SERMON III.

THE OFFICE AND INFLUENCES OF THE

HOLY SPIRIT.

PREACHED ON WHIT-SUNDAY.

JOHN iii. 8.

"The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit."

IT cannot be too often reiterated by us, and it cannot be too constantly remembered by you, that the work of God the Holy Ghost, in applying to the soul of the individual sinner the virtue of the full and finished redemption, stands as prominently forward in the Gospel scheme, and is just as indispensable in order to salvation, as the work of Christ in dying for our sins, and in reconciling us to God by His offering on the cross. suffered, and died;

True, Jesus has come, and let the right hand

F

forget her cunning, and the tongue cleave to the roof of the mouth, ere we forget the price He has paid for our redemption. He has thrown Himself between us and an offended God, and by submitting His neck to the sword of justice, turned away the keen edge of His Father's wrath from a world of rebels and apostates; but so fallen is man, so polluted his nature, so perverted his will, that even now, when pardon is proffered, an amnesty proclaimed, and an appeal made from the court of Heaven by the offended Sovereign Himself, "See, I have laid help upon One that is mighty ;"* "I have delivered thee from going down to the pit, I have found a ransom,"t the rebel refuses to lay down his arms, and to kiss the dove-pointed sceptre of reconciling mercy. Gracious Father! can it be, that Thou hast condescended to come down the steps of Thy Throne, the Throne of eternal righteousness and truth, and standing there in the attitude of embrace, invited the outcast to draw near, and to accept a free and ample pardon, and with it, the place and the privileges of a child adopted into a royal house? Gracious Saviour can it be, that Thou hast stooped

*Ps. lxxxix. 19.

Job xxxiii. 24.

from majesty to meanness, from the Throne to the Cross, and exchanging Heaven's riches for earth's poverty, lived and died a Man and a Brother, that Thou mightest make us children of God, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Thyself of all the blessings of Thy Father's kingdom? and can it be, that after all that has been done by the Creator to win back to Himself the rebel creature, the creature still continues to stand aloof, either sullenly refusing, or scornfully rejecting, the reiterated overtures of pardon and peace? Whence, oh! whence this unwillingness on the part of the creature to come and clasp the friendly hand outstretched to snatch him from eternal destruction? Whence, but from the power which reigning sin still exercises over a perverted will! And how is this power to

be so broken as that the sinner shall be made willing to close with the offers of his God and Saviour? How but by the putting forth of an Almighty power, before which the "strong man armed" shall crouch as a slave, and surrender himself a prisoner to the Stronger and Mightier than he! And is not this the task of God the Holy Spirit, the Stronger than Satan, the Mightier the Mightier than sin, who alone can bow the the stubborn will, and

bend the reluctant nature, and bring the rebellious affections into willing "captivity to the obedience of Christ ?" *

Let me endeavour by a very simple illustration to make clear to the plainest apprehension the indispensable need of the work of the Holy Spirit in order to the sinner's salvation.

Were I summoned to-night to stand by the dying bed of one, who after having lived the life of the infidel or the worldling, either openly avowing his disbelief of a God, or practically denying and dishonouring Him, was now crying out in all the agony of a convicted conscience, "What must I do to be saved?" How should I first address the wretched sufferer, writhing under the agonies of a self-inflicted remorse? "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." "You want pardon, you want peace; there is pardon, come and take it; there is peace, come and claim it, in and through the blood of the Crucified. You are welcome to the cross, and to the

cross you must come if

you would have salvation. Come, then, to Jesus." The sound of that name acts like magic. The dying man raises himself on his

* 2 Cor. x. 5.

† Acts xvi. 30, 31.

bed; he turns round with an eager glance of enquiry, and clasps convulsively the hand of the stranger, who does not upbraid him for his past sin, but speaks of pardon, and of One who can and will pardon. He waits to hear whether terms and conditions of pardon are proposed; but no, nothing but that one sweet and precious name, mentioned once and again, rests delightedly upon his ear. Again, he looks with an enquiring glance, and clasps tighter the hand that seems outstretched to snatch him from destruction; a tear of gratitude, haply of "godly sorrow," trickles down his wan and sunken cheek; his eyes close, and his lips quiver in seeming prayer. There is a pause, a long and anxious pause. The friends around look on in silence, but none venture to break the death-like calm. At length the dying man himself speaks, "You tell me true: I want pardon, I want peace :and Jesus, I am assured, is both pardon and peace. You invite me to come to Him, but I cannot come, my heart is hard, my will is stubborn; even now, when I know that I must come to Christ, or perish, there is something within which keeps me back. How then can I be saved ?"

And then, Brethren, would I unfold to the