gospel is—“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt he saved.”
Faith in Christ is the prescribed and only condition of acceptance with
God. Christ is the way, and the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto
the Father but by him. Faith is the eye with which we behold his mercy;
faith is the hand by which we receive his blessings; faith is the golden
chain which binds us to him for ever. The necessity of faith in the
merit and righteousness of our Divine Mediator, as the condition of
salvation, is a truth which lies scattered over the surface of inspired
Scripture. God has always owned and blessed its proclamation in the
conversion of souls. It was the article of Luther’s emancipation from
legal bondage. It was the master-key which unlocked the iron gates of
Antichrist, and poured the true light over all Europe; so that neither
pope nor council, nor both together, could hide it again under a bushel.
And in the church of England, even in its present weak and languid state,
whenever one of its ministers preaches clearly and faithfully this
blessed doctrine, souls are given him as the seals of his ministry.
There is no end to the praises of faith. Faith is the glass that draws
fire from the Sun of Righteousness. Faith is the wedding ring that joins
the sinner to Christ in an everlasting covenant. Faith is the living
principle of all holy obedience, working by love, and purifying the
heart. If God command a man to leave his country and his kindred, and go
into a strange land—to offer his beloved son as a sacrifice upon the
altar—to build an ark on dry ground—to go to the fiery furnace, or the
lions’ den—to face his exasperated foes at Jerusalem, or hide from them
in the caves of the mountains—it is faith that prompts him to the painful
duty, and sustains him therein, in spite of improbabilities; and amidst
difficulties, dangers, and deaths.
II. This brings us to notice the importance and utility of faith as a
shield. “And above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall
be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”
Faith is in some respects the first of all the Christian graces. It is
the beginning of spiritual life in the soul—the originating and
sustaining principle of all evangelical holiness. Having faith, we have
nothing to do but to add to it all the rest of our lives. “Add to your
faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and
to temperance patience, and to patience godliness, and to godliness
brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity.”
Love is in some respects superior to faith, and shall live and rejoice
before the throne when faith shall have finished its work; but faith is
an impenetrable shield, such as love cannot furnish, on the field of
battle. The shield was a broad piece of defensive armor, worn ordinarily
on the left arm; and which, being movable, might be used to defend any
part of the body. According to Homer, the shields of some of the
warriors at the siege of Troy were made of sevenfold thick bull-hides,
covered with brass.
The value of “the shield of faith” is seen in the case of David. Look
down there in the valley. There is Goliath of Gath, the chief of the
giants, blaspheming, and defying the armies of the living God. His spear
is as a weaver’s beam, and his armor-bearer carries before him an
enormous shield. And there is a fine-looking young man going down to
meet him, without any visible weapons, except his shepherd’s sling, and
five smooth stones from the brook. David! hast thou no fear? Rash
youth! is thy unpractised hand able to cope with the mailed champion of
Philistia? “I will go and meet him in the name of my God, for I know
that the Lord will deliver him into my hand. God will avenge his people,
and vindicate his own honor against the insults of his enemies. He who
defended me against the lion and the bear will save me from the hand of
the blasphemer, and glorify himself this day before the thousands of
Israel.” He moves on, invincibly shielded by his faith, and the next
moment Goliath is slain with his own sword.
Let us look again at the case of Abraham. God said unto him—“Take now
thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the
land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering, upon one of the
mountains that I will tell thee of.” Now the enemy assails him, in the
persuasive language of natural affection, and carnal reasoning; and every
word is like a flaming arrow in the patriarch’s heart:—“Abraham! if thou
obey this command, thou wilt disobey thereby many other commands. God
hath said—‘Thou shalt not kill;’ and wilt thou shed the blood of thy own
child? Canst thou so trample upon the law of God, and all the tender
instincts of human nature? How will thy servants regard thee—how will
the world look upon thee, after so horrible a deed? What will they think
of thy God, when they hear that he has required at thy hand the
immolation of thy only son? Will it not bring everlasting dishonor upon
his name? And what will become of the Divine promise upon which thy
faith is built—that from Isaac’s loins shall spring the Messiah, the hope
of the world? Besides, thou wilt certainly break poor old Sarah’s heart;
she will never be able to survive the loss, in so dreadful a manner, of
her darling boy. If thou hast any feelings of humanity in thy heart, any
fear of God before thine eyes, any regard for the glory of his name among
men, refrain from that deed of blood!”
Such were the “fiery darts” which “the wicked one” hurled at the good
man’s heart, but they fell harmless upon his “shield of faith.” “He
staggered not at the promise through unbelief.” “He conferred not with
flesh and blood.” He rose up early in the morning, took Isaac and the
servants, and set out for the appointed place of sacrifice. He travelled
three days toward Moriah, with a settled purpose to cut Isaac’s body in
pieces, and shed the blood of his heart upon the altar, and burn it to
ashes in the consuming flames. He loved his son as his own soul, but the
command of God was dearer to his heart. “And Abraham said unto his young
men—Abide ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder, and
worship, and come again to you;” for he firmly believed that God would
raise his son from the ashes of the altar, and that they would return
together. I see them ascending the hill—O, what an ascent was that!
Never was there a walk so sorrowful, till the great Antitype of Isaac
ascended the same mountain to “make his soul a sacrifice for sin.” The
altar is built, the fire and the wood are placed thereon; and O for words
to describe the feelings of both father and son, when Abraham laid hold
on Isaac, and took the knife to plunge it into his heart! There is a
pause. The patriarch’s arm is stretched aloft, with the instrument of
death. God of mercy! is there no help for a father? Earth cannot speak;
but there comes a voice from heaven; and O, with what melody it rings
through Abraham’s heart!—“Abraham! Abraham! lay not thine hand upon the
lad; for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld
thy son, thine only son, from me.”
There was the triumph of faith. “By faith Abraham, when he was tried,
offered up Isaac; and he that had received the promises offered up his
only begotten son, of whom it was said—In Isaac shall thy seed be called;
accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead, from
whence also he received him in a figure.” The patriarch’s faith quenched
“all the fiery darts of the wicked one,” which were cast at him in this
dreadful trial.
The arrows of the orientals were often poisoned at one end, and ignited
at the other. It is to this circumstance the apostle alludes in the
phrase—“the fiery darts of the wicked,” or the wicked one. Satan has his
quiver full of impoisoned and flaming arrows, from which the servants of
Christ would be much endangered without “the shield of faith.” He shot
one of them at Eve in Paradise, and set the whole world on fire, “and it
is set on fire of hell.” He shot an arrow of lust at David, and an arrow
of fear at Peter; and both of them were dreadfully wounded in the back.
He shot an arrow of covetousness at Judas, and another at Ananias and
Sapphira; and having no “shield of faith,” they were smitten, and dropped
down into hell.
The devil is a fierce and malicious enemy, “going about as a roaring
lion, seeking whom he may devour.” Fain would he destroy all the holy
from the earth. His “fiery darts” inflame the heart with the love of
sin, the fear of man, the torments of remorse, and the apprehensions of
judgment and fiery indignation. But when the heart is shielded by the
faith of the gospel—when we clearly understand the truth as it is in
Jesus, cordially assent to it, appropriate it experimentally, and
surrender ourselves to its sanctifying influence—they have no power to
injure, and the Christian is more than conqueror.
“Cast not away, therefore, the beginning of your confidence, which hath
great recompense of reward.” Grasp firmly the shield. Whatever the
aspect of the fight, hold it fast till the end. You will need it through
all the campaign. You will need it especially in your contest with “the
last enemy, which is death.” “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding
in the work of the Lord.” So shall you be able to testify with Paul,
when he anticipated the termination of the warfare—“I have fought a good
fight; I have finished my course; I have kept the faith; and henceforth
there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord—the
righteous judge—shall give unto me in that day.”
SERMON XXI.
THE PARACLETE.
“_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 xiv. 16, 17.
THE Bible is a most wonderful book. It came to us from heaven, and is
stamped with the Spirit and the character of heaven. It assails our
favorite maxims and customs, and declares that he who will be the friend
of this world is the enemy of God. It will consent to no compromise with
sin. It will not in the least accommodate itself to the carnal
inclinations of the human heart. What is written is written, and not one
jot or tittle can be altered till heaven and earth shall pass away. It
is the sword of God, by which he conquers the nations—the instrument of
his grace, by which he renovates the world. Like the ark in the land of
the Philistines, which was mightier than all their lords, and Dagon their
god, it is more than a match for the cunning and prowess of the Prince of
Darkness and his hosts. He who disobeys it kindles a volcano; he who
obeys opens to himself a fountain of living waters. And the secret of
all its wonderful qualities and achievements is found in its Divine
inspiration, and the power of the Holy Ghost which accompanies its
truths. It is “the sword of the Spirit,” and the Spirit that brought it
into the world continues in the world to wield it, and render it quick
and powerful.
These remarks introduce to our consideration the mission and office of
the Holy Ghost, of which our Saviour speaks in the language of the text.
And,
I. We remark, that the Holy Ghost is evidently not a Divine attribute
merely, but a Divine person.
His personality is proved by the terms applied to him in the text—the
“Comforter,” and “the Spirit of Truth;” and by many other passages where
he is spoken of in similar language—language wholly incompatible with the
idea of his being a mere attribute, and not a person.
The doctrine of his Divinity is sustained by so many texts that their
mere quotation would be an irrefutable argument in its favor. David
says—“The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue;
the God of Israel said,” &c. Here the Holy Ghost is called “the Spirit
of the Lord,” and “the God of Israel.” When Ananias “lied to the Holy
Ghost,” it is said he “lied to God.” The ordinance of Baptism is ordered
to be administered “in the name of the Holy Ghost,” as well as “the name
of the Father and the Son;” and his “fellowship” is equally invoked with
the love of the former, and the grace of the latter, in the apostolical
benediction. Besides, every attribute that belongs to the Deity belongs
to him. He is omnipresent, omniscient, and eternal. He is the Spirit of
truth, the Spirit of grace, and the Spirit of life. His works also are
the works of God. He creates and quickens, which is the prerogative of
God alone. He renovates the soul. He raised the body of Jesus, and will
raise the bodies of all men in the last day. Finally: Blasphemy against
the Son may be forgiven; but “blasphemy against the Holy Ghost hath never
forgiveness, neither in this world nor in that which is to come.” If,
then, the Father is God, and if the Son is God, so also is the Holy
Spirit.
II. The Holy Ghost is the messenger and representative of Jesus Christ
in the Church.
Two promises, like heavenly merchant-vessels, brought salvation to our
world. The first was given in Eden, and fulfilled on Calvary. The Son
of God descended from heaven, suffered in our stead the curse of the law,
spoiled the powers of death and hell, and returned to his Father, leaving
another promise, shortly to be fulfilled upon his people. With what
supernatural power and unction the Holy Spirit manifested himself on the
day of Pentecost! Divine Comforter! what treasure bringest thou in thy
vessel of grace? “The things of Christ; and I will unload them to-day in
the region of Calvary. I have come to fulfil the promise, to endow the
disciples with power from on high, and finish the work which the Son of
God has begun.” See those tongues of flame sitting upon the fishermen of
Galilee; while strangers from many different countries hear from them,
each in his own language, “the wonderful works of God.” Only think of
three thousand conversions in a day—under a single sermon. Three
thousand hearts were wounded by the arrows of Divine love, through the
strongest breastplate ever made in hell. This was the work of the Holy
Spirit, taking of the things of Christ and showing them to the disciples.
It was Christ himself, manifesting himself through his agent. The first
promise brought the Messiah into the world in the flesh; the second, in
the Spirit—the first, to be crucified; the second, to crucify the sins of
his people—the first, to empty himself; the second, to fill the believer
with heavenly gifts and graces—the first, to sanctify himself as a
sin-offering upon the altar; the second, to give repentance and pardon as
a Prince and a Saviour.
The Holy Spirit is still on earth, prosecuting his gracious work, and
communicating his heavenly gifts. He strives with sinners, and quickens
believers into spiritual life. He dwells in the saints, leads them into
all truth, and bears witness with their spirits that they are the
Children of God. He illuminates their understanding, subdues their will,
purifies their thoughts, and plants within them all holy principles and
affections. And this he does, not by an audible voice from heaven, but
through the instrumentality of the word, and by secret impressions upon
the soul. “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound
thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth; so is
every one that is born of the Spirit.” The operations of the Holy Ghost
are seen only in their effects. It is a drop of water becoming a
fountain “that springeth up unto everlasting life.” It is a spark of
fire, kindling a conflagration, which all the rivers of Belial cannot
quench.
III. The Holy Ghost is the Paraclete; that is, the Counselor and
Consoler. In our text, he is called the “Comforter.” “And I will pray
the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter,”—according to the
original, one to plead your cause. The word is the same as that used to
designate the Roman ambassadors, who were sent to other countries, as
representatives of the Roman power, to persuade enemies to submit, or
offer terms of peace.
A certain author observes, that the office of the Comforter is to
reconcile enemies, and invigorate friends—to console the dejected,
strengthen the enfeebled, and support the people of God in all the
conflicts and trials of life. It is by his grace that the believer’s
youth is renewed as the eagle’s, and all his languishing virtues are
revived, so that he can “run and not weary—walk and not faint.”
Another part of his office in the Church is intercession. As he pleads
with sinners on behalf of Christ in the gospel, so he pleads for
believers in the court of heaven; not personally, like our blessed Lord,
but by inspiring the spirit of supplication in their hearts. “Likewise
the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities, for we know not what we should
pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us,
with groanings which cannot be uttered; and he that searcheth the hearts
knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession
for the saints according to the will of God.”
When other nations had offended the Romans, it was common for them,
fearing the revenge of that mighty empire, to send messengers to Rome, to
plead their cause, and treat for peace. “The Spirit of Truth,” having
brought sinners to repentance by pleading with them for Christ in the
gospel, pours down upon them the spirit of grace and supplication, so
that they cry out for mercy, and this is virtually the Spirit of God
crying out within them. What is the meaning of all that prayer and agony
in the congregation? The Spirit of God is there. His hammer has broken
the rock—his fire has melted the iron. No other power could conquer
those proud rebellious hearts, and turn the blasphemer into a man of
prayer. Listen! “If thou shouldst mark iniquity, O Lord, who could
stand?” Hark again! “But thou art a God ready to pardon; there is
forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.” It is the voice of
the Spirit, pleading in the awakened soul. See that publican in the
temple, smiting upon his breast, and saying,—“God be merciful to me a
sinner!” The Holy Ghost has both convinced him of sin, and inspired him
to pray for mercy. No other agency can thus quicken the “dead in
trespasses and sins,” and turn the hearts of the children of men to the
Lord. The gospel, in the hand of the Holy Spirit, “is the power of God
unto salvation.” The Holy Spirit can convince the world—can rend the
veil from the mind, and dissolve the ice around the heart. He applies
the truth to the conscience, and makes the guilty read their own sentence
of condemnation by the light of the fires of Sinai; and then he shows
them the atoning blood, and prompts them to pray for pardon. He first
convinces them that they are sinking in “the horrible pit of miry clay;”
and then lets down to them the rope of the promise, bids them take hold
by faith, draws them out, and sets their feet upon a rock, and puts into
their mouth the new song of salvation—“O Lord, I will praise thee; for
though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou
comfortest me!”
O that the “Spirit of grace and supplication” may ever rest upon us! May
we plead for ourselves with God, as Jacob, when he wrestled for the
blessing; or Bartimeus, when he besought the Saviour to restore his
sight! May we plead for sinners, as Abraham for Sodom, as Moses for
Israel, as Daniel for the captives, as the Centurion for his servant, and
as the woman of Canaan for her daughter!
IV. The Holy Ghost is called “another comforter;” which suggests a
difference between his office in the church, and that of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
Christ, by his personal ministry on earth, was the Comforter of his
little flock; and by his death upon the cross, the procurer of all the
comforts of them that believe; and when he ascended, “another comforter”
came down to take his place in the church, and communicate the blessings
which he bought with his blood. “If any man sin, we have an Advocate
with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;” who hath “entered into
heaven itself, there to appear in the presence of God for us;” while his
agent and representative on earth dwells with his followers, leads them
into all truth, and carries on within them the process of sanctification.
Both are comforters—both are advocates—Christ above, and the Holy Spirit
below—Christ by his personal presence before the Father, and the Holy
Spirit by his gracious influence in the believer’s heart.
Christ is making intercession on our behalf without us, and independently
of us. But the Holy Spirit is making intercession through us—pleading in
our prayers “with groanings that cannot be uttered.” He never acts
without us. True repentance and faith are his gifts, but they are also
our exercises. He draws us to Christ, but we must yield to his
attractions. He inspires us to pray, but the act of prayer is our own.
He “worketh in us to will and to do of his good pleasure,” but he does
not will and do for us. He gives us the life and the power, but he
requires us to use them. He leads us into all truth, but not unless we
follow him. He sheds abroad the love of God in our hearts, but not
unless we open our hearts to receive the communication. He destroys the
old man within us, and creates the new; but not unless we cordially
resign ourselves to his influence, and earnestly co-operate with his
grace.
Christ in heaven pleads for the reconciliation of sinners to God. The
Holy Spirit on earth awakens sinners, convinces them of sin, draws them
to the throne of grace, and breathes into them intense prayers for
pardon. He renews them, and purifies them, and makes them temples of his
grace, and heirs of glory. He opens the blind eyes, and unstops the deaf
ears, and makes the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb
to sing. All the true conversions ever effected on earth are the results
of his gracious power.
Christ has bound up all the covenants, and carried them with him into
heaven, and laid them down before the throne, having obtained eternal
redemption for us; and the Holy Spirit has taken of the things of God,
and brought them down to men. Christ received gifts for us, and the Holy
Spirit confers them upon us. Christ receives from the Father; the Spirit
receives from Christ; and we receive from the Spirit. Christ bought the
church with his own blood, and the spirit prepares and presents her to
him as his bride. Christ opened a way into the Holy of Holies, and the
Spirit aids us to offer our sacrifices before the mercy-seat. Christ is
the appointed medium of our intercourse with God, and the Spirit helps us
to avail ourselves of that unspeakable privilege. Christ in heaven is
the life of our redemption, and the Spirit upon earth is the life of the
gospel and the ordinances. “I will draw all men unto myself”—is the
motto of Christ; “I will draw all men unto Christ”—is the motto of the
Spirit.
V. The Holy Ghost has taken up his permanent residence among the people
of God. “That he may abide with you for ever—for he dwelleth with you
and shall be in you.”
His miraculous gifts were temporary; being no longer necessary, when the
truth was established in the conviction of mankind. But his renovating
and sanctifying grace is as much needed now as ever, and therefore has
never been taken from the world. The primitive Christians, and
Christians of the present day, in this respect, share the same privilege.
It is a “common salvation;” and the streams will never cease to flow,
while there remain “vessels of mercy” to be filled.