twelve names of the tribes of Israel;
we should behold him, crying unto his Father, "Forget not thy promises, forget not
thy covenant;" we should hear him make mention of our sorrows, and tell forth our
griefs on our behalf, for he is our intercessor. And could we behold the Father, we should
not see him a listless and idle spectator of the intercession of the Son, but we should
see him with attentive ear listening to every word of Jesus, and granting every petition.
Where is the Holy Spirit all the while? Is he lying idle? O no; he is floating over the
earth, and when he seas a weary soul, he says, "Come to Jesus, he will give you
rest;" when he beholds an eye filled with tears, he wipes away the tears, and bids
the mourner look for comfort on the cross; when he sees the tempest-tossed believer, he
takes the helm of his soul and speaks the word of consolation; he helpeth the broken in
heart, and bindeth up their wounds; and, ever on his mission of mercy, he flies around the
world, being everywhere present. Behold, how the three persons work together. Do not then
say, "I am grateful to the Son"so you ought to be, but God the Son no more
saves you that God the Father. Do not imagine that God the Father is a great tyrant, and
that God the Son had to die to make him merciful. It was not to make the Father's love
towards his people. Oh, no. One loves as much as the other; the three are conjoined in the
great purpose of rescuing the elect from damnation.
But you must notice another thing in my text, which will show the blessed unity of the
threethe one person promises to the other. The Son says, "I will pray the
Father." "Very well," the disciples may have said, "we can trust you
for that." "And he will send you." You see, here is the Son signing a bond
on behalf of the Father. "He will send you another Comforter." There is a bond
on behalf of the Holy Spirit too. "And he will abide with you forever." One
person speaks for the other, and how could they, if there were any disagreement between
them? If one wished to save, and the other not, they could not promise on another's
behalf. But whatever the Son says, the Father listens to; whatever the Father promises,
the Holy Ghost works; and, whatever the Holy Ghost injects into the soul, that God the
Father fulfils. So, the three together mutually promise on one another's behalf. There is
a bond with three names appendedFather, Son, and Holy Ghost. By three immutable
things, as well as by two, the Christian is secured beyond the reach of death and hell. A
Trinity of securities, because there is a Trinity of God.
III, Our third point is, the indwelling of the Holy Ghost in believers. Now,
beloved, these first two things have been matters of pure doctrine; this is the subject of
experience. The indwelling of the Holy Ghost I a subject so profound, and so having to do
with the inner man, that no soul will be able truly and really to comprehend what I say,
unless it has been taught of God. I have heard of an old minister, who told a fellow of
one of the Cambridge colleges, that he understood a language that he never learned
in all his life. "I have not," he said, "even a smattering of Greek, and I
know no Latin, but thank God, I can talk the language of Canaan, and that is more than you
can." So, beloved, I shall now have to talk a little of the language of Canaan. If
you cannot comprehend me, I am much afraid it is because you are not of Israelitish
extraction; you are not a child of God, nor an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven.
We are told in the text, that Jesus would send the Comforter, who would abide in the
saints forever; who would dwell with them, and be in them. Old Ignatius, the martyr, used
to call himself Theophorus, or Godbearer, "because," said he, "I bear about
with me the Holy Ghost." And truly every Christian is a Godbearer. "Know ye not
that ye are the temples of the Holy Ghost? for he dwelleth in you.? That man is no
Christian who is not the subject of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit; he may talk well,
he may understand theology, and be a sound Calvinist; he will be the child of nature
finely dressed, but not the living child. He may be a man of so profound an intellect, so
gigantic a soul, so comprehensive a mind, and so lofty an imagination, that he may dive
into all the secrets of nature, may know the path which the eagle's eye hath not seen, and
go into depths where the ken of mortals reacheth not, but he shall not be a Christian with
all his knowledge, he shall not be a son of God with all his researches, unless he
understands what it is to have the Holy Ghost dwelling in him and abiding in him; yea, and
that for ever.
Some people call this fanaticism, and they say, "You are a Quaker; why not follow
George Fox?" Well, we would not mind that much: we would follow any one who followed
the Holy Ghost. Even he, with all his eccentricities, I doubt not, was, in many cases,
actually inspired by the Holy Spirit; and whenever I find a man in whom there rests the
Spirit of God, the spirit within me leaps to hear the spirit within him, and we feel that
we are one. The Spirit of God in one Christian soul recognizes the Spirit in another. I
recollect talking with a good man, as I believe he was, who was insisting that it was
impossible for us to know whether we had the Holy Spirit within us or not. I should like
him to be here this morning, because I would read this verse to him, "But ye know
him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." Ah! you think you cannot tell
whether you have the Holy Spirit or not. Can I tell whether I am alive or not? If I were
touched by electricity, could I tell whether I was or not? I suppose I should; the shock
would be strong enough to make me know where I stood. So, if I have God within meif
I have Deity tabernacling in my breastif I have God the Holy Ghost resting in my
heart, and making a temple of my body, do you think I shall know it? Call it fanaticism if
you will, but I trust that there are some of us who know what it is to be always, or
generally, under the influence of the Holy Spiritalways in one sense, generally in
another. When we have difficulties, we ask the direction of the Holy Ghost. When we do not
understand a portion of Holy Scripture, we ask God the Holy Ghost to shine upon us. When
we are depressed, the Holy Ghost comforts us. You cannot tell what the wondrous power of
the indwelling of the Holy Ghost is; how it pulls back the hand of the saint when he would
touch the forbidden thing; how it prompts him to make a covenant with his eyes; how it
binds his feet, lest they should fall in a slippery way; how it restrains his heart, and
keeps him from temptation. O ye, who know nothing of the indwelling of the Holy Ghost,
despise it not. O despise not the Holy Ghost, for it is the unpardonable sin. "He
that speaketh a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him, but he that
speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall never be forgiven him, either in this life, or
that which is to come." So saith the Word of God. Therefore tremble, lest in anything
ye despise the influences of the Holy Spirit.
But before closing this point, there is one little word that pleases me very much, that is
"forever." You knew I should not miss that; you were certain I could not let it
go without observation. "Abide with you forever." I wish I could get an Armenian
here to finish my sermon. I fancy I see him taking that word "forever." He would
say, "forforever;" he would have to stammer and stutter; for he could
never get it out all at once. He might stand and pull it about, and at last he would have
to say, "The translation is wrong." And I suppose the poor man would have to
prove that the original was wrong too. Ah! but blessed be God we can read it"He
shall abide with you forever." Once give me the Holy Ghost, and I shall never lose
him till "forever" has run out; till eternity has spun its everlasting rounds.
IV. Now we have to close up with a brief remark on the reason why the world rejects the
Holy Ghost. It is said, "Whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not,
neither knoweth him." You know what is sometimes meant by "the
world"those whom God in his wondrous sovereignty passed over when he chose his
people: the preterite ones; those passed over in God's wondrous preteritionnot the
reprobates who were condemned to damnation by some awful decree; but those passed over by
God, when he chose out his elect. These cannot receive the Spirit. Again, it means all in
a carnal state are not able to procure themselves this divine influence; and, thus it is
true, "Whom the world cannot receive."
The unregenerate world of sinners despises the Holy Ghost, "because it seeth him
not." Yes, I believe this is the great secret why many laugh at the idea of the
existence of the Holy Ghostbecause they see him not. You tell the worldling, "I
have the Holy Ghost within me." He says, "I cannot see it." He wants it to
be something tangiblea thing he can recognize with his senses. Have you ever heard
the argument used by a good old Christian against an infidel doctor? The doctor said there
was no soul, and asked, "Did you ever see a soul?" "No," said the
Christian. "Did you ever hear a soul?" "No." "Did you ever smell
a soul?" "No." "Did you ever taste a soul?" "No."
"Did you ever feel a soul?" "Yes," said the man"I feel I
have one within me." "Well," said the doctor, "there are four senses
against one; you only have one on your side." "Very well," said the
Christian, "Did you ever see a pain?" "No." "Did you ever hear a
pain?" "No." "Did you ever smell a pain?" "No."
"Did you ever taste a pain?" "No." "Did you ever feel a
pain?" "Yes." "And that is quite enough, I suppose, to prove there is
a pain?" "Yes." So the worldling says there is no Holy Ghost, because he
cannot see it. Well, but we feel it. You say that is fanaticism, and that we never felt
it. Suppose you tell me that honey is bitter, I reply, "No, I am sure you cannot have
tasted it; taste it and try." So with the Holy Ghost; if you did but feel his
influence, you would no longer say there is no Holy Spirit, because you cannot see it. Are
there not many things, even in nature, which we cannot see? Did you ever see the wind? No;
but ye know there is wind, when you behold the hurricane tossing the waves about, and
rending down the habitations of men; or when, in the soft evening zephyr, it kisses the
flowers, and maketh dew-drops hang in pearly coronets around the rose. Did ye ever see
electricity? No; but ye know there is such a thing, for it travels along the wires for
thousands of miles, and carries our messages; though you cannot see the thing itself, you
know there is such a thing. So you must believe there is a Holy Ghost working in us, both
to will and to do, even though it is beyond our senses.
But the last reason why worldly men laugh at the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, is, because
they do not know it. If they know it by heartfelt experience and if they recognized its
agency in the soul; if they had ever been touched by it; if they had been made to tremble
under a sense of sin; if they had had their hearts melted, they would never have doubted
the existence of the Holy Ghost.
And now, beloved, it says, "He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." We will
close up with that sweet recollectionthe Holy Ghost dwells in al believers and shall
be with them.
One word of comment and advice to the saints of God, and to sinners, and I have done.
Saints of the Lord! ye have this morning heard that God the Holy Ghost is a person; ye
have had it proved to your souls. What follows from this? Why, it followeth how earnest ye
should be in prayer to the Holy Spirit, as well as for the Holy Spirit. Let
me say that this is an inference that you should lift up your prayers to the Holy Ghost:
that you should cry earnestly unto him; for he is able to do exceeding abundantly above
all you can speak or think. See this mass of people. What is to convert it? See this
crowd? Who is to make my influence permeate through the mass? You know this place now has
a mighty influence, and, God blessing us, it will have an influence not only upon this
city, but upon England at large; for we now employ the press as well as the pulpit; and
certainly, I should say, before the close of the year, more than two hundred thousand of
my productions will be scattered through the landwords uttered by my lips, or
written by my pen. But how can this influence be rendered for good? How shall God's glory
be promoted by it? Only by incessant prayer for the Holy Spirit; by constantly calling
down the influence of the Holy Ghost upon us; we want him to rest upon every page that is
printed, and upon every word that is uttered. Let us then be doubly earnest in pleading
with the Holy Ghost, that he would come and own our labors; that the whole church at large
may be revived thereby, and not ourselves only, but the whole world share in the benefit.
Then, to the ungodly, I have this one closing word to say. Ever be careful how you speak
of the Holy Ghost. I do not know what the unpardonable sin is, and I do not think any man
understands it; but it is something like this: "He that speaketh a word against the
Holy Ghost, it shall never be forgiven him." I do not know what that means; but tread
carefully! There is danger; there is a pit which our ignorance has covered by sand; tread
carefully! you may be in it before the next hour. If there is any strife in your heart
to-day, perhaps you will go to the ale-house and forget it. Perhaps there is some voice
speaking in your soul, and you will put it away. I do not tell you will be resisting the
Holy Ghost, and committing the unpardonable sin; but it is somewhere there. Be very
careful. O, there is no crime on earth so black as the crime against the Holy Spirit! Ye
may blaspheme the Father, and ye shall be damned for it, unless ye repent; ye may
blaspheme the Son, and hell shall be your portion, unless ye are forgiven; but blaspheme
the Holy Ghost, and thus saith the Lord: "There is no forgiveness, either in this
world nor in the world which is to come." I cannot tell you what it is; I do no
profess to understand it; but there it is. It is the danger signal; stop! man, stop! If
thou has despised the Holy Spirit if thou hast laughed at his revelations, and
scorned what Christians call his influence., I beseech thee, stop! This morning seriously
deliberate. Perhaps some of you have actually committed the unpardonable sin; stop! Let
fear stop you; sit down. Do not drive on so rashly as you have done, Jehu! O slacken your
reins! Thou who are such a profligate in sinthou who hast uttered such hard words
against the Trinity, stop! Ah! it makes us all stop. It makes us all draw up, and say,
"Have I not perhaps so done?" Let us think of this; and let us not at any time
stifle either with the words or the acts of God the Holy Ghost.
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